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

Mini Crossover at the Paris motor show 2008

By Ben Barry Motor Shows 02 October 2008 15:46 We’ve already seen it in the November 2008 issue of CAR, but Paris marked the motor show debut of the Mini Crossover Concept – a pumped-up four-wheel drive Mini that goes on sale in 2009. As journalists crammed together in what looked like a trendy nightclub, a video of two Chemical Brother-style hipsters driving the Crossover through a warehouse played behind the covered over concept before – ta-da! – some heavily tattooed type swung down from the rafters to remove the covers and reveal the actual pair inside the actual car.

New Year drink-drive warning for revellers

SOME revellers will drink so much to see in the New Year that they might be over the legal driving limit for nearly all of January 1, the AA has warned. As many as 21% of people plan to drink at least 10 units of alcohol at New Year's Eve celebrations, potentially putting them still over the limit by 12 noon on New Year's Day. And the AA/Populus survey of more than 21,000 drivers also revealed that 2% would drink to such an extent that they risked being over the limit as late as 10pm on New Year's Day.

Mini Works unveiled

By Ben Barry Motor Shows 08 March 2007 01:29 Three new Minis shown at Geneva BMW unveiled several world-firsts at Geneva 2007: a Works kit for the new Mini, the entry-level One, and the new Mini Cooper D. The new Works option is an aftermarket job for the new Mini; it increases power of the Cooper S to 192bhp and adds numerous styling tweaks. A more powerful Works version, which will be built on the production line and boast more than 210bhp, will be added later, officials promised.