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

Bloodhound 1000mph World Speed Record attempt goes carbon neutral. Piffle.

Richard Noble’s Bloodhound Land Speed Record attempt will now be carbon neutral thanks to sponsorship by Carbon Neutral Investments (CNI). People like Richard Noble – leader of the Bloodhound Project aiming to break the 1000mph land speed record – are made of the same stuff as Spitfire pilots and Biggles, with a gung-ho approach to the inherent dangers and an inability to contemplate failure; British Bulldog Spirit at its best. So it seems almost sad that a proper Boy’s Own adventure like the Bloodhound SSC – a 133,000bhp rocket and jet powered racing car – should bow to trendy PC sensibilities by announcing it’s a ‘Carbon Neutral’ project.

Going, going, gone: Ford sells Volvo to Geely

Little more than a year ago, the name Geely would happily slip under the radar of most. Today, the Chinese company completed its purchase of Volvo from Ford. Geely stumped up a $1.3 billion in cash for the Swedish brand and issued a $200m note.

Mazda appoints Brit Kevin Rice as new European design chief

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 18 August 2014 10:13 Mazda has appointed Kevin Rice as its new European design director to replace the retiring Peter Birtwhistle. Rice joins at a key time for Mazda, which is replacing its model range at a rate of knots. It will show the new 2 supermini at the Paris motor show in October 2014, following the 3 mid-sized hatch and 6 family car which are both less than two years old.