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

Alfa Romeo 4C convertible likely for 2015

Conventional wisdom holds that if you want to take on Porsche's 911, you need a convertible variant. And although Alfa Romeo's often marched to the beat of a wonderfully idiosyncratic drummer, it sounds as if it's hewing to general sporting-car rules of thumb with the 4C. According to a report in Britain's Autocar, sources have confirmed that a 4C convertible will follow the launch of the coupe by about a year.

Rosberg on pole for Mercedes in Japan – Vettel leaving Red Bull.

Rosberg beats Hamilton to pole in Japan Lewis Hamilton must have been confident of taking pole for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka this morning after his resurgence in recent races – in the process taking the lead in the drivers F1 battle – but it wasn’t to be. Hamilton’s car needed a major front end rebuild after he ran wide and hit the barrier in final practice – which may have contributed to his qualifying result – but whatever the excuses it’s Rosberg in front of Hamilton for tomorrow’s race after posting a time 0.197s quicker than the Brit. Behind the two Mercedes cars it’s a Williams second row – with Bottas in third and Massa in fourth – followed by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in what is fast becoming his default place – 5th – and Daniel Ricciardo in sixth.

Jaguar XFR-S arrives ahead of LA debut

The Jaguar XFR-S – Jaguar’s most powerful saloon car to date – has leaked out ahead of its debut tonight at the Los Angeles Auto Show. We’re hoping that Jaguar has managed to bestow extra power on the very appealing XFR without wrecking the stuff that makes Jaguar saloons so appealing – the dynamic/ride balance – which, if they have, will make the XFR-S a more appealing bonkers sports saloon than the German offerings. The promise is all there with a new butch front end, a more aggressive body kit, chunks of carbon fibre, a huge rear wing for extra downforce, a new diffuser at the back, stiffer springs, a new rear subframe with stiffer bushes, a tweaked active diff and a tweak of the stability control for more fun.