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

MINI Rocketman returns for London 2012

The MINI Rocketman Concept – first seen at Geneva 2012 – has been titivated and rolled out to promote BMW’s London 2012 sponsorship. We all thought, when BMW rolled out the MINI Rocketman Concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011, that this was the future for a second, smaller take on the modern MINI. But BMW seemed to go cold on the idea of building a modern MINI with dimensions much closer to the original Issigonis Mini so we thought the plans had gone out of the window.

Rinspeed XchangE concept previews cabin of self-driving cars

Ever wondered what you'll be doing in your car once cars become driverless? We'd probably just sit in the back seat and read the financial section of the paper (on some kind of transparent tablet computer, of course) to see how our Tesla shares are doing and make small talk about the weather with our imaginary chauffeur named James in a faux British accent, asking him to pass the Grey Poupon from time to time. But unlike us, coachbuilder Rinspeed is actually taking the yet-to-materialize issue seriously, and at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show it will debut its XchangE concept.

Alfa Romeo 4C concept (2011) at 2011 Geneva motor show

Alfa Romeo has unveiled this gorgeous, mid-engined 4C concept car at the 2011 Geneva motor show, previewing a production vehicle due in 2012. Is this Alfa Romeo 4C concept the new Spyder? No, it's not a production version of Pininfarina's 2uettottanta.