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Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

'World's Most Expensive Car Crash' results in 10 charged [w/video]

Justice is slowly being served to those drivers who were involved in a 10-car pile up in Japan last year that saw eight Ferrari models, one Lamborghini and three Mercedes-Benz vehicles hauled off for scrap. As you may recall, the lead driver lost control of his machine, pin balling into those following behind and doing some $4 million in damage in the process. Now the 61-year-old lead driver and nine others have had their cases sent to prosecutors.
The group are currently being charged with suspicion of violating traffic laws. We'll take a moment to wait for the laughter to die down before continuing.
Prosecutors claim the drivers were exceeding the speed limit and not paying attention to the road when the incident happened. Six people were injured in the dust up, but everyone survived. The group was on their way to a supercar event in Hiroshima. Feel free to watch the original news reports below.

Mansory loads up the Lamborghini Huracan with more power, carbon fiber

Mansory drenched the Lamborghini Huracan in carbon fiber and cranked the engine to more than 1,000 hp. The result? Something called the Torofeo, which was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. The name refers to toro, which is Spanish for bull, and the Super Trofeo Motorsports line. Mansory added new air intakes up front to improve cooling, widened the body, made the wheel arches more prominent and gave the supercar new mirrors. There's also a new rear spoiler and diffuser that enhance air flow. The tuner says the carbon-fiber pieces are even lighter than Lamborghini's stock parts. There are also enhanced daytime running lights as a passive safety feature. Under the hood, the 5.2-liter V10 gets two turbochargers and is rebuilt with new pistons, camshafts, connecting rods, a new fuel system and a water-cooled intercooler. There's also an upgraded exhaust system. The enhancements lift the Huracan to a claimed-1,000 hp, up considerably from the usual 600-plus hp. The cabin is upgraded with more leather, Alcantara-covered seats and a new steering wheel. It all rolls on forged alloy wheels that measure 20 inches in front and 21 in the rear. Sound good? Mansory also brought plenty of other cars, including a slightly less powerful Lamborghini, to Geneva, as well. Related Video: MANSORY TOROFEO –Lamborghini Huracan in an exclusive MANSORY-carbon fibre suit. March 2015 A radical, new interpretation of the Lamborghini Huracan is the latest development from the premium manufacturer MANSORY. Referring back to the Spanish "Toro" meaning bull and the Super Trofeo Motorsports Range, MANSORY have christened the sports car TOROFEO. Radical changes have been made to the body, engine and interior, making the "little" Lambo a real MANSORY car. And as you would expect from MANSORY, they didn't hold back in their use of carbon fibre. Where Lamborghini thought they had maximised the use of carbon fibre, MANSORY have added an extra touch based on their core competency. No other company in the market is as closely linked to the use of carbon fibre as MANSORY. These specialists manufacture and process this ultra-light, extremely strong material taken from the world of motorsport in their own in-house autoclaves, which means they don't have to rely on suppliers. This gives them complete freedom in the scope, fit and design of components. The best proof of this can be seen in the completely newly designed carbon fibre body.