BBC Top Gear - April 2018 UK

D I G I T A L E D I T I O N
SAINTS vs
SINNERS
Petrol or electric?
Time to pick a side...
ISSUE 307
TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 SENNA SPECIAL EDITION
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Issue 307 April 2018
Welcome
066
Ferrari 488 Pista
I’m writing this from the centre of the 88th greatest expression of everything Maranello has learned
Geneva motor show, as the double-storey about going fast, poured into a sports-car format. But while
LED walls and pumping soundtracks compete that was the headline act on the stand, the press conference
to grab the attention of the world’s media was dominated by questions about the upcoming SUV and the
bustling around me. Geneva has always been fact it will be powered by a V8 hybrid. Even the Prancing Horse
the show for the global automotive industry, is having to look in new directions.
but as I sit here bombarded by corporate messages and Meanwhile, Porsche opened its press conference with the
enduring the occasional clout on the head from a selfie-stick- launch of the 911 GT3 RS, sticking to its core performance DNA,
wielding ‘influencer’, one thing is clear: the automotive industry and then followed with a pure-electric estate-cum-crossover
is at a crossroads. Never in the 88-year history of the Geneva concept. At the other end of the hall, Jaguar went one better and
show has there been such a clear divergence in the automotive took the covers off its I-Pace production car, a vehicle that has
landscape, as manufacturers all push to claim the EV future, impressively stolen a march on all its mainstream competitors.
while simultaneously trying to cater for their current client base. While initial reaction to the electrified future concerned many,
The good news for those of us who love cars, is that this the overriding impression that I and the rest of the TopGear
uncertain, challenging and competitive market is bringing team have from Geneva is that the pace of change, creativity
out the best in manufacturers’ creativity… so this issue is a and diversity of the products being developed and delivered
celebration of both sides of our automotive future. has never been more exciting. Saint or Sinner, we’ve never
Despite the march of electrification, we live in extraordinary had it so good...
times for performance cars. The Ferrari 488 Pista is the latest and Enjoy the issue,
Charlie Turner E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F
@TopGearEditor / editor@bbctopgearmagazine.com
TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 007

Contents
Harris
“In the hierarchy of
mobility, personal
transportation must be
totally flexible to my needs
to justify the cost” 029
Reid
“Use whatever skills
you have to make your
dream job possible. If
there isn’t a job, then
invent one” 031
018 the ten

011 Lagonda Vision Concept
018 Range Rover SV Coupe
022 Eddie Jordan’s F1 preview
066 Devil may care
It’s the unrepentant sinners, the
hydrocarbon burners: Ferrari 488
104 024 Gazoo Racing Supra
Intake
Pista, BMW M8, Merc-AMG GT 4dr
036 Life in cars
076 Holier than thou 038 TG gadgets
The Porsche Mission E Cross 039 Insider report
Turismo, Jaguar I-Pace and 040 Eye witness
Rimac C_Two have electric halos
041 TG watches
090 Pambassador
We recreate the advert by upgrading Drives
the Hindustan Ambassador into a
Peugeot. With hammers 042 Ferrari Portofino
048 Ford F-150 Raptor
100 Ford Fiesta ST 049 Hennessey
Six excellent reasons why the VelociRaptor 6x6
new three-cylinder ST is shaping 050 Citroen C4 Cactus
090
up to be a TopGear hero 053 Audi A8 vs Merc S-Class
054 VW Polo vs Ford Fiesta
104 Rolls Phantom 057 McLaren 570 GT
Ollie Marriage chauffeurs oligarch- Sport pack
for-a-day Rowan Horncastle to
058 Mercedes-Benz CLS
060 Bentley Bentayga V8
Courchevel in the lap of luxury
114 Crossover test Garage

The heartland of what the buyers
want: Volvo XC40 takes on DS 7,
Jaguar E-Pace and BMW X1
048 123 What we’re running at TG:
hello Type R, bye CX-5, Nomad

THINGS WE’VE LEARNT THIS MONTH

Lagonda is back to
take on Rolls... and
it’s as divisive as ever
Remember the 2009 Lagonda concept? Seems Aston’s taken
the ‘too lumpen, too high’ criticism and gone mad with v2.0
hen is an Aston Martin not an Aston many months before its Geneva show big splash. unimagined by rivals. Well, the white space here
W
Martin? When it’s a Lagonda. And Forget 2009’s lumpen SUV concept and wrap is garlanded by dollar signs. Lots of them.
especially when it’s… this. The your eyes – and brain – around the Lagonda “As Aston Martin Lagonda, we have a
Vision Concept. Vision Concept, a fully electric super-limo that bandwidth that’s unique,” AML’s director of
The nameplate actually pre-dates Aston aims to make the Rolls Phantom look as lavishly exterior design Miles Nurnberger says. “Rolls-
Martin: an Anglo-American former opera singer appointed as a knackered airport rental. Lagonda Royce can’t make a Ferrari; Ferrari can’t make a
called Wilbur Gunn founded the company in 1909, has aspirations to be the world’s first zero- Rolls-Royce. With these brands, we can do both.”
named it after the river near his Ohio home town, emissions luxury brand, to confound, and to align True that. It also brings one of our favourite
and created a number of stoic-looking saloons and some ye olde luxury thinking with the sort of cars in from the cold. Back in the Seventies, a
convertibles before the company was acquired glistening future world Jared Leto’s sociopath generation of mostly Italian design prodigies
post-war by David Brown. He’d also just bought stalked in the magnificent Blade Runner 2049. stopped creating cars that referenced the curvy
Aston Martin, and they merged. At 5.3m long, and clothed in a body that is bits of Sophia Loren and started drawing wedges.
Progress was patchy thereafter. Aston’s unapologetically confrontational and utterly Tellingly, this vision of the future has never been
current vice president Simon Sproule, a former magnificent, Aston Martin is reactivating surpassed by the actual future. Lamborghini’s
Nissan VP who had a spell as a lieutenant to Lagonda in response to trends among the new Countach remains the gold standard, but it was
rocketeer and sometime electric car sage Elon global super-elite. Not least in positing an ethical an Englishman called William Towns who truly
Musk, thus refers to Lagonda as “a 110-year old super saloon in which it’s better to travel and threw caution to the wind when 1975’s Aston
start-up”. Cute. TG has been granted exclusive arrive. Car people talk about white space, into Martin Lagonda landed, apparently from a
access to the AML design studio for a preview, which they insert profitable new products parallel dimension, but made in the Midlands.
012 APRIL 201 8 › TO P G E A R . C O M

It’s a steering wheel...
but not necessarily
as we know it
It arrived as Aston endured another crisis,

Take a seat, your beautician
kept afloat by, among others, an American
will be out shortly to do entrepreneur called Peter Sprague, who was a
your bikini wax... rising star in the emerging Silicon Valley. “As the
Lagonda began to take form,” Sprague later wrote,
“I added my own special contribution – related to
my background in the world of micro-electronics.
The car looked amazingly modern, so why not add
an all-electronic, computer-based information
and control system and really join the 20th
century? It was an excellent idea but 15 to 20
years ahead of its time.”
I M AG E S: J O H N W YC H E R L E Y
No kidding. Even now, the Towns Lagonda is

mesmerising, and 2018-spec Aston is no longer shy
about referencing it. There’s enough heritage here
to claim authenticity, but not too much baggage to
derail the project. Nurnberger picks up the theme.
“What is modern luxury? There’s a very
traditional point of view in the luxury segment,

Just one of many neat
places for Lagonda
owners to keep their cash
yet things have changed massively, particularly in

the past two or three years. There’s a much more
progressive attitude – the whole world has become
more of an early adopter.”
The new car picks up the continuum abandoned requirements. The need to make a bold design
when its precursor faded out in the Eighties. statement, to establish Lagonda as a company of the
“There’s a sense of wonder about it that goes future, and to show how technological advancement
beyond being a car… what is that thing, and where can help liberate design. It’s a shape formed by the
did it come from? Of course, it was very polarising, collision of invisible forces, like those made by
but anything that sparks that much imagination magnetic particles in an electrical current. The
and gets the neurons firing…” secret is to understand how to connect that shock
The reboot certainly does that. Effectively a and change it to beautiful surfacing.”
giant blade, its codename during development Judge for yourself, and enjoy the discomfort.
was Concorde, and it evokes the same futuristic But we approve of this sort of disruption. Besides,
wanderlust as supersonic air travel. The new the Lagonda hasn’t abandoned all sense of
Lagonda will use solid-state electric batteries tradition. AML has hired furniture maker David
hidden under the floor, good for 400 miles between Linley, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, to consult on the car’s
wireless conductive charges. This also enables it interior, though he’s surely never been involved
to debunk traditional automotive form language, a with anything like the Lagonda’s epic cabin space,
truncated nose seguing into a vast glasshouse/roof, accessed through vast roof-hinged doors. “We
and resolving into an abbreviated quasi-tail-fin. Is it talked about the seats as being akin to a throne,”
pretty? Not conventionally. But that hardly matters. interior design boss Matt Hill says. “Then we
“Clearly, we want to make something evocative realised that might not have been the smartest
and exciting for the future,” Nurnberger says. “The thing to say to David. Fortunately, he understood
Lagonda client has changed, they’re becoming where we were coming from. There’s a plushness
younger, more international than ever before. Aston inside, a sense of movement in the surfaces. We
Martin is a British brand; Lagonda is global. It’s a were also influenced by military jackets, and the
samurai sword. Lagonda has to break new ground detailing you associate with tailoring. Buttons,
– it’s the technology part of the company. It’s got pleats and folds, turn-ups on trousers.
to look like it was made on Mars. We want people “There are ceramics inside, silk carpets, and
to say, what is that? How have they done that? It’ll woven wool upholstery. We want to incorporate
mean discomfort, and there will be some criticism. some of that into the way the seat’s constructed.
But it’s a vision. We need to break new ground.’ Wheel design inspired
We’re treating them as a piece of furniture; the
Design director Marek Reichman puts it this by Spirograph. See, it nature of the space is so much more than just
way. “The shape of the Lagonda Vision Concept was useful to someone somewhere to sit while you’re being transported.”
is the result of satisfying a number of different Not even Concorde managed that. JASON BARLOW

ASTON VALYKRIE
AMR PRO

Full carbon seats are from
the the 918. Scaffolding tubes
give racing kudos...
New Porsche s you can see, it’s very much a soft car – means it should be mighty through the
911 GT3 RS has got A facelift to see the RS out until the
brand-brand new 911 comes along
corners. You also get GT2 RS solid ball joints on
each suspension arm, plus new lightweight
later this year. Considering the old wheels: 20s at the front, 21s at the back.
its stickers back car was staring down the barrel of perfection, There’s plenty of pricey lightweight goodies
it’s not like much needed to be done anyway. such as carbon body panels, plastic windows and
No manual gearbox. Boo.
Still, Porsche’s motorsport arm has squeezed a magnesium roof. Inside, you still have the full
But don’t worry – it’ll still
the engine just that little bit more. Power from carbon bucket seats from the 918, fabric handles
make you a driving hero the sensational 4.0-litre, nat-asp flat-six engine and a liberal attitude to sound insulation.
is now up from 492bhp to 520bhp, and is only For the committed apex enthusiast, we’d
available with a seven-speed PDK. A tenth has recommend selecting the Clubsport package box
been shaved off the 0–62mph time – now 3.2secs for no extra cost. This equips your RS with some
– though the top speed stays at 193mph. scaffolding in the back just in case you put it on
There’s a new bumper and a few aero tweaks its roof, a fire extinguisher, and prep for a battery
to aid grip, which – considering the old one had disconnect switch and a six-point harness.
80 per cent of the downforce of a GT3 Cup racing Serious stuff. Serious price too: £141k. RH
Hyundai Kona has plugged

into the zeitgeist
Korean crossover embraces the EV future
Hyundai has form in zero- that’ll surely only boosted by miles between charges and
emission SUVs, and its Kona instant torque. 0–62mph as swiftly as 7.6secs.
ought to be a good base A whole 291lb ft of it, in fact, A blanked-off grille and new
for a fully electric crossover. more than a Ferrari F355. There alloys are how to tell them
It’s good fun to drive as are standard and long-range apart from old-hat, internal
standard, something versions, offering up to 292 combustion Konas. SD

Cupra is
going it
alone
It’s Cupra Ateca, not his is the Cupra Ateca, the first and carbon trim – both inside and out – and
Seat Ateca Cupra.
Got it? Nope, us neither T buyable offering from Seat’s
newly independent special branch.
some very middle-aged paint choices. In fact,
you could say that despite the fast stats, it’s all
Whatever it’s called, what we have gone a bit Farrow & Ball. Aren’t Cupras
here is a scorchio version of Seat’s big-selling supposed to be a little more… Crayola?
crossover. You might have hoped that Cupra’s Not according to Dr Matthias Rabe, Seat
first solo effort would be a wingy Leon. But and Cupra’s R&D boss: “Cupra is very clearly
no. Even Cupra can’t resist a crossover. a sporty brand, but it’s different to maybe
Still, like the fastest Leon, it has a 2.0-litre seven years ago. We still have the passion
turbo with 296bhp and 295lb ft, which, along and excitement, but also a little bit more
with a 7spd twin-clutch ’box and 4WD, means sophistication and detail. The cars are still
0–62mph in 5.4secs and a top of 152mph. It also really fast, but also extremely balanced; you
gets adaptive suspension, a louder exhaust and can use them all day, every day,” he explained.
optional four-piston Brembo brakes. Question is, will there be Cupra version of
In other words, real hot hatch performance every model? “The cars we have planned in the
in a family-friendly, SUV-type package for next years will be Leon size or a little bit bigger,
about £35k. Maybe they’re onto something but we are looking at opportunities with
here: it’s hard to think of direct rivals, apart smaller cars – the Ibiza and Arona would be a
from the Audi SQ5 and Porsche Macan, which fantastic platform to create a Cupra, but we
are much more expensive. have to see how it fits volume and price wise.”
You’ll also notice wider intakes, glossy black So Cupra has grown up, left home and
grilles, Cupra wheels, quad exit pipes (real started a family. Let’s just hope it remembers
ones) and a rear spoiler. Options include copper its wild side every now and then. DAN READ

The SV Coupe doesn’t look
ginormous in the metal, but its
proportions are aided by these
optional 23in wheels – the first time
such large rims have been fitted
The RR SV
to a factory Range Rover
Coupe will
cost an arm.
And a leg
Exciting news: Range Rover has
revealed its latest money-making
venture – a £240,000 three-door
coupe. Time to plan that bank job...
he original Range Rover is Genesis Operations division, Mark Stanton. “We’ve not had
T
when it comes to posh-roaders, and in No one’s complaining anybody complain about price.” It’s almost like he
the beginning it was only a two-door, about the £240k price... knew it was the first thing we’d ask about. He even
a car that’s since become a bit of a because they’ve fainted says some people have bought two, unable to
classic. It’s moved on a lot in the five decades since, choose between the fruits of their configurator
shifting upmarket in recent years to outfox the games. Bear in mind that the SV Coupe’s earliest
amount of rivals its success encouraged. customers are hand-picked Range Rover loyalists,
Yet Bentley, Lamborghini and now Rolls-Royce too, so they’ll already have some five-door versions
are only too happy to give it a hard time further at home. Probably several homes…
up the food chain. Be under no illusion they’re all The reasons for its price tag – around £80,000
rivals, something Land Rover acknowledges with more than the SVAutobiography Dynamic it’s
this recreation of the two-door Range Rover, the based upon, and three times the full-size Range
SV Coupe, which launches with a £240,000 price Rover’s entry point – are numerous. Each one will
tag. Before options. Nigh on every one of its 999 be hand built at SVO’s headquarters, rather than
buyers will make theirs bespoke to their own the normal factory, plus it’s taken a reasonable
tastes, adding as much as £100,000 again. This amount of engineering to turn a five-door SUV
could be a £340k Range Rover. into a three-door. It was the first Land Rover
“As long as you give customers substance project pencilled in at SVO, conceived around the
behind the price, they are happy to pay it,” says the same time as the Jaguar F-Type-based Project 7,
director of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle which was revealed in 2014.

“We’ve had to create the capability within
SVO to make our own unique bodyshell,” says
Stanton. “Everything we’ve shown so far – such
as Project 7 – has been based on a standard body.
Only the bonnet and lower tailgate aren’t changed
from the standard Range Rover. It’s the first car
we’ve completely assembled ourselves too – it’s
pushed the boundaries a bit.”
It’s a punchy-looking thing in the metal, a car
Land Rover’s design director Gerry McGovern
describes as “not for the shy”. It’s a smidge longer
than a five-door Range Rover, while 100mm has
been taken from its height and added to its width.
The front gills now sit in front of the doors, which,
I M AG E S: S T E F F E N JA H N
inevitably, are longer, almost entirely filling the

wheelbase. Could be tricky in tight parking spaces,
then, though you can spec them with power closing, Be honest. Would you
like a Rolls, for when they’re just too far to reach. rather have this or a gîte in
the south of France? Um...
While there are two seats and a reasonable
amount of room in the back, we’re told it’s a “driver’s

Range Rover”. The only engine choice is the When interior door handles are described as
company’s 557bhp, 5.0-litre s’charged V8, which a ‘blank canvas’ for your own unique engravings,
gives away only 10bhp to the Range Rover Sport and you’re offered to chance to have your family
SVR. That makes this the next quickest Rangey, coat of arms stitched into the headrests, you
with a 5.0secs 0–62mph time and 165mph vmax. know Range Rover has moved on from that
Was there not a temptation to offer other original two-door of 1970. Mind, there’s still a
engines? “Customers would only go for this full suite of off-road systems beneath the skin
one,” says Stanton. “They don’t want a plug-in and it’ll tow 3.5 tonnes. “It’s important we make
hybrid. They want a top-range engine. If they vehicles that retain the essence of the brand,”
need an EV or PHEV to get into a certain city, says McGovern.
they’ll buy one as well. They just want the most Oh, and no one’s worried about the
powerful V8 in this car.” challenges imposed by the likes of the Bentley
Further hints it’s designed for driving lie in Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan. “Will
one of the optional interior colour schemes, customers buy this instead of a Bentley? No,
which sees the front seats trimmed in a different, they’ll buy both,” says SVO boss Stanton. “Your
more brightly coloured leather to the rears, to magazine debates about which is best between
highlight them as most important. Incidentally, the latest Ferrari or McLaren, but these guys
the Queen’s Range Rover – designed to escort her don’t have that debate. They just buy both.”
around – has its seats trimmed other way around. He hopes some customers will have SVO’s
It’s the tip of a very large and opulent iceberg headline Jaguar, Project 8 too. “Project 8
when it comes to choosing how to spec the car. and the SV Coupe are a really interesting
The exterior can be two-tone, too, and while there comparison,” he says. “Project 8 is all about
are a bunch of standard colours and curated the oily bits, the engine, the drivetrain, the
colour schemes, the people who buy cars like aero. Here, it’s all about the body and materials.
the SV Coupe turn up to dealerships with their The same amount of work has gone into each
favourite handkerchief, asking for its pattern car and they’re quite interesting contrasts for
to be recreated inside the car. SVO suspects us – they push the boundaries in completely
very few of the 999 will be alike. different directions.” STEPHEN DOBIE
Body stiffness is the same as

the regular Rangey, and it’s
been tuned to deliver an identical
driving experience. It’ll properly
go off road, too. At £240k, very
few will, we suspect
0 20 APRIL 201 8 › TO P G E A R . C O M
Hit the anodised start button.
Select Handling mode to release
the full Nardò-bashing monster
Carbon-fibre he Bugatti Chiron Sport features no A grand total of 18kg has been removed from
windscreen wipers T additional power. It’s not faster at

the top end. It’s not even quicker to
the Chiron’s bulk, attributable to new lightweight
wheels, a carbon stabiliser and intercooler cover,
62mph. But it is 5secs faster around and, of course, the amazing carbon windscreen
are now a thing Nardò’s handling circuit over a ‘base’ Chiron, wipers – a world first on a production car, no less.
thanks to a new handling pack, and slightly They’re 1.4kg lighter than before, and feature 3D-
Bugatti reveals pointier
trimmer kerbweight. And some carbon wipers. printed aluminium tips. Frankly, this is amazing.
1,479bhp Chiron Sport. Now
The engineers have tweaked the shock A quick recap on the Chiron’s – and so this
quicker around a track absorbers so that they are 10 per cent stiffer. Chiron Sport’s – key numbers: it’ll do 0–62mph
The steering too, has been modified, though in less than 2.5secs, 0–124mph in less than
we’re promised the “outstanding direct feel” 6.5secs, 0–186mph in under 13.6secs, and top out
has not been compromised. at 261mph. Clearly, speed was never an issue.
The rear diff gets a tweak too, and the car now The base price is €2.65m. Let’s be honest; it
features torque vectoring to assist agility during looks fantastic. If the ‘standard’ car is already a
what its drivers might call “spirited driving”. Or testament to speed and defies physics, this one
what we mortals might call “God this is fast”. threatens to tear a hole through time itself. VP
Peugeot has played a blinder

with the new 508
Pug’s new saloon: should be boring, isn’t
Borrowing heavily from Pug’s instrument panel, lots of leather of a 3-Series estate. Peugeot
rather lovely Instinct concept and an ambience selector. boss Jean-Philippe Imparato
from last year’s Geneva show, Whatever that is. wants “to shake up the market
this is the rakish new 508. Oh, and it’s got a 487-litre with an outstanding new car
Inside you’re looking at a boot. More than a BMW 3-Series that can compete with the best.”
large 10in touchscreen, a 12.3in saloon, and just seven litres shy Game on. VP

Hardcore Huracán,
now available
in extra loud
Lambo Performante Spyder: like
the Coupe, but with added noise
BIT OF A CONTRADICTION, ISN’T IT, TAKING YOUR

most track-honed supercar and lopping the roof
F1 is back!
off? Normally, yes, but such is the leap from the
standard Huracán Coupe to the Performante that
we’ll let this one slide. Also, there’s potential here
And this year it’ll
for a serious ear-gasm.
A 5.2-litre V10 producing 631bhp and 442lb ft
of torque drives all four wheels through a seven-
be close, says EJ
speed dual-clutch ’box. The chassis is still a Want to know what thrills and spills Formula One holds
hybrid of aluminium and carbon fibre, there’s still for viewers this year? Time to consult the oracle...
Lambo’s trick downforce-vectoring ALA rear wing,
there’s still carbon-ceramic brakes as standard
and 20-inch wheels wrapped in P Zero Corsas.
However, at 1,507kg dry, the Spyder is 125kg hen regulations don’t Renault engine instead. Now it’s
heavier, despite additional carbon-fibre
components cutting the standard Spyder’s
weight by 35kg. More mass means less speed,
“W change that much, you
generally see a closing
up,” Eddie Jordan tells
Toro Rosso’s job to find a way to
make the Japanese engine work.
Aston Martin’s presence on the
although 0–62mph in 3.1 seconds (0.2 seconds us with a sense more of hope than Red Bull F1 livery continues to
slower than the Coupe), 0–124mph in 9.3 seconds certainty in his voice. The last four expand, just in time for Adrian
(0.4 seconds down) and a 201mph top speed seasons have been dominated by Newey and Aston to launch the
(1mph less) should be enough to keep your Mercedes, mostly by Hamilton, but as F1-inspired Valkyrie hypercar, while
passenger pinned and turning a bit green. Price? Lewis has bolted away from the field, Alfa Romeo makes a return to the
£238,000 – £30,000 more than the Coupe. JR so has the spectacle and excitement. F1 paddock... as a technical and
At least this year we’ll have the new commercial partner for whipping
halos to gawp at in the pitlane, boys Sauber. Still, it could be the
something that has enraged our coolest-looking car on the grid.
F1-mad creative director for the way So where will the fight be? “It’ll be
it obscures drivers’ helmets. Ahem. about two groups – the top three and
Back on the track, and, while then the three after that,” says Eddie.
the technical changes are relatively “The second group of Renault,
light, the carousel of engine suppliers McLaren and Force India is the one to
continues to turn. McLaren has watch.” Remember, you heard it here
managed to unshackle itself from first. And if we’re wrong? You can
Honda and install a much-improved always blame Eddie.

EDDIE MERCEDES 1st 1st FERRARI 2nd 3rd
JORDAN’S CAR: W09 / ENGINE: MERCEDES CAR: SF71H / ENGINE: FERRARI
F1 GUIDE
2018
LEWIS HAMILTON GBR (1) VALTTERI BOTTAS FIN (3) SEBASTIAN VETTEL GER (2) KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN FIN (4)
2017 drivers’ championship finish
2017 constructors’ championship finish
EJ’s tip for 2018 constructors’ championship
RED BULL 3rd 2nd FORCE INDIA 4th 5th WILLIAMS 5th 7th
CAR: RB14 / ENGINE: RENAULT CAR: VJM11 / ENGINE: MERCEDES CAR: FW41 / ENGINE: MERCEDES
DANIEL RICCIARDO AUS (5) MAX VERSTAPPEN NED (6) SERGIO PEREZ MEX (7) ESTEBAN OCON FRA (8) LANCE STROLL CAN (12) SERGEY SIROTKIN RUS ( N/A)
RENAULT 6th 6th TORO ROSSO 7th 8th HAAS 8th 9th
CAR: RS18 / ENGINE: RENAULT CAR: STR13 / ENGINE: HONDA CAR: VF-18 / ENGINE: FERRARI
CARLOS SAINZ JNR SPA (9) NICO HULKENBURG GER (10) PIERRE GASLY FRA (21) BRENDON HARTLEY NZ (23) ROMAIN GROSJEAN FRA (13) KEVIN MAGNUSSEN DEN (14)
MCLAREN 9th 4th SAUBER 10th 10th

CAR: MCL33 / ENGINE: RENAULT CAR: C37 / ENGINE: FERRARI
EJ ON THE HALO
Looks terrible but the management
had to do something to lessen
FERNANDO ALONSO SPA (15) STOFFEL VANDOORNE BEL (16) MARCUS ERICSSON SWE (20) CHARLES LECLERC MON ( N/A) the risks for drivers. If it’s safer
you use it, simple as that. And,
to be fair, it’s not quite as ugly
as I thought it would be.

Lap time, ABS, engine mapping...
blah blah, blah. Which one
do I press to get Radio 4?
Squint... and you’re looking at the new Supra

Nice try, Toyota – your racy disguise can’t fool us. Beneath it lies the new Supra, co-developed with the BMW Z4
he new Toyota Supra is coming – it’ll And Tada would know. He led the GT86 straight-six engines,” he replies. “Toyota did,
T be unveiled at the Detroit show in

January 2019. Meanwhile we have
project too, and he ensured that it was a pure
sports car. Remember, the new Z4 will be a
but it doesn’t any longer.” Toyota’s European
R&D head Gerald Killmann later confirms that
this track-look concept. Its body gentler soft-top. “The exterior and interior it’s a recalibrated version of a BMW engine.
panels are production reality. Just take off the design [of the Supra] is Toyota.” In other words, We suspect the M3’s twin-turbo. That means
rear wing, flicks, splitter and sports-hall-sized very different from the BMW, which we’ve also a 450bhp ballpark. What about a hybrid? “We’re
diffuser, and you’re there. seen in concept form. looking at it, but it’s not decided,” says Tada.
Step inside. It’s all stripped and focused. Tada calls the Supra the GT86’s “elder Given Toyota makes a hybrid Le Mans car,
There’s a racing dashboard, OMP driver’s seat brother”. But it isn’t bigger than the GT86, that consideration must be pretty serious.
and safety harness, and a race-spec, quick-release as it’s a pure two-seater. Suspension, Killmann says, is also similar in
steering wheel mounted on a racing column What about the mechanicals? “I spoke to basic principles to the BMW system, but with a
with a paddle-shift gearbox. Even the doors get Supra fans. The six-cylinder engine, turbos, different tune. The Supra will also be built at a
carbon-fibre lining. Plus, should you overcook it, and front-engine-rear-drive layout are vital.” BMW factory, Tada acknowledges.
there’s a full roll cage and fire extinguisher. BMW does those things, doesn’t it? “Yes, It will carry GRMN badging beneath its
The Supra is a joint project with BMW, but, so we collaborated.” Toyota logos. That’s Gazoo Racing Masters of the
“they are not the same kind of car,” Supra project Which means, and Tada Nürburgring. GR is Toyota’s new
chief Tetsuya Tada tells TopGear. “We’ll continue confirms this, the Supra specialist sporting division. Tada
the heritage of the Supra, a pure sports car. There won’t use the Lexus V8. says there will be GRMN versions
are fewer common elements than you would A BMW six, then? “Few of lots of Toyotas, starting with the
imagine. It’s not like the GT86 and Subaru.” car companies have lairy Yaris GRMN. PAUL HORRELL

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“In the hierarchy of mobility, I
see personal transportation as
needing to be totally flexible to
my needs to justify the cost”
I am currently obsessed with infrastructure. consequences of dickish behaviour could be

The motor industry has, I think, successfully much worse.
sold me the idea that my future mobility will It would appear that for us to charge our
rely on electric power – although the little cars, people will have to stop being wantonly
petrol voice in the back of my head keeps irritating and destructive, which is quite a
jabbering away, beseechingly. So I now drive big ask. I’m writing this at the Geneva motor
around in my soon-to-be-extinct internal- show, where every big boss is spouting on about
combustion chariot with a constant eye on future mobility solutions. It’s very tempting to
how the electric motor car will integrate itself interrupt the endless monologues and shout
into a road network originally conceived for “The range may be getting better, Jon, but can
four-legged animals. you do something about the local scallies who keep ripping
So I have some questions I need answering. Please feel the cable out of my Leaf?”
free to contact me with the answers. If you live in a city, What role does the motor car currently play in our
and you don’t have a driveway (or live opposite one of lives? I suppose that’s what I’m really thinking as I
the 17 electric charging stations currently available), how drive around. In the hierarchy of mobility, I see personal
do you charge your electric car at night? Wireless charging transportation as needing to be absolutely flexible to
is obviously the neatest solution, but it takes my local my needs to justify the cost. If I take an off-peak train,
council a few years to scrabble the cash together for I’m happy to walk a bit either end because it was cheap.
some parking-bay alterations, so who’s going to pay Likewise a bus. If I need to save time or want to be a lazy
for entire roads to be dug up? sod, I’ll take a taxi. The extra cost is justified by being
You could just run a cable from your house, I suppose. dropped exactly where I want to be. The motor car is
But this requires an even more dramatic set of changes currently the apex solution for getting from A to B.
than digging up every urban street with a parking bay in the Climb aboard, fill up when you need, interrupt your
United Kingdom. It would need people to stop behaving like journey with a snack or carry on without a break. Your
dicks. And having travelled the world a bit and experienced choice. The internal combustion engine car bends to
many different cultures, I have yet to witness a meet your demands; it fits in with your agenda.
dick-free society. If I ran a cable from my bedroom But if the electric car requires you to think ahead, to
window out onto the street, within a few nights plan your journey, to alter your behaviour so that it can
someone would yank it, or cut it with a pair operate, does it remain the most convenient form of
of shears or do something fundamentally transportation? I’m not sure.
dickish to it. Currently the worst fall-out So I drive around pondering the electric revolution
from this behaviour is a diligently and how it might work, and now I’m beginning to wonder
I M AG E : R E X
modelled snow penis kindly left by a if the change it will bring might actually be the mass
local artist on the roof of my 911. But abandoning of cars altogether. I mean if it’s just a
when there’s electricity involved, the pain to live with, why would you bother?

“Use whatever skills you
have to make your dream
job possible. If there isn’t
a job, then invent one”
“How did you get a job on TopGear?” section focusing on emerging car tech, and
is probably the most common question I’ve been didn’t get an immediate “Yes”, but again, after
asked over the past two-and-a-bit years. Many a lot of badgering and harassment, now quickly
have offered their own theories, of course – I becoming my specialist skill, he relented.
charmed my way to the top, I found a golden Sadly, no amount of persistence could
ticket in a chocolate bar, it was a total fluke. convince carmakers to lend me their cars. My
Only some of these are true... only option was to hire a Toyota Prius with my
Unfortunately, the reality isn’t nearly as own cash. The next step was to lie to as many
sensational. My eureka moment came when I car press offices as I could, selling them a story
was a teenager. Sat on my bedroom floor, reading dog-eared that Toyota had given me access to their press fleet and that
piles of Max Power and Nintendo magazines, I wondered aloud they should all do the same. For some reason, it worked.
how awesome it would be to have access to an infinite number A few years later, and my CV now included working for a
of games, cars and gadgets. couple of websites, YouTube channels and I’d even done a bit
It then dawned on me that the people writing the words on of TV. When TopGear was looking for new presenters, I knew
those pages did have access. They turned up to work every day it was now or never. I fired off emails, made phone calls and
and could literally drive whatever cars they wanted, play with sent in an audition tape, all of which got me a screen test. They
whatever games they wanted. And so long as they could write turned me down, but I went back to them with a spoken-word
coherently and with enthusiasm for the subject, someone was poetry review of a Rolls-Royce, showcasing my remarkable
mad enough to pay them for the pleasure. ability to not go away when asked.
Fast forward a few years and, while studying at university, That was my path. Yours might be completely different,
I asked the bosses of a local games retailer if I could write but I’d offer everybody the same advice: identify what you
reviews for their website. They weren’t actually looking for want, then commit to achieving it, even if that means not
writers at the time, but I offered to produce free content playing by the traditional rules.
in exchange for free games, and eventually, after a lot of If you’re starting from scratch, then look at the jobs
badgering and harassment, they relented. I got my foot pages of well-known publishers. If that doesn’t work, make a
through the journalism door, gained experience and made YouTube channel, a blog, an Instagram page or Facebook page.
my way on to better jobs at more established publications. Use whatever skills you have to make your dream job
In 2007, while I was the computing possible. If there isn’t a job, then invent
editor for CNET, I realised I was craving one. Pick up a pen, a camera, a keyboard.
a new challenge and wanted to focus on Do something. If you know what you want
cars, my other childhood passion. I asked and you want it badly enough, you’d better
my editor for permission to develop a new believe there’s a way to get there.
TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 0 31
DRIVER TO PILOT
STOP DRIVING FAST, BE FAST!
TRACK CAR RENTING

INCENTIVISE YOURSELF…FOR FUN OR TO PREPARE YOUR RACE LICENCE
ON TRACKS THROUGHOUT EUROPE

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“Formula E is a
lesson in being
in the right place
at the right time”
#14: Nicki Shields, TV presenter for ITV’s Formula E coverage
Things that are Marmite joining Renault, which has been a part of the scene since day
always attract attention: one, winners of all three championship titles to date and one
Piers Morgan, the Kardashians, drivers’ title with former Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Buemi.
Facebook. So you could say that Formula E is a lesson in being in the right place at the
things for Formula E are going right time. E-mobility is happening now so Formula E is
well because, at the moment, it an attractive proposition for big-brand manufacturers, as
truly divides opinion. a technological proving ground and a worldwide marketing
While Formula One kingpin platform. These racecars are developing key technologies
Sebastian Vettel has said: “I don’t like it at all, I think it’s not that will be embedded into our road cars of the future.
the future,” 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg happily nosed In January, Formula E unveiled its new-spec chassis for the
about the paddock at this season’s opening race in Hong Kong, 2018/19 championship – a car that will be seen on track from
declaring: “I know quite a lot about Formula E – it has an this autumn onwards. It has a theoretical top speed of 186mph,
amazing future, a great future.” meaning 160mph+ is achievable even on tight street circuits.
Fresh international motor racing series launches are What’s truly impressive, though, is this car will feature a
nothing new. In the past decade or so, we’ve seen A1GP, battery that will last the whole distance of a Formula E race –
Superleague Formula and GP Masters, to name just a few. The a doubling of energy density – because, up until now, each
trend has been for these championships to arrive with a big driver had two cars they had to switch between in a pit stop.
fanfare, and die a death within a few short years because they One thing I’m sure about is that it will stay as competitive
haven’t been economically sustainable. So why is the Formula as ever. Don’t get me wrong – I fell in love with motorsport
E freight train chugging along at unprecedented speeds? because of Formula One, but the close-combat racing in
When Audi announced in the autumn of 2016 that it Formula E is supreme and raises your heart rate every time.
was ending its two-decade-long commitment to the World The championship has gone down to the wire every season and
Endurance Championship to turn its focus to Formula E, currently drivers from eight different teams make up the top 10.
it sent shockwaves through the motorsport world. It came off I’m often asked at what point Formula E will catch up or
the back of Jaguar joining the series at the start of the third overtake Formula One in popularity. Honestly, I believe
season, after a 12-year absence from single-seater competition. there’s room for both. F1 is F1 and will always have the
But Audi’s announcement was just the history. Having said that, it took Formula One several decades
beginning. BMW, Porsche to become the commercial pinnacle of the sporting world
and Mercedes quickly people recognise it as today. Something tells me it won’t take
followed suit, Formula E quite that long…
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Intake
EDITED BY JACK RIX
Faces. Retro. Entertainment. Car Culture. Every month
PIC OF THE MONTH
ALFA’S BACK
Our younger readers are probably more likely to associate Alfa Romeo with a dinged
MiTo being jump-started in an Asda car park than the pinnacle of motorsport, but
there was a time, 70 years ago, when Alfa dominated Grand Prix racing. And now,
with the company on its feet and once again building world-class road cars, it’s back...
as a commercial and technical partner for Sauber. Still, barring perhaps the ’72
John Player Lotus or the ’84 Marlboro McLaren, F1 has never looked so good.
MY LIFE
IN CARS Rob
Dickinson
UK-born 911 fanatic gave up careers in car design
and music to found Singer Vehicles in LA
I
was born in Norwich, and grew up by the with cream vinyl interior. Great car, rear-wheel- We call that first car the Brown Bomber, and it’s
cliffs. I knew there was a big world out there, drive, brilliant on wet roundabouts, and I could get currently sitting in the Petersen Museum in LA.
and I saw rock ’n’ roll as my way out. My cousin my drum kit in the back of it. The first car I bought Back then, I was living in Hollywood, I had the
[Iron Maiden singer Bruce] had made the was a beige Ford Fiesta. My favourite car during coolest car in the entire city, and fancied myself
career choice semi-acceptable to the family. My the band years was a Peugeot 106 XSi. as Steve McQueen, and would drive it up onto
other passion from the age of five was cars, and After that, I went into 911s. I bought a 1987 911 Mulholland Drive every Sunday. I was constantly
the two things ran in parallel. I vividly remember in 1996, and it’s been Porsches ever since. Had that stopped by people wanting to buy it. That’s when
chugging along in our VW Beetle the moment my for a year, then foolishly part-exchanged it for a I thought, why can’t we take an old 911 and
father first pointed out a Porsche 911 to me as it one-third complete restoration of a 1973 911 2.4 S. present it as the definitive air-cooled 911? The
overtook us. It was a pivotal moment, and the I took it on with zero idea of how much that was best-looking, the best driving, the best spec,
fascination for that car just never went away. going to cost me, borrowed the money off my built like a Rolex… that was in 2006.
I studied car design in Coventry, and worked parents to do it. There are only 12 right-hand-drive I did two things in my life that were highly
for Peter Stevens at Lotus, with Julian Thomson 2.4 Ses still around in the UK so it’s rarer than a risky and perhaps out of character, but I did them
and Simon Cox – rock stars of contemporary car 2.7 Carrera RS, and it meant I felt a deep obligation anyway. The first was when I gave up everything
design. I had a good time, but I was hooked on to bring it back to its original specification. because I believed in the band. I knew it would lead
the music, and the next 15 years was all about that. When I arrived in LA in 2003 to make a solo to good things. I felt the same way when I started
But I always had a total fascination with cars, and record, I thought I’m going to sell all I have in spending money trying to get Singer off the ground
I think I might have lost that if I’d gone into car England, including a Porsche 356 I’d picked up, in 2008. We do have a road map of sorts for the
design. They always provided an escape valve. and sink everything into creating my dream 911, next phase, but I’m trying not to over-think it.
I passed my test in the early Eighties in my the ultimate hybrid of all the lightweight, racing I’ve never been more fulfilled in my life, and I get
dad’s 1971 Opel Ascona estate – bronze metallic 911s I loved, mashed up as a cafe racer hot rod. out of bed in the morning thrilled to be alive.
TOPGEAR TOP 9
CANCELLED
PROTOTYPES
HONDA BMW M3 BMW

HSV-10 GT E46 TOURING M8
PORSCHE TVR CERBERA CATERHAM

989 SPEED 12 C120
ROB’S CARS
VW Beetle
I M AG E : R E X , M EC U M AU C T I O N S , B M W G R O U P C L A SS I C , T E D7
Peugeot 106 XSi
1973 911 2.4 S
LOTUS JAGUAR MERCEDES-BENZ

ESPRIT C-X75 C112
Porsche 356
‘Brown Bomber’
GADGETS
RACING J SCULPTURE It’s a £30,000 carbon-fibre fish. Apparently this is what modern art is. But let’s not be koi – don’t want
to speak out of plaice, even if it serves no porpoise. This particular Racing J Manta piece is part of a range of sea-based
sculptures by artist Alastair Gibson, which include engineering and materials from F1 Grand Prix cars. The Racing J comes in
three themes to represent Petronas, Maranello and Force India teams with added aluminium construction and detailing.
Limited to just three pieces, they’re the catch of the day. (Sorry.) £31,400; carbon45.com/artwork
CAR MODEL COFFEE TABLE PORSCHE DRIVER’S OFFICE CHAIR

Why use your coffee table for cups when you can simply admire Don’t miss out on the driving experience while doing boring stuff
its craftsmanship? These aluminium tables feature impressions of like work. Porsche’s Plus sport seat from the current 911 is now
your favourite car, hand built and in any finish, colour and texture available as an office chair, finished in original interior leather
you like. From $20,000; discommon.com/coffeetable embossed with a Porsche crest. $5,690; shop4.porsche.com
#TWITS
Steve Jones
Celebrity ‘wisdom’,
as seen on social media
For Christ’s sake!

This weather is
a nightmare... I turn
my back for a minute
and my Bolly’s
almost frozen!
INSIDER REPORT #4
AT THE AIRPORT LOUNGE

AT 8.30AM AND SOME CALIBURNUS :
THE POWER
OF THE DRINKS MY
FELLOW TRAVELLERS
ARE ORDERING ARE JAW
DROPPING – CHAMPAGNE
(FAIR ENOUGH), BEER (OK),
W
JACK&COKE (GETTING ith the important stuff sorted – company “For your car to do 300mph and 500 miles on a
WEIRD), RUM&COKE polo shirts embroidered, business cards charge,” she announces eventually, “it will need a
(REALLY?), JÄGERBOMBS printed, showroom coffee machine battery the size of bath.”
(COME ON!!!) that does the foamy milk stuff installed “In Britain,” I correct her, “we would say, the size
– it’s time to decide how Wales’s first 300mph of a bath.”
supercar shall be powered. And frankly there’s “No,” she says. “The size of Bath, the spa town.”
only one option. “Ah,” I say. Moon scribbles a few more numbers.
See, the parallels between Elon Musk and me She says there is a battery that will power the
Had a dream last are almost spooky. We both established disruptive Caliburnus to 300mph and fit in the car. Only thing
night that Benedict technology companies: for him, PayPal; for me, is, we’ll need to compromise a little on range. “How
Cumberbatch stuck MyStool, the app that allows users to share far would it go on a charge?” I ask.
a carrot up my dog’s and rate their emissions. Elon and I both have “120 yards,” she says.
bum. I asked – What a reputation for innovation. We both have “You mean miles,” I say. “A yard is three feet.
the hell are you magnificent hair. A bit longer than a metre.”
doing? And he got And with Elon clearly running out of steam on “I know how long a yard is,” she says. We sit,
annoyed with me... the whole electric car thing, I figured it’s time for silent, for a long time.
ANNOYED me, Simon Coggle, to pick up the e-mantle and Having reviewed our technical options, I’m
WITH ME?!?? e-cclerate e-cars to 300mph. Though we’ve never delighted to announce the Caliburnus supercar will
met, and he still hasn’t got around to accepting my be powered by a classic, sonorous V8 petrol engine,
Facebook requests, I feel it’s what Elon would want equipped with one, two or possibly no turbos,
me to do. Also electricity seems less complicated depending how difficult they are to attach. And to
and explodey than petrol. any Caliburnus customers who placed a deposit on
Congratulations To assist with engineering our electric the promise of an electric, emissions-free supercar,
@LewisHamilton... drivetrain, I call in Ha-yoon Moon, South Korea’s I say only this: sometimes when the river flows
avoid the urge to
I M AG E S :G E T T Y
third cheapest automotive battery expert. I explain fastest, the bravest man is he who stands still.
retire a week to her the design parameters of the Caliburnus Also none of that paperwork was legally binding.
from now? vision. She scribbles a lot of numbers on a piece of
paper, some of which appear to actually be letters. NEXT MONTH – NAMING
the outside. However, I’d already I was just hoping that I hadn’t
EYE WITNESS worked out that there was good miscalculated and that I would have
grip out wide at the first corner, grip the whole way around the corner.
and also that at that corner, which But even when I’d thought about it
THE WORLD’S
is a long right-hander tightening into before, I only thought it was possible
a hairpin, I could send it sideways to gain a couple of places. If it worked
really early and carry so much speed perfectly, I thought I might maybe
BEST OVERTAKE
in without braking. come out in second, but never first.
So that’s what I did. I had an OK I was just happy to be in the final,
start, but I think I was still fourth or that’s why I was prepared to take a risk
fifth as we approached that corner, like this. If I ended up in a barrier or a
and then, when everyone else dived sandtrap in the final, I wouldn’t have
Kevin towards the apex, I don’t think I minded too much. It was worth having
Eriksson braked at all, I just threw it sideways

– didn’t even use the handbrake. I
a go at something ridiculous because
I knew there was a chance, even if it
16.10.2016 mean, I had my hand on it, but I had was a not-so-large one, that it might
so much speed, I just flicked it in and work and I might get a better place.
T
his race at Hockenheim was changed down a gear… but then the Anyway, I think I might have used
so important for me because revs were too high – I was on the the handbrake to make one small angle
it was my first – and so far my limiter – so I changed up again almost adjustment, but then I was at the end
INTERVIEW: OLLIE MARRIAGE IMAGES: GETTY
only – FIA World Rallycross immediately. In fact, come to think of the corner, accelerating up the next
Championship round win. But of of it, I think I geared up while I was straight and I was in front. And that
course no one remembers that! going backwards! was it – I went on to win the race and
What they remember instead is the I had so much angle and I got the we had a great celebration afterwards.
overtake I made at the first corner. line just right. I mean, I wanted to do But then the video was posted online
I’d spoken about the start with it, and there was some skill, but there [search for Kevin Eriksson overtake]
my father after the semi-final and so was also some luck involved, I admit and the next three days… they were
it was in the plan. Of course Plan A that. I knew I had the speed and it just crazy. I had messages and phone
was to go up the inside, but I knew was certainly my type of track, but calls from all over, from the United
this wasn’t possible because even so, as I saw that I was going past States, Malaysia, Colombia even.
I was starting towards people, I was surprised. It felt so good. It was a good weekend... the best.
WATCHES OF THE MONTH

EDITED BY OLLIE MARRIAGE ew
Every nat
car th s,
matter r
rated o
slated
CONTENTS
Ford F-150 Raptor

p48
A8 vs S-Class
p53
Polo vs Fiesta
p54
McLaren 570 GT S
p57
Mercedes-Benz CLS
p58
Cut
umility isn’t a trait which So credit to Maranello’s Centro Stile,
Ferrari is particularly which has created an edgier-looking car
H famous for, but company
insiders privately concede
and one that’s equally striking roof up or
down. Unlike Aston Martin’s sublime new
Fino that the California wasn’t

its finest hour. With more than 11,000
sold in a decade, 70 per cent of which were
DB11 Volante and the next-gen Mercedes-
Benz SL, Ferrari insists the retractable
hard-top (RHT) is what its clients want,
to first-time Ferrari owners, this is strictly and reckons the RHT actually weighs less
Ferrari Portofino
philosophical rather than economic fault- than a canvas soft-top.
£166,180 finding, but even so, the pointy precision Saving the kilos on a car as content-rich
that’s characteristic of contemporary as the Portofino is a tall order, but it’s a task
Ferraris was definitely AWOL. Ferrari technical director Philippe Krief –
WE SAY: THE CALI IS The Portofino aims to redress the the man behind Alfa Romeo’s glorious Giulia
NO MORE. WILL THE balance, literally and figuratively, adding – and his team have set to vigorously.
NEW ENTRY-LEVEL a shot of adrenalised dynamism to the There’s an all-new aluminium chassis, using
usability and versatility beloved of 12 different alloys, key elements of which
FERRARI DO BETTER?
California clients – grintoso, Ferrari are now cleverly integrated. Take the
calls it, or grittiness – not to mention A-pillar, for example: on the California it
chiselling away at the old car’s, um, consisted of 21 separate components; now
generously proportioned profile. it’s just two pieces. Hollow castings help
What use is a fugly Ferrari? improve structural rigidity – the new car
April I 2018
01
1) Portofino will happily indulge your

inner idiot, but it’s still more cruiser 05
than bruiser 2) Those aren’t just seats,
they’re magnesium alloy frames with
variable density padding 3) Brakes
are Brembos, 390mm diameter up front
4) 3.9-litre bi-turbo V8 now has 591bhp,
This is optimum 5) Main dial is flanked by
twin TFT displays; infotainment and nav
live in central 10.2in touchscreen. Aircon
more efficient now, air-flow kerfuffle
in cabin also reduced
02
03 04

“It mooches about town
rather than straining at its
diamond-studded leash”
is 35 per cent stiffer than the old one. seventh gear. And who else but this
Weight savings have also been made in lot would illustrate the car’s pulsating
the powertrain and electronics, while the soundtrack by showing us a graph
seats, heating and ventilation system and delineating the bass, tenor and soprano
dashboard structure are all lighter. At frequency range (from subterranean
1,664kg with fluids, the Portofino weighs Barry White to full-throttle Bruce
80kg less than the California T. Dickinson)? It makes a rare old racket.
The engine is a reworked wet-sump Like all recent Ferraris it also has a
iteration of Ferrari’s award-winning superbly resolved ride quality; Ferrari has
3.9-litre twin-turbo V8, good for 591bhp tweaked the algorithms in the magnetic
in the Portofino and more significantly dampers, although the Portofino runs
561lb ft from 3,000 to 5,250rpm. Changes stiffer springs front and rear. The rear
to the hardware include revised con rods transaxle dual-shift ’box is unexpectedly
and pistons, a single-cast exhaust manifold gnarly in manual mode, but mostly
and a 10 per cent increase in the maximum the Portofino nails its duality mission,
pressure of the combustion chamber. That mooching about town rather than
helps liberate an extra 39bhp over the Cali straining at its diamond-studded leash.
T, more of which is available at the top of But it’s not perfect, and if it’s undone
the rev range. Ferrari, understandably, Manettino settings anywhere, it’s when you raise the tempo.
is hell-bent on giving its new-age turbo now also work on It begins to feel oddly hyperactive, and
exhaust bypass
engines the throttle response and sonic while there’s no lack of dialogue from
character of the atmospheric V8s many of the front and rear, it can feel like being
us still lust after. As powertrain director stuck between two impassioned but
Vittorio Dini told TG: “Extracting more argumentative lovers. Like the 812
power from a turbocharged engine isn’t Superfast, the Portofino has electric
just a matter of playing with the boost; power steering and, as with all Ferraris
you have to make it harmonious, robust, in recent memory, it’s perilously easy to
and drivable.” We shall see. over-drive the car. You need to ease into
The Portofino is technically the gateway it. The latest version of Ferrari’s e-diff
drug to the Prancing Horse, the car that has its hands full keeping everything
eases Ferrari newbies into the Promised pointing in the right direction, and if you
Land. But the first time you drop the twiddle the manettino into full ‘off’ mode,
hammer in this thing, you might need to you’d better bring your A-game – 591bhp
have a quiet word with yourself. Whatever is a heap of power, after all, and the side
else it is or isn’t, the Portofino certainly slip software fitted elsewhere in the
ain’t slow. Zero to 62mph in 3.5 seconds Ferrari range is NFI here.
and on to 124mph in 10.8, with a terminal
velocity of 198mph, dismisses doubts about
any absence of proper Ferrari fizz. The
3.9-litre V8 sounds and feels every cubic
centimetre a genuine masterpiece. Intake
and exhaust have been tweaked, and there’s
an electric bypass valve, but the key here
is a turbo-denying absence of lag and
razor-sharp throttle response.
These old-school Ferrari traits are
matched by a vat of torque sufficient to haul
the Portofino along from low speeds in
April I 2018
Its body control is leagues better than although that F1-aping multi-function
the California T’s, but the Portofino still wheel is still too busy. Maybe owners get
retains a certain softness, even in Sport used to it; it’s difficult to think of a more
mode, that can feel unsettling at high First World problem. Infotainment is
speed. That hyper-alert steering doesn’t handled by a 10.2in HD touchscreen,
help. Paradoxically, although it feels with Apple CarPlay available as an
much more like a proper Ferrari overall, option (a patently ludicrous £2,400),
it’s also more enjoyable at six rather than and the aircon is 25 per cent faster than
ten-tenths – the territory we suspect most before, and 50 per cent quieter. This is
owners are likely to take it. So maybe they a Ferrari that’ll also see much more
have judged it right. The Brembo brakes daily use than its stablemates, and a
could use more feel, too, although 460-mile fuel range and realistic low
ultimate stopping power is superb. twenties fuel consumption underscores
In creating the Portofino, Ferrari its GT ethos. There’s a decent-sized boot,
consulted a lot of clients. In fact, this is RHT can open or too. Floridian golfists can rest easy.
close in 14 seconds,
probably the most assiduously market- That Ferrari ditched California
at up to 30mph
researched Ferrari ever made. Whether in favour of an all-new name speaks
that runs counter to the pure inspiration
that fuels truly great cars is moot, but at
volumes. The Portofino is lighter,
faster, better-looking and better made.
SPECIFICATION
3855cc V8 twin-turbo, RWD,
least the Portofino has several excellent There’s a lot of solid gold action at this 591bhp, 561lb ft
places to stick your smartphone and stratospheric end of the market – AMG 26.0mpg, 245g/km CO2
Smints. It’s also a high-quality item S63 cabrio, Aston Martin DB11 Volante, 0–62mph in 3.5secs, 198mph
inside. Ferrari prefers to call it a +2, Bentley Continental GT, Porsche 911
1664kg
and although there’s an extra five Turbo cab, maybe even the Rolls-Royce
centimetres in the rear seats, they’re Dawn – and not one of them goes about VERDICT: Banishing
8
better suited to Prada shopping bags separating you from vast tracts of cash in the memory of the Cali,
than human beings. Even small ones. quite the same way. But only one of them it’s sharper, lighter and
easier on the eye. A real
The perplexing/idiotic ergonomics of is a Ferrari, and the Portofino is more
the 488 are replaced by simpler dials, Ferrari-ish than ever... JASON BARLOW
Ferrari, but not perfect.
10
“There’s a decent-sized
boot. Floridian golfists
can rest easy”

FREE
CLEAR
AVAILABLE FROM SELECTED SERENGETI STOCKISTS INCLUDING:
AVAILABLE IN PRESCRIPTION
April I 2018
Raptor’s
hile a European-sized select dial that hints at how unstoppable
Ranger Raptor may come the Raptor is off-road.
W to the UK, Ford has no Yet it’ll do grown-up stuff, too; it’s
delight plans to sell the US-

market F-150 Raptor here.
Yet independent dealers are importing
burly enough to tow a bungalow, while its
standard 10spd auto ’box contributes to
an eerily quiet m’way cruise. There are
Ford F-150 Raptor them, so it’d be remiss of us, as dispensers too many ratios to make paddle-pulling
£70,000 est. of consumer advice, not to borrow one to realistic, so leave it to its own devices
check it’ll actually fit on British soil. and watch it pull eighth gear by 30mph.
Who are we kidding? We couldn’t And yes, it fits. Just. While it’s a
WE SAY: THIS WILL TEAR turn down the chance to arse around complete bargain in the States – around
CHUNKS OUT OF UK SOIL in perhaps the least po-faced car on £35,000 – you’ll pay much more by the time
sale. Even Raptors aren’t immune to one’s been brought over here. Less than
downsizing, though, and the bombastic £70k if you’re happy sitting by the kerb,
V8 has made way for a turbo V6. Before or as much as £90k if you want a RHD
you get too upset, it’s pretty similar to conversion. There’s very little that’s as
the Ford GT’s V6, just in a meeker state brashly individual for the money, though.
of tune. This thing flings itself at the The Raptor is silly, but indulgently,
horizon in an utterly indecent manner. gloriously so. STEPHEN DOBIE
The pungent aroma of hot brakes when
you need to haul most of that speed off We’re going to need a
for a corner proves this doesn’t handle
like a Cayenne Turbo. It’s a far looser,
bigger country, just to
house this beast...
SPECIFICATION
3496cc, turbocharged V6,
more wayward ‘car’ than that. Still, you’ll AWD, 450bhp, 510lb ft
get used to the width quite quickly, as the 19.2mpg, 340g/km CO2 est
Raptor is so bluffly slab-sided. 0–62mph in 5.0secs, n/a mph
The low-speed ride is very fidgety, and
2506kg
the Raptor needs speed – and commitment
– to work properly. In fact, it begs it of you. VERDICT: Too long,
7
Find some appropriately rough ground too powerful and much
and it’s like nothing else, astonishing too silly. But show it the
rough stuff and watch
traction motivated by childish gobs of
torque. There’s a Baja mode in the drive
it go bonkers.
10
Long tall Texan
Hennessey VelociRaptor 6x6
£260,000
WE SAY: JOHN AND THE CREW

HAVE SUPERSIZED THE RAPTOR
f you thought a normal rear four wheels via the standard 10spd suspension for each wheel assembly, portal
Raptor was a bit OTT, you ’box and a transfer case packed with magic. axles and more diff locks than you can
I ain’t seen nothing yet. The

Texans have added more
Safe to say it’s vast. Largely thanks to a
Brodozer-style 8in lift kit and 8ft pickup
shake an input shaft at), but at £260k (no
donor car needed), Hennessey’s Raptor is
wheels and more power. bed. But what you gain in ride height and a lot cheaper than the £370k G63 6x6, yet
The 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 has been turned status you lose in agility. Adding a lengthy gives off the same imperious ‘mine is bigger
up to 600bhp and 622lb ft, thanks to an wheelbase and two big wheels bumps up than yours’ effect. Which, to some, is all
upgraded turbo set-up, bigger intercooler the mass at critical points. It corners more they desire. ROWAN HORNCASTLE
and a remapped ECU that’ll see 0–60mph lethargically and with little feedback
in under five seconds. Note the size of the compared with a standard Raptor. But
vehicle. Note the number of wheels. Now
marvel at the physics required.
having the incredibly simplistic leaf-spring
suspension set-up has also increased the
SPECIFICATION
3496cc, turbocharged V6,
The fabrication process was simple; an stiffness. A lot. Where the standard Raptor 6WD, 600bhp, 622lb ft
angle grinder and some Texan know-how. impresses with its languid water-bed-like n/a mpg, n/a g/km CO2
John Hennessey and his team grafted on an Fox shocks, the 6x6 has the composure and 0–62mph in 4.9secs, n/a mph
extra 2ft6in of length by getting a custom compliance of an old Hilux.
n/a kg
9in axle, then inverting a hefty leaf spring But you forgive it because it’s hilarious.
that can accommodate two Largely through its un-truck-like VERDICT: It’s not as
7
wheels on one pivoting hub performance. In no way is it sophisticated or as well-
without them clapping as sophisticated or well- engineered as Merc’s 6x6
but it’ll make you the
together like a Newton’s engineered as Merc’s six-
cradle. Drive is fed to the wheeled G63 (twin
king of a Texan tailgate.
10
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross argues that it’s the drivers’ friend, and,
sure enough, it corners impressively
£21,275
level, but the steering is over-sharp
Engine 1499cc 4cyl turbo, AWD, 160bhp, and we’d prefer to hustle a Seat Ateca.
184lb ft Performance 0–62mph in 9.8secs, 127mph, The new 1.5-litre petrol is smooth,
40.4mpg, 159g/km CO2 Weight 1550kg
and this is one of the cleverest CVT
Strikingly handsome up front, Walter White’s automatic transmissions on the market.
hideous Pontiac Aztek from the rear, the Prices start from £21k, but there’s masses
Eclipse Cross looks like a full-size SUV of kit at the £25k sweet spot. It’s the
6 but is a smaller, Kia Sportage and Nissan

Qashqai-rivalling crossover. Mitsubishi
best car that Mitsubishi currently makes.
Which isn’t difficult. OK
April I 2018
Bumped
he Citroen C4 Cactus road, particularly with the punchy 1.2-litre
launched, four years ago, three-cylinder turbo engine up front.
T as an immediate class hero. It’s flawed, though. Stuff that saved
off... As small crossovers became

ubiquitous, here was one
deliberately cheap ’n’ cheerful, with a
weight and cash in the old C4 Cactus – rear
windows that pop out and a basic digital
speedo with no rev-counter – are suddenly
Citroen C4 Cactus utilitarian attitude best demonstrated by the incongruous now it’s a rival for traditional
£17,965 rugged Airbumps that ran down each door, hatches and has a £4k-higher base price. The
protecting them from urban warfare. Cactus’s platform is from a class below, so
For the facelift, those Airbumps have rear space is cramped for anyone over 5’9”.
WE SAY: FUN AND QUIRKY been minimised to a not especially useful We used to rate the C4 Cactus as our
strip at the bottom of the doors, becoming a favourite small crossover. It was a trailblazer
GIVES WAY TO MAINSTREAM
visual metaphor for the whole car in the in making cars of its ilk deliberately less
process. Citroen recently launched the C3 sporty and aggressive. But by trying to make
Aircross, a taller, more traditional small it less niche in its appeal, Citroen has
crossover, while the regular C4 hatchback conversely made its place in the market a bit
has reached retirement. The result is a more harder to fathom. It’s still a decent car, but
mainstream C4 Cactus to fill a newly vacant against its supposed bunch of new rivals,
hole in the company’s range. Push-me, pull-you C4 it’s no longer a hero. STEPHEN DOBIE
So the Airbumps have shrunk, the Cactus not the TG hero
materials inside are a bit posher and there’s it used to be. Sad face
a newfound focus on comfort: the seats are

like a memory-foam mattress and there are
SPECIFICATION
1198cc turbocharged 3cyl, FWD,
new hydraulic bump stops in the suspension. 108bhp, 151lb ft
If you want the comfiest hatch on sale, 65.7mpg, 100g/km CO2
this is probably it. While not on the same
0–62mph in 9.4secs, 117mph
plane as hydropneumatically suspended
Citroens of old, it smooths off the sort of 1030kg
imperfections that would rattle a Focus or VERDICT: New Cactus is
6
Golf in a fancy trim line. Yet it’s also pretty posher and comfier, but
perky to drive – any Cactus weighs less than diluting its character
has taken away the best
1,100kg. While not the last word in handling
precision, it’s a good chuckle on a decent
reason for owning one.
10
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McLaren 570GT in the desert Civic Type R in Japan Trans Am across the USA
us a lot
“Seoul inspired
lopment
during the deve
l is a
of this car. Seou
y, a city
truly diverse cit
. But
of contradiction
real
also, a city with
ng-Yup Lee
balance.” – Sa
IN THE SPRING of last year, Sang-Yup returned to

his home city of Seoul, having grown up there in the
1970s, when it was a city of poverty with little car
culture. After 24 years away, he’s back to take up a
new position as Vice President of Styling at the
Hyundai Design Centre, and truly believes his home
town plays a huge part in
inspiring his new generation of
Hyundai cars. he Kona is the
first fruit of this Seoul-inspired
vision. “Seoul is famous for its
technology, but then also for its
traditional craftsmanship. And then we have the
surreal cultural movements, like K-pop,” he says.
DISCOVER THE STORY BEHIND THE CITY Graffiti painter Royyal Dog channels the city’s
OF SEOUL AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE progressive energy; his murals often depict black
women and children in traditional Korean dress. He
DESIGN OF THE ALL-NEW HYUNDAI explains, “I just love hip hop music and my favourite
KONA, AND WIN A CHANCE TO EXPLORE hobby was always painting. More than anything, I
want to spread messages of love through my work.”
THE INSPIRATIONAL CITY FOR YOURSELF Seoul musician and Club VERA resident DJ Ssom
speaks passionately about the music scene: “So now
we hear all kinds of music in the city. I get to listen to
all of it and then when I’m in my club, I think I am
the happiest person in the world.”
Like DJ Ssom, Seoul really comes alive at night,
and these cultural touchpoints are undeniably vital
to Hyundai’s new era of design. As Sang-Yup
explains, “We designed Kona to reflect the
strong character that is to be
found in Seoul. We questioned
all aspects of its design. It was
vital that this car was not
regarded as just another SUV.”
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April I 2018
Q U I CK T WI N TEST
Mercedes S-Class vs Audi A8

WE SAY: IT’S A FULL LUXO-TECH BATTLE AS AUDI TAKES ON MERC
A very evenly matched pair. Both 3.0-litre diesels with identical power You might struggle to notice, but the A8 is new. Shame it still doesn’t
What do we and torque, in long-wheelbase trim (a £2,800 option on the Merc, £3,995 have enough road presence – the Merc is the more stately machine.
have here?
for Audi). Both are almost identically quick, heavy and lengthy, too. But Audi claims more cabin space and autonomous driving functions.
The Merc is the more steady, authoritative car to drive. It’s more stable at Despite the autonomy claims, the Audi’s lane-keep and radar functions
What do they speed, the gearbox and engine work more harmoniously, and although aren’t as smooth as the Merc’s. Same elsewhere, too: the gearbox hiccups
offer the
both should be praised for their astonishing noise and vibration shifts occasionally, the steering is too light and inaccurate just off centre
driver?
suppression, it’s the Merc that you wouldn’t guess is a diesel at all. and the damping isn’t as polished. But otherwise it moves well for a big car.
Less head- and legroom here, but also a neat trick. The front passenger The Audi is palatial in the back. It offers more legroom than the Merc, but
How’s life in seat can contort itself most of the way into the front footwell, freeing up less privacy. This is important. Yes, there are side blinds to help hide you,
the back? space for the person in the back to really stretch out. The Merc is probably but as the C-pillars are narrower you feel more exposed. Not that you’ll
top choice as far as seat comfort, restfulness and isolation goes. mind – you’ll be having too much fun with the removable rear touchpad.
Both represent good value. They feature far greater depth of engineering Depreciation will be the killer. A few years racking up miles and they’ll
How do costs
than Teslas and Range Rovers, pound for pound. Don’t forget options, be worth a pittance. A bargain, then – just pray the electrics don’t start
stack up?
though. You’ll be adding lots of those to these cars. acting up. There’s a lot to go wrong in here.
Mercedes-Benz S350d
£75,505 (£93,710 as tested)
9 10
Audi A8 50TDI quattro
£73,395 (£108,630 as tested)
8 10
WO R DS: O L L I E M A R R I AG E /P H OTOS: R OWA N H O R N C A S T L E
VERDICT: Still the number one luxury VERDICT: Audi’s best A8 ever. Runs
2925cc, 6cyl turbodiesel, 2967cc, V6 turbodiesel,
car. Just so polished across the board. the S-Class very close indeed.
RWD, 282bhp, 442lb ft 4WD, 282bhp, 442lb ft
52.3mpg, 139g/km CO2 48.7mpg, 150g/km CO2

1488mm
1496mm
0–62mph in 6.0secs, 155mph 0–62mph in 5.9secs, 155mph
1990kg 2000kg
5271mm 4302mm

April I 2018
hy do we buy anything instead for superbly clear instruments

other than a supermini? bookending a central data screen. The
W This Fiesta Titanium
has cruise control and
Fiesta’s is multicolour (to the Polo’s
monochrome) but cluttered. When you
anti-crash braking. It’ll look left, there’s an 8in touchscreen in
watch your blind spots, read road signs, your eyeline, with the vents relegated to
warm your backside, heat the steering nipple-height. This means the climate
wheel, broadcast crystal-clear digital controls have to live by your knees,
radio while navigating via satellite, which is another win for the Fiesta,
defrost its windscreen and beep at you because its bigger, more juvenile-
before you back into a wall. And it’s not looking switchgear is less of a fiddle.
even fully specced. But it’ll need every Hate modern cars with touchscreens The Fiesta uses some naff trim
single trick and flourish to take down that look like lost iPads floating in mid- too: the doorhandles in particular,
the new VW Polo. Fiesta’s infotainment air? The Polo’s neat, dash-integrated which isn’t clever when you touch
has finally caught up
This Titanium with 123bhp is with the competition
housing will appeal. The flush gloss them a damn sight more often than
£17,714, and just over £19k with the black panel it lives in is a fingerprint you’ll fondle the pillowy upper
toys. A Polo SE L manual is £18,180, haven. Lower down lives your reaches of the dashboard. But it’s
but its stronger residuals mean our rubberised cubby with wireless phone so much tidier than the old car.
third party finance calculator rates charging. Below that, the central tunnel Its touchpoints – steering wheel,
the VW cheaper to lease (£235 per is fashioned from horribly brittle gearknob, softer, comfier seats
month plays £251). Both achieved plastic. So, place anything that’s not (everything except the brittle
a respectable 44mpg. a cup in the teeny cupholders (spare handles) are high quality without
Inside, they’re curiously similar. change, a charging cable, loose M&Ms, being overdesigned. The touchscreen
Both shun virtual dials, plumping et cetera), and it rattles. Irritating. is – at last – a Ford system that doesn’t
All grown up
VW Polo vs Ford Fiesta
£18,180 (£22,450 as tested) vs
£17,714 (£19,315 as tested)
WE SAY: CAN VW’S LATEST

POLO GET ONE OVER ON OUR
FAVOURITE SUPERMINI?
make you wish a plague upon the But the Polo’s calculating po-
houses of Blue Oval software boffins. faced seriousness also shows up
Giant, vaulting leaps have caught the its shortcomings more brutally. POLO SE L 1.0 TSI SPECIFICATION
999cc 3cyl turbo, FWD,
Fiesta up to the Polo’s cabin in one When the finish is so tight, the 113bhp, 147lb ft
measly generation. noise levels so serene, the clunking, 58.9mpg, 109g/km CO2
Unless you’re shopping for an recalcitrant gearshift of manual
easy-to-park minicab. The Polo’s models sticks out. This £1,350 DSG
cabin feels a bigger, boxier object, is genius for urban work, hurrying 1155kg
and your passengers will thank you into seventh gear by 28mph without
VERDICT: This is a really
for it. There’s more light, more space, labouring the 1.0-litre, 113bhp 3cyl
8
finely executed car. But
and a slightly bigger boot. But it’s no motor. The changes are vanishingly there’s no joy in driving it –
TARDIS – it’s just a big little car. smooth. But that same über-eco trait it’s just spacious, sensible,
However, it could use less vague, is a pain out of town, where you’ll
quality-finished transport.
10
glassy steering. The MkVI Polo is a Polo’s 7spd DSG is find holes in the response.
fantastic for the city,
supermini genetically engineered The Ford’s steering has more
but less good out of it
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROWAN HORNCASTLE
like a turbocharged Ivan Drago to feedback, its three-pot engine is FIESTA 1.0 TITANIUM SPECIFICATION
be as clinically perfect as humanly smoother under load, and it rides 999cc 3cyl, FWD,
(or robotically) possible. It cruises – genuinely – like a Jaguar. Like a 123bhp, 125lb ft
quietly and the maturity of its ride good Jag, it informs you about what 65.7mpg, 98g/km CO2
over big compressions is just sublime. the wheels are up to, but expertly filters 0–62mph in 9.9secs, 121mph
Proper ‘big car’ refinement and out the noise and chatter. Ultimately, 1144kg
dexterity. Wind noise has been that handling verve in a package almost
cancelled out. Its body movements as premium as the VW’s is enough to VERDICT: Ford’s got this
9
are tightly controlled and ultra-slick. edge the Fiesta to victory. OLLIE KEW spot-on. Retains the sense
of chuckable fun all great
Fiestas have, but now it’s
joined by refinement.
10

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April I 2018
TG’ S O N E
M I N UTE E XPE RT
GOT 60 SECONDS SPARE?

READ THESE
Nissan e-NV200
This van converted Midlife refresh
Tweak at
into an electric van,
is an electric van
converted into an
brings the MkII
Leaf’s 40kWh
battery. Realistic
the knees
MPV. The only range is 125 miles
McLaren 570 GT Sport pack
e-seven-seater on WLTP. But the
this side of a performance £161,900
Tesla Model X. is sluggish.
The seats So, er, why?

are crude Well, it’s
WE SAY: WOKING SPLITS THE DIFFERENCE
and bus-like, smooth and
cabin strangely quiet, and good for
BETWEEN THE 570S AND THE 570GT
narrow. Driver has your green profile.
to put up with poor Mostly because he 570GT has been around for you’d really need to drive them back-to-
directional stability it’s effectively
a bit, but only now is McLaren back, so the minutiae of how differently
and pitching. rival-free.
T reacting to demand for the (or should we say similarly…) they behave
“sharper, more precise and perform aren’t lost on you.
Engine: e-motor, 109bhp, 187lb ft
Performance: 0–62mph in 14.0secs, 76mph, dynamic behaviour of the 570S coupe to be The steering is crisp, direct and
range 174 miles Weight: 1689kg Price: £25,500 available with the GT bodystyle” with the communicative, and the ride, though firm,
introduction of the Sport pack. Or so it says. is well damped and beautifully composed
This gives many things. The whole point for such a car. But it’s on a track, where
4 of the 570GT is that it’s a toned-down, more
practical version of the 570S – just as fast
you can truly exploit the 570’s amusingly
accessible limits, that the difference would
(same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8, same 562bhp, really be felt between S and GT, between
same 443lb ft of torque) but with more GT and GT Sport Pack.
luggage space, marginally slower steering So if you plan on doing just that – the
You should be
and retuned, less severe suspension. looking for the apex, odd track day, perhaps – maybe the SP
But opt for the Sport pack, and your not the zenith... is for you. If you’re buying a 570 for any
570GT will arrive with the same set-up other reason, by all means spec the Sport
Ford Ranger as a 570S. It gets the same steering rack pack if you really can feel the difference
Ford’s perennial Certain elements
(a whole two per cent faster than the and think it’s a worthwhile upgrade at
pickup gets four work in the Ranger 570GT’s), damper actuators and uprights £4,900. But whatever you do, don’t
doors and a bit cabin – like heated as the S, the same Pirelli rubber (P Zero go thinking it’s in any way necessary to
of glam to bridge seats and the Corsas, though our test car was fitted make the 570 great. Because it is already
the gap between reversing camera with winters) and the same software for that. And then some. TOM HARRISON
workhorse – and there’s just the steering, adaptive dampers and ESC.
and family enough luxury
It is, effectively, a better-looking 570S
off-roader. kit to get by.
with a second boot.
So it should, in theory, be the best
SPECIFICATION
But the The 2.2-litre 3799cc, twin-turbo V8,
engine, ’box diesel is loud, of both worlds. Teaming the 570S’s RWD, 562bhp, 443lb ft
and drivetrain the ’box notchy handling prowess with the GT’s looks 26.6mpg, 249g/km CO2
betray its and suspension and practicality. But truth be told, to tell 0–62mph in 3.4secs, 204mph
agricultural roots floaty, much like the difference between the S and the GT,
and mean it’s no any other ladder- 1486kg
real competitor to framed vehicle.
SUVs as a family bus. Lipstick on a pig?
VERDICT: A real joy to
8
drive and generally just
be in and around. But
Engine 2198cc, 4cyl, 158bhp, 284lb ft we question whether the
Performance 0–62mph in 11.8secs, 109mph,
40.4mpg, 184g/km CO2 Weight 2115kg Price £31,965
£5k upgrade is necessary.
10
April I 2018
The banana
is back
Mercedes-Benz CLS 350d
£57,510
WE SAY: THE ORIGINAL FOUR-

DOOR COUPE HAS BEEN
REFRESHED. WE DRIVE IT
on’t let these pictures fool the body for something that more closely we’d start with that, but its powertrains and
you. As I type, the rain resembled one of their two-door coupes, driveline are equally important parts of the
D (and snow) in Spain is
falling mainly and
add many per cent to the RRP and,
crucially, their customers would lap it up.
package. From launch, you’ve a choice of
two engines and three outputs. The 3.0-litre
irritatingly relentlessly on The new CLS may not have the inline six-cylinder diesel is new, borrowed
the new Mercedes CLS’s “arching beltline”, delicacy of the original, but we reckon from the facelifted S-Class, and comes in
sheeting off its “shark’s nose” front end and it’s a good-looking car all the same. 283bhp 350d or 362bhp 400d flavours.
collecting on its “muscular rear shoulder[s]”. Pictures really don’t do it justice. Inside, The sole petrol option – also a 3.0-litre
This is useful and irritating in equal it’s as though you’re sitting in an E-Class, inline-six – gets 48-volt electrics and an
measure. Useful, because it gives us a and that’s just fine. Of course, they’re EQ Boost integrated starter/generator that
chance to assess the rear-biased 4Matic effectively the same car underneath, as delivers an extra 22bhp/184lb ft of shove
AWD system fitted to all CLSes at launch, indeed they always have been. The two for a limited time. This means, when you
but irritating because we’d hoped to spend 12.3in screens are standard, unlike on let off the gas, the CLS can coast or glide
more time stood a few feet back, admiring the E, and operated either by touchpads without its engine running. In effect,
the “sensual purity” of what Merc design on the steering wheel (borrowed from it’s the same powertrain you get in the
boss Gorden Wagener claims is the the S-Class, very button-heavy) or a facelifted S500. Two-litre petrol and
“archetype of the four-door coupe”. familiar, conventional controller on diesel options will be added later, and
And he’s not wrong – Mercedes the centre console. Space in the rear is no doubt make up the majority of sales.
invented the whole modern four-door- naturally compromised by the roofline,
coupe thing when it revealed the CLS Adults will be able to sit but adults will nonetheless be pretty
in the back, but they’d
concept way back in 2003. It hadn’t yet happy back there.
rather be at the wheel
occurred to Audi and BMW that they could Not that you’ll ever carry anyone in
take the relatively humble underpinnings the back. The CLS is a car you drive. It’s so
of a conventional three-box saloon, change style-led and such a lovely object, we figured
7
Kia Stinger 2.0 / 2.2 CRDi

£31,995 / £33,895
Engine 2199cc 4cyl turbo, RWD, 197bhp,
325lb ft Performance 0–62mph in 7.3secs,
143mph, 50.4mpg, 154g/km CO2 Weight 1778kg
These are the Stingers people might

actually buy. Though we greatly like the
V6 version, the simple fact is economics
will dictate that most people opt for one
of the two 4cyls Kia’s just launched.
But this isn’t bad news. The petrol
turbo 2.0-litre has 255bhp and a zingy,
revvy character. It still feels decently
lively, but the 8spd auto isn’t ideal.
In Eco and Comfort modes, it does its
best to muzzle the life out of the engine,
but under lightish throttle it changes up
well below 2,000rpm, eliciting a dieselly
rumble through the bulkhead. But you
All CLSs are fitted with the nine-speed £10k more than the equivalent E350d, the needn’t put up with that. Use more
automatic gearbox. CLS feels pricey at £57,510. But the E uses throttle, or switch to Sport mode, or
Our test car was fitted with optional air the old V6 and, while the interior and keep active with the paddles.
suspension. So equipped, it’s a bit of a barge technology are broadly the same, the CLS’s The 2.2-litre 197bhp diesel is a decent
and doesn’t really give you any incentive to profile and inherent desirability do a decent installation of a fairly undistinguished
cycle through its sportier modes (there are job of making the added expense feel engine. You’ll more likely leave shift choice
two – Sport and Sport +), but when you do, entirely justified. In all, a deeply effective up to the transmission’s brain. So there’s
it doesn’t fall apart. Heave and float are well daily that we wouldn’t hesitate driving less involvement than the petrol. There’s
suppressed, the engine is as smooth and miles and miles. You know, to find halfway less performance too, though if you stick
refined a diesel you’ll find anywhere and decent weather. TOM HARRISON at middle revs, the diesel feels as strong
there’s little wind or tyre roar. It’s more as the petrol, and the transmission’s shift
involving than an E350d – there’s less roll strategy does the diesel that favour. But
and the steering feels a bit more natural.
The platform on which the CLS is
SPECIFICATION there’s never fun from this powerplant,
whereas the four-cylinder petrol can
2952cc, 6cyl TD, 4WD,
based, and the technology, engines and 283bhp, 443lb ft make you smile at times.
expertise to which Mercedes has access, 48.7mpg, 148g/km CO2 Obviously, the Stinger’s surprisingly
means it would have had to try awfully hard 0–62mph in 5.7secs, 155mph roomy cabin remains, as does the
to screw this one up. Like the new Audi A7, generosity of equipment.
1935kg
this is more of a luxury limo in a designer For anyone sensitive to the sticker
suit than it is a sportier version of an VERDICT: Superbly price, but who still fancies the Stinger’s
8
existing, conventional saloon. But that’s desirable all-rounder that, extroversion, either of these is a good
OK – it’s a very capable all-rounder that has providing you can afford choice. Buy the 2.0 petrol for fun; the
it, is worth the extra over
something to offer just about anyone who diesel for a smart-looking caravan
might conceivably be interested in it. At
an E-Class.
10 tug. PAUL HORRELL

April I 2018
SO, WHAT
E L S E I S N E W?
7
Volvo XC40 T5
What should I know?
Until the 3cyl arrives, this is the only petrol
Volvo XC40 you can buy. Four-cylinder
2.0-litre making 244bhp means 0–62mph
in 6.5secs and a 140mph top speed. The
’box is the same 8spd auto as the diesel.
Should I care?
Not really. It’s smoother and quieter
than the diesel, but not radical. Doesn’t
handle any differently from the oil burner,
and you’re looking at mpg in the 20s
not the 40s. TH
Bent Eight
Bentley Bentayga V8
£136,200
5
WE SAY: THE W12 IS THE DADDY, THE DIESEL IS
Mercedes X220d SENSIBLE, BUT THE V8 IS THE ONE YOU WANT
What should I know?
This is Merc’s attempt at a posh pickup.
resh off the back of of physics here in that this is still a 2.4-
Based on a Navara, this 4cyl, 2.3-litre
launching its first new tonne SUV, but the way it sits so flat
F
diesel packs 161bhp and – in Progressive
trim level – comes with a 6spd manual
veneer in five years (wood through corners is remarkable. And,
and selectable 4WD. Eco-wise, the hunting is obviously a entirely in the interests of science, we
claimed 35.8mpg is not top of the pile. time-consuming business), now know it’s also possible to get it doing
Should I care? Bentley has also dropped an all-new petrol a Scandinavian Flick. Yup, a Bentayga
If you want something different from a bi-turbo V8 into the Bentayga. can be made to hustle like a rally car (if
family SUV, maybe, but you’ll have to Facts for you: it’s an all-new 4.0-litre V8 you’re in an icy field – it’s probably best
put up with the underlying commercial- that also appears in the Porsche Cayenne you don’t try this outside Harrods).
vehicle nature of the beast. However, and Lamborghini Urus. In Bentley spec, What you should try is the Custom
if you want a top end pickup, this is the
it produces 542bhp and 568lb ft; it does setting on the Bentley Drive Dynamics
business. As it should be for £32,000. EW
24.8mpg (thanks to cylinder deactivation Control. Go with the steering and
Just about to do a
tech) and 0–62mph in 4.4secs, and it has Scandinavian Flick. For
exhaust in Sport, and the suspension
twin-scroll turbochargers and will rev to research purposes... and transmission in Comfort. That way,
7,200rpm (Bentley’s highest ever red line). you get the best of all worlds.
With those sorts of power figures, it’s Which is largely what you’d say of the
plenty fast enough. There’s hardly any V8 full stop. It’s designed to sit between the
7 turbo lag thanks to the twin-scroll turbos,

and the 8spd auto will ping you at the
diesel and the W12 and it combines the best
of them. It’s the Bentayga to get. PIERS WARD
horizon as quickly as you’ll ever need.
Audi RS4 It also sounds lovely. While we all
What should I know?
This is Audi’s new RS4, complete not with
appreciate the W12 for its pace and sheer
unusualness, it’s arguably just a bit too
SPECIFICATION
nat-asp V8, but twin-turbo V6. Plenty 3996cc V8 twin-turbo,
of power: 444bhp and 442lb ft, quattro subdued. Not so in the V8. There’s a lovely 4WD, 542bhp, 568lb ft
security and a 505-litre boot out back burble that starts softly in the lower revs 24.8mpg, 260g/km CO2
that expands to 1,510 litres with the seats before becoming throatier as you wind 0–62mph in 4.4secs, 180mph
folded. Cost: £61,625. it up. Don’t get me wrong – it’s hardly a hot
Should I care? 2388kg
rod like the Jag F-Type, but there’s a hint
In a way. The electronics have been
more character here that makes the car VERDICT:All the comfort
recalibrated from the RS5 we slated last
8
year, and the engine feels sharper. If
endearing. You want to engage with it. and most of the pace
And it encourages you to enjoy making of the W12, but with
you want easy speed with practicality, a fruitier engine note.
the most of the clever 48-Volt active roll
quality and safety, look no further. But
an RS should be exciting to drive too. OM control. OK, so there are fundamental laws
The Bentayga we’d have.
10
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CONTENTS
Stranger
things
Nissan Leaf
p48
Welcome to
/ / R A N G E R O V E R S P O R T S V R / / the Upside
/ / S U Z U K I I G N I S / / Down, where
a plucky
VW Up GTI minnow can
p49
take on a
beast twice / /
/ / A R I E L N O M A D
its size / /
X C R
Gallic 8 0 0
or a car with such a defined stops on all four corners. The Cup car also
mission statement, the new gains a Torsen mechanical slippy diff. / / P O L A R I S
F Megane RS is multi-faceted.
You can choose between
That’s some trick stuff, right there.
Look past the lysergic orange paintjob, / / F O R D F I E S T A R X 2 / /
Aston DB11 Volante
p50 bred a Sport or Cup chassis,
and a 6spd manual or dual-shift EDC ’box,
although the motive power is supplied by
a reworked version of the group’s turbo’d
and the visual differences are about as
subtle as these things get. The front wings
are 60mm wider than the Megane GT’s,
45mm chunkier at the rear. There’s a new air
Megane RenaultSport
1.8-litre engine, good for 277bhp and 288lb intake in the front bumper, a 3D honeycomb
£30,000 (est.) ft, whichever one you go for. Motorsport mesh in the grille, air extractors in the front
trickle-down is present in the Diamond-Like wheelarches, and the rear end gets a diffuser
Carbon in the valve-gear and mirror bore and central exhaust outlet. It’s a great-
WE SAY: THE BATTLE FOR coating inside the cylinders, Renault looking car, possibly even the prettiest hot
THE HOT-HATCH CROWN reckons. Emissions have been cut by hatch of all, and much closer to the VW Golf
Volvo XC40 11 per cent to 155g/km CO (on the smallest GTI end of the sliding scale of hot-hatch
p57 IS ABOUT TO GET WAY
wheels), fuel consumption is up eight per extroversion than the Honda Civic Type R.
MORE DRAMATIQUE...
cent for a best combined figure of 40.9mpg. Inside, the RS gets new sports seats with
a rally
There’s more. The Megane RS also uses integral headrests, an overly chunky wheel,
, a skidoo and
Renault’s 4Control four-wheel steering to and a choice of carbon grey woven fabric or
What do a Nomad for ice...
enhance cornering agility, what it calls Alcantara on the seats. Which are excellent.
n? An appetite
PerfoHub (similar to the Focus RS’s
RevoKnuckle and the Astra VXR’s HiPer
Renault’s fiddlesome R-link touchscreen is
as confounding to use as ever, possibly more
car have in commo
strut) to separate the forces acting on so now that it also boasts an RS monitor
drive and steering, optimise the front-end on top of its previous audio and climate
Audi A7
suspension geometry and hydraulic bump responsibilities. We’re talking telemetry
p58
09 0 MARCH 201 8 › › MARCH 201 8 09 1 1 06 MARCH 201 8 › › MARCH 201 8 107
› MARCH 201 8 045
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READY
SAINTS VS
A line has been drawn. It’s electric...
RIMAC C-TWO
JAGUAR I-PACE
PORSCHE MISSION E CROSS TURISMO

SINNERS
...vs petrol. Time to pick a side
MERCEDES-AMG GT 4DR COUPE
BMW CONCEPT M8 GRAN COUPE
FERRARI 488 PISTA

SINNERS
FE RRARI 4
A lightweight, V8, mid-engine
special with turbos, you say?
This is the kind of heresy we like......
WO R D S : S T E P H E N D O B I E /
P H OTO G R A P H Y: S T E F F E N JA H N
4 8 8 P I S TA
sinner is defined as someone who ‘transgresses

against divine law by committing an immoral act
A or acts’. The Ferrari 488 Pista could reasonably
qualify for sinner status by its likely propensity
to gargle through super unleaded and make an
immorally loud racket while doing so.
But there’s another possibility. One that’s more pressing for
the enthusiast. The car it follows up – the Ferrari 458 Speciale
– really is divine law to people like us, not least because of its
heavenly naturally aspirated V8, one of the greatest engines
to grace any supercar. The Pista adds what, to some ardent
purists, is still the devil’s work – turbocharging.
The result is some predictably outrageous performance
claims: its 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 turns out 711bhp, up 50bhp on
its 488 GTB base and over 100bhp on the 458 Speciale. Compared
with the latter, the Pista’s 568lb ft is 170lb ft greater and
produced with half the revs, at 3,000rpm. All told, it’s enough
for 0–62mph in 2.85secs and 0–124mph in 7.6secs, which is
1.5secs quicker than the Speciale, while the top speed is “more
than 211mph”. That’s unlikely to mean just 212mph.
The Speciale was never about pure numbers, though. It had
BACKGROUND IMAGES: GET TY
them – boy, did it have them, absolutely ripping through its

paddleshifter’s seven gears with an angry and addictive ferocity.
Its gearchanges banged home with a physicality that punched
through the carpet-less floors, the harnessed bucket seat and
right into your nervous system.
But it was the car’s delicacy, its handling prowess, that
mainlined euphoric chemicals into your body. It came with every

3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
turns out 711bhp and
568lb ft at 3,000rpm
“There’s dedicated weight saving, which cuts 90kg

from the 488 GTB and 10kg from the 458 Speciale
to a hot hatch-like 1,280kg before luids”
06 8 A
DPER
C IELM 2B0E1 R8 ›2T0O 1P G7 E A› TR O. CPOGME A R . C O M
SINNERS
acronym Ferrari could conjure up at the time, pioneering the

Side-Slip Angle Control that brought powersliding to the masses
(not just the Massas). Yet the Speciale drove with a simple agility
that made all of its wild aero claims and F1-developed technology
a mere support act to the visceral rock ’n’ roll gig taking place.
Will the 488 Pista’s huge jump in power – and its less
intoxicating turbocharged thrust – scythe all that in two? Um,
probably not. The 488 GTB is proof positive that Ferrari can
make the CO2 -necessitated switch from natural aspiration with
success. And there are plenty of goodies to prove the Pista’s
mettle to the purists.
There’s an exhaust system that uses Inconel. You’ll also find
that in the Jaguar F-Type SVR’s pipes, which aren’t known for
being shy. There’s a new sixth-generation side-slip system,
which now incorporates fine control of the brake calipers to
further hone your drifting skills. Or, in Ferrari speak, “Drivers
can develop a completely symbiotic relationship with the car
resulting in the perfect combination of genuinely extreme
performance and driving thrills.” Yup.
There’s also dedicated weight saving, which cuts 90kg from
the 488 GTB and 10kg from the 458 Speciale to a hot hatch-like
1,280kg before fluids. There’s a lighter crankshaft, flywheel and
other oily bits. It’s the first Ferrari with optional 20in carbon
wheels too. Yours for around £18k on top of the £252,695 price.
And then there’s the aerodynamics. The front end
incorporates the ‘S-duct’, a shape designed to carefully craft
the air around the car. If you can’t get your head around such
witchcraft, then the optional racing stripes appear to visually Ferrari ingeniously
demonstrate the air’s path. Thereby making them a necessary upcycles drainpipes
box-tick on the configurator, perhaps. While Ferrari cites its into rear lights
488 GTE Le Mans car as the influence for its aero angles,
TO P G E AT
RO › D E C› EAMPBREI R
. CPOGM
EAR.COM 7
L 201 8 069
there’s more than a hint of F1 car nose as the S-duct’s shape
curvaceously dives down from the front bonnet.
Ferrari is claiming 20 per cent more downforce than the
488 GTB, and the Pista’s styling punchily displays its attitude
towards the air unfortunate enough to get in its way. And not just
at the front; the theme continues at the back, with space for the
air to flow beneath its larger rear wing and quite possibly the
rudest rear diffuser we’ve yet seen sitting below a Prancing Horse.
We think it looks spectacular. Inside it’s an evolution of the
Speciale, with four-point seatbelts, bare metal floors and a
general air of focus. You can make it all posh again if you wish, but
it’d be rather missing the point to beg Ferrari for some leather
and a satnav. This is a car in which you strap yourself in a smidge
too tight and willingly get lost. Preferably up an Italian hill.
It’s the latest in a very talented line of cars – the 360 Challenge
Stradale, 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale before it aren’t merely
three of the best Ferraris, but three of the best supercars ever.
Many of their thrills came from their hedonistically high-revving
engines, something the Pista won’t quite match, no matter how
hard it tries. As for the rest of it, though, Ferrari is very unlikely
to have mucked it up – we’d anticipate it being extraordinary to
drive. It’s a sinner, but one born of divine inspiration.
Who cares about the

turbos when it looks
as sharp as this?
SINNERS
BMW CONCEPT
M8 GR A N COUPE
Munich bludgeons design into a bloody pulp
WO R D S : TO M FO R D / P H OTO G R A P H Y: M A R K R I CC I O N I
t’s called the BMW Concept M8 Gran Coupe,

which is a bit of a mouthful, and also sounds
I a bit like something an imaginary two-door
grandmother might drive. But despite the weird
images it conjures in your head, what we have
here is the performance version of BMW’s new 8-Series, the M8,
in ‘Gran Coupe’ guise. Meaning that, like the standard 8, it’s not
a coupe, but a swoopy four-door. Got that?
We’re due the new 8-Series very soon, a choice of big two- and
four-dour coupes set to indirectly replace the 6-Series, take on
the likes of Merc’s S-Class coupe and move BMW’s range a little
bit more upmarket. That means even the cheapest cars – which
won’t actually be ‘cheap’, obviously – will get double wishbones
at the front and multi-link rear suspension with rear-steer, a
choice of RWD or xDrive AWD and air suspension, leather made
from tiger nipples and Swarovski crystal windscreens. Though
the latter pair might not make production. More likely is a range

SINNERS
That means a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, north of 600bhp, an 8spd

auto with paddleshift (not DSG, but the M5 is better for that)
and the same switchable M xDrive that does such effective duty
in the big saloon. It will not be slow. As the president of BMW’s
M Division, Frank van Meel, explained, “The conception and
development of the standard BMW 8-Series and the M model run
in parallel. The M8 will build on the genes of the 8-Series and
augment its DNA with added track ability and generous extra
portions of dynamic sharpness, precision and agility.”
All we know for sure is that it’ll look … different. Obviously
there will be the usual ‘M’ upgrades like larger, CFRP-lipped air
of engines starting with a base 840i (3.0-litre six-pot turbo intakes, side strakes, wheels and sports exhaust, but the M8 also
petrol), 850i (4.4-litre V8 turbo petrol), 840e (the same hybrid manages to look pretty hardcore. Domagoj Dukec, vice president
drivetrain as the 740e), right up to an 860i (possibly badged of design at BMW M, says the car is “designed to stir things up,
‘M860i’ and with the same 6.6-litre V12 turbo from the M760Li). to polarise – it should move you emotionally...” Which it does.
But the big V12 won’t be the sporty one. Nope, that will come It echoes some of the brilliantly bonkers aspects of the M8 GTE
with this, the M8. Now, the car you see here, resplendent in race car, and is certainly no worse for that.
Salève Vert slightly bichromic paintwork is officially a concept, Long bonnet, long wheelbase, a kicked-up window graphic
but as is the way with BMW Concept cars, it’s not far off the real and tail and some evil headlights framing an oversized BMW
thing. It’ll lose some of the tricky lighting signatures and rifled kidney grille – this is not going to be a car for shrinking violets.
exhaust finishers, and the stance is probably going to be a bit And once you get past the gold accents and crackers shade of
more road-friendly, but this is the fast 8 in all but final detail. paintwork, there are some really rather sharp-looking feature
What’s likely? Well it seems fairly obvious that the M8 will lines. If this is what BMW thinks the future of luxury
simply adopt a version of the drivetrain from the mighty M5. performance looks like… it might not be a bad thing.

“The car is ‘designed to stir things
up, to polarise – it should move
you emotionally...’”
Lots of intakes, lots

of gold accents. This
is not for the shy

SINNERS
MERCEDES-A MG
GT 4DR COUPE
This is not a tarted-up CLS – it’s a much more exotic beast than that...
WO R D S : TO M H A R R I S O N
o dismiss AMG’s new GT four-door coupe as bespokery. Its track is wider than the CLS’s, its wheelbase is
a CLS 63 in all but name – which, let’s face it, shorter and there’s much in the way of, erm, suspension. Air or
T you’re doing right now – is to do it a massive
disservice. Given that AMG isn’t going to ‘63’
conventional springs, depending on which engine you go for...
Ah yes, engines. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, 4Matic
the new CLS, this thing will effectively occupy AWD and 9spd automatic gearbox are borrowed from the E63.
that space in Merc’s line-up when it goes on sale in September. Like the E63 there will be S and non-S versions of the ‘GT 63’
A four-door coupe with many horsepowers, designed to give the – the former gets more power (630bhp/664lb ft plays
best efforts of Audi, Porsche and BMW debilitating migraines. 577bhp/590lb ft) and Drift Mode as standard. There’s also an
In the vein of the SLS and AMG GT, what we’re looking at inline 6cyl ‘GT 53’, which uses 48V electrics and an electric
here is a car “independently developed by Mercedes-AMG”, not compressor to support a conventional turbo for 429bhp. Brits
a hotted-up version of an existing Mercedes. So while it may are only getting the V8s for now, and that’s just fine with us…
look like the CLS, study the two side-by-side and you’ll easily The most potent GT four-door – the AMG GT 63S – claims
spot the differences. You’ll see the GT has different headlights, 0–62mph in 3.2 seconds and a faintly ridiculous 196mph,
that there’s a kink in the GT’s beltline where the CLS’s is flat, despite its more-than-two-tonne heft. Hopefully the four-
and that the GT’s roofline tapers more smoothly because it – wheel steering will keep it pointy. Prices are TBC, but expect
unlike the CLS – is a hatchback. Underneath, this, the CLS six fairly large figures. Panamera Turbo S E nutter Hybrid
and E-Class share a platform, but under the GT lies much thingy – your nemesis has arrived.

“The AMG GT 63S claims 0–62mph in
3.2secs and a faintly ridiculous 196mph,
despite its more-than-two-tonne heft”
Centre console shaped

to mimic a V8; each
switch has a tiny screen

SAINTS
PORSCHE
MISSION E CROSS TURISMO
Ignore the drone in the boot – Porsche’s EV is practically production-ready
WO R D S : PAU L H O R R E L L / P H OTO G R A P H Y: M A R K R I CC I O N I
indscreen wipers. Actual wing mirrors. Somewhere Here the messaging really does start to get a bit convoluted. Does the
you could conceivably mount a number plate. Leaving beautiful and pure idea of the Mission E really need to be turned into,
W off these tedious details is an easy shortcut to building
glamour into a concept car. But their presence
what, a Mission E Allroad? A Mission E Streetwise?
Whether a production electric Porsche would actually get the
signifies something that’s actually more exciting. They Cross treatment, or whether this bit really is just a bit of motorshow
mean this Mission E Cross Turismo isn’t just eye candy for a podium fun, isn’t yet clear. But Mauer stresses what we already know: that
but close to something you’ll see on actual roads. Not that this is Porsche sees big business in crossing over. “That’s where Porsche is
exactly a production machine. A little decoding is necessary. now, and we’ll get stronger in that direction.” Peter Varga, Porsche’s
Michael Mauer, Porsche design guru, tells TG: “The proportions exterior design director, has more to say about the body protection
and dimensions give you a hint: this is more realistic than the first parts. “It was important to me to have a light look, a Porsche look.
Mission E concept.” That means the bodywork and interior are pretty Off-road cars usually look heavy. So we didn’t close the wheelarch
much as per the production Mission-E saloon, launching next year. trim onto the sill. It’s more like the floating aero of a GT3 car.”
Then he adds, “This concept also shows possibilities of the future The Cross Turismo Concept is a runner, using the same electrical
line-up.” So they’re already planning a range of Mission-E bodies, and and mechanical set-up as the first Mission E, due out next year. That
this shooting-brake-esque roof and tailgate are for the second model. means front and rear electric motors, good for 0–62mph in 3.5secs and
Just like the Panamera spawned the Sport Turismo. 0–125 in 12. It’ll do those blazing numbers, even when the battery is
Finally there’s this Cross business. That’s the slightly raised ride fairly depleted – a condition not met by a Tesla. Its range is just over
height, the chunky tyres and the body armour around the arches. 300 miles, when driven with the sloth of a EU-cycle tester, but that’ll

SAINTS
“This is a big, big challenge. It would’ve

been easier to have done an SUV”
be significantly eroded if you drive like a Porsche owner. But Europe’s Interior design chief Ivo van Hulten calls these parts – wheel spokes,
upcoming network of superfast chargers should diminish that issue. armrests, console – ‘satellites’. The air vents have no blades. Instead,
The Mission E doesn’t only have the performance of a Porsche, it has electrostatic wings control the air direction upstream of the outlets.
the looks of one. OK, compared with the 2015 show car, the Rubenesque “There is an HUD,” says van Hulten, “but you don’t have that visible
hips have been lost and the suicide doors too, but it still has Mauer’s hole in the dash where the projector usually is. We’ve covered it in fine
touchstones of Porsche DNA: “the low bonnet and raised wings, the mesh, and the image projects through.”
tapering roof, the rear shoulder and the tail lamp band”. But just as other “The dash layout and cockpit is relatively feasible,” he says. “That’s
Porsches have their own particular characteristics – only the 911 has the message we want to send.” In the coy language of concept-car
round headlights – Mauer’s team is drawing up some specific cues for the designers, you seldom get a clearer signal than that.
electric cars. “Airflow is important for this type of car so we make a The seats aren’t so production-ready. They’ll need to bulk up because
feature of it.” As the motor and battery need a lot of cooling, one solution of mundane production stuff like crash strengthening and side airbags.
would have been to cover the wheelarches, but Mauer didn’t like that idea Neither can you expect any time soon for your Porsche car to arrive with
– “You have to see the wheels on a sports car, so we have air curtains a Porsche drone in the boot. But Van Hulten explains that the designers
around the front wheels – the headlamp is more like an air intake with at Porsche’s Weissach studio don’t just do cars any more. They try to
the headlamp within it.” understand the whole of life-with-Porsche. In the jargon, the ownership
Proportions, of course, are critical. They’re hard to read here because experience. So they reckon Porsche’s servers could find you a scenic
of the ‘Cross’ paraphernalia of body cladding and lumpy tyres, but route, send it to the car’s nav, and suggest stopovers where you’d launch
actually the body is shallow from floor to roof, and wide. Mauer says the drone which would follow the car as you drive, sharing the footage
that’s critical. “Porsches need dramatic proportions. In an EV, you have to your friends who also inhabit this curated Porsche world.
the battery in the floor for driving dynamics, but you need to package It’s indicative of a major shift to new business worlds for the company.
the people on top. That drives the height of the car. This is a big, big Porsche now means electricity, crossovers, digitisation, connectedness,
challenge. It would’ve been easier to have done a conventional tall SUV.” sharing. It’s a long way from the solitude of tearing up an empty
“Inside, it’s a combination of the new and old worlds,” says Mauer. mountain road in a 911. And you can be sure they mean it. This concept
So you get the wide, oval Porsche instrument pod, but it’s a thin curved has fantastical details but overall it’s much more than just a fantasy. Says
screen. Apart from the steering wheel and stalks, all switches, even the Mauer, “Our unique position is that if we do a concept and it comes to
windows, are on glass touch panels. There’s no carpet to be seen. The production, it doesn’t look so different. As a designer, of course, I’d love
cabin is full of ‘floating’ elements, in search of an impression of lightness. to do an even more radical concept. But this is better for our credibility.”
Fifteen minutes. That’s apart. They also include jointly with Merc, BMW,
THE how long the Mission E, a contactless payment Ford and Audi. But only
on the right charger, will system, so as soon as Porsches will get the
TECHY take to get from flat to you drive up they’re full 800V (for 300kW)
80 per cent charged. By ready to go. Stop, wee, that allows such fast
BIT about 2020, there will espresso, a few texts, go. charging, because only
be a network of these These are the chargers they have the onboard
chargers across Europe, of the Ionity network electronics and cooling
no more than 75 miles Porsche is investing in that can cope.
JAGUAR
I-PACE
Right here, right now
WO R D S : JAC K R I X / P H OTO G R A P H Y: J O E W I N DS O R-W I L L I A M S
e gave it a cab-forward look because there’s very

little in the front to speak of. We wanted to capture
“W some of the drama of mid-engined sports cars.
We also wanted to capture a little bit of that car
we didn’t make – the C-X75.”
Drone not to be used in
an occupied car, unless To be honest, I didn’t think Ian Callum, Jaguar’s design director,
you need a haircut would be citing his stillborn, mid-engined, turbine-powered
hypercar concept as inspiration for this sensible 5dr family SUV.
But then again, the I-Pace isn’t another cut/paste crossover, it’s
Jaguar’s first pure electric car, a total reinvention for a brand often
accused of resting on its heritage rather than forging a new path.
This is it, by the way, the real thing. You can order one right
now from £58,995 (or £76,900 for the fully optioned First Edition
featured here) once the government has chipped in £4.5k. Incredible
really, considering Audi, BMW and Merc are all working on Tesla-
chasing electric SUVs of their own, but Jaguar has beaten them to it.
More incredible still is that despite being a little taller and narrower,
the concept’s proportions have made it to production unscathed.
“What I immediately saw as a designer was opportunity. We’ve
done the long-bonnet, big-engine thing, quite a few times actually,
and we’ve done all these sports cars. I’ve got that out my system
now,” Callum explained. “The shape of this has been in my head for
a long time. How could you do a mid-engined family car? Well, you
can’t because you’ve got to put the kids in the back, so this was my
No need for an exhaust
pipe means the rear opportunity. It just unshackles you from so many things.”
is about the aero
SAINTS
Proliferation of screens
hasn’t banished
buttons. Phew
THE You’re looking at a 90kWh

battery comprised of
432 liquid-cooled pouch
TECHY cells, bundled into 36
modules of 12 each.
BIT Or as Jag calls it, the
skateboard. Refreshingly
simple, isn’t it? Problem
is, cars can only be so
wide, so if you want more
cells, you need more
wheelbase. Or better
energy density. Jag, not
keen on the limo option,
is confident more can
be squeezed from li-ion
tech, before the switch
to solid state.
The result of this unshackling is a front end that’s as stubby as Power is delivered to all four wheels by a pair of concentric (the
crash regulations will permit, allowing the front wheels and front drive shafts run through the middle of them) permanent magnet
passengers to push forward. The rear wheels and seats effectively synchronous motors, one on each axle. Designed in-house and
stay where they are creating a long wheelbase and more space for producing 197bhp each, that’s a total of 394bhp and 512lb ft –
people in the back. So, despite the I-Pace and Porsche Macan’s the same torque as an F-Type SVR, but available the moment
lengths being within a millimetre of each other, the Jag has a you twitch your right foot. Performance is… lively; 0–60mph in
180mm more wheelbase and 30mm more knee room in the rear. 4.5 seconds puts it level with the Range Rover Sport SVR.
Wheelbase is the key here. That’s where the flat ‘skateboard’ Inside, the dash features JLR’s latest Touch Pro Duo twin-
battery frame sits. More wheelbase, more battery – a 90kWh screen infotainment set-up, with digital dials behind the wheel
lithium-ion battery that’s structurally integrated, along with its and a floating centre console for extra pizzazz. It all feels suitably
cooling/heating system, into the new all-aluminium EV high-tech, but unlike Tesla, Jaguar hasn’t done away with buttons
architecture. That makes the I-Pace Jaguar’s stiffest car and draws altogether – keeping chunky metal squares for the single-speed
the centre of gravity down 130mm lower than an F-Pace. The gearbox controls and knurled edges on the climate control dials.
suspension is double-wishbone at the front and multi-link at the It’s a blend of the future and flashes of traditional craftsmanship,
rear, with optional, self-levelling air suspension and adaptive complete with six USB ports, five proper seats and a big boot. It
dampers. At 2.1 tonnes, it’s not a light car, but still, positive signs. features over-the-air software updates, that could improve your
More numbers. The range is a claimed 298 miles on the new, range and performance while you’re sleeping. It feels new and
harsher, WLTP cycle. Find a 100kW rapid charger you can top up exciting, but comfortingly familiar.
from 0–80 per cent in 45 minutes. Use a 7kW home box charger and Yes, Tesla has been selling the Model S and X for years, but it’s
it’ll take 10 hours – otherwise known as a good kip. “Batteries are a Silicon Valley start-up, and a company designed from its very
like humans, they like to operate between 20º and 25ºC,” Ian foundations to build electric cars. By contrast, Jaguar is a maker
Hoban, vehicle line director, tells us, so making the effort to set a laden with heritage that’s had to free itself from the past to really
battery-preconditioning timer when the weather’s below freezing address the future. Time will tell whether the world is ready for a
can extend the car’s range by up to 80 miles. £60k plug-in Jag; either way, it feels like the start of something big.
“The new all-aluminium EV architecture

makes the I-Pace Jaguar’s stiffest car”

SAINTS
0 – 6 0 M P H 4 E L E C T R I C
M O T O R S
1.85SECS 1887BHP
RIMAC C–TWO
Come in Chiron, your time is up. The 1,887bhp EV hypercar is upon us
WO R D S : O L L I E K E W / P H OTO G R A P H Y: J O H N W YC H E R L E Y
ay attention, Bugatti, Koenigsegg and Tesla. is a 1,950kg machine. Rimac disguises this with intelligent
This is the second hypercar from Rimac, and torque-vectoring, which is fully adaptive between all four wheels.
P the numbers are startling.
Rimac claims the C_Two’s four electric
The lithium-manganese-nickel battery scores a 403-mile
range and takes 30 minutes to store 80 per cent charge on a
motors develop a combined 1,887bhp and rapid charger. Rimac says the car can manage two full laps of
1,696lb ft. The front wheels use a single-speed gearbox each, the Nürburgring “with a negligible drop in performance”. Nio’s
while the use of twin two-speed gearboxes at the rear allows EP9 currently has the e-lap record of 6:45:9...
a claimed vmax of 258mph. And the tech gets scarier still. Facial recognition cameras
On the way, we’re told the C_Two will have cracked have not only dispensed with the need for a key – the car
0–60mph in 1.85 seconds (albeit with an American drag simply looks at your face before deciding to open the butterfly
strip-friendly one-foot rollout). If the driver remains door – but Rimac says it’ll also read your mood. Apparently,
conscious, the Rimac will cover off 0–100mph in 4.3 seconds. if you’re getting ratty, the car will soften its ride and play
Quarter-mile? 9.1 seconds. Zero to 186mph happens in 11.8 soothing tunes. Which is terrifying yet sensible, when
seconds. That’s two seconds quicker than a Chiron. there’s 1,887bhp under your right foot. But the biggest
Despite a completely carbon-fibre chassis (with integrated shock? It’s all real: Rimac will make 150 of these at €1.7m
batteries), plus carbon crash structures and panels, the C_Two each, with first deliveries next year.
U P T O
403 T O P S P E E D
MILES 258MPH
B E T W E E N
C H A R G E S
LEVEL 4
A U T O N O M Y
V I A 8
C A M E R A S &
6 R A D A R S
Coming to
a Nürburgring
near you soon...

RWD SUPERCARS
RISKY BUSINESS
Audi has unleashed a sharper,
RWD-only R8. Is it the car to
dethrone the 911 GT3? We find out
on a trip to a wintry Snowdonia
WO R D S : TO M FO R D /
P H OTO G R A P H Y: M A R K R I CC I O N I

RWD SUPERCARS
R8 sneaks a peek past

the 911. Sees ice. Drops
back in behind. Wise
The GT3 has an

almost insatiable
thirst for air
ater is wet, the sun is hot, Porsche 911 GT3, with both cars appealing to
Snowdonia in winter is freezing. enthusiasts, costing in the region of £110k and
W But for some reason, it’s still a bit
surprising exactly how aggressively
with roughly the same power and potential.
Game, as they say, on.
frigid this bit of Wales can be at The first impression is that the R8 isn’t actually
5am when the cold leaps out and ambushes your that different. Still a DSG, still with a full-fat R8
breath, slipping down your throat with a burn like interior and comfy electric seats. There are no wings
cheap whisky. It is exactly, precisely and entirely or even badges externally (just a “one of 999” plaque
the wrong place to test a supercar in winter. So we on the dash), and it keeps all the interior bells ’n’
brought two. Not only that, we brought a pair of whistles. The V10 fires with the familiar operatic
very specific, rear-wheel-drive variants, when both crackle, and there’s still a gentle, unseen diligence to
manufacturers make exceptional four-wheel-drive the way it goes about things. Heading out into the
versions of the same car. Go us. hinterlands, it’s easy and compliant and bloody fast.
The brand-new Audi R8 RWS is the real newbie. Natural aspiration rocks, and this V10 at high revs is
A rear-drive-only version of the previously AWD- still utterly glorious, building power in a cultured,
only R8, RWS standing for Rear Wheel Series rather hungry, metered wave. Go faster, and the front end
than ‘rear-wheel steer’. Only 999 will be made, all feels more precise than the AWD car’s; lighter, more
with no front diff, dynamic steering nonsense or connected, uncorrupted by the slight tugging you
adaptive damping, a mechanical locking rear get from the standard vehicle when it’s slippy out.
differential, the usual naturally aspirated 5.2-litre It’s also more confident than you might imagine,
V10 – this time with 533bhp/398lb ft – and a 50kg even when surprised by mid-corner drifts. And by
weight drop over a standard car. A car for drivers, that, I mean snowdrifts rather than deliberate
then. Not so much stripped out, as pared back a bit, sideways action. Yeah, Snowdonia.
but definitely one aimed at the kind of people who The Porsche 911 is similarly familiar, a known
like things a bit more lively. It goes up against the entity. This GT3 is a manual, possibly the apogee
“Addictive? It’s like

crack cocaine. Or possibly
Krispy Kreme donuts”

“And quickly out of the
slipstream so I can get
past before the corner...”
of the road-drivable track-day car. Half caged, gearlever dropping into your palm like a best friend’s
lightened and tightened, immediately precise. The handshake. The pedals are straight and standard, and
seats are tight, straight-backed, pious and pew-like, the weights and positions as good as it gets.
the slim-rimmed Alcantara wheel neat beneath your There’s a lack of sound deadening up in those rear
fingers. It crashes to life with an unglamorous bark, arches – gravel sparkles noisily up inside them every
settles to a dirty chunter, sounding industrial rather time it gets a chance – the roll cage creaks a bit, the
than particularly fancy or immediately exotic like suspension is short-stroked and initially feels very firm.
the R8. But here’s the thing with most Porsches, and It’s also on flat-faced and decidedly track-day-ish Cup 2
911s in particular: they are, for most sizes of human, tyres, which have as much grip in slush as an excited
ergonomically fabulous. The wheel sits perfectly, with greyhound on a polished wood floor. Possibly less. It
that weird little elbow-to-arm ratio easy to find, the feels a bit nervy next to the Audi, more wound, more
intense. It feels like it’s going to kick, even at relatively
slow speeds where the R8 is confident, and it has that
slightly feral edge lurking around the corner of the next
two centimetres of throttle. And then, when you expect
it to shimmy, it doesn’t. It just digs a bit. Then a bit more.
The engine is punchy and strong, but nothing ridiculous
below 5,000rpm and it’s all just a bit… well... a bit 911.
Lovely steering, no sense of rear-engine bias, a slick-
transition car that you can carry speed, and trust as long
as you’re smooth. But it’s got some more revs to expose.
Which is when it makes the Audi feel like a trim line.
This is a car that does not exist in its entirety until
it is going fast and, frankly, getting the s**t kicked out
RWD SUPERCARS
AUDI R8 RWS PORSCHE 911 GT3

Price: £112,450 Price: £111,802
Engine: 5204cc V10, Engine: 3996cc flat-six,
533bhp, 398lb ft 493bhp, 339lb ft
Transmission: 7spd Transmission: 6spd
S tronic DSG, RWD manual, RWD
Performance: 0–62mph Performance: 0–62mph
in 3.7secs, 198mph in 3.9secs, 198mph
Economy: 22.8mpg, Economy: 21.9mpg,
283g/km CO2 290g/km CO2
Weight: 1590kg Weight: 1413kg
of it. Oh, it’s nice enough, fun and exciting. But the After a day or so, and mourning the death of any
whole car locks into its mission statement at about remaining body heat, the result is clear. On paper, these
6,500rpm and doesn’t let go until 9. The experience two are squaring off. Both around £110k, both purist
is born in third gear with the rev-counter at four catnip, rear-wheel drive and naturally aspirated. They
o’clock on the dial. Addictive? It’s like crack cocaine. both have in the region of 500bhp – a bit of a sweet-spot
Or possibly Krispy Kreme donuts. Restraint sold for current road cars, in my opinion – both clocking
separately. Where the Audi builds a wall of power and high threes zero to 62mph and with the same surely-
changes its engine note on a smooth scale, the GT3 they-could-have-got-2mph-more 198mph top speed.
switches character with each 500rpm. You can make And yet they don’t even really compete. The Audi R8
a fiction of any stretch that’s even vaguely straight. RWS is an excellent addition to the R8 line-up, and a
Ball up the physical distance and simply step across pleasingly “cheap” one. It’s possibly the best R8, full
the fold, gravity pulled 90° rearwards, your skull stop, because it’s more fun to drive and has barely less
cradled by a little pad instead of a headrest. The grip in most situations. But it’s not really a full-on
engine making a fist of its fury and howling, special. If it had a manual, even if it were slower, it
reverberating through the cabin like feedback from would be a totally different proposition. But it hasn’t.
God’s own stadium stack. It’s not easy – it hops and As such, it’s a tidy, entertaining footnote. At the
moves and darts and is generally less compliant than opposite end of the family tree, the Porsche 911 GT3
the R8, but it’s intense and involving in a way the isn’t just a version of the 911. It feels like a thing all
Audi isn’t. You’d buy it for the steering alone. The on its own, a honed, specific commitment. It’s less
information and feedback is so dense that it takes a comfortable than the R8, less cosseting, but that’s
little while to start to unpack it. We’re so used to fake the point. It’s a weekend blast, a “drive to a track day
feelings that when we get the real thing, we suddenly and kick some arse” kind of car. As a manual, in this
get what must be the equivalent of haptic pins and specification, it becomes superlative. It’ll take more
needles as real feelings return. than just an R8 with rear-wheel drive to change that.

AMBASSADOR
WO R DS: JACK R I X / P H OTO G R A P H Y: R OWA N H O R N C A S T L E
Can a Hindustan Ambassador really be reborn as a

Peugeot? Yep, and we’ve got the advert to prove it

AMBASSADOR
shish Nar, a teacher of car design by Mercedes’ Magic Ride Control chickens
by trade, has slipped into the role and that time Honda fiddled around with
A of acting coach with surprising

relish. “No no no. It’s bob, bob,
bob… hi there,” he says slapping his
some cogs. But it’s not perfect, at least in
my eyes, because the star car is nothing
more than an unpainted, dimpled 206 pulled
hands together, nodding his head from the production line. What if, I pondered,
and raising his chin in sync with one eyebrow, while you could actually convert an Ambassador
fixing me with the laser stare of a seasoned Bollywood into the 206’s modern equivalent, a 208?
director. Rewind an hour and we’re working on the Specifically, a 208 GTI?
head wobble: “Jack, you’re in love with this car; it’s side A few phone calls, several meetings and
to side to side, half smile and open those eyes.” He some top-drawer persuasion – that this
demonstrates, complete with jazz hands to finish. definitely wasn’t just a costly and pointless
I try to fathom how my life has led me to this exercise, it was about the spirit of human endeavour
particular moment, stood in a dusty car park in Pune, – and I had the green light. All that was left was
India, surrounded by cameras and slightly disappointed sourcing a donor Ambassador and finding somebody,
faces, and can’t. So let’s start from the start, where we anybody, in India mad enough to take the project on.
find an acorn of an idea. Early 2017, and Peugeot has just Enter the automotive design department of Ajeenkya
purchased the rights to the Ambassador name from DY Patil University in Pune, who, for some unknown
Hindustan in a deal worth around £9m. The Hindustan reason, felt confident it could be done. We sent them
Ambassador, if you’re not familiar, is the car that got photos of the 208 GTI, a handful of genuine 208 GTI
India rolling – based on the Morris Oxford and built components (headlights, grille, wheels, tail-lights,
between 1948 and 2014, it received various mechanical wing mirrors and badges) and braced ourselves for
upgrades over the years, but kept the same delightfully the mayhem about to unfold.
old-fashioned three-box body. For the next three months, videos and photos
Where once they choked India’s cities, now, just arrived in my inbox, updating me on the progress of
four years after production ceased, Ambassadors are the build. I leant back in my chair in London, a
rarer than McDonald’s Szechuan sauce, used only by satisfied smile slapped across my face for having such a
a handful of nostalgic private owners and government marvellous idea and that the whole thing was going so
officials. I digress. The point is Peugeot’s acquisition smoothly. Clearly, I’m a fraud – all the back-breaking
sparked a memory, a recollection of elephants and work, all the long nights bent over a hot welding iron,
sledgehammers and a stirring Indian soundtrack. You all the boundless resourcefulness required to force an
may recall a Peugeot 206 advert first shown in 2003, Ambassasor through a 208-shaped die, were the team
where an Indian chap takes a shine to the 206, so in Pune – teachers Ashish Nar and Kushal Jadhav, plus
he sets about smashing and crushing a Hindustan students Parth Dodiya and Sidharth Rath who took on
Ambassador with the help of a large animal, a wall the project as part of their course.
and various tools until it’s an approximation of the Today, though, that’s about to change. I’m in Pune
206… at which point he drives around town grinning to personally put the finishing touches to the project…
like a dog with two appendages. by which I mean embarrassing myself with a spanner
If you haven’t seen it, shame on you. It’s without and sticking the badges on. I’m also here to film a
doubt the summit of car advertising, matched only shot-for-shot remake of the 47-second-long advert,
starring yours truly and our finished Ambassador-
based Peugeot 208 GTI. Let’s call it the Pambassador
Try as he might, Jack
couldn’t help feeling for ease and amusement.
like a spare part Back to the car, because I’m standing in front of it.
The covers are about to be whipped off, and most of
the university, the majority of whom have lent a hand
in some shape or form, has gathered to gauge my
“I try to fathom how

my life has led me
to this moment”
Ah, Mr Ambassador, with For some reason, Parth’s
this vinyl seating you’re new coffee machine just
really spoiling us wasn’t getting the milk frothy
“What happens if I just

move that big stone
behind the rear whe... oh”
When things get sweaty,

Jack simply winds down the
window for a bit of fresh air
AMBASSADOR
reaction. I’m visibly nervous. It’s hot, sure, but I’m

sweating more than is strictly necessary because I have
a deep-seated and peculiar fear about all this – that the
finished product will look too good, too polished, too
much like a Peugeot 208 GTI. The tarpaulin floats to
the floor… a sigh of relief. Don’t get me wrong – what
I’m staring at is an extraordinary piece of ad hoc
engineering, but there’s also a homespun shabbiness
1
around the edges, just as I’d hoped.
With no mods to the Ambassador chassis, the
stance is on the tall side for a hot hatch, and the paint
and panel gaps would be unacceptable on a Chinese
clone. The interior is a bit of a giveaway, too, being
DO TRY THIS
as it is, entirely untouched from the Ambassador,
apart from a piece of carpet to plug the chasm that’s
opened up between the dash and the new, more
steeply raked windscreen. But squint a bit, and that,
my friends, is a Peugeot 208 GTI – two-tone Coupe AT HOME...
Franche paintjob, the lot. Considering where it 1: The Ambassador’s reception
started life, I’m flabbergasted… and keen to find From a shortlist of six, this 1998 diesel,
out how on earth they did it. with 87,000 miles, was the chosen one.
Full service history? MOT? Probably not,
You’ll find your handy step-by-step guide to but a lovely runner and all for around
converting an Ambassador into a small French £1,000. You just can’t go wrong. Can you?
hatchback opposite, but here’s a flavour: they did it
with bloody-minded determination, a boatload of 2: The strip down
Body panels removed, interior out, back
fibre-glass, by enlisting an expert panel beater, endless
end chopped, angle grinder unleashed.
late finishes and early starts, more welds than the hull Unfortunately, the roof and windscreen
of the Titanic, scant regard for any health and safety of a Hindustan Ambassador look nothing
protocols and constant ingenuity, creativity and like a Peugeot 208 GTI, which is why they
imagination, the likes of which we so often forget about had to go. Held up by some makeshift
scaffolding are replacements from an
these days when there’s technology to fall back on. unidentified scrap car – the closest in
And the most brilliant part of all? Beneath the new shape that fitted the Ambassador’s width.
frock and lipstick, this is still a functioning car – albeit
one powered by a 75bhp, 1.8-litre Isuzu diesel engine 3: The magic mould
Six separate pieces milled in foam (using
that makes an erupting volcano seem refined. Even
Peugeot CAD data) then glued together.
the lights and indicators are wired up. Although not From that, a plaster of Paris mould, and
strictly road-legal, a quick rattle to the nearest town from that, a new one-piece fibreglass
shouldn’t get us in any trouble, so long as we don’t rear end. Repeat process at the front.
draw any unnecessary attention. Fast forward 10
4: The panel beater
minutes and I’m wrestling with the unassisted steering Here comes the skill. Getting a donor
in searing 35ºC heat, swerving to avoid dustbin-sized roof, fibre-glass front and rear ends and
potholes that might snap the rear leaf springs, and new doors wrapped in hand-beaten
trying to execute a five-point turn without running sheet steel to match up seamlessly is
quite a job. The man in this picture made
over a cow or over-revving the engine. Meanwhile,
it work. We’re in awe.
Rowan runs in and out of traffic waving his lens
around and generally causing a bit of a scene. 5: The blow dry
A crowd forms, the engine overheats, we pull over Sourcing a rear windscreen and rear
and pop the bonnet and accept that, despite being windows cut with the precise three-
dimensional curvature required was
rear-wheel drive, the Pambassador’s hot-hatchy-ness impossible, so plastic heated and bent
is definitely just skin deep. TopGear, doing the vital by hand would have to do. Well, if it’s
research so you don’t have to. But enough road testing good enough for the 911 GT3 RS...
– there’s an advert to shoot. And if you thought Ashish
6: The paintjob
and his team hit their creative peak during the build,
OK, so the paint shop wasn’t entirely
you’ll love what comes next. dust- and contaminate-free. And, no,
First, let’s address the elephant in the room. We these aren’t official Peugeot colours, just
don’t have an elephant. We tried, seriously, but finding a the closest thing that was lying around,
showbiz-savvy six-tonne mammal in India that but who cares? The colour join is crisp as
anything, there’s an authentic matt sheen
meets European animal welfare standards is… tricky. and note the use of actual newspaper
Who knew? Instead, we agree on using a JCB for the and oily rags – an advanced technique
bonnet-crushing scene. This is not my first choice. The rarely seen these days.
2
Kushal regretted buying

that ‘genuine Ashes
trophy’ off eBay
6
AMBASSADOR
“The person at the office who fills in

the health and safety form will be
having a mild aneurysm right now”
ONE PEUGEOT ‘The Sculptor’ ad, so thought it only right

that we paid a visit.
frozen on 1 Jan 2000 0:40 – 40 minutes
into a new milliennium. Odd.
MADE EARLIER
First, the obvious: it’s a deception. This From behind the wheel, it drives
is not a modified Ambassador, as we were exactly as you’d expect a low-mileage
led to believe by movie magic, but a 206 diesel 206 to drive... uneventfully. The
This is the actual car from the advert, that was pulled from the line, stripped out lack of sound deadening and windows
currently residing in Peugeot’s like a stock car and beaten to within an slash the weight, but cause a few NVH
retirement home, otherwise known inch of its life, before being painted silver issues. And for some reason, I couldn’t
as La Réserve. Less tea and biscuits, to make it look, erm, unpainted. stop poking my head out the window
more wheels: a warehouse stacked five- It might appear ready for the and bobbing it like a fool.
high with all the greatest road, race scrapheap, but in fact it has a mere 110km A fascinating prop, then, but a bit
and marketing cars from Peugeot’s on the clock – as you can see on the right. half-arsed, if you ask me. Far better to
colourful past. We got wind that In some sort of eerie record of the day throw your nuts on the fire and convert
shelf four, aisle three was home to and time it was prematurely plucked from an Ambassador for real, don’t you think?
the battered 206 made famous in the factory, the clock and calendar are Just me, then...
After hours of coaching,
Jack prepares himself
for some head bobbing
original idea is to employ… how do I put this?… a

plus-sized actor, but that’s quickly ruled out on moral
and practical grounds. Besides, a JCB comes with the
added benefit of doubling as a large yellow wall for the
crash scene. Nobody seems remotely worried about
sourcing one for a couple of hours, at short notice
and driving it into the middle of a busy university.
By far our most pressing problem, though, is
that our Ambassador has already been turned into
a Peugeot. In the advert, an Ambassador features
quite heavily in the first half. We need an Ambassador.
In fact, we need two. One to admire and then drive
in the opening scenes, and another to actually
crush with the JCB, drive into a wall and hit with a
sledgehammer. We sit around a bit scratching our
heads before Ashish walks over to the remnants
of our noble donor car, lying in a pile outside the
workshop. He disappears and returns dragging a
four-metre long metal box frame and announces
all we have to do is weld the panels back together
around the frame, stick some trolley wheels on the
bottom and with some crafty camera work we have
our rolling, crashable Ambassador. Pure genius.
Ashish and his team get to it immediately,
rummaging around in a pile of wires, angle grinders
and paint guns before emerging with a welder and
shoving its exposed wires straight into the mains. The
person in our office who fills in the health and safety
form will be having a mild aneurysm right now, but
out here it’s just the way things tick… how stuff gets
done. It’s why the answer to every question, however
bizarre, is automatically yes. Then comes the fun part:
finding a solution by whatever means necessary.
It becomes an overarching theme on our trip, that
anything’s possible if you’re prepared to go the extra
mile, really challenge yourself and take 240V for the
team. During a night shot we need a bit more light.
Not an issue. A single bulb on a wire appears from
nowhere, is slung over the branch of a tree and “Anything’s possible
wrapped in cardboard to create a soft, diffused glow.
It would take 18 lighting engineers a week to achieve if you’re prepared
the same effect back in the UK. Later, a swarm of
enraged bees decide to attach themselves to a branch to go the extra mile”
above our heads. We retire to a safe distance and
watch as Ashish and the team take turns in smoking
them out… by setting fire to a cardboard box directly we’re still missing an actual working Ambassador to
underneath. Fire hazard? Nah, it’ll be fine. star in the opening scenes, a rather crucial omission.
The panels now back in some semblance of the car After scouring the classifieds for days, phoning every
they once belonged to, it’s time to hit them with a large car rental company from Mumbai to Delhi and coming
hammer. Sadly, I forgot to pack one. Ashish marches up dry, our cameraman makes noises about a family
off and returns with the head of a sledgehammer. But friend who owns one, but no word on whether he can
no handle. Cue more welding to attach a metal rod. make it down. With a hour of daylight left, we’re
I mean, what could possibly go wrong? all but resigned to our fate, when a pristine white
Against all odds, and without a bee sting or a Ambassador trundles around the corner and beeps
single blunt force trauma incident to report, we get the horn. We and all the students we’ve roped in as
all the shots we need in the bag. Well, almost all – extras cheer loudly in unison. Yep, the cameraman

AMBASSADOR
knew his friend was coming all along, but wanted to

Jack really wished
string us along for comic effect. he’d left the glue to
The results? Well, you can watch the remake video set on the headrest
(and a second film looking at the brilliance of the
Pambassador in more detail) for yourself over at
topgear.com. As for the car’s fate, it’s currently being
decided whether it stays in India as a showcase for
the University, or returns to France to end up in La
Reserve. I’m voting for the former, but either way the
seed has been sown and ambition is high. Ashish tells
me the student’s next project is turning a Vauxhall
Corsa into an ode to the Lancia Stratos HF Zero.
It’s funny – this project started out all about the
car; was the conversion even possible? How long would
it take? Are we inadvertently about to kickstart a
coach-built Ambassador craze? But it ended up being
about the people. Ashish, Kushal, Parth and Sidharth,
I salute your determination and skill. And for saying
yes first, then worrying about the how.
The budget remake of

‘Operation’ proved a
shocking success
Top speed now significantly

higher than when it actually
had an engine

WO R DS: C H A R L I E T U R N E R
FIESTA ST
Has this blue-collar hero lost its soul or is this new breed
a welcome piece of fresh thinking? TG was invited to
Ford’s top-secret Lommel facility to find out
1
There’s magic going The ST’s engine doesn’t look
on under the bonnet much, but it has performance
Using witchcraft and fairy dust, the ST’s and character in spades
1.5-litre 3cyl turbocharged engine delivers
197bhp and 214lb ft of torque, firing the ST to
62mph in 6.7secs and on to a top speed of 144mph.
Lighter and more efficient than its predecessor, the
new engine should pay dividends when it comes
to the handling. It’s mated to a 6spd manual with
meaty weighting and a short throw, plus there’s
an optional Quaife limited-slip diff. The motor
features cylinder deactivation, which, under light
loads, shuts off one cylinder, which adds frugality
to the list of ST attributes. The shift from three
cylinders to two is imperceptible.
2
The cleverness
doesn’t end there
The ST also gets bespoke bi-compound
Michelin Pilot Super Sports, with stickier
rubber on the outside edge to optimise cornering
and a more durable one across the main section of
the tread. To further help the ST’s turn-in, the car
brakes the inside front wheel. At the rear, the ST
has twist-beam rear suspension.
Inside, the ST features optional Recaro
buckets which, in contrast to its big brother
Focus RS, allow a much lower, more sporting
driving position. There’s a chunky steering wheel
and nicely finished aluminium and rubber pedals.
For those of you wanting to really shake your
neighbour’s windows, there’s an optional B&O
stereo upgrade. In a Fiesta.
3
We’ve been for a ride
in it... and it’s hilarious
To give us the full display of the ST’s
dynamic capabilities, I was inserted into
the passenger seat of a fully specced racing blue
197bhp 6.7secs 3 modes 144mph

18 more horses to go from Normal, Sport top
than the old ST 0–62mph & Track speed
FIESTA ST
is. Ford has kept the settings simple, with just three lifting off the throttle, another ST trick that allows
Anyone for a bit of
cheeky rear-wheel
modes: Normal, Sport and Track. Normal is, um, you to keep it pinned and flat shift.
wagging? Wait your turn normal. Sport increases throttle response and
5
steering weight, allows more slip angle and adds It’s good away from
more pops and bangs from the exhaust. Track the circuit and on the
pulls back the traction control further and allows daily commute as well
ST. Options included the LSD and a handy test even wider slip angles. You can disable the traction When not having its neck wrung by a test
pilot called Koen Bex, who set off around Ford’s entirely by pressing and holding the button in any of pilot, the ST has greater strength and depth than
top secret development facilities Track 7 with a the settings. We’re in Track as we crest another rise its predecessor, too. Ford has worked hard on
point to prove. Talk about commitment. Track 7 and Koen lifts off, allowing the tail to step out, before NVH and ride comfort, and it shows. The all-new
is a ribbon of tarmac designed to replicate the burying the throttle and allowing the LSD and its frequency selective dampers isolate the worst a
kind of surface and undulations you’d find on torque-vectoring assistants to work their magic, broken surface can throw at you, making it a far
your perfect B-road. Home turf for the ST, then. tucking the nose in and firing us on to the next long more relaxing car to cover distance in. But push the
As Koen got airborne over a particularly tricky corner. The ST’s pace is impressive. I suspect it could car harder, and the dampers tense up to keep the
series of yumps, the first thing that struck me, keep a supercar honest on a tight B-road, while the body roll in check and hard-wire the connection
beyond a sense of my own mortality, was that the adjustability on the throttle is extraordinary for a from the road to the driver.
ST sounded great. The offbeat warble is similar front-drive car. Koen rifles through the gears without
6
to a V6 and far more characterful than a turbo’d Oh, and it has
four-cylinder could manage. While some of the launch control...
engine noise is enhanced through the speakers As part of the optional Performance Pack,
using Ford’s ESE (electronic sound enhancement) which features the LSD and a shift light,
technology, it’s still convincing and engaging, launch control is accessed through the steering-
and not overly synthetic. wheel controls, and manages the power and torque
delivery to ensure you leave the opposition standing
4
It will slide and you at the lights. It remains activated until you
don’t need to lift to shift deactivate it, or turn the car off and on again, so you
The second thing that became obvious from can repeatedly launch to your heart’s content, safe
the passenger seat is how adjustable the ST in the knowledge it’s covered by the warranty.

In th
e front
A Phantom VIII at our disposal? No

mileage cap? Time to aim for the Alps
and find out how the other half lives
In t
h e back

2
5
1 Even a Rolls-Royce has to
run the risk of petrol fumes
2 Spirit of Ecstasy aglow at
night 3 6.75-litre V12 is smooth
as silk. Power doesn’t matter
because you should never
need to use it all 4 Ollie
concentrates on remembering
to drive with his fingertips and
not rest his elbows 5 Rowan
contemplates the joy of a
built-in drinks cabinet
ROLLS-ROYCE
or the next 48 hours I, Rowan Horncastle, am a “patron of Some hours later…

luxury”. That’s how Rolls-Royce refers to its customers, those OM: This is absolutely effortless. I don’t
F people who don’t support football clubs, but own them; that
travel by Learjet, not Easy. But what’s it really like being a
know if you realise, but we’ve done 220
miles since Calais already. I’ve taken my
member of the automotive glitterati? Well, with the help of the shoes off, so I too can enjoy the carpet, and
all-new Phantom VIII, a £525,000 Extended Wheelbase, I’m going to find out. am guiding the car using nothing but the
The plan is to go on a luxo road trip. The destination? An exclusive soft pads of my fingertips and letting
nest of wealth, perched high in the French Alps: Courchevel 1850. Being 750 Eleanor lead the way.
miles away from my current location (R-R’s suitably immaculate Goodwood RH: Who’s Eleanor? I didn’t know you had
facility) it’s a bit of a slog. But that doesn’t matter; I’ve donned my best room to hide more staff up there...
kleptocratic nouveau-riche clothing, have a Phantom to indulge in, and, OM: It’s how the cognoscenti refer to the
best of all, R-R has supplied a chauffeur – because no self-respecting ’garch Spirit of Ecstasy. Anyway, it’s absolutely
would be seen behind the wheel. uncanny the way this thing goes along
And here he is. Hold on, I recognise that aerodynamic head. Is that?... no, a road. It’s so gentle and calming, so
it can’t be. Oh, for pity’s sake... it’s Ollie Marriage. unhurried, even when you’ve built up
a decent gait. How’s it for you?
OM: Yes, it is. And I can’t believe I’ve got myself into this, but, if we’re going RH: Well, I’ve decided you don’t sit in a
to do this properly, you’ve got to call me “Drive”. That’s how you refer to your Rolls-Royce Phantom. You nuzzle. Surrender
chauffeur, apparently. What should I call you? your body to the plushness, let it massage
RH: Lord backseat overlord. and warm you. Perhaps raise the ottoman
OM: I’ve got a better name: Roman Ahornavich. Doubly useful as it could to adjust the angle of your feet, take a little
be your porno name. Anyway, now I’ve got you safely into the back (oh, the bit of life’s weight off.
ignominy of having to open and close doors for you), it’s time for me to get on OM: I’m sorry, but you really don’t need
with the driving. And what’s up with those gold skis? And that rack?! Hang on, to raise your voice – there’s 6mm-thick,
has it been drilled through the boot? dual-layer double glazing all round and more
RH: Never you mind for now, Drive. than 130kg of sound-deadening material
OM: I don’t know if you’re aware of distance back there, but we’re now about pumped into the headliner, doors, boot
10 miles into our journey and I’ve nearly crashed about three times. Running cavity, bulkhead and even the tyres.
into the back of people. At first I thought it was because the Phantom weighs as RH: The serenity is weird, isn’t it? Makes an
much as a moon and the brakes weren’t man enough for the job, but actually I S-Class feel like you’ve put your head in a
think they’ve been purposefully engineered like that. It’s impossible to brake super club’s subwoofer.
harshly. No matter how suddenly you thwack the pedal, brake pressure ramps OM: I wouldn’t know. I’ve got a hint of wind
up slowly. It’s the same with the accelerator. It’s literally impossible to drive noise from A-pillars and mirrors, but that’s
the Phantom aggressively. I’m going to have a go, though. Every time you reach it. The spokes of the steering wheel are in a
for the champagne flute. weird place, though – I’m sure it’s been done
RH: I’m not sure if it’s a compliment to your driving, the car, or the Moët, but it so the driver can’t fully switch off. And Rolls
appears we’ve swallowed the south east of England whole. Never has the M20’s doesn’t yet have any autonomous features
ghastly corduroy surfacing been ironed out so silently. – no lane keep or any of that.
RH: Why would I want that? I’ve got a man
As we approach passport control at Eurotunnel, my isolation bubble is popped in a suit to do that.
as Ollie cracks the window for border control. The ludicrousness of the OM: Point taken. I’ve never driven a car that
situation I’ve manufactured really sinks in – Ollie is playing it straight. insulates you from noise or road surface like
“Passports, please,” the immigration officer says. this one. It seems to be travelling about six
“Here’s mine. And this is my client’s,” Ollie says. feet above the actual tarmac. It’s even doing
Crippling embarrassment sets in, but the guardian of our country is well on fuel – 23mpg means we’re looking at
prim and proper and asks to see ‘Sir’. Ollie then turns to me and asks if 450 miles before we need to stop. With all the
that’s OK, before dropping the back window. We’re waved through. Then drink you’ve been quaffing, your bladder’s
summoned straight into the drugs check zone. More squirming from me never going to last that long. And they don’t
in the back. And then again when Eurotunnel offers us an escort to the do posh bogs at French service stations.
train, only to close the barrier on the car behind. Ollie’s at it again. RH: No. But I do have a crystal decanter.
“Excuse me, that car is with us.” Remember the old spare water bottle trick?
“How do you mean sir?” The guard replies. “That’s our security detail.” OM: Roman. Put. It. Down. Oh, for heaven’s
It’s not. It’s our support car housing photographer Mark Riccioni and sake, not over the carpets. You animal. We’re
videographer James Gough. They need to work on their Spetsnaz stares. going to be late for your dinner date with the

ROLLS-ROYCE
Courchevel’s preferred
transport boasts approx
one horsepower
Countess of Mayde-herr-Rup, so if you don’t mind

I’m going to stoke the furnaces a bit.
RH: Before you do, I need lunch.
OM: We’re still getting it from a service station.
RH: A boiled Fabergé egg, please. And an Orangina.
The Phantom consumes the flatter bits of France

without breaking a sweat. Evening arrives as the
snowbanks start to rise, allowing me to admire
the Starlight Headliner – 1,340 individually
hand-woven fibreoptics to further enhance the
cabin atmosphere, while up front Drive gets to
admire the ‘Gallery’, an expanse of toughened
glass running the full width of the dashboard
that can house whatever the hell you want behind
it – your kid’s first brass rubbing, an original
Banksy, perhaps a vial of your own DNA. The
ambience inside the Phantom at night is cosy,
intimate and sumptuous. I’m so relaxed I don’t
even mind when Drive swings it around the bends
as we home in on Courchevel, finally scrunching
gently up outside the Six Senses at bang on truffle
raclette o’clock. For me at least. I tell Drive to
take the car underground and valet it. So of
course, the next morning…
Ahornovich feasted on caviar RH: The car is still filthy. I thought I made myself
and dolphin fritters; Drive’s
quite clear that…
dinner was rather humbler
OM: You know there’s a point where the patron
of luxury act runs headlong into blunt reality,
right? Well, that was it. I did clean the skis,
because they look so ridiculous I want everyone
to notice them and realise the bloke in the back
must be an utter plant pot.
RH: How little you understand the patron of
luxury lifestyle, Drive. When you’re up here
rubbing shoulders with the world’s wealthiest,
you want to have something they don’t. Bespoke
is BIG business for R-R. Remember the Sweptail?
The most expensive new car in the world? Well,
that was just the start. The Phantom’s new
spaceframe structure (which’ll underpin
replacements for the Ghost, Wraith, Dawn, and
the new Cullinan SUV) could offer a cornucopia
of coach-built possibilities for four-wheeled haute
couture. My take was to get the TG engineering
department to drill holes for the racks, then
borrow a set of Foil Oro-Nero skis made from
8,000-year-old Chinese bog-oak complete with
14-karat gold-plated poles and bindings. Ballin’.
OM: Ballin’? Balls more like. They weigh a ton.
And how much do they cost?
RH: A mere 50,000 euro.
OM: Dare you to ski on them.
Surefooted in the snow. But,

rest assured: if you crash,
you’ll be really comfortable
“The R-R consumes the flatter bits
of France without breaking a sweat.
Evening arrives as snowbanks appear”
50,000 euro skis atop
a bespoke rack. Which
probably costs the same
RH: I will. Later. First, some shopping.

Nothing says rich as
OM: What now? Platinum goggles? A sable coat? Croesus like trousers
RH: Never you mind. Just drop me at La Lana. that are just too short
Delivered by Drive, via suicide door, to the public

realm, I step out onto the heated pavement at one
of Courchevel’s most exclusive hotels. Walking in,
I see by a woman with plastic surgery fit for Men
In Black’s prop department, Nebuchadnezzars
of Beluga vodka and a rather sad-looking
animatronic Polar bear. Odd. But not just a hotel,
because to the right of La Lana’s check-in desk is
a Rolls-Royce pop-up shop. It’s part of R-R’s Hot
Spot scheme, where it sets up boutiques at
seasonal geographical magnets for the rich
(Saint-Tropez, Saint Moritz, Ibiza, Marbella and
Monaco, to name a few). This one has been open
less than a week. Five cars have been sold already.
While Roman’s nodding sagely at leather
samples and heading off to get those skis stamped
on in a lift queue, let Drive tell you what the
Phantom is like to, er, drive. It’s marvellous. Not
in a traditional way, of course, but it’s so smooth.
You can’t help but guide it gently, as to do
otherwise would not be a fitting way to treat
Eleanor. Hairpins are hilarious. You send the
prow out ahead to scout the way, then you follow
along shortly after, simultaneously keeping an eye

ROLLS-ROYCE
HOW TO BE A
CHAUFFEUR
1 DRESS WELL
As a private chauffeur, you
are an extension of both your
employer and the car you drive.
So if, for instance, you drive a Rolls-
Royce for a wealthy client, it’s likely
you’ll need to dress smartly, but
it’s equally important not to
upstage your employer. To help
us out, we went to the paragon
of understated men’s tailoring,
Gieves & Hawkes of Savile Row.
But the suit alone is not enough –
behaviour matters too. So no
chewing, no strong aftershave, no
slouching, no over-familiarity, etc.
2 HEELS TO WHEELS
Lovely phrase, this. When your
passenger is about to enter or exit
the car, you should stand ready,
facing away from the car, with your
hand on the handle. Mostly this is
for security reasons – it allows you
to check both ways along the
pavement. It also means you’re not
looking at your client should they
be struggling to exit with dignity
while wearing a short skirt...
3 DRIVE SLOWLY
In short, drive as if the person in
the back has a glass of champagne
balanced on a fold-out tray table.
So not only must you accelerate
and brake gently, you must predict
the behaviour of other traffic, give
yourself time and pick a route
around hazards such as speed
bumps, width restrictors and even
potholes. Forward planning is
essential for the professional
chauffeur: know the route you’re
going to take, have alternatives
worked out in case of an incident,
research pick-up and drop-off
points. In short, be discreet and
drive with care.
on how far out into the road the prow now is, and how close to the kerb the OM: You’re on. I’ve seen the weather
inside rear is. Blind corners require blind faith and the hope that whatever’s forecast. The cloud’s coming in fast and
coming the other way is willing to behave deferentially. that means you’re going to be stranded if
The engine simply never intrudes, it merely provides seamless progress you’re not in the air inside 10 minutes.
aided by an eight-speed automatic gearbox that uses GPS data to read the Think I’ll go and park the Phantom in
road ahead and select the correct gear. It’s only if you up the ante that it the middle of the runway.
occasionally gets caught out. As it does now as I home back in on Roman RH: Please don’t. Just give me this last
at Le Lana… small taste of opulent Rolls-Royce lifestyle
before I have to return to a life of beans
RH: I can smell the brakes. on toast and Asos.
OM: Never mind that, look at the state of those skis – you’ve gone and OM : It has been good, hasn’t it? What
got snow on them. How was skiing, by the way? I’ve particularly enjoyed is the effect the
RH: Yeah, alright. I behaved like any self-respecting billionaire and paid Phantom has on people. On the whole,
someone else to do a jump over the car while wearing my gear – for my they’ve been so well disposed to it. I think
Instagram you understand – then retired to wash down some caviar with it’s so stately, so grand, that people just
copious amounts of vodka at a mountain restaurant I had closed to everyone like getting up close to it. Best of all is the
else so I could eat and sunbathe in peace. Anyway, enough of that. To the aftershock: they see the car first and then
altiport, Drive! after it’s gone past they twig the skis and
OM: The altiport? Why? do a complete double take. That was a
RH: Well, surrounded by ski slopes and jagged mountains, it makes a strong nice touch, by the way.
claim to be the world’s most picturesque landing strip. RH: Thank you. The Phantom has been a
OM: Hang on, you haven’t just had me drive you up here to admire the view, magnificent carriage from start to finish.
have you? What’s that gold plane doing? You know that saying, “It’s better to travel
RH: That, my good man, is a Pilatus PC-12, designed by none other than than to arrive”? Well, there are other
Phillipe Starck to look like a posh cigar, natch. luxury cars that are spacious and quiet
OM: You’re not coming back in the car, are you? You’re going to travel in and comfortable and maybe approaching
something inferior. as good to travel in. But there’s nothing
RH: Not as quiet and sumptuous, I grant you, but faster, I hope. We’re going else in remotely the same league when
to have a race back to Goodwood, Drive. it comes to arriving. Stepping out of
it in Courchevel gave me both kudos
and confidence.
“I behaved like a billionaire, The Phantom is the death star of
opulence, the magnum opus of refinement.
and paid someone else to This new one is no different, it’s just
cemented the status even further. It
do a jump over the car” is the world’s most luxurious car.
ROLLS-ROYCE
Phantom’s cabin
contains more wood
than... this entire picture
Put it down, Rowan, you can’t

afford it. That’s your monthly
salary in bubble form...

CROSSOVERS
Style fights practicality and

sportiness in a dash to the nearest
car wash for these four crossovers
WO R D S : O L L I E M A R R I AG E / P H OTO G R A P H Y: L E E B R I M B L E

“Some cars look good
grimy, but these four
seem keen to get
to a car wash”
CROSSOVERS
he cars are filthy. This is because The Volvo is something fresh. It’s built on a brand-new
it’s still wintry and we’re out in the platform, intended from the start to be a crossover, not
countryside. Some cars look good grimy, shared with a Mini and an MPV (X1) or borrowed from the
T but these four all seem keen to get to a

car wash. I can’t put my finger on what
it is that makes some cars wear their dirt
ageing Range Rover Evoque (E-Pace). It’s a confident piece
of design, boldly square.
Volvo’s design language is well suited to a crossover; Jaguar’s,
with pride, while others look like they’re less so. I’m not sure the firm has fully resolved what a Jaguar
battling a rash, but we are talking about crossover ought to look like. Same goes for DS. Here, the
crossovers here – SUVs for an urban audience. designers clearly realised the basic shape of the car was way too
But that’s doing them a disservice. So successful is the crossover plain, so they set about hiding that away behind chrome, polished
that the latest breed is designed to be all things to all people. wheels, lights that spin (they really do) and so on. And then they
Hatchbacks with more space and style. These are the latest: forgot to stop. Too. Much. Design. Compare and contrast with
the Jaguar E-Pace, Volvo XC40, DS 7 Crossback and BMW X1. the less adorned yet more striking Volvo.
It’s possible to buy any of them for less than £30,000. Possible, Inside we go, and initially things look better for the DS. It’s
but not easy. Say you’d decided you didn’t need more than a longer than the others and on paper has easily the biggest boot.
150bhp, diesel, front-wheel-drive E-Pace (E doesn’t stand for But I can only assume this is because the 555-litre figure includes
electric, remember – that’s the I-Pace). But could you tolerate the underfloor area, while the others don’t. From where I’m
a manual gearbox? 17-inch wheels? Fabric seats? No, a sweet standing, the BMW looks the most spacious, plus it has a lower
spot in the engine/gearbox/spec/options can be found at around load sill. SUV roots paying dividends. None is small, though –
£33–35k in each of these cars. Not cheap, a well-specced crossover. all have bigger boots than a VW Golf, and more rear legroom.
You can have any of them with petrol engines, and you’re They’ll do the family stuff.
probably tempted, but Volvo still forecasts two-thirds of XC40 sales The BMW will do it best, though. It’s notably well packaged,
will be diesel, so that’s what we have, each with around 180bhp. with good rear leg and headroom, even if the seats themselves
Auto ’boxes, too, as manuals are too much like hard work; and aren’t that comfortable. That’s a rare stumble for the XC40,
4WD (except the DS 7), to ensure we can get out of the car park. too – the backrest is too upright and the base isn’t long enough.
Time for a static appraisal. Ignore the BMW. Depending on The biggest packaging faux pas belongs to the DS – you can’t
the distance you’re standing from it, it could just as easily be an get your toes under the front seats. OK, you can if you raise the
X3 or X5 – this one’s smaller, that one’s far away, etc. Too generic front seat, but the driving position is already too lofty. Lovely
BMW – pure SUV, when we’re after something new. Yes, like the soft rear seats, mind you. The E-Pace (middling space, decent
X2 you have arriving in dealerships very soon… seat comfort) does what it needs to do, but no more.

CROSSOVERS
The Jag’s dash is lifted from an F-Type. It works well. The

layout is clean and well-organised. It looks – and for the most part
feels – expensive (well, if it’s good enough for an £80k sports
car…). You sit higher than you expect – the highest of all these
cars, in fact – but the driving position is natural, the controls crisp
and accurate. It’s a success. So is the Volvo. Dark, yes, and, like the
Jag, you have to be able to dig your way through the touchscreen
menus, but it’s logical, nicely assembled and feels like it’s worth
the money. I’d spec a more welcoming interior palette, though.
The DS 7’s cabin is wilfully... berserk. It’s mad. So much
design, so much not knowing when to stop designing. It’s
beautiful – until you have to interact with it. There’s not much
stowage because the centre console is full of electric window
switches, information on the digital dash is organised in largely
illegible diamond shapes, choices are buried so far within the
menu system that it took two of us 20 minutes to turn the screen
brightness down. The Crossback is bafflingly hard to get on with.
But also very well made. It feels like a big, expensive, luxurious
car, and that contrasts starkly with the BMW, which comes across
as comparatively penny-pinching. The plastics are cheaper, the
layout is plain, the luxury is gone. On the plus side, while the DS 7
makes you feel tense because you haven’t got a clue how to operate
it or where to find anything, the BMW is a paragon of simplicity.

And the low dash makes it easy to see out and place the car but there’s a strong argument for the XC40 being the best
on the road. And provided you place the emphasis on handling all-round car to drive here. These are crossovers – they need
rather than ride, it drives well. The X1 is nimble, well-balanced to do the daily stuff well – and both the X1 and E-Pace are
and has the best engine/gearbox combo here. There’s not much to compromised. The Volvo has a more cushioned approach,
choose between any of these engines for refinement, smoothness tackling rough roads smoothly and dexterously. Its behaviour is
and noise intrusion, but if you value response and alertness, you calm and competent; it rides expensively on springs and dampers
need this or the Jaguar. The downside to the BMW is that it’s that have been brilliantly tuned for composure in a straight line
a little harsh. Suspension noise intrudes, there’s a lot of racket but progressive roll resistance around corners. It doesn’t feel
on coarse surfaces, the damping isn’t as polished as the Jag’s – sporty per se, but gives you a feeling of quiet satisfaction. If
or the Volvo’s, for that matter. It feels engineered down to a cost. only the engine were less laggy and the gearbox more alert.
The Volvo is the surprise package here. It might not steer or Actual turn of speed once the engine is roused is good – in
handle as crisply as the BMW or Jaguar (it’s not far off, though), fact, all four deliver decent performance. You won’t want to use
it all because they’re diesels and are best surfing the mid-range
“Turn of speed torque. But the DS feels way quicker than 9.9 to 62mph, and
even the porky E-Pace isn’t left behind.
is good. All four Jaguar ought to be both proud and ashamed of the E-Pace.
Proud that they’ve made it drive the way it does when it weighs
so much, ashamed of that weight in the first place. 1,843kg.
deliver decent Heavier than an equivalent big brother F-Pace, 150kg heavier
than either the safety-conscious XC40 or the practical X1. It
performance” smacks of a car that’s been rushed to market, a need to compete
now, not do it better later. But the only time you really notice is
when you look at the economy (35.7mpg where the X1 hit 42.3).

CROSSOVERS
DS 7 CROSSBACK 180 PRESTIGE BMW X1 xDRIVE 20d M SPORT JAGUAR E-PACE D180 SE AUTO AWD VOLVO XC40 D4 AWD FIRST EDITION
Price: £38,445/£45,535 Price: £35,470/£42,110 Price: £39,400/£47,910 Price: £39,905/£39,905
Engine:1997cc, 4cyl TD, Engine: 1995cc, 4cyl TD, Engine: 1999cc, 4cyl TD, Engine: 1969cc, 4cyl TD,
178bhp, 295lb ft 187bhp, 295lb ft 178bhp, 317lb ft 187bhp, 295lb ft
Transmission: Transmission: Transmission: Transmission:
8spd auto, 4WD 8spd auto, 4WD 9spd auto, 4WD 8spd auto, 4WD
Performance: 0–62mph Performance: 0–62mph Performance: 0–62mph Performance: 0–62mph
in 9.9secs, 134mph in 7.8secs, 136mph in 8.7secs, 127mph in 7.9secs, 130mph
Economy: 60.1mpg, Economy: 60.1mpg, Economy: 50.4mpg, Economy: 55.4 mpg,
129g/km CO2 163g/km CO2 147g/km CO2 135g/km CO2
Weight: 1535kg Weight: 1690kg Weight: 1843kg Weight: 1698kg

To be fair to the Jag, it encourages enthusiastic driving. It
has the sharpest, most direct steering, the least roll and is alert
to throttle and brake. Because it’s tall, it doesn’t feel like it
should be capable of going around corners as flat and evenly
as it does. Body control is exemplary for a crossover, and when
you do get on the throttle in a corner, you can feel the power
transfer to the back axle. It’s the keenest to drive. But, at low
speed, the firmer suspension is more of a distraction. It can’t
perform the Volvo’s trick and simply relax.
The DS tries – it really does. The primary ride, the float
over undulations, is good, and the clever twin-spring set-up
means most bumps don’t make it past the defences. But the
secondary ride, the patter on rough surfaces, isn’t as good –
the DS is fine as long as the chassis isn’t given anything
too taxing to do. Lob it about and you’ll discover it’s a
cumbersome thing that gives nothing through the steering.
And that’s fine. Honestly. DS is a luxury marque, not a
sporting one. A particular type of luxury, true, one that puts
all the glitz on the surface and attempts to hide the more
mundane realities underneath. But it is quiet and comfortable
and, well, bafflingly French. Also expensive. A comparative
online lease calculator said £513 per month. Mind you, the
Jag’s £534. Meanwhile both the BMW and Volvo will cost you
roughly £140 per month less. That’s a huge amount.
“The XC40 shows

real ability across
the board. It’s the
all-round package”
There is an easy winner here, and that’s the Volvo XC40. It’s
fresh, modern, intelligent, cleverly targeted, attractively designed
and well-executed. It shows real ability across the board. It’s
good to spend time in, easy to interact with, is cosseting when
you want, yet quietly satisfying, too. It’s the all-round package.
The others string out behind it. The E-Pace and X1 battle
it out for second and third. Which you place on top depends
whether you prioritise practicality or style and driving. We’ve
given the nod to the Jaguar because it fits the crossover brief
better, with its upmarket interior and crisp dynamics. It might
be heavy, and based around old underpinnings, but Jaguar has
done well with the cards it dealt itself.
But it has no time to stand still. If we could have got hold
of an X2 in time for this test instead of an X1, we would have.
The X1 is perhaps too sensible, but what undermines it more
is the fact it doesn’t feel expensive. All its rivals here have
more upmarket cabins and better noise insulation, while the
DS 7 is a notably more luxurious, tactile product. How about
that? Unfortunately, in other areas the French car is just too
idiosyncratic, too much of a leftfield choice to succeed.
The crossover class is maturing. We might reject the
needless off-road image, but in other areas – comfort,
equipment, practicality – they’re carving a niche for
themselves above conventional hatchbacks. And the
Volvo XC40 is carving it deepest of all.
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EDITED BY OLLIE KEW
TopGear’s long-term cars. Tested & verified
Honda Civic Type R

124
126 Mercedes E-AT 128 Audi SQ7 131 Mini Cooper S JCW 133 Ariel Nomad
All-Terrain E-Class goes shopping for a new hat SQ7 fights with a Merc wagon. There will be oil Exhaust button doesn’t improve performance :( Farewell mobile climbing frame. Ollie will miss you
April I 2018
Type cast?
Hello
Honda Civic Type R
£32,995 OTR/£32,995 as tested
OLLIE KEW
wo years ago, I ran the last- We know that the new Civic Type R Our Type R arrived just 320 miles old,
T gen Civic Type R as a long-

termer. The first turbo one.
has a larger bandwidth. That’s why it’s
the TopGear 2017 Car of the Year.
so it’s been a gentle first month to bed in
that mighty blown VTEC. I’m desperate
The first truly wacky-looking I’m a massive fan of this weapons- for it to loosen up, more to drag the
version. And I copped some stick in the grade hatch. So this ought to be a economy over 30mpg and squeeze more
office for having criticisms of it. For happy relationship. than 250 miles from the stingy 45-litre
chastising its pathetic visibility, miserable If you’re about to order a new Type R tank than to outrun the looks of derision
wet weather traction, its rattly buzzfest for similar friendship and maybe more, from VW Golf R drivers.
of an interior and the punishing ride. you’ll need to be patient. Fancy one in In recent snow, rain and ice, it put
“Man up” or “You’re not driving it dark grey, to stealth the bodywork’s its power down astoundingly well. It
fast enough” were the choruses from bizarre cragginess? Forget it: according also steamed up incessantly and the
my colleagues. And that, conveniently, to the Type R’s vocal online community, tyre pressure sensors went bonkers.
proved my point. The old Civic Type R there’s a six-month waiting list for grey, So, plenty to go on this time too, then…
was a frenetic, brutal, intoxicating as the Swindon factory sweats to meet
thrasher to have an infrequent blast in. demand for the new global hot Civic.
To actually live with day in day out, it
was a literal pain in the arse.
White, then, which all Japanese cars
suit? Not unless you’d like a three-
SPECIFICATION
1996cc, 4cyl turbo, FWD,
month wait. So, I’ve picked Rallye Red Engine very similar
316bhp, 295lb ft
– the only no-cost-option paint. to old Civic’s; interior, 36.7mpg, 176g/km CO2
The machine underneath is a Civic thankfully is different
Type R ‘GT’ – a £2k indulgence which
1380kg
adds automatic lights and wipers,
Garmin satnav, Apple CarPlay, wireless TESTER’S NOTES The Garmin nav GT
smartphone charging and parking spec adds is rubbish. No heated seats
sensors, plus a rear camera. A good- either, but the cloth buckets are cosy.
value pack, then. The majority of UK

buyers tick it unthinkingly. MILEAGE: 1011 OUR MPG: 28.5

Sensitive
soul
Report 2
Nissan GT-R
£83,875/£85,650
ROWAN HORNCASTLE
T
en years ago, when
the R35 GT-R was first
launched, it was tarred
Rival for
by some as “a digital
supercar”. With bleeding-edge tech
affection
like a newfangled dual-clutch Report 5
gearbox, mind-scrambling four- Seat Ibiza FR
wheel-drive system and a display £16,630 OTR/£18,995 as tested
from Polyphony Digital, this,
apparently, made the car anodyne,
soulless and easy. ESTHER NEVE
Rubbish. All you need to do is fire
the thing up and you’re engulfed in
a cacophony of guttural whoomps,
bangs and thuds. I’m of the belief ve been in and out of all Next, the Ford Fiesta. Which the
that it’s one of the most analogue
and mechanical supercars you can I’ sorts of cars these past few
weeks. Including the new
same colleague told me was much better
than the Polo. Well, I guess it’s just
buy. You hear the diffs locking under Volkswagen Polo and Ford personal preference, but I preferred the
you, gears swapping behind you and Fiesta – key Ibiza rivals. A perfect chance Polo. For me, the Fiesta was just not as
other oily bits clanging around, for a comparison, eh? supple or enjoyable to drive as the Polo.
which adds a connection and makes Let’s deal with the cars in the order It did look great, but I always find that
it feel brutish. It’s not sophisticated, I drove them. First: the Volkswagen Polo. Ford interiors feel a bit clunky – each to
but it feels incredibly raw and A colleague had told me I’d be astonished their own, of course.
evocative. Unlike, say, a Tesla. at how huge it is. However, as it was But how did they compare with the
But, boy, does the GT-R still parked between a Discovery and a Range Ibiza FR? Well, if you forced me to choose
get attention. Never have so many Rover, I have to admit my initial thought Ford Fiesta and
between the three, I’m sorry to say my
thumbs been raised my way in pure was not that it was big at all. My next VW Polo battle it first choice would be the Polo. But the
admiration. Honestly, driving thought was how comfortable it was – out on the road Ibiza would be a close second. And the
around, you feel you’re doing some those are seats you could do a long Fiesta? It’s just not for me; I think I’ll
sort of community service to future journey on and not be crippled. And on gift that particular supermini to the
petrolheads. And that feels great. those 16s, the ride was bliss. Another big colleague of mine who loved it so much.
point in its favour. Arriving home, I
parked up next to a neighbour’s MkV Golf.
SPECIFICATION And then I understood my colleague’s
astonishment. It was the same size.
SPECIFICATION
3799cc, V6 twin-turbo, AWD, 999cc, 3cyl turbo,
562bhp, 469lb ft FWD, 113bhp, 148lb ft
1752kg 1140kg
TESTER’S NOTES With all the oily TESTER’S NOTES The Ibiza gets
bits whirring away in earshot, there’s knocked off my most-wanted list by a
a huge sense of connection in the GT-R. Polo. Stays in second place, though.
MILEAGE: 8325 OUR MPG: 21.4 MILEAGE: 1820 OUR MPG: 35.1

April I 2018
Primal
screen
Report 3
Vauxhall Insignia
£26,900/£34,575
ADAM WADDELL
f you’ve read my
I previous reports on
the Insignia, you’ll
know that I’ve been
Rack ’em up
pleasantly surprised by the car and
actually think it’s rather good –
certainly it’s a big step forward
Report 3 compared with the previous model.
Mercedes E350d AT It’s quite a handsome thing too.
£58,880/£61,260 Even Jeremy Clarkson, formerly
of this parish, agrees. “You know
TOM FORD what? This isn’t a bad looking car,”
he wrote in The Sunday Times.
High praise indeed from the
man who the Vauxhall workforce
t has begun. I knew from the from which to hang stupid amounts of blamed for killing off the old
I start that I’d probably add a

couple of small items to the
lights, but I digress.
Thing is, this rack is a bit special. A few
Vectra following his famous “It’s
so dull I’ve got literally nothing
Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain months back, I popped over to Germany to say about it” review.
to make it a wee bit more useful, but as to drive an All-Terrain built by Daimler So far so good, but as with
ever, the list has grown to only vaguely E-Class engineer Juergen Eberle, the one every car, there are a few niggles.
frightening proportions. Which means equipped with portal axles nicked from the The satnav graphics are very
that while in the dealer to have the G-Class 4x4 Squared. Suffice it to say, we basic – so much so that I use Waze
pyrotechnic bonnet-poppers replaced got on, because he’s One of Us. on my iPhone instead. And the seat
after last month’s close encounter with When he found out that I was in the warmers automatically come on
a deer, it was time to fit the roof rack. early stages of planning an adventure-spec at full chat every time you turn
Now, I like a roof rack, especially on E, he mentioned he was in the process of on the engine. No doubt there
an adventure vehicle, because you can building a rack that suited the long roof. is a way of changing this setting,
store all the smelly and/or little used-but- True to his word, a month later he shipped but life is too short. However, I’m
necessary items out of the way, things a beautifully constructed platform that splitting hairs here – the Insignia
like extra spare tyres and fuel cans. It’s flows with the curvature of the estate – the is an excellent all-rounder and way
also because it gives me more footprint basis for my version of the E-Class we’re better than expected.
It had to happen,
didn’t it? Project E-AT
calling ‘Project E-AT’. Which has nothing
has kicked off... to do with actual food. It looks amazing –
SPECIFICATION and I’ve already had three people asking
where to buy one. Sideline for Juergen?
SPECIFICATION
2987cc, V6 turbodiesel, 1956cc, 4cyl turbodiesel,
AWD, 258bhp, 457lb ft FWD, 168bhp, 295lb ft
2010kg 1410kg
TESTER’S NOTES Bespoke roof rack TESTER’S NOTES Continued surprise

looks properly cool and fits with my and delight from the Insignia. Shame
adventuremobile plans. about the dodgy satnav...
Family
workhorse
Goodbye
Mazda CX-5
£30,195 OTR/£31,555 as tested
OWEN NORRIS
t’s time to bid farewell to the and the rear doors that open to almost be an issue for some people. I actually don’t
I TG CX-5, and I think it’s safe

to say the past nine months
90°, the CX-5 is great for getting the
kids in the back with no fuss. Add the
mind that, as I find it incredibly annoying.
Having tried the AWD variant recently,
have been a pleasure. fact that it has a very decent boot for its I think I’d be tempted to choose that over
It’s not just me who’s impressed with class, and this SUV is a winner for me. I my FWD. The mpg was very similar. I
the big Mazda. It’s now the biggest-selling was worried about getting all our holiday would keep the auto ’box: fantastically easy
Mazda worldwide and has just been named kit in, but I needn’t have. It swallowed the and perfect for my schlep across town.
on the World Car of the Year shortlist. lot, and I could still use the rear-view So, all told, the CX-5 is worthy of
I’m really not surprised to see that it mirror. Result. consideration if you’re in the market for
comes out on top in nearly every group But the pay-off for that drivability is a a mid-size SUV. I was very impressed
test for many reasons. Firstly, it looks ride that’s slightly on the firm side... but with this car and, importantly, my partner
great, with its wide, sharp, basking- I’m fine with that. It’s not like it’s crashy liked it so much we’re considering buying
sharkesque nose making it easily the most or wallowy. The only other downside is one as our family workhorse.
handsome in this sector. Just don’t park it that the road noise above 50mph lets it
next to a Jaguar F-Pace... Inside, it’s classy down, meaning much turning up of the
and well-built, which is a big improvement
over the old model and its rivals.
stereo. It’s likely an insulation issue, but
more would add to the cost and it’s priced
SPECIFICATION
2191cc, 4cyl diesel,
The real surprise is that it’s actually a pretty well at a bit over £30k for this FWD, 153bhp, 280lb ft
decent driver’s car. The handling is great Hang on, it handles top-spec model. 50.4mpg, 147g/km CO2
well and swallows all
for a car of this size, with virtually no There’s nothing on this spec I’d do 0–62mph in 10.1secs, 124mph
the kids. Sign me up!
body roll – amazingly, a cross-country blat without. The head-up display is a must
1690kg
is one of my lasting memories of this car. for me, and full leather is a godsend with
It’s also pretty frugal for an SUV this size, messy children. The Bose sound system TESTER’S NOTES A great family car
returning good figures on my mostly that comes bundled with the Sport Nav with impressive road manners make
town-based commute. spec is fantastic, too, and is definitely this mid-sized SUV hard to ignore.
It also makes a cracking family car. worth it if you’re a music fan. There’s no
With its flexible 40:20:40 split rear seats Apple CarPlay option, though, which could MILEAGE: 8489 OUR MPG: 37.3
TO P G E A R . C O M › MARCH 201 8 127

March I 2018
Space
race
Report 5
Audi SQ7
£72,895/£94,920 as tested
JACK RIX
cience or religion? Liam or fractionally better and the Lambo Urus Thing is, how often can you realistically
S Noel? Custard cream or

bourbon? Some debates shall
will turn more heads, but if you want your
bruising acceleration with a semblance of
use the E63S’s extra mustard? Rarely, is
the answer, and with extreme caution if
rage until the end of time, fuel economy, comfort and more space than you value your licence. A more real-world
others TopGear can attempt to unpick. you could reasonably need, the SQ7 is it. measure would be the way these engines
Like super-SUV vs fast estate, an honest The Mercedes-AMG E63S is neither pick up for an opportune overtake – and
conundrum for the modern petrolhead comfortable nor economical, but it does with its lag-reducing electric compressor
with people and things to carry. My heart have almost the exact same size boot as (as well as two turbos) and barrel-chested
will always err towards the wagon, but the Audi… and one of the world’s angriest 664lb ft of torque, the SQ7 feels every bit
after running the Audi SQ7 for five months, engines. A 604bhp, 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as meaty as the Merc at rational speeds.
increasingly, my head is tugging me the whose vocals are only surpassed by the It also burbles away at idle like an all-
other way. explosive force it sends to all four wheels – American V8 and returns almost 30mpg.
There are loads more steroidal SUVs or just the rears, if you’re feeling suicidal. Styling-wise, it’s really down to you –
these days than there are high-performance Whereas the SQ7 surges like a mobile back both have the immense-performance-
estates, but the two here are the high-water row forward, uncork the E63S and it flies wrapped-in-unassuming-clothes thing
marks of their respective genres – this is like a winger. In some sort of low-slung pretty much nailed. My advice would be
the battle that matters. Sure, the Range mid-engined slipper, this would seem to stick with simple colours or things start
Massive boot +
Rover Sport SVR makes more noise, the absurd; in a two-tonne wardrobe on wheels, massive engine = to get a bit blingy. Where the Audi pulls
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk has it’s mind-blowing and immediately swings huge happiness ahead is inside. Merc has upped its game
more power, the Porsche Cayenne handles things in the Merc’s favour. significantly in the last few years, and
Traffic
damned
Report 4
Porsche 718 Cayman
£42,897/£52,435
STEPHEN DOBIE
ou know the old cliche
Y about Porsche drivers

not being let out of
junctions? Driving
a Cayman reveals it’s not a cliche.
In rush-hour London, which relies
heavily on cooperation between
drivers, this is a problem.
It’s most evident at the very
start of my day. I have to turn right
at a T-junction to leave my flat
complex, and it seems everyone
acquires an inability to look left
when there’s a 67-plate Porsche
waiting for a gap to appear.
I’m fighting fire with friendliness,
though, going out of my way to let
scores points for its Imax-sized screens, Factoring in that the E63S starts at anyone and everyone past parked
but only Audi can make a car feel like a nearly £20k more than the SQ7 brings me cars and out of tricky spots, no
high-end piece of furniture. It also has two to an uncomfortable conclusion. The Audi matter who the priority lies with.
extra seats hidden in the bootfloor, ready to does indeed have more strings to its bow I’m on a one-man mission to change
emerge at the touch of a button. If I’m and wins on points… but I’d still have the the public’s perception of Porsche
honest, I’m yet to call upon them, but like Merc. Oh, and custard creams, every time. drivers. Wish me luck.
that jar of olives in your fridge you bought
circa 2004, it’s nice to know they’re there.
Going off-road? There’s probably not
that much in it. At least not when the Audi’s
SPECIFICATION SPECIFICATION
3956cc, V8 TD, 4WD, 1988cc, flat-four turbo,
teetering on 22s. It’s got me across a wet 429bhp, 664lb ft RWD, 296bhp, 280lb ft
field, once, but I wouldn’t want to test it 37.2mpg, 199g/km CO2 38.2mpg, 168g/km CO2
beyond that. In reality, where the height 0–62mph in 4.9secs, 155mph 0–62mph in 5.1secs, 171mph
and extra suspension travel pay off is
2330kg 1410kg
around town, where it shrugs off speed
bumps and potholes that would leave your TESTER’S NOTES Considering the TESTER’S NOTES Others drivers’
spine shattered into a thousand pieces in performance, 28.4mpg isn’t bad... perceptions aside, living with a
the E63S. Width restrictors are a problem, but it’s not 37.2mpg, is it? Porsche is painless.
but I wouldn’t fancy bisecting two metal

posts 6ft 6in apart in the Merc, either. MILEAGE: 5320 OUR MPG: 28.4 MILEAGE: 8774 OUR MPG: 31.2

April I 2018
Auf wiedersehen, pet

Goodbye
Mecedes-Benz S500 cabriolet
£111,215 OTR/£126,520 as tested
JASON BARLOW
itness for purpose. It’s the key So what makes this one so special? Well, blend: the first by being an SUV, the second
F measure when it comes to TG

long-termers, the leveller that
the current S-Class is a milestone car, so it
figures that it showcases all the talents. And
by being vastly more expensive.
In six months and about 9,000 miles, we
joins the dots from, say, a it sure does. Having just driven the new suffered just two glitches. The driver’s chair
Renault Scenic to a Merc S500 cabriolet. Aston DB11 Volante and Ferrari Portofino, developed a squeak. And the automatic
Does the car do what it was designed to do? both more powerful than this car (and the boot button seemingly had a mind of its
Few of us will ever get to ponder the new S560, which replaces our long-termer), own. The interior ergonomics remain
decision that posits a £111k convertible I’d expect our now deleted car to feel industry best – better in my view than the
as a rational new car purchase, so the six outgunned, especially as the AMG version new Merc set-up – and we averaged around
months we’ve had with the big Merc has – now with 612bhp – is the real rival. 27mpg overall.
been an experiment in upwardly mobile In fact, the slightly more leisurely set-up The best? Yep. And things being what
luxury living. What can I say? In 25 years, of the S500 suits the convertible format, is they are, this particular iteration may end
Want to repel the
and countless cars, the S500 cabrio is more attuned to the chassis’ capability. It’s real world? May we up being up being definitive.
probably the most satisfying long-term still very rapid, and manages its mass with suggest a Merc S500
experience I’ve had. If that sounds a bit great aplomb, but its real ace card is the way
obvious, you’d be amazed how many
apparently desirable cars miss the mark.
it makes long distances simply evaporate.
This is what the S-Class is all about:
SPECIFICATION
4663cc, twin-turbo V8,
captains of industry or showbiz types RWD, 447bhp, 516lb ft
repelling the real world, except that 32.5mpg, 204g/km CO2
whoever’s behind the wheel is being equally 0–62mph in 4.6secs, 155mph
well-treated. The S 500’s steering, ride and
2115kg
handling are all class-leading, still ahead of
the all-new Audi A8, the BMW 7-Series, the TESTER’S NOTES The end of the
Jaguar XJ, and the Lexus LS. This must road for the S500. Time to book some
frustrate the hell out of those guys. Only grief counselling for JB.
the Range Rover and Rolls-Royce Phantom

get close to challenging this sublime luxury MILEAGE: 12,500 OUR MPG: 24.2
Studio
flat
Report 2 Crackle
Hyundai i30 Tourer
£24,155/£25,740 and pop
SAM PHILIP Report 7
Mini Cooper S Works 210
£22,155 OTR/£29,430 as tested
t’s studio season on TG
I telly, which means the

i30 estate has spent PAUL HORRELL
much of the last month
knocking around the hangar and
production office of our glamorously
bleak Dunsfold test track. And, I’ll be recap on this car’s place But the exhaust? It’s a little louder
honest, the big Korean lad does look
a little… workaday next to the more A in the world. Right: the
Mini Cooper S Works
by default, and really loud in its Track
mode (activated by a Bluetooth dongle).
exotic metal to grace the studio. 210. That number is its Track has been a waste of money in
However. Sure, the Turbo S horsepower. It sits between a Cooper S, all the road miles I’ve driven this car.
might be all good at smashing 10sec at 192bhp, and a Cooper S John Cooper Out in the countryside, I’m fine with
quarter-miles, but where is it when Works, at 230bhp. the volume, and the fruity extra basso
there’s a job lot of snacks and hi-vis It has the chassis of the regular profundo in the score. Fun, involving,
jackets to be delivered to the other Cooper S, which I’m good with since all that. But it also adds ridiculous
end of an airfield? Complaining the JCW is too jostling on poor roads. pops and crackles on the overrun
about “lack of bootspace”, that’s It has a JCW-esque body kit, and the and downshifts. They’re so loud as
where. Cars are about fitness for John Cooper Works Pro Tuning Kit, Nothing says knob
to be silly. I’m embarrassed.
purpose, and if there’s stuff that which you can buy for your existing better than a track- What’s really daft is that pressing
needs moving from one place to Cooper S. In fact the factory doesn’t use only mode... this fireworks button doesn’t add a shred
another at reasonable speed and actually make any 210s: you have to to the performance beyond the 210’s
anonymously, the i30 Tourer is, buy a regular S, then the dealer adds the Normal mode, not by the measurements
quite frankly, a finer car than a 911. chip ’n’ pipe kit before you take delivery. I’ve done. All mouth, no trousers.
It provides a bit of torque, as well
as the extra power. Power you feel as
SPECIFICATION a subtly more free-spirited sprint
towards the red line.
SPECIFICATION
1353cc,4cyl turbo petrol, 1998cc, 4cyl, FWD,
FWD, 138bhp, 179lb ft 210bhp, 162lb ft
1262kg 1235kg
TESTER’S NOTES Heated seats and TESTER’S NOTES No CarPlay, but

steering wheel are the business in this long-pressing voice button gets Siri,
weather. How about heated pedals too? for SMS dictation and Apple Music.
April I 2018
Ski lift
Report 6
Land Rover Discovery
£66,595 OTR/£77,970 as tested
OLLIE MARRIAGE
Space
oddity
Report 5
Telsa Model S
£111,900/£78,400 (s/h)
CHARLIE TURNER
here’s a Tesla in space.
T Yup, on 6 February
Elon Musk blasted his
2008 Tesla Roadster
into orbit, complete with Starman
the driver – it’s currently heading
redictable, I know. The Disco way down. On the way home we plugged out on a tour of our solar system
P has been pressed into use as a

ski wagon. It won’t surprise
it in and the whole infotainment system
froze. We did the standard Disco dance:
at a speed of 25,000 miles an hour.
In one month, Musk has
you a jot to learn that, on the turn-off-lock-unlock-restart. It worked. shattered all automotive speed
whole, it was masterful at this. Equipped But when we plugged in a USB lead up records, proved his rocket
with Pirelli Scorpion tyres, it handled sheet front, it stopped working. Another Disco technology works, delivered a
ice with confidence; in five-seat mode, the dance in another French aire. And so on. significant payload into space at less
massive 698-litre boot gulped down kit. Unfortunately, this seems to be life with than a quarter of the cost of NASA’s
And that chunky bonnet ploughed a the Discovery. Superficially it’s brilliant. proposed solution and created more
steadfast and secure path on the 700- The remote app is good. I can’t see why coverage for the brand than most
mile drive down to the mountains. I’d ever need to raise and lower the seats other car companies will create in
This is all good – this is what it ought without being there, but being able to heat a year. While many deride Musk as
to do, and it did it. But then we get to the the car while it’s locked is really useful “just a disruptor”, it’s hard to argue
frustrations. The kids want to watch the when it’s a few hundred yards away and with the scale of his ambition, the
rear screens. There’s no built-in DVD -10ºC. And then it throws in a rough creativity of his thinking and his
player, so I bought an HDMI cable and gearchange and instead of shrugging it off, ability to deliver. Frankly, there’s a
plugged in an iPad. That worked. On the you panic the whole gearbox is about to lot to be said for the Musk approach.
Heated seats for
four, but demisting
drop out the bottom and you’re going to be
was an issue stranded at the side of an autoroute. So far,
SPECIFICATION nothing terminal, but it’s not nice when you
don’t have faith in your car’s reliability.
SPECIFICATION
2993cc, V6 turbodiesel, 90kWh, 4WD,
4WD, 258bhp, 442lb ft 532bhp, 687lb ft
39.2mpg, 189g/km CO2 270-mile range, 0g/km CO2
2230kg 2250kg
TESTER’S NOTES Another month of TESTER’S NOTES OK, so Elon is

capability combined with frustration. divisive, but let’s take a step back
For the money, it needs to be better. and see what Tesla has achieved...
MILEAGE: 19,124 OUR MPG: 23.6 MILEAGE: 32,030

or the Nomad’s swansong, long-term fleet. None has been as most fun you’ll ever have on a
F I chose not to drive it at

all, but instead get towed
reliable and well-built as this. We did
bust a driveshaft (on a rally stage), and
roundabout. Clip the kerbs if you
want. it’s not going to care.
behind it. This might tell blow an oil filter, but in 7,500 miles, It’s not a one-car solution, I
you all you need to know about the many of them tearing about off-road, appreciate that; probably not a second
Nomad. It’s been not so much a car that’s literally it. And reports from other car, either. But I can’t see it lower than
since it arrived last August, as a owners suggest the superb service we third. It’s not cheap, especially not once
companion. I had a flick back through received from the team at Crewkerne you’ve added options. But do yourself a
the photo album – together we’ve been is nothing unusual. favour and have a look at residuals. They
to the top of Mont Ventoux, done a It’s been doing a happy 220 miles on a sell used what they cost new. I’d have
track day, participated in a local car tank, at around 28mpg. Everyone who’s this over any track lightweight, not just
show, yomped over byways, taken trips driven it has commented how easy it is because it has far wider bandwidth of
to mountain bike centres, starred in a to do distance in. You must have the side use, but also because it does something
film on a farm (if you haven’t seen it, panels and windscreen. And the aerial. far more powerful than merely handling
find Field Trip on the TG website), And spotlights. I don’t think you need well or going fast. It gives every trip a
run a 500-mile day trip, worn daft the full cover. Just get wrapped up. I sense of adventure.
clothing (yes, both of us), attended never really used the winch, either. Its
a Mission Motorsport event… off-road capabilities are phenomenal,
In short, I have never done as much Climbing frame, off-road
racer, farm vehicle... the
clearance way better that you’d believe. SPECIFICATION
with any other car I’ve run. I’ve had Supercharger? I don’t think you 2354cc, 4cyl, RWD,
Nomad is all these and more
more fun, more of the time, driving need it. Speed is not what the Nomad 235bhp, 221lb ft
this car than any other. Maybe it’s just is about. Better in my view to slacken n/a mpg, n/a g/km CO2
perfectly attuned to my way of thinking. everything off and go around corners 0–62mph in 3.4secs, 125mph
But if you’re looking at it and thinking like a rolling galleon. That’s what
725kg
that it would fit your way of thinking differentiates the Nomad to any other
too, here’s what you need to know. car on sale. It’s a mini Trophy Truck, TESTER’S NOTES The most fun,
We’ve run other lightweights on the so pliant yet accurate. Perhaps the most reliable, most habitable, most
adventurous lightweight of them all.
MILEAGE: 7144 OUR MPG: 28.2

Off the leash
Goodbye
Ariel Nomad
£36,538 OTR/£55,313 as tested
OLLIE MARRIAGE
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RACING
sk a kid to draw a racing car and Although Jaguar had pioneered discs by this
A the chances are it’ll end up looking

something like a Maserati 250F.
point, the Italians were still using drum brakes,
of modest 13.4in diameter and fitted outboard
Simple in form, the 250F might also on the front and rear. The power output was
be the single most beautiful competition car just 220bhp. Enough.
LEGENDS
ever: cigar tube chassis, long nose, squat tail, Viewed from a 64-year distance, the 250F
almost always rosso corso and, of course, Italian. was not without its quirks. Although the cockpit
The 250F’s career spanned a golden, though was fairly roomy, the driver had to straddle the
often difficult and dangerous, era of GP racing, transmission tunnel, and the throttle pedal
debuting in 1954 and still battling hard in 1960. was in the middle, with the brake on the right
Maserati 250F It was a car that the greats could make dance, in
long, delirious full-throttle powerslides, but also
and the clutch on the left. The driver’s right
hand hovered just above the stubby little lever
one that the less gifted could still succeed with. operating a four-speed ’box, and the wheel was
WO R DS: JA SO N BA R LOW The 250F wasn’t just super-cool, it flattered the a huge wood-rimmed item. The tank, meanwhile,
driver too, rare for TG’s racing legends. sat behind, filled with a terrifying mix of fuels
Maserati returned to F1 after a few years out and additives – only 35 per cent was petrol, the
when new rules introduced naturally aspirated rest methanol, acetone, benzol and castor oil.
2.5-litre engines for the 1954 season. Former Let’s give the last word to the man who knew
Ferrari engineering legend Gioacchino Colombo the 250F best – Sir Stirling Moss. “The nicest
was lured from Maranello to Modena, while Formula One car to drive was probably the
Valerio Colotti was conscripted to develop the Maserati 250F. Obviously a rear-engined Cooper
chassis. This was a tubular spaceframe clothed is going to beat it and will be much easier to
in aluminium panels, with independent front throw around, but is it as gratifying? Probably
suspension and a de Dion rear set-up, with its not. If one is talking about getting in the car and
tube in front of the transaxle – rather than getting the most out of it with that sense of
behind it – to benefit the car’s centre of gravity, exhilaration, then, Formula One-wise, I would
which in turn reduced its propensity to spin. say the Maser was it.”

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A cut above the rest

The master butchers of Donald Russell
have been hand cutting steaks for the
world’s finest restaurants since 1974.
Dry aged for up to 35 days, you can now
enjoy the rich flavour of our succulent
UK grass-fed steaks at home.
Pavé Rump Pavé Rump

Medallions Traditional Steak Selection
11-12 SERVINGS
2 Sirloin Steaks, individually packed, 230g each

Ribeyes
2 Ribeye Steaks, individually packed, 230g each
1 Pavé Rump Steak, 150g
4 Pavé Rump Medallions, in pack of 4, 240g
Was £58 50% OFF

Sirloins
PLUS as an extra bonus you’ll also receive...

NOW JUST
PLUS FREE DELIVERY WORTH £5
£29
6 Mini Steak Burgers,
4 Pork Sausages LIT
and a FREE 52 page UA Y
Q
If you’ve ever tasted better, or are not

cooking guide absolutely delighted, we will happily
E
give you a replacement or a refund.

TE
UA
G
Your order will be professionally frozen at the peak of RAN TAZIO GAGLIARDI
Managing Director
perfection and delivered FREE* direct to your door.
To order and Visit www.donaldrussell.com and enter code tg1801 in the search box
receive your or call 01467 629666 and quote code tg1801
50% saving LINES OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 8am - 8pm SATURDAY 9am-4pm SUNDAY 10am-4pm
Donald Russell Ltd, Harlaw Road, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, AB51 4FR. For terms & conditions, check www.donaldrussell.com/tg1801.
Offer expires 30th June 2018. *Applies to standard delivery only. Additional surcharges may apply. If in doubt please call 01467 629666 before ordering to check.
TOPGEAR.COM APRIL 2018 1 57

MARKET PLACE - 0207 150 5216
TOOL BOXES, CABINETS & CHESTS

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• 10 year warranty (terms and conditions apply)
THE ECONOMICAL WAY TO BUY A

US PRO TOOLS BALL BEARING TOOL CHEST £169.99
INC VAT - Plus P&P
PRQWKVZDUUDQW\RQHFRQRPLFDOUDQJH NETT PRICE
£141.66
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ADVANCED COOLING
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D I G I T A L E D I T I O N

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 007

018 the ten

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TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 009

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 011

012 APRIL 201 8 › TO P G E A R . C O M

It arrived as Aston endured another crisis,

No kidding. Even now, the Towns Lagonda is

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 013

yet things have changed massively, particularly in

014 APRIL 201 8 › TO P G E A R . C O M

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 015

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016 APRIL 201 8 › TO P G E A R . C O M

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018 APRIL 201 8 › TO P G E A R . C O M

inevitably, are longer, almost entirely ﬁlling the

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 019

Body stiffness is the same as

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Peugeot has played a blinder

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 021

BIT OF A CONTRADICTION, ISN’T IT, TAKING YOUR

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EJ’s tip for 2018 constructors’ championship

MCLAREN 9th 4th SAUBER 10th 10th

TO P G E A R . C O M › APRIL 201 8 023

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