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

SEMA 2008 show report: Volkswagen Passat CC

By Ben Whitworth Motor Shows 07 November 2008 09:00 Volkswagen’s sobriety took a back seat at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week – it pulled the covers off a pair of muscle-bound Passat CCs, a racy 295bhp Tiguan and a grunty diesel Jetta aimed at cajoling the American market into turning its back on gasoline. The unambiguously named Performance CC – designed by Volkswagen’s California-based design centre – gets a shot in the arm from a three-stage turbo boost to its 2.0-litre TSI engine. In Eco mode you get a modest 222bhp and 236 lb ft of torque, GT mode hikes those outputs to 252bhp and 268 lbs ft, while the Full Power stage unleashes 311bhp and 313 lb ft.

Renault Gordini back

The old Clio Renaultsport with a 1965 Renault Gordini 8 I think you’ll probably have to be over 40 – or a Renault nut – to have any knowledge of the Renault Gordini. But you’re soon going to be a bit more knowledgeable if reports that Renault are about to revive the Gordini name are true. There have been rumours for quite a while that Renault want to use the Gordini name on their ‘Sporty’ cars in the same way that BMW has used the Cooper name on MINIs and Fiat the Abarth name.

Mustangs rule at Fabulous Fords Forever

Mustangs ruled the day at the 29th annual Fabulous Fords Forever car show. “This is the Mustang year,” said Fabulous board member Marc Bodrie. “From 12 months ago, we knew we were going to center this show on 50 years of Mustang.” You could argue that every year is a Mustang year at FFF, with the storied two-door often making up more than half the entries.