2015 Fox Racing V1 Mx Helmet X-small on 2040-parts.com

'Rat run' short cuts make journeys slower

DRIVERS taking "rat-run" short cuts could actually be making their journeys slower, according to a survey. Congestion at the busiest times on local roads is twice as bad as on main highways, the poll from traffic information company TomTom found. It also revealed that traffic congestion in cities across the UK has got significantly worse over the past year.

New Vauxhall VXR8 GTS gets 576bhp & costs £54,999

The new Vauxhall VXR8 GTS gets 576bhp If you’re going to make your most potent saloon car more powerful, you could just tweak the engine management a bit to add a few more horses. But Vauxhall have gone a bit further with the latest VXR8 GTS – it gets a 6.2 litre V8 from the Camaro ZL1, a whole 150bhp and 140lb/ft of torque than the old VXR8. Vauxhall has based the GTS on Holden’s new GEN-F GTS – Australia’s maddest production Holden – and the increase in power comes courtesy of a supercharger, new exhaust system.

Concept Car of the Week: Ford Ghia Focus (1992)

As far back as the 1960s, Luigi Colani was preaching about organic design, and the 'biodynamic' forms that eventually became his signature. However, organic design didn't gain widespread popularity among car designers until the late 1980s and early '90s, and no car paid a greater tribute to nature and its forms than the Ghia Focus. Designed entirely by Taru Lahti only two years after graduating, the concept was a real breakthrough for the usually conservative American brand.