Some of the greatest racing cars ever will be displayed at The Royal Chelsea hospital on Sunday 5th September 2010 at the inaugural Chelsea AutoLegends show:

In aid of the Chelsea Pensioners and sponsored by Auto Windscreens, the event will honour the world’s oldest sports car race in endurance racing – the 24 Hours Le Mans – with a special display of cars. This year’s maiden Chelsea AutoLegends will also feature a special tribute to the King of Cool himself Steve McQueen, who starred in the 1971 action film, Le Mans, which featured footage from the actual 1970 24 Hours Le Mans race.

As well as a huge number of mouth-watering prestige, exotic and supercars from both road and track, there will also be helicopter and military displays to ensure there is something for all the family.

Nigel Davies, Sales and Marketing for Auto Windscreens, said: “Chelsea AutoLegends promises to be a fantastic day out for all motoring enthusiasts. It’s a little known fact that Auto Windscreens is one of the few windscreen manufacturers to specialise in the production of windscreens for classic cars. We have produced some amazing and unusual windscreens, from a Ferrari P4 to a Morgan three wheeler. It will be great to see these cars at their absolute best at the event.”

Discounted tickets for the event can be purchased online at www.chelseasautolegends.com for only £12 (£15 on the gate), however accompanied under 16s are free.

In this video, you’ll see the new (and critically acclaimed) Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG tackle the hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2010. Worth watching? Oh yes. This is an extremely special car and the noise it makes is simply staggering! It’s a real shame I couldn’t make it to the festival of speed this year, but hopefully I will do in 2011!

During 28th-29th August 2010, the VXR Power Festival is taking place at Silverstone. There’ll be a variety of events to take part in, including Go-karting and Autotest driving against the clock (and fellow festival goers). Also in attendance will be a variety of BTCC drivers including Fabrizio Giovanardi, Jason Plato, James Thompson and John Cleland, who will be racing against celebrities such as James Martin, Ricky Whittle, Nicola T and Luther Blissett.

Find out more about the VXR Power Festival at Silverstone here.

The German Show, the first in what is hoped will become an annual event, will be held over the weekend of the 24th & 25th July, in the grounds of the world famous National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

This will be a weekend of purely Teutonic motors with all German marques welcome, from BMW, Audi and VW to Porsche and Mercedes; old, new, standard, modified – and everything in between! In addition to having their vehicles on display, participants can compete for prizes in the Show and Shine and take part in agility tests on the grass arena. There will also be trade stands and autojumble, plus o0-karting at a good value extra charge.

There are also other events that are ongoing at Beaulieu, including the World of Top Gear exhibition.

Ticket prices for owners of German vehicles taking part in the show are; adult single day £10, or both days £15, or 2 days and 1 night camping for just £22. Children aged 5-17 £8 per day or £12 for 2 days. You can book in advance or pay on the day, however camping is only available if booked in advance.

Buy tickets online at www.beaulieushop.co.uk or telephone 01590 612888. For trade enquiries and further information visit www.beaulieu.co.uk/beaulieu/germanshow.

Aston Martin Volante

Aston Martin’s mighty new four door sports car – the Rapide – will be driven hard at the Nürburgring Nordschleife for the 38th ADAC Zurich 24 hour Race on 15th and 16th of May. I must say, I’d love to be there to see it in action!

Last year, the V12 Vantage managed a place of 21st of 220 starters, which is pretty good going. I’m sure that the Rapide will perform just as well this year. The car is close to standard specification but with full FIA race safety modifications and will be driven by a team of drivers including Chief Executive Dr Ulrich Bez. Alongside the Rapide will be a development of last year’s V12 Vantage, with enhanced race aerodynamics together with a number of customer entered Aston Martins.

Ferrari 599 GTO

Announced on www.ferrari.com there’s a new sight – the Ferrari 599 GTO. It’s a modified, extreme V12 berlinetta, set to be one of the most exclusive limited edition vehicles to be released this year. In fact the 599 GTO is based on the 599XX, the advanced experimental track car, and can be considered almost a road-going version.

The 599 GTO is reserved for just 599 clients who seek the maximum expression of high performance driving. The 599 GTO benefits directly from the technological transfer from racing and set a record lap time at Fiorano in 1’24”.

The Fiorano lap time provides just one indication of the potential of this car. Just as significant are the technical specifications – 670 hp in a 1495kg car represents a weight-to-power ratio of just 2.23 kg/hp, and ensures a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 3.35” as well as a top speed of over 335 km/h.

The GTO (Gran Turismo Omologata) moniker instantly calls to mind two Ferraris that have entered the collective imagination as symbols of performance. After the 1962 250 GTO, which swept the boards in GT racing categories in the 1960s and is now a highly prized collector’s car, came the iconic 1984 GTO, which basically invented the entire modern supercar genre.

The public debut of the 599 GTO will be at the Beijing International Motor Show at the end of April.

Trucks and Troops - at the National Motor Museum

From the 29th – 31st May 2010, the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu is playing host to Trucks & Troops. Staged by the South Hampshire Area of the Military Vehicle Trust the show is a celebration of the development of military transport, combat vehicles and soldiering through the ages.

Over 250 military vehicles will be on display, everything from push-bikes to armoured and tracked vehicles, ranging from pre WWll to the Gulf War. These include a multitude of types such as Jeeps, Dodges, Bedfords, GMCs, Austin Champs and, of course, Land Rovers. Re-enactment groups, including the Vietnam war group, Rolling Thunder, will be wearing uniforms and equipment corresponding to the vehicles on display. They will be talking to visitors about life as a soldier and re-creating camps and situations in which they would have lived and served.

The show is open from 10am each day with plenty of free parking. For more information telephone 01590 612345, or visit: www.beaulieuevents.co.uk.

Vauxhall is running a competition to find the greenest driver in Europe. If you happen to be that rather skillful person then you could end up winning a brand new Vauxhall Ampera and be one of the first to drive this unique electric range-extended car.

To enter, visit the Vauxhall site here.

The first round is a quiz, where you must answer 10 questions about environmental driving in the shortest time possible and score enough points to qualify for the second round. If you are not happy with your result, try again. Enter before 11th June.

The second section is an online simulator, which starts from the 17th May for those who complete the quiz.

The final round takes place in Copenhagen and Malmö on 22-24 July 2010. For the lucky finalists this unique event is your chance to demonstrate your eco-driving skills at the wheel of real ecoFLEX cars, at the location of the last UN Climate Change Conference, and in competition with Europe’s greenest drivers!

So, you’ve got nothing to lose and an extended range car and the title of ‘greenest driver in Europe’ to gain!

In March, I had the pleasure of attending the MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show. Let’s get the scoring/review out of the way first of all – I can heartily recommend the show if you have an interest in bikes, although there wasn’t too much going on in terms of live events outside. However, if you have a desire to see the latest two-wheeled metal in the flesh, then you couldn’t go far wrong by taking a trip up to Scotland, as I did.

I attended on the 20th March, having set off with the post code of the Royal Highland Centre programmed into the sat nav. Ready and raring to go, I set off with less than three hours of driving to complete – which turned into slightly longer than expected due to a rather large tailback about 20 minutes from the Centre.

On arrival, car parking was simple and easy to follow and was only £3 for the whole day – so not too bad at all. By booking tickets in advance (I recommend this for all motorsport events for the following reason) my friends and I could simply go to the much shorter ‘prepaid’ queue, which allowed us straight in to the cordoned area. Simple and no fuss!

The first sight of the day was the stunt bikers over on the Monster big rig. The setup involved a number of ramps, jumps and obstacles which were being handled amazingly well by a couple of riders. This was followed by a show with some clearly very skilled riders, who demonstrated a number of stunts including no handers, wheelies and even a burn out until a tyre popped!

The meat of the show was the variety of different manufacturers that were showing the new 2010 bikes in the hopes of creating some business. By all accounts, this proved to be extremely successful, as there was a very large crowd on the day taking in the latest two-wheeled metal. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the stand-out stands!

Triumph
The highlight for me was the Triumph Bonneville. Whilst there were other more sporty bikes on the stand, the Bonnie is just a great, classic, timeless design. Granted, it’s not going to hurtle you down the motorway at terrifying speeds, but hey, is that what motorbiking is about? The Bonneville (especially the outstanding T100) is all about a relaxing scratch around and it does everything well. That’s not to denigrate machines like the Daytona, which is another great bike.

Victory
What can you say about a manufacturer that produces huge, huge machines with 106 cubic inches of engine displacement? Bikes that feature a 240 section rear tyre and look big enough to wipe out a few cars? All you can say I think is, wow. Victory motorcycles are unique – I’ve not come across anything quite like them and you don’t see that many of them on the road. Then again, it’s perhaps because not everyone is a giant and able to handle such a large machine. Nonetheless, there’s something that is intrinsically appealing about two wheeled metal of such size, even if it is a challenge to make it turn a corner! The highlight goes to the Victory Hammer S, which was a definite show highlight. The image below is the Victory Vegas 8 Ball, a more user friendly bike if you’re on the smaller size.

Victory Vegas 8ball

Yamaha
There wasn’t a lot happening at the Yamaha stand – which was rather disappointing. Whilst there was a decent array of bikes, there didn’t seem to be anything that really stood out or grabbed my attention, barring the new 2010 R1.

Ducati
For those who aren’t in the know, Ducati carry a particular type of reputation in the motorcycling world. Come to think of it, it’s not that different from Italian cars – thoroughbreds that are extremely good to ride, with plenty of power and road ability. With the potential of course for a little mechanical coaxing required thrown in for good measure. Nonetheless, the Ducati stand, thanks to bikes such as the 1198, really did catch the eye. They are beautiful, beautiful bikes. I in particularly was impressed with the Hypermotard 796 – though it did look like I’d need to grow a few inches to handle it as it should be.

Ducati 1198S

MV Augusta
Perhaps at the top of the most desirable bike in show list was the MV Augusta F4. A true superbike for the road, the F4 catches the eye, takes the breath away and will waste almost anything else on the road at the lights. MV also had the MV Augusta Brutale at the show, which is a really good looking bike. Kudos too goes to staff manning the stand. They were more than happy to discuss everything from the trip to the show to relative power outputs.

MV Augusta F4

Kawasaki
The Kawasaki Z1000 was another bike of the show. A streetfighter with aggressive styling, an aluminium twin tube frame, this is a bike that you won’t really go far wrong with. Comfortable, exotically styled and enough to make any driver wince and move out of the way when they see this coming up in a wing mirror. Kawasaki also had a number of new bikes on show including the excellent little off-roader, the D-Tracker 125 and the updated Versys model (only taller riders need apply for this one).

BMW
BMW Motorrad was at the show, though arguably with one single purpose in mind. That purpose was to show off the new to 2010 BMW S 1,000 RR superbike! The advertisements for this bike say ‘power redefined’ and I couldn’t think of a better description. The double R is a genuine race bike, even if number plates can be added. Whilst the price tag of £11,000 may look a little steep for the bike OTR, you’ll find it a challenge to be faster on two wheels – or indeed to have a faster way to lose your licence if you’re not careful!

BMW S1000RR

Custom Event – Area 51
Probably the highlight of the show, the Area 51 section of the show was simply fantastic. Less concerned about the original manufacturer designs and performance, this show was all about the look and the wild designs – in fact the wilder the better. On display were a variety of cruisers, customs and low-riders modified beyond belief. My favourite was a former Victory motorcycle with the wildest paintjob you’ve ever seen. The artistry involved must have been staggering! The live band was also very good and got the crowd dancing.

Other items
The Russian sidecar show was unique to say the least – I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it! There was obviously a lot of skill involved and it had a number of the audience with their eyes very wide at the antics. It does make you wonder why we don’t see more of these machines on the road.

Overall
I can firmly recommend the MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show if you have any interest at all in two wheels. Whether you’re a novice or a racer, there’ll be something there for you. As for me? Well, it was great to sit on a variety of bikes. However, it did put me in even more of a quandary about what to buy next. I certainly love the look of the Triumph Bonneville T100 but Victory two wheelers are staggering. I will of course keep you all updated should I choose to roll out on a new set of wheels. In the meantime, keep checking back regularly for more event coverage.

Trofeo Abarth 500 GB

Car racing doesn’t have to be all about big V8 monsters roaring around a track. In fact, nimbler, more agile cars can often provide more entertainment for your money and none prove this more than the exciting Abarth Trofeo race series.

The series, which starts with its first rounds over the Easter weekend (3 and 5 April), features Abarth’s potent new 500 Assetto Corse race cars. Dates for the Trofeo Abarth 500 GB were recently announced and include rounds at some of Britain’s best-known circuits, beginning with the Easter races at Oulton Park, Cheshire.

Powered by a 1368cc 16-valve turbocharged engine, the 970kg Trofeo 500 race cars develop 190bhp at 6500rpm and torque of 300Nm at 3000rpm to achieve dramatic performance on the track.

The new Trofeo Abarth 500 GB series calendar is as follows:

* 3 April – Oulton Park
* 18 April – Silverstone
* 23 May – Cadwell Park (also features British Superbikes on the same bill)
* 27 June – Snetterton
* 25 July – Silverstone
* 5 September – Brands Hatch
* 24 October – Monza