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

Audi A3 gets more powerful 2.0 litre TDI & LED lights

The Audi A3 (pictured) gets a new 181bhp TDI and LED headlights It still seems astonishing that car makers can match really quite powerful performance with almost parsimonious fuel consumption, but modern turbo diesels and high pressure fuel injection are delivering seemingly silly combinations of performance and economy. Like the 2.0 litre diesel Audi are now offering in the new A3. The new 2.0 litre diesel, which is now available on the new A3 and Sportback (with the A3 saloon to follow) – gets a very decent 181bhp and 280lb/ft of torque, which is enough to hit 62mph in just 7.3 seconds.

Concept Car of the Week: Pininfarina CNR-PF (1978)

In the 1970s alarm bells were ringing in the energy sector as a series of energy crises and rising fuel prices spiralled. The car industry was forced to produce a new generation of more efficient cars and designers were putting new models through wind tunnels to optimize their aerodynamic performance to reduce aerodynamic drag. Some pushed the limits further than others and none more so than Pininfarina, which designed a car that slipped through the air twice as efficiently than any other.

Porsche finally becomes a VW company

Volkswagen has announced it is to finalise its takeover of Porsche by buying the remaining 50.1 per cent of Porsche stock for €4.46 billion. The takeover of Porsche by VW has been a long and rocky road, but then family fallouts are always messy. It all started with Porsche attempting to consume VW, but some clever manoeuvring by Ferdinand Piech thwarted the efforts of his cousin, Wolfgang Porsche, to swallow up his business and the financial crisis saw Porsche rack up €10 billion in debt in the process.