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

Mini John Cooper Works WRC: the roll cage in detail

Mini claims it’s created the safest WRC car ever – with a little help from Prodrive.  And to prove the point, they’ve opened up the Mini Countryman WRC’s innards and spilled some of the secrets of its rollcage. The Countryman racer is stripped and fitted with a new type of rollcage designed by Prodrive. Its beams curve outwards and the Banbury engineers say it has been designed to withstand impacts much better than the straight crossbeams used in most WRC cars.

The case of the disappearing Lambos

Now this should have rung an alarm bell or two at the time, but it seems it didn’t. Back in November the world’s largest Lamborghini dealership – Lamborghini Orange County – turned up its toes and closed the doors, apparently a victim of the downturn in car sales. Not the oddest story in these times admittedly, but a bit odd when you consider that Lamborghini OC was reckoned to be responsible for 10% of Lamborghini’s sales worldwide, shifting around 240 cars a year.

Rolls-Royce Wraith (2013) first teaser image of Ghost coupe

Following last week's official announcement of a Rolls-Royce Ghost-based coupe, the Goodwood manufacturer has released the first in its series of teaser images of the new Wraith two-door. We'll see the car in full at the Geneva motor show on 5 March 2013. The Rolls-Royce Wraith doesn't look like I expected it to...