World's smallest production car gets a new lease on life

Originally manufactured in the 1960's, the world's smallest ever production car, the Peel P50 (right) and it's stablemate, the Trident (left) are getting a limited production run with updated power plants

The quest for more fuel-efficient vehicles has seen a shift from the gas-guzzling behemoths of yesteryear to smaller and smaller cars, such as the Volkswagen up! and Toyota iQ. The smallest currently in production is the Tata Nano that measures just 122 inches (309.9 cm) long and 58.9 inches (223 cm) wide. But for the world’s smallest ever production car you’d have to look back to the early 1960’s and the Peel P50, which measured just 54 inches (137 cm) long and 41 inches (104.1 cm) wide, and weighed 130 lb (59 kg). Now replicas of the P50 -and its bigger brother, the Peel Trident - are getting a limited production run and will be offered with a choice of gasoline or electric powerplants.

Subaru begins production on BRZ and Toyota GT 86 sports cars

Subaru and Toyota celebrated the beginning of production last Friday

More than six years ago, Subaru and Toyota entered into a cooperative agreement. In 2009, that relationship bore its first concept - the Toyota FT-86. Both automakers showed the production versions of their respective sports cars last year, and Subaru has officially kicked off production on the models. In about two more months, car buyers will be able to get their hands on them.

Citroen's 1955 DS set for reprise with DS6

Teaser shot from Citroen's Facebook page

Teaser shots have appeared on Citroen's Facebook page for a new as-yet-unnamed vehicle. The French giant has successfully reprised its successful DS name into a whole series - so far we have the DS3, DS4 and DS5.

Replica of iconic Nurburgring racetrack proposed for Las Vegas

Nurburgring is as ominous as the clouds in the background

Germany's Nurburgring is possibly the most famous racetrack in the entire world. Not only does it host racing competitions, but it also provides the ultimate testing grounds for new cars and prototypes - manufacturers from around the world travel to Germany to test their cars. Speedway Motorsports wants to make some of those journeys a little shorter, by building an exact replica of Nurburgring just outside of Las Vegas.

The impressive new Mercedes A-Class launched at Geneva

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class in 'AMG Sport' exterior spec.

The original A-Class was a strange thing. An attempt to bring the Mercedes magic to the masses its tall boxy styling, though practical, was not a thing of beauty. Unfortunately the high center of gravity meant that it infamously failed the Swedish "moose test" and had to have its suspension modified. This caused the ride to be unacceptably hard for its target market of middle-class mums and the poor quality of the interior finish did nothing for MB's reputation. My parents had one and it was not the auto maker's finest hour. The new A-Class launched at the Geneva show could not be more different.

The 1937 Atalanta Sports Tourer rides again - brand new inside, 75 years old on the outside

The 2012 Atalanta Sports Tourer

On March 5, 1937, a new automotive marque was born in the form of the Atalanta Sports Tourer. The Atalanta was well received but when Britain went to war just two years later, all production capacity was turned toward the war effort and the marque ceased to be.

Audi's turbodiesel, electric flywheel hybrid, all-wheel drive prototype race car

Audi's new R18 e-tron quattro demonstrates the extraordinary boldness of the Audi company in actually risking something substantial (damaging it's Quattro heritage) to demonstrate new capabilities - harnessing the combination of electric and traditional horsepower to gain a demonstrable competitive advantage

Audi has disclosed some of the details of its forthcoming R18 e-tron quattro, revealing a turbodiesel, electric flywheel hybrid, all-wheel drive prototype, and ensuring that the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hour Race will be a battle of the hybrids.