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

Driven: Volkswagen Golf Mk7

Walking up to the seventh-generation VW Golf, redesigned flip key in hand, you're in no doubt that this is a) new or – perhaps more importantly – b) a Golf. It's the "200 meter test" lead exterior designer, Andreas Mindt tells us and, while we're suspicious of the idea of self-conscious ‘iconic design', you have to concede he's right. In fact the Mk7 Golf's pared-back graphics and a return to a true two-box proportion create a more accurate vision of what we imagine when we think ‘Volkswagen Golf' than either of its two most recent predecessors.

Opel takes Adam racing (2012) first official pictures

Vauxhall/Opel has built its new Adam city car around the idea of chic street-cred, but it's now given the Mini Cooper rival a healthy dose of motorsport pedigree as well. An international rally series is being readied for the Adam, where competitors will use a race-prepped version of the city car. A well-specced Adam...with a difference The regular Adam is pitched as a blank canvas for buyers to individualise, with 22 different alloy wheel options, 12 dashboard colour choices, and the option of a Rolls-Royce style fairy-lit roof lining.

McLaren P1 driven by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson (video)

McLaren P1 driven by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson (pictured) It’s only a few days since McLaren revealed the first customer P1s are now rolling out of McLaren’s clinical production facility in Woking, and it looks like Jeremy Clarkson has bagged one to play with. The video (below) shows Clarkson behind the wheel of the new P1 which, judging by the number plate, is probably one of the first customer cars on the road. The opinionated one is preceded in the video by a pair of Range Rovers – one new, one old – at least one of which is a camera car, so this drive of the Mclaren P1 is obviously heading for a TV screen soon – hopefully on Top Gear.