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

Who's Where: Gerry McGovern to head Land Rover design

Land Rover has announced that Gerry McGovern will take over as Design Director for all Land Rover design with immediate effect. Current Design Director, Geoff Upex, is to retire from the company at the end of 2006 after 23 years service and, to ensure a smooth handover, will continue to play a key role in the launch of new products including the all-new Freelander2/LR2 over the coming months. Gerry McGovern has been Director, Advanced Design, Land Rover, since 2004 and has spent the majority of his career with Land Rover and Rover Group in UK, apart from a short period with Lincoln-Mercury in the USA.

Carbon-fiber parts and a software fix help create a lighter, faster Fiat

Chrysler Group's Mopar parts brand and Italian supplier Magneti Marelli have teamed up on a design exercise based on the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth that shaved weight and added horsepower. The vehicle, called the Venom, has a number of carbon fiber components -- hood and side mirrors, for example -- that makes it about 200 pounds lighter than the 2,512-pound Abarth. The Venom uses software updates and additional exhaust components to boost the Abarth's standard 160-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output by as much as 25 percent.

JLR to build Range Rover Evoque & Jaguar XJ in India

The 2014 Range Rover Evoque (pictured) joins the Jaguar XJ as new Indian-built cars Jaguar Land Rover already bolt together the Land Rover Freelander and Jaguar XF in India, which explains why they are the best-selling models in JLR’s range in India. That’s because import duties for cars in India can be as much as 170 per cent, so building cars locally make them much more competitively priced. At the Delhi Auto Expo Ralph Speth, JLR’s CEO, confirmed plans to start building the Jaguar XJ in India (including the XJ with the 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine), despite the complexity of producing as complex a car as the XJ outside the UK.