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

Skoda Octavia vRS breaks 200 mph at Bonneville

Skoda Octavia vRS breaks 200mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats You can tell just how far Skoda has come from its days as makers of mobile skips when they can justify going out to play at the Bonneville Salt Flats with a Skoda Octavia vRS, just for the glow the outing will cast on its range. But they haven’t just gone to play, they’ve also achieved the quite remarkable feat of taking a modestly modified Octavia vRS to 202.15mph, which is going to do no harm whatsoever in drawing attention to the very appealing vRS cars in the Skoda range. To drag an extra 50mph plus out of Octavia vRS did necessitate a tweak or three, but nothing overly dramatic.

Smart Forvision Concept points at new Fortwo

Smart Forvision Concept - a pointer to the 3rd generation Fortwo Just as they do with Maybach, Mercedes persist with Smart. Despite the fact that both outings must cost an arm and a leg to keep going with, as far as we know, no profits ever. And that perseverance seems unlikely to end any time soon – at least for Smart – with the reveal of the Smart Forvison Concept, which is heading for Frankfurt.

Ferrari ramps up engine-making -- for Maserati

Ferrari is adding 250 workers and expanding its engine-building capacity, even as it says it will cut car production this year at its landmark factory in Maranello, Italy. Why the cause for growth? Ferrari is ramping up its in-house engine operation and will produce more V6 engines, which sister company Maserati will use in the redesigned Quattroporte sedan and the smaller E-segment entry, the Ghibli.