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

2012 Audi TT RS starting price set at $56,850

If you have your heart set on the top-shelf Audi TT RS, prepare to pony up $56,850 plus destination and what we’d assume are plenty of options to put one in the garage. Worth it? You decide: The highest-performance TT will get a 2.5-liter turbo five with 360 hp and 343 lb-ft of torque, with the twist available from just about off-idle to 5,400 rpm.

Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.

Nissan plots BladeGlider production (2014)

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 03 January 2014 10:30 Last month we brought you spyshots of Nissan’s new Almera hatchback; this week it’s the altogether more enticing news that bosses at the Japanese car giant hope to put the wacky BladeGlider concept car into production. The ‘swept wing’ BladeGlider is inspired by Nissan’s ZEOD RC, the company’s entry into the 2014 Le Mans 24-hours, and it seems production of the crazy concept is a possibility. ‘It’s in our mid-term plan,’ Nissan chief planning officer Andy Palmer revealed to CAR.