1950's Kiekhaefer Mercury Mark 30 Metal Motor Badge Emblem on 2040-parts.com

Maybach officially turns up its toes

After almost a decade of trying, Mercedes has finally officially thrown in the towel and announced the end of Maybach production. Maybach – a brand name almost unknown outside Germany when it was revived – was supposed to be Mercedes’ answer to Rolls Royce and Bentley. And perhaps it could have been.

Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta (2009) first pictures

A bespoke Ferrari built by the Italian supercar manufacturer's secretive Special Projects department has undergone its first shakedown test at the Fiorano test track. The Pininfarina-designed P540 Superfast Aperta was comissioned in 2008 by the necessarily wealthy Edward Walson, son of John Walson, the inventor of cable television. Based on the 599 GTB Fiorano, the one-off machine was inspired by a Carrozzeria Fantuzzi-designed model featured in the 1968 Fellini film Toby Dammit. 'I had always dreamed of designing sports cars,' said Watson. 'When I saw this film the decision came of its own accord: one day I would have 'my' Ferrari.

New Hyundai Test Centre at the Nurburgring revealed

Hyundai’s new test centre at the Nurburgring If anyone had said, just a few years ago, that Hyundai would develop a test centre at the Nurburgring to help shake-down their cars, they’d have been laughed at. But Hyundai – and Kia – have come so far in recent years that it makes absolute sense for them to develop a full-time testing facility at the Nurburgring to test their cars for the road, along with just about every other car maker of note. James May may object to the Nurburgring factor in the suspension set-ups of many road cars (and we do have some sympathy for his point of view), but the sometimes extreme nature of the Nurburgring’s surfaces – and its endless twists and turns, uphill and down – do offer car makers an easily accessible place to test cars in the (almost) real world.