On this day in auto history – May 11th

Tue 11th May 2021

On this day in 2007 Englishman Marek Turowski entered the Guinness Book of World Records for driving a motorised sofa at 92 mph along an aerodrome runway in Leicestershire.

The eccentric 38-year-old paid £1,376 on eBay for the privilege of piloting a rear-engined couch which was commissioned by sofa.com and built by Auto Trader TV show presenter Edd China.

Turowski’s stunt beat the existing World’s Fastest Furniture record of 87 mph set in 1987 by the aforementioned China after he drove a leopard-print sofa powered by a 1300cc Mini engine.

In 2011, Australian Glenn Suter became the first person to reach 100 mph on a motorised sofa when setting a new world record on a couch powered by a 1400cc Suzuki super bike engine at Camden airport near Sydney.

The tax values are provided by a third-party supplier and while every effort is made to ensure their accuracy please double check with your advisor. If the car was registered after 31/03/2017 then it is subject to new tax rules. All prices we display are for the cars second tax payment onwards. You can find out information on the cars first tax payment here

Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017

Rates for second tax payment onwards

Fuel type	Single 12 month payment	Single 12 month payment by Direct Debit	Total of 12 monthly payments by Direct Debit	Single 6 month payment	Single 6 month payment by Direct Debit
Petrol or diesel	£180	£180	£189	£99	£94.50
Electric	£0	N/A	N/A	£0	N/A
Alternative	£170	£170	£178.50	£93.50	£89.25

Alternative fuel vehicles include hybrids, bioethanol and liquid petroleum gas.

Vehicles with a list price of more than £40,000

You have to pay an extra £390 a year if you have a car with a ‘list price’ (the published price before any discounts) of more than £40,000. You do not have to pay this if you have a zero emission vehicle.

You only have to pay this rate for 5 years (from the second time the vehicle is taxed).

Check the list price with your dealer so you know how much vehicle tax you’ll have to pay.

Fuel type	Single 12 month payment	Single 12 month payment by Direct Debit	Total of 12 monthly payments by Direct Debit	Single 6 month payment	Single 6 month payment by Direct Debit
Petrol or diesel	£570	£570	£598.50	£313.50	£299.25
Alternative	£560	£560	£588	£308	£294