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

Aston Martins voted 'best status symbol'

AN ASTON Martin is the car to be seen driving if you want people to believe you've 'made it', according to an offbeat new study. Research carried out by Auto Trader among 1,024 drivers showed that the British brand's cars are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ones that most Brits think highest of, beating the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bentley down the order. In fact, the top three positions in the survey were filled by British car makers, with Bentley and Rolls Royce second and third respectively.

Nissan GT-R tweaked for 2009 with more power

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 09 December 2008 11:30 The Nissan GT-R still hasn’t gone on sale in Europe and it's already been treated to a few tweaks - new for 2009 will be more power, revised suspension, different wheels and tyres, plus a price hike. Quite, but the increase is a mere 5bhp, taking the output of Nissan's 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 from 473 to 478bhp. Nissan says the extra grunt comes from the fine tweaking of the electronics, though torque remains unchanged at 432lb ft.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT AUCTIONS PEUGEOT

IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad is auctioning his 1977 Peugeot 504 to raise money for charity. The often controversial leader is inviting bids through Iran’s Central Bank, with the money raised intended to be used to build homes for the poor and disabled of Iran. Interested parties can register through a website in order to place offers.