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

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.

Mansory Porsche Panamera Turbo. Pass the Sick Bag.

The Mansory Porsche Panamera Turbo Mansory has a habit of producing cars that polarize opinion. No, it’s actually worse than that. They produce cars which make it impossible to work out if they have any taste whatsoever.

Nissan LEAF £2500 UK price drop

Nissan has revealed that the LEAF EV will be reduced in price by £2500 with immediate effect and ahead of the launch of the uprated 2013 LEAF. The world hasn’t exactly fallen in love with electric cars, which has as much to do with the fact that an electric car, with its limited range, is never going to be a replacement for a normal ICE car. But compounding the impracticality of the EV as a replacement for the ICE car is the very high prices car makers are charging for electric cars, the sort of prices that mean buyers will probably find the ‘Cheap to Fuel’ EV a more costly option than fuelling a much cheaper comparable iICE car with petrol or diesel.