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THE undoubted star of this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show is – as you might expect – a car so bold and so brazen that it deserved its place in history even before the covers came off. Mercedes-AMG’s Project One hypercar (above) may not be a beauty, but you can’t argue with the depth of engineering that has gone into what Mercedes describes as “the first Formula One car with MoT approval”. And, you’ll be pleased to hear, much of that incredible work was done by Mercedes-AMG’s talented workforce here in the UK. You can read the full story and marvel over the Project One’s stats on Page 12, but you have to wonder whether there’s still a place for a road car with this level of performance in 2017? The…

“The Mégane RS is the first hot hatch in the class to feature fourwheel steering” Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn ▪ New RS mega hatch features downsized 1.8 turbo engine ▪ Front-wheel drive, but four-wheel steering boosts agility RENAULT has finally shown its hand in the fiercely contested hot hatch segment by officially revealing its all-new Mégane Renaultsport. One of the star attractions at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the latest hot hatch packs 276bhp and will attempt to reclaim its crown as the quickest front-wheel-drive production car around Germany’s Nürburgring race track. It’s based on the standard hatchback, but Renault has widened the body and lengthened the Mégane RS by 60mm at the front and 45mm at the rear. A Formula Onestyle front blade finished in gunmetal grey and chequered flag-style LED…

Honda Civic Type R Price: £30,995 Power: 316bhp Our reigning hot hatch king, the Type R holds the current Nürburgring front-drive lap record. Peugeot 308 GTi Price: £29,405 Power: 269bhp Recently updated 308 GTi packs a punch from its downsized 1.6-litre turbo. SEAT Leon Cupra R Price: £34,000 (est) Power: 306bhp New Cupra R is the most powerful SEAT in the brand’s history, but is limited to 799 models. Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance Price: £30,335 Power: 243bhp Although it’s down on power here, the GTI shines with its beautifully balanced chassis.…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods IT’S an auto industry cliché – Formula One tech trickling down into road cars you can actually buy. However, Mercedes has taken that idea to its extremes at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the Project One. The showstopping hypercar features a contemporary Formula One powertrain. It uses the same 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid V6 engine that powers the German marque’s world championship entry. Although this is still a concept car, Mercedes says it gives a ‘close indication’ of what to expect from the upcoming production model that’s arriving in 2019. It’ll be priced at around £2.4million. The brand claims an output of around 1,000bhp, plus an 11,000rpm red line; that is reduced from the F1 car’s 15,000rpm limit. A top speed in excess of 217mph is promised. There’s no…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy “The more powerful version will have more than 268bhp” MERCEDES is previewing an all-electric hatchback with its other Frankfurt Motor Show star, called the Concept EQA. The new model is a compact three-door that measures 4,285mm in length and 1,180mm in width; so slightly shorter, but wider than the current A-Class. It has a longer wheelbase than Mercedes’ regular hatch, though, at 2,729mm. Much of the show model’s styling is expected to make it through to a fivedoor production car, which is due to go on sale in 2020. It gets an intricate headlight design that’s meant to replicate the wound copper of an electric motor. The Concept EQA also previews a technical set-up that’s likely to be closely matched by the production model. It uses a pair…

MERCEDES’ third show star at Frankfurt is the GLC F-CELL – a hydrogen fuel-cell version of its BMW X3 and Audi Q5 rival that’s already confirmed for production. The new SUV mixes a pair of hydrogen tanks that give a range of up to 270 miles, with a lithium-ion battery pack, which can power the vehicle in pure-electric mode for around 30 miles. The rated outputs of the new model’s fuel cell are 197bhp and 350Nm, enough to take the five-door GLC to an electronically limited top speed of 99mph. There are no plans for the GLC F-CELL to be sold in the UK.…