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

Porsche 918 Spyder races toward production

OK, let's put the usual arguments to rest first: The Porsche 918 Spyder is going to be even faster than the Carrera GT in a straight line. That's based on Porsche's own computer simulations in anticipation of the production version of the gasoline-electric-powered 918 Spyder, which is due to roll off a dedicated line within a decommissioned paint shop at Porsche's Zuffenhausen, Germany, headquarters next year. The claimed 0-to-62-mph time is 2.8 seconds; 0-to-124 mph is 8.9 seconds, and top speed should be about 202 mph, thanks in part to series of active aerodynamic functions, including a multistage rear wing.

Kia Soul concepts

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 February 2008 15:46 Kia will show a glimpse of its new Soul soft-roader at the Geneva Motor Show on 4 March 2008, previewed in this teaser shot. The Soul is a departure for Kia in the same mould as the Fiat Sedici/Suzuki SX4 soft-roaders. Naturally, Kia says it ‘doesn’t fit into the usual motor industry brackets’, but we’d say they’re deluding themselves.

Lotus Evora 414E Range Extender EV moves forward

The Lotus Evora 414E – a Lotus Engineering range extender hybrid project – is still moving ahead with dynamic and durability testing now underway. On the surface the Evora 414E looked like every other Evora, but under the skin sat the first version of a Lotus range-extender platform with a pair of electric motors and a small, 3-cylinder range-extender engine promising impressive performance and economy. Despite the reveal of the 414E at Geneva in 2010, there’s not been a huge amount of news on Lotus pushing forward with the project, or at least not until we got the Infiniti Emerg-E Concept at Geneva this year that turned out to be underpinned by the Evora 414E platform.