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

New Mercedes SLS planned – & it won’t be a hybrid

AMG’s Tobias Moers has confirmed that a new Mercedes SLS is planned – as is a sub-SLS SLC – but it won’t come with hybrid power and electric assistance. But the Mercedes take on a supercar – the Mercedes SLS – isn’t set to go down the KERS route ant time soon according to AMG’s Director of Vehicle Development, Tobias Moers, who said that a next generation SLS – which is under development – would rely on weight saving and engine tweaking, just like the new Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series (pictured above), rather than electric assistance for its performance. Moers also said that Mercedes and AMG realised that the AMG brand doesn’t have the cachet of Ferrari and they have no plans to produce a car to go head to head with LaFerrari (or even the McLaren P1) so we won’t be seeing a hyper-SLS pushed upmarket in to the firing line of Ferrari any time soon.

Audi preps S3 Cabriolet for Geneva

Audi revealed the S3 Cabriolet on Wednesday, before its Geneva motor show debut. The go-fast version of the small A3 Cab shares the same widespread MQB architecture as the rest of the 3 range, but it gets a hotter engine, a lower stance and, of course, a rag top. It’ll arrive in Germany this summer, and possibly here sometime after the S3 sedan in early 2015.

Driven: Mini Countryman

There has been no more contentious a car launched this year than the Mini Countryman. It's been labeled by some as sacrilegious to the very essence of the Mini brand, of 'selling out' and, yes, of being ugly. But does the concept of a four-meter Mini translate to use in the real world?