2009-2013 Yamaha R1 Shift Lever Oem on 2040-parts.com

First Sight: Hyundai i30

Hyundai invited Car Design News for an exclusive sneak preview of the all-new i30 last week, ahead of its global debut at the Frankfurt motor show today. The event was held in Frankfurt's renowned Cocoon Club (the venue will also play host to this year's Interior Motives Awards, which takes place this coming Wednesday night), and was chosen because of its interior décor – something Hyundai's European Design Chief, Thomas Buerkle, likened to the Korean company's 'Fluidic Sculpture' design language. "We have been inspired by nature and beautiful shapes," Buerkle told the audience of journalists at the launch.

Audi R8 e-tron killed off for production – again

It’s more than six months since we reported that Audi were planning to kill off any production plans for the electric R8 e-Tron, with Audi’s head of R&D saying the production plans for the R8 were going to be scrapped. And it seems they have now gone in the bin. Autocar are reporting that Audi has confirmed to them that the R8 e-Tron won’t be going in to production and the ten latest e-Trons to be built will be used just for testing and development to help Audi with its ‘electrification’ plans, which will now almost certainly concentrate on plug-in hybrids and range extenders, rather than EVs.

Renault Twingo Renaultsport (2008): first official pictures

By Tom Clarkson First Official Pictures 31 January 2008 18:17 Renault today unveiled its new 133bhp Twingo RS in Paris - with a little help from F1 stars Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jnr, who were in town for the launch of their R28 F1 car. The Twingo RS has a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine that produces 20bhp more than the 1.2-litre turbo of the Twingo GT. There are cosmetic differences between the two cars as well, such as extended front and rear wings, a rear spoiler and a lower front bumper on the RS.