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

Next-gen Passat to offer hybrid and twin-turbo power

VOLKSWAGEN is going even more upmarket with the all-new version of the Passat, which is due to hit showrooms later this year. Soon buyers will be able to include a plug-in hybrid and an all-new 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel among their forecourt options, as VW goes chasing after its sister company Audi. Weight-saving measures have chopped up to 85kg from the new kid on a like-for-like basis, which helps achieve VW's stated efficiency boosts of 20% versus equivalent outgoing Passats.

Bentley future design competition held at Hongik University, South Korea

Bentley has held its first design competition in collaboration with a university outside the UK. Director of design, Luc Donckerwolke, and head of exterior and advanced design, Sangyup Lee, tasked students at Hongik University in Seoul with designing a Bentley that would be released in 2040. In addition to looking to the future, students were asked to take the Bentley 'Blue Train' as inspiration: the car driven by three-time Le Mans-winner, Woolf Barnato, who, in March 1930, bet £100 that he could drive his Bentley from Cannes in the south of France to The Conservative Club in London in the time it took the luxurious Blue Train to travel from Cannes to Calais on the English Channel.

Tesla Model S EV UK launch – Tesla considering patent giveaway

Elon Musk (pictured) launches RHD Model S in UK The electric Tesla Model S – probably the only electric car that makes sense – has finally been launched in the UK in right hand drive, with the first five Model S customers taking delivery of their cars. With a starting price of £50,280 (after the £5k taxpayer bribe) the Model S represents a real first for EVs; the first EV that can do pretty much anything an ICE car can, and more beside. With a range of up to 312 miles, seating for up to seven (well, 5+2), low running costs, great performance (0-60mph in 4.2 seconds) low service costs, no VED, no congestion charge and, at least until 2015, no BIK for business users, it’s not only almost as practical as a comparable ICE car it’s massively cheaper to run.