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

Brighton Speed Trials under threat

Nearly 8,000 people have signed a petition to see the Brighton Speed Trials return in 2014. The event, which dates back to 1905, was cancelled last year while an inquest determined the cause of a fatal motorbike crash that occurred in 2012. Now organisers are urging the local council to give them permission to return to the Speed Trials to Brighton’s Madeira Drive this summer.

Concept Car of the Week: Abarth 2000 (1969)

In 1969, a few years before it was sold to Fiat, Abarth and Pininfarina worked together to develop an attractive sports car prototype. Simply called Abarth 2000 after the displacement of its engine, this red beauty features a sleek wedge silhouette with a roof only 970mm from the ground. The bonnet connects with the pillarless wraparound windscreen for 180-degree vision.

Concept Car of the Week: Pontiac Banshee (1964)

In 1964, the Pontiac Motor Division was headed John DeLorean, who would go on to become one of the automotive industry's most divisive figures. He believed that Pontiac needed a compact, exciting car to compete with the newly launched Mustang and approved funding for the experimental Pontiac two-seat sports-car program, codenamed XP-833. Inspired by another GM show car, the rear-engined Corvair Monza GT from 1963, the lines of the XP-833 were a perfect example of the Coke-bottle bodystyle: long hood, short deck and sweeping fender curves.