Volvo Penta 250 Holman Moody Outdrive on 2040-parts.com

Mazda's rotary spins to its 40th

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 31 May 2007 02:03 Mazda yesterday celebrated 40 years of making rotary engines. It remains the only mainstream manufacturer persisting with this type of motor and has built 1.97 million of them since 1967. Rotary engines came to prominence in the 1950s as manufacturers experimented with turbine engines, but most admitted defeat in the face of technical difficulties and the inherent thirst of rotary units.

New MINI teased in competition to attend the reveal (video)

New MINI teased in competition to attend the reveal It may be a few more weeks until the new MIN I is unveiled – 18th November, Sir Alec Issigonis’ birthday – but MINI is already upping the tease with a new competition. The reveal of the new MINI is scheduled to happen simultaneously at events in London, Los Angels and Shanghai and MINI are offering the chance to get an invite to one of the three reveals for three lucky winners. If you want to in with a chance of attending the first reveal of the new MINI – before its proper public debut at both the Los Angeles and Tokyo Motor Shows –  then head over to MINI’s New MINI website to jump through a few hoops and enter.

Aston Martin Rapide storms the desert

If you asked last month what the greatest invention in the history of the world was, we would not have said fire or the wheel or the Wright brothers' airplane. We'd have told you it was air conditioning. Because last month, we were in Kuwait, a place so hot that even the Kuwaitis--who probably have the best air conditioners on the planet--get the hell out of Kuwait in the summertime.