Porsche 918 Spyder Concept Car

Porsche have confirmed their intention to put the 918 Spyder shown at the Geneva auto show in March into production.

The 918 Spyder concept on display at Geneva boasted a high-performance plug-in hybrid engine with a potential fuel consumption of around 60-80mpg.

The layout will be the usual Spyder 2 seater mid-engined affair, and the 918 will apparently hit 60mph in just over 3 seconds and go on to nearly 200mph… not bad for a plug in, though what percentage of that performance will come from whatever petrol engine Porsche decide to put in it is anyone’s guess, and our guess is most of it.

We can only assume the car will follow the usual pattern that is starting to emerge among car companies as they try to gag the ever growing band of greenies, that being that the 918 Spyder will use the electric motor for short, slow journeys and kick in the petrol engine when more performance is required, or the battery goes flat for the electric motor.

With Porsche’s (soon to be) new owners, Volkswagen, hoping to double sales of Porsche over the coming years, this kind of hybrid model is an eye into the future for Porsche models, and in fact all high performance car manufacturers.

On that note, we wonder when we’ll see a plug in Lambo or Aston Martin, the car chase scene in the next James Bond movie could be a wholly different experience if Bond has to stop for a recharge.

Ford Start Concept - Ford aims to capture a large slice of the Asian small car market.

Ford is is looking to wrap the Asian small car market with this little number, the Ford Start.

Looking rather like an evolution of the KA that is so popular in Europe, the Ford Start concept is aimed at capturing a large percentage of the market for a small economical car so sought after in many countries across Asia.

The car will feature a 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost direct injection turbo engine which surprisingly has the power of a 1.6 liter unit, but throws out less than 100g/km CO2, this is the same engine set to make its appearance in the Fiesta and Focus.

The car is set to use various techniques to reduce costs, lots of one piece construction and use of lightweight composite materials where viable.

This Ford Start concept looks great to us and it seems a shame Ford has seen fit to only plan this for the Asian market, the great design and unique look would surely be a hit on the roads of Europe and the more cosmopolitan cities across the US.

Still, that should mean capturing a glimpse of one outside of Asia should make for an even more eye catching experience and we’re sure there will be a fair number of people aiming to import them so as to drive something different.

To that end the wonder kids at Mitsubishi have come up with a new plan for the Evo XI, namely dumping the legendary 2.0 turbo unit that has helped make the Evo such fun, and slotting in a diesel alternative with an electric motor attached.

How many green Evo's can you see...? That's soon to change.

While this new plan may be seen as a traitorous act by Mitsubishi among die hard Evo fans, the truth is it was never going to be possible to get another Evo out that could keep a powerful petrol engine in place whilst getting the emissions down to an acceptable level.

Going diesel, and making use of a self recharging electric motor is probably the best option, keeping the tree huggers at bay, and keeping the Evo family in production, given the choice of no new Evo at all, or a diesel/electric version, we know what we would rather choose, and most Evo fans would probably admit the same.

We understand the layout will use the electric motor to drive the front wheels, and the diesel power plant to drive the back wheels, with the option for the driver to switch to all electric mode for small drives and thus helping drastically reducing overall emissions, Evo fans will obviously be hoping the changes don’t also drastically reduce performance too, but we think the Evo team will know well enough what is expected of them and we’re sure what they deliver wont disappoint.

The Evo XI is due out in 2013, cant come quick enough for us, but in the meantime we look forward to hearing more details seep out of Mitusbishi’s secret lab as the months roll by.

The Current MINI is somewhat larger than the 60's original

Apparently BMW are busy working on a concept for a small version of their popular Mini. Despite the fact the original version of the Mini from the 60’s could almost fit in your pocket, BMW’s incarnation is massive by comparison, and a small version of the car would probably prove to be extremely popular among Mini fans.

We don’t have any pictures as yet of how the car will look, word is the small Mini concept will be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor show, our guess would be it would follow the design lines of the current “big” Mini so as to ensure it still looks like a Mini should, if BMW veer away from the traditional Mini look then it would probably sell half as many, so it makes sense for them to keep the style so that when people see it they know its a Mini.

We’re all looking forward to seeing this one, we think BMW might well give it the real feel of the original Mini, it’ll be just like being in the 60’s, only with airbags, 60mpg and a cup holder.

While the spirit of MG may have long been lost, the marque lives on, and here we have something of a departure from what we usually associate MG with, i.e. low volume performance cars for the man on the street.

This concept, and we think it may not actually be so much of concept rather a model on the way as rumor has it this and the MG2 are one and the same thing, is aimed squarely at the volume small car market, will this pay off for MG, probably not would be our guess, there is so much competition in the sector, and incredibly strong competition, that taken on the existing players at their own game might well be a bullet or two in the foot.

That said, the car looks OK, but we have no other details upon which to make any judgements, not yet at least. We think, to be honest, it will be a typical MG in terms of quality, refinement and reliability, China are still playing catch up in these areas of automotive design and production, and we can see this car getting some critical reviews, still the chance is there for this to be a great car, as long as no corners are not cut.

That being said, if it uses the Fiat Punto platform as we believe it may do, then it should at least do the basics very well, and then just the finishing will be the area under scrutiny.

Anyhow, good to see the MG name still around, it could have disappeared forever if things had gone differently, just hope that something is left of the soul, but that is maybe wishful thinking.

Here’s Peugeot’s next large saloon, looks like the please everybody attitude to design is as strong as ever in this model as it seems to have nothing particularly offensive about it, but equally it doesn’t really stand out from the crowd of competitors.

Most interesting for fans of trees will be the launch of the HYbrid4 model, with a 147 kW (200 bhp) and all-wheel drive potential, with a rate of emissions of just 99 g/km of CO2 (or zero in electric mode).

Should keep the suits happy as it looks like it’ll be popular with the fleet market, but probably not with anyone else. No word on a hot version, and as its a Peugeot we doubt there will be any word as its not really their thing these days.