NEW 508 PIONEERING PERFORMANCE AGAIN 360 hp – CO₂ From 46 g/km* – All Wheel Drive
Official Fuel Consumption in MPG (l/100km) and CO₂ emissions (g/km) for the new 508 PEUGEOT SPORT ENGINEERED range are: Combined N/A – 138.9 (0.0 - 2.0) and CO₂ 0 - 46 g/km. The fuel consumption or electric range achieved, and CO₂ produced, in real world conditions will depend upon a number of factors including, but not limited to: the accessories fitted (pre and post registration); the starting charge of the battery (PHEV only); variations in weather; driving styles and vehicle load. The plug-in hybrid range requires mains electricity for charging. The WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure) is used to measure fuel consumption, electric range and CO₂ figures. Figures shown are for comparison purposes and should only be compared to the fuel consumption, electric range and CO₂ values of other cars tested to the same technical standard. The figures displayed for the plug-in hybrid range were obtained using a combination of battery power and fuel. *Figures shown are for the new 508 PEUGEOT SPORT ENGINEERED. Information correct at time of going to print. Visit peugeot.co.uk for further details.
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eptember 1993. I’m a hyperactive nine-year-old whose hobbies include ‘standing on head’ and ‘sweets’, Meatloaf was doing anything for love and X-Files was introducing bingewatching as a concept. A new car magazine also appeared on shelves with a leather-clad Clarkson on the cover, a hard-earned photo of every new car on sale, together, and the promise of a MASSIVE FREE POSTER inside. Well, some things just don’t get old, do they? Here we are, 350 issues later. Slightly fewer cars on the cover, definitely less leather, but the same approach as always – to bring you the world’s best and most beautiful car magazine celebrating the full spectrum, from supercars to scrappers, and mainlining that joy, our passion, into your eyeballs. Sounds painful, shouldn’t be. If you enjoy reading this mag as much as we do putting it together, perhaps I’ll see you in another 350 issues’ time. In other news, TopGear loses one of its legends this month as Charlie Turner moves to pastures new – taking up the role of chief content officer at Ferrari. Our kind of pastures. As a member of the TG team for almost two decades, editor for 10 of those and the man who preserved the brilliance of the mag and website in a post-Clarkson TopGear, his influence is vast and will live on. Here’s Charlie to say a few words. “Thanks Jack. It’d be an epic understatement to say that nothing could have prepared me for the journey I was about to embark on when I walked into the TopGear office 18 years ago. The shorthand would be to say that it has been the journey of a lifetime, but those few words simply don’t do it justice. No words truly can. The team’s incredible creativity, passion and enthusiasm make TopGear what it is, and to have represented TG firstly as the man in charge of the ‘colouring-in dept’ then as the person responsible for both words and pictures, has been a huge privilege. “While the cars have been the heartbeat of my time here, and the locations and journeys the stuff of my childhood dreams, it’s the people that make TopGear unique. I have had the fortune to work with the very best, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their support throughout the years. “As I depart to drink too many espressi, I do so safe in the knowledge that I leave you, the most passionate, informed and engaged audience in the world in the capable hands of the most talented editorial team on the planet. Grazie e a presto, Charlie.” Enjoy the issue,
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Every note. Every word. Every detail.
LS50 Wireless II - The Ultimate Wireless HiFi When you first listen to the new LS50 Wireless II, close your eyes. You’ll find it hard to believe that a sound so pure is coming from such compact wireless speakers. That’s because our unique Metamaterial Absorption Technology eliminates the high-frequency distortion inside the speaker. So keep your eyes closed and keep listening; there’s a whole world of streamed music to enjoy. AirPlay2, Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Internet radio, HDMI, and more.
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CONTENTS ISSUE 350 / AUGUST 2021
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# N E W C A R S
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# E N T E R T A I N M E N T
# C A R C U L T U RE
# C E L E B R I T Y
# G A D G E T S
# G A M I N G
E V E R Y O NE I S TA L K I N G A B O U T
RIMAC NOW RUNS BUGATTI A Croatian EV start-up run by a 33-year-old has joined forces with a 112-year-old automotive giant... we answer your questions
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No fooling us, Mate; you’re now one of the biggest names in the automotive industry
C
ar biz news doesn’t get any juicier than this: Rimac and Bugatti are combining forces to form a new company, Bugatti Rimac, with Rimac calling the shots. According to Mate Rimac, the man on course for full world domination, both companies have agreed to “pool our knowledge, technologies and assets with the goal of creating very special projects in the future”. In other words a fledgling Croatian EV start-up has just been handed the keys to the grandest car company in the universe. DOES THIS MEAN ALL FUTURE BUGATTIS WILL BE PURE ELECTRIC?
In a word... no. Here’s Mate: “What people expect is for us to take the Nevera and slam a Bugatti logo on it, but that’s not going to happen. We will not just restyle the Chiron to make a new car, or just hybridise the Chiron, we are developing a completely new product from the ground up. And that product will still have a combustion engine. “Bugatti has a lot of diversity in its heritage that can be used to make products that are not only hypercars, but ones that are both strongly electrified and fully electric. Within this decade there will be fully electric Bugattis, but at the end of this decade there will still be combustionengined hybrid Bugattis. There is still time for the combustion engine at Bugatti.” WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SHORT TERM?
While Mate Rimac beavers away in the background dreaming up his product plans, it’ll be business as usual for a bit. Rimac and Bugatti will continue as separate brands, both will continue to produce the Nevera and Chiron respectively for the foreseeable future, and both retain their existing factories and distribution networks. This new Bugatti Rimac company will directly employee 430 people when it all kicks off at the end of 2021 – 300 at the new Bugatti Rimac headquarters in Zagreb (on the recently announced €200m Rimac Campus) and 130 at the Bugatti HQ in
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Molsheim, France. Now and in the future, Bugattis will be built in France, Rimacs will be made in Croatia. HOW DOES THE DEAL WORK?
No money has changed hands, instead a newly formed Rimac Group (37 per cent owned by Mate Rimac, 24 per cent by Porsche, 12 per cent Hyundai Motor Group and 27 per cent other investors) is the umbrella company for both Bugatti Rimac (55 per cent owned by Rimac Group, 45 per cent by Porsche) and Rimac Technology (100 per cent owned by the Rimac Group). Rimac Technology remains an independent company that will continue to work with a who’s who of global car companies on EV powertrains, batteries and components. Porsche is the lynchpin to the whole thing. In return for its 45 per cent stake in the new Bugatti Rimac company (on top of the 24 per cent stake it already has in Rimac) Porsche takes ownership of Bugatti from the VW Group and brings it into the joint venture. Porsche calls itself a financial and strategic partner in the deal. WHO’S THE BOSS?
Mate Rimac, a 33-year-old man who only founded Rimac Automobili in 2009, only hired his first employees in 2011, and now finds himself the CEO of the Rimac Group and running both Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology. Busy boy. In an online Q&A session Mate, flanked by Porsche CEO Oliver Blume and Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke, had the energy and joy
of someone who couldn’t quite believe he’d been handed the keys to a brand like Bugatti. And why wouldn’t he? The rise of Rimac is a story for the ages. Let’s pray the corporate demands don’t bog him down. WHAT ABOUT A PORSCHE E-HYPERCAR?
Possibly, definitely not a no. Porsche CEO, Oliver Blume: “We haven’t decided yet what type of supercar we will develop and when we will develop it. What is clear is Porsche has always developed supercars and hypercars, and we will continue. It might be an option to co-operate with the new joint venture, but we haven’t decided yet.” Cagey. WHY DID VW WANT RID OF BUGATTI?
By offloading an R&D heavy, financially draining business like Bugatti it can focus on its more lucrative mass production brands, and the full scale transition to electric cars... but without losing Bugatti entirely and sharing in its future profits through Porsche. Meanwhile Porsche is positioned perfectly to benefit from Rimac’s electric know-how, and let that tech trickle down to other VW Group companies like Audi and Lamborghini, where appropriate. Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke makes an excellent point. That Bugatti developing a new electric hypercar on its own to the standards its buyers expect is... tricky. “The mid-term future for Bugatti has to be electric and for a small brand to develop a completely new car on its own is almost impossible. For me, this is the only way to develop Bugatti to a profitable future.” Jack Rix
FA I L O F T H E C E N T U R Y # 3 7 8
COFFEE BREAK What we’re watching/ listening/doing, while we should be working
I
INFINITI M37
n 2008, Infiniti launched in the UK with a bold intention: to provide a tech-laden Japanese alternative to the German exec fare served up by BMW, Audi and Mercedes. Trouble was, as Infiniti had perhaps failed to spot, British buyers already had a tech-laden Japanese alternative to the German exec fare, etc, etc... in the shape of Lexus. And, while Lexus was great and all, it was hardly showing the Germans a clean pair of heels in the actually-selling-cars department. So how did Infiniti – to Nissan as Lexus is Toyota – differentiate its offerings from those of the German and Lexus mainstream? Well, in the case of the M37 – and indeed pretty much the rest of its range – through the bold strategy of ‘being substantially worse’. The M37’s steering was twitchy, the ride was granity, the V6 engine – borrowed from Nissan’s 370Z sports car, obvs – was weirdly raspy, not to mention thirstier than a camel who’s been at the extra salty crisps. And the whole thing looked like... well, each to their own, but once you’ve seen ‘over-inflated Porsche Panamera’, it’s hard to unsee. In total, Infiniti managed to shift a dozen M37s in the UK. To whom, TopGear dares not speculate. In 2019, Posh Nissan departed the UK, and with it the notion that Britain needed another tech-laden Japanese alternative to the German exec fare. A tech-laden South Korean alternative to the German exec fare, on the other hand...
Trawling through the years Ahhh, nostalgia at its finest. Spent a good half hour staring at this historic case before realising nobody has a disc drive. Our Greg had never seen “one of those CDROM discs before”. Get out, Greg
King Otto, various streaming At the time of writing, it may or may not have come home – but it did for Greece at Euro 2004. Otto Rehhagel is forever a hero in Greece, this documentary shows why
TopGear magazine fix You can download the latest edition and back issues direct to your phone or tablet from the App Store. Because when life gives you lemons... settle in and read TG
Clarkson’s Farm, Amazon Prime
Tokyo Olympics 2020 2021 It’s happening. Without any visitors and very small crowds. Pray that Team GB doesn’t call up any of the woeful ‘athletes’ from the TG Summer Games...
I M AG E : M A N U FAC T U R E R
This guy you know has started doing something he knows nothing about and it’s a great watch. Farm manager Kaleb is maybe our new favourite farmer. Move over old MacDonald...
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TO PT GO EP AG RE . CAO RM .COM
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THE LION KING Peugeot’s Le Mans hypercar does without a rear wing. Wait, what?
W
elcome to Peugeot’s new Le Mans car. Well, a close approximation of it at any rate. The 9X8 – ‘9’ references the Le Manswinning 905 and 908 prototypes, ‘X’ is for hybrid all-wheel drive and ‘8’ links it to Peugeot’s road cars – is still very much in development, but we’re promised it’ll look almost exactly like this when it goes racing next year. And no, it won’t suddenly sprout a rear wing. Peugeot claims nothing in the rulebook says it has to run with a wing, and that clever aero trickery means the 9X8 doesn’t really need one. Stellantis’ motorsport boss Jean-Marc Finot called the decision to forgo a wing “a major innovative step”. He said: “We have achieved a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that allows us to do away with this feature. Don’t ask how, though. We
Y O U C A N ’ T B U Y TA S T E
BMW iX 016
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have every intention of keeping that a secret as long as we possibly can!” We already know what powers the 9X8, Peugeot has been testing the mid-mounted 680bhp 2.6-litre TT V6 since April, and will soon marry it with a 7spd sequential gearbox, a 272bhp electric motor for the front axle and its 900V battery. We also know who’ll drive it – Loïc Duval, Paul di Resta, Kevin Magnussen, Mikkel Jensen, Gustavo Menezes and Jean-Eric Vergne – with Brit James Rossiter as a stand-in. Tom Harrison
LN: Team photo before leaving France for Austria. It’s a bit of a tradition – in my first year in F1, my car crew held me like a salmon, last year I did a handstand, this year I was on someone’s shoulders.
LN: I promise we’re not just watching YouTube... Jose (my performance engineer) and I use a tablet when on our track walk to review racing lines and laps from previous years.
DR: In the zone, getting ready for quali in France. It’s such an intense session where we put it all on the line over just a couple of laps. Warming myself up is just as important as warming up the tyres.
BEHIND THE SCENES
LANDO & DANNY’S F1 DIARY
DR: This team knows me well. For my birthday, they surprised me with a cake in the style of one of my favourite things – a bottle of my DR3 x St Hugo wine.
DR: Quick stop at the MTC. Spent a lot of time in the simulator, trying to find that extra bit of performance.
McLaren’s dynamic duo pull back the curtain on the life of an elite driver
LN: Strong race for the team in France, with Daniel and I coming home in 5th and 6th. Makes the interviews easier!
DR: Took a break between the two Austrian Grands Prix to go hiking with Michael, my performance coach, in the Austrian Alps. I’m a big fan of nature.
DR: Thumbs up as I got ready to head out for another session. F1 is much more of a team sport than you see on television.
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WAT C HE S
THE GOOD TIMES Special edition watches have turned into the ultimate F1 team merch
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o you’re a fan of Formula One and want to buy a watch. Well consider yourself extremely well catered for, because the sport is absolutely mad for the things. Nine out of 10 teams have a watch sponsor this year – Alfa Romeo is the only one this year to show up empty wristed. Ever since cars first raced against each other, watches and motorsport have been closely intertwined. The first cough-and-splutter motor races in the 19th century had to make do with early pocket chronographs developed to time horse races. But as motor racing proper got going in the 20th century, the watch industry worked hard to keep pace – not easy when you consider cars went from walking pace to 150mph in a few decades, while the watch industry had been fettling its old world craft for centuries. Heuer (the TAG was added later) was the first big name in motor racing. It began in the Thirties by making dash-mounted rally timers and later wrist chronographs that were popular with racing drivers in the Fifties and Sixties, often used by F1 teams as their principle timing devices. One distinctive chronograph, the Monaco, was worn by Steve McQueen in Le Mans, cementing a race cred the brand enjoys to this day. Rolex has also been involved with motorsport longer than anyone can remember. Sir Malcolm Campbell wore a Rolex Oyster when he drove Bluebird at 300+mph on the Utah salt flats in 1935. He’s credited with introducing the brand to driver friends, and Rolex went on to sponsor the Daytona Speedway from the late Fifties – the circuit later giving its name to the chronograph worn by another actor who liked his cars, Paul Newman. Rolex remained embedded in motorsport, and since 2013 has been the title sponsor of F1 – its clocks and logos are in every prominent position you could hope for on the circuit. One of the newer big players to emerge is Richard Mille, the ultra-luxe Swiss brand founded by a car crazy Frenchman. It’s the only watch brand to sponsor two F1 teams – McLaren and Ferrari. No new watches have been revealed to celebrate the tie-ups, when they do you can guarantee they will be visually arresting and cost somewhere around the same as a brand new McLaren or Ferrari. You have been warned. Luckily you don’t have to be in the billionaire club to enjoy an F1 timepiece. Richard Holt
UNDER £300
EDIF ICE C A S I O S C UDER I A A L P H ATA UR I Red Bull’s second team has the cheapest of the F1 sponsor watches, but it’s a cracker for the money. AlphaTauri’s new sponsor for 2021 is Casio’s poshedup professional brand Edifice. This watch has stopwatch, phone link and auto time adjustment. Water resistant to 100m. edifice-watches.co.uk; £269
UNDER £4 , 0 0 0
BEL L & R O S S A L P INE F 1 Best known for watches inspired by vintage aircraft instruments, Bell & Ross has also gone deep into motor racing and sponsors Alpine. The watches in the new collection are black and steel, with hints of blue. Bell & Ross Alpine F1 collection all have automatic movement and steel cases, water resistant to 100m. bellross.com; £3,600
AROUND £1,500 BLOW THE BUDGE T TA G HE UER F ORMUL A 1 There’s no better way to nail your motorsport colours to the wall than calling one of your watch collections Formula 1. These watches were launched in the
I W C P IL O T ’ S WAT C H C HR ONOGR A P H
mid-Eighties, just after a takeover TAG’d the Heuer name. The Swiss watch
This is none other than an AMG version of a pilot’s
industry was still concerned about cheap rivals, and the quartz-powered
watch, built to celebrate motor racing. If that mixes
Formula 1 was an accessibly priced entry point to a luxury watchmaker. The
up the genres a little bit, we can forgive them. This
idea worked and the chronograph and time-only models remain a core of the
stealthy new version has carbon dial and automatic
range. The 2021 models come with asphalt-effect dial and a 43mm stainless
movement in 43mm titanium case, and it is water
steel case, water resistant to 200m. tagheuer.com; from £1,550
resistant to 60 metres. iwc.com; £8,500
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THE KNOWLEDGE Need-to-know nuggets of automotive news
GAME OF THE MONTH
GO WITH THE PRO The AMR Pro is a recycled Valkyrie Le Mans car that’s freed of both race and road regulations. Aston will build 40, with the hybrid boost removed for a nice round 1,000bhp.
QUATTRO CLONE This is no restomod. It’s an all-new, carbon-tubbed EV supercar that just happens to be inspired by the Audi Sport quattro. Think 1,680kg, 805bhp and a range of 249 miles.
GE AR
SEHR SCHNELL! The 631bhp Porsche Cayenne
HEIMPLANET WOLF+ CLOUDBREAK
Turbo GT wants revenge on Bentley and Lambo. Stuttgart is fed up of rivals making faster super-SUVs, so the GT does 0–62mph in a daft 3.3 seconds.
CRYSTAL GAZING Next year Volvo will launch an all-new, all-electric XC90 replacement. This month it unveiled the Concept Recharge e-SUV. Not saying those two events are related. No, no way...
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SPLIT-SECOND PRECISION Forever associated with motorsport, the split-second complication was originally designed for Second World War pilots to time successive missions, where meticulous reliability was of the utmost importance. Driven by a supremely accurate Swiss quartz movement, our Split-Second Flyback will simultaneously record two events on a single watch dial whilst also allowing you to instantly reset without stopping the chronograph function. A rare complication - delivering unrivalled functionality with exceptional precision. Explore the range at Farer.com
B R IT I SH DE S I G N . SWI SS MAD E.
#GODO
Watch-wearers of the world – unite! When Karl Marx told the world’s workers they had nothing to lose but their chains, he could have been talking about the original proletarian mode of transport: the bike. Coincidentally, cycling was the inspiration for the new C63 Sealander Elite chronometer. Not only does the smart pop-out crown stop it digging into your wrist when you’re riding, but the super-light titanium case makes it effortless to wear. Though Karl would have surely loved these utilitarian features, we think its sleek design is more ‘Wiggins’ than ‘Marx’.
Sealander. Go anywhere, do everything. christopherward.com
TOPGEAR TOP 9
THE BEST CARS FOR DOGS 02
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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE..
FERRARI 296 GTB
A handful of facts on Ferrari’s new six-cylinder hybrid supercar
with a hybridised twin-turbo V6 as opposed to a screaming V8, but wait. Unbelievably, the 296 GTB’s power output matches the V12-engined 812 Competizione. Yep, you’re looking at the thick, scary end of 819bhp and a 2.9secs 0–62mph time.
Nope, that honour rests with 1957’s Dino 156. That car was a racer, though, and in the Sixties neither the Dino 206 GT or the Dino 246 GT was graced with the Ferrari badge. As a result, this is Ferrari’s first production road car to feature this configuration. Oh and the V6 on its own produces a record 654bhp.
YOU CAN DRIVE ON ELECTRICITY ALONE The 296 GTB’s hybrid system uses a 7.45kWh battery that powers a compact electric motor on the rear axle. Said motor is able to start the V6 as well as teaming up with it for the full hit of power, but it can also drive the rear wheels alone for a range of 15.5 miles and a top speed of 84mph.
THE DESIGN IS RETRO-INSPIRED Isn’t everything? The 296 is inspired by the 250 LM from 1963, with the air intakes just ahead of the rear wheels being a particular giveaway. As befits any Serious Ferrari, though, there’s lots of complicated aero at play under the skin. The wheelbase is also 50mm shorter than earlier mid-engined V8s to help it through the corners.
YOU WANT MORE? YOU CAN HAVE MORE An Assetto Fiorano pack is available for the 296, with adjustable Multimatic shocks, a Lexan rear screen, carbon fibre appendages on the front bumper and yet more carbon in and out. You can also option a 250 LM-style livery and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres. Make your Serious Ferrari a Very Serious Ferrari.
WO R D S : V I JAY PAT T N I
1
IT’S GOT A WHOLE LOT OF POWER We know, it’s a mid-engined Ferrari supercar
2 3 4 5
IT’S NOT THE FIRST V6-ENGINED FERRARI
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THIS MONTH: T HE W RONG S T UF F
H A NDL ING P ERK S Got to say I was pretty surprised by how well the i3 drives. It’s on low profile tyres
MARQUES BROWNLEE
and you’ve got these huge 20-inch wheels, the rubber
HARD DRIVE
is really narrow but somehow it finds grip. The handling is really tight too, the ride firm and sporty, it’s a car you want to get in and drive properly, not just kick back and ignore what’s going on underneath you.
We download YouTube’s #1 tech expert on whatever he’s been driving this month
T
he BMW i3 is a car that’s been around for a while and will soon be off sale in the US, but still looks like something from the future. I actually test drove one at CES a couple of years ago, so it was fascinating to finally have a chance to live with one for a week. I had the Range Extender, which was killed off in Europe when BMW facelifted the i3 and upgraded its battery. You can still buy one in the US though – it’s basically an electric i3 with a 42kWh battery for around 125 miles of real-world range, but there’s a tiny two-cylinder petrol engine as a backup. That gives you an extra 60–70 miles of gas if you need it. Seems crazy BMW built in all the extra weight just for buffer range. The thing that really got me though is how much you’re spending. It starts at just under $50,000, but the model I tested was over $60,000. If you wanted an EV at that price you could get a Tesla Model 3 Performance. You’d get way more space, storage and range, a much better charging network, better software, more tech and dramatically better performance. There’s almost nothing that the i3 does better... other than being compact. On the flip side, the i3’s age mean there are deals if you’re happy to buy used.
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DOPE TECH M B ’ S FAV O U R I T E F E AT U R E
The rear-view camera is mounted low and gives a widescreen view. It gives the perfect perspective –
S TAY CL OSE The range is an issue. It’s a commuter car, so anyone who only drives a few miles a day is going to be fine with it. But for $50,000 to $60,000, something with 300 miles of range is easily within your grasp, and who doesn’t want the convenience of that?
SPA CE J A M The front trunk is tiny. It’s the size of a laptop bag,
P REL O V ED C A B IN
but it’s not water
I like the recycled materials in
sealed so you
here. Not traditional premium stuff,
wouldn’t want to
but the effect is more striking than
put one in there.
the sum of its parts.
V ERD I C T Easily the best compact EV I’ve driven, but that word ‘compact’ holds a lot of weight. It’s more nimble than a Model 3 and can fit in smaller spaces, so it’d make a good city car, but you’d have to really want it to spend 60 big ones.
C ONSUMER T E C H C OMPA R I S ON... The i3 is like Apple’s HomePod mini. It costs more than the competition, some features (like Siri) are terrible, but the sound quality is amazing.
T HE T E CH:
T HE DR I V E :
T HE WA N T:
027
TOPGEAR’S GUIDE TO THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING H MYT ER T BUS
“EV CHARGING SOCKETS ARE REALLY HARD TO FIND” opinion pollster phoned, researching life with an electric vehicle with a view to buying one. Petrol and diesel car drivers can very easily find filling stations. They’re about an acre big and have a honking great illuminated sign. Anyone expecting charging points to be as obvious will almost inevitably be among those concerned about not having them. Most electric car points (unless they’re the rapid chargers which you don’t need near home) stand unobtrusively on the
pavement, and are approximately the size of a kitchen bin. Many are smaller than that. I often use sockets in lamp posts – just a plastic plug cover the size of a beer mat, a tiny blue LED and a little QR code for your payment app. These charging points are easy to find using Zap-Map.com, among other websites. But you wouldn’t simply stumble into them. And if you were asked out of the blue where they were located, it’s but a short step to citing that as a ‘concern’ about driving electric. Paul Horrell
LATER
WHO KNOWS?
LEVC E-CAMPER
RETRO RENAULT(S)
MINI URBANAUT
Yep, you can now sleep in a London taxi without the driver doing extra ring road laps to run up the meter
Renault is reviving another legend, with a 4 EV that should ride on the same platform as the new 5
Remember Mini’s digital-only Vision Urbanaut concept? A single example now exists. Anyone know why?
NOW
028
AUGUST 2021 ›
TO P G E A R . C O M
I M AG E S : G E T T Y, M A N U FAC T U R E R
E V U P D AT E
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The engine is a crucial part of a classic’s character, says Chris. Better to retire them gracefully than go electric
I L L U S T R AT I O N : PAU L RY D I N G
The next big thing is the electrification of existing internal combustion engined motor cars. It has to be – David Beckham has invested in a company called Lunaz that does just this. And Lunaz isn’t alone in wedging electric bits into old dinosaurs, it’s happening everywhere, old 911s, Mercs... even a Triumph Spitfire on something called TopGear. It’s an idea so beautifully simple – removing the dirty workings of an old car and replacing them with something that produces zero local emissions – that it’s hard to find any argument against it. Unless you like engines, in which case you might lodge an objection. This isn’t new emotional territory either. The notion of a car being great regardless of, or in some cases in spite of, its engine is nothing new. So you could argue that any process which engages with this in the form of electricity is merely continuing the work that gave us the Lotus Elise. Which raises the question: what is the best car with the worst, borrowed engine? Maybe it is the Elise? The first Clio V6 motor was pretty tragic, but then so was the rest of the car. Every small volume TVR rival that used the Nineties quad-cam Ford V8 was worse off for doing so, but none of them were much cop either.
“THE ENGINE IS THE DOMINANT EXPERIENCE IN ANY CAR. IGNORING IT ISN’T AN OPTION”
What I find fascinating here is that something as integral, something that is without wanting to resort to cliché, the very heart of an object as complicated as a motor car can often be ignored in the overall evaluation of that machine. I can remember being on one of those big end-of-year magazine shoots the year the Lotus Evora was launched – the car was pretty good, but the Toyota V6 was dreadful. Yet several people voted it should win over a 997 GT3, all of them willing to ignore how crap the engine was in the Lotus. I’m still staggered by this because the engine is the dominant experience in any car. Ignoring it just isn’t an option. Unless it is silent. In which case we are being invited to ignore it. I have a very clear rule here, and it follows the type of car we’re dealing with. Put simply, there have always been two types of engine development: one is concerned with economy and silence, the other with outright performance. It is as conceivable that an electric motor would be able to replace the former as it is inconceivable that it might do anything other than ruin a car that relied on the latter. It’s sad to admit, but all those creamy smooth V12s with their fastidiously milled counterweighted crankshafts are totally redundant now Elon has arrived. I mean, what’s the point in a ferociously complicated mechanical object whose sole aim is to be as silent as possible if it can’t complete with an electric motor? But all these sports car swaps just don’t do it for me. An electric, classic Porsche 911? No thanks. Even if that means one day quite soon parking them and remembering how lovely they were, I’d rather do that than turn them into creepily silent cyborgs. Strange how this all comes back to the innocent little Elise, isn’t it? That was the car Musk used for his first electric adventure. My thoughts on it many years later haven’t changed from the day I first drove a Roadster – impressive, but inert.
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We all ignore car alarms, says TGTV script editor Sam Philip. But what if your car could text instead? Um OK. Have you tried sounding your alarm?
“Car alarms can help to deter thieves. However, owners may ignore the alarm, not realising it is from their car. Now Ford’s SecuriAlert sends a notification to the owner’s smartphone if it identifies any vehicle activity, including attempts to open doors or gain access with a key...”
i didn’t think of that. oh no wait i did FOR THE LAST TEN MINUTES Sorry. Look, just sit tight, I’m sure the police will be along soon
FORD PRESS RELEASE, JUNE 2021
y cant u come help? u awake? Well the thing is... I’m not nearby Well I am now. What’s up?
y not
bein broken into :( You’re being broken into? ya :(
I left you at the pub. Had some drinks, got a taxi home. I was going to come and get you in the morning ngl feelin v betrayed rn
Who by? remember howard from take that?
Look don’t worry. He’ll just have a rummage around, realise there’s nothing valuable, be on his way. It’s not the Eighties, he’s not going to hotwire you
You’re being broken into by Howard from Take That? he’s hotwiring me no i’m bein broken into by someone who looks like howard from take that. help pls
Ah
Is he a big guy?
we’re on the move now OK, I’ll call the police, keep me updated on your location
no. smaller than me You’re a car. Bigger than me? I L L U S T R AT I O N : PAU L RY D I N G
nah ur ok. gonna stick with this guy much bigger Hang on you’re eloping with your kidnapper? Right and much stronger :p
least he actually wants me. ok changin my number now, cya x
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Perfection? Get real, says Paul. And the sooner car companies realise it, the better
I L L U S T R AT I O N : PAU L RY D I N G
Twice this month I’ve been due to test enormously expensive cars from boutique manufacturers that hang themselves on a peg of ‘perfection’: unblemished craft, obsessive engineering accuracy, flawless beauty in construction. In both cases at the last minute the story was called off. ‘Imperfections’ had come to light, and the manufacturers insisted on putting them right. By coincidence, in both cases, further enquiries revealed that the flaw was in the gearbox. In the literal sense, they were physically small glitches. But stand back and you realise that a car that can’t get drive from engine to wheels is actually quite some distance from perfect. I wish carmakers would get real. They keep telling us that they can achieve perfection. They can’t. Because perfection is basically unachievable. Thus the only way they can square that contradiction – “we can do that which cannot be done” – is to delude themselves. And that’s a slippery slope. Car companies lose their way not when they think they’re rubbish, but when they think they’re perfect. The Ferrari 348, the Peugeot 207, the first Mercedes M-Class, the Audi Q2, the early Aston DB11 – all reeked of delusional over-confidence. These were the periods when these manufacturers made some of their worst
“PERFECTION IS SOMETHING YOU WORK TOWARDS, RATHER THAN ARRIVE AT”
cars. Various kinds of shock put them back on track, prompting a new humility. They learned they had to keep improving. Perfection is a mirage, just as much as those silly slogans parroted on reality TV and printed on the T-shirts of breathless and puce runners in the park. “If you can dream it you can do it.” This sort of nonsense isn’t a recent thing: Robert the Bruce, observing a spider spin its web after multiple failures, said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Well what separates us humans from the spiders is that we have the discernment to appraise when the odds against us are effectively insurmountable. Look, I’m not advocating defeatism. It’s just that to avoid this delusion, everyone needs to know that perfection is something you work towards, rather than arrive at. Which doesn’t undermine the quest. The greatest things in life – faith, love, wisdom – are the same. You crawl towards them. The paradox is that you can only get close by constantly reminding yourself of the frailty of your striving. Stop crawling and you slip back. Even to Henry Royce, perfection to him was the destination you navigate towards but never reach. “Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better.” This is what gives the car world the nearest thing we have to perfection. The reliability of a Toyota, the power delivery of a V12 Ferrari, the safety of a Volvo, the handling of a Lotus, and yes the refinement of a Rolls-Royce... they all keep improving because the people responsible are surprisingly humble. They know it can be done better, and keep looking outside themselves for inspiration. Smugness in car companies is unattractive in itself. But worse, it produces bad cars.
TO P G E A R . C O M
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035
DRIV The big test: small hot hatches The mesmerising Ford Fiesta ST is so unbeatable, almost everyone’s given up the fight. Can a tweaked Mini – or an all-new super-Hyundai – topple the champ? WORDS OLLIE KEW PHOTOGRAPHY MARK RICCIONI
W
e might owe Hyundai a thank you here, for halting the small hot hatch implosion. A bitesize history recap: when the last Fiesta ST arrived in 2014, it went to war against the new Peugeot 208 GTI and a rethought Clio RS, among other established talent. The latest version has had life easy thanks to its dad killing off all foreign claims to the kingdom. Neither the quick Clio or 208 have been replaced. The French – who have owned this scene since the Eighties – shrug and mumble
036 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
about maybe doing an electronique one at some point soon. Meanwhile Citroen hasn’t even bothered producing a hot hatch for a decade. Vauxhall – the company that was once upon a time busily applying VXR badges to Corsas, MPVs and the office sandwich trolley – has left the building entirely. Oh, it gets worse. Seat’s erected an entire Cupra sub-brand but stubbornly populates the showroom with SUVs instead of a lairy Ibiza. Remember the interesting days when Skoda would sell you a turbodiesel Fabia vRS and Audi flogged a quattro-drive S1? RIP.
So, cheers Hyundai. At last, the mighty Fiesta has a challenger: a lowered, stiffened i20 from the Korean/German dream team that gave you the spectacular i30N. And we could have simply left it as a two-way showdown. However, small hot hatches are no longer what you’d call ‘cheap’. Having a monopoly will do that. A Fiesta ST starts at £22k, but in this range topping ST3 trim with the Performance Pack lobbed in, it’s twenty four and a half grand (plus £400 more if you’d like back doors), or about £300 a month. The fully kitted Hyundai – a five-door only – starts at a fiver under £25k.
VES HYUNDAI i20N £24,995 / £26,045 as tested
FORD FIESTA ST3 £24,580 / £27,750 as tested
MINI JCW SPORT AUTO £25,980 / £34,535 as tested
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037
“THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS HAS SEEN MORE DODGY FACELIFTS THAN A HOLLYWOOD THERAPIST”
01 038 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
02
03
04
For not far north of that, you can try something with a Taste the Difference badge. The Mini John Cooper Works has seen more dodgy facelifts than a Hollywood therapist, but old JCWs mixed grown-up quality and cheeky manners into a satisfying brew. This one’s been optioned beyond GR Yaris money, but it’s the quickest car you can buy for under thirty grand. Perhaps because the Mini is such a familiar toytown shape, we’ve stopped noticing it’s long given up being cute. Now festooned with more blanked-off chickenwire and clip-on muscle, it’s a bit of a gargoyle. Boxy implants hang awkwardly from the car’s bulbous fuselage. The JCW hatch sits a rung below the disappointing wing-shod GP in the Mini ranks, and lacks the flagship’s sat-down, squat stance. Things improve as you drop past the frameless door into the snug seat. There’s much BMWness in the lowest, most straight-legged driving position of the three, and plenty of over-stuffed BMW steering wheel thickness too. On the whole the Mini’s cabin wears its eight years gracefully, and though the oblong
screen/round hole centrepiece still jars, the toggle switches and upright pillars maintain a unique sense of kitsch occasion. New this time is the digital speedo, updated screen graphics, and... that’s your lot. Has Mini checked out, confident that applying more horsepower than anyone else is a job done? The 2.0-litre turbo engine – as found in the brilliant BMW 128ti and meh Toyota Supra – develops 228bhp and 236lb ft, which is loads for a clutch bag, but you sense where it’s been electronically detuned from its other duties. It tightens up above 5,000rpm like a runner suffering from a stitch. No longer allowed to punctuate the overrun with crackles from a flatulent exhaust, the Mini’s autotuned growl sounds reedy. I’d forgive some of that lack of enthusiasm if the JCW set hot hatch land speed records, but the chassis can’t apply its power advantage to the road. The traction control light blinks gaily through first and second gears as the front axle scrabbles for purchase. Sure, Mini likes the idea its cars are rambunctious ickle tearaways. But for this TO P G E A R . C O M
› AUGUST 2021
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HYUNDAI i20N
03 05 01
02 04
06
MINI JCW
01
05 02
04
03 06 040 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
FORD FIESTA ST3
01
05 04
02
03
06
money, you’d expect it to have ‘settling down and actually behaving’ in the locker. At pace, the JCW is always a cartoon. The ride is loose, pitching and heaving about as though the topmounts are fashioned from rubber. It feels top heavy and cumbersome on the sort of classic rollercoaster British B-road it should pick apart for breakfast. The optional eight-speed automatic purrs through town, but slurs its lines when you want to grab it by the scruff. Do so anyway and the JCW’s heft dampens the fizz. Mini has made attempts to disguise the bulk with a quick roll-of-the-wrists steering response and a lively rear under braking, yet it always feels 100kg heavier than the livewire Fiesta. Someone might accidentally buy it. Decide they want something Mini-shaped and Cooper S-priced, then discover they can get into the JCW for not-many-more pounds per month. Whereas you’re going to make a conscious decision to buy a [checks notes] Hyundai i20N. This isn’t a household name – yet. Looks-wise, the Hyundai nails the pugnacious menace schtick. It sits squat and four-square on cambered 18-inch rims. The bodywork seems to have been sketched by Zorro in his Japanese anime phase. That red pinstriping and quad-support wing are unashamedly in yer face. One of our team notes that – unlike the unusually subtle Ford – you’ll
instantly presume the slashed, slammed i20N will be driven yobbishly. People will judge you. Actually, whoever’s driving will be far too busy with their set-up. The i20N may be mechanically bread and butter: 201bhp 1.6-litre turbo 4cyl engine drives front wheels via 6spd manual gearbox and limited-slip differential, but this is a phenomenally nerdy bit of kit. Allow me to walk you through it. Between the heated seat buttons, a toggle marked ‘Drive Mode’ switches you from Normal to Eco (no, ta) and Sport modes, projecting appropriate fonts onto the digi-dash. You’ll then notice two ‘N’ toggles on the steering wheel, plus an inviting red button marked ‘Rev’. This activates the rev-blipper to smooth downchanges if you can’t be arsed to heel ’n’ toe. Geeky – a perk neither the Ford or the Mini offer – but not exactly anorak-worthy. To go full cagoule and long johns, delve into the 10.2-inch touchscreen’s ‘N’ matrix. Here live the menus for your N Custom modes. Choose three stages of throttle response, exhaust bark, rev-match aggression, and how ‘on’ you want the stability control. Then, select how many revs you’d like the launch control system to dial in for a perfect getaway, or when you want the upshift beeper to sound. Satisfied? Your preferences are stored and ready to deploy with just a tap of the baby blue N earlobes.
“THE HYUNDAI’S BODYWORK SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN SKETCHED BY ZORRO IN HIS JAPANESE ANIME PHASE”
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041
Specifications
1 2 3
FORD FIESTA ST3
HYUNDAI i20N
MINI JCW SPORT AUTO
POWERTRAIN
1.5T 3cyl turbo
1.6T 4cyl turbo
2.0T 4cyl turbo
TOTAL POWER
197bhp
201bhp
228bhp
VERDICT
ACCELERATION
TOTAL TORQUE
6.5secs
0–62
6.2secs
0–62
6.1secs
0–62
214lb ft
203lb ft
236lb ft
42.8mpg, 150g/km
40.4mpg, 158g/km
38.7mpg, 153g/km
CLAIMED MPG, CO2
TOP SPEED
143
143
153
1,262kg
1,220kg
1,330kg
FWD, 6spd man
FWD, 6spd man
FWD, 8spd auto
mph
mph
mph
WEIGHT
TRANSMISSION
BOOT CAPACITY
292 litres
352 litres
1,092 litres (seats down)
1,165 litres (seats down)
9 SCORE
10
9
10
211 litres 731 litres (seats down)
6
10
In fact, you needn’t remember to press them. Like many modern cars, the i20N packs a camera that reads road signs to register speed limits or a school zone ahead. However, it also spots the ‘S bends’ warning sign and up pops a prompt on the dash: “Twisty roads ahead. Would you like N mode?” Wow. Here’s a machine that digests the threat of imminent corners and politely suggests driving like a bit of a cock. It’s fantastic. What else would you expect from a car with 12 new welds and brackets amid its chassis to make the hot version stiffer? So the i20N is the hatchback equivalent of those £10k carbon fibre bicycles with electric gearshifting, or a water-cooled gaming PC. Serious hardware. The Fiesta ST is more like pick up ’n’ play Mario Kart. And the Mini? A fairground coconut shy. Fun once in a while, but you’re probably being ripped off. In its default Normal mode the Hyundai is an agreeable daily. It’s the most spacious, it has the biggest boot, and although it has a cylinder more than the Ford and can’t deactivate any of them when cruising (unlike the freakishly
economical Fiesta) it’s still good for 45mpg on a long run, where it’s a touch noisier than the other two but far from wearying. The ride is firmer than the Ford’s, and is the only part of the car’s personality that can’t be adjusted, but chances are if you buy into the aggression and attitude of the looks and the handling, you’ll tolerate the tautness. The seats don’t pinch as intimately as the Fiesta’s Recaros, but are easier to clamber out of. Pity Hyundai didn’t splash as much colour and verve on the dreary shiny grey dash as it did on the exterior. The budget was blown on those sharply animated screens. And, indeed, on the bits under the skin. The i20N is a fantastic, engaging, tenacious drive... but it’s not the character I expected. Hyundai’s second hot hatch is actually more mature than its bigger i30N brother. There’s less interference from the road, less buffeting, less torque steer. It’s a pointy, accurate, ruthlessly effective device to dissect your favourite road in. Traction is mighty – nothing like as wasteful as the Mini’s front tyres. The limited-slip diff’s hookup isn’t as obvious as the Fiesta’s, and the
steering isn’t as quick, but that makes the i20N a little easier to acclimatise to, and less edgy. The Fiesta attacks a bend on the entry, lifts its inside rear wheel at the apex, and slides out onto the straight in pure old-school delight. It’s a riot. The Hyundai goes a different way – less tailhappy, more focused on pace and intent. Both are spectacular tonics. Both deserve to win. The ace the Ford holds over the newcomer is its splendid 197bhp three-cylinder engine. Throttle inputs are crisper than the Hyundai’s lazier four-pot, which lags below 3,000rpm and responds lethargically to throttle blips if you choose to DIY. The ST also makes a fruitier, more exotic offbeat thrum. For me, that’s enough to give the Fiesta the narrowest victory of its life. I prefer the Ford’s less fussy looks, its more mobile rear end, and its gearshift, though that might be purely because its knob feels more expensive than the Hyundai’s. And if that sounds fickle, then it’s because these two cars mostly can’t be split on merit, only on preference. You can’t go wrong. Drive both. Buy either. And be thankful that, for a little while longer, they’re still here at all.
“THE ACE THE FORD HOLDS OVER THE NEWCOMER IS ITS SPLENDID
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043
5
10 GENESIS GV80 3.0D LUXURY LINE
In the beginning £62,415 D 3.0TD 6cyl
278 bhp
8spd auto
7.5 secs
33.1 mpg
CO2
220 g/km
FOR Refined looks inside and out. Easy to buy and own AGAINST Poor ride. You’ll have to keep explaining
T
he creation story, a prog-rock group, a maker of pushbikes. Now Genesis is something else too: the posh car arm of the mighty Hyundai Motor Group. This isn’t a corporation with a habit of failure. But good, honest, ordinary cars don’t automatically lever a manufacturer into premium territory. There, a brand needs a hook. And frankly the first batch of Genesis’s cars don’t have one. Maybe they’re “distinctively Korean” but few Europeans know what that means. Or maybe
044 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
there are enough people who are just tired of the obvious competition. Let’s hope they don’t mind being asked who or what Genesis is. More distinguished than the cars is the buying and owning. You never need go to a dealer. There aren’t any. Much of the process is online, but ‘online’ is more than purely digital. You’ll also be introduced to a human, who’s trained and paid not for selling cars but for being helpful – answering all your questions, bringing a test drive example to your door. Then later, bringing a courtesy car to you and taking yours for service. Five years of warranty and services are included in the price. The GV80 matches the BMW X5 in size. A third-row seat is optional. Its design was led by Sangyup Lee, ex of Bentley. It wouldn’t actually be a ridiculous stretch to think this is a better-looking Bentayga: chrome and sweeping curves on the outside, on the inside stitched leather, knurling and flourishes of wood. All good. Until you drive it. The 6cyl diesel is refined enough but it doesn’t really shove you
forward with the kind of authority you find in the German rivals. Yet it’s comparatively thirsty. The steering and cornering are blandly reassuring, but lots of rivals do it better. The bigger issue is the ride. In line with the GV80’s technophilia, a camera road-scanning system sets up the dampers for bumps ahead. It doesn’t discernibly work. There’s just too much commotion. Lumps and potholes have the whole chassis shuddering beneath you. Bigger dips and crests make the body heave and float. That said, on smooth motorways you’re better served. It tracks well and stays subdued. “We’re acutely aware Europe doesn’t need another premium car brand,” says a Genesis representative. Well, no. Evidence abounds in the failure of Cadillac and Infiniti, and the ongoing struggles of Alfa, Jaguar and Maserati. Soon, Genesis will have electric cars, and if the parent company’s EVs are anything to go by they’ll be good. I’m sure Genesis would have made a splash if it came as an all-electric brand. The GV80 won’t make ripples. Paul Horrell
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TM19001
QUOTE TOP GEAR WHEN ORDERING
8
10
T
MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS
Comfort class from
2.0TD 4cyl
£38,000 (est) 261 bhp
9spd auto
5.7 secs
P
CO2
56.5 mpg
132 g/km
FOR Refined diesel engine, comfortable cabin loaded with S-Class-grade tech AGAINST So-so practicality, we don’t really know what it’s like to drive yet...
046 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
he trouble with so many new cars is that the sheer range of options can leave you baffled, and means a few select options can leave one car feeling utterly unlike another. That could be the case here – the new C-Class you’ll be able to order in the coming weeks will look exactly like the car pictured, but it won’t have our Germanmarket test car’s adaptive suspension, rear-wheel steering or all-wheel drive. Mercedes says there’s simply no demand for that tech in the UK. Which is a shame, because so equipped the new C drives rather well. It’s based on the same platform as the outgoing car, but heavily revised. And this new suspension and rear-wheel steering system are key technologies in Mercedes’ tireless pursuit of the superb BMW 3-Series. As with all rear-wheel steering set-ups, at low speeds the rear wheels turn against the fronts for better manoeuvrability, while at high speeds they turn with the fronts to aid stability. So specified the C-Class acquits itself equally well on B-roads and motorways – feeling agile on the former and stable on the latter. The steering itself is direct and well weighted but not brimming with feel, as is the modern way. As much fun as a 3-Series? I don’t think so. But maybe more comfortable. The new C doesn’t get the option of air suspension like it used to, but with these new dampers it almost
feels air sprung. Comfort mode is sometimes too floaty, but Sport mode does a good job of keeping pitch and heave in check without totally knackering the C’s ability to iron out creases in the road surface. Sport+ is perhaps a step too far, but generally this is a very comfortable car. We will have to wait until we’ve driven a UK-spec car, with its regular suspension and steering, before we can categorically say whether or not the new C-Class is better to drive than either of its main rivals. But don’t worry because there is plenty here to keep us occupied for the time being. The interior, for instance. One way to get people talking about your new circa £38,000 four-door saloon is to give it the interior from the über-luxurious, high-tech flagship for which you charge more than twice as much. Indeed, the new C’s interior appears to have been lifted almost wholesale from the recently launched S-Class. So there’s an 11.9-inch portrait touchscreen, another 12.3-inch display for the driver and few physical buttons to speak of. It’s all standard in the UK, too. Yes, it’ll take you some time to master how it all works. But far as touchscreen user interfaces go, Merc’s is actually pretty good. That said, pinching, prodding and swiping your way around a touchscreen while driving is still far from ideal. Changing radio stations, entering destinations into the satnav and
“AS MUCH FUN AS A 3-SERIES? I DON’T THINK SO. BUT MAYBE MORE COMFORTABLE”
Screens galore in the dash largely inherited from the S-Class
fiddling with the climate control is better accomplished using Merc’s ‘Hey Mercedes’ voice assistant. Hardly Siri or Alexa, but it’s getting better with every generation and at least that way you can keep your eyes on the road. You’ll try using the swipey touchpads on the steering wheel, but you’ll give up after a couple of attempts. Material quality is broadly very good, but there are some suspect plastics on the door cards and around the glovebox. And the new C-Class isn’t actually that spacious – no problem up front, where the driving position and seats are both spot on, but head and legroom in the back is only OK for the class and the boot is not only a bit smaller than in a 3-Series, but smaller than the Mercedes CLA. Petrol C-Classes use either a 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. You’ll find the former in the 201bhp C200 and the latter in
the 254bhp C300. There are two diesel options too – the C220d and C300d, both 2.0 litres. From the outset all C-Classes are 48V mild hybrids, but a petrol plug-in hybrid with upwards of 60 miles of electric range is coming later this year (with a diesel plug-in hybrid and AMGs to follow in 2022). All C-Classes get a nine-speed automatic. Elsewhere in the world higher powered C-Classes get the option of 4Matic all-wheel drive, but in the UK the C is rear-drive only. This is the C300d. Of course it’s not as nice as the straight-six diesel in the BMW 330d, but for a four-cylinder it’s jolly refined, doesn’t make much noise and pushes the C along at a brisk pace. A much better fit than the 201bhp 1.5-litre petrol in the C200, which sounds a bit reedy when you’re pushing on. Both engines work well with the standard nine-speed auto, which shuffles between
ratios quickly and smoothly. It also responds well to the paddles on the wheel, but you can’t lock it in manual mode. It can be a bit hesitant off the line, too, so be wary at junctions and busy roundabouts. And you’ll need time to suss out the brakes, too – pad doesn’t meet disc until you’re quite a long way into the pedal travel. Then, when it does bite it’s a bit abrupt, meaning you come to a halt more quickly and aggressively than you intended. Not exactly confidence inspiring when you’re steaming into a tight bend, nor particularly smooth until you’ve got your eye in. So it’s not without problems, but the new C makes a broadly good first impression. Forgive us, but we’ll wait until we can get a UK car together with rivals in comparable specs before we pass definitive judgement on where the new C-Class Benz lands. Tom Harrison TO P G E A R . C O M
› AUGUST 2021
047
MUST TRY HARDER V O L K S WA G E N G O L F GTI CLUBSPORT 45
£39,990 CO2
P 2.0T 4cyl
296 bhp
7spd DCT
5.6 secs
37.7 mpg
8
10
169 g/km
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GTI. EVERY FIVE YEARS Wolfsburg likes to give us a special edition to remind everyone the GTI is the hot hatch fanbase king. It’s been going on since the GTI MkIII 20 Years Edition, but you probably didn’t notice that – or the MkIV Edition 25 – because those are The Bad GTIs. The Very Good MkV GTI spawned
ASTON MARTIN VA N TA G E F 1 E D I T I O N
Pole position
something called the Edition 30, which sprouted a bigger turbo, handsome BBS rims and a body kit. Nice car. Five orbits
£142,000
later, we got the MkVI Edition 35. And for the MkVII Golf, a Clubsport Edition 40. That one was particularly excellent. For the MkVIII’s turn, we get some
P 4.0TT V8
527 bhp
8pd auto
3.6 secs
24.3 mpg
CO2
264 g/km
dubious red-rimmed 19-inch alloys, naff ‘45’ stickers on the back doors and a ‘45’ badge on the steering wheel. The top speed limiter has been unleashed from 155mph to 167mph – so what? – and you score a stunning set of titanium Akrapovič
FOR Stunning looks, improved dynamics, a proper sports car AGAINST Square steering wheel, interior layout
exhausts that look the business, and make no difference at all to the GTI Clubsport’s autotuned, overdubbed engine bark. For all of this exclusivity and Meh Factor, you’re asked to pay £600 more than the 306bhp, all wheel drive, drift-happy Golf R, and a preposterous £2,750 more than a normal GTI Clubsport which looks, sounds and drives exactly the same. Come 2026, and the GTI’s golden jubilee, VW had better try a lot harder. Ollie Kew
6
10
048 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
T
he car came first. Aston was already working on an uprated Vantage before it got the gig to produce an F1 safety car. It then aligned the two. So, although this is the first car ever to wear an official F1 logo, it isn’t a limited edition model. It’s more money, but maybe not as much as you’re thinking – £142,000 is an eighteen grand uplift over standard. Reflecting that, the engine has only come in for a software tweak, gaining an extra 24bhp for 0.1secs off the 0–62mph and a slightly more fiery top end. The drama of the acceleration is what makes it. This is still a big fun motor, walloping you in the back above 3,000rpm and growling along deliciously. Not as kick-ass and responsive as it is in the AMG GT R (where it has 577bhp), but like that the Vantage F1 has a slight muscle car vibe. The change is that the chassis can now fully cope with everything the powertrain can deliver. I want you to think about how
detailed these changes are. At the rear the springs are 10 per cent stiffer, the dampers up 20 per cent under compression, the bump stops have been changed and a stiffer rubber top mount fitted. The upper control arm is new and there’s now a lateral damper between the rear subframe and torque tube to reduce drivetrain movement. And that’s just the rear suspension. The aim was 15 seconds off the car’s lap time around the Nürburgring, without using sticky tyres or trickery. That’s been achieved with a time of “around 7mins 30secs”. But what matters is that it feels different to a standard Vantage immediately – there’s less movement and more control at the back end, positive, accurate damping where small suspension travel rounds off bumps well. It doesn’t quite reach the attack levels of the new 911 GT3, but it likes to be driven hard. Cruise through corners and it’s as if the Vantage loses attention, but brake hard into the apex and accelerate out and you get a greater sense of connection. On track it’s the rear end’s extra accuracy that impresses, making it an accurate slider if Bernd Maylander feels the need to showboat for the crowds. Ollie Marriage
NEW 20 EDITIO 21 N
On sale now Available in store
Order online MagsDirect.co.uk
7
10 NISSAN QASHQAI TEKNA
Winning formula £31,565 1.3T 4cyl
156 bhp
6spd man
9.5 secs
P
CO2
44.1 mpg
145 g/km
FOR Slots into daily life. Techheavy but not baffling. Safe AGAINST A little dull to drive. Stiffish ride. Only one engine
N
issan can fairly claim its original 2007 Qashqai original invented the idea of a tall hatch – as opposed to a lowered SUV. Its proposition: more room and image than a hatchback, for little sacrifice in economy and dynamics. I said it would fail. Even Nissan wasn’t all that confident. Yet it promptly started selling at three times Nissan’s prediction. The idea simply caught fire. Nowadays about half of cars sold this size are crossovers. The Nissan is still the best
050 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
seller among all the subsequent rivals. It’s designed, engineered and made in Britain, and it has accounted for one in five of all the cars made in this country since 2007. And here’s an all-new one. Seldom was the cliche ‘no pressure then’ more heavily freighted. Nissan’s been careful not to upset a winning formula. So it’s bigger, but only slightly. Sharper to look at, but still recognisable. More sophisticated in its electronics and driver assist, but still straightforward and intuitive to operate. It’s obsessively developed to slot into urban family life. Diesel engines are history. At launch, all the grunt work is done by a 1.3 petrol. I’m in the higher-power 156bhp manual FWD. Overall weight hasn’t risen because the body is 60kg lighter: bonnet, doors and front wings are aluminium and the tailgate is plastic. The little engine is just about plucky enough. Low down, its mild-hybrid kick masks the lag. Higher up it’ll joust in the motorway overtaking lane provided you hold your nerve.
The suspension is taut, the ride busy but not harsh. There’s some lateral shuffling over uneven roads, too. It doesn’t feel embarrassed in corners, resisting roll and squeal well enough. It doesn’t vouchsafe its driver much recreation, but for a crossover it’s fine. It feels all-of-a-piece and wobble-free. Suspension, body, steering column and seats are mounted together with solid integrity. All of which gives it a sense of quality that even some of the ‘premium’ crossovers can’t match. As it moves into gen three, rivals have marshalled their forces to chip away at the Qq. A Peugeot 3008 has the cabin quality, a Skoda Karoq the practicality, a Citroen C5 Aircross the family friendly seats, a Mini Countryman the driver appeal. In such a congested class, nothing can hope to be across-the-board champ. But for the family buyers the Qashqai is laser-focused on, it’s hard to argue against. Besides, a vast number of existing Qashqai owners are ready for a trade in. They’ll slide right in to the new one. Paul Horrell
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The overrun Small but perfectly formed reviews. The best of the rest from this month’s drives
6
R E N A U LT A R K A N A R . S . L I N E E-T E C H H Y B R I D
8
10
It seems someone, somewhere is asking for a budget BMW X6, so Renault’s here to oblige. The
Back to a soft-top for the 4-Series
BMW M4 40i CONVERTIBLE
cabrio. That helps the looks now the bum doesn’t have to
Arkana comes in techy full or
£30,900
accommodate a folding metal
£57,880
mild-hybrid flavours, and the
roof, but that won’t be the
former works well here, with
controversial end, will it? The
FOR Hybrid set-up works well,
impressive economy and
FOR Swift folding,
top drops silently in 18 seconds
something different
seamless transition between
well-insulated roof
at up to 31mph, and top-down
AGAINST Looks like a Megane,
electric and petrol. Rear space
AGAINST Hearing what
refinement is terrifically un-
firm ride, outdated interior
is impressive despite that sloping
everyone thinks of the looks
blustery. The engine is a peach,
roof, but the the ride is awfully CO2
P 1.6 4cyl hybrid
143 bhp
10.8 secs
58.9 mpg
108 g/km
while the cabin is expensively
firm. Renault thinks you’ll want this over a Toyota C-HR. But why limit yourself to just these two? SB
7
P 3.0T 6cyl
369 bhp
4.9 secs
36.2 mpg
CO2
183 g/km
3cyl petrol engine is also the most powerful Sport you can buy.
CITROEN e-SPACETOURER
on the rear axle hooked up to
the second row. Would be world class if it was prettier. OK
uses the same electric powertrain as the Vauxhall Corsa-e and Citroen e-C4, meaning a 134bhp
£47,595
electric motor and 50kWh battery.
a 15kWh battery, yielding 30ish
But in the beefier e-Space Tourer,
FOR Swishing around silently
miles of electric-only driving if
FOR Proven powertrain, flexible
that translates to a not-so-
is smugly satisfying
you’re plugging in, or the same
seating arrangement
impressive range of up to 143
AGAINST You can’t have the
mid-30s mpg as any other Disco
AGAINST Van-like looks, range,
miles. The family friendly Flair
PHEV with seven seats
Sport if you’re not. It’s a decent
no larger battery option
trim, at over £47.5k, is a tough sell, so the model to look at is
car either way, though the snag P 1.5T 3cyl hybrid
305 bhp
6.6 secs
143.1 mpg
AUGUST 2021 ›
CO2
44 g/km
is that you lose the option of seven seats that usually makes the Sport a class leader. SD
TO P G E A R . C O M
10
Citroen’s minivan turned minicab
That’s because there’s a motor
£49,335
trimmed and can seat adults in
5
10
The first Discovery to use a piddly
L AND ROVER DISCO SPORT P300e
052
10
CO2
50kWh battery
134 bhp
13.1 secs
143 miles
0 g/km
the nine-seat Business Edition, recently price-dropped to £31,995 (after plug-in car grant). PR
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TG SUMMER GAMES
LET GAMES Welcome, readers, to the big one. After all, 350 editions as much as the budget will allow. Which means four cars for
056 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
PHOTOGRAPHY MARK RICCIONI
BEGIN of TopGear magazine calls for a celebration like no other. Or the princely sum of £350 each. This is the TG Summer Games
TO P G E A R . C O M
› AUGUST 2021
057
W Welcome to the most prestigious and hotly anticipated sporting event of 2021. You can forget the Euros, the Olympics, Wimbledon, the Gold Cup, the Tour de France and the Open Championship, because here, in a small ex-quarry in Lincolnshire, UK, true sporting endeavour is about to be manifest. Reputations will be forged in the crucible of competition, egos tempered in the heat of sudden and violent head gasket failure. Briefly, the TopGear Summer Games features a full pentathletic programme of woefully ill-defined contests recognisable to any sports fan, and involves completing each one in a secondhand vehicle bought and modified for just £350. The teams will represent their favourite nations and consist of a broad spread of global superpowers: Britain, Germany, Japan and the USA. Now, you’d think that the idea would be obvious: the knack being to purchase an all-rounder capable of scoring points in as many events as possible. A theory ignored by the British team, who turned up in a black cab that was sporting dual rear wheels and an automatic gearbox with a torque converter made of phlegm. Germany arrived in a respectable looking Audi A6 on studded tyres, which caused apprehension, until everyone realised that it was devoid of Audi’s quattro drivetrain and appeared to be vomiting the ghosts of dead catalytic converters from its exhaust pipe. Japan, on paper, looked to be in the best shape, having acquired a Mazda MX-5 – the most obviously athletic car here. A car that officials noted to be suspiciously cheap, bought from a ‘mate’, and whose ‘receipt’ appeared to a) be in the team captain’s handwriting and b) not a receipt. But it was the American team who seemed to have interpreted the rules most creatively, presenting a Ford Ka supermini on off-road tyres, on the premise that Ford is an American company and ‘AmeriKa’ was a viable pun. Still, it’s hard to break rules when there aren’t any. But as the opening ceremony drew to a close with the words “Why is the editor wearing a spandex full-body condom?” ringing out across the amphitheatre of dreams, it was time to begin. And so, with the stage set, in the words of that man that does the introductions at WWE... Let’s get ready to rumble*. *And then clatter. And then quite possibly catch fire. Tom Ford
058 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
TG SUMMER GAMES
THE EVENTS
100M SPRINT
ARCHERY
WEIGHTLIFTING
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
CLIMBING
An event that requires
Somewhat complex
Untypically for a
no introduction, other
in this context, seeing
strength event, the
One of the more ‘artistic’
decide the automotive
than to specify that the
as TopGear’s version
weightlifting section
events, the rhythmic
pentathlon, in that
four representatives of
of archery involves
of the Games involves
gymnastics section
each car was required
each nation will attempt
hitting a target with a
filling each car with
involves creative
to drive up “a very
to cover exactly 100
bow and arrow from
350kg of ballast, and
interpretation of
steep hill” – the exact
metres in the fastest
a moving car. A sort
then attempting a short
physical movement,
gradient of which was
time possible. There is to
of medieval drive-by.
but infinitely dangerous
use of the arena, and
scientifically measured
be no contact, and the
The participants are
rallycross-style course
commitment. Teams
at ‘very steep’ – from a
winner gets four points,
allowed two passes,
in the fastest time
may use props, but must
standing start. Points
second place three,
one in each direction,
possible. Full use of
complete their routine in
awarded for the furthest
third place two. The
with points totalled at
suspension bumpstops
90 seconds. Fireworks
distance climbed.
tawdry loser emerges
the end and finishing
encouraged, with
are prohibited, as is
Start delayed initially
with just a single point
positions deciding the
bonus points for most
shouting “you are on
due to the Japanese
for turning up, plus the
event score. Drivers
committed attack
fire” to other teams.
team being unable to
howling contempt of
must maintain at least
over the back hill.
Start delayed by Team
extricate themselves
the assembled crowd
5mph, no stopping
Start delayed by
Germany furiously
from their fancy dress
and the humiliation that
allowed. Start initially
everyone refusing to aid
choreographing a
costumes during the
goes with it. It’s a four-
delayed by Japan
professional strongman
bizarre interpretive
toilet break. And the
way drag race on dirt,
accidentally firing one
Marcus Charman load
dance routine behind
fact that the British
basically. Start initially
of the two arrows into
the cars, as he made
some rocks, and
team had burst both
delayed by Team USA
the trees behind the
the ‘athletes’ look like
refusing to begin
front tyres during
losing the starting flag.
target during practice.
undernourished waifs.
until it was “perfect”.
the gymnastics. TF
A simple event to
TEAM GERMANY
TEAM GB
TEAM JAPAN
TEAM AMERIKA
Some old Deutschmarks bagged
Having toyed with Jags, LRs and
Ex-boss Charlie Turner was selling
Two-thirds of Team AmeriKa had
this extremely leggy Audi A6. And
Minis, a black cab eventually stole
a second-gen MX-5, the perfect
Kas as first cars, and who didn’t
then purchased some black, red
the crown. The roof and wing
athlete for a team of two. The
dream of tarting up our faithful
and yellow electrical tape and
mirrors received Union Jacks,
livery? A mix of the Japanese flag
teapots with whitewall tyres, hot
copied Audi’s 2012 one-off A1 e-tron
but the finishing touch? Bunting,
with a Mario Kart livery for the full
rod-chic flames and stencilled
German Olympic Team Edition.
Bulldogs and Big Ben. Job done.
‘Tokyo Nights’ facade.
rattle can touch-ups? Anyone?
THE UMPIRE
athlete Marcus Charman. With
the weightlifting section of the
a strong sporting background
day, but decided to judge all
Arbiter of fair play and general
(he’s an ex-pro cricketer and
of it. And no one dared tell him
VAR supremo is professional
footballist), Charman was
he couldn’t. Needs feeding raw
strongman and powersports
originally only drafted to judge
steak every 20 minutes. TF
TO P G E A R . C O M
› AUGUST 2021
059
EVENT ONE
100M SPRINT Anything Usain Bolt can do, this quartet can do slower, right?
060 A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 › T O P G E A R . C O M
TG SUMMER GAMES
Few nerves at the start. Mostly from Marcus, who wasn’t sure how he’d got himself into this
TEAM JAPAN
1ST
A convincing victory for Japan with the Mazda barely breaking a sweat, despite being on completely standard road tyres. Webb-san – otherwise known as Mario – managed the grip levels perfectly off the line and coasted home. We’ll have no more of this purchase price sledging from Team AmeriKa or the Germans either. Team Japan compete with honour, and when that doesn’t work, we shout about the fact that the MX-5 was actually the cheapest car here. It set us back just £200 thanks to some fairly major alternator issues, and even with a fix it came in under budget. GP
TEAM AMERIKA
2ND
We knew we stood a chance here, based on the lack of skill on display from the only real competition in the form of Japan and its creative interpretation of ‘£350 purchase price’. Yes, the AmeriKa was probably sporting less than 50bhp, but a
set of knobbly tyres nicked from a quad and its light weight meant we were in the running – an impression cemented when Germany smashed their entire undertray off during the practice run. Masterful use of analogue launch control by pilot Kew (burning the clutch out against a firmly held handbrake) brought us a well deserved second place. And the moral victory. TF
1.9 litres, so it should be an 8v inline-four good for 128bhp and a 0–62mph of 10.5 seconds. That wasn’t the case. As it appeared we had quite an issue. No boost. We were effectively running without a turbo for the whole day. Which is like Usain Bolt doing the 100m sprint in a pair of size four stilettos. RH
TEAM GERMANY
Always good to get some points on the board early doors, is it not? So you can imagine our dismay when the first event rolled around... 100m sprint. Ah. A couple of practice runs did little to offer much hope: last and, er, last again. Still, such was the snail pace of the black cab that I had arguably the best seat in the house as Team AmeriKa and Team Japan locked horns in a close call finish, with Team Germany not far behind. Slow and steady we may have been, win the race we did not. But nothing quite like giving the competition false hope, is there? PR
3RD
Having never seen the A6 tanker turn a wheel until it rolled off the outrageously luxurious transporter, we had no idea what to expect in a sprint. But it had a set of rings on the front of it, so was a born Olympian. But the stats were against us... even if the car had been brand new. With the Audi weighing in at 1,480kg, the titchy AmeriKa and fraudulent MX-5 had us pipped. However, that was also probably the weight of the galumphing Team GB’s rear axle. The badge on the back said
TEAM GB
4TH
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TG SUMMER GAMES
EVENT TWO
ARCHERY
Two drive-bys, two tries. Who had the steadiest hand when it mattered most?
TEAM GB
1ST
You know what they say – if you haven’t fired a bow and arrow out of a moving black cab, you’ve never had a ‘proper’ night out in Soho. This was our opportunity, then, to justify Team GB’s pre-tournament hype, mostly by ourselves on the group WhatsApp. Now, elite archery requires a steady hand, eyesight of a hawk, upper body strength and flawless technique. We had a short man in a cheap morph suit who had never once fired a bow in his life. And yet isn’t that what events like this are about? The Eric the Eels, the Eddie the Eagles, the other plucky underdogs named after animals. So with blind hope more than anything, Jack knelt down in the back of a filthy taxi and loosed his arrows slightly nearer to the middle of the target than anyone else. A win that literally nobody saw coming, including us. JR
TEAM JAPAN
2ND
Having stolen some extra practice attempts while photographer Mark
was getting a shot of the glorious sight of Mario firing suction arrows from the open roof of a moving Mazda MX-5, Team Japan was confident heading into this most technical of disciplines. When it mattered, two arrows into the outer rings of the board made for a respectable mid-range score, which suddenly looked much better than average as Germany failed to get anywhere near the target. Second place was secured, although we couldn’t escape the feeling that the fans were expecting a victory here given the obvious advantages provided by a cabrio. GP
TEAM AMERIKA
3RD
Bullish into the second round event, Sam drove like a demon at 5mph in an almost straight line past the target, while Ford shot from the passenger sill of the, er, Ford. Chosen as resident bushman/archer on the basis that he owns a multitool and once camped, Ford scored well on the passengerside run and prepped for the win.
Unfortunately, Sam’s valiant attempt to cheat by slowing down on the return leg fatally confused Ford, who then fired his remaining arrow into his own roof, causing a ‘nul point’ situation. A situation that resolved into a disappointing third place given the complete and utter hopelessness of Team Germany. TF
TEAM GERMANY
4TH
In hindsight, getting the tallest and lankiest member to fire at a moving target while standing on the sill with the door open probably wasn’t our finest idea (don’t try this at home kids). A situation not improved by our quite frankly award winning* (*requires ratification by governing body) livery stripes that had in fact sealed the rear windows completely shut, topped off with our second tallestslash-lankiest member, Rowan “lead foot” Horncastle, thinking he was still in the 100m race. Essentially, our fate was sealed in the planning phase. Nul points. AF
“TEAM JAPAN WAS CONFIDENT HEADING INTO THIS DISCIPLINE”
Princess Peach is in for a long wait if these guys can’t get past the second level TO P G E A R . C O M
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Would’ve helped, but didn’t want to get accidentally thrown in too
The splash was actually caused by bits falling off the car
Atmospheric smoke on a budget from the canny Germants
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TG SUMMER GAMES...........
EVENT THREE
WEIGHTLIFTING
Who’s the strongest of them all? Rallycross-style weightlifting should settle it
TEAM AMERIKA
1ST
Reverse psychology came into play during the weightlifting – for this we needed someone who could pilot the AmeriKa through a complex course, while not adding any actual extra weight. As our lightest crew member, Sam Burnett stepped up and was masterful. A neat, precise lap with all four tyres rubbing in the arches ensued, with a hearty BANG over the back hill that had us thinking that either Sam had rolled or snapped the car in half. He hadn’t, though we’re still not sure what position we finished in, simply because we were laughing too hard at Sam’s face over the final – large – bumps. We’ve since christened the expression ‘fearful constipation’. TF
TEAM GERMANY
Team GB tries to blame sluggish performance on being two tyred...
2ND
The A6’s commodious boot swallowed the sacks of sand wonderfully. Given it’s done a quarter million miles in its life, it’s probably done endless runs of
the M4 corridor with a urinal cube salesman behind the wheel and a boot full of citrusy yellow bricks. Or bodies. The suspension wasn’t as happy; groaning as the wheels smacked the top of the arches and the bump stops gave each other high fives. Still, Simon Bond’s commitment and local course knowledge brought home another solid second. See, consistency is key. And possibly chemo, given the black death now being belched from in, under and out the back of the car. RH
TEAM JAPAN
3RD
We had assumed that the Mazda MX-5’s boot would be too small to swallow all 350kg of ballast that the TopGear Summer Games weightlifting committee required, and so hoped it would be spread around the cabin for better weight distribution. Alas, the strongman squeezed every last kilo into the back – damn you Mazda and your practical convertibles – and the subsequent rear suspension sag gave
the impression that the MX-5 had forgotten how to bow. The crash of metal on Lincolnshire rock could be heard at Mazda’s Hiroshima HQ, and upon crossing the line I realised my phone had pocket dialled 999. A demonstration of commitment, but some semblance of mechanical sympathy hampered our speed. GP
TEAM GB
4TH
I was quietly confident going into the weightlifting. After all, the mighty TXII was designed specifically to ferry the world’s weightiest tourists and their oversized baggage around the West End, so it ought to have no problem with a few kilos of sand. But I’d still need to deploy Full Send to overcome the performance deficit laid bare by the drag race. So when the flag dropped I buried my foot in the bulkhead and kept it there for, ooh, 90 per cent of the run. With a time only a second off the MX-5’s, I claim the moral victory. If not an actual victory. TH
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TG SUMMER GAMES
EVENT FOUR
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
Just 90 seconds to impress a professional strongman... no pressure
TEAM AMERIKA
1ST
After watching Germany absolutely lose their tiny minds (the dancing will stay with us, shudder), Japan fail to really get the hang of their open diff and Great Britain burst both front tyres by simply turning corners, we knew we needed something special for this event. Thus, Team Spangle drafted in the least mechanically sympathetic, most disposable member to drive. And Ford did not disappoint, drawing on a misspent youth by committing wholly to a series of J turns, reverse donuts and handbrake triple salchow that impressed the judge simply through the ferocity of the execution. A deserved first place, we thought, although most were still chuckling at Team GB trying to drive a London taxi around a quarry on bare front rims. TF
TEAM GERMANY
2ND
Majestic. Balletic. Acrid. That’s what real judges would say about our routine. But we didn’t have real judges, we had a lusciously bearded
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ex-cricketer addicted to protein. So the appeal process starts here, as Germany was robbed of gold in rhythmic gymnastics. C’mon! Who doesn’t love two wiry guys twirling ribbons like they’re having a seizure in the Berghain? All to Nena’s 99 Luftballons while an Audi A6 furiously lengthens its handbrake cable, executes dusty reverse donuts and blows its turbo hose clean off. Simone Biles, eat your heart out. RH
the arena with no plan other than to yank the wheel hard left and keep it pinned, while Peter did his best to keep his lunch down in the back. The effect of this in a car where the front wheels can turn at a right angle to the direction of travel is to rip both tyres off the rims. It wasn’t pretty, but it was dramatic. Third place felt like a win. JR
TEAM GB
A tough break for Webb-san here. Being first on the mat meant he had nothing to compare his routine to, and given that automotive rhythmic gymnastics is yet to take off internationally, it’s fair to say he was going into this event blind. Some neat handbrake turns and a couple of well-executed powerslides looked promising, but (as is so often the case) trying and failing to skid into a giant inflatable ball was his downfall. Still, it was a damn sight more graceful than Team GB’s tyre-killing attempt – clearly the referee had been influenced by the partisan crowd and we were left floundering in last place. GP
3RD
Handbrake turns, power slides, a flurry of wheelspin and a perfectly executed J turn, these are the tools of a well trained automotive rhythmic gymnast. And ribbons. Literally miles of ribbons. Unfortunately, a black cab with several hundred thousand miles on the clock lacks the grace, agility and lightness of foot to perform any one of these. Frankly I’ve seen toilet blocks with more pizzazz. The strategy, if you can call it that, was to substitute balletic choreography for mindless aggression, which is how I found myself charging across
TEAM JAPAN
4TH
Imagine these guys in knitted jumpers and that’s the TopGear Christmas party
“MAJESTIC. BALLETIC. THAT’S WHAT REAL JUDGES WOULD SAY”
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“Where to guv’nor?” asks Jack. Not the top of that hill, that’s for sure
EVENT FIVE
CLIMBING
Four cars versus one ‘very steep’ hill in the deciding event? Child’s play...
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TG SUMMER GAMES
TEAM AMERIKA
= 1ST
Given his success in the sprint, Kew reprised his skills for the hillclimb event in a more vertical manner, absolutely scampering up what we knew to be ‘our’ probable best chance at success. The Ka’s tyres and weight advantage – as well as Kew’s ‘flat-to-the-mat’ attitude, saw it crest the summit in record time, earning some well deserved cheering from his teammates – although Sam’s American accent sounded worryingly Welsh. Still, success and a tappety valvetrain ringing heartily in his ears, Kew celebrated by accidentally driving the Ka into a mud bog, which meant we ate his celebratory biscuits. TF
TEAM JAPAN
= 1ST
After some input from the on-site safety team that essentially amounted to “if you stop on that hill and reverse down, there’s a strong chance you’ll roll the car” (and all too aware that the only protection against that sort of thing in the Mazda was my Amazon-sourced Luigi hat), there was little chance of Team Japan not making it all the way to the top and reaching the sanctuary of level ground. First gear and max revs did the trick, earning us maximum points alongside the Ka. We’ll be calling for an official doping inquiry into AmeriKa’s use of off-road tyres, though. GP
P O S T- E V E N T A N A LY S I S After an intense day of high-
Potts-San looked mournful,
level athletics, endeavour,
realising too late that
mechanical unsympathy and
dressing as Italian Super
blatant cheating, the results
Mario characters while
have been totalled (as have
representing the Japanese
two of the four cars). In fourth
nation was pushing his
place and missing even a
Nintendo homage too far.
cursory glance at the podium
Which means that we
is the plucky, but ultimately
announce the winners of the
absolutely s**t, British team.
2021 TG Summer Games... the
Earning bronze is
TEAM GERMANY
3RD
There’s a big hill at Tixover. In technical terms the gradient would be considered ‘really bloody steep’, and it’s designed to test the metal – and mettle – of hardy 4x4 enthusiasts. So, can you torpedo a 1.5-tonne luxo-barge – devoid of its intercooler hose – and make it to the top? Um, no. Right when it needed boost, the A6 disappeared into a plume of its own black smoke, curiously from both ends, several metres from the top. What’s the saying? Scheisse. SB
TEAM GB
team representing the United
Germany, whose efficiency
States of AmeriKa. A worthy
saw them nurse an A6 huffing
performance that nailed the
more smoke than a barn
brief by brazenly cheating
fire through the event. Ralf
and finding a car that was
Hornschloss commented: “We
neither sold nor designed
will return next year better,
in the US, and making it
and likely rig up some sort of
excellent at nothing, and
emissions cheat device.”
average at everything. “If in
A well deserved silver
doubt, be slightly mediocre
medal goes to Team
and hope that everyone
Japan, a sad loss for a
else fails” turning out to be a
coxless pair that showed
clumsy, if appropriate, motto.
so much promise. Greg
No budget? No problem. TF
4TH
With two front tyres flapping around the rims, it was a miracle we made it to the starting line at all. But it’s incredible what grit, determination and a highly illegal twin tyre system on the rear axle can do. So when the flag dropped, we eyeballed our Everest and gave it everything we had. The diesel engine summoned one final roar, the prow rose skyward and we exploded forward at a rate best described as ‘not really moving’, before coming to a complete halt roughly three metres from base camp. You’ve seen athletes tweaking a hammy off the start line – this was more like cardiac arrest and a compound leg fracture before the first hurdle. Hard to watch. JR
FINAL STANDINGS TEAM AMERIKA
17
TEAM JAPAN
14
TEAM GERMANY
12
TEAM GB
10
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ISSUES ...and counting
TopGear magazine launches with a typically unambitious cover featuring every single new car on sale in Britain. It costs £2.40, which in today’s money is five grand. So the mag you’re holding is a bargain.
TG readers vote the Toyota Corolla as Britain’s most satisfying car to own. They do the same in 1995, 1996 and 1997. You wild bunch.
Vectragate – TV’s Jeremy Clarkson enrages Vauxhall by referring to hugely important new Cavalier-replacing repmobile as “just a box on wheels”. We didn’t call it ‘beef’ then, but this started one.
We drive the Ferrari F50 and the F1 car it nicks its V12 from. TopGear.com launches. And crashes, probably.
TOPGEAR TIMELINE
E VOLUTION OF THE TOPGEAR T V LOGO
1977
1983
1986
1988
1994
2002
2013
2018
TG mag buys an old Ferrari on editorial budget. Those were the days. Whoever thought a format of buying cheap old knackers for a series of challenges would catch on?
July issue shamelessly baits sales by putting a slinky Cougar on the cover. In a strong year for Ford, MkI Focus wins TG Car of the Year.
Jeremy Clarkson leaves ‘Old TopGear ’ to begin glorious career as chat show host.
TG mag confidently predicts Jag’s new concept car is a 911-killing E-type successor. Whoops. Well, we were only 13 years out.
071
A Bugatti Veyron races a light aircraft. Our Ferrari Enzo vs Maserati MC12 test leads to an accident our insurers still haven’t recovered from. Also the penultimate time there were ladymodels on the cover. Definitely the last time we put a Peugeot 1007 on the cover. Y’know those greeting cards that make a tinny noise when opened? We once sold a magazine that emitted a Ferrari V12 howl for a laugh. WHSmith cashiers walk out on strike. On the telly show, Hammond survives a 280mph jet car crash. Stig wipes out in the Koenigsegg CCX at FollowThrough. The 100th issue of TopGear mag. Meanwhile on BBC Two a rebooted studio-based TopGear is launched, conceived by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman, with copresenters Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe. Features ‘The Stig’, celebrities setting lap times, bad shirts and worse denim.
James May becomes the third telly presenter. Telly show tries to kill a Toyota Hilux. Fails. Mag runs inexplicable ‘Top of the Hots’ coverline. No, neither do we.
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Sabine Schmitz is introduced to the world as the Nürburgring queen as Clarkson tries to lap
TG Speed Week issue features rubberised cover, for your pleasure. Brit car firms have a stormer with new Range Rover Evoque, McLaren 12C and Jag F-Type concept launched to acclaim.
Michael Schumacher ‘reveals’ himself to be The Stig. Apparently. Some say he was just there to lap his Ferrari FXX. Modena’s wonderful 458 Italia is our Car of the Year. We get our own Facebook page, and a Twitter account.
Something called a ‘Tesla’ appears on the cover of TG mag for the very first time. Whatever happened to them? In 2007 we also brought you the Reliant Robin Space Shuttle, the infamous US roadtrip adventure and Captain Slow maxing the Bugatti Veyron.
TG mag drives the Mazda Furai. It burns to a crisp. We don’t tell anyone for years (apart from Mazda). We borrow three Veyrons, just because. None catch fire. Phew. Also in 2008, TG joins YouTube.
And it’s 200 not out. Mag celebrates with drives of the Noble M600 and Lambo Gallardo Balboni, plus a planetexclusive test of the new NASA lunar rover.
073
For our 250th issue, Clarkson drives the savage McLaren P1, while the Vauxhall Astra becomes the latest Reasonably Priced Car to be abused by the glitterati of TG TV guests. TG enters the world of Instagram. Like.
We head to Sweden for the first ‘ TG on Ice’. The telly show makes a balls-up of The Sweeney ’s car chase scene.
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Patagonia telly special ends with an unfortunate misunderstanding about a numberplate and rocks being thrown. Margot Robbie and Will Smith in the studio, while mag takes a Ford Mustang to all 50 US states (nearly).
Chris Evans steps down from the telly show.
A nice quiet year begins with our hypercar Holy Trinity world exclusive, but headlines are grabbed by an unfortunate steak dinner ‘fracas’ in March. Chris Evans confirmed as new host of telly show, later joined by Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz and Eddie Jordan.
begin to calm down a notch.
TG mag celebrates 300 issues with a £300 banger race challenge and choosing (then rendezvousing) our top 10 cars of all 300 editions.
We put a Land Rover Defender on the moon (kinda), witness Bugatti smash the 300mph barrier and manage not to kill all three telly boys in a freak Jaguar hearse rollover. The Porsche Taycan is the first EV ever to win TG Car of the Year.
Cheerio Matt LeBlanc and Rory Reid, hello Paddy and Freddie. New Ford Fiesta ST becomes first car to win TG Car of the Year for a second time.
We go mainstream! TG graduates from BBC Two to BBC One for the first time. Our awesome ‘greatest Bond car ever’ cover lands just as COVID-19 cancels No Time to Die. And life as we know it.
TO P G E A R . C O M
TG TV is shot away from Dunsfold for the first time since 2001. RIP Sabine. Issue 350 of TopGear magazine published along with the launch of the revamped TopGear.com.
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THE ROAD TO BELLISSIMO Maserati’s comeback trail is full of twists and turns – perfect for testing the new MC20 WORDS JASON BARLOW PHOTOGRAPHY DENNIS NOTEN
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MASERATI MC20
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MASERATI MC20
W
We’re on the Passo della Raticosa. For 300 years this was the main road connecting Florence and Bologna, two of the world’s finest cities. It’s 968 metres above sea level, rising and falling, ebbing and flowing, not replete with fast sweepers or good sight lines but a lot of fun all the same. C’mon, this is Italy in full effect. It’s easy to imagine a nuova Fiat 500 fizzing and parping its way breathlessly between villages, or the gladiators of the original Mille Miglia pushing as hard they dare on the mountain hairpins. There’s not much that can save you if the brake pedal goes soft up here. As it happens, the 2021 edition of the Mille Miglia will be passing through in 24 hours, but having done the event a fair few times it’s a relief not to be getting in the way of 400-odd hard-charging historics in a brand new Maserati MC20. Trust me, idiotic interlopers in modern tackle are the bane of the modern Mille Miglia. The MC20 is part of that grand history but for once the new takes dramatic precedence over the old. It’s a halo product for sure, but also a significant statement of intent, and it signals Maserati’s stubborn refusal to become a footnote in the automotive annals. Cynics suggest that Maserati should be quietly pensioned off so we can enjoy the likes of the original Ghibli, Khamsin and my personal favourite, the Allemano-bodied 5000 GT, in rose-tinted peace. The MC20 insists otherwise. Historically, Maserati was more of a grand touring concern and has a greater fealty to the eternally romantic if outmoded concept of trans-European road travel. The MC20 certainly elicits a more fizzy response than the meanly cushioned middle seat of a Ryanair plane and the moronic promise of some scratch cards. Do we need to talk
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about how it looks? Not everyone was wowed when the wraps came off last year, but what does a supercar have to do to catch a break these days? The snouty, pouty nose is pure Maserati, the cockpit has a concepty domed effect, and the trident motif air intakes on the Lexan rear window are fun and functional. There’s MC12 and Birdcage 75th concept in there, but if ever a mid-engined Italian supercar could qualify as subtle it’s probably this one. There’s something classically tailored about it, which might defeat shouty social media types in UAE condos but doesn’t bother me. Our car is finished in marble-effect Bianco Audace, though Blu Infinito or Grigio Misterio work equally well. (I’m fairly certain that there is no word in Italian for beige.) There’s nothing beige about how the MC20 goes but it’s also not what you might expect. That subtlety, it turns out, is more than skin deep. We pick it up from Maserati’s headquarters in central Modena, home to the shiny new production line on which the car will be manufactured, and ease out into typically sticky and anarchic Italian traffic. Roundabout etiquette is non-existent in this country, and it’s baking hot even for this part of the world in late June. So forgive the workaday first impressions: the MC20 is easy to see out of and its air conditioning is capable of blowing at chilled hurricane force. There are no physical controls for it unfortunately, but the central touchscreen is mercifully simple to use. Boy, does this thing ride well. Getting onto the autostrada from Modena is a fiddly process, and post-lockdown Italy is busy as hell. There’s a lot of freight traffic and this thundering army of big rigs has played havoc with the road surfaces. Some of these potholes
Social distancing rules mean until Jason comes back, no one else can touch the door
The intense look of a man who’s got 20mins to get to his 7pm dinner reservation
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MASERATI MC20
“THE DRIVING POSITION IS TERRIFIC, THE FRONT WINGS RISING SENSUALLY INTO YOUR EYELINE”
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A crowd gathers as Jason gets pulled over by the Italian police for not speeding
MASERATI MC20 Price: £187,230 Engine: 3.0 V6 twin-turbo, 621bhp, 538lb ft Transmission: 8spd dual clutch auto, RWD Performance: 0–62mph in 2.9secs, 203mph Economy: 24.6mpg, 261g/km CO2 Weight: 1,475kg
have got their own potholes, and the tarmac ripples and undulates as unpredictably as the Italian political system. But the MC20 just glides over the mayhem. Extruded aluminium subframes are attached to the tub, while the suspension itself is a sophisticated multi-link set-up at the front and rear. It’s made of forged alloy, with two links at the bottom and one on top; it’s the other way round at the rear. It works. The drive south into Tuscany involves one of the world’s most scenic motorways, punctuated by long stretches of tunnel. These are majestic examples of engineering taken totally for granted by the locals but that we simply don’t have much of in the UK. These days, we’re better at debating infrastructure than actually building it. The MC20 feels stiff yet supple, and settles into an eighth gear cruise of startling serenity. Its carbon fibre chassis has been co-developed with race car specialist Dallara, which employed slightly different strategies for the three models that’ll be spun off this platform: the coupe, a spider, and the pure-electric version. Like McLaren but unlike Ferrari, which reserves carbon composites for its gazillion pound hypercars, Maserati has gone the carbon fibre route for the MC20 for maximum structural integrity and reduced (if not notably minimal) weight. Maserati says the top half is more design oriented, and the lower half is where aerodynamics have primacy. Highlights include vortex generators at the front, a hump in the floor which rises in the middle to feed air to them before reconnecting with the chassis further along, and door sill ducts to aid airflow to the engine compartment. And it was all done lightning fast: the MC20 was developed in a little over two years using an arsenal of simulation tools in Maserati’s innovation lab. Oh, and the company says that 97 per cent of the car’s development was done virtually.
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“THE MC20 FEELS STIFF YET SUPPLE, AND SETTLES INTO A CRUISE OF STARTLING SERENITY”
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MASERATI MC20
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Pipe down, Aquaman, this is the trident that’s got real power
Jason’s invited in for a drink by someone’s grandma, appears three days later
Maserati’s future looks incredible, but sounds a bit meh... we can live with that
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MASERATI MC20
Ah, Italy – land of tiny coffees, beautiful cars, glorious sun and football. Best not mention that...
And so to the MC20’s engine. It’s an all-new, clean sheet unit dubbed Nettuno – for Neptune – which features technology so advanced there are patents pending on it. It’s a 3.0-litre, twin-turbo six-cylinder, with a 90° V angle and dry sump, making 621bhp at 7,300rpm and 538lb ft of torque from 3,000rpm. Maserati claims a specific power output of 207bhp per litre, so the numbers are more than there on paper. The clever bit is its Formula One-grade pre-chamber combustion – which the firm calls Maserati Twin Combustion – that pre-empts the traditional spark plug to create a bigger and more efficient burn. There’s direct and indirect injection too, working at 350 bar, all in the name of lowering emissions and reducing fuel consumption without sacrificing shove. It’s cradled noticeably lower in the chassis too, with promising consequences for the centre of gravity. I’m not totally convinced. It’s an odd unit in some ways, constrained by its need to be efficient while serving up the required sizzle. There’s no doubting that this is a seriously rapid car: it’ll do 0–62mph in 2.9 seconds, 124mph in 8.8 and on to a top speed of 203mph. But it’s oddly – though not unpleasantly – old-school turbo in its delivery, down to a prominent wastegate chumpf, and once we’re off the autostrada I’m far more inclined to use the paddles for manual shifting than let the dual-clutch box do its thing. Like all downsized engines, and despite its power and torque, the MC20’s six-pot needs to be fully lit to do its best work. This is no real hardship until you look at the fuel consumption. A hard working MC20 is a thirsty beast. Some have also noted that the Nettuno engine is a bit sonically flaccid and we’re a long way now from the banshee wail of say, a Ferrari F355. Put it this way: were you fortunate enough to step out of a Lamborghini Huracán and straight into this, you’d wonder whether half the engine had gone AWOL. Then again, this is the future so I suppose we’d better get used to it and besides, it’s not without charm. Let’s see what the Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura can deliver. The front end on this car is just great, though. And its brakes are too, six piston Brembo carbon ceramics that are right on the money once they’re at full operating temperature. A prominent rotary controller, whose design dreams of being a Rolex, offers five driving modes: Wet, GT, Sport, Corsa and ESC off. This adjusts engine boost, pedal sensitivity, the exhaust valve, gear shift, suspension and traction control. A button in the middle of the Rolex allows you to fiddle with the three-stage electro-mechanical dampers, so you can mix and match. Unsurprisingly, Corsa is all but useless on the road, and the default GT setting seems to cover most of the bases. It’s usually
the way. Sport is good on twisty stuff with the suspension in its soft setting for maximum compliance. The MC20’s superb steering and its front end eagerness make light work of these storied mountain passes. There are shades of Alpine A110, only one with well over double the power (and an extra 375kg to lug). Turn everything off and the MC20 will dance to your tune, too. We find a little building in a town called Pietramala and decide to use it as a photographic backdrop. It turns out to be a methane extraction facility, and not only that but it’s a site once used by Alessandro Volta, the Italian physicist and chemist who invented the electric battery. Florence isn’t far away but not all of Italy’s greatness, it seems, is so grandly celebrated. Maserati has worked hard to future-proof the MC20. Among other things, it features a digital rearview mirror, which basically replaces the mirror view with a camera screen when you flick the lever. Personally, I find these incredibly difficult to get used to, but you can turn it off and return to the traditional type. At which point you realise you can’t see anything whatsoever and switch it back on again. The driving position is terrific, the front wings rising sensually into your eyeline, the Sabelt seats good to look at and even better to sit on. The MC20 features a 10.25in digital instrument cluster and a similarly sized central infotainment touchscreen, both of which work well. It’s also fully connected, with Alexa and/or Google smart assist, a wifi hotspot and and Tidal streaming. There’s also the option of a high end Sonus Faber audio system to play your tunes through. The cabin blends carbon fibre and Alcantara to memorably desirable effect. Some of the graphics and the switchgear are a bit disharmonious, while the exposed screw heads on the centre console and the doors are aiming for a sort of racy functionality that’s not quite the ticket on a near-£200k car. I’d delete the outsized MC20 badge and Italian flag on the passenger side, too. One other important issue: a usable GT it may well be as a driving machine, but there’s not a lot of space inside for phones and COVID-19 masks and
“THERE ARE SHADES OF ALPINE A110, ONLY WITH DOUBLE THE POWER”
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TOYOTA CENTURY
“IT HAS ITS IDIOSYNCRACIES... BUT THEY DON’T UNDERMINE THE WHOLE PROJECT”
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MASERATI MC20
whatever else you carry about in 2021. Or for luggage: the frunk holds 47 litres, the rear compartment 101 litres. The stuff we had stored in there was hotter than the surface of the sun after a day’s driving. I was worried my laptop was going to end up resembling the bad guy in Terminator 2. As ever with a Maserati, the MC20 has its idiosyncracies. Only this time, they don’t undermine the whole project. Creating a supercar that meets current regulations means the fancy new engine can feel a little uptight. The bandwidth is there but those 600+ horses aren’t as wild as you’d expect. The trade-off is a car you could really live with and use every day (though not for the supermarket run). It’s a car I really want to try on a track, and the group test that lines the MC20 up against a formidable array of new and established foes from all the big players is going to be one for the ages. But right here, right now, with the sun streaming through the cypress trees and a famous Italian road unfurling in front of us, this Maserati is hitting all the right notes.
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DEAD RINGER
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AUDI Q4 E-TRON
A whole day of hypermiling around Coventry’s ring road. What runs out first, the crisps or the juice? WORDS SAM BURNETT
PHOTOGRAPHY JONNY FLEETWOOD
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It’s around hour eight of this odyssey for the ages that I hit the wall. Not literally, because that would have been a disaster. I feel broken. I’ve been driving for so long my neck and shoulders have fused into an amorphous mass of tendon and gristle, I’ve started moving like Michael Keaton in Batman. It happens again at hour 12. That’s when I consider Thelma and Louising the Audi Q4 e-tron off the side of Coventry ring road into the abstract grey mess that is the former sports centre, just to end the boredom. Still two hours to go. You might be wondering how I got into this mess, but actually it’s all my own fault. I thought it was funny when someone else was going to do it – if the ex-Forces heroes at Mission Motorsport can hypermile a Renault Zoe 425 miles on standard rubber, why can’t TopGear do it? Not in a Zoe, obviously, we’d need something fancier. No track, either. Why not the Coventry ring road? And so here I am in a new Audi Q4 e-tron in the heart of pound shop Detroit, Britain’s motor city. I’ve got a soft spot for the rolling concrete landscape of Coventry, I grew up here. There’s nothing like the advantage of local knowledge. Except everything is different. Piazzas everywhere, shared street spaces and oppressive Soviet-style student tower blocks that have sprung up like weeds. There’s one metres away from the railing as the ring road’s grey overpass sweeps round the eastern edge of the city centre. Four or five laps in I manage a wave to a pleasant young man cooking his lunch. What a friendly place. The new Q4 e-tron is an interesting tool for this challenge. Interesting because it’s actually a little boring, as electric cars go. Sure, it’s a lovely Audi, with the requisite swanky interior and reassuring solidity. It’s spacious – room for five and lots of luggage if you’re feeling cavalier about your electricity consumption. But the Q4 e-tron doesn’t make a fuss about its powertrain, just quietly gets on with it. Literally. There’s barely a squeak from the suspension or the windscreen wipers. There’s a brief rattle on the passenger side around four hours in, but it turns out the 12 pack of crisps I brought along for snacks has fallen against the door. There are three zones for climate control and that, but I can’t use any of them because they’re disastrously thirsty. My cans of cloudy lemonade have warmed to an unsavoury extent. I’m a bit spoiled, as drivers go – I assumed the Audi had adaptive cruise, but I nearly crashed into a lorry at 5am on the way up here. No lane-centring either, not that it would be able to cope with this undulating circuit.
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Which reminds us, have you taken your vitamin C tablet this morning?
AUDI Q4 E-TRON
For some reason the head-up display just reads “smoky bacon”
“IT’S ACTUALLY A LITTLE BORING, AS ELECTRIC CARS GO”
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AUDI Q4 E-TRON
“177 LAPS = 400 MILES, BUT MUM’S CALLING ME IN FOR DINNER” I’m happy to do this thing manually, but it would’ve helped with eating the crisps. I get to thinking about this mid-range S line car’s £47k list price, about £2k over the Sport model, but adds bigger wheels, sport suspension and some extra LED ambient lighting, which I’ve turned off because I’m saving every last electron here. Not sure I’d want to pay the extra. I’m all here for the 77kWh battery, though. Those 308 miles of WLTP range are like Prozac for range anxiety, you’d just charge this car every now and then and forget about it. Not me, though. I’m going for a lot more than that. Coventry’s ring road is 2.25 miles long, with nine junctions wham bam one after another. Technically its pedigree name is the A4053 and it’s the busiest road in the city, with around 60,000 vehicles using it every day. Although I’m not quite sure how they’re counted – in reality it could be as few as 400 vehicles if they’re all doing similar economy runs to me. Construction started in 1959, the first stretch was completed in 1962 and the whole thing was eventually completed in September 1974. The ring road had been years in the planning, starting off as a sedate series of roundabouts and finishing up as the brutalist rollercoaster ride we know today, roughly following the line of the wall around what was said to be a beautiful medieval city. This ring of road though, it represented the dawn of a new era in the eyes of the city’s bigwigs. Coventry was a hub of manufacturing greatness, the jewel in the crown of global automotive manufacturing. The bicycle as we know it today, that was invented here. The first tank, dumper truck and car indicators, all came out of Coventry factories. There were over 100 bike and car brands at one point. That burgeoning hope of the Fifties and Sixties dissolved in the Eighties and Nineties as the jewels were pawned off, the ring road and grand vanity projects of yore became scars on the landscape. It polarises people, Coventry. Academic and musician Michael Lightbone made an actual EP of sounds recorded through the ring road’s concrete pylons, music described as having “an industrial bleakness that’s hard to beat”. We can all surely agree that in its bleakness Coventry is second to none. I’m feeling pretty bleak behind the wheel of the Audi, though I don’t think it’s the car’s fault. The run started off very unpromisingly, 3.9 miles per kWh on the first lap. At least I’d be finished by lunch. Slowly improving, up to 5.2mpkWh by lap 10. It’ll need to be better than that. I was in touch beforehand with TG’s international man of electricity, Paul Horrell, to talk tactics. Very technical stuff, quite
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hard to pull off, but essentially his advice boils down to drive really slowly and don’t use anything in the car. Except the infotainment, I’ll need to use that. I spend the first few hours learning French – I basically just ate crisps through the last two lockdowns, may as well try to better myself during this car-based removal of freedoms. I’m eventually able to faire une réservation pour une personne à 19 heures, if I can ever escape this hellish lazy river. It’s taking all my self-control to resist the urge to hoof the accelerator and just get it over with – after all, if 200 miles is the best she can do, it can’t be helped. Acceleration is alarmingly perky even with the eco settings turned up to 11. I rattle through my podcasts, listen to some music. Lap after lap after lap, endlessly round and round. I’m not sure if I’m starting to feel dizzy. I start off anticlockwise for four hours, then I try it the other way round to balance out. It feels a bit more frenetic on the clockwise trek, the merges that little bit crazier, the traffic a smidge busier. I swap back after another four hours. And so time passes. I dwell on my mortality, on loved ones left behind. On the fact my selection of meat flavoured own brand crisps all taste the same. On the vomit-like smell emanating from the spectacularly ill-advised energy drink I opened. On the strange stunted place names plastered on the tarmac because the full name won’t fit – places like KEN’TH, NUN’TN and W’WICK I remember from childhood. On the fact Audi reckons it’ll sell 20,000 of these next year. It’d be the second most popular Audi after the A3, a sign the EV has reached the mainstream. Around hour 10 I hear some comical tooting as I sit at the lights at junction one’s roundabout, the sole interruption in the ring road’s otherwise seamless loop. My dad has appeared in his austerity mid-life crisis Smart cabrio. He’s just off to do some work, but yells through the window that he’s making sausage, beans and mash later. The dinner of champions, I hope. He trundles off at speed – more speed than me at any rate – and I make a mental note to tell him his left brake light is out. Dad, if you’re reading this... The ring road just wouldn’t be allowed today. It’s madcap, hare-brained, dangerous. A miasma of twisty turns, blind brows that fire you into traffic coming from all directions, endless roundabouts. It’s a cruel joke on the unsuspecting motorist, the true mark of a seasoned Coventrian being the ability to fling the car across deadly merges with abandon. In fact, the first thing my dad asks when I tell him about the challenge is whether I’m going to drive the ring road ‘properly’. You’re supposed to keep to the right until your junction comes up, to make it easier for cars to get on and off. I try it, but dawdling at 33mph feels safer in the inside lane. Lap after lap after lap – 177, in fact. I’ve spent 14 hours coaxing the Q4 e-tron round the Coventry ring road at an intolerably glacial pace. Still four per cent left, but mum’s calling me in for dinner. Those 177 laps make 400 miles, at 5.5mpkWh. Mincemeat of the 308 miles of official range. I’ve stared Death and Boredom in the face – close cousins, don’t you know – and come out the other side. A hero? I don’t like to use the word. But maybe.
AUDI Q4 E-TRON
New green plate to warn drivers you’ll be 10mph slower than everyone else
It is surprisingly easy to get lost around here without a map
Sam takes a quick sip of energy drink, realises he isn’t 19 anymore
AUDI Q4 E-TRON 40 S-LINE Price: £47,090 Engine: Single e-motor, 201bhp, 229lb ft Transmission: 1spd auto, RWD Performance: 0–62mph in 8.5secs, 99mph Range: 308 miles (400+ if you’re an idiot) Weight: 2,050kg
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It’s definitely still a Lotus, but the new Emira might just upset
LOTUS EMIRA
WORDS PAUL HORRELL PHOTOGRAPHY MARK RICCIONI
the British sports car purists on its way to sales success...
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“IT’LL BE A RIVAL TO THE BOXSTER, OR IN AMERICA TO THE LOWER RUNGS OF CORVETTE, BECAUSE IT’S GOING ON SALE WORLDWIDE. THAT’S A BOLD AMBITION”
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LOTUS EMIRA
T
he new Lotus Emira is propelled entirely by little explosions. It isn’t even a hybrid. That’s not because Lotus is incapable of something electrified, or dragging its feet. Next year there will be a “lifestyle product” (aka crossover) that’s all-electric. In 2025 an electric sports car, a co-operation with Alpine. So the Emira, by having only a petrol engine, surely qualifies as an instant classic. Just as well it looks so good. It’s a mid-engined two-seater. Lotus has done plenty of those. But it doesn’t quite replace any of them, even though the Elise, Exige and Evora have lately shuffled off this mortal coil. It’s meant to be usable every day. But not, we hope, an everyday thing. Still special. Starting at under £60,000, it’ll be a rival to the Boxster, or in America to the lower rungs of Corvette, because it’s going on sale worldwide. That’s a bold ambition. Emira deliveries don’t start until next year, beginning as a V6. A four-cylinder option is a few months later again. So right now Lotus is still being enigmatic about the outputs and stats. But here’s what we know. The V6 is the supercharged Toyota-based 3.5-litre V6 from the Exige and Evora. The four-cylinder will be a version of AMG’s superheated two-litre turbo. There will be manual, auto and DCT auto transmissions, says Lotus, again declining to say much about what engine pairs with what transmission. Well you can bet neither engine will be offered with all three, and in the old cars the V6 had manual or auto. So we can safely assume the DCT is for the four-cylinder. Lotus says the outputs are 360bhp for the entry-level 2.0 litre and 400bhp for the V6, and that the quickest acceleration will beat 4.5 seconds for 0–62mph, with launch control. They both seem like they might not be trying that hard, because both those engines go beyond 420bhp in cars we know – the V6 in the Evora and the four in the Mercedes A45S. The four-cylinder will be the lighter car. But it could be positioned as the more hardcore, more circuit hungry option. The V6 will be for those who think
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LOTUS EMIRA “Just add lightness” motto has now been superceded by “Just add options”
there’s more to life than lap times. It’s always been a lovely engine to use. Thanks to the supercharger it does the instant giddy up even from low revs, issues a big baritone across the mid-ranges and then aims itself vividly at the red. The six-speed manual transmission comes with Lotus’s exposed linkage, which is gorgeous both in aesthetics and shift action. As well as choices in engines and transmissions, there are a pair of suspension set-ups to pick between. In both cases, the steering assistance is by hydraulic not electric power, because better feel through your fingers is worth a little heavier fuel consumption. The Tour suspension is what you’ll likely want for road driving, as it brings a more comfortable ride. And look, it isn’t going to be soggy is it? But if you go to tracks, or live near smooth roads, or just don’t mind a “slightly stiffer set-up for enhanced dynamic capability and feel” then yours is the Sport option. I use quote marks because so far we have only Lotus’s word for it. But Lotus’s word normally turns out not to be an exaggeration. All wheel options are 20in, tyres specially developed, including a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 for track biased drivers. Lotus pioneered making the structure of a car by bonding aluminium extrusions. That’s what it does with the Emira too, but every dimension is different from the company’s previous cars. If you took an Evora and added the extra equipment and strength in an Emira, you would add 60kg. In fact, the Emira adds only 10kg. Also, and I’m not at all sure that I like the sound of this, it’s a bit wider. More width means less roll and more grip on a track, but it also means more caution on a country road when the possibility exists of meeting a truck coming the other way. This is a notably longer, wider and more powerful car than an Alpine. But it’s also heavier, at 1.4 tonnes, leaving the V6 Emira with no real power-to-weight advantage over the S version of the A110. But the V6 Emira has, y’know, a V6. Which is nice.
“EVERY DIMENSION IS DIFFERENT FROM THE COMPANY’S PREVIOUS CARS”
Emira on the right, Little Tikes Elise on the left...
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Planning a trip through the badlands of London? Then you’ll want Tour suspension
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LOTUS EMIRA
H E R I TA G E IN DESIGN Lotus’s design director Russell Carr is utterly embalmed in Lotus heritage. He’s not, though, a backward-looking man, because he knows Lotus has always been a forward-looking company. Crikey, he’s seen enough of it, having been there long enough to have done the final facelift of the Esprit for 2002. The Esprit is as good a peg as any on which to hang the Emira. Most of its life it had just four cylinders, yet knocked on the doors of what a supercar could do, and it was exotically shaped and, yes, luxurious for its day. Lotus hasn’t always been about bone-hard flyweights. It has done front-engined including four-seaters, mid-engined, and, remember, the front-drive Elan too. Its cars have often used other manufacturers’ engines. And now there’s also a 4WD electric hypercar. Carr has analysed all those to come to his analysis of what, visually, makes a Lotus. It’s about being fresh and original and crisp, about allowing the light weight and the aerodynamics to be visible. But without being too mouthy, boastful or gimmicky. So his Evija has those tunnels through its rear body, because there’s no bulky engine there. They’re an aero aid intrinsic to the car, not stuck on above it. The Emira has something of the Evija about it, but also enough of its own character not to look a mere feeble knock-off. The absence of flab in the surfaces subconsciously evokes a driving experience that’s similarly free of slack. The body makes downforce, without moving elements or a high wing. It borrows the Evija’s ‘exit vents’ in the bonnet, which sweep air neatly over the top of the body. The side inlets both aspirate and cool the engine. So the Emira doesn’t stand in for the Elise, because it’s basically impossible to design a car that size and weight, future-proof against coming global legislation, without recourse to exotic materials or a cabin that’s basic to the point of being user-hostile. Perhaps it’s closer to the softer versions of the Evora, but that car got seriously expensive by the end, and still lacked the amenities buyers want. It’s easy to forget, unless you look up the photos, how basic were the interiors of the Elise or Exige or Evora. Yet towards the end of its life most Elises sold were £50,000 plus. The Emira’s cabin looks and feels night-andday more expensive, yet the actual price is only a few hours more expensive. The dash curves elegantly into the doors. Soft materials and ambient lighting make it a dramatically different atmosphere from before. Which it needs, given the fundamental age of those other cars. Even if their handling and steering never got old. Sports cars are about more than dynamics: few succeed without looks on their side. The Emira is inarguably good looking. Not just in a functional way, or as a shape that excites specialist car fetishists. The Emira will be attractive to more than just those who’ve been buying Lotuses in the past. It needs to look good out in the mainstream sports car world, to the sort of people who buy the big-selling cars. Come to think of it, even appealing to them isn’t enough. They don’t want their social circle to think they’ve bought a strange looking car, so the Emira has to look good to the buyers’ friends, like ripples across a pond. Whereas if you bought an Exige, with its grilles and bulges, you clearly didn’t give a stuff what anyone thinks.
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“THE EMIRA HAS SOMETHING OF THE EVIJA ABOUT IT, BUT ALSO ENOUGH OF ITS OWN CHARACTER NOT TO LOOK A MERE KNOCK-OFF”
Nice for the Emira to take some time out to visit its grandparents
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W H AT I T M E A N S FOR LOTUS Lotus really wants the Emira to sell in far bigger numbers than the Elise, Exige and Evora. Lotus owner Geely is investing big. Sure, the Emira’s aluminium frame and glass fibre skin are the same materials Lotus has used for years. But they’ll be made in expensively scaled-up factories. Lotus has built a new plant in Norwich for the aluminium bits, so the frames don’t have to be trucked far to the main factory in Hethel. There too we find a new production line, with robots painting and computer guided trolleys carrying the cars between stations. Some £100m has gone into all this, creating 200 new plant jobs. Look again at the Alpine A110. Not that many people are buying it, because they get in and think it’s a bit toy-like. That’s a criticism Lotus has obviously suffered with many of its past models and is determined to avoid this time. Get into the Emira and it’s a world away. If the marketing team has any Porsche-like gumption, the Emira will doubtless later be offered with the option of hip-crushing race seats, but right now you’re forced to endure the luxury of four-way electric adjustment as standard, or the option of a premium seat with 12-way motors. You don’t need to contort yourself to get in either – the door openings and sill heights have been carefully considered. The seat moves back to suit tall drivers who were simply barred from the Elise. You can see out pretty well, too. While it might sound boring, the
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storage in an Emira matters. Big bags behind the seats, smaller ones in the rear boot, amounting to 359 litres or the same as a Polo. Drinks bottles fit the door pockets and, er, cups in the cupholders and a phone in the phone tray. The instrument display and central touchscreen both use Lotus graphics, unless you’ve switched to phone mirroring, which you can. Lotus has worked with KEF on a 10-channel hi-fi. Lotus’s current slogan says “For the drivers”. But if you’re to use a car every day, you want some help. If your commute involves a long section with average speed cameras, you’ll want radar cruise control, anti-collision braking, lane departure warning and lane change assist. For slow-speed work, keyless go, rear cross-traffic alert and parking sensors are handy. So you can spec all that. It hardly adds any weight. We know where this is going then. Mainstream? You’re all going to hate the Emira cos it’s a sell-out. It’s 1,400kg, has radar cruise control and electric seats. Remember the fuss when the new Defender came out. The armchair critics hated it because it wasn’t like the old one, a vehicle no one bought new, because its design and engineering were so very not new. I adore both the old Defender and the Elise, but I never considered buying either except secondhand, which wouldn’t be doing much to keep Land Rover or Lotus in business and the staff in jobs. So let’s park the righteous fury and look at the Emira for what it is. A £60,000 400-odd bhp mid-engined sports car with modern amenities, charismatic engines, a lightweight structure, beautiful design and, we trust, the Lotus dynamic fairy dust. What, exactly, is not to like?
LOTUS EMIRA
“LET’S PARK THE RIGHTEOUS FURY AND LOOK AT THE EMIRA FOR WHAT IT IS” You’ll pay £2m for an Evija... and most of it is fresh air
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P
BENTLEY AT PIKES PEAK
Behind the scenes with Bentley at Pikes Peak, then behind the wheel of its brutal GT3 challenger. Not for the faint-hearted… WORDS OLLIE MARRIAGE PHOTOGRAPHY RICHARD PARDON
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IT’S A FOUR TURN OVAL, SO I GUESS THIS IS TURN 2,
but the way the car crawls back up the banking as I power onto the back straight never fails to alarm me. I can’t fight it – well, I could but that would be unwise – it’s just what happens as the angle reduces and the car takes its natural path out towards a convergence with a very unforgiving concrete wall. It moves fast, this wall, seeming to descend to meet me as I rise, then to steam alongside like a frantically puffing runaway locomotive until I gladly peel off into the friendly infield. After five laps I have a new-found respect for all NASCAR drivers, and feel I’ve been driving a car that gives me a bit of that flavour. Because, boy, does it makes a good noise, this wild and bewinged Bentley. But this car is not for here. And compared with what it’s designed for, an oval is a stroll in a meadow. This is Bentley’s Continental GT3 Pikes Peak, and yesterday that’s where it was, blasting up the mountain, aiming to set a hill record in the super competitive Time Attack 1 class. On every other day of the year, Pikes is open to tourists, so I joined them and toddled up. And you know what, even at 25mph “America’s mountain” is bloody alarming. I’m not just saying that. If exposed heights give you any sort of tremor whatsoever, if you have any imagination for what could happen if you got a bit sideways coming out of a hairpin, let alone if the wing fell off at 130mph, a 25mph rumble up those 12.42 miles and 156 turns will cause the palms to prickle. And you think it’s just going to be the top half, where the view through the windscreen is a diagonal slash between orange rock and white sky, where the grey tarmac often surfs that margin, forcing you to tightrope that oh-so open edge. But no, lower down it’s trees. Famously unforgiving. The accident will be over sooner, no cartoony hang time before the mountain’s bare embrace, instead the sudden hard stop. That there have only been seven deaths over the race’s 99-year history is, I think, remarkable.
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Peugeot might be doing away with the rear wing on its Le Mans car, but Bentley is making up for that...
BENTLEY AT PIKES PEAK
“AFTER FIVE LAPS I HAVE A NEW-FOUND RESPECT FOR ALL NASCAR DRIVERS”
No need for satnav at Pikes... it’s one way up, one way down
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BENTLEY AT PIKES PEAK
How to make a Continental GT look small: fit it with preposterous aero devices. The regulations permit them to extend way beyond the usually imposing bodywork, enabling sticky downforce at lower speeds. This car started life as a GT3 racer, so uses a production chassis and bodyshell before the weight reduction begins. Powering this contraption is a relatively familiar motor – the twin turbo 4.0-litre V8. Open the bonnet and it seems to peek timidly out from under the bulkhead. Don’t let that deceive you. It’s been entirely re-engineered to cope with a massive power boost. In GT3 race trim it runs about 550bhp – here, where there are no limits, Bentley... is being coy. All it’ll say is that it develops 750–1,000bhp thanks to new pistons and conrods, higher pressure turbos and a new and far more extensive cooling system. Those big ducts behind the doors gulp air down for a new boot mounted radiator pack in addition to the one up front. Altitude is a killer. The Pikes start line is at 2,862 metres (higher than the top station in plenty of European ski resorts), the finish at 4,302 metres. Plenty of cars, including the Bentley, carry a green triangular ‘O2 on board’ sticker, meaning the driver is using oxygen to keep their wits about them. Just walking around the pit area here can have you panting. An ill-advised 20m jog at the summit, just to see what would happen, had me developing tunnel vision. This affects the cars in the same way. Neither man nor machine can get enough air in. It’s not there for the engine to ingest, nor to flow over the cooling packs. Tuning for the “Race to the Clouds” is a dark art, there’s muttering about
TO P G E A R . C O M
› AUGUST 2021
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