Innholdsfortegnelse for October 13, 2021 i Autocar

Nissan’s GT-R supercar is tipped to stick with combustion power as part of a wide-reaching overhaul in the coming years. The V6-powered coupé has been on sale largely unchanged, save for subtle model year updates and a plethora of special editions (see right), since it arrived 14 years ago. Yet even the introduction of the next-generation ‘R36’ model is unlikely to bring much in the way of significant technical overhaul – although the introduction of a new platform could see it adopt a degree of electrification. Back in 2018, when work on the next GT-R was already under way, Nissan design boss Alfonso Albaisa told Autocar that the ultimate priority is for the R36 to be “the fastest super-sports car in the world”. He elaborated that this title could still…

AN ELECTRIC ROLLS-Royce could be louder inside than one of the current V12 cars, because there will be no engine noise to drown out road and wind roar. But CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös believes “it’s probably not worth” trying to combat this. The Ghost, he said, is already so quiet on the move “that people felt a little disorientated and we needed to bring certain noise levels back in”. “I think we have super experience in understanding how to tackle that,” he added. LAMBORGHINI IS sending off the Aventador with the commemorative Ultimae edition, but CEO Stephan Winkelmann hinted to Autocar that the V10-powered Huracán’s eventual exit might be slightly quieter: “The V12 is so defining for Lamborghini that we received massive requests to do something special at the end of…

MG HAS EXPANDED its European line-up with the arrival of the Marvel-R, a boldly styled electric crossover with a competitive range, a raft of new interior tech and compelling performance figures. The brand has not yet committed to a UK launch, but the car will reach European dealerships later this month, priced from the equivalent of £34,000. That positions it as a rival to value-oriented family EVs like the Skoda Enyaq iV and the Kia e-Niro. It succeeds the HS SUV as the flagship of the MG range, bringing a host of new design cues and technological features that will trickle down to its range-mates (see ZS EV story, right). The Marvel-R is the largest model in the MG family, at 4674mm long with a wheelbase of 2804mm – a…

Detroit Electric SP.01 Start-up Detroit Electric revealed its Elise-based SP.01 EV back in 2013. A series of prototypes were built in Leamington Spa, but nothing has been heard from the firm since 2017. Dodge Circuit Based on the slow-selling Lotus Europa S, the Circuit was a rear-driven electric sports car with 268bhp and a range of more than 150 miles. It was set for launch in 2010 but scrapped the year before. Hennessey Venom GT This ludicrously fast record-breaker was based on the hardcore Lotus Exige but had one crucial difference: a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V8 with as much as 1451bhp. It cracked 265.6mph in 2016. Tesla Roadster Tesla’s first model is often seen as an Elise but actually shares only 7% of its parts. Lotus’s bonded-aluminium chassis tech is the…

WITH THE NEED to reduce weight on the cheap to offset the weight of EV batteries, the art and science of producing modular aluminium architectures is pretty much in full swing now. But when Lotus announces anything engineering-related, the detail involved is likely to be worthy of close scrutiny, and such is the case with its new-age lightweight electric vehicle architecture (see left). LEVA takes the now familiar modular approach to construction, which allows a toolbox of structural components to be assembled in various configurations to produce different cars. It also follows the most basic of Lotus principles, which is to not duplicate things unnecessarily and to relentlessly chase ways to make things lighter. The battery pack, for example, is housed within the existing structure of the chassis without adding…

It’s a bit too easy to get chin-scratchy in this business, surrounded as we are by other enthusiasts in the bubble of motoring journalists and manufacturer representatives. But there does seem to be a theme running through conversations going on at the moment, both inside and outside the bubble, as more and more people end up discussing how to make electric cars both exciting and different. Everyone is well aware that change is coming but isn’t quite sure how it’s going to manifest itself for the people in this world who love cars. It’s a real concern, because a lot of manufacturers are proposing platform sharing. The economies of scale make financial sense, and to a certain extent it’s no different to what the Volkswagen Group has been doing for…

Surprising Skoda’ was for a long time the Czech manufacturer’s alliterative strapline, but in all honesty ‘sensible Skoda’ would have been more fitting. And that’s not meant as damning with faint praise because, over the decades, Skoda has carved an enviable and profitable niche delivering cars that appeal to the head over the heart, serving up greater space, more thoughtful touches and unrivalled value for money next to the competition. It’s clearly a winning formula that the firm doesn’t intend to deviate from with this fourth-generation Fabia, which, with 4.5 million sales and counting, is Skoda’s second-most-successful model after the Octavia. We’ve already had a brief taster of the supermini (now Skoda’s smallest offering, after the lamentable demise of the Citigo) in Poland, and now it’s time to subject it…

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The Ford Cosworth RS Sierra was powered by a blend of old and new technology. Its YBB engine was the chance result of Cosworth boss Keith Duckworth producing a naturally aspirated 16-valve, twin-cam head for a version of the cooking Pinto’s 2.0-litre block to tempt Ford. It did indeed do so, but Ford wanted it turbocharged. Hints of the Sierra’s true homologation-special status include the wheel arches, which are too wide and have too big a curvature for the 15in-by-7in wheels. This was no error: they were designed to accommodate wheel sizes of up to 17in-by-10in on the Group A racing cars. The huge wing is no boy-racer addition, either. In prototype testing, the Sierra bodyshell produced dangerous levels of lift at high speed; the huge wing neutralised that and…

Hockenheim drama for van der Linde Audi’s Kelvin van der Linde encountered mixed fortunes in the DTM double-header at Hockenheim recently. The South African won the first race to claim a share of the points lead with Ferrari’s Liam Lawson. But van der Linde could manage only 10th place in race two after a series of incidents, including a clash with Lawson, who finished second to bolster his title bid. Mercedes’ Lucas Auer won the race. Breen bags Ford drive Craig Breen will lead M-Sport Ford’s World Rally Championship bid with the new Puma Rally1 next year. The Irishman has so far contested part-time with Hyundai. He will be replaced by Oliver Solberg. Rallycross expects full grid for EV era World Rallycross Championship bosses say they have secured a full…

Two drivers share the record for the most Rally Finland wins (seven): the late, great Hannu Mikkola, and Marcus Gronhölm, who won 30 of his 153 rallies at the top level and was one of the few drivers to push Sébastien Loeb during the Frenchman’s long domination. Champion in a 206 in 20000 and 2002, Finn Gronhölm spent six years with Peugeot before it withdrew from the WRC. He then switched to Ford in 2006 and won the Monte Carlo Rally first time out. In his swansong season the following year, Gronhölm pushed Loeb all the way, beating him by a closest-ever record of just 0.3sec in New Zealand before announcing his retirement while still at the top of his game. Second place on Rally GB at the climax of…

FEATURE How far has the humble hatchback come? It’s 52 years since Fiat set the template for the front-driven family hatch. The 128 meets today’s VW Golf to check progress FEATURE JCB school JCB has set up its own engineering school for 13-to 18-year-olds. Colin Goodwin pops in FIRST DRIVE Tesla Model Y Is this SUV as impressive as its Model 3 saloon sibling? EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST BMW 545e Latest plug-in hybrid version of this fine all-rounder meets our testers FIRST DRIVE Chevrolet Corvette At last, we get on UK roads in the C8. Matt Prior delivers the first verdict SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p38…

QUESTION I have had to sell my 4x4 and so will be stuck with an older, small hatchback for winter. Is it necessary to fit any winter tyres? Marc Mackay, Inverness ANSWER Winter tyres are designed to be used when ambient temperatures are below 7deg C and roads are slippery. Although there is no legal requirement to fit winter tyres, they’re a useful purchase because they feature a tread pattern that has more grooves, or sipes, which displace water better and help the tyre to bite into snow and ice. Check prices carefully, though, because they can vary enormously, depending on which brand you choose. JW QUESTION I’m interested in switching to an electric van but will my 35-mile commute prove to be a step too far for today’s offering?…

Top-class estate options are innumerable and many of them offer a great deal of value as used cars. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate is this week’s case in point, geared towards making the school run or your daily commute a stress-free and even economical proposition while offering excellent practicality. The fourth-generation E-Class was launched in 2009 and continues to make its case today to counter the BMW 5 Series Touring and Audi A6 Avant. While those rivals are arguably easier on the eye, the E-Class is still imposing and possesses a fine blend of refinement and versatility. Like the saloon, the estate has a world-class ride and a plush, lounge-like interior. Mercedes offered a choice of two 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesels at launch, producing 168bhp and 201bhp. A 228bhp hybrid diesel was…

Winkers mandated 25 May 1956 TRANSPORT MINISTER HAROLD Watkinson announced in 1956 that, after 1958, all new cars would have to be fitted with amber ‘winkers’, replacing our ‘trafficator’ arms. Autocar commented: “When the winker first appeared, the General Medical Council established quite positively that it wasn’t as efficient as the semaphore, owning to a lag in recognition stemming from two sources: that it was not possible to tell until occulting began whether it was a brake light or a turn signal; and that the brain needed time to work out that a flashing light in a certain position meant that a turn was intended – an interval that was unnecessary with the instinctive pointing of the semaphore. “Not enough research has gone into indicators. None of the devices in…

Mazda’s commitment to internal combustion will extend to the next-generation MX-5, which is set to receive the Japanese manufacturer’s newest and most advanced petrol-engine technology rather than a plug-in hybrid or battery-electric powertrain. Mazda last year launched its first BEV, the MX-30 crossover, but just a year before that ushered in its innovative Skyactiv-X petrol engine technology, which uses spark-controlled compression ignition (SPCCI) to improve efficiency and performance. This could enable some petrol-powered Mazdas to remain on sale as their respective rivals go electric. The MX-5 in particular is a likely candidate, given that its relatively low sales volumes have a negligible impact on Mazda’s European fleet-average CO2 emissions. The manufacturer has previously confirmed that a Skyactiv-X engine will be used only in all-new models that have been designed around…

Honda Civic Type R Honda recently confirmed that it’s working on a Type R version of the next-generation Civic for launch in 2022. The hot hatchback’s characteristically outlandish styling cues look to have been largely carried over, including the divisive rear wing, but questions remain over whether its 316bhp turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be retained, upgraded, electrified or replaced entirely. Subaru WRX Subaru’s rally-honed sports saloon keeps its boxer engine but moves to a new platform with the promise of improved refinement and handling. It still won’t come to the UK, though. Toyota GR 86 The successor to the venerable GT86 coupé is inbound, bringing a 2.4-litre atmo boxer engine from Subaru, the option of a manual gearbox and a low kerb weight of just 1270kg.…

New car sales plummeted 34.4% year on year in September – traditionally one of the busiest months for purchases – as the ongoing semiconductor shortage continued to batter the car industry in the wake of the pandemic. Just 214,312 new cars were registered last month, the lowest September total since the two-plate registration system was introduced in 1999. It is also 44.7% down on the 10-year average for September. Even last September’s total – 328,000 new cars registered – was at the time a 21-year low, brought on by the pandemic-induced dealership and factory shutdowns in 2020. The most recent setback has been attributed to the shortage of semiconductor chips that has throttled car production globally, leaving many factories idle for months at a time and extending new car lead…

PIECH AUTOMOTIVE, THE Swiss EV start-up founded by the son of the late Volkswagen Group boss Ferdinand Piëch, has begun testing its debut model, the GT, ahead of a market launch in 2024. The retro-styled two-seater is a close match for the Porsche 911 in size and stays largely true to the design of the brand’s Mark Zero concept from 2019. A trio of EV motors – two at the rear and one at the front – produce a combined 600bhp for a 3.0sec 0-62mph time, while a T-shaped battery of undisclosed capacity is good for a claimed 311-mile range. When it enters production in just over two years’ time, the GT will be built by an established third-party manufacturer, but Piëch has yet to reveal the identity.…

The UK government’s plug-in car grant, which takes £2500 off the cost of eligible new EVs, will remain until at least the 2022-23 financial year, but what will happen after that is unknown. The automotive industry has been vocal about it staying in place beyond that date in order to help the UK’s car parc go electric by 2030. It has been reduced twice since its introduction at £5000 in 2011, while plug-in hybrids had their eligibility rescinded two years ago and an EV price cap was introduced in 2020 and lowered this year. The fate of the grant – which has to date aided more than 285,000 EV purchases – is just one of a number of uncertainties clouding the future of EVs beyond 2023, including around their taxation.…

TUESDAY Plenty of French cars this time, which makes this a good week in my book. Not sure of the origin of my fond lifelong relationship with cars made 20 miles across the water, but it definitely exists. Even so, it has often struck me that the task confronting the bosses of the DS marque – that of newly dressing a lot of familiar Peugeot and Citroën components to make a convincing new prestige brand – is a bit like pushing water uphill. Sales have certainly not broken the bank. However, after a pleasant few hours at a Thameside venue, driving two different new DS 4 models, I believe there are signs of a breakthrough. What has made the difference? First, the changes (restrained ‘bling’ styling and a very high-quality…

The DS marque’s expansion in the UK has so far been more leisurely than relentless, mostly because the cars offered haven’t been in the main premium user-chooser battlegrounds. But the arrival of the new DS 4, a genuine rival for both the Audi A3 and BMW X2, puts Stellantis’s ‘savoir faire’ marque on course to double the size of its UK foothold and eclipse brands like Jaguar and Lexus for outright sales volume. For a brand whose annual sales will run to 4000-odd units after deliveries begin at the turn of the year, the 4 comes with a plethora of models – trim levels (in ascending order) with exotic names such as Bastille, Trocadero, Rivoli and the range-topping La Première. All are surprisingly well equipped, featuring things like standard automatic…

MODEL TESTED E-TECH HYBRID 145 S-EDITION Price £28,600 • Power 141bhp • Torque na • 0-60mph 11.0sec • 30-70mph in fourth na • Fuel economy 50.8mpg • CO2 emissions 108g/km • 70-0mph 56.9m The one sure-fire way to create a best-in-class car is to invent a whole new class of car altogether. The original Mercedes CLS did it as a four-door coupé; the Nissan Juke did it as a B-segment SUV; and those are just two obvious examples. Now, if you’re looking for a crossover-coupé with a slice of added desirability that’s bigger than the B-segment but not quite big enough for the C-segment, along comes the Renault Arkana. Few people will define their next smaller family car in quite such specific terms, of course, and if you’re not that…

What could a 1980s fast Ford and its 2021 all-electric descendant possibly have in common? Are they chalk and cheese or two peas in a pod? In 1986, 35 years ago, Ford launched the Sierra RS Cosworth, then its fastest production road car to date, with a top speed close to 150mph. This year marked the launch of the Mach-E, its first proper EV, so the opportunity to get the two together and ponder how much things have changed is too good to miss. This Sierra was a homologation special designed to form the basis for an International Group A racing car. Five thousand was the number that manufacturers were required to put on public sale with fundamentally the same mechanicals that they would need on the track. The main…

It’s very authentic for BMW to do bold statements,” Domagoj Dukec says with the confident grin of someone who knows that he isn’t dealing in hyperbole. In this case, we’re talking about the i Vision Circular, the radical concept car that showcases how BMW will apply ‘circular economy’ principles to future production machines. But the head of BMW Design could also be talking about much of his recent work, from the ever-growing range of SUVs to the ever-growing kidney grilles. While it’s often divisive, Dukec has chosen to go for bold over bland. And that philosophy should stand BMW in good stead as the car industry undergoes a generational transformation through electrification, digitalisation and sustainability. For a car designer, that must be a huge but very exciting challenge. “You can’t…

The World Rallycross Championship (WRX) has long felt it should be more popular than it is. It has everything you could want from a modern motorsport series, with fast, powerful and spectacular cars having short, sharp and action-packed races. It is quite literally made-for-TV racing (the first event was staged in 1967 for ITV’s World of Sport) and has enjoyed some notable highs, such as in the late 1980s when it became home to Group B cars after they were banned from the World Rally Championship (WRC). In 2014, big sports promoter IMG bought the rights and set up the FIA World Rallycross Championship. That global title helped draw in the likes of former WRC champion Petter Solberg, but IMG couldn’t build on some early success to really grow an…

Alfa’s secret weapon 12 April 1963 IN MAY 1962, an Alfa Romeo grand prix car that had been secretly designed in 1940 was finally revealed to the public in a special exhibition. Alfa had intended the Tipo 512 for the voiturette (sub-1500cc) category, after its Tipo 158 had been outclassed by Mercedes-Benz’s new W165 in the 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix. We explained in 1963: “Under technical director Wilfredo Ricart, Gioachino Colombo laid out a new horizontally opposed 12-cylinder rear-engined machine. It was the first such engine in car history. “It weighed 204kg – less than the straight eight it was intended to replace. It had the same compression ratio of 6.6:1 and its twin-stage supercharger system supplied a boost of 32psi. At the hoped-for speed of 9000rpm, it made 370hp.…

WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com Tailored differentials Richard Lane’s comments on high gearing in the Porsche 718 Boxster GTS’s manual gearbox struck a chord with me (Our Cars, 15 September). This problem isn’t new and was one faced by Jaguar when it launched the E-Type back in March 1961 (it had only a four-speed gearbox but was capable of 150mph). Its solution was simple and straightforward. Depending on the market for which a car was destined, it would be fitted with one of three rear differential ratios: 3.54:1, 3.31:1 or 3.07:1. For countries with low speed limits, such as the US, cars got the 3.54 differential (where 3.54 turns of the propshaft resulted in one turn of the rear wheels). This lower gearing gave faster acceleration but not too high a level of…

MILEAGE 5458 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To find out if this hot-rod Boxster can sustain its appeal with day-to-day use Quite an accumulation of miles this month, with the GTS wending its way down to Lucca in Italy then bombing it back home via Munich. I try to do at least one epic trip in any long-termer, not just because I love this sort of thing but also because there’s nothing else like it for shaking out the little problems and irritations to which no car, however expensive and carefully developed, is immune. Ideally, we’d road test every car with this level of intensity, but it’s simply not possible. So how did the GTS fare over 2700 miles? For a two-seater with a soft folding roof, ludicrously well. As with…

BMW 320 I did the decent thing and went online to print off my MOT and look at the recent history. Oh, yes, and make a note of the advisories, if any. Well, it is an old motor, but actually the garage fixed all the outstanding bits, such as the ball joint. However, there was a report on the front jacking points last time and I know they are still a bit crumbly. I’m not quite sure how far to go with the old girl. Meanwhile, I booked the Flying Pig in for an MOT and a once-over but the garage’s new mechanic had heart failure when I said it was a Cayenne. Essentially, doesn’t he know who I am? Apparently not.…

If you fancy the idea of a rakish coupé but find yourself with a family to cart around, why not check out one of the fastback alternatives? And if you can’t quite stretch to the stunning Audi E-tron GT, why not cast a glance at the Audi A7 Sportback, which was among the first models to show off the swoopy five-door look? The second-generation A7, launched in 2018, offers two petrol and three diesel engines in turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre straight-six forms. The 2.0-litre units are available with or without Quattro four-wheel drive and get a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, while the 3.0-litre diesel gets an eight-speed torque converter and Quattro as standard. Mild-hybrid technology that helps to save fuel is reserved for the 55 TFSI petrol and 50…

MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO IV RS This fourth-generation 1997 Lancer Evolution was imported into the UK in 2020, having spent its life in Japan. It’s driven by a 2.0 turbo engine that puts out 276bhp and 260lb ft. In fact, Mitsubishi rotated the unit 180deg to help eliminate torque steer and improve weight distribution. The RS model certainly kept the Evo’s enviable rally pedigree in tact, with its strengthened chassis and a kerb weight of just 1260kg courtesy of ditching niceties such as the air-con. This one appears to have been looked after supremely well, is largely unmodified and sold recently for £15,250.…

“If you want to get back to real driving, buy a Westfield.” Not our words, or indeed Westfield’s, but those of Westfield enthusiast and workshop specialist Mark Glasswell. We’d agree, of course. We’d also say the same about Caterhams, which are more expensive – your money buying an aluminium rather than glassfibre body, a generally better finish, a more track-tuned set-up out of the box and a direct association with the original Lotus Seven. Not that the Westfield is a poor relation, as many owners will attest. In fairness to Glasswell, he’s not dewy eyed about the cars, being equally passionate about Caterhams. The staple Westfield is the SE. Early ones from the 1980s have a five-link, solid rear axle from the Ford Escort. It suits track use. Towards the…

The MX-30 has one of the shortest ranges of any mainstream BEV, but Mazda has vowed to improve usability with the addition of an optional petrol engine to serve as a range extender, as BMW used to do with the i3. Most notably, the petrol element of the MX-30 REx’s drivetrain will bring back rotary engine technology, which hasn’t been used by any production car since Mazda’s own RX-8 sports coupé, which bowed out in 2012. Mazda will introduce the new petrol-electric drivetrain early next year, and it will technically be the first plug-in hybrid offered by the brand in Europe. A more conventional petrol-engined PHEV powertrain will be offered by the all-new CX-60 crossover and CX-80 seven-seat SUV, which have been confirmed by Mazda for launch in Europe by…

2009 SpecV With no rear seats and carbonfibre used liberally inside and out, the track-focused SpecV was 60kg lighter than the standard car. Just 150 were built. 2013 Midnight Opal Special Edition Referencing the famous Midnight Purple Skyline GT-Rs, this limited-run model received a unique carbonfibre rear wing and new lightweight forged wheels. 2015 45th Anniversary Limited Edition Released to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original Skyline GT-R’s launch and appropriately finished in Champagne Gold, just five examples made it to the UK. 2018 GT-R50 Originally an Italdesign concept, 50 copies of this radically redesigned GT-R were built on the underpinnings of the GT-R Nismo two years after it was first shown. 2019 GT-R 50th Anniversary Edition With revised brakes, reworked suspension and bespoke 20in wheels, this limited edition…

WIRELESS CHARGING TRIAL IN BUCKS UK-based EV charging firm Char.gy has partnered Hiyacar for a public trial of wireless EV chargers in Buckinghamshire. Adapted Renault Zoes can be hired and charged using induction tech developed by the University of Warwick. TOYOTA CALLS NEW CITY CAR AYGO X Toyota’s next A-segment car, to be revealed in November, will be called the Aygo X. Previewed earlier this year in concept form, the new city car will use only combustion engines and feature an SUV-inspired redesign. CHEAPEST SANDERO NOW NUDGES £10K Dacia has axed the Sandero’s entry-level Access trim, which raises the starting price of its supermini by £1850 to £9845. It remains the cheapest car on sale in the UK but is now available in Essential and Comfort trims only. AUDI SHARPENS…

Lotus is confident it can generate revenues from its new bespoke EV hardware, in much the same way the original Elise’s bonded-aluminium architecture went on to underpin a raft of sports cars from other manufacturers. The best-known Elise-based sports cars are the Vauxhall VX220 and Tesla Roadster, but the platform’s chief engineer, Richard Rackham, estimates there have been “probably 10 times as many”, highlighting that use of Lotus’s expertise is wider than broadcast – and underlining just how influential that lightweight structure was. It’s impressive enough that, adapted for the Exige and Evora, it created a family of Lotus models that kept the firm relevant for the next 25 years. Now Rackham is working on a new Lotus platform for the electric era that could end up matching the Elise…

Along with the plug-in car grant, the government subsidises the cost of domestic EV chargers. The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme currently provides up to £350 off the cost of buying and installing a home charging point, but from next April the criteria will change, as home owners will no longer be able to access the grant, with the government instead targeting rented and leasehold housing. According to Charlie Cook, founder of charger comparison website Rightcharge, this has the potential to be a bigger issue than removal of the EV buying grant. He said: “You often hear people say: ‘If someone is spending £40,000-£60,000 on an EV, why are they complaining about the £700 up-front cost for a charging point?’ But I think that’s a bit misleading, because 80% of new…

This is it, then. The first-ever electric-powered BMW M model. Given the outstanding pedigree of the German firm’s performance-oriented combustion models down the years, much is riding on the i4 M50. Based on the upcoming second-generation 4 Series Gran Coupé, alongside which it is produced in Munich, the powerful new four-door saloon joins the i3, iX3 and recently introduced iX in what will become a 12-strong lineup of electric models under BMW’s i sub-brand by the end of 2023. The £63,905 M50 is one of two initial i4 models planned for sale in the UK from November. Along with the milder, £53,405 rear-wheel-drive eDrive40, it will challenge the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S, as well as the upcoming Audi A6 E-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQE, for four-door electric car supremacy.…

Honda’s press blurb for the new generation of its HR-V reads as though the company has been paying attention to reviewers’ and customers’ clamour for cars that don’t hit you over the head with technology. It makes much of its ‘Man-Maximum, Machine-Minimum’ design principle, which sounds like a bad Google translation, but it is supposedly the “belief that the purpose of technology and design is to serve the needs of the driver and passengers”. Amen to that. It doesn’t mean that this is some sort of back-to-basics Suzuki Jimny competitor, though. For starters, the new HR-V is hybrid only, like its Jazz hatchback sibling. It uses essentially the same set-up, but with a bigger battery and 21bhp more to cope with the heavier, taller body. That means a 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle…

It looks like Ford has plenty of ideas for upholding its Performance heritage in the future. For example, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 dragster has the power of more than three Mustang V8s and recently turned in an 8.27sec quarter mile (that’s 168mph) in testing before making its public debut at the NHRA US Nationals. It’s powered by four integrated inverter motors spinning at up to 10,000rpm, each making 469bhp, giving it a total of 1502bhp at the wheels. Furthermore, the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a prototype drift car from Ford Performance and RTR Vehicles that gets 1400bhp from no fewer than seven electric motors. Its rear wing outdoes the Sierra RS Cosworth’s by some margin, producing 1043kg of downforce at 160mph. The drivetrain is adjustable for front-rear balance and…

If you want a new Audi A3, you will be waiting until 2022 – and right now, dealers can’t say exactly when in the year. At least their opposites at Jaguar know precisely how long you will have to wait for a new I-Pace: 12 months. New car delivery times are a familiar issue at the moment, with their roots in the Covid-19 pandemic; a global semiconductor shortage as manufacturers divert supplies to consumer electronics; a winter storm in Texas; runaway consumer demand; reductions in passenger flights (they carry a lot of cargo); and container ship challenges (the Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal in March seriously disrupted schedules). We’re talking about delivery times again because occasionally a reader contacts us in a stew about them, reminding us once…

Colin McRae and Richard Burns? They didn’t manage it. Kris Meeke was the first, in 2016. Now Elfyn Evans has joined him as the only other British driver in 70 years to have won Rally Finland, following a magnificent performance that has reignited his World Rally Championship bid ahead of the penultimate round this weekend in Spain. Rally Finland, formerly the 1000 Lakes, is one of rallying’s ‘majors’ beside the Monte Carlo Rally, the Safari and Rally GB. In the old days, only Finns and the odd Swede tended to win it, until Carlos Sainz Sr broke the hegemony in 1990. Since then, the French have tasted success thanks to Didier Auriol and the two Sébastiens, Loeb and Ogier, while neighbouring Estonians Markko Märtin and more recently Ott Tänak –…

Remember that old Remington shaver advert? “I was so impressed, I bought the company!” Speak to Jonathan Holtzman, a real-estate developer from Michigan, and a similar spirit of unabashed American capitalism springs to mind. The Formula 1 enthusiast wanted to buy a 1976 Tyrrell P34 with the specific intention of racing it in historic events, but nobody would sell him one. Did that stop him? Nope. Instead, he made his own. “You know us Americans,” he chuckles. “We don’t take no for an answer.” Now, originality is a hot potato in the old-car world, and the R-word (replica) is often considered a dirty one. Prove that your historic racing car is genuine and its worth shoots up. Prove that it was raced by a driver of historical significance and the…

Nothing beats a Boxster S Following Steve Cropley’s Alpine A110 versus Porsche 718 Boxster conundrum (My Week in Cars, 15 September), I write to persuade the case for Stuttgart, despite what a fine car Dieppe undoubtedly makes. As the owner of a 981-generation Boxster S, I echo Steve’s points on the quality, practicality and performance on offer. Mine is a 3.4-litre manual, so I can also add to the list the visceral joy of the non-turbo flat six and physical gearchange involvement. A recent trip to Arran demonstrated the broad-battedness of the car from motorway and A-road to the wonderful String Road on the island itself. Having previously owned a 911, the Boxster is more of a sports car. As Autocar concluded in its road test back in 2012, it’s…

MILEAGE 3365 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the Ford stalwart is still fit for purpose in its final year of production When designing a new hybrid car on a clean sheet of paper, it’s easy to plan out the packaging to ensure that its occupants realise that the drivetrain is such only when it makes the transition from the seamless waft of electric power to the grumble of internal combustion. When you’re trying to make a hybrid from a car that was never meant to be one in the first place, however, the engineers will always face the quartin-to-a-pint-pot challenge of trying to find somewhere for a drive battery. In the case of the Ford Mondeo Estate, they decided, sensibly enough, to put it in the boot. Unfortunately,…

A is for Dodge Avenger The Avenger was around briefly from 2007 to 2009. It looks a bit like an undercover cop car, but this is just another version of the Chrysler Sebring, with a VW diesel engine to keep Europeans happy. Well, it did at the time. There’s lots of room inside as well as a split fold rear seat and fold-flat front seat, which is very handy. You’ll find few around but not much seems to go wrong – just the usual wear and tear items. As well as the diesel, there are a couple of petrols: a 2.0 and 2.4. A 2009 2.0 CRD SXT with 130,000 miles is £3500.…

Ford Fiesta ST £4450 The Fiesta ST is now a modern-day phenomenon, but it all started with this model, which is a classic in the making. Built from 2005 to 2008, the original ST is driven by a 2.0-litre engine producing 150bhp, with a satisfying 0-62mph time of 7.9sec. Its suspension was lower than the stock Fiesta’s and its springs, dampers and steering were adjusted to produce an impressively agile hot hatch. We found this one-owner ST with a below-average 60,000 miles under its wheels, two keys and white side stripes in the classifieds for £4450.…

An expert’s view MARK GLASSWELL, FOUNDER, MKG AUTOMOTIVE “I wanted a Lotus Seven when I was 17 and then, when I realised I couldn’t afford one, a Caterham. When I realised I couldn’t afford one of them either, I bought a Westfield in kit form. That was in 1990 when I was 18 and I still have it. It’s a narrow-body SEi powered by a 2.0-litre Ford Pinto engine that is perfectly adequate for such a lightweight car. I’d still have a Caterham. I love the whole concept and don’t understand the rivalry between Caterham and Westfield owners, but the Westfield is what I could afford and what I’ve become a specialist in. Being more expensive, Caterhams are of a higher quality but a Westfield gives you the same buzz.…

Let me tell you about Daphne. Daphne is a friend of the family. Retired, healthy and in her seventies, she lives in a small town in the sticks that’s badly served by public transport. Most of her travel is around her town and nearby villages, so she drives, because she’s busy. She organises things, helps people out, takes people in. She’s well known and totally adored. She also recently wanted a new car. Now, Daphne knows a lot about a lot of things, but cars aren’t her bag. I’m afraid she’s not an Autocar reader. She knows enough, though, to do what’s sensible. She asked friends, read reviews and eventually asked the local car dealer, and they all said much the same: “Buy something like a Honda Jazz. You won’t…