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

Hennessey-tuned Ford GT does a 235.1-mph Texas two-step

A few times a year, some of the fastest and most powerful cars meet in Texas for an adrenaline-filled weekend of top-speed runs called the Texas Mile. The high-performance machines have one mile of arrow-straight runway to get the highest top speed at the one-mile marker. It was the right mix of conditions for Mark Heidaker and Sean Kennedy, who drove their twin-turbocharged Ford GT to a top speed of 235.1 mph down the runway into a decent headwind of 20 mph.

Saab 9-3X to debut

Good to see Saab pushing ahead, despite the grief they have with parent GM. We brought you information on the 9-4X a couple of days ago, and now Saab has released details of their 9-3X crossover, that will début in Geneva next month. Saabs are very individual, and have a strong, although small, following.

Jaguar hybrid cars due in 2013-14

Jaguar will launch its own hybrid vehicles soon after Land Rover, CAR can confirm. Parent company Jaguar Land Rover is developing battery-assisted hybrid versions for both brands but its strategy puts part-electric Land Rovers first on the launchpad in 2013.Hybrid Jaguars – set to include the XJ and XF, but eventually every model – are therefore likely to be on the market by 2013-2014, using a similar eight-speed ZF hybrid transmission to petrol-electric BMWs.The staggered roll-out of battery Jags and Land Rovers makes sense: heavy 4x4s have come in the firing line from green protestors who label them Chelsea Tractors. Hybrid Land Rovers will trim emissions and – in plug-in hybrid mode – enable even big bulky Range Rovers to drive in zero-emissions mode into central urban areas emitting nothing more unsaintly than an electric whir.So which Jaguars will go hybrid first?It's likely that the largest models such as the XJ will receive the hybrid power packs first; large cars reap the greater benefit and can more easily swallow the additional cost, put at around £10,000 in today's money.JLR's Midlands engineering bases in Whitley and Gaydon now employ 100 engineers in the expanding hybrid powertrain business unit launched 18 months ago.