Magnaflow 17989 Pro Performance Exhaust System on 2040-parts.com

Salon Privé 2011: Night Shift

Salon Prive does a Night Shift for the Pommery Picnic It may be a bit of an exagerration to say that Salon Privé – one of our favourite ‘Car’ outings – is going to include a night shift in 2011 – but almost. Salon Prive’s move from the Hurlingham in Chelsea out to the less central – but more hospitable – Duke of Northumberland’s gaff at Syon Park means there’s room to expand the event, so we’re getting treated to the ‘Pommery Picnic’ on the Friday evening – 7pm ’til 11pm. As we never fail to mention when we bang on about Salon Prive, it’s just like a Garden Party in a wealthy friend’s house where he just happens to have littered the grounds with the world’s greatest cars.

Mercedes A-class (2012) prices and specs

Mercedes has announced its new A-class hatch will start from £18,945 for the entry-level petrol A180 in the UK, rising all the way to £28,775 for the A250 in 'Engineered by AMG' trim. Which engines power the new Mercedes A-class? The base A180 gets a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder with 120bhp.

One Lap of the Web: No school like old school

-- You don't see a Packard-powered hot rod very often, and we have to wonder why. Stuff your Ford flatheads, ditch your boring V8s! Few things in the world are cooler than eight cylinders lined up in unwavering authority, to the tune of 327ci, with a McCullough supercharger feeding four Stromberg 97 carburetors above aluminum heads.