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

Innovative ways to finance a Supercar

Ferrari 458 Spider – buy now, pay later. Those of us who can’t actually afford a Ferrari or Lamborghini, or any of the £200k (and more) supercars that stir our souls, tend to think buyers of such cars just flash the Amex Black and it’s job done. But that’s a long way from the truth.

Ford’s 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine now going in to 1 in 5 new Fords

Half the Ford B-Max (pictured) sold get the 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine Who’d have thought, just a few years ago, that a 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder engine would become one of the most popular engines in a new car in Europe? But that’s exactly what’s happened with the increasingly impressive 1.0 litre EcoBoost from Ford which, as its power output has increased, has become a more and more popular engine of choice. The little Ford EcoBoost even seems to have persuaded buyers that they should forsake dirty diesel engines for it, and Ford has fitted 120,000 in the first six months of 2014 with almost half B-Max models, a third of Focus and 30 per cent of Fiestas getting the little wonder.

Pace cadets: At AMG academy, students take their finals with their right feet

Mercedes-Benz USA launched the AMG Challenge in 2002, a program touted as "a chance to experience the thrill of driving the newest Mercedes AMGs on some of America's best racetracks." This year, MBUSA abandoned the Challenge in favor of the AMG Driving Academy, a multistage driver-development program pioneered by AMG in Europe. The difference? According to Greg Clark, AMG manager, "the Challenge was more about the cars, while the Academy is more about the driver." Having participated in both the Challenge and now the Academy, we'd say that difference is subtle, at least as it applies to the one-day program.