Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Mercedes SLA Roadster looks likely

As car manufacturers start to look with fresh eyes at smaller, cheaper cars, reports from Germany confirm that Mercedes is close to committing to the SLA, a small Roadster to be based on the next generation A-Class platform. The original SLA concept was shown at Detroit in 2000, and aimed to slot in beneath the SLK. But at that time Mercedes didn’t have a suitable platform on which to base the car, and the project was shelved.

Volvo's research proves car design invokes basic human emotions

Car design and human emotion are inexorably linked, according to new research from Volvo. The experiment, conducted in collaboration with Electroencephalographic (EEG) specialists Myndplay, tested respondents to analyse how the brain reacts emotionally to car design amongst other things. Participants were asked to rate a series of images whilst wearing an EEG headset that measured brainwave activity.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the Nurburgring – Video

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Nurburgring video below In February we reported that Porsche has developed the unthinkable – a hybrid 911. But this wasn’t a hybrid 911 with a bank of batteries and a fluffy-bunny conscience, but a rampant track 911 with a great big electro-magnetic flywheel and a KERS-like thump of an extra 160bhp – the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. The 911 GT3 R uses technology developed by Williams F1 and comprises of a pair of generators in the front wheels that shove energy to a composite flywheel (conveniently located next to the driver – not sure how well that would go down on a road0going version) which is the stored and can be thrown at the back wheels whenever the driver wants, in a way very similar to KERS.