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

Car Design of the Year Awards 2008

Last year we asked you, our loyal readers, to choose your favorite automobile design from a shortlisted selection of 10 production and 10 concept cars unveiled in 2008, and in the process find our Car Design of the Year (CDOTY). Well, we asked and you answered. The survey was completed by over 1000 readers and the votes have now been tallied.

McLaren MP4-12C Exclusive Edition launched at Pebble Beach

McLaren MP4-12C Exclusive You didn’t think McLaren were going to miss out on the very lucrative ‘Personalisation’ of the MP4-12C, did you? Of course not. So you won’t be surprise that McLaren has rolled up at Pebble Beach with an ‘Exclusive Edition’ MP4-12C with extra cost bolt on bits to tempt buyers.

2013 Nissan LEAF updated

Nissan has updated the LEAF EV in Japan for 2013 with better range, less weight and a new LEAF S entry-level model. Revealed in Japan – but likely to come to the UK from 2013 when the LEAF starts rolling out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory – there are significant upgrades to the powertrain which result in both less weight and better range. Nissan has had a play with the electric powertrain and made it both smaller and lighter with a new motor that uses 40 per cent less dysprosium (a rare earth metal) than before, and comes in 30 per cent smaller and 10 per cent lighter, and a new streamline battery case and a few other tweaks drops the LEAF’s weight by 80kg.