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

Video: Fiat creates café racer 500 for SEMA

Fiat is preparing a café racer-style 500 for this week's SEMA show by stripping down an Abarth version to take it "down to the essence of what you need to drive a car." The café racer philosophy of ‘more speed, less comfort' was born around the 1960s British 'biker scene and while initially focussed on increasing performance, quickly developed into a culture as concered with 'the show' as 'the go'. "It takes something like this to really get noticed at SEMA," says Craig Buoncompago, Project Manager at Fiat Product Design. "The Café Racer is really going to be one special car that you guys should really come and see." The 500's roof has been chopped, while also shorn of its door handles and being fitted with hot rod billet rims.

Detroit Auto Show 2004 Trends and Overview

Where last year's Detroit Auto Show was all about horsepower and luxury, this year's show was more muted, with few truly outstanding cars making shockwaves. The main contender, the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve, didn't create anything like the reaction of the Cadillac Sixteen last year and seemed a bit late to the party, with its massive power and excessive styling. And after all the hype, shouldn't it have been a Dodge, the power brand of DaimlerChrysler, rather than just a Chrysler?For the past couple of years the show has been dominated by truck and SUV launches, so it was good to see the focus shifting back towards cars once again.

Jaguar Crossover Planned

Jaguar SUV Crossover (render by Carparazzi) Jaguar are makers of sports cars and sports saloons. They’ve built a reputation (alright, let’s be pedantic. They built a reputation, lost it and have now regained it) for cars that delight the eye and the senses.