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

New Jaguar XE OFFICIALLY launched – price from £27,000

The new Jaguar XE arrives After months of teasing, years of planning and huge sums of money spent, it’s here – the new Jaguar XE. Looking like a slightly smaller version of the XF, with an upright nose, longish bonnet, coupe-like profile and stubby tail, the XE is clearly a Jaguar – and a fairly conservative one at that – which is probably sensible when  entering such a competitive sector as the ‘Premium’ compact saloon market. But the new XE isn’t just a punt for a few sales in a new sector for Jaguar, but a car that could take Jaguar from an interesting maker of relatively low volume cars to a global ‘Premium’ car maker; nose to nose in a very competitive sector with, principally, Audi and the A4, BMW and the 3 Series and Mercedes and the C-Class.

VW Golf R (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

The new VW Golf R has been revealed and it’s the fastest version of the iconic hatch ever. The all-wheel drive flagship Golf now has 296bhp, up from 267bhp, with its 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive sending the six-speed DSG version from 0-62mph in a feisty 4.9sec – matching the BMW M135i, but still shy of the Mercedes A45 AMG, which cracks it in 4.6sec. Why would I buy this over a Golf GTI?

Renault Alpine A110-50: Official & on video

Renault Alpine A110-50 - it's official The Renault Alpine A110-50 – based on the Mégane Trophy platform with a Renault DeZir body – is officially revealed. We had our doubts that the Renault Alpine A110-50 photo we published earlier this week was real, but it seems it was; which goes to show we should really lock up our scepticism more securely. And now, as promised, Renault has revealed their first Alpine in almost twenty years in the A110-50, a car that has the underpinnings of the Megane Trophy and a body that seems to owe most of its DNA to the electric Renault DeZir Concept.