1953 Buick Heater Core Housing on 2040-parts.com

Mini Inspired by Goodwood gets the Rolls-Royce touch for Shanghai auto show

We scratched our head when Aston Martin took the tiny Toyota iQ and turned it into the Cygnet. Now, Mini has called on its business cousin, Rolls-Royce, to create the Mini Inspired by Goodwood. The car will debut next week at the Shanghai motor show.

Toyota & Lexus: Hybrid sales in Europe hit 20%

The ‘Green’ evangelists want to get us all driving electric cars to save the planet, but in the real world car drivers want a car that offers them all the practicality of a normal ICE car, but without the penalties of the poor range, high cost and inconvenience of an EV. So, with ever-rising fuel costs, it’s no wonder car buyers are willing to pay a little more for a car that offers better economy at the pumps – which plays straight in to the hands of Hybrid pioneers Toyota. The result is that Toyota and Lexus now see a full 20 per cent of their sale in Europe being hybrid cars in the first quarter of 2013, with sales of hybrid cars up a massive 82 per cent year-on-year.

New Lotus Elise S Cup R track car

Seems everyone is building non-road legal track day cars right now, and Lotus most definitely wants a piece of that action. Its latest effort is the startling bright and bewinged Elise S Cup R, pictured above. Based on the 1.8-litre supercharged Elise S road car, Lotus has done a lot more than simply lose the number plate here.