Yamaha Outboard Tachometer on 2040-parts.com

Festival of the Unexceptional: the bad cars we love

Ever been to a classic car show and noticed how many old MGBs and sports cars of yesteryear have turned up, driven by their proud owners, but wondered what happened to all the more mainstream stuff? There are twice as many Ferrari 308 GTBs on the roads in the UK than Austin Allegros, because the everyday cars of the past fail MOTs, get chucked away and replaced with shiny new hatchbacks. Fortunately, there is a select group of people in the UK who care for the mundane stuff of yesterday and, because of this, a new event for “unexceptional” cars will be taking place this summer.

New Audi RS6 to get 572bhp V8

The 2013 Audi RS6 looks set to swap its V10 for the new Audi V8 with the wick turned up to 572bhp – the same as the old V10. Most of the new A6 range has now arrived in showrooms – including the S6 and Avant – but what’s still missing is a new RS6, the Audi that used to have the heart of a Lamborghini. But as we reported in April, the 2013 RS6 is well on the way but it will be losing its Lamborghini V10 with its 5.2 litres and 572bhp and will instead get the Audi/Bentley twin-turbo 4.0 litre V8.

New (2014) Mazda3 now on sale: Price from £16,695

New (2014) Mazda3 now on sale: Price from £16,695 The new Mazda3 arrived in the summer, but only now has Mazda got round to revealing prices as the new 3 goes on sale in the UK as a Hatchback or Fastback. The new Mazda3 has grwon in size, gets better looking, offers Mazda’s SKYACTIV-G and SKYACTIV-D engines and looks set to offer even more competition for the VW Golf and Ford Focus. Mazda has managed to stretch the Mazda3 range to a total of 36 models – 21 hatchbacks and 15 Fastbacks – with a choice of three petrol engines -  the new 1.5-litre with 110PS and two versions of the 2.0 litre with 120PS or 165PS – and the 2.2 litre 150PS SKYACTIV-D diesel.