1.
Fiat Automobiles
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Fiat Automobiles S. p. A. is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy, a subsidiary of FCA Italy S. p. A. which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Fiat Automobiles S. p. A. was formed in January 2007 when Fiat reorganized its automobile business, Fiats main market is Europe, mainly focused in Italy. Historically successful in citycars and supermini sector, currently Fiat has a range of models focused on two segments. Fiat does not currently offer any large family car, nor an executive car - these market segments have, to some extent been covered by the Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, which Fiat also owns. Fiats share of the European market shrank from 9.4 per cent in 2000 to 5.8 per cent in the summer of 2004, at this point Sergio Marchionne was appointed as Fiats chief executive. By March 2009 their market share had expanded to 9.1 per cent, Fiats built their five-story Lingotto plant in 1915 through 1918, at the time it was Europes largest car manufacturing plant. Later the Mirafiori plant was built, also in Turin, to prepare for production of the all-new Fiat 128, Fiat opened their Rivalta plant in October 1968. Until the 128 entered production, the plant was used to build versions of the 850 and 124 as well as parts for the Fiat Dino. Fiats 2014 range of car engines comprised eleven units, eight petrols. The second generation Punto was a seller in the UK after its October 1999 launch. The original Fiat 500 had been one of the few competitors for the iconic Mini during its 1960s heyday. Fiat has invested for a time in South America, mainly in Brazil. They built their first Brazilian car plant in the Greater Belo Horizonte city of Betim in 1973, recently a brand new model developed in Brazil has been launched, the Fiat Uno. Other European models are imported to Brazil, Fiat 500. Some others are still in production, Punto, Idea, Bravo, Fiat has a long history in the United States. In 1908, the Fiat Automobile Co. was established in the country and a plant in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. began producing Fiats a year later, like the Fiat 60 HP and the Fiat 16-20 HP. These luxury cars were produced long before Chrysler Corp. was formed in 1925 from older manufacturers that were acquired by Walter P. Chrysler, the New Jersey factory was closed when the U. S. entered World War I in 1917. Fiat returned to North America in the 1950s, selling the original 500, Fiat 600 Multipla, Fiat 1100, Fiat 1200, for example the Fiat 124 Sport Spider and the Fiat X1/9
2.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
3.
Apulia
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Apulia is a region of Italy in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southernmost portion, known as the Salento peninsula, forms a stiletto on the boot of Italy, the region comprises 19,345 square kilometers, and its population is about 4 million. It is bordered by the other Italian regions of Molise to the north, Campania to the west, across the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, it faces Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, and Montenegro, The Apulia region extends as far north as Monte Gargano. Puglias coastline is longer than any other mainland Italian region, in the north, the Gargano promontory extends out into the Adriatic, while in the south, the flat and dry Salento peninsula forms the heel of Italys boot. It is home to the Alta Murgia and Gargano National Parks, see also, History of Apulia Apulia is one of the richest archaeological regions in Italy. It was first colonized by Mycenaean Greeks, a number of castles were built in the area by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, including Castel del Monte, sometimes called the Crown of Apulia. After 1282, when the island of Sicily was lost, Apulia was part of the Kingdom of Naples, as a result of the French–Spanish war of 1501–1504, Naples again came under the rule of Aragon and the Spanish Empire from 1504 to 1714. When Barbary pirates of North Africa sacked Vieste in 1554, they took an estimated 7,000 slaves, in 1861 the region became part of the Kingdom of Italy, with the new capital city at Turin. In the words of one historian, Turin was so far away that Otranto is today closer to seventeen foreign capitals than it is to Turin, the regions contribution to Italys gross value added was around 4. 6% in 2000, while its population was 7% of the total. The per capita GDP is low compared to the national average, in comparison with the country as a whole, the economy of Apulia is characterised by a greater emphasis on agriculture and services and a smaller part played by industry. In the last 20 years the base of the regions economy has changed radically. The majority of firms are financed by local capital. In certain of these sectors – especially textiles, clothing, footwear, vehicles, the region has a good network of roads but the railway network is somewhat inadequate, particularly in the south. Apulias 800 kilometers of coastline is studded with ports, which make this region an important terminal for transport and tourism to Greece, between 2007 and 2013 the economy of Apulia expanded more than that of the rest of southern Italy. Such growth, over decades, is a severe challenge to the hydrogeological system. Emigration from the depressed areas to northern Italy and the rest of Europe was very intense in the years between 1956 and 1971. Subsequently, the trend declined as economic conditions improved, to the point where there was net immigration in the years between 1982 and 1985, since 1986 the stagnation in employment has led to a new inversion of the trend, caused by a decrease in immigration. Since 1 June 2015, former judge and mayor of Bari Michele Emiliano of the Democratic Party has served as President, Apulia is divided into five administrative provinces and one metropolitan city, Cuisine plays an important role throughout Apulia
4.
Lecce
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It is the main city of the Salentine Peninsula, a sub-peninsula at the heel of the Italian Peninsula and is over 2,000 years old. Because of the rich Baroque architectural monuments found in the city, the city also has a long traditional affinity with Greek culture going back to its foundation, the Messapii who founded the city are said to have been Cretans in Greek records. To this day, in the Grecìa Salentina, a group of towns not far from Lecce, in terms of industry, the Lecce stone—a particular kind of limestone—is one of the citys main exports, because it is very soft and workable, thus suitable for sculptures. Lecce is also an important agricultural centre, chiefly for its oil and wine production. According to legend, a city called Sybar existed at the time of the Trojan War and it was conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, receiving the new name of Lupiae. Under the emperor Hadrian the city was moved 3 kilometres to the northeast, Lecce had a theater and an amphitheater and was connected to the Hadrian Port. Orontius of Lecce, locally called SantOronzo, is considered to have served as the citys first Christian bishop and is Lecces patron saint, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Lecce was sacked by the Ostrogoth king Totila in the Gothic Wars. It was restored to Roman rule in 549, and remained part of the Eastern Empire for five centuries, with brief conquests by Saracens, Lombards, Hungarians and Slavs. After the Norman conquest in the 11th century, Lecce regained commercial importance, flourishing in the subsequent Hohenstaufen, the County of Lecce was one of the largest and most important fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily from 1053 to 1463, when it was annexed directly to the crown. From the 15th century, Lecce was one of the most important cities of southern Italy, to avert invasion by the Ottomans, a new line of walls and a castle were built by Charles V, in the first part of the 16th century. In 1656, a plague broke out in the city, killing a thousand inhabitants, in 1943, fighter aircraft based in Lecce helped support isolated Italian garrisons in the Aegean Sea during World War 2. Because they were delayed by the Allies, they couldnt prevent a defeat, church of the Holy Cross, Construction of the Chiesa di Santa Croce) was begun in 1353, but work halted until 1549, and it was completed only by 1695. The church has a richly decorated façade with animals, grotesque figures and vegetables, next to the church is the Government Palace, a former convent. San Niccolò and Cataldo The church is an example of Italo-Norman architecture and it was founded by Tancred of Sicily in 1180. In 1716 the façade was rebuilt, with the addition of numerous statues, the walls were frescoed during the 15th-17th centuries. Celestine Convent, Built in Baroque-style by Giuseppe Zimbalo, the courtyard was designed by Gabriele Riccardi. Santa Irene, This church was commissioned in 1591 by the Theatines and it has a large façade showing different styles in the upper and lower parts. Above the portal stands a statue of Ste Irene by Mauro Manieri, the interior is on the Latin cross plan and is rather sober
5.
Bugatti Veyron
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The original version has a top speed of 407 km/h. It was named Car of the Decade and best car award by the BBC television programme Top Gear, the standard Bugatti Veyron also won Top Gears Best Car Driven All Year award in 2005. Several special variants have been produced, in December 2010, Bugatti began offering prospective buyers the ability to customise exterior and interior colours by using the Veyron 16.4 Configurator application on the marques official website. The Bugatti Veyron was discontinued in late 2014, in May 1998, Volkswagen AG acquired the rights to use the Bugatti logo and the trade name Bugatti Automobiles S. A. S. To succeed the EB110 model produced under previous ownership, the maker quickly released a series of cars that would culminate in the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. Between October 1998 and September 1999, Bugatti introduced a series of Giugiaro-designed concept vehicles, each with permanent four-wheel drive, the first, the EB118, was a 2-door coupé presented at the 1998 Paris Motor Show. The next, the EB218, was a 4-door sedan presented at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, a third, the 18/3 Chiron, was a mid-engined sports car presented at the 1999 International Motor Show in Frankfurt. In October 1999, Bugatti unveiled a concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show. The EB 18/4 Veyron was a mid-engined supercar styled in-house under the direction of Hartmut Warkuß, in 2000 a modified version, the EB 16/4 Veyron, was displayed at motor shows in Detroit, Geneva, and Paris. Rather than the three-bank W-18 of the four concepts, the EB 16/4 featured the four-bank W16 engine architecture installed in every production example of the Bugatti Veyron. The decision to start production of the car was made by the Volkswagen Group in 2001, the first roadworthy prototype was completed in August 2003. It is identical to the later series variant except for a few details, in the transition from development to series production considerable technical problems had to be addressed, repeatedly delaying production until September 2005. The EB refers to Bugatti founder Ettore Bugatti and the 16.4 refers to the engines 16 cylinders and 4 turbochargers, a controversy developed in 2013 over the Veyron Super Sports status as the world’s fastest production car, ultimately resolved in the Veyrons favour. In early April 2013, driving. co. uk began an investigation following claims from US car maker Hennessey that its 928 kW Hennessey Venom GT was entitled to the Guinness World Record. With a recorded speed of 427.6 km/h the Hennessey was 3.1 km/h, Hennessey said its Venom GT was road-ready and unmodified and was therefore a production car in the strict sense of the term. Driving. co. uk requested clarification from Guinness World Records, Hennessey later recorded the Venom GT at 435.31 km/h. However, this was only in one direction, Guinness requires 2 runs in opposite directions to average out wind effects, so the run was not valid for a Guinness world record. The Veyron features an 8. 0-litre, quad-turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, each cylinder has four valves for a total of 64, but the VR8 configuration of each bank allows two overhead camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only four camshafts are needed
6.
Jeremy Clarkson
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Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for co-presenting the BBC TV show Top Gear with Richard Hammond and he also writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. From a career as a local journalist in northern England, Clarkson rose to prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s, he has become a public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on such as history. From 1998 to 2000, he hosted his own chat show. His opinionated but humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and presenting style has often provoked public reaction and his actions both privately and as a Top Gear presenter have also sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public. He also has a significant public following, being credited as a factor in the resurgence of Top Gear as one of the most popular shows on the BBC. On 25 March 2015, the BBC announced it would not renew Clarksons contract after he verbally and physically attacked a Top Gear producer over a dispute at a hotel while filming on location. In mid-2015 Clarkson, Hammond, May and producer Andy Wilman formed production company W. Chump & Sons to produce The Grand Tour for Amazon Video. Clarkson was born in Doncaster, the son of Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson, a teacher, and Edward Grenville Clarkson, according to his own account, he was expelled from Repton School for drinking, smoking and generally making a nuisance of himself. Clarkson attended Repton alongside Formula One engineer Adrian Newey and Top Gear Executive Producer, Clarkson played the role of a public schoolboy, Atkinson, in a BBC radio Childrens Hour serial adaptation of Anthony Buckeridges Jennings novels until his voice broke. Clarkson married Alexandra James in 1989, but she left him for one of his friends after six months, in May 1993 he married his manager, Frances Cain, daughter of VC recipient Robert Henry Cain, in Fulham. The couple lived in Chipping Norton, in the Cotswolds, with their three children, Clarkson has been described as a member of the Chipping Norton set. Known for buying him car-related gifts, for Christmas 2007 Clarksons second wife bought him a Mercedes-Benz 600 and she was reported to have filed divorce proceedings in April 2014. In September 2010 Clarkson was granted an injunction against his first wife to prevent her from publishing claims that their sexual relationship continued after his second marriage. He voluntarily lifted the injunction in October 2011, commenting that, Clarkson is a fan of the rock band Genesis and attended the bands reunion concert at Twickenham Stadium in 2007. He also provided notes for the reissue of the album Selling England by the Pound as part of the Genesis 1970–1975 box set
7.
Richard Hammond
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Richard Mark Hammond is a British presenter, writer, and journalist, known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May. He has also presented Brainiac, Science Abuse, Total Wipeout, in 2016, Hammond began presenting The Grand Tour television series, produced by W. Chump & Sons. The show is co-presented with his former Top Gear co-hosts, Clarkson and May, Hammond was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, and is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham car industry. In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family to the North Yorkshire cathedral city of Ripon where his father ran a business in the market square. He attended Blossomfield Infant School in Shirley from the age of 3–7, originally a pupil of Solihull School, a fee-paying boys independent school, he moved to Ripon Grammar School, and from 1986 to 1988 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology. Hammond became a presenter on Top Gear in 2002, when the show began in its present format and he is sometimes referred to as The Hamster by fans and his co-presenters on Top Gear due to his name and comparatively small stature. His nickname was further reinforced when on three occasions in series 7, he ate cardboard, mimicking hamster-like behaviour. The show also contained images of the crash, which had made international headlines, Hammond then requested that the crash never be mentioned on the show again, though all three Top Gear presenters have since referred to it in jokes during the news segment of the programme. He told his colleagues, The only difference between me now, and before the crash, is that I like celery now and I didnt before, Hammond finished with the remark Im sorry, but can you imagine waking up and remembering youre Mexican. Following complaints, the BBC defended the broadcast of this segment on the grounds that such national stereotyping was a robust part of traditional British humour, following the BBCs decision not to renew Clarksons contract with the show on 25 March 2015, Hammonds contract expired on 31 March. It aired in the UK on BBC Two on 28 June at 8 p. m, in 2003, Hammond became the first presenter of Brainiac, Science Abuse, he was joined by Jon Tickle with Charlotte Hudson in series 2. After the fourth series it was announced that Hammond was no longer going to present the Sky1 show after he signed a deal with the BBC. Vic Reeves took his place as main presenter. Early in his career, as well as his work, Hammond presented a number of daytime lifestyle shows. He has also presented The Gunpowder Plot, Exploding The Legend, along with his work on Top Gear, he presented Should I Worry About. On BBC One, Time Commanders on BBC Two and the first four series of Brainiac, in 2006, Hammond fronted the Richard Hammonds 5 OClock Show with his co-presenter Mel Giedroyc. The programme, which discussed a range of topics, was shown every weekday on ITV between 17,00 and 18,00. In July 2005, Hammond was voted number one in a Heat magazine poll of top weird celebrity crushes, also in 2005 he was voted one of the top 10 British TV talents. He presented Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail in 2006, during the special, he travelled to various locations around the world, including the Vatican Secret Archives, exploring the history of the Holy Grail
8.
Lamborghini Aventador
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The Lamborghini Aventador is a mid-engined sports car produced by the Italian manufacturer Lamborghini. Soon after the Aventador unveiling, Lamborghini announced that it had sold over 12 of the production vehicles. By March 2016, Lamborghini had already built 5,000 Aventadors, in keeping with Lamborghini tradition, the Aventador is named after a fighting bull. Aventador was a bull that fought valiantly in the bull ring of Zaragoza. The bull which the Aventador is named after earned the Trofeo de la Peña La Madroñera for its courage in the arena, production of the Aventador was planned to be limited to 4,000 vehicles, however, in 2016, it achieved the 5,000 unit milestone. The molds used to make the carbon-fibre monocoque are expected to last 500 molds each, the base price of the Aventador is US$393,695. The cars shape borrows heavily from Lamborghinis limited-edition Reventón and their Estoque concept car, the vehicle was unveiled at Lummus Park, Miami, followed by Miami International Airport, followed by Auto China 2014. The Lamborghini Aventador starred in Transformers, Age of Extinction as Lockdown, the Aventador LP 700–4 uses Lamborghinis new 700 PS6.5 litre 60° V12 engine weighing 235 kg. Known internally as the L539, the new engine is Lamborghinis fourth in-house engine and it is the first all-new V12 since the 3.5 litre powerplant found in the 350GT. 0–97 km/h,2.9 s 400 m,10.6 s @220 km/h Top speed and its transmission, a single-clutch seven-speed semi-automatic, is built by Graziano Trasmissioni. Despite being single-clutch, gear-shifts are accomplished in 50 milliseconds, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 has a power to weight ratio of 2.25 kg per horsepower. The panels are removable and are stored in the front luggage compartment. The car has a US$441,600 base price, with a total weight of 1,625 kg its only 50 kg heavier than the coupé. Six months after unveiling the Aventador, plans for a roadster version were leaked by the U. S. EPA after it included the model on a sheet on its website. Lamborghini officially unveiled the Aventador J to the world at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the roofless and windowless concept car uses the same V12 engine as the standard Aventador, producing 700 hp through a lightweight seven-speed automated transmission. The car does not have air conditioning or radio to save weight for a total of 3,472 pounds. The car presented at the Geneva show was the unit to be produced. Another Limited Edition model was made for Shaikh Al Yahyaa and was sold at an unknown price, the car was specially made for a close relation
9.
McLaren 12C
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The McLaren MP4-12C, later known simply as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It is the first production car designed and built by McLaren since the McLaren F1. The cars final design was unveiled in September 2009, and was launched in mid-2011, the MP4-12C features a carbon fibre composite chassis, and is powered by a mid-mounted McLaren M838T3. 8-litre V8, twin-turbo engine developing approximately 592 hp and around 443 lb·ft of torque. The car makes use of Formula 1-sourced technologies such as brake steer, power is transmitted to the wheels through a seven-speed seamless shift dual-clutch gearbox. A convertible version of the car called the MP4-12C Spider, renamed the 12C Spider in 2012, is also available, in February 2014, McLaren announced the related 650S, with revised bodywork, upgraded engine and other technical improvements. In April 2014, McLaren announced the end of production of the 12C, in 2008, McLaren hired Frank Stephenson as design director for their reborn production car project. As with the McLaren F1, carbon fibre is used extensively in the vehicle to minimise weight, the MP4-12C weighs 1,301 kg dry. The chassis is based around a F1 style one-piece carbon fibre tub, called the Carbon MonoCell and this has reduced the time required to produce a MonoCell from 3,000 hours for the F1 and 500 hours for the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, to 4 hours for the MP4-12C. The car has a conventional two side-by-side seating arrangement, unlike its predecessor the McLaren F1 which featured an irregular three seat formation, to make up for this however, the cars central console is narrower than in other cars, seating the driver closer to the centre. Interior trim and materials can be specified in asymmetric configuration – known as Driver Zone, the car is powered by the M838T3. 8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, designed and developed by McLaren, Ilmor and Ricardo. The design of the engine was based on an engine which was designed and developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing for the IRL Indy Car Championship. However, other than the 93 mm bore, little of that remains in the M838T. It produces 592 bhp and 443 lb·ft of torque and it has a redline of 8,500 rpm, with 80% of torque available at just 2,000 rpm. When first announced, McLaren claimed that it would have a higher horsepower to carbon dioxide emission ratio than any engine available at the time. McLaren announced a number of improvements to become available in October 2012. The engine now produces 616 bhp and no change to the CO2 emissions which remain at 279 g/km and this power output has also become standard on the 2013 model. The M838T engine is manufactured for McLaren at the Ricardo Shoreham Technical Centre in West Sussex, the engine is connected to a seven-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox made by Graziano Oerlikon. Dubbed the Seamless Shift Gearbox or SSG, the features a system dubbed Pre-Cog that allows the driver to preselect the next gear by lightly tapping the paddle
10.
James May
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James Daniel May is a British television presenter and journalist. Best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. As of 2016 he is a director of the production company W. May has presented programmes on themes including science and technology, toys, wine culture. He wrote a column for The Daily Telegraphs motoring section from 2003 to 2011. James May was born on 16 January 1963 in Bristol, one of four children, may attended Caerleon Endowed Junior School in Newport. He spent his years in South Yorkshire where he attended Oakwood Comprehensive School in Rotherham and was a choirboy at Whiston Parish Church. He was also at school with Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes actor Dean Andrews, a keen flautist and pianist, he studied Music at Pendle College, Lancaster University. After graduating, May briefly worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer, during the early 1980s, May worked as a sub-editor for The Engineer and later Autocar magazine, from which he was dismissed for performing a prank. He has since written for publications, including the regular column England Made Me in Car Magazine, articles for Top Gear magazine. He has written the book May on Motors, which is a collection of his published articles and he wrote the afterword to Long Lane with Turnings, published in September 2006, the final book by motoring writer L. J. K. Setright. In the same month he co-presented a tribute to Raymond Baxter, notes From The Hard Shoulder and James Mays 20th Century, a book to accompany the television series of the same name, were published in 2007. In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2, May confessed that in 1992 he was dismissed from Autocar magazine after putting together an acrostic in one issue, at the end of the year, the magazines Road Test Year Book supplement was published. Each spread featured four reviews and each started with a large red letter. Mays role was to put the entire supplement together, which was extremely boring, to alleviate the tedium, May wrote each review such that the initials on the first four spreads read ROAD, TEST, YEAR and BOOK. Subsequent spreads seemingly had random letters, starting with SOYO and UTHI, however, the eagle eyed or curious would soon notice that the letters did in fact spell out a message. Mays original message, when punctuated, reads, So you think its really good and you should try making the bloody thing up, its a real pain in the arse. The editors of Autocar missed the joke and only became aware of it when readers started calling in about it and he also wrote and presented a Christmas special called James Mays Top Toys exploring the toys of his childhood. James May, My Sisters Top Toys attempted to investigate the gender divide of toy appeal, in series 3, episode 3 of Gordon Ramsays The F Word, May managed to beat Ramsay in eating animal penises and rotten shark and with his fish pie recipe
11.
Volkswagen W12
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The Volkswagen W12 Coupe was a concept car created by Volkswagen Passenger Cars in 1997. The car is portrayed in games, such as Gran Turismo, Asphalt 8, Project Gotham Racing 3, GTI Racing, and this car also featured in an April Fools joke as the new Volkswagen LeVanto. In fact, the W12 engine featured in the eponymous Volkswagen W12 is closely related to the found in the Volkswagen Phaeton, Volkswagen Touareg, Audi A8. The W12s engine is also an ancestor of the Bugatti Veyrons W16 engine, in 1997, at the Tokyo Motor Show, Volkswagen debuted their first sports car concept, a bright yellow W12 Syncro with a 5. 6-litre W12 engine producing 309 kilowatts with Syncro four-wheel drive. It, and the W12 concepts after it, were all designed by the Italdesign firm in Italy, the vehicle was unveiled in 1998 Geneva Auto Show. It was one of the fastest sports car concepts in the world and it was created by Charlie Adair. The W12s first appearance was in Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva, Italdesign pages, W12 Syncro, W12 Roadster, W12 Nardò, W12 Record Volkswagen W12 Concept — RSportsCars. com
