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

Nissan ads stray from focus on price

Nissan North America will stray from the discount-deal marketing pitch adopted late last year when a sinking economy kept consumers away from U.S. dealerships. A TV ad campaign that begins on Thursday will tout the loftier messages of safety, quality and performance.

Renault Twin’Run gets 316bhp & pays homage to the Renault 5 Turbo

The Twin’Run is an extreme version of the next Twingo and manages to pay homage to the old Renault 5, with a thumping great V6 bolted in the middle and pumping out 316bhp and 280lb/ft of torque, enough to get to 62mph in 4.5 seconds and on to 155mph. The Nissan-sourced V6 gets mated to a SADEV six-speed sequential gearbox and comes with a limited slip diff to stop the tyres burning off when the going gets brisk. As well as endowing the Twin’Run with lots of power, Renault has also kept weight down to 950kg by using a tubular chassis, glass-polyester composite for the bodywork, lumps of carbon fibre and not a hugely laden interior.

BMW i and Wallpaper* Megacity project

BMW i and Wallpaper* magazine have joined forces for ‘Sustainable Neighborhoods', a global project exploring how design and technology will serve in keeping megacities of the future moving. Students teams from each of the six chosen neighborhoods – from Los Angeles, Paris, London, Hangzhou, Berlin and Tokyo – have been tasked by the two companies, and their school course, to research their nearest megacity for a suitable case study to act as a catalyst for creative thinking about how short term cultural and technological evolution will have an impact on the way we live tomorrow. A series of workshops and in-depth discussions took place with students, tutors and members of BMW's global design team to examine the evolution of cities and research six different city zones, with the aim of defining a new infrastructural, cultural or social project that will scale seamlessly into the future.