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

One lap of the Web: $52 million Ferrari 250 GTO, Alfa Romeo Montreal for sale and more bizarro engines

-- Even as the hammer fell on Juan Manuel Fangio's $30 million Mercedes-Benz W196R, we knew that that car wasn't the most expensive one ever sold -- it was merely the most expensive car sold at auction. Other cars were reported to have traded for a bit more in private sales. But now we have word of a car that absolutely blows the sale price of Fangio's little Silver Arrow out of the water: a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold to an undisclosed buyer for $52 million.

Redesigned 2014 Lexus IS base price increases

Lexus has set the base price of the 2014 IS compact sport sedan at $36,845, including shipping, an increase of $885 from its predecessor, Lexus said. In contrast, the top-level IS 350 with all-wheel drive starts at $42,595, including shipping, which is 2.1 percent lower than the model it replaces, Lexus said in a statement this week. The pricing makes good on Lexus' guarantee to keep the base price attainable for consumers “by narrowing the gap between the 250 and 350,” a Lexus spokesman said.

Few cars perform well in new insurance group crash test

The insurance industry has unveiled a new, tough frontal-crash test. The first batch of 11 luxury and near-luxury cars put to the test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety didn't fare so well--only three were rated as good or acceptable. The test rams the front corner of a car into a fixed barrier at 40 mph.