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

Design Museum's Designs of the Year Awards 2012

The Design Museum opened its ‘Designs of the Year' exhibition yesterday in a celebration of global design innovation at its home in Shad Thames, London. Designs from across the world within seven categories – Transport, Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics and Product – have been nominated by industry experts, with the nominations now on show at the Design Museum. The first of the transportation nominations is the Autolib, a Parisian electric car commissioned by Paris' Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë.

2012 Renault Scenic / Grand Scenic facelift

Renault Scenic & Grand Scenic get a facelift for 2012 Renault has tweaked the Scenic and Grand Scenic for 2012 with a mild styling facelift, trim changes and two new engines. The Renault Scenic (and Grand Scenic, too) were really the first in the race to fill a niche for comfortable, versatile transport for ferrying your brood and their stuff. Not completely French-soft in ride – but far more comfortable than most later rivals – and quite well built, the Scenic – with its Megane roots – offers a better than average combination of handling and grip, even if it is a bit compromised by its height.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car revealed

Porsche will bring its latest hybrid know-how to the racetrack in the form of the new 911 GT3 R Hybrid, revealed here for the first time prior to a planned public premiere at the Geneva auto show in early March. Developed by a team of engineers at Porsche's Weissach R&D center, Porsche plans for the stripped-out race car to act as a rolling laboratory. The German carmaker wants to explore the potential of hybrid drivetrains in a racing environment before an expected announcement that it will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a factory capacity, perhaps in 2012, with a race car boasting technology based on that used in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid.