The accident occurred in heavy rain on a 40mph section of Renfree Way, Shepperton, Surrey, on Sunday.

The rare Bugatti Veyron collided with a Vauxhall Astra van carrying a pregnant woman, who was taken to hospital as a precaution but later went home.

No one else was hurt but police have reported the Bugatti driver for driving without due care and attention.

Surrey Police said the luxury car was driven by a man who had a male passenger with him.

Hurtling through a wetland of intrigue and speculation, this unnamed all-terrain vehicle was last spotted in February 2005 speeding around Belarus. With six balloon wheels and what looks like a mighty drive train, this amphibious creature could give you another way to coast from your island home. Although the manufacturer promised to have them on the market by summer 2005, we're still waiting here in the states. If I were you (and extremely rich), I'd call that brother-in-law in the CIA and see what information you can buy.

OBVIO said that gas-ethanol engines would power the initial versions of its 828 and 012 microcar designs, planned for production in 2007. But the 828E and 012E equipped with advanced electric drive systems will not be far behind, says OBVIO ! President Ricardo Machado, who announced he would export the electric cars to North America.

"It is clear to me that electricity has a big future in the auto industry," said Machado. "OBVIO !'s business model of 100 percent outsourced supplier relationships allows for the speed and flexibility to incorporate a new drive system powered by electricity by our second model year."

Machado says there are several suppliers that are negotiating to provide electric drive systems for the 828E and 012E. Targeting a price of $49,000 and $59,000 respectively, the cars will have plenty of power, capable of reaching a top speed exceeding 120 mph for a range of up to 200-240 miles per charge.

The number 640 in the new moniker denotes the total hp rating of the tweaked V12 engine, up 60 hp from the outgoing Murciélago coupe's V12 thanks to a bump in displacement from 6.2 liters to 6.5 liters. Lamborghini says the added power shaves 0.4 seconds from the zero-to-62 mph sprint, bringing it down to a scant 3.4 seconds.

A convertible version of the Murcielago, introduced last year, retains the 6.2-liter 580-hp V12. It has a removable fabric top: When it's installed, Lamborghini advises keeping the speed under 100 mph.

A more aggressive front bumper with reshaped air intakes and a large spoiler underneath distinguish the 2007 LP640 from previous Murciélagos and make the bold design of the outgoing coupe even wilder. A redesigned rear diffuser encompasses twin exhaust pipes, and the taillights are now all red.

A fledging Las Vegas-based company called Hybrid Technologies thinks it has the solution. Hybrid will launch a car it calls LiX-75 at the New York Auto Show on Apr.14. The sleek, $125,000 sports car runs off of electric batteries, boosted by solar panels on the trunk. It recharges in four to six hours from a regular three-prong electric socket. And the company claims it will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in three seconds and hit a top speed of 200 miles per hour.

"It's the environmentalist mid-life crisis vehicle," says Richard Griffiths, head of business development at Hybrid. "It's a sports car that performs like a Porsche Boxster, looks like a Ferrari, and has zero emissions"

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The LiX will utilize lithium ion batteries, big versions of the kind that power laptop computers. Because they can store more energy and degrade less quickly when not in use than the nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrid cars today, they're rapidly becoming the technology of choice for electric-car developers.

"Lithium chemistry is widely acknowledged to be the next generation of battery power," says Lindsay Brooke, senior editor of the Society of Automotive Engineer's magazine.

"There's a whole new breed of collector that has emerged in the last three-four years," Sheehan says. "Almost all make the kind of money you cannot comprehend."

This new collector, he says buys the latest to one-up collector buddies. The owner may drive the car, sometimes at racetracks rented out to car clubs, sometimes to the latest trendy restaurant. But piling on miles hurts resale value.

Ferrari, the Italian make with an esteemed racing tradition, says North America is its most important market and nearly three in 10 of its North American cars go to California. Mattioli's Beverly Hills shop sells more Ferraris than any dealer in the country.

"It has to do definitely with the attitude of people living in Southern California, who are very open-minded," says Manfred Fitzgerald, director of brand and design for Lamborghini.

A 6.5-litre V12 engine lies at the heart of the LP640, where LP stands for 'longitudinale posteriore', which refers to the V12 unit mounted lengthways behind the cockpit.

With deeper and wider cylinder bores than the previous 6.2-litre V12, the new 6.5 ups power to an imperious 631bhp at 8,000 good-for-the-soul revs per minute.

Coupled to a new six-speed gearbox, which can also be ordered with Lambo's e-gear sequential paddle shift, the LP640 howls from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds - 0.4 seconds quicker than the 6.2-litre model.

And it's helped on its way by an electronic launch-control device called, rather brilliantly, Thrust.

Although the show car isn't a runner, it was designed on the Gallardo's platform with production feasibility in mind. If the response to the concept is amply enthusiastic, look for the Miura as a 2008 or 2009 model with a 6.5-liter version of the Murcielago's V-12 engine. While the original Miura's motor was transversely mounted, the new one would have a more conventional longitudinal configuration. Expect more than 650 hp and a price north of $350,000 if and when the Miura appears.

In the spotlight: Chevrolet's 2006 Z06 Corvette sports car. It is a breathtaking reminder that driving is, and ought to be, glorious fun.

The Z06 is a higher-performance version of the already high-performance Corvette. And what's great about it is the same thing that's great about the Corvette generally. You get stunning acceleration, handling, braking, steering and style in a car you can comfortably drive every day for a price the exotic foreign guys can't touch.

Heck, even the exotic Detroit guys can't beat it, dollar-for-dollar.

"We wanted to do a car that could compete with a lot of the supercars out there at $200,000 or $400,000, but one you could actually afford," says Harlan Charles, Corvette product manager.

Mazda stormed to victory with 447 points, easily defeating the new Lexus GS (309) and BMW 3 Series (212).

Making up the top five was the Honda Civic (165 points) and Suzuki Swift (154). Technology of the Year went to Honda for the clever new Civic gas-hybrid powertrain. The JCOTY Most Fun prize was awarded to Suzuki's impressively redesigned Swift compact. BMW's 3 Series took Import Car of the Year.

OK, forget all you know of Holland, the tulips and wooden clogs and windmills, and replace it with this Audi-powered supercar. The £143,000 Spyker C8 Spyder borrows the S8's 4.2 liter 400-hp V8 and puts it to good use at the rear of a splendidly-finished and unique-looking frame (unique in a good way). A better power to weight ratio than a Modena or GT3 helps the C8 Spyder hustle to 60 in about 4.5 seconds, but the gearbox isn't really suited for such a powerful machine; first and second gear are very short short, and the overall tight stack yields 4000 rpms for a 100 mph sixth-gear cruise, not that anyone should ever drive that fast, anyway.

Strapped in with the four-point racing harness there is no way the driver can reach the handbrake, for instance, you need to have a co-pilot. You can't see the front of the car either, which makes manoeuvring it rather stressful, and the turning circle - I am not exaggerating - is about the same as a stretch limo's. Also, the steering is way too light, and, oh yes, the brakes don't seem to do much.

The prototype wowed the crowd. And they'll likely love it even more when they hear the rumor circulating that Pininfarina is in talks with Maserati about a possible limited-edition production run of the one-off study, which was first revealed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show in March.

What this means to you: These works of art will likely be snapped up by collectors and enthusiasts worldwide, if they ever become reality.

Women of the baby boom generation have made no small effort to seize the freedoms once reserved for men, so it is not surprising that as this vast group graduates from the soccer-mom years, many are doing what men have traditionally done at midlife: buying a sexy and indulgent car meant more to trumpet their liberty than to haul kids around.

In recent years there has been growth in sales of "fun" or extravagant cars among middle-aged women that are a far cry from family leviathans like the sport utility vehicle or minivan. Industry analysts report sales of luxury vehicles are up for women over 45, and dealers report that more of them are walking into showrooms with more interest in horsepower than trunk space.

"Porsche is known for its sports cars," said Mark Perleberg, lead auto expert, NADAguides.com, "but people are increasingly becoming familiar with the brand for its superior SUV, the Cayenne. Dad would love this vehicle -- it's sleek, fast and, believe it or not, offers impressive towing capabilities with a sizeable cargo area to boot ... all the features a luxury SUV should offer."

Ford has a huge hit on its hands with the new Mustang, and dealers can barely keep up with demand. In the first four months of 2005, Ford sold 61,820 Mustangs in the U.S. -- an increase of 19% compared with the same period in 2004.

Bosses have already hinted at the rebirth of the Eighties' Lambo LM002 with a new SUV. But now they've said they could follow that with a front-engined 2+2 GT to rival the Aston Martin DB9. A small two-seater is viewed as the perfect addition to the family -- especially as Ferrari has ruled out a car to fit beneath the F430.

The Cayman S's muscular 3.4-liter, flat-six cylinder engine propels the car from 0 to 60 mph in a quick 5.1 seconds and to a top track speed of an impressive 171 mph. The engine is equipped with the same VarioCam Plus variable valve timing system as found on the 2005 911 Carrera. It allows the engine to produce its maximum torque of 255 ft. lbs. between 4,200 and 6,000 rpm.

This engine power is transmitted through the Boxster S's standard six- speed manual transmission that has been enhanced for the Cayman S with shortened and more precise shift travel. Offered as an option, the five-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission system has been tuned specifically for the new model, incorporating unique electronic and hydraulic control maps.

The Maybach Exelero high-performance show car unveiled to the world for the first time this week is a remarkable car with an even more remarkable story behind it. The 700-hp V-12 biturbo two-seater is a unique custom model produced for tyre manufacturer Fulda Reifenwerke, which is using the Maybach Exelero as a reference vehicle for a newly developed generation of wide tyres. The German manufacturer of luxury cars built the unique model as a modern interpretation of its legendary streamlined sports car from the 1930s, thereby forging a link with the historical predecessor, which at that time was likewise based on a powerful Maybach automobile (SW 38) and used by Fulda for tyre tests.

Here's the beef backing that brag: The 7.0-liter LS7 engine will produce at least 500 horsepower at 6200 rpm and 475 pound-feet of torque at 4800 rpm. Revving just slightly past its 7000-rpm redline through base Corvette six-speed gearing, it'll hit 60 mph in first in well under four seconds. The chassis is --drum roll--all aluminum. Magnesium and carbon-fiber parts also are used to help contain the total curb weight to under 3150 pounds. That'll put the new Z06's weight-to-power ratio below both the GT's 6.3 pounds/horsepower and the Viper's 6.8. Aero tuning reduces total lift and balances the front and rear lift coefficients while increasing the base Vette's 0.28 drag coefficient to 0.34.