Mercury 650 3 Cylinder Stator on 2040-parts.com

Bahrain Grand Prix: Rosberg takes pole for Mercedes

So much for the 2013 Mercedes being uncompetitive. Nico Rosberg put in a strong performance in Bahrain in qualifying for tomorrow’s F1 race, beating Sebastian Vettel in to second place and Fernando Alonso in to third. But whether this was a qualifying ‘special’ from Mercedes we won’t really know until tomorrow.

Lotus Exige S Roadster Official: Price (£52,800) and Specs

It’s the first properly good news from Lotus for a while, and looks a promising offering at the same price (£52,800) as the tin top Exige S and, remarkably for a convertible, actually weighing less than the hard top – although by only 10kg. The Exige S Roadster gets the same 3.5 litre V6 as the coupe which means 345bhp, 295lb/ft of torque and a 0-60mph of a very respectable 3.8 seconds, but it does lose the coupe’s rear wing and front splitter for better airflow. The folding roof on the Roadster is a manual affair, but Lotus say fresh air motoring is just ‘Two clicks and a roll away’, so the manual roof is probably the best – and lightest – option.

Retrospective: The Detroit auto show 2002, 1997 and 1987

While the North American International Auto Show is over for the media, it's just heating up for the public, and we want to keep the ball rolling with a special look back at Detroit auto shows past. Where better than through articles from Autoweek's coverage of the show through the years? They will be available to download in both .pdf and .jpg formats in their entirety, including the cover.