Ten things we learned this week: 22 April 2016 edition

The new season of the World Endurance Championship kicked off last weekend, although no one could have anticipated the weather as the final qualifying session was cut short because of snow.

Fortunately, Twitter user @LMPone had a solution to hand: this brilliant LMP1 Porsche modified with snowmobile tracks.

The German team were so impressed with the render, they used it to assure their 30,000 followers that they would learn from the wintery conditions in time for the next race in Spa-Francorchamps.

A multi-terrain, pan-continental racing series with a field of prototypes on tracks simply has to happen.

Image credit: @LMPone

Oh deer, oh deer, oh deer.

Yesterday it emerged that Tom Lo - a 17-year-old sixth form student from Essex - hit and killed a deer during his driving test on a road near Colchester.

“I was picking up speed because it was a 60mph zone,” the student told Newsbeat. “And all of a sudden I see a deer in front of me.

“So I hit my brake but unfortunately the deer was killed.”

Lo's examiner got out to check for damage, after which he assured the teenager that the accident wasn't his fault and that he could continue his test. Lo did so, and astonishingly kept his composure to pass with only two minors.

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, caravanners: you can now take that much-needed, springtime holiday in the eco-friendly Toyota Prius!

For the first time in its 19-year history, the hybrid vehicle now features a tow-bar at the back, which is capable of hauling along a maximum load of 725kg.

Toyota says the Prius can now cope with the additional weight thanks to improvements in the heat management system within the main electric motor and generator.

Better still, when the towing arm isn’t in use, it can be stored in “a dedicated bag in the boot of the car.”

Hennessey Performance Engineering is the only tuning company in North America with complete ownership of its own, personal runway. But alas, not for much longer.

Their 55-acre facility – which is stationed next to Hennessey’s base in Texas – is up for sale with an asking price of $2,700,000. In UK money, that’s about £1,900,000.

According to reports, the revenue it will bring in will allow Hennesset to invest in production, taking its output up from around 400 cars per year to well over 1,000.

As well as the drag strip, the successful buyers will get grandstands, a control tower, timing equipment and many other things besides.

Who else fancies getting a crowdfunding projuct underway?

Just over a week ago we reported that Ford had made an online configurator to allow potential customers to design their perfect Ford GT, although the American manufacturer made it clear that it wouldn’t be a case of first come, first served.

Instead, anyone who wants to buy a new GT – due later this year – must fill out an application form and then wait for Ford to say whether or not they’re allowed to buy one.

Luckily for Ford, it looks like demand is going to far outstrip supply. Only 250 GTs will be produced per year, but already over 7,000 expressions of interest have been received from applicants all over the world.

If you’re thinking of joining that list, you’d better hurry: the deadline is on 12 May. With a rumoured asking price of around £400,000, raising the required funds will be a different challenge altogether...

Journalist Steve Campion was covering floods in Texas when a Honda Insight driver catastrophically misjudged the water level in an underpass, sinking his car in the process.

The reporter can be heard yelling “Why are you doing that?!” as the driver plunges nose first into the water, and can only watch as the vehicle drifts away from the road.

After comically attempting to reverse out of the situation, the driver eventually realises that he’s in trouble and clambers out of the door, swimming back to safety as the Insight is submerged by the water.

Commendably, Campion then wades in to help, later asking the gentleman what on Earth he’d been thinking. “I didn’t think the water was that deep,” comes the reply.

Image credit: @abc13houston

A Ford F-150 first owned by footballer David Beckham is set to go on sale next week as part of The International Ford Show at Sandown Park in Surrey.

TG may not be one to sop to celebrity culture, but there's no questioning the appeal of a former celebrity owner for some people. And luckily, this car comes with the original V5 document to prove that it was indeed bought new by the former England international some years ago.

Other interesting items on the 30-strong list of sale items include a rare Talladega Cobra Jet and a right-hand-drive Mustang convertible.

If you’re 18 years old and lucky enough to own a car, then chances are you will at some point use it to, um, further relationships with a friend of your choosing.

In this department, Formula One Max Verstappen has a bit of an advantage over most teenagers, given that he drives an STR11 with an enormous Ferrari engine in the back.

Perhaps it’s fitting, though, that his car is a bit more high-tech than the average 18-year-old driver’s, given that his girlfriend Mikaela is also a racing driver, and is less likely to be impressed by 1.1-litre Fiat Cinquecento...

Image credit: @ToroRossoSpy

Following the official sales launch of the M2, BMW has paid homage to the M-car family by building a range of bicycles. Nope, us neither.

BMW says that the assortment “boasts exceptional dynamics and agility” and will “spread joy through the ranks of BMW M aficionados”.

Prices range from a £300 junior bike to a top-of-the-range electric e-Bike, which has a battery that allows a top speed of 16mph under its own steam. The price? Circa £2,150, or around £43,000 less than a full-size M2. Bargain.

In order to commemorate the Queen as she celebrates her 90^th birthday, Vauxhall has unveiled a special ‘Royal Astra’ to mark the occasion.

Complete with Union Jack cushions and “Liz & Phil” written on the sun visors, it comes with a retractable red carpet to ensure that VIP passengers can always make a dignified entrance.

There is also a “Corgis On Board” sign in the rear windscreen, and booster seats have been added to the car to ensure that the royal pooches are completely comfortable during long journeys.

No wonder Her Royal Highness gave up her old Bentley...