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

Lotus gets Ferrari Designer

Ferrari Designer Donato Coco joins Lotus as Director of Design As we’ve reported umpteen times this year, Lotus are getting things very right. They’re selling the new Lotus Evora hand over fist and have plans in place to a convertible Evora and of course the new Lotus Esprit. Part of the long-term plan at Lotus is to bring the Hethel boys back to the top of the heap in the way Lotus were in the glory days of Colin Chapman.

Mazda outlines weight-loss program

Mazda Motor Corp. will reduce its vehicle weights by at least 220 pounds beginning in 2011, with a combination of lighter-weight materials, smaller vehicle footprints and new engineering processes, a top executive says. The typical Mazda vehicle has gained 80 pounds with each successive redesign, “mostly in larger tires and wheels, and safety equipment,” said Robert Davis, senior vice president of product development and quality for Mazda North American Operations.

Bertone B99 Jaguar NOT for Jaguar. Perhaps Lamborghini will be interested?

The Bertone B99 Jaguar Concept - not for us, say Jaguar We thought we were in a minority of one when we proclaimed the Bertone B99 – Bertone’s take on a new Small Jaguar – to be the wrong direction for Jaguar. We couldn’t conceive why a struggling Italian design firm like Bertone would take a punt on designing a new Jaguar, so we assumed that Jaguar must have quietly commissioned it. Otherwise Bertone would have to be a bit barking to try and usurp Jaguar’s design team; a design team with as sure a touch as any in the industry.