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

Lotus's glimmer of hope: Proton stands by Hethel

After another painful year of sales for Lotus in the UK – down 58% on 2011 - Norfolk's beleagured sports car brand has kicked off the New Year with the grand unveiling of its new flagship Malaysian showroom, and the thumbs-up from senior Proton company suits that Lotus isn't on its last legs. The announcement comes in the same week Lotus’s sales figures were released for 2012. Showing a substantial 58% decrease in sales and selling just 137 vehicles, Lotus Cars was the worst performer in the UK with a woeful 0.01% share of the market.  Are Lotus's Malaysian owners sticking by the company?

Megane Renaultsport 265 Trophy grabs Nurburgring Record

Megane Renaultsport 265 Trophy and the Nurburgring crew First we get the news that Renault has pushed out a limited edition Megane Renaulsport – the Megane Renaulsport 265 Trophy with a slightly tweaked and titivated version of the Megane Renaultsport 250 – and now we get the follow-up publicity with the claim of a new Nurburgring record for the brisk Megane. This isn’t a record that’s quite as daft as some of the records that are claimed for the Nurburgring (there almost seems to be a specific category of ‘Record’ time to fit every car maker’s needs), but it does seem a bit obscure. It’s the Nurburgring record for the fastest production front wheel drive car.

Tough new sentences for banned drivers

Newspress Disqualified drivers who cause death on the roads face lengthier sentences, under tough new measures introduced by the justice secretary, Chris Grayling. The changes - which are expected to come into force in early 2015 - include a new offence of causing serious injury while disqualified. Drivers convicted of this new offence can expect a four-year prison term.