Blog on 2040Parts

Fiat plans new high-performance Abarth models

Abarth Abarth, the tuning company owned by Fiat, is looking to grow the number of models it offers including a hot version of the 500L supermini, MSN Cars can reveal. Speaking exclusively to MSN Cars, Marco Magnanini, the European boss of Abarth, hinted that other models from Fiat could be given the Abarth treatment. When quizzed about the possibility of an Abarth 500L, he said: “The 500 family will offer us options.

Tesco joins Asda in fuel price cut

SUPERMARKETS Asda and Tesco have provided some autumn cheer for motorists by reducing their fuel prices. First, Asda announced that from Tuesday it would be knocking 2p a litre off the price of its petrol and 1p a litre off diesel. Then Tesco said it would be reducing its petrol "by up to 2p per litre" and cutting its diesel by 1p a litre - also from Tuesday.

Cost of garage labour falling

THE AVERAGE labour rate at both franchised and non-franchised garages has fallen compared to 2012, according to new figures. An annual survey of 12,000 cases conducted on behalf of Warranty Direct has concluded that the average labour rate in 2013 is £74.70, a fall of 9.84% from £82.86 in 2012. Less encouraging is the overall trend of rising labour rates, with the average having increased by 33% over the last ten years.

Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet (2013) priced from £126,766

Meet the new kings of Porsche drop-tops: the new 911 Turbo Cabriolet and Turbo S Cabriolet. The turbocharged soft-top 911s are the fastest and yet most economical of the breed yet, sporting the same twin-blow 3.8-litre flat six as the coupe models, and a 195mph+ top speed. What’s the spec of the new Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet?

2014 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet and Turbo S Cabriolet revealed UPDATED

The 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet and Turbo S Cabriolet have been revealed Update: We published this article before Porsche revealed UK prices for the Turbo and Turbo S Cabriolet. But now we have them. The Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet will cost £126,766 and the Turbo S Cabriolet £149,511, with both going on sale December 2013.

1961 car - with 20 miles on the clock

A 52-YEAR-OLD classic car with one careful lady owner and only 20 miles on the clock is expected to fetch thousands at auction in Norfolk. The rare Triumph Herald is virtually brand new and still has its original 1961 tax disc, costing £15, on its windscreen. Auctioneer Tristram Belemore-Smith said: "The car dealer sold the Triumph Herald to a lady customer in 1961 and it was delivered to her home on a trailer.

Singapore Grand Prix (2013) RESULT

Singapore Grand Prix (2013) RESULT Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has won the last two races, in Belgium and Italy, to extend his lead in the drivers’ championship, and he started today’s Singapore Grand Prix in pole position. And, just for a few seconds at the start of the race, it looked like Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes had got his fellow German’s measure as he swept past the Red Bull in the opening few yards. But it was a short-lived lead as Rosberg went too deep going in to the first corner and Vettel swept by to re-take the lead, and kept it to the end in an imperious display of driving in what is now starting to look like an unbeatable Red Bull.

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Exclusive Edition – just for the UK (video)

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Exclusive Edition – just for the UK Just like all the ‘premium’ car makers, Porsche has a division that deals with special requests; extras and plans that fall outside the normal options list – Porsche Exclusive. Porsche Exclusive offers a level of personalisation that goes way beyond what the regular options list offers and, in Porsche’s own words, the “…possibilities for personalisation are almost endless”. With that in mind, Porsche Hatfield has commissioned Porshe Exclusive to build just five 911 Carrera 4S cars for the UK, with carefully understated customisations to paintwork and interior, and a smattering of Union Jacks – just to make sure these are ‘British’ 911s.

Concept Car of the Week: Chrysler Lamborghini Portofino (1987)

In 1987, Chrysler purchased the bankrupt Italian carmaker Lamborghini to add an exotic brand to its portfolio. In celebration of its acquisition, Chrysler announced it would unveil a futuristic concept car at the Frankfurt motor show bearing a unique logo with the Italian raging bull framed inside Chrysler's famous Pentastar. It was during an internal aerodynamic study that designer Kevin Verduyn drew the lines of a four-seater sedan concept called the Navajo.

Range Rover Hybrids reach midpoint of Silk Trail route to Mumbai

While cars from other automakers were basking on the soft carpets at the Frankfurt motor show, with fingerprints being wiped almost hourly from their glistening paint jobs, a trio of Range Rover Hybrid prototypes were taking the long way to Mumbai. And not just the long way, but the tough way. Twenty-two days after departing Land Rover's home in Solihull, England, a team of Range Rovers has reached the midpoint of their journey along one of the historic Silk Trail routes to Mumbai, India.

McLaren P1 hot-weather testing in southwest United States

The McLaren P1 underwent some hot-weather testing last week in California. The first deliveries are scheduled in the coming weeks, coinciding with the company's continuing 50th anniversary celebrations. Lucky for us, McLaren recorded the hijinks, added some music and uploaded it to YouTube.

The most exclusive Mercedes-Benz G-class is this stretched BINZ

If you thought the G63 AMG was the meanest and most exclusive version of the Mercedes-Benz G-class that you could buy today, you haven't seen the version that Mercedes-Benz coachbuilder BINZ GmbH has been making for more than two decades. That's right, the smug owners of those G63 AMGs you see parked in front of trendy restaurants downtown do not, in fact, possess the coolest version of the long-running G-class. BINZ is known in other markets as the maker of Mercedes-Benz limousines and ambulances, but their wares are almost entirely unknown in the western hemisphere.

Caterham AeroSeven Concept previews future production model

Hot on the stripped-down heels of the Caterham Seven 165 and Caterham 620R, the company revealed a next-generation vehicle, the AeroSeven Concept. The company’s newest road car benefitted from the entire portfolio of Caterham companies including Caterham Technology & Innovation, Caterham F1 Team, Caterham Composites and Caterham Cars. The company says the new concept hints at a future styling direction, including the new sports car that is being developed in conjunction with Renault, due in 2016.

Caterham AeroSeven Concept [w/Video]

Caterham has unveiled its motorsport-inspired AeroSeven Concept road car at the Singapore Grand Prix. The two-seater concept previews the carmaker's future engineering and design direction for models including the sportscar being developed in collaboration with Renault for early 2016. The AeroSeven Concept is going into production next year and is the first model to be designed and developed with input from all three of Caterham's divisions: Caterham Technology and Innovation, Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Cars.

Caterham AeroSeven concept (2013) first official pictures

This is Caterham’s vision for the future of its car range: the AeroSeven concept. Dragging the Seven template into the 21st Century, the two-seater AeroSeven reportedly uses F1 knowhow in its design, and will launch to 62mph in less than four seconds. It’ll go on sale in production form in late 2014, two years before the Alpine-Caterham sports car deal comes to fruition.

Caterham AeroSeven Concept previews new Caterham in 2014

The Caterham AeroSeven Concept (pictured) previews a new Caterham in 2014 It’s a new Caterham, but a new Caterham that signals not only a new model for 2014, but a new design direction as Caterham moves towards the fruits of their alliance with Renault on the Alpine project. The Caterham AeroSeven isn’t a look at Caterham’s version of the Renault Alpine project, but a new track-inspired road car designed in a collaboration between Caterham Technology and Innovation, Caterham F1 and Caterham Cars. The new Aero Seven’s underpinnings come from a revised version of the Seven CSR’s chassis with pushrod suspension at the front and full IRS with new dampers and springs.

Ford to launch 25 new models in Europe in next 5 years

The new Ford S-mAx (pictured) is just one of 25 new Fords heading for Europe Ford of Europe has had a miserable time of late, with the European market in disarray as the Eurozone crisis continues to rumble and car buyers on the continent shy away from big ticket purchases. But, just as they did in the US, Ford are making plans to cash-in when the Eurozone economy improves in the coming years (not that that’s an absolute given) and are going to ready with a raft of new models to tempt mainstream buyers when economies start to grow and car finance becomes a realistic option for more once again. Barb Samardzich, Ford’s head of product development in Europe, says Ford are planning to make their portfolio of products the best ever in anticipation of a recovery, with a huge 25 new models launching over the next five years, and they will be additions to the Ford line-up or new generations, not variants.

BMW recalls 5-Series for rear lighting problem

BMW has announced a recall of 134,100 5-series sedans due to a potential rear-light issue. The recall includes 528i, 535i, 550i and M5 sedans from the 2008 to 2010 model years. According to the U.S.

Listen again to Autodesk's 'What is new in Autodesk Alias v2014'

The latest episode in the Autodesk Webinar series, 'What is new in Autodesk Alias v2014', took place on 17 September, but if you missed it you can listen to it here. Participants saw how the latest release is focused on onboarding new users and enhancing the productivity of those experienced in Alias programs and could see areas that applied to them – designers experimenting with ideas, modelers refining designs, Class A surfacers delivering efficient controlled data and visualization experts developing stunning visualizations. All will provide added value throughout their company's design workflow.

Parking fines hit £30 per month

BRITISH motorists pay more than £30 million each month in parking fines, figures suggest. More tickets are being issued this year by councils than last year and there has been a 13% rise in fines issued on a Sunday, according to data obtained by LV=. The car insurer calculated councils have handed out more than 890,000 parking fines per month in 2013 - a 4% increase on 2012 figures - and, based on an average amount of £42 per ticket and excluding any successful appeals, drivers are now paying in excess of £30 million each month.

World's smallest car enters the record books

Texas is the US state that's big on… well, being big. So it's slightly surprising that a Texan has just entered the Guinness World Records book for creating the world's smallest roadworthy car. Is this his answer to our increasingly congested city streets?

Call to pass on petrol price cuts

THE AA has joined calls for retailers to pass on a fall in the wholesale price of petrol to motorists. Pump prices have "barely budged" from the late summer high of just over 138p a litre despite a 2p-a-litre fall in the wholesale price of petrol a fortnight ago and a further 3p drop last week, according to the latest AA Fuel Price Report. Petrol averaged 132p at the start of the year, "and this is where it should be heading if the wholesale price collapse persists", the report said.

Caterham AeroSeven Concept unveiled in Singapore

Well this is sure to divide opinion. What you're looking at here is the Caterham AeroSeven Concept - the first glimpse of the new road-going Caterham, due to arrive in autumn 2014. It was unveiled in Singapore ahead of this weekend's F1 Grand Prix, and it's already generating quite a buzz in social media circles.

Chevrolet could bring bargain Aveo RS hot hatch to UK (2013)

Aside from the retro Camaro muscle car and new Corvette, Chevrolet’s car range doesn’t drum up a huge amount of lust in the UK – but a snippet of news from Down Under got us thinking that could change. Chevrolet’s fellow GM brand Holden has announced it’s going to sell an Australian-market version of the Sonic RS hot hatch, badged as the Barina RS. Why does that matter us?

Clay modeler turns steel sculptor in new exhibition

A GM Holden clay modeler who has used his skills to transform scrap metal into over 400 works of art will display his creations at an new exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.   Jamie Schena, whose sculptures will be displayed in his ‘Mechanisation' show at custom bike shop Gasolina, sold his first artwork in 2001 after starting to sculpt models from bits of scrap metal lying around his father's workshop. After helping to rebuild engines and design farm machinery in his family's mechanical and engineering business, he moved to Melbourne to study Industrial Design at Monash University.

New Lexus GS 300h costs from £31,440

The New Lexus GS 300h (pictured) will cost from £31,440 in the UK Lexus revealed a second hybrid version of the GS at Shanghai in the spring – the Lexus GS 300h – which offers better economy and lower running costs, especially for company car drivers, and it’s now on sale in the UK. Lexus has introduced a new entry-level SE spec for the GS 300h to make its headline price even more attractive, but the GS 300h SE still gets 17″ alloys, DAB, DVD, Cruise, push-button start, parking sensors, xenons and electric, heated front seats. Other trim levels are Luxury, F Sport and Premier – as on the rest of the GS range – which you’ll need to dig in to if you want stuff like leather and SatNav, but opting for the base trim isn’t too hairshirt and will save you a few bob if you have BIK to pay.

Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer costs from £25,349

The Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer (pictured) costs from £25,349 If you’ve been having sleepless nights since July wondering how much does the Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer cost, fret no more. It starts from £25,349 in the UK. Which is not too terrible at all.

Peugeot 308 R heading for production

It looks like the Peugeot 308 R (pictured) is heading for production With the Peugeot RCZ R managing to go from range-topping performance concept to production, it seemed likely Peugeot was aiming at producing a new range of performance cars. And it seems the next could be the Peugeot 308 R. Arriving at the Frankfurt Motor Show as a concept, the 308 R comes with a strange two-tone paint job (meant to evoke the Peugeot Onyx Concept), but with far more to offer than just a paint job that makes it look a different car at the back than the front.

New engines for BMW 3-Series, 4-Series and X5

The BMW 3-Series, 4-Series (pictured) and X5 ar getting new engine options. With a new BMW X5 recently debuting, together with the new 4-Series and recently updated 3-Series, there are already a number of variants on offer, but this autumn there are more to come. The BMW 4-Series range (the replacement for the old 3-Series Coupe) will see the arrival of a new entry-level model - BMW 420i Coupe – with a 184hp four cylinder petrol engine with a 6-speed manual as standard or the eight-speed auto as an option.

In pictures: proof that Saab will rise again

"NEVS SAAB car No1" is a slightly clunky and unlikely sentence to put on a dot matrix display, but for legions of Saab fans the world over, it's a definite reason to be cheerful. Because at 13:22 Central European Time on Wednesday 18th September 2013, a pre-production Saab 9-3 rolled off the production line in Trollhättan. It's the first car to do so since the marque’s collapse in 2011.