Carlson H7027 Rear Drum Hardware Kit on 2040-parts.com

Video: Hennessey Venom GT now unofficial fastest production car

The Hennessey Venom GT hit its top speed of 270.49 mph last week at the Kennedy Space Center, edging out the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's previous 269.86 mph record. Hennessey and Bugatti have been battling for the top spot of "fastest production car in the world," and this time America came out on top. Hennessey attempted a record run in 2013, reaching a top speed of 265.7 mph before running out of room on the 2.9-mile-long runway at the Naval Air Station in California.

Kia Picanto

Kia is set to unveil its next generation Picanto city car at the Geneva motor show in March in the next step of its continual range overhaul. As these first images show, the diminutive A-segment hatchback has been totally redesigned to give it what Kia describes as a 'bolder, more mature and more self-confident look'. While the outgoing model's high H-point (and corresponding proportions) remain, its DRG has been brought further in-line with the rest of the Kia range, with Venga-referencing headlamp graphics, a 'tiger-nose' grille and a surprisingly dominant trio of faux air intakes.

The next McLaren supercar will be called the 650S

We've known that McLaren has a pair of additional models in the works, including a Porsche 911-fighting, 12C-based sports car known only as the P13 and another car positioned between the 12C and the P1. Previously, we'd heard the code name “P15” tossed around in reference to that latter car, but McLaren has officially christened it the 650S ahead of its world debut at the upcoming Geneva motor show. According to the automaker, the 650S “takes learnings from both the 12C as well as the sell-out McLaren P1 [ed note: there has to be a better way to say that] and will be positioned between the two on McLaren Automotive's supercar grid.“ We liked the 12C, and we really, really liked the P1.