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

New Mercedes S 63 AMG costs from £119,565

New Mercedes S 63 AMG (pictured) costs from £119,565 The arrival of the new Mercedes S-Class in May saw MB move their range topper on properly for the first time in almost a decade, but with UK prices staring from £62,650 for the S 350 BlueTEC it wasn’t going to be on most people’s shopping list. And if you can’t afford Mercedes’ entry-level S-Class there’s no hope of affording the new S63 AMG, which Mercedes has revealed will cost an eye-watering £120k when it arrives in the UK in November. To be entirely fair, the new S63 is an awesome car with immense performance (which would be even more impressive if Mercedes endowed it with 4WD, as they do in other markets) with its 5.5 litre bi-turbo V8 developing 577bhp and getting the S63 to 62mph in 4.4 seconds.

Audi A4 SE Technik – gets more equipment, costs less

The Audi A4 SE Technik (pictured) gets more equipment and costs less ‘Special Edition’ cars are a way to get more for less from car makers, as long as the goodies on offer at cut price float your boat, and Audi’s Technik upgrade for the new A4 Saloon and Avant is one such upgrade that offers good value. And now it’s got better. The A4 Technik already gets a well-chose list of upgrades from the regular SE trim, with Milano leather, HDD MMI Nav plus, AMI iPod connection and Audi Parking Plus all part of the package at an extra cost of £1,350 over the SE spec.

Aston Martin LOST £24.6 million in 2012

The Aston Martin Vanquish (pictured) launch in 2012 contributed to AML’s losses We reported just the other day that Aston Martin had axed the Cygnet after woeful sales, and it’s not just the Cygnet that hasn’t been selling well. In fact, Aston Martin sales in 2012 – 67,500 units – was still 42,500 down on its pre-recession sales levels of 110,000 cars in 2007 and that lead to yet another loss. Aston Martin has posted pre-tax losses for 2012 of £24,6 million on sales of £461.2 million for 2012, a worsening position over 2011 which saw losses of £21.2 million.