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

Cadillac CTS-V ‘sets saloon Nurburgring record’

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 12 May 2008 10:31 Cadillac’s new CTS-V has set a new production saloon lap record at the Nurburgring, the company claims. It reports the 2009 CTS-V lapped the 13-and-a-bit mile circuit in an impressive 7min 59.32sec.‘This blistering time appears to be the fastest ever publicly documented for a production sedan,’ says a breathless press release. And according to the records we’ve researched, they appear to be correct, although a Subaru Impreza STi Spec-C also lapped in 7min 59sec.It leaves us wondering who else is going to launch an assault on the Nordschleife’s 73 corners.

Chrysler Sebring Convertible

By Ben Whitworth Motor Industry 29 November 2006 09:43 America’s best-selling convertible arrives here a year from now – complete with right-hand drive layout, tax-friendly turbo diesel power, metal folding roof, sharpened dynamics and a £22k price. Unveiled at this week’s Los Angeles motor show, the all-new Sebring will come with the choice of either a Volkswagen-sourced 2.0-litre 140bhp turbo diesel fourpot or Chrysler’s own 189bhp 2.7-litre V6 petrol engine, hooked up to six-cog automatic or manual boxes. Chrysler’s engineers claim that roof down, the new convertible is two and a half times stiffer than its predecessor, which is just as well as the previous model – which was sold in minute quantities here back in 2001 – had all the torsional rigidity of a wet bath sponge.

Driven: Ford Mondeo wagon

But the design of this Mondeo is interesting because of this, not despite this. The core challenge for the Ford design team was how to balance delivering a distinctively engaging design with being acceptable to as much as possible of the broad target profile of potential buyer. This is perhaps the biggest unspoken challenge for today's vehicle designer.