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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.

Reliant Robin now a classic vehicle

THE RELIANT ROBIN, a vehicle popularised by Del Boy Trotter in the Only Fools And Horses TV show, is now classed as a classic vehicle thanks to changes in the Budget. Chancellor George Osborne announced that a rolling 40-year vehicle excise duty (VED) for classic cars will come in on April 1 this year. Until now, only cars built before January 1 1973 were exempt from VED.

The 2011 Volkswagen Touareg rolls out with a new hybrid powertrain

Volkswagen is banking on the fuel-saving properties of a new gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain and what it describes as a wholesale improvement in quality levels to bolster North American sales of its second-generation Touareg. This new Touareg represents VW's first foray into the premium-hybrid-SUV market, which includes gasoline-electric entries from BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac, among others. Further competition will come from a similarly powered version of the new Porsche Cayenne, alongside which the new Touareg was developed.