Innholdsfortegnelse for June 17, 2020 i Autocar

THE NEW NISSAN Qashqai has been caught testing in prototype form for the first time ahead of its planned unveiling later this year. The third-generation SUV, due on sale in 2021, will be of vital importance to both Nissan’s European operations and the Sunderland factory in which it’s to be built. The current Qashqai was the fifth-best-selling car in the UK last year, despite its age and growing contingent of rivals. Although the test car is camouflaged, we can see that its design is an evolutionary one, with influence taken from the latest Nissan Juke. The new Qashqai will sit on the same CMF platform as its predecessor, also shared with the Renault Kadjar. It has been reported but not confirmed that no diesel engines will be offered, but instead…

INEOS AUTOMOTIVE IS set to reveal its Grenadier next month, but a revealing glimpse at the first prototype sighted in public has previewed its design. The shots reveal the 4x4 sticks to the brief of being an uncompromising off-roader developed in the mould of the original Land Rover Defender. This is most evident at the front, where it appears to share the Land Rover’s round headlight and horizontal-bar grille design. The prototype appears to have no windows at the rear, suggesting heavy disguise or that this is some sort of commercial variant. The Grenadier’s ladder-frame chassis and beam-axle front and rear suspension had been announced in official videos previously. The first car from the British company owned by chemicals magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Grenadier will be powered by 3.0-litre…

A CAR’S DESIGN is about so much more than how it looks. Executed well, design forms an intrinsic part of the entire package, in a ground-up process. An example is the new Gordon Murray Automotive T50 supercar, which, it is claimed, will be the lightest V12 supercar ever, at just 980kg. The V12 produces 650bhp and a quick sum reveals a power-to-weight ratio of 663bhp per tonne. But that’s not the way one of the industry’s most innovative thinkers approaches the task of reducing weight. Murray says it’s the other way around that counts: weight to power. His reasoning goes like this. Calculating weight to power reveals that every 100bhp developed by the T50’s V12 has to move 150kg of weight. By comparison, with a typical supercar (which, according to…

You simply shouldn’t be able to flick a car as big, heavy and ostentatiously appointed as the latest Bentley Continental GT around a 90deg bend this easily. Anyone seeking proof of the world-class engineering capabilities of the car industry today could use this as a fine example of how expectations can be exploded, even among those who can afford the finer things in life. Approach at a spirited pace, trail the brakes a little and nudge the gearbox down into second as you close in. Now look to the corner’s exit and smoothly roll your wrists. Some 2.3 tonnes of aluminium, steel, leather, wood, copper, fibre-optics and silicon – so cleverly managed by adaptive air suspension, active anti-roll bars and torque-vectored four-wheel drive – then elects hardly to lean, waver…

MODEL TESTED L 60 TFSIe QUATTRO SPORT Almost three years have passed since the fourth-generation A8 arrived as Audi’s latest super-limousine and new technological flagship, and yet somehow we’re still to subject it to full road test scrutiny. This week, that changes, although we should say that an all-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class will enter the frame this calendar year, and so whatever the verdict today, life is sure to get more arduous for this enormous and outwardly impressive Audi. This particular version is the recent 60 TFSIe quattro, the first A8 to use a plug-in hybrid powertrain in the model’s 32-year history. It adds a potent and clever petrol-electric powertrain to an already long list of technological innovations, including level-three automation (that is, the car can manage its direction and speed…

VERDICT Looking beyond the increasingly macho exterior designs and recent heavy marketing emphasis on quattro all-wheel drive, Audi’s core appeal has traditionally been the way it quietly innovates, and in this respect the fourth-generation A8 feels something of a return to form. From the manner in which this plug-in hybrid derivative expertly marshals its two sources of power to the complexity of the chassis electronics and the AI that monitors the environment and prompts the driver to make better decisions, it conveys an all-knowing and reassuring competence that’s impossible to miss. Paired with perceived quality that borders on the extravagant, there are obvious reasons why you might fall for this Audi’s colder flavour of charm. Equally, there is one significant reason why you might instead direct your attention to Stuttgart,…

Recently I revisited the BMW Z8 for the first time since I drove it new. Such a wonderful-looking car; such a disappointment to drive. The only thing that warmed me to it was the pleasure of the naturally aspirated engine, a manual gearbox and no infotainment. You couldn’t give a Z8 away when it was nearly new, but now they’re worth a fortune. It just shows that desirability isn’t only about the driving experience; great looks can make up for wonky dynamics. Throughout history, there have been cars that look fantastic but drive like a shed. And the reverse is also true: cars that look dreadful but which are absolutely brilliant to drive. One that stands out from memory is the Nissan Primera eGT from the early 1990s. You wouldn’t…

World Rally Championship events are dropping like flies. Just after we said farewell to the Safari Rally, Finland, New Zealand and Wales Rally GB also announced that they would be giving 2020 a miss. New Zealand, in all honesty, wasn’t a big surprise, given the logistical and financial difficulty of getting there, but Finland? That felt more like the abdication of a Pope. Given that the Finnish government had banned large-scale events only until the end of July and the rally wasn’t due until early August, there was a genuine feeling this would go ahead. And Rally GB? This is one of the traditional cornerstones of the championship, and it wasn’t scheduled to take place until October. With the UK suffering the second-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, it…

As the proud owner of a three-month-old Alpine A110 S, I must reinforce Matt Prior’s fabulous and accurate assessment of the small but significant differences between the A110 and the A110 S (‘Riotous brothers’, 18 March). After first driving a Légende and a Pure, I was enthralled: these things just flow. I loved them. But for some reason I waited and tried the S as soon as the first demonstrators arrived. Having taken a Pure and an S back to back on the same mostly urban roads, I enjoyed the slightly more direct demeanour of the firmer car and, as I wanted the goodies that come as standard on the S (in which case, the S is only about £3500 more than a similarly kitted Pure), I ordered an S…

MILEAGE 4524 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To get to know Vauxhall’s new supermini and test the combination of its 1.2-litre turbo petrol triple and eight-speed auto The other day, as I pulled out from the kerb after one of my sporadic visits to the local Marks & Sparks food store, it occurred to me that you could hardly want a better lockdown car than this 1.2-litre Corsa Ultimate. It has everything you need and nothing you don’t. What you need is docility, ease of driving, enough space, a decent boot, a sensible touring range (to forestall unnecessary disease-laden trips to filling stations) plus enough enjoyment built into your meagre bits of driving – for me, M&S is an eight-mile round trip – to make it something better than a chore.…

QUESTION I have a Tesla Model S. It’s been fine so far but I’ve been reading about EV breakdowns being a nightmare because they can’t be towed. Is that true? John Brown, Glamorgan ANSWER This is true. The electric motor is mechanically linked to the wheels and can’t be placed in neutral, so turning them with the car switched off can do lasting damage to the motor. The car will need to be flat-bedded somewhere instead if you’re stuck. But don’t worry. This isn’t news to breakdown companies. They’ll know what to do if the worst happens. DR QUESTION I don’t have much cash and need a new set of tyres for my old Honda Civic. Am I a mug if I buy part-worn tyres? David Larkwill, Poole ANSWER Exercise…

Left-field bodystyle variants are becoming rarer and rarer – and the varying sales failures of the five cars featured on this page will probably give a clue as to why. Take the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, which seemed a reasonable idea on paper. It turned the luxury four-door 6 Series Gran Coupé into a hatch with some rear-end implants to make it more practical inside. In reality, though, most buyers jumped straight past this into an SUV and so BMW has recently binned it from its UK line-up. Not that this should worry used car buyers because the example we found is half its original new price. And, sure, this one has covered a relatively high 30,000 miles in two years but there’s still one year’s worth of manufacturer…

Volkswagen bosses are close to signing off plans for a hot, R-badged version of the forthcoming ID 3 electric hatchback – and Autocar sources suggest the performance machine is set to be launched in 2024. The electric hot hatch is the brainchild of the German firm’s R performance division. It’s intended to reinforce the links between the successful ID R record-breaking prototype and Volkswagen’s crucial new ID road car range. Volkswagen development chief Frank Welsch said the ID 3 R is “something we’re looking at”. He added: “I like the idea, but we have to decide if the market is ready to accept such a model.” Welsch said the proposed R model would sit at the top of the ID 3 line-up and could be the only pure performance variant.…

JAGUAR HAS REGISTERED to trademark the name Jaguar EV-Type, further fuelling speculation that the brand’s next sports car will be electric. The trademark, which is still pending according to the WIPO global brand database, was first applied for in mid-February. While trademarks are often registered by companies for a variety of reasons and don’t always preview the name of a forthcoming model, Autocar understands the British brand is actively considering an electric sports car. The name EV-Type appears to be a reference to the iconic Jaguar E-Type sports car of the 1960s and 1970s. This, along with the fact that the only Jaguar model still using the ‘Type’ suffix is the F-Type, adds considerable weight to the assumption. It is still believed that Jaguar hasn’t firmly decided on what form…

BMW’s M5 performance saloon has been updated to bring it into line with the recently facelifted 5 Series. The Mercedes-AMG E63 rival receives a number of revisions, including tweaked styling, new in-car technology and a retuned chassis. The exterior changes for the M5 are mostly focused on the front end, where a new double-bar grille design features alongside a reprofiled bumper with new air intakes. The headlights have also been redesigned, bringing new L-shaped LED tubes and incorporating BMW’s Dynamic Laser Matrix Beam for extra brightness on full beam. At the rear, there’s a new apron and diffuser design, alongside fresh 3D LED tail-lights and a new tailpipe shape. The updated M5 is covered in new black detailing, including on the grille and intake mesh, bootlid spoiler, mirror caps, tailpipes…

The new Citroën C4 has a more conventional look than the C4 Cactus it replaces and is slightly higher-riding, with the intention to bridge the gap between traditional hatchbacks and SUVs. The French manufacturer has released the first images and preliminary details of the model, which also indirectly replaces the C4 hatchback that was axed in 2018. It will be sold with petrol, diesel and electric powertrains, making it the first family hatchback in the portfolio of parent firm PSA Group to offer a zero-emissions variant. More powertrain information will follow, but expect a range of 200 miles for the ë-C4. Citroën CEO Vincent Cobée told Autocar recently that the introduction of the model held “massive” importance for Citroën’s sales growth in Europe. In 2019, the brand grew 1% year…

The ID 3 is an electric car in search of mainstream acceptance. The first model from Volkswagen’s new ID electric car sub-brand sets out to emulate the feats of the original Beetle and the Golf with a goal incoming Volkswagen brand CEO Ralf Brandstätter says is centred on global sales counted in the “millions per year”. To do this, it’ll need to convince buyers to look beyond many accomplished combustion-engined rivals, including the excellent new Golf. However, VW is confident electric cars are set to hit the big time and is in the midst of spending up to £8 billion on an extended range of ID models to ensure it is in the thick of the action if and when they begin to take off. The target? Three million electric…

Audi may have realised that the smartest thing to do with some of its RS cars is to just sit tight. The Mercedes-AMG C-Class is shortly to lose its character-defining V8, and can you imagine the grille on the next BMW M4? One way or another, those who have never driven an RS5 before may feel quite inclined to do so in the next couple of years. Audi has brought this car up to date fairly effectively via some styling and interior changes, but there’s little to report about the drivetrain. The same 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 supplies 444bhp, hooked up to the same eight-speed automatic gearbox and torque-vectoring four-wheel drive system. There’s also the same five-link steel coil suspension (adaptively damped, with a diagonally interlinked set-up optional), but variable-ratio steering…

1 MERCEDES-BENZ S560e Hybrid power only adds to the majesty of Mercedes’ limousine. It’s so smooth that any journey is restorative, and the next-gen model should be even better. 2 BMW 745Le xDRIVE Updated 7 Series offers better rolling refinement and more opulence than ever. Still the best-handling car in this class. PHEV now gets six cylinders, too. 3 RANGE ROVER P400e LWB It makes up for its lack of efficiency compared with the saloons with majestic ride height and go-anywhere ability. Only four cylinders, mind. 4 AUDI A8 L 60 TFSIe Fantastically clever and with easily the highest level of perceived quality on this list. It doesn’t ride as well as it should, though, and lacks personality. 5 LEXUS LS 500h Modern and distinctive but also heavy and ergonomically flawed. Normally aspirated…

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“The name Rodrigo Ronconi corresponds to the truth,” says Rodrigo Ronconi, without unlocking his gaze from the data sheet of one very problematic Diablo. “Otherwise there is no truth,” he finishes, looking up through tortoise-shell spectacles. Righteous words, but Ronconi is not an arrogant man. At least, he doesn’t seem arrogant in the three minutes I’ve known him. He seems industrious, very passionate and, frankly, like he could do without our surprise visit, although he hides it well. His Diablo issue is trivial but, at the same time, not. The owner needs part of the body repainted and wants it done yesterday. Tracking down the code for this ‘unique’ hue so it can be mixed afresh in Milan, and at great expense, has pitched Ronconi onto the trail of two…

SPECIAL How to buy your first EV Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about electric cars, from buying to owning FEATURE After the lockdown Where should you drive once all this is over? Read our guide and get planning FEATURE Engineers’ secrets Just how do the world’s best chassis engineers set up cars? EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Ford Kuga Big things are expected of this SUV after the smaller Puma’s success FIRST DRIVE Lotus Evora GT410 Latest variant of handling hero aims to be more suitable as a daily driver SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p32…

MILEAGE 4123 Nearly every car designer will talk about the importance of family resemblance in a line-up – and many, such as Audi, have been criticised for taking that too far. What about Nissan, then? I’ve always been able to quickly differentiate its models on the road, which isn’t always the case with a Q3 or Q5… Still, there’s plenty in common, as I spotted on a recent trip to the fuel station. Being the same colour helps, but the similarities between the Juke and Micra were striking from this angle. TEST DATA NISSAN JUKE 1.0 DIG-T 117 TEKNA Price £22,495 Price as tested £23,640 Faults None Expenses None Economy 38.1mpg Last seen 20.5.20…

MILEAGE 131,625 LAND ROVER SERIES 3 Of course, the great thing about having a Lorry is that adjustments can be made to just about every function with a spanner. As I have been using mine every day for a couple of months, the hard-to-close driver’s door and pop-out window were becoming a bore. There was not a lot of adjustment with the latch, but it appears to be enough. What’s more, the trim around the window was bendable. For the moment, that seems to keep the glass in place. I’m quite surprised that it hasn’t shattered in my lap.…

Whether you viewed Land Rovers back in 2011 as terrifically versatile, upmarket off-roaders and the supreme achievement of the British motor industry or as pretentious and unreliable pieces of tin masquerading as luxury cars, you will still have come away impressed from your first encounter with the then new Evoque. It was a towering achievement. Launched at just the right time to capitalise on the increase in demand for SUVs, it soon became Land Rover’s best-seller, with buyers drawn to its chunky good looks and premium badge. They also liked its clear potential for off-road high jinks, a corollary of the clever tech it inherited from its larger siblings. Now, with used prices starting from just £10k, it looks even more attractive. Most of them are powered by diesel, although…

MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO VI The WRC legend seems to be getting mightily pricey, with the hammer falling recently at just over £30,000 for this one. But it’s a pristine example. Indeed, it’s a show queen with some concours trophies among its advertised pictures. It has covered 15,000 warranted miles and the only thing that has been altered is the suspension – but the original shocks were included in the sale as well. This seeming originality surely played a more than significant part in the high price – as heavily (and terribly) modified Evos are far more common than ones you’d actually want to own and cherish.…

The new Chevrolet C8 Corvette may be the first in the model’s history to officially be sold in the UK, but it certainly won’t be the first to touch our Tarmac. Imported examples of the C3 generation (1968-1982) are easy to come by here so you could own one of the most radically styled and iconic American cars of all time from as little as £12,000. Available in coupé and convertible guises, the C3 ’Vette took its power from a variety of small- and big-block Chevy V8 motors during its 14-year lifespan, packing up to 460bhp from a whopping 7.4-litre unit in its most potent form. Later models, however, suffered at the hands of tightening emissions legislation throughout the 1970s, with unleaded fuel and catalytic converters reducing their output to…

The Seat Ateca has been given a boost through a redesign, new technology, a renewed engine range and a rugged Xperience model. The SUV became one of the firm’s best-sellers when it was launched 2016, so the styling tweaks made are only subtle. They include new front and rear bumpers that have increased the car’s total length by 18mm. There’s also a new front grille and reshaped LED headlights, while full-LED tail-lights are introduced, along with scrolling indicators on FR and Xperience cars. New tailpipes also appear, as does a handwriting-style badge like that of the new Leon. Sporty FR models gain new exterior trim for greater visual differentiation, while Xperience replaces Xcellence. Although not as extensively modified as the old Leon Xperience, the new flagship Ateca gains off-roader-style additions…

ALPINA HAS LAUNCHED new versions of its B5 and D5 S performance models to coincide with the debut of the updated BMW 5 Series. The M550i-based petrol B5 now produces 613bhp, up from 600bhp, thanks to better cooling and a reinforced eight-speed automatic gearbox. This translates to a 0-62mph time of 3.4sec for the saloon and 3.6sec for the Touring estate, plus a 205mph top speed (or 200mph for the estate). The diesel D5 S also gets a power boost, up from 322bhp to 342bhp, with torque also rising from 516lb ft to 538lb ft, mainly thanks to the addition of a 48V mild-hybrid system. This shaves its 0-62mph time by 0.2sec to 4.8sec and results in a 171mph top speed. The two models receive the same aesthetic tweaks as…

TESLA IS EVALUATING building a new gigafactory in the UK and is understood to be closely considering a potential site in Somerset. As first reported by Property Week, the Department for International Trade (DIT) is currently looking for a four million square foot site that the US firm could use to build a research, development and manufacturing plant. The list of potential sites includes the Gravity industrial park, a 635-acre ‘smart campus’ being developed near Bridgwater in Somerset. Tesla boss Elon Musk is reported to have visited the UK recently to discuss plans for the facility. A Gravity spokesperson told Autocar: “While we are unable to make any further comment on the reports at this stage, a site such as Gravity would make a perfect contender to host a gigafactory…

For a long while now, the Skoda Octavia has been a handy get-out-of-jail-free card for British motoring journalists. Ask my colleagues whether they’ve ever replied “Probably just a Skoda Octavia, mate” when asked by a stranger at a party which car they should buy next and I suspect most will say they have. The great thing is that were this person to then take us up on our advice, we would feel entirely comfortable about it. For ages now, the Octavia has been highly regarded for its ability to blend practicality and refinement into a relatively affordable and dependable package – something that has helped Skoda shift some 6.5 million Octavias since the original’s introduction in 1996. Now there’s the fourth-generation model, and it has just landed in the UK.…

While Peugeot and Vauxhall produced superminis as their new electric cars, sister brand DS chose a slightly larger and more expensive compact crossover. Success in this niche will be harder. The Hyundai Kona and Kia Soul offer bigger batteries and longer ranges for similar money to our Ultra Prestige test car. They’re also more powerful, quicker and more practical, with the DS’s surprisingly cramped back seats disappointing if you have growing children or young adults to transport. The DS has quite a materially rich cabin, though, and isn’t short on tech – if you can get on with its layout. I struggled. The same goes for the bank of chi-chi switches on the centre console; they all look similar and aren’t labelled that clearly, so you don’t always find the…

MODEL TESTED 488 GTB We’ve entered the fifth decade of the mid-engined V8 Ferrari, but the build-up to the 488 GTB’s launch was dominated by one key technical change: a twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8, which makes for sizeable gains in peak power and torque relative to the V8 of its predecessor, the 458 Italia, which had a naturally aspirated V8 like every model in this model line stretching back to the 1975 308 GTB. The 488 GTB continues with an aluminium tub made of various alloys and deployed in various thicknesses. It’s a decision that costs the car little on claimed dry weight versus its all- or part-carbonfibre peers. The 458 Italia’s dry weight was 1380kg and the 488 GTB’s is 1370kg if you go for weight-saving options. A McLaren 650S…

If, like me, you started reading car magazines in the late 1990s, you will probably remember when ‘perceived quality’ became a thing. At least as far as volume car making is concerned, it was a Volkswagen invention, and it arrived with the fourth-generation Golf hatchback. This was the car that, they say, Volkswagen Group autocrat Ferdinand Piëch ordered back to the drawing board because he didn’t like being able to see the seat adjustment rails in the front footwell. Imagine living with him as your boss. Give me quiet mediocrity any day. For model generations thereafter, Volkswagen-brand quality became so much about the detail: the look and feel of a column stalk or the reassuring click of a heater knob. But now we’re fully four Golf generations and more than…

Do you know who your motoring heroes are? Until this question fell heavily onto my desk a couple of weeks ago, I had little idea of mine and not much idea how to decide. I’ve since discovered that arriving at a coherent list is tough indeed but rewarding if you can pull it off. First, you can’t allow yourself too many, or you’ll devalue the importance of those you do choose. This is your ultimate accolade, remember. Second, you’ve got to resist adopting other people’s heroes, thinking that they will make you seem insightful or respectable (neither of which you may be). Third, you must see a difference between heroes of your own era – who with luck you might have met – and those who are now strictly figures…

We’re nearly there. After the false start of the Australian Grand Prix in March, the delayed 2020 Formula 1 season will – hopefully – begin at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 5 July. To help pass the time until then, here are five of the best season openers in F1 history. 5 2009 Australian Grand Prix Simply making the grid for the first race of 2009 was an achievement for Brawn GP, formed from the ashes of the Honda F1 squad after the Japanese firm quit the sport at the end of 2008. And yet, helped by a well-sorted car – development of which had been funded by Honda – Jenson Button went out and dominated. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello recovered from a bad start and a string of…

British motorsport and technology company Prodrive has unveiled plans for a groundbreaking, three-car, 250-person Dakar desert race team, backed by Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, and called BRX, for Bahrain Rally Xtreme. The team will challenge for outright honours in the 4400-mile Dakar Rally in January next year, using an all-new car designed at Prodrive and specifically intended for a global programme of off-road events, starting with the Dakar. Called the BRX T1, it may in future be developed as a road car for private sale – a so-called “Ferrari of the desert” – or for other uses. The multimillion-pound BRX project, backed by the Bahraini government and led by Prodrive founder and chairman David Richards as team director, will use an all-new Ian Callum body design. It’s currently under…

MILEAGE 5397 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT Plug-in 330e will overtake the 320d as the biggest-selling 3 Series, but can it match the diesel’s all-round appeal? Your eyes do not deceive you: the 330e’s odometer has at last started going upwards once more after two months of the car being furloughed in the driveway. Easing lockdown restrictions by allowing us to drive places for exercise has opened up a life of greater excitement for our dog in particular. She had run out of lamp posts to sniff around the block and can now be transported by BMW to sniff other lamp posts a bit further away. The 330e started first time (not sure why I was surprised; why wouldn’t it?) and, after some checks, all seemed safe, drivable and exactly as…

Marlin Berlinetta and Westfield XI Thanks to Richard for getting in touch. He’s had a remarkable car history, having driven mostly oddball cars for the past 45 years. He says: “Now nearing the big 70 and finding a missing pension, I went looking for my perfect garage. I assumed I would end up with some big-engined luxury car, but after many months of enjoyably test driving cars all over the country, I ended up with these two! A Marlin Berlinetta 3.5 V8 automatic, built to a superb standard in 1993, and a Westfield XI, also built to a very high standard in 2018. “Both offer fantastic driving experiences, although very different. Everyday driving is taken care of by my 15-year-old Lexus RX 300 – and all three for less than…

Citroën Saxo 1.6i VTR Price £2495 It’s widely accepted that the Peugeot 106 GTi was the more successful sibling, but soaring prices and scarce availability of that car make the Saxo VTR look more tempting with each passing year. Finding one that hasn’t been parked in a hedge by a 17-year-old isn’t easy, but here is a pristine two-owner late Mk2 from 2003, fresh from a service and with a bulletproof MOT history. We’ve seen French hot hatch desire send prices soaring on the used market and this front-wheel-drive firework has a genuine chance to one day be as revered as the 106 GTi.…

An expert’s view MATT EAGLESTONE, THUNDER ROAD CLASSICS “They’re very docile – apart from the manual big-block cars. The standard small-block automatic is a very easy car to drive, with its power steering and power brakes. But they can be challenging to work on because there are a lot of systems people won’t be familiar with. For example, the headlights are vacuum operated, so you’ve got vacuum tanks, actuators and lots of pipework. The little flap that the wipers are hidden in is vacuum operated, as well.” Buyer beware… ■ ENGINE Undue levels of smoke or rough running shouldn’t scare you off: the Chevy V8 is a simple motor and a full rebuild is quite feasible. Failing that, brand-new crate motors are readily available in the UK from around £2500.…