Douglas Aircraft Bomb Ejector Assy on 2040-parts.com

Few cars perform well in new insurance group crash test

The insurance industry has unveiled a new, tough frontal-crash test. The first batch of 11 luxury and near-luxury cars put to the test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety didn't fare so well--only three were rated as good or acceptable. The test rams the front corner of a car into a fixed barrier at 40 mph.

Bentley Continental GT3-R with 572 bhp V8 revealed

The Bentley Continental GT3-R arrives with a 572 bhp V8 As we reported last week, it looks like Bentley has decided to do a V8 take on the original Continental Supersports with the arrival of the Bentley Continental GT3-R, a lighter, more powerful Continental V8. Just like the original Continental Supersports, the Continental GT3-R loses its back seats and goes on a diet (down 100 kg on the V8S) and gets a retuned version of the 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 producing 572 bhp and 516 lb/ft of torque together with shorter gearing to deliver a 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds (0-62mph in 3.8s). The GT3-R still comes with Bentley’s four wheel drive, but it gets torque vectoring too and a modified ESC and a chassis tuned for outright cornering ability to make the GT3-R Bentley’s most dynamic road car to date.

Vauxhall Astra & Astra Sports Tourer get BiTurbo diesel

Vauxhall has decided to bolt their BiTurbo diesel engine in to the Astra Hatch and the Astra Sports Tourer. Vauxhall revealed last month that the Astra GTC was getting the frugal but lively 2.0 litre CDTi BiTurbo engine, offering a tempting combination of 53mpg official economy and sub 8 second 0-62mph performance. With levels of economy unthinkable just a few years ago combined with performance a hot hatch would have been proud of, the BiTurbo Astra GTC is a clever combination.