Innholdsfortegnelse for May 19, 2021 i Autocar

CONNECTIVITY IS FAST becoming the biggest buzzword in the automotive industry, and Ford’s head of business operations in that sector, Alex Purdy, has a pleasingly simple way of positioning it: “We believe that data is the new oil, since it’s essential to our electric future and enables this ‘always-on’ relationship with our customers.” THE GORDON MURRAY Group recently announced that it would invest £300m in R&D and expanding its leadership team, but Murray himself said that this isn’t an indication that he’s planning to step back. “There’s no way I’m retiring, if that’s what you’re asking; I would just get bored,” he said. “But I’ll be 75 soon, so there’s definitely a bit of succession planning in all this, even if it sounds rather morbid. But the main issue is…

The automotive industry is emerging from the pandemic reshaped by the events of the past year. Will things slowly return to normal or – like the switch to electric – is the rate of change only going to accelerate? We’ve asked key industry figures how current trends are informing the direction of travel. ONLINE SALES It’s no surprise that new companies such as Cazoo and Cinch have appeared and announced that online sales are booming and are here to stay. One firm that launched during the height of the pandemic is Carzam. Its CEO, Kirk O’Callaghan, believes the future of online car buying looks strong, with sales having increased even after showrooms reopened on 12 April. “The pandemic has accelerated a change in customer behaviour,” he said. “When customers understand…

The new GTA is the most powerful road car Alfa Romeo has made and, at a projected £152,000 – or an even steeper £156,000 for the stripped-out, track-focused GTAm tested here – its most expensive, too. Production is limited to just 500 of both, so don’t expect to see many about. Which is a shame, because it’s arguably Alfa Romeo’s finest road car to date: an exclusive and very special performance saloon that proves Turin can still turn out world-beaters if its accountants permit, despite dwindling sales from a threadbare model line-up. The GTA’s starting point is the brilliant Giulia Quadrifoglio, but the modifications run deep. In fact, the extent of them is glaringly obvious from the very moment that you first clap eyes on it. For starters, the GTA…

The Golf Estate is one of those cars that people forget exists. Only when the R version brings the almost irresistible reality of an extra-spacious but still manageably sized hatch with 300bhp and fourwheel drive do most remember it. The larger Passat Estate is much more popular, and while you can find alternatives in the Golf’s class (Ford, Seat, Skoda and Toyota all make one), premium offerings are non-existent. So what does the Golf Estate buyer get that the Golf hatchback owner does not? Much more boot space, of course: 611 litres compared with 380. That beats the Focus (575 litres) and the Corolla (598) but not the Leon (620) or the cavernous Octavia (640), which precisely matches the capacity of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The Golf Estate also has a…

The retreat of so many of the Mini Convertible’s affordable, cloth-topped cabriolet rivals may be a sign of troubled times for the car industry – but, in truth, the exodus from this market niche started some time ago. When times are tight, there is always so much less appetite for good-time cars like this. However, it is also hard for any manufacturer to develop a really desirable and dynamically convincing open-top conversion of any mainstream model, and harder still to find the production capacity to make it, and then to sell it profitably. Most have given up trying. That Mini is still doing all of the above so successfully is testament to the thoroughness of its engineering prowess, the strength of its brand and the intuitive understanding it has of…

Torque vectoring is one of those technologies that sidled into the motoring vocabulary almost unnoticed and now, well, any car with an ounce or two of grunt is likely to have it in some form or another. It’s arrived partly through design and partly by accident, and there are a number of ways of achieving the same result, some more complicated than others. At the beginning, it was by design. Mitsubishi used a combination of a conventional differential, an additional gearset and clutch packs in the Mk4 Lancer Evolution’s rear axle to push more torque to one wheel or the other. The first BMW X6 used a similar idea but executed in a different way with two planetary gearsets, two clutch packs and a differential gear. It was the brainchild…

When Dan Benson saw the low-mileage Mercedes-AMG A45 on the forecourt of a prestige used car dealer in January last year, he was smitten. He bought it, paying £650 per month on a PCP finance agreement. However, some months later, changes arising from the impact of the pandemic meant he no longer needed the car. He tried to sell it, but the process revealed that it had had five previous keepers – a popular way of masking a vehicle’s origins. He contacted Rejectmycar for advice. The firm ran the A45’s details past Motorcheck, which reported that it had been written off after 654 miles, when it had been stolen and driven over the stump of a lamp post. “I was shocked,” says Benson. “I didn’t expect to find that it…

Hamilton arrives at yet another major milestone Mercedes-AMG racer Sir Lewis Hamilton scored a milestone 100th Formula 1 career pole position at the recent Spanish Grand Prix – and followed it up with his 98th victory after a close fight with Red Bull-Honda title rival Max Verstappen. Only five teams in F1 history have achieved 100 or more poles, and the next-best driver – Michael Schumacher – took only 68. Cook serves up double BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R driver Josh Cook took a pair of victories in the opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship event of the season at Thruxton. Reigning champion Ash Sutton was spun out at the first turn after putting his Infiniti Q50 on pole but bounced back to win the third race. Ford…

FEATURE The hybrid vanguard The Honda Insight, Toyota Prius and VW XL1 were green pioneers with varying degrees of normality. We reflect on their legacy INTERVIEW Tobias Moers You’ve heard his turnaround plan for Aston Martin – now meet the man himself MOTORSPORT Red Bull Powertrains Honda has sold up its F1 project to Red Bull. Boss Christian Horner tells us about its plans EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Citroën C4 French reinvention of the family hatchback gets the full eight pages FIRST DRIVE Maserati MC20 A week later than promised, we give you a taste of the new-era Maserati SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p54…

MILEAGE 4502 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if there’s more to this funky plugin SUV than a tax-friendly CO2 rating IT WAS ANXIOUSLY that I received our Citroën C5 Aircross long-termer as a parting gift from Simon Davis. You see, a few years ago, I ran a C4 Cactus, and we liked one another no better than Donald Trump and Joe Biden. It was a car predicated on comfort, yet there was no payoff for its sloppy chassis or hateful manual gearbox. Even its ride wasn’t good. So I was delighted to discover that the C5 Aircross drives far better. And interestingly, not because it just feels like the Peugeot 3008. Actually, it’s what can only be called Citroëny – in a mature way, and with far fewer irritations…

QUESTION I’m sorely tempted by a 2018-plate VW Scirocco 2.0 TSI R-Line DSG with 17,000 miles for £17,750. What should I look for and is it a good deal? Jack Carewe, via email ANSWER Its fresh looks disguise a car that’s based on the Mk5 Golf, launched as long ago as 2003 – so it’s old and feels it. The interior looks old, too, and the doors are awkwardly long. The six-speed DSG is responsive, but to keep it that way it needs its oil changed regularly. On the flip side, the car is built like a tank, is well equipped and has the whiff of a future classic about it. The price looks competitive so take it for a spin. JE QUESTION I’m buying a new car on a…

Mini John Cooper Works GP £12,995 Look beneath the surface and there are some devilishly interesting hot hatches with classic potential out there. First we have the Mini John Cooper Works GP. Launched in 2012 as the second-generation Mini was being pensioned off, just 2000 examples were made, 459 of them earmarked for the UK. At first glance, it looks like another expensive (£29,000) limited edition of even more limited interest. But that’s wrong: it has an uprated 215bhp version of the JCW’s 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, sits lower, has adjustable coilover suspension (a first for a production Mini) from Bilstein, more powerful six-piston brakes, bespoke road-legal track-day tyres and an aero bodykit that actually makes a difference. Inside, it has front Recaro seats wrapped in Alcantara and behind them a…

An expert’s view GREG CARPENTER, CARPENTERS AUTOCARE “The Ford C70 I call it. I mean it’s closely related to the Ford Focus CC. The Volvo looks much better, though, and it’s certainly classier. I’d buy a petrol and not one of the diesels. You don’t want to hear a diesel engine chugging away when you’ve got the roof down. The T5 is a very strong engine but you must keep your eye on the belt change intervals. All folding roofs can be a pain from time to time but the C70’s is particularly problematic and can take hours and lots of money to diagnose and fix.” Buyer beware… ◼ ENGINE On T5 engines, check for oil-filler mayonnaise or white smoke, both suggesting split cylinder liners. Check the condition of the…

ENZO FERRARI WAS a famously autocratic leader of his company, so it’s no surprise that we had an internal power struggle to detail as ‘Il Commendatore’ neared his end. Fiat had bought a 50% stake in Ferrari in 1969, and it still held this come 1988, with Enzo holding 40% and his son Piero the last 10%. And to add complexity, Enzo owned the racing arm’s facilities, including its new wind tunnel and Fiorano track. Previously, the two Ferraris and Fiat could cancel out each other’s votes, but now Enzo and Piero had fallen out over the firm’s direction, often giving Fiat the upper hand. Enzo’s dream had always been for his son to take control after he died, but as it transpired, Fiat was given first refusal of his…

The second-generation BMW M2 will have even stronger performance and more versatility than the well-received current model when it reaches UK showrooms by the end of 2022, according to insiders. The new version of M division’s smallest model is based on the upcoming third-generation 2 Series Coupé (driven, p7), which has been comprehensively re-engineered with a revised line-up of longitudinally mounted engines, a new eight-speed automatic gearbox, an updated platform, a significantly stiffer body structure and more advanced electronic architecture. The changes provide the new, G87-generation M2 with much closer engineering ties to other M models than today’s M2 has. M division insiders say this will enable the new M2 to offer a further step up in performance while helping it to retain a reputation for dynamic excellence through the…

Fresh from confirming its imminent expansion into the European market, new premium marque Genesis has unveiled the G70 Shooting Brake, its first model developed specifically for the region. Hyundai’s premium brand will launch in the UK this summer, selling the G80 saloon and GV80 SUV initially. Those will soon be followed by the smaller GV70 SUV and the G70 in saloon and newly revealed estate form. Genesis Europe boss Dominique Boesch said the firm’s first Europe-specific variant “is a clear statement of our commitment to the region”. The G70 Shooting Brake draws heavily on the design of its saloon sibling. Genesis says the decision to develop the estate for Europe was made because it is “a bodystyle firmly rooted in European automotive history and favoured by customers in the premium…

Ola Källenius, Mercedes-Benz CEO Mercedes’ chief vowed his firm will continue producing combustion engines while they remain commercially viable but will be ready to switch to pure electrification as soon as it makes sense. “On the journey to zeroemission,” he said, “we will come to a point where the scaling changes, where electric drive becomes our dominant drive, and eventually you actually lose the scale on combustion. “It is good, then, that from an asset point of view, the cash investment lies in the past. You can, in an economical way, use those assets as long as the market carries it and it makes sense.” In line with that commitment, Mercedes has not “artificially picked a point” for a full transition to electrification, but Källenius promised: “When that point comes,…

It’s an MPV! Although Ford won’t thank you for calling it one. It prefers to label the S-Max as a ‘sports activity vehicle’, on account of the Galaxy fulfilling the people-mover role. But still, a car that seats seven that’s not an SUV: that’s reason enough to get excited. Now offered with a traditional, rather than plug-in, hybrid, the S-Max produces 187bhp and 148lb ft from the combined Atkinson-cycle petrol engine and AC synchronous motor, channelling the power through a CVT gearbox to the front wheels. These are hardly revelatory figures so it’s not surprising to see the 9.9sec 0-62mph time, given the car’s near 2.0-tonne kerb weight. But this car isn’t about outright pace. It’s more about the potential tax savings the hybrid offers. At 43.5mpg, fuel economy is…

Over almost exactly 20 years of production, we have seen approaching three full model generations of the modern-era, BMW Group Mini. There will be one more full model generation of the Mini along in another couple of years, as part of which petrol options will be sold alongside the electric versions that already account for one in five cars built at the firm’s UK production base in Cowley. After that, Mini will be a fully electric car brand. As for now, it has given what is effectively the Mk3 modern Mini a second major mid-life facelift. Mini’s three-and-five-door hatchbacks (the all-electric threedoor model included) have received refreshed styling inside and out; new equipment, in-car technology and driver assistance systems; new colour treatments and wheel designs; and a handful of mechanical…

There is adhesion, body control and handling poise about the Mini Cooper S Convertible when it takes to a circuit, although not an unburstable amount of any of them, so if you are looking for the last word in fun that the car may supply, you are more likely to find a bit of body roll and scrabbling, untidy understeer. Stay within the car’s comfort zone, though, and it can carry more than enough speed to entertain you, and will handle keenly and with a lively, moderately adjustable sense of front-driven, on-and-off-throttle balance, too. The front axle grips pretty keenly to turn in, and stays stuck even as the car begins to roll, until you get more ambitious with your entry speed. The rear one follows it closely, but is…

For hot hatches, the immediate next step with torque-vectoring drivelines is probably to integrate a limited-slip differential into the front axle for even greater all-round dynamism. In broader terms, the frontier for the tech involves the use of electric motors. GKN, which developed the dual-clutch Twinster system in the Ford Focus RS, is already testing an eTwinster. This has a motor that runs through a two-speed gearbox (one gear for low-speed response, another for efficiency at high speed). It’s potentially hugely powerful, gives great performance on ‘split-friction’ surfaces and, as a self-contained rear-axle package, offers engineers considerable freedom for tuning, yet it’s also comparatively cheap. GKN says that car makers already see the eTwinster as an attractive option for future hybrid hot hatches.…

WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com Not what we want While manufacturers claim they’re making cars that drivers want, it seems that Autocar readers don’t agree with some of their so-called advances. This is illustrated clearly by the letters in the 21 April edition. Iain MacDonald hated his car’s touchscreen and highlighted the problems of electronic handbrakes, keyless entry and the lack of spare wheels; Ed Gibson drew attention to the poor design of the Land Rover Discovery 5 resulting in poor sales; Ian Helm asked about a problem with charging EVs; Chris Norrish was saddened by the withdrawal of the Skoda Yeti; and P Bainbridge was unhappy about Volvo not giving pre-purchase test drives of its new C40. What’s more, Autocar’s own James Attwood said of his new Volkswagen Golf’s touchscreen and…

MILEAGE 8556 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if it’s good enough to be a credible fast Ford hatchback flagship THE SURPRISE EARLY arrival of the Focus ST’s replacement warranted an impromptu custodian change this week. I’ll leave it to Andrew Frankel to reveal exactly what usurped his Ford in a forthcoming issue, but suffice to say there’s now a brightly coloured hot hatch parked alongside the monthly subscription Hyundai Kona Electric outside my flat. Considering I’ve been running a string of EVs for the past six months, it’s a timely reminder of the appeal of internal combustion – and the perfect example of how a burbling exhaust note can transform how you feel about a car. The Kona with which the Focus ST will be sharing driving duties…

The Baby Shark has been very busy over the past few weeks. We’ve been doing some long runs for work. There are a few things that need doing before the MOT in June, though. I’m not quite sure whether it should spend some quality time with a specialist or carry on as a keeping-it-real retro runner. The warmer weather is better for starting, but you have to concentrate on keeping up the revs until it is lukewarm and ready to go. I’ll show you some bubbling rust soon and the tyre pressure monitors have given up recently, but I tell you what: the boot is huge. I got a big window in there with room to spare.…

Luxury car bargain hunters take note: next year’s all-new BMW 7 Series is sure to have a depressing effect on prices of the outgoing model, launched in 2015. Pre-reg and nearly new cars will suffer most, but the shockwaves will surely be felt among older examples. Even today, four-year-old Sevens, in particular, look cheap. How about £21,000 for a 2017-reg 730d with 36,000 miles? New, it cost £64,000. Powered by a 3.0-litre straight-six diesel producing 261bhp, the 730d is the most plentiful. With 315bhp from the same 3.0-litre diesel engine, the 740d xDrive is quicker but less economical, returning a claimed 39.8mpg compared with the 730d’s 43.5mpg. Both are smooth and whisper quiet. In 2017, they were joined by a third diesel engine in the 725d. The 2.0-litre six-cylinder motor…

The definition of courage is buying a TVR Sagaris for £60,000 in an online auction. Of course, the buyer might have arranged to view the car prior to the sale, but we know enough about this model’s unreliable mechanicals to believe they still had their heart in their mouth when the hammer fell. The Sagaris was the last car TVR produced, but it was one hell of a finale. Prices typically start around £65,000, so this bright-looking example, with its rebuilt (and improved) engine, was, fingers crossed, a bit of a steal. The odometer showed 45,000 miles as proof its previous owner enjoyed it.…

Today’s Volvos are a good-looking bunch but previous generations have had their Greta Garbos and Ingrid Bergmans, too. Models such as the C70 of 2006-13. Well, less Greta perhaps and more Benny or Björn… Anyway, the fact remains that the C70 is a handsome car with a clever folding roof that, up or down, is well integrated. It replaced the original C70, launched in 1996. That car came in coupé and convertible guises, whereas its successor is both, plus a full four-seater, too. (It’s based on a stretched version of the Ford Focus platform.) The roof is a three-piece affair designed by Pininfarina. When raised, it stiffens the car’s body considerably. It’s activated by a press of a button on the centre console and should take around 30 seconds to…

ECONOMY EXPLAINED Between the various figures produced on the old-style NEDC, transitional NEDC Correlated and new-style WLTP laboratory emissions and fuel economy tests, it has become tricky to compare manufacturers’ claimed efficiency on the latest new cars. When you see a fuel economy and CO2 figure reference elsewhere, it’s often without explanation. So, to provide as fair and clear a basis for comparison as possible, you’ll only ever read WLTP combined fuel economy and CO2 figures in Autocar’s first drive reviews, features and comparison tests – and on these data pages. Those are the aggregated results of four lab tests carried out across as many different cruising speed ranges – although they’re sometimes expressed as a range rather than as one specific figure to show the different results recorded by…

Lotus would consider selling the tooling for the soon-to-be-discontinued Elise, it was reported by Automotive News Europe last week. It seems that as Lotus redevelops Hethel for new models, it hasn’t room to keep the relatively labour-intensive Elise hardware, which spans a couple of large warehouses as a production line, and is apparently open-minded about flogging the car’s tooling – for which there is a precedent. In 1973, it sold the rights to the Lotus Seven to Caterham, which took over manufacture of the little two-seat roadster and quickly reverted the ungainly Series 4 shape to the rather more attractive Series 3. Caterham has gradually been developing its Seven, available fully built or as a kit, but either way true to its original ethos and appearance, ever since. Caterham has…

THE FRONT-WHEEL-DRIVE platform and transverse engine layout of the four-door 2 Series Gran Coupé were never a serious consideration for the smaller two-door model. Development of the new coupé was partly carried out in combination with the latest Z4: the two cars share powertrains, integral parts of their CLAR platform and their MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear set-up. “There is a lot that is shared between the two,” says head of driving dynamics Jos van As. “With the 2 Series Coupé, we’ve managed to increase the stiffness of the body by up to 40% over the old model. It makes a big difference, especially to steering precision because you’ve got a more rigid basis for the rack. Changes to the front suspension also allow us to run greater…

Heavy machinery maker JCB has announced a hydrogen-fuelled piston engine that emits no CO2 and which it believes can help the transport industry achieve the UK government’s zeroemissions target quicker than any existing solutions. JCB claims its research shows that the new engine – based on the hardware of JCB’s Dieselmax 448 four-cylinder engine but with substantial modifications at the top end – not only produces no CO2 but also offers important advantages over batteryelectric and hydrogen fuel cell solutions, both of which are considerably more expensive. JCB’s hydrogen engine is naturally aimed at its own off-highway applications but, after successful initial trials in excavators (which put far greater demands on engines than cars and trucks), the company’s engineers believe they have a technology that can be successfully applied in…

THE LAUNCH OF the Ineos Grenadier, the rugged new off-roader being developed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s firm, has been delayed until next year. The 4x4 was due to be launched towards the end of this year, but Ineos Automotive has now pushed back the start of production to July 2022, citing “unavoidable delays” last year. A prototype version of the Grenadier was first shown in public in September last year and the machine is currently undergoing testing and development work. The firm has agreed a deal with BMW for a supply of 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six petrol and diesel engines. Ratcliffe recently drove the Grenadier on an off-road test course in Austria close to the base of engineering partner Magna Steyr, which is leading the development programme. Following the test, Ratcliffe…

IT HAS THE uninspiring looks of a run-of-the-mill computer circuit board, but this chunk of electronics measuring just 24cm long, 14cm wide and 5cm tall is smarter than it looks. It can perform a sextillion computing operations per second (about the same as the human brain) and provide the intelligence for level two to level five autonomous vehicles. ZF Friedrichshafen, the giant supplier best known for its gearboxes, revealed the next generation of its Pro AI – which is due to reach production in 2024 – at the Shanghai motor show last month. Billed as the world’s most powerful automotive-grade supercomputer, the Pro AI can be used in any vehicle in a number of different roles, from advanced architectures appearing in conventional cars to providing the intelligence needed for self-driving.…

MONDAY When Enzo Ferrari launched the 250 Short Wheelbase in 1959, he can’t have known what legendary status it would have achieved 62 years later. Nowadays, apart from the originals worth £8 million, there are three other cars inspired by the 250 SWB, all made in this country. Berkshire-based GTO Engineering does two, the 250 SWB Revival, which has a lesser 250 model underneath, and the all-new Squalo that uses GTO’s own bits, albeit Ferrari inspired. Now Northants engineering consultancy RML has moved into the 250 SWB arena, too, planning 30 lookalikes based on the 550 Maranello at £1 million-plus each. These and the profusion of ‘continuation’ or ‘nut and bolt’ models that currently reprise icons from Alvis, Aston Martin, AC, Healey, Porsche and Jaguar suddenly look to me like…

There was little call for Land Rover to bring the well-received Discovery Sport P300e in for an early refresh, but still it has done, so here we are, reacquainting ourselves with the latest addition to Whitley’s electrified family. The PHEV’s new Ingenium 1.5-litre turbo triple is paired with an electric motor on the rear axle for combined outputs of 305bhp and 398lb ft, and there’s a 15kWh battery pack for a claimed EV range of 43 miles. It’s a very easy powertrain to get on with. The charmingly thrummy combustion element is more than gutsy enough in its own right and quiet at a cruise, its electric team-mate having whisked you out of the cul-de-sac and through the suburbs before passing the baton once up to speed. That EV range,…

TRANSMISSIONS 6-spd manual 7-spd dual-clutch automatic (£1400 option) 8-spd automatic (JCW only, £1700 option) Mini UK’s range of convertibles omits the entry-level, 101bhp One-spec engine on offer in other markets, and yet the sub-£22k entry price for the Cooper model still looks temptingly affordable. The car comes in Classic, Sport and Exclusive trims, with John Cooper Works models topping the range. Extended black body trim and JCW bodykit are features of Sport cars only.…

As ever, the headlines mislead. Pointlessly powerful mega-EVs and SUVs propelled by supercar-grade engines aren’t the only ‘exciting’ things happening on planet car in 2021. At best they’re ephemeral (and at worst absurd), and more heartening, worthwhile signs of this industry’s ability to elevate its game can be found closer to home. Possibly as close as your own driveway. We’re talking about hot hatches. Specifically, the more sophisticated ones, with four-wheel drive and doit-all remits. These are the machines currently leading the genre down an unexpected path that starts with a signpost that dryly reads ‘active rear-axle torque vectoring’ but ends up in a paradoxical realm where family hatchbacks can do power oversteer. Brewing over the past half-decade and now found on several big players, torque-vectoring technology in this humble…

“Electrification, autonomy and even an ability to fly will be important in the new age of car manufacture” Most film-goers will tell you that James Bond drives an Aston Martin, and he usually does. Over the years, the various owners of the quintessentially British GT marque have been prepared to invest enough in product placement to ensure that the situation has been maintained. However, the harsh truth is that 007’s first car was a 1931 Blower Bentley (vividly described during a high-speed chase in the 1951 novel Casino Royale), and if you take the trouble to search all the books and films, you will find that Bond has driven no fewer than two dozen different vehicles, from Lotuses, Fords and BMWs to a yellow Citroën 2CV and, back in the…

This almost-new C3 Aircross seemed perfect when Alan and Nicky Meah bought it from their local Citroën dealer in 2018; the Citroën Select approved-used scheme checked it with HPI, which declared it ‘write-off clear’. However, when the couple took their car to a bodyshop for repairs after a parking scrape 12 months later, their confidence in that label evaporated. “The bodyshop could tell from previous repairs that the car had been in a serious crash, consistent with falling nose first from a transporter,” says Nicky. “So I contacted the dealer, who arranged to have it inspected. The report was a whitewash, so we commissioned an independent inspection, which found extensive evidence of poor-quality repairs.” It transpired the dealer had bought it from a site owned by the UK’s largest car…

Rally stars are essentially driving gods, so it’s a shock whenever they get involved in road accidents, like Zeus coming down from Mount Olympus. Sébastien Ogier reminded us of that when he had a coming together with a BMW at a bus stop in Croatia – before winning the rally a few hours later. This wasn’t the first time that WRC victory was rescued from the jaws of road traffic disaster. Henri Toivonen was leading the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally when he met a Ford Taunus head-on during a road section near Aubenas, sustaining the sort of damage that makes Ogier’s (pictured, above) look like a car-park ding. Back then, service crews could intervene at any point, and Lancia’s mechanics performed a miracle to cobble the Delta S4 back together,…

THE GRAND PRIX circus visited some remarkable venues in its early years, and among the most was Rämen, home of the 1930s Swedish Winter Grand Prix – because it covered 30 miles in thick snow, one of them on a frozen lake. Thirty-two men faced eight laps of the course in 1933, among them some of Scandinavia’s best, in a mix of racing machinery and upgraded road cars. Sweden’s finest prewar driver, Per-Viktor Widengren, led away in his Alfa Romeo 8C Monza, chased by the Bugatti Type 35B of compatriot Karl-Gustav Sundstedt. Half an hour later, the blue Alfa emerged far into the lead to start lap two, having averaged a record-breaking 56.8mph. The intrigue was to be found behind, as second place changed hands three times in the first…

You recently asked if anyone had news of the whereabouts of cars previously featured in the magazine. Then, after seeing articles at autocar.co.uk on Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams and John Cleland, I thought I would tell you about a car I own that links all three threads. E851 CVS was the pre-production Astra GTE 16v featured in your 4 May 1988 road test, and it was then campaigned as a Group N saloon racer by London Vauxhall dealer Monorep. Its regular driver was Tony Lanfranchi, and in a couple of longer races he shared it with Whizzo. The link to Cleland in the BTCC is that in the pre-Super Touring multi-class structure, there had to be a minimum number of cars in each class for full championship points to be scored.…

MILEAGE 221 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if app-based subscription services can replace ownership as the future of motoring Swapping between different cars may be an everyday occurrence for Autocar staffers, but it doesn’t happen all that often for most people. Could subscription motoring be a way to expand your horizons and drive lots of different models in quick succession – without having to buy the things outright? Onto’s monthly plan effectively lets subscribers exchange for a different model every 30 days, so long as you don’t mind paying extra if stepping up to a more premium brand, and the £50 handover charge. Before the pandemic, there was an option for in-person return, though it’s unclear if that will be back as lockdown restrictions continue to lift. For less…

Bentley Bentayga MILEAGE 2605 LAST SEEN 12.5.21 I’m so glad the sun has finally come out, as it has transformed the way the Bentayga catches light. Even the brilliance of its elegant Silver Frost paint can be lost in dull conditions, but the combination of sunshine and clever sculpting along the side panels make it stand out, size apart, in any crowd. Sadly, such benefits of a brilliant summer are soon to be enjoyed by a new owner. SC Suzuki Across MILEAGE 8023 LAST SEEN 12.5.21 The M1 looked like it was on a rolling boil, but the Across cut through the rain and standing water like a kingfisher. Indeed, my partner slept peacefully the whole way to Birmingham. The rear wiper got a good workout; it did its thing…

Audi A4 Thanks to Paul and his very interesting short story: “Last summer, my son announced he was moving back to Cheshire from London and would need a car. His maximum budget was £1000. I found him this 2000, 120k-mile Audi A4 1.8 being sold privately. It had had just two owners (the last for 16 years), a new set of Michelin tyres and 18 stamps in the service book, all for £690. All electrics work perfectly, the air-con is ice cold and it sailed through its MOT. It’s a joy to drive – as smooth and comfortable as many much newer cars.”…

PEUGEOT E-208 100KW ALLURE 50KWH 5DR £1846 deposit, £308 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year If you’re unclear, kW is the motor’s power output and kWh the battery’s capacity. The 208 is one of the best-looking and most accomplished small EVs. Performance is strong, the ride supple and the range impressive. MINI 135KW COOPER S ELECTRIC LEVEL 133KWH 3DR £1686 deposit, £281 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year The electric Cooper S shares its powertrain with the BMW i3s (right) so is no slouch. It’s grippy and darty, too, and that lease figure is competitive. It’s the journey range where it falls flat, with 100-120 miles being your best hope. VAUXHALL CORSA-E 100KW SE NAV PREMIUM 50KWH 5DR £2168 deposit, £361 per month, 48 months, 8000…

£36,255 We judged the hot version of the Giulia as one of the most magnificent driver’s saloons in a decade back in 2016. Its 503bhp twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine had plenty to do with that, of course, but what really impressed us was its all-round ability. “It’s everything you would want a fast Alfa Romeo to be,” we concluded. Our test car cost at least £61,000 when new, but we’ve found a 2017 example with 36,000 miles for a good deal less. There are others for sale, and we reckon the best will always fetch strong money from the Alfisti.…