A fifth of British drivers (21%) have been frisky with their partners whilst driving, almost a third flirt with traffic wardens to avoid tickets (30%) and a fifth spend more time checking out good-looking drivers than focusing on the road (19%), according to the research.

The research found a dishonest fifth (21%) of UK drivers, who accidentally damage another car, don’t own up to it, but that figure rises to nearly half (44%) of all drivers in London.  Other areas of the country to avoid are Wales (19%), and East Anglia (18%).

Supermarkets are also a hot spot, with nearly half (44%) of all secret prangs happening in their car parks, with street parking (32%) and multi storey car parks (30%) also topping the list.  Reasons for driver behaviour include it being too much hassle to own up (19%), “I’ve had it done to me before” (20%) and being in a hurry (13%). 

The research also probed people’s knowledge of the workings of their car, and unearthed guilty secrets here too. Nearly half doesn’t how to change a tyre (43%), a third doesn’t know where the dipstick is (29%), a quarter doesn’t know how to adjust tyre pressure (27%), a quarter doesn’t know the difference between the windscreen washer and the radiator cap (25%), a quarter doesn’t know how to refill with oil (25%) and a tenth put petrol in a diesel engine (9%).

Below is the list of The UK driver’s top ten guilty secrets:

• Eating at the wheel (67%)
• Chatting on mobile (37%)
• Flirting with traffic wardens to avoid a ticket (30%)
• Driving off with items left on the car roof (26%)
• Damaging another car and not owning up to it (21%)
• Checking out the good-looking drivers around you (19%)
• Putting on lipstick/makeup/checking hair in the mirror (18%)
• Reading a newspaper or magazine (13%)
• Using a ‘Dr on call’, when you’re not a doctor (8%)

Picture from rjw1 on flicker

The small carmaker from Toyama has decided build a left-hand drive Orochi after a potential customer from Qatar made an offer that company executives couldn’t refuse. Aware of the demand generated by the Orochi in left-hand drive countries, they decided to sell the Orochi in countries such as South Korea, Thailand and Jordan. Mitsuoka delivered 70 Orochi last year. The Orochi generally attracts wealthy people like Wilmslow entrepreneur Spencer Davies and Watford based Communications mogul Mr. James Connolly McGuigan who want to drive exclusive cars.

The Orochi is powered by a 230bhp 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine. Mitsuoka plans to build only 400 Orochi cars.

Arturo Alonso and his team have designed the Bentely Boys S3 and have set the ambitious plan to build three unique cars if the design study receives enough interest. Each car would be sold at £75,000 at a slow rate of one every eight months. The team would target prospects located in Dubai and Moscow.

The S3 Design Study is based on the eponym Bentley from the 60’s, but has been upgraded to feature a 300bhp V8 4.4-litre petrol engine sourced from BMW associated with a five speed automatic gearbox. The car comes with dual air conditioning system, leather upholstery and 20in wheels.

The manufacturer, Keating, claims the car broke the world speed record held at the time by Bugatti during private testing.

The supercar will be available in two versions, the TKR and the SKR. The latter will be the entry-level want will have 400bhp under the bonnet. The TKR is said to come with more power than an F1.

Details remain scarce and no engine has been mentioned at this stage. Will the TKR and SKR use their own engine or a production-derived engine like small manufacturers generally do.

The top five personal items most likely to be left in a car by a female motorist are: books (39 per cent), shoes (35 per cent), clothes (27 per cent), children’s toys (25 per cent) and toiletries (22 per cent). More than a quarter (27 per cent) of women regularly keep a change of clothes in their car and one fifth hoard make up in their vehicle.

Shoes may come second on the list, but it’s not just one pair of shoes as over two thirds (67 per cent) of UK female motorists have up to four pairs of shoes in their car at any one time.

More worrying is the ten per cent of female motorists who have had an accident or experienced a ‘near miss’ as a result of stray personal items rolling beneath their pedals.  The top five items that slip under car pedals while driving are: empty drink cans / water bottles, food packaging, lipstick, deodorant and hairbrush.

Mothers are most at risk – with 11 per cent of parents stockpiling more than 10 personal items in the car, many to provide children with in-car entertainment.  According to the survey, almost half (48 per cent) of mums regularly keep children’s toys in their car.

The journalist has published a new book in which he gives his own top 100 list of F1 driver. The top four positions – Moss, Clark, Senna and Prost have a total of 133 wins between them during their racing careers.

Alan Henry also writes: “One must also consider F1’s man of the moment, Lewis Hamilton. If we revamp this volume in a few years’ time, Lewis should be able to make the top 10.”

Surprisingly, Michael Schumacher didn’t make the top 10. The journalist comments that Schumacher’s contract conditions, making his team mate do as he was told, left him out of the top 10.

The Top 100 F1 Drivers of all time

1. Stirling Moss
2. Jim Clark
3. Ayrton Senna
4. Alain Prost
5. Alberto Ascari
6. Juan-Manuel Fangio
7. Bernd Rosemeyer
8. Jackie Stewart
9. Tazio Nuvolari
10. Mika Häkkinen
11. Michael Schumacher
12. Gilles Villeneuve
13. Chris Amon
14. Tony Brooks
15. Carlos Reutemann
16. Achille Varzi
17. Emerson Fittipaldi
18. Jack Brabham
19. Mario Andretti
20. Niki Lauda
21. Jochen Rindt
22. Nelson Piquet
23. Guy Moll
24. John Surtees
25. Ronnie Peterson
26. Hermann Lang
27. Dan Gurney
28. Keke Rosberg
29. Kimi Räikkönen
30. Lewis Hamilton
31. Nigel Mansell
32. Fernando Alonso
33. Rudolf Caracciola
34. Didier Pironi
35. Jacky Ickx
36. Alan Jones
37. James Hunt
38. Phil Hill
39. Damon Hill
40. Mike Hawthorn
41. Giuseppe Farina
42. Jody Scheckter
43. Jean-Pierre Wimille
44. Graham Hill
45. François Cevert
46. Gerhard Berger
47  Pedro Rodriguez
48. Jean Behra
49. Jacques Villeneuve
50. Ricardo Rodriguez
51. Clay Regazzoni
52. Denny Hulme
53. Jean Alesi
54. Juan Pablo Montoya
55. Carlos Pace
56. Louis Chiron
57. Peter Revson
58. Jo Siffert
59. David Coulthard
60. Felipe Massa
61. Froilán Gonzalez
62. Stefan Bellof
63. Elio de Angelis
64. Lorenzo Bandini
65. Riccardo Patrese
66. Patrick Tambay
67. Jenson Button
68. Rubens Barrichello
69. Martin Brundle
70. Derek Warwick
71. Dick Seaman
72. Patrick Depailler
73. Peter Collins
74. Bruce McLaren
75. Michele Alboreto
76. Eddie Irvine
77. Richie Ginther
78. Jean-Pierre Beltoise
79. Johnny Servoz-Gavin
80. Thierry Boutsen
81. Rene Arnoux
82. Tony Brise
83. Tom Pryce
84. Innes Ireland
85. Jarno Trulli
86. John Watson
87. Luigi Musso
88. Raymond Sommer
89. Mike Hailwood
90. Roy Salvadori
91. Ralf Schumacher
92. Wolfgang von Trips
93. Stuart Lewis-Evans
94. Jacques Laffite
95. Eugenio Castellotti
96. Trevor Taylor
97. Piers Courage
98. Stefan Johansson
99. Jochen Mass
100. Brian Redman

You’ve just bought the latest C63 AMG and think you own the most powerful C-class available on the market. Well, sorry to tell you that Brabus has released a more powerful C-class named Bullit Black Arrow.

The new Brabus model is powered by a 6.3-litre V12 petrol engine that has a power output of 730bhp at 5,100rpm and a torque output of 974lb ft. The enngine is hooked up to a five-speed automatic gearbox.

With such an avalanche of power, the Bullit Black Arrow can run the 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds, the 0-124mph in 10.5 seconds and the 0-186mph in 24.5 seconds. Brabus claims the Bullit Black Arrow can reach a top speed of 224mph.

In order to brake all that power, the braking system has been upgraded with 380mm discs at the front and 360mm discs at the rear. The car will be built in a limited number and will cost you £264,000 if you want one.

When we celebrate our 50th or 60th birthday, one does like the organize a big party. Giorgetto Giugiaro see things differently and decided to commemorate its milestone by unveiling the Quaranta. The name is also a reference to the 40th birthday of the coachbuilder.

The Quaranta is powered by a Toyota hybrid powertrain combining a 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine and two electric motors which have an output of 268bhp and a torque output of 213lb ft. Despite an all-wheel drive transmission, the Quaranta runs the 0-62mph in just 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 155mph.

The Fiat 500 has been stretched by 50-60mm at the rear overhang as the wheelbase keeps its dimension. The C-pillar has been moved back, of course, and is also more vertical featuring a new rear side window. The 500 by Castagna comes with a two-color painting emphasized by the external wood frames.

Aside the exterior changes, the 500 WoodyWagon is powered by the 1.4-litre petrol unit on which the coachbuilder added a supercharger. The power output jumps from 100bhp to 155bhp and the 500 WoodyWagon can reahc a top sped of 124mph. No price has been given.

The 500 WoodyWagon is appealing lengthened 500 and one does hope that Fiat will consult the coachbuilder to design the future 500 estate due to appear in 2010.

The radical new Atom will be powered by a 500bhp V8 whose provider remains unknown. The engine will be equipped with a supercharger and will feature an alloy construction and a dry slump.

On the outside, the Atom 500 will come with two rear intakes for intercoolers a will feature waith an exclusive colour scheme.

To give you an idea of the sensation provided by a smaller Atom, the 300, look at the video below.