Innholdsfortegnelse for 9/5/2018 i Autocar

DAVID RICHARDS HAS made a career out of problem solving. Not only has he run one of the most successful multi-discipline motorsport preparation teams in the shape of Prodrive, but he has also become a leading protagonist in the types of lightweight materials and hybrid technologies that will become omnipresent in road cars in the coming years. His latest diverse road projects include making an amphibious car (read more on p17) and turning ambulances from diesel smokers into hi-tech hybrids, while extra-curricular activities range from the development of lightweight folding bikes to America’s Cup racing yachts (see p52). Prodrive sounds like a great place to work, then, but there are a couple of problems Richards hasn’t yet been able to solve, namely the UK’s shortage of skilled engineering talent and…

Nissan will launch a range of hybrid models to supplement the Leaf and the showroom version of the IMx Kuro electric SUV as part of its electrification plans. The company has yet to provide details of which models will be hybridised and when, but conventional hybrids and plug-ins will be offered. According to advanced product planning manager Warwick Daly, “the [Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi] alliance is evaluating the best technologies available across the group for its hybrid programme”, which is why it’s not revealing much about its strategy now. Considerable hybrid expertise rests with new alliance member Mitsubishi, and Nissan and Renault have more than eight years’ experience apiece making and selling pure electric vehicles. Daly said “not overcomplicating” Nissan’s model line-up is a consideration. The addition of hybrids and plug-in hybrids will…

The Mini E, based on this concept, will be the second electric model in the BMW Group after the BMW i3. In 2020, we’ll see the BMW ix3. MINI IS “THE MOST urban car brand” but also one of the hardest to switch to full electric power due to the size of its vehicles, according to boss Peter Schwarzenbauer. Highlighting the upcoming Mini E, which will be built in Oxford from 2019, and the alternative version of the vehicle, which will be produced in co-operation with car maker Great Wall in China, Schwarzenbauer, said: “Electrifying Mini is quite a challenge, chiefly because of the small footprint of the cars. It does not leave much room for batteries. “But if you look at the role of electrification in the urban environment…

Gunnar Güthenke – head of G-Class at Mercedes-Benz, where he’s known internally as Mr G – believes the people who buy this car fall into one of three categories. There are the ‘true off-roaders’, who, for either professional or recreational reasons, require a device capable of forging a path many would consider too challenging to undertake on foot. Then there are the aesthetes, who feel they can’t get a machine of such unique geometry and bravura anywhere else. The last group will be familiar to West Londoners, because this is the buying demographic that craves the most extravagant, bombastic creation to wear the three-pointed star. It’s a role that’s been comfortably filled since AMG began fettling the G-Class in 1999. The car’s history goes back rather a lot further in…

MODEL TESTED GTS Price £59,866 • Power 361bhp • Torque 310lb ft • 0-60mph 4.8sec • 30-70mph in fourth 7.1sec • Fuel economy 28.4mpg • CO2 emissions 205g/km • 70-0mph 41.5m The Porsche Cayman is a sports car in search of a missing Autocar road test half star. Throughout the life cycle of the current 718 Cayman’s two predecessors, the original 987 generation and the succeeding 981 were hailed as outstanding five-star affordable sports car class champions on these pages. Their dominance was utterly complete and largely unchallenged and even encompassed two outright wins in our annual Britain’s Best Driver’s Car supertest. But since this 982-generation version came along two years ago, with its choice of slightly unlovely boxer four-pot turbocharged engines, something has been missing. Enough that, when we…

Running Prodrive is not David Richards’ only job. He owns two hotels in St Mawes, Cornwall, and this year has become chairman of the Motor Sports Association with quite a large in-tray. “I could sit on the sidelines and complain or do something about it,” he says. “When you’ve benefited from a sport like I have my whole life, to sit on the sidelines and not play a part would be a derogation of my responsibilities.” Richards’ priorities are to reduce the costs of motorsport at the grassroots level to help bring through the next generation of drivers and cut the red tape around the sport and its governance to prepare it for future technologies. He says: “People say the cost of F1 should be reduced, but we should be…

Hydrogen isn’t hot air Steve Cropley and I are among the few talking up hydrogen-powered vehicles. He was right when in the 28 March issue he said: “Hydrogen will solve a lot of the issues that dog electric cars.” Once the refuelling infrastructure has been developed, hydrogen will become dominant. Given the proposed bans on new petrol and diesel vehicles, it won’t be long before the oil companies diversify into alternatives such as hydrogen. A number of issues will need to be addressed before these vehicles are common on our roads, especially around the maintenance and end-of-life recycling of the powertrain and the safety of the system in an accident. I would be happy to use one of these vehicles right now, but as a high-mileage user it is logistically…

MILEAGE 4158 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To get fully familiar with the dynamic successes and foibles of an alluring driver’s car. And to see if the UK public can ‘get’ the idea of a truly desirable Kia How many British drivers have found out how costly and inconvenient a meeting of 19in alloy wheel and ominously deep pothole can be over the past six weeks? It must be in the thousands – and two Autocar road testers are certainly among their number. It was one particular pothole found by m’colleague Matt Prior late at night on his way home from the airport that befell the nearside of our long-term Kia Stinger GTS recently. The pothole had been cut out for repair but left unfinished – and, Matt reported, made him…

Say hello to the new arrival, part-financed by the sale of our daughter’s Polo, the contents of her piggy bank and the Bank of Mum and Dad. We turned up at a dealer who sold us the Polo and there was this Golf, which wasn’t even on their stocklist. The nipper drove it and hats off to the dealer for not having kittens about letting a youngster get behind the wheel. So we bought it. And why not? It has a full dealer history, is immaculate and, as a 1.4 Bluemotion Tech, will do 53.3mpg to the petrol gallon.…

Starter motor Don’t worry – even a healthy one can turn slowly The 944 in ‘One we found’ on the opposite page could be your last chance to buy a classic Porsche for peanuts before prices rise beyond reach. That it’s been in storage is a worry, though. A 944’s rubber seals and belts, and its alloy engine, need a regular workout or they’ll deteriorate. Many sellers who say their 944s have full service histories stop maintaining them the moment they go into storage, as if a rest doesn’t count. In this case, it does. On the other hand, if this 944 is as good as its seller says, it could be the basis for a project and a nice little investment. There’s certainly enough interest in these cars. The…

Imagine a low, strong and pleasingly agile mid-engined targa-topped two-seater, designed by Marcello Gandini and equipped with a lively and eminently tunable engine created by the great Aurelio Lampredi, that gripped like a limpet and could be bought in its day for the price of a family hatchback, and you can imagine the delight with which the world greeted the Fiat X1/9. Alas, its day was a long time ago now and most are no more, but this late-1989 car with an extensive history and a current MOT made £2730 at a recent auction. That strikes us as a very good deal indeed.…

Ford is pressing ahead with its first all-new battery electric vehicle, a front-drive crossover – and it is committed to the Mondeo in Europe until the mid-2020s despite last week’s announcement that it is pulling out of the saloon and hatchback market in the US. The all-electric crossover, dubbed Mach 1 in reference to its Mustang-derived styling features, has been confirmed as a globally engineered model to be revealed next year, with UK deliveries starting in 2020. The crossover, codenamed CX430, will be built on the C2 platform used for the new Focus and has been in Ford’s product plan for several years. The CX430 will be additional to the Kuga and, since it is based on the front-wheel-drive C2 platform, it is expected to be conventional hatchback-like, with a…

Having won two Formula 1 world championships for Cooper in 1950 and 1959, Sir Jack Brabham founded Motor Racing Developments Ltd – better known as Brabham – with long-time friend Ron Tauranac in 1962. They quickly built a thriving business selling customer chassis for various single-seater formulas. The firm claimed its first world championship race win at the 1964 French GP at Rouen, with Dan Gurney driving a Climax-powered BT7. Two years later, Brabham secured the team’s first F1 title, becoming the only driver to win the championship in a car bearing his name. Team-mate Denny Hulme won the 1967 crown. Brabham sold his share in the team to Tauranac when he retired in 1970, and it was sold on to Bernie Ecclestone in 1971. With the combination of Nelson…

OFFICIAL PICTURE THE NEW BMW M5 Competition wields 616bhp – 25bhp more than the standard model. That enables a 0-62mph sprint of 3.3sec, 0.1sec quicker than the regular M5, and a 0-124mph run of 10.8sec, a 0.3sec improvement. By comparison, its Mercedes-AMG E63 S rival can cover 0-62mph in 3.4sec. Peak torque of 553lb ft stays the same as the regular M5’s but it’s produced over a 200rpm-wider range. BMW said the model gets “even more direct responses and bespoke chassis tuning to ensure a race-inspired driving experience”. Changes over the standard M5 include a sports exhaust and firmer, 7mm-lower suspension. The M5 Competition also gains gloss black for the surround on the front and side grilles, rear boot lip and Competition badging. This hotter M5 variant is the fourth…

The Hyundai i30 N has been designed to deliver a driving experience that is fun and engaging on the road, and absolutely thrilling when you’re on the no-holds-barred expanse of a race track. With a 2.0-litre turbo engine that delivers up to 275PS and 353Nm of torque, Electronically Controlled Suspension, and an advanced Electronic Limited Slip Differential that was specially engineered by Hyundai for N Performance models, the i30 N certainly has the performance credentials that matter. Inside, lots of track-friendly features add the fun factor – including a five-LED shift indicator, launch control, rev-matching for smoother downshifts, and an active variable exhaust on N Performance models that lets you hear every crackle and pop from the twin-pipe exhaust. All these features – plus throttle response and steering weight –…

For those of a certain linguistic persuasion, the mere act of being seen in one of these cars will mean they have themselves entered ‘G-Mode’. As far as Mercedes is concerned, the term refers to the driving program initiated when one of the car’s three 100% differential locks or off-road reduction gear is engaged. In the interests of increased precision on unforgiving terrain, the damping, steering, gearbox and throttle characteristics alter to give the G-Class the best chance of scaling whatever obstacles lie ahead. You won’t find ‘push-button’ settings such as hill descent control in here because Mercedes wants to retain an old-school feel. It was also interesting to hear that, during testing of rivals, the development team found the Range Rover to be hamstrung by its hyperactive electronics on…

It’s a mark of the completeness of the 718 Cayman that it plays an almost equally convincing hand at a near-£60,000 price as it does at just north of £40,000. No rival can quite shade it – even in new top-of-the-range form – in 2018. By a whisker, though, the GTS isn’t quite our favourite Cayman, and it doesn’t quite seem to be the perfect, added-excitement Cayman flagship it could have been. For anyone crying out for greater richness, performance and character from the Cayman’s flat four engines, the GTS doesn’t provide too much. Its four-cylinder boxer still isn’t as aurally thrilling as you’d like and it could plainly offer some more spectacular fireworks. Meanwhile, what the GTS does serve up – added grip, body control, security and handling immediacy…

“I’ve always looked at ambulances as heavy, old technology. How do you bring them into the modern era? That’s what we’re working on next.” David Richards, the boss of the Prodrive race team and engineering company he set up in 1984, is nothing if not diverse in his business. While closely associated with high-profile World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Formula 1 campaigns, the Prodrive of 2018 is very different to the company from the days of Colin McRae and Richard Burns piloting Subaru Imprezas to rally titles. So diverse is Prodrive today that Richards says its core business has now moved beyond motorsport, while still being informed by it: “It’s now the racing culture, the DNA that comes from it. Everything we do is approached with…

Some people say the World Rally Championship has lost its sense of adventure. And when you consider there was once an event that was so rife with peril – oncoming local traffic, giant hidden boulders, holes in the road that could swallow a car whole, giraffes, elephants – that the only way to compete with any degree of safety was to be tracked the whole way by a helicopter, it’s hard to argue otherwise. You’ll still find helicopters on WRC events today, both for filming and to get a signal from in-car trackers, but nothing on the scale seen in East Africa’s Safari Rally. The event was last part of the WRC in 2002, when the Prodriverun Subaru World Rally Team team was at its peak. Since the Group B…

SPECIAL ISSUE BUMPER 100-PAGE SPECIAL ISSUE Autocar Awards 2018: our cars and people of the year We reveal the past year’s highest-achieving cars and the industry people who made them ROAD TEST Alpine A110 Is Renault’s reborn sports car one of the world’s best? FIRST DRIVE Tesla Model 3 It’s the electric 3 Series for the masses, but is it any good? EVERY WEEK USED BUYING GUIDE Renault Wind Compact roadster is more than just a curiosity: it’s now a bargain used buy LONG-TERM TEST Mercedes-Benz X-Class Merc’s making a pick-up. Steve Cropley gets the keys for three months FIRST DRIVE Ford Fiesta Active Can a Fiesta on stilts appeal where the Ecosport doesn’t? We find out SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p44…

MILEAGE 5771 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To determine whether the most ferocious front-wheel-drive hot hatch on sale today is usable on a daily basis Our Honda Civic Type R has passed the 5000-mile mark. That’s the kind of distance in a car’s life where minor faults start to become full-on irritations, but not in this case. In fact, the Type R is actually improving with age. The engine has benefited from being properly run in, for one thing. When we first jumped into the Type R, the 2.0-litre turbocharged VTEC engine felt a bit tight, as such highly tuned units often are at first. But in recent months it’s begun to loosen up, making the 306bhp engine more responsive. That’s good for the car’s performance and it’s also been good…

There was only one truly classless yet classy car in the 1980s: the Volkswagen Golf. It had the broadest appeal: a basic GL was fine for the family unless they wanted to get somewhere in a hurry, then it would have to be the GTI. The VW badge was the guarantee of quality while the Golf meant modernity and practicality. The brilliant twist was the GTI, a charismatic combination of sports and family car. There are not too many in circulation now, but they are still relatively affordable in dreary Driver trim. Now may be the time to buy.…

An expert’s view NASH HUNTER, RETRO RESTORER “I bought my first 944 in 2005 and after I got it running right, other owners asked me to work on theirs. Soon I had a business and I haven’t looked back. For a long time, the 944 was under-appreciated and as recently as five years ago prices were on the floor. Often, 944s were worth no more than a new clutch (£800). Today you’ll need £8000 for a good car and from £14,000 for a genuinely tidy one. Everyone wants the Turbo or, if they can’t find one, the S2. My favourite is a 1983 944 with manual steering. They feel quite agricultural but much more connected to the road.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Check for oil changes at 6k miles on…

While Ford is betting on its upcoming electric car, it’s also bringing back a famous name, the Bronco, to reinvigorate its SUV line-up. The original Bronco arrived in 1966 and become an iconic model for Ford but was withdrawn in 1996. The last we saw of the Bronco was a concept shown in 2004. But last year, Ford said the name would return on a global SUV in 2020. It will take on the Jeep Compass and be more rugged than Ford’s current mainstream SUVs as the firm bids to reclaim the off-road market.…

Brabham Automotive has launched the BT62, a £1 million track-only 700bhp rival to the McLaren Senna, and the company is already planning future road cars and a Le Mans 24 Hours challenger. The Anglo-Australian brand is run by former Le Mans winner David Brabham, son of triple Formula 1 world champion Sir Jack, with backing from Australian investment firm Fusion Capital. The BT62 – which continues the nomenclature established by Brabham Sr’s Motor Racing Developments cars – is a rear-wheel-drive two-seater powered by a 5.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 quad-cam engine that produces 492lb ft of torque, directed through a six-speed sequential gearbox. Brabham claims the car produces more than 1200kg of downforce and weighs 972kg, giving a power-to-weight ratio of 720bhp per tonne. The engine is based on a block…

David Richards’ Prodrive engineering company is developing an amphibious car that could make production. The idea is inspired by the Watercar Panther, a US-developed amphibious car. Richards bought a Panther for his own use and has since made modifications to it. While Richards originally intended to carry his adapted design through to production, he now wants to create his own amphibious car inspired by the Panther. He said: “I went to see one in Los Angeles and was pleasantly surprised with the quality, so I bought one with the intention of importing some into Europe. But there’s lots of legislation, and it’s tricky for the EU with emissions and crash testing. Even single type approval had some insurmountable problems. “Now I’m inclined to do our own. We know about them,…

Confusion over the differences between hybrid and electric vehicles could be inhibiting the growth of alternatively fuelled vehicle (AFV) sales, according to a new survey of motorists. Autocar teamed up with survey research advisor Simpson Carpenter to quiz more than 1000 drivers on their attitudes to different fuel types. The responses suggest a degree of confusion still exists over the relative capabilities of hybrids and EVs. For example, a third of respondents cited concern over driving range as a reason not to consider buying a hybrid model, despite this only being an issue that affects pure electric vehicles. Although 24% of those surveyed expressed a desire to choose an electric or hybrid as their next car purchase, UK car sales do not currently reflect this level of take-up. AFVs accounted…

Remember when hot hatchbacks felt like a break from the rigorous commercial norm of the car business? Oddballs and extroverts like the Mitsubishi Colt Cyborg R, Citroën AX GT and Renault Clio V6. They certainly don’t make ’em like that any more. The modern descendants of these cars might still be fun to drive but, at least as far as the industry is concerned, they’re now not only serious cars but also serious moneymaking machines. Being seen as key ‘brand-builders’ by the companies producing them, hot superminis are now twice as popular in Europe as they were just five years ago. As a result, both the specification of this new, third-generation Ford Fiesta ST and the evident time and effort lavished on it by in-house tuning department Ford Performance echo…

Even for a mid-life facelift, the changes Mini has made to its F55-generation hatch are minimal, and pertain chiefly to the infotainment system and design, which is now partly customisable. As such, the Cooper model tested still touts a peppy 134bhp from a turbocharged three-cylinder engine, although you can now choose a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission rather than the six-speed manual that is standard. One way to tell a 2018 Mini from a pre-facelift version is by looking at the tail-lights. Should they exhibit a Union Jack motif, that’ll be the new one. The daytime-running element of the standard LED headlights is also now a complete ring, within which the indicator is integrated, and it’s now possible to replace the exterior brightwork with piano-black trim, which looks rather fetching. You might…

Alpina has always kept a respectful distance from the products of BMW’s M division, despite a relationship with BMW that is far closer than most imagine and involves far more than knocking out 1700 factory-approved cars every year. Alpina exists within the very fabric of BMW, with an entire other side to the business dedicated to developing the manufacturer’s own products on projects as diverse as the suspension for the 2 Series Active Tourer and the powertrain of the Dakar Mini. Remember the thundering V8 in the old BMW X5 4.8iS (and, indeed, the brand new Morgan Plus 8)? We have Alpina to thank for its existence. But you only need to look at the spec box (p50) to know that with its new B5, Alpina is no longer feeling…

Perhaps the biggest problem today for the motoring hack facing a clump of empty pages armed with nothing more than a new car to review is that such cars are usually irritatingly complete, rarely terminally flawed and as a result almost always poor objects at which to aim your trenchant criticism. So how refreshing it is to review a new car that is manifestly flawed in most regards and properly deficient in one or two. Then again, the Morgan Plus 8 is not new at all. This year marks its half-century and, to celebrate, Morgan is going to kill it stone dead. But not before it’s knocked out 50 of these anniversary models, one for each year of its life. The car is mechanically standard but presented so as to…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 27,495 WHY WE RAN IT To see how well suited this luxury off-roader is to executive travel If there’s a common phrase about Land Rovers to take away from the correspondence we receive, or from browsing internet forums, it’s this: “I love the car, but…” Following it might be many things. A quirk, a quibble, a complaint. It’s rare that ‘but’, phrased within “I love you, but…”, is followed by a positive. To the Land Rover Discovery 5, then, which landed on Autocar’s fleet last autumn. So do I love this car? I do. The Discovery was launched last spring. I liked it then and I like it now. It’s the big one, the practical one, the one to take on all comers and seat seven while…

QUESTION I’m very tempted by a Mk3 Toyota MR2 as a bit of summer fun. Is there anything I need to watch out for? Michael Hughes, via email ANSWER Mk3 MR2s are generally pretty reliable little cars but they do have one fatal flaw, which is that the precatalytic converter can break down and bits can be ingested into the engine, wrecking it. There’s plenty online about this problem, so do a bit of research on it first. AR QUESTION I’ve always wanted a classic Mini and I’ve just come into a bit of money. Is now a good time to buy one and how much should I pay? Dee Smith, Southampton ANSWER Classic Minis always used to be quite pricey, but they aren’t shooting up in value like some…

SUPERCAR MOULD BREAKER Here at Autocar we know a thing or two about game changers, because once a year at the Autocar Awards ceremony we nominate half a dozen cars that have managed in some way to bring higher standards to their class or defy conventions. We know, too, that once every so often a car comes along that caps that completely and simply rips up the rulebook, and back in 1990 the original Honda NSX was one of those – it was a supercar game changer. Before the NSX, supercars were difficult buggers to get along with, having recalcitrant gearboxes, awkward driving positions and intractable powertrains. If you could see out of one you were lucky, and you were blessed if you could complete a journey without AA assistance.…

Mercedes-Benz A180 Sport Price new £23,170. Price now £16,990 The new A-Class might be causing a stir, but this third-generation model never quite captured our hearts. In a class of highly proficient competitors, its firm ride and poor handling let it down, as did its noisy diesels and scratchy interior quality. However, it still looks smart, the engines are at least efficient and the new model means you can pick up a delivery mileage version of this old one and save over £6k, which isn’t to be sniffed at.…