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

Jaguar XF gets a few tweaks for 2014 MY

The Jaguar XF gets a new engine and tweaks for 2014 In many ways the Jaguar XF is Jaguar’s most complete car, and significant updates since it launched in 2008 have kept it fresh and appealing. But the tweaks Jaguar has wrought for 2014 are relatively minor as the XF gets towards the end of its current cycle, the most significant of which is an upgrade to the 2.2 litre diesel engine. The 2.2 litre ECO2 engine is a replacement for the 161bhp entry-level diesel in the 2013 XF and gets revised cooling and bigger EGR valves which have conspired to improve official economy, and therefore reduce emissions (to 128g/km) handily putting the 2.2 XF in to a lower BIK band (down from 21 to 19 per cent).

Lexus LFA (w/ Gallery)

Lexus presented the LFA at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show last week, the culmination of four years and two show cars. The new front-mid engined supercar is skinned in carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), which, aside from being both lightweight and strong, also enabled greater freedom to create shapes, curves and edges. Seen in the flesh, however, the white bodycolor did the LFA few favors, though this choice may have more to do with slighting Acura - the last NSX, the Type-R, was also white with a red and black interior.

Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” . “We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said.