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

McLaren P13 set to arrive in 2014

The next new car from McLaren – codenamed P13 and set to take on the Porsche 911 and Audi R8 – now looks set to arrive in 2014. McLaren’s plans for a new range of road cars have been in play for a number of years, and we initially expected the 12C to arrive first to take on the Ferrari 458, which it did, followed by a cheaper McLaren set to take on cars like the Porsche 911 and Audi R8. We got the McLaren MP4-12C (which McLaren now like us to call the 12C) followed by the 12C Spider – just as we first thought - but it seems McLaren was under pressure from its new dealer network to get the replacement for the legendary F1 out next, so McLaren switched tack and delivered the new McLaren P1.

Mercedes introduces C-Class Estate

Mercedes-Benz introduced a wagon variant of its new C-Class today at its factory in Bremen in northwestern Germany. The C-Class Estate is not only an affirmation of the popularity of the Benz wagon, a popularity that transcends decades as well as engine swaps, but also a commitment to Bremen -- a facility that already builds the C-Class, along with the E-Class, SL, SLK and GLK. The C-Class Estate makes extensive use of aluminum construction -- up to 50 percent of its body is made of the stuff.

Toyota ends powertrain deal with Tesla

To the surprise of no one, Toyota has announced the end of a partnership with Tesla that gave rise to the slow-selling RAV4 EV, which will be replaced by a fuel cell car next year. Toyota has said that it can't meet California's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate profitably with electric cars, but it thinks it can make money, or at least not lose so much of it, with fuel cells. Toyota signed a $100 million joint development deal in 2011 with Tesla, to build powertrains for its RAV4 EV.