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

Bedford Autodrome to get Ariel Atoms for 2012

Corporate track-days at the Bedford Autodrome will get lairier in 2012 - Somerset-based Ariel has announced it’ll supply ten cars for the PalmerSport track-day events next year. Stopping short of the unhinged Atom V8, the PalmerSport-spec cars get the normally aspirated 245bhp Civic Type-R engine, and some key changes to set it aside from the Joe-Public Atom. The Palmer-spec car will get a Sadev paddle-shift sequential gearbox, which swaps ratios in 60 milliseconds, whilst some choice chassis mods optimise the Atom for its full-time track-toy brief.

Top international design talent to descend on Czech Republic for AutoDesign Prague 2013

The automotive design industry will head to Prague on 26 September to speak at the AutoDesign Prague 2013 conference at the National Technical Library. Now entering its third year, the one-day conference – organized by AutoDesign and Styling magazine – will be followed by a workshop the next day, which will focus on techniques including sketching and clay and 3D modeling. The speakers and presentation topics haven't been announced yet but last year's conference featured speakers such as Dassault Systèmes' vice president Design Experience Anne Asensio, while the 2011 edition saw presentations by speakers including Fabio Filippini, Pininfarina's vice president design and chief creative officer, and Peter Horbury, then-vice president of design at Volvo.

Facelift Jaguar XK spotted

We’ve seen a few shots of the facelift for the Jaguar XK recently, but this is the first un-disguised car we’ve come across. The obvious at first view are the new vents in the front, but it’s a bit more extensive than that. The whole car has been tweaked to give a more current style, and there are LED lights at the back and indicators in the door mirrors.