Berkeley Jet Drive 12je Nozzle Reverse Bucket on 2040-parts.com

Carbon-fiber parts and a software fix help create a lighter, faster Fiat

Chrysler Group's Mopar parts brand and Italian supplier Magneti Marelli have teamed up on a design exercise based on the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth that shaved weight and added horsepower. The vehicle, called the Venom, has a number of carbon fiber components -- hood and side mirrors, for example -- that makes it about 200 pounds lighter than the 2,512-pound Abarth. The Venom uses software updates and additional exhaust components to boost the Abarth's standard 160-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output by as much as 25 percent.

Ford taps programs, in-car technology to aid teen driving

Teenage boys are more likely to neglect their seatbelts, while teenage girls will get distracted by passengers more often, according to a recent study from Ford. Ford commissioned Penn Schoen Berland to survey 500 teens and 500 parents about teen driving habits and perceptions. In addition to comparing boys and girls, the survey found that both parents and teen drivers believe winter is the most dangerous season for driving.

Watch the Jaguar Project 7 F-Type go up the Goodwood hillcimb

Jaguar Project 7 F-Type (pictured) tackles the Goodwood FoS hillclimb One of the surprises of the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed has been the debut of the Jaguar Project 7 car, an F-Type with the more bountiful 542bhp supercharged V8 and styling stolen from the D-Type. Jaguar are saying Project 7 isn’t heading for production, but we’re pretty sure most of what’s underneath it – principally the 542bhp version of the supercahrged V8 – is in a production F-Type R. Perhaps surprisingly, fitting the 542bhp vresion of the V8 doesn’t seem to have done a lot for the F-Type’s sprint times, with 62mph coming up in 4.1 seconds, just 0.1 seconds quicker than the 495bhp engine in the standard Jaguar F-Type V8.