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

2013 Nissan LEAF updated

Nissan has updated the LEAF EV in Japan for 2013 with better range, less weight and a new LEAF S entry-level model. Revealed in Japan – but likely to come to the UK from 2013 when the LEAF starts rolling out of Nissan’s Sunderland factory – there are significant upgrades to the powertrain which result in both less weight and better range. Nissan has had a play with the electric powertrain and made it both smaller and lighter with a new motor that uses 40 per cent less dysprosium (a rare earth metal) than before, and comes in 30 per cent smaller and 10 per cent lighter, and a new streamline battery case and a few other tweaks drops the LEAF’s weight by 80kg.

Toyota iQ and Urban Cruiser (2008): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 13 February 2008 12:28 Toyota hasn’t bottled it, thank goodness. This first photograph of the iQ shows that the production version of this fascinating mini has kept all the cheeky charm of last year’s show car, which won CAR’s concept car of the year gong. The iQ at 2007’s Frankfurt Motor Show wowed us for its fresh design, its simplicity and its back-to-basics overhaul of how a small car could be engineered.

2013 Mini John Cooper Works GP drive review

Mark Vaughn threw the '13 John Cooper Works GP around Circuito Mallorca a few months back, and the quickest-ever production Mini proved itself to be an excellent track car. The questions one always asks about a car stuffed full of turbo boost and beefy suspension goodies, however, remained hanging before us: Will it be intolerable on the street? Will it ride like a steel-shod forklift on rough pavement and leap like a hornet-stung mule into the back of a porta-potty truck when the boost comes on?