World's oldest car sells at auction for $4.6 mn

WASHINGTON: A steam-powered car considered the oldest vehicle in the world still running has sold at auction in the United States for more than $4.6 million.

The De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout, nicknamed "La Marquise," which was built in France in 1884, sold for more than twice its estimate at auction Friday in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

RM Auctions listed its top speed as 38 miles per hour (61 kilometers per hour) and said it had only had four previous owners over the past 127 years.

The late Texas collector John O'Quinn had bought the historic car, which participated in the first automobile race in 1887 and four separate London-to-Brighton runs, for $3.5 million in 2007.

The identity of the new owner was not given.

US media reports noted that another car, housed at the National Motor Museum of Britain, also lays claim to the title of the world's oldest vehicle. However, the reports said the British car, built in 1875 by Robert Neville Grenville, has only three wheels, requires someone to ride along and tend the boiler, and bears little resemblance to a modern automobile.

The four-wheeled De Dion-Bouton was constructed for the French Count De Dion -- one of the founders of the company that built it. It was named "La Marquise" after the count's mother.

The $4.6 million price tag includes a 10 percent buyer's premium, which goes to the auction company.

"With impeccable provenance, fully documented history, and the certainty that this is the oldest running family car in the world, 'La Marquise' represents an unrepeatable opportunity for the most discriminating collector," the catalogue said. "It is unquestionably and quite simply one of the most important motor cars in the world." (AFP)

Merdad's tuned McLaren MP4-12C to be called MehRon GT

Normally our response to something called a Merdad Mehron GT would be "The what what?" Having seen it, however, our response is: "That's hot." The British tuning firm that normally occupies itself turning Porsche Cayennes into hot, swollen messes has looked homeward

and out of nowhere done a bang-up job with the McLaren MP4-12C. As impressive as McLaren's offering is out of the box, to our eye, Merdad has made it better.

It has done so with a body kit that beefs up the svelte lines of the standard car. Up front is a new splitter with cues from the Ferrari 360 and GT by Citroën. Along the sides, gone are the twin gills, replaced by a single, massive vent that elegantly separates a fine front form flowing into a meaty business end. In back are new vents and color-cued diffusers and provide the type of rear end you'd expect from the house of the F1.

Merdad hasn't said much about it, but rumor is that we'll see it next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and it will be released next year along with a GT3 version.

Ultimate Car That Can Drive Everywhere

Time for the future! Now the car which we only saw in science-fictions is about to hit the planet. An inventor has come up with a new design for a car that will drive on roads, sand, ice – and even water.The all-terrain vehicle, which has a top speed of 62mph and works like a hovercraft, can move seamlessly between different surfaces.

Female designer Zhang Yuhan, 21, created the amazing machine – called the Volkswagen Aqua – for a competition sponsored by the German car manufacturer.The vehicle’s sleek sportscar-like design incorporates four high-powered fans and integrated airbags that inflate to lift it from the ground.

A large windscreen stretches above the front seats to give a panoramic view of the landscape ahead.You enter and exit the car from a hatch at the rear of the car.Based on technology that is currently available, the Aqua uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power two motors – with zero carbon emissions.

One motor inflates the skirt around the vehicle to make it hover, while the second drives it forwards and controls its direction.There is no better form of transport than an air cushion vehicle because it travels equally well over land, ice, and water,’ said Ms Yuhan.

The mechanic design graduate, from China, added: ‘I hope Aqua will become an affordable supercar that is available to the general public one day.’The Xihua University student made the shortlist from the CDN China Car Award.The competition asked designers to come up with a ‘Chinese off-road vehicle’ with ‘go-anywhere’ capabilities.