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

IIHS names safest cars for 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has named the safest cars for 2013, including 13 midsize sedans that qualify for a new “top safety pick+” designation. The designation is given to vehicles that earn “good” ratings for occupant protection in at least four of five tests, with no less than “acceptable” in the fifth test. A new test -- the small overlap test -- was added to assess how the vehicles perform during a front-corner collision with another vehicle or object, such as a utility pole.

Concept Car of the Week: Alfa Romeo BAT 7

This week sees the Concept of the Week title go to Alfa Romeo and Bertone for their collaboration on the Alfa Romeo BAT 7, the second addition to the BAT series that began in 1953 and finished in 1955. First seen at the 1954 Turin motor show, this wildly futuristic ‘dream' car came about after Alfa Romeo contacted Giuseppe "Nuccio" Bertone of the Bertone carrozeria to commission three concepts with the lowest possible drag coefficient. The cars were named BAT for "Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica." Built upon the Alfa Romeo 1900 chassis, the BAT cars featured large rear bumpers and curved fins, and the concepts achieved a drag coefficient of just 0.19 - an impressive result.

Bertone may sell Nuccio supercar concept to Chinese collector

Italian design and engineering firm Bertone is in talks with a Chinese car collector to sell its one-off Nuccio supercar. "We are currently in close negotiations with a Chinese collector who wants to buy the Nuccio," Bertone CEO Marco Filippa told Automotive News Europe at the Beijing motor show. The asking price for the Nuccio, which took an estimated 15,000 hours to design, engineer and build, is about $2.64 million (2 million euros), Filippa said.