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Ariel to revive motorcycle business with debut at Goodwood

If you're a parent, the name Ariel might conjure up one of the Disney princesses, but auto enthusiasts know it as a hardcore, boutique British sports car maker. Before being revived to make the skeletal Atom, the business was also a British motorcycle company best known for its four-cylinder bikes. Now, the modern iteration is looking to the past with plans to unveil its own cycle at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 26-29.
Given Ariel's cars, you might expect an absolutely minimalist motorcycle weighing practically nothing. However, according to its boss speaking to Visor Down, there's no point in trying to build another racer; that market is sewn up. Instead, it's developing a performance cruiser with a more tailored design approach. Buyers can select a variety of different components to adapt the cycle to their style. It shouldn't be lacking for too much speed though; power comes from the 1,237cc V4 engine from the Honda VFR1200F with around 170 horsepower on tap, and it also offers the VFR's six-speed, dual-clutch gearbox as an option.
Ariel admitted that bike on display at Goodwood would just be a test mule and didn't say when the production version would be ready. It seems this idea has been a long time coming, though - we reported in 2011 that the company was working on a bespoke motorcycle with multiple design options around a Honda engine. Pricing at the time was rumored to sit around 20,000 pounds.

2017 Honda Civic Coupe spotted for the first time

Rumors about the next-generation Honda Civic have been coming fast and furious in recent weeks. The speculation suggests the future model will use a new 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and some European body styles will come across the Atlantic. There's even the potential for an overhaul of the CR-Z on the same platform. Now, we've got a glimpse at what the next Civic looks like in coupe and sedan form. Our spies believe that under all that black diaper is the 2017 Civic Coupe, but it's hard to discern any details. With an open section on top it's even difficult to get a good idea of the roofline, though some of the photos suggest a fastback-style rear. The examples concealed in white are believed to be the future Civic Sedan, and one of them is exposed enough to get a good idea of its shape. In profile the look is reminiscent of the current Accord, which is good, if conservative. Seeing the two versions together provides few hints about the coupe's styling, other than a shared wheelbase between both cars. The apparent door handle cutout on the driver's side of the coupe is likely a camouflage trick to hide any information about the length or shape of the doors. One recent rumor suggests that the next-gen Civic's styling could be fully unveiled towards the end of 2015. Until then, click through the gallery of spy shots, and let us know in Comments what you think of this design direction. Related Video:

2015 Honda Fit set for Detroit reveal

We've got one more debut confirmed for next month's Detroit Auto Show, as Honda has announced that it will be showing off the 2015 Fit in the Motor City. Honda has released a singular image of the new Fit's rear taillight, above.
From the sole image, we can see that the American-spec Fit will share at least its taillights with the Japanese variant, which we've helpfully included an image of to the right. Now, technically, the blue car to the right is the Fit Hybrid, a car we aren't expecting to see in the US market. But the gallery of images we've included below should give those interested in the car a very good idea of what the new Fit will look like when it hits the auto show stage next month.
As for what will be under hood when it debuts in January, Honda is touting its Earth Dreams Technology engine, which we take to mean some sort of four-cylinder, gas-powered mill. Expect excellent fuel economy from the new car, and according to the Japanese brand, "leading-edge connected car technologies."