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

Biker attempts to beat London marathon record... in traffic

AS BRITISH favourite Mo Farah prepares to challenge the British record at the London Marathon this weekend, an enterprising biker has decided to try it himself – in the thick of London traffic. On closed roads a man vs machine race would be a bit one-sided, but with the average speed of a fast marathon runner being 12.43mph and the average speed of a motorbike in London traffic being 12.5mph, the result turned out not to be so clear-cut – the biker missing out on the record by a full five minutes. Using the same BMW F800GS Adventure as is loaned to the marathon organisers, Michael Mann of online community Bike Social followed the route as closely as possible, albeit with a few extra loops where the runners will take advantage of closed one-way streets.

Vauxhall Insignia CDTi 4×4 – the first diesel 4×4 in the Insignia range

The Vauxhall Insignia CDTi 4x4 gets launched in September The Insignia range is proving to be a big success for Vauxhall (and Opel, for that matter) with a strong range of models from the rep-special 1.8 petrol on up to the range-topping Insignia VXR Sports Tourer. And most models can be grabbed with a wide variety of trim and engine options to suit the buyer. Unless you want a diesel 4×4.

Configure and price the 2015 Chrysler 200 of your dreams online

Perhaps we're more excited about the 2015 Chrysler 200, which just made its official debut at the Detroit auto show, than we ought to be. In one sense, it's just another compact sedan in a segment full of capable vehicles. But we didn't have a lot of love for the looks or performance of the current car, which felt like a carryover from Detroit's darkest days hanging around until something more competitive came down the assembly line.