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

Making famous friends at the Petersen museum

Celebrities, they're just like us! And aside from the public adulation and fame, plus our sneaking suspicion that the 12 or so really well-known car guys can actually afford their lavish hand-picked choices without so much as entering a PIN or presenting a letter of credit, celebrities bicker and fret over the cars with which they'd fill their dream garages. Difference is, when they fill their dream garages, people pay attention.

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse sets World Speed Record: OFFICIAL

What it was was a new world speed record for the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, Bugatti’s convertible Veyron, which had been out playing at VW’s Ehra-Lessien test track in the hands of Chinese driver Anthony Liu, and under the watchful eye of Germany’s Technical Inspection and Certification (TÜV) to certify the Vitesse’s performance. That new world speed record for an open-topped production car is now officially 408.84kph (254mph), so Bugatti are dong what Bugatti do and producing a limited edition World Speed Record car – the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse WRC Edition. The Vitesse WRC comes with Bugatti’s 7.9 litre W16 with 1184bhp, 1,106lb/ft of torque and the same orange and black colour scheme as the Grand Sport World Record Coupe got when it broke the world speed record for a production car.

Aston Martin & Mercedes join forces

Aston Martin Production will soon see an injection of Mercedes DNA This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about a partnership between Aston Martin and Mercedes, but according to Car & Driver it’s now just about a done deal. As long ago as March 2009 we reported that Mercedes supplied the basis for the Lagonda SUV Concept (a Mercedes GL), and six months later we reported that Aston Martin were working on a Mercedes S-Class based Lagonda saloon. More recently we reported that the GL-based Lagonda SUV was back on and that Mercedes wanted Aston Martin to put together the next generation of Maybach.