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

Range Rover Hybrids press ahead on Silk Trail route to Mumbai

A trio of Range Rover Hybrid prototypes is well on its way to India on a 9,950-mile endurance drive through 12 countries. Land Rover is following the old Silk Trail to the east, but while it took ancient merchants months to complete the route, the Land Rover Hybrid team will be doing it in just 53 days. The Silk Trail is a historical network of trade routes which connected Asia with Europe and the Mediterranean, and got its name from the Chinese silk which was a lucrative trade item well into the 14th century.

Porsche Cayman R (2010) first official pictures

This is the new 2010 Porsche Cayman R, the lightest and most powerful version yet of Stuttgart’s mid-engined sports car, and the closest it’s ever been allowed to get to the hallowed 911. Over and above the Cayman S, the Cayman R has a mere 10bhp more, taking the total to 325bhp – the torque figure is unchanged at 272lb ft. Much more impressive (and important) are the weight reductions: the Cayman R is 55kg lighter than the Cayman S.

New 2013 Nissan Note gets more appealing

The new Nissan Note has turned in to a Ford Fiesta basher as Nissan turn the Note from a boring little MPV in to a convincing small hatch. We did think the Invitation would be watered down to produce a slightly titivated new Note for production, but much of the style has found its way through in to the new Note – which we first saw in the JDM Nissan Note last summer – and the Note now looks set to take on proper compact hatches like the Ford Fiesta. The nose of the new Note is now more convincing – with new headlights and grill – and the doors get a great big feature crease that looks like a giant smoothing iron has stamped its mark, although Nissan say it’s a ‘Squash Line’  whose ‘angles were inspired by the flight of a fast moving squash ball travelling around a court’.