Innholdsfortegnelse for October 31, 2018 i Autocar

YOU MAY QUESTION the relevance of a 250mph, £1.75 million hypercar with a central driving position and a strictly limited production run that’s already been snapped up, yet to do so would do the quite incredible McLaren Speedtail a huge disservice. It’s so rare for a true ‘dream’ car to come along, the likes of which used to be found on posters on bedroom walls (as the McLaren F1 was for Speedtail designer Rob Melville) and now fill social media streams. The Speedtail’s spaceship looks – which won’t be to all tastes – and Top Trumps-winning stats will expose it and thus the industry to a far wider audience than any ‘conventional’ supercar might. Which young person wouldn’t want to be a car designer or engineer after seeing a Speedtail?…

The Gumpert name is returning on a fuel-cell sports coupé that’s set to arrive in 2019. After former Audi Sport boss Roland Gumpert parted ways with the Apollo brand in 2016, his latest project has gained the backing of Chinese start-up Aiways, for whom he has now taken up the role of chief product officer. The RG Nathalie, named after Roland’s daughter, has gone from an idea to a working pre-production prototype in 18 months – impressive, given the technology underneath. Aiways stretches the idea of a start-up, having begun with more than £1.3 billion of starting capital in 2016 and already built a factory in China capable of producing 150,000 cars a year. The RG Nathalie was created in tandem with Aiways’ first mass-produced car, an electric SUV called…

SKODA’S VISION RS, unveiled at the recent Paris motor show, previews the design of the upcoming Rapid replacement, the Scala. It also sets out the look of future performance vRS models and showcases Skoda’s new plugin hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. We’ve been given the chance to get behind the wheel and sample the new powertrain, albeit briefly and at slow speeds. The PHEV unit in the Vision RS combines a 148bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 101bhp electric motor to offer a total system output of 242bhp. A similar powertrain will make its debut in the facelifted Superb in 2019. The next Octavia vRS is also in line to be powered by it. On the concept, the system drives all four wheels through a dual-clutch gearbox, making use of a…

THE SOCIETY OF Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released figures showing that UK car production has fallen year on year for the fourth month in a row – dropping 16.8% in September compared with the same period in 2017. According to SMMT data, 25,610 cars were produced in UK facilities last month, with demand for British-built cars falling by 19% domestically and 16.2% in overseas markets. Overall, UK production is down by 6.6% so far this year, with 1,171,800 cars produced as of 25 October. Sales of British-built cars in the UK have fallen by 18.6% in the same period. SMMT boss Mike Hawes said the figures “highlight the many competing challenges facing UK automotive”, citing global trade wars, Brexit and the fall in the popularity of diesel. The…

At any speed in any gear, a Morgan Aero doesn’t so much rouse the deceased as haul them out of the ground by their metatarsals. Presumably, the good people of Malvern are now accustomed to this kind of ruckus. Morgan has been hand-building cars in this corner of Worcestershire since 1909 and has been using a BMW supplied V8 engine for its most serious models since the supply from Rover began to dry up around the turn of the millennium. It really is devastatingly loud in this application, firing pavement-bound pulses from a pair of side exhausts and with enough torque to turn fourth gear while trundling along at only a whisker quicker than walking pace. You can open the throttle early and wide for a locomotive chug-chug-chug that’s just…

When Land Rover chose to discontinue the Defender after 67 years, Twisted Automotive purchased 240 late-build cars straight off the bat. Adapting the British icon to be faster (this one does 125mph) and far more luxurious (think floor-to-ceiling leather) has been the Yorkshire outfit’s stock-in-trade since 2002 – and without stock, there’s no trade. Not long ago, those 240 cars would have accounted for four busy years of production – the wholesale changes Twisted makes to the oily aspects and the interior are wrought by just 10 technicians – but with customers ever keener for greater levels of customisation, it’s now enough for six. After that? Well, not every Defender Twisted breathes on has to be boxfresh, and given that three in every four cars ever built are still in…

MODEL TESTED PREMIUM SE 64KWH Price £36,295 Power 201bhp Torque 291lb ft 0-60mph 6.7sec 30-70mph in fourth na Fuel economy 270Wh/mile CO2 emissions 0g/km 70-0mph 49.9m Hyundai’s recent rise to ubiquity on British roads has been so dramatic that it might surprise you to learn the marque’s first foray over here was all the way back in 1982. That incipient offering was a cheap four-door with a sloping hatch and rear-wheel drive, yours for a mere £3075. Not that many people bought a Pony, mind; and between 1982 and 2004, Hyundai sold the Brits only 400,000 mainly uninspiring cars. It’s only since then that the brand’s popularity has exploded with a blend of outstanding warranty-backed reliability, tantalising value and much improved aesthetic appeal. Today, Hyundai competes strongly in every segment that…

“I soon realised second gear would be perfectly adequate for the entire lap” As long as I live, I may never execute a more successful opening lap in a motorsport event Having picked my team’s grid position by pulling a number out of a hat, I started the three-hour grass-track event seventh out of 19 cars. The train of tired old hatchbacks and the odd knackered coupé completed two slow laps behind the safety car before the green flag was waved. Immediately after crossing the start/finish line, we squeezed one by one through the single-file chicane, then in the long right-hander that followed I was able to drive around the outside of the car ahead of me to climb into sixth position. A corner or two later, the BMW 3…

“This is the equivalent of a hot lap of the Nürburgring for those of a knobbly tyred disposition” You’ll know Laguna Seca: the glorious California racetrack whose legend is built on turn eight – aka the Corkscrew. A freakish left-hander taken blind, it plunges car and driver almost six storeys with a viciously steep sweep to the right. Distorting and with endless scope for error, it’s nevertheless done, dusted and behind you after a few intense seconds. At least until the next lap. Now imagine driving a Tarma-cripper up and down the Corkscrew every day for a week, then sprinkling the track with knee-high granite rocks. Some of these rocks are sharp with dark, flinty edges but others are glass-smooth and slippery. Many are damp, and all are spread out…

FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if this VW Golf rival has come of age, and to pick the ‘perfect’ version It’s testament to the impact Mercedes-Benz has made with the A-Class in the UK that the arrival of this all-new fourth-generation model has been considered one of the most keenly anticipated launches of the year. We say fourth generation, but you could argue it’s only really the second given the A-Class’s radical transformation in its previous generation from futuristic, spacious, ahead-of-its-time MPV-supermini mash-up to, dimensions-wise, a meat and two veg family hatchback pitched right at the heart of the European family hatchback market. The last A-Class was a staple of the UK’s top 10 bestselling cars list each month, buyers attracted to it in their droves by…

Ford Focus RS £17,950 Ford Focus RS Mk2s for reasonable money are becoming rare. The example featured here is a 2009-reg with 73,000 miles. It’s got the Lux Pack 2 upgrade so has a sat-nav and reversing camera, on top of the Lux Pack 1’s digital radio and climate control. That’s the kit but it’s the performance you buy these things for and the Mk2 has stacks. The 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo motor produces 300bhp and 324lb ft, dispatched to the front wheels via a Quaife limited-slip diff. With the additional help of a RevoKnuckle front suspension set-up and ESP, the Mk2 RS just about keeps torque steer in check, leaving you free to enjoy arriving at 60mph from a standing start in 5.9sec. The seller says our example has a…

Ford is putting the finishing touches to a new Focus ST, due to be unveiled at the start of next year. The launch of the hot hatch will follow that of the regular car this summer, and will be timed to beat the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI to market. A Ford insider has confirmed to Autocar that the new Focus ST will feature an updated version of the 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-cylinder engine found in the current Focus RS, albeit detuned from the 345bhp it currently puts out to suit the parameters of the ST’s front-wheel-drive platform. Initial speculation was that the current range-topping 1.5-litre engine in the standard Focus would be uprated to suit, but achieving the necessary power gains would push that unit beyond its reliable limit. Power output…

“Power comes from a 1036bhp petrol-electric hybrid powertrain that will drive the rear wheels” The new McLaren Speedtail will be the fastest car the firm has produced, with a 250mph top speed that will eclipse the legendary 243mph of the F1 – and the firm says it will also be a true driver’s car. The new machine is the latest in the Woking marque’s Ultimate Series and is the spiritual successor to the 1992 F1, featuring a similar three-seat cockpit with a central driving position. The Speedtail will be produced in a limited run of 106 models, matching the production run of the F1. All have already been sold at a cost of at least £1.75 million plus taxes each. The Speedtail’s 250mph top speed is short of the record…

Volkswagen has revealed the new T-Cross with which it plans to take on the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur in the compact crossover market – and says it will be a “truly credible” SUV. The T-Cross sits beneath the T-Roc, Tiguan, Tiguan Allspace and Touareg in the firm’s range of SUVs. It finally gives VW a model in the burgeoning superminisized-crossover market, a year after sister brand Seat launched the Arona. Project manager Felix Kaschützke admitted VW was late to the segment but said that was “something we have done before”. He added: “Usually we are not the first in a segment but, when we come, we are the best. When customers hear there is a new small SUV from Volkswagen, they know we’ll get it right. We’ve put everything…

Earlier this month, EU-member governments agreed that by 2030 car makers selling in the region would have to cut CO2 emissions (improve fuel economy) from the cars they sell by 35% from 2021 levels. The cut also needs to be 15% lower by 2025. That target was already tough at 95g/km of CO2, but that would fall to around 62g/km by 2030. Only by electrifying a good proportion of their vehicles will car makers achieve that. There’s still some wrangling between the governments, the European Commission law-making body and the elected European parliament before it goes to a final vote, likely in January next year, but it’s not expected to be watered down. What we don’t know is whether the UK will be included in those targets once it has…

Subtle, fast-acting electronic traction and stability controls are the Kona Electric’s saving graces when it comes to driving it at or near the limit of grip. Leave them on and, though you’re aware that this is not nearly as alike to a true driver’s car when cornering as it is when accelerating, you won’t be that aware of how modest and easily disturbed is its hold on dry Tarmac. Lateral body control is respectable; damping is questionable, particularly when bigger inputs disturb the car’s equilibrium. Turn the electronics off and you’ll become aware just how much they were doing to prevent the car’s electric motor from giving its front tyres too much to do. The EV will spin up its driving wheels from low speed with a readiness that you…

The sheer elasticity of Ford Performance is a remarkable thing. Within the space of a year, the Blue Oval’s fast car division knocked out one of the most intoxicating supercars of its generation, then quickly followed it up with the best affordable performance car money can buy. In the same way that a coastline seems to get longer the more accurately you measure it, the gulf that divides the GT and the Fiesta ST becomes more and more preposterous the closer you look. Consider this: while the ST counts Toyotas, Vauxhalls, Volkswagens and Suzukis among its rivals, the GT costs about the same as a mid-range McLaren, plus a mid-range Ferrari. And if you were to take every penny you had set aside for a GT of your own and…

If you want to know what state the world’s automotive industry is in, ask the boss of the company that installs many of its production lines and moves its factories around the globe. “Since 2014, our annual turnover has doubled: from £60 million in 2014 to £120m in 2018,” says Andrew Hodgson, CEO of Beck & Pollitzer. “Half of that growth has come from the automotive sector. The UK is our biggest single market but, encouraged by the country’s booming economy and the prospect of trade tariffs, we’re expanding our operations from the Carolinas and Nevada in the US, and also across Europe, and into Turkey and India.” Beck & Pollitzer? You may have seen its name on the sides of those huge mobile cranes that are drafted in for…

I spotted an advertisement for the new Peugeot Rifter recently. A singularly unfortunate name – as, in the north of England, to rift is to belch unpleasantly after eating something with which one has not entirely agreed. On a side note, does the Great British car buying public care nothing for technological or mechanical excellence these days? Or do car manufacturers have a low opinion of us? Apparently, the three best features of this car are an i-Cockpit, outstanding modularity (whatever that is) and a sunroof. I realise we don’t all want, need or can afford an M3 or its like, but is there nothing about this car that will stir motion and emotion? Then again, maybe it’s just me. Peter Stones Southport, Lancs…

MILEAGE 6152 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if a utility vehicle can be an endearing everyday vehicle When the Toyota Land Cruiser arrived at Autocar Towers it had barely 60 miles on its odometer, but now, eight weeks later, it has 6152. I’ve been away for at least three weeks and when I’m around it’s not the only car I drive. Maybe that’s why I’m tired. The Land Cruiser is a short, rugged, body-on-frame bruiser with a live rear axle and low-range transfer gearbox. So naturally the vast majority of those miles have been on the motorway. Where, to my surprise, the Land Cruiser is actually really pleasant. Yes, it’s high, at 1838mm tall, and at 4565mm quite short (about halfway between a Ford Focus hatch and estate length).…

The Flying Pig had an MOT test coming up and the dashboard kept saying that it wanted a service quite soon. I decided to get a specialist with all the proper diagnostic equipment to tell me the very worst and do a proper service, rather than the cursory glance under the bonnet that passed for the pre-sale ‘service’. The nearest to me is STR in Norwich, who do all the posh tractors round here. Anyway, the good news is that it now has a full MOT. I will need to sort some new tyres. For the moment, though, I am having a lie down and coming to terms with the four-figure bill.…

Time was when Ford had performance covered. If you were a young hooligan, you bought a Fiesta ST, or if a little older, a Focus ST. But what if you were a youngish person staring family life in the face or someone with responsibilities but an itch to scratch? That’ll be the Mondeo ST220 of 2002 to 2007. Powered by a 3.0-litre V6 producing 223bhp and 210lb ft, it could do 0-62mph in a hot-hatch-baiting 6.6sec. As owner John Goldspink confirms, it’s fun surprising young blades at the lights, although you do pay in fuel consumption. About 20mpg around town, anyone? Once leased by execs wishing to upstage their inferiors but without the punch to shoot for a BMW 3 Series, most Mondeo STs long ago ended up in the…

A 2+2 coupé-convertible with a folding metal roof and a 282bhp 4.3-litre V8 – it should have been game on for the Lexus SC except that its ride and handling were below par. No matter: in 2004, the suspension was revised sufficiently for us to declare it fit for purpose. The example that we saw go to auction was a 2005 car with 61,000 miles. The hammer fell at £3127. Assuming weak spots such as the vapour canister, water pump, lower radiator and tyre pressure monitoring system were behaving themselves, and the rear subframe was free of rust, it was a good buy.…

Fledgling Swedish electric car company Uniti will manufacture its One city car in the UK. The Renault Twizy rival is set to be produced at a “pilot plant” that will be completed by 2020 in Silverstone Park, alongside the famous grand prix circuit. The company is calling the automated facility “the UK’s first fully digitised electric vehicle production site” and it will serve as a template to influence future global production as the company ramps up to its target of 50,000 units per year. The Uniti One will go on sale in late 2020, priced from just under £13,000. Initially a two-seater, the car’s structure is scalable, with four- and five-seat variants also planned for production. It’s made from recyclable carbonfibre and organic composite materials and the firm claims it…

Measuring the average CO2 of each brand’s sales output is fiendishly difficult and could offer a chance to game the system. What car makers want by 2021 is to be as low as possible on CO2 so they don’t incur fines on the existing targets, but also as high as possible so their target is less arduous for 2025 and 2030. And there is a way, according to green pressure group Transport & Environment (T&E). Car makers can double test, getting a low figure on the outgoing NEDC method of emissions testing for 2021 compliance but using the new WLTP process, which generates higher CO2 figures, for setting their 2030 benchmark. “What manufacturers are doing is trying to inflate the WLTP score to get higher starting values,” T&E’s Greg Archer…

Ever since Porsche rejuvenated the ‘Gran Turismo Sport’ moniker for the modern era, hardcore GT-division wares aside, it has been the derivative to have. No wonder you can buy the 911, Boxster, Cayman, Macan, Cayenne and this, the mighty Panamera, all in GTS form. It was back in 2011 that the recipe first made for a particularly desirable version of Porsche’s four-door saloon. Dropping the ride height, stoking the engine closer to range-topping Turbo heights – but retaining natural aspiration – and sprinkling punchy black trim over the hatchback body gave an added sweetness to the finest-handling luxury saloon on the market. Now the Mk2 Panamera has come in for a GTS makeover, and although the story is familiar, it does not whet the appetite in the same way. For…

This is a scene that has played out many times over the past 70 years. An other-worldly wheeled machine, as low as a dining table and much the same size, ricochets yelping bullets of sound through the scenery as it darts along a thread of road. Often bright-coloured and gashed with odd-shaped apertures, it frequently leaves a wake of the open-mouthed and curious behind it. They may not know who its creators are, but they’ll know that it’s outrageously fast, outrageously expensive and outrageous to behold. That scene has just repeated among the vine-ribbed hills around Alba, Asti and Cuneo in Italy, the Italdesign Zerouno gathering clusters of cyclists, smartphone-wielding truckers and gawping hikers as it bounds between villages. The Zerouno is the latest supercar born out of the Italdesign…

1 RUBICON SPRINGS The final few hundred metres before camp are bewildering as you’re forced to plot a course over a severely sloping rock bed dotted with narrow sluices. It feels like putting an Aventador up an ancient NCP at times, but there’s a beer waiting at the other side, so we plough on. 2 CADILLAC HILL The toughest obstacle we’ll tackle on this trip. Hopelessly steep, with wet rocks, unexpected gullies and jutting tree roots – we’ve got both differentials locked. The order of the day is a blend of patience and knowing when to maintain momentum with the engine’s torque. The Wrangler feels close to rolling over at times, but maybe that’s just our nerves. 3 OBSERVATION POINT It’s all about breakover and approach angles here because the…

20-PAGE SPECIAL Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 2018 Our annual 10-car shootout heads to Anglesey. Can Alpine, McLaren and company prevent Porsche from making it three in a row? FIRST DRIVE New BMW Z4 The Z4 is now a proper driver’s car. Or so BMW says. We rate it TECH SECRETS New Toyota Corolla The Auris is no more: meet the new Corolla. Is it a true Golf rival? EVERY WEEK FEATURE Road signs We explain how that 30mph sign down the end of your road was made ROAD TEST Honda CR-V Big, spacious, practical, economical – but inspiring? Our testers reveal all LONG-TERM TEST Audi A6 50 quattro Say hello to the executive saloon that is gunning for BMW and Mercedes SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p30…

MILEAGE 3730 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if Nissan’s advanced the cause of EVs at the affordable end of the market The Leaf’s indicated range with a fully charged battery has begun to drop as the weather has cooled down, as is the case with most electric cars. During the summer, I’d normally expect to see between 160 and 170 miles showing on the instrument display, but recently it’s been down to around 145 miles. That still leaves me able to cover plenty of miles between recharges, so I’m not overly concerned, as long as the indicated figure doesn’t drop much more. However, I’ve found myself looking enviously at the claimed 300-mile and real-world 260-mile ranges of the new Hyundai Kona Electric 64kWh (see road test, page 32) and…

Ian Leech has been a regular in these pages with Mercedes and BMWs. He knows his cars and how to get a bargain. Let’s see what he has been up to. “Well, my Mercedes CLK racked up 172k miles, is great in terms of the engine but has a list of advisories as long as my arm and non-working (expensive) air-con failure and some porous alloys. Hence a new motor. It is an ‘E61’ 525i. It’s done 129k miles, has 13 stamps in the book and is in great condition. Cost £2990 from a dealer. That included a full MOT and four new tyres.”…

An expert’s view JOHN GOLDSPINK “I’ve had my ST, a 2003 hatch, for almost 10 years. I got it when we were starting a family and I just kept it. Mrs G loves the practicality and I love the performance. Unfortunately, while I was away driving my BMW M3, my wife forgot to keep an eye on the ST’s oil. The crank self-destructed and I had to shell out for a recon engine at £1600 fitted. That was 20,000 miles ago when the car had some value. I’m selling it for £1000 now. I’d really recommend an ST220 but be prepared to get just 26mpg – if you’re careful.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Irregular oil changes affect chain tensioner reliability. Listen for a noise like a diesel engine as the…

Porsche Macan S Diesel Price new £49,174. Price now £44,000 In February, we reported that Porsche had ceased production of Macan diesels but the company’s recent announcement that it will no longer offer diesel models at all is a wake-up call to high-mileage Porsche fanatics wanting a late-plate deal before it’s too late. Here’s one they might like: it’s a fully loaded, one owner, 2017 Macan S Diesel with only 8000 miles on the clock up for just £44,000, a useful saving of more than £5000 on the cost of a new one. And of course being an EU6 oil-burner, it’s future-proofed (short-term at least).…