We posted 2 days ago the news about coming TDK 161040 CDR-W drive. As you already have figured out the drive will support 16x writing, 10x re-writing and 40x reading. As you might think previous TDK drives used Plextor mechanisms. The new TDK model seems that will use Sanyo 16x mechanisms.

The TDK 161040 drive will also be supplied:
16x CLV writing (true 16x)
10x re-write
40x reading (we would have to wait to see how the drive would perform)
Very good DAE (up to 32x for sure..)
2MB of buffer
Improved BURN-Proof technology (2-5n? gap length)
DAO-RAW (since Sanyo 16x drive supports it:

You can start collecting cash for the new drive. The question here was if the drive would ship before or after Xmas. Our info is that the drive will ship AFTER Xmas (Jan2001) at least in the European market. You must also expect 16x writers from: Plextor (showed 16x prototype over Comdex), Teac and LG..