Wilwood 120-9690-rd - Dynapro Single Brake Caliper on 2040-parts.com

Brabus unveils 850-hp grocery getter

It wouldn't be the Essen Motor Show without German tuning house Brabus introducing its own versions of one or two of Mercedes-Benz cars, with borderline-unbelievable power figures. And this year the Bottrop-based outfit didn't disappoint, rolling out the Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo based on the 2014 E63 AMG station wagon. For starters, Brabus has increased the V8 engine's displacement from 5,461cc to 5,912cc, installing custom-made forged pistons and a precision balanced billet crankshaft, and replacing the stock turbos with ones of their own design featuring larger compressor units.

Volkswagen shows off new 1.8-liter engine for Jetta, Passat, and Beetle

Volkswagen is rolling out a new 1.8-liter turbocharged and direct-injected TSI engine which will debut in the Jetta, Beetle, and Passat later this year. This thrifty new engine will replace the 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine now available in those models. But the 1.8-liter is no slouch: it produces the same 170 hp as the outgoing five-cylinder engine, while adding 7 lb-ft torque for a total of 184.

Electric SEAT Altea & plug-in SEAT Leon hybrid revealed

The SEAT Altea EV & plug-in SEAT Leon hybrid - testing for the next 4 years Seat may have revealed a pair of cars with ‘eco’ powerplants -  the Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive and the Altea XL Electric Ecomotive – but they’re not coming to a showroom near you. Well, not before 2015, anyway. The plan is to build a small prototype fleet of the Leon Hybrid and Altea EV and make them available to local government in Catalonia and Madrid, to get evaluation and real-world feedback before the cars go in to production, which won’t be for at least four years.