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

Mini Countryman (2010): first official pictures

This is the Mini Countryman, the fourth addition to Mini’s range – after the regular three-door hatch, the Convertible and the Clubman – and also the first current-generation Mini to have four-wheel drive and four regular passenger doors. No, Mini says the Countryman is a crossover, and the four-wheel drive system – called Mini All4 – is an option. Think of the Countryman as a slightly bigger and more practical Clubman with a longer wheelbase than other Minis, four proper doors and a conventional lift-up rear hatch, but to make sure it looks a bit more butch Mini has given the Countryman a bigger, bluffer nose than its siblings.

BAC Mono moves to Liverpool

The BAC Mono with brothers Brigg & Mayor of Liverpool (pictured) The BAC Mono is in the public eye this week after its impressive performance on Top Gear, but even without the publicity from Top Gear the brothers Brigg were already doing very well with the Mono. So well, they’ve been looking for new premises to continue their growth and have settled on a move from Cheshire to Liverpool (just up the road) and a new facility on the Speke Hall Industrial Estate in South Liverpool is set to become the new home of the Mono. BAC’s new home in Speke will be up and running by the autumn, will create an additional 60 jobs in the local economy – and more in the supply chain – and is expected to turn out more than 100 Monos a year by 2015.

Meet the Porsche Macan small SUV

The small Porsche SUV that goes on sale about 18 months will wear the Macan nameplate, the German automaker said on Thursday. Until now, the SUV project had been known by the code name Cajun, created from the concept of “Cayenne Junior.” Porsche says Macan is “derived from the Indonesian word for tiger and combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics.” The Porsche Macan will share a platform with the Audi Q5 and will be built at the Porsche plant in Leipzig, Germany, that now builds the Cayenne. Porsche is spending $650 million to expand the Leipzig plant, adding a body shop and a paint shop.