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

Who's Where: Christopher Weil becomes head of Mini exterior design, Marcus Syring head of Rolls-Royce exteriors

An internal reshuffle in Munich has seen Christopher Weil appointed head of exterior design for Mini, replacing Marcus Syring who takes up a similar position at Rolls-Royce. The changes see Weil return to Munich after just over a year as director of automotive design at BMW DesignworksUSA in LA. His portfolio includes the BMW 328 Hommage, F30 3 Series, 5 Series GT, current 7 Series and 4 Series.

VW Polo R-Line Style & more equipment across Polo range

Volkswagen has introduced the VW Polo R-Line Style – price from £11,740 – in the UK and added more equipment across the Polo range for 2013. We though that VW had done the R-Line thing with the launch of the Polo R-Line this time last year, but it seems the bean counters at Volkswagen have worked out there’s room for a Polo R-Line ‘Light’ in the range, so we now get the VW Polo R-Line Style. That’s because VW decided that, unlike most of the VW range where the R-Line is an add-on pack for any model, the Polo R-Line only comes with the 1.2 litre 105PS engine – albeit in 3-door or 5-door guise – so you can’t have a more butch-looking R-Line with ‘lesser’ Polos.

Brabus kit improves diesel Mercedes power

German tuner Brabus does most of its work with big-displacement, big-power engines, mostly for Mercedes-Benz (though Smart products get the Brabus treatment from time to time as well). On Monday, it proved that it can do the same with the company’s oil burners. It’ll also sell you a Mercedes diesel with Brabus upgrades already installed.