Congestion charge to rise by 15%

THE LONDON congestion charge is to rise from £10 a day to £11.50; a sudden 15% increase. The increase, the first since 2011, will take effect from June 16, Transport for London (TfL) has said, although the rate for those on the auto-pay system, and also for fleet customers, will be £10.50 per day. TfL said that customer improvements will be introduced next year, including direct debit payments for auto pay customers, online discount applications, and easier NHS patients and staff reimbursement.

Ford Shelby GT500 Cobra with 850hp pays tribute to Carroll Shelby

‘Friends of Carroll Shelby’ pay tribute to the man with an 850hp Ford Shelby GT500 Cobra, finished in Guardsman Blue/Wimbledon White stripe paint. Carroll Shelby – an man who understood performance cars perhaps better than any other American – died in May of this year, aged 89, after a life lived to the full. As a fitting tribute to the man who gave Ford the sort of performance cars they could never have dreamt of building, a very special Ford Shelby GT500 Cobra has been built to remember him by ‘The Friends of Carroll Shelby’.

World's most expensive Alfa Romeo sold at auction

The Alfa Romeo that was the brainchild of Mussolini has sold for nearly £6m at auction. The Italian dictator commissioned the Alfa Romeo 8C-35 to conquer Hitler's dominance of pre-war racing. Built in time for the 1935 Italian Grand Prix, the 8C-35 smashed the competition with racing star Tazio Nuvolari at the wheel and confirmed its fate as one of the most successful racing cars ever. At last weekend's Goodwood Revival, the 8C-35's place in the history books was confirmed as it became the most expensive Alfa Romeo ever to sell at auction. Selling for £5,937,500, the Alfa Romeo eclipsed the previous record of £4,245,118, held by a 1933 8C 2300 Monza, sold in 2010.