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

1970 DeTomaso Mangusta: Bring a Trailer special

The name means “mongoose” in Italian, and even if this American half-breed never killed a Cobra on the track, in the looks department it’s still lethal. DeTomaso built 401 Mangusta sports cars from 1967 to 1971 before it was axed in favor of the ubiquitous Pantera--a styling step backward in the eyes of your humble author. The Mangusta formula was the same as that for Pantera: a Ford V8 engine (albeit a 302 rather than a 351C) midships in a sleek Italian body.

Sky takes Mazda powertrains to the next level

Mazda's next-generation of powertrains, called Sky, will feature a variety of new technologies that company engineers say improve fuel efficiency by 20 percent. The Sky engines--Sky-G for the gasoline version, Sky-D for diesel--coupled with a Sky-Drive automatic transmission or a six-speed manual, were offered for test drives during a technology day in Berlin. The Sky-G engine we drove was a 2.0-liter inline-four that made 160 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque.

New Ford Focus ST (2011) at Paris

The 250bhp 2011 Focus ST Ford did threaten that a performance version of the 2011 Ford Focus would be a world car. We all jumped to the conclusion that would be an all new 2012 Focus RS – and it still probably will be – but if Ford need a get out of jail free card on the performance promise the 2011 Focus ST could be it. It appears that Ford are taking the first performance version of the new Focus to the Paris Motor Show in October.