The Advertising Standards Authority has rejected complaints that an ad for the new Citroen C3 condones dangerous behaviour by showing a driver using its ConnectedCam at the wheel.

The built-in dashcam can be operated by pressing a button behind the rear-view mirror, yet 20 viewers felt a television advert demonstrating the system was irresponsible. A further two also complained about a radio advert.

Citroen UK responded to the complaints, saying “the one-click button on the camera situated just behind the vehicle’s interior rear-view mirror was no more distracting to press than turning on the radio and was designed to avoid driver distraction.”

The firm added that the camera was designed to be used when the vehicle was stationary, and the advert didn’t show the driver using it while the vehicle was moving. It also didn’t show him using his phone to share the photos.

After considering Citroen’s response, as well as feedback from Clearcast, the organisation which approves adverts for TV, the ASA rejected the complaints:

The ASA considered viewers would interpret the ad as illustrating how drivers could use the Citroen C3’s in-car camera. We considered that in some of the shots (where the driver was photographing the letters A and R) it appeared that the car might be moving, suggesting that the driver was using the camera while he was driving. We noted that the Highway Code advised drivers to avoid distractions and gave “starting or adjusting any music or radio” as an example of a distraction (rule 148); that using hands-free equipment was “likely to distract your attention from the road” (rule 149); that there was “danger of driver distraction being caused by in-vehicle systems such as satellite navigation systems, congestion warning systems, PCs, multi-media, etc” and that drivers “MUST [their capitalization] exercise proper control of your vehicle at all times”.

We noted that there were few, if any, other vehicles using the road in any of the shots and that the action the driver needed to perform to use the camera appeared to be nothing more than would be involved in a driver adjusting music or the radio, which the Highway Code permitted as long as the driver was exercising proper control of the vehicle. While we appreciated that the examples of actions or possible distractions given in the Highway Code could be undertaken in ways that would mean a driver was not exercising proper control of the vehicle, we considered there was no suggestion in the shots in the ad that the driver was distracted or not exercising proper control. We therefore concluded that ad (a) did not condone or encourage dangerous or irresponsible behaviour prejudicial to safety and in breach of the legal requirements of the Highway Code, and that it therefore did not breach the BCAP Code.

Motoring Research is currently trialling a Citroen C3 with a ConnectedCam as part of a six-month test, plus we recently took another C3 to France where we used the dashcam to indulge in a bit of car spotting.

Never heard of Atalanta? Neither had I. The company built just 22 cars between 1937 and 1939 before becoming an early casualty of World War II. Production switched to generators and pumps, where it remained until Atalanta’s eventual demise in the 1990s.

The story could have ended there: another British car company consigned to the history books along with Frazer Nash, Austin, Bantam, Jensen, Rover and countless others. But it didn’t, and – after an 80-year hiatus – Atalanta is back with a new British sports car.

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A history of innovation

In truth, there was always something a bit special about Atalanta. Its 1937 roadster was hugely advanced for its day, with independent suspension, lightweight construction, a three-valve-per-cylinder twin-spark engine, hydraulic brakes and an electric pre-selector gearbox.

Seen here at Brooklands, the car was successful in motorsport, too. It raced at Le Mans in 1938 and won the Welsh RAC rally in 1939. Decades later, the Le Mans car was acquired by Martyn Corfield, a lifelong Atalanta enthusiast who owns three of the seven surviving originals. It was this car that would form the basis for his modern Atalanta roadster.

Living the dream

Martyn readily acknowledges that building a low-volume sports car – production is expected to run at one a month – won’t make him millions. But his passion for the project overrides such concerns; this is the realisation of a dream that began when he first saw an Atalanta in his local garage as a child.

Work on the reborn roadster began in 2009, with a concept version presented in 2012. Now, exactly 80 years since the original Atalanta left the Staines factory, the production car is ready: on sale and priced at £150,000.

Destination: Bicester Heritage

Atalanta is no longer based in Staines, but at Bicester Heritage – the former RAF base that houses much of Britain’s classic motor industry. As I drive through the site, I spot a wonderfully eclectic mix of cars: pre-war Bentley, Gordon Keeble, Jaguar E-Type, Peugeot 505 – even a rally-spec Fiat Panda. It’s a fitting location to see this evocative sports car for the first time.

I meet Martyn outside Atalanta’s office-cum-workshop. He’s warm and enthusiastic, reeling off facts about the company’s history faster than I can write them down. But this isn’t PR spin: he’s rightly proud of what his tiny, three-person team has achieved.

Raffish glamour

Elvis excepted, I’m not usually a fan of anything pre-1960. However, I’ll make an honourable exception here. Basking, roof-down in the midday sun, the Atalanta roadster looks fabulous. Sleek, low-slung and sporty, it’s the epitome of raffish 1930s glamour.

The finish is excellent, too. Paintwork looks deep and lustrous, while the interior is beautifully trimmed in soft leather. Look closer and you’ll spot neat details, such as the hidden door handles (tucked under the dashboard) and second filler cap (which houses a socket for a trickle charger). Side repeaters and seatbelts are the only obvious nods to modernity.

Praise the Ford

Only if you lift the engine cover, and come face-to-face with 2017-spec black plastic, is the vintage illusion briefly shattered. But this is a pre-production and ongoing development car: Martyn ensures me customer engines will be much better presented.

The motor itself comes from Ford in the US: a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder developing “around 200hp and 200lb ft of torque”. It’s mated to a five-speed manual gearbox (also from Ford) that drives the rear wheels. The side-exit exhaust is located somewhere just below the driver’s right elbow. And – oh yes! – it’s loud.

Track to the past

Twist the key and the engine barks brusquely into life. The pedals are offset and the footwell cramped, despite a lower floor than the original car – a necessary tweak for the taller drivers of today. I grasp the huge steering wheel, which has a beautifully engraved emblem of Atalanta – a huntress from Greek mythology – at its centre, and gaze along the long, louvred bonnet.

One great advantage of Bicester Heritage is the aircraft runway next door. And today, with help from a few strategically-placed cones, it will be our racetrack. Chocks away!

Getting physical

You might expect a chassis designed in the 1930s to betray its limitations on-track. And you’d be right: the Atalanta is no Lotus Elise, especially on high-profile 550-18 tyres remanufactured for historic racing. Nonetheless, it feels benign and biddable through the tight turns of our improvised circuit.

The car’s natural tendency is to understeer; only if you deliberately provoke it will the tail break loose. I suspect it could be rather tricky in the wet, but you’re more likely be more concerned about the lack of weather protection than on-the-limit handling by then…

A car for driving

Lap after lap, I begin to adapt my driving style. The Atalanta appreciates deliberate inputs and doesn’t flatter your mistakes. Yet that makes it all the more rewarding when you get it right.

This is a physical car, then, but in the best sense. The unassisted steering has a weighty directness, the five-speed manual gearbox needs a positive shove and, in case you were in any doubt, there’s no electronic safety net. And all the time, the wind gusts around the low-cut doors and the engine blares boisterously. It’s an intoxicating assault on the senses.

Figure this

It’s fast enough to be fun, too. The 0-62mph dash takes seven seconds and top speed – if you find a long enough runway – is around 125mph.

That’s merely ‘warm hatch’ or Mazda MX-5 pace nowadays, of course. But as I’ll discover, this retro recreation works best when you take it steady.

Destination: Cotswolds

With Martyn in the passenger seat, we leave Bicester and head west towards the Cotswolds. Our route takes us down winding, tree-lined lanes, past packed country pubs and through immaculate, chocolate-box villages. Prime British sports car territory, in other words.

Away from the smooth surface of the airfield, the Atalanta’s ride occasionally gets choppy, but progress generally feels relaxed. The big-hearted Ford four feels well-suited to touring, too. This isn’t an engine that begs to be revved: just shift up early and ride the wave of muscular torque.

The grand tour

You never forget this is an ‘old’ new car, either. Martyn talks of “a 1930s experience with the rough edges removed” and, while I’ve never driven a real vintage machine, it’s very different to anything else. Better? No. Authentic and characterful? Absolutely, yes.

In many ways, the Atalanta is rather rudimentary. But that makes it the antithesis of the anaesthetised modern car – exactly as you’d hope. As the clouds clear and we blat between hedgerows, the sun glinting off its curvaceous front wings, it feels just about perfect.

Crowd pleaser

There’s another reason to go slowly, of course: the admiration of onlookers. Pull up at The Fox and Hounds in a £150,000 Porsche and you’ll get grudging acknowledgement at best. Here, no such preconceptions apply – everyone is drawn to the glamorous lines and the raucous exhaust rumble.

The mystique of the Atalanta badge doubtless plays a part, too. Most car fans can recognise a Morgan, but this car – for now at least – remains something of an enigma. Precious few would suspect it was built in 2017.

Rose-tinted roadster

What matters for Atalanta today isn’t winning Le Mans. Martyn’s goal is to find a niche and offer something genuinely different: new, but steeped in the spirit of the past. After all, most people who buy his roadster will already have a large collection of cars.

In that, he has succeeded. This is a car to be savoured on sunny Sunday mornings, when the roads are quiet and you can pretend it’s 1937 again (just without impending threat of fascism and war). Beautiful and beguiling, the Atalanta roadster will make you feel good about driving it. And what’s not to love about that?

Citroen is taking on the top-selling Nissan Juke compact SUV with its all-new C3 Aircross, and the French brand has drawn first blood by undercutting the ageing Nissan’s prices. The new C3 Aircross, which goes on sale from 1 November, will cost from £13,995. The cheapest Juke is almost £900 more expensive.

Yet another entrant to the supermini-sized crossover SUV sector, the new C3 Aircross replaces the dull C3 Picasso supermini MPV; SUVs are very much where it’s at these days. It was revealed in Paris a few months ago and wears the same modern Citroen styling first seen on the C4 Cactus and, more recently, the vastly improved C3 supermini.

The C3 Aircross was first seen as a concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

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Citroen will sell the C3 Aircross in three trim lines: Touch, Feel and Flair. However, as with Nissan, the price-leading £13,995 car is likely to be a slow-seller. Touch trim is pretty sparse and many will prefer to upgrade the entry-level non-turbo 1.2-litre PureTech 82 engine to Feel trim: that costs £15,100, with a beefier turbocharged 1.2 PureTech 110 version costing £16,200. This is the real-world entry-level price for the C3 Aircross.

The comparable 1.2 DiG-T 115 Nissan Juke Acenta costs £16,785.

There’s a 130hp version of the PureTech motor for £16,600 and either 100hp or 120hp 1.6-litre BlueHDi turbodiesels that, in the current climate, likely won’t be as strong sellers as they may have been in the past. Citroen is also offering a city-friendly EAT6 auto gearbox alongside the regular manual.

Exact specifications will be confirmed nearer the time, but Citroen is already claiming best-in-class interior space, both front and rear, plus a modular boot that expands to as much as 520 litres, even with the sliding rear seat still in place.

The Citroen C3 Aircross joins an ever-growing compact SUV sector originally defined by the Nissan Juke. Competitors include the Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008, Vauxhall Crossland X and Fiat 500X, plus the upcoming Seat Arona, Hyundai Kona, Kia Stonic and Skoda Karoq. 

Sales of new petrol and diesel-engined cars will be banned in 2040, the UK government is expected to announce today. The measures are part of its new clean strategy that aims to bring UK air quality in line with EU targets.

Uncertainty remains, however, on whether the ban is for all new petrol and diesel cars, or only those lacking some form of electric assist, such as hybrids or plug-in hybrids.

Existing cars already on the road will not be banned from use.

More electric car news on Motoring Research:

• BMW announces plans to build electric Mini in the UK
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The ban of new petrol and diesel cars will be part of a £3 billion air quality package, which will include a fund for local councils to tackle pollution hotspots. This will include rephasing traffic lights, altering ‘traffic calming’ measures such as mini roundabouts and speed humps, and cleaning up local bus fleets with retrofit emissions technology.

Environment secretary Michael Gove will announce the government’s air quality plan later today. It will follow a similar announcement by the French government two weeks ago. Swedish carmaker Volvo also hit the headlines recently, by announcing it would only sell electrified new cars from as soon as 2019.

Air pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths in the UK: a government spokesman told the BBC it was “the biggest environmental risk” to public health. “This government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible.”

There is also speculation a scrappage scheme for older polluting models may be introduced later in the year, possibly in time for an expected autumn Budget.

Last week, Britain’s first all-electric new car showroom was opened in Milton Keynes. Motoring Research was there at the opening, that transport minister Jesse Norman said would help knock down a whole series of myths about buying an electric car. “That makes it much easier to think about buying one.”