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

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.

Pontiac Vibe

One week after Toyota introduced its new Matrix at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Pontiac presented the new redesigned Vibe at the LA Auto Show, a five-door hatchback short wagon that - like the Matrix - is derived from a lengthened and widened Corolla platform. Clear brand differentiation between the two cars is done through the styling of the Vibe's excusive sheet metal and different interior finishes and trim. To better relate the Vibe to the Pontiac Solstice or G8, designers wanted to express more muscle and leave behind last generation's "mini-SUV" look.

Nissan teams up with Williams for sporty Nismo cars from 2014

Nissan’s performance car skunkworks arm Nismo (short for Nissan Motorsports) has agreed a deal with Williams Advanced Engineering to co-develop faster versions of Nissan’s road cars from 2014. It doesn’t mean the Williams F1 team will be developing the forthcoming Nismo version of the GT-R, but the Formula One team and Williams Advanced Engineering are part of the same group founded by Sir Frank Williams. Sir Frank said: ‘Williams Advanced Engineering has a history of developing world class, high-performance products and this agreement is particularly exciting because of the ambition and potential of the Nismo brand.