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

McLaren MP4-12C gets 616 bhp

The McLaren MP4-12C is about to get some upgrades – including an extra 25bhp – which will also be offered to existing owners free of charge. On balance, what McLaren has achieved with the MP4-12C is nothing short of remarkable. Yes, there have been a few glitches along the way, but in truth they have been little more than the sort of hiccups almost any new supercar suffers as it escapes in to the wild and has to deal with the real world and real drivers.

Performance Car of the Year photo gallery - day 2

 CAR's road testers always dress up for the occasion The Porsche 911 GT2 RS is trailered to the south of France from Stuttgart. It's the car that raises the pulse more than any other here 'I'll have one of each please.' The Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG arrive by lorry and appear magically on the top of a Provencal mountainside. Stops plenty of passing tourist trade Read the full story in the new January 2011 issue of CAR Magazine out on 22 December - there's a smashing 36-page standalone supplement charting the full story of Performance Car of the Year, as eight greats battle it out for CAR's annual sports car trophy Click through to our facebook page to 'like' your favourite images.

Mercedes AMG has best year ever

With car sales plummeting in 2008 (and likely to be worse in 2009) there aren’t many bright spots around. But performance saloons are certainly one of them. As we reported back in December, BMW’s M Division had a cracking year, with sales of nearly 27,000 for the year.