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Learners' bizarre superstitions revealed

NERVES can have a crippling effect on learner drivers once they get to test day. Here, instructors with the AA Driving School recall particularly superstitious students whose desire to get their full licence resulted in carrying out unusual rituals: :: One pupil wore the T-shirt she had on when she gave birth to her daughter (now seven years old) and the trousers she was wearing before she conceived. :: A learner had failed three times due to nerves.

Bugatti’s 254mph Veyron Vitesse officially world’s fastest drop-top

The Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse has been officially confirmed as the world’s fastest open-top production car, having been clocked at 254.04mph. The milestone will be celebrated (naturally) with a limited run of special ‘World Record Edition’ Grand Sport Vitesses (which has been on sale since January 2012), with the commemorative cars sporting orange flashes to the carbonfibre bodywork, and orange wheels. Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse: a 250mph wind in your hair Bugatti admits that the initial open-top speed target for the Bugatti Grand Sport was a piffling 233mph.

Mercedes A45 AMG (2013) first pictures of new hot hatch

This is the Mercedes A45 AMG: the first time Merc’s in-house tuning arm has tried its hand at building a hot hatch. Packing 355bhp, all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch paddleshift transmission, the A45 AMG will outpace a Porsche 911, but cost less than £40,000. It’s on UK sale from July 2013, but if you can’t wait that long, Merc’s baby barnstormer is appearing at the Geneva motor show from 5 March 2013.