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

Paramount Marauder – yep, the one from Top Gear

The Marauder lays waste a wall We knew the Hamster was off to South Africa to play with a vehicle that made the Hummer look like a Tonka Toy. And we knew – because they ‘hinted’ at it when we spoke to them last week – that the whole Top Gear segment had more than a little to do with the Paramount Group in South Africa, purveyors of innovative armoured vehicles. So, as suspected, we were treated to Richard conquering the Urban Jungle of Johannesburg in the Paramount Marauder, an aptly-named, go anywhere, seemingly indestructible piece of military hardware made street-legal.

Peugeot 508 to replace 407 and 607

The Peugeot RC HyMotion Concept Apart from in France, it’s always been a racing certainty that the bigger the French car the poorer its sales. And it looks as if the French are finally starting to wake up to this fact and are looking at rationalising their upper-range cars to consolodate on one new model. Well, at least Peugeot are.

Hyundai makes Kia’s Peter Schreyer Hyundai design guru too

The newly appointed Kia President, Peter Schreyer, has now been made Hyundai President in charge of design too. Peter Schreyer’s success in making Kia a real design force led to him being appointed a Kia President at the end of 2012, handsome reward for the changes he’s wrought at Kia since leaving VW, turning Kia’s range of cars from stodgy to convincing in a few short years. But Kia is the junior partner in the Hyundai-Kia business, so Hyundai are obviously not totally thrilled that Kia managed to snaffle a designer who’s eye manages to so convincingly hit the Zeitgeist firmly on the head.