Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i CAR UK

R-Type Continental Cars able to hit 155mph were few and far between in 1952. The R-Type could cruise at 100mph. Unspeakably elegant; genuinely gorgeous to drive. EXP 100 GT concept A gloriously indulgent bit of automotive sculpture and the embodiment of Bentley’s electric glide path. But EXP already looks dated next to Batur. Continental GT Speed Donates its have-your-cake-and-eat-it powertrain and chassis goodness to the Batur. Rides like a dream, but also merrily drifts out of hairpins. Bacalar Carbonfibre-bodied, roofless showing-off machine proved the business case for low-volume Mulliner projects. Pleasingly, more will follow.…

Tell us about your first car ‘A Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet.’ What achievement are you most proud of? ‘Setting up Lynk & Co from scratch with a wild idea… it’s been the first time in my career that I’ve done something that’s totally my own idea.’ What’s the best thing you’ve ever done in a car? ‘We did in-car karaoke when we launched Lynk & Co. I sang Time Out of Mind by Steely Dan.’ Tell us about a time you screwed up… ‘When we launched Lynk & Co, instead of taking my blood pressure pill in the morning, I took a sleeping pill by mistake. Hours before the biggest moment of my career, I couldn’t even pronounce my own name! They brought me five half litres of Coca Cola…

EYE FROM THE SKY Super Cruise relies on mapped data, not just what lies ahead. It’s just massively expanded the mapping area, which will be delivered by an OTA update GET SCHOOLED The system responds swiftly to changes up ahead. During our test, Super Cruise flagged up school zones and roadworks way before roadside signs warned drivers COLOUR CODED Super Cruise-equipped cars come with a light bar on the steering wheel. Green means active; blue means driver is in control; flashing red means TAKE CONTROL NOW…

Imagine if The Great Gatsby were rewritten for today, 100 years on. The world is an eerily familiar place: we’re on our way out of a brutal pandemic, we’re partying harder than we have in recent years, the rich are getting richer, yet we’re on the brink of re-cession. In this hypothetical modern version of the story, and given the environ-mentalism intertwined into modern life, Jay Gatsby might drive a Cadillac Lyriq. You see, Cadillac’s had to rewrite its entire rulebook even if, in many ways, the wider world is echoing the Roaring Twenties. As all of GM electrifies, using the new Ultium platform, the first EV from Cadillac gets the job of overhauling the brand’s entire look, feel and proposition for this new age. I mean, look at it.…

THE DEFINITIVE VERDICT I washugely impressed by the SL55 I drove in California in the February 2022 issue, but concluded it was still a cruiser more than a sports car. So let’s see what the range-topping 63 can do, up against the only bench-mark that matters, the Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. And not just any old 911 Turbo Cabrio. This is my own car, which replaced my four-year-old 911 GT3 Touring when I turned 70 earlier this year. Whereas a test car borrowed from Porsche may well have come with a stack of extras – carbon ceramic brakes, titani-um exhaust and a glut of assistance systems – this vision of a close-to-perfect high-end 911 convertible keeps it relatively simple. It costs £157,400 (plus five grand of extras), against the SL63…

PART ONE ❚ 60 YEARS, ONE LIST ❚ CAR turns 60 this year, and to celebrate we’ve ranked our 60 favourite car makers. From bold EV start-ups to legacy giants adjusting to the new world order, the brands that excite, intrigue and inspire us most are all here. Our power list runs over three issues, starting this month. The countdown continues in the November issue, on sale 12 October, with the final 15 revealed in the December issue. ❚ DEFINING ‘GREATEST’ ❚ CONSISTENT BRILLIANCE Anyone can knock out one great car every couple of decades. But has this marque consistently delivered? Bugatti’s been a bit patchy; BMW routinely strong. INNOVATION Has this brand consistently led on design and engineering? Following is easier than leading. Mercedes has a rich history of…

1 The one with wings Ghia creates this Dart concept for Chrysler in 1956, when it’s claimed to have one third the drag of any current production car. But by the time it goes into production itself the Dart’s become considerably more conventional, and been rebadged Dodge. The Dart name keeps popping up for decades, in typical Chrysler fashion. 2 The square one LeBaron is originally the coachbuilder that bodies a luxury Chrysler model from 1931 to ’41. Chrysler later buys the company and makes a series of Imperial LeBaron models, which eventually peter out in ’75. But in ’77 the name is back, now on smaller and more modestly priced Chryslers, like this front-drive 1982 model. 3 The people carrier The Voyager and Grand Voyager are part of a…

One in a thousand: if you’re a baby turtle, still in your egg, those are your odds of survival. Dehydration, crabs, birds, David Attenborough’s clumsy camera crew… the threats to your existence are myriad. The survival rate among Silicon Valley electric start-ups is every bit as brutal. But Lucid felt different from the start. When CAR first visited, in 2018, there were prototypes and there was ambition but there was no factory and no cars in customer hands. Since then there’s been a stock market flotation, the appointment of (ex-Lotus, ex-Tesla) CTO Peter Rawlinson as CEO, rave reviews of the Air (above), confirmation that an SUV will follow, and the creation of a factory. ‘ We did the fastest build of an electric car factory, Ibelieve,inhistory,’saysRawlinson.‘It’sthefirstpurpos-ebuilt green-field EV factory in…

For a company that’s existed for less than five years and whose cars we’re yet to drive to make it into the top 60 brands in CAR’s history is no mean feat. But Gordon Murray Automotive is no ordinary company. Design engineering deity Gordon Murray is (of course) the driving force behind it, and the T.50 – spiritual successor to his McLaren F1 – and T.33 supercars are torchbearers for naturally aspirated, manual gearboxed Zen with unique Cosworth V12s (pictured). Gordon Murray Automotive began as a sister company to Gordon Murray Design; the latter has now grown into Gordon Murray Technology, with the capability to manage development, design and manufacturing for third-party global automotive companies. It’s currently working on two electric SUVs, one for ‘a major car manufacturer’. A new…

The story so far… Still a family business to this day, Suzuki started in 1909 and built its first car in ’37. Since post-war production resumed in ’55 it’s brought budget-priced transport to the masses with an extremely patchy mix of horrible saloons, funky kei cars and highly accomplished 4x4s. A brief technical alliance with VW ended when Suzuki decided it didn’t like being treated as the junior partner. Explain the ranking… Flickers of brilliance. Generally dull. Suzuki in three words... Holiday rental 4x4. Best car... Tempting to go for the twin-turbo V6 Pikes Peak car. But really Suzuki’s cars are at their best right about now. The Vitara mild hybrid is surprisingly good, and the AllGrip version of the Ignis is what the Fiat Panda 4x4 should be. Darkest…

Cars, like car magazines, come and go. Only a handful of names have the flexibility and cultural clout to weather changing tastes and regulatory obstacles. Even CAR's 60-year run looks inconsequential next to the seven decades of service put down by America’s favourite sports car, the plastic-fantastic Corvette. The use of fibreglass as a body medium for the original C1 Corvette was a radical move for a big OEM like GM. But underneath the 1953 Motorama show car’s Polo-white body with its micro tail fins, it was mostly parts-bin stuff to keep costs down, though the 235 cubic-inch (3.9-litre) V8 moved backwards in the leaf-sprung, ladder-framed chassis to benefit weight distribution. It was also hopped-up to 150bhp thanks to mods that included a third carb and hotter cam. That still…

DS 9 Rivoli+ E-Tense PHEV Month 4 The story so far Posh French hybrid saloon + More electric range than a 296 GTB - Charging socket at wrong end for my drive Logbook Price £49,200(£55,390 as tested) Performance 1598cc four-cyl plus e-motor, 11.9kWh battery, 222bhp, 8.3sec 0-62mph, 149mph Efficiency 176.6-256.8mpg (official), 41.0mpg (tested), 33g/km CO2 Energy cost 18.3p per mile Miles this month 2383 Total miles 9303 The DS 9 slapped my wrist this month, throwing up a dash-board message telling me how many days had passed since I’d last connected it to the mains. Fair cop. With my previous car, the PHEV version of the Ford Kuga, I plugged it in every day. But I’ve been a bit rubbish at doing the same with the DS, partly because the…

Kia’s EV6 joined the Our Cars fleet last month, and coincidentally I spent 48 hours racking up almost 900 miles in one (see page 61). Getting back into the iX was illuminating. The iX’s steering is way lighter than old BMW racks, with razor-sharp directness. Its suspension is al dente: firm enough for crisp body control, not too harsh to compromise comfort. The deep-set batteries make for a low-feeling centre of gravity in a highish SUV. Put it all to-gether and you can lean on the iX like you once did on your grandparents. The Kia has that same stickiness, but steers and rides with less aplomb. And the BMW does the little things well: the Kia’s lane control thrusts you away from verges, whereas the iX gives a far…

The Mustang has been in the wars recently. At a hand car wash, a pressure-washer lance got a bit too close and ripped away part of the Kill Bill track-suit-style stripes at the front of the nearside sill. I’m debating a Blue Peter-style repair with some black Fablon. Meanwhile, an insistent ‘tyre pressure system error’ message has been winking on the dash. I’ve been regularly checking the tyres manually and they’re holding pressure; it’s a duff battery in the sensor on the offside rear that’s to blame. A replacement valve (which incorporates the pressure sensor) has arrived in the post; I just need to find the time to book into a tyre centre to get it fitted. JAMES TAYLOR Ford Mustang Mach 1 Month 4 The story so far Mach…

AERO 300 FILLER CAP ASSEMBLY From £59.73 + VAT Newton Equipment designs and builds the world’s largest range of special filler caps, as well as vent valves and quick-fill systems – not only for cars, but also for marine and aviation use. The beautifully crafted Aero 300 is the most popular and versatile item in the range. It comes with a two-diameter 57mm and 51mm neck, and is available on its own or with many different flanges and necks. newton-equipment.com ALLOY WHEEL INSURANCE Prices vary Alloy wheels look fantastic on just about any car, but ‘kerbing’ them is a risk you’ll constantly run. A moment’s loss of concentration can wreck their looks. Rather than dreading a hefty alloy repair bill, Alloy Wheel Insurance from Motoreasy can take the stress out…

A PEEK AT THE CARS BENTLEY’S £2.5 BILLION ELECTRIC INVESTMENT WILL YIELD If there’s an art to selling luxury cars to the world’s wealthy elite – and there surely is – then Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark is a mas-ter-in-waiting at the very least. Look at the numbers. An Ipsos poll in August for the Financial Times may have ranked social inequality and poverty as the second biggest global concern behind inflation, but those on the wealthy side of the great divide are spending. And Hallmark’s doing a fine job of ensuring they spend with Bentley. Crewe posted operating profits of €398 million for the first half of 2022, eclipsing its profits for the whole of last year. Sales are up, as is revenue per car – by 23.3 per cent,…

LOW-DRAG LOOKS The experimental EQXX electric four-door will be influencing Merc design and engineering for years to come. Even its shape is ‘a promise for what we want to deliver for the C-segment – so C-Class size – as it shows the vision of the exterior and interior,’ according to Mercedes design chief Gorden Wagener. FLEXIBLE PLATFORM The new compact executive will likely be one of the first cars on the MMA platform. While designed chiefly for EVs, hybrid modules can be applied. CAR’s sources say the smallest EV powertrain variant is 60kWh and 201bhp, but expect a two-speed transmission and 800-volt architecture for AMG versions and fast charging. FACTFILE POWERTRAIN 100kWh battery, 200bhp (est), single e-motor, rear-wheel drive CHASSIS Steel monocoque DUE 2024 MBUX, EVOLVED Merc’s seemingly all-knowing infotainment…

Skoda has come full circle: from eastern European bargain basement, through the quirky period that begat Yeti and Roomster, to today’s bland-but-effective VW Group clone factory. The Vision 7S concept spells out a manifesto for what’s next – and CAR spoke to those who’ve crafted Skoda’s distinctive future. MODERN SOLID DESIGN The Vision S ushers in Skoda’s new design language, dubbed Modern Solid. ‘Our target customers want robust and rugged design, but with a modern twist,’ said head of design Oliver Stefani. ‘Old rugged meant niche cars like the G-Wagen, Defender and Jimny, but we’ll add more family-friendly features and authentic touches.’ GOING THE DISTANCE This concept points to what’ll replace the seven-seat Kodiaq mid-decade, when the e-range of family EVs is likely to rise signif-icantly. ‘Thanks to its 89kWh…

FOR THE MAD SCIENTIST Ariel’s new Hipercar EV (still not its final name after years in development) looks as if someone shrunk the Batmobile in the wash, then crashed it. But the stats are extreme: rear-and all-wheel-drive versions, up to 1180bhp, 0-100mph in 4.4 seconds and it weighs as little as 1400kg. The 150-mile range can be extended with an optional turbine. NEED TO KNOW What is it? Even we’re struggling to answer that I Tech specs Battery pack from Cosworth, micro turbine range extender I Aimed at? Baffling your neighbours and your trackday compatriots I When can I get one? From 2024 onwards, for ‘under £1m’ FOR THE GREEDY Oh, you want more? Is a standard Urus not enough? Good job Lambo’s happy to cater. The new Urus Performante…

GM is so proud of its newly upgraded Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving assistance tech that it cheekily calls it ‘the industry’s first true hands-free driver assistance technology.’ Take that, Elon, and take that, Mercedes, which put its similar Drive Pilot Level 3 system on sale in Germany in May. GM’s semi-autonomous tech works by combining data from the usual suite of cameras and lidar sensors with mapping. The car knows what’s ahead, thanks to GPS mapping, as well as knowing what’s imme-diately around it, thanks to the cameras and sensors. It coordinates sat-nav, cruise control and lane keeping systems to guide the vehicle. The downside is that the system only works to full effect on the main highway network, and when there’s a good GPS signal; the upside is that…

EVs are superior I’ve been a CAR subscriber since 1978 and, like many other readers, I too thought I’d bemoan the demise of the the combustion engine. But, as a Tesla Model 3 owner for a month, all I can say is an electric drivetrain is superior. If someone made an combustion-engined car with 700mpg (which by my cost calculations is what I’m getting with my Tesla), 0-60mph in 3.2sec and 480bhp with no maintenance, it would be hailed as a miracle. Everyone seems scared of EVs and finding somewhere to charge, which is possibly justi-fied for long journeys in a non-Tesla without access to their Supercharger network. But I have to say, come on in, the water is lovely. For driving pleasure, my Model 3 is as fast as…

1st PORSCHE 911 TURBO CABRIOLET Sparsely equipped and expensive, the Turbo is better balanced than the GTS and barely less fast than the S. It out-handles and out-dazzles the SL ★★★★★ 2nd MERCEDES-AMG SL63 Great car for showing off and covering long distances in style. But the ill-packaged Merc is not a thoroughbred like the 911, or for that matter the AMG GT C ★★★★★ As I write, the waiting list for both models is one year, and growing. They’re not cheap, and much of the performance potential will be untapped, but there are plenty of people – me included – who find this sort of thing very appealing. In the UK, the 911 Turbo Cabrio seems like a bargain at £157k when compared with the £179k asked for the…

The not-quite-green, not-quite-gold supercar flashes by, with the shrill whine of two electric motors in its wake. Special particles in its paint subtly shift its colour, chameleon-like, under the Mediterranean sunshine. Heads in grandstands swivel and double-take, even here in supercar-saturated Monte Carlo. In a few moments qualifying gets underway for the 2022 Formula E Monaco E-Prix, but first the DS E-Tense Performance concept car is tearing around the circuit in a high-speed demo run. Time is tight in the Formula E schedule: someone important must have pulled some strings here. Laps concluded (including a flamboyantly sideways exit from the final corner), the DS whirs to a halt in the paddock like a creation from a sci-fi movie. Out of the driver’s seat hops a race-suited Carlos Tavares, CEO and…

Box-fresh premium car brands struggle to prise open the German’s market stranglehold. Just look at Infiniti, Nissan’s upmarket spin-off, which withdrew from much of Europe in 2019 after a decade spent making little ground. Acura’s never even tried. Genesis, thus far at least, is different. Initially a Hyundai model line, it’s been a standalone brand in the USA and Korea since 2015. UK sales began a year ago, and its customer approach feels fresh. First up there are no dealers with sales undertaken online. Prices are fixed, so haggling isn’t an option, and a Genesis Personal Assistant (GPA) is assigned to every prospect and owner, to handle enquiries and offer a concierge service. That means test drives, collection for servicing, courtesy cars all come to the customer’s door. With Hyundai-Kia’s…

The story so far... 1957: Colin Chapman creates the Lotus Seven. 1973: Chapman tires of the Seven, and dealer Caterham Cars buys the manufacturing rights, renaming it the Caterham Seven. 2022: The Seven’s still going strong and still as much fun as the original, albeit a lot faster these days. Explain the ranking... Forget the Porsche 911: this is the most truly timeless car left in the world. A variation on Chapman’s minimal original that’s evolved equally minimally and somehow still exists – and aren’t we glad it does. Caterham in three words... Four-wheeled motorcycling. Best car... For thrills, the 420 Cup. For charm, the three-cylinder, 440kg 170R. With Sevens, less is usually more. Darkest hour... Its shareholder’s 2012-2014 F1 programme cost £200m but didn’t sell £200m-worth of Sevens and…

The story so far… Supercar-obsessed Argentinian moves to Italy to learn his craft. Unable to fulfil his dreams as a cog in the machine (Lamborghini), Horacio sets up on his own in ’92. Carbon-tubbed V12 Zonda arrives at Geneva ’99. Explain the ranking… As niche as it gets, but huge impact a Hollywood story. Pagani in three words… White hot ambition. Best car… Quasi-obscene Huayra R (below) is pure-strain Pagani. V12 does without forced induction or hybridisation but still summons some 840bhp (just shy of a 9200rpm limiter). More astonishing still is the weight – 1050kg dry. A sequential ’box, huge downforce and active suspension all conspire to ensure that, unless you’ve been dabbling in F1 recently, your brain won’t keep up. Darkest hour… First car was to be named…

NEED TO KNOW I The story so far In the late ’80s Toyota wants to go upmarket. It considers buying Jaguar but decides to go its own way I Explain the ranking Original LS a triumph but Lexus has never ignited as a global player I Lexus in three words Peerlessly crafted oddballs I Best car 1989 LS400 out-S-Classed Mercedes I Darkest hour Fiddly infotainment in the 2010s I The future looks SUV-shaped, but with coupes too – and an electric LFA supercar successor…

If you ever find yourself getting complacent about cars, have a word with Gabriel Sorescu. The Romanian-born product manager at Dacia UK doesn’t for one moment take for granted the freedom, the independence, the horizon-broadening magic of having your own four-wheeled transport. His first car, bought when he was a student, was built in 1972, when the Cold War had nearly two decades still to run. By the time the Renault-based Dacia 1300 saloon came into Sorescu’s hands, Romania had flung off the Communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, and Dacia itself had become part of Renault. The 1300 was old and crude, but it did its job. ‘It had a four-speed gearbox, nothing was electric. It was just me and the car. That felt fantastic. That’s where I started to…

Mazdas possess the bewitching ability to blind you to their flaws over time while simulta-neously getting under your skin. I experienced this with the RX-8 and MX-5 I ran in the past for the CAR long-term fleet. Both heavily compromised, but unquestionably desirable. After spending 12 months covering 14,648 miles in the MX-30 I’ve arrived at the same conclusion, even though me-chanically this electric crossover is very different from that rotary-engined coupe and the sprightly roadster. What made the MX-30 so disarming? First of all, I found it lovely to look at: visually dis-tinctive while maintaining a strong family resemblance. Dynamically, a chunky 1645kg electric SUV doesn’t sound like it’ll have much of a glint in its eye, but it’s torquey, with taut body control, quick and precise steering, excellent…

Porsche Cayman GT4 Month 3 The story so far Ours for the summer, amazingly. A third of UK Cayman buyers go GT4 – and quite right too. This month, our GT4 meets three readers with money to spend + The best sports car on sale - Not cheap; 18-month wait Logbook Price £80,500 (£97,132 as tested) Performance 3995cc flat-six, 414bhp, 3.9sec 0-62mph, 188mph Efficiency 25.4mpg (official), 25.5mpg (tested; 10mpg on track), 251g/km CO2 Energy cost 32.0p per mile Miles this month 1069 Total miles 11,694 Want a prompt email reply? Just pop ‘Want to drive our Cayman GT4, Donington Park, 26 Aug?’ in the subject line. Fractions of a second later CAR readers Paul Fielder, Jordan Butters and Philip Rodney are signed up. Why on track? Because having run the…

My Wrangler tapped into its military DNA when a Ford Bronco turned up on its turf for a CAR video skirmish, and it was an interesting comparison. The Jeep’s tyres and stubby short wheelbase made it the king of the quarry, but I have to admire the extra layer of on-road finish Ford’s revitalised icon offers. The Bronco managed to do 80 per cent of manoeuvres as well as the Wrangler on the rough stuff and had some neat tricks up its sleeve. But it seems so much wider than the Jeep – not what you want when ploughing through muddy ruts – and felt cheaper and hollow inside. A worthy battle, and one where the Jeep came away bruised but undefeated. JAKE GROVES Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Month 5 The…

Even if it didn’t drive beautifully, the Elise could sail into the Hall of Fame for umpteen reasons. The ground-breaking bonded and extruded alumin-ium chassis (pictured); the clever metal matrix composite brake discs; the beguiling styling, with shades of Dino and Europa; the way the minimal interior still looks and feels strikingly modern – you’re ensconced within the exposed aluminium chassis itself, like sitting in MacBook Air. It’s the ultimate case study in designers and engineers working together: chief vehicle concept engineer Richard Rackham and chief designer Julian Thomson, best men at each other’s weddings, shaped the Elise in synchro-nisation, blowing off steam by riding their Ducatis together. Its pedals could hold a Hall of Fame slot on their own. While Rackham grappled with retrofitting an ugly, donor-part pedalbox, it…

Polestar O2 The concept that will become the Polestar 6 sports some eye-catching wheels that are key to a sleek aerodynamics package. With Polestar, you can be pretty sure this is close to the production model. 9/10 They look like they belong Mercedes Vision EQXX This prototype has run 620-plus miles on its relatively modest battery, thanks largely to its light weight and slick aero. How much of this will make it into electric production models? 8/10 Go on, Merc, do it Nissan Ariya Single Seater A concept with wheels no more radical than those on the Ariya, but with the difference that the bodywork covers the rears – alogical conclusion (for cars without rear-wheel steering). 8/10 Nissan’s found its brave pills Kia Niro EV The EV version of the…

Alain Visser isn’t like other automo-tive bosses. He doesn’t especially want to sell you one of his cars; nor does he want to lock you into a multi-year finance deal. His company, Lynk & Co, wants to do things diffe-rently. Its refreshingly simple online configurator offers just one compact crossover in two colours. It’s all about subscription deals that can be turned on or off at a month’s notice, just like the Netflix streaming service. ‘Unlike other car brands who offer something in every segment, we think we can cover most bases with just one model,’ he says. ‘People who want a mini for pure city driving, we don’t want a car like that. If you want a big sedan, we are not that brand either. It’s a choice we…

Vauxhall is the Marks & Spencer of the car world: a brand everyone knows but few passionately love. That’s what PSA Peugeot-Citroën took on when it bought Vauxhall and its German twin Opel for €2.2bn in 2017. A division that had lost GM around $20 billion since 2000. As soon as the takeover was com-plete, vice president of design Mark Adams was charged with rebuilding the brand – while his team created the first new car in record time. That’s because a finished Corsa using GM technology was instantly shelved. ‘So I picked my A-team and they did something that had never been done before, and the timeframe was a hell of a challenge.’ The Corsa F went from blank sheet of paper to dealers in just over two years,…

The 300-mile test NEW CAR MEETS REAL WORLD J amiefrom New Jersey wants to buy this thing so bad he’s offering five grand in cash for an early 2023 delivery. Here are my contact details, bro, and no, EU-spec is not an issue. Do I look like a car dealer? Harald and Britta from I-for-get-where bring a notepad and a fold-ing rule to check out the exact boot size, different seating configurations and their effect on rear legroom. Anna the receptionist from the Nyhaven Hotel begs our photographer to take a couple of flattering smartphone pics of her posing in front of the white-over-sage ID. Buzz in the morning sun. Every second person who starts a conversation with us asks the same three questions. Is it any good? What’s the…

N omore waiting, no more rumours. Ferrari’s full-size four-door four-seater 4x4, the Purosangue, is here. And – as Maranello has maintained from the beginning – it’s not a car to think of as an SUV. The bald facts back that standpoint up: under its front-hinged bonnet is a naturally-aspirated, unhybridised V12 with no less than 715bhp; its new active suspension system promises to make it unnaturally agile for a car of its bulk; and it’s been crafted with an engineering mindset more akin to a low-volume supercar than a mainstream, upscale crossover. ‘It’s a sports car,’ chief product development officer Gianmaria Ful-genzi unequivocally tells CAR. ‘A little higher, and with larger wheels than usual, but we are proud to say that this is not an SUV – this is a…

MERCEDES-AMG SL63 4MATIC+ PERFORMANCE PORSCHE 911 TURBO CABRIOLET AFFORDABILITY WE SAY... There’s a year’s waiting list; expect used values to be sky-high £179,225 Representative PCP £2.5k (47 monthly payments), £12.7k deposit, 10,000 miles per year, 7.9% APR Typical approved used value n/a (too new) £157,400 (£162,484 as tested) Representative PCP £1.9k (47 monthly payments), £16k deposit, 10,000 miles per year, 7.9% APR Typical approved used value £190k (5k miles) POWERTRAIN WE SAY... Bigger figures and remarkable racket from the AMG Engine 3982cc 32v turbocharged V8 Transmission Nine-speed automatic, all-wheel drive Engine 3745cc 24v twin-turbo boxer-six Transmission Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive PERFORMANCE WE SAY... Low weight compensates for 911 bhp shortfall Power 577bhp @ 6750rpm Torque 590lb ft @ 2500rpm Top speed 196mph 0-62mph 3.6sec Power 572bhp @ 6500rpm Torque…

The story so far… Christian von Koenigsegg launches his own car company in 1994, aged 22. In the early 2000s the CC supercar series garners various gongs for ‘world’s fastest’ and ‘world’s most powerful.’ Today Koenigsegg supplies engineering expertise to other companies and produces consistently out-there ‘megacars’. Latest creation is CC850 (pictured), with a transmission capable of being both a six-speed clutch-pedalled manual and a nine-speed auto. Explain the ranking… Its stratospherically powerful cars are fascinating but produced in niche volumes. And just a little bit scary. Koenigsegg in three words... Powerful, rare, bonkers. Best car... Things got really interesting with 2015’s 1500bhp Regera: three e-motors, a V8 and no traditional gearbox. Darkest hour… When a fire broke out at the old thatched-roofed factory in 2003, just two weeks before…

The story so far… Makes its first car in 1902, builds its first V8 in 1915, hires game-changing stylist Harley Earl in 1926, becomes a byword – in the US, at least – for luxury and innovation. Gives its transmissions names like Hydra-Matic and – how to top that? – Turbo Hydramatic. Big thing about Cadillacs in the ’50s is fins; big thing in the ’70s is being very big. That’s toned down for a while as Caddy goes mainstream and modestly proportioned – until the Escalade arrives in 1999 and Cadillac becomes synonymous with vast, blinged-up SUVs. Explain the ranking… A genuine pioneer of styling, luxury and technical innova-tion, although a lot of the Cadillac magic seems to get lost the moment the cars leave US soil. Cadillac in…

The story so far… Mitsubishi makes its first car in 1917 but focuses for several decades on planes, trains and boats. Gets serious about cars in 1970, begins rallying Lancers with some success and hits gold with its rugged 4x4s in the ’90s. Great Dakar record, too. Tommi Mäkinen’s four consecutive WRC titles give a huge image boost, and help sell truckloads of Evo road cars. Ahead of the curve with hybrids and electric, but loses momentum with both. A long history of partnerships and alliances, currently with Nissan (and, at one remove, Renault), but left the UK market in 2021 and looks profoundly uncommitted to car making, whereas Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a major player in everything from aerospace to air conditioning. Explain the ranking… Like a heavy metal…

The story so far… MG began in 1924 with specials built by Morris Garages in Oxford, evolved into a maker of perky but affordable roadsters, morphed into a division of British Leyland hotting-up Austin Metros and Maestros, later did the same trick with the Rover 25, 45 and 75, tried a supercar and then lurched into Chinese ownership. Explain the ranking… MG’s now much better as a business, but much less interesting as a car maker. MG in three words... ‘But which MG?’ Best car... The MGB roadster was keenly priced and sold half a million in its 18-year run. And the GT version gained a Pininfarina glasshouse with handy rear hatch. Darkest hour… The Phoenix Four fiasco: a management buy-out that involved a lot of big talk but soon…

NEED TO KNOW I The story so far Cuddly-named Fuji Heavy Industries starts to dabble in cars in the ’50s. It’s all about farm-friendly oddballs until Prodrive’s World Rally programme transforms the brand in the ’90s. Now it’s fading back into obscurity I Explain the ranking Would have been lower without the rally cars I Subaru in three words Four-wheel drive I Best car The Impreza WRX I Darkest hour Quitting WRC at the end of 2008 I The future looks Forgettable…

Land Rover Defender 110 SE Month 1 The story so far Reborn Defender joins the CAR long-term fleet, giving us the chance to find whether it’s as impressive to live with as it has been on shorter tests + Spacious; real presence - Heavy; thirsty; expensive Logbook Price £64,035 (£78,360 as tested) Performance 2997cc twin-turbodiesel six-cylinder, 245bhp, 8.3sec 0-62mph, 117mph Efficiency 30.8mpg (official), 26.6mpg (tested), 241g/km CO2 Energy cost 33.4p per mile Miles this month 442 Total miles 14,342 What’s all the fuss about? (At this point, I’ve definitely caught my colleague Mark Walton’s attention.) But really? I was teeny tiny when the last ‘Series’ Land Rover was built, and so it has no relevance to me. (Mark has a Series III. He loves it. Before that he had a…

Despite the farce that was the 2021 season, Formula 1 remains my favourite sport – and so when the circus comes to town, and when I fail to plan any ac-commodation near Silverstone in advance, that means a weekend of six trips totalling around 800 miles in the Leon. Attending the British GP is always a traffic/weather/ro-adworks/road closures lottery, and this year Friday proved the most punishing day, with seven hours of driving (versus a pre-dicted five hours) but the weekend got easier, even if the weather got worse. After three days the Leon’s interior contained all the symp-toms of a full-on road trip; crisp packets, empty water bottles, discarded sandwich boxes and a lingering scent of Doritos Heat Wave – but still comfortable. The Leon’s adaptive cruise control made…

I don’t dismiss passive driver-assist technology – blind-spot monitoring, for instance – but active systems are a pain in the ADAS. Venture over a white line without indicating (passing cy-clists, parked cars) and the RS3’s lane-departure warning tries to steer you back to the correct side of the road. Squeeze to the side of a rural road to avoid an oncoming car and it’ll suicidally steer you back towards it. My Germanwings auto pilot reports for duty every time I turn the RS3 on, requiring mul-tiple touchscreen presses to disable. It’s seemingly designed for the severely impaired or those not paying any attention, and spectacularly inappropri-ate in a driver-centric performance hatch. BEN BARRY Audi RS3 Sportback Month 6 The story so far Audi’s uber hatch, part 3 + Five-cylinder quattro…

A quick correction, with apolo-gies. Having reported that we’d seen charging speeds over 250kW in the EV6, I realised that I’d misread the text my (very excited) other half sent me from Gridserve’s 350kW charg-ing hub on the M6 near Rugby. The actual rate was 230kW, and on checking with Kia they con-firmed that the car’s maximum rate is 240kW, despite some reports to the contrary. That’s still fast enough to cause some charger etiquette issues, as your well-depleted EV6 will be fully charged before you’ve been to the loo, eaten a burger and queued for a coffee to go, causing you to rush back to unplug rather than delay another EV user. Nice problem to have. BEN OLIVER Kia EV6 GT-Line S Month 2 The story so far Family…