Innholdsfortegnelse for 06/08/2014 i Autocar

McLaren and Ferrari are both just months away from launching even faster track-only versions of their respective P1 and LaFerrari hypercars. First up will be McLaren with its P1 GTR. The model is set to cost £1.98 million and will be revealed in design concept form at the Pebble Beach Concours event later this month before going into production next June. McLaren has already released the first design sketch (above) of the P1 GTR, which will differ from the standard car on which it is based in design by getting a fixed rear wing and a revised aerodynamic package for increased downforce. Wider tracks, slick tyres and uprated suspension and braking systems are also expected. The power output of the hybrid powertrain is set to be increased to 986bhp, further…

Land Rover’s new Discovery Sport will have standard 5+2 seating when it goes on sale in the UK next year. This official picture shows a final prototype testing ahead of a planned debut at the Paris motor show in October. It is clad in a camouflage wrap that shows a third row of seats installed behind the conventional rear bench. The two rearmost seats are likely to fold forward to increase load space and could be removable. Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern said the Freelander replacement would offer “spacious load space and configurable seating, while still retaining a more compact footprint than traditional five-seat SUVs”.…

Aston Martin executives are hotly debating what to call the DB9 replacement, due in 2016. “It’ll definitely be a DB,” revealed Aston design director Marek Reichman, “but what number will follow that is yet to be decided.” Chronologically, it should be DB10, but Reichman points out that, by this logic, the current car should have been called the DB8. “We skipped a number last time to try to emphasise what a big step the new car was,” he said. “As the next one will be at least as big a step forward, there’s no reason why we couldn’t do so again.” But neither will Reichman rule out simply reusing the existing name — an idea some senior Aston executives are known to be keen on. The new DB9 will be…

The Mercedes-Benz C-class cabriolet has been scooped ahead of its expected 2015 debut. The new drop-top is one of three additional body styles still set to join the latest C-class line-up. The new two-door soft-top is pencilled in to be unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt motor show. It will be the first time that a convertible has been included in the C-class line-up. Mercedes decided against doing a cabriolet version of the current C-class coupé because of its short production run. Although this mule has a hard-top, the production C-class cabriolet will use a soft-top. Styling will be derived from the new C-class saloon and estate models. Engines will also be shared with that pair. The cabriolet will be the sister car to the new C-class coupé, which, Mercedes sources…

FIRST VERDICT Alpina’s most direct swipe at a BMW M car yet produces an almost entirely convincing result SO GOOD Powertrain’s blend of punch and civility Well balanced chassis Bespoke appearance and feel NO GOOD Ultimate lack of body control Brake pedal lacks feel Shifting by button, not paddle TESTER’S NOTE Alpina knows that squidgy BMW M Sport steering wheels sap feel, so the B4 has a beautifully firm rim. AF AS NEXT MOVES go, this was not hard to predict. Hot on the heels of the D3 diesel saloon and estate, Alpina has turned its attention to petrol-powered coupé and convertible versions of BMW’s 3-series/4-series platform and this, the B4, is the result. As it costs almost exactly the same as an M4, produces almost as much power, has…

FIRST VERDICT The appeal of racy looks, refinement and luxury is now strengthened by improved economy and emissions SO GOOD More frugal V6 is still strong Classy, sporty lines Smooth new dual-clutch automatic transmission Compliant ride NO GOOD Acres of wood trim Indifferent steering feel TESTER’S NOTE Selective catalyst reduction (SCR) allows the Ultra to achieve Euro 6 and ‘clean diesel’ status. JC WHEN THE AUDI A7 was introduced in 2010, its fastback coupé styling on a five-door package proved a compelling combination. Now Audi hopes to improve the A7’s popularity still further with a facelift and revised 3.0 TDI engines, including the high-efficiency 3.0 TDI Ultra. The standard 268bhp 3.0 TDI engine has been substantially upgraded to improve efficiency and is being introduced to the A7 range for the…

The traditional bloke in a shed doesn’t tend to make a credible sports car any more. He has been usurped by 2014’s version, a far more advanced specimen, armed with the electronic tools, business nous and industry experience to design and engineer a car from his bedroom, proving that it will all work before a spanner is raised in anger. The embodiment of this thoroughly modern way of making your own car from scratch – and making sure that it works – is the new Elemental RP1, a lightweight, mid-engined roadster with 500bhp per tonne that is road legal and can be on your driveway by this time next year. Sitting between the likes of a Caterham Seven and a Lotus Exige in its blend of track and road abilities,…

MODEL TESTED 1.6 TDCi Titanium • Price £19,995 • Power 114bhp • Torque 199lb ft • 0-60mph 13.2sec • Fuel economy 40.2mpg • CO2 emissions 130g/km • 70-0mph 49.6m • Skidpan 0.84g The Ford Transit’s journey from a carrier of people to actual people-carrier has been a long one. For as long as there has been a Transit – and that’s easily as far back as anyone on this magazine can remember – there has been a variant equipped to carry passengers. Of course, for decades, these were minibuses – the humblest workhorse of the people-shifting business. That hardly changed even with the introduction of the Tourneo nameplate in the mid-1990s. Early editions were eight or nine-seaters simply made a mite plusher than they were before. However, that gentle evolution…

ALTERNATIVE THERAPY Enjoyed the article on alternatives to new BMW M4 (‘The £56k Question’, 16 July). However, if I had that amount to spend, my choice would be the subject of your used buying guide in the 18 June issue: the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. You can get one for under £50,000, so that leaves £6000 to spend on fuel, tax, tyres, insurance and servicing. Donald MacKay Inverness VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE Why would I want a BMW M4 when we can have such a lovely variety of cars and not worry too much about depreciation? I bought a secondhand Subaru P1 in 2002 and a lovely E55 AMG in 2010, while my wife has a 2008 Corsa VXR. Simon Astley Rickmansworth HIDDEN STRENGTHS To continue the debate about…

Mileage 6767 Apologies to Autocar’s new snapper, Luc Lacey, because I found myself out of the office and away in his Mazda 3 long-termer for three busy weeks. A rush of jobs and summer weekend entertainment resulted in the Mazda being pointed at Gaydon in Warwickshire and the Shuttleworth and Duxford aerodromes, and used for seemingly endless back-to-back Heathrow commuting runs. Okay, that’s hardly a cross-continent charge, but it does mean many hours behind the wheel, from the mid-morning M40 to the grind of London’s arterials. The result is that I handed the keys back with great respect for the 3, if not a burning passion. This is a handily compact car that doesn’t suffer the bloated girth of its latest-generation European rivals. The interior design is hardly spectacular, but…

CORRECT SERVICING Insights need proper care to perform correctly. They require the right spark plugs, indexed to the head and correctly torqued, for example. They also need 0w20 oil and the right tyres. EMISSIONS CONTROL A jerky engine can be the result of a failing EGR valve. A new one will cost you £250. Inspect the catalytic converter for severe rust, too. A replacement costs £1500. SUSPENSION BUSHES If there are squeaks when driving, it’s likely that the front suspension bushes are in need of lubrication. INSTRUMENT CLUSTER The LCD display can bleed, making it hard to read, and a replacement will be expensive. A specialist breaker in the US will charge about $200 and a replacement from Honda is £1200. GEARBOX OPTIONS Manual and CVT versions were available. The…

Bugatti is seeking to raise the lofty performance benchmarks established by its nine-year-old EB16.4 Veyron by unleashing an advanced 286mph successor to the iconic two-seat hypercar. The Veyron replacement is set to adopt a heavily updated version of its predecessor’s turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine. It will incorporate hybrid technology and produce in the region of 1500PS (1479bhp), officials involved in the new car’s development have revealed. The new Bugatti is currently undergoing initial conceptual engineering in a programme aimed at unveiling the car in 2016 prior to a planned start to customer deliveries the following year. The eagerly anticipated replacement for the Veyron is set to build on the key strengths of its successor by offering “the fastest top speed of any series-production road car, together with the sort of…

THE BUGATTI EB16.4 Veyron is now just 15 cars away from being completely sold out, according to officials from the Volkswagen-owned company. They confirm that 405 Veyrons have now been produced and delivered to customers worldwide, while orders have already been placed for another 30. Sticking to original plans, Bugatti says it will produce 300 fixed-head and 150 roadster variants of the Veyron up to the end of next year. Included in the overall production run of 450 units are the limited-edition Grand Sport, Super Sport and Grand Vitesse variants. There’s also a long line of exclusive one-off and ultra-low-volume variants, such as the Pur Sang, Sang Bleu, World Record Edition, Quail Special Edition and Black Bess. With 30 of the remaining 45 cars already on order, that leaves 15…

Hyundai’s next-generation i20 has been spotted completely undisguised ahead of its Paris motor show debut in October. The pictures reveal a more distinctive look, evolved from the i10, for the new supermini under the firm’s current ‘Fluidic Sculpture 2.0’ design language. At the front, there’s a bolder grille and slimmer headlights. Part of the C-pillar is blacked out, the rear window wrapping around into it. Hyundai confirmed the Paris launch for the i20 when it revealed official design sketches and initial details of the new Ford Fiesta rival last week. The firm is also plotting to launch a hot hatch version of the i20 for the first time under its N performance brand to link the road car with the World Rally Championship version. That model is not due before…

Testing of the sixth-generation BMW 7-series is at an advanced stage ahead of the car’s debut at the Frankfurt show in September next year before going on sale in 2016. Key among the goals for the new 7-series is a significant weight reduction via the use of a combination of aluminium, magnesium, high-strength steel and carbonfibrereinforced plastic (CFRP), the latter of which is set to be used not only for the bonnet and roof but also in load-bearing areas in the floorpan and body. Speaking about the new car recently, BMW boss Norbert Reithofer said: “It will set a new standard in its class in terms of weight saving.” Engineers say processes developed for the i3 and i8 have been adopted on the new BMW flagship in a bid to…

AN EVEN MORE extreme version of the Bentley Continental GT3-R is possible, according to design chief Luc Donckerwolke. The GT3-R was revealed as a range-topping performance version of the Continental at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June. The production run will be limited to just 300 examples, which will be hand-built in Crewe and finished in Bentley’s motorsport division. Powered by a retuned version of Bentley’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, the Continental GT3-R produces 572bhp and 516lb ft and is the fastest-accelerating Bentley yet, capable of reaching 60mph from a standstill in 3.6sec. Donckerwolke said a more extreme, rear-wheel-drive version of the GT3-R was possible and that there would be an appetite for it. “Why not?” he said. “The GT3-R has been a success. We’ve sold all 300 and a…

AUDI PLANS TO bring its electrically assisted turbocharging system to production on a high-performance S variant of the next Q7 SUV in 2016. Versions of the system — which combats turbo lag and improves response — have already been fitted to two concept cars: the 322bhp Audi A6 TDI Concept and the 380bhp Audi RS5 TDI-e. The SQ7 would be a new variant, although Audi currently offers the smaller SQ5 SUV, its first diesel-fuelled S model, which is powered by a 309bhp bi-turbo engine. Audi is still trialling two different systems on its concepts before deciding on a production version. The system on the A6 TDI Concept combines an electrically driven supercharger with a single turbocharger, whereas the RS5 TDI combines it with a series sequential twin-turbo system with a…

FIRST VERDICT A step in the right direction but still relies on charm more than ability SO GOOD True supercar performance Improved economy and range Best steering in class NO GOOD Limited body control on difficult roads Dash is still an ergonomic mess TESTER’S NOTE Despite an additional 24bhp, the Vanquish has a lower top speed than the Rapide, all down to Aston prioritising downforce over pure aero efficiency in the two-door. AF YOU KNOW THAT a component has been underperforming when its replacement effectively transforms for the better the entire car to which it is attached. There is more to the 2015-model-year Aston Martin Vanquish than a new transmission, but if just looking at what it does for the car on paper gives an idea of the improvements, the…

FIRST VERDICT Well executed, but a harsh ride and lifeless steering dent its appeal SO GOOD Powerful, smooth engine Smart styling High-quality cabin Four seats and storage space NO GOOD Artificial steering feel Busy ride on poorer roads No provision for a spare wheel TESTER’S NOTE Unless you really need four seats, you can buy a Porsche Boxster for £100 less than this S3 cabriolet. LK THE NEW AUDI S3 cabriolet is a high-performance version of the manufacturer’s popular drop-top A3. It packs a 296bhp and 280lb ft punch from a turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine, a rapid-shifting dual-clutch automatic gearbox and Audi’s quattro four-wheel drive system. It also benefits from the fitment of Audi’s Drive Select system, adaptive magnetic dampers, a 25mm drop in ride height, 19-inch alloy wheels, 340mm…

Rare are the occasions in life on which just one solution fits all, even when it comes to BMWs that have four doors and five seats and which can fire you at the horizon with broadly the same conviction as a bullet that has just appeared out of a gun. Because for every fast factory BMW, there is inevitably an alternative available from Alpina. And in this case the alternative is genuinely quite some weapon. So we posed one very simple question to which the answer is anything but straightforward. In a fast BMW 3-series – a very fast BMW 3-series – which is the best form of engine to have thumping away beneath the bonnet: petrol or diesel? At one time the answer would have been an entirely predictable…

Although the Tourneo name was introduced in 1995, it was the launch of the original Tourneo Connect in 2002 that started Ford on the path towards a privately owned Transit product. Although the ground had already been well softened by existing van-derived cars, such as the Citroën Berlingo — and the Ford remained a studiously commercial product — the model’s huge flexibility, natural robustness and value for money are all features bequeathed to its successor.…

THE INSIDE STORY This is more ‘Inside the body’ than ‘Under the skin’, because it’s worth noting. From the front backwards, then. The front seats get height adjustment and a centre armrest, pleasingly. The second row of seats doesn’t slide, but the seatbacks fold down on to the bases, two-thirds/one- third, and can from there can be pushed lower, to sink on to the floor. The rear two seats are separate and slide fore and aft. To fold them, the bases are flipped over and the seatbacks drop down on to them. It’s better to slide them forward before folding them, though, otherwise their covers can interfere with the tailgate. In seven-seat guise, the boot floor is higher, but it also means the load bay is flat along its whole…

When you go to dispose of a Tesla Model S in the US, Elon Musk has personally guaranteed a disposal value equivalent to a similar-spec Mercedes S-class. This is the most significant part of the jigsaw that is missing in the UK for Tesla, and it will need to be addressed before owners, particularly business owners, can make a case for the Model S against its internal combustion-engined competitors. The good news is that depreciation in the American market is well under 10 per cent on the first year and showing no signs of weakening, with used cars selling quickly through the owners’ forum. I haven’t been able to resist being part of the first real movement for alternative fuel. My Model S is due in September, and I can’t…

For the rag-top driver, weather in this country is frustrating. We get plenty of days when only a fool would retract his or her folding roof, and even more when it’s nearly okay to unveil the cockpit of a convertible but in truth probably isn’t. At times such as this, the investment in a convertible seems like a bit of a bad idea. Then occasionally, often without warning, we enjoy the most wonderful weather imaginable: cool mornings morphing into warm days and endless evenings, benign zephyrs nudging fluffy clouds across the bluest skies in Europe. On days like these you wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, and the dosh your folding canopy cost becomes some of the best money you ever spent. We’ve seen quite a few of these special…

THE SUPER Sport World Record Edition of the Veyron had no speed limiter and was capable of 268mph. So even though aerodynamic drag increases at the square of speed, if you up the power enough, it’s entirely feasible that an extra 18mph is there for the taking in its successor. But we’re well into the realms of academia now. The only place you can genuinely test a 286mph top speed is the VW Group’s own test track in Ehra-Lessien, where the Veyron speed record (and the McLaren F1’s 240mph top speed) were recorded. Which, of course, no one outside Volkswagen can use. And although making a car that can do 286mph is one thing, making a road car do it on road tyres is rather more difficult. Getting to maximum…

Jaguar has shown off some of the styling of its new XE saloon for the first time in this official picture. This image reveals the front-end design of the XE in S trim. Power for this car is likely to come from the same supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engine as the one that’s used in the F-type V6 S. The styling of the XE doesn’t stray too far from themes already established by Jaguar design chief Ian Callum and his team, the car having a modern yet still premium look and feel. Familiar from the F-type and XF is the XE’s front grille, scaled to fit on the BMW 3-series rival. The slim headlights have an LED light strip running from the outside around the bottom of the unit, which creates…

AN ALL-NEW Kia Sorento will go on sale in the UK early next year, priced from about £25,000. The Nissan X-Trail rival will be revealed in South Korea later this month. Official design sketches show a much sleeker profile for the new seven-seat SUV and the adoption of the latest interpretation of the firm’s ‘tiger nose’ front grille. Although the new Sorento’s engine line-up has yet to be confirmed, the current car’s 194bhp 2.2-litre diesel is expected to be carried over with improved performance, economy and emissions. Four-wheel drive should be standard, with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Reports suggest that Kia could offer a hybrid version, with a 2.3 petrol engine and electric motor, after launch.…

EARLY ENGINEERING mules for the next-generation Audi A8 have hit the road. The 7-series rival is likely to join the BMW in making its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt show in thinly veiled concept guise before going on sale in 2016. Underpinning the new A8 will be the firm’s newly developed MLB platform, which is set to be used first on the upcoming Q7 SUV replacement. The MLB platform is different from the Volkswagen Group’s revised MSB platform, which is being engineered by Porsche and will be used by the second-generation Panamera and third-generation Bentley Continental GT range. This means there will be two bespoke platforms for the VW Group’s full-size models. The mule seen here uses the new platform under a current A8’s modified body. It shows that the…

Last week London mayor Boris Johnson announced plans for an ‘ultra-low emissions zone’ (ULEZ) in the capital. Due in 2020, the ULEZ would require all diesel vehicles to comply with EU6 emissions regulations and all petrol vehicles to have at least EU4-compliant engines. Any vehicle that doesn’t meet those standards will have to pay over £20 to enter the congestion charge zone. Johnson also said he wanted to see London’s fleet vehicles transformed by the end of the decade, with “200,000 ultra-low emission cars, 7000 zero-emission-capable taxis and 11,500 ultra-low-emission private hire vehicles”. The announcements were prompted by the European Commission launching formal legal proceedings against the British government back in February. The UK had failed to meet Europe’s 2010 air pollution regulations and is facing the threat of fines…

FIRST VERDICT A far sharper, more sporting Rapide than before, which is broadly if not entirely good news SO GOOD Transformative new gearbox Sharpened handling Improved fuel consumption Best-looking car of its kind NO GOOD Ride on the limit of acceptability Rear cabin still cramped TESTER’S NOTE Rapides were first built by Magna Steyr and, since 2012, Gaydon. They always feel the best-built Astons. AF AS WITH THE revised Vanquish S (see p30), the real story of the 2015 Aston Martin Rapide S is beneath the skin. The most obvious change is the adoption of the same eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox used by the Vanquish S, which releases the performance hitherto pent up in the Rapide’s svelte shape. It knocks a whole half a second off the 0-62mph time and…

FIRST VERDICT Bigger Golf majors on practicality, but a lack of engagement leaves it trailing behind Ford’s C-Max SO GOOD Comfortable and spacious Intuitive touchscreen Composed and unflustered handling NO GOOD Not quite as versatile as a C-Max Bland, uninspiring styling Stiff gearshift and no sixth gear TESTER’S NOTE Even larger passengers won’t struggle for comfort, thanks to the SV’s added height and length. DM WE LIKED VOLKSWAGEN’S new Golf SV hatch-cum-MPV enough to give it the nod over the BMW 218d Active Tourer in last week’s issue. Now on home turf, we’ve swapped the 2.0 TDI of that car for the less powerful but more frugal 1.6 TDI. The transposition of the regular Golf’s looks on to the SV is successful, but the overall design remains a little bland,…

Curious to have a decider so early in a group test, but needs must. These three – the new Citroën C1, Peugeot 108 and Toyota Aygo – are the reason we’re having a city car group test now, but given that they’re so similar outside, they’re all but the same inside and they’re identical underneath, it seems daft to put them all through the test proper. So choose now we must. Only one will get a place on the following pages. And when it comes to deciding, it’s all about the spec and the money. Well, all city car purchases are largely about the spec and the money, but when the differences elsewhere are this negligible, there’s precious little more to worry about. Which of these three is it, then?…

Here’s where some of the ‘premium’ differences between Ford’s regular cars and a car like the Tourneo come in. The Grand Tourneo Connect gets a mono LCD screen above its stereo controls, which are slightly convoluted themselves, as on many other Fords. There are four buttons beneath the keypad, referenced on the small screen, and it’s not the most intuitive of systems. Still, there is phone connectivity with acceptable call quality, and the cabin is quiet enough that the stereo does not have to be turned up to speaker-blowing levels to be heard. The steering wheel controls are intuitive enough, too.…

Awhile back we compared a current Civic Tourer BTCC car to its equivalent from 2000, a Honda Accord (‘Family Feud’, 4 June). While there, Mark Tisshaw got Honda works driver and BTCC legend Matt Neal to pore over the differences between our long-termer and Honda Racing’s Civic Tourer-based 2014 BTCC car. His verdict? Unsurprisingly, the road car and racer have little left in common. In the 1990s, the Super Touring cars had to be road car-derived and homologated for race use. That’s no longer quite the case with the current NGTC regs. While a Civic Tourer will cost you from around £21,000, the racer is at least 10 times that — before the engine. Neal reckons the performance is about 10 times greater, too — not only in a straight…

As the cost of fuel continues to rise, more and more people are considering a hybrid these days. However, buying a new hybrid has a lot of drawbacks. Yes, it might average 60mpg on your commute, but it’ll also be depreciating at a rapid rate of knots. Unless you do your sums very carefully, it’s likely that you could lose money instead of save it. Still, this doesn’t preclude you from indulging in some cost-effective hybrid motoring — and one of the more interesting ways to do that is with the distinctive original Honda Insight. Honda’s compact three-door hatchback — launched into the Japanese market at the end of 1999 and into the UK in 2000 — featured a hyper-efficient 67bhp 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine and an electric motor. This electric…

There are few things as enjoyable as heading out to a car auction, be it classic or modern. It’s an excellent opportunity to get up close and personal with an eclectic mix of cars and a potential way to net an interesting car. That’s not to say that there aren’t catches, though — particularly if you’re looking at rapidly appreciating classics from the late 1980s or early 1990s. For example, at a recent auction, a clean 1993 Volkswagen Corrado 16v sold for a substantial £2730. In some respects, that doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable for a popular and increasingly coveted car. It had an MOT until August, two previous owners and a comparatively low mileage of 63,328. A few weeks before, however, I’d watched an online auction for a 1994 Corrado…