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

Aston Martin Vanquish Volante revealed at Pebble Beach

Aston Martin Vanquish Volante revealed at Pebble Beach (Photo credit: Kimball Studios, courtesy Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance) 2013 is a big year for Aston Martin – its 100th Anniversary – so Aston Martin at Pebble Beach this year is more than worth a look as Aston seeks to make a suitavly impressive spectacle at North America’s most prestigious car weekend. Top of the list of goodies – perhaps – for Pebble is the reveal this weekend of the convertible version of the new Vanquish – the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante – which gets a world public debut in front of the appreciative, and knowledgeable, crowd at Pebble. They’ll appreciate how clever Aston has been with the new Vanquish Volante which, despite using technology that’s really now past its sell-by date, they’ve managed to produce a convertible that’s incredibly stiff (certainly in comparison to the DBS Volante), beautiful to look at and performs as well as the Coupe.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Mercedes C-class AMG DTM (2012) at Frankfurt motor show

Mercedes’ F125 concept might preview a hydrogen future for the automobile, but alongside this tech-laden show car Benz boss Dr Zetsche (with a little help from Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg) also unveiled a hardcore race car. It’s the Mercedes C-class Coupe AMG DTM, which will compete in next season’s Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters – think touring car, only with 4.0-litre V8s and rear-wheel drive chassis. Is the Mercedes C-class Coupe AMG DTM a C63 AMG Coupe under the skin?