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

New 2013 Nissan Note gets more appealing

The new Nissan Note has turned in to a Ford Fiesta basher as Nissan turn the Note from a boring little MPV in to a convincing small hatch. We did think the Invitation would be watered down to produce a slightly titivated new Note for production, but much of the style has found its way through in to the new Note – which we first saw in the JDM Nissan Note last summer – and the Note now looks set to take on proper compact hatches like the Ford Fiesta. The nose of the new Note is now more convincing – with new headlights and grill – and the doors get a great big feature crease that looks like a giant smoothing iron has stamped its mark, although Nissan say it’s a ‘Squash Line’  whose ‘angles were inspired by the flight of a fast moving squash ball travelling around a court’.

One Lap of the Web: A Bentley reborn, goldRush shenanigans and squirrel-dodging in a BMW

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- At first glance, this 1953 Bentley R-Type Special Roadster looks like a typical old-school British drop-top.

Audi A8 & S8 get a facelift to stand up to the new Mercedes S Class

The Audi A8 (pictured) and S8 get a facelift for 2014 The Mercedes S Class has always been the benchmark against which all luxury saloons are measured, so with a new S-Class now heading for a Mercedes showroom near you, Audi are giving the A8 and S8 a facelift in the hope their sales will hold up. On the cosmetic front, the A8/S8 facelift is pretty much what you’d expect with a nip and tuck for the bumpers and grill, the odd new contour, bits of extra chrome and LED headlights. There’s also the option of Matrix LED headlights that light up to 25 individual LEDs to suit need.