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

Weird car show celebrates humdrum 'classics'

CAN THE ordinary ultimately become cool? There was one group of left-field car enthusiasts at the weekend whose answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. Close to the Silverstone Classic event, where thousands of rare and desirable cars strutted their stuff for the big crowds, another event was being hosted to celebrate some of the most ordinary cars ever made.

Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon (2010) first official pictures

This is the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon, with a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 and an even bigger boot. That’s right, only in the V-series range of CTS Caddies it’s detuned from the ZR1’s 638bhp and 604lb ft to 556bhp and 551lb ft. Still, that’s more power than the M5, XFR, E63 or Panamera Turbo can muster.

Could Michelin’s Active Wheel truly transform the car?

Cars today have evolved and been refined to an extraordinary degree, but carmakers – and car designers – are still always looking for ‘the next big thing'. Yet despite a myriad of recent technical innovations, ask the man on the street what is the problem with cars of today, and he'll likely reply along the lines of "they all look the same". Mass production processes, packaging requirements and safety and regulatory constraints are just a few of the reasons why it is hard to make a car that looks truly different.