Category: Cars and Bikes

Another special edition of everyone’s favourite retro car of the moment – the Fiat 500 by Diesel.

Yes, this is the Fiat with a fashion makeover – the work of Diesel’s Lars Schwartz and the Fiat Centro Stile studio, it offers a military green paint job (with black and brown to follow), Disel logos on the side and mirrors, yellow-painted brake calipers,  ‘unique’ air intakes and fuel filler cap, 16-inch alloy wheels, logos on the hubs and a yellow-stitched, denim-like interior.

It sells in Italy for 15,000 Euros, no news as yet of a launch elsewhere.

Find out more at the Fiat website

A seriously sought-after car in its 60s and 70s heyday, the Jensen Interceptor is back – with a 2008 makeover.

Here’s the deal – Oxfordshire-based V Eight has bought up all the rusting Jensens it can find, renovating the steel bodies and interiors, as well as replacing the wheels, brakes, suspension and sticking in a 620bhp General Motors engine. Essentially, it’s a new car, but with an unmistakably classic look.

Too good to be true? Well, here’s the downsides. First up, only 25 are being made initially, with a delivery date scheduled for 2010. And then there’s the price – an eye-watering £75,000.

Find out more at the V Eight website

Spend your life near the beach? Well, the Fiat 500 Tender Two could be for you.

It’s a variation on the new Fiat 500 by Italian car design firm Castagna and based on the original Fiat beach buggy – the Fiat 500 Jolly. This version removes the doors, tailgate and roof, with the side sills raised and reinforced, a canvas roof used (should you get a shower in your beach paradise) and the interior and cargo bay finished in teak with wicker and blue upholstery.

Oh yes – and it’s been converted into a nippy electric vehicle, capable of clocking up 80mph and with a range of 86 miles between charges. No specific price, as each one is made individually, drop the company a line should you ever find yourself in the sun and in the money.

Find out more at the Castagna website

Cycling and retro bikes have been more hip – so your credibility will certainly get a boost if you’re seen at the first Sunday Cycle Picnic in London.

Organised by Bobbin Bicycles, Cyclechic and Sawako Furuno, the event takes place at the London Fields in Hackney, offering a range of fun events for even the most casual of cyclists. That includes The Magnificent Revolution’s pedal-powered cinema tent (showing Ray Pascoe’s beautiful vintage cycling films and contemporary shorts), garden games, stalls and prizes for the most stylish bikes (and owners). Just bring yourself, a picnic and your friends.

And for one lucky person, a super-cool Red Bobbin Playbike is up for grabs. Just turn up on  the day in a fetching outfit and sit on the bike for  your chance to cycle it away into sunset. The event is this Sunday, 7th September, running from midday until 5pm.

Find out more at the Bobbin Bicycles website