Rr Brake Drum Beck/arnley 083-2942 on 2040-parts.com

Focus RS – get 345 Mountune horses from your Ford dealer

The Focus RS Mountune Power Kit gives you the power of an RS500 If you’re busy spitting feathers because you’re one of the unlucky thousands who tried to throw £35k at Ford for one of the limited edition Focus RS500s last week, worry not. You can save yourself a not inconsiderable chunk of change by taking your current Focus RS off to your local RS dealer and getting a Mountune Performance Upgrade Package and match the RS500 performance for rather less than the extra £10k the RS500 costs. Ford have a long history of working with Mountune to get more out of their production cars – Mountune even supplied the engines for the original Sierra RS500 BTCC entries –  and there are already Mountune kits available to get more from your Ford – without screwing with the warranty – for the Focus ST, the old Fiesta ST and even the latest Fiesta.

'Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish': A tribute to Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

The recent passing of Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, has found us mourning the loss of a visionary who brought not only technology and functionality to the product design industry, but also transcended the boundary into automotive design. Jobs succeeded in making what was at the time a foreign invention – the personal computer, a device impeded by its lack of usability – attractive to the masses by making it simpler, intuitive and essentially more functional for those who didn't hold a PhD in physics. From his previous experience with the artistic qualities of calligraphy, Jobs took a sector that was so inward looking that it risked alienating the consumer – regardless of its capability – and wrapped it up in a warm, aesthetically appealing package that could be more easily understood.

Top Gear in Lucca with Citroen DS3 Racing, Fiat 500C Abarth and Renault Clio RS

The TG boys in the Piazza in Lucca Lucca is considered by those who know it to be Tuscany’s best kept secret. With its 16th century walls all round the town, delightful piazzas and medieval centre it is all a picture-book Tuscan town should be. In fact, even though few know it well Henry James said of Lucca that it is “overflowing with everything that makes for ease, for plenty, for beauty, for interest and good example”.