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

Government driving down electric avenue

THE GOVERNMENT is to lead by example by buying more than 150 electric and plug-in hybrid cars for its fleets. All fleet managers will have funding allocated with a view to buying ultra-low-emission vehicles (ULEVs) to replace older vehicles as part of the their normal working life cycle. According to Westminster sources, a long-term plan is in place to make such cars and vans entirely commonplace.

Ford Focus ST gets 330 Cosworth horses

Cosworth has prepared an extreme Ford Focus ST CS 330 for the 2012 SEMA Show with cosmetic tweaks and 330 hp. The Ford Focus ST finally went on sale in June, the closest thing we’ve got to a Focus RS, at least for now. But Cosworth has prepared their own Focus ST for this year’s SEMA show offering more power than the last generation Focus RS and almost as much as the run-our RS 500.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS (2010) bows in

The 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS will be at the Frankfurt Motor Show As you can probably guess, the first thing the latest GT3 RS gets is a hike in power, courtesy of the move from the old naturally aspirated 3.6 litre to the 3.8 litre you get in the new 911 Turbo, minus the turbos. But that still gives you 450bhp – up 15bhp on the regular GT3 – all of which gets shoved through a shorter ratio six-speed manual box. No nancy-boy paddles shifters here.