Vintage Tillotson Jr5 Carburetor on 2040-parts.com

New trend in looking sharp: A dull finish

What's the latest trend for superexpensive cars? Making them look dull. The matte paint once reserved for cars headed for crash testing is showing up on the highest of high-end models.

Biker attempts to beat London marathon record... in traffic

AS BRITISH favourite Mo Farah prepares to challenge the British record at the London Marathon this weekend, an enterprising biker has decided to try it himself – in the thick of London traffic. On closed roads a man vs machine race would be a bit one-sided, but with the average speed of a fast marathon runner being 12.43mph and the average speed of a motorbike in London traffic being 12.5mph, the result turned out not to be so clear-cut – the biker missing out on the record by a full five minutes. Using the same BMW F800GS Adventure as is loaned to the marathon organisers, Michael Mann of online community Bike Social followed the route as closely as possible, albeit with a few extra loops where the runners will take advantage of closed one-way streets.

BMW tuner Manhart creates 743-hp M6 Coupe

There are BMW M6 drivers out there for whom the stock output of 560-hp and 500 lb-ft of torque just aren't enough. At least that's what German tuner Manhart is betting on in unveiling their MH6 700 version of the M6 hardtop. Manhart has been tuning BMWs and only BMWs for 20 years, and they've worked on everything from the E30 3-series to the latest offerings from the Bavarian automaker.