Jack Martin

The greater share of the value of any significant collector car is in the provenance – who sat in the seat before you, and experienced the same vehicle, can make a massive difference to the price the car commands. What then of a car that was specifically built for, and used, by Pope Paul VI? It went on to become the focal point of countless ticker tape parades for the first astronauts to orbit the moon (Apollo 8's Borman, Lovell and Anders), the first astronauts to set foot on the moon (Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, plus Command Module Pilot Michael Collins) plus Apollo 13's Lovell, Mattingly and Haise and Apollo 15's Scott, Worden and Irwin, President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey. How much will it go for?  Read More

Chevrolet's lightweight, all-carbon-fiber roofless Miray concept is propelled by two front-mounted 15-kW electric motors for quick acceleration and zero emissions in urban driving. It can switch from the electric motors to the 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbo-charged gas engine mounted behind the cockpit, and it can employ all of the above for maximum sporting performance.  Read More

Continental is best known for its tires, but its latest product could help to significantly improve the handling of the family sedan when it is shown for the first time at Frankfurt Motor Show next month. It's a new fixed-type brake caliper for passenger cars, and in comparison to the fist-caliper brakes widely used at present, the new design saves around 1.5 kg per wheel.  Read More

Provocative French designer Thierry Mugler's star has risen and fallen many times in thirty years of international prominence, though he seems to be back in vogue right now thanks to uber-fans Lady Gaga and Beyonce. For someone who has designed perfumes and fashion collections with a strong fetishist bent, he's certainly produced a remarkable effort in reimagining the 100 mph Spire powerboat with electric coupe roof. Not much information will be available on Mugler's design until the Monaco Yacht show next month, but it already represents some wonderful new and fresh thought on powerboat design.  Read More

Monaco-based yacht builder Wally has become the best known and most easily recognized luxury yacht brand in the short 17 years since its inception. Its yachts have won the Millennium Design Award, it is the only yacht builder to twice win the Compasso d’Oro and now the company's top-selling Wally Tender is to be replaced by the Wally One. According to Wally founder Luca Bassani Antivari, the EUR580,000 (US$825,000) Wally One offers more performance, technology and comfort with less overall length, consumption and cost.  Read More

Hong Kong-based Mint Urban Technologies has introduced an aromatic coffee lid for take-away cups which it claims improves the taste of coffee when drinking through the lid. The aroma is not "mint," as the company's ill-chosen name suggests, but an aromatic material formulated to enhance the bouquet of the coffee. The secret of the new Aroma Lid is in the plastic, according to Mint's Marc Miller. "Coffee lids block the aroma coming from the coffee," says Miller. "Because taste is 95 percent smell, the lids are stopping us from experiencing the full taste of our favorite morning brew." If the Aroma Lid can indeed enhance the taste of coffee, it could be a significant product - the take-away coffee industry uses 100 billion lids every year.  Read More

As much as Goodwood might hold special significance for automotive enthusiasts, the estate also has strong ties with the world of aviation. During WWII it was an active fighter airbase (aka RAF Westhampnett), and there are many other aspects which make it a particularly appropriate venue at which to celebrate the 75th anniversary of most famous British aircraft of all-time – the Supermarine Spitfire.  Read More

It's not often that a car has its first public showing nearly fifty years after it was built, but that's what happened at the recent Cholmondely Pageant of power when the newly-restored, one and only factory-built Low Drag Lightweight Jaguar E-Type was seen. The original crashed at very high speed testing at Montlhéry and was so badly damaged that it sat for 47 years before a complete restoration involving 7,000 hours of work and 90 per cent original parts yielded its magnificent original state. Great gallery showing the many moods of this priceless specimen of Jaguar DNA.  Read More

Brabus specialises in building fast cars - very fast cars. Indeed, it already holds the record for building the world's fastest production sedan and the world's fastest production coupe, so in claiming the title of the world's fastest cabriolet, it's not that much of a surprise. The car begins life as a Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet before the engine is transplanted with a 788 bhp, 6.3 liter, Biturbo V12 (a derivative of the three-valve Mercedes S 600 V12), giving it a top speed of 370 km/h (231 mph) and a price tag of EUR 478,000 (US$682,000).  Read More