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

Vauxhall Corsa VXR (2007): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 03 January 2007 00:01 Vauxhall Corsa VXR: the lowdown Vauxhall will unleash its hottest-ever supermini in March: the 190bhp Corsa VXR. In keeping with the UK-only VXR branding, the hot hatch will be spruced up with a butch bodykit, a series of chassis tweaks and a turbocharged version of Vauxhall's 1.6-litre engine. Vauxhall's previous sporting superminis have left us lukewarm, but this latest one promises some fireworks in the engine department: the company quotes 0-62mph in just 6.8sec, and it tops out at 140mph.

Ironman Stewart retires, sells all

The off-road racing accomplishments of Ivan "Ironman" Stewart might never be matched: 82 major wins in desert racing, 17 of them in the crash-and-bang Mickey Thompson stadium series, three Baja 1000s and others too numerous to squeeze in here over a career that spanned 30 years. The thing that really sets him apart is that, while competitors shared driving duties over the long desert courses, Stewart did the vast majority of them alone, with no relief drivers--just him and the dirty, dusty desert. But even legends want to retire someday.

Hennessey tunes Chevrolet SS to 1,000 hp

Forget the Camaro Z/28 for a minute: Hennessey is offering performance packages for the Chevrolet SS that boost the car from from a not-unreasonable 475 hp to the "there's-just-no-way" 1,000 hp. That's right, Hennessey Performance saw a gap in the market for rear-wheel drive domestic sedans with 1,000 hp on tap, and like any smart business, went for it. In fact, we don't know why this niche hasn't been filled until now.