New Raymarine A46055 Extension 5m Cable Raymic on 2040-parts.com

BMW i3 EV revealed. It’s clever, but it’s not exactly pretty

The BMW i3 electric city car (pictured) has been officially revealed The BMW i3 – the first of BMW’s production ‘i’ electric cars – has finally been revealed at events in London, New York and Beijing as BMW plots its course to bring a premium electric city car to the world. Looking much like the original Mega City Concept, the i3 debuts a number of innovations from BMW – which are very clever – but it also debuts perhaps the worst looking BMW we’ve ever seen, with its incongruous lines, bulging bonnet, odd shapes on the flanks and slab-backed rear view. But what underpins the i3 is clever indeed, with a lightweight inner body made from carbon fibre and carbon fibre reinforced body panels providing the skin, all conspiring to make the i3 light – 1195kg, despite 25 per cent or so of that being batteries – and very rigid.

Volkswagen Up (2012): first photos of VW's mini

Almost four years to the day after we first saw the VW Up concept car, Volkswagen is unveiling the real thing: this is the new VW Up city car, on sale in UK dealers in spring 2012. Forget the official, trendily informal name 'up!'. I'm afraid CAR's going to overrule the grammatical violations and call it the good old Volkswagen Up.

MINI Clubman Hampton & MINI Pimlico Limited Editions

The MINI Clubman Gentleman's Sausage Another day, another limited edition MINI. Or two. MINI has decided that from now on it’s going to name all its Limited Edition models after London Boroughs, districts and landmarks.