This week's motor news in pics

Supercars to get the midas touch

London-based firm, Alchemist, will be showcasing its luxury car customisation service at this year's MPH show featuring Top Gear Live.

The artisan company specialises in applying a lustrous coat of 24-carat gold to the roof of any car, using an innovative new patented process to cover a car's roof with the purest gold leaf. Prices start at £12,500.

Alchemist director Jacques Blanc commented: "Gold-leafing vehicles isn't a new luxury. The Egyptians mastered the technique more than 3000 years ago and Tutankhamun's chariot was decorated with gold leaves. We are simply continuing this ancient and opulent tradition."

Visit www.goldenrooftop.com

Trident Iceni nears production

Trident Performance Vehicles have designed and produced a two-seater diesel sports car that can reach over 200mph, get from 0-60mph in under 4 seconds and deliver up to 100mpg.

The car is aimed at commuters who travel on the M1, the M4, the M6 to get to work, people who live in rural locations and those situations where electric cars are not currently viable because of their comparitively short range.

The team at Trident have invested £2.3m in the project, which has enabled the completion of all the development needed to get the Iceni into production. nextpage

McRae convoy to stretch 20 miles

Nearly 1,300 Subarus will gather to celebrate the life of Colin McRae and create a convoy which will stretch nearly 20 miles.

Led by Jimmy McRae in one of Colin's original cars, the convoy will travel more than 300 miles from Lanark to Banbury along the motorway network on Saturday 30 August, reaching over 700 cars by the time it gets to Birmingham.

The McRae Gathering has already raised more than £25,000 for the McRae family's officially nominated charities and is hoping to raise more money along the route.

Visit www.mcrae-gathering.co.uk

British motorists are 'undercharged' for parking

A suggestion by the government that councils should increase the cost of parking in town centres has been welcomed by the Environmental Transport Association (ETA), which points out that most British motorists are currently undercharged for parking their cars.

John Healey, the local government minister, has drawn criticism this week by suggesting that local councils should raise parking rates in their own car parks in order to reduce congestion.

Director at the Environmental Transport Association, Andrew Davis said: "Our own research revealed that in most cases parking is subsidised - the land used for the car parks would be worth more if it was used for something else such as office space. In other words, cars pay less than desks!"

Yorkshire farmer makes exploration history

Steve Burgess, a farmer from West Yorkshire, has put himself and his Land Rover Defender into the record books as he became the first person in history to successfully cross the Bering Straits in a road vehicle.

Earlier this year the 52-year-old from Mirfield, near Huddersfield, travelled 10,379 miles in 50 days to the Easternmost tip of Russia.

Despite driving across icy tundra and frozen riverbeds with temperatures as low as minus 46 degrees in some of the most remote places on earth, Burgess says his Cooper Discoverer ST off-road tyres provided the added traction and performance he needed to complete the trip.

Burgess now plans to drive all the way down North and South America to Cape Horn.

Jaguar XF wins 'Car of the Year' at Auto Express New Car Honours 2008

The Jaguar XF has once again been voted 'Car of the Year', securing a fourth top title win since being launched in March.

This time the premier award comes from Auto Express in their New Car Honours 2008.

Dan Strong, Editor of Auto Express magazine, said: "Jaguar's XF is a machine that has proved the doubters wrong. It's a car that impresses on every level, from design to drivability, practicality to price.

"It's a home-grown package, designed and developed in the UK and built by a highly-skilled workforce."nextpage

Land Rover celebrates its 60th birthday at Burghley

Land Rover will once again be supporting The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials as title sponsor from September 4-7 this year, where it will also be celebrating its milestone anniversary.

60 years ago, on April 30, 1948, the first ever Land Rover was unveiled at an Amsterdam Motor Show.

Since then adventurers, farmers, scientists and outdoor sport enthusiasts the world over have all used Land Rover's capability to access some of the world's most inhospitable regions, while today the brand continues to go from strength-to-strength.

Visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk

Peugeot showcases new hybrid concept car at Paris Motor Show

The new 'RC…' whose full name will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show, is a hybrid concept car created by Peugeot's stylists and engineers.

It is a 'GT' coupé which provides the missing link between the RC and concept cars revealed in 2002 and the 908 RC, one of the stars of the 2006 Paris Motor Show.

An accessible and versatile car with highly innovative hybrid architecture, the 'RC' aims for a high level of efficiency both in terms of performance (with its potential maximum power output of 313 bhp) and minimal impact on the environment (CO2 emissions of 109 g/km in the combined cycle or ZERO in electric mode).

Watch this space...

Jody Schecter unveils the Gullwing Restaurant's tongue-in-cheeck menu

The Gullwing restaurant at Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, is introducing a new menu supplied exclusively from Laverstoke Park, the award-winning organic farm of 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter.

Scheckter has created an impressive business as an organic farmer after buying Laverstoke Park farm in Hampshire.

The Gullwing is a 50-seater restaurant with breathtaking views of the circuits and Surrey country side.

Peter O'Halloran, managing director Mercedes-Benz World, said: "Jody Scheckter is an iconic name in both motor-racing and now in organic farming. As his fearless driving provided a number of prestigious victories on track, we anticipate his outstanding farming abilities will have a similar effect on this extension to the Gullwing Restaurant's menu."

To book a table visit www.mercedes-benzworld.co.uk