Tci Forward Pattern Valve Body Th400 P/n 222400 on 2040-parts.com

Lotus Elise Club Racer (2011) at 2011 Geneva motor show

The Lotus Elise Club Racer is the latest variation on the long-serving Elise, which will debut at the 2011 Geneva motor show. Disciples of the 'Lotus=lightweight' mantra will be pleased to know the Elise Club Racer does without the German tuner bling, additional luxury features or merchandising that have appeared during CEO Dany Bahar's bold reinvention of the Hethel sports car maker. The Elise Club Racer marks a return to old-school values for Lotus, with some 24kg of extraneous weight removed from the 15-year-old Elise; and added hardware tweaks to ensure the well-regarded roadster retains its performance edge.

Skoda Yeti, Octavia and Superb Tour de France Special Editions launched

The Skoda Yeti Tour de France (pictured) – just one of three Skoda TdF Specials It’s always nice to have a hook to a limited edition car, and Skoda are hanging their latest limited editions of the Yeti, Octavia and Superb on the Tour de France. The 2014 Tour de France will see its first three stages run in the UK, so Skoda are doing a ‘cycling enthusiast’ version of the Yeti, Superb and Octavia with some ‘le Tour de France’ badges, waterproof covers for the seats and bike wheel bags as well as throwing in a centenary edition of the Rouleur Tour de France book and a chance to win a VIP Tour de France experience. Just 198 examples of each car will be built – that’s the number of entries for this year’s Tour de France – and you can only have one in Red, White or Blue.

What we drive: 1994 Mazda RX-7 R2

Blame it on the 1993 Montego blue RX-7 parked a block away from my childhood home--and the cover photo of the competition yellow mica R1 gracing one of the other monthly car magazines that year. Either way, it was 1993 when my captivation with the third-generation Mazda RX-7 caught fire. I was 10 years old.