Zinc & Brass, Engine Pencil, M.. on 2040-parts.com

One Lap of the Web: Winter project car edition

-- The gents over at Chromjuwelen compiled a list of their favorite car builds of 2013. Number 10 starts off with a BMW 525i station wagon from the 1990s that's received an LSX V8 engine swap, just to give you some idea what kinds of "builds" Chromjuwelen is talking about. -- If you've seen the 1975-1979 Chevrolet Monza V8, you can bravely click on this link to read its fascinating (in a not-particularly good way) story.

Jaguar XFR-S: Official

The barn-storming Jaguar XFR-S – Jaguar’s most powerful saloon car ever – has bowed in at LA. Full details and lots more photos of the new XFR-S. Following on from the XKR-S – and arriving in the same French Blue – the Jaguar XFR-S gets a 40 horse jump over the XFR – and an extra 41lb/ft of torque too – to offer a potentially BMW M5 competing 550HP and 502lb/ft of torque, enough to hit 62mph in 4.6 seconds and on to 186mph (not quite up with the M5, but getting there).

Ford Transit Connect Taxi invades Hong Kong

Ford is taking World War T(axi) to Nissan with its Transit Connect Taxi, which added Hong Kong to its list of cities served on Monday. Redesigned for 2014, the Transit Connect features a 2.5-liter four with a six-speed automatic transmission. That engine makes 175 hp and 170 lb-ft in the Fusion, but we’d expect it to produce less for fuel mileage purposes in the Transit.