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

Project Kahn’s Wills & Kate Maybach 57

Kahn creates a Royal Maybach The last time we invited the world to a Royal Wedding involving an heir to the throne, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. But that was in 1981, when the world was a simpler, less commercially exploitative place than it is now. In 1981 we got Charles & Di mugs and plates (actually, there was a definite crockery theme going on) and maybe the odd flag to flutter with the Union Flag and a couple of mug shots.

Crunch watch Jan 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman and Gareth Evans Motor Industry 30 January 2009 12:39 Friday 30 January 2009• Honda is about to close the Swindon factory for four months when Friday's shifts are finished; the shutdown will affect 2500 of the 3700 staff, who will receive full pay for two months and then 60% pay for the next eight weeks (BBC News)• Porsche has announced a sharp drop in sales and likely profits. It forecasts a 27% drop in 911, Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne sales to around 34,000 units in the six months to the end of January 2009 (Financial Times, subscription required)• Ford wants Washington to do more to stimulate car sales, after posting a record loss of nearly $14.6 billion earlier this week (Detroit News)• Honda's quarterly profit has crashed by 90% – forcing the Japanese car maker to halve its annual profit target (Detroit Free Press)Thursday 29 January 2009• Ford of Europe is a bright spot in the Blue Oval's quarterly results today, making $1.06 billion pre-tax profit in 2008 (up from $997m in 2007). It's the first profit of more than $1bn since 1989 (Automotive News Europe, subscription required)• Volvo suffered a 'disastrous 2008' with a pre-tax loss of $1.46bn.

Novitec Alfa Romeo 8C Spider adds boost for a sensuous 600 hp

Novitec has laid hands on the near-perfect Alfa Romeo 8C to create the 8C Spider Kompressor, a car the tuner claims is the “most powerful street-legal Alfa Romeo of all time.” Heady words, but they're nicely backed up by a supercharged version of the 4.7-liter Alfa V8 cranking out 600 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque. That's up from approximately 450 hp and 346 lb-ft on a stock Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Tweaks supporting the force-fed mill include a water-to-air intercooler, custom injectors and revised fuel and ignition mapping, plus a variable stainless-steel exhaust system.