Kawasaki 1987 El250 Eliminator Swingarm Swing Arm Bolt K87-cl250-044 on 2040-parts.com

The Bloodhound SuperSonic Car is a rocket-powered land missle

The ambitious British Bloodhound SuperSonic Car project took a significant step forward in the quest to raise the world's land speed record to 1,000 mph when the machine's main power unit—a spectacularly forceful rocket engine—was successfully test fired Oct. 3. The rocket is believed to be the largest designed in Europe in decades, and its 185-decible noise level is said to be many times louder than a Boeing 747 during takeoff.

Driven: a week with a Chevrolet Volt

In Fall 2010, before the Volt went on sale in North America, we sampled an early build model and came away so impressed, we declared it the car for the digital age. Since then the car has received harsh criticism from the press and been outsold by the Nissan Leaf in the North American market. Given the unique powertrain, we felt longer exposure to the Volt was therefore in order, so on a recent trip to Michigan, we lived with one for five days.

McLaren 12C Can-Am & Historic McLaren Can-Ams at 2013 Goodwood FoS

It seems it was, because by November McLaren revealed the 12C Can Am was going in to limited production – just 30 units at £375,000 each – for deep-pocketed Americans to go track day racing with a 12C that weighs in at 1200kg, gets a few extra horses and 30 per cent more downforce compared to the road going 12C. So with a new track car and a 50th anniversary to celebrate in 2013, McLaren has decided it’s a good idea to take the 12C Can-Am off to play on the Goodwood hillcimb this summer at the 2013 Festival of Speed and, for added interest, take along a selection of models from their heritage collection – the ultimate McLaren racers of the 1960s and 70s – for our delight. McLaren has also given us a teaser video of the M8D Can-Am Racer (below) as a taster of what visitors to this year’s FoS can look forward too, yet another reason to get yourself down to Sussex in July.