There were 522,000 black...
There were 522,000 black cars sold in 2006, which makes it Britain"s second favourite colour - in 2005 it was placed third. Silver is still number one, but the volume of models registered in this colour fell by 55,000 over the previous year to 671,000.
And the Porsche Cayenne...
And the Porsche Cayenne had better watch out, because the snappily named Spyker C12 Peking to Paris is set to become a production reality. As our exclusive picture shows, the off-road model retains the firm"s distinctive gaping grille. Also note the double air intakes on each flank, confirming the rear-engine format. Discreet back doors provide access to the second row of chairs, making this a proper four-seater. The C12 bears a strong resemblance to the C8 Spyder, which marked the 100-year-old company"s car-building comeback in 2000.
However, while the C8 had a 400bhp Audi V8 engine, the C12 will use the German firm"s 500bhp W12 mated to a six-speed gearbox. As a result, stunning performance is expected from the four-wheel-drive machine, which will be built on an extended version of the C8 chassis. Spyker boss Victor Muller told us: "Think of an F-16 fighter jet with terrain capabilities!"
Despite the firm"s reputation for low- slung sports cars, this won"t be the first Spyker 4WD model. The 14/18HP Tourer made its name on 1907"s inaugural Peking to Paris rally, when a privately entered example finished second.
The C12"s launch is anticipated to coincide with the re-running of this historic event in 2007. But before then, a prototype is expected to appear at next year"s Geneva Motor Show. In issue 858, we revealed how four Spyker C8 coup탩s are starring in Hollywood movie Basic Instinct 2, currently filming in the UK.