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

VW Passat: New distance world record

VW Passat World distance Record When you as old as I am (or at least as old as I feel) you can’t help but be astonished at the feats of economy car makers seem able to wring from even quite serious, upmarket cars. Yesterday we reported on the Mercedes S250 CDI which manages to perform like a 1990s V8 S-Class whilst simultaneously doing nearly 50mpg. Which to an old git like me – who thought his 3.0 litre Capri in his teen years was doing well if it got 18mpg – is a bit hard to acccept.

Redesigned Opel Astra revealed ahead of Frankfurt rollout

Opel, General Motors' financially embattled European subsidiary, has ripped the covers from its sixth-generation Astra ahead of the car's planned debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September. The five-door hatchback traditionally is one of Europe's best-selling models and originally was expected to play an important role in the Saturn lineup in the United States. Under GM's pared-down lineup, the Astra's Delta 2 chassis is likely provide the underpinnings for a small Buick, initially in China, and then in the United States, depending on market conditions.

Jaguar XFR-S Los Angeles Debut

A more powerful XFR – the Jaguar XFR-S – will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show this month with a more aggressive body kit and 542bhp. We’ve been expecting the arrival of the Jaguar XFR-S – a more powerful XFR – to take on the might of the latest M5 and E63 for some time, and Jaguar has revealed the XFR-S will get its debut at this month’s Lops Angeles Auto Show. All Jaguar has felt fit to do at this stage is tease the XFR-S with a single photos (above) and no detail, but it seems probable the XFR will get the same sort of makeover to to create the XFR-S as the XKR got to give us the XKR-S.