Auto Express 1543

THIRTY years ago this week in a dark office in central London, a team of eager motoring journalists were working extraordinarily long hours to launch a new weekly car magazine – a car magazine with a difference; one with the reader at the centre of everything it does. Auto Express was born and, in spite of the team almost forgetting they had to do issue two in the excitement of getting the first one out of the door, it hasn’t looked back. It remains Britain’s best-selling weekly magazine by some margin, with a hugely successful website alongside it these days. And as with that first issue, understanding what gets you excited about this business and what you want to know is what makes us different. That’s because you’re like us:…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods “Aston Martin says that Project 003 will be mid-engined, built around a lightweight structure, and road legal” ASTON MARTIN has confirmed a third mid-engined hypercar is currently under development and that it will be designed to sit alongside the Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro. Yet to be named, the rival to the McLaren Senna and Ferrari LaFerrari is currently known under the codename Project 003. And Red Bull Racing will be involved with the car’s development. The project is still in an early state and Aston says that the new model will arrive in 2021, and while both right-hand and left-hand-drive production is planned, the car will be limited to 500 examples globally. It will slot into the range beneath the Valkyrie, of which only 175 editions are…

“The apprenticeship system gave me a wonderful opportunity as a working-class lad with no family money behind him”DR ANDY PALMER CEO Aston Martin ON the same day Aston Martin revealed Project 003, CEO Andy Palmer announced his own project, a new charitable foundation aimed at getting under-privileged kids into apprenticeships. Here he exclusively talks to editor-in-chief Steve Fowler about his plans for the Palmer Foundation. AS the company IPOs, I do okay as a result of growing the company. I got there on the back of an apprenticeship. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if I didn’t get that opportunity of an apprenticeship at 16; I didn’t like school, I was bored and I didn’t know what I wanted to do other than work in cars. “I’m…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods PEUGEOT has a new electric concept for the Paris Motor Show, created to project a retro vision of the future. Called e-LEGEND, the design takes its profile from the 504 Coupé of the sixties and blends it with some of the firm’s more modern design elements to create a traditional three-box coupé, with what Peugeot says are “realistic” proportions. Unlike many modern show cars, the overall profile of the e-LEGEND is less radical and far more showroom-friendly, with properly sized windows, no unrealistic overhangs and even very production car-like 19-inch wheels. It’s 4,650mm long, 1,930mm wide and 1,370mm tall – nothing out of the ordinary for a modern coupé. The front-end interpretation of the 504 Coupé uses double lighting modules to hark back to the original car’s four-piece…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn WELCOME to the most affordable way into a Mercedes-AMG: the all-new A 35. Revealed ahead of its official debut at next month’s Paris Motor Show, the hot hatch will go on sale next week priced from around £36,000 in the UK. The AMG A 35 acts as the performance brand’s Audi S3 and VW Golf R rival – a more accessible model in terms of both performance and price. It’s the warm-up act to the full-house AMG A 45 that will follow next year with even more power. Clearly identifiable as an AMG, the A 35 features a fixed rear wing, 18-inch alloy wheels and widened arches, plus new front and rear bumpers that sport large air inlets and black winglets. A sports exhaust brings automatically-controlled valves as…

VOLVO has revealed the new V60 Cross Country, a chunky, SUV-inspired estate car that’ll compete against the Audi A4 Allroad and Volkswagen Passat Alltrack. Based upon the standard V60, the Cross Country gets several 4x4-inspired touches, most significant of which is a 75mm increase in ride height. There’s a revised front grille insert, and extra plastic cladding lines the lower edges of the bumpers and sills, while wheelarch extensions complete the look. To help the Cross Country cope with rougher terrain than the standard V60, every variant will feature all-wheel drive as standard. More specialised off-road tech, such as hill descent control and a specific off-road mode in the drive select, will be fitted as well. UK launch models will be powered by Volvo’s D4 diesel – a 187bhp 2.0-litre…