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

Gordon Murray Design T27 crash tested

The original Smart car probably did more than its fair share to persuade us that small cars needn't necessarily be unsafe. But now Gordon Murray is on the same mission: to persuade us that his titchy T27 city car is as safe as houses too. Gordon Murray Design has just issued its first crash test results, showing a T27 electric car after a crash test at the UK's MIRA industry research lab.  The crash test in question was the European-standard 40% offset deformable barrier front high-speed impact.

Adaptive steering for big Fords arrives on new Edge

By Tim Pollard Motoring Issues 30 May 2014 17:43 Ford today announced all its future large cars will have adaptive steering as standard - letting reps flick their wrists on the way in to the Welcome Break on the M4, yet tip their fingers when changing lanes on the London orbital. It's a further sign that what was once the high-tech preserve of the German brands is now firmly in the mainstream. BMW was one of the brands which pioneered variable-ratio power steering; in essence, it changes the ratio between the driver's inputs at the wheel and the rate at which turns are made at the rack.

2012 Porsche 911 7-speed gearbox in action +video

2012 Porsche 911 7-speed gearbox video below Some of us are old enough – just –  to remember when a 3-speed gearbox was normal. And, quite often, located on the column. Cars like the Vauxhall Cresta and Ford Zephyr had them, but they now belong to a completely different world to the one inhabited by the 7-speed manual gearbox in the new Porsche 911.