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

Mercedes AMG has best year ever

With car sales plummeting in 2008 (and likely to be worse in 2009) there aren’t many bright spots around. But performance saloons are certainly one of them. As we reported back in December, BMW’s M Division had a cracking year, with sales of nearly 27,000 for the year.

Bentley Continental GT V8 S & ‘Old Number 1′ at 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Bentley Continental GT V8 S (pictured) will make its Goodwood debut in June It’s only three months before the world’s greatest petrolhead gathering takes place in Sussex, and the offerings for the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed are now starting to come in to focus. As you’d expect, Bentley are as keen as ever to make a good showing at Goodwood and are taking along plenty of new stuff to keep Goodwood visitors happy, with the new Bentley Continental GT V8 S making its Goodwood debut, as is the Flying Spur V8. The more powerful GT V8 S turns the power up on the regular GT V8 to 521bhp, enough to make its 0-62mph the match of the W12 GT but with a more focused driver appeal thanks to better throttle response and a tweaked chassis, as well as a few go-faster bits like a diffuser at the back and a butch set of side sills.

Honda Jazz Hybrid / Honda Fit Hybrid revealed

The Honda Jazz Hybrid will debut at the Paris Motor Show Despite not really believing that Hybrid cars are anything other than a stop-gap (if they’re any use at all in small cars) Honda is pushing forward with its hybrid range by dropping the hybrid bits from the Insight in to the Jazz to make the Honda Jazz Hybrid (in the Americas, China and Japan read that as Honda Fit Hybrid). The Honda Jazz Hybrid – which will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show in just over a month – will be the first B-Segment hybrid to hit the market (supermini in English), and its smaller size may help the Insight’s hybrid bits be a bit more fun. But don’t hold your breath.