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

Audi RS5 (2010) first official pictures

This is the new Audi RS5, a £60,000 super-coupe with a high-revving 4.2-litre V8 and a 174mph top speed. It's Audi's riposte to the BMW M3, and we'll see it in the metal at next week's 2010 Geneva motor show. Under the bonnet is the same naturally aspirated 4163cc V8 that powered the old RS4 and is currently found in the R8, but Audi’s Quattro GmbH division – responsible for all of Ingolstadt’s RS models – has squeezed an extra 30bhp out of the engine. That means the high-revving, direct-injection 4.2-litre V8 produces 444bhp at 8250rpm, along with 317lb ft from 4000 to 8000rpm.  That power is sent through a seven-speed S-tronic gearbox to all four wheels, and with the Launch Control system engaged it’s enough to propel the 1725kg coupe to 62mph in 4.6 seconds, before powering the RS5 on to its 155mph limiter.

Official claims Fisker Karma to blame in Texas house fire

Last week, a fire badly damaged the home of a new Fisker Karma owner, and authorities are saying that the electric car was the source of the blaze. According to Fort Bend County, Texas, chief fire investigator Robert Baker, the Fisker Karma started the fire that spread to the house. “Yes, the Karma was the origin of the fire, but what exactly caused that we don't know at this time,” he said.

Pioneer App Radio officially unveiled

Pioneer has officially unveiled the App Radio that AutoWeek told you about earlier this month. Now that it's willing to talk, Pioneer claims that the radio and audio system is "the first in-vehicle product designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, network connectivity and apps of the iPhone and iPod Touch as the primary source for its information and entertainment capabilities." That does sound a lot like what Mini Connected and, in a more platform-agnostic sense, Ford Sync are doing. Pioneer said it couldn't speak to the similarity of those systems, but Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for Pioneer's car-electronics division, briefed us on installation of the device and what Pioneer is doing to minimize driver distraction.