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

Lotus announces partnership with Mansory

Group Lotus has announced its new collaboration with Mansory, which will become its official customization studio. The German tuner will be contributing bodywork, trim and special finishes for the Elise, Exige and Evora in yet another controversial strategic decision for the UK company. Lotus confirmed the first fruits of this new partnership will be the unveiling a new model variant at September's Paris motor show, two years after the highly ambitious announcement of five new models of which the first is yet to become reality.

Tomorrow's world: lightweight carbon composites

Once all the dust settles on The Great Battery Farce (the idea that the world's ills will be taken care of by sticking a battery in everything that moves and charging it up) we may eventually face up to the fact that the best way to move something around more economically, is to move less of it. That means making things lighter, a lot lighter. Car makers are working on it and manufacturers like Audi and Jaguar have already become masters in bringing aluminium to the mass production.

Jason Castriota to head Saab Design

When Car Design News spoke to Jason Castriota about the new design consultancy he had set up in New York and Turin back in March, the designer told us he was working on a very exciting automotive project that he couldn't talk about at the time. It turns out that automotive project was for Saab, as last week the Swedish automaker announced it had hired Jason Castriota Design to oversee the development of a new generation of Saab products – the first to be completed under the tenure of its new owners, Spyker. Castriota's new appointment marks the shift from Saab's former position – where the brand was an integrated company within GM – to its newfound placement as an independent automaker, with Castriota essentially filling the role previously occupied by Mark Adams, GM Europe's Vice President of Design.