285/30/19 Bridgestone Potenza (1) 8.5/32 on 2040-parts.com

Driven: Mitsubishi i

We first reviewed the diminutive Mitsubishi 'i' when it was unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor show and, while we were pleased with the overall design of the car, we were disappointed that Mitsubishi had chosen not to export the innovative vehicle to other markets. But with the popularity of this compact urban cruiser soaring in Japan and the recent availability of the vehicle in the UK, we now had a chance to give it a go on the often traffic crippled streets of central London. Congestion in urban milieus is not a new phenomenon, but even with London's congestion charging system extorting money from drivers it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Spyker C8 Aileron GT (2011) first pictures

Spyker is readying a new endurance racer, the C8 Aileron GT. and it's unveiled the car on the eve of the 2011 Geneva motor show. It's more good news for the fans of the obscure Dutch brand: last week the company that builds the cars in the UK bought the brand from holding company Spyker Cars N.V, there's a waiting list that stretches into early 2012, and now Spyker is committing to endurance racing for the next few years.  Based on Spyker’s new flagship C8 Aileron, the new GT racer is being designed and developed to meet the GTE regulations set by the ACO, the governing body of the Le Mans 24hrs.

Driving age to be raised to 18?

A government-commissioned report has recommended probationary driving licences are in future issued from the age of 18, not 17 – and that learner drivers would be required to invest big in getting a licence. The new proposals would still see provisional driving licences issues from 17, allowing learners to get out on the road under supervision. However, learners would have to undertake a 12-month ‘learner stage’, in which they’d have to cover a minimum of 100 hours’ supervised driving.