Perkins 3.135 3.144 3.152 3.205 3.3063 Cyl Connecting Rod Bearing Set Standard on 2040-parts.com

Design Museum's Designs of the Year Awards 2012

The Design Museum opened its ‘Designs of the Year' exhibition yesterday in a celebration of global design innovation at its home in Shad Thames, London. Designs from across the world within seven categories – Transport, Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics and Product – have been nominated by industry experts, with the nominations now on show at the Design Museum. The first of the transportation nominations is the Autolib, a Parisian electric car commissioned by Paris' Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë.

Land Rover Defender Challenge by Bowler – the Defender goes rallying

The Land Rover Defender goes rallying (pictured) with Bowler modifications The venerable Land Rover Defender – now reaching the end of its shelf life – may not seem the perfect rally car. But a Defender tweaked and fettled with some Bowler Fairy Dust is another matter, and that’s exactly what’s happening with a new, one-make Defender Challenge by Bowler – and backed by Land Rover – which is aiming to put up to fifteen Defenders in to UK forest stage rallies and hill rallies in 2014. The Defender in question is a Defender 90 Hard Top with the usual 2.2 litre diesel, but sorted by Bowler to deliver 170bhp and 323lb/ft of torque (up from the regular 122bhp/266lb/ft) with a standard six-speed manual ‘box, MSA roll cage, fire extinguisher and Khumo tyres.

Chicago tuner breaks 9-second mark with Nissan GT-R

AMS Performance of Chicago, holder of the fastest quarter-mile time in a Nissan GT-R, has set the bar higher with an 8.97-second run at 169 mph. According to AMS, the run also grabbed the fastest 60-to-130-mph time, at 3.34 seconds. The Alpha 12, the shop's flagship performance package, cranks up the GT-R's output to 1,500 hp.