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

Chris Bangle Associates announces 'Illustrate the Future' design competition

Chris Bangle Associates has announced a new design contest called 'Illustrate the Future.' The competition is open to all design students across all design disciplines and coincides with the launch of Managing Director, Chris Bangle's new book. "I have written a fiction book about Car Design and the prologue takes place 25 years in the future," says Bangle. "It contains some concepts I have been working on, and this contest is to see what YOU would make of them." Bangle's novel explores the state of affairs in the car design field and also expresses his concerns about the culture future generations of designers will inherit.

Audi RS5 TDI Concept gets electric turbo and 380bhp

The Audi RS5 TDI Concept (pictured) gets an electric turbo It’s two years since Audi revealed it was working on an electric turbo to be used in a twin-turbo setup, with the electric turbo able to offer boost pressure from much lower down the rev range than a normal turbo. That has turned in to the Audi RS5 TDI Concept, where Audi has replaced the normal RS5‘s V8 with a 3.0 litre TDI engine with a small electric turbo for low rev work and a bigger turbo to do the higher rev stuff. The electric turbo works from the off to provide maximum torque of 553lb/ft from just 1250rpm, before the bigger normal turbo takes over at 3,000rpm to continue the boost.

Mini unveils Clubman concept at Geneva Motor Show with more doors

This week Mini has brought the Clubman concept to the Geneva Motor Show, and even though it's officially a concept car for the purposes of its appearance at the 2014 edition of the Salon International de l'Auto, the car itself is basically production ready behind the scenes. The Clubman has grown unexpectedly for the 2015 model year redesign, to the point where it might be confused with the five-door Hardtop, but that's a different model which we'll see later in the year. Even though the Clubman now boasts six doors, it will be positioned somewhat differently from its five-door Hardtop sibling, even though in practice the two will be offering essentially the same package.