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

Lewis Hamilton takes pole at British Grand Prix – Mercedes front row

Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg (pictured) celebrate their front row at the British Grand Prix Mercedes may have turned in some stunning qualifying laps this year (although their race performance hasn’t really matched up) but Hamilton’s pole at the 2013 British Grand Prix was a stunner – almost half a second (0.452s) ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg. The pole for Hamilton – his first since the Chinese Grand Prix – was a corker (as was Rosberg’s, to be fair) and left the Red Bulls relegated to the second row with Vettel in third and the newly ‘retired’ Mark Webber in fourth. But whether the stunning lap by Hamilton presages an impossible task for Red Bull tomorrow, we’ll have to wait and see.

Aston Martin & Mercedes join forces

Aston Martin Production will soon see an injection of Mercedes DNA This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about a partnership between Aston Martin and Mercedes, but according to Car & Driver it’s now just about a done deal. As long ago as March 2009 we reported that Mercedes supplied the basis for the Lagonda SUV Concept (a Mercedes GL), and six months later we reported that Aston Martin were working on a Mercedes S-Class based Lagonda saloon. More recently we reported that the GL-based Lagonda SUV was back on and that Mercedes wanted Aston Martin to put together the next generation of Maybach.

Volvo Concept XC Coupé shows how new design language translates to SUVs

Volvo's Concept CX Coupé has been revealed in a set of images ahead of its debut at January's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The crossover SUV is the second of three concepts to be developed with Volvo's new design language under vice president of design Thomas Ingenlath, following the launch of the Volvo Concept Coupé in Frankfurt earlier this year. It's understood the new XC90 is coming next year and so this concept is certain to feature some of the elements we can expect to see on the production model.