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

BMW leads Audi, Mercedes-Benz in June global luxury-sales race

BMW AG's core brand topped rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz, selling 134,432 cars worldwide in June, a rise of 12.3 percent over 2010 figures, the company said today. Mercedes sold a record 120,510 units in June, a rise of 6.4 percent, topping Audi, which saw June sales grew 19 percent to 117,650 cars last month. BMW brand's global deliveries, boosted by sales of the new 5-series sedan and X3 SUV, rose 17.8 percent to 689,861 units in the first six months of the year, ahead of Audi's 17.7 percent rise to 652,950 cars.

Volkswagen Touareg Facelift heading for Beijing Motor Show

The Volkswagen Touareg (pictured) with its 2015 nip and tuck It’s almost four years since the latest VW Touareg was revealed – and a year since VW introduced and R Line version of the Touareg - and now it’s time for a bit of a nip and tuck for VW’s largest SUV. Heading for the Beijing Motor SHow next week is a facelift for the Touareg which combines small cosmetic tweaks with some new technology to bring the Touareg up to date. A new front bumper and new bi-xenon headlights give the nose a new look, and a new back bumper, diffuser and LE fogs tweak the back.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.