Innholdsfortegnelse for August 19, 2020 i Autocar

BMW WILL EXPAND its line-up of M performance cars with an M3 Touring for the first time. The first test prototypes of the hot estate will shortly begin on-road development, ahead of a likely launch in 2022. The M3 Touring, for which Autocar reported plans in 2018, will finally give BMW a direct rival for the long-established Audi RS4 Avant. It will sit alongside the new M3 saloon and M4 Coupé, which are set to be revealed in September, and next year’s M4 Convertible. “ The M3 Touring will use a turbocharged six-cylinder petrol engine that’s set to make 473bhp ” The M3 Touring will shortly begin development work at BMW’s testing facility in Garching, near Munich. Track evaluation on the Nürburgring Nordschleife is set to follow. BMW has yet…

CITROEN WILL OFFER diesel versions of its new C4 alongside electric and petrol variants because it has seen a steady revival for the fuel. The new C4 hatch will go on sale in the UK next year and Citroën expects it to be one of its best-selling cars, matching sales of the C5 Aircross SUV. Robert Clark, Citroën’s product marketing boss, said he expects C4 sales to be “additional volume for the brand, compared to where we are today”, rather than merely filling the gap left by its C4 Cactus predecessor. Citroën predicts the electric ë-C4 will account for 10% of the model’s sales, with diesel making up 17% of the combustion car’s sales. “We’ve noticed a bit of a shift [towards diesel] from the beginning of this year,” said…

FORD HAS HALTED sales of its new Kuga PHEV, due to concerns over overheating battery packs, it has confirmed. The plug-in hybrid variant has accounted for half of the new Kugas registered across Europe since its launch late last year. However, sales of PHEV models built before 26 June 2020 have now been suspended “temporarily”. A statement reveals that “four vehicle fires are likely to have been caused by the overheating of the high-voltage batteries”. Ford admits that this overheating can occur “when the vehicle is parked or unattended or is charged”. In addition to the sales stop, buyers who have received their cars have been contacted and told not to charge their cars’ batteries “until further notice”. It is believed that up to 27,000 cars may be affected globally.…

When, as a young man, Joop Donkervoort began importing the Lotus Seven to mainland Europe, he hit a problem. It wasn’t road legal, so he had to make some minor alterations. It would appear that in the intervening 42 years, he hasn’t stopped. Here you see the Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70, which was created to celebrate Joop’s 70th birthday and hence is restricted to 70 examples. It’s based on the regular D8 GTO, which, beyond being a roadster with its engine in front of its occupants and rear-wheel drive, has moved on quite a lot further from that Lotus than the Caterham Seven has in the past four decades. There’s still a mainly tubular steel chassis, welded at Donkervoort’s Lelystad factory in the Netherlands, but it’s mated to structural carbonfibre, which…

EVs are coming thick and fast now, and Peugeot is making its mark, first launching the e-208 and now its larger sibling, the e-2008. This is the latest in a handful of similar-size models to capitalise on two trends: SUVs and electrification, appealing to those who like SUV styling but are also most suited to an EV: low-mileage urban drivers. The e-2008’s most eminent direct rivals are the Kia e-Niro and Hyundai Kona Electric, which follow a similar tack to Peugeot’s strategy: the e-2008 is simply a variant of the new 2008, offered alongside petrols and diesels. As the slogan goes: “Choose your Peugeot, choose your powertrain.” There are subtle styling differences between them, though: the e-2008 gains an ‘e’ monogram on its front wings and tailgate, a body-coloured grille…

MODEL TESTED CS M - DCT Price £75,320 • Power 444bhp • Torque 405lb ft • 0-60mph 4.1sec 30-70mph in fourth 5.9sec • Fuel economy 25.0mpg • CO2 emissions 221g/km • 70-0mph 43.7m What do you think is the most important car BMW builds today? We think you’re looking at it. Not necessarily this box-fresh CS, whose £75,320 asking price will give even the most ardent and generously provisioned M-car loyalist pause for thought, but the M2 in general. A hydrogen-powered X5 slated for 2022 or the upcoming electric i4 saloon may go on to become the most significant BMW cars of this era, but when front-wheel drive is increasingly seen as a full-blown strategy, with the cars ever larger and heavier, you begin to wonder why we enthusiasts ever felt…

I’ve just bought a vintage two-pint Castrol oil jug for £40. distressed look that’s beloved of collectors and even a trace of oil around its base. My dad had one just like it in his workshop, so it brings back happy memories of him cursing as he struggled to seize a rusted bolt on his Norton motorcycle or bodged a piston repair with epoxy resin. I’m happy, or at least I was until, in the course of establishing its capacity, I stumbled across a website called the Castrol Classic Shop (classicoilsshop.co.uk) selling brand-new replicas for £10.95. Do I feel fleeced? No, actually, because when I called, the chap who answered assured me that I had paid about the going rate for an original – and in any case, he said,…

Steeped in tradition and attracting around 300,000 spectators each year, the Indianapolis 500 is rightly in racing’. Or, as Indycar racer Jack Harvey describes it, “a next-level shindig”. Well, you can take the man out of Lincolnshire… Harvey, 27, may still use the occasional phrase that reflects where he grew up, but he has been a racer in the US since 2014 and is focused firmly on creating a career there. This weekend, he’s set to compete in his fourth Indy 500 and his first as a full-time Indycar Series driver. And the spectacle of the 500-mile oval race is a key part of that. “The first time I went to the 500, I wasn’t racing, but it was just amazing,” recalls Harvey. “I had never seen that many people…

Nobody’s perfect Loren Nikolovski did an effective piece of Land Rover-bashing (Your Views, 15 July), and similar comments have appeared in Autocar before. While I grant that Land Rover has had important issues with reliability in the past, and may still have some, such attacks can possibly convey that other makes are totally without fault. I spent just over 30 years in the motor trade, exclusively with franchised dealers, giving me first-hand experience of Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Rover and, yes, Land Rover. None of the manufacturers listed produced a perfect product, although some made a better fist of it than others. Selecting Mercedes-Benz, I sold the product during the days of the much-venerated W123, W124 and R107, yet from time to time I was still confronted with an angry customer…

MILEAGE 2898 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see whether Peugeot’s successful formula translates to a small SUV What are you missing most from your normal life? your football team, going abroad or even just existing without needing to stress about keeping ‘one metre plus’ from others, perhaps. Your commute? Unlikely, but I’m yearning for regular driving nearly as much as those other things. And I miss those terribly. My normal daily drive is a 140-mile round trip from the Sussex coast to work in Middlesex and back. And it has now been six months since I’ve visited a petrol station, for heaven’s sake. This meant that a reason for a visit to the office (I had run out of material for Autocar’s two archive columns, having gathered back in late…

MINI COOPER I am keeping on top of things with the Cooper. After last year’s fun and games with the head gasket, I now check the water quite often. A lifetime with Minis and related A-series engines means that I always watch the temperature gauge closely. The good news about having had all the piping changed is that I will never have to change the bottom hose again in my lifetime. I think. It is all running well enough, starts quickly, gets up to running temp and pulls strongly, keeping up with the moderns. It just needs a check-over and I must book it in for an MOT. Might do a service involving my newly acquired ramps.…

It may look to the untrained eye no of the humble Renault Mégane, but keen motorists after a front-wheel-drive hot hatch love the RS, a car so rewarding and so thrilling that it’s the automotive equivalent of a lost weekend in Paris with Lily James. This is the third-generation Mégane RS, and despite the emergence of several brilliant rivals in this class in the past few years, it’s still a terrific car and a great used buy. It’s five-door-only now, and the engine dropped in size from 2.0 to 1.8 litres for this version, but don’t worry: those rear doors simply make it more practical and, thanks to its large turbocharger, this car has more power than its RS 275 predecessor. That power can be sent through a six-speed manual…

OPEL GT This rather cute 1969 Opel GT is a curious mix of humble Kadet mechanicals, US-inspired styling and French manufacturing. It was a far sleeker-looking machine than the MGB GT, which had been around since 1965, and featured such novelties as a transverse leaf spring in the rear suspension, just like the Corvette that influenced the front-end design and tail-lights. The pop-up headlights are purely mechanical in operation via a lever inside. It’s not the mechanism you need to worry about, more the wiring behind it since it can be a fire hazard, but hopefully this was checked as part of the £6000 rolling restoration this Signal Blue car has been subjected to. It was imported to the UK in 2019 and its new owner paid £12,650 for it…

“ BMW has committed to selling more than seven million plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehicles by the end of 2030 ” BMW is dramatically ramping up its electric car offerings, with new i5 and i7 saloons set to headline an expanded line-up of nine models that will underpin an ambitious 10-year growth plan. The German manufacturer will launch the new cars as part of its new ‘Power of Choice’ sustainability plan, under which it has committed to selling more than seven million plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehicles by the end of 2030. The new plan, which will also include two electric cars from the Mini brand, is the first major initiative to be overseen by Oliver Zipse since he was promoted to the top of the Munich company last summer.…

AUDI HAS UNVEILED its range-topping 306bhp S3, which is available as a hatchback and saloon. The performance model will head the fourth-generation A3 range until the hardcore RS3 arrives in 2021 and is available to order now, with prices starting at £37,900. The S3 uses the Volkswagen Group’s EA888 2.0-litre turbo petrol motor, tuned to offer 306bhp and 295lb ft for a 0-62mph time of 4.8sec and a 155mph top speed. Both S3 models are rated at 39.2mpg, with CO2 emissions of 178g/km. Mechanical engine tweaks include Audi’s new valve lift function, which ensures the combustion chambers are optimally filled, and a thermal management system enhances efficiency. Drive is sent to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, with a hydraulic multi-plate clutch varying torque between the front…

The ‘new car smell’ is on its way out, as regulatory bodies turn their attention to airborne chemicals emitted by plastics, glues, textiles and other materials that make up car interiors, pressuring manufacturers to adopt purer, odourless alternatives. Eight substances that commonly diffuse from car interiors, particularly in the early stages of cars’ lives, have been identified as having an adverse effect on occupants. Dubbed volatile organic compounds (VOCs), they are: acetaldehyde, acrolein, benzene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, styrene, toluene and xylene. Their scents can induce allergy-like reactions in some people, such as eye irritation, sneezing, dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea and headaches, and their strength varies with the car’s exposure to heat and light. “It doesn’t just evaporate and then disappear,” said Nick Molden, CEO of testing company Emissions Analytics.…

WE HAVE HEARD a lot about electric boosting (e-boosting) of diesel engines in the past few years. Several premium brands now use this in conjunction with conventional turbochargers to improve response at low revs and low power, with the conventional turbo taking over at higher power to pump enough air into the engine. The latest, though, and touted as one way of helping engines to meet future emissions legislation, is the e-turbocharger. This is already used in Formula 1 and is being developed for road use by Mercedes-AMG together with turbo maker Garrett Motion. E-boosters (or electric superchargers) and e-turbochargers are quite different animals. A conventional turbo is driven by exhaust-gas energy and consists of two main components: a gas-driven turbine and a compressor that actually does the pressurising of…

Plug-in hybrids. They’re all about economy, right? Not the new 545e xDrive. This one majors on performance. A new addition to the facelifted 5 Series line-up, it draws on tech from the larger 745e xDrive, using a six-cylinder petrol engine in place of the four-cylinder unit found in the 530e. Its turbo 3.0-litre engine is joined by a gearbox-mounted electric motor that draws on a 12.0kWh lithium ion battery. Together, they produce a combined 388bhp and 442lb ft – 101bhp and 133lb ft more than the more fleet-friendly 530e. There’s a choice of three driving modes: Electric, Hybrid and Sport, plus a Battery function that allows you to use the combustion engine as a generator to top up the energy reserves of the battery. In Hybrid mode, the BMW sets…

PORSCHE 718 CAYMAN GT4 Porsche’s flagship 718 doesn’t stun on track quite as we’d hoped, but a sublime chassis, atmo flat six and manual ’box make for a stunning road car. BMW M2 CS M-DCT Swansong for BMW’s hairy-chested M2 is a cracking one for M’s most compelling model line in years. Cheaper M2 Comp is just as fantastic, mind. LOTUS EXIGE SPORT 350 A properly analogue driver’s car with just enough in the way of daily usability. As happy – and entertaining – on a circuit as it is on a B-road. ALPINE A110 S Harder, sharper A110 S loses some of the magic of the standard car, but track-day regulars will no doubt appreciate the additional focus. TOYOTA GR SUPRA 3.0 PRO Reimagined Supra is not as precise…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY DISCOUNTS Exclusive discounts from carefully selected partners WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS Exclusive content in weekly newsletters COMPETITIONS Subscriber-only competitions SUBSCRIBER EVENTS Access to exclusive subscriber-only events FREE AUTOGLYM WASH & PROTECT KIT WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TODAY Pack includes: ✓ 500ml Bodywork Shampoo ✓ 500ml Rapid Aqua Wax ✓ 1 x Sponge ✓ 2 x Microfibre Cloths WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER GREAT TITLES? View all of our offers on themagazineshop.com TERMS AND CONDITIONS This is a UK-only offer; for overseas offers, please visit themagazineshop.com or call +44 (0) 1604 251 461. All savings are based on the UK cover price and are correct as of January 2020. Please allow 35 days for delivery of your gift and first issue. The gift will be sent under separate cover from the magazine…

There’s a variant of Autocar feature we call the ‘epic drive’, where we make a fuss of a particular vehicle by taking it on an extended outing to a significant location. This was supposed to be one of those features. But it’s not, clearly, because this is 2020, the year in which nothing has gone as planned. We had been plotting an epic drive to celebrate the Volkswagen Transporter. Yes, a van – but one worthy of celebration. The Type 2 entered production in 1950, VW’s cunningly named second vehicle after the Type 1 (the Beetle), in van, minibus and camper form. This was no case of ‘difficult second album’: the T2 was an instant success, playing a key role in VW’s growth from producer of a single affordable hatchback…

The Mini Electric is the greatest car ever made. No, really, it is. a city, have a parking spot connected to a charging point, don’t cover more than 45 miles in any given direction and are willing to pay anywhere between £25,000-£30,000 for the privilege of owning a three-door supermini, albeit one with near-hot hatch levels of performance. But I really do mean what I say: for a niche of people – maybe a very small niche of people – the Mini EV is the answer to all their questions: intoxicatingly desirable, neck-jerkingly rapid, with a lashing of the brand’s self-declared go-kart-like directness, blessed with a hint of sporting prowess (albeit slightly let down by a weight-induced desire to push on if you really try) and oh so cheap and…

Max surprised by anniversary gift Max Verstappen has admitted that he didn’t see his stunning 70th Anniversary Grand Prix win at Silverstone coming. The Red Bull driver took advantage of the pace-setting Mercedes-AMG team’s tyre issues in the hot conditions to snatch glory in his 106th Formula 1 race – in which he passed father Jos to become the most experienced Dutch F1 driver in history. Another season at Mercedes for Bottas Valtteri Bottas will remain at the Mercedes-AMG F1 team next season after extending his contract. The Finn has raced for the German squad since 2017, scoring eight wins and finishing runner-up in the championship to team-mate Lewis Hamilton last season. Hamilton remains in talks over his contract, which expires at the end of this year. No fans at…

MILEAGE 540 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if the class-leading crossover is as good to live with as it is to drive Apparently, you should never rely on sat-nav factory. Of course, this useful bit of information was relayed to me only once I had reached the home of the DBX (in the countryside not far west of Cardiff) via a circuitous, Google-calculated route that took in all manner of ridiculously tight and twisty Welsh country lanes. They were the sort of exceptionally narrow lanes – heightened by dense, overgrown foliage – that feature blind crests, sweeping bends and frequent rutted and broken surfaces. A fellow journalist attending the same event made the same navigational error and arrived slightly white-faced, noting that he was glad to have been…

Jaguar XJ This is not strictly a reader’s as much as a mate’s ride, but I thought you would appreciate it. It’s a Jaguar Sovereign that previously plied its trade in the wedding hire business. Hence, the truly awful pink paintwork. It is a 3.2-litre XJ and, according to my mate, it is supremely comfortable to drive and ride in. I won’t reveal what he paid for it because it was more than I would have paid. Never mind. These are magnificent old buses and it is worth getting one before they all get retired.…

An expert’s view MELVYN RUTTER, MELVYN RUTTER LTD “It’s a very finite market, and not that many come up for sale, because people tend to like them and drive them. Initially, there was a huge rush and Morgan couldn’t make enough. It was only the really determined who stuck with it and waited; they weren’t impulsive buyers. Like the 3 Wheeler, there were people who had never really thought about a Morgan before, and we got new people into the fold.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE The side-exit sports exhaust is a highly prized option, giving post-2004 cars a bassy growl. Both BMW-derived V8 engines are characteristically durable, but stick to their servicing schedules and shell out for genuine parts. ▪ BODY Series 1 and 2 cars are known to suffer…

Mercedes-AMG has broken its lengthy silence over the delayed Project One hypercar programme by releasing new images and details of the car’s advanced testing phase. The 1000bhp-plus all-wheel-drive model, which uses a hybridised 1.6-litre V6 adapted from that of Mercedes-AMG’s championship-winning 2017 Formula 1 car, will simply use the ‘One’ name for production. The car was originally due in early 2019, but it is understood that date was pushed back because of engineering struggles that have included getting the complex powertrain to comply with WLTP emissions standards using a petrol particulate filter without compromising performance. Problems also occurred with the F1-based engine’s idle speed, which is around 5000rpm in race spec. Engineers were tasked with making the unit run properly at an idle speed of around 1200rpm, described as a…

ASTON MARTIN’S BESPOKE Q division has launched limited-run 007 Editions of the Vantage and DBS Superleggera to tie in with the new James Bond film, No Time to Die. The Vantage is inspired by the original V8 Vantage from 1987’s The Living Daylights. The grille has been replaced with a retro-style mesh and the rear diffuser has been adorned with yellow dashes in reference to the hazard stripes on the original’s rocket boosters. Each of the 100 units, priced from £161,000, will be finished in Cumberland Grey and will include a plaque that replicates the car’s gadget control panel. The special edition can be optionally specified with a ski rack and pair of skis, as featured on the film car. The 25 examples of the special DBS Superleggera cost from…

Concerns that car cabins could trap in significantly higher levels of particulates and CO2 than outside air have led Emissions Analytics (EA) to develop a series of tests. It is evaluating both a car’s ability to filter external pollen and how car heating and air-conditioning systems trap in and circulate CO2. “By the time the pollution actually gets to the pavement, it’s diluted quite a bit, so measurements in the middle of the road are much higher than at roadside monitoring stations,” explained CEO Nick Molden. The second measurement covers heating, ventilation and air-con systems, which create a trade-off between exposure to pollution from outside and build-up of CO2. Climate.gov puts the global average ambient CO2 level at 407 parts per million (ppm), but Molden said: “We’ve recorded up to…

Demand for battery-electric vehicles is set to grow rapidly in the coming years owing to the need to cut emissions, driven by both government legislation and changing consumer expectations. But the move from combustion engine to electric power isn’t without problems given the huge amount of cobalt used in lithium ion batteries, much of it mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with questions about human rights and ethical mining practices. Now Volvo is using new blockchain technology – effectively a digital ledger to track how materials are sourced – to help ensure the cobalt it uses is ethically mined. Cobalt is a key component of rechargeable batteries used in cars and smartphones, and around 60% of the global supply currently originates from mines in the DRC. Despite prices of…

A few years back, McLaren entered the lucrative GT4 race arena and its 570S-based race car has done fine business ever since, winning on four continents and selling in triple-digit quantities. I raced one at Spa and loved all bar two aspects: first, GT4 regs pegged its engine back to a tepid 430bhp just to give the others a chance; and once done, I had to leave it at the track. Both of which problems this new 620R is here to solve. In broadest-brush terms, it is a street-legal GT4 car with an engine wound up to 610bhp. Contrary to what you might think, it is not a 600LT turned up to 11 but a distinct programme aimed at bringing as much of the GT4 experience to the street as…

So, the new fourth-generation Audi A3. Stylistically, the jump from where we were to where we are now is relatively small but, for what it’s worth, I think this new A3 Sportback remains a smart-looking thing – externally, at least. The same cannot really be said of the inside. The second-generation model’s cabin raised the bar for design appeal and build and material quality. This new version represents a radical departure from the highly regarded aesthetic of its predecessors. There’s far more emphasis on digital screens and the like, but some of the material richness of the old A3 appears to have been lost. Glossy black and metallic-effect plastic is used much more liberally in the new A3, and I’m not sure it asserts itself as the flagship Volkswagen Group…

We’ll have to wait for another time to see just how fast the M2 CS will go on the Dunlop dry handling circuit at MIRA but, based on its showing on the Hill Route at Millbrook, we wouldn’t be surprised were it to acquire some notable scalps. However well you imagine this car grips and goes, you’ve probably not imagined hard enough. With help from Michelin’s Cup 2 tyres, the front axle is shockingly adhesive, especially under trailing brakes. The CS’s instant turn-in response isn’t quite as crisp as some mid-engined cars, but once you’re beyond that initial change of direction, the nose remains locked on your chosen line. At this point, what happens next is up to you. It’s not difficult to drive up to the limit of grip…

MODEL TESTED 2.0 HDI 136 SE Back in 1995, the Peugeot 406 was voted European Car of the handling and excellent space made it a worthy winner. And it was far from a dry year: the Peugeot saw off challenges from such distinguished competition as the E39-generation BMW 5 Series – often touted as the finest executive car ever made. Now, we have an all-new Peugeot saloon, one whose dramatic looks hide a chassis that – according to its maker’s bold claims – will return Peugeot to dominance in the family saloon market. In a class where anonymity is the norm, Peugeot’s in-house design team deserves credit for thinking outside the three-box in creating the 407. The styling takes time to get used to, but drive a 407 around town…

“ The Tesla’s 0-60mph sprint time is closer to that of the McLaren F1 than the Polestar ” The year is 2010 and I’m explaining to you that, a decade from now, Volvo’s almost-unknown motorsport partner will be wrestling for supremacy with an American car company whose only product to date is an electric take on the Lotus Elise. You laugh, because it all just sounds so implausible. Tesla Motors will soon become the first US manufacturer to go public since Ford in 1956 and Polestar is starting to flex its appeal here in Europe, building go-faster versions of Volvo’s regular but increasingly attractive saloons. But the two hottest mass-market properties in an emerging low-carbon world order by 2020? Come on. Surely the German and Japanese giants would never let…

Most people associate Aintree with horse racing and the annual Grand National steeplechase, when horses and their jockeys are pitted against notorious fences such as Becher’s Brook. Yet this venue in the outer suburbs of Liverpool also has a significant motorsport history, and a few dedicated souls are working to keep that legacy alive. Back in 1955, the grand prix circuit laid out in and around the race course was the scene of one of Britain’s most famous races, when home-grown hero Stirling Moss scored the first Formula 1 World Championship British Grand Prix victory for a British driver. His preference for racing British cars is well known, but his breakthrough win came as part of Germany’s mighty Mercedes-Benz team. The 1955 race, on 16 July, was the first British…

Dodge Ram 1500 £34,794 Until very recently, the most luxurious new from Mercedes-Benz. You still can get yourself a dealer-stock 20-plate example in poshest X350d form for around £40,000. But why settle for a European interpretation of an American staple when you can have the real deal in the form of a Dodge Ram 1500 with a twist for less? If you’re thinking that US pick-ups are among the least sophisticated modes of transport on earth, that isn’t the case with the Ram 1500. For starters, it has coil springs all around so you need not carry half a tonne of gravel with you at all times to get a decent ride. Then there’s an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox that also sees service (with different tuning) in the current Range…

For all that the new Plus Six does to take Morgan belatedly into the 21st century, with its all-independent suspension, lightweight aluminium chassis and punchy turbocharged straight six, it doesn’t exactly advance the Malvern brand’s design language beyond, say, 1964. That’s part of Morgan’s charm, of course, and its steadfast commitment to traditionalism is an integral component in its quiet but sustained success. So when the cross-eyed Aero 8 was unwrapped at the 2000 Geneva motor show, all bets were off. Here was a genuine, up-to-date sports car, with a BMW V8 giving it a competitive 4.8sec 0-62mph time and promises of engaging dynamics, courtesy of new inboard shock absorbers, double-wishbone suspension and AP Racing performance brakes. The modernisation didn’t stop there, either: niceties including air conditioning, cruise control and…