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

Aston Martin Vanquish Volante (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

New models are coming thick and fast in Aston Martin's centenary year: here’s the drop-top Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. The soft-top flagship is the first convertible Aston with a carbon body, making the stiffest and most powerful drop-top it has ever built. Its 565bhp drivetrain has been taken straight from the Aston Martin Vanquish coupe – the most powerful Aston to date – but the Volante adds 105kg and an extra £6000 for a starting price of £199,995.

First of five free Suzuki S-Crosses collected

SUZUKI has come over all charitable with the news that it has given away the first of its free S-Cross models that are up for grabs. Entrants to the competition had to nominate someone they knew to receive a free S-Cross car – and well-equipped models, too – with a brief explanation of why the nominee deserved it. The first to pick up their free new 14-plate crossover were a ‘very surprised’ Phillip Southward and wife Sue, who collected their SZ4-spec S-Cross at Suzuki’s RRG dealership in Stockport.

Michelin Challenge Design 2007: The not so ugly truth about rising vehicle safety standards

Can cars be safe and beautiful at the same time? That may not have been the case a few decades ago when automakers were forced to hang those big, ugly so-called federal bumpers off the ends of their vehicles.  With vehicle safety standards on the rise around the globe are designers today feeling a little '70s deja vu when it comes to meeting the challenges of making cars safe as well as more fuel efficient? "(Back then) we said it was the end of automotive styling," says Patrick Le Quement, senior vice president for corporate design at Renault and one of the world's most influential automotive designers.