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

People's Car Project concepts showcased

Volkswagen is currently showcasing three of its vehicle and technology concepts created under the ‘People's Car Project' at this year's Beijing auto show. The Hover Car, the Music Car and the Smart Key concepts – created by users of the website, which has seen 33 million visitors – are just three of more than 119,00 ideas submitted, leading the project to be indefinitely extended as Volkswagen uses the findings to influence its future design strategy. The ‘Hover Car' is an environmentally friendly two-seater city car that, unsurprisingly, hovers above the ground.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 & DB9 Carbon Black & Carbon White Editions: Geneva 2014

The new Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 (pictured) gets Vantage S power It’s tough having motor shows to attend and nothing new to offer, so car makers tend to deliver a ‘Special Edition’ of an existing model to make it look like they’ve made and effort. Step forward the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 and the Aston Martin DB9 Carbon Black & Carbon White Editions. There’s little new on offer, really, with a rehashing of what Aston Martin has produced before as ‘Limited Edition’ cars, with the V8 Vantage N430 continuing the theme of Vantage  ’N’ Editions and the Carbon’ limited edition’ DB9s done before.

Mazda wins 2008 LA Design Challenge

The Mazda Kaan concept has won the fifth annual LA Design Challenge competition, part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designer's conference. The award was presented during the second press day of the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, following a designers' luncheon and keynote speech by Daniel Simon, visionary futurist and author of Cosmic Motors. As we reported last month, nine local Southern California design studios entered the competition to envisage how motor sport vehicles might be in the year 2025, answering the theme ‘Motorsports 2025'.