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

2014 Mercedes S Class LIVE reveal

The new S Class (W222) gets a bit longer than the current S Class (by 20mm), a bit wider (28mm) and a bit lower (25mm) but the wheelbase of the standard S Class stays the same at 3035mm with the long wheelbase S Class getting an extra 130mm for extra sprawling room. There will be a variety of engines on offer in the new S Class (from parsimonious 4-cylinders to mighty V12s) but we’re expecting at launch that just three will be on offer – the S350 diesel with a 255bhp V6, the S400 with a 300bhp V6 petrol and the S500 with a 4.7 litre turbo petrol with 450bhp. In terms of styling, Mercedes appear to have taken away much of the bulbous look of the current S Class and replaced it with a more flowing shape, but one that’s still very much S Class.

Suzuki refreshes Swift with five-door Sport and 4x4 model

Suzuki is offering its cracking little warm hatch, the Swift Sport, with five doors for 2013. The family-friendly model shares its powertrain with the three-door Swift CAR ran (and loved) as a long termer last year – that means a naturally aspirated, 1.6-litre engine good for 134bhp, a six-speed manual gearbox and 0-62mph in 8.7sec. Suzuki says it expects one-third of Swift Sport customers to opt for the five-door model – sales have so far averaged 1200 a year in the UK.

Ellesmere Port's bid to build Ampera hits snags

By Rob Golding Motor Industry 09 October 2009 15:02 Prime minister Gordon Brown’s personal crusade to get Vauxhall's version of the Chevrolet Volt petrol-electric plug-in hybrid – the Ampera – built in Britain's Ellesmere Port factory in 2012 is a dream delayed, CAR can disclose today.News that the UK Astra plant is the best in Europe, that the Astra's Delta platform will underpin the Ampera, and that Volt will be on US sale from 2010 had been taken to mean that Vauxhall would be churning out the cars in the north west within three years.But the prospect of an electric car industry growing up around the run-down Merseyside manufacturing site is not imminent, CAR has learned.'No Ampera to be built in Europe before 2015'Vauxhall insiders have made it clear that the car to be known as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera in Europe will be an import from the US for at least five years. One senior planner told us: 'The US will be the sole source of Amperas until at least 2015.'Bob Lutz, GM's former product supremo who recently came out of retirement as a PR, said that the low value of the dollar made the US an ideal site for the manufacturing of export cars. And with forecast sticker prices of the range-extender electric car standing at a scary £35,000+, every price saving is vital to its marketability.The European market also needs time to get its electricity recharge infrastructure in place before it is worth making cars onshore in volume, GM high-ups point out.