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

Mazda's rotary engine stalled, not forgotten

Development of the next-generation rotary engine from Mazda Motor Corp., first unveiled three years ago, is making slow progress despite missing emissions targets. A top Mazda powertrain executive said today that the 1.6-liter rotary engine, called the 16X, is about 30 percent more fuel-efficient than the current rotary engine used in the RX-8 sporty car. In fact, the 16X so far performs slightly better than Mazda's standard two-liter gasoline engine, said Mitsuo Hitomi, general manager of the Japanese carmaker's powertrain division.

Asda starts new fuel price war

DRIVERS are set to keep some extra money in their pockets with the announcement that Asda is to cut its fuel prices. From tomorrow the firm’s forecourts will knock 2p per litre off both its unleaded and its diesel. If past trends continue, rival supermarkets Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s are expected to follow suit and reduce their own fuel prices.

Kia Pro_Cee’d GT Turbo teased

The Kia Pro Cee’d GT – complete with the 1.6 litre petrol turbo from the Veloster with 200bhp – is being teased by Kia. We reported last month that Kia are planning to put the 200bhp, 1.6 litre Turbo from the Hyundai Veloster in to the new Pro_cee’d three door to create a hot little coupe, and now Kia has caught up with that news with the first tease for the Pro_cee’d GT. It’s probably best to take the teaser photo of the Pro_cee’d GT with a pinch of salt – it’s a typically extreme rendering of the car we’ll actually get – but it does demonstrate that Kia want to differentiate the Pro_cee’d GT from the more prosaic models.