Maradyne Texas Twister Mechanical Fan Mfa115 on 2040-parts.com

Acura future products: Hybrids joining revamped lineup

Sales have begun to rebound for Acura, American Honda Motor Co.'s luxury brand, and a product renaissance in 2012--complete with a big entry into hybrid powertrains--could provide a further boost. Acura's two crossovers will be redesigned. And while the RL flagship won't have the rear-drive V8 version--those plans were killed in 2009--it will be significantly re-engineered.

2012 Ford Focus ST gets 297bhp

Those clever chaps at SuperChips have given the 2012 Ford Focus ST a bit of an ECU tweak to deliver 297bhp and an extra 85lb/ft of torque. When we reported last week that WTC outfit Arena had in roped Ford’s tuner of choice, Mountune, to give the new Ford Focus a makeover, we were a tad disappointed to discover that they were tweaking the rather journeyman Focus Zetec S. That meant the Zetec S got 200bhp – a handy jump – but we bemoaned the fact that they hadn’t fiddled with the Focus ST to give us a car to fill the void left by the absence of a Focus RS in the current iteration of the Focus.

Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde at Frankfurt

Alfa will be bringing the 170bhp Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde to Frankfurt Alfa Romeo has revealed that they’ll be bringing the  MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde (MiTo four leaf clover) to the Frankfurt Motor Show next week, featuring a 170bhp Multiair engine as we reported back in June (goodness, we’re ahead of the game sometimes!). The ‘Quadrifoglio’ bit refers back to Alfa’s racing history, and was the emblem used on those cars and was most recently seen on special editions of the Alf GT and 147. But the biggest news, apart from the extras and the paint job, is the clever Multiair system that Alfa is busy introducing.