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

Revving up for winter

It happens every year, that inevitable moment Mother Nature decides to unleash her snowy wrath on the greater part of the United States. Winter has arrived and suddenly your rear-wheel drive, high-performance cars aren't providing you with the performance or confidence you need to combat those Antarctic-esque conditions. For those fortunate enough to live in year-round T-shirt permitting weather, we invite you to keep reading, because it's a fact that all 50 states receive some measure of winter weather in a typical year.

Honda CR-Z Mugen RR – it’s the Japanese version

Honda CR-Z Mugen RR - no power details forthcoming We’ve reported quite a bit on Mugen UK’s efforts to sprinkle fairy dust on the Honda CR-Z Hybrid to turn it in to the sort of hybrid that would appeal to a keen driver. And now it’s the turn of Mugen in Japan who have also built a supposedly one-off CR-Z – the Honda CR-Z Mugen RR. The Euro Mugen CR-Z – which was on show at Goodwood last month – was eventually fettled to deliver 197bhp by bolting on a supercharger.

Dodge Viper takes Nurburgring Record – sort of

Dodge Viper - new Nurburgring record Back in 2008, the Dodge Viper ACR went to the Nurburgring and proved that cars built in the former Colonies really can go round bends, even bends at the ‘Green Hell’ of the Nurburgring. Not only could the Dodge Viper go round bends, but it made a pretty good fist of blasting down the straights too, culminating in a record-breaking lap of 7:22.1. But since 2008 things have moved on, with even a Lexus LFA posting a ‘Ring time of 7:14.64, so the SRT has returned to the Nordschleife to set about squeezing a bit more out of the Viper.