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

Fiat set to grab 51 per cent of Chrysler

Sergio Marchionne wants majority at Chrysler What a difference a couple of years makes. On May Day in 2009 we reported that Chrysler had been put in to Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and the US Government was stepping in to ease the pain with $7.5 billion (admittedly at somewhat less than mates-rates) and that the management were ‘leaving the building’. Step forward Fiat to take up a 20% stake in Chrysler and Fiat boss, Sergio Marchionne, who planned to lead Chrysler away from the dark side and in to the light, with the promise of smaller and more efficient platforms and engines.

New MINI 5-door Hatch revealed – but will you fit through the back doors?

The 5-door MINI hatch arrives We’ve already had the more BMW-like new MINI arrive, and now, for the first time, we get a MINI 5-door hatch to try and extend the appeal of the MINI range to families. The 5-door MINI gets an extra 72mm in the wheelbase and a pair of doors at the back – which do look very tight for full-size people to use – and there’s also an extra 15mm of headroom, a bigger boot and seating for three in the back. In terms of design, there’s little to choose between the 5-door and the 3-door, but the new 5-door does look a bit like the off-spring of the new MINI and the Countryman; just a little dumpy.

SEAT Leon Cupra R arrives in the UK

The SEAT Leon Cupra R gets launched in the UK It was August last year that SEAT sent us a pile of bumph on the Leon Cupra R - the quickest SEAT to date – including a Cupra R press release we put up. We then had the Cupra R launch proper at Frankfurt in September, but it’s taken a further six months for SEAT to open up the order book in the UK (officially from 1st April) and no doubt a month or three more until the first UK customer gets to go and play. So was it worth the wait, this SEAT Leon Cupra R?