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

Lexus IS 300h promises unrivalled ownership costs

The new Lexus IS - launched at Detroit in January and costing from £26,495 for the IS 250 in the UK – actually offers ownership costs that eclipse diesel offerings from the likes of Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Mercedes, say Lexus. Despite the logical assumption that the complex hybrid powerplant in the IS 300h would cost more to maintain, Lexus say the opposite is true. Because it has no clutch and the starter motor and alternator are integrated they require no servicing or replacement and Lexus has fitted a timing chain instead of a timing belt, so it won’t need regular replacement either.

Shelby Daytona Coupe gains national historic status

As the first car to warrant U.S. Heritage Documentation, Shelby's first-ever Daytona Coupe now merits the same significance as the Chrysler Building, the Apollo capsule, and the USS Iowa. But of course, we already knew that.

New Audi S6 and S6 Avant (2012) Frankfurt Preview

New Audi S6 and S6 Avant (2012) at Frankfurt Frankfurt 2011 is going to be something of an Audi ‘S’ Fest, with four new 2012 ‘S’ models making a début, including these – the Audi S6 and the Audi S6 Avant. There’s little to choose between the S6 and S6 Avant in performance terms, just as you’d expect, with both cars featuring Audi’s new 4.0 litre TFSI V8 with 420bhp and 406lb/ft of torque (that’s the same V8 we will see in the Bentley Continental GT – and probably at Frankfurt too). That’s enough to take the S6 to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds, with the S6 Avant just the smallest bit behind at 4.9 seconds, and on to an electronically governed 155mph.