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

Nissan creates a self-cleaning Note – and this one’s for real. (video)

The Nissan Note that cleans itself The Sunday chore of cleaning the car is beloved (and loathed, in equal measure) by those who’d rather do it themselves than pay a man with a bucket, a sponge and a chamois  to oblige. But regular car washing – for anyone – could be a thing of the past thanks to a new nano-paint technology. The newly developed super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint manages to repel water and oil, which means stuff like everyday dirt, mud and rain don’t have the chance to cling to the car’s paintwork.

Volvo S60 DRIVe & V60 DRIVe launch

The Volvo V60 DRIVe This week we’re out playing with a Volvo DRIVe model, although our car is the S40 DRIVe. DRIVe models are Volvo’s push at all things green (or all things blue if you’re German) and take a regular Volvo and eco the bejesus out of it with stuff like stop-start, low rolling resistance tyres and the plethora of eco-toys car makers use to make the headline economy and emissions unbelievable. The result is a Volvo that drives pretty much the same as any Volvo but which can – as long as you play the eco-driving game – run almost on fresh air, and because cars like this are designed to hit emissions targets on official cycles, they’re also good on stuff like VED and BIK. And if the S40 DRIVe we’ve got this week is anything to go by, you can still drive with enthusiasm and enjoy it as long as you don’t mind the economy suffering.

McLaren 12C Can-Am goes in to production

The track only McLaren 12C – the 12C Can-Am – was revealed as a one-off at Pebble Beach but is now going in to limited production. The 12C Can-Am is aimed at the lucrative track day market in the States, and without the constraints of any production series McLaren has been able to play as they wish. That means the 12C Can-Am – developed by the McLaren GT Team which developed the 12C GT3 Race car – gets a new aerodynamic package that improves downforce by 30 per cent, including a carbon fibre splitter with winglets, a carbon fibre diffuser and huge rear spoiler.