Mercedes Ponton Steering Damper #113 425 021j on 2040-parts.com

McLaren MP4-12 650S hits the Web ahead of official Geneva reveal

Images of the new McLaren MP4-12 650S have leaked to the Internet ahead of a planned unveiling for the British supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. Created in response to customer demand for an edgier version of the McLaren MP4-12C offering greater levels of driver engagement, the 650S runs a more heavily tuned version of McLaren's twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 direct-injection engine producing a claimed 25 hp more than the variant used by standard sibling for a total of 641 hp (as its name suggests 650 ps -- metric hp). Further details remain scarce ahead of the MP4-12C 650S's official public unveiling in Switzerland two weeks from now, although information passed on to prospective customers at a private presentation of the new two-seater held last week suggest it is also in line to receive a series of modifications to its seven-speed dual clutch gearbox, suspension, steering, brakes and aerodynamics -- all aimed at providing it with a more aggressive nature and added racetrack ability.

Lazzarini Design creates Ferrari-powered Fiat 500

If you saw the Fiat Abarth 659 Tributo Maserati car and thought to yourself, “That's just not enough razzle-dazzle,” then maybe this will strike your speed-seeking fancy. It's a Fiat 500 powered by one of the best engines in the world—the 4.5-liter V8 from the Ferrari Italia. Lazzarini Design came up with the concept, and the company says it's waiting for an investor with $550,000 burning a hole in his or her pocket to give building one a shot.

Vauxhall – Ellesmere Port jobs safe

Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port Plant will have no job losses It looks like the bulk of the savings that GM need to make in Vauxhall/Opel are going to fall outside the UK, with the news that there will be no job cuts at the Astra-making Ellesmere Port plant and around 340 job losses at Luton. Which is about as good as the news was ever likely to be for Vauxhall workers in the UK. Whatever the outcome of the GM/Magna deal it always seemed likely that Ellesmere Port would be relatively unscathed.