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

MINI Vision Concept shines a light on the 2014 MINI Mk 3

The MINI Vision Concept (pictured) previews the arrival of the new MINI Mk 3 in 2014 We’ve had spy shots of the 2014 MINI Mk 3 running around the Interwebs for quite some time, to such an extent that MINI revealed their own ‘spy photo’ of the new MINI earlier this month. But now we get the real deal – or at least the concept version of the real deal – in the form of the MINI Vision Concept revealed by MINI in Munich yesterday. Much of the MINI Vision is covered in a layer of concept frippery, but looking through the toys and flights of fancy, we still get to see a lot of what thye Mk 3 MINI will offer.

Earthquake auction Ferrari 599 XX Evo handed to Google’s Benjamin Sloss

The Ferrari 599 XX Evo auctioned by Ferrari to raise funds for the earthquake in the Emilia Romagna region has been handed to Benjamin Sloss of Google. Back in May, following the earthquake in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, Ferrari ran an auction to raise funds to help victims of the earthquake’ Amongst the items put up for auction by Ferrari were an F60 nose-cone and an F2008 engine, but the star lot was a brand new Ferrari 599 XX Evo, Ferrari’s track-day only testbed for all things Maranello. The winner of the 599 XX Evo turns out to be a deep-pocketed Google VP – Benjamin Sloss – who forked out €1.4 million for his new plaything (which was almost a bargain price) and, as part of the auction offering, he was rewarded for his generosity with a presentation of his new Ferrari at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

One Lap of the Web: Bugatti state of mind

-- Last week, we looked at the new Bugatti exhibit at the Mullin Museum, which taught us more about Bugatti in an afternoon than the last three years of idly flipping through Pebble Beach programs. Having thus immersed ourselves in the House That Ettore Built, we'd really like to drive to work in a faithful Type 35 replica by the aptly named Pur Sang, which Mark Dixon of Octane drove for his 140-mile commute. "You need to keep the revs up while the engine clears its throat and warms its plugs," he writes.