DRIVEN! ALL-NEW BMW M3 COMPETITION
“THERE ARE FEW CARS ON THE PLANET YOU WOULD RATHER BE DRIVING”
SUPER SPIDER FLAT OUT IN THE NEW FERRARI F8 SPIDER!
+ DRIVER’S AUDI
END OF AN ERA
LIGHTS OUT
You can now buy an Audi R8 RWD. Is it any good?
Driving the Lotus Elise 240 and Exige 390 Final Editions
We’re back on track with the British GT Championship
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WELCOME The motor industry is currently going through a seismic shift as manufacturers turn their attention to electrification over internal combustion. Whether the grass really is greener on the other side remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain, electric cars aren’t going away anytime soon. One car maker that has an eye on the future and the other on the present, is Lotus. First deliveries of their all-electric hypercar, the Evija, are due at the end of this year, and the recent announcement concerning the end of Elise and Exige production shows that they are ready and willing to move with the times. However, that hasn’t stopped them from giving internal combustion one last outing with news that the all-new Emira will be powered by that thing we love, called petrol. With this in mind, our opening feature is dedicated to two motoring legends, as we take a trip to Lotus HQ, Hethel to drive and bid farewell to the Elise and Exige. Another household name that isn’t quite ready to kick out the ICE is BMW. The new M3 could have presented Munich with a prime opportunity to fit the G80 with some form of hybrid tech, similar to what’s coming in the Mercedes-AMG C63, but to the delight of
petrolheads everywhere, they’ve stuck with 3.0 litres and 6 cylinders while giving it more power. You can read our full road test from page 40 onwards. But our main feature for Issue 11 must go to our cover car, the Ferrari F8 Spider. Some view the F8 as something of a stop gap between the 488 and the next-generation of mid-engine V8 Ferrari that we suspect will see the hybrid powertrain from the SF90 filter down to. Whether the F8 is to be short lived in Maranello’s model line-up is up for debate, but that hasn’t stopped Ferrari from doing a proper job and giving us a supercar that can take the fight to the mighty McLaren 720S. If you turn to page 30, you can read about our weekend with it. Supplementing our main features are more performance car road tests, including the Audi R8 RWD, Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0, the Mk8 VW Golf R, and the refreshed Honda Civic Type R. We also have our usual selection of racing and motorsport content for you to enjoy, most notably our coverage of the Britsh GT Championship. Finally, thanks must go to our sponsors and manufacturers who support the mag, and to you for reading Redline Magazine. We hope you enjoy the content and engage with those who support us.
Mark Rose
Owner & Managing Director
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CONTACT
Editor - Mark Rose Lead Photographer & Videographer - Dom Ginn Photography & Filming Assistant - Stevo Jones Photographers - Harry Hartland, Ryan Hudson Road Testers - Sid North, Blee Carswell, Nick Ponting Contributing Writer - Victor Harman Events Photographer - Reece Gallacher, Neil Edgley Photography Assistant - Zac Davies Social Media Consultants - Gravity Socials
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ISSUE 11 > WELCOME
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CONTENTS START LINE 10 End Of An Era
INSIDE LINE 18 22 27 29
Pagani Huayra R Bugatti Chiron Super Sport Remembering Murray Racing Improves The Breed
ROAD TESTS 30 40 48 54 60 64 69 72 74
Ferrari F8 Spider BMW M3 Competition Audi R8 RWD Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 VW Golf R Honda Civic Type R McLaren 620R Audi A3 Sport MINI Cooper S Sport
TRACK SIDE 78 80 86 88
The Valluga Experience Lights Out Britain’s Got Talent Cars & Camber FP1
DRIVER MARKET 76 Magazine Subscriptions 95 Driver’s Stuff 99 Our Partners
Please note, whilst we take care to be accurate, no liability will be accepted under any circumstances should any of the content of this magazine be incorrect. Reproduction of whole or in part without permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. Redline Magazine UK Ltd. Registered in England No: 10596691. Registered Office - The Old Grange, Warren Estate, Lordship Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3WT.
ISSUE 11 > Contents
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END OF
We take a trip to Lotus’ private test track in Hethel to drive and bid farewell to the Elise and Exige. WORDS: Sid North | PHOTOS: Dom Ginn
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AN ERA
ISSUE 11 > Start Line
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otus is a pioneering car manufacturer that has had some great successes throughout its history, with their most successful model being the Elise. For many, it defines driving purity and simplifies what you want from a sports car because it’s light, nimble and thoroughly joyous to drive. The latest Elise and Exige Final Editions are cars I’ve been wanting to take to a track, and recently, Lotus allowed us to give them a good thrashing around their private testing facility at Hethel. It’s a place I’ve never been to and so it was a privilege to go there and throw some of the brand’s cars about the place. Starting with the Elise Sport 240 Final Edition, and you’ve probably guessed it has 240bhp from its Toyota derived, 1.8 litre, supercharged 4-cylinder engine. Apart from an increase in power and a new LCD display for the speedometer, not much has changed. Initial on track impressions are that you’re greeted by some lovely touch points, particularly from the aluminiumfinished, 6-speed manual gearbox that’s just a delight to use at all speeds and is light to operate. The steering is full of feel and weight, and it’s everything you would expect from an Elise. The kerbweight is just 922kg which by any standard is as light as cars get, although, Lotus purists will tell you that it’s around 180 kilos heavier than the original version. The lack of weight means that turn-in is accurate, and because the spring rates aren’t overly stiff, it offers great compliance while giving you a good sense of what’s going on beneath you. The performance is just as good! It will cover 0-60mph in 4.1 seconds and top out at 147mph. The supercharger pulls low down in the rev range and the car loves being taken to the redline. What impressed me about the Elise was its breadth of ability. If you want to learn and understand track driving, then this is a great car for getting to know the limits of grip, but if you’re a racing driver and want to have some fun while setting decent lap times, it can do that too. Despite being a mid-engine sports car, the Elise is surprisingly lovely to slide. The way it breaks traction and then communicates grip levels throughout the slide is friendly and progressive, and because of the lack of weight, you can pound it for lap after lap without getting the dreaded feeling that the brakes and tyres are going to overheat. The soundtrack is pleasant too, with its growling 4-cylinder barking away and the supercharger faintly whining in the background. My only complaint is that I wish I could hear more of that supercharger. I hopped out the Elise and into the Exige Sport 390 Final Edition. The Exige has always been the aggressive, track focused model in the Lotus line-up. Like the Elise, it also has a Toyota derived engine, but here it’s a 3.5 litre V6 making, you guessed it, 390bhp.
L
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The Exige has a naturally aspirated 3.5 litre V6 engine
“What impressed me about the Elise was its breadth of ability”
Technical Specifications Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition / REDLINE RATING 10/10 | Engine
| Power
| Torque
| 0-60mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 1,798cc 4-cylinder
| 240bhp @ 7,200rpm
| 181lb ft @ 3,000rpm
| 4.1 secs
| 147mph
| 922kg
| £45,500
Technical Specifications Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition / REDLINE RATING 10/10 | Engine
| Power
| Torque
| 0-60mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 3,456cc V6
| 397bhp @ 7,000rpm
| 311lb ft @ 3,000rpm
| 3.7 secs
| 172mph
| 1,138kg
| N/A
You can also have it with 420bhp, but trust me, 390 horses is enough! The 390 was formerly known as the 350, but thanks to some changes to the cooling system and supercharger it now makes an extra 40bhp. Performance here is brisker than that of the Elise with a 0-60mph time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 172mph, but it’s also a heavier car at 1,138kg unladen. Again, there aren’t many visual changes to mention apart from a sticker to tell you what you’ve bought, and like the Elise, it has the digital speedometer display. On track, you’re immediately greeted by a vibe that shouts focus because everything feels taught and serious. The V6 engine is quite docile at low revs, but once you switch it to track mode, you’re greeted with a shouty bark. Other people have suggested it sounds boring but I say that’s rubbish. It sounds fantastic! You hear more whine from
the supercharger below 4600rpm and then it’s drowned out as the motor roars its way to the rev limiter. Performance is strong and with peak power available at 7,000rpm, the engine does its best work at high revs. The steering is weightier and the rack itself is quick but not fidgety. When driven hard, you notice how much you have to concentrate. Coming into some of the fast chicanes, the Exige likes to be driven with precision over outright hooliganism, yet, when prodded with aggression and stupidity, you can make it dance and pull off some smoky powerslides. There are a couple of problems, one of which is a traditional Lotus issue. The gearbox is a tad imprecise especially when driven with more aggression, and you get the sense that the synchros don’t like to be hurried. Also, and this is not what I would
The Elise also gives you open-top thrills!
“You feel as though you’re driving a lot faster than you actually are which is very rare to find these days”
call a problem, but it does demand a lot of driver input from a physical standpoint. But the rewards are so strong when you concentrate and work around the way it behaves, and it has that typical Lotus DNA in the way it communicates what’s going on. There’s a tad more understeer, but a slight lift off the throttle gets the rear end rotated in to the corner. The cars were great fun on track, but fundamentally, they’re still road cars and the Elise is the most joyous of the two. We tested them on a hot summer’s day, and because the Elise’s canvass roof is removable, you get the open top driving experience as well. The ride quality is far more tolerable than you would actually think and has a lovely compliance to it. The performance is usable and the six-speed manual ‘box is a delight to use. What’s more, you feel as though you’re driving a
lot faster than you actually are which is very rare to find these days. It’s safe to say that the Elise brings just as much, if not more fun on the public road whereas the Exige is a bit of an extreme machine. The Sport 390 is still better than I initially anticipated. The shouty V6 doesn’t make a nuisance of itself around town and the ride is on the right side of tolerable, but you can tell that it’s a car that really belongs at a circuit. If you want the compromise between road and track then you definitely want the Exige. It’s a thrill to be in and it’s incredible look at, and as an experience, there isn’t anything else quite like it. In truth, this isn’t meant to be a comparison test between the Lotus Elise and Exige. It’s more about the brand and where it’s going. The Elise is still the defining car in the Lotus range and one
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which I hope they will try and recreate in its successor, the Emira. Both cars offer something special and totally unique which you have to respect given Lotus has famously lacked budget and resource compared to other manufacturers. However, now with proper funding the company has the potential to go out there and be the best sports car maker in the industry. As for the Elise and Exige, production will finish at the end of the year which will truly mark the end of an era. The Elise has been around and has remained relatively unchanged for 25 years now, and if Lotus can continue to capture the magic and essence of it in their forthcoming models, then their future is all but secured. Exciting times are ahead, but for now, we say an emotional goodbye to a true motoring icon.
CONTACT US 01279 898 061 07986 984 563 sales@castlesportscars.co.uk www.castlesportscars.co.uk
Lotus Evora GT SPORT - £89,995 Castle Lotus are delighted to bring one of the final ever dealer stock Lotus Evora GT410 Sports to the market. With Lotus announcing the end of the Evora model and its production this year, there are now very few brand-new cars left in existence. We are delighted to have this top specification example in our showroom ready for viewings and immediate delivery. This is a great opportunity to own one of the final brand new Evoras on the UK market in a fabulous specification. This car is available on 0% 40/60 finance and we welcome part exchange. Contact our sales team for further help.
Lotus Exige 410 SPORT - £81,250 Castle Lotus are delighted to bring this brand new, unregistered Lotus Exige 410 Sport to the market. One of the final brand new and unregistered available 410 Exiges available with the Exige model now discontinued. This particular Exige 410 is also fitted with a variety of optional extras including the Touring Pack. This includes either an Alcantara or leather trim pack, in this case Alcantara which gives a beautiful finish on the seats, dash, grab handles and air vents. This car is finished in the stunning Metallic burnt orange which is a £1200 premium paint option. Car available on 0% 40/60 finance and we welcome part exchange.
Lotus Exige 16V - £45,500 Castle Lotus are delighted to bring yet another beautiful and incredibly rare Lotus to the market. The Lotus Exige S1 was first released in 2000 following the incredibly successful S1 Elise. Released with the Rover-Series 1.8L VHDP engine which stood for Very High-Performance Derivative the S1 Exige produced a fair 177bhp at a staggering 7,800rpm. With a very short production run of just two years ending in 2002 the build numbers were incredibly low and only a fraction of these remain today. If you are looking for an incredibly original and very well kept Exige S1 look no further. Speak with our team today to secure this very special car.
Lotus 2 Eleven ROAD VERSION - £44,250 Castle Lotus are absolutely delighted to bring this beautiful and very rare Lotus 2-Eleven to the market. Being an early launch vehicle this example is the most sought after 2-Eleven variant as it was built by Lotus Motorsport. This particular 2-Eleven has just 8600 miles on the clock and has been maintained and serviced well throughout its life, all by main dealer. This is a rare chance to purchase a real Lotus great, an incredible car to drive on both road and track, the 2-Eleven is totally unique and a real visceral drivers machine. Contact our sales team today to discuss the vehicle further.
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If you are thinking of changing your Lotus or just selling your pride and joy then please call us. We can offer a sale or return option, or a hassle free purchase, as well as fantastic new and used car offers. All sports and classic car marques are considered and you can be assured of a quick decision.
The next generation is coming! The all-new Emira will represent the past, present and future of Lotus. It will be powered by a traditional internal combustion engine, but it will also form part of Lotus’ new line-up of cars alongside the all-electric Evija. You can pre-order your Emira with Castle Lotus. Please contact us.
Please visit our website for the full list of cars we currently have for sale which includes various Lotus and TVR models.
HARDCORE HUAYRA The successor to the legendary Zonda R has arrived. We take a look at Pagani’s latest track-only hypercar, the Huayra R.
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he Pagani Huayra has been in production since 2012. Let that sink in for a moment. The Zonda replacement is now 9 years old, yet somehow, it still feels as fresh as the day it was released, long before TikTok was even a thing. Key to its perceived youth is its scarcity. Sure, there’s plenty of Huayra content doing the rounds on social media, but when was the last time you actually saw one in the wild? Unless you work for Pagani or are a career car spotter, the likelihood is you won’t come across one in your daily life. Only 265 cars of varying model designations have been built, and the latest model, the Huayra R, will be limited to just 30 examples. Its predecessor, the Zonda R, came towards the end of the Zonda’s lifecycle, so one would assume that Pagani currently have a new car in the works. The Huayra R is undoubtedly as special, as it is rare. Pagani don’t play the ‘strip some weight out and add a mahoosive rear wing, road to track car conversion game.’ No, every detail is meticulously
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reapproached in the pursuit of exclusivity and performance. The engine itself is a tribute to internal combustion. A vast, naturally aspirated 6.0 litre V12, built in collaboration between AMG and HWA – these guys run AMG touring cars – that produces 840bhp at 8,250rpm and redlines at a terrifying 9,000rpm. Torque is 553lb ft and is available from 5,500 to 8,300rpm. The sound must be out of this world. Despite the motor’s considerable displacement and cylinder count, it only weighs 198kg. In fact, the car’s overall dry weight is just 1,050kg giving the R a power-to-weight ratio of 800bhp per tonne. For context, a Bugatti Chiron has around 741bhp per tonne. Wow! The engine and all-new six speed sequential gearbox – also developed in partnership with HWA – are mounted to the car’s central monocoque which helps increase torsional rigidity by 16%. The new monocoque also incorporates the seats, and the structure is made from Carbo-Titanium and Carbo-Triax. Know what the last one is? Nope, neither do we. Clearly, a lot of HWA’s motorsport
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The Huayra R might just be the most insane looking car Pagani has ever produced!
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know-how has gone in to the development of the Huayra R which means it should be one mighty track weapon. A quick glance at the images will tell you that car design has been aerodynamically led. There are more skirts, scoops, spoilers and splitters in one place than a 90s modified car cruise. Horacio Pagani’s aim was to produce a car than can achieve 1,000kg of downforce at 199mph, and needless to say, his team hit that target. Cooling has also had a big influence on the aero package, but then something’s got to keep the gargantuan carbon ceramic brakes and V12 engine at optimal working temperatures. There are two new side intakes at the front which channel air to the 410mm front brakes, and then back out along the side of the car. Air vents are also positioned above the rear arch and work in tandem with the side outlets to promote airflow to the rear. Naturally, the roof scoop keeps the engine cool, and other items like the rear wing and weapons-grade diffuser help increase overall downforce.
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Interestingly, additional research went in to the stylistic elements of the aesthetic, which surprisingly helped Pagani yield even greater aerodynamic gains. Apparently, you can have your cake and eat it. Like all the best track-only weapons, the Huayra R wears full slick tyres and comes with active suspension. It’s an independent double wishbone layout with helical springs and electronically controlled active shock absorbers. The entire car also meets FIA GT safety standards and includes a roll cage, fire extinguisher, flame proof materials, and a quick release steering wheel. It goes without saying, the Pagani Huayra R is an extremely special machine. It’s so special it commands a price tag of around £2.7 million including taxes. If history is anything to go by, you can be certain that Pagani will provide us with a final few run-out specials before Huayra production is finally wrapped up, but until then, the R might just be the most spectacular addition to the range we’ve seen so far.
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SUPER SPORT Is that more car buying advice we hear you crying out for? Okay, let’s take a look at the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport ...
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f you have a spare £3million to spend on a car and the Pagani Huayra R is a little too hardcore for your liking, then perhaps you might be tempted by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport? In a recent press release, Bugatti’s President Stephen Winkelmann said “With the Chiron Super Sport, we are following our longstanding tradition of combining top speed with absolute luxury” and also went on to claim that it is the “ultimate grand tourer.” Yep, definitely sounds like a road car. The combination of top speed and absolute luxury is what Bugatti do best. This car is based on the record breaking Super Sport 300+ which became the first production road car to break the magical 300mph barrier with a VMAX on 304.773mph, back in 2019. Only 30 of those cars were built to commemorate the achievement, and now Bugatti will offer customers a non-300+ Super Sport model,
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although there’s no word on how many they will build. Not many, probably. So, what’s different? Mechanically it looks identical to the 300+. The quadturbocharged 8.0 litre W16 engine produces the same 1,578bhp with the rev-limiter set at 7,100rpm which is 300rpm more than a normal Chiron. Torque is obviously colossal at 1,180lb ft and it’s available between 2,000rpm and 7,000rpm. The performance figures are genuinely out of this world. It will accelerate from rest to 124mph in just 5.8 seconds and cover 0-186mph in just 12.1 seconds. Bugatti claim the top speed is 273mph, the same as the so-called 300+ model, but we suspect it will go a lot quicker than that. The tyre is the giveaway. It’s a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 that can handle sustained speeds of up to 311mph. Bugatti has also developed a new chassis specifically for the car’s high speed and aerodynamics. The Super Sport has an extended rear that’s 25cm longer a normal
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“Performance figures are genuinely out of this world”
The Chiron Super Sport has the same exaust layout and long tail as the 300+
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Chiron’s and a modified front to help balance aerodynamics at top speed. Whatever that top speed actually is. The philosophy is different to that of a Chiron Pur Sport which has a greater focus on downforce for Bugatti customers who want something more dynamic to drive. The Chiron isn’t the only Bugatti to have received the Super Sport treatment. In 1931, they unveiled the Type 55 Super Sport at the Paris Motor Show. The car was designed by Jean Bugatti and was capable of 112mph with only 38 cars being produced up until 1935. Then there was the EB110 Super Sport that was produced between 1993 and 1995. Only 39 were built and it was the first car of its type to boast carbon fibre bodywork, all wheel drive and four turbocharges. It did 218mph. That car’s successor, the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport sent the world’s media in to overdrive when it claimed the production car speed record in 2010 – formerly held by
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the McLaren F1 – while recording a VMAX of 268mph, and subsequently landed itself a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. Bugatti made 30 of those. The Chiron Super Sport then, comes from a line of ultra-rare, record breaking road cars that aren’t just capable of great speed, but also luxury and absolute refinement. It costs around £2.7million before options or taxes, so roughly £3.24million once HMRC has had its big pay day. A touch more expensive than the Pagani we mentioned in the previous article, but then look at like this. It’s approximately a million quid ‘cheaper’ than the Super Sport 300+ it’s related to, and unlike the Huayra R, you can actually use it on the public road. By our bodged calculations, that makes it good value. Honest. First deliveries start in early 2022 and if you have the funds to purchase one, you should do it. Because why wouldn’t you?
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REMEMBERING MURRAY Earlier this year, the world of motorsport was rocked by the passing of the late Murray Walker. We pay tribute to a legend. > The recent passing of the great Murray Walker brought in to sharp focus what he meant to the motorsport community and the impact his years of service had on Formula One. I started watching F1 in the mid-noughties, several years after Murray hung up his mic and entered in to semi-retirement, but even racing fans of my age understand the influence the great man had on the sport we love. Formula One regularly champions its rich history, and Murray Walker’s commentaries are as much a part of it as the teams and drivers that have competed in the championship. Murray had an unparalleled career in broadcasting spanning more than 50 years, with his first public broadcast being the 1948 Shelsley Walsh hillclimb. His first radio broadcast was at Silverstone for the 1949 British Grand Prix but it wasn’t until 1978 that he went full time covering Formula One for the BBC. The timing of his appointment proved to be perfect. It was in the late 70s that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was busy securing the sport’s television rights, and his flair for deal making was complimented by Murray who brought the speed, passion and excitement of Formula One from the confines of the comms box to Bernie’s new audience. It was a match made in heaven. Ecclestone done the deals, the teams and drivers battled it out on track, and Murray told the story. What really set Walker apart was his legendary commentary style. He told the twists and turns of the tale that is F1 with true passion and an overt enthusiasm, which often led to loveable blunders, or “murrayisms” as they came to be known. Murray’s loud, ‘pants on fire’ style would often see him come unstuck behind the mic which would result in verbal gaffes, misidentification of drivers and situations where he would leave himself tongue-tied. It was these perfect imperfections that captivated and entertained audiences the world over. Mistakes in elite-level sport rarely go unpunished, but Murray was the exception to rule because his
blunders were delivered with such wonderful gusto and charm. Formula One fans adored him, so much so that in 2009 British sports fans voted Murray as the greatest sports commentator of all time. The drivers also loved him, as long as he wasn’t bestowing the dreaded commentator’s curse on them, another thing he had an unusual knack for. Never would Murray talk ill of a driver, often leaving criticism to his commentary partner, and it was this, along with his encyclopaedic knowledge of Formula One that drew the respect of fans, teams, drivers and F1 bosses alike. Murray commentated over some of F1’s greatest drivers. Drivers which included the likes of Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, and Damon Hill. It’s the latter that perhaps afforded Murray his most famous moment in the comms box. At the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix, an emotional Walker would etch the sound of his voice in to the minds of F1 fans for decades to come, as Hill came across the finish line to take victory and become Formula One World Champion. The words “I’ve got to stop because I’ve got a lump in my throat” are arguably the most beautiful to ever be broadcasted in motorsport and they have since gone down in F1 history. Murray hung up his mic for good at the age of 78 but continued his involvement in F1 well in to his 90s. Motor racing was more than a passion, it was his life, and he was instrumental in helping shape the sport in to the world wide success it is today. Walker captured the fast-paced, high adrenaline nature of Formula One and relayed it back to audiences in a way that was easily understood and entertaining, in a style that simply cannot be replicated. He was truly one of a kind and he will be dearly missed. Thank you, Murray. Now I’ve got to stop, because I’ve got a lump in my throat.
“Murray’s loud, ‘pants on fire’ style would often see him come unstuck behind the mic”
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COLUMN - VICTOR HARMAN
RACING IMPROVES THE BREED TRUE OR FALSE? Victor Harman discusses whether motorsport is still a testbed for modern road car technology > The expression originally came from horse racing, but has long been applied to motor car racing, with the most quoted example being the disc brake, developed initially by Goodyear for the US Crosley company. It was used in racing, and then on their road cars, although they later reverted to drum brakes. Simultaneously, disc brakes were developed by Dunlop in the UK, for the 1953 Le Mans winning Jaguar C-Type, and fitted that year to Austin-Healey’s 100S. Then Citroen’s 1955 groundbreaking DS became the first disc braked mass production road car, but such brakes were first used on aircraft, and motoring pioneer Frederick Lanchester patented a disc brake back in 1902. There are plenty of similar examples in power train technology, like Porsche’s troublesome PDK twin clutch transmission used on the 955 and 962 race cars, but it took until 2005 for the concept to appear on their road cars. Active suspension was first used on the F1 Lotus 92 in 1983, but the principle had first appeared, like the disc brake, as the hydro-pneumatic suspension of Citroen’s 1955 DS. But Soichiro Honda, the founder of that great company, saw things another way. He identified motor and motorcycle racing as the very best training ground for his automotive engineers who learned to think logically and quickly under pressure, and then took that valuable experience into road vehicle design, with consequent benefits in Honda cars and bikes. But often it’s been not so much the technology of the cars themselves that have brought the benefits, but the development of computerised design equipment and digital systems like the telematics used to monitor car data in real time racing conditions, that have brought positive spin-offs in road cars. But there are knowledgeable authorities who suggest that Formula One cars in particular have generated very little useful technology for road cars in the last 30 years. They might point out, for example, that today’s Formula 1 cars employ energyshedding structural fragmentation, complex driver harnesses, and costly carbon fibre composites for driver protection in crashes,
and bear no relation to the crumple zones and airbags of road cars. Some feel that the lack of road car spin-off derives from the Formula One design regulations, which have become inflexible, often leading to petty legal disputes that benefit nobody, except maybe the lawyers. More flexible and inventive regulations, like those used in the recent Americas Cup sailing series, could inspire designs with greater diversity and more technical innovation which bring real life benefits, and probably make for more interesting racing. Maybe Formula One has become stale in terms of any true technical innovation, with electrification threatening to make the internal combustion engine irrelevant before very long. If benefits from racing are to be relevant to road cars, then EV racing surely must now be the future, and thus Formula E and other EV racing formats are where the development work should be generating benefits for road cars. We know where the EV challenges are - lower battery costs, lower weight, and greater driving range. EV racing needs to focus on those critical areas, rather than using synthetic crowd appeal features like “attack mode” and the crazy “fan boost.” Yes, the racing must be entertaining, but then it will always be, if it’s designed to be truly competitive, which it sadly too often isn’t in today’s Formula One. There will probably never be any shortage though of Formula One “Tifosi,” happy to spend vast amounts of money on following the circus, as long as it keeps putting on the big shows. But with traditional Formula One entrants like Honda leaving the scene, seemingly with more meaningful objectives in mind, it’s surely time for a major rethink? With increasing ecological pressures, the powers that be in top level track racing, primarily Formula One, may need to take a very serious look at themselves. For their supporters, public and financial, perpetuation of the existing slow evolution alone is not enough. To survive, their offerings must become far more relevant and more beneficial, in a world where, sooner or later, we’re going to have to think a lot greener, like it or not!
“Active suspension was first used on the F1 Lotus 92 in 1983”
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Main Feature
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SPIDER Is the new Ferrari F8 Spider the perfect summertime supercar, and can it take the fight to the mighty McLaren 720S? WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Dom Ginn
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Even when it’s cloudy, the Ferrari F8 Spider is sure to brighten your day. The roof can also be put up while on the move, which helps
“The F8 is a complete hoot, not because of the speed, but how well balanced the chassis is”
he first car I ever fell in love with was a Ferrari. My passion for cars was evident from an early age, something that was no doubt influenced by my father who always had something interesting in the garage. But when I was 14, I somehow managed to convince him to part with money in exchange for a Ferrari 360 Spider, and in that moment, every teenage dream was realised. It was a beautiful example. Finished in Tour De France Blue with Beige leather Daytona seats, and equipped with the classic open-gated manual gearbox. The car was supplied by Meridien Modena, Lyndhurst, with just 800 miles on the clock and I instantly fell for it. I remember the day it was delivered, the long drives, short tunnel blasts and questionable overtakes, and I also remember the day he sold it. Just three months later. To me, Dad purchasing a Ferrari was the best idea he’d ever had, and to this day, I still believe it was. To the old man however, it was anything but. He was embarrassed by how noisy it was, he loathed always having to move off in second gear because first was jerky, and he hated how often he scraped the underside of the car. So, the miserable sod got rid of it and emotionally scarred a 14-year-old boy in the process. I still haven’t forgiven him. Fast forward another fifteen years and I find myself behind the wheel of that Ferrari 360’s great, great grandson, the F8 Spider. The first thing that strikes me is how habitable it is. Modern technology is such that the supercars of today are now infinitely more refined than they were in the early 2000s. They no longer wake the neighbours, the gearboxes shift for you, and they’re easier to navigate over speed bumps. Some people bemoan the endless march towards usability, but the truth is, supercars are better to live with than they were fifteen to twenty years ago which is important when you consider how expensive they’ve become. But let’s get straight to the point. Usability has not come at the expense of driver enjoyment. The F8 is a complete hoot, not because of the speed, but how well balanced the chassis is. There are five driving modes to select on the manettino – wet, sport, race, CT OFF, and ESC OFF. Sport is the default driving mode, race sharpens everything up, CT OFF takes race a step further and allows you some slip by backing off the traction control, and ESC OFF takes away the safety net of the driver aids. If you’re a confident peddler, the latter mode is where the F8 really shines. Attempting to slide a 710bhp Ferrari sounds like a big ask that could end badly, but in truth, I haven’t driven a car this well balanced since I stepped out a BMW M2 Competition. The way the rear breaks away, the ability to pick your angle, and the margin for error the F8 offers is magical. There’s a finesse and predictability to it that a rear-wheel drive
T
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Lamborghini Huracán doesn’t possess, and it can cut the kind of shapes on demand that a McLaren 720S can’t. It is laugh-outloud hilarious and utterly beguiling. The chassis is not without its faults though. Where McLaren has been using a super rigid carbon fibre monocoque since the MP4-12C, Ferrari is using the same aluminium structure that’s been around since the 458. In isolation it’s still a great chassis and to say the F8 feels wobbly would be an exaggeration, but it does give away some dynamic ability compared to a 720S and when you encounter a nasty road undulation you do feel some additional vibrations make their way in to the cabin. Given our test car was a Spider, there’s no doubt that the removal of the roof exasperates the issue, and sure enough, a recent blast round Goodwood Motor Circuit in an F8 Tributo went some way to proving that. Importantly however, what it relinquishes in outright dynamic ability, it makes up for in fun factor, and the F8 is capable of a level of hoonery that should not be possible in a car with this much performance. Despite the brilliance of the chassis, it’s the engine that’s been racking up the awards in recent years. Purists scoffed when the 488 went turbocharged, but Ferrari’s approach to forced induction is such that their 3.9 litre V8 motor feels naturally aspirated. The technical data speaks for itself. It makes 710bhp at a lofty 8,000rpm and 567lb ft at 3,250rpm. This is by far the most responsive turbocharged car I’ve driven, even compared to a Portofino with which it shares its engine. Throttle response is instant, there’s no turbo lag, and the delivery is wonderfully linear. No torque spikes or breathlessness as you approach the limiter, just neat power delivery and a rampant top end with all the horses available at the red line. And wow, is it fast. It doesn’t slingshot you down the road in the same way a 720S does, but it’s still every bit as rapid in a straight line to the point where deploying it all on the public road isn’t advisable. It’s the type of performance that outstrips your ability to think in real time, the car always seemingly ahead of your power to concentrate. If you want to unleash the speed then just be damn sure you know what’s half a mile down the road. In case you’re wondering, it covers zero to 62mph in 2.9 seconds, 0-124mph in 8.2 seconds, and it will top out at 211mph. If were going to pick faults, the only one would concern the noise, or lack thereof. It’s certainly a tuneful engine but it’s not as loud as the V8s of old, even with the redesigned Inconel exhaust manifolds which are 5dB louder than a 488’s. Distributing all that power is a 7-speed dual-clutch F1 transmission. Quite simply, the gearbox is in a class of one. The changes have race car levels of snap. It takes longer to pull one of the beautiful, carbon fibre paddles than it does for the gear to fire
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We’re hard on the brakes in to this corner. The F8 Spider is set up beautifully for our UK country roads
Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 9/10 | Engine
| Power
| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 3,902cc twin-turbo V8
| 710bhp @ 8,000rpm
| 567lb ft @ 3,250rpm
| 2.9 secs
| 211mph
| 1,400kg
| £225,897
The black and yellow interior complemented the exterior paint perfectly, especially with the roof down
home, and because the paddles are mounted to the steering column, you’re never left guessing which order up and down is when applying lock. The steering is also razer-sharp but pin-point accurate which makes placing the car on the road easy, and also helps with gathering the rear end up when you decide to turn all the driver aids off. In the F8, the EPAS system feels as though it’s been recalibrated to offer some additional weight compared to other models in the Ferrari range, but to say it offers detailed feedback would be untrue. After a few miles you learn to build a rhythm with it, and the car never feels anything other than light on its feet. The nose tucks in to corners and you can feel the mass rotating around you, which again is the mark of well-balanced chassis. The body control is also kept in check, but it does roll about a bit more than a 720S Spider. Having said that, if dynamic
superiority is of the utmost importance to you, then you should probably be opting for a Tributo over a Spider. Overall, though, the drop-top F8 is a beautifully judged road car and when the sun’s out, there are few cars on the planet you would rather be driving. When you’re not exploring the performance envelope, the F8 is pleasingly refined at normal road speeds. Key to this is the famous bumpy road button on the steering wheel which slackens off the suspension irrespective of which driving mode you’re in. It lends the car a suppleness, an ease of use that’s not normally associated with supercars of this calibre, and when you’re attacking a country road, the additional give in the suspension offers you the confidence to push on. With the roof off, the extra 93 million miles of headroom means you benefit from fantastic all-round visibility, as well as direct access to the V8 soundtrack. On the one hand it’s
The interior in the Ferrari F8 is made with the finest materials
Spot the yellow prancing horse
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a driver’s car, but on the other it’s usable for long trips and leisurely Sunday drives, if that’s your kind of thing. The habitability doesn’t stop at how well engineered the package is. The cabin is also a beautiful place to spend time. I won’t drone on about how Ferrari interiors suffer from poor ergonomics because it’s now par for the course, however, something you can’t fault is the sheer quality of it. With a starting price of £225,897 – our test car was optioned to £327,153 – you would hope that you’re getting the finest materials included in your purchase, and fortunately, that’s what Ferrari offer. The Nero leather with yellow stitching complimented the Giallo Modena paint perfectly. There was Alcantara for the lower dash and door handles, and titanium for the air vents. The unlacquered carbon fibre was smooth to the touch and a welcome departure from
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the glossy finishes found elsewhere. On first acquaintance, you would be forgiven for fearing the seats will leave you with chronic back ache, given how firm they are, but in reality, they’re supportive long distance companions. I spent much of my weekend in the car and not once did the seat cause me any discomfort. The infotainment takes some time to learn given you can access various menus using the main 10.1-inch touchscreen display, but also operate the same functions from the two screens that flank the central rev counter. Once you learn its idiosyncrasies, you’ll be fine, but it does require some spare time and a cup of coffee to figure out. Trying to educate yourself on the move isn’t something you want to be doing. That aside, the system is attractively designed with neat graphics, and the central rev counter with the prancing horse logo is
“Quite simply, the gearbox is in a class of one. The changes have race car levels of snap”
a special thing to observe. The interior in general is a special place to be, and if you’re someone who likes to be seen in a car, then a yellow F8 Spider is as much of a statement as any vehicle. Given the amount of time we’ve spent with the McLaren 720S, it’s easy to drive the F8 and make meaningful comparisons. Ultimately, however, a group test including a Lamborghini Huracán Evo would be needed to draw any conclusions as to which car is best. In isolation though, the Ferrari F8 Spider is an incredibly special machine. It provokes an emotional response, and not just because of sweet teenage memories, but because it dazzles and charms its way in to your heart with its care free demeanour and sense of fun. Sure, you can take an F8 to a track and lay down some serious lap times, but as far as road going supercars are concerned, it is a beautifully judged and utterly wonderful car to drive.
FACING FACTS
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The all-new BMW M3 Competition has arrived on test to silence the haters and restore order to the motoring world, but can it? WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Dom Ginn
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ew cars come with more hype and expectation than an all-new BMW M3, and in the case of the G80, even fewer have been shrouded in as much controversy – something about vertical kidney grilles. Like many when they first saw the press images, I held my head in my hands and wondered what on earth BMW were thinking, but I’m delighted to report that I was wrong to jump the gun before actually seeing it in the metal. Let’s be straight. It is not a pretty car, but then it clearly wasn’t designed to be. What it is, is striking, aggressive and thought provoking. In its entirety it is quite a thing to behold with its hunkered down stance, thick tyres and quad tailpipes, but the face is the talking point. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I spent a considerable amount of my time with the M3 asking people what they thought of the appearance, and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive. It would appear then, BMW has pulled a blinder, but then they have a habit of doing that. To say it’s the best looking M3 ever would be a stretch – to me, that honour belongs to the E46 – but I suspect the G80 will age well. Enough of how it looks. That’s now old news. There is much substance to discuss, so let’s get in to it. UK buyers are now solely able to purchase the M3 in Competition spec which means we only have access to the most powerful variant with the eight-speed ZF. Customers living in other territories can buy a less potent, nonCompetition model with a manual gearbox which has annoyed a minority of UK buyers. Enthusiasts love a manual ‘box and 3 pedals, but most people who buy these cars opt for the auto so it didn’t make sense for BMW to offer the lesser powered variant on our shores. As is now tradition with M cars, there are multiple driver settings and you can configure them to your liking via the setup button on the centre console, and then save you preferred settings using the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel. Engine, chassis, steering and braking are all individually adjustable, as is the gearbox. How you set the car up is down to you, but for context, I configured the M1 button as a default lazy setting, and M2 as a full-on attack mode. There’s also an M Traction control system that allows you to select different levels of stability management and it’s coupled to a drift analyser that will rate each of your attempts at drifting. I hope you like paying for rear tyres. The engine – codename S58 for all you engine designation geeks – is a reworked version of the B58 motor from the F80 M3. Fundamentally, it’s the same twin-turbo, 3.0 litre straight-six, but with larger mono-scroll turbos, 3D printed cylinder heads and a crank taken from the M4 GT3 racer. Outputs now sit at 503bhp and a healthy 479lb ft available from 2,750 – 5,500rpm. Power has
F
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“Enough of how it looks. That’s now old news. There is much substance to discuss”
We love green cars, and the Isle of Man Green paint may just be one of the best colours we’ve seen yet
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been creeping upwards with successive generations of M3 and I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that it now has enough, especially when you consider it’s still being sent to the rear wheels. Something else that has jumped up is the weight, with the car now coming in at 1,730kg unladen – more on that later. For now though, you’ll be unsurprised to hear that it’s a very fast car. Zero to 62mph happens in 3.9 seconds and the top speed is still restricted to 155mph. It’s one of those cars that can catch you off-guard with how fast it’s travelling, which in part is thanks to the considerable serving of mid-range shove and the sharp throttle response. In typical turbocharged fashion, it doesn’t reward you for discovering the extremities of the rev-band. The cut-out is 7,200rpm, but you’re better off changing up a couple of hundred RPM shy of the limiter. Thanks to ever-annoying emissions legislation, the
noise is very subdued, but BMW has tried to remedy this by pumping some sound in to the cabin. It still has that lovely, smooth, sixcylinder soundtrack, but it is comparatively quiet and the exhaust doesn’t make any interesting noises to compensate. Expect to see G80s with aftermarket exhausts in due course. The most controversial part of the package is the gearbox. The old sevenspeed twin-clutch has been shelved in favour of a torque converter. I’m happy to admit that the DCT wasn’t the most refined transmission on sale, but the gear changes were whipcrack fast which complemented the immediacy with which an M car should react. In comparison, the eight-speed ZF is tardy and even though it’s a more liveable gearbox, it doesn’t respond the way you want it to. Pull a paddle for a down-shift and you’re left waiting a fraction longer than you should be, and when changing
Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 8/10 | Engine
| Power
| 2,993cc 6-cyl twin-turbo | 503bhp @ 5,600rpm
| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 479lb ft @ 2,750rpm
| 3.9 secs
| 155mph
| 1,730kg
| £74,000
Sometimes, simpler interiors are better
The M3’s cabin was dripping in carbon fibre
up, the hesitation interrupts your rate of acceleration, albeit for just a split second. Perhaps, BMW will recalibrate the software to sharpen it up a little, but as it stands, it’s something of a weak link in an otherwise engaging package. If this was a school report, the powertrain would be awarded a B+, but the chassis is A* all day, every day. Approach a corner, turn the thick steering wheel and watch the front end go exactly where you want it to. You can then use the throttle to get the rear rotated neatly in to the corner. You don’t need to turn all the driver aids off and go drifting to discover how well balanced the chassis is, it’s there for you to feel every time your turn the wheel. Despite the portly kerbweight, the M3 feels light on its feet. You could be mistaken for thinking it weighs 200 kilos less than what the spec sheet claims and that’s not an exaggeration. The only thing that gives it away is some body roll, but it’s very well managed and lateral movement is great for judging how much grip you’re using. Speaking of grip, the rear wheels are wrapped in chunky 285-section Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, and it has 275s up front. They cling to the road like a child squeezing its mother’s hand, and are the reason why the rear wheels are able to deal with considerable power and torque. The steering is one of the best EPAS systems on sale with plenty of weight and, rare as it is for electronically assisted steering, some feedback of the road surface. It’s not overly detailed, but you can pick up more obvious changes in the texture of the road and you always know what the front wheels are up to. Overall, there’s great connection front to rear, and every input you make feels meaningful. The brakes are huge 400mm steel discs at the front and 380mm at the rear with buckets of stopping power and a pedal with plenty of feel. The entire package is wonderfully cohesive, from the chassis balance, to the steering, the braking and the grip levels. It all gels and gives you great confidence behind the wheel. I also don’t mind the extra weight. If the car felt lethargic it would be a problem, but it doesn’t and the extra mass gives the G80 some sure-footedness where the F80 sometimes felt spikey. BMW know a thing or two about great driving positions, and the M3 Competition does not buck the trend. You sit nice and low and there’s plenty of options for adjustment from the seat and wheel. Our test car came with the optional ‘M Carbon Pack’ which included carbon fibre bucket seats and some exterior carbon. The seats are a very special item. At first glance you assume they’re uncomfortable given the aggressive bolstering and how slender the padding looks, but once you’re nestled in, they offer endless support in all the right places and are comfortable over long stints behind the wheel. The only caveat is getting in and out of them which is made difficult by how tall the side bolsters are.
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“It all gels and gives you great confidence behind the wheel”
The rest of the cabin is classic BMW. Where Mercedes and Audi now dazzle you with much tech and many screens, BMW keep it simple with one infotainment screen and a digital instrument binnacle. There are quite a lot of buttons scattered around, but ergonomically it works and scrolling through the iDrive infotainment system is as simple as it always has been. Everything is wrapped in leather – oddly, no Alcantara was present – and there was a fair smattering of carbon fibre about the place. When you’re not hooning around, the M3 is a pleasant car to live with and the wellexecuted cabin is a fantastic place to cover miles from. The new BMW M3 Competition is a very well rounded performance car, and such breadth of ability also attracts a well rounded price tag. It costs £74,000 before options and our test car which was dripping in carbon fibre goodies came in at £86,745. But of course, no one will actually pay that. Instead, it costs a deposit plus x-amount
per month. The balloon payment? I’m yet to meet someone who’s ever paid one. BMW offer very competitive finance deals, so despite the considerable price, expect to see lots of them on the road. Another reason we’ll see plenty of new M3s on the road is because it is quite the weapon. Once you’ve seen and driven it, you quickly forget all the controversies surrounding it. What should be of greater concern to people who are passionate about cars is the relentless march towards electrification, and the fact that BMW has been generous enough to give us another six-cylinder M3 is a gift. It’s no secret that the next Mercedes-AMG C63 is going to be powered by a four-cylinder hybrid motor, and when that eventuality is realised, I suspect more people are going to jump ship and buy M3s instead. If the future is to be all-electric, then BMW might just be the final bastion of the petrol-powered performance saloon car. Buy one. You’ll be doing your bit for car enthusiasts everywhere.
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DRIVER’S AUDI Does the transformation from quattro to rear-wheel drive make the Audi R8 more of a driver’s car? We road test it to find out.
WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Ryan Hudson
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ho remembers the Audi R8 RWS? It was a run of R8 V10s limited to just 999 rearwheel drive cars that Audi offered prior to updating the model range in 2017. The RWS must have been well received, because now you can purchase a more appropriately named RWD (Rear Wheel Drive) model without having to worry about your Audi dealer running out of stock. The RWD now represents the entry point to the Audi R8 range, and if the more exotic Lamborghini Huracán Evo RWD is anything to go by, it might just be the one to go for. On paper, this is a very simple car to get your head round. Audi have done away with the front driveshaft and stripped 65 kilos from the kerbweight, which brings it down to 1,595kg. It has passive damping, a mechanical differential, and
w
the same naturally aspirated 5.2 litre V10 engine we’ve come to love. The motor has been detuned so it now produces a ‘lowly’ 533bhp at 7,900rpm and 398lb ft. at 6,400rpm, and if you were hoping for a manual gearbox then you’ll be disappointed to discover that Audi hasn’t seen fit to offer the RWD with one. For context, we spent some time with the range-topping V10 Performance a couple of weeks before this road test, an exercise which helped shed some light on how the entry level RWD slots in to the product range. It may be down 29bhp on a V10 quattro and a whopping 79bhp down on the Performance model, but once you’re rolling, it doesn’t feel like you’re giving away as much power as the spec sheet suggests. The Performance variant is still faster, make no mistake, but the RWD’s lower kerbweight offsets some of the power difference, so
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“This V10 is one of the great internal combustion engines”
you’re never left feeling short changed. Zero to 62mph is seen in 3.7 seconds and the top speed is 199mph. Like with any R8 though, it’s the way the car deploys its speed that is most satisfying. The atmospheric engine crescendos as it approaches its 8,700rpm limiter, V10 screaming away behind you. It offers everything you expect from a normally aspirated motor with its crisp throttle response, linear delivery and climatic top-end. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This V10 is one of the great internal combustion engines and we must protect it at all costs. We love irresponsible amounts of power as much as the next car enthusiast, but in the real world, 533bhp is more than ample and feels like the right amount of poke for the package. You would think sending all that power to the rear wheels would leave
the R8 feeling a little wayward, but Audi has worked on the stability management to ensure that it retains its reputation for accessible performance. With all the systems on, you could be forgiven for thinking you’re driving an R8 endowed with quattro, given its ability to lay all the power efficiently to the road. But a tap of the ESC-off button backs the traction control off allowing you some slip, and a longer press disengages all the driver aids. Now we’re talking. I’ll admit to cautiously approaching the R8 with the driver aids disabled. The Lamborghini Huracán Evo RWD with which it is closely related is a highly exciting but snappy car to manage, but fortunately, the Audi doesn’t possess the Lambo’s thirst for bloodshed. Instead, a stab of the throttle and a handful of steering lock manifests itself as manageable oversteer, and you can ease out the throttle and wind on the
Naturally aspirated with 10 cylinders. Perfect.
opposite lock gradually to help neutralise the slide. It will also skid on demand whereas other cars require bullying in to doing anything interesting. For anyone who has complained about the R8 having a benign chassis, the RWD goes some way to debunking the idea. Granted, it’s not the sharpest tool in the supercar box, but there’s a lovely, approachable, mid-engine balance to it that’s begging to be exploited. Another upshot of removing the front driveshaft is that some of the weight has come off the nose. Weight distribution is now 40:60 front to rear, making the RWD a more direct car than its quattro siblings. Indeed, turn in is a little crisper, but the steering still feels vague and in typical fast Audi style, it will push on if you get greedy with your entry speed. Generally, though, the R8 remains fast but safe, and only when you really push the performance envelope does it begin to lose some composure. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox continues to impress with its rapid gear changes, and the steel brakes have more than enough stopping power for road use. There are multiple driving modes available which include comfort, auto, dynamic, and individual. In comfort, the Audi R8 is a remarkably inoffensive car, not just by supercar standards, but by any measure. In day-to-day driving, you could easily forget that you have a big V10 engine behind you, and the ride quality is sublime for a car with this much performance and ability. People preach about how usable modern supercars are, but in truth, daily driving them can still be something of a chore. An R8, however, can be used all day, every day, without fail. Interestingly, the usability doesn’t take away from how special it is to drive. The cabin is really starting to show its age, but there’s something about rolling around in a V10 supercar that never gets old. Speaking of the cabin, it’s still very well appointed with quality materials. There’s nothing particularly exciting about it, but you know you’re getting solid build quality and a first-rate infotainment system. It may be getting a little old now, but I still think this implementation of Audi’s Virtual Cockpit with the nav included in the instrument cluster is one of their best, to date. Very rarely are your eyes off the road which is important when you have so much performance at your disposal. If you’re going to spec anything here, make it the Bang and Olufsen Sound system. It may be an additional £1,895 but the options list is sparse so consider the fact you’re saving money elsewhere and get the high end sound system. Top tip if you’re in the market for a V10 Performance. They come as standard with the R8 bucket seat, but you should definitely option the normal sports seats back in at no extra cost. The problem with the bucket is that it’s fixed, whereas the sport seat is comfier and has more options
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Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 8/10 | Engine
| Power
| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 5,204cc V10
| 533bhp @ 7,900rpm
| 398lb ft @ 6,400rpm
| 3.7 secs
| 199mph
| 1,595kg
| £115,185
“A stab of the throttle and a handful of steering lock manifests itself as manageable oversteer”
for adjustment, making it easier to pick your preferred driving position. It goes without saying then, spending £3,000 to upgrade to the buckets in the RWD is a waste of money. The Audi R8 RWD is an easy recommendation. Prices start from £115,185 for the coupe and £123,875 for the Spyder. In terms of price, its closest competition is the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S and MercedesAMG GT, both of which undercut the R8 on paper but can easily bridge that gap once options are included. Conversely, Audi has limited how much you can spec the RWD to help it maintain it’s position as the entrylevel R8. If you want a rear-wheel drive V10 supercar then your only other option is the Lamborghini Huracán Evo RWD which is a far less forgiving car. But then, it does have another 70bhp and weighs around 200kg less. It’s also another £50,000, give or take. All things considered, the R8 RWD occupies a class of its own. If you can easily live without the top-spec Performance model, then in our opinion the more affordable RWD car is the Audi R8 to go for.
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APOLOGY
Rejoice! The Porsche 718 Cayman GTS is now available with a flatsix engine. We celebrate with a road test. WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Dom Ginn apple and Samsung’s recent decision to remove the charging brick from the box when you buy a new phone has been controversial, to say the least. Of course, both companies have attempted to justify their actions by suggesting the move will help to reduce e-waste and therefore save the planet and the human species from its imminent demise. If you want a new phone charger, you now have to buy it separately, and needless to say, large tech companies are very good at up-selling you in to something you never thought you would actually need. However, the philosophy behind taking something away and then blaming the state of our environment is nothing new, and when Porsche released the 718 Cayman and Boxster a few years back, that’s precisely what they did. The trade-off for leaner fuel
A
bills and fewer emissions was the loss of two cylinders. Yep, Porsche replaced their famous flat-six engine with 2.0 and 2.5 litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged motors for the 718 range. This sacrilegious act had the car community spitting feathers like a fox regurgitating an overweight pigeon, and left the Germans with no choice but to make a U-turn. The flat-six was reinstated for the Cayman GT4 and 718 Spyder, and then only months later, it made its way downstream to the GTS models. Praise the Lord. Cards on the table. We tested the 4-cylinder Cayman a couple of years back and actually quite enjoyed it. It’s still a good sports car and if you hadn’t driven the 6-cylinder previously then you couldn’t miss what you never had. But diving in to the latest GTS 4.0 highlights why you should skip the lesser variants if possible. Swapping out the motor isn’t just a heart transplant,
LETTER
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“It asks you to work for the performance and then rewards you for it”
Few things are more satisfying than wringing out every last RPM and reaching for a new gear, just to repeat the process
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it brings with it a complete change in personality and adds a level of excitement that the smaller engines can’t match. The engine in the GTS is a masterpiece. A mid-mounted, naturally aspirated, 4.0 litre flat-six that produces 395bhp at a lofty 7,000rpm, and 310lb ft between 5,000 and 6,500rpm. It delivers everything you want from a nat-asp motor. Instant throttle response, linear power delivery and a climatic top end. It asks you to work for the performance and then rewards you for it as it howls its way to just shy of 8,000rpm. Zero to 62mph in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 182mph seem like par for sportscar course, and in truth, it feels like the correct amount of performance for the public road, but the real delight is found in wringing out every last rpm and working your way through the six-speed manual gearbox. GTS 4.0 comes as standard with the
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manual box and PDK is optional, but if you actually care about driving you should grab the one that comes with three pedals. It’s not a gearbox without its quirks though, and there are a couple of issues concerning the long gearing and heavy clutch. If the ratios were shorter, you would be able to test the extremities of the rev range on a more regular basis. Fortunately, the engine offers up a healthy serving of mid-range poke so you’re never left without performance irrespective of which gear you’re in, but some shorter gearing would still be welcome. The clutch is also noticeably heavy. When you get busy on a backroad you soon become accustomed to it, but when you’re using the Cayman for daily activities, operating the third pedal does become something of a chore. Generally, though, the six-speed manual with its short throw and rifle bolt feel is
GTS logos are everywhere in the cabin
Is that a manual gearbox we see?
a real highlight of the package and adds a dimension of involvement that even the best dual-clutch transmissions can’t replicate. And engagement is what the Cayman does best. On the right piece of road in dry conditions, this is a sports car that inspires confidence and immerses you in the action of driving. The mid-engine chassis is beautifully balanced. It doesn’t rotate on demand like a BMW M2 Competition, but it will still play the hooligan when you get the mass moving, and there’s reasonable margin for error should you let the rear run away with you. On a technical piece of road, the front end tucks in to corners, the rear follows faithfully, and you can feel the car pivot around you. There’s a little roll in the chassis which helpfully communicates how much of the tyre you’re leaning on, but you have to be taking real liberties before it starts understeering in to the nearest hedge. As standard, it comes with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) which gives you adaptive dampers and lowers the ride height by 20mm, as well as the Sport Chrono Pack which allows you to cycle through normal, sport, sport +, and individual driving modes. Whichever mode you’re in, the GTS feels composed and sure-footed over a bumpy road, and even in it’s firmer setting the ride is never crashy. All of that composure is met with pinpointaccurate steering and a brake pedal with plenty of feel. It ebbs and flows down a road, and there’s a real sense that it reacts with immediacy to your inputs. You can’t help but feel at one with it. The cabin is also driver-centric. It’s not overloaded with fancy screens, buttons or technology. It’s simple and offers everything you need, not what it thinks you might want. The driving position is as perfect as any I’ve sat in with loads of adjustment and the ability to get low in with the centre of gravity, and the manual gearstick is always to hand. The infotainment screen measures a modest 7-inches and I’ll be honest, I didn’t spend much time exploring the system because I was too busy having fun. It’s there, it does the job, and I’m sure that’s how most GTS drivers will view it. One thing that can’t be overlooked though, is the fit and finish of the cabin. It may be simple, one would argue dated, but the quality of the materials and the precision with which it’s made is undeniable. The leather, Alcantara, and tight fit scream quality, and the Porsche pop-out cupholders continue to be a small but ingenious innovation that never fails to satisfy. Porsche have towed the line between giving you everything you need without distracting you from the business of driving, and they’ve done it well. If you want a sports car made by Porsche then the Cayman GTS 4.0 is an easy choice over a 911. GT models aside, the 911 is a far more mature proposition and if outright fun is what you seek, then the Cayman is what you should buy. At just under £65,000
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“It ebbs and flows down a road, and there’s a real sense that it reacts with immediacy to your inputs” the GTS also undercuts the GT4 with which it shares its engine by around £10,000, and you can also walk in to a dealer and buy one whereas a GT4 is much more difficult to get your hands on. The four-cylinder Caymans still have their place in the range, but GTS 4.0 is a better car, end of story. Objectively, it’s also a more immersive car than a BMW M2 Competition. You get where we’re going with this … if you’re in to driving, then the Porsche Cayman GTS is a car that should be high on your list for consideration. It also feels like a bit of an apology letter to the enthusiasts. People were really angry when the 718 Cayman and Boxster were
introduced with four-cylinder engines, and bowing to the pressure shows that Porsche value their customer base at a time when other manufacturers are too busy pushing products that meet current and future legislation. Cayman GTS 4.0 is a car that’s been pushed out by an engineering department, not a marketing team, and even though Porsche is investing heavily in to EV and hybrid powertrains, cars like the GTS, manual 911 and the latest GT3 show that they have little interest in giving up on what makes the brand special. Thank you, Porsche.
Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 9/10 | Engine
| Power
| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 3,995cc 6-cylinders
| 395bhp @ 7,000rpm
| 310lb ft @ 5,000rpm
| 4.5 secs
| 182mph
| 1,405kg
| £64,480
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PEAK HOT HATCH
It’s the return of the ultimate do-everything hot hatchback. Can the new Mk8 VW Golf R continue to dominate the hot hatch class? WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Harry Hartland
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ou can buy a lot of car for £45,000. A quick search through Autotrader will churn out more used BMW M cars and AMG-spec Mercs than you can shake a stick at, many of which will be dealer certified with attractive mileage. Feeling exotic? You can even pick up an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio with a Ferrari-derived V6 engine, for that kind of cash. Then there’s the first-gen Audi R8s and Nissan GTRs of this world. You get the picture. There are many notable performance vehicles available at that price point. I often shy away from new and used price comparisons when road testing a brand new car. There are always price sensitive variables to consider like running costs and the fact you benefit from favourable finance rates and manufacturer warranties when buying new. But when I realised the new VW Golf R started from £39,295 and that our test car with spec came in at £44,945, I started wondering why you would buy one when there’s so many other options available for the money? Another thing that’s bothering me is the apparent increase in price over the old model. When the Mk7 went on sale it started from around £31,000 and you could pick one up for £35,000 with some desirable options included. I know in later life it became more expensive, but now you’re looking at paying forty to fortyfive grand for a Golf, even if it is an R. It’s a lot of money, so how does it justify its considerable price tag? Let’s get straight to the point, it’s a very good car, but you knew that anyway. The Mk7 sold well and the Mk8 continues the lineage with all the speed, competence and usability that made the old one such a hit. There’s nothing offensive about a Golf R. Spec it in a neutral colour and you can drive around relatively unnoticed. The 18-inch wheels, silver mirror caps and quad exhausts are a bit of a giveaway, but if you’re approaching it head-on or viewing it in your rear view mirror, you need to know what you’re looking at to discern it from other variants in the Golf line up. Pick a fight with it, however, and it will leave you red faced for dismissing it as another R-Line spec car. It has bundles of performance available and because it uses a clever four-wheel drive system, it can deploy its speed in even the most challenging of road conditions. Power comes curtesy of a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder turbocharged engine which makes 316bhp and 310lb ft. It’s distributed by a seven-speed DSG auto and the 4MOTION four-wheel drive system has R Performance torque vectoring which can shuffle the torque between the front and rear axles, and even send 100% of it to the rear outside wheel to help get it turned in to corners. Zero to 62mph is dealt with in 4.7 seconds and the top speed is limited to 155mph.
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The Golf R gets 18-inch alloy wheels as standard
As expected, the cabin is exceptionally well built
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Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 7/10 | Engine
| Power
| 1,984cc 4-cylinder turbo | 316bhp @ 5,200rpm
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| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 310lb ft @ 2,100rpm
| 4.7 secs
| 155mph
| 1,476kg
| £39,295
Included on our test car was adaptive suspension – called Dynamic Chassis Control – which offers Normal, Sport, Race and Individual driving modes. The car starts up in Sport but Race is the one you want for exuberant driving. It feels more accelerative than a Honda Civic Type R which is a quick car, although it isn’t as rewarding to take to the rev limiter. In the Golf, you marvel at how usable it is in wet weather and appreciate how hunkered down it feels when pushing on. It’s a touch front-limited but when you do start to run wide, you can lean on the throttle and feel the torque vectoring work its magic as it sends power to the front wheels to haul you out the corner. It’s spookily effective but lacks the crispness and adjustability of the frontwheel drive Honda with its mechanical LSD. The steering is light off-centre but weights up as you apply some lock. Sometimes
it feels a little too heavy when the front wheels are loaded up, but it’s undeniably accurate. The brakes now measure 357mm at the front and offer plenty of stopping performance and the DSG gearbox shifts through cogs with zero interruption. It’s crisp on the down change, too, and every so often you get a pop and bang from the exhaust as a reward for your efforts. The Golf R offers safe, exploitable performance that can be summoned on a whim and will suit the majority of people who like to drive but aren’t out-and-out driving enthusiasts. The interior is what you would call hit and miss. VW has taken a minimalist approach to the cabin design which is attractive to look at but not very intuitive. Apparently, physical buttons have no place in the Golf, VW instead opting to use touch pads with haptic feedback which are less tactile and open up a world of accidental
selections. A lot of the functionality now lives in the infotainment system and its many menus, meaning you’re required to go searching for simple controls like turning off the annoying lane assist, which is something you have to do every time you start the car. The infotainment system itself has sharp graphics, but it could definitely do with a faster processer or software update because it lags harder than a 90s turbocharged supercar caught off-boost. Things that we liked were the comfy and well-bolstered bucket seats, the welljudged driving position, and the fit and finish. It should come as no surprise that the cabin was immaculately put together and felt as though it could outlive a donkey. There were some cheaper plastics knocking around, but generally the quality was high and the touchpoints were soft. We must revisit the original question.
Should you buy one? In isolation, it’s a very good car and you wouldn’t be disappointed with your purchase, but it is expensive. For roughly the same price, you could purchase a new Mercedes-AMG A35 which has similar performance, a highly desirable badge, and a more luxurious interior. Or you could take the plunge and buy a high performance car on the used market, although financially, it would cost you more money per month and would be pricier to run. If you want a refined, do-everything hot hatch then the Golf R still comes highly recommended. However, the price is becoming difficult to accept, and the cabin and infotainment system require a rethink. I’m sure VW will offer some attractive finance deals and sell plenty of them, but the old car was a roaring success and I don’t think the Mk8 will capture the market in quite the same way as its predecessor.
SAME BUT DIFFERENT
The age-old saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” hasn’t stopped Honda from updating the FK8 Civic Type R. Has the risk paid off? WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Harry Hartland
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he FK8 Honda Civic Type R is a car we know intimately after spending three months with it in 2020. Later that year, Honda refreshed the model by adding some subtle styling tweaks – not that there’s anything subtle about the way the Type R looks – and some changes to the way it drives. The FK8 was hardly in need of an update to begin with. It offered everything you want from a hot hatchback: power to the front wheels, limited slip differential, six-speed manual gearbox, an engine with upwards of 300bhp, the list goes on. As a driver’s car, it was as brilliant as fast family hatches get, so messing with the recipe runs the risk of undoing Honda’s great work. One area that remains untouched is the engine. It still packs the same turbocharged 2.0 litre 4-cylinder VTEC motor. The outputs of 316bhp and 295lb ft remain unchanged
as does the zero to 62mph time of 5.7 seconds and the 169mph top speed. As a result, it performs just as it did before with turbo boost at 3,000 rpm and VTEC from 6,000rpm which allows the engine to pull all the way to the limiter at 7,000rpm. Something it never needed was more power, especially when you consider it’s front-wheel drive, but also because it felt like the correct amount of performance for the package. You can still get on the power early as you whip round corners, using the magic of the limited slip-diff to pull you round and slingshot you down the road. The front-end adjustability of the FK8 is its greatest asset and helps separate it from its all-wheel drive competition. Instead, Honda has got to work on widening the differences between the driving modes. It still has comfort, sport and +R, but the racier mode now feels like
a track-only set up when before you could get away with using it on the public road. A drive along one of our regular test routes exposed how much firmer the refreshed Type R is. It’s always been taught, but stiffening it further has taken away some of the compliance and I found myself having to back off on certain roads where previously I had the confidence to carry the speed. Instead of settling after encountering a large bump, it was deflected off-line and then momentarily struggled to regain its composure. I also don’t like the extra sound being pumped in to the cabin in the +R mode. It’s a bit contrived when you consider a Type R is the purist’s choice in the hot hatch market. The sport setting once again represents something of a sweet spot for road use with its heightened responsiveness, sharpened dynamics and increased steering weight. The steering
calibration has also had a going over. It’s now weightier than before and requires a little more effort to turn. It’s one of those things that you quickly get used to but is something that never needed improving in the first place. The brake pedal still feels strong and progressive, and overall, the revisions have made for a car that turns with a little more keenness than it did before. Understeer and Type R have never been words you could reasonably include in the same sentence, and this refreshed model takes it another step on. The great news is, when you just want to use the Civic as a daily driver, comfort mode slackens off the suspension and increases refinement. Apart from the usual running expenses, a Type R is just as useable as a normal Civic with plenty of space for five people and a truly cavernous boot. Some revisions have also been made to
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“The revisions have made for a car that turns with a little more keenness”
Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 9/10 | Engine
| Power
| 1,995cc 4-cyl turbo VTEC | 316bhp @ 6,000rpm
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| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 295lb ft @ 3,000rpm
| 5.7 secs
| 169mph
| 1,397kg
| £34,415
Not sure about blue paint and red seats ...
The new gear stick screams EP3
the cabin. The steering wheel is now trimmed in Alcantara – thumbs up for that – the infotainment screen has been given some much-needed physical buttons, and the metal gear knob has been changed from the ball shape in the previous car to a teardrop for full-on EP3 vibes. I know this is subjective, but I personally prefer the old ball-style gear knob. I know there’s a nostalgic element to the teardrop and I’m sure Honda can justify it from an ergonomic point of view, but I loved the way the old one sat perfectly in the palm of my hand, and the new item just doesn’t give me that same satisfaction. Something that can never be denied is the quality of the shift though. It’s become a Type R hallmark with its rifle-bolt action and short throw, and is by far one of the best manual gearboxes in any car, perhaps even the best. The rest of the cabin is the same as before. The build quality is good, the infotainment system less so. The materials for the main touch points are deliberately inspiring, and the Recaro bucket seats and driving position continue to delight. The Type R range has changed slightly. Prices start from £34,415 and you pay an additional £2,000 for the GT-spec car which comes with most of the available optional extras included. However, if you want the Type R experience without the giant rear wing and some less aggressive road tyres, you can now purchase a Sport Line model which starts from £35,400. Honda also made 1,020 track-spec Limited Edition variants, only 20 of which have come to the UK. Needless to say, they’re all sold, but we should be getting our hands on one later in the year. Honda could have easily made some minor visual tweaks, introduced the new model variants and left it at that. However, the FK8 is a car that’s been put out by an engineering team not a marketing department and so the urge to fettle with it was all too much for them. Objectively, they’ve improved it. It could still benefit from some individually adjustable suspension, particularly now that +R mode is off-limits unless you’re on a track, but fundamentally it is still the driver’s choice in the hot hatch market and the one that gets my recommendation.
“The Recaro bucket seats and driving position continue to delight” ISSUE 11 > ROAD TEST
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FINAL FAREWELL With the all-new Artura coming later this year, we wave goodbye to the McLaren Sports Series line up with a drive in the 620R.
WORDS: Mark Rose wise person on a motivational YouTube video once told me that excitement and nervousness occupy the same feeling in your stomach. Since that single moment of enlightenment, I’ve told myself how exciting a situation is every time I feel the nerves beginning to swirl. A couple of months ago, I had the short lived, albeit exciting opportunity to drive the McLaren 620R after spending a bit of time having a look around the all-new Artura. Driving the most extreme version of the outgoing 570S is something of a paradox when you consider the car that replaces it, the Artura, represents McLaren’s next leap in to a hybrid future. I had a pre-planned test route and about an hour behind the wheel, and the reason I was nervous was because the 620R isn’t just a balls out, trackspec 570S, but a proper McLaren GT4 racing car converted for road use. It is quite simply the embodiment of the old saying “a race
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car for the road.” This had me sweating for two main reasons. The first was how low it was and how much carbon fibre it was carrying. The likelihood of smashing the front splitter over speed bumps and crap bits of road was high, and if I done a good enough job, McLaren probably wouldn’t have been too happy with me. The second thing concerned my back. Ride quality can be questionable in track-focussed road cars, but the thought of taking an actual racing car on the public highway had me wondering if my spine would ever recover from the ordeal. After convincing myself that what I was about to do was exciting, I lowered myself in to the thinly-clad, carbon fibre bucket seat, pulled the door down, strapped up and set off. Let’s cut to the chase. This is as far removed from a daily driver as you could possibly imagine. I’ve driven some hardcore road cars, but the 620R is the most visceral and energy-sapping car I’ve driven to date.
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“Once you find a country road it offers an experience quite unlike anything else”
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It’s also completely wonderful. It’s noisy, you feel every vibration leak in to cabin, you can barely see out of it, it’s a pain in the arse to drive through a town, and the control weights are pure race car. But what an event it is. People look at you as if you belong in a mental hospital, and to be honest, you should be in one if you even attempt at using it regularly. But once you find a country road it offers an experience quite unlike anything else. To my delight, the suspension was kinder to my back than first feared. It’s still very firm and the ride is busy round town, but once you get speed beneath it, it flows down a country road with aplomb. As is the McLaren way, the steering feel is detailed and the stiffness of the carbon fibre monocoque means body roll is practically non-existent. This may be some form of road car, but that hasn’t stopped Woking going all in with the rubber. The 620R wears Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres and they offer astonishing levels of grip. There were a couple of occasions where I took corners at speeds where most ‘normal’ performance vehicles would skate off the road in a world of understeer, but the 620R just went round like it was on rails. McLaren also offer slick Pirelli tyres for when you take the car to a track. As you would expect, straight line performance is also bonkers. It uses the same 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 as the 570S, but in this application it’s tuned to 611bhp and 457lb ft, and it only has to push along 1,282kg. It will rip past 62mph in just 2.8 and see 124mph in 8.1 seconds. Despite the huge rear wing, it will top out at the magical 200mph. On the road, it feels every bit as fast as those numbers suggest, and in typical McLaren fashion, the turbos punch you down the road like a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. The cabin is not a place for long stints behind the wheel. The most you want to do is drive it to a local track and then drive it home, but not much more. Ingress and egress requires moving the seat back and the wheel forward, excessive road noise is present at most speeds, and the roof scoop makes the car sound like Darth Vader. All the controls are recognisable from the 570S so there’s a familiarity to it, but overall, it’s as stripped out as car interiors come. It does get big points for theatrics though! Never have I driven a car that has felt so restrained by the limitations of the public road. To experience it properly requires a track and a set of those super slick tyres. If you’re not Lando Norris, then we’d recommend getting some track tuition to help you get the best from it. Priced from £250,000, it’s also a lot of money for a toy, but if you have the spare money to buy one, then go for it. It’s a complete lunatic of a car to drive, and a fitting send-off for the McLaren Sports Series range. The Artura, for all its next-gen hybrid tech has some very big shoes to fill. The real meaning of race car for the road!
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Groundhog Day Audi A3s are everywhere on UK roads, and for good reason. Can Audi continue that success with the 4th-gen model? WORDS: Blee Carswell PHOTOS: Ryan Hudson
he Audi A3 launched in 1996 and quickly made a name for itself as the go-to desirable hatchback, meaning this, the 4th generation model has some big boots to fill. At a glance it looks as though Audi are picking up where they left off with the new A3, cohesively blending sophistication and sportiness into a familiar but new design. The car tested is in Sport specification meaning it gains a host of grille and bumper treatments and 17-inch wheels as opposed to the 16-inch items on base spec models. Further additions such as 15mm lower suspension come as part of S-Line and Vorsprung spec’d cars, but to my eyes at least, Sport does enough to make the newest A3 appear as desirable as its older kin. Our example is finished in a metallic Atoll Blue paint, it’s a £575 option which sets the car off nicely but raises the on the road price of this example to £26,790. When Audi do interiors, they do them well and the A3 is no exception to this rule. Your attention is immediately grabbed by two 10-inch screens that adorn the dash: behind the steering wheel is Audi’s virtual cockpit housed within a 10.25-inch display and in the middle of the dash, angled slightly towards the driver, is the latest generation MMI system featuring a 10.1inch touchscreen display. Impressively, both screens come as standard across the A3 range, with a 12.3-inch virtual cockpit plus, available on higher trim levels.
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“Making progress in the A3 is a refined and comfortable experience” 72 |
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Technical Specifications / REDLINE RATING 7/10 | Engine
| Power
| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 999cc 3-cylinder turbo
| 108bhp @ 5,500rpm
| 147lb ft @ 2,000rpm
| 10.6 secs
| 126mph
| 1,220kg
| £23,810
The screens offer a wide range of functionality and configurability whilst remaining slick and intuitive to use. On the connectivity side of things, the A3 has you covered. Not only does it feature its own Wi-Fi hotspot and can be unlocked using an app but in certain places (mostly major European cities) the car utilises ‘car-to-X’ services to help find things such as free parking. More interesting to most people though, will be the fact you can hook your phone up via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Quality is high inside with everything you touch feeling premium and well-built. The driving position feels spot on with plenty of adjustment in both the seat and wheel. Personally, I’d avoid the grey leather which gives off doctor’s waiting room vibes and, if I were being picky, storage under the armrest is a bit tight and
the back row could feel more spacious. Talking of space, the A3’s 380 litre boot is par for the course and the movable boot floor is a nice touch. Capacity with the seats down is rated at 1,200 litres. For the most part, making progress in the A3 is a refined and comfortable experience with this model’s standard suspension doing a good job of ironing out imperfections. There is some roll in corners but it isn’t excessive and overall, the A3 handles in a pleasingly predictable way. Autos are available, but a surprise highlight of this car was the 6-speed manual. The positioning of the gearstick in the centre tunnel coupled with a shorter than expected throw, made it a pleasure to use. Unfortunately, similar compliments can’t be directed towards the engine. 30 TFSI models - like the car tested – are fitted with
a 1.0 litre, turbocharged, 3-cylinder engine producing 110hp and 147lb ft of torque which just doesn’t feel enough. Catching the engine off boost results in time standing still before any of the acceleration happens, and revving it out just seems futile. Between 2,000 and 5,000 RPM it’s just about okay and I’ll admit that seeing 59mpg on a gentle 70mph cruise was impressive, but the engines strained nature doesn’t compliment the car. There is an air of sophistication about the way the A3 goes about its business that warrants having some power in reserve. 35 TFSI models come with an extra 500cc and 40hp which should make all the difference. Least powerful models aside, the latest generation Audi A3 is a well-rounded and desirable proposition which has every right to be as successful as its predecessors.
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LESS IS MORE We attend the UK launch of the new MINI Hatch, Electric and Convertible, and grab some seat time in the new Cooper S Sport. WORDS: Nick Ponting
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hether you’re ready for it or not, it’s coming. Quicker than you think and before we know it, it’ll be here. MINI has announced they’ll be the first BMW Group brand to go fully electric in the early 2030’s. But before we get to that, let’s start at the beginning. Cast your mind back to 1959, where the average house price was a mere £2,000 and the original Mini rolled out with a price in its window of £497. 62 years later and ten million vehicles sold worldwide, it’s fair to say this iconic brand certainly found a niche in the market, which resulted in most manufacturers trying to replicate their own versions of an exciting hot hatch. This is the newest version of the current shape MINI Cooper S and at first glance, it does beg the question, what’s new? ‘Less is more’ could have certainly be an appropriate MINI slogan over the years. There’s no denying from any angle this is still very obviously a MINI. It’s iconic shape and bulging circular head lights would give the game away to the most uninterested car enthusiast, but there’s certainly more than meets the eye. The first exterior feature you’ll notice is a wider and more purposeful front bumper. It gives the MINI a stance it’s not had in the current generation. We’ve got used to a curvaceous body but these new angles really transform the front end. On the Cooper S and JCW versions you get a race
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Technical Specifications / FIRST DRIVE | Engine
| Power
| 1,998cc 4-cylinder turbo | 176bhp @ 5,000rpm
“The MINI provides all the usual entertainment and joy that you’d expect”
| Torque
| 0-62mph
| VMAX
| Weight
| Price
| 206b ft @ 1,350rpm
| 6.8 secs
| 146mph
| 1,205kg
| £24,655
style diffuser at the back, running either side of the centrally mounted twin exhaust. Black replaces chrome on the headlight surround and finally, a “global first” according to MINI, is the optional Multi Tone Roof. Hand painted, a wet on wet paint process where each and every roof is unique. Apart from other minor changes the exterior remains very similar. The price list is relatively unchanged across the range with the 3-door Hatch starting at £16,045 and the 5-door £16,745. Jump to the JCW range and by time you’re selecting all the popular options you could find yourself well over £30,000. Getting behind the wheel and out on the road, the MINI provides all the usual entertainment and joy that you’d expect. Not much has changed and if you closed your eyes (not advisable) you’d be pushed to tell the difference to the previous version. The biggest technical change and available
for the first time in the MINI range is the all new Adaptive Suspension. A system which reduces damper forces by up to 50% within 50 to 100 milliseconds. The brand has always been well known for their go kart feel yet this aims to naturally balance the feel of comfort, agility and sportiness into one. To me and you it’s simply a system which adapts to the condition of the road by opening and closing valves quicker than you can comprehend, to make for a more enjoyable driving experience. The Cooper S Sport we drove had a 2.0 litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine that produced 176bhp and 206lb ft, meaning it went from 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds and could do 146mph. The MINI Cooper has matured over the years into a modern day version of its original predecessor. Much like me sat here writing this, it’s put on some weight, it looks wider but most importantly it’s trying and succeeding to be trendy.
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n the face of it, Valluga Concierge is a race team that competes in Porsche Carrera Cup GB, GT Cup, and the Porsche Cayman Sprint Challenge GB, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find a company that offers multiple services for the discerning car and racing enthusiast. Started by Benji Hetherington in 2018, the former professional racing driver turned entrepreneur has used his in-depth motorsport knowledge to create a business that offers multiple services including race car prep, driver coaching, road to race car conversions, and car storage. The old motorsport adage “win on a Sunday, sell on a Monday” underpins the Valluga way of doing things. While motorsport is an adrenaline-fuelled shop window for the business, the real work goes in to their comprehensive car storage facility. We visited Valluga’s impressive Silverstone premises where their racing and storage operation is run from to catch up with Benji and see what goes in to running and maintaining a car storage facility. Despite the pandemic, the business has grown in the last 18 months, and demand for Valluga’s services has resulted in them having to take on an additional unit to deal with the influx of cars. Needless to say, there’s more to car storage than leaving cars in a warehouse under a cover until the customer comes to collect them. Valluga offer a first-class service that includes secure storage, regular maintenance, onsite valet, and transportation services. They go to extreme lengths to ensure that the customer’s pride and joy is meticulously cared for and remains completely road worthy, for the duration of its stay. The same motorsport mechanics that prep Valluga’s race winning cars are on hand to ensure that client’s cars are maintained to the highest standard which isn’t something that comes with your regular car storage facility. Given Valluga’s background in racing, it comes as no surprise that some of the vehicles currently in their care are of the highest quality. Owners of high performance road cars, thoroughbred racers, and limited run specials trust the Silverstone-based outfit with their assets, and being able to spend time at the premises viewing some of these cars was a treat in itself. Clearly, the focus is on the premium end of the motor industry, but the good news is that Valluga cater for most performance vehicles. Some of the cars currently in storage are built by brands such as Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren and Lotus, showing that despite racing in Porsche specific championships, they have a wide range of expertise covering various marques. It’s clear to see that the love for racing has manifested itself in to the Valluga business, and that clients can expect the same passion to be placed in to the storage and maintenance of their cars.
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If you’re interested in having your road or racing car stored with absolute piece of mind, then please contact the team at Valluga Concierge for more
Valluga Group Ltd Silverstone Park Northampton, NN12 United Kingdom 01327 229 993 info@valluga.co.uk www.valluga.co.uk @thevallugaconcierge
Q&A with Benji Hetherington MR: Why did you start a car storage facility? BH: “Since its inception, Valluga has always been about car management. The racing, someone asks you to store and prepare the car, so you need to have a racing team to look after it. So, that’s why we’ve ended up with a racing profile. But the storage aspect of Valluga is always right at the core of what we do, and essentially, we dovetailed it with the other aspects of the business. It scaled up so quickly that we had a big space issue and then you start to explore how to manage that, but what we realised is that the better we did our job, the more people wanted cars looking after and storing, so we took the decisions to do a dedicated storage proposition.” MR: What are your hopes for this season’s racing? BH: “I wouldn’t say we do everything just to win and to challenge for championships. But certainly, when you’ve got the ability to, through a committed customer, to do it properly from a team’s perspective and they’re doing the right amount of testing and they’re dedicating time to driver coaching and stuff like that, you’ve got to expect you’re doing that for results. If that’s the case, then championships is what you’re aiming for.” MR: You’ve recently entered the new GT Cup series, do you have your eye on any other championships? BH: “Certainly. GT Cup is a bit of precursor to something a little bit more committed, a little bit bigger scale next year with the GT racing. So, there will be a slightly higher profile, committed championship. We’ve got a commitment on that side [British GT] from a customer inside the business and we’re planning for that.” MR: What does the next 5 years for Valluga look like? BH: “Now we’re very settled and the business has a real core client base, and we have a level of activity that is positive and consistent, we want to build on that. Our client base is ever growing and ensuring we can provide them with that bespoke, very dedicated service, is at the forefront of my thinking.
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OUT
And away we go! The 2021 racing season is underway and we’re back with the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Dom Ginn
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Simon Green Motorsport and their Lamborghini Huracán GT3 car
WPI Motorsport won the opening round of the season at Brands Hatch
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or obvious reasons, the 2020 racing season was a bit of a non-event, although there were some highlights, most notably the British GT Silverstone 500. However, we’re pleased to report that racing in 2021 has started with little interruption and that we’re once again covering the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. And where better to kick things off than the world famous Brands Hatch? Some of the greatest drivers in history have raced at Brands, and indeed it was the home of the British Grand Prix on 12 occasions between 1964 and 1986. It’s an iconic venue which has played host to some iconic motorsport moments, and is a perfect place to kick off racing season. Despite some ongoing COVID restrictions, there was a buzz around the paddock as teams and drivers prepared for the first round of the British GT season. Adding to the atmosphere was the presence of spectators, a sight not seen since 2019. Needless to say, it wasn’t what you call a sell-out crowd as we were still in the process of emerging from lockdown, but it was fantastic to see motorsport fans sitting in grandstands and finding space around the perimeter of the circuit, particularly up at the hairpin of Druids. One of the attractions of GT racing is the relevance it has to road cars and the wide selection of manufacturers that are represented. Cars from Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ford, Ginetta, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Toyota make up the championship entries for 2021, meaning that once again British GT will have a full grid and racing fans will be able to watch their favourite cars and drivers battle it out at across GT3 and GT4 classes. Few other championships offer such a diverse range of manufacturers and it’s exciting to watch all the different shapes and colours, and hear all the different sounding engines, pound their way round some of Britain’s best race tracks. Grand Prix fans eat your heart out, if you want V8 and V10 engines, then you need to check out some British GT! The championship is also supported by some other fantastic racing series’ including the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB which our magazine sponsors Valluga Concierge compete in, the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, and the Formula 3 Championship. With so much going on, racing fans attending a British GT event are treated to a full day of highadrenaline motorsport. This year, we’ll be keeping an eye on our friends at Simon Green Motorsport and their drivers Lucky Khera and Ross Wylie. This is the team’s first season in British GT and we’re looking forward to seeing how they get on with their Lamborghini Huracán Evo GT3 car. Two teams to watch out for this season will also be Barwell Motorsport and TF Sport who defend their GT3 and GT4
F
AMG V8 thunder on the charge
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“Grand Prix fans eat your heart out. If you want V8 and V10 engines, then you need to check out some British GT”
team championships respectively. In fact, on the Brands Hatch weekend, British GT organisers SRO Motorsports Group were finally able to present last season’s teams and drivers with their championship winning trophies from 2020. A formality that usually would have been conducted at the annual awards evening, but of course, COVID put a stop to that as well. The Intelligent Money British GT Championship is shaping up for a fantastic 2021 season. Other circuits the series will visit this year include Silverstone for the blue-riband Silverstone 500, Donnington Park, Snetterton, Oulton Park, and the show
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will be taking a trip across the water to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps for Spa Speedweek. That’s seven race weekends and nine rounds of racing – two rounds will be run at both Snetterton and Oulton Park. We’ll be covering all the action in the magazine and on social media when we attend races. If you’re watching from home, you can watch the racing live via the British GT website, Facebook page, and the GT World YouTube channel. It’s free to watch, but we also strongly recommend attending a race weekend to get the full experience. It’s a championship we really enjoy and we can’t wait to see how it progresses over the course of the season.
2021 LOADING
WATCH EVERY RACE LIVE AND FOR FREE ONLINE BRITISHGT.COM
GT WORLD
BRITISH GT R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 & 6 R7 & 8 R9
BRANDS HATCH SILVERSTONE 500 DONINGTON GP SPA SPEEDWEEK SNETTERTON OULTON PARK DONINGTON GP
SRO MOTORSPORTS MAY 22 & 23 JUN 26 & 27 JUL 10 & 11 JUL 24 & 25 AUG 07 & 08 SEP 11 & 12 OCT 16 & 17
1x 2HR 1x 3HR 1x 2HR 1x 2HR 2x 1HR 2x 1HR 1x 2HR
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WORDS - MARK ROSE
BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT Andy Meyrick is the Director of the BRDC SuperStars Programme and plays a supporting role in driver development
We take a look at what the British Racing Driver’s Club is doing to help bring through the next generation of elite-level racers. ave you ever wondered how professional drivers make it to the top levels of motor racing? It’s no secret that a healthy bank balance can get you a very long way in motorsport, and often is the case that young drivers with exceptional ability get overlooked in favour of less talented pilots who bring big backing. All you have to do is look to a certain American Formula One team and their signing of a young Russian with a penchant for pirouetting, as evidence that pay drivers make their way in to every level of racing. It’s comforting to know then, that great work is being done by the British Racing Driver’s Club to ensure that young drivers with immense talent are making it to the sport’s upper echelons. The BRDC SuperStars programme was founded in 2008 by Formula One World Champion and Sky Sports F1 pundit, Damon Hill, alongside his friend Derek Warwick who also had a distinguished career in motorsport with four F1 podiums and the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans win to his name. There’s also an appropriately named Rising Stars programme which scouts young drivers from trackside to help bring through talent, first as a ‘Junior Member’ of the BRDC and then on to full membership as their careers progress. But the SuperStars scheme is for the drivers who the BRDC feel will go on to do great things in motor racing and is only open to handselected members. The programme is represented across various championships including single seaters and GT racing. But what does the scheme actually do to support their young charges? The BRDC is arguably the world’s most prestigious racing driver’s club. Members include a number of ex-F1 drivers and world champions, along with elite-level Sports and GT car racers. A certain 7x Formula One World Champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton is also a member of the BRDC, as well as a raft of pro racing drivers across various categories. Being a BRDC SuperStar in itself is a mark of exceptional talent. Such an accolade opens up opportunities within the world of motorsport, and drivers who are a part of the
H
programme benefit from help with their career progression. Club members are not offered any financial incentive or backing by the BRDC, but needless to say, being a member is a bigger draw for sponsors. The real support comes from the relationship building and mentoring side of the scheme. Andy Meyrick who competes in the LMP3 category of the Le Mans Cup for United Autosports is the Director of the BRDC SuperStars programme and spends a lot of his time working with the drivers, analysing areas they can improve and then arranging for them to attend courses to help with their development. These tailormade plans cover multiple areas including the understanding of data and vehicle dynamics, their fitness and nutrition, how to deal with media and PR, spending time on the simulator, how to communicate with engineers, and business courses to help work with partners and sponsors. Social events are also a big part of the scheme because members can get together to share the experience and knowledge they’ve gleaned, with their fellow racers. Current SuperStars include Sandy Mitchell who claimed last year’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship driver’s title. Callum Ilott is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and is the test and reserve driver for the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo F1 teams. And Dan Ticktum who is currently competing in Formula 2 and is the Williams F1 team’s development and simulator driver. Former members of the programme include current F1 drivers Lando Norris and George Russell. The list of current and former high-profile talent really does go on and the scheme clearly has great track record at bringing through some of the world’s best racing drivers. It’s fantastic to see such talent getting the big breaks they deserve in high level motorsport, and these drivers are there on merit, not because someone has bankrolled their careers. The more high-calibre drivers we see, the more entertaining motorsport becomes for everyone involved, including the most important people, the fans.
“The BRDC is arguably the world’s most prestigious racing driver’s club”
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W W W . S L A M M E D U K . C O . U K
SHOW
Image by Reece Gallacher @shotbyreeceg
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TIME WITH
We attend Cars and Camber FP1 for a morning of race cars, supercars, food, coffee and fun. PHOTOS: Reece Gallacher, Neil Edgley & Harry Hartland
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ar shows are back in business and the 2021 season looks set to be one to remember. Towards the end of May, we attended the inaugural event for Cars and Camber, and what a show it was. The newly formed events company host automotive themed events including shows, meets, driving tours and track days, but with a motorsport twist. Their events don’t just include some of the world’s most desirable performance vehicles, but competition-spec race cars that are raced in championships throughout the UK. ‘FP1’ – a motorsport abbreviation for Free Practice 1 which signifies the opening test session of a race weekend – was the name given to Cars and Camber’s opening event, and they certainly brought the race car vibes. It wasn’t just track-focussed road cars with big wings on display. In attendance was a Ginetta GT4 Supercup car which was supplied by BLG Racing and their driver, Luke War. It was fantastic to see a real thoroughbred racer parked up alongside roadgoing Ferraris, McLarens, Lamborghinis and Porsches, and gave the audience something spectacularly different to ogle over. Car clubs in attendance included Essex Car Meets, Car Collective, The Driver’s Union, Mercedes-Benz Owners Club, the R8 Club, and Flash Cars UK. Elsewhere, there was a huge variety of cars covering hot hatchbacks, modified cars, American muscle, JDM, classics, prestige and luxury vehicles, and supercars. It’s always wonderful to see petrolheads from all walks of life coming together to enjoy everyone’s pride and joy, and that enthusiasm was evident throughout the event. Cars and Camber also ran a show and shine competition which was sponsored by our friends at Buds n Suds. The winning car was a gorgeous Mk2 Ford Escort owned by Stuart Smethurst, who will receive a six month ceramic coating for winning the competition. The entertainment didn’t stop with the cars, either. Cars and Camber pulled out all the stops with a live DJ from Mes Amis Events, professional catering from Stock and Bailey, onsite valet services from Buds n Suds, plus exhibitors offering a range of products and services for the discerning car enthusiast. There was a real party atmosphere for the duration of the show, and to top it off, the Sun came out and gave everyone the best weather of the year to date. No doubt, some people left with a touch of sunburn. Future Cars and Camber events are due to take place on Sunday 11th July, 12th September and 10th October. There are also plans in progress for a large summer show in August at a big venue. To stay up to date with all future events, please follow their Instagram and Facebook pages @ carsandcamberevents. If their first outing was anything to go by, then their next run of shows promises to be even bigger and better.
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Images by Neil Edgley @edgerated_media
JDM. We love to see it!
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“It’s always wonderful to see petrolheads from all walks of life coming together to enjoy everyone’s pride and joy”
Let’s play a game of spot the supercar. There were so many to choose from at the event!
Image by Harry Hartland @hazvisions
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automotive & motorsport events
shows | meets | drives | track days @carsandcamberevents
DRIVER’S STUFF The latest products, accessories and merchandise. Tested and verified by Redline Magazine. HEEL TREAD SOCKS
- WWW.HEELTREAD.CO.UK When you type Heel Tread in to Google – you should definitely do that – you’re met with a result that says “Over 40,000+ petrolheads can’t be wrong.” I’d wager they’re not wrong. The company specialises in premium socks for the discerning car enthusiast, and they were kind enough to send us a couple of examples to try out. Made from seamlessly knitted combed cotton, the socks feel light, soft to the touch and they fit over you foot and ankles perfectly. These are genuinely some of the comfiest socks I’ve ever worn! Perhaps the coolest aspect to Heel Tread though, are the quirky designs which are based on a wide variety of cars, all of which have their own backstory. We received two pairs from the “German Perfection” collection. The first design was based on the E30 BMW M3 and its legendary blue, white and red DTM livery. The second pair of socks paid homage to the Mk1 VW Golf GTI and, you guessed it, the retro tartan pattern that still adorns hot Golf interiors to this day. Cool doesn’t even cut it. Other themes we love include classics like the Pink Pig and John Player Special liveries, and the Ayrton Senna helmet design. There are multiple collections based on various motoring themes including notable cars from different countries, racing categories, and motors which have starred in famous movies. Heel Tread also stock a range of polo shirts, key rings, and aviation themed items. Prices vary depending on sock type, but our regular fit socks cost £8.59 per pair. You can also purchase multi packs and gift sets. Check out www. heeltread.com for more information on price and individual sock designs. Not only will you find something that you’ll love, but they also make the perfect gift for a petrolhead close to you.
OLIVER CO. WALLET
- WWW.OLIVERCOMPANYLONDON.CO.UK Men’s wallets are very personal items. If they could speak, they could tell tales of all the places they have visited, the things they’ve seen, and how much money you’ve spent on car parts. Along with the smartphone, a wallet and its contents form part of a man’s everyday essentials, so it’s important you keep your belongings in something stylish, portable and well made. Oliver Company London sent us one of their vegan leather compact wallets to live with, and it’s proven to be quite the companion. The days of carrying around big, bulky wallets are long gone, but sometimes small card holders don’t have the space necessary to carry all your debit and credit cards, cash and business cards. That’s where this compact wallet comes in to its own. The bi-fold design means there’s enough room for up to 12 cards, folded notes and receipts. The small size makes it wonderfully discreet in your trouser pocket and the premium vegan leather is of high quality. The leather itself is made from apple peel and the wallet is ethically crafted with a recycled inner lining, making the product climate neutral. Interestingly, apple leather is also set to appear in the VW ID. Roomzz which is an all-electric SUV for the China-market. The properties of apple leather are such that it’s also extremely durable. That was put to the test when we rather stupidly put our wallet through the washing machine. Despite the unscheduled wash, the wallet held together perfectly and still is in daily use some two months after the incident. Unintentional, yes. Great consumer testing, most definitely. Oliver CO. London Compact Wallets are priced at £59.00 and are available in black, coastal blue and walnut brown. For an extra £12.00, you can also have personalised embossing. This wallet comes highly recommended, so go to www.olivercompanylondon.com and pick one up for yourself.
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PREMIUM FARADAY KEY PROTECTION
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