A Veyron, Steven Gerrard and a 572bhp estate
Look beyond the financial turmoil which has engulfed the automotive industry and you’ll see 2008 has been a fantastic year for motoring with some amazing stories taking place.
Bugatti Veyron gets ticketed
Traffic wardens aren’t the most popular people in society but January saw one in particular cheered like a superstar as she stuck a parking ticket on the window of a Bugatti Veyron.
A huge crowd of mobile phone-wielding spectators surrounded the female warden as she slapped the £60 ticket on the £830,000 hypercar.
View our slide show of celebrities getting parking tickets
.jpg)
Steven Gerrard’s Range Rover appears on Auto Trader… then disappears
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is widely hailed as the world’s best club footballer, putting in countless world class performances for the Merseyside outfit.
With his quality comes hero status and huge adulation, so when his Range Rover Sport went up for sale it was bound to attract interest.
So much so that within an hour of publishing the story, England and Liverpool fan Harjinder Johal had contacted the dealer and got his hands on the 140mph 4x4.
View our slide show of Steven Gerrard's Range Rover
Jeremy Clarkson in the news
The media loves Jeremy Clarkson almost as much as the public does with the presenter making the headlines for his outspoken comments as much as his Top Gear escapades.
In January, nearly 300,000 Clarksonites had signed a petition on either Facebook or the Downing Street website to demand Jezza be made Prime Minister.
Clarkson also fell victim to an Internet scam after publishing his bank account details in his newspaper column. Shortly afterwards, an unidentified reader copied his details to set up a £500 direct debit payable from his account to the British Diabetic Association.
Audi R8 diesel unveiled at Detroit
2007 saw the year Audi revealed its first ever supercar with the brilliant R8. Then at the Detroit Motor Show the German car maker unveiled a diesel version.
Using a 6-litre V12 engine, the diesel R8 concept developed 500bhp and a colossal 737lb/ft of pulling power which according to Audi ‘will have a top speed well over 186mph.’
New Audi RS6 Avant revealed
Not content with one ground-breaking car, Audi managed three in one month with a diesel TT and the Audi RS6 Avant - the latter stealing the former’s thunder.
When official details were announced, shockwaves went round the Auto Trader editorial team with everyone amazed that Audi had fitted its estate car with a 5.2-litre V10 engine developing 572bhp – 100bhp MORE than the Ferrari F40 supercar.
Video: Watch the Audi RS6 Avant in action
World’s cheapest car revealed
From 572bhp to 30bhp – meet the Tata Nano.
Twelve months ago Indian company weren’t that well known in the UK but that all changed in January with details of its Nano being revealed.
The four-door Nano is the world’s cheapest car, costing just £1,250 and is aimed towards Indian families who want more safety and security than with a motorcycle.
Come back tomorrow for the biggest stories from February, including The Stig - unmasked at last?
RSS