Honda 53104-zv4-010 Bolt, Friction (honda Code 3174760). on 2040-parts.com

David Brown’s Speedback is an Aston Martin DB5 for 2014 (video)

The David Brown Automotive Speedback (pictured) revaled ahead of Monaco debut Last month we revealed that the David Brown Automotive’s take on a classic, luxury British Sports Car would be based on the underpinnings of the Jaguar XKR, and we’d expected another classic E-type creation like the Lyonheart K being built by Envisage (as is the David Brown car). In fact, the David Brown Speedback – for that is what David Brown is calling his company’s creation – looks instead like a classic Aston Martin from the 1960s – think DB5 or DB6 – with perhaps a few hints of Maserati and Ferrari from the same era too. And it looks great.

Brabus unleashes Mercedes-Benz SL850 6.0 Biturbo

We still remember a time when Brabus' Mercedes-Benz cars were tough to pick out in a crowd, but with the current generation of cars from this Bottrop-based tuning house everyone will be able to spot them from a mile away. Given the maximum speed of some of its cars, that's not a bad thing by any means. And even though Brabus has recently attracted attention for its treatment of the facelifted G-class and the new Mercedes-Benz S-class, their latest reworking of the Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG is sure to reset the bar when it comes to the SL-class.

New car sales accelerate again

NEW CAR SALES could be back to pre-recession levels by the end of this year after a good start to 2014. Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show there were 176,820 new vehicles registered in April - an 8.2% rise on the same month last year. Last month's figure took the total for the year so far to 864,942 - a 12.5% increase on the first four months of 2013.