A classic Lamborghini supercar has been restored to former glory, and given important certification by the company’s heritage department.

Following completion of the painstaking work, the car has been on show at the prestigious 2019 Concorso d’Eleganza of Villa d’Este event. 

What makes this rare Miura P400 S even more special, is that it previously belonged to one of the most famous Italian singers of the 1950s and early 1960s.

Little Tony took his name, and musical inspiration, from American rock and roll trendsetter Little Richard.

Although born in Tivoli, Italy, Little Tony actually held San Marino citizenship. Whilst he lived most of his life in Italy, he is noted to have never applied to become an Italian citizen.

Regardless of his citizenship, Little Tony was a huge fan of Lamborghinis, and owned three Miuras. Finished in Azzuro Mexico blue, this particular 1971 car is one of just six painted in this hue by the factory.

Now owned by an Italian collector, the P400 S underwent a thorough restoration by an official Lamborghini dealership.

The work was carried out under the supervision of Lamborghini’s Polo Storico heritage department. This assistance included supplying original spare parts to ensure period correctness.

Polo Storico were also able to provide details of the original production specification. This meant the car could be rebuilt to exactly how it left the factory, even employing the same methods as used in the 1970s.

With the work completed, Polo Storico was able to certify the authenticity of the car. Doing so means the collectability of the car is now further enhanced, although the rare colour choice and famous first owner already make it desirable.

Held on the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy, the Concorso d’Eleganza of Villa d’Este brings together a collection of the most beautiful classic cars and motorcycles.

The 2019 event focussed on “The Symphony of Engines”, with cars and bikes being judged not only on looks, but also on the sound they make. Little Tony’s Miura was displayed with a selection of other cars owned by musical celebrities.

The Extinction Rebellion environmental protests, the launch of the London ULEZ and the arrival of the Tesla Model 3 have all contributed to a peak in interest for electric cars in the UK.

In the 40-day period from the start of April, online traffic for EVs at car manufacturer and publisher websites was up 56 percent. This period included:

• 8 April: launch of London ULEZ
• 15 April: Extinction Rebellion protests
• 1 May: Tesla Model 3 arrives in the UK

Research by automotive analysis company Sophus3 shows three distinct ‘spikes’ in interest for electric vehicles around these dates. Encouragingly, since the beginning of May, this growth in electric car interest has been maintained.

“It was both reassuring and exciting to see this surge in online traffic to EV websites from April,” said Scott Gairns, MD of Sophus3.

“We believe the combination of environmental campaigning, low-emission legislation and news of the Tesla Model 3’s arrival stimulated a new level of consumer interest in EVs.”

He added that for EV sales to grow, confused consumers need both ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’ to help them make a decision.

“It is not enough for a car brand to launch a new EV alone, nor for new legislation to try and promote low-emission cars by penalising traditional petrol or diesel cars.”

The recent surge in EV interest should help turn around a decline in interest noted in the first quarter of 2019.

While visits to electric car pages grew 43 percent in Germany, 41 percent in Spain, 21 percent in Italy and three percent in France, they actually FELL six percent in the UK.

Early UK figures for April and May suggest that downward trend has now been reversed.

British drivers love to argue, according to new research by Privilege Car Insurance.

The study of 2,000 motorists found that drivers come to blows every 23 minutes. No they don’t. Yes they do. No they don’t. Repeat to fade…

Predictably, navigation is the number one cause of friction, with 26 percent of motorists falling out over the decision to turn left or head right.

You’d have thought that sat-nav would have all but eradicated this traditional source of tension. Maybe drivers enjoy arguing with electronic devices?

One in three respondents named the car as the most stress-filled spot outside of the home, while 10 percent of millennials and six percent of men have parted company with the person they were arguing with in the car.

Traffic, the temperature of the climate control, the choice of music and even passing wind were also named as common reasons for a quarrel. If in doubt, don’t let it out.

The research also appears to suggest that we’re a touchy bunch, with 54 percent of drivers getting annoyed by passengers touching the handbrake or gearstick, 53 percent by pressing the horn, and 37 percent by rummaging thought the glovebox.

‘Easy to get irritated’

Charlotte Fielding, head of Privilege Car Insurance, said: “The car can be a high-pressured place for many as tensions overflow during a journey, especially over what can seem to be the more trivial things.

“At Privilege, we want our drivers to have a stress-free journey so that they themselves, their passengers and others on the road are as safe as possible.

“It takes high levels of concentration to drive safely which can make it easy to get irritated, so please think twice before rummaging in the glove compartment or offering driving tips from the back seat of the car!”

Top reasons for arguments

1. Directions (26 percent)
2. Back seat drivers (22 percent) 
3. Other people’s driving (21 percent)
4. Traffic (20 percent)
5. Forgetting something and needing to turn back (14 percent)
6. Kids misbehaving (13 percent)
7. Passengers distracting the driver (12 percent)
8. Other people’s speed (10 percent)
9. Temperature (9 percent)
10. Music (9 percent)
11. People making a mess (9 percent)
12. Other people’s bad parking (9 percent)
13. Driving speed (9 percent)
14. Needing to stop for the toilet (7 percent)
15. Passing wind (7 percent) 

Vauxhall has revealed the new Corsa, due on sale later in 2019, in all-electric Corsa-e guise – instantly transforming the fortunes of the popular but dated supermini.

The first all-electric Vauxhall to launch, the new Corsa-e will have a range of 205 miles, and will able to use rapid chargers for 30-minute battery charges.

It will also do 0-62mph in 8.1 seconds and accelerate from zero to 30mph in just three seconds.

Vauxhall says the 50 kWh battery’s 205-mile official range can be extended by a further 40 percent by using a special eco mode. This will give owners more than 80 extra miles.

But if you’re not ready to go all-electric just yet, don’t worry. Regular petrol and diesel versions of the new Corsa will also be launched soon – and be on sale later in 2019.

Crucial Corsa

The Corsa is an extremely important car for Vauxhall: for years, it has been the firm’s best-seller. Last year, it was Britain’s third best-selling car, with almost 53,000 (including the extraordinarily good value Corsa Griffin) finding new homes.

In total, 2.1 million Corsas have been sold in Britain since it replaced the Nova in 1993.

However, it’s an ageing car these days. The current car is effectively a facelift of the version launched in 2006 – 13 years ago. This all-new one is desperately overdue – and is therefore going to be a bit of a revolution for owners of the current Corsa.

Corsa design

The new Corsa and Corsa-e (which will be visually almost identical) have a clean, solid design that’s sleeker and more modern than the current car.

The wheelbase is longer, overhangs are shorter and a stretched, wrapover bonnet removes the traces of ‘mini people carrier’ seen in the current one.

A strong, tapering shoulder-line and the familiar lower Vauxhall ‘swoosh’ define the sides, and subtly muscular rear haunches are a contemporary touch. The contrast roof colour will be an option from launch.

Inside, the interior is transformed, with an available 10-inch touchscreen sitting high and proud on the dashboard. It will have both Apple Carplay and Android Auto connectiveity, and will be a feature on most grades of new Corsa above the base level. Even base cars get a seven-inch touchscreen, though.

Adaptive radar cruise control, blind-spot alert, lane-keep assist, traffic-sign recognition, voice recognition, emergency braking and a drowsy driver warning buzzer are other high-tech features coming to the new Corsa.

The new model will even have an autonomous parking gadget and a panoramic rear-view camera that increases rear visibility by 180 percent (it’s able to show approaching traffic from the sides of the car).

Vauxhall will now roll out more information about the new Corsa and Corsa-e in coming weeks, ahead of its motor show debut in Frankfurt this autumn. Ordering will open this year too, with first deliveries towards the end of 2019.

Watch out, Ford Fiesta…

Brabham will follow up its BT62 hypercar with a more affordable, higher-volume model. Development of the as-yet-unnamed supercar, which will be more refined and road-oriented than the BT62, is already underway.

Dan Marks, commercial director at Brabham, told us: “We’re not going down the McLaren route and building 6,000 cars each year – we don’t want to lose our focus. Between 100 and 200 cars per annum sounds right.”

• Video: Brabham BT62 revealed in London

That’s a significant increase versus just 70 examples of the £1.2 million ($1.5 million) BT62 (pictured), but Marks is confident the Anglo-Australian company will rise to the challenge. “The investment group behind Brabham already owns a carbon-composite shop and a commercial vehicle firm, so we have plenty of resources in-house,” he explains. 

‘A road car that’s well-suited to the track’

While he refused to divulge many details, Marks confirmed the new Brabham will be “a road car that’s well-suited to the track”. The BT62, by contrast is a barely-disguised World Endurance Championship (WEC) racer with 1,200kg (2,650 pounds) of downforce and slick tyres (the company offers a ‘road-compliant’ version with treaded rubber, door locks and a lift-kit for an additional £150,000 or $190,000).

Brabham Automotive was founded by multiple Le Mans winner David Brabham and is based in Adelaide, Australia, where the new car will be built. It may – taking a leaf out of McLaren’s book – use a version of the existing 5.4-litre naturally-aspirated V8, which makes 710 horsepower and 492 lb ft of torque in the BT62. However, ever-tightening emissions legislation means a hybrid petrol/electric powertrain is also possible. 

• Flat-out in the Brabham BT62: first passenger ride

In modern supercar style, a huge range of personalisation options will be offered. “We can do bespoke carbon fibre with a customer’s initials shaped into the weave,” says Marks. “The sky is the limit”. Brabham may offer a range of racing-inspired liveries, too – including the green/gold of Dan Gurney’s 1964 BT7 and the red/black/blue of Niki Lauda’s 1978 BT46B.

‘On a journey to 2022’

As for rivals, Marks refuses to be drawn, but it’s likely the Brabham will be benchmarked against other track-ready supercars such as the Ferrari 488 Pista, McLaren Senna and forthcoming Aston Martin AM-RB 003. It certainly won’t be a “blank canvas, no compromise” machine like the BT62.

We’ll have more details of the new Brabham soon, but the finished article isn’t likely to be ready for another three years. “We’re on journey to 2022,” says Marks, “when the BT62 will compete in WEC events – and at Le Mans. Much our our effort is concentrated on that right now.”

Just been a passenger with David Brabham in the BT62. Internal organs squelched… ears ringing.

This particular car set a new Bathurst lap record earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/MC7prYfiTA

— Tim Pitt (@timpitt100) May 23, 2019

Building supercars is a cutthroat business: many have tried and failed. But Brabham already has money and engineering expertise, along with the kudos of one of the greatest names in motorsport. Don’t bet against it.

Creating your ideal sports car using an online configurator has become even more realistic with a new smartphone app from Porsche.

The AR Visualizer App allows a three-dimensional photorealistic image of your perfect Porsche to be generated right before your eyes.

It means you could envisage how it looks parked outside your home, or even inside your living room. All the app needs is a flat surface to create the 3D image.

Dream machines

The new app includes all the features found in the regular Porsche configurator, which is offered through the company’s website.

This means endless debates about which paint choice is the best, or trying to work out exactly which set of alloy wheels your Stuttgart dream machine must have.

Customers can still make use of the usual website-based configurator, but then send their completed car to the app for the full augmented reality effect.

X-Ray specs

As an added bonus, the AR app also includes a new ‘highlight’ feature. This creates an X-ray-style cutout view of the selected car, showing users exactly where key technical details are hidden. It means future 911 owners can prove the latest sports car from Zuffenhausen is still very much rear-engined.

At present, the AR app can be used with the latest 911 Carrera S and 4S, along with the Mission-E concept car. The latter will be replaced with the finished production version of all-electric Taycan once it is revealed.

There’s an app for that

Porsche also promises to have the entire model range available for use with the app by the end of 2019, meaning Macan and Cayenne customers will have to wait a little longer.

Available to download for both Apple iOS and Android devices now, the augmented reality app is the latest in a series of smartphone offerings from Porsche. Last year, the company launched the Porsche Charging Services app, aimed at helping drivers of plug-in hybrid or fully-electric cars find charging points.

Earlier this year, Porsche also revealed a vehicle rental smartphone app, offering access to a subscription service in partnership with tech company, Cluno.