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Show Review: Salone del Mobile 2014

Milan Salone, the city's annual furniture extravaganza, sees exhibitors in their thousands take over the halls of the Fiera Milano exhibition center in the Rho district. Its sprawling physical size dwarfs any motor show, making even the maze of Frankfurt's Messe seem compact, while the list of exhibitors can be plain overwhelming. Trying to contain the creative force of nature that is the world's largest design fair in one venue simply isn't possible, either.

Alfa Romeo 8C based Disco Volante by Touring makes limited production

The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (pictured) is going in to limited production The Alfa Romeo 8C is a beautiful – if flawed – supercar from Alfa, made even more individual by by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera with their Alfa Disco Volante Concept in 2012. That Concept – which arrived at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012 – has now been updated for 2013 and is being put in to limited production for those with deep pockets to indulge in an Alfa even more rare than the 8C itself. The Disco Volante pays homage to the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante – based on the Alfa 1900 – and is built from aluminium and carbon fibre to keep weight in check, although under the skin remains pretty much Alfa 8C.

Driven: Range Rover Evoque

As Sam Livingstone opines in his review of the latest Porsche 911, we are in a period of car design consolidation, with the new 911 the ultimate expression of a slightly suffocating trend. Yet every so often, a vehicle appears that breaks these rules and – through a combination of factors that can be difficult to quantify – captures the imagination, becoming a symbol of the times and an overnight market success. Such vehicles tend to emerge once a decade or so, yet the late 90s and early noughties were extraordinary for giving birth to three – the Ford Ka of '96, Audi TT of '98 and Mini of '01.