Mazda Rx7 2nd Gen Transmission 88-91 on 2040-parts.com

New Skoda Octavia vRS hatch & estate revealed

The 2013 Skoda Octavia vRS has been revealed (vRS hatch pictured) The Skoda Octavia vRS – the latest version of Skoda’s quick and appealing take on the VW Golf GTI – has been unveiled ahead of its debut at the Goodwood FoS in July, and it looks a cracker. Available as either a hatchback or estate – and as a diesel or a petrol – the Octavia vRS manages to repackage the Golf GTI and Golf GTD in to one Skoda, offering good performance (the vRS is a bit slower than the GTI to 62mph at 6.8 seconds but has a 2mph higher top speed), good looks and the promise of prices starting not much above £20k. The petrol vRS gets the Golf GTI’s 217bhp 2.0 litre TSI and the diesel vRS the 181bhp 2.0 litre TFI from the Golf GTD, both with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard and a six-speed DSG as option, sports suspension, XDS differential, quicker steering and multi-link rear suspension.

Audi's new A8 (2010): the first teaser photos

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 21 July 2009 17:34 Audi has released a teaser picture and sketch of its new A8 limo. Buried amongst the press material for Ingolstadt’s 100th anniversary were the two teaser images: the sketch reveals the headlight and grille design; the picture shows the A8 hidden beneath a black Audi-branded dustsheet.The A8 is currently in the final stages of testing, but Audi promises an unveil in ‘the late autumn of 2009’ – the new aluminium limo isn’t expected at the Frankfurt motor show this September, so we should see it in LA later in the year. Audi claims its ‘new flagship offers an impressive palette of innovative technologies and will redefine the benchmark for luxury saloons.’  A typically bullish claim – how will Audi match its boasts?The basic tech remains the same, with an aluminium chassis – which will also underpin the next Bentley Continental – that contributes to a significant weight saving.

Nissan expects 20,000 initial orders for Leaf EV

Nissan North America will begin taking sales orders for its new Nissan Leaf electric vehicle next spring and expects to have 20,000 of them pre-sold by the time the model reaches U.S. showrooms in the third quarter. “We are confident we will have 20,000 reservations for the Leaf by the time it goes on sale,” Carlos Tavares, Nissan's chairman for the Americas, said Tuesday.