MINI JCW Roadster rides the ‘Ring

MINI JCW Roadster pounding the Nurburgring Now we’ve got the MINI Coupe out in the open, with and without its swirly black and white camouflage, it must be close to MINI doing the same with the Roadster. Which is probably why we have spy photos of the MINI JCW Roadster pounding round the Nurburgring – last shakedowns, we assume. Because we can’t imagine MINI dragging out the reveal of the production model Roadster much past Frankfurt – if it takes that long – which will be a full two years on from when MINI first revealed the 2-seater MINI Roadster – the soft top twin of the MINI Coupe.

Abarth 500C EsseEsse & Punto Evo EsseEsse at Paris

The Abarth 500c EsseEsse arrives at Paris Abarth do a very good job of warming up the odd Fiat or two (well, they have been doing it for quite a long time), the most recent offerings being the Abarth 500C and the Abarth Punto Evo which we saw when we trollied off to Goodwood in July. But there is a second flavour of Abarth. Best to think of it as the ‘Chilli’ Abarth; Abarth call it EsseEsse.

Seat IBE (2010) at Geneva motor show

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 02 March 2010 08:43 Seat's new IBE concept car provided the thrills on the Spanish firm's stand at the 2010 Geneva motor show. Although more about the tech than the design, the IBE does drop a few clues to the next Leon family.It's based on the running gear of the new Leon and packs a 75kW electric engine capable of daily use around town thanks to lithium ion batteries with 18kWh capacity. The IBE is a classic 2+2 shooting brake design and is teeny tiny; at 3780mm long, it's 10 inches shorter than an Ibiza supermini.Seat IBE concept car: the electrical gubbins The IBE packs an electric motor under bonnet driving the front wheels and fed by rear-mounted batteries.