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

MINI Rocketman returns for London 2012

The MINI Rocketman Concept – first seen at Geneva 2012 – has been titivated and rolled out to promote BMW’s London 2012 sponsorship. We all thought, when BMW rolled out the MINI Rocketman Concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011, that this was the future for a second, smaller take on the modern MINI. But BMW seemed to go cold on the idea of building a modern MINI with dimensions much closer to the original Issigonis Mini so we thought the plans had gone out of the window.

Jaguar XJ & XF get 4WD

Jaguar has announced that four wheel drive versions of the Jaguar XJ and Jaguar XF will be available – but not in the UK. Jaguar has long bemoaned the lack of a 4WD platform for their cars, and even blamed such a lack of flexibility for the delay in launching the XF Sportbrake. We’ve been expecting Jaguar to reveal a 4WD version of the XJ for a while (especially as the new Range Rover utilises the same platform) but we didn’t expect a 4WD XF until the next generation XF launches in a couple of years.

Nissan-Conran

Nissan and British design group Conran have unveiled 'Plus Conran' limited versions of the Cube, March (Micra) and Lafesta minivan for the Japanese market. The series follows Nissan's 'Modern Living Concept', which stresses advanced design values in cabins, first introduced with the Teana in 2003, and seen in the the Amenio concept minivan, shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005. Cube + Conran features leather seats emphasizing texture and color, enhancing and refining the sofa-like feel of the Cube seats.