ASTON Martin's new four-door Rapide (above) will be built by Austrian sub-contracting group Magna Steyr, which assembles cars such as BMW's X3 and Chrysler's 300C. The Rapide will be built at Magna's facility in Graz, Austria, because Aston's plant in Gaydon, England, 'is fast approaching full capacity of 8,000 cars'. Although the Rapide was showcased in 2006, production will now begin only late next year, with over 2,000 cars being built annually. The car is expected to go head to head with Porsche's four-door Panamera, which will arrive next year.

Lotus does green research LOTUS Engineering, the automotive consultancy division of Lotus, has created a new research and development group for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The company aims to 'further reinforce its position as a world leader in green transport engineering' over the next five years.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Mar 8, 2008.