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

Bluebird Electric aiming for UK Land Speed Record

Bluebird Electric You’d hope that anyone of any age would associate ‘Bluebird’ with ‘Campbell’, but as many of our schools don’t seem too keen on anything that may be even remotely considered part of Britain’s history, perhaps not. So we’ll just throw in that Sir Malcolm Campbell drove a variety of Bluebird (or Blue Bird) cars to new land speed records on Pendine Sands in the 1920s and his son, Donald Campbell, matched his father’s achievements with world speed records on both land and water – the only man to have held land and water speed records at the same time. And he too used the Bluebird moniker for his record-breaking transport of choice. Fast forward the best part of fifty years and it’s the grandson of Sir Malcolm – Don Wales – who’s plotting to take the Bluebird Electric to a new UK Land Speed Record, and planning to make a start on that quest at Pendine Sands (a location Top Gear fans will probably recognise – and was it Pendine Sands on the new Torchwood series last week?).

Apple Carplay integrates iPhone in to cars: Geneva Motor Show

Apple CarPlay arrives to take over your car’s Infotainment Apple’s bid to take a major slice of the Automotive integration with Smartphones market moves on with the arrival of Apple CarPlay at the Geneva Motor Show this week It looks like Apple have stolen a march on Android with deep integration in to the Infotainment systems of a number of car makers – with more to come – as the lines start to be blurred between Smartphones and car systems. CarPlay lets drivers with the right phone – iPhone 5 or better – access messages, play music, use Apple Maps and make calls, all hands-free and using Siri commands. Functionality with the right make of car – starting with Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo but reaching out in to Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Hyundai Kia, Honda, PSA, Toyota, Ford and more before long – means you’ll be able to do much of what you can already do on your iPhone but do it through your car’s Infotainment interface with familiar commands and screen layouts.

Toyota tests chips that improve hybrid efficiency by 10 percent

Toyota announced on Tuesday that it has developed a new semiconductor, claiming it can boost fuel efficiency in hybrid cars by an impressive 10 percent. The semiconductors manage the flow of electricity through the power-control unit that connects the battery to an electric or hybrid car's motor and generator. The newly developed semiconductors are said to consume only a tenth of the energy of today's chips, while allowing the power-control unit to be 80 percent smaller.