Innholdsfortegnelse for 15/06/2016 i Autocar

THE SOCIETY OF Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) estimates that almost £225 million is to be invested in our automotive supply chain over the next three years. A survey of more than 100 SMMT members involved in the supply chain found that 68 of those companies plan to expand their workforces between now and 2020. The challenge is finding people willing to take up those positions and maintain the momentum. Some members are concerned that a shortage of new staff could impede their growth plans. Autocar prides itself on playing a small part in encouraging new car industry talent via our Next Generation Award, organised in conjunction with Courland Automotive. The award, which challenges young talent to come up with an idea or innovation to improve the UK automotive business,…

BMW HAS BEGUN testing a more powerful version of the i8 ahead of a planned facelift for the low-slung 2+2 next year. Caught testing on the streets of Munich in Germany, the heavily modified i8 incorporates many of the developments used by the company’s i8-based Formula E safety car. These include a modified air extractor unit with an additional Gurney flap along its leading edge for the front-mounted electric motor within the bonnet. The car’s rear has also been reworked, with a carbonfibrereinforced plastic tailgate incorporating eight individual air vents that replace the glass window used by the standard i8. The revised tailgate hides two heat-extracting fans, which are fitted to the i8 Formula E safety car. These are intended to improve the cooling efficiency of the rear-mounted turbocharged 1.5-litre…

A facelifted Renault Clio has been revealed prior to going on sale in October. The mildly revised Ford Fiesta rival gets full LED headlights, a redesigned front grille and a reprofiled rear bumper. A new 1.5 dCi 100 diesel engine also joins the line-up and will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. New convenience features have been added, including an autonomous parking function on higher-end models and front parking sensors and a rear parking camera on mid-range versions. Entry prices are expected to rise from the £11,145 of today’s car to around £11,500.…

An electric-powered Mercedes-Benz SUV concept will be unveiled at the Paris motor show at the end of September. High-ranking insiders describe it as the company’s first step in a broad electric vehicle strategy. The new concept is currently undergoing construction at Mercedes’ prototype workshop on the outskirts of Stuttgart in Germany. It is said to provide “a clear insight” into the external appearance, interior appointments, technical layout and overall dimensions of Mercedes’ first truly dedicated electric vehicle: a uniquely styled SUV conceived to take on the Tesla Model X as well as new electric SUVs planned by Audi and Jaguar. The new zero-emissions SUV is tentatively planned for a 2019 introduction and is the first in a series of new electric vehicles currently under development at Mercedes. The company’s future…

The Aston Martin Vantage GT8 is another hefty jab thrown in the direction of Porsche by a car maker with designs on the track day niche monopolised by the 911 GT3. It’s also specifically intended for anyone who admired the firm’s first road-legal track special last year – the incredible Vantage GT12 – but baulked at that car’s £250,000 price. Or those who, for one reason or another, dithered and dallied for just long enough to miss out on the 100-unit production run. Low-volume specials are going to be an increasingly important part of Aston’s business model, so the company needs to be smart enough to satisfy appetites like the one the GT12 left in its wake. And so here it is: the track-ready Vantage, take two. The GT8 flows…

It’s impossible not to approach this prototype version of Abarth’s 124 Spider without trepidation. Fiat’s in-house tuner hasn’t always made a brilliant job of tuning Fiat products, so the thought of what it might do to a lightweight and just plain lovely Japanese roadster is an ominous one. Abarth prefers not to mention the Mazda MX-5 on which the 124 Spider is based, and that’s fair enough. After all, it’s not its job to construct platforms but to improve what’s already there. Accordingly, Abarth’s Spider was developed alongside Fiat’s but also knowingly separate from it. To that end, the wick of the 1.4-litre Multiair engine has been turned up, rendering 168bhp where previously there was 138bhp, while torque rises modestly to 184lb ft. More important is that the Abarth gets…

If you want a snapshot of how electronics have changed cars, drive a 1970s classic It’s easy, having ideas. Carrying them out is more challenging. This was the direction of my thinking at 6am on a Sunday morning in March, when I pitched up at the London address of Mr Stan Papior, master photographer, to drive with him to Geneva for the annual car show, one of the better dates in the motoring year. Our transport? A 1976 Ford Fiesta. It wasn’t the novelty of the trip that created my concerns that morning. We’ve both driven the route many times – me most notably years ago in a 1912 Ford Model T. On that occasion, we took a leisurely three days to cover the 600 miles to the Swiss capital…

Repairs To aid with repair work, body panels are often removable with just a couple of clips. The rear section of Strakka Racing’s Nissan-powered Gibson, for example, can be taken off in just a few seconds. Refuelling Aside from a refueller and fire extinguisher operator, no other pit crew members are allowed across the pit garage line during refuelling. This is therefore the ›irst action during a stop. Driver change During a driver change, the one exiting the car will remove his seat insert and the one getting in will ›it his own. Tangled belts and sticking doors are common reasons for delays here. Cleaning Each pit mechanic has multiple jobs. One extra task is to clean the car’s headlights and windscreen. Cars will often run with windscreen tear-offs, which…

HIRE LIES THE PROBLEM I booked a Mercedes-Benz A-Class automatic through Auto Europe for my wife to collect on holiday. Auto Europe’s website states ‘Mercedes A-Class or similar’. My wife received a Seat Leon. On complaining that she expected an A-Class, they resorted to their ‘or similar’ get-out clause. Car hire companies categorise similar cars by size only, which surely isn’t fair. The fact that a Mercedes is classed as a premium brand — and the Seat is not — doesn’t come into it. Surely a ‘similar’ car would be a BMW 1 Series or an Audi A3. They have premium badges and the cars are similar prices. It’s not just about size, and it’s wrong that many hire car companies have ambiguous definitions of the word ‘similar’. Stan Wildhirt…

There’s a good reason why our photographers and videographers run some of the largest and most spacious cars on our fleet. It’s because they are invariably carrying mountains of gear and need to accommodate cameras, tripods, luggage cases and all the rest. At first glance, then, the XE wouldn’t appear to be a suitable companion. We’ve noted in the past that, at 455 litres, the XE’s boot is smaller than those of its rivals from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but videographer James Holloway said he was impressed by how our Jaguar swallowed all of his gear. That said, some clever packing was required. He also noted how the slope of the boot floor made loading larger items difficult — something I found too, when I took the XE on a…

READER’S CAR: FORD COUGAR Andrew Sloan has a 2000 Ford Cougar V6 he picked up for £300. “Having sold my last sensible runabout, I went hunting for something big, thirsty and full of toys but unloved,” he says. “It’s amazing what you can buy for so little. The Cougar had 88,000 miles, full history and a folder full of receipts and had been well cared for by an elderly previous owner who’d sadly just passed away. It sounds great and is totally solid, aside from a small blister on one arch. Everything works, but 24mpg is certainly a downside.” SEND YOUR BANGERNOMICS TALES TO JAMES Twitter: @Bangernomics Email: james@bangernomics.com WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE THIS WEEK: £15K HOT HATCHES I at found £15,000 myself , and looking realised at…

The STI Time Attack’s power-to-weight ratio is comparable with that of a GT3 racer A heavily modified, 600bhp Subaru WRX STI driven by rally ace Mark Higgins has smashed the car lap record around the Isle of Man TT’s Mountain Course. Higgins, bidding to eclipse the record he set in a near-production-spec Subaru in 2014, posted a lap time of 17min 35.139sec, which equates to an average speed of 128.73mph around the 37.73-mile circuit. He hit a maximum speed of 168.6mph through the speed trap at Sulby. By comparison, his 2014 benchmark stood at 19min 15.88sec (117.51mph). The Subaru WRX STI Time Attack was purpose-built to FIA competition car safety standards for Subaru of America by Banbury-based preparation specialist Prodrive, which used its experience in both rallying and endurance racing…

The automotive industry is broadly in favour of the UK remaining in the European Union, according to a survey by Autocar of the main players in this country. As the UK gets ready to vote on 23 June on whether to stay in or leave the EU, the general sense is that the car industry backs the Remain campaign. This is particularly the case for car manufacturers with owners based on the Continent or overseas and plugged into a European supply base and sales channels. But many automotive trade associations and businesses that rely mainly on trade inside the UK are staying neutral, outwardly at least. MANUFACTURING Last year 57% of the 1.5 million cars built in the UK were exported to the EU. With the bulk of the companies…

MAZDA HAS REVEALED a new electronic chassis assist system that puts an emphasis on stability and long-distance comfort rather than outright handling prowess. The system, dubbed G-Vectoring Control (GVC), will be released later this year and is part of what the company says is a new philosophy that puts the emphasis on greatly reducing driver fatigue and stress. GVC uses tiny changes in engine torque output to put extra weight on the contact patch of the front wheels, allowing a driver to steer around corners at a steady speed with a greatly reduced need for multiple steering corrections. The system also helps to reduce lateral forces on the occupants on the roughest road surfaces. Mazda says the philosophy will extend to maximising the comfort of the driver and reducing the…

Ssangyong will launch three new models over the next three years as part of a plan to achieve profitability and boost global production to 500,000 units a year and UK sales to 10,000. Next year it will replace its Range Rover-sized Rexton 4x4 with an all-new model. The new Rexton, codenamed Y400, is aimed at Hyundai’s Santa Fe. It will come with a choice of new 2.2-litre diesel and 2.0-litre turbo petrol engines and equipment will include lane departure warning and autonomous braking. Prices are expected to start below £30,000 in the UK. In 2018 Ssangyong will launch a new Rexton-based full-sized crew-cab pick-up, codenamed Q200, to battle Ford’s Ranger and Toyota’s Hilux. It will come with a choice of two wheelbases and two load bay lengths. Power will come…

MERCEDES-BENZ IS poised to launch a major electrification onslaught with a switch to 48V systems that will allow the installation of mild hybrid assistance on almost its entire range over the next few years. The first application will be a new M256-designated straight six petrol engine that will be introduced in next year’s facelift of the S-Class and includes an electrical motor attached directly to the crankshaft. This can act as both an alternator and a starter — allowing the engine to fire up in just a fraction of a second — but it will also be able to add assistance and harvest electricity through regenerative braking. This new straight six will progressively replace V6 engines throughout the Mercedes range. Although no statistics on the petrol engine have been revealed…

The Jaguar F-Type SVR isn’t your typical ‘halo’ sports car. It was not part of the script written by Jaguar’s product planners in the build-up to the launch of the F-Type Roadster in 2013. It was not being thought of as engineers prepared the F-Type R Coupé for launch a year later. As those same engineers will tell you, when they finished the 542bhp R Coupé, they thought they’d taken the F-Type as far as it could go as a high-performance model. But when the limited-run F-Type Project 7 came along last year, it changed the picture – firstly by demonstrating that an appetite for an even more powerful and expensive F-Type did exist, and secondly by allowing the specialists who would go on to be in Jaguar Land Rover’s…

Audi labels this car the ninth-generation S4, which is a little sneaky given that it has counted both new and facelifted models launched since its inception in 1991 to reach that figure. Pricing is yet to be revealed, but the new S4 is expected to cost only slightly more than the £39,310 of the previous model. The S4’s styling changes over the A4 are subtle and easy to miss at glance. Up front, there’s a slightly more structured bumper, lightly reworked single-frame grille, chrome window trims, wider sills and a new rear bumper with an integral diffuser housing twin oval tailpipes. Power comes from a new turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine, which replaces the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 of the previous S4 and brings a 14kg weight reduction and a 21bhp increase…

The XR2 is enthusiastic and exciting and once offered lots of flash for little cash Travelling to Dagenham to experience some old Fords on Essex back roads might not sound like the stuff that driving dreams are made of, but this is a chance to experience pretty much the whole hot Fiesta bloodline in a single day. It’s also an excuse to visit the Ford Heritage Collection, which is housed in an anonymous-looking industrial unit that sits on the edge of the diminished Dagenham factory site. The arrival of the Fiesta ST200 (see p20) provides an excuse to dust off some of the collection’s hot Fiestas from throughout the ages, and we’ve seized the opportunity to make a back-to-back comparison of four generations in one day. It’s not the definitive…

Citroën should reinvent the 2CV Mulling over the figures from the current global trends in the car industry (‘India tops global growth as sales of small SUVs boom’, 4 May), I couldn’t help noticing the rise in popularity of small crossovers. It made me wish for Citroën to downsize the C4 Cactus and build a 21st century answer to its 2CV — badged C3 Cactus, perhaps. Chuck in a 1.0-litre Puretech engine, manual gearbox, panoramic roof, Airbumps, no mod cons and a sub-£10,000 price and what’s not to like? A perfect city car — for me at least. Those remarkable sales figures make a C3 Cactus concept car worth a punt, surely? Mike Spencer Via email WIN Letter of the week wins a ValetPRO exterior protection and maintenance kit worth…

With a week’s holiday booked and plenty of sun forecast, there was only one car on the fleet that would do: the MX-5. As Friday arrived, it seemed like a solid choice. The sky was blue, so the roof was dropped and my 90-minute commute became something to savour. As Saturday dawned, I attempted to show my wife that the little Mazda was more practical than you might think. We were due at a friend’s Eurovision Song Contest party that night, so I crammed the boot with our bag, some rainbow-coloured afro wigs, platform boots, a few bottles of wine and our duvet. While it all fitted, just, we did have one other occupant to carry: our dog, Sprocket. With no room at all behind the seats, she ended up…

1 Volvo XC90 Ocean Race (2005-2006) The practical seven-seat Volvo XC90 SUV got the special-edition treatment in 2005 to celebrate the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, which kicked off in Vigo, Spain, in November 2005 and finished in Portsmouth Harbour in May of the following year. Buyers of this celebratory XC90 received Volvo Ocean Race badging, bespoke stitched leather seats, special kickplates, luxury blue mats, aluminium roof rails and Ocean Blue pearl paint on top of the XC90’s regular SE trim. Prices for limited-run XC90s start at around £5500, but if it isn’t to your taste or needs, Volvo also sold Ocean Race editions of the XC70 and V70 estates. 2 Fiat Panda 750 Italia 90 (1990) With Italy hosting the 1990 World Cup, Fiat’s football-mad bosses marked the event by…

BMW’s i division will build a prototype battery-powered i8 which could result in the sleek coupé switching from a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain to fully electric propulsion in the future. The secret programme will give the i8 a significantly larger battery and a trio of new high-revving electric motors in place of the hybrid system it uses today. The move comes as BMW i division seeks to ramp up its research operations ahead of a confirmed expansion of its existing two-model line-up around the turn of the decade. The plan is for the electric-powered i8 — which may be pressed into action as a successor to the current i8-based Formula E safety car next year — to be based around the carbonfibre structure developed for the BMW i division’s fuel cell…

Mini has revealed a new track-focused version of the John Cooper Works hot hatch, inspired by its latest Mini Challenge racing car. Set to make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the JCW Challenge is based heavily on the standard JCW model. It shares that car’s specifications, using a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine with 228bhp and 236lb ft and achieving 0-62mph in 6.3sec. With a limited run of 100 units and destined for the UK only, the JCW Challenge is distinguished visually by enlarged front air intakes, tweaks to the wheel arch extensions and a rear spoiler. These features are part of the JCW Pro Accessories pack, which is available as an option on the standard model. Engineering changes include chassis, tyre and brake alterations, using suppliers that already…

MERCEDES-BENZ HAS confirmed it will sell a production version of the GLC powered by a hydrogen fuel cell next year, but UK buyers face a longer wait. The GLC F-Cell will also have a rechargeable battery pack, making it the world’s first plug-in fuel cell hybrid. It has a compact cell stack that was co-developed with Ford and fits in the space that would normally be the engine compartment. Electrical power is sent to a motor that drives the rear wheels. There won’t be a four-wheel-drive version. The need to achieve Mercedes’ target of a 500km (310-mile) range means the F-Cell has two hydrogen tanks, both made from ultra-strong carbonfibre weave. One is mounted longitudinally under the centre of the car and the other transversely at the back. Total hydrogen…

It felt like Ford made us wait for the original Fiesta ST. The cooking model was already half a lifecycle old before the idea appeared to be turning slowly through Dearborn’s ruminative cogs. Prior to that, the vocal clamour of fast Ford fans had to be sated with nearly-but-not-quite options like the Zetec S, which was caramel sweet to steer but lacked the power to provoke interesting questions of the clearly exceptional chassis. It took so long, in fact, that its eventual arrival in 2013, as a 15mm lower, 180bhp midget gem, might have been an anticlimax if the result hadn’t proven so conspicuously brilliant from day one. Unarguably the best small hot hatch since the Renault Clio RS 182, it was, we said, the “default choice” and it secured…

Tesla has already shaken up the luxury car market with the electric Model S saloon and its combination of rapid performance, low running costs and respectable range. But as impressive as all that is, the saloon car seems to be a dying breed, due to the ever-increasing popularity of the SUV. The answer? Make an SUV. And that’s just what Tesla has done with the Model X. It was first seen as a concept in 2013, but there have been a number of delays caused by issues relating to the unusual ‘falcon wing’ rear doors and rear seat mounts, among other things. Although this car was originally pencilled in for a 2014 release, it still promises cutting-edge technology. This includes ‘autopilot’, those automatic falcon wing doors and a range that…

The Ateca breaks new ground as Seat’s first SUV. Despite this, the Spanish brand has been careful to ensure that it remains recognisable as a Seat. At the same time, although there are elements of Leon inside and out, it avoids looking like a photocopied hatch on stilts. In the metal, it’s one of the better-looking cars in its class. There’s substance beneath the skin, too. The Ateca is underpinned by the same MQB platform that can be found underneath the Volkswagen Tiguan, but the difference is in price. Atecas start at just under £18,000 and even our 187bhp automatic 4x4 test car came in at less than £30k before options. Being a Seat, the Ateca isn’t all about practicality. The manufacturer talks of dynamism, agility and driving pleasure, too.…

Mileage 2848 As our Leaf rolls on, impressing everyone who drives it with its comfort and refinement, I feel I’m becoming integrated into polite Leaf society. In the course of our time with the car, I’ve spoken to more than a dozen owners (interestingly, the ones I’ve met have almost always been travelling at least two-up), all of them at charging points in the south of England, and started to learn the habits of the common or garden electric Nissan buyer. The first I met was at Membury services on the M4; he was on a journey with his wife from Malvern to Reading. While we each waited for our 80% charge (this guy knew very well, and I’ve since learned, that pursuing the final 15% isn’t worth the extra…

How about our leader turning up in a TVR? A £12k Chimaera would be nice I had not planned to write about what the Prime Minister buys for his missus, but having been hauled onto the radio waves to explain it all, clearly it is a matter for national debate within the pages of Her Majesty’s Autocar. Now, if I bought Mrs R a £1500 Micra, I’d be in the divorce courts before you could say ‘Nissan’. No offence to the harmless little runaround, but it doesn’t fit our aspirational lifestyle. For the Camerons, though, it is bang-on politically correct: an affordable British-built hatchback that won’t break down. So for the first lady it is perfect, in a ‘we’re all in this together’ fashion. Sam Cam will love the blue…

Convertibles 1 Porsche 718 Boxster From £39,600 Our ideal drop-top is also an exceptional sports car to drive. New turbo four-pot blunts its edge a little. 2 Audi TT Roadster From £32,000 Plenty of pace and driver reward, along with Audi-brand prestige and design-icon style. 3 Mercedes-Benz E-Class From £42,000 Big, genuine four-seat cabrios are rare birds, particularly when they’re as refined and sophisticated as this. 4 BMW 4 Series Convertible From £34,900 Mixes sporting driving dynamics with fine engines and usable back seats. Folding metal roof provides security. 5 Vauxhall Cascada From £24,500 Lacks the premium brand pull but little else. Competent and comfortable; not troubled by sporting ambition. Visit autocar.co.uk for all of our Top Fives…