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

Citroen DS3 WRC (2010): Loeb's new company wheels

This is the new Citroën DS3 WRC, just unveiled at the 2010 Paris motor show. And it’s the car that everyone interested in world rallying has been waiting for – it’s Sébastien Loeb’s wheels for the 2011 World Rally Championship. Okay, we know it’s not as highly anticipated as the Mini Countryman WRC, but the reason we’re excited is that this could be the car to end Loeb’s reign – the Frenchman has won the last six WRC titles, will almost certainly take his seventh this year, but having an all-new car will hopefully reset the field and give Ford’s Fiesta RS WRC a chance.

New Land Rover Freelander will actually be a Discovery

It seems – as we expected – that Land Rover are looking to make more sense of their range of off-roaders as new models are launched, and are going to concentrate on three core brands – Range Rover, Discovery and Defender – instead of the current mish-mash where many models really overlap with others (the top end Discoverys are really a cheaper Range Rover). So the next Freelander will become an entry-level Discovery with underpinnings borrowed from the Evoque (which is itself based on the current Freelander platform, a development of the Ford Galaxy’s platform), and arrive in both 5-seat and 7-seat guise, with the new Discovery ’5′ getting a platform based on the new Range Rover and perhaps spawning two models. The new Discovery range will be targeted as a ‘Lifestyle’ core range for Land Rover (much as the original Disco was) and the Range Rover range will be both sporty and luxurious, with a 7-seat Grand Evoque XL joining the current Evoque, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover.

Automotive Interiors Expo 2011

This Automotive Interiors Expo followed the inaugural event of 2010, conveniently held at the Messe Stuttgart a short stroll from the airport. With a focused approach solely on automotive interior aspects it is comfortably achievable in a day. However, this expo is part of a much larger exhibition with halls dedicated to automotive testing, crash testing, engines, European automotive components and vehicle dynamics.