1941-48 Ford Mercury Vent Window Handles, Vintage on 2040-parts.com

Official: Renault & Caterham to build Alpine sports cars

Renault has confirmed it is to partner with Caterham to build a range of Alpine sports cars in Dieppe from 2015. The partnership between Renault and Caterham is a logical extension of their F1 partnership but now, with the joint venture to produce their own sports cars, goes much deeper than the almost badge-engineering Williams Renaults. A new company - Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham – will be jointly owned by Caterham and Renault and will develop models in small and large volumes to be marketed as both Renault Alpine and Caterham, and will be built in Renault’s Dieppe factory that currently churns out Renaultsport models for the road and track, and is the historical home of Alpine.

Think City EV Cup Edition (2010) first official pictures

Manufacturers have been trying to make their racers more economical for some time now; Audi and Peugeot have produced diesel Le Mans winners and CAR reviewed the Porsche GT3 R Hybrid in the June 2010 issue, but this the most recent fully electric offering from Norwegian company Think.   Think has followed the traditional road-racer conversion for this one-off prototype, by stripping out most of the interior and space for the passenger, using Perspex instead of glass in the windows, installing a solitary lightweight bucket seat and lowering the centre of gravity. The company claims the diet reduces the Think's weight by nearly 70kg; that's the same saving as a Lamborghini Gallardo Superlegerra, remember.

Ford Transit to replace Econoline van in 2013

Ford is finally putting the Econoline out to pasture. The full-size van has been has been available in one form or another since 1961. The E-series will be replaced by the European-designed Transit van, which will arrive with a global platform in 2013.