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

Car makers to be forced to disclaim ‘Official’ economy figures

We’ve banged on for a long time about the futility of official economy figures, especially as car makers get better and better at ‘gaming’ the official economy tests to produce the results they want. Much of the impetus to create the best headline economy figure for a car is driven by taxation, with car makers well aware that the better the official economy results are, the lower their CO2 will be (CO2 isn’t tested for – it’s just extrapolated from the official mpg) and the more appealing the car will be to buyers, particularly fleet buyers. But a ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) against Audi could at least see car makers having to admit in their adverts that the ‘official’ economy figure bears no relation to what owners can expect to achieve in the real world.

Aston Martin teases new car – could this be the ‘Final Edition’ V12 Vantage? (video)

This tease image from the Aston Martin video appears to show a V12 Vantage outline We reported recently that Aston Martin had told its dealers to stop taking orders for the V12 Vantage Coupe, which we took to mean the Vantage is coming to the end of its shelf life, at least in its current iteration. But a tease video Aston Martin has released for a new car perhaps – ‘Coming Soon’ – points to a final edition version of the V12 Vantage Coupe before it gets put out to grass. The video (below) does show what appears to be a V12 Vantage; it’s the right shape, it has bonnet vents, bits of carbon fibre and an exhaust that sounds about right.

Russia's Dartz Prombron creates a 2,000-hp armored yacht hauler

Looking to make a statement at the yacht club? This will do it. Russian armored-vehicle manufacturer Dartz Prombron has teamed up with Eduard Gray of Swedish luxury-vehicle design firm Gray Design to create the 2012 Sportback, which is made to haul yachts and maybe scare small children.