Innholdsfortegnelse for 20/04/2016 i Autocar

A ROAD CONVERSION package for the £1.8 million Aston Martin Vulcan supercar is to be offered after some owners expressed interest in driving their track-only cars on the road. Conversions of the 7.0-litre V12-powered Vulcan work will be carried out independently of Aston Martin by engineering company RML. The conversion will take about three months and the changes are likely to focus on three key areas: safety-critical aspects, alterations to make the car more usable on the road — such as ride height and gear ratios — and any other bespoke changes requested by the customer. Converting a track car for the road is easier in some countries than in others, but it should be possible in any nation that offers single vehicle type approval. Speaking about the Vulcan conversions,…

‘ It is high-tech and easy to use and puts the driver at the heart of the car’ Peugeot has revealed its next-generation i-Cockpit ahead of the technology’s production debut in the upcoming 3008 this summer. The second-gen system has been completely reworked to incorporate a 12.3in TFT display, an 8.0in touchscreen and just eight main buttons located on the car’s centre console. It is said to use the fastest software processor currently available for this type of infotainment and arrives as Peugeot’s answer to Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. Ahead of the driver and behind the steering wheel, the TFT display incorporates a similar menu structure to that seen on Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, but the Peugeot has its own unique graphics (which have been developed in-house) and five customisable displays. Drivers…

Toyota is evaluating a performance version of its recently revealed C-HR crossover. The new model, which has been mooted by C-HR lead engineer Hiro Koba, would act as a rival to the likes of the Nissan Juke Nismo and allow Toyota to compete in the emerging and profitable market for hot crossovers. Speaking to Autocar during a prototype drive of the new C-HR, Koba said a performance C-HR wasn’t “concretely” in Toyota’s plans but “I am pushing to make such a car. I need to get approval”. Toyota senior manager Rembert Serrus added: “The car lends itself to it. It would be possible, but it depends on how much we have to change. A sports version could be a minor change or it could be a new project. A sports…

The 488 doesn’t tear up the road; it wants to flit and float over it, tethered by its sympathetic chassis The last time we encountered the 488, it was taking top honours at Britain’s Best Driver’s Car – a feat it managed despite having its steering wheel jauntily mounted on the port side. Now, after what seems like an aeon (the 488 Spider has been launched in the meantime), a UK-registered, right-hand-drive coupé has landed in our lap. A brief recap. The 488 is Ferrari’s mid-engined heartbeat – more expensive than the soft-topped, soft-bellied California T and a little cheaper (to start) than the V12 FF or F12. It gets – broadly speaking – the same twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8 engine as the California T, albeit with uprated internals, a longer…

Soon. But not yet. Soon we’ll get the BMW M2 in the UK, where we’ll line it up against something equally tasty. But for now, it’s here, in right-hand-drive form, in, er, Spain, unusually. But, at least, on roads much like our own. And, huzzah, with the six-speed manual gearbox that is standard. Which reveals that the latest M car has a fine driving position in right-hook form and a sweet – firm and not over-short of throw – gearshift. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The M2 arrives in UK showrooms this month. Because it’s the smallest M car, BMW evokes the 2002 Turbo, E30-generation M3 and 1M Coupé. The M2 sits on a widened 2 Series Coupé body, which means it is mostly steel, whereas its bigger M3…

Under an array of gleaming white tube lights, an endless procession of Qashqais and Leafs trundles towards the end of Trim and Chassis Line 1 at Nissan’s Sunderland plant. White-gloved like Tokyo taxi drivers and even more attentive, the inspectors have just under 60 seconds each to poke, ponder and fondle their allocated section of automotive anatomy before the relentless conveyor ushers the car on towards the big, wide world. This is the UK’s most productive car plant, churning out 116 cars per hour and nearly half a million every year. One in three cars made in this country is built here by a workforce of 6700 people. Yet each of the five models the factory produces began as a designer’s scribble. For the pioneering Qashqai that kick-started the crossover…

TIME FOR A CHANGE I have also thought, like Kevin Beeton (Your Views, 30 March), that the way forward for electric vehicles is to use demountable, replaceable batteries. Each battery pack could consist of a number of smaller batteries, making it easier to change them and giving flexibility on the amount of fresh charge purchased at any time. Instead of changing a whole pack, you could replace one or more of the smaller batteries. Naturally, all the batteries could still be recharged within the vehicle when convenient to do so. Mark Gilbert Via email ABSENT JAGUAR I appreciate your choice of top 50 new cars (Top 50, 23 March), but I missed the Jaguar F-Type Roadster. It’s one of the best British sports cars for a decade. It isn’t perfect…

It’s fair to say that you get a heck of a lot of equipment as standard on the Tucson Back in February, Hyundai UK boss Tony Whitehorn told us that since the new Tucson went on sale last October, it had overtaken the i10 as the firm’s best seller. From October to the middle of February, some 13,000 Tucsons were registered, well ahead of the 9000 predicted. Interesting. Because — in case any extra evidence was needed — Hyundai is now being taken very seriously by UK buyers as not only a manufacturer of cheap and cheerful cars, but also of larger, plusher and more expensive models. And, of course, everyone loves an SUV. Hyundai recently smashed through the one million sales mark in the UK and wants to be…

More than a few people are trading up/across from conventional hatchbacks and into crossovers like — or even such as — the Kadjar. As you may recall, before the Kadjar I spent a year in a Ford Focus, so I feel well qualified to make some comparisons — and especially so given that the Focus is about as conventional a hatchback as you’re going to find. There’s much I like about the Kadjar, but compared with the Focus it feels quite big. I was going to write that the Kadjar is about as big a car as I’d be happy to use every day, for school runs, town trips, awkward car parks and the like, but I was reasonably surprised to discover that the Renault and the Ford are remarkably…

READER’S CAR: BMW 3 SERIES CONVERTIBLE Jon Bradbury bought this R-plate BMW 323i Convertible five years ago for £2900 with 116,000 miles showing, and he has put a further 27,500 on it. “I spent £440 to have the rear wings painted,” he says. “Two water pumps, a tensioner and few other bits were £400, a pair of bottom arms to sort tired bushes cost £300, a clutch £400, disks and pads all round £220, front shocks and springs £400, a cat converter £120 and a battery for £100. It’s not let me down and I’ll happily jump in for a trundle to the south coast.” WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: PERSONAL PLATES That new DVLA computer system thing seems to make transferring personal registration plates a doddle. It doesn’t…

ASTON MARTIN AND Red Bull are plotting two variants of their new AM-RB 001 hypercar, design guru Adrian Newey has revealed. The bulk of the 99 examples due to be built at Aston’s Gaydon factory will be road legal, but there will also be a small number of track-optimised versions. “The cars are very closely related, but they are different,” said Newey, who has collaborated with Aston’s chief creative officer, Marek Reichman, on the design of the AM-RB 001. “The track-only car has bigger wheels, bigger wings and you don’t have to put on some of the things that you have to put onto the road car. You won’t need a stereo, for example. “In principle, if you kept swapping parts you could convert one version from the other, but…

INDIAN CAR MAKER Mahindra has launched its e2o electric car in the UK. The three-door, four-seat hatchback city car has a claimed 79-mile range. Unveiled last week in London by Mahindra boss Anand Mahindra, the e2o has outputs of 42bhp and 67lb ft, with a top speed of about 63mph and a 0-25mph time of 4.9sec. With a 13.9kWh lithium ion battery, it takes nine hours to charge from empty; a fast charge option taking 1.5 hours is also available. Available to purchase online only, with deliveries starting next month, the G-Wiz successor is priced from £12,995 (after plug-in grant), making it more than double the price of its Indian equivalent, which costs around £6000. However, the UK-bound e2o is an upgraded version with more safety kit, a larger battery…

BMW IS SET to give the i8 more power, an extended range, various chassis tweaks, an inductive charging option and a series of new lightweight components. The changes are part of a comprehensive midlife facelift for the high-tech 2+2, which first went on sale in the UK in 2014. The facelifted i8 is due to reach showrooms in the final quarter of next year. It’s set to adopt an upgraded petrol-electric powertrain currently being tested in a fleet of road-going prototypes as well as the latest iteration of the i8-based safety car seen at Formula E events around the globe. Details remain scarce, although high-level engineers at BMW’s research and development facilities in Munich say the revised hybrid powertrain will have a more powerful electric motor than the 129bhp unit…

FORD IS CONSIDERING the possibility of a diesel Fiesta ST, according to Ford of Britain chairman Andy Barratt. But because the newly revealed ST200 is more or less a run-out model, a diesel ST almost certainly wouldn’t arrive until the next-generation Fiesta goes on sale. More than half of the UK’s Focus STs are now being ordered with the TDCi engine, and although demand for diesel superminis is likely to fall in the face of tougher emissions standards, there will still be significant benefit-in-kind savings on more expensive performance models. Although Ford has yet to release pricing for the upcoming ST200, early demand has meant increased numbers will come to the UK. “We’ve been delighted by the response,” Barratt said at a presentation of the car recently. “It’s one of…

The Turbo S is truly a svelte supercar that can be used every day — even more so than a McLaren 570S Porsche and its turbochargers have been a contentious subject of late, but we’ll leave that alone here. Whatever your standpoint, you’ll probably know that since 1975 it has been possible to buy a 911 with forced induction. Ever since then, and although there are far more turbocharged 911s about the place these days, the Turbo (with a capital ‘T’) has occupied the 911 range’s top spot, and this S model is the cherry on top of that. The Turbo S has matured to produce some insane performance figures over the years. To give you an idea, Porsche’s 1975 3.0 930 Turbo produced 257bhp and achieved 0-62mph in 5.5sec.…

When Audi launched the A4 Allroad in 2009, its selling point was a 37mm ride height increase over the standard A4 Avant and some black plastic wheel arch protectors, creating a niche model in the mould of the established A6 Allroad. That car had adjustable air suspension and a low-range mode; the A4 Allroad had neither. By last year, Audi had nevertheless sold 100,000 examples. For this all-new model, the basic formula is replicated. In fact, the differentiation between it and the A4 Avant has slimmed to 23mm, the remaining 11mm of ground clearance coming courtesy of the Allroad’s taller tyres. And why not? Allroad customers clearly have no issue with only a modestly enhanced breakover angle. There’s five-link suspension front and back, backed by the option of adaptive dampers…

NISSAN’S SUNDERLAND plant has come a long way since it first built Bluebirds from knocked-down kits in 1986. There’s a full range of facilities to include steel pressing, engine assembly, lithium ion battery production, a body shop and two trim and chassis lines. We visit Line 1 — a model of choreographed efficiency. Workers are trained in up to five different tasks and rotate between them through three 2.5-hour stints in a working day. When a new shift begins, all 350 people on the 504-metre line are replaced in just two minutes before production restarts. Dashboards are inserted, engines are mounted, brakes are connected and doors are hung — a panoply of tasks, each completed within a set stage interval, which currently stands at just 56 seconds. A standard operation…

MODEL TESTED P90D • Price £87,680 • Power 525bhp • Torque 713lb ft 0-60mph 3.5sec • 30-70mph 3.0sec • Fuel economy 286Wh/mile • CO2 emissions 0g/km • 70-0mph 51.7m • Skidpan 0.96g Tesla Motors has been in the news lately. Its new car, the Model 3, attracted 275,000 orders in just three days – and £30,000 saloon cars, however they’re powered, don’t normally threaten to break the internet and jam up the phone lines to quite the extent that this one did. Things have been going quite well for Tesla, then. The company has started up, moved off, set about building the largest single factory in the world and is about to change gear. In 2013 it paid back every dollar it owed to the US government and became the…

The prospect of a new Mini saloon variant is very interesting (News, 6 April), but I think naming it Riley or Wolesley would be totally wrong. All upper-market Mini models have ‘man’ at the end of their names, so something to complement Clubman and Countryman is required. I think the name Sportsman would be ideal, especially as the car would obviously be a sports saloon. I’m old enough to remember that there used to be a Sportsman in the Standard Vanguard and Ensign range, so if BMW has rights to the Standard-Triumph names, Sportsman may already be registered to it. I also think the Mini Convertible should be a member of the Mini hatch group, not be a ‘superhero’ in its own right, creating a vacancy in that ‘group of…

One of the key parts of any modern car is the infotainment system, which can range from a basic dot matrix set-up to the full-blown multimedia experience. In the Vitara S, its dashboard is dominated by its 7.0in high-resolution touchscreen. Sometimes these systems can be a bit hit and miss, but Suzuki’s set-up is very good indeed. At first glance, the home screen resembles that of Ford’s Sync2 system, being divided into quarters to provide quick access to the nav, audio, Bluetooth phone system and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The system as a whole is good looking, slick in the way it operates and supremely responsive to every touch. But while it is brilliant in many ways, there is one major niggle: the home and power buttons and the…

1 Porsche Cayman (2006-2012) More than just a Boxster with a roof, sweeter than a 911 and nimbler than a gazelle being stalked by a lion, the Cayman is the trump card in the Porsche pack. Our money buys a 2006 model with a 245bhp 2.7-litre flat six engine, mounted amidships. Performance is in the order of 5.8sec for 0-62mph and top speed is 160mph. Dedicated speed freaks can seek out the even quicker 295bhp 3.4-litre S version for not much more. On the road, it’s sublime. The steering is precise and beautifully weighted, the grip strong and the handling wonderfully sweet. Savour, too, the delicious howl from that engine. Caymans of this age are well made and generally bulletproof, but always buy with a full history. 2 Range Rover…

Aston Martin has revealed its latest limited-edition sports car, the Vantage GT8, a model inspired by the GTE race car that competes in the World Endurance Championship. The GT8 follows in the wake of the successful, limited-run Vantage GT12 of last year. Just 150 examples of the GT8 will be sold, costing from £165,000 apiece. Unlike the GT12, the GT8 — as its name suggests — is based on the V8 Vantage, which has a 4.7-litre engine, rather than the larger-capacity V12 Vantage S, which uses a 5.9-litre engine. In the GT8, the V8’s power has been increased by 10bhp over the regular Vantage, giving it 440bhp, with drive being sent to the rear wheels via either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed Sportshift single-clutch automated manual gearbox. The…

The T-001 has the ability to deal with a 1400kg payload on three standard pallets Britain is expected to become home to the world’s first mass-produced electric delivery van with the launch of the Emerald T-001 late next year, Autocar can reveal. Based around a range-extender powertrain, the vehicle combines a 66-mile EV range with the ability to deal with a 1400kg payload arranged on three standard pallets. The technology opens the way for zero-emissions deliveries in towns and cities to arrive at a time when the annual average mileage of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) is growing dramatically due to the significant consumer shift towards internet shopping. Emerald Automotive is owned by Chinese car maker Geely, which also owns Volvo and London Taxi International (LTI). LTI’s new London black cab,…

THE VW GROUP can leapfrog its rivals in electric car technology if it achieves scale across all of its brands effectively, according to the firm’s technical development boss, Frank Welsch. Volkswagen boss Matthias Müller revealed at the Geneva motor show that the firm would launch an electric family car with a range of 500km (310 miles) and a recharge time of 15 minutes for a price lower than that of an equivalent Golf. Insiders had previously told Autocar that the VW Group’s highest management sees the potential for it to be the first iconic electric car and the perfect vehicle to banish memories of the Dieselgate emissions scandal. “The MEB platform toolkit gives us the perfect opportunity to gain scale by using the platform solution in as many ways as…

Future BMW M cars will be offered with all-wheel drive and increasing amounts of autonomous technology, but not to the detriment of driving engagement, according to the boss of BMW M division. Speaking to Autocar, M division CEO Frank van Meel said four-wheel drive was likely to feature on models such as the M5 as power outputs increased, but he suggested rear-wheel drive would always remain the default specification. “They [M cars] are reaching the point where growing power outputs will oblige them to do something,” he said. “They’re still wedded to rear-wheel drive for philosophical reasons, but it’s already getting hard to sell them at 600bhp-plus in markets such as Canada and Switzerland.” The BMW M boss said engineers have been working hard to improve traction, stability control and…

This is the 2.0-litre diesel model that provides the way into the new Jaguar F-Pace range. Here, it’s mated to an all-wheel drive system (rear drive is cheaper), it has an eight-speed automatic transmission (a six-speed manual is standard) and it runs on optional adaptive dampers. But for now, at least, this is the most meagre F-Pace that’s available, and it’s likely to be the model that will prove the most popular choice. In its mechanical make-up, it’s the same as the 3.0 V6, so it’s based on an 80% aluminium architecture shared with the XE and XF saloons, although the F-Pace runs to its own wheelbase and tracks. Suspension is by double wishbones at the front and an integral link (more complex, effective and expensive than a multi-link) at…

‘The Mercedes’ interior is in a different league from the Jaguar’s and richer than the BMW’s’ Watching the comings and goings of various parts of the car market, as every good Autocar reader so keenly does, grants a unique perspective on the importance of good timing for a would-be buyer. This is a cyclical business, and whatever part of it interests you will have fertile periods of renewal and fallow stretches of hibernation. You can find our advice on any particular class’s top entrants in the back of this magazine on any given Wednesday, of course – and any of our segment champions will be worth your money whenever you happen to be ready to spend it. But it’s also undeniably true that right now is a particularly good time…

I’ve often thought that even for the rich and famous — let alone the humble scribbler — there’s a price cut-off where a car’s value damages its usability. If it’s not fear of kerbing a £1500 alloy that reduces your interest in driving in town, it’s the fact that your money has bought a car of such bulk that it’s simply easier to go in a Golf. Which is where, I’ve realised as the miles keep rising, our Bentley Continental GT breaks all the rules. The new price of £125,000 has, admittedly, been reduced to £85,000 by our car’s age and mileage, but there are other things that work in its favour. Number one is the relative lack of bulk; it’s big enough to be imposing but small enough to…

For £5500, a 2003 C 32 AMG Estate is a very subtle way to strut your stuff To badge or not to badge? I had a reader with a Mercedes-Benz AMG that had the debadged option. The badge lived in the glovebox and he quite rightly wondered whether he should fess up to it being a real AMG or stay undercover. It is a proper dilemma these days. ‘Delete badge’ as an option was a thing in the 1980s when it was free — which was very generous of car makers. Well, it was in the case of BMW, which charged £50 for ‘radio prep’, or two speakers and a manual aerial. Problems begin to occur when you have genuine parts fitted. I recently bought a BMW with an M…

Autocar’s star ratings explained Inherently dangerous/unsafe. Tragically, irredeemably flawed. Appalling. Massively significant failings. Very poor. Fails to meet any accepted class boundaries. Poor. Within acceptable class boundaries in a few areas. Still not recommendable. Off the pace. Below average in nearly all areas. Acceptable. About average in key areas, but disappoints. Competent. Above average in some areas, average in others. Outstanding in none. Good. Competitive in key areas. Very good. Very competitive in key areas, competitive in secondary respects. Excellent. Near class leading in key areas, and in some ways outstanding. Brilliant, unsurpassed. All but flawless. Any car that has had a full Autocar road test is highlighted in yellow. FOR FULL RESULTS see page 85…

1 Ariel Nomad From £36,000 If there were simply a list of our top five favourite cars, the Nomad might just top it. A revelation and a riot. 2 Morgan 3 Wheeler From £31,000 The eccentric, characterful and deftly brilliant Morgan is a three-wheeled testament to English creativity. 3 Caterham Seven 360R From £30,000 The sweet spot in the revised range, its remapped 2.0 Duratec providing just the right level of performance. 4 Lotus Elise S Cup From £43,000 Road-going version of the racing Elise. Suspension mods help to make it an unbridled joy. Justifies its price tag. 5 Zenos E10 S From £30,000 The latest in a line of British mid-engined marvels. Earns its stripes immediately. Expect a dedicated following. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…