Spectra Premium Jp1c Fuel Tank on 2040-parts.com

Carbon-fiber parts and a software fix help create a lighter, faster Fiat

Chrysler Group's Mopar parts brand and Italian supplier Magneti Marelli have teamed up on a design exercise based on the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth that shaved weight and added horsepower. The vehicle, called the Venom, has a number of carbon fiber components -- hood and side mirrors, for example -- that makes it about 200 pounds lighter than the 2,512-pound Abarth. The Venom uses software updates and additional exhaust components to boost the Abarth's standard 160-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output by as much as 25 percent.

2014 Jeep Cherokees finally en route to dealerships

Car haulers loaded with 2014 Jeep Cherokee stick out on the flat farmland like elephants on the savannah -- lumbering behemoths easy to spot, even from miles away. In ones and twos they rumble the 15 miles west from Chrysler Group's massive Toledo, Ohio, assembly complex toward a former supplier-owned automotive testing center. The Cherokees were due in dealerships almost two months ago but have been held while Chrysler developed and installed new software to smooth out the way the engine, nine-speed transmission and innovative disconnecting drivetrain interact.

Enzo Ferrari: Twin turbo & 1000 hp

1,000 hp twin turbo Salt Flats racing Enzo There’s an argument that messing with a limited edition hypercar is sacrilege. And, to a degree, we sympathise with those who consider the pimping of an Enzo Ferrari by the likes of Uwe Gemballa to be akin to letting Damian Hirst paint a new set of clothes on the Mona Lisa. But there are times when the reasons make a whole lot of sense.