The cars of Ayrton Senna

Twenty years ago today – 1 May 1994 – the world lost arguably the most talented Formula One driver ever: Ayrton Senna. Numbers alone don’t quite describe the genius the Brazilian driver showed at the wheel of all manner of cars throughout his career, finding time and speed where others simply couldn’t. So, on the 20th anniversary of Senna’s death in a tragic accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola – only a day after Roland Ratzenberger, a young Austrian driver and friend of Senna, also sadly lost his life, while qualifying – we’re celebrating the life of one of Formula One’s most charismatic drivers.

Audi working with Mazda on Wankel for A1 e-Tron?

The Audi A1 e-Tron could be getting a Mazda Wankel Last year at the Geneva Motor Show, Audi showed us another in its seemingly endless line of fantasy e-Tron cars. But instead of being a pointless supercar with a pile of batteries bolted underneath to wreck the handling with all their weight – for the three feet you can actually drive with your foot to the floor before you run out of juice – this e-Tron was a different beast altogether. Not only was the Geneva 2010 e-Tron a properly sensible city car – the Audi A1 - but it came with a range extender so you could actually use this Audi A1 e-Tron beyond the confines of its electric charge.

1970 DeTomaso Mangusta: Bring a Trailer special

The name means “mongoose” in Italian, and even if this American half-breed never killed a Cobra on the track, in the looks department it’s still lethal. DeTomaso built 401 Mangusta sports cars from 1967 to 1971 before it was axed in favor of the ubiquitous Pantera--a styling step backward in the eyes of your humble author. The Mangusta formula was the same as that for Pantera: a Ford V8 engine (albeit a 302 rather than a 351C) midships in a sleek Italian body.