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Mickey Thompson: A life remembered

Come celebrate the life and fast times of motorsports legend Mickey Thompson with the people who knew him best: his son, Danny Thompson; his first wife and Danny's mother, Judy Thompson Creach; fellow hot-rod hero Alex Xydias; drag racer Tom Jobe, and turbocharger mad scientist Gale Banks. The event will come in the form of a panel discussion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif., on May 15 at 2 p.m. The incomparable silver-tongued Dave McClellan will serve as moderator.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Tushek Renovatio T500 Supercar UK debut at Salon Prive

The Tushek Renovatio T500 – a supercar from a shed in Slovenia – is to get its UK debut at next month’s Salon Prive. Eastern Europe is starting to produce its own shed supercars, the latest of which is the Tushek Renovatio T500, a decent looking offering from Slovenia. Based on the K1 Attack kit car, the Renovatio T500 is the brainchild of former racing driver Aljosa Tušek with his Tushek Supercars company planning on a very limited run of just 30 Renovatio T500s over the next four years.