Innholdsfortegnelse for May 22, 2019 i Autocar

FEW CARS HAVE such a large question mark hanging over them as the next Vauxhall Corsa. Most cars typically spend four to five years in development before emerging as a polished product (well, in theory…) but the new Corsa is now almost ready for its imminent reveal in little over two. Such a short development is practically unheard of for a mass-produced car. For it to happen to one as crucial to its maker’s volumes as the Corsa is to Vauxhall is remarkable, even more so after the current one ultimately fell some way short of the class best. But as Matt Prior finds out from a drive of a late-prototype version (p46), it shows no signs of holding the Corsa back. Should we be surprised? Vauxhall is a company…

THE PROJEKT GRENADIER 4x4, a Land Rover Defender-inspired off-roader built by British firm Ineos, could spawn a hydrogen-powered version. An engineering study is scheduled to be started shortly to “assess the feasibility and production of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered 4x4”. The description is included in a list of £25 million worth of grants awarded by the government last week. Figures show that Ineos’s feasibility study will cost a modest £249,000, with Westminster providing half of that. Transport minister Jesse Norman said the grants were for “the next round of low-carbon vehicle projects for vehicles that are not just clean but connected, too”. The new hardcore 4x4 will feature BMW-sourced petrol and diesel engines first when it launches in 2021. No factory site has been outlined yet, although rumours suggest Ford’s…

MERCEDES-BENZ HAS unveiled the latest in a long line of experimental vehicles in an ongoing project into advanced safety technology. Based on a yet-to-be-launched petrol-electric GLE, the ‘ESF 2019’ research project acts as a rolling showcase for new and improved safety functions that Mercedes expects to incorporate on its future models. Among the project’s innovations are those that the German car maker calls “near series” as well as developments that “look well into the future”. The ESF 2019’s developments include a new holistic driver environment that features a retractable steering wheel and pedal box as well as ideas for new airbag installations that Rodolfo Schöneburg, the head of Mercedes vehicle safety, said “take into account the greater interior flexibility offered by autonomous vehicles”. He said: “The great advantage of automating…

HOT ON THE heels of the Goldfinger DB5 (Autocar, 15 May), Aston Martin has released a more modern Bond car special called the ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ DBS Superleggera. Marking the 50th anniversary of the film of the same name, the special edition gets an olive green paint scheme inspired by the 1969 DBS that features in it. As well as the unique paint, the Superleggera is adorned with a carbonfibre splitter, aero blade and unique diamond-turned and forged wheels. A front grille with six horizontal vanes, replicating the original, also features. Its interior is trimmed in black leather and grey Alcantara, with red accents. A felt-lined drinks case for the boot, with space for two bottles of champagne, is an option. A total of 50 examples of the…

Car sharing software is being fitted as standard to the next Renault Zoe in a further step towards a future of pooled electric car ownership – but also in a move to help car makers to reduce fines in 2020 if they overstep fleet CO2 average figures. The car sharing software is supplied by French company Vulog, whose AiMA (Artificial Intelligence Mobility Applied) platform is used by 25 car sharing schemes on a fleet of 11,000 cars on five continents. It integrates multiple functions involved in car sharing – such as finding an available car online or through an app and unlocking it with a mobile device, plus monitoring charging and invoicing to streamline the management of the car fleet. “This partnership with Vulog will facilitate the launch of car…

More than anything, this Toyota Supra is remarkable for the fact that it exists. The imperative for it to make money meant Toyota could not do the car by itself, but the joint venture with BMW that created it and the Z4 has been so fraught that Tetsuya Tada, its refreshingly honest chief engineer, told me: “There were many times when I believed it simply would not happen.” So you might fear some unsatisfactory compromise between Toyota’s craving for a balls-to-the-wall Porsche 718 Cayman rival and BMW’s no less strong but more commercially motivated desire to build a broadly defined sporting GT. If so, you’re not alone: Toyota did, too. Which is why once the hard points had been agreed – platform, powertrain, wheelbase and so on – the two…

Convertible supercars of the calibre of the 600LT Spider, so little afflicted by dynamic compromise compared with their fixed-roof relatives and so compelling to drive at their best, are truly rare. The performance and handling tests whose findings are discussed on these pages are rigorous enough still to expose a measurable dynamic flaw or two with most open-top conversions, but so convincing was this car’s response to them that you could simply transpose them onto the test sheet of the 600LT coupé and still be seriously impressed. In that respect, this car makes a strong case for a glowing five-star score. But judged instead simply as one of a pair of near-enough indecipherable 600LT siblings, our road test jury had just enough reservation to hold back a little bit of…

Although the Corsa is based on PSA’s Compact Modular Platform (CMP), Opel engineers still think there’s a good degree of autonomy about how they can develop the car. CMP itself can offer up three wheelbases, two track widths and three rear axle assemblies and cope with 605-670mm wheel and tyre circumferences. “Each brand of PSA can use different models to get the DNA of their brand into the car,” says Opel’s Thomas Wanke, confirming that the engineering has been done by Opel in Germany, for “continuity in Rüsselsheim engineering”, with the ultimate intent for the Corsa’s feel to be ‘German, exciting, emotional’. Production will be in Zaragoza, Spain, as per the current Corsa, which, even as late as last year, accounted for 23% of all Vauxhall-Opel sales. The Vauxhall-Opel integration…

MILEAGE 3011 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if Ford’s all-purpose hatchback remains the driver’s car of choice in the family car class The housing development I live on was built in the mid-1960s, something you can tell by the design of the houses – and the size of the on-street parking bays. I’ve been acutely aware of the latter every time I’ve gone to reverse park our Ford Focus. The row of parking bays closest to my house has five spaces, designed to easily accommodate the average family car. Except in the 1960s, Ford’s family car wasn’t a Focus, or even an Escort: it was a Ford Anglia. There are also a lot more cars on the road than there were in the ’60s, something you can tell…

Land Rover Freelander Julian Booth makes a great point: “Insurance companies can be quick to write off vehicles when all it takes is a bit of repair work to put the vehicle right. “Here’s my 11-plate Freelander 2, which had a small amount of panel damage to the front wing, rear passenger door, panel behind the door and end of the plastic bumper. It was purchased for £4500 and a check showed no chassis damage or distortion. “Second-hand parts were £175 and a quality respray means I have one of my favourite vehicles for £5550.” SEND YOUR USED CAR TALES TO james@bangernomics.com AND READERS' QUESTIONS TO autocar@haymarket.com…

BMW 640d M Sport Gran Coupé Price new £69,345. Price now £31,500 BMW’s big sports barge slipped its moorings last autumn. Now, if you want a Six, BMW only offers the GT, although it is all new. Meanwhile, the 8 Series Gran Coupé comes out this autumn. But back to the 6 Series GC. You can’t buy a new one but there are some late-platers around including the 2018/18-reg 640d we found. The private-sale car has done 7000 miles and, given it has had two owners, sounds like it was a heavily discounted pre-reg model.…

“A garage queen” is how one specialist we spoke to described the BMW Z3 M Coupé of 1998 to 2002. “They’re put in a garage and left there while their values rise,” he grumbled. Coincidentally, one private seller we contacted for his views on his 2000/W-reg car with 83,000 miles advertised for £26,945 said he was only selling it to see if he could turn a profit, having bought it last September at auction. “I’ve barely driven it,” he admitted. It’s a shame but to be expected since, as of the end of 2018, there were fewer than 500 of these extraordinary cars in the UK – half of them on the road and half (the garage queens) SORNed. This out of a total sold in the UK of 990…

Land Rover has heavily updated its Discovery Sport best-seller with a range of new electrified engines, a new platform and a major interior upgrade to take on premium rivals such as the Volvo XC60 and Audi Q5. Launched in 2014, the Discovery Sport remains Land Rover’s top-selling model. The firm sold nearly 100,000 examples worldwide last year – almost a quarter of its total sales. Despite that, sales have tailed off as the Sport has lost ground to a fresher set of rivals, so this new version will be crucial in attempts to turn around the struggling fortunes of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The five- and seven-seat model switches from Land Rover’s D8 platform to the new Premium Transverse Architecture used by the second-generation Range Rover Evoque, which is also…

The new McLaren GT, revealed on 15 May and on sale now, will “redefine the rules of grand touring”, according to the firm. The new model is sufficiently distinct from McLaren’s existing line-up of Sports, Super and Ultimate Series models that the Woking-based brand has positioned it in its own category. It’s said to revive the spirit of “traditional grand touring – long-distance driving in comfort, at higher speeds and with room for luggage”. McLaren also claims the new car is lighter, faster and more engaging than any existing products in the GT segment. Measuring 4.68m long and 2.09m wide, the GT is McLaren’s largest production model on sale (only the sold-out Speedtail is bigger) and it targets everything from the Aston Martin DB11 to the Bentley Continental GT. McLaren…

LEGENDARY SPRINTER USAIN Bolt has launched a two-seat electric car, called the Bolt Nano, designed for short inner-city journeys. Its maker, backed by the athlete, claims the Nano is the only electric microcar in the world to use swappable batteries. The Nano features a 1+1 tandem layout – similar to the Renault Twizy – and is designed to fit through a doorway. No technical details have been revealed, but Bolt claims the Nano is designed for journeys of between two and 15 miles. The car is intended for ride sharing, so Bolt staff will be able to swap the batteries between users’ rides. It’s available to order now and will go on sale in late 2020, priced from $9999 (£8680).…

The BMW X2 M35i is among a new class of high-riding performance cars that aim to bring traditional hot hatchback values to the premium crossover ranks. It’s not a full-blown M model per se, but its brief is similar to its more focused siblings in that it was conceived to appeal first and foremost to enthusiast drivers. Significantly, it’s the first four-cylinder model from BMW’s M division since the original M3 33 years ago. Behind its distinctive grille is the most powerful version yet of BMW’s B48 engine, which features upgraded cooling measures, among other detailed changes. The new range-topping M model comes as standard with an eight-speed torque converter-equipped automatic gearbox featuring a race start function and a multi-plate clutch four-wheel-drive system with a differential for the front wheels.…

MODEL TESTED 600LT SPIDER Price £201,500 Power 592bhp Torque 457lb ft 0-60mph 2.9sec 30-70mph in fourth 6.3sec Fuel economy 16.7mpg CO2 emissions 276g/km 70-0mph 39.9m Is McLaren’s second attempt at a hardcore track-ready modern long-tail supercar quite as good as the first was – the reputation-building 675LT? That’s this week’s hot topic, and all the signs so far have promised just so. The 600LT coupé is, of course, Autocar’s reigning Best Driver’s Car. It won out in an incredibly tight judges’ vote at Anglesey Circuit in October last year at the head of a quite incredible field that included the Alpine A110, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Jaguar XE SV Project 8 and Ferrari 488 Pista. At the time, the coupé escaped our road test treatment, so now’s our chance to lavish…

The morning briefing, delivered from the confines of our warm hotel, is brief. It’s a decent day for lake- and land-based testing, with a fresh dusting of snow giving relatively good traction. Please remember to keep the fabric covers draped over the interior, with the bonnet and doors left firmly closed, to frustrate the spy photographers. Lights on for the snow spray, which will be considerable given a Bentayga Speed is leading our convoy. Oh, and keep an eye out for the black bin bags. The what? Because Autocar is piggybacking this winter-testing excursion only as a passenger, I keep shtum. Nigel Tew, Bentley’s long-serving director of whole vehicle engineering, will later explain that locals tie bin bags to roadside poles where reindeer have been seen crossing. Despite the copious…

“Making a drivable sofa was pretty cool, Hollywood was off the scale” Heard the one about the star television presenter from the most-watched car show on the planet running into a bit of strife with his production team and finding himself suddenly sidelined from proceedings? Any ideas what he did next? Don’t worry, your eyes won’t be the only ones jumping from these words to the photos and trying to make sense of them. You see, Wheeler Dealers, co-hosted by Edd China (pictured here) and Mike Brewer for 13 seasons from 2003, reputedly has 350 million viewers, or a smidge more than the car show on the BBC you are thinking about, thanks in large part to its popularity in the US. If you know China – or think you…

A good talking to I was amused to read your article on the novel concept of driving slowly (‘Fun in slow motion’, 8 May). In my youth, I was unaware that there were alternatives to what we referred to as ‘full chat’, although to date my only motoring conviction is a £1 fine for illegal parking in Wincanton in 1954. I might have had another, being subjected some years ago to what was a flagrant example of police brutality. Returning south from a family holiday in Scotland in my new Lotus Cortina Mk2 on busy A-roads, I was overtaking everything in my path, then narrowly failed to return to my side of the road before a double white line. Unfortunately, a motorcycle policeman appeared as if by magic and I…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 7961 WHY WE RAN IT To see if this quirkiest of compact crossovers has more to offer than its head-turning styling There might not have been a sonic screwdriver in the glovebox but, from the moment it arrived on our long-term fleet, the C3 Aircross did a convincing impression of Doctor Who’s preferred method of transport. Citroën’s SUV-inspired compact crossover doesn’t look particularly expansive but, over the course of nine months, it swallowed every suitcase, bag of shopping and box of junk I threw its way. The combination of false floor in the boot and sliding rear bench, though rarely called upon, easily puts the C3 among the most practical cars in its class. I don’t have car seats, pushchairs and nappy bags to accommodate but, for…

QUESTION I’ve heard personal leasing is catching on as a way of getting a new car. Is it better than personal contract purchase (PCP)? Derek Longfellow, Peterborough ANSWER Both methods require you to put down a deposit, typically equal to three monthly payments, and pay the balance over, for example, three years. Which is better depends on your circumstances, but one downside of leasing is that – unlike a PCP, which gives you a choice – you must hand the car back at the end of the term. This means that to avoid any penalty charges, you must keep the mileage within the agreed limit and the vehicle in tip-top condition. Given life’s uncertainties, that could be a pain. JE QUESTION I’m torn between a Skoda Citigo and VW Up.…

Honda NSX £30,000 “If you have been looking to acquire an NSX on a realistic budget, this is the cheapest, best-value NSX available today.” The seller’s words and not ours. It’s some claim, but there’s no arguing with that price. There’s a sting in the tail, of course. The 1991-reg car has done 180,000 miles but, rather than go cold, think positively. Such a mileage proves an NSX is that rare thing: a supercar you can drive every day, rain or shine, without it going pop or costing a fortune in bills. It would be a flimsy theory but for the fact that, on the sales website we visited, we counted three NSXs with over 100,000 miles and 11 with over 50,000. They’re tough cars and, more to the point,…

An owner’s view JACK HARGREAVES, BMW Z3 M COUPE OWNER “I’ve owned my car for five years. It was registered in 1999 and has done 158,000 miles. To be honest, the previous owner did most of them. It was his daily driver. Even so, I’ve done around 10,000 miles and it has never put a foot wrong. It’s my forever car. I certainly can’t imagine selling it. It was my first BMW. I’m a bit of a petrolhead and always promised myself one. I love the looks but the engine’s the best bit: it feels like it’ll rev forever. The car has a kind of squashed shooting brake look and it’s practical, to a point. But who buys a Z3 M Coupé for its load-carrying abilities? For me, it’s all…

Outgoing Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche has given a production green light to the firm’s sixth electric model: the EQE. The new upmarket saloon is scheduled to go on sale in 2022 and will compete directly with the Tesla Model S in terms of price. Details of the EQE have been cited in documents recently made public by the Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology in which the EQE is referred to under its internal codename, V295. The EQE is one of 10 new electric models destined for sale from Mercedes under its EQ sub-brand by the end of 2025 in a development programme already budgeted to cost up to €10 billion (£8.7bn). On top of this, the German car maker has announced the investment of a further €20bn (£17.4bn) in…

FORD HAS RELEASED the first images of the new Focus ST in estate form ahead of orders opening in the summer. The new fast Ford estate will rival the Skoda Octavia vRS estate and Seat Leon Cupra ST. As with the hatchback, the ST estate will be available in both diesel and petrol forms. Pricing for the diesel ST estate starts from £30,595 and the petrol from £33,095. Both are £1100 more than their hatchback equivalents. The diesel ST estate uses a 2.0-litre EcoBlue unit with 187bhp and 295lb ft. The petrol version makes use of a new 2.3-litre turbocharged engine that puts out 276bhp and 310lb ft. The oil-burner comes exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox but buyers of the petrol model also have the choice of a seven-speed…

TRY GOING FOR a run, or even a couple of trips upstairs, wearing a 30kg backpack and it soon becomes obvious how much hard work it takes to lug that extra weight around. Lightweight technology is even more pressing with the rise of EVs, as the multiple-award-winning Jaguar I-Pace demonstrates. It makes no sense to build an EV with a heavier steel chassis and body and then compensate for that weight with a bigger, heavier battery. As far as fuel consumption goes, a lighter car needs less energy to move it: it’s as simple as that. Pushing a classic Mini on your own is easy but moving a full-sized SUV solo is anything but. So manufacturers are always looking to reduce weight or at least reduce the weight spiral, mainly…

THE UK GOVERNMENT will not reinstate a grant for the purchase of new plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), Jesse Norman, minister of state for the Department for Transport, has told Autocar. The grant was modified in October last year, with only electric vehicles qualifying for a £3500 subsidy. Previously, subsidies for hybrid and electric vehicles ranged from £2500 to £4500, depending on the model’s zero-emissions range. “We have to spend the tax payers’ money in a way that reflects the changing market,” said Norman. “The evidence was very clear: owners of plug-in hybrids were not plugging them in, negating the environmental benefits and undermining the incentives. Instead, our focus is very much on pushing battery electric vehicles.” Norman drew a comparison with electric bikes, noting how that market had “taken off”.…

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Coming from a manufacturer so lovingly devoted to the finer, subtler details, the raw numbers attached to this new Alpina B7 super-limousine take a few moments to sink in. At 600bhp and 590lb ft, outright power and torque are no bigger than before but no sane person could possibly feel short-changed. In any case, those figures are ‘better’, thanks to new turbochargers, intercoolers and engine management software for the 4.4-litre V8 that broaden the powerband to breath-taking proportions. Peak torque now arrives at only 2000rpm and continues to 5000rpm, which not only guarantees blistering real-world performance but also drops the B7’s 0-62mph time to a scant 3.6sec. Meanwhile, peak power is now on offer until 6500rpm, should you ever feel the need to stray that far. Top speed is 206mph,…

The 600LT Spider went nearly a second quicker around the MIRA Dunlop handling track than the Porsche 911 GT2 RS – and it didn’t need so much as an adjustment of tyre pressure to do it. The Lamborghini Huracán Performante went quicker still in 2017, and by a bigger margin than the one to the Porsche. However, on a circuit where aerodynamic downforce doesn’t do quite as much for a car as it might elsewhere, the McLaren’s straight out of the box showing was impressive. Modifying the tyre pressures slightly, in an attempt to bring out the last word in mid-corner handling poise, only made the car slightly slower, less able to put its power down cleanly and more given to fairly sudden oversteer out of the slower corners. McLaren’s…

“Its ride, handling and steering could trouble the top cars” Somewhere there’s a parallel universe in which the new Vauxhall Corsa is already on sale, based on General Motors hardware, and GM Europe’s engineers are getting some sleep. It’s a universe where PSA – already owner of Peugeot, Citroën and DS – thinks GM is getting the best out of Opel and Vauxhall, its European brands, which return a profit once every decade and a half. And it’s a universe where GM Europe thinks that kind of return is fine, too. In reality, though, in 2017, PSA thought Vauxhall and Opel could do better, so wanted to buy the two brands. GM clearly thought they couldn’t, so was happy to sell. Which gave PSA two options: finish developing the Corsa…

ICONIC TEST Back in the the McLaren F1, 25 years on A quarter of a century on since Autocar’s landmark test, we ride again in the supercar that changed the world DRIVEN Porsche Cayenne Coupé The Cayenne gets the BMW X6 treatment. But how does it drive? TECH SECRETS New Ford Focus ST We join Ford’s Performance team in Germany to track the hot hatch EVERY WEEK FIRST DRIVE Audi S6 Surprisingly, it’s now a diesel. Our first test of the performance saloon ROAD TEST Hyundai Nexo The hydrogen car you can actually buy. We rate the future tech that’s here now USED BUYING GUIDE Range Rover (1994-2001) How brave do you have to be? Here’s the reward for taking the plunge SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p22…

MILEAGE 5478 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if the e-Niro truly is an electric car you can own without having to make any compromises Design. So easy to criticise, so difficult to get right. For the Kia e-Niro, compliments are few and far between, yet the negatives aren’t that it doesn’t look good, just that it doesn’t look extraordinary. There’s a common phrase that ‘not all heroes wear capes’, and I suspect many of the knockers I’ve spoken to were rather hoping for a car that has been hyped up for moving the electric agenda on so far to shout a bit louder about its game-changing qualities through its styling. It was interesting, then, to spend some time in Tom Morgan’s BMW i3s recently, a car that nobody…

BMW 320 If my calculations are correct, we are closing in on the Baby Shark’s last official MOT. I think the sills will be okay, but I would like them cosmetically enhanced soon. Otherwise, it is the tyres that give the most concern, despite having a full tread and a reassuring Michelin branding. The thing is they are pretty old now, so should be replaced. Meanwhile, my Michelin pressure monitor system from Fit2Go is working well. I positioned the unit in the top centre of the windscreen so it reminds me of BMW’s old check control system.…

The current Audi TT was launched in 2014 so, if its forebears are anything to go by, it still has another three years to go before it’s replaced. Except that there are worrying noises that it may be the last of the line as Audi turns its attention to electric cars and SUVs. That would be a tragedy because, in the 21 years that the TT has been on sale, it has carved out a special place in the used car market as an exciting but affordable motor built on solid foundations. Fiery versions of the Mk1 can’t be far off classic status now. It’s unlikely that the Mk2 and this Mk3 will be quite so revered but that only means they’ll be even better bargains as used cars in…

LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO ‘Morris Marina door locks’ was the fact most quoted about the Esprit Turbo. No matter – after a spin up the road in one, its knobs were the last thing on your mind. Hethel’s supercar still looks an eyeful and this 1985 example is a stunner. It’s a left-hooker imported from the US but that just means you’ll have a ready market on the continent if you ever want to move it on. This car has done only 47,000 miles and has had £18,500 lavished on it – including a full engine rebuild – taking it to the next level. It sold for just £23,310.…