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

Tomorrow’s world: future petrol engine tech news

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 28 September 2009 14:15 Petrol engines are changing dramatically. You’ll have heard of the phrase 'downsizing' and most major manufacturers are shrinking their regular gasoline engines to trim emissions and fuel consumption – while employing new tech to keep up the horsepower and torque outputs. This is the holy grail for engineers: maintain the power and performance of the existing big capacity engines we’ve become wedded to, but in a smaller, more economical package.

VW at Geneva Motor Show: 2010 VW Sharan

Volkaswagen has revealed the 2010 VW Sharan at the Geneva Motor Show Last week we reported on VW’s little German tease of the 2010 Sharan on the VW web site in Germany, coyly showing just a partial front end and one wheel. But a week on there’s no such reticence with a full reveal of VW’s big people carrier at Geneva. The last generation of the Sharan shared a platform with Ford’s Galaxy, but the 2010 Volkswagen Sharan is a purely VW venture -based as it is on VW’s flexible MQB platform – and comes complete with the standard fashion accessory for a people carrier of sliding rear doors, and a more flexible seven-seat layout.

Toyota Unveils new Prius at Detroit Auto Show: Bigger, with more power and less weight

Toyota introduced its third-generation Prius at the Detroit Auto Show with an extensively re-engineered hybrid drivetrain. Ninety percent of the Prius's hybrid synergy drive system has been redesigned, with the focus on weight reduction. The lighter components include the transaxle to cut down on torque loss, inverter with direct cooling and smaller motor.