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

World's smallest car enters the record books

Texas is the US state that's big on… well, being big. So it's slightly surprising that a Texan has just entered the Guinness World Records book for creating the world's smallest roadworthy car. Is this his answer to our increasingly congested city streets?

Ford Cortina: 50 years ago today…

Ford are celebrating 50 years since the first Ford Cortina was launched and changed the car landscape forever. The Ford Cortina went on to sell an impressive 4.3 million during its twenty year life, eventually turning in to the Ford Sierra and then in to the Ford family car of today – the 2013 Ford Mondeo (which, interestingly, can be had with the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine – smaller even than the 1200cc of that first Cortina). That first Cortina was the start of Ford’s dominance of the UK car market, leading to an unbroken run of 35 years as the best selling car brand with most of the Cortinas, almost 3 million of them, built at Dagenham – in the days Ford actually built cars here.

Mercedes S-Class Coupe: Frankfurt 2013

The Mercedes S-Class Coupe (pictured) arrives in concept guise at Frankfurt The Mercedes CL was never really the big seller you might expect a coupe version of probably the best saloon car in the world – the Mercedes S Class – to be, But that could change with the new Mercedes S-Class Coupe, revealed today at the Frankfurt Motor Show as a concept. The Concept S-Class Coupe – which looks pretty much production-ready – comes complete with a new look, a look that reflects Mercedes’ recent design changes with a clear feel of a grown-up CLA in its lines. The long bonnet, raised line running from the front wings to the back wheelarch, no B-pillar, and a nose that takes the good-looking front of the CLA as its cue – but takes it a step further – makes the S-Class Coupe look like a proper Mercedes in its own right and not just a two-door version of the S-Class.