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

One Lap of the Web: The Economist talks cars, Maria Sharapova's Porsche and crazy bikers

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Have you ever seen two motorcycles going wheel-to-wheel at 200 mph in the rain?

New Land Rover Defender – Project Icon

Land Rover are planning a new Defender to launch in 2012 As always, the Defender is going to be the traditional Land Rover as – unlike the rest of the Land Rover Range which is moving over to aluminium platforms – the new Defender will be based on the existing – and very capable – current model Discovery platform. The use of the T5, twin rail steel chassis from the Discovery is vital if the Defender is to continue to offer the range of body styles currently available – including hard and soft tops – which make the Defender the versatile work horse it is. But the Defender will still be going on a diet and will be a lighter car than the current Model.

New Jaguar XJ snapped at the Nurburgring

Spy shots of the new Jaguar XJ - caught testing at the Nurburgring The new Jaguar XJ is a huge deal for Jaguar. Jaguar has set the benchmark very high with its hugely successful, and widely acclaimed, Jaguar XF, and expectations for the new XJ are riding high. And rumour has it that the XJ will be an even more radical departure for Jaguar than the XF was.