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

2014 MINi Countryman gets a facelift to bring it closer to the new MINI Hatch

The 2014 MINI Countryman (pictured) gets a facelift The MINI that’s far from mini – the MINI Countryman – is getting a bit of a refresh for 2014 with a minor facelift to take it through to an all-new MINi Countryman in 2016. So no, the 2014 Countryman isn’t the big version of the new MINI Hatch, it’s a refreshed version of the current Countryman with some minor tweaks to keep it current. It’s the usual facelift fodder for the Countryman with a new nose incorporating a new grill with big lower scoop, red ‘S’ badges for the quicker models, LED fog lights, new alloys and underbody guards for the All4 4WD versions.

2014 Audi R8 to drop manual gearbox

2014 Audi R8 to lose manual gearbox It’s reported that the new Audi R8 – due in 2104 after a facelift in 2012 – will lose the manual gearbox option. It’s at least two years before the next generation Audi R8 arrives in 2014, but if reports from CAR are right then Audi’s next sporting flagship will do without a manual gearbox altogether. With all that’s on offer in the current R8 apart from the manual ‘box being the rather poor R-Tronic ‘box, that may seem like a recipe for sales disaster for the R8.

VW & Porsche could become Auto Union

It looks like Porsche and VW may come together under the Auto Union banner. Of course, all these shenanigans have come about because of Porsche’s desire to gobble up VW. The plan looked great, and Porsche grabbed a big chunk of VW stock.