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

SEMA 2008 show report: Volkswagen Passat CC

By Ben Whitworth Motor Shows 07 November 2008 09:00 Volkswagen’s sobriety took a back seat at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week – it pulled the covers off a pair of muscle-bound Passat CCs, a racy 295bhp Tiguan and a grunty diesel Jetta aimed at cajoling the American market into turning its back on gasoline. The unambiguously named Performance CC – designed by Volkswagen’s California-based design centre – gets a shot in the arm from a three-stage turbo boost to its 2.0-litre TSI engine. In Eco mode you get a modest 222bhp and 236 lb ft of torque, GT mode hikes those outputs to 252bhp and 268 lbs ft, while the Full Power stage unleashes 311bhp and 313 lb ft.

Porsche Panamera Hybrid: Geneva Reveal

The Porsche Panamera Hybrid (click for bigger image) We’ve got to say, the news that the Porsche Panamera Hybrid (strictly speaking, the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid) is going to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in a couple of weeks time isn’t exactly a shock. After all, Porsche has made no secret of its plans to stick Hybrid gubbins in the Panamera; CO2 targets, and all that guff. But Porsche seems to think it is a surprise (unless they really have a surprise and are planning on revealing another Porsche hybrid altogether much sooner than we expected) as the press release we got in from Porsche has the enigmatic little tease of a headline – ‘Porsche: Hybrid world premiere’.

Mazda MX-5 Kuro Special Editions

Mazda has released yet another special edition MX-5 for the UK market in the guise of the Mazda MX-5 Kuro.  Yes, it’s yet another special edition MX-5, this time the Mazda MX-5 Kuro which comes as either a 1.8 litre soft top or a 2.0 litre Roadster Coupe. It seems the Japanese like the idea of ‘Black’ Special Edition cars as much as we do in the West (Kuro means black in Japanese), with the last ‘Kuro’ special being the Nissan Juke Kuro. But oddly Mazda are offering the MX-5 Kuro not just in black but also in Velocity Red Mica and Crystal White Pearlescent, with the ‘Kuro’ bits referring to the Brilliant Black roof, door mirrors and dark gunmetal 17″ alloys.