Forget the Bugati Veyron or a Ferrari Enzo when it comes to finding the fastest street legal car in the world. In fact, you needn’t look further than Wolverhampton! Andy Frost’s souped up Vauxhall Victor holds the prestigous title of fastest street car after 30 years of constant modifications.

Originally bought in 1980 for a paltry £60, the turbo charged Vauxhall can go from 0-60 mph in under one second!

“I’ve spent £4,000 a year and I’m always trying to improve it,” said Mr Frost, 50, from Wolverhampton.

He added: “It is a bit like Trigger’s broom in Only Fools and Horses – I’ve changed so many parts that it has evolved into a super car from just a bog standard Vauxhall with nothing done to it. It is hardly recognisable from the the car I first bought!”

The Swedish company, Hövding, has won this years INDEX design award. The largest design prize in the world was awarded to the company for its “invisible collar helmet.” Designers Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin developed the product in response to research that found many cyclists would not wear helmets because they “look hideous [and] ruin your hair.” Whether a helmet should not be worn because it clashes with this Autumn’s latest fashion trends does seem slightly overboard. Regardless, the Hövding collar might prove to be the perfect solution to the fashion conscious.

The scarf like collar contains sensors that can detect an over-the-handlebars cycle accident, a rear impact, and if the rider falls off the bike sideways. In the event of an accident, a concealed airbag instantly inflates to protect the wearer before impact.

The INDEX panel described why they chose the design: “We see this as a first step in fueling a paradigm change in the area of bike safety. It hinges on the professional competency of the designers, not the adaptive capability of the users, other than in the most superficial sense. This illustrates how design still provides users with what they never thought they could have.”

There is no doubt that Jeremy Clarkson is a polarising figure in television. For every person who loves his outspoken antics on Top Gear there is another who switches the channel whenever he appears. Although thoroughly rubbishing the use of Sat Nav’s, it appears Clarkson has made a handbrake turn and lent his voice to the TomTom. It was not long ago that Clarkson said, “I still haven’t found a sat nav that knows the M40 exists. All of them insist that London and Oxford are joined by the M4…And why in God’s name do the controls have to be so complicated? I don’t need sites of special interest. What I do need is a huge off button, six inches across and painted DayGlo yellow.”

The idea of a omnipresent Clarkson giving stern directions as you drive may be will some people’s idea of hell incarnate. For loyal followers, however, Clarkson could be the perfect antidote to the standard voice used on their Sat Nav’s. “It is mostly about the tone of voice I use,’ said Clarkson in the Sunday Times. “There’s a tone of voice I use when ordering people to do things, so, “I said left, left, I said left”, you know, that kind of thing. It’s not a gentle sat nav voice, put it like that.’

He went on to say, “You can put it in Stig mode, apparently, which is when nothing happens. It doesn’t speak to you at all. So you can either have Stig or me and personally I would use The Stig most.”

Morgan cars may be the vehicle of choice for the more discerning (and wealthy) gent with their throwback, vintage design. Soon you will be able to turn heads and reduce co2 emissions at the same time as Morgan have announced a new all electric model to add to their impressive fleet. However, the trademark roar of the Morgan engine may be stifled to a faint purr due to the new Zytek high power-density electric powertrain engine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morgan is co-operating with two other British companies, Zytek and Radshape, to produce the concept car which could be seen for the first time at the Geneva motor show next year.

“This is an exciting investigation into the potential for a zero-emissions Morgan with near supercar performance,” said Morgan’s Operations Director, Steve Morris. “By working closely with Zytek and Radshape, who already have considerable expertise in this field, we aim to make this a realistic concept that could lead to further developments if demand and other factors prove favourable.”

A customer drives in to your garage looking for a tune up of their £300,000 Ferrari F40; naturally you relish the chance to work on a triumph of super car perfection. However, this was not enough to sate the appetite of a mechanic in Houston, Texas. Whilst the owner left the super car in his (not so) capable hands, the rogue grease monkey decided to take it out for a spin.

Unfortunately for the mechanic, the Ferrari was too much to handle and after losing control, the car ploughed into a fence. Gregg Carlson, from motoring site Wrecked Exotics, said, ‘It’s always sad to see such beautiful cars destroyed, but it’s comforting to know that Ferrari uses their racing technology to keep occupants as safe as possible. The mechanic was left uninjured and had the unenviable responsibility to informing the owner who was holidaying in Europe.