Mahle Engine Piston W/rings 060 43037 057 Engine Piston on 2040-parts.com

Next Mazda MX-5/Alfa Romeo roadster engines?

The last manual-transmission diesel convertible we drove was the Volkswagen Beetle. It was a fine little cruiser -- “joyful” is a word we bandied about a lot. But a diesel Miata?

Vauxhall Astra VXR (2012) gets 282bhp + new GTC photos

Astra GTC Concept Paris Vauxhall sneaked us a peek at the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR a couple of weeks ago – slightly titivated and called the Astra GTC Concept admittedly – but the 2012 Vauxhall Astra VXR none the less. And we ran the story, even though there was precious little to say beyond they’d turned the ‘blades’ round on the doors to make it look more butch and that it’d turn up when the 3 door Astra does in a years time. But Vauxhall has decided to throw a little more out there, so we get images of the interior and some firm (ish) news on the oily bits.

Nissan GT-R Nismo leaks – gets 595bhp

Nissan GT-R Nismo leaks – gets 595bhp Nissan has been planning to add Nismo performance versions across their range of production cars for the last couple of years, and we’ve seen the Juke Nismo and 370Z Nismo already. Next up is the Nissan GT-R Nismo (even though you’d think it might be tough to make the mad GT-R any more ‘sporty’), an arrival confirmed by Carlos Ghosn back in February when he said “It would be unthinkable for us to develop a range of Nismo road cars without including the GT-R“. Now, ahead of a reveal this week, the first photo of the new GT-R Nismo has arrived together with some detail on what’s on offer.