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

Build your Mini Cooper Hardtop

We suspect that your initial inclination upon the discovery of a new model's configurator is to throw gobs and gobs of equipment at a car to see just how high the price will go. After all, that's what we tend to do. It's especially satisfying with German automakers — notably Porsche and BMW — who seem to have turned option pricing into something bordering on absurdist theatre.

VW Concept BlueSport at Detroit auto show 2009

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 12 January 2009 05:29 CAR's been tipping it for ages, but today we finally saw the first proof of VW's ambitions to build a Lotus Elise-style back-to-basics roadster. The Concept BlueSport is a mid-engined sports car with the emphasis firmly on the lack of frills – to the benefit of performance, handling and the car's environmental credentials. The BlueSport is compact at just 3999mm long and that mid-mounted engine keeps weight distribution even-Stevens at 45:55.

Kia GT4 Stinger concept gets serious about performance, style

The Detroit auto show reveal of the Kia GT4 Stinger concept confirms what we suspected all along: The the strategic shadows that hid much of the car in preview photos concealed a clean, 2+2 fastback coupe. Though Kia claims there's no plans to put the car production as-shown, it's a tantalizingly plausible glimpse of where the automaker could go. And we like it.