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

Audi S3 (2012) first official pictures

Audi has revealed official pictures of the new S3 ahead of its debut at the 2012 Paris motor show. Audi should know what matters when it comes to hot-hatches, with two generations of S3s occupying a 13-year stretch of Audi history. On first impressions, the new model’s restrained styling fits well with the S3’s history of subtle sporting luxury rather than out-and-out hot hatch thuggery.

Jaguar hybrid cars due in 2013-14

Jaguar will launch its own hybrid vehicles soon after Land Rover, CAR can confirm. Parent company Jaguar Land Rover is developing battery-assisted hybrid versions for both brands but its strategy puts part-electric Land Rovers first on the launchpad in 2013.Hybrid Jaguars – set to include the XJ and XF, but eventually every model – are therefore likely to be on the market by 2013-2014, using a similar eight-speed ZF hybrid transmission to petrol-electric BMWs.The staggered roll-out of battery Jags and Land Rovers makes sense: heavy 4x4s have come in the firing line from green protestors who label them Chelsea Tractors. Hybrid Land Rovers will trim emissions and – in plug-in hybrid mode – enable even big bulky Range Rovers to drive in zero-emissions mode into central urban areas emitting nothing more unsaintly than an electric whir.So which Jaguars will go hybrid first?It's likely that the largest models such as the XJ will receive the hybrid power packs first; large cars reap the greater benefit and can more easily swallow the additional cost, put at around £10,000 in today's money.JLR's Midlands engineering bases in Whitley and Gaydon now employ 100 engineers in the expanding hybrid powertrain business unit launched 18 months ago.

Tesla Model S to get 4WD option in 2014

The Tesla Model S (pictured) to get 4WD option in 2014 The Tesla Model S is an astonishing success for Tesla, and has turned a company on the edge of financial chaos, and in hock to the government, in to a stock market darling thanks to strong sales and great reviews. Tesla’s next trick should be the arrival of the Model X SUV in 2015, which will be a jacked up Model S with 4WD and the promise of impressive performance at a price that will go right to the heart of SUV/SAV offerings from the Germans and Land Rover. But ahead of the Model X actually arriving in Tesla Showrooms and customers’ hands, it looks like Tesla are set to add a 4WD option to the Model S using the drivetrain they’ve developed for the Model X.