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It’s Stig of the Dump meets Don Johnson - a chop-top Ferrari Testarossa crudely stiffened and finished in primer; the antidote to all those gleaming Rosso Corsa Ferraris piloted once a year by meticulously groomed squillionaires, dressed to impress in prancing horse regalia.

It belongs to Scott Chivers, a man with interesting views on Ferraris and owning them...

“I have red Ferraris but it’s not my favourite colour and I don’t drive the cars to be seen,” he says. “My daily driver is a black 360 Challenge Stradale. I’ve owned it for eight years and done 50,000 miles in it. I go to the shops and take my kids to school in it. I love the fact it’s used – and looks it.”

His Testarossa, or Ratarossa as he calls it (a name inspired by the term ‘rat’, short for ‘recycled automotive transport’ exemplified by superficially rusty split-screen Type 2 Volkswagens), is the ultimate expression of Scott’s Ferrari philosophy.

Its grey body is rough and rippled, the engine cover is barely secure, the slender metal stiffening beams are visible between the sills and seats, the door cards flap around and the leather trim around the A-posts and behind the seats is as neat as my gift wrapping...

Does it look low to you? That’s because it sits on lowering springs. The weight of the strengthening beams forced the car down at the back. Scott says he ripped out the old suspension and ordered three sets of front springs of different specs so he could play around with the ride height to equalise front and rear.

Next thing, he’ll be saying there’s an old Vauxhall four-pot under that rear cover. Not a chance: Scott props it open with a piece of 4x2 to reveal the car’s original, and suitably grimy, flat-12 engine. Somewhere in there is the original five-speed manual transmission, too, as evidenced by the dull alloy transmission gate downstream in the cabin.

Scott bought the car from a bloke in California. At the time, he was looking for an engine cover for his 1990 Testarossa coupe, a left-hand-drive car he’d bought from the Netherlands. (Seven of his Ferraris are left-hookers.) There he was, surfing the web, when up pops this four-year-old ad for an unfinished Testarossa spider project car.

“I was intrigued and called the seller on the off-chance it was still available,” says Scott. “Incredibly, it was. He’d bought it intending to restore it but it just sat in his garage gathering dust. The owner said he wasn’t interested in selling it to anyone who would just break it for spares. I told him I would take on the project and get the car roadworthy. We agreed a deal and I shipped the car here to the UK. All in – the car, shipping, taxes – it cost me £16,000.”

Ferrari made only one Testarossa Spider, commissioned by company boss Gianni Agnelli in 1986. It was sold by his children in 2016 for £1.2 million. Naturally, it was a proper job, unlike the dozen or so copycats, including Scott’s, that followed from body shops.

At some point, Scott’s car was owned by a US kit car company that used it as the basis for its replica Testarossas. Then one day, perhaps following a crash, they cut the roof off, at which point, says Scott, Ferrari stepped in to protect its copyright...

“When I received the car and the two crates of bits that came with it, my intention was to rebuild it,” says Scott. “I had my other Testarossa coupeà that had also just arrived so I used that as a blueprint to work out where the bits from the crates should go and as a wiring guide. I was able to swap parts between the two cars so I was able to cheaply and quickly verify if things worked or not.”

But as Scott’s giant Ferrari puzzle came together, the more he loved its raw and unfinished appearance. No bad thing, either, since to bring it to factory standard would have cost a bomb and, in any case, without a roof, it could never be a purist’s Ferrari and his investment would never be recouped. He decided just to enjoy the build, make the car mechanically perfect – and stick with the rat look.

“For me, the rat look is where the car is perfect under the skin but looks like it’s been sat around, untouched and never restored,” says Scott.

“Bits I’ve since acquired or refitted were finished in red so I’ve left them because they add a touch of colour.” To describe Scott as a Ferrari nut is something of an understatement. His passion for the marque began as a boy when he saw a competition on the back page of Reader’s Digest to win a 308. At the time, his dad never stopped going on about the 246 Dino he dreamed of owning, and then Out Run, the Sega game, came out, featuring a Testarossa Spider.

“When, eventually, I could afford to, I bought my first Ferrari – a 348 Spider,” he says.

At this point, I should point out that Scott, a down-to-earth chap of 42, appears to be comfortably off but by no means loaded. He’s freshly divorced and is taking a year out of his job as an IT bod to consider his future.

He has recently moved into a small estate somewhere in the Berkshire commuter belt; nice houses but with driveways too small for more than two cars. It’s why I have no trouble finding his place, since out on the road in front of it is part of his Ferrari collection: the Ratarossa and an F355 Spider; on the driveway, a 355 F1 Spider; and in the double garage, where the Ratty lives when it’s raining or Scott’s working on it, a 308.

In all, Scott has eight Ferraris: two 355s, three 308s and the Ratarossa, all left-hand drive, and the 360 Challenge Stradale and a 456 GTA, both right-hand drive. In addition, he has a 1969 Porsche 911 T Coupe and a Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk1.

Some are here and the rest are with friends and family. They’re insured for £500,000 and his annual premium is £3000. How has he done it? “I’m the guy who buys the Ferrari you shouldn’t: the one with uncertain history, in the wrong colour or the unfinished project. They’re relatively cheap to buy and I make a profit selling them on when I’ve sorted them out. I plough the money back into the collection.”

But not all of his purchases are ‘orphans’. “My 430 Scuderia was immaculate,” he says. “I owned it for three months and then sold it, making £25,000. I added £3000 and straight away bought a left-hand-drive F355.”

Over time, Scott has become a whizz with the spanners. He’s self-taught but little, short of dropping an engine for a timing belt change, is beyond him. He’s constantly on the internet, seeking out deals, parts and technical advice.

Next on Scott’s Ratty to-do list is to refurbish the car’s steering and front suspension, give the engine a thorough service and tidy up the cabin. He’ll fit a sports exhaust too. It’ll all be done properly using genuine parts. As a final flourish, he’ll detail the engine so it looks like new.

Is there one Ferrari Scott would sell his collection for? “Yes: an F40. It would be the only one that would be driven every day. I did once suggest to my ex that we extend the mortgage to buy one.”

No need to ask why it’s just him and eight Fezzas these days.

Audi says it has taken inspiration from its past for the new A6 saloon. 

The ICE model has gained a wide-reaching overhaul for its sixth generation and become a curvier proposition with a drag coefficient of just 0.23, which makes it the most slippery combustion-powered Audi to enter production. 

Most notably, in pursuit of improved aerodynamics, it has gained the same style of curved rear end that marked out the Mk2 ‘C5’ A6. To make this design a reality, Audi used steel instead of aluminium for the bootlid because it can be shaped more easily. 

Arriving hot on the heels of the substantially identical A6 Avant wagon, the saloon - which was due to be called the A7 until Audi recently changed its naming strategy – has historically had greater global success than its sibling. For example, of all A6 Avant models, just 4% are sold outside of Europe and North America. However, that figure rises to 40% for A6 saloons, for which South Korea is the biggest market.

Like the Avant, the saloon comes with either a turbo petrol engine or turbo diesel hybrid power. Cars will be badged TFSI (for petrol) or TDI (diesel). The non-wagon EV, badged e-tron, is sold as a sportback rather than a saloon.

For the ICE car, both engines are 2.0-litre four-pot units that put out 201bhp, with the petrol offering 251lb ft and the diesel 295lb ft of torque. 

Each is paired exclusively to an automatic gearbox and the diesel can be had with Quattro all-wheel drive.

The 48V diesel powertrain also offers limited electric-only driving from step-off or at a cruise.

Like the Avant, the combustion-powered A6 Saloon is a big departure aesthetically from the cars they replace. While its front end has been given an extensive refresh – with the Audi rings straddling a new-look grille and bonnet lip, in a similar way to the E-tron GT – more generally, it is a bulkier and sportier proposition.

Inside, the car gets the same three-screen set-up as the Avant and the new Q5, as well as a sunroof that can switch from translucent to clear via a press of a button. While the Avant has 503 litres of boot space, the saloon’s is 492 litres – although hybrids will offer only 452 litres. 

Deliveries of the A6 saloon will start in the coming months. Prices start from £50,560 and top out at £65,830

Love ’em or hate ’em (and that may be shaped largely by your view of Elon Musk), Tesla electric cars are a common sight on the roads these days.

And with a facelifted Tesla Model Y currently being rolled out and some catching up to do in the sales charts, Tesla recently invited potential customers to visit its showrooms to try some of its models.

I must once have recorded my details with my local Tesla dealer because I too received an invitation. It sounded like a good opportunity to go undercover to see how the company sells cars and meet both those pondering their first EV and seasoned drivers thinking of switching brands.

EVs made up 19.6% of car sales last year, according to the SMMT. That figure was up a fifth on 2023 but still short of the 22% demanded by the zero-emissions vehicle mandate.

Through 2024, Tesla’s year-to-date market share dipped too, but by the end of the year, its overall market share was just about up (by 1.54%) – and the Model Y was the UK’s fifth-most-popular car.

Anyway, invitation in hand, a few months back I duly turned up at Tesla Guildford ready to play the clueless punter. A sales advisor quickly earned my attention with a Morrisons cake and a Nespresso coffee before matching me to a new, long-range Model 3.

On personal contract hire with maintenance and an annual mileage cap of 10,000 miles, it would, he said, cost me £374 per month over three years with a 12-month (£4488) down payment.

Too much? There was the standard-range car for £324 per month instead, but few were available. “It’s almost sold out, with fresh supplies not arriving for a few months,” he told me. “The deal may have changed by then, too. Take a long-range Model 3 for a test drive and think it over.”

After a turn around the block and back at the showroom, my first conversation was with a chap considering a Model 3. His company car, a Volkswagen Passat GTE estate, is about to be returned, and he thought he’d go electric to save tax.

“I’ve driven a BYD Seal but it felt too Chinese and had more conventional instruments than the Tesla,” he said. “If you’re going to have an EV, it has to be a Tesla for its quality, performance and charging network.”

Next back at the showroom is the test driver of a Model Y.

“I run an Audi Q4 E-tron as a company car,” he said. “It’s great, but it causes me range and charger anxiety. Service station charge points are often so busy that I’m forced to wait ages. Also, sometimes when I’ve gone to use a Tesla Supercharger, it’s an older generation that won’t charge my car.

“Fortunately, my Audi is fitted with the optional heat pump, so I can warm the interior without affecting the car’s range. Colleagues who don’t have one get far fewer miles, and to avoid running out of range completely they drive in a hat and coat. Now that our company is offering a car allowance, they’re switching to Teslas not only for range and charging reasons but also because Teslas have a heat pump as standard. I’ll be following them.”

Another chap was preparing to leave in his Volvo XC60. “The Volvo costs me £150 per month in company car tax, whereas a Model Y will cost me £50,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer. I drive 200 miles a day for work, so the Tesla’s range and ease of charging is another bonus.”

I just squeezed in a last chat with a couple and their children fresh from a drive of a Model Y, as they transferred all of their family paraphernalia back to their Audi Q5.

“My wife can get an electric car on salary sacrifice,” said her husband. “With Audi dealers offering to buy our car for £20,000 [it’s a 2018-reg with 50,000 miles], we’re thinking that now’s the time to change.”

By this point, a steady flow of visitors was arriving at the showroom. “It’s going to be a busy weekend,” an advisor told me. “Fortunately, the cars sell themselves.”

To business users, yes, certainly they do… Could Tesla regard its nationwide showroom event a success? Despite dire warnings of the possible threat to sales posed by Elon Musk’s recent political posturings, in February Tesla’s sales rose by more than a fifth when compared with the same month last year.

Admittedly, the whole EV market was up almost 42% year on year, driven by buyers rushing to sign up before April when, for the first time, EVs will be liable for road tax.

However, the company can take heart from the fact that against stiff competition, the Model 3 and Model Y secured second and third places in the month’s top 10 new car sales chart. I can’t claim to have contributed to that success, but I reckon I know one or two people who did.

Ineos Automotive will launch the delayed Fusilier 4x4 “in 2028 or 2029”, confirming its commitment to becoming a multi-model, mass-market car maker.

The follow-up to the Grenadier 4x4 was shown in concept form last year and planned to go on sale in 2027 as both a pure-electric car and a range-extender (REx).

According to CEO Lynn Calder, the delay “is all driven by [doubts about] powertrain” and “from regulators in key markets, notably in the EU and UK”.

Although the Fusilier REx’s engine would act as a generator for the battery, rather than directly driving the wheels, it “would be banned” under upcoming laws outlawing hybrids from 2035.

We’re too small to spend huge amounts on product development to then find that we can’t produce it, we can’t sell it, in key markets,” said Calder.

When many other car makers are winding back their commitments to phase out combustion engines, “we’re quite small to be taking gambles on things like that”, said Calder, “at a time when consumers don’t know what to buy, aren’t super-clear on what’s being regulated.

“In our minds, we know the product line-up we want, but how they’re powered is to come.”

“When we get some clarity from governments about what will be allowed to be sold, then we can do what I think automotive manufacturers should do, which is focus on what customers want to buy and then develop and sell that,” continued Calder, noting a disconnect between legislative requirements and how quickly consumers are adopting new tech.

Calder was speaking to Autocar at the opening of a biomass energy plant at Ineos’s factory in Hambach, France (formerly Mercedes-Benz’s ‘Smartville’), which will reduce the factory’s CO2 emissions by around 20% – to “beyond net zero” – as well as its heating costs. Heating is around 70% of all energy use at the plant.

Production of the Grenadier was suspended for four months late last year after seat supplier Recaro Automotive went into liquidation – having given Ineos only a few weeks’ notice, noted Calder.

The German firm has since been rescued by Italian supplier Proma Group and full Grenadier production speed will be achieved again in May.

Despite the hiatus, Ineos grew Grenadier sales by 40% last year as it entered its 50th worldwide market. One of them is China, by far the world’s largest.

Total capacity at Hambach could be up to 50,000 or so cars per year with all-shift working, but Ineos is currently considered a small-volume manufacturer, which “means we get certain derogations in terms of mandates for emissions reduction over time, which shelters us for the moment,” said Calder.

Manufacturers selling fewer than 2500 cars or vans a year are exempted from the UK’s ZEV mandate requirements, but Calder added that “we don’t want to be a small-volume manufacturer. That’s not the ambition and we’re not staying under a limit in order to achieve that.

“We will bust the limit of sales the very first second we can. And then we will have to have a different line-up of vehicles – or, frankly, focus on different markets.”

Calder said any heavy trade tariffs between the EU and US was a concern for Ineos – given the US is the firm’s biggest market “by a long way” – and since our interview, US president Donald Trump announced a 25% levy on cars and car parts imported into the country. Ineos said it was “outraged” by the development and, in response, Calder demanded “urgent and direct political intervention”.

Speaking before the announcement, Calder said: “There is a disparity between automotive imports and exports [American-made cars incur a 10% levy in the EU] and I’m hoping there’s a deal to be done that doesn’t hurt really small brands like us, who are really trying to find our feet and get up and running.”

Ineos won’t share production or financial figures for its automotive division, but Calder said: “When I look around at comparable brands - I don’t mean in terms of vehicle types, but in terms of start-ups trying to build a name for themselves – and I look at the financials that come out of those companies, I think we’re doing really well.

“One of the things that we’re really good at – and there are lots of things we’re not – is cost control. We run businesses like a very tight ship, and not everybody likes that, and it’s not easy, it’s not fun, but we take care to run a business really well; we don’t throw lots of money at everything. There’s no doubt we’ve got a long way to go.”