Skinz Protective Gear Float Plate - Red Pfp250-rd on 2040-parts.com

Electric cars must get noisier, ICE cars must get quieter

Electric cars will have to make a noise to protect pedestrians It’s four years since the Lotus solution for making electric cars noisy raised its head, since when the US has had a go at the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in 2010 to do the same thing, the Japanese are playing too, and Toyota revealed the Prius Vehicle Notification System, and now the EU has decided its time to act to make EVs emit ‘noise’. Despite the most appealing part of an EV being that it makes our cities quieter, legislators worry about the blind, partially sighted and distracted pedestrian (think earphones and a Smartphone) being mowed down by a stalking electric car and feel the need to act. So the European Parliament has decided that by 2019 new models of electric vehicle will have to make a noise in cities, and that by 2021 all new hybrids and electrics must be noisy too.

One Lap of the Web: Drifting Isderas, diesel Alfa vans and owning an M5

-- Isdera Imperator 108i. If those words mean anything to you, you've likely already clicked this link. If they don't, watch the video and get educated on an awesome hand-built German exotic from the '80s.

CAR Most Wanted of 2014: Ferrari 458 Speciale

By the CAR road-test team First Official Pictures 23 December 2013 10:50 The first time we checked out the Ferrari 458 Speciale, it was parked tantalisingly in the bowels of the Ferrari’s Maranello factory. Tech boss Roberto Fedeli told us how Ferrari had calculated the Speciale would be an even higher performer: 10% lighter, 11% faster response, 40% quicker through the gearbox, and squeezing out an extra 34bhp from its 4.5-litre V8. Since then, we’ve driven the 202mph 458 Speciale, which Ferrari claims is different (not better than) a 458 Italia, and designed to appeal to a different kind of customer.