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

Ferrari F450 – due at Frankfurt in September ’09

Rendering of the Ferrari F450 - due to show at Frankfurt in September and go on sale in 2010 But the new Ferrari F450 is getting closer, and spy shots of the F450 have enabled Auto Express to come up with a rendering that is, we reckon, near as dammit to the finished article due to be shown at Frankfurt in September. Sporting a pair of big side vents that have been enlarged to help the engine breathe and the brakes cool, the F450 is different enough to the F430 to set it apart as a new car – not just an evolution. The F450 is going to have to go upmarket to compete with the likes of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, and in an effort to compete Ferrari has upped the capacity of the F430, increased the rev limit and produced an engine that, in the F450, should deliver something around 500bhp.

Salon Privé 2011: Night Shift

Salon Prive does a Night Shift for the Pommery Picnic It may be a bit of an exagerration to say that Salon Privé – one of our favourite ‘Car’ outings – is going to include a night shift in 2011 – but almost. Salon Prive’s move from the Hurlingham in Chelsea out to the less central – but more hospitable – Duke of Northumberland’s gaff at Syon Park means there’s room to expand the event, so we’re getting treated to the ‘Pommery Picnic’ on the Friday evening – 7pm ’til 11pm. As we never fail to mention when we bang on about Salon Prive, it’s just like a Garden Party in a wealthy friend’s house where he just happens to have littered the grounds with the world’s greatest cars.

Saab on the road to independence

You’ve got to feel for Scandinavian car makers Saab and Volvo. Both swallowed up by big US car makers, and both now being abandoned in a vulnerable position after years of integrating their once independent products in to their parents infrastructure, they must wake up every day wondering if this is the day it all goes bang. Ford is simply trying (increasingly desperately) to off-load Volvo, but GM, which is in a much more precarious position than Ford, has now abandoned its Swedish child in a desperate attempt to appease Congress and survive.