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

Mickey Thompson: A life remembered

Come celebrate the life and fast times of motorsports legend Mickey Thompson with the people who knew him best: his son, Danny Thompson; his first wife and Danny's mother, Judy Thompson Creach; fellow hot-rod hero Alex Xydias; drag racer Tom Jobe, and turbocharger mad scientist Gale Banks. The event will come in the form of a panel discussion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif., on May 15 at 2 p.m. The incomparable silver-tongued Dave McClellan will serve as moderator.

2012 Audi R8 facelift, more power & S-tronic ‘box

Audi R8 getting a facelift - and more power - in 2012 The supercar with a mainstream car maker’s badge attached that is the Audi R8 has been something of a success as a halo car for the Audi range since it arrived in V8 form in 2007 (well, probably 2008 by the time most customer cars turned up). Since the original V8 R8 arrived we’ve had an absolute deluge – in supercar terms – of R8 models from Audi including the R8 V8, R8 V8 Spyder, R8 V10, R8 V10 Spyder and the rather costly R8 GT and R8 GT Spyder. But through that time the engines – apart from in the R8 GT – have remained the same, as has the woeful R-Tronic gearbox.

Aston Martin DB9 4WD Plug-in Hybrid revealed by Bosch (video)

Bosch has built a plug-in hybrid Aston Martin DB9 We’ve always believed one of the best uses for hybrid powertrains is to provide extra performance on high-end cars, something Bosh has demonstrated by fitting the Aston Martin DB9 with a hybrid setup. The hybrid DB9 hasn’t been built to preview a production hybrid DB9 (although it probably should) but to demonstrate what Bosch can do with an existing car. Aston Martin donated the DB9 to Bosch for the hybrid project, and Bosh has fitted the DB9 with three electric motors – one at each front wheel and one next to the Aston’s V12 – which gives the DB9 something in the region of an extra 250bhp to play with.