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

Who's Where: Alfonso Albaisa appointed Vice President of Nissan Design Europe

Alfonso Albaisa has been appointed vice president of Nissan Design Europe (NDE) located in Paddington, London, effective April 1, 2007. Albaisa replaces Satoru Tai, who will return to Japan. In his new role, the 42-year-old Cuban-American will head a team of more than 50 international designers, modelers and support staff.

AutoStyle 2010

Earlier this year, we had the pleasure to attend AutoStyle 2010's design competition; a wonderfully familial, small-scale event that takes place in the picturesque village of San Benedetto Po, in northern Italy. Hosted by Berman, an aftermarket supplier of bespoke components to many OEMs, the event is a two-day gathering where many of the industry's designers, buyers and suppliers attend a conference to hear about the trends as perceived by automakers and to see the newest ‘special versions' created by budding designers. The 7th edition of the AutoStyle design competition showcased a wide array of aftermarket designs for the Ferrari California, Nissan Micra, Ford Focus, Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Citroen DS Highrider concept.

Bugatti rolls out another ‘Legends’ Special – the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Black Bess

It’s the Bugatti Veyron Black Bess No, Bugatti hasn’t named their latest Legends limited edition car – the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Black Bess – after Dick Turpin’s horse (well, not directly anyway), but after the Bugatti Type 18 – dubbed Black Bess – which was the Bugatti Veyron of its day. Only seven Type 18s were built – between 1912 and 1914 – and just three remain, with the one dubbed Black Bess (which did get its name from Dick Turpin’s horse) on display in the Louman Museum in The Hague and complete with its 5.0 litre four-cylinder engine good for 100bhp and a top speed of 100mph. The new Black Bess Bugatti is a Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse with 1184 ‘black’ horses, a 0-62mph of 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 233mph and comes with a carbon fibre body painted in black with gold highlights (and looking like a 1970s JPS F1 livery).