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Lister reveals first continuation Knobbly roadster at Autosport

It's been over a year since we reported on a plan to revive Lister Cars, and now the storied British racing constructor has revealed the first production continuation example of its legendary Knobbly roadster. Built to the same specifications as the original from 1958, using the same drawings and equipment, the reborn Knobbly features aluminum bodywork and a race-prepped 3.8-liter straight six out of a Jaguar D-Type and producing 330 horsepower. Revealed at the Autosport International race car show in Birmingham, the new Knobbly arrives on Lister's 60th anniversary and less than a month after the passing of its founder, Brian Lister. Only ten examples like this one will be built, all of which have already been spoken for, prompting Lister to consider an additional three examples. Each is eligible under FIA regulations to compete in vintage racing events, with performance specs quoting a 4.3-second 0-60 time and a top speed of 181 miles per hour. LISTER CARS' REBORN 'KNOBBLY' MAKES PUBLIC DEBUT AT AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL - Lister Cars' reborn 'Knobbly' racer has made its public debut at Autosport International - Built to the very same specification as the original 1958 'Knobbly' it uses the late Brian Lister's original drawings and manufacturing jigs - Lister has received an overwhelming response to its limited run of ten continuations and order books are full - Lister Cars is now considering creating three individual final editions each celebrating the racing pedigree of the 'Knobbly' in a unique and memorable way Lister Cars' reborn 'Knobbly' racer has made its public debut at Autosport International at the NEC Birmingham. Celebrating Lister's 60th anniversary, the reborn 'Knobbly' is built to the very same specification as the original 1958 'Knobbly', using the late Brian Lister's original drawings and manufacturing jigs. It is powered by a race-prepared Jaguar D-Type 3.8-litre straight-six, producing 330bhp. All 'Knobbly' models are built at Lister Cars' Cambridge factory to meet relevant FIA racing regulations, with owners able to compete in a series of Lister historic race meetings planned during 2015. Despite following an original design laid out more than 55 years ago, the reborn 'Knobbly' has performance to match modern sports cars; it can accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 181mph. Lister Cars has already received an overwhelming response to its limited run and the 10 cars are now sold out.

2018 Jaguar F-Pace: Heated windshield option may drive you crazy

Our long-term Jaguar F-Pace is stuffed full of options. It's the top-trim S model with the most powerful engine, and we selected five of seven available option packages. The two we didn't pick were the cheapest ones. There were a handful of individual options we selected, as well, and one of them, the heated windshield, is one that you should definitely think twice about before choosing. The reason being that, in this editor's opinion, it's thoroughly irritating. I actually didn't even know our F-Pace had it the first time I signed it out for an evening. At the end of the day, I grabbed the key, walked down to the parking lot and drove it away without a second thought. A couple miles down Woodward Avenue, though, I noticed that my view out wasn't quite as clear as I expected. I figured the windshield was dusty or something, so on went the windshield washer for a few moments. After everything dried off, I had the same issue. I pulled the washer lever again and still nothing. I leaned forward and squinted my eyes, and that's when I spotted the minuscule heater wires across the entire pane of glass. And once I saw the wires, it was almost impossible to unsee them. My unobstructed view out the car suddenly turned into a CRT screen full of scan lines. They never kept me from safely driving the F-Pace (after all, they are extremely small), but I could never completely forget they were there. It's incredibly frustrating and it gets worse at night as the wires combine with oncoming headlights. I'm not the only one who dislikes them either, as Senior Editor John Snyder and Contributing Editor James Riswick voiced their displeasure with the feature. Not everyone in the office feels this way about the heated windshield, though. Associate Editor Reese Counts said that they don't bother him one bit. And in cold weather climates like Michigan, it should be handy for clearing snow, ice and condensation from the windshield. With these differing opinions, then, this is an option that you'll definitely want to experience for yourself before actually choosing it. You might find it unobtrusive or you might find it insufferable. As for me, I don't think I could deal with having those wires in my face all year 'round. I would rather spend 10 percent of the year when we have accumulating snow and ice scraping it off manually so that the other 90 percent of the year I have a crystal clear view of the road.

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining