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

Aston Martin V12 Vantage S arrives – the quickest production Aston ever (video)

The new, more powerful, Aston Martin V12 Vantage S arrives Aston Martin has been teasing something ‘Coming soon’ for a few days, and here it is – the new V12 Vantage S. The new S replaces the V12 Vantage (which we knew Aston Martin had stopped building) and gets Aston’s latest AM28 version of the venerable V12 with 565bhp and 457lb/ft of torque thanks to new engine management, combustion chambers and camshafts resulting in more power and a much flatter torque curve. The extra power has pushed the V12 S beyond the 200nph barrier, with the top speed now 205mph and, we assume, a quicker sprint to 62mph, but Aston Martin aren’t letting on how much quicker the V12 S is.

VW Group planning 10-speed DSG, new powerful diesel engine & more plug-in hybrids

The end of the internal combustion engine is nigh, they say, as the world tries to clean up its environmental act and works towards a goal of electric motors to power our personal transport. But car makers are fighting that belief by extracting more power for less fuel from ICE engines, and there’s still a very long way to go before the ICE engine is consigned to the history books. Volkswagen has already reduced the fuel consumption of both their diesel and petrol engines by 30 per cent since 2000 and plan a further reduction of 15 per cent by 2020.

Central Academy of Fine Arts degree show 2009, China

China's home grown car makers are increasingly ambitious, as illustrated by plans to grow rapidly at home and, in some cases, expand abroad and compete with foreign rivals in cutting-edge technologies. One big impediment they face in taking on their foreign rivals is design. Top dogs in the global auto industry invest heavily in engineers and designers.