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

Beijing motor show: China means (auto) business

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 22 April 2008 05:34 Only a fool wandering around this week's Beijing motor show would still dismiss China as some also-ran automotive market full of rip-off designs and outdated ‘new’ cars based on old Western designs. While all of those clichés were still in evidence at the Chinese auto show, the copycat mentality is much less obvious than even a year ago at last year's Shanghai show. And every western car exec CAR spoke to was in awe of the upward sales trajectory that means China is still the place to do business in 2008.Yes, there are still some odd automotive fish, usually small ‘three-box’ saloon in shape such as the Chinese market only Citroen C-Elysee and the VW Lavida (a Jetta/Bora Plus car with less style).

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Ferrari has confirmed the name of the successor to the 599 GTO as the F12 Berlinetta ahead of its official debut at next week's Geneva motor show. The car, originally thought to be named the F620 GT, is the most powerful Ferrari road car ever launched with advanced vehicle architecture, aerodynamics, components and electronic controls. The design process – undertaken by both Ferrari and Pininfarina – involved with lengthy wind tunnel testing and extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.

Alfa Romeo MiTo Sprint launches

The patriotically-painted Alfa Romeo MiTo Sprint Today we have yet another limited edition – the Alfa Romeo MiTo Sprint – which Alfa has ostensibly put together to celebrate its ongoing support of UK Athletics. Which does at least makes a change from following the herd. This year, that would have meant the Alfa MiTo Black.