Porsche's primary sports car lines—the Boxster/Cayman and the 911—have always been powered by flat-six engines, but the company has a history with the boxer four, too. The 356, the 912, the 914—all powered by boxer four cylinders. And come 2016 or so, the flat four will make a triumphant return to the engine compartments of Porsches.

Downsized engines and forced induction are all the rage these days, but you wouldn't know it from looking at Aston Martin's model lineup. As of today, Aston's model range consists entirely of eight- and 12-cylinder naturally aspirated cars, all making prodigious horsepower outputs and all sucking down gas with aplomb. But the river of progress is flowing in the other direction, so it may be only a matter of time until Aston Martin kicks their engine size down a notch. Or three.

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Ever heard of Lazzarini Design? Neither had we, as of last Friday. Then we noticed a story going around that they've come up with a way to shove the engine from a Ferrari 458 Italia into a Fiat 500 create what they call the 550 Italia. Obviously, these are the sort of guys we want to know.

We're going to assume each of you reading this can tell the difference between Mercedes-Benz AMG models, because you wouldn't be a car person if you couldn't. But can you tell them apart just by engine note? That's what Mercedes-Benz and AMG want to know.

The Subaru WRX and STI are thrillingly powerful little machines, but they're growing old. The Subaru BRZ is a brand-new piece of hardware, but it's a lttle light on underhood grunt. Luckily, both of these problems will likely be resolved soon—and they'll probably be sharing the motor you see above these words.