Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i CAR UK

STARRING GOLF R, FORD PUMA ST, HYUNDAI TUCSON, BMW M440i, ELECTRIC VOLVO XC40 & TOYOTA MIRAI Reunification had some very negative effects on the old GDR, including the arrival of radar speed traps... Within a 50-mile radius of Wolfsburg, the countryside is about as featureless as the Sahara desert. For real variety and driving pleasure, you can do a lot worse than head into the former East Germany, taking in parts of the Harz mountains and historic cities such as Quedlinburg. Although reunification had some very negative effects on the old GDR – from unemployment and higher taxes to the arrival of radar speed traps – thankfully it did not mess with some of the country’s greatest driving roads. Some have survived in their original form, namely a cobblestone centre…

Coulda woulda shoulda I was thumbing through some old CAR mags the other day when I came across a piece on Lotus’s Project M300. They were working on a ‘self-charging’ petrol-electric hybrid supercar. It was aiming at such trickery as a sub-9.0sec electric-only 0-60mph performance, a seamless transition between the two power sources, four-wheel drive with an electronically variable torque split and active suspension. The story ends: ‘If it gets the approval of the bean counters, it is bound to be a success.’ The year? 1990. I suspect the bean counters didn’t have the vision to see what was coming! Nick Georgiadis Story of Lotus’s life. BM Play to your strengths I love your magazine, and I love the cars you write about, even though I can never own or…

Porsche’s motorsport department is right next door to the GT division, and its engineers often chat over coffee. Those caffeine breaks have been fruitful: two fundamental ingredients of the new GT3 road car come from the 911 RSR World Endurance Championship racer. Namely, the rear wing, which uses upsidedown swan-neck mounts for clean, uninterrupted flow along its lower surface: the bit that matters. It works in tandem with the ducktail below for both downforce and drag reduction. Perhaps even more significantly, the double-wishbone front suspension design is taken from the RSR. Could the racer’s 4.2-litre engine, the largest flat-six ever made by Porsche, find its way into a future road car? Don’t bet on it. Preuninger: ‘The burn rate with the larger bore is a tough nut to crack for…

To dismiss the Audi RS e-Tron GT as a Porsche Taycan in fancy dress isn’t inaccurate, but it does underplay its significance – this is the first all-electric model from Audi’s high-performance RS division, and it beats BMW’s M division and Mercedes-AMG to the honour of being the first from a German performance division. It’s a huge deal, and to find out if the RS e-Tron GT drives like a real RS, we’re testing a pre-production example in Rhodes. Trademark RS fast looks are present and correct (if toned down since the fist-bitingly gorgeous concept of 2018) and bragging rights are covered: the most powerful RS ever, says Audi, with an RS6-matching 592bhp always on tap and bursts of 631bhp on overboost. Harnessed in an e-all-wheel-drive catapult, that performance translates…

The last mid-engined Maserati sports car built for road and track was 2004’s MC12. It was a glorious creation, but where the MC12 was heavily Ferrari-based, the MC20 is all-Maser. And whereas the carbonfibre-bodied MC12 was a limited edition, it’s all gone very wrong if Maserati doesn’t top the MC12’s production run of 62 cars with the new sporting flagship. Although the MC12 used Enzo underpinnings, including its V12 engine and gearbox (and shared its wheelbase), the Maserati was longer, wider and taller, and had a two-metre rear spoiler. The roadgoing MC12’s main job was to homologate the car for FIA GT racing, in line with which 25 were built in 2004. The following year, a further 25 were built. There was also the trackday-only Versione Corse; 12 were made.…

Why is it here? Because it might just beat the Tesla at its own game. Clean, modernist styling, dual-motor all-wheel drive (and a more affordable single-motor on the way), and an interior dominated by its operating system. That and start-up brand chic. Any clever stuff? This is the first production car with Google’s Android-powered operating system for the infotainment and various other commands. Nav is by Google Maps, log in with your Google account and your contacts are ported in, and the voice interface is superb. It can still support non-Android and Apple devices too. Which version is this? The brand launched with the handsome two-door Polestar 1 (pictured). That was a hybrid, and an expensive one. The 2 is Polestar’s first pure EV, and it’s more accessible in both…

So this pretty little car is pretty damned good at meeting our daily driving needs. A real-world driving range of 215 miles means longer trips can be undertaken with none of the range anxiety Honda E and Mazda MX-30 drivers will endure. It took me less than a week before I stopped constantly checking the range and started feeling confident about 200-mile trips. Performance up to 50mph is enjoyably swift. With an instantaneous 181lb ft of torque (same as a VW Corrado VR6!), the Renault snaps smartly off the line, and even at higher motorway speeds it feels alert and responsive. There’s more than enough room on board for day-to-day trips, CarPlay hook-up is seamless, and the audio system is loud enough to embarrass my children on the school run.…

Alex Tapley As first journeys go, this isn’t a best-case scenario for our new Caterham Seven: a 150-mile grind from Sussex to Lincolnshire, through the traffic chaos emanating from a closed M25. Without sat-nav and with my sense of direction (or lack of) it takes five and a half hours, almost exclusively spent in traffic jams and average-speed-camera zones. With the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels of an industrial threshing machine, the Seven is not a happy car on the motorway. I stop halfway home to put the hood up, and don’t do quite as taut a job as I should (I’ve since learnt the knack). Above 60mph the wind whips it rhythmically against the frame. Flap, flap, flap. At about the same speed, fifth gear has a slight but…

When you’ve got a newly arrived car with a bunch of options gagging to be tried out, it’s a real shame when a sudden burst of hectic work activity stops you actually spending much time in the car. But I’ve seen enough to know that the inside of the XC40 is every bit as lovely as the outside – and I’ve heard enough to know that the audio is sensationally good. The elegant tan leather, wooden inlays and premium plastics mix beautifully with the vast array of recycled materials – most noticeably the carpet effect on the door cards and transmission tunnel. But the real star is the Harman Kardon audio system (a £550 upgrade). It provides staggeringly clear sound, which you can fine-tune effortlessly, and there’s very little wind-…

THRUXTON DRIVING EXPERIENCES Prices vary Two award-winning cars join the Thruxton Motorsport Centre line-up, the Alpine A110S and Ford Focus ST. Both are available to drive on the UK’s fastest race circuit. Gift vouchers available (valid for 18 months). Other experiences at the Hampshire venue include Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Jaguar and Aston Martin, plus single-seat racing cars, 4x4 off-road and skidpan driving. www.thruxtonracing.co.uk HEEL TREAD SOCKS FOR PETROLHEADS From £10 These socks from Heel Tread are inspired by the world’s most iconic cars and racing liveries. The ever-growing collection features quintessential automotive icons ideally suited to the true petrolhead. Heel Tread socks are made in Portugal using seamless knitting to create high-quality cotton products. To get the best possible price, use discount code CARMAG2020 at the checkout. www.heeltread.com GUARDSMAN GARAGE…

If you’re going to be late to the party, you’d better bring the fireworks. Five years after Tesla kicked off the premium, all-electric crossover thing with the Model X, and three years after Jaguar upped the stakes with the i-Pace, BMW finally has a contender: the iX, which showcases BMW’s latest electric-drive hardware and promises revolution inside. It’s set to come on stream in late 2021. But first, that name. It was previewed as the iNext, but we expected the production version to wear an ÍX5 badge, in line with the very conventional iX3. We were wrong. It’s done! No new name,’ says BMW development chief Frank Weber. ‘This is the iX, and it’s not going to change.’ That signals BMW’s intent to make this a standalone EV flagship, one…

Illustration: Avanzarii Factfile POWERTRAIN 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 plus 120bhp e-motor, 670bhp, rear-wheel drive CHASSIS Carbonfibre monocoque DUE 2021 McLaren’s Sports Series is dead, the 620R road-legal track car its swansong. But the vacuum will persist only briefly – in the first months of 2021 the covers come off the first all-new McLaren since the 12C, and the debut of a hybrid components set that’ll see the Woking maker through most of this decade. While much will stay the same – the Artura’s dimensions are broadly comparable with Sports Series cars – it is, from its powertrain to its carbonfibre structure, an all-new car. McLaren is positioning the Artura between its £165k, 620bhp GT and the £215k, 710bhp 720S. As such it won’t directly replace the 570S which, with its relatively…

Illustration: Chris Rathbone PETER RAWLINSON CEO & CTO, LUCID MOTORS At the risk of going over old ground, it’s worth revisiting some of the numbers for the Air, the first production car from Silicon Valley battery-electric start-up Lucid. CAR visited Lucid in 2018, and rode in an early Air prototype. We were impressed – by the car (a kind of electric S-Class rival with the speed and handling to shame a Porsche) and by the firm’s approach, led by then chief technical officer and now CTO and CEO Peter Rawlinson. Lucid recently unveiled the production-ready Air (CAR, November 2020) and announced some astonishing numbers: 1065bhp, a 9.24sec standing-quarter mile, an EPA-estimated range of over 500 miles, powerful and compact drive units and a car 17 per cent more efficient, Lucid…

BMW’s new iX seems to have made at least half of the motoring world recoil in horror at its appearance, but these three new German watches should repair any damage to the nation’s reputation for good design. And rather than paying a premium for being German, you get a discount for not being Swiss, so they’re good value as well as good-looking. 01 Sinn 105 from £1345 Frankfurt-based Sinn is much favoured by car designers, some of whom would skive off the city’s motor show to visit the factory, back when we still had motor shows. This new 105 offers a choice of day-date or second-timezone complications, and leather, rubber or steel straps. You’d pay double for the same thing from some Swiss brands. cwsellors.co.uk 02 Nomos Lambda £5800 To…

There’s so much going on with AMG’s latest GT, the Black Series – both the high-water mark and swansong for this generation of GT; an all-new one arrives in 2021 – that you’d be forgiven for failing to spot its very special transmission mount straight away. You were probably distracted by the DTM-spec aero package. Or the manic, rev-hungry and unique-to-the-Black-Series flatplane-crank V8. But the Black Series’ transmission mount is quite something. Made of coiled carbonfibre and looking for all the world like some relic of alien technology lifted from Area 51, the component represents both a production first for AMG and an exciting new direction for the use of hugely expensive, very sexy composites in performance-car engineering. LIKE ALUMINIUM... BUT HALF THE WEIGHT ‘Our target was to keep the…

To drive, it feels like a full electric car – on a gap year in Goa For hydrogen fuel cell cars, this feels like the Prius Mk2 moment. That was when Toyota’s hybrid came of age with its aerodynamic teardrop shape, stepchange in fuel economy and a tiny bit of pure electric range. We’re rolling in Toyota’s second-generation Mirai, but it’s quieter than the celebs in Madame Tussauds. The tranquillity is remarkable: there’s an ethereal whine from the electric motor that turns the rear wheels, but it’s distant, even when intensified by the accelerator. No tyre groan either: up to 40mph you’ll hear nothing but the muted ker-thunk of a 20-inch wheel over a manhole cover – it’s like driving a sensory deprivation chamber. Aside from a lick of wind…

Like the Fiesta ST, the Puma ST is surprisingly adjustable mid-corner The RS name plate might have the allure but Ford Performance’s finest work wears the ST badge. For evidence, consider the Focus and Fiesta STs. The latter in particular is one of the most tactile superminis you can buy. And now it’s the Puma’s turn to go ST. If the Puma ST looks like a Fiesta on stilts, well, that’s because it is. You get a bin-full of ST-specific exterior bolt-ons and, on the inside, Recaro seats from the Fiesta ST to lock your hips and ribcage in place. The steering wheel and gearshift are exactly where you’d want them. Ford has transplanted the fizzy 1.5-litre turbo triple from the Fiesta ST and, while power is unchanged at 197bhp,…

As a long-term reader (since the late ’70s), congratulations on your 700th issue -1 must have read at least 500 of them. However, with the speed of migration to electrification, this issue does feel a bit like a petrolhead’s last hurrah. In saying that, there were no 500bhp BMW M cars and 2.0-litre turbo hot hatches when 1 started reading. My initial interest was captured by the first Golf GT1, Alfasud and Renault 5 Gordini, and 1 ended up owing a succession of 10 hot hatches, mainly Golfs. Now they are too large and powerful for my needs, and my Polo R-line suits me fine – it is more powerful than my first five hot hatches (including four Golfs!) and more economical. Thanks Robert. A Polo would do me nicely.…

Super Trofeo Oorologaro – sounds like a prescription cocktail served in Naples’ shadiest bars. It isn’t, but the effects are (1 would imagine) remarkably similar: palpitations, inflated ambitions, a thrilling sense of invincibility, climax. But don’t worry, it’s all good, clean fun. And what isn’t will polish out. In the Nardo pitlane, my early Huracan STO prototype awaits. The lead vehicle is a proper Huracan Trophy Evo racer (see box, right), at the wheel instructor Mario Fasaneo. His laps of the Puglian handling circuit out-number mine 11,678 to 89. Soon, we’ll drive – hard. 1t’s impossible not to love this job. The STO’s race seats are shaped for jockeys, and you’re clamped into them via four-point harnesses. Forcing yourself into the high-performance body glove can be embarrassing but, once seated,…

Why is it here? Because there are so many tough questions to be asked of the ID.3 that Emily Maitlis ought to be doing the interview. VW is betting a fair bit of its considerable farm on the ID.3’s success: does it have the desirability an EV It-Car needs? Is it as usable as a Golf? Is its quality up to scratch? That last point is a genuine concern, given the endless delays and niggles the ID.3 has suffered pre-launch. It may be priced lower than the Polestar and the Tesla – it’s a people’s car, after all – but that doesn’t mean it can’t have their want-one appeal, or fit into your life more neatly than they can. Any clever stuff? Packaging is the ID.3’s party piece, with its…

Why is it here? The Model 3 has overtaken the Nissan Leaf as the biggest selling electric car ever. It’s the closest the US company has so far come to making an EV for the mass market. And, as we’ve discovered on previous tests, it drives very well by anybody’s standards. It’s a more direct rival to the Polestar than the less expensive VW, but it should be on the shortlist for anyone looking to buy an EV for pleasure as well as practicality. Any clever stuff? The Tesla effectively bins conventional instruments, opting instead to put almost everything to the large central touchscreen. Tesla is a huge manufacturer of batteries, and is at the forefront of battery tech, driven by Elon Musk’s habit of making wild promises that his…

The handling is so ponderous that the full 296bhp is deployed less than the Swiss Navy A price heading in the direction of 45 grand was an insurmountable obstacle for Grandland X acceptance. During the conversations I had about the car, I was always on standby with a pillow and some smelling salts for the moment when I mentioned the price; cue fainting. It doesn’t really hold itself like a car of that price, or look like one. That’s the cost – literally – of having big batteries. Of course, there is a caveat, and it’s a big one. If you are a company car driver, the tax you’ll pay is way below that of a standard petrol or diesel equivalent, so as my wan victim lay recovering I would…

1940 1940 Ferdinand’s unstoppable ‘bucket car’ Ferdinand Porsche get the nod to develop a Beetle-based army car. The Kübelwagen – or ‘bucket-seat car’– is ruthlessly pragmatic. Beetle DNA dictates two-wheel drive, and two-wheel drive only works offroad if the car’s light – Porsche brings the Kübel in at 700kg. Portal axles drop the gearing while boosting ground clearance, and a smooth underbody lets the thing skim over tough terrain. 1965 1965 911 does the full Monte Four months after entering production, the 911 makes its motorsport debut in the ’65 Monte Carlo rally. Porsche fettles the car in-house: the engine’s tuned from 128bhp to 160bhp (Weber carbs, a lighter flywheel, polished ports, and increased compression) and in go bigger brakes, a rear anti-roll bar and a vast fuel tank. The…

The sorry saga of the Subaru BRZ goes from bad to worse. What should be the last glimmer of sporting excellence from a quirky company that once built dynamically rewarding cars and dominated the World Rally Championship has been given a very half-hearted reboot for 2021. And, as with the Nissan Z, recent sales have been so disappointing that the new one won’t be coming to the UK or, indeed, the rest of Europe at all. It could have been so different. Light, compact and with a low centre of gravity, rear-wheel drive and a characterful engine, the BRZ Mk1 did a lot right. But it was let down by a dowdy interior and a modest power output that failed to open the wallets of many sports-car enthusiasts. Like the…

We frequently lament the cleaning up of cockpits to the point of form being prioritised over function, but Honda completely ignored our cries and gave its new EV an interior dominated by touchscreens. Sure, it looks great, and different from other screen-based cabins – but is it a good idea to go so screen-heavy? Firstly, the screens themselves. You wouldn’t really clock at first that it’s five separate entities tied together in one: two bookend screens for the mirror-replacing cameras, two central screens for the infotainment and one non-touchscreen for the driver’s instruments. We like the use of a matte finish to stave off bright sunlight. Unlike the Mini Electric equivalent, this finish doesn’t make the screen fuzzy, and it does a good job of minimising the effects of grubby…

The ban on sales of new petrol- and diesel-engined cars keeps getting closer, but BMW is making hay while it can. The new M Performance version of the Mk2 4-series coupe ticks almost all the Ultimate Driving Machine boxes: extensive reinforcement, a 55kg drop in weight over the old model, sharper adaptive suspension, an electronically-controlled M Sport differential and perfect 50:50 weight distribution. The roof is 57mm lower, the car sits 10mm closer to the ground, it’s wider and it’s aerodynamically more efficient. And it will be joined by a six-cylinder diesel M440d next year, not to mention the M4. The turbocharged petrol straight-six is now paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that brings up to IIbhp of extra power, but which also permits earlier and more prolonged coasting. Along…

Why ever would you doubt that the XC40 would turn out to be tremendous? It’s not much of a stretch to argue that this car is exactly what Volvo has been leading up to throughout the 93 years since its founders dragged themselves away from a gloomy teatime drama on Swedish public radio and decided to make safe, comfortable, responsible and quietly stylish cars. Volvos have rarely been about speed or handling or light weight, so moving beyond internal combustion is not a soul-tearing transition. And now Volvo has gone EV with its huge-selling compact crossover, a car designed from the off to accommodate a variety of power sources. The result is a car with lively acceleration (4.9 seconds to 62mph), good real-world range (more than 200 miles per charge)…

PORSCHE 911 GT3 PRICE £125,000 (est) POWERTRAIN 3996cc 24v flat-six, seven-speed twin-clutch auto or six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive PERFORMANCE 503bhp @ 8400rpm (est), 350lb ft @ 6250rpm (est), sub-3.4sec 0-62mph, 200mph (est) WEIGHT 1340kg ON SALE February2021 If you’ve ever wondered what kind of desk the head of Porsche’s GT division drives, it’s a very clean one. Some stationery is kept in a suspension spring on Andreas Preuninger’s desktop, and a titanium conrod sits on top of a neat pile of documents. There are a couple of other, unusually proportioned suspension components nearby. ‘Don’t jump to conclusions! They’re for my motorcycle...’ he says. It’s from here, inside Porsche’s secretive Weissach R&D centre (and also, challengingly, from home sometimes during the pandemic) that Preuninger’s engineering team is finalising the latest 911…

Driving the Huracan Super Trofeo Evo racer at Imola teaches you two things. One: Imola is a spellbinding circuit. And two: driving a slick-shod Lamborghini racing car is less terrifying than you might imagine. With 611bhp on tap the racer – which competes in a high-profile one-make series – isn’t any more powerful than the road car, though it does gain some straightline speed via the clinically quick Xtrac sequential ’box and slimmed down 1270kg weight. And the noise? Possibly the finest mankind’s yet made. Braking is mighty, though you need to force the pedal down with some 50kg of effort to get everything from them; 12-position racing ABS means you can really lean on the pedal, while the nine-position traction control is forgiving of an impatient right foot. There’s…

At first the feels almost too light, too eager, too keen to please. But confidence soon starts to flow, every movement of the wheel bringing about a faithful response in a way that makes life at the limit incredibly transparent and manageable. Same goes for the brakes. Don’t be afraid to drop the hammer late; just make sure you drop it hard. Maserati’s awesome stopping system simply delivers, no matter how often the driver hits the repeat button. In the MC20, you get what you feel, and what you feel is the road; pure and simple. Better still, that trusted connection remains intact at all times – on full lock, during quick changes of direction, when braking hard into a bend, over ripples and along longitudinal grooves. The new mid-engined…

This just got a lot more pressing, didn’t it? If we really are going to be legislated out of new petrol and diesel cars within 10 years, it’s about time we took a bit more interest in the electric cars currently available, and those about to follow them. Will they offer anything comparable to the pleasure currently provided by internal-combustion engines, or do we need to adjust our expectations? Here they come, white, grey and green silhouettes tiptoeing through the morning dew, the three newest clear-air temptations, the batteries in their bellies fully charged and the charging cables in their frunks or underfloor bonus boot meticulously furled. One, the Tesla Model 3, is from a manufacturer that has only ever existed to build electric cars, and which has to a…

Alex Tapley What’s the appeal of off-roading? I have no idea. It feels instinctive, but my nomadic ancestors weren’t exactly cruising round the savannah on 20-inch alloys, so I can’t claim it’s primeval. It feels liberating, so maybe it’s to do with escaping modern life? Turning off that crowded main road, with its speed cameras and warning signs, to strike out across a field... No, wait! NOT A FIELD! I didn’t mean that. I’m NOT TRESPASSING. Off-roading has become controversial. Unless you own a Scottish shooting estate, there aren’t many places left in the UK to venture off tarmac. The last public tracks, open to the likes of you and me, are green lanes, and even those have come under fire recently. A high-profile case in the Lake District last…

I think this new Toyota Supra’s a great motorway car. I know, that sounds a bit damning for a sports car, but it’s because it feels so planted when you’re cracking on. It’s satisfying in a way I can’t quite pinpoint just yet, although it’s something to do with the swell of torque always available from the silky BMW turbo six. I always default to the softer damper setting, even when I’ve got the steering and powertrain in perkier Sport (press start, select gear, press Sport, it’s ingrained now), because the stiffer damper mode is a bit spiky. You sit slightly recumbent in the low-set driving position (comfy enough, though my back’s had enough after two hours). Road noise would creep in from the unseparated rear luggage area, but I…

Matty Graham I can’t remember having my hands on any other quick car for so much time and spending so little of it driving quickly. Odd, really. VW has clearly put some effort into pummelling its SUV undercarriage into sufficient submission to elicit R-appropriate handling alacrity, including winding the T-Roc’s ride height all the way back down to near-hatchback status. A residual whiff of extra bodyroll and pitch cannot be held accountable for this amount of amiable dawdling. So, given that the driving position is also only fractionally more lofted and upright than that of the nippiest Golf, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s down to presentation. No; not the orange paint. I wouldn’t drive an orange McLaren more slowly... Perhaps don the full Groucho disguise first, but no…

It’s a straight rival for four-door coupes like the Panamera and AMG GT, er, 4-Door For 35 years the BMW M5 has consistently set the super-saloon agenda. While the exact details may have changed over the years, shifting from six cylinders to eight, to 10, and back to eight again, the proposition has always been clear: it’s a supercar in a stealthy shell. Too stealthy? I know that’s the point of an M5. I’ve owned one, driven dozens and enjoyed most of them. I love that you can get up to all kinds of mischief, or leave the car in the shadiest car park without attracting attention (‘Who, me?’). But on the flipside, if I was spending £100k on a car I’m not sure I’d want it to look like…