Minnkota 55 Thrust 12v Maxxum 55 on 2040-parts.com

Kia scoops three design awards

Kia has won three design awards in this year's Automotive Brand Contest, continuing its strong showing in last year's competition. The second-generation cee'd, launched in June, topped the exterior category table as well as receiving an honorary special mention for exceptional innovation in the interior category. The car's exterior features a chrome-framed glasshouse and muscular lines on the bonnet, while inside an ergonomic, driver-oriented control panel impressed the judges enough to receive the special mention.

McLaren F1 – The perfect safe haven in troubled times

The McLaren F1 (along with its ‘Super’ brother, the LM) is considered by many to be the ultimate road car. Light, fast and enormously desirable, the F1 has been a stunning success story. Initially conceived in the late ’80s, and coming to fruition with the launch of the first road car in 1995, just 65 road-going F1s where made between 1995 and 1998, with 5 further LMs (6 if you count the prototype, which is still owned by McLaren and promised to Lewis Hamilton if he pulls of the double World Championship by winning in 2009).

Koenigsegg Agera at Goodwood: Up close and personal

Koenigsegg Agera on the Goodwood hillclimb We have to confess that we have a huge soft spot for the creations of Christian von Koenigsegg. So when we knew that friend of Cars UK Tommy Wareham, purveyor of all things stunning on four wheels at SuperVettura, was taking the only Koenigsegg Agera in the UK to Goodwood we thought Claire’s Goodwood Odyssey should continue with a good poke round the Agera. Understandably, Tommy wasn’t going to let Claire – or anyone else – loose on the Agera up the hillclimb as it’s a customer’s car, but he did chuck Claire the keys for a good look round, the opportunity to grab a set of Agera photos (below), and the chance to dream… Beautifully finished and oozing carbon fibre from every pore, the Koenigsegg Agera is perhaps the ultimate bonkers supercar, at an equally bonkers price – just think of it as a million pound supercar; it’s close enough.