Audi A4 S4 Cabrio Parking Aid Park Control Unit Module Valeo on 2040-parts.com

Vauxhall ADAM with new 1.0 ECOTEC 3-Cylinder engine will debut at Geneva

The Vauxhall ADAM (pictured) gets the new 1.0 litre 3-pot ECOTEC engine At the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, Vauxhall announced they would be offering the Vauxhall Adam with their new 1.0 litre 3-cylinder ECOTEC engine in 2014, and we now know it will debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month before going on sale in the spring. The new 1.0 ECOTEC 3-Cylinder engine is Vauxhall’s answer to Ford’s 1.0 litre EcoBoost proliferating across Ford’s range, and if it’s half as good as Ford’s unit it should make the 3-pot Adam a fun and appealing option. Available in two states of tune – 89bhp or 113bhp – with both delivering 122lb/ft of torque and with a new 6-speed manual ‘box that’s 30 per cent lighter, the new engine delivers 30 per cent more torque than Vauxhall’s 1.6 litre petrol but can manage 62mpg and emissions of 99g/km for the 89bhp version.

Porsche acquires Nardo Test Track as its new playground

Porsche Nardo Test Track (map from Google Earth) The enormous Nardo Test Track near Lecce, Italy, has been acquired by Porsche as a new testing ground. Top Gear viewers will probably remember the opening episode if the last series of Top Gear (series 18) with the Lamborghini, McLaren and Noble in Italy or, more specifically, in the Lecce region of Italy which nestles in the warmth of Italy’s heel. The Lecce region also houses the Nardo Test Track which is where the boys took their supercars to hammer round the slightly bumpy outer oval seeking top speed.

Video: Darrell Waltrip laps Bathurst with V8 Supercar driver Jason Bright

One of the most entertaining things to come out of the Bathurst 1000 last weekend in Australia--besides Garth Tander and Nick Percat taking the checkered flag--was ex-NASCAR driver and commentator Darrel Waltrip going for a wild hot lap with V8 Supercar driver Jason Bright. After taking the first turn at speed in the 650-hp Holden Commodore, Waltrip yells, “Impossible!” The video gets even more entertaining around the Esses and the Dipper, two succeeding corners. The clip is full of repeatable one-liners from Waltrip including, “I lost my lunch, and I didn't even have lunch.” He calls the track on Mount Panorama a geological oddity.