97 Honda Valkyrie Gl1500 Gl 1500 Rear Fender 105d on 2040-parts.com

Manufacturers report 2013 sales boom

CAR MANUFACTURERS are reporting strong surges in sales for 2013, with one mainstream brand up by more than 55%. So far Ford, Vauxhall, Skoda, MG, Lexus, Renault, Audi and Mercedes have all reported excellent sales performance, with Mercedes having passed the 100,000 registrations per year mark for the first time in the UK. Largely thanks to the introduction of the Dacia brand this year, the Renault Group has seen a 55.3% rise in sales, to 63,319 units.

Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster (2009): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 03 July 2009 16:30 Pagani has unveiled a roadster version of its most radical road-legal Zonda ever, the Cinque. Just five Cinque Roadsters will be made, and with no roof, a 669bhp V12 engine, and a price tag broaching £1.1m (plus taxes) it's pretty special. Think again - and if Horacio Pagani wants to build 5 more gorgeous Cinques, this time without a roof so you can really hear that 7.3-litre V12 wail, then who are we to argue. There's a longer front spoiler, a flat undertray and diffuser, plus a new rear wing, all of which is enough to create the same 750kg of downforce at 186mph that Pagani claims for the coupe version.

Book Review: Cosmic Motors

It is the year 8966-B in Galaxion, a distant galaxy where Daniel Simon has spent the past two years creating visions for the Cosmic Motors brand. Beginning with the Camarudo ‘one-person motion device', the former VW designer puts aside gravity to find unique forms for future vehicles, accompanied by excellent narration that develops the CoMo story and describes the techniques he used. All the vehicles in this stellar catalogue have been made into digital models with Autodesk AliasStudio - and the results are simply stunning.