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

2014 Volvo S80 grabs IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus+

The second-generation Volvo S80 has been with us since 2008, and just a year before its scheduled replacement with an all-new model it has managed to grab a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The S80 now joins its XC90, XC60, and S60 siblings in receiving this accolade, which was instituted just last year when the IIHS created a new type of crash test called the small overlap test. The small overlap test is designed to recreate a rather typical road accident scenario, one which hadn't been added to the roster of crash tests by most vehicle organizations.

Jaguar: 0-75 years in under 4 minutes

Jaguar are celebrating their 75th Anniversary in 2010 If Jaguar had reached the milestone of 75 years of car making even five years ago, playing the ‘History’ card would have been a dangerous game. The perception then was that Jaguar were living on former glories and their cars were stuck in the past. After all, the XJ looked to many as if it had changed little in almost forty years (although it was very comtemporary under the skin) and the S-Type looked even older.

Subaru WRX STI beats Tony Pond’s Isle of Man lap record

Mark Higgins beats the TT course in to submission Tony Pond was a rally driver in the 1970s and ’80s, and he was rather good. Good enough to give the likes of Jimmy McRae a spanking from time to time and to drive in umpteen works cars, from Ford to Rover via Datsun. But Tony Pond is probably best remembered for piloting a Rover 827 Vitesse round the Isle of Man TT Circuit in 1990 at an average speed of over 100mph, the first time that had been done.