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

Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid heading for the UK – costs £98,515

The Volkswagen XL1 ‘Super’ Hybrid (pictured) costs £98,515 in the UK VW announced a while back that their ‘super’ hybrid XL1 was going in to limited production, although they didn’t confirm a price for being super green. But now the first XL1 has already been delivered in Germany, Volkswagen has confirmed a chunk of the 200 run – thought to be between 20 and 30 cars – will be making their way to the UK and will cost £98,515. For almost £100k, there are plenty of options bordering on supercar, but the XL1 is ‘super’ in a different way, and if extreme economy and a design that looks like something imagined as a car of the future in Hollywood Sci-Fi films of the 1930s floats your boat, the XL1 could be the car you’re looking for.

Scion Hako Coupe concept

By Liz Turner Motor Shows 20 March 2008 10:34 Welcome to the Scion Hako Coupe concept. Hako is Japanese for box, but if this is a box, then it’s Tupperware that’s been melted on the stove. The concept is designed to express the love of all things retro-American in Japan.

New Peugeot 208 production cut as sales disappoint

Peugeot is cutting back on production of the new 208 as its sales fail to reach expectations, just six months on from launch. It’s not enough when Europe is ion the midst of an economic crisis and car buyers are polarised between ‘budget’ cars that offer more for less than mainstream offerings and ‘Premium’ models that are bought on the back of a preconceived notion of more kudos. That leaves car makers like Peugeot (and Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Ford, Opel, Fiat…) between a rock and a hard place, unable – or unwilling – to compete with the offerings from Korea and saddled with a brand that doesn’t have the ‘class’ of an Audi or a BMW or a Mercedes or even a VW.