Autoblog UK

At Autosport International, there is virtually nothing that is not on parade. Starting with a small white go-kart on to a mutilated Ferrari that was battered into becoming a limousine, as well as remote-control cars used as paintbrushes, right through to the Batmobile itself. But the king of the fair halls is not Lewis Hamilton's World Champion McLaren but rather the European incarnation of the 'Original Monster Truck' - Bigfoot.

10 ft. high, around 12ft 6" wide and 18ft in length: Bigfoot 17 may not be the largest monster truck in the world (that one is the similarly-named Bigfoot 5 in the USA), but with its 4,300 kg (9500 lbs) and 1.68 Meter high tyres it is the heavyweight of all racing cars on show. With 130 km/h (80 mph) top speed it can keep up with the Sixties Batmobile and would certainly scare Lewis' MP4-23 in corners.

It's a cliché and even one that would not find favour with everyone. Yet fast cars and pretty ladies always seem to manage to get together, and most certainly at automotive fairs such as Autosport International. Irrespective of whether the exhibitor manufactures cars, lubricants or whatever, they always had incredibly pretty ladies behind, beside and usually in front of their products. I can remember that exactly. But you can see for yourself...

A Ferrari 360 Modena is one hell of a car. Fast and glamorous: in a word, an amazing sports car. But what happens if you want to take out a group of friends for a spin in your Ferrari? Hardly suitable as a family saloon or for an outing with friends.

There were precisely the thoughts of Style Limousines, who with the aid of a specialist company converted the Modena 360 into a limousine. Behind the driver there is room for eight passengers in racing seats. Length: 6 m. Top speed: 267 km/h. Voilà: the longest Ferrari in the world or the fastest limousine on Earth: whichever you prefer.

I would have a further suggestion: the ugliest Ferrari in the world. This is also what Ferrari thought, who apparently demanded that the owner remove all logos and indications of Ferrari from the monstrosity. But they are still in place, as you can see in our gallery. Longest, fastest or ugliest - what do you think?

It was a type of comeback early in the year. I was walking through the halls of the Autosport International Show in Birmingham. A perfectly usual opening day for a fair, I thought, and did not count on any nasty surprises, until it was too late.

Suddenly it was standing there. A white Formula 1 racer that had been through a lot; a Super Aguri SA06, that had been driven in 2006 by Takuma Sato but that had first seen the light of day four years previously as an Arrows.

The car had been reconstructed, fitted with a new Cosworth engine and was on sale once again. Some things simply don't change.

Incidentally, the Super Aguri was not the only reincarnated car. Just a few yards away there was a close relation in the form of a genuine Arrows that was not for sale, but that had clearly been more prettily draped.

The 'Batman' TV classic! Those were the days. Adam West in his grey suit as Batman, "Kapow, Wham! Boff!" bubbles all over the TV screen and cool vehicles like the Batmobile. A replica of the one and only Batmobile from the Sixties cult series came under the hammer during the auctioneer Coys' sale at Autosport International.

Just like the original, the replica was built upon the body of a '79 Lincoln Continental. Part of the package was also Robin's Batbike: not the odd two-wheel construction from the TV series, but a modified Yamaha YDS-3 dating from 1968. The dynamic duo was expected to change hands for between £35,000 and £45,000. A year ago, the original Batmobile from the TV series changed owners during a Coys auction for £119,000. Would the The Joker have smiled?

It really is hard to believe. This work of art was produced with the aid of the tyres and remote-control cars. Don't believe us? Well in that case, you're in the best of company. Ex F1 driver Anthony Davidson didn't believe it either and was very difficult to convince that artist Ian Cook really does use remote-control cars for drawing pictures.

Those responsible are a few friends who gave him one of these remote-control cars, saying: "Whatever you do, don't take it to your studio and mess around trying to paint it!"

So that was that. Cook experimented a bit and suddenly started painting abstract paintings by remote-control, even going on to produce portraits. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he even exhibited a new type of art: an 'Autotrait' of Lewis Hamilton. This turned out to be worthwhile, as he was hired after that by one of the current World Champion's private sponsors. Quite rightly so, as you can see from our picture gallery.

Early in January, the world of motor sport turned its eyes in the direction of Birmingham, where the Who's Who of the sport was meeting at the Autosport International Show. David Coulthard, Allan McNish, Anthony Davidson & Co gave interviews and autographs, and the cars themselves also found the same degree of enthusiasm with fans. The range included a collection of DC's Formula racing cars, all F1 fireballs from the past 2008 season and any amount of classics from the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.

But it was not just fast racing cars such as the Peugeot Le Mans prototypes that were great attractions. Sports cars from constructors Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus, Lamborghini and Porsche also proved to be eye catchers. To see why, check our gallery here: