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

Hyundai i20 WRC starts testing

Hyundai has been busy plotting its return to WRC Rallying for 2014, but so far it’s all been about behind the scenes work on building an i20 capable of taking on the rally world and gathering a team that can make it a success. But with the first official outing for the i20 due in January 2014 in Monte Carlo, Hyundai has finally taken their i20 WRC out in the world to give it some proper testing outside the workshop, Hyundai have been playing on a private testing ground to check out the i20′s systems, followed by a comprehensive testing session to work on different setups and gather data, with a major focus on the i20′s 1.6 litre turbo which, until now, hadn’t been run in the car outside Hyundai’s R&D. Hyundai say all went well over the 55okm of testing across three days, a prelude to a full programme of testing in the coming months as Hyundai get closer to their official debut.

Volkswagen debuts tuned Jettas for SEMA

It's easy to get the impression that SEMA is all about unattainable and outlandish show cars, ones that will never see the street, but in reality there is plenty of iron (or carbon fiber really) from all sides of all ponds that we could see people driving on the street. And just to reinforce that point, Volkswagen has brought a couple of tuned Jettas to SEMA that could almost pass for stock cars. This being SEMA, all that really means is that you're not looking hard enough -- the subtle cars you see are probably sleepers.

BMW works hard to avoid gas-guzzler tax

BMW AG hopes to get out from under the gas-guzzler taxes that are tacked on to the sticker prices of some of its high-performance models in the United States. Jim O'Donnell, president of BMW of North America, says the company is studying fuel-efficiency improvements that could eliminate the gas-guzzler taxes on its vehicles as early as the launch of their redesigns in the next few years. The 2010 550i GT incurs a $1,000 gas-guzzler fee, for example.