News

French newspapers this week claim that professional riders have competed in high-profile races using a bicycle secretly equipped with an electric motor and batteries. Journalist at L’Equipe newspaper, Philippe Brunel, reports that the stealth bicycle weighs little more than a conventional bike and has a motor and electric battery concealed...

It’s the knotty problem wrestled with by cyclists everywhere: You like the idea of owning a £140,000 Porsche GT3 RS, but worry it would mean less time on the bike. Luckily a team of designers has produced the greenest Porsche to date; a zero-emissions version of the GT3 RS built around a pedal car. A spokesperson for the Environmental...

A group of engineers from Taiwan believes that drink riding is likely to be such a problem in the future that electric bikes will need a built-in breathalyzer. The bicycle built at Chienkuo Technology University includes innovations such as an electric motor to drive each wheel and handlebar warmers, but the most notable feature is a...

On Sunday 5th September 2010, an estimated 70,000 cyclists will take to traffic-free streets as part of this year’s London Freewheel, the annual cycling event currently branded as ‘Sky Ride’ as part of a sponsorship deal. The event forms part of London’s ‘Year of Cycling’, the mayor’s £116m-initiative that includes funding for the London...

British motorists are paying £440m in unnecessary fuel bills each year because they fail to keep their car tyres properly inflated, according to research by Michelin. A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Everyone wants to save money, but of greater concern incorrectly inflated tyres in Britain result in...

The Royal Academy of Engineering has calculated that ten nuclear power stations would need to be built if Britain’s cars were to switch from petrol to electricity. An earlier report by European transport lobby group, T&E, found that the environmental benefits to be had from a switch to electric vehicles were dependent not only on...

One day in and my surviving without a car has been quite lightweight – I didn’t set my alarm early enough, and luckily sweet talked a friend into giving me a lift to work. I had a meeting in London, which would usually involve driving to the station from the office and then getting the train to. I got a lift to the station and did my...

An electric car powered by 8,320 laptop batteries this week drove 1000km on a single charge. The Japan Electric Vehicle Club took a stock Daihatsu Mira and replaced its petrol engine with an electric motor powered by Sanyo lithium-ion batteries of the kind normally found in laptop computers. The record-breaking drive took almost 28 hours at...

My name is Lynzi and I am a self-confessed ‘car junkie’, I seem to spend my life in my car. I live in Guilford, Surrey and I drive to and from work which is Weybridge, Surrey (15 miles). I’m often out seeing clients or suppliers in the daytime and then most evenings use my car to visit friends or go to events. I am about to embark on a...

A team of French students have built a single-seat diesel-powered car that can achieve 8,372mpg – the equivalent of driving from London to Rome for one litre of fuel that cost around £1.20. The car has CO2 emissions of 0.88g/km – less than one tenth of the most recent Toyota Prius hybrid (89g/km). The most impressive fuel efficiency...