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IT already seems as if Tesla has been around for ages, but in motor industry terms the brand has pretty much emerged overnight. Perhaps more quickly than anyone before it, the US company has moved from a curio-outsider to cutting edge (you can read whether or not its Model 3 (above) stays right at the top of its class in this week’s test against Polestar 2 on page 36). This showdown has prompted an interesting point: where will Tesla’s challenge come from in the future? Polestar is one of the most credible brands to take Tesla on at its own game. But with the bigger, now-updated Model S, the likes of Audi and Mercedes have been left scrambling in Tesla’s wake. Of course, these ‘legacy’ manufacturers are successful for a…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates GORDON Murray has revealed his self-styled successor to the McLaren F1: the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50. The famed automotive engineer describes it as a true analogue supercar and the perfect antidote to increasingly heavy modern hypercars. With 2020 marking the 50th year of Professor Murray’s career, the T.50 features nods to his work in car design and Formula One. It features ground-effect aerodynamics and a bespoke V12 engine from Cosworth, while all of the major components have been sourced from UK companies. This is our first proper look at the T.50. Only 100 will be produced, costing £2.36million each before taxes, and almost two thirds of the production run has already been sold. Murray explains that the T.50’s design is an…

McLAREN F1 Money-no-object hypercar rewrote benchmarks in 1993. Just 64 road cars were made; values today exceed £15m. LCC ROCKET Track-day flyer had the looks of a fifties racer but awesome pace, with a Yamaha bike engine pushing just 380kg. MERCEDES SLR McLAREN Supercharged V8 super-coupé was an homage to Merc’s 300 SLR. It was produced at McLaren’s factory in Surrey. YAMAHA SPORTS RIDE Curvy coupé stunned showgoers at the 2015 Tokyo show, but production version never made it beyond planning. MOTIV Earlier T.25 and T.27 city cars failed to reach buyers, but single-seat quadricycle looks more relevant by the day. OX Flat-pack vehicle is designed to be shipped to developing regions and then assembled there using local labour.…

T.50 creator Q WHY are you making this type of car – an indirect successor to probably your most famous creation, the McLaren F1? A “WELL, if you look back, I honestly don’t think anybody’s done an F1 since the F1 – that much absolute focus on the driving enjoyment and the light weight. And a car with no targets – no top speed, 0-62mph or lap time at the Nürburgring to think of. “There are plenty of cars out there that are much more capable than the F1 – the turbos, the hybrids – but none of them gives me the spine-tingling sensation that the F1 gives me. Some people still say that you can’t beat the driving experience of an F1. But I can tell you this is…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy May vanish by end of 2021 Aftersales service to continue THE Mitsubishi brand is to disappear from British showrooms, after the firm announced it was abandoning any plans to develop new cars for the UK and Europe. A brief statement from the Japanese company last week said that the board of directors had “resolved to freeze the introduction of new models to the European market”. Despite the wording, though, the move is not a pause, but rather the start of a phased withdrawal. There’s no official word yet on when we’ll start to see Mitsubishi models being dropped from UK dealerships. However, while the existing range will continue to be sold for as long as emissions regulations and residual stock levels allow, well placed sources have indicated to…

Will my warranty be affected? Mitsubishi has committed to covering all existing and new-vehicle warranties for the full term. The decision means the company will have to strike a new deal with its UK importer, the Colt Car Company, but in any case, Mitsubishi customers will still need to be catered for. It’s worth remembering that despite the European pullout, Mitsubishi isn’t like Saab or Rover, in that it will remain operational elsewhere in the world. The company won’t want the PR heat that would come from not honouring existing warranties until they run out. Will I be able to get my car serviced, and find parts? Yes. Any deal between the Colt Car Company and Mitsubishi to honour warranty work will also include both servicing and parts supply. These…