Innholdsfortegnelse for June 19, 2019 i Autocar

POLESTAR IS AN unusual company to grow an electric premium performance brand out of. It spent 13 years running Volvos in the Swedish Touring Car Championship before a road car and tuning relationship was formed with Volvo in 2009. Now 10 years later, after a series of likeable if not overly memorable tuned models, it has produced its first bespoke creation that’s linked to those Polestars before it in name only. As Matt Prior discovers (First drive, p22), with that bespoke creation Polestar has made perhaps the most interesting car on sale. While it would be easy to dismiss the relevance of the Polestar 1 for being built in tiny numbers and in left-hand drive only, and all for just shy of £140,000, as a statement of intent it is…

Porsche’s GT division boss, Andreas Preuninger, claims that electrification is “not something we think about at the moment”. The company’s main line-up will soon include an all-electric Taycan and a hybrid 911, but the GT variants will continue to be all about the purity of a petrol engine without assistance, Preuninger (pictured) said. “There are ideas to maybe look in that direction for the normal sports car line but not for the GT cars. If we would decide to make all the racing cars electrified overnight, then we would have a reason to look into that but, as always, it has to be a connection between the cars we use on the track to the cars we sell with a numberplate attached,” Preuninger said. He continued: “I think it’s very…

ALPINE SAYS THE new high-performance A110 S is a true “focused sports car” with a “very different character” from existing versions of the two-seater. The new range-topping variant of the mid-engined Alpine is built around a reworked version of the 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine, with the turbo boost pressure increased by 0.4 bar. That means the unit’s peak power output has risen by 49bhp to 288bhp, which arrives at 6400rpm, 400rpm higher than previously. Torque remains at 236lb ft but is available from 2000rpm to 6400rpm, 1400rpm higher than in a standard A110. Retaining the seven-speed automatic gearbox from the standard Alpine, the A110 S can cover 0-62mph in 4.4sec – a 0.1sec improvement – and its top speed is 162mph. The A110 S retains the same aluminium body but…

SOMEONE POSED THE question the other day whether Gordon Murray’s new McLaren F1 successor, the T.50, was a step backwards to simpler times. In fact, the new supercar achieves the objective of high efficiency in every department without resorting to complex technology but by returning to basic principles. The T.50 is so light, at 980kg, that Murray can get away with a naturally aspirated engine without being forced to use turbochargers and downsizing for efficiency reasons. The weight saving triggers the virtuous circle that is generally so elusive because the spiralling size and weight of cars usually prevents it. Murray’s bespoke 3.9-litre V12 engine needs less low-down torque than it would for a much heavier car so the focus can be on power. Power is essentially torque multiplied by engine…

Do you worry that electrification will make all cars the same? Then here’s a thing: a 600bhp plug-in hybrid with a 2.0-litre supercharged turbocharged petrol engine with starter/generator, two other electric motors, a part-steel part-carbonfibre monocoque, a carbonfibre bonnet the size of a modest mainsail, and a single transverse rear leaf spring. To top it all, it’s a £139,000 luxury coupé. It’s a coupé so luxurious, in fact, that, um, you have to open the bonnet and delve behind the rear wheels, having jacked up the car, or perhaps while lying on the floor, to tweak its 22-stage adjustable Ohlins dampers. Welcome to the intensely baffling Polestar 1. There was a time when the BMW i8 was the most interesting car on sale. Now, it might be this. How we…

MODEL TESTED SVJ Price £360,000 Power 759bhp Torque 531lb ft 0-60mph 2.9sec 30-70mph in fourth 5.3sec Fuel economy 11.9mpg CO2 emissions 452g/km 70-0mph 40.8m Not every week does an incumbent Nürburgring record holder face the rigours of an Autocar road test, and yet the Aventador SVJ is the second such car to do so in the space of 12 months. The second Lamborghini, no less. This fact alone says much about the marque’s evolution from purveyor of obscenely loud and visually brash supercars to one whose wares finally have the dynamic bite to justify their bark. If the 6min 52.01sec Nordschleife lap time recorded by the Huracán Performante marked an abrupt parking of the tanks on Porsche’s lawn, the 6min 44.97sec subsequently set by this Aventador SVJ shows they have little…

This is it – this is the big one. The test that’s been seven years in the making, during which we’ve endured all the teaser images, the grainy spy shots, the carefully managed prototype drives, the international launch and then brief blasts in the UK. But now, finally, the Toyota Supra is out in the wild, free of its minders and ready to do battle. Those early outings hinted at a car that had the potential to be the real deal, but we needed more than a few miles on a carefully choreographed route to deliver the definitive verdict on one of Toyota’s most eagerly awaited offerings in years, especially one that has painted big red targets on the back of some of the biggest hitters in the sports car…

‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ always used to be the motorsport maxim. By proving their product on the race tracks and rally stages of the world, car manufacturers hoped to lure impressed buyers into their showrooms. And, to be honest, it worked, particularly for people like you and me, who know there’s something innately satisfying about driving a car with genuine motor racing pedigree. These days, that’s not really the case. Most motorsport campaigns are now as much a branding and marketing exercise as a true test of mettle and metal. Look at many series and most competing cars are bespoke designs aimed at meeting very strict performance and budget regulations. Just glance at the latest breed of WRC rally car or TCR tin-top for proof. The days of…

I’m not old enough to reminisce about when this part of East London was all fields, but I do remember a time when the Greenwich Peninsula seemed to be mud and cranes. I did a photoshoot here almost exactly 20 years ago, when what was then the Millennium Dome was still being hastily constructed ahead of its official opening on 1 January 2000. Back then, the Dome looked like a vast circus tent – pretty much what it was. It stood by itself in the middle of a wilderness of reclaimed industrial land. Now renamed the O2 Arena, it is surrounded by so much development that photographer Luc Lacey struggles to find a vista that will allow both it and the Audi A2 to occupy the same frame. O2 and…

Not many Ford employees can claim to have in their possession one of its earliest cars. But Emma King, winner of this year’s Great British Women in the Car Industry – Rising Stars initiative, is the proud owner of not only a 1904 Model A but a 1916 Model T tourer. King’s day-to-day job couldn’t be further away from the historic vehicles she’s so fond of. As senior purchasing manager for EV battery cells, King is at the forefront of Ford’s dramatic modernisation plan, which includes an $11 billion investment in electric vehicles by 2022. We’ll first see a Mustang inspired electric SUV next year. Ford, which has broadly been considered behind the curve with electrification, must now catch up and prove it’s ready for the future after announcing a…

QUESTION Can you point me towards cars with cooled seats, because last year, my car’s air-con system was totally overwhelmed. I have around £15,000 to spend. David Hopgood, Chester ANSWER You should have no trouble finding a new or used car with ventilated seats these days. They include the Premium-spec Hyundai i40, Ford Mondeo and Edge in Titanium and Vignale trims, Kia Optima 3 and Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport Elite Nav. High-spec Mondeos have had them for some years and £15,000 will buy a 2017 2.0 TDCi Titanium 5dr with 15,000 miles. JE QUESTION Naturally, as a loyal customer, my motor insurance renewal has gone up. Have you any tips for reducing my premium, other than going elsewhere? Sue Baker, Wimbledon ANSWER First, if your insurer is listed on a…

BMW M3 Coupé £9700 BMW M3s, the E46 variety of 2000 to 2006, are becoming expensive, and if you want to get into a good one for under £10,000, you better act soon. Clean convertibles begin at around £8000 and coupés closer to £9000. There are always cheaper examples, such as the well-maintained 2002-reg manual convertible with 124,000 miles at £5200 that we saw and a same-age automatic coupé with 100,000 for £6500, although its engine had recently started knocking… Elsewhere, we found a 2003-reg manual coupé, again with 100,000 miles, for £7800. All the services, including the much-championed 1000-mile oil change, were recorded in the ad. The bodywork was described as being very good for the age but the seller admitted the interior needed refurbishing, which is never cheap.…

Porsche’s GT division is shunning the industry-wide trend for downsizing, turbocharging and automation with its two new additions: the 718 Spyder and 718 Cayman GT4. Both cars maintain a naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine and a manual gearbox and Porsche says they will offer enthusiasts “unadulterated driving pleasure”, a “high level of agility and an almost intimate proximity to the centre of power”. These faster, purer and more hardcore variants of the existing Boxster and Cayman join at the entry point in the road-going GT line-up, but both make use of an engine bored out and adapted from the 3.0-litre unit of the latest 911. The new 4.0-litre flat six – up from the 3.8 litres of the previous Spyder and GT4 – forms a new engine family called 9A2 Evo.…

Renault has revealed the second-generation Zoe hatchback, the successor to Europe’s best-selling electric car. The new model offers an extended 236-mile range and up to 134bhp. Effectively a heavy redesign of the outgoing model, the new Zoe will go on sale in the autumn in a dramatically different market from the one its predecessor entered in 2012, with a range of competitors including the new Peugeot e-208, Vauxhall Corsa-e, Honda e and Volkswagen ID 3. Renault intends to maintain the Zoe’s position as one of the more affordable offerings in the market, likely undercutting these models with an as-yet-unconfirmed price not far from the £21,220 of the current car. Sharing the same overall dimensions as the outgoing Zoe, the car’s design is updated with new grilles and bumpers, plus new,…

The all-new 2008 will introduce a fully electric model to Peugeot’s burgeoning SUV line-up for the first time. The new car, which will arrive in the UK early next year, sits on the PSA Group’s CMP architecture, which also underpins the upcoming 208 and Vauxhall Corsa superminis, as well as the DS 3 Crossback. The new 2008 will be launched in the UK with a familiar line-up of petrol engines, as well as the new electric powertrain. The 1.2-litre turbo three-cylinder will arrive in a choice of 99bhp, 128bhp and (for the first time) 153bhp outputs, with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic gearbox. A 99bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel will also be available with a six-speed manual only. The electric e-2008 uses a 136bhp, 192lb ft motor to drive…

Ford’s closure of its Bridgend engine plant ends a chapter that began at the peak of the brand’s popularity in the UK in the 1970s and reflects current changes in car buyer’s tastes, misdirected product planning and pressure to electrify its fleet to hit EU CO2 targets. The Bridgend closure will be devastating for the 1700 employees but it will also hit a further 5000 or so in the wider economy. “We fear the knock-on effect and it will be substantial,” said Tim Williams of the Welsh Automotive Forum, an alliance of car industry businesses in Wales. There is a glimmer of hope in the shape of Aston Martin’s St Athan plant, 12 miles to the south-east, but the chances of Ineos taking space to build its Grenadier 4x4 at…

Driving the Aventador SVJ to its true potential on circuit is a task that, by Lamborghini’s own admission, requires quite a lot more commitment and concentration than doing the same in a Huracán Performante. The sheer size, weight and inertia of the bigger car are the primary reasons for that. Heavier and harder on its tyres than most mid-engined supercars, the SVJ still develops masses of lateral grip and good throttle-on balance to begin with on sticky Trofeo R rubber – though it ebbs towards understeer as that grip level degrades. A brake pedal that can feel dead initially (if only for split second) and a four-wheel steering system that is particularly aggressive on turn-in make slowing the SVJ and getting it to the apex challenging at times. Likewise, those…

The car industry is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads thanks to autonomous driving, electric powertrains and car sharing all battling to shake up the century-old industry. Imagine the challenges facing car designers. In such a context, perhaps it’s no surprise the world-renowned car design course at the Royal College of Art (RCA) is changing fundamentally. In March, the first intake of students to graduate from the new ‘Intelligent Mobility’ course displayed their final-year design projects. Among the 21 projects, there were a handful of swooping dream cars, but the bulk of designs were far from conventional. Instead, there were autonomous pods inspired by art installations, an electric supercar designed to dart through Elon Musk’s Hyperloop tunnels, an amphibious machine to cope with global warming floods and a future Bentley car interior…

Good thinking, Gordon How good to read about Gordon Murray’s T.50 (5 June). At a time when the driver involvement and interaction with cars is being reduced, it is good to see that the ‘thinking man’s car designer’ is going to produce a car based on lightness, mechanical grip and a low-drag concept to enhance performance and driver pleasure. When reading the article, I was reminded that his ‘design signature’ is evident in another car that he is involved with: the new TVR. I really hope it makes production and is a reliable product that succeeds, because this is another Murray design that hasn’t slavishly followed the trends of some other sports cars with respect to increased size and weight. It would appear to use a relatively compact frontal area…

MILEAGE 4500 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see whether £63,000 is too much for a 4 Series without an ‘M’ on its rump Can we agree that many comparison tests are predictable affairs? Any new hot hatch will go to Wales with a mob of its peers, any new limousine will lose to an S-Class, and so on. Equally, some of these contests are much more oblique and all the more intriguing for it. They brew up in your brain unsolicited, ready to break out at a time when you almost certainly won’t have a pen to hand. Like on the autobahn. Our B4 S has been back to mainland Europe, serving as rapid transit between a reporting job at Ford’s Lommel proving ground in Belgium (believe me when I…

MILEAGE 103,208 MINI COOPER The Cooper doesn’t have any front suspension. You know that already if you’ve driven an old one, but mine has actually broken. The strut on both sides has busted, so that’s down to rubbish parts because these are just a few years old. Effectively, I have modern sports suspension. It is still drivable and nippy with added ‘slammed’ suspension. I can barely get a finger between tyre and wheel arch. It is a good look, but just when I thought all the traumas were over for 2019, the little car will have to be sorted out again.…

Last month Autocar honoured Laurens van den Acker, Renault’s head of design, with its coveted Sturmey Award for his work in transforming the look and appeal of his employer’s products. The first of the new generation of models to emerge was the Clio Mk4, launched in 2013. When it first arrived, prices started at £10,595 for the 1.2 75 Expression, and today they top out at £19,170 for a new GT Line Energy dCi 90 auto. But you don’t need to be paying that… Instead, over the past six years a world of used Mk4 Clios has emerged, with prices ranging from around £3900 for a 2013-reg Clio Expression 1.5 dCi with 96,000 miles, to £16,000 for a 2019/19-reg Clio GT Line TCe 90 with 5000 miles. Fancy something livelier?…

SMART CROSSBLADE Just 2000 of these roof, door and windscreen-less Smart Fortwos, launched as a concept at the 2001 Geneva motor show, were made. Tuned by Brabus, the special edition’s uprated 600cc motor produced 70bhp, ample in a car weighing 740kg. This one, number 0063 with 4600 miles on the clock, achieved £12,880 at auction, or around half what it cost new. Singer Robbie Williams owned a Crossblade for a while. He took delivery of his car, numbered 0008, in 2002 and called it “innovative and unconventional”, but by 2007, it was being advertised for sale at £14,995.…

Although the model’s prices might suggest otherwise, now is a good time to get that Jaguar E-Type you’ve always promised yourself. True, they can still top £300,000 and beyond, and there are many more costing north of £100,000. Below that figure, prices range from around £24,000 to £60,000 for Series 1 and 2 2+2s, both right and left-hand drive. From around £65,000 there’s a sprinkling of more desirable right-hand-drive S2 4.2 coupés, and from £75,000, RHD S3s hove into view. Big figures all, but, according to John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty UK price guide, they’re softening. Leading the fall is the Series 1 3.8 roadster in early ‘flat floor’ guise. “In 2016 we listed an ‘excellent’ example as being worth £191,000, but by March 2019 it was down to…

ULTIMA HAS REVEALED its fastest road-legal model yet: the RS, which has “up to 1200bhp”. Based on the Leceister-based maker’s limited-run Evolution, the RS gains a number of modifications to the chassis, powertrain and bodywork. A new, 178cm-wide rear wing works along with carbonfibre front and rear splitters to enhance downforce and engine cooling. The cabin has also been reshaped to reduce the frontal area. The RS gets three powertrain options, all making use of General Motors’ LT V8 range. The entry-level LT1 puts out 480bhp, enough for 0-60mph in 3.3sec and over 180mph. But that’s just the start: a 650bhp LT4 is also available, taking the RS to around 210mph, and the flagship LT5 unit makes 800bhp in standard form. If that isn’t crazy enough, the firm says it…

When plans for a new engine plant in Bridgend were announced in 1977, Ford was riding high from many years of UK and European sales success. The highly profitable Cortina and the Escort had taken Ford’s UK market share to 25% and its production plants at Halewood and Dagenham were pumping out 400,000 cars a year, largely for the home market. But with a new front-drive era ahead and the Escort Mk3 due for launch in 1980, Ford needed a new plant to build the forthcoming CVH engine. Enter the Labour government of the time in the shape of prime minister Jim Callaghan, whose constituency was in Cardiff, a power base in industrial South Wales, and a package of incentives to tempt Ford. In fact, Bridgend was a rare success…

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As the X5 M and X6 M have already proven, BMW’s M division doesn’t make hot SUVs quite like so many other purveyors of the performance car breed. It took a while to get used to the idea of an outfit like BMW M making hot SUVs at all. But with the launch of the new X3 M and X4 M SUV-cum-coupé, both of which will arrive in the UK this September in higher-powered Competition trim only, BMW’s in-house tuner will finish 2019 with as many jacked-up ‘utility vehicles’ in its showroom range as saloons, coupés and convertibles combined. Many will surely snipe at the firm for cashing in on its credibility with true enthusiasts here. But, to give the Motorsport division due credit, it has executed the X3 M…

It’s hard to ignore the Mitsubishi ASX’s perennial problem: outstanding rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai and Seat Ateca. The ASX is an aged car – first launched in 2010 and with numerous facelifts since – so it’s no surprise that it’s time for another reinvention to keep up with newer competitors. This latest ASX facelift includes a fresh front end, new petrol engine and updated infotainment, including a bigger 8in screen, TomTom nav and real-time traffic information. The sole engine, a 148bhp 2.0-litre petrol, mated to four-wheel drive and a CVT gearbox, is predicted to be the most popular set-up (2WD and manual is also available). Behind the wheel, the ASX is comfortable with good ergonomics and easy-to-use functions, something that Mitsubishi says was a focus with this car.…

Opened in 2007, the Shanghai Auto Museum proudly trumpets that it’s the first dedicated car Inside the stunning building, more than 70 cars trace the history of the automobile, ranging from early machines such as the Benz Patent-Motorwagen and Ford Model T, pioneers like the Mini Cooper and Volkswagen Beetle, and classic sports cars including the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Testarossa. But interspersed with those are exhibits that showcase the remarkable growth of the car industry in China. It’s an industry that didn’t exist until the 1950s, when the first car firms were established as part of Mao Zedong’s first five-year plan. Even then, production was mainly limited to vehicles (based largely on Soviet Union machinery) for government officials. As recently as 1985, China’s annual car output was just 5200…

In just over two years, students of Intelligent Mobility will study in a brand-new £108 million four-storey campus in Battersea, London, just a stone’s throw from the River Thames. Right now, the site is a hive of construction activity and looks nothing more than a complex hole in the ground, but RCA Intelligent Mobility director Dale Harrow and his deputy Cyril Diels can’t wait to move into the purpose-built space, which is likely to treble the area they have for teaching and research. It is going to make a huge difference, they say. Harrow is confident that Intelligent Mobility will occupy part of the ground floor where an open-plan, double-height volume will make possible the display of a full-sized car, something that could only be dreamed of at the enclosed…

DRIVEN New Renault Clio Is this the supermini that can finally take down the Ford Fiesta? It kicks off our small-car special, which includes the reveal of the reborn Ford Puma FEATURE Atom vs atom destroyer The Ariel Atom meets the machine that can split atoms… INTERVIEW Future of driver’s cars Read Porsche, JLR and Aston Martin’s driver’s car manifesto EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Audi E-tron Audi joins Merc and Jag in offering a big-range premium electric SUV USED BUYING GUIDE Peugeot 207 GTi Forgettable at the time, forgotten since. Should you really buy this hot hatch? LONG-TERM TEST Mercedes-Benz A-Class We have run three of them over the past nine months, now name our pick SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p20…

MILEAGE 7436 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if the e-Niro truly is an electric car you can own without having to make any compromises I’ve checked the records and the Kia e-Niro continues to rack up miles at a faster rate than any of the three previous cars I have run for Autocar. Who said electric cars were impractical to the point that they were only really useful as a second vehicle for local runs? I can’t claim much of the credit, my humble three-mile commute doing little to tick the odometer up on a regular basis, although I don’t give a second thought to the occasional 200 to 250-mile drives I do. Based on my experiences, even without any recourse to a hair shirt and overly prudent…

Toyota RAV4 Jim McKinney likes his bangers. “Our main car is an 04-reg RAV4 3dr petrol automatic,” he says. “We bought it in January this year. It’s our sixth RAV4 since 2002. Apart from being extremely reliable and reasonably cheap to maintain, they drive very well. They are really durable and very rust resistant, too. “Ours may be 15 years old, but with only 33,000 miles, one previous owner and a full Toyota service history, it drives and looks like a new car. It averages 32mpg-plus, which is pretty good considering.”…

Jaguar F-Type 2.0 Coupé Price new £52,310. Price now £42,329 As Autocar reported recently, a revamped F-Type is on the cards for next year. Judging by the generous deals available on the current model, it can’t come soon enough. You can get £2600 off the price of a brand-new, entry-level 2.0-litre coupé for cash, or a whopping £5800 if you take out finance. Alternatively, try your luck with a pre-reg such as the 2019/19-reg example with 100 miles on the clock that we found. It’s priced at £42,329 from a Jaguar dealer – around £10,000 less than it cost new.…

An expert’s view ANGUS MOSS, DIRECTOR, E-CONIC “I’ve loved the E-Type ever since I saw my first in 1962. In 1976 I bought one to restore for £300. Forward to 2014 and, having said farewell to my career in IT, at the age of 61 I opened E-Conic, an E-Type restoration business. The prices of sought-after Series 1s are now out of reach of most people. I’m fortunate in owning a 1965 S1 4.2 drophead and a 1966 4.2 coupé. The Series 2s are a more affordable alternative. They drive the same as the S1 and the view down the bonnet is the same, but the improved seats, ventilation and lights make them much more usable.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Six-cylinder engines are tough but look for a blown head…