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

Land Rover Defender to be built in Sri Lanka

The Land Rover Defender is to be built outside the UK in a new plant in Sri Lanka to produce Defenders for the region. Land Rover are assisting and training staff at a new assembly plant in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, run by Sathosa Motors PLC in a 50-50 deal with Land Rover distributors SML Frontier Automotive, with $1 million being invested to get the project up and running this year. It seems clear from the level of investment that this is simply an assembly operation using CKD kits from the UK for the Defender, but Sri Lank’s Daily News is reporting that there are plans to invest $500 million in the project.

Volvo makes breakthrough in battery tech

Volvo has developed a new way of ‘storing’ energy for its future electric vehicles. The Swedish firm is exploring the concept of lightweight structural energy storage components made from carbonfibre, containing “nano structured batteries and super capacitors.” This technology is said to offer a lighter, more compact solution to the problem of energy storage, potentially removing the need for the heavy, bulky batteries used in current electric vehicles. On Bing: see pictures of the Volvo S80 Find out how much a used Volvo S80 costs on Auto Trader The investigation into the new technology is part of an EU-funded research project, undertaken by Volvo – the only major car manufacturer involved – and nine other organisations.

Toyota Auris facelift (2010): first official photos

Toyota is attempting the impossible: to make its Golf challenger more interesting. The new-for-2010 Toyota Auris receives a facelift inside and out, engineering tweaks to nudge CO2 downwards and a sportier model to lure in younger drivers. Good luck, Toyota… Forgive us for sounding harsh, but CAR has never seen eye to eye with the Auris, dubbing it the ‘magnolia’ of the hatchback segment when we first drove it in 2007.