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Scotsman
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Plymouth construction worker wins £70,000 Audi RS6 for just 7p
Mateusz was having an afternoon nap when BOTB's film crew turned up at his doorstep | BOTB This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. A young builder from Plymouth has scooped a £70,000 Audi RS6 after entering a BOTB raffle for just 7p—and he almost missed it. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A construction worker from Plymouth has won a £70,000 Audi RS6 after spending just seven pence on a raffle ticket. Mateusz Charbanski, who lays concrete for a living, punted the pathetic sum on one of the weekly prize draws offered by BOTB just three days before a camera crew turned up at his house with the keys. The 22-year-old confessed he was half asleep when presenter Katie Knight called on his house and asked his mother to drag him out of bed so she could give him the good news. He then dashed out in bare feet and was visibly shaking when he set his eyes on the £69,000 Audi estate. "Is that actually an RS6?" He asked, in disbelief. "I didn't think I was going to win this, I can't believe it. "Where am I going to put it? I didn't think I was actually going to win something." Matuesz is considering taking the cash alternative to fund his first mortgage | BOTB The RS6 is one of the German marque's most powerful cars, with 591bhp on tap from a twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Mateusz's car is a 2020 model in a bold British Racing Green, sitting on distinctive 22" Golden Vossen Alloys. He explained to Katie that he had recently got rid of his own car to save money on the insurance, and he was driving around in a work van. Presenter Katie Knight congratulated Mateusz in front of his family | BOTB And as he discussed the life-changing win with Katie, he admitted he was tempted to take up BOTB's offer of a £48,000 cash alternative to the car, because he and his partner were saving up for a house. "However, if I show her the car, she might not want to get rid of it", he laughed." BOTB gives away posh cars for peanuts every week, and the latest prize on offer is an Aston Martin Vantage worth £75,000 - tickets are priced at just 18p. There's also the chance to win a brand new house worth £685,000 in Chichester for just 99p. To find out more about the prizes on offer, click here.
Scotsman
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Plymouth construction worker wins £70,000 Audi RS6 for just 7p
Mateusz was having an afternoon nap when BOTB's film crew turned up at his doorstep | BOTB This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. A young builder from Plymouth has scooped a £70,000 Audi RS6 after entering a BOTB raffle for just 7p—and he almost missed it. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A construction worker from Plymouth has won a £70,000 Audi RS6 after spending just seven pence on a raffle ticket. Mateusz Charbanski, who lays concrete for a living, punted the pathetic sum on one of the weekly prize draws offered by BOTB just three days before a camera crew turned up at his house with the keys. The 22-year-old confessed he was half asleep when presenter Katie Knight called on his house and asked his mother to drag him out of bed so she could give him the good news. He then dashed out in bare feet and was visibly shaking when he set his eyes on the £69,000 Audi estate. "Is that actually an RS6?" He asked, in disbelief. "I didn't think I was going to win this, I can't believe it. "Where am I going to put it? I didn't think I was actually going to win something." Matuesz is considering taking the cash alternative to fund his first mortgage | BOTB The RS6 is one of the German marque's most powerful cars, with 591bhp on tap from a twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Mateusz's car is a 2020 model in a bold British Racing Green, sitting on distinctive 22" Golden Vossen Alloys. He explained to Katie that he had recently got rid of his own car to save money on the insurance, and he was driving around in a work van. Presenter Katie Knight congratulated Mateusz in front of his family | BOTB And as he discussed the life-changing win with Katie, he admitted he was tempted to take up BOTB's offer of a £48,000 cash alternative to the car, because he and his partner were saving up for a house. "However, if I show her the car, she might not want to get rid of it", he laughed." BOTB gives away posh cars for peanuts every week, and the latest prize on offer is an Aston Martin Vantage worth £75,000 - tickets are priced at just 18p. There's also the chance to win a brand new house worth £685,000 in Chichester for just 99p.
GSM Arena
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- GSM Arena
Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso appears in new Realme GT 7 teaser
Realme is launching the GT 7 smartphone next week, and we are expecting a Dream Edition, co-designed with Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team. One of the drivers there is the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who appeared in the latest video teaser of the phone, talking about pushing and going beyond the limit. From racetracks to real tech – Aston Martin Aramco F1® Team & realme co-engineered every element of #realmeGT7DreamEdition with premium craftsmanship. Launching May 27th! #2025FlagshipKiller #AstonMartinF1phone — realme (@realmeIndia) May 23, 2025 The 41-year-old driver does not mention Realme in the 51-second video, and neither does Matthew Chapman, head of Licensing and Merchandise at the Formula One team. It is the Realme team that talks about peak performance, perfection, and boundary-pushing design. The phone itself also did not appear in the video. We did receive a unit of the Realme GT 7, and it looks a lot like the GT 7 Pro. It is a lovely IceSense Blue color with red accents, while the Aston Martin Dream Edition will be a British Racing Green variant with the car logo on the back. Either way it's a premium device with a Dimensity 9400e chipset, and will appear alongside the GT 7T. Source
Hamilton Spectator
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Choosing wheels and tire sizes for your car: What do you need to know? And why?
My wife, Barb, has just become the owner of a lovely British Racing Green 1991 Mazda (MX-5) Miata. The Japanese automaker's tiny droptop roadster has long been a favourite of ours, a fondness created by the test vehicles back I drove back when I did car reviews for the Star. Our enthusiasm for the Miata was confirmed by renting a current model through Turo during a Hawaiian vacation a few years ago. Apart from tackling some maintenance items and having the age-worn seat covers and fabric roof replaced, there was one specific change Barb asked me to make to her new-to-her car: wheels and tires. Thirty-four years ago, 14-inch wheels and tires were common on sporty cars, such as the Miata; Acura's Integra, Nissan's Sentra SE-R, even the Volkswagen GTI, wore that size. Today, you'd be hard-pressed to find a 14-inch tire on a new vehicle — the diminutive Mitsubishi Mirage is the last one I can think of. As they've been primarily an economy-car fitment for decades, enthusiast-oriented choices in the Miata's original size are effectively zero. Telling you that tire selection was the major factor for her would be lying; it's mostly about the looks. Put simply, she's underwhelmed by the car's original alloy wheels and tall sidewall tires. Having 'plus-sized' the wheels and tires on one of her prior vehicles, she knows that nothing changes the overall appearance of a vehicle as much and as easily as different wheels. If you doubt that to be true, consider what a lightly corroded set of black steel wheels and winter tires do to the looks of even a really nice car … which is why especially at this time of year, a lot of people put better-looking wheels and tires on their cars and trucks. Provided you keep the original wheels and tires, it's simple to return the car back to them, if you want to sell or trade it in. This is a lease and resale friendly customizing option. Changing the wheel and tire sizes from those the vehicle originally came with can alter how it rides and handles noticeably — for good or bad — so it's best to understand that relationship. And there are a surprising number of variables involved in just picking a wheel that can be installed on your vehicle. Take Barb's Miata, for example. Let's start with the number of nuts (or bolts) that hold the wheel on: four. Easy, right? Not so fast! It's not just the number; the spacing of the fasteners can differ, too. Called 'bolt circle,' 'bolt pattern,' or 'PCD' (pitch circle diameter), it's the diameter of a circle passing through the centre of the fasteners or the holes in the wheels. In Barb's Mazda, it's 100 millimetres, so '4x100.' If it had five fasteners in the same diameter, it'd be 5x100. (My Subaru uses that one.) Engineering needs and appearance probably both influence the pattern chosen by the automaker. In the centre of the vehicle's wheel hub is a raised area sometimes called the 'pilot,' used to locate and support the wheel. Virtually any original-equipment wheel will have a matching-sized centre hole, the 'bore'; this provides what's known as a 'hub-centric' fit. Pilot/bore sizes also vary. Bore and bolt patterns alone will dramatically narrow your potential wheel choices. Aftermarket wheels often have large bores to allow them to fit as many applications as possible; too small and the wheel can't be installed. The Miata's pilot is just 54.1 mm, and the Konig wheels Barb chose have a sizable 73.1-mm bore, so they definitely clear. Although that mismatch precludes the pilot's locating and supporting role, 'hub-centering rings,' or 'centric-rings' are available that act as an adapter to fill that gap. This prevents the wheel fasteners from having to locate and support the wheel as well as keep it attached — a less ideal 'lug-centric' fit. Just when you think it couldn't get any more complicated, there are two other important considerations: offset and wheel width. Offset is the distance, in millimetres, from the centre-line of the wheel to the wheel's mounting surface. All else being equal, a more positive offset positions the wheel (and tire) further inwards relative to the body, while less positive locates it outwards. Most modern vehicles use a positive offset — that is, the mounting surface is further towards the outside of the wheel. This provides space in behind the wheel's face for the brakes, among other things. Changing the offset can alter the steering effort, stability, and, if the change is drastic enough, potentially shorten the life of the suspension and wheel bearings. Probably a half-dozen or more times a year, I encounter customer vehicles where they've installed wheels with too little offset and now have body and suspension rubbing issues when turning. This is why I suggest either going with a factory-approved wheel set, or talking to a professional before buying. Particularly if you're changing tire-sizing, I recommend staying within five to 15 millimetres less than your original wheels' offset. First-generation Miatas, such as the one Barb has, had a 45-mm or 40-mm offset. To prevent changing the car's driving character appreciably and avoid rubbing, we picked wheels with a 35-mm offset, about as close to original as was readily available. To get the look she wanted, to avoid completely ruining the car's ride by having too thin of a tire sidewall, which is, in effect, the first part of a car's suspension, and to provide some varied tire choices, we decided on wheels of a 15-inch diameter. At seven inches, we kept the wheel-width as close as possible to the original wheel's narrow, 5.5-inch dimension, because we didn't plan to fit tires that were substantially wider. The choices of tire size and wheel width are directly related, and there's a whole rationale behind that decision-making …. Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified Automotive Service Technician. You can send your questions to wheels@ . These answers are for informational purposes only. Please consult a certified mechanic before having any work done to your vehicle.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Sir Elton John's Former Aston Martin DB7 Set for Auction in Cambridgeshire
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector An Aston Martin DB7, previously owned by Sir Elton John, will be going under the hammer this April in Cambridgeshire. The 1995 model, known for its elegance and association with the "Rocket Man," is anticipated to attract bids between £23,000 and £27,000. The DB7 holds a special place in automotive history, and this particular vehicle boasts a unique provenance, having been first owned by the legendary musician. Accompanying the car in the auction are the original warranty card bearing Sir Elton John's name and a copy of its initial V5 document, adding to its collectible value. John Markey, a specialist from H&H Classics, the firm handling the sale, praised the DB7's design and the celebrity connection. "The DB7 is regarded as a modern masterpiece, and Sir Elton John's exquisite taste in cars only enhances its allure," Markey said. The car features a 5-speed manual transmission, is finished in British Racing Green, and has clocked only 14,500 miles, making it a low-mileage gem. Noteworthy features of the car include a high-end Alpine stereo system with a remote control, a six-stack CD changer complemented by a substantial Alpine V12 amplifier, and a Motorola car phone—a specification likely added by Sir Elton John himself. The luxury vehicle also comes equipped with heated front seats, cruise control, and Aston Martin Stage 1 stainless steel rear exhausts, ensuring both comfort and performance. "As well as being a visual treat, the DB7 delivers impressive performance and can reach speeds over 160mph," added Markey. "Its excellent condition and celebrity history make it a prime candidate for collectors and enthusiasts alike." The auction is scheduled to take place at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, promising a significant turnout from both car enthusiasts and fans of Sir Elton John. This sale not only highlights the DB7's performance capabilities but also celebrates its cultural significance as a piece of automotive and entertainment history. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
