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

Merc to revive straight six, plus 4cyl and smaller V8s

Mercedes has just signed off a new engine family which will see most full-sized Mercs in future run four-cylinders, downsized V8s and… straight sixes. A friendly Mercedes engineer recently met CAR to disclose the engine plans for future models, including the surprise disclosure that Merc plans to switch to straight sixes, like its rivals over in Munich.  It's fair to say I almost choked on my breakfast croissant when I found out the details of the next MB engine generation which has just been signed off for release in 2015. Mercedes' future four-cylinder engines Again, there will be a family of new low-cost fours, and the big-bore V8s will be replaced by a series of downsized turbocharged 4.0-litre units.

McLaren to bring F1 GTR, LM and Longtail to Goodwood

McLaren is taking the 24 Hours of Le Mans off this year -- actually, it has taken the last 14 years off -- and is instead concentrating on a British tradition: the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The company confirmed it would bring the 1995 Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR to take on the hill this year. It will be joined by the one-off prototype McLaren F1 LM, as well as the Gulf-liveried McLaren F1 GTR Longtail, which claimed second place in 1997.

Mugen Honda CR-Z Hybrid – but don’t get too excited

The Honda CR-Z Hybrid gets the Mugen treatment Honda are trying to tell anyone who will listen that the Hybrid Honda CR-Z is a modern version of the Honda CRX. You know, all fun and sporty and nimble and on the right side of warm, but with all the green goodness people think they have to want. We haven’t actually come across anyone who buys in to the idea, but Honda aren’t giving up on the marketing pitch of the Honda CR-Z as the first ‘Sporty’ hybrid with the production version of the CR-Z debuting at Geneva next week.