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

A brief history of the 'Le Mans-style' start

The famous ‘Le Mans start’ Since the race’s inaugural meeting in 1923, tradition dictated a standing start. This later became known as a ‘Le Mans start’, and involved drivers lining their cars up along the pit wall in the order they qualified in. Racers would then have to stand on the opposite side of the track, and when the French Tricolor flag dropped the drivers would have to sprint to their cars, strap themselves in and begin racing.

Bugatti to unveil “Lang Lang” Veyron at Qatar motor show

Bugatti will reveal another special edition of the Grand Sport Vitesse called “Lang Lang” at the 2014 Qatar International Motor Show later this month, built to honor the Chinese pianist. We’re assuming this is one of the 40 convertibles the company needs to sell before it starts building new cars. The two-tone exterior features lots of polished black carbon fiber that’s really set off by the “Blanc Atalante” white accents.

Wait, is the WhaleMobile still for sale?

In 2009 -- which is about 40 years ago in Internet time -- the motor-mad, mountain-dwelling master-mechanic known to Autoweek readers as Murilee Martin took to the pages of Jalopnik -- yes, it was printed back then -- to describe an ad he found on Craigslist. Here's the full text of the original ad: WhaleMobile *UNIQUE* This one of a kind "WhaleMobile" is for sale. It needs new tires, but otherwise starts right up and runs fine.