Category: News

A collection of 20 ‘barn find’ Ferrari models is set to go under the hammer in California this August.

‘The Lost and Found Collection’ offered by RM Sotheby’s will be presented in Monterey, California during Monterey Car Week on August 17 It’s a set of 20 cars found in Speedway, Arizona, having been left untouched for years.

However, despite their dusty home, some of the 20 models have featured in motoring’s greatest spectacles including races at Le Mans, the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia. They had all been kept in a large warehouse until 2004’s hurricane Charley exposed the Ferraris to sunlight for the first time in over a decade when the building partly collapsed.

Though some of the cars were ‘bearing the scars of debris’, they were moved to a secure warehouse in Indianapolis where they have remained ever since.

Rob Myers, RM Sotheby’s, said: “While a select group of Ferrari collectors knew about the existence of these extraordinary cars, the rest of the world remained unaware. This represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for enthusiasts to acquire these iconic Ferraris, some of which have participated in renowned races.

Most of these lost Ferraris remain untouched, preserving their purity and original condition since the day they were acquired—a true embodiment of the ‘barn find’ concept. It is the first time that RM Sotheby’s has presented a barn find collection of this magnitude to the market.”

Highlights include one of four 240 GT Coupes built by Pininfarina in 1956, a 1965 275 GTB/6C Alloy by Scaglietti which could fetch up to $2.5m (circa £1.98m) and a 1978 Ferrari 512 BB Competizione prepared for the 24 Hours of Le Mans of the same year. Raced as #87, the 512 BB managed a stint of 19 hours before it retired.

Electric bikes must have number plates and insurance in order for pedestrians to be safe, Conservative MPs and the industry have said.

They want them to be regulated in the same way as other vehicles given the damage they can do if they hit someone.

E-bikes can weigh twice as much as a conventional bicycle and, while most cannot travel faster than 15.5mph by law, some have been modified to go much faster.

Children are allowed to ride them from the age of 14.

Ian Stewart, chairman of the Commons Transport Select Committee, told the Mail on Sunday: “There is a case for looking at insurance arrangements.

“I don’t think the regulations are a good fit for new technologies.

“It’s not just e-bikes, there are issues with e-scooters and driver-assist/self-driving technology increasingly embedded in cars.”

Fellow committee member Greg Smith told the newspaper: “With more types of vehicle competing for road space, it is only fair that all users are treated equally.

“E-bikes and e-scooters can achieve considerable speeds and cause damage to other vehicles and injure people, so should have to carry the same insurance requirements and tax liabilities as users of motor cars.”

Tony Campbell, chief executive of the Motor Cycle Industry Association, which represents the sector, called for new laws to include anti-tampering measures to outlaw e-bikes being modified for faster speeds, telling the paper: “We are in favour of reviewing regulation as it is clear it is outdated.”

The calls come after Saul Cookson, 15, died when his e-bike crashed into an ambulance shortly after being followed by police in Salford, Greater Manchester, on Thursday.

Last month, Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, were killed in Cardiff when riding a Sur-Ron electric bicycle through the Ely area of the city.

Claims they were being pursued by police sparked a riot in the area.

The potential danger of e-bikes were raised in a court case in 2020 following the death of 56-year-old pedestrian Sakine Cihan in August 2018, after she was knocked down and killed by a rider in Dalston, east London.

Thomas Hanlon was bought before the Old Bailey accused of causing her death by careless driving in what was believed to be the first case of its kind, but was cleared by a jury.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “There are strict laws in place around dangerous cycling and police have the power to prosecute if these are broken.

“While it is heavier vehicles that lead to increased maintenance costs by damaging roads, local highways are funded through general taxation which falls on all taxpayers, including those who cycle.”

A record £2.4 billion was paid out in motor claims in the first quarter of this year as firms find surging costs increasingly challenging to absorb, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

More expensive vehicle repairs, rising second-hand car costs and longer repair times are among the challenges faced by insurers, although there are some signs that cost pressures from whiplash-related claims are easing.

The new quarterly total marked a 14% increase compared with the same quarter in 2022 as well as being the highest quarterly payout since the ABI started collecting data in 2013.

The latest figure, covering January 1 to March 31 2023, includes motor insurance claims for theft, vehicle repairs, replacement vehicles and personal injury.

The overall number of claims settled, at 599,000, was also up by 14% compared with the same quarter in 2022.

The cost of vehicle repairs jumped by a third (33%) annually to reach £1.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, which was also the highest figure since the ABI started collecting the data in 2013.

This reflects rising costs, including energy inflation, and more expensive repairs, the association said.

Costs associated with providing replacement cars have also increased, reflecting longer repair times, the ABI said.

Payouts for vehicle theft, at £152 million, have increased by 29% since the first quarter of 2022, partly reflecting increases in second-hand car prices, it added.

Insurers paid out £642 million on personal injury claims in the first quarter of 2023, which was 11% down compared with the same quarter in 2022.

Early indications are that the whiplash reforms introduced in 2021 to create a simplified, fairer, more efficient and cost-effective compensation system are having an impact, the ABI said.

Laura Hughes, the ABI’s manager, general insurance, said: “Motor insurers continue to deliver when motorists and personal injury claimants need them the most.

“Like most other business sectors, motor insurers face sustained cost pressures which they are finding increasingly challenging to absorb.

“Despite this they are doing all they can to ensure competitively priced motor insurance, as well as offering the best possible claims service.”

Earlier this week, insurance industry representatives appearing before the Treasury Committee pushed back at perceptions that firms are “profiteering” during the cost-of-living crisis.

During the hearing, Charlotte Clark, director of regulation at the ABI highlighted “significant cost pressures” including costs related to cars.

Cristina Nestares, chief executive of Admiral UK, told the hearing on Wednesday: “The average of when you pay the claim could be two years.

“First, because the accident can happen in the next 12 months, secondly because when the claim is paid depends on the complexity, if it’s a damage claim, windscreen or maybe if it’s a large bodily injury claim. So on average, it could take two years.”

She said two years of inflation “is what you actually need to apply to every policy. Actually you see that we’re not profiteering.”

Recent figures from the ABI showed that motorists typically paid £478 for private comprehensive cover in the first three months of 2023, which was a 16% increase compared with the first quarter of 2022 and the highest figure recorded since premiums cost £483 on average in the final quarter of 2019.

Breakdowns caused by pothole damage fell by just four per cent during May, according to new figures released by the RAC.

The breakdown company attended 49,801 incidents – more than 1,600 per day – caused by potholes. This figure was second only to the 53,984 pothole-related incidents recorded in May 2018. During April 2023, the RAC went out to 52,070 pothole-related breakdowns.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Such has been extent of damage to UK roads, caused by winter’s ravages and poor road maintenance over many years, that the May bank holiday road travellers ran the risk of major damage and repair bills – particularly if they ventured off the main roads into the country.

“The big concern is the extra risk posed for the increased number of cyclists and bikers on to the road. Yes, the drier weather might have made the potholes easier to spot, but the sheer number of potholes means the odds are stacked against road users.”

Though the RAC says that local authorities have ‘started to get a grip’ on the ‘plague’ of potholes caused by winter and ‘patchy maintenance’, it adds that the state of the roads means that motorists on two wheels are more at risk. The RAC adds that drier conditions do tend to mean that there are more motorcyclists and cyclists on the road, too, meaning that more people are in danger of pothole-related accidents.

All Uber Eats couriers will use zero emission vehicles by 2040, the company has announced.

Deliveries are currently made by people using cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Uber Eats also plans for all restaurants providing food for the service to use sustainable packaging by 2030.

At an event in central London, Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said: “Driving emissions to zero, I believe, is the defining challenge of our generation.”

He added that London is “the leader in electrification” but “the world is absolutely not making the transition to green fast enough”.

Uber previously announced it wants all its minicab drivers in London to use electric cars by the end of 2025.

The company said on Thursday that Heathrow will be among several global airports which will provide drop-off points in preferential locations for Uber electric vehicles (EVs).

Mr Khosrowshahi said: “Our London riders experience the greenest ways to use Uber in the world, by electric car, by bike, by scooter, hybrid boat, coach and now even the Eurostar.

“That’s no accident. World-leading policies in London and the UK to lower emissions and clean up transportation have had a significant impact, and are having a significant impact as we speak today.”

Uber’s UK users can book train and coach tickets through the app.

Mr Khosrowshahi said Uber has taken a series of steps to reach the “awesome” figure of 10,000 drivers using EVs in London.

He went on: “Our experience in London has set the stage for us now to begin to scale electrification on a global basis.”

Uber has made a series of modifications to its app to make it easier for drivers to use EVs.

These include showing options for switching from conventionally-fuelled cars, and offering journeys based on when an EV will need to recharge.

Uber has also started showing passengers the carbon emissions savings from riding in EVs, and gives them the ability to choose those vehicles at no extra cost.

The gulf between the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road and public charge points could continue for “a number of months or more”, according to a transport minister.

Jesse Norman acknowledged there has been a “disconnect” between vehicles and required infrastructure, citing “rapidly growing” EV purchases as the reason.

But he insisted the Government has plans in place to support expansion, with the potential to make use of billions of pounds of private investment.

The fear of running out of charge – often referred to as range anxiety or charging anxiety – has been cited as a key barrier to people switching to electric motoring.

Mr Norman told MPs: “There are currently over 42,000 public electric vehicle charge points in the UK alongside hundreds of thousands more in homes and workplaces.

“The Government allocated a share of £381 million to every local area in England under the LEVI, Local EV Infrastructure fund, and is also supporting rapid charges along the strategic road network.”

Mr Norman said the Government also provides grants to support the development of charge points in flats, rental properties, residential car parks and workplaces.

But Labour MP Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) said: “According to The Times it seems the gulf between the number of electric vehicles out on our roads and the number of public charge points has actually doubled in the last year.

“And Logistics UK is reporting that many of their operators with commercial vehicles cannot access these points.

“So it seems the Government needs to do more in terms of planning and to encourage investment. Could the minister update us?”

Mr Norman, in his reply, said: “I take the general point he raises.

“Of course when you have rapidly growing EV purchases, as we do in this country, you are going to see moments where the amount of infrastructure and the amount of vehicles disconnect a little bit and we’ve certainly seen a bit of that recently – and we will do perhaps for a number of months or more yet.

“But what is so interesting is the new zero emissions vehicle mandate allows us to trigger, as I’ve already mentioned, billions of pounds of potential private investment.

“That’s a world-leading intervention by Government and I think it will pay long-term dividends in supporting the expansion of the electric car fleet.”

The Times said industry figures showed that across the UK there were 36 electric cars on the road for every standard public charger last year. It said this compared with 31 at the end of 2021.

The AA this week reported the proportion of EV breakdowns caused by running out of charge has fallen by nearly three-quarters since 2019.

Just 2.1% of callouts received by the AA from stranded EV drivers in the UK during the first five months of this year were for depleted batteries.

That was down from 8.0% across the whole of 2019.

The AA partly attributed this to a spike in the number of public charging devices, with Zapmap figures showing the total has risen from 24,909 at the end of April 2022 to 43,626 at the end of May this year.

The proportion of electric vehicle breakdowns caused by running out of charge has fallen by nearly three-quarters since 2019, new figures show.

Just 2.1% of callouts received by the AA from stranded EV drivers in the UK during the first five months of this year were for depleted batteries.

That is down from 8.0% across the whole of 2019.

The AA partly attributed this to a spike in the number of public charging devices, with Zapmap figures showing the total has soared from 24,909 at the end of April 2022 to 42,566 a year later.

AA president Edmund King believes an increase in the number of domestic and workplace chargers is another reason for the drop in incidents of EVs running out of electricity.

The fear of running out of charge – often referred to as range anxiety or charging anxiety – has been cited as a key barrier to people switching to electric motoring.

Mr King, who will address the EV Infrastructure Summit in east London on Wednesday, said: “Our data on out of charge EVs clearly shows charging anxiety does not match the reality.

“The drop in out of charge breakdowns is a clear sign that range, infrastructure and education are improving.

“Of course, we need a concerted effort to continue the rollout of reliable and accessible charging to fill in the gaps and to address the problem for those that don’t have off-street parking to charge.”

He added: “There has never been a better time to buy a used EV as many prices have dropped dramatically in the last six months.

“Once the car has been purchased, the running and servicing costs tend to be much lower.”

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030.

Jeremy Clarkson has revealed that one of the pranks on The Grand Tour: Eurocrash includes James May’s car “ending up” inside a restaurant.

In the latest instalment of the motoring travel programme, Clarkson, May and Richard Hammond go on a 1,400-mile road trip through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

The Prime Video special, which will form the second part of series five, also sees the former Top Gear trio “sample some Soviet style Formula 1, are attacked by deadly archers, recruit a famous racing driver and take part in a spectacular Fast and Furious climax”.

When asked about the pranks during the trip, Clarkson said: “If you’re driving on roads and staying in hotels, as we did here, that means you get to the hotel in time for a drink.

“And then obviously, after a couple of drinks, ideas come to mind and so, James’ car ends up inside the restaurant, as a result of the drink.”

Hammond said May, 60, “had every reason” to make their lives a “misery” by adding “profoundly embarrassing and deeply irritating” sound effects to his car.

The 53-year-old presenter added: “He rewired it so that when I hit the brakes, it sounded a bell and when I used the indicators, it sounded a variety of sirens.

“When throttling past a certain point of acceleration, it played bagpipes. The worst was when I put the roof down or up, it loudly broadcast a message in the local language which suggested I was impotent.”

In the show, May also buys a “beige” and “bizarre and terrible” American subcompact Crosley car for around £12,000 while bidding online.

He said a “sort of benefit in disguise” was that he did not have to see Hammond and Clarkson as much because he was so slow in the vehicle.

May added: “I don’t mind being left on my own as much as the others would probably make out because, as you’ve just indicated, there is a certain relief to it. But I had to balance that with the misery of being in a horrible car.”

Clarkson – who also hosts Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon – said the trio are returning to Africa in another upcoming part of The Grand Tour.

He said: “This one’s a hard one. It’s hard if you’re young and fit, but I’m really not fit and I’m very fat and I’m 63 now.”

The Grand Tour: Eurocrash will be available on Prime Video on Friday June 16.

A Ferrari F430 Spider once owned by Wales international footballer Robbie Savage will head to auction later this month.

The F430 Spider was purchased by Savage back in 2006 during his time at Blackburn Rovers, not long after the Spider had been launched by Ferrari in 2005.

Finished in Rosso Corsa, the F430 incorporates beige leather seats, an eye-catching red dashboard, and a matching steering wheel. On the wheel itself, you’ll find one of the first examples of Ferrari’s ‘Mannetino’ rotary switch which allows the driver to change the car’s settings depending on the situation.

Though the F430 was also available with a six-speed manual gearbox, this version uses an F1-style paddleshift instead. It’s linked to a 4.3-litre V8 engine which allowed the drop-top Ferrari to reach a top speed of 193mph. The roof uses a retractable soft-top which opens or folds away at the touch of a button.

The Ferrari is appearing at the H&H Classics auction at IWM Duxford, Cambridgeshire, on June 14 and is accompanied by a guide price of between £70,000 and £80,000. As well as having undergone a recent professional detail, H&H Classics says that the supercar is driving ‘extremely well’ and that it currently has 26,000 miles on the clock.

Other highlights of the auction include a one-off Bentley S2 Convertible, a Ford Puma ‘Works’ rally car and an eye-catching Smart Crossblade, which is a version of the famous city car which doesn’t feature any doors or a roof.

An expansion for London’s ULEZ scrappage scheme has been announced, allowing more people to receive financial support to transition away from more polluting vehicles.

Introduced by London’s mayor Sadiq Khan today, the move will allow all those receiving child benefit and small businesses registered in London with fewer than 50 employees to gain support for a new vehicle ahead of the ULEZ’s expansion in August.

London-based charities that want to scrap or retrofit up to three vans or minibuses can also apply. Retrofitting would see an existing vehicle brought up to current emissions standards, though not all models are able to do this.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The majority of vehicles in London are already ULEZ compliant and will not have to pay anything. But I completely understand the concerns of people who may not have a compliant vehicle and are worried about how they’ll make the transition.

“Anyone receiving child benefit and all small businesses in London will now be able to apply for thousands of pounds of support from the end of July. The current scheme can already help couples in London earning up to £40,000 per year, and the expanded scheme will be open to all families claiming child benefit, which supports those earning under £50,000 the most.’

The ULEZ is set to expand on August 29, with the RAC estimating that the move will see nearly 700,000 car drivers face a daily £12.50 charge if their vehicle doesn’t meet emissions regulations. The new borders for the ULEZ will extend to Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.

The current scrappage scheme was originally launched back in January, with a £110m fund setup to support London-based smaller businesses, sole traders and charities, lower-income drivers and those with disability allowances to transition to ‘greener’ cars.

Khan added: “Expanding the ULEZ was an incredibly difficult decision for me. But with toxic air damaging the health of millions of Londoners and the need to tackle the climate crisis, I believe the cost of inaction would simply be far too high a price to pay.”