The FIA has announced a new engine formula from 2013, and these are going to be little bitty engines with turbochargers. I cannot say that the prospect thrilled me when I first heard of the proposal, but I am prepared to give the FIA the benefit of the doubt.

Most of us are aware of the FIA only when something goes wrong, or we think it has. Under Max Mosley, the FIA worked with manufacturers to improve car safety and it achieved a lot. Renault was the first company to score a five star N-CAP rating across its entire range and that galvanised other makers. For years Volvo had traded on safety and I thought that its greatest contribution was putting its name on the boot, warning you that the car in front was driven by a Volvo driver.

The FIA is the blanket organisation and it means the RAC in Britain, the AAA in the States, and so on. That translates into knowledge and experience, roadside assistance organisations accumulate a lot of data. The FIA knows things we do not and among them are future developments.

Fiat has announced a variant of the 500 with a twin-cylinder 875cc turbo engine which out-performs the 1400cc engine in the Fiat Punto in every department. It has more power, more torque, better economy and lower emissions. It is a marvel.

I never thought I would see a two-cylinder engine in a mainstream car ever again, but then I never thought I would see a diesel car win at Le Mans. Granted, the organisers framed the rules to encourage diesels, but Audi still had to run for 24 hours at racing speed. Audi's record at Le Mans is one of the truly great achievements of motor racing history.

Incidentally, a consultant to Audi is Caterpillar. Yup, the people who make those huge yellow tractors and earth-movers. At first sight it seems an unlikely partnership until you consider that Caterpillar's expertise in diesel power must be second to none.

The secret behind both Fiat's twin and Audi's success at Le Mans is the turbocharger. In 1985, Gordon Murray, then chief designer at Brabham, said that he saw no future for turbochargers. Gordon went on to design the McLaren F1, which is normally aspirated and is still, in my view, the ultimate motor car.

At the time that Gordon expressed his opinion manufacturers were slapping on turbos (and flash decals) to make performance versions of mundane saloons. Thus we got the MG Montego Turbo, which was actually dangerous. I once met the guy who was charged with trying to make it work, after it had gone on sale.

Saab used turbochargers in the most sensible way, to provide mid-range muscle for overtaking. The 0-60 time, beloved by manufacturers and road testers, is a nonsense when it comes to road cars.

Most of the time when we move from a standing start is either when we move away from hour homes or at traffic lights. Where are most traffic lights? They are in towns where you cannot do 60 mph, except in Naples.

Going from north to south in Italy: in Milan, traffic lights are to be obeyed. In Rome, they are advisory. In Naples, they are illuminations.

You can anyway only show off the muscle under the bonnet if you are at the head of the queue, otherwise you are slower than the slowest person in front.

I have done road tests and 0-60 is a nightmare, you have to replicate what some works driver has done or else you are a wimp. The trouble is, that to do it, you do things that you would not do with a car that you have actually bought.