Innholdsfortegnelse for November 4, 2020 i Autocar

The new, eighth-generation Golf R is the fastest and most powerful series-production version of Volkswagen’s family hatchback yet. It will arrive in dealerships this month as the fifth member of the brand’s significantly expanded performance line-up. Like its new Arteon R and Tiguan R stablemates, the top-rung Golf takes 316bhp and 310lb ft from an evolved version of the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that has powered the R-badged model since 2009. The subtle power and torque boosts for the fourth iteration of the EA888 unit – dubbed the Evo4 – bring the Golf R’s 0-62mph sprint time down by 0.2sec to 4.7sec, plus Volkswagen claims peak torque is available from 2100rpm all the way through to 5350rpm. The focus hasn’t been solely on improving outright performance, however, with a…

With less than 10 years to go until Zenzic’s 2030 deadline, various manufacturer-backed and government-funded projects have already started on-road trials of their autonomous solutions. Most recently, a fleet of self-driving Ford Mondeos was let loose on the streets of Oxford as part of Project Endeavour, an autonomous technology development initiative led by software developer Oxbotica in partnership with, among others, Oxfordshire County Council and the British Standards Institution. Similarly, a consortium of Zenzic’s CAM Creators, including Warwick Manufacturing Group, Costain and Amey, has secured approval to use 188 miles of roads between Coventry and Birmingham as a testbed for newly developed ‘connected vehicle’ technologies. The Nissan-backed Servcity project, meanwhile, will use a self-driving Leaf to investigate how autonomous cars can drive safely in built-up areas and the role of…

The iX3 represents a significant reset for BMW’s electric car plans – and not only because it holds the distinction of being the first BMW model to be produced in China for export to key markets. The iX3 also dispenses with the earlier strategy that called for BMW’s electric models to be based on a dedicated aluminium structure called LifeDrive, as with the similarly named but largely unrelated i3, launched back in 2013. Instead, the new but familiarly styled electric SUV is based on the same CLAR platform as recently facelifted petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid versions of the third-generation X3. It’s a move we’ll apparently be seeing a lot more of in coming years as BMW rolls out electric-powered models based on its current platforms, including next year’s production…

The first badge-engineered model to be born from a new agreement between Suzuki and Toyota, the Across is all but identical to the RAV4, save for a less aggressive front end and bespoke wheel designs. It takes its power from a plug-in hybrid powertrain that has yet to be rolled out to European RAV4 models and so is here making its debut appearance in Autocar. Comprising a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a pair of electric motors, it endows the Across with 302bhp, making it Suzuki’s most powerful production car to date by nearly 200bhp and giving a 0-62mph sprint time of just 6.0sec. The economy statistics are equally eyebrow-raising: the Across musters 46.6 miles of electric-only range, achieves a combined 282.4mpg, emits just 22g/km of CO2 and, crucially, attracts…

MODEL TESTED B3 TOURING Price £67,950 • Power 456bhp • Torque 516lb ft • 0-60mph 3.8sec • 30-70mph in fourth 5.3sec • Fuel economy 28.2mpg • CO2 emissions 228g/km • 70-0mph 43.8m At a time when the car industry is forced to contort and adapt on what often seems like a weekly basis, Alpina feels a more reassuring presence than ever. After all, you’ll soon have the option of buying an SUV from Ferrari, there are already plenty of purely electric Porsches on the road and AMG will drop the cylinder count from eight not to six but four for its next super-saloon. Yet Alpina’s latest B3, tested here in Touring form, wants only to reprise the qualities for which the marque is known. Those being six amply blown cylinders, refined road…

One reason why the new B3 Touring beguiles is that, contrary to what you might think, the harder you drive this generously proportioned car, by and large the better it gets. The Hill Route at Millbrook duly underscores how well conceived this chassis set-up is. The B3’s balance and body control allow it to generate jowl-tugging grip, but when that is exceeded, what comes next is only very gentle understeer followed, if you’re generous enough with the throttle, by oversteer. It’s the kind of behaviour that feels ideal in a road car aimed at serious drivers who’d like a blend of predictability and reward. Only the removal of the front driveshafts would make this car more enjoyable, but even as it stands, the driveline clearly favours the rear axle, even…

Back in 1895, all of the cars in the UK wouldn’t have filled 10 metres of the M25. Few people had even seen a horseless carriage. But young Henry Sturmey, editor of a magazine devoted to the new craze of cycling, believed what he called autocars were going to be big, and he persuaded his printer William Iliffe to back his idea of a weekly called The Autocar. The first issue appeared on 2 November. It cost 3d and boasted just 12 pages of dense print. The early circulation must have been tiny, but a year later, the red flag legislation, which forced every car to be preceded by a man on foot, was repealed. Suddenly the car took off, with manufacturers mushrooming everywhere. The Autocar took off, too. Soon…

Among the raft of new electric vehicles arriving in the coming months is one based on no less a car than the ’57 Chevy, that much-revered star of road and track. To be built in the UK by Jolly Roger, based in Skegness on the North Sea coast in Lincolnshire, the electrically powered model will bring iconic 1950s American motoring to an emerging audience. Designed to withstand the harshest weather, the new vehicle boasts a tough glassfibre body reinforced with steel and protected by a durable gel coat. The compact body permits only two people of limited stature to occupy the interior, sharing a bench seat. Advanced features include autonomous steering that leaves the occupants free to play an interactive game, fitted as standard. Dave Watson, director of Jolly Roger,…

In this mixed-up year, here’s a familiar thing: the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) title will be settled by a multi-driver shootout in the Brands Hatch season finale. Two wins for BMW’s Colin Turkington at Snetterton gave him a narrow points lead over Ash Sutton, with Dan Cammish, Tom Ingram and Rory Butcher also in contention. Yet again the title will be decided over three races at the Kent track. The current BTCC rules are designed to keep the field close. Tightly controlled technical regulations, success ballast and a partly reversed grid for one race at each meeting prevent one driver or team from dominating, while having three races at each meeting naturally widens the list of title rivals for the season finale. These rules may upset some purists, who…

FINAL REPORT MILEAGE 11,458 WHY WE RAN IT To continue our exploration of Skoda’s flagship range and find out whether PHEV beats diesel for everyday use My three-model, nine-month, in-depth getting-to-know-you session with what many in our office still regard as one of the most overlooked and underrated new cars on sale, the estimable Skoda Superb, is at an end. And, well, yes, I am a bit cut up about it, actually, mostly because I know that my next long-term test car is likely only to make me miss the big Skoda even more. Life on the Autocar long-term test fleet is ever changeable. When you’ve had a doozie of a car – one almost perfectly suited to your purposes and plush enough to make you feel good about all…

The brake light’s plastic surround is broken and, with the MOT just days away, I’ve placed an order online for a 95p replacement. While I was adding to my basket, it seemed sensible to buy myself a service kit, because the Lorry has been used more than ever this year. Wisely or not, I’m going to say thanks to the old girl by doing all my own spanner work. After a few years off, I will be digging into what ought to be the world’s easiest vehicle to work on. I will let you know how it goes. I might even rewire the radio, which has conked out again.…

You can take the car out of Michigan, but can you take Michigan out of the car? The sixth-generation Mustang is the most UK-ready pony to have trotted out of Ford’s factory since the first one rolled off the production line in 1964. It has been around for a few years now, so is this American legend a better used buy than a European coupé such as the Audi TT or Mercedes-Benz C-Class? Its scale is still unmistakably vast and its style echoes those past generations of Mustang that varied rather haphazardly from howlin’ wolf to flaccid puppy. You can have it as fastback coupé or a soft-top convertible and you can choose a 313bhp 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine or a 410bhp 5.0-litre V8 (raised to 444bhp in 2018).…

Swedish rally driver Erik Carlsson is said to have ‘invented’ left-foot braking as a means of maintaining momentum through corners in his 36bhp two-stroke Saab 92, but the dizzying 64bhp output of this later 96 means its new owner needn’t be so dexterous. That Ford-derived V4 engine is of the suck-squeeze-bang-blow variety, too, so has just the one tank to top up. The innovative over-running clutch (or freewheel) does make engine braking a bit tricky, however, so let’s hope the new owner lives in a flat area. Just £6400 nabbed this Trollhättan timewarp.…

The Porsche 911’s most ardent critics lament its supposedly unchanged 50-year-old design and once-close relationship to the lowly Volkswagen Beetle, but neither of these now tired condemnations have really been relevant since 1989, when the 964 was launched. The 911 underwent a dramatic (relatively speaking) design overhaul as it morphed into its new generation. The 964 was boldly claimed to be 85% new compared with the then-25-year-old original 911, gaining integrated bumpers in place of the old extended items, an electric rear spoiler and a plusher interior. More significantly, the 964 did away with the 911’s antiquated torsion beam suspension in favour of a coil-sprung set-up and gained power steering and anti-lock brakes as standard. It also underwent a heart transplant, with the old car’s 3.2-litre flat six swapped for…

The classic Land Rover Defender 110 body shape will be revived for a new high-performance, rally-bred machine from off-road specialist Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) subsidiary Bowler that will represent the “ultimate expression” of the design. Codenamed CSP 575, the road-legal 4x4 will be based on a reworked version of Bowler’s bespoke high-performance rally-car chassis topped with L316-generation Defender 110 aluminium body panels and powered by JLR’s range-topping 567bhp supercharged V8 engine. It will be the first road-focused vehicle produced by Derbyshire specialist Bowler and the firm’s first project since it was bought by JLR last year and placed under its Special Vehicles Organisation (SVO) umbrella. Bowler continues to operate as an independent entity, although now with greater co-operation from SVO, and has been given a licence to use the Defender…

ASTON MARTIN’S NEW bosses are still planning to revive the Lagonda marque in the future, but not as an all-electric luxury brand. The British firm had planned to use the 116-year-old name for a range of Rolls-Royce-rivalling EVs, revealing a series of concept cars in 2018 and 2019. But those plans were suspended as part of a major restructuring when Lawrence Stroll’s consortium took over earlier this year. While the new Mercedes-Benz partnership gives Aston access to EV tech, the firm’s boss, Tobias Moers, said that this won’t be used to revive that Lagonda plan. “Lagonda isn’t any more the brand for electric cars,” he said. “Lagonda has a different purpose for the future.”…

The production version of the Renault Mégane eVision electric car will attract new premium customers – but Renault will remain a mainstream brand, according to its design chief. The eVision coupé-SUV is the French firm’s first car built on the new CMF-EV electric platform, with a retro-influenced design separate from Renault’s existing line-up. Design chief Laurens van den Acker said: “When you have a new technology that’s not completely mass-produced, there’s a premium to pay until it’s completely democratised. This is close to Renault’s philosophy: we’re at our strongest and best when taking innovations and democratising them for as many people as possible. That’s why you see we have an extended EV range: you won’t find a platform of EVs that’s as wide and offers a better palate. At the…

The Fiat Tipo hatchback has received a mid-life facelift and gained a new high-riding Cross variant. The revamp includes a new grille that features a reworked Fiat logo, while the interior has a new digital instrument display and Fiat’s latest infotainment system. The Tipo Cross sports SUV-inspired styling elements and is 70mm taller than the standard model, with the ride height raised by 40mm courtesy of chunkier tyres and revised suspension.…

WHEN A COMPANY the size of Bosch is poised to release a new technology, it’s usually something to take seriously. Tier-one suppliers like Bosch are at the top of the supply chain to the automotive industry and are responsible (rather than the car manufacturers) for introducing much of the technology that makes all vehicles tick. Bosch recently announced plans to start production of hydrogen fuel cell powertrains between 2022 and 2023, focusing initially on trucks. Once these are established in heavy vehicles, smaller-scale versions for cars can follow. Fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen from the air to electricity, heat and water, and using hydrogen produced from renewable energy makes the operation of a fuel cell vehicle carbon-neutral. Heavy trucks are a good starting point for the technology because batteries…

The Audi RS E-tron GT raises a few interesting questions relating not only to the future of the performance car as a concept, but also to all cars in a far broader sense. It’s no secret that the first electric vehicle to wear Audi Sport’s coveted RS badge shares in effect all of its componentry with the Porsche Taycan. From its twin electric motors to its three-chamber air suspension and from its 800V battery to its layout and the J1 platform upon which it’s based – all of the things that make these cars stop and go and ride and change direction – are pretty much one and the same. So it’s tempting, if a little reductive, simply to label the RS E-tron GT as a Taycan in an Audi…

The Volkswagen Arteon looked sharper than the CC it replaced in 2017, and it has sold better, too. Yet its appeal was limited to a fastback body, which just couldn’t provide the practicality that many potential buyers sought. Now that issue has been resolved with the Arteon Shooting Brake, an unusually extroverted Volkswagen that combines the visual elegance of a coupé with the versatility of an estate. To the subtle design changes of the newly facelifted Arteon fastback, the Shooting Brake adds a unique rear end, comprising a longer roofline, a more tapered glasshouse, prominent D-pillars and an angled tailgate. It’s therefore only in height where the siblings differ, the fastback being 1428mm tall and the estate 1447mm. Both Arteon variants are offered here with four revised turbocharged four-cylinder engines.…

Mercedes-Benz’s roll-out of plugin hybrid models continues apace. This, the GLE 350de, is a big SUV. Of the 10 SUVs that Mercedes currently offers, it and the GLE Coupé sit around seventh and eighth in the size rankings, below only the GLS and G-Class. Although it’s a big SUV, it’s five-seat only (pure internal-combustion GLEs can have seven seats) on account of the fact that it has a 31.2kWh battery (with a usable capacity of 23.4kWh) beneath its boot floor. At the front, a 134bhp electric motor assists a 192bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine in providing four-wheel drive. Running on electricity only, this relatively big battery gives more than a token range, at 66 miles officially. We saw around 60 on a cold grey day. It can charge at up…

VERDICT This magazine usually reserves coveted five-star verdicts for cars that profoundly change their particular game. There is little revolutionary about this new Alpina B3, but in Touring guise, the car’s collection of attributes are so compelling and appreciable that they exceed the sum of their parts. The B3 Touring earns five stars because there is arguably no other car on sale that so successfully slathers its appeal across the realms of comfort, performance, practicality, engagement and – relative to the cars against which it competes – value for money. It is one sensationally well-rounded product. Alpina’s success stems from its ability to recognise what customers want from their cars. BMW’s latest 3 Series represents the finest base for an Alpina conversion since at least the E46 generation, if not…

Elfyn Evans is on the cusp of history. Leading the points heading into the final two rounds of this year’s World Rally Championship (WRC), the Welshman is close to becoming just the third Brit to claim the title, after Colin McRae and Richard Burns. You might have heard of them. It’s an elite list and one that, in truth, few would have expected Evans to have a chance of joining at the start of the 2020 season. When the 31-year-old was announced as part of an all-new line-up at Toyota’s title-winning rally squad, he was expected to be the solid number two to six-time world champion team-mate Sébastien Ogier, a useful dose of steady experience while hotly tipped 20-year-old Kalle Rovanperä learnt his trade in a third Yaris WRC. But…

I was delighted to see Autocar putting Alpina in the spotlight (‘Grand touring’, 14 October). I’m a big fan. Over my 50-year motoring life, I’ve owned 40-odd cars, including some from BMW M, Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche. I now own an Alpina B4 Coupé and a D3 Touring, both of which are deeply impressive. The B4 equals the performance of the Porsche 911 Carrera S, being capable of 0-124mph in less than 14sec and 190mph, has two proper back seats, handles capably, rides beautifully and is nicely understated. (And Alpina makes a cabriolet version, too). The D3 does 0-62mph in less than 5.0sec and a comfortable 173mph, gets a reliable 38-40mpg, has two good rear seats for my grandchildren and a big boot for my two dogs. Add to this…

MILEAGE 298 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if this electric supermini can be a genuine alternative to the Ford Fiesta The recent spate of colder mornings has had me reaching for the Zoe’s climate controls, then telling myself off and turning on the heated seats instead – although this already feels like an outdated approach to electric car ownership. The Zoe is proving impressively efficient when you crank up the temperature, even if warming the whole cabin is technically a ‘waste’ of battery power. The predicted range of the MG ZS EV that I ran at the start of this year would plummet by 10 or 20 miles if I just turned on the fans, but here I’m able to stay balmy without an alarming drop in range flashing…

If you enjoyed seeing the magnificent Marlin kit car that belonged to Alan recently, he has just replaced it with something else. “It’s more sensible but still has a big V8: a W-reg Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7 V8 with LPG,” he says. “It’s a real beauty. One very mature owner for the past 10 years. “I have to say it compares very well with my Lexus RX 300 – it’s not quite as composed but has lots more character. I have sadly parted with the Marlin, due to the possible long-term impact of the pandemic on my pub. But as the Jeep cost only one-sixth of the sale price of the Marlin, it eases the pain.”…

Peugeot 106 Quiksilver £2995 Quiksilver may not be the most fashionable brand on the high street any more, but millennial French superminis, particularly those with a sportier inclination, are enjoying something of a renaissance. Nearly £3000 for a Peugeot 106 from 2001 – even one of the increasingly rare limited-edition cars – might seem a bit optimistic, but look at recent surges in value for the older 205 GTi and 106 Rallye for reassurance that your investment could soon bear fruit. The towering stack of history and new gear linkages help to sweeten the deal.…

An expert’s view ADRIAN CRAWFORD, WILLIAMS CRAWFORD “Find out as much as you can over the phone and concentrate on recent history. Sensible investment – more than just regular servicing – is a good sign. Too many of them sit around with very little maintenance, and it’s passed off as ‘full service history’. Look closely at recent major maintenance and ensure the seller knows their car.” Buyer beware… ▪ ENGINE Drips of oil from the rocker cover or timing chain cover can be forgiven, but signs of a steadier flow might need an engine rebuild or at least a top-end reseal. The two distributors are linked by a belt which can snap, causing internal damage. Most cars were fitted with a vent pipe to alleviate the risk, and most cars…

Mini has confirmed plans to expand its electric vehicle line-up with new, Chinese-built crossover and small car models, plus a battery-electric version of the next-generation Countryman. As first detailed by Autocar, a new crossover EV – tipped to revive the Paceman name and effectively replace parent firm BMW’s i3 – will be developed as part of a Chinese joint venture with Great Wall Motors. The vehicle will be built in Zhangjiagang for export to key world markets, including North America. Mini boss Bernd Koerber has confirmed to Autocar that this model will be launched in 2024. Built alongside the new crossover EV will be the second generation of Mini’s electric hatchback. It will use a platform expected to be linked to that of Great Wall Motors’ Chinese-market Ora R1, which…

A NEW LIGHTWEIGHT carbon-and-composite car body structure could revolutionise the way electric cars are made in the next decade. Designed by Israeli defence and body panel company Plasan, it’s claimed to offer a weight reduction of up to 45% over steel bodies and 20% over aluminium bodies. Plasan has presented the new technology to global OEMs and motorsports companies, including some based in the UK, and recently went public with it. “We’re hopeful that in two to three years, there will be components built using our technology, with a full body following some years later,” chief designer Nir Kahn told Autocar in an exclusive interview. At the heart of Plasan’s technology are pull-extrusion ‘pultrusion’ carbonfibre beams with carbonfibre filaments distributed continuously through the full length of the tube walls –…

Aston Martin will adopt Mercedes-Benz’s electric and hybrid powertrains for its vehicles as part of a technology tie-up that involves the German giant taking a 20% stake in the British firm. The partnership, described as “truly game-changing” by Aston chairman Lawrence Stroll, has secured Aston access to technology including combustion-engine, hybrid and electric powertrains and vehicle architecture. In return, Mercedes will become one of Aston’s largest shareholders, gaining a substantial increase on its current 2.3% stake in the firm. Mercedes-AMG already supplies its V8 engine to Aston. Aston has also secured extra funding from new investors. The Mercedes agreement will underpin a new plan to nearly double sales from around 6000 to 10,000 units per year by 2024. Aston will continue to focus on front- and mid-engined sports cars and…

CITROEN UK HAS confirmed a “far-reaching and impactful” three-year strategy intended to “unlock the full potential” of the French brand. The plan is hoped to raise sales volumes, which have taken a dramatic 48% year-on-year hit so far in 2020, with just over 23,000 vehicles registered to date. “Covid has accelerated the need for transparency and digital sales,” said Citroën UK managing director Eurig Druce. The French car maker is aiming to curb its reputation for heavy discounting with a new Fair Pricing scheme, which is designed to reduce prices across the board in order to more closely align them with the typical transaction price. The C1 city car, for example, is being reduced by up to £700, while the C3 and C3 Aircross are being reduced by £1175 and…

Just how British is the UK car industry? That question is crucial as we leave the European Union (EU) and set up our own trade deals globally, because every country will ask the same thing: exactly what makes that Land Rover, Nissan or Mini British? First off, this isn’t a question of ownership. The fact that the owner of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Tata, is Indian or Toyota is Japanese makes not a jot of difference to whether the cars they make in the UK should be regarded as British or not. No, the question is more fundamental: how much of a car’s value in terms of its parts content is British, rather than imported from abroad? This is key not just to whether countries will allow tariff-free imports of…

Collaboration between industry bodies is vital to facilitate the adoption of self-driving cars within the next decade, according to government-funded industry body Zenzic, which has recently updated its 2030 roadmap for accelerating the uptake of autonomous vehicles. Zenzic’s UK Connected and Automated Mobility Roadmap to 2030 manifesto was first published in 2019 but has been updated to highlight the latest challenges faced by the industry and the areas in which the UK is performing particularly strongly. It has been developed using insights from 117 so-called Connected and Autonomous Mobility (CAM) Creators, who have shaped and informed the creation of a comprehensive development schedule across a range of categories, from vehicle approvals to infrastructure testing. Zenzic CEO Daniel Ruiz emphasised the need for a renewed industry-wide push towards an autonomous future.…

Mercedes offers seven compact models nowadays, each based on the same platform and some treading on each other’s toes. Yet the one we have here, the CLA 250e Shooting Brake, doesn’t clash with any car at all, as a small, sporty, plug-in hybrid, coupé-inspired estate. Propelling it is the familiar 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine and an electric motor. But, unlike in some PHEVs, where the motor drives the alternate axle to the engine, all of the power here is sent through the front. With some rearranging, including a repositioned and smaller fuel tank, engineers have wedged in a 15.6kWh battery pack under the rear seats, giving the CLA 250e a strong official electric-only range of 43 miles. This is very much a powertrain of two halves. In eco-focused driving,…

The new BMW 4 Series Coupé has landed in the UK. You’ll get a chance to make up your own mind about how it looks in the metal soon enough, then. And if your opinion reflects majority thinking, you might ask what the car’s wider package can do to make up for the deficiencies of its ‘impactful’ styling. You really won’t find many deficiencies about the way this car operates. Our first UK driving impressions of it come courtesy of the newly mild-hybridised 420d in rear-driven form. BMW’s 48V set-up adds up to 11bhp and an undisclosed amount of electric-motor torque, although the 420d’s homologated peak power and torque claims remain just as they were in old F32-generation 420d. Laboratory-certified fuel economy has improved, though. So, could this be the…

1 ALPINA B3 TOURING Breathtaking in its versatility and feels special by dint of not simply its pace and handling but also its relative rarity. Surely the only car you would ever need. 2 MERCEDES-AMG C63 S ESTATE Meaty 4.0-litre V8 is the star of the show but AMG proves just how expressively and accessibly an estate can handle. Only poor refinement blots its copybook. 3 ALPINA B5 BI-TURBO TOURING B3’s big brother is less capable on B-roads but is arguably the ultimate super-estate in terms of luxury and performance. Superb and soon to be facelifted, too. 4 AUDI RS6 AVANT Colossal performance and a phenomenal all-rounder but doesn’t engage or charm like rivals from Mercedes and Alpina. Not the most subtle, either. 5 AUDI RS4 AVANT Junior Audi offers more grip…

When contemplating the car’s future, we tend to concentrate on the buzz subjects about which we have talked for some years: electrification, connectivity, car sharing and autonomy. They’re vital topics: working together they promise greater efficiency, safety and convenience than we’ve yet known. But there are more surprising, less publicised matters heading for radical change, too. In the brave new tomorrow, what will happen to conventional car ownership, for instance? Or insurance costs? Or the simple enjoyment of classic car ownership? Will we still be able to drive freely on the road and obtain (or afford) the fuel we need? Will the fossil-fuel cars we decide to retain attract more punitive taxes than before? One of the fascinations of studying Autocar’s past quarter-century is knowing that all of the above…

Imagine, if you can, a world without cars, a world where road traffic moves at the speed of the pedestrian, the pedal cycle and the horse-drawn cart. It’s not a silent world: the noises are just different – the shouting of street vendors, the clatter of hooves and iron-shod tyres on cobbled roadways, the jingling of bicycle bells and the whistle of steam engines. But it’s an alien world, where the streets literally run with pollution from the millions of horses on which the economy depends, where long-distance travel is governed by the tyranny of the train timetable, where a town only 10 miles from the nearest railway station can seem as remote as though it were in the middle of nowhere. It’s a world that has changed only gradually…

Given that it has been touted as the future of the fast car by more than a few industry commentators, it’s fair to say the formula of the mid-engined, four-wheel-drive hybrid supercar has yet to gain the traction that might be expected, considering how long it has been around. Leaving aside limited-edition models like the Porsche 918 Spyder, the first was the BMW i8, which limped off sale a few months ago, six years after it appeared to represent the brave new world. I drove one for a year and loved every minute, but the market didn’t concur. Nor does it appear enamoured with the only other hybrid supercar there has been since (at least until the Ferrari SF90 Stradale arrives in the UK). That car is the Honda NSX.…

Hamilton breaks F1 victory record Lewis Hamilton secured the record-breaking 92nd victory of his Formula 1 career in the Portuguese Grand Prix to move ahead of Michael Schumacher in the all-time winners list. The Mercedes driver will match Schumacher’s record seven world championship crowns if he wraps up this year’s title. F1 future in question for Russell and Albon The F1 drives of British racer George Russell and Anglo-Thai Alex Albon are both uncertain heading into 2021. Russell has a contract with Williams, but reports suggest well-funded Mexican Sergio Pérez could take his seat, while Red Bull is reviewing its options for 2021 after mixed performances by Albon. He could end up back at AlphaTauri beside Pierre Gasly. Turkington reclaims BTCC points lead BMW driver Colin Turkington will take a…

FEATURE Ferrari’s grand departure We bid farewell to the GTC4 Lusso, which brings down the curtain on a glorious generation of Maranello’s grand tourers DRIVEN Toyota GR Yaris Does Toyota’s bold, rally-bred Yaris raise the bar in the hot supermini class? FEATURE Millbrook We celebrate Britain’s ultimate motoring proving ground turning 50 EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Volvo V90 T6 Recharge Cavernous estate now offers plug-in hybrid power. We put it to the test LONG-TERM TEST Jeep Wrangler It may be unreal off road, but what’s it like to actually live with? We tell all SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p60…

QUESTION My local council has quietly banned through traffic on a road I use but has yet to install proper signage warning drivers of the move. Can I appeal the fine I’ve received? Tom Wakeling, Hounslow ANSWER Transport for London’s efforts to promote the use of bicycles and public transport has attracted ire from the thousands of motorists who need to drive their cars around the city. Looking into your specific issue, it seems several of your neighbours have had success appealing their penalty notices on the grounds that the new signage installed is inadequate and the closure wasn’t appropriately publicised. FP QUESTION I’ve got my eye on a 1995 Volvo with an aftermarket LPG conversion. All seems to be in order, but are there any specific checks I should…

Ferrari 360 Modena £49,950 Just how far does £50,000 get you in the hunt for a usable supercar? Spoiler alert: not very – at least if you factor in fuel, servicing and repair costs. But you can stretch to some surprisingly exotic metal if you have got 50 bags of sand to spend on an initial purchase. Take the Ferrari 360 Modena, now overshadowed by its increasingly potent F430, 458 Italia and 488 GTB successors but still a worthy bearer of the prestigious prancing horse. Built around a new aluminium spaceframe said to weigh around 40% less than the steel underpinnings of its F355 forebear, the 360 takes a punchy 390bhp from its mid-mounted 3.6-litre V8, which itself revolves around a flat-plane crank for that characteristic Modena bark. The 360…