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

Audi: Electric Turbo, e-Gas & Intelligent Hybrids

Audi are developing new technologies to make cars more efficient including synthetic fuel, electric turbos and intelligent hybrids. Necessity is the mother of invention, and increasingly stringent CO2 emissions targets imposed by governments are making car makers ever more resourceful in their quest to cut emissions. The fact that CO2 emissions are not the bad guy – that’s NOx and particulate emissions – means the environmental benefits are not a panacea for a better climate, but benefits from new technology are nonetheless real.

Aston Martin wants the Le Mans title

Aston Martin will challenge for the overall Le Mans Champion in 2009 Aston Martin won the overall title in 1959 – 50 years ago with the DBR1 driven by Caroll Shelby – and are aiming to bring the title back to the UK with the new car, which is based on the 2008 Charouz Racing System Lola, and powered by the same V12 engine seen in the title winning DBR9s of the last two years. The car will carry the famous Gulf Oil colours, and is being funded in partnership with Lola, Michelin, Koni and BBS. And this is a good time to pick to challenge for the title.

New Skoda Octavia Scout price and spec – costs from £25,315

New Skoda Octavia Scout costs from £25,315 The new Skoda Octavia Scout arrived at the Geneva Motor Show in the Spring, bringing an ‘Allroad’ version of the latest Skoda Octavia Combi (Estate) to the market. As with all estate cars with offroad pretensions, the Octavia Scout comes with a more butch set of bumpers and a more purposeful nose, black cladding for the door sills and wheel arches, a new set of alloys, a raised ride height and a few tweaks for the interior so it all looks more than capable of taking on a muddy boot sale car park. The Scout comes with a choice of two 2.0 litre TDI engines at launch, with a lower powered, 148bhp with a six-speed manual and a more powerful, 182bhp version, getting a six-speed DSG gearbox, both of which return official economy of 55.4mpg (although, oddly, the lower-powered gets emissions of 129g/km and the more powerful 134g/km).