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

VW Polo R WRC (2011): Volkswagen enters the WRC

This be-spoilered supermini is the new VW Polo R WRC, Volkwagen’s entry into the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship. Unveiled today in Sardinia ahead of Rally d'Italia Sardegna, it's a 300bhp, four-wheel drive hot hatch that's going to take on Ford, Citroen et al on the world's toughest mud, gravel and snow Special Stages. VW Polo R WRC, huh?

Video: Fiat creates café racer 500 for SEMA

Fiat is preparing a café racer-style 500 for this week's SEMA show by stripping down an Abarth version to take it "down to the essence of what you need to drive a car." The café racer philosophy of ‘more speed, less comfort' was born around the 1960s British 'biker scene and while initially focussed on increasing performance, quickly developed into a culture as concered with 'the show' as 'the go'. "It takes something like this to really get noticed at SEMA," says Craig Buoncompago, Project Manager at Fiat Product Design. "The Café Racer is really going to be one special car that you guys should really come and see." The 500's roof has been chopped, while also shorn of its door handles and being fitted with hot rod billet rims.

For new CAFE rules, automakers place high-stakes tech bets

Game-changing 2015 fuel economy rules are forcing vehicle development teams to make high-stakes bets on expensive technologies--bets that will separate the winners from the also-rans. Not only do federal rules target a 2015 fleet average of 35.5 mpg, up from the current 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks; they force automakers to bet on different technology packages for each vehicle segment. Companies that do best at mixing technologies while keeping down costs will have an advantage when buyers wince at higher stickers.