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

Volvo S60 Polestar Gothenburg debut

The Volvo S60 Polestar – a BMW M3 basher – is due to debut in Gothenburg on 16th June 2012 and could get as much as 500bhp. Yes, Volvo are busy downsizing their engines and trying to up the quality perception of their cars at the same time, in an aim to join the proper premium club inhabited by the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Jaguar. But that doesn’t mean Volvo should forsake performance in their cars, because even if performance models are not the bread and butter for premium car makers they are the golden halo that casts a premium gloss on lesser models.

Lotus planning Electric Car

I suppose it was inevitable that Lotus would not settle for simply supplying Tesla with the chassis for their electric car, and would look to jump on the bandwagon of electric cars (EV). Lotus CEO, Michael Kimberly, has told the Financial Times that Lotus is planning an electric car “sooner rather than later”, and went on to say that it will be an extended range battery vehicle. Extended range EVs (like the Chevy Volt) are probably the best option for a mainstream car at the moment, at least until you can buy hydrogen at the pumps other than in California.

Vauxhall VXR8 & SMART for-two CDI take MPG Marathon honours

Vauxhall VXR8 & SMART for-two CDI take MPG Marathon honours On the face of it, it’s reasonable to expect a car as small as the SMART for-two CDI to be capable of astonishing economy if driven in a certain way. And the ALD Automotive / Shell FuelSave MPG Marathon, run last week near Cirencester, proved exactly that, with a SMART driven by Mick Linford and co-driver Ella Flynn managing to use less than four gallons of diesel to cover the 370 mile route. That means the SMART fortwo CDI averaged 99.24mpg on the route on real roads, an improvement of 16 per cent on the official combined figure of 85.6.