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

3,000bhp supercar selection set for Birmingham

THE NEW age of efficiency appears not to be dampening manufacturers’ desire to build high-performance flagship cars, with 3,000bhp worth of shiny new models set to descend on Birmingham’s Performance Car Show in January. Among the headliners are the Jaguar XKR-S GT, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, McLaren 12C Sprint and Aston Martin Vanquish. The Ferrari steals the outright performance headlines, with 0-62mph dispatched in just three seconds and 100mph disappearing in only 6.5 seconds, courtesy of a melodious 6.3-litre V12 engine under the long bonnet.

MG Rover – Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate

The Rover 75 Coupe - one of MG Rover's last big ideas before its collapse in 2005 MG Rover was bought from BMW for the princely sum of £10 after BMW had had enough of trying to make a viable company out of a business that was still undermined by the woes – and attitudes – of the British Leyland years. That £10 purchase price also came with £425 million in loans from BMW, so MG Rover had a chance. But the collapse, and the subsequent sale of the rights to the MG trademark to SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), brought accusations that the ‘Phoenix Four’ – Directors and owners of MG Rover – has acted fraudulently when it was revealed they had acquired more than £40 million in pension rights, salary and assets in the intervening five years between purchase from BMW and collapse.

Seat unveils a hybrid: Leon Twin Drive Ecomotive

By Gareth Evans First Official Pictures 23 January 2009 09:00 Seat showed its prototype Leon Twin Drive Ecomotive today at its technical centre near Barcelona. The finished petrol-electric hybrid is expected in showrooms by 2014. The new hybrid Leon uses Twin Drive with power generated by an electric motor for shorter, urban trips while, for longer drives, the car seamlessly switches to an internal combustion engine.