4hc73zamzi7 magzus.org

up to 280 miles range, rapid charge as standard and with Google built-in* all new Megane E-Tech 100% electric iconic Zero tailpipe emissions. CO2: 0g/km, MPG: n/a. wltp figures shown are for comparability purposes. actual real world driving results may vary depending on factors including the starting charge of the battery, accessories fitted after registration, weather conditions, driving styles and vehicle load. *Google and Google Maps are trademarks of Google LLC. Google built-in standard from techno.

@jack_rix

I

t’s the week before Christmas, the UK is covered in a thick icing of snow and as everyone merrily forgets that even a 4x4 on the wrong tyres is as useful as Kwasi Kwarteng’s calculator, I’m looking forward to the year ahead.

We’ve just had our 2023 editorial planning meeting – a predictably shambolic, mince pie fuelled romp through the big cars and events coming in 2023. A chance to strategise how we keep the world’s most beautiful, creative and ambitious car magazine stocked with stories that deliver more information, entertainment and escapism than ever... before we all decamp to the pub to celebrate together in the traditional manner, and forget most of it.

So before I do, some predictions on the automotive trends in the year ahead. Firstly, it’s time to party like it’s 2014, because nine years on the hypercar holy trinity part deux is a distinct possibility. The AMG One we’ve already driven, while the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Gordon Murray T.50 are both tantalisingly close to completion. All we need to do now is get the keys to all three of them on the same day. Anyone seen the phone number for our insurers?

Meanwhile, is love for the electric hypercar dwindling before it’s even got going? Rumours of slow sales for Lotus and Pininfarina show that customers want a bit more than neck-bending acceleration for their £2m... and a flame-spitting combustion engine, twinned with a sprinkling of e-boost is currently, and will be for a while, the way to go.

Could the perennially unloved MPV be about to mount a comeback? My enduring want for VW’s ID.Buzz, Hyundai’s Staria (please bring it to UK immediately) and Dacia Jogger says yes. Anything to save us from a future of wall-towall SUVs. And how about a turning point when you don’t have to choose between affordability, desirability and usability when buying an EV, you can have all three. If Renault can hit its target price of £20k and range of 250 miles for the new Renault 5, it could be transformational.

Or maybe there’ll simply be an uprising of Elon’s humanoid Teslas, while AI chatbots steal all our jobs. Either way, it’s going be fun finding out.

Happy New Year and enjoy the issue,

JACK RIX EDITOR

Eau là là!

Inspired by Jacques Cousteau – and the French Atlantic province of his birth, the Swiss-made C65 Aquitaine GMT is both an homage to the iconic dive watches of the 20th century, and a powerful timing device that lets you monitor two time zones at once. Its pure sapphire bezel is 50 percent tougher than ceramic, while the Sellita SW330-2 movement delivers a power reserve of 56 hours. It’s also waterproof to 200m. Want to know more? Do your research.

TO THE MOST EXTREME FORD GT EVER BUILT”

Though outwardly it looked broadly the same as the cars it succeeded, famously the Ford GT40 MkIV was a completely different animal underneath. And it is to this 7.0-litre leviathan that Ford has paid homage for the very last track-only 2023 Ford GT available to purchase.

Welcome then, to the most extreme Ford GT ever built: an 800+bhp racing machine with all the shackles not just loosened, but thrown into a pit and burned. Just 67 of these nutjob GTs will be built, in honour of the Le Mans-winning 1967 GT40 MkIV.

And like that first MkIV, this new one’s packing some serious power. Ford Performance only says the 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 has been “specially engineered” to target more than 800 horsepower. That’s a lot of horsepower. It’s mated to a full racing gearbox, special Multimatic “adaptive spool valve” suspension and a brand new carbon-fibre body, to follow in the longtail steps of its predecessor.

Because the original ’67 MkIV – nicknamed the ‘J-Car’ as it was built to the FIA’s Appendix J rules – famously featured a longer body laid over a lightweight chassis and monster 7.0-litre engine, this new Ford GT MkIV also gets a slightly longer wheelbase “for greater on-track handling”.

“The original GT(40) MkIV held nothing back for max track performance, and the new Ford GT MkIV brings it in the same way,” said Ford Performance Motorsports director Mark Rushbrook. “With an even higher level of motorsport engineering and performance, plus a completely new carbon-fibre body that is functional and striking, the MkIV is the ultimate send-off of the third-generation supercar.”

That’s right, it’s the very last Ford GT, and as such, carries with it a great price – each car will start from $1.7m, and Ford will have decided which 67 lucky applicants have succeeded by early this year. Vijay Pattni

IV L

AGUE

Thought the GT40 story began and ended with Matt Damon grinning in Le Mans 66? Not so It took two painful years for the GT40 to conquer the Prancing Horses at La Sarthe, but Ford knew Ferrari’s development technicians would come roaring back So for ’67 it threw away everything except the 7.0-litre V8, gearbox and some suspension and brake bits, and wrapped it up in the MkIV streamliner Its prototype killed Ken Miles (Christian Bale’s gruff character in the movie) and drivers reputedly hated the car’s hefty weight and overworked brakes. And yet, the MkIV is one of very few racing cars to have a 100 per cent win ratio: it only ever competed at Le Mans and Sebring in ’67, taking the win in both Only six were built, so the homage is common as muck in comparison OK

“WELCOME

CHRYSLER SEBRING

“W

ell Chad, looks like we’re all done here. Engine, suspension, brakes, interior, the whole lot. That’s officially a sign off. The new Sebring is ready to roll. Let’s get those production lines a-fired up!”

“Copy that, boss. Only, just before we press go, I was wondering. What if we spent just a bit more time making it... less awful?”

“Sounds like a lot of extra work. I’ve already had all these sheets laminated. Have you ever tried to un-laminate a sheet, Chad?”

“I know. But at the same time – hope I’m not speaking out of turn here – isn’t this new Sebring terrible by most objective measures?”

“You are speaking out of turn, Chad. It’s terrible by every objective measure!”

“So who’s gonna buy it?”

“No one, Chad! That’s the genius. No buyers, no unhappy customers. We’re targeting the airport rental market. The holiday hire crew. They’ll drive it for two weeks, they’ll hate it, then they’ll hand it back, so happy they never have to drive it again that they won’t even complain. It’s a victimless crime! No one will ever know!”

“If you say so, boss. Just so long as, in 15 years’ time, a British car magazine doesn’t expose our laxness as part of a light-hearted series on rubbish cars?”

“Don’t be crazy. No one would ever believe them...”

Chinese New Year, 22 January Happy Chinese New Year –2023 is year of the rabbit, so queue up the Chas & Dave on the stereo and keep hold of those bunny ears for Easter!

Vikings: Valhalla, Netflix The Nordic/Scandi scamps are back to pillage your senses in Season two. Viking

explorer

PRANCING PIXELS

Ferrari finally joins the Vision Gran Turismo party. Knocks it out of the park...

Ferrari has finally given the gaming community what it always wanted. Maranello’s Vision Gran Turismo is a single-seat, tin-topped virtual racecar with insane aero and beautiful bodywork that drapes itself over the wheels and creates giant open side channels that direct airflow around the cockpit and over the side pods. Even though this is only for PlayStation, that’s a patented Ferrari aero solution.

There are also plenty of links to the past. That straight line rear end with its amazing light bar evokes the 512 S, while the gorgeous 330 P3 is also referenced as a design influence. The rear wing and that massive rear diffuser are inspired by the new Ferrari 499P Le Mans hypercar.

The powertrain also takes influence from the 499P, using the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 at its heart. But because there are no restrictions in the virtual world, said engine is now producing 1,016bhp on its own. The combustion engine is then paired with three electric motors – one on the rear axle and two on the front for all-wheel drive – in order to produce a total output of 1,338bhp and 811lb ft of torque. In a racecar weighing 1,250kg. Impressive.

A full-size, real life design study of the car has already gone on display at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, while the real/virtual thing is available for you to race in Gran Turismo 7 Greg Potts

Careful on the options as you kitsch up your retro Super Seven Less is more –and going for the Seventies vibe with brown, er, anywhere is to be avoided. As is the gopping wide chassis option

WAR

Historians can argue all day long about what won World War Two, but the one thing they all agree on is that without the massive expansion of US air power, things could have turned out very differently. And the wristwatch played a vital role, employing a neat little function that has since become commonplace.

In bombing raids precise timing is crucial and the Allies relied on clockwork to coordinate attacks. Even the best quality watches were not that accurate by today’s standards, with precision of plus or minus 30 seconds a day. So pilots needed to synchronise timepieces before heading out, and this required a ‘hacking’ mechanism.

On a quartz watch, when you pull out the crown it breaks the circuit powering the mechanism and the ticking will stop. A mechanical watch requires an extra bit of kit to make this happen. When you pull the crown on old mechanical watches, or on some cheaper modern ones, you can adjust the hours and minutes, but the seconds hand just keeps going. The hacking, or stop-seconds, function introduced a little lever that pushes onto the balance wheel, pausing the seconds hand so you can set the time precisely.

This function, invented in the early 20th century, was top of the list when US military ordered the A-11 spec wristwatch for WW2 troops. Other stipulations included: easy grip crown, olive drab strap, ‘unbreakable’ acrylic crystal and stainless steel caseback with serial number, manufacturer and military regiment. Three US watch manufacturers – Elgin, Waltham, and Bulova – were engaged to make the watches, and thousands were distributed not just to American troops but across Allied forces. The popularity among pilots has seen collectors label the A-11 “the watch that won the war”.

While America boomed, its watch industry dwindled. Of the three companies that made the A-11 watches, only Bulova remains in business (see opposite) and is now Japanese-owned. There is a lot of nostalgia for WW2 watches, in no small part because WW1 watches were a bit rubbish – cobbled together on the fly, rather than purpose built. In World War Two, we got proper mil-spec watches for the first time. If they also played a part in keeping us safe from the Nazis, no wonder so many of us are keen to get in on the action. Richard Holt

BREMONT S500 REORG

Only 20 years old, Henley-based Bremont has already become one of the most popular watch brands among military types. The company ethos is built around flying, driving, diving and all manner of macho outdoor pursuits, and a good deal of Bremont’s business is small orders for different regiments of the armed forces. This watch is a special edition made in partnership with the charity REORG, which focuses on maintaining physical and mental health among military personnel, veterans and emergency services. With chronometer-rated automatic movement in scratch resistant 43mm DLC-coated stainless steel case, water resistant to 500m. A proportion of sales go to charity. £3,795; bremont.com

TUDOR RANGER

The brand used to live in big sister Rolex’s shadow, but a few years back started coming out with mega cool watches and made a name all of its own. Tudor’s Ranger is an entry level piece with a sense of adventure. Automatic movement in 39mm steel case, water resistant to 100m. From £2,170; tudorwatch.com

LUMINOX AIR PILOT

A US company that uses Swiss tech, Luminox made its name in the Nineties producing watches for the US Navy Seals. The watch is a tribute to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a US fighter plane used during WW2. Quartz movement in a 42mm stainless steel case, water resistant to 100m. £520; uk.luminox.com

BULOVA A-11 HACK

Bulova has a history of inventiveness that includes the first electronic watch back in the Sixties, and making timing instruments for NASA spacecraft in the same decade. This watch looks further back, paying tribute to watches ordered by the US in WW2. With 37mm stainless steel case and water resistant to 50m. £299; uk.bulova.com

MY LIFE IN CARS

HUGH BONNEVILLE

There was a famous old Volvo 145 in our family when I was young. It was a tank of a thing and my parents used to put a whopping great canvas tent and big foldaway canvas canoe on the roof –with three kids in the back too.

The great joy of it was me discovering the cigarette lighter and realising that it made pretty patterns in the front seat when hot. I thought if I could make the Olympic rings on the red seats then that would look quite nice. I got something of a telling off for that.

Then my dad moved on to another Volvo – he was very much a safe driver as you can detect – after which he had an Opel Rekord. That was very exciting because it had electric front windows, one of which worked. The other one blew the fuses if you tried to use it. That was superseded by a Vauxhall Astra.

My first car was a beaten up Renault 5 in bright metallic blue with a go-faster stripe. I have fond memories of that car. One of my favourite films in the entire universe is a short film called Mike’s New

Car. It’s an add-on to the DVD of Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. It’s about Mike being very proud of his new car, and Sulley gets in and starts playing with all the knobs and buttons and Mike gets really cross with him. I seem to remember being exactly like Mike in his new car, even though when I sat in the Renault it completely tipped one way. It was hilarious.

I then moved on to a Citroen AX. It probably only had a 1.0-litre engine, but it also had a go-faster stripe so therefore it was immensely cool.

Nowadays I live in the countryside and my good lady wife wanted a Chieftain tank of the roads, so we had a great big Volvo XC90 which we bought off a mate, with seven seats for our three person family.

That eventually went and I had an Audi Q5, but our local garage was so smug about the emissions scandal that I got rid of it straight away. That’s when I went down the Tesla route. I bought a secondhand 2014 Tesla Model S. It was like buying a first-gen iPhone. It was really basic but it got me into EVs.

I don’t much like saloons, though, and I just wanted a little runabout so that I could put the dogs in the back, so I put a deposit down on a Model 3 when it was first announced and then waited four years for it. I thought I’d ticked the box which said black seats and white trim, unfortunately when it arrived I realised I’d ticked the box for white seats and black trim. Also, it wasn’t a hatchback, so I couldn’t put the dogs in the boot. And white seats meant they couldn’t go inside. That was probably the worst investment I could have made.

I tried a Model X and as much as I loved the falcon wing doors – I think they’re hilarious – I didn’t enjoy the way it drove, so I put my name down for a Model Y. I got that early last year and am very happy with it, though my wife thinks the lack of buttons is ridiculous. I don’t know how half of it works because I’m not prepared to sit there for two hours to learn it all, and when driving I just want to get from A to B. Hugh is starring in new crime drama The Gold, coming soon to BBC One and

HUGH’S DREAM GARAGE

TESLA ROADSTER

I think for the hell of it I’d have a Roadster. It’s very nippy, isn’t it?

TRIUMPH STAG

MERCEDESBENZ SL PAGODA

iPlayer

I love the SL with the detachable hardtop roof. That’s a beautiful car.

I’ve always wanted a Stag. My aunt previously had one and I thought it was the coolest car.

What’ll be on the Downton driveway?

The Earl of Grantham and Paddington Bear’s foster father talks childhood Volvos and EV living...

Tesla has revealed the production-ready fully electric Semi Truck at the company’s Sparks Gigafactory in Nevada, with the first examples being handed over live on stage to PepsiCo.

The Semi’s range of 500 miles was confirmed via footage of a drive from Fremont to San Diego undertaken in ‘real world’ conditions. There’s a single motor on the

front axle, and a pair of motors on the rear which can be automatically disengaged via a clutch when cruising on a motorway, for example, to enable greater efficiency. It reportedly has three times the power of any diesel truck currently on the road, and can be charged using a 1MW charger, meaning up to 70 per cent of range in half an hour. No word on price yet, mind. Vijay Pattni

Joshua Michalski

THE KNOWLEDGE

Need-to-know

GAME OF THE MONTH

Inertial Drift: Twilight Rivals

If you’re familiar with the Nineties Japanese animated series Initial D, you might be staring at the title of Inertial Drift and wondering where all the extra letters came from This expanded and upgraded version of the 2020 game Twilight Rivals Edition is that classic street racing cartoon in all but name Newcomers to this 4K-upgraded next-generation update of the 2020 original, which is out now on Playstation, Xbox and PC, will have to get their heads around the Drift Stick control method It splits out the angle of your drift to the second joystick on your controller, something that at first feels a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time, only at 150 miles per hour Once you get the knack, though, it’s very satisfying to scythe your way down a mountain pass and the new Twilight Rivals story contains all the earnest posturing you’d expect from a bunch of fictionalised drift heroes Mike Channell

PORSCHE TEQUIPMENT ROOF TENT

Want to add a more adventurous feel to your 911 without splashing out on the new 911 Dakar? This official Porsche roof tent should do the trick, and it’ll mean you instantly have the coolest set-up on the campsite. VW California owners eat your heart out The hard-cased, pop-up tent is compatible

with the 911, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan, and comes with two side windows and a skylight for taking in the great outdoors. We’re told an official Porsche heated blanket is on the way too, so you can camp out in the winter safe in the knowledge that everything you own is Porsche branded. porsche.com; £4,635

CREWE SHOES

An exclusive collab between Bentley and custom footwear guru ‘The Surgeon’, just 10 pairs of these exclusive trainers will be available to Mulliner clients. Expect a VERY big discount in the January sales...

SUPERBARGE

Things may have got out of hand at AMG. The monstrous new 791bhp S63 has a 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 with a 188bhp e-motor and 13.1kWh battery that’ll see 62mph in 3.3secs and your lunch a mere 2.0secs after that

0 STARS FOR TOYOTA

The new fifth-generation Toyota Prius finally has the good looks to match the hyper-efficient PHEV tech below its new wedgy bodywork. But wait, it’s not even coming to the UK. Sad times

BLURRED VISION

Mazda has released images of its lovely looking new ‘Vision Study Model’ concept along with precisely zero details about what it is or what it might do. An electric MX-5? A new RX-7? Sure!

SUPERCAR-INSPIRED SPEEDBOATS

Riva Aquarama ‘Lamborghini’

Built in 1968, this stunning Ferrucio Lamborghinicommissioned Riva Aquarama ditched American V8 power for two Lamborghini V12s, good for a combined 700bhp and 55mph (or 48 knots) It was built in just 278 days in order to be ready for Mr Lambo’s summer holiday

MTI Super Veloce

The Riva’s modern equivalent is this carbon-fibre hulled 1,550bhp catamaran, commissioned as a one-off in 2017 for £1.75m. Inspired by the Aventador SV, you get Lambo-spec paint, switchgear and it came with a $25k sound system as standard

Riva Ferrari 32

Forty of these 32-foot prancing seahorses were built in the early Nineties, complete with a not-at-all pointless F1-style wing over the top. At the back, there’s Testarossa-style slats and quad exhausts Power comes from twin 400bhp V8s good for a claimed top speed of 62mph

Cigarette Mercedes SLS AMG Come over all environmentally unfriendly? Then your other option is this $1 2m pleasure craft inspired by the SLS It’s got two twin-turbo V8s for 1,350bhp, which is over double what you get in the gullwing supercar But you don’t get Drift Mode Geddit? Drifting... boat... never mind.

A good pub quiz fact to know: what’s the only diesel-powered Aston Martin? Ta-dah: the AM37 built by Quintessence Yachts in 2016 Available with two 430bhp petrol V8s or twin 370bhp diesel powerplants, there was also an ‘S’ model with more horsepower. Handled like a boat though.

Malibu Corvette

This one actually makes sense, given America’s sports car owes its name to small attack boats called, um, corvettes Malibu has delivered boats themed around the angular C4 and pretty C6 Vette, complete with quad tail lamps, and 400bhp V8s, plus a 500+bhp ZO6-themed craft

Right, let’s get properly stupid. This one doesn’t even exist The Chiron-inspired MegaWealth 5000 (not actual name) proposed an onboard jacuzzi and firepit – perfect for a top speed of 44 knots But we can’t find any evidence the $4m Bugat-sea was ever built

Fiat

500 Riva

So let’s end by flipping the formula and celebrating a superboat-inspired supermini Just 500 (duh) examples of this Fiat/Riva team-up were made, complete with a mahogany dashboard, extra chrome and Riva-approved paint The perfect little landborne harbour tender

Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept

Palmer Johnson Bugatti Niniette

Aston Martin AM37

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE...

ABARTH 500e

A handful of facts on Abarth’s luridly eye-catching first ever electric model

IT’S THE FIRST FULL EV ABARTH

Wearing extremely bright acid green paint, this is Abarth’s take on the all-electric Fiat 500. You should start to see them on British roads in the middle of the year, so long as people are happy to part with the anticipated £30,000 asking price – or around £35k for this limited edition version

2 4 5

IT’S NIPPY

The Abarth uses the same 42kWh battery as the top-spec Fiat 500e, but here you get a 149bhp motor (a pokey 35bhp more than the most powerful Fiat 500e) and a welcome 173lb ft of torque. That equates to a 0–62mph sprint of seven seconds, a full two seconds quicker than the Fiat.

IT WON’T KEEP YOU WAITING

It has three drive modes – Turismo (for pootling around town) Scorpion Street (for the traffic light drag) and Scorpion Track (for giving it the full beans). Plus there’s 85kW rapid charging to replenish the battery after any spirited Abarthstyle driving, taking you from zero battery to 85 per cent in just over half an hour.

IT’S BRINGING THE NOISE

We all know that Abarths like a bit of noise. The 500e gives this a whole new meaning with its “guitar sound” when you turn the car on, a “strumming guitar” that plays the first time you exceed 12mph and then a “sound generator” that provides generic petrol engine noises above that. Hmm.

BLINK AND YOU WON’T MISS IT

The car you see here is the Scorpionissima launch edition – complete with 18in diamond-cut wheels, a 10.25in central touchscreen and a 7in digital dial display. Oh, and Abarth has introduced a new ‘electrified’ scorpion logo, that looks like a scorpion being fried

corpio bei g

Shy and retiring the Abarth 500e is not But it will play classic guitar choons if you ask nicely

THIS MONTH:

CADILLAC LYRIQ

MARQUES BROWNLEE

HARD DRIVE

We

REGENERATION GAME

ME

The single motor Lyriq manages 312 miles of range on a charge Its one pedal mode actually has two settings for ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ with the latter able to deliver up to 0 3g when you lift off the accelerator.

GLARING OMISSION

nge dal bl n tor.

This is probably the dictionary definition of nitpicking, but that’s because I liked the Lyriq so much. It has a huge panoramic roof, but it probably needs to be more tinted. You can close the cover of course – if you don’t then glare can be an issue.

Autocorrect really messes with Cadillac’s naming of its first ever full EV. The Lyriq is interesting for a number of reasons though, not least because it represents yet another step into the EV market for GM. And if we’re honest, GM has hit the ground running. Having learned a few lessons from the old EV1 (whoops) and the Chevrolet Bolt, it now has its new scalable Ultium platform that underpins everything from this Lyriq to the cartoonish Hummer EV.

I always thought that General Motors should make an electric Escalade. It’s already massive and heavy, so going all electric wouldn’t make much difference there, and then an EV powertrain would make the Escalade quieter, faster and even more luxurious. That’s everything you want in an Escalade, right?

But instead we have the Lyriq, which is a little more of a mainstream SUV. For context, it’s longer and lower than a Porsche Cayenne and the wheelbase is almost as big as an S-Class’s. The battery is 102kWh and to begin with you can only have a single motor, rear-wheel-drive iteration that starts at just under $63,000 in the US. A twin-motor version with a quicker 0–62mph time, slightly less range and no doubt a bigger pricetag will arrive soon.

POOR DOORS

DOPE TECH

MB’S FAVOURITE FEATURE

The sound system is impressive and includes speakers in the headrests for full immersion. Plus, the Lyriq uses active noise cancellation to mask

us, the uses active noise unwanted road noise and quiet the cabin

QUALITY STREET

The materials used for the Lyriq’s interior are really good. It also has the best software experience of any non-Tesla EV that I’ve driven.

SPORTING CHANCE

This is a Cadillac, so it’s nice to see that the Lyriq is quiet, softly sprung and relaxing to drive I do wish that it could be sportier when required, though. A bigger step up from Normal to Sport mode would allow it to compete with something like the Tesla Model Y Performance. The AWD version might solve that though

t h o e e

HEY, GOOD LOOKING

EY, GO

The concept was first shown in 2020 and when the production version broke cover in 2021 it had hardly changed at all It’s a bold thing and looks futuristic but also recognisably Cadillac. I also like the light show it gives when you lock and unlock it.

he conc hen n h l thi

T

ERDICT

This is a really impressive first attempt at an EV from Cadillac. At this price point with the smooth drive and the comforting interior, I wonder whether GM will be able to make them quickly enough?

THE DRIVE: THE TECH: THE WANT:

CONSUMER TECH COMPARISON...

The Canon EOS R. When ‘normal’ cameras went out of style, everyone wanted a smaller mirrorless camera.

Canon then created the EOS R.

6 7

“A BIG BATTERY MEANS FEWER STOPS”

Guess I’m as guilty as any other tester of banging on about range, from which arises the myth that it’s all that matters. But it’s not the whole story We need to talk about efficiency too

Consider the Nissan Ariya and Toyota bZ4X According to WLTP, both their small-wheeled versions go about 320 miles But the Nissan needs an 87kWh battery for that, while the Toyota needs just 71 4kWh

That means two things. First and obviously, you’ll pay proportionally less

per mile to charge the Toyota, and with recent high electricity prices that matters.

But second, if you’re doing a journey of more than their max range (which in either case is a safe 250-odd motorway miles), you’ll probably arrive more quickly in the Toyota. That’s not because of their theoretical charge timings on 150kW rapid chargers – on those they both claim about half an hour to get back to 80 per cent. It’s because in Britain 150kW chargers are still a bit scarce. And on the more common

50kW posts you’ll be departing more quickly if you need less energy.

See, on any journey you’ll almost always want to stop for a rest after less than 250 miles. But ideally that stop would be 20-odd minutes for a sandwich, coffee and wee. So if a car takes 20 minutes plugged in while you do that, it’s effectively taking no time at all. But every minute after that you notice. If you need less energy, you need fewer minutes. Paul Horrell

KNOWS?

BONNIE LASS

Meet the Munro MK_1, a 4x4 Defender rival built in Scotland and equipped with 295bhp electric motor. Gnarly

SPACE AGE

Lucid has teased its new Gravity SUV, and claims it’ll go further than any other EV... its own Air stablemate aside. Watch this space

HAT-TRICK HERO

Genesis’s third ‘X’ concept is a fourseat convertible with a folding hardtop roof. Doesn’t it just look superb?

ajor performance brands around the world that turn heads and win hearts are easy to recall: Mercedes and AMG, BMW and its M Division,Audi’s RS line-up. All have built themselves up over decades of design heritage, engineering nous and motorsport trophies to transform the everyday cars that we drive.

Which makes it all the more remarkable that Hyundai’s N brand, which has elevated itself to a deserved place on that list, only started in 2015. It’s quite the journey for the Korean offshoot that does its research in Namyang and its testing at the Nurburgring (hence, the “N”).

It’s a formula that initially turned heads in motorsport. With a core team featuring luminaries from the performance car world, the N logo first saw the public eye on the i20 rally car, unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. By 2019, Hyundai had sown up the 2019 WRC manufacturer’s championship with a mammoth 380 points.

And when that know-how moved to the road, the hits kept on coming, where a combination of handling, everyday drivability and track day chops reinvigorated the hot hatch segment which had laid rather dormant.

The i30 N brought all of this to a practical family car. It’s little brother, the i20 N hatch, was then named Top Gear’s car of the year for 2021.

Watch the film above to see why Till Wartenberg, Vice President N Brand Management & Motorsport, says:

YOU NEED TO KEEP PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE. YOU NEED TO ASK QUESTIONS, PLAY WITH SOLUTIONS. CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO. AND N IS JUST GETTING STARTED.

Two cars sum up this future even better than any words. First up, the N Vision 74, a rolling lab for Hyundai’s design and technology that is inspired by the legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro’s iconic Pony Coupe Concept from 1974.

A 670BHP electric twin-motor combines with a unique onboard hydrogen fuel cell system to deliver a rear-wheel drive masterpiece with 370 miles of range and a top speed of 155 mph. Not only that –the car can charge in five minutes, making future endurance events an intriguing possibility.

Similarly, the RN22e – a 577BHP all-electric touring car based on Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 saloon – introduced a ground-breaking simulated paddle-shift system that solves one of the most difficult problems that EVs face: making them as engaging to drive.

N brand is confident enough in the RN22e and Ioniq 6 it’s built upon, to announce that a version will be entering next year’s FIA ETCR, the first ever team to enter a dedicated EV road going car into a motorsport season.

AT HYUNDAI N, OUR PACE  IS ACCELERATING, says Wartenberg. With this track record, what will be next?

Big news as I write this – Toyota is backing an electric future and winding back on hydrogen. It makes sense not to be pushing for something the world’s completely ignorant politicians have decided against, but it’s sad to see an innovator like Toyota cave in. No point grousing though, the deal is done.

What did catch my eye in the news surrounding this was repeated use of a phrase that triggers me so badly I might need some more therapy: “zero emission vehicles”. No such object has ever been produced, and yet this phrase that has snuck up on us over the past decade has now taken root – it’s the Japanese knotweed of the car vocabulary. Just read those three words and tell me how any car company can, both legally and morally, make such a claim of anything it manufactures?

I live in Bristol, a small city with a very big aversion to polluting cars. I have also recently been using a Citroen Ami, which is both ideally suited to the way I use a car in the city, but also an excellent way of deflecting the many people who grimace when they see me driving an M5. Everyone who stops for a chat about the little Citroen – and there are many of them – somehow manages to drop that bloody phrase. Normally in this context: “of course, it’s so good being zero emissions”. That’s like

observing a sleeping crocodile with “of course this one never bites”. It’s a boast that makes people feel safe and cosy, like good things are happening. But it’s actually a dangerous simplification.

The Citroen Ami probably emits less than half the CO2 and other sundry nasties when being built than a C3. And its tailpipe emissions are zero around town, but the electricity it uses has to be produced somewhere. So how this is allowed to be described as ‘zero’ in the year 2022 is quite baffling. Big polluters are now offsetting everything they do, but if we’re really expected to believe that any car company is planting enough trees to compensate for the frankly environmentally ruinous process of making a car battery, then they must think we’re a bunch of mugs. Actually, Volkswagen confirmed we are by telling us its diesels were clean despite what our eyes were telling us was the sooty truth.

The car industry has always allowed itself worrying leeway when it comes to describing its new technologies. Every little leap in safety, however profoundly positive it might have been in real life, was always supported by words that were just too boastful. I suppose so long as the legal department is happy it can defend an utterance, you can say what you want, but there is one howler repeatedly bandied about that makes me wince: “self-driving car”. Elon has long made the claim, but it’s clear to anyone with half a brain that we’re a long way from this being a commercial reality. It certainly usurps “zero emission vehicle” and the other lurking purveyor of bulls**t “self-charging hybrid” as being something that doesn’t just lurk in the grey areas of interpretation, but is demonstrably untrue. Right, now that little lot is off my chest, I’m off to drive my low emission Citroen Ami.

Need more of the TopGear telly show in your life? All episodes are now free to stream on BBC iPlayer

“CAR COMPANIES MUST THINK THAT WE ARE A BUNCH OF MUGS”

There is no such thing as a zero emission vehicle, so stop perpetuating the myth please, says Chris

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I hope I am not too late, but I fear I may be. I have just been made aware of a crucial piece of driving advice, one that could save thousands from danger, and I feel duty bound to share.

This vital motoring revelation comes from a company called Chill, which describes itself as the “Irish car insurance experts”. (Experts in Irish car insurance? Irish experts in car insurance more broadly? Tantalisingly unclear). And Chill’s vital road safety tip is this: while driving, you must not, under any circumstances, listen to Alexandra Burke’s popular Christmas single ‘Hallelujah’.

Of course, I realise this advice would have been more useful in the previous issue of TopGear, the one that came out before Christmas. But it reached my inbox just too late for inclusion, and I’m thinking, hey, some radio stations play Alexandra Burke’s popular Christmas single ‘Hallelujah’ in late January, right? And if this column saves just one motorist from a Burke-related catastrophe (a Burkalamity?), I can sleep easy at night.

You may be wondering exactly what’s so dangerous about listening to Alexandra Burke’s popular Christmas single ‘Hallelujah’ while driving. Well, there’s serious science behind it.

It’s all about the beats. The Irish car insurance experts drew on research from the South China University of Technology,

which found songs with a tempo over 120bpm (beats per minute) could cause dangerous driving behaviours, impacting the driver’s cardiovascular, physiological and psychological states. Most Christmas singles tick along well below 120bpm, but ‘Hallelujah’ clocks a terrifying 180bpm, apparently making it the audio equivalent of attempting to carve a family turkey while driving in the outside lane of the M4. While on fire. Yes, ‘Hallelujah’ must not be listened to while driving because it’s dangerously exciting Now then. You, like me, may not associate Alexandra Burke’s popular Christmas single ‘Hallelujah’ with phrases like dangerously exciting. You might, like me, have considered ‘Hallelujah’ more likely to induce narcolepsy than road rage. You might, like me, think that if your science says Alexandra Burke’s ‘Hallelujah’ is a danger to public health on the grounds of overexcitement, maybe your science needs a bit of a tweak.

But that’s exactly why you and I aren’t in the business of cutting edge motoring research! That’s why we should leave these important matters to the Irish car insurance experts at Chill! They’re experts for a reason!

(In fact, the Irish car experts at Chill found there was only one Christmas song even more dangerous than ‘Hallelujah’ to consume while driving: Shakin’ Stevens’ rage-inducing ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’, which revs to a potentially lethal 203bpm. No wonder he was shakin’.)

Consider yourself duly warned for next Christmas, kids. Don’t Burke and drive.

Sam Philip is the TopGear telly script editor, and a TG mag and website regular for 15 years. Once wrote a Vauxhall Corsa joke that Paddy McGuinness described as “not totally crap”

Stop compiling your driving tunes playlist, TGTV’s Sam Philip has some serious advice for you all

For almost three years it’s been omni-turmoil. You know the causes, but indulge me with the drama of spelling them out. A pandemic, chaos in supply chains, a war, an energy squeeze, inflation and spiralling interest rates. Plus, for the car business in particular, the chip shortage and logistics – even now, freshly built cars are piling up outside factories because there are too few lorry drivers for the transporters.

Strangely, the car companies didn’t mind too much. They no longer had to fight for customers. In the face of chipageddon, they throttled right back on making low-profit cheap cars to make sure the scarce chips were used on their more profitable models and brands. Carmakers also nudged prices up, and stopped giving discounts. But now we’re into a new phase, with climbing interest rates. Nearly all new cars are bought on some kind of credit. Thing is, when you drive out of the showroom the rate is fixed for the term, so you won’t be hit immediately. The blow comes when you go to replace your car and find that the new monthly payment has jumped up because of a higher price, lower discount and raised interest rate.

But new car sales haven’t crashed. Not yet, anyway. New car buyers are mostly pretty well-off, or are able to imagine they’re

immune to the storm. They stick their fingers in their ears and sign for a new car on a hugely raised monthly payment.

Well, most do. Some don’t. At the end of the PCP, they instead pay the balloon payment. With new cars in short supply, more people are turning to secondhand options, so those prices have shot up too – the average selling price is half as much again as it was in 2019. So people at the end of a PCP find their car is worth much more than the balloon payment. Happy? Not really, because their gain is notional: they can realise it only by selling up immediately and trading down. If they want to keep the car they probably have to take out a loan to pay the balloon.

Which takes us to the big new trend: many more people are buying their secondhand cars on finance, either PCP or lease. Auto Trader, which gathers mountains of this data, tells me some of these secondhand buyers have been shoved out of new by the prices and waiting lists. Some would have paid outright for a secondhand car, but they’re now so committed to other cost of living spikes they don’t have the cash. Some are just being snared by increasingly sophisticated financial products. Auto Trader reckons this new dynamic is looking permanent. Whatever, it strikes me as scary. People are riding a gravy train of credit. Their mortgages and card payments go up, and food, heating and the rest too. So they take out yet more credit for a car. They seem surprisingly confident of their financial stability, in what are (see above) immensely unstable times. Why not just go and buy a six-year-old Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus instead? They’re still good cars, and even if no longer warranted, they’re cheap to look after too.

TG’s eco-conscious megabrain, Paul Horrell, is one of the world’s most respected and experienced car writers. Has attended every significant car launch since the Model T

With the new car market in turmoil, drivers are increasingly investing in used buys, says Paul Horrell

Aluxury SUV you can charge up at home and use to trundle about silently is not a new thing. Porsche’s first plug-in Cayenne arrived back in 2015, a Range Rover Sport fed by cable as well as pump was only two years later. Others are available from Audi, Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Bentl... you get the picture. Hybrids are now the biggest sellers in the range. They’re low tax and – if used properly – cheap on petrol. These two also pitch a curveball: they’re sporty. Porsche genuinely believes buyers want the Cayenne to handle like a sports car. Range

Rover believes different; that the appearance of sportiness is what they actually want, so what matters is attitude. The Sport is the Range Rover that hints the shotguns in the back are sawn-off.

Or it did. The edges, as we shall see, have been somewhat chamfered. And not just the visible ones. This all-new version is based on the same underpinnings as the new Range Rover. Same chassis, same running gear for this P440e that teams a 3.0 straight-six with an electric motor that draws power from a 31.8kWh usable battery. The claim is 70 miles of EV range. The Porsche’s 14.3kWh battery promises just 25 miles.

Porsche is waiting for its next big technological leap. Mercedes has brilliantly integrated hybrids with great range, and so now does Range Rover. The Cayenne must wait its turn while Porsche is busy with the Taycan, plus the electric Macan and Cayman.

Make your own mind up, but for us the Sport isn’t as successful a piece of design as the Range Rover. It’s anonymous and the fake vents jar. Both have what LR calls ‘reductive’ design treatment. It’s a good line and accurately describes the clean, modernist appearance. But it doesn’t reflect what’s going on underneath.

“DRIVER APPEAL IS PORSCHE’S USP AND THERE’S NOT ANOTHER SUV TO TOUCH IT”

or EV mode... or a cheeky tenner into a high interest savings account?

Reductive design, meet additive engineering. This Range Rover Sport weighs 2,860kg. That’s our own figure, with half a tank of fuel (Land Rover’s claim is 2,775kg for a P440e with the Stormer handling pack). With people and bags on board this will be over three tonnes. The brakes wilt in the face of that mass, with a 100–0mph stopping distance of almost 108 metres, one of the worst we’ve ever tested.

LR has deduced that getting weight to act sportily is a) difficult, and b) unnecessary. This isn’t to say the Range Rover Sport is a bad car. Far from it – it’s more in tune with what people need and want from this kind of car than the Porsche. Because how much does an SUV buyer really care about handling and sportiness? Not enough to choose an estate instead. But driver appeal is Porsche’s USP and there’s not another SUV to touch it. It’s smaller and half a tonne lighter than the Range Rover. You get in and the seats are firmer, the touchpoints harder, the steering wheel smaller and tighter, instruments and information logical and focused on you, a neat knob to ramp up through the drive modes on the steering wheel. There are grab handles and you suspect they might be needed.

hit of electric makes it feel like a diesel from under 2,000rpm. The sweet spot continues to 4,500rpm – there’s no point swinging for the 6,800rpm redline. It’s not much more powerful than the Sport, but it’s significantly faster. Also noisier with more suspension and tyre roar, and a snarl from under the bonnet. Being charitable you’d say the ride was tautly sprung. But if you’d just got out of the Range Rover you’d accuse it of being downright harsh.

The Sport sees things differently. Including the definition of the word ‘Sport’. Size first –it’s huge and dwarfs the Cayenne; the bonnet is higher, the nose bluffer. It doesn’t ensconce you so much, so it’s easy to see out of and position, but the scale of it intimidates. The steering is slick but detached, it’s ponderous and heaves around corners, is slower to react and respond.

1

1. Load divider costs £285. Comes with sponge retention straps and a bit of storage below 2. Neither can be rapid-charged. These are cars to top up at home, not mid-trip 3. Nor does either give you somewhere neat to store the cables. Bags in the boot it is

It moves positively and responsively. Little slack in the controls, confidence in the communication. You sit much lower, there’s not much roll, it grips harder and charges more eagerly. Torque is impressive. The 3.0-litre 335bhp turbocharged V6 is partnered with a 134bhp e-motor for a combined 456bhp. The

Now put it on a big road for a long way, a holiday trip. It’s peerless, perhaps the ultimate foul weather car, impervious and insulated. It’s using the weight in its favour now, to plant itself resolutely, immovably. Everything outside is a long way away, nothing penetrates the softly cushioned cabin. And that cabin is lovely. Where the Porsche encourages you to grip the wheel and go, this instructs you to rest the elbows and relax. It’s soothing on the eye, soft on the bum, you close the door and sigh contentedly.

It starts electrically, and is good at staying in e-mode as it slips around. A button on the console allows you to cycle between electric, hybrid and battery save modes, and with a twist

Hybrid

PORSCHE CAYENNE

1 It’s red, so it must be sporty Look past that and the cabin is starting to look its age alongside the bolder, cleaner RRS cabin 2 But the quality is peerless. Depth of development and engineering extends everywhere 3 Touch sensitive panels are a rare ergonomic blip 4 Seat, like steering wheel, is firm. ou feel connected 5 Many buttons, including clickwheels and rotary dials on the wheel. No bad thing, means less menu hopping 6 You can select modes on the touchscreen, but it’s easier on the wheel

of the Terrain Response you can select Dynamic and the engine is always on.

Just don’t expect to get 70 miles of e-range. I got 45, which was more than enough to allow me to do days of trundling without rousing the petrol. In a week I put 105kWh of electricity into it, then cruised to Wales at the weekend. After 453 miles, the trip stood at 37.4mpg. Good. But it then took 62.56 litres to fill it, which works out at 32.9mpg, not 37.4. And if you then convert the £35 spent on electricity to petrol equivalency, that average falls to 24.8mpg. Expressed another way, £142.54 to drive 450 miles. A diesel would be cheaper and more efficient.

Don’t expect much more from the Cayenne. It was a handful of mpg better when cruising, but with plug-ins it’s all a matter of use and perspective. Plug it in when you can, use electric as much as possible and guilt levels drop, petrol efficiency rises. Electricity is still the cheaper way to power a hybrid if you charge at home. At least this week.

The family will prefer the Range Rover Sport. Bigger in the back seats, comfier and more luxurious. It has the better shaped boot, too. You’ll be more worried about the slight niggles: the handles that whirr in and out noisily, the fuel flaps that don’t fit flush. But then you’ll kick back in the sleek cabin and feel very content.

Just as well, given the outlay – £87,475 is big money and easily outweighs the £74,570 base price for a hybrid Cayenne. I’m surprised how different they are, how Land Rover has shifted the new RRS firmly towards luxury, creating big distance between itself and Porsche (and narrowing the one to the full house Rangey – £20k more in case you’re wondering). Have the Cayenne if you want a genuinely sporty SUV. Go for the Brit if it’s luxury, softness and silence you value. It’s narrowly the one we’d have. It’s in tune with itself. Hybrid suits a cruiser, and the RRS is definitely one of those.

SKODA ENYAQ COUPE iV vRS

Fastand thefamily

£54,370

FOR Useful motorway vigour, comfy seats, decent range

AGAINST Impractical shape, doesn’t live up to the badge

We’ve been looking forward to this one.

Nearly a year after it was announced we finally find ourselves on home roads in the Enyaq Coupe vRS, with more power, lower suspension, and the promise of sportiness that few EVs have really honoured thus far.

In the waiting period, inflation has done its thing to the price, of course, up from sub-£52k (punchy) to £54,370 (ouchy). Performance figures aren’t at the mercy of market forces, so the 295bhp we were promised remains as is.

The additional oomph comes from the extra motor you get over the standard car, allowing for 339lb ft, all wheel drive and 0–62mph in 6.4 seconds. All Enyaqs top out at 99mph, except this one: 111mph, should you ever roadtrip it through an autobahn. Something the Enyaq’s lab range claim of 323 miles would have you believe is possible. But it’s not. Bank on 230 when it’s cold and drizzly.

Straight line acceleration is the first thing you notice: it’s not fast enough to rip your face off, but you’ll do your own cinnamon challenge impression as you lurch towards the horizon. The second thing you notice is the anticlimax as you exit a quick corner. vRS stands for ‘victory Rally Sport’, but it doesn’t mean it. That’s when it dawns on you that the hype was exactly that.

You see, where something like the I-Pace (almost five years old now, gosh) will tuck into a corner and act like it wants to be there, the Enyaq only puts up with it, like a teenager at the dinner table. The vRS is barely distinguishable

from the standard Coupe when you turn the wheel, and the lack of steering feel means you loiter through bends, instead of picking a line through them. So much for the 15 and 10mm ride height drops front and rear.

So, our expectations must be scaled back. The vRS badge isn’t here to scream “Monte Carlo Rally winner!” from the rooftops, it’s here to whisper “slip road warrior” in your ear, every third Sunday. Accept it for what it is – a sporty trim with some extra shove worked in – and you won’t be disappointed. The black decals and bumpers look the business, and the combo of bucket seats and panoramic glass roof sticks a double tick in the comfort and livability box.

Should you look elsewhere? You could entertain the Mustang Mach-E, if handling really matters to you. But really you don’t need to look beyond the Skoda stable: the SUV is a more practical car than the coupe, and you won’t resent the extra two-and-abit seconds to 62mph. Or the extra cash in your pocket. Joe Holding

BST doesn’t stand for anything. This isn’t the Bloody Swift Thing or the Battery Speed Teleporter. It’s actually a contraction of ‘Beast’, the nickname given to the one-off speedy Polestar 2 commissioned for the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year.

The story the engineers like to tell is that Polestar’s boss Thomas Ingenlath set them a challenge – to make his Polestar 2 company car more fun.

The result was the ‘Experimental’ Polestar 2 one-off that made silent-but-violent runs at Goodwood in 2021. And guess what? The boss – and enough Polestar fans – liked it that it’s gone into limited production. Very limited, in fact. Only 270 of these will ever exist, of which 40 are coming to the UK, and they’re all sold. Getting a bit boring, that, isn’t it? Limited edition Porsches, Alpines, Ferraris – even the Toyota GR86. The moment you hear they exist, they’re gone.

Polestar says the people who’ve paid nearly £70k for the honour are “performance nerds”. It sees a small but faithful market for quick EVs that offer more tricks than stomach-churning acceleration. To that end, the BST has the geekiest suspension yet applied to a Polestar.

Like the Polestar 2 Performance Pack, it comes with expensive Öhlins dampers as standard. But unlike the P2PP, these are new remote-reservoir dampers with gorgeous, erm, reservoirs nestled in the frunk. That means adjusting the dual-valve dampers no longer requires removing wheels.

At the front, pop the bonnet and crank the wheel hard over to meddle with compression and rebound. At the back, it still needs the rear wheelarch peeling. If you’ve got a handy pit crew of eight or so and twin trolley jacks, this can be accomplished in less than 10 seconds.

If you’re bleeding heart into the subject and fantasise over dialling in your car perfectly for a tricky off-camber roundabout on your

commute, then you’ll love stuff like this. It’s full on anorak car bore stuff for the EV speed freak.

It makes a Tesla Model 3 look about as well honed in the chassis and handling department as a canal boat, and demonstrates once again that if you want a comfortable yet keen steering car, expensive suspension is the unsung hero you need to shell out for.

It’s not as sexy as weight saving, or as headline grabbing as a big dollop of power to cut your lap time, but if you take driving quickly seriously – like the Swedes do – then you want designer label shocks and springs.  But it’s bloody pricey. And so’s the stripe. It’s £1,000 extra just for the sticker. Ollie Kew

CHARGE TO THE FUTURE

Smart meters could help those with electric cars save energy, and futureproof our power grid at the same time

From cutting emissions to saving on petrol costs, we’re all pretty well versed in the benefits of electric vehicles now. They’re crucial for the future of travel – both for this country and globally. But making the move to electric creates a big challenge for our energy systems. Supplying enough electricity, at the right times, for us all to charge our cars is not something our current system was built for. Especially if we want to avoid replacing petrol with more coal or gas generated electricity.

If we all went home tonight and started charging our EV at 6pm, our energy system wouldn’t cope. We would need to fall back on fossil fuel supplies to get us through peak periods.

THE GREAT BRITISH PLUG-IN

Over the next decade or so, production of petrol fuelled vehicles will be phased out in the UK, with hybrid vehicles to follow. So our energy system needs to be prepared for the big plug-in.

While we’re likely to see demand for petrol and diesel go through the floor, the demand for electricity will undoubtedly skyrocket as people look to charge their cars at home. This rapid shift will take some adjusting to, and that’s where the smart energy system, supported by smart meters, comes in.

The energy use data from your smart meter can help to build a more accurate picture of how much energy is needed, where and at what time. That will allow those in charge of the UK’s power distribution to manage our energy more efficiently. Along with investment in other tecçology like large-scale storage, this could also mean that we can make better use of our renewable home-grown sources of energy.

And because the smart meter’s handy in-home display will tell you exactly what you’re spending on energy in pounds and pence, it can help you take control of your energy bills, too. Whisper it quietly, but we could all end up winning.

MADE TO MEASURE

One day, your smart meter and EV could even end up making you money. Time-of-use tariffs are being trialled this winter, which could mean you you will pay less to charge your car on blustery nights when when supplies of cheaper wind energy are high, and you’ll know when it’s best to avoid plugging in. After all, it’s difficult to turn wind farms off, but easy to turn car chargers on.

In the future, your car battery might not just get you to work, it could power your whole house. At times of high demand, you could even use the cheaper energy stored up in your car battery to power your home.

The supply of British renewable energy is improving all the time. Our weather – with plenty of wind and sun – is helping us to generate more sustainable power. In fact, 2020 and 2021 were the highest years on record for the amount of renewable energy we generated from wind, solar, hydro and biofuels. So why not play your part in the energy revolution and get a smart meter today?

WHY GET A SMART METER?

NO MORE MANUAL READINGS

Your meter will send all the details of your energy usage directly to your supplier, without the need to dig around under your stairs or in the garage to send in readings.

GOOD ENERGY HABITS

Because the in-home display shows you what you’re using in pounds and pence and in near-real time, you can easily spot ways to reduce waste.

TAKE CONTROL

The in-home display shows how much you’re using each day, week and month, so you know how much to budget for, and can avoid shock bills.

ORA FUNKY CAT

Feline fresh

£32,790

FOR Tidy dynamics, vibrant interior, good warranty

AGAINST Annoying indicators, would you admit to driving it?

If you’ve assumed a horrific spelling error has been made, think again: this is indeed the Ora Funky Cat, a small EV from China, where it’s known as the Good Cat. This is intriguing because parent firm Great Wall Motor went Dutch with BMW on development and a whopping great factory for it, so this might well be our first taste of... the next gen Mini Electric. Can I get an “ooh!”?

No? Never mind then. Rest assured the Mini won’t look this cutesy, though those

curvaceous lines let the Funky Cat pull off the same trick as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in that it’s bigger than it appears. It’s hatch-sized, 35mm longer than a Megane E-Tech Electric and 25mm shorter than a Volkswagen ID.3.

This matters because in Ora’s eyes the Funky Cat is pitched against those two, thus looking brilliant value. In our eyes it also steps onto the turf of both Peugeot e-208 (cheaper base, more range) and Honda e (premium and techy), in which case the jury’s out.

It’s pinched Tesla’s penchant for a party piece, with voice control that’ll open individual windows (why is this better than buttons?) and facial recognition software that’ll tell you off for yawning. Won’t let you forget a dog or child in the back seat, either.

This car is no gimmick though: on the road the dynamics are very tidy, and acceleration from the 169bhp motor is strong enough at everyday speeds. Controlled body roll means you can pick a line through a corner and stick to it, not that the chassis relishes a B-road.

Ride is typical EV: firm, but not too firm. Your comfort will outlast the range, for sure.

Nor are there any giveaways of shoddy build quality inside: sure there are a few scratchy plastics but the overall finish in our vibrant red test car was very good. Partly the work of a German R&D centre, we’re told, insisting on standards that’ll fly in Europe.

Foibles? The indicators are nightmarish to operate. We’re not sure about the 18in alloys. The boot’s tiny. As are the door bins. The 10.25in touchscreen is easy enough to navigate, but menu heavy. And hard to use on the move. All relative though: it’s still a better interface than the afterthought applied to the innards of the ID.3.

Nope, the Funky Cat’s got promise. The firm’s targeting 5,000 sales by the end of ’23. No idea if that’s realistic but thanks to plentiful stock Ora reckons it can get a car to your nearest partner dealer in just 15 days. If it’s this or a year-long wait for a mainstream rival, many will go for this. Joe Holding

FORD RANGER RAPTOR

Over kill

FOR Upgraded suspension works very well, interior a nice place to be

AGAINST V6 is thirsty. It won’t be classed as a CV for tax purposes

The Ranger has had a comprehensive makeover, and in an exciting twist to the usual run of things, the best version has been launched in Europe before the normal stuff.

So what’s changed from the original? The answer is, bluntly, a lot. Most. Nearly all. There’s a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine mounted in that ladder frame for a start, which packs 288bhp and 362lb ft of torque through a 4WD system that now features

electronic locking differentials fore and aft, plus there’s a two-speed transfer case, a 10-speed auto and new suspension. The 2.0 diesel will remain an option from 2023 for those who like the visuals and bouncy upgrades but prefer to get more than 20mpg.

On the style front, you can’t mistake new for old. The front is dominated by the big FORD grille, bracketed by ‘C-clamp’ LED headlights that make the front seem wider than it is. There are standard fit off-road style wheels and BF Goodrich all-terrains, wide arches and a ‘built’ feeling, with a similar treatment at the rear.

It’s still a five-seat pickup without the one tonne payload that’d class it as a commercial vehicle, so it doesn’t attract the tax advantages a true workhorse might, but the payload of 652kg is enough to cope with the usual lifestyle accessories this kind of vehicle might find itself bolted to. No judgement – the Raptor is largely a brilliant thing... it’ll likely make you want to take up hobbies that’ll make use of it. It also tows 2,500kg, so that caravan is in safe hands.

Under the bonnet the petrol V6 offers a near eight-second 0–62mph time. That’s perky for a pickup, and the electronically baffled exhaust (you can change the modes on the steering wheel) makes some interesting noises. While the Raptor might not be making off with any sports car scalps, it’s plenty fast enough to get the chassis into trouble, and mightily impressive. Even more so if you manage to

get it off-road, and that goes for both slow rock/mud/sand crawling and high-speed trail-bashing. There’s a suite of electronic helpers to make you look like a hero, and when you go fast over rough terrain, you realise this is actually a giant, steroidal rally car.

Inside, there’s an excellent interior with a pin-sharp 12-inch central display and Ford SYNC-4 system, B&O stereo, tonnes of kit and excellent seats.

The Raptor comes in at just under £60,000, but this is a car/truck that goads you into easy adventure, and if you’re looking for something different, this might fit the bill. Just don’t expect much change at the petrol pump. Tom Ford

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R 20 YEARS

£48,095

THE 20 YEARS IS HERE TO CELEBRATE TWO decades since VW launched its first ever R-badged car – the MkIV Golf R32 – and if you’ve seen a cynical special edition before, you already know where this is going. To be fair, VW has made an attempt to elevate this over the standard MkVIII R beyond the optional blue wheels and mirrors. The 2.0 turbo gets a boost from 316bhp to 328bhp and there’s extra thump programmed into the DSG gearchanges, but you’ll only notice on full-throttle upshifts near the top of the rev range in manual mode.

It is still a fantastically quick AWD hot hatch though, and the 20 Years gets the Performance Pack as standard. That means larger 19in wheels, a pronounced rear wing and two more driving modes – Drift and Special, with the latter getting soft suspension and Nürburgring graphics. However, VW will make you pay through the nose for your extra 12bhp, with the 20 Years starting at close to £50k – and blasting well above that figure when you select basic options like the Akrapovič exhaust (£3,500), the head-up display (£680), adaptive suspension (£850) and a parking camera (£320). And to make matters worse, VW has scrapped the £2,000 Performance Pack option for the standard car, so this is currently the only way into a very expensive drifty Golf. Sneaky. Greg Potts

Right, let’s clear this one up nice and early: the Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake is not, by definition, a shooting brake. A shooting brake comprises two side doors. This, as you can see above, has double that. So henceforth, we shall call it what it is – an estate.

Regular readers may recall that we previously tested the all-singing, all-dancing R version – a car we liked but very much –but that’s not the Arteon that most people will buy. The plug-in hybrid as tested here, however, very much is.

And it remains a very good looking estate, particularly in sporty R-Line trim, immediately catching the eye with its sharp lines and swoopy rear end. If you’re after a car to make the neighbours jealous, you’re surely onto a winner here.

It twins a 1.4-litre petrol engine with a 113bhp electric motor and 13kWh battery for a combined 215bhp and a claimed 38

miles of electric-only range. You start in e-mode, with the engine joining the party as your speed rises, a transition that is mostly seamless. The 0–62mph sprint takes a somewhat leisurely 7.8secs, while VW claims an economy figure of 208.3mpg – expect around a quarter of that in the real world. The overall driving dynamics don’t quite match the looks – nor the character of the R variant – but it handles well enough and makes for a refined cruiser.

Inside feels neatly designed and solidly built. You even get a dedicated climate control panel, though irritatingly and though irritating touch button sliders still perform the functions of knobs and buttons. Still, there’s enough room for five adults to be seated comfortably, and you get two more litres of bootspace here versus the hatchback (565 plays 563 litres), and even more with the seats down (1,632 versus 1,557 litres). Plus an eminently cooler image.

And an affordable one at that too, with the estate commanding just £885 extra over the hatch, a mere couple of quid a month on lease. A compelling alternative to the all-too-common crossover, then – and one we’d much rather be seen in. Peter Rawlins

Theoverrun

Small but perfectly formed reviews. The best of the rest from this month’s drives

NISSAN QASHQAI E-POWER

£32,950

FOR More useful than a plug-in hybrid, still reasonable value AGAINST It’s all a bit sensible and dull, why no EV option yet?

Going from plucky outsider to establishment favourite is tough. Just what Nissan has done with its third gen Qashqai – the same package families fell in love with, plus a sleeker look and fancier trim. The party piece hybrid set-up is basically an EV with a tiny 2.1kWh battery and onboard generator. What makes this better than a ‘normal’ hybrid is that the e-motor is beefy enough to do the heavy lifting. It’s great around town and never gets too noisy. SB

£30,995

FOR Now looks like the designers weren’t half-asleep, more kit AGAINST Prices have bumped up a bit, ride on the 17s not as plush

The MG5 always suffered from the fact that it looked like it was designed by a dysfunctional committee, but v2.0 neatly addresses a lot of the issues: sharp new front and rear design, new cabin, lots of upgrades to tech and materials. This is now a car that’s not just useful, but actually acceptable to look at too. The range now starts with the SE at £30,995 up to the Trophy at £33,495, so it’s not quite as cheap. A big improvement though. TF

£33,775

FOR Electric version is punchy, plenty of interior space AGAINST Petrols can be coarse, occasionally dopey auto box

BMW’s littlest SUV is no longer quite so little, but it feels slightly disappointing to recommend a BMW because it’s one of the roomiest, most practical cars in its class. The large, up-to-the-minute cabin is a greater draw than the chassis or powertrains, even if it is neat and tidy to drive. The iX1 is the pick of the bunch thanks to its swish electric powertrain. Without it, the broader range might have struggled to stick its head above the crowded crossover pack. SD

FOR Stylish, interior quality, economical drive AGAINST Are you really going to charge it enough to be worthwhile?

Taller than the hatch but coupefied so not to clash with the Niro/Stonic, this XCeed facelift offers buyers lightly refreshed styling and interior, plus a shiny new top spec with every bell and whistle. Only you can’t have it on the PHEV. Weird. The battery doesn’t affect the XCeed’s assured manners too much (and you’ll hit 50+mpg without trying once the electrons are spent), but it does cost you a third of the bootspace. Only an issue if you own, y’know, stuff. JH

BMW X1

sDRIVE 20i

Welcome to the Hot List – a collection of all the new cars and things that matter in the coming year... and a few that don’t. All the knowledge you need for a successful 2023

A Q U i E T

P L A C E

What better way to enjoy the BMW i7’s built in cinema, than watching a scary movie in the middle of nowhere... in the dead of night

WORDS JASON BARLOW PHOTOGRAPHY GREG PAJO

Chances of there being a body in that boot? We didn’t stick around to find out

Horror films aren’t for everyone... Jason was on his own for this one

BMW i7

It’s all in the imagination. Well, sometimes. Having just given a list of movies to the man from BMW who’s in charge of the new 7-Series’ Theatre Screen, I suspect he’s wondering whether to get on with downloading them or have me sectioned. “What would be really great,” I blabber, “is that bit where Leatherface is brandishing the chainsaw above his head. Then there’s the scene in No Country for Old Men where Javier Bardem’s psychotic hitman terrorises the gas station attendant with a coin toss... ‘You need to call it, I can’t call it for you, it wouldn’t be fair...’”

It’s odd, don’t you think, that for all the intergalactic firepower summoned up by BMW’s all-new 7-Series techno starship, that a screen that folds out of the roof is apparently its most TikTok-able feature. Cars have had TVs in them since the Seventies, and I remember driving a 750i in 1995 that had one integrated into the dash. Yet somehow that or a headrest monitor just won’t cut it anymore, so Munich has served up a 31.3in set-up slim enough to hide in the roof lining, but sufficiently clever to have an 8K touchscreen display with built-in Amazon Fire TV. It’s beautifully engineered, yours for £10,500 as part of the Executive Pack.

Of course, you’ll also need the Bowers & Wilkins surround sound, preferably the version with 36 speakers and 1,965W of output and exciters in the seat backrests. It’s all activated via 5.5in touchscreen remotes in the door panels which also trigger the automated rear shades. It’s quite the entertainment hub, not so much a drive-in cinema, more of an actual driving one. As we’re testing the new Seven in Palm Springs – Sinatra and the boys used

to escape here from LA, drinking cocktails beside his piano-shaped pool – we figured it was a chance to scare ourselves senseless with a midnight showing of something stupid in the middle of the desert. Hell, we can even watch it in 32:9 cinemascope.

Are we trivialising this important new car? Perhaps. This is the seventh generation of BMW’s range-topper, a model which debuted in 1977 offering greater dynamism than Mercedes’ patriarchal S-Class, and more modernism than Jaguar’s fusty gin and cigars XJ. Close to two million have since been sold, and there have been innovations aplenty. Remember, it was 2001’s fourth-gen car that ushered in the Bangle design era and premiered the overwrought but prescient iDrive. Yet it’s still the S-Class that’s preserved the edge as the putative ‘best car in the world’, which must be irksome in Bavaria. This explains why BMW has chucked everything into the new car in an effort to finally, definitively topple the old foe.

The rules have changed, mind you. There are petrol, diesel and hybrid versions of the new 7-Series but the pure electric i7 now provides the centre of gravity. BMW is reorienting the luxury car experience around onboard well-being, a delirious digital experience via its new OS8 software, and world-class sustainability. Whither the ultimate driving machine? We’ll see.

While the movies download, I manage to secure 20 minutes with BMW CEO Oliver Zipse. It’s nearly truncated to two when a mischievous enquiry about BMW perhaps buying McLaren brings the shutters slamming down. Moving swiftly on... to the less contentious matter of the company’s design language. Needless to say, there are those who think the new 7-Series is further proof BMW hasn’t just lost its marbles, it has thrown them deliberately one by one into a giant bonfire. Let me tell you, being confronted by a car park full of new Sevens is a real kill or cure moment. In white, with all the shiny bits in gloss black, or fully ‘murdered out’ in an expensive matte finish, the i7 looks defiantly different and wholly modern. The M Sport Package Pro helps, pumping things up with 21in alloys and bigger brakes. The upper lights become the focal point at night, and that vast grille can be illuminated, too. There’s also the option of Swarovski ‘iconic glow’ crystal glass, though this might be a bit much unless your surname is Kardashian. Oddly enough, it’s not the split level headlights and brick outhouse front end that’s most bothersome, but the surprisingly generic rear. This is ironic given the rumpus 2001’s E65 iteration caused back in the day. It’s slippery, though, with a drag coefficient of just 0.24. Aero efficiency is an important asset in the EV world.

Anyway, here’s what Mr Zipse said (once he’d calmed down). “There is no such thing as a future oriented design without controversy. We want to spark discussion about what we’re doing. I want controversy. If we don’t have it, then you already know it’s too easy. Out of the controversy you get engagement. Digitalise it, electrify it, make it a bit bigger. That’s the answer.”

This will forever be a subjective area. Here’s my hot take: BMWs may be a long way from beautiful, but they’re highly distinctive.

Our route into the desert involves some unexpectedly entertaining roads. It’s not all arrow straight round here, no sir. Although you might imagine this would punish a big EV, it’s a revelation. The new car is underpinned by a steel and aluminium flexible vehicle architecture engineered from the outset to accommodate three different drive types. There’s enhanced body rigidity and a wider front and rear track, so it feels planted. Powerful, too. The xDrive60 has a combined 536bhp from two electric motors, and 549lb ft of torque overall. The lithium-ion battery pack provides 101.7kWh of usable energy, and with a cell height of just 110mm it sits comfortably under the floor.

BMW claims between 3.1 and 3.3mpkWh, and a range of up to 388 miles. It has also worked hard to keep the best and worse case range scenarios closer together. Finally, someone has figured out no one likes the randomness that mars so many EV range calculations. Charge at home at 7.4kW and you’ll get 62 miles back in around 2.5 hours. On a 195kW rapid charger, BMW claims the i7 will go from 10 to 80 per cent in 34 minutes.

Chucking your 5.1m long electric super limo into a corner isn’t really top of the list of priorities in 2023, but it’s still a BMW and old habits die hard. However, there are plenty of new ones, too. An active rear axle is an option that brings with it rear steering – up to 3.5°, which helps low speed manoeuvring and sharpens cornering inputs at higher speeds. The i7 also has the further option of Executive Drive Pro, which is basically a 48V anti-roll

stabilisation system that also suppresses body vibrations. In fact, the whole car has remarkable acoustic properties, down to clever mountings on the front axle and on the motors. Together with the inherent silence of its electric powertrain, the i7 might have pilfered one of Rolls’s key attributes. It redefines refinement.

And yet it still seriously hustles, only waving the white flag at the far and frankly idiotic end of its dynamic envelope. Also included is BMW’s ‘near-actuator’ traction control system which means that corrective inputs are now 10 times faster than usual. Time was when I would have sought out the traction off button on every BMW, even a 7-Series, but that’s a heroically pointless activity now that also requires sub-menu delvage. That said, BMW will sell you an armoured version of this car, so a reverse J-turn at the very least must be on the cards. That I’d like to try.

As night falls, we are led to our desert location by local law enforcement officer, Sheriff Michael Myers. Horror fans will immediately recognise this as the name of the serial killer in the Halloween franchise, a coincidence that does little for my state of mind, especially when it turns out that Halloween is one of the films that has been downloaded to the Theatre Screen.

This self-inflicted nerve-jangling paranoia is in stark contrast to the i7’s interior which has got to be the most mindful currently available. The curved display we know from the iX, and it’s being rolled out across the range. This is core to BMW’s push to digitalisation, and combines a 12.3in instrument display

Is it just us, or does the steering wheel look like a creepy clown mouth?

“MY SELF-INFLICTED NERVEJANGLING PARANOIA IS IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE i7’S INTERIOR”

THINGS TO DO IN 2023

Get the passport out, here’s five unmissable dates for your diary

BMW i7 IS A MILESTONE CAR FOR ELECTRIFICATION”

STELVIO PASS OPEN DAY 1 JUNE (ISH)

It takes six weeks to open the Stelvio and the exact open date changes each year, but imagine being the first one up

ISLE OF MAN TT 6 – 10 JUNE

Prefer two wheels? Then there’s nothing better than the TT, with four days of racing that’ll blow your mind

behind the wheel with a longer 14.9in main infotainment glass touchscreen. It’s easy to use – even subsuming the climate control within it isn’t the ergonomic disaster I’d feared. It also means that the four-zone system’s air vents are almost imperceptible. Nice.

Beneath the central screen is the ‘Interaction Bar’, new on the 7-Series, which has a crystalline surface and backlighting, and stretches pretty much the width of the cabin. Activate the hazard lights and the whole thing pulses red; it also takes its colour cues from whichever of the My Modes you’ve gone for. Red for Sport, green for Expressive, etc. These also alter the sound signature, as codeveloped with Hollywood movie soundtrack maestro, Hans Zimmer, mostly variations on an escalating sci-fi pulse.

I wonder if he’s watched one of his films yet in the back of an i7. He ought to. Order the Executive Pack and you’ll get perhaps the most comfortable seat ever fitted in a car: the front passenger seat slides and tilts as far forward as it’ll go, leaving the rear occupant free to recline to 42.5° – a record in this class – and there’s no gap in the calf support area, either. Unfortunately, with the screen lowered, the driver’s rear view is comprehensively blocked. It’s an uncharacteristic own goal, because BMW hasn’t fitted a rearview camera mirror (like Land Rover’s ClearSight one) to circumvent the problem.

This isn’t an issue right now. So well has the i7 become a hermetically sealed luxury capsule you’d simply never know that we’re sitting in a desert scrubland miles from anywhere. Just me and... a rampaging maniac on a giant screen.

Roadtrips in the US always take on a cinematic feel – every lone shack or creepy old house is home to some nefarious activity – but this is ridiculous. Psychologists reckon we enjoy horror movies because it provides a safe mechanism to mentally rehearse how we’d deal with age-old primal fears. Like being eaten by a predator, for example. Sensation seekers also enjoy the adrenalin rush that follows fear. All I can feel is my blood pressure rise. I might stick on Paddington 2 instead.

The screen itself is possibly a bit too close to the rear seat occupant, and critics think it gimmicky. But there’s no doubt it’s meticulously engineered and brilliantly resolved. Luxury cars are increasingly about amplifying the overall experience, as much as anything else. The i7 isn’t just a great EV, it’s a milestone car for electrification and for BMW. The ultimate driving machine? It’s even better than the real thing.

24 HOURS OF LE MANS

10 – 11 JUNE

This year’s world’s most famous 24hr race is set to be the best in ages, with Ferrari and Porsche back at the top

MONGOL RALLY

16 JULY – 9 SEPTEMBER

Want an adventure? The Mongol Rally is a 10,000 mile trip in something with an engine under 1.2 litres that cost buttons to buy

BATHURST 1,000 5 – 8 OCTOBER

Like Le Mans, the Bathurst 1,000 will look very different in 2023 with the introduction of the new Gen3 supercars

“THE

Anything else from BMW? es f nal y an 3 TO RING

n M3 TOURING

Powered by the same S58 3.0-litre 503bhp turbo straight-six as the current M3 and M4, it’ll cost £80,550. The fast estate to end them all.

BMW M2

WHAT IS IT?

Just the M car we’ve really been waiting for. BMW says it’s the successor to the 2002 Turbo, but there’s also strong 1-Series M Coupe energy here. It’s about creating something the right size to be truly useful, while amplifying the attributes that make the Alpine A110 and Porsche 718 Cayman go-to cars.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

than the M4’s and steering, diff and stability control all have bespoke calibration here. As well as the familiar eight-speed auto, the UK also gets the M2 with a six-speed manual box. Less efficient and slower, but somehow more... ultimate.

PUB AMMO

It’s M Division’s last pure combustion car. A sad moment, but what a way to bow out. The M guys cherry picked some of the M3/M4 hardware – the 3.0-litre urbo, active locking rear diff, gearboxes ut the M2’s wheelbase is 110mm shorter

traight six turbo, locki g r di g a x s nd ore – but whe lb s 10 m ho e

The M4’s engine is dialled back a bit to produce 454bhp and 406lb ft, but the M2 has a sharper front end and a slightly softer rear, so it should be even more agile and playful than its far-from-sleepy siblings. There are three driving modes, Road, Sport and Track, and it’s rear-drive only There’s also more space inside but who cares? On sale in May, priced from £61,495

t’s rear-driv here’s a so re p ce i side ut ho cares p e fr £61, 5 JB

GUESS WHO’S B

BMW 3.0 CSL

On one hand, the new BMW 3.0 CSL is everything that TopGear stands for. Power. Driving. Heritage. Wings. Stripes. The glorious lack of apology on which a brand is built. The focused concept reaching – albeit limited – production. On the other... there are issues.

The ingredients are absolutely there, sweating potential: a 552bhp/406lb ft variant of the 3.0-litre straight six turbo – the most powerful iteration yet – and mentions of things we don’t quite understand the practical applications of, but sound quite racy. A rigid crankcase. A forged, lightweight crankshaft and 3D-printed cylinder head core. Titanium backbox (worth a 4.3kg

Will the second coming of a BMW legend be everything it’s cracked up to be? There are some issues...

WORDS TOM FORD

saving alone) and aluminium bracing in the bay. Ooh, we nod knowingly, excellent. The cooling system and oil supply systems are for high performance and “designed for extremely dynamic driving situations”, which sounds promising, and BMW says the motor will rev to... 7,200rpm. Which, um... isn’t actually that high. But still, a six-speed manual with, er, “performance matched ratios” and a special retro-Seventies white gearknob we hear you cry! Just to wonder what “performance matched” actually means. And while it’s great that BMW has placed CFRP and carbon body styling on pretty much all of it, did anyone stop to wonder whether it should? To be brutally honest, it looks a bit chubby. And if you take a look at the original Hommage R concept, the relationship between the window line and the tops of the tyres has grown by about 200mm, making it look like it ate all the performance pies.

OK, so it’s a bit lighter than stock, but ditching the back seats and adding back breaking carbon buckets will always save you a few kilos. And just because you have integrated compartments for your colour-matched helmets doesn’t a racecar make. Yes, BMW may have taken 200 hours optimising the car’s airflow and dedicated 30 specially trained M technicians to build it, and there may be a strictly limited 50 car build slot, but it just feels a bit like the concept smashed headlong into a wall of production reality and set off all the airbags directly into the bodywork.

And yet, with that roof spoiler and stacked rear wing, 100 per cent locking diff and manual box, plus a sprinkling of M Power magic, you get the feeling that BMW might be able to transform this unpopular opinion with the driving. And it doesn’t stop us really, really wanting to have a go...

FORD MUSTANG

WHAT IS IT?

The seventh-gen Mustang was revealed at the 2022 Detroit show, with sharp creases and lines where the curves used to be. It’s probably gone keto, or something. This is only the second model to make it to the UK, since the car officially went on sale back in 2015.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

A Dark Horse version (pictured) with an appetite for race tracks, that gets a 500bhp version of the Coyote 5.0 V8, trick suspension and a bespoke six-speed manual.

PUB AMMO

Ford says that the Mustang is the most liked vehicle on Facebook. But that’s only since Thomas the Tank Engine was booted off for sharing conspiracy memes. SB

ROLLS-ROYCE S E

WHAT IS IT?

This will be the first production electric Rolls-Royce when it arrives in Q4 2023

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

Its 320 miles of WLTP range Rolls tried a Phantom EV concept in 2011, but it only went 120 miles because battery tech was pitiful back then The Spectre will be a whisker under 3,000kg, with 577bhp and a price of £300k

The car’s 23in wheels will be the biggest fitted to a Rolls since the Silver Ghost 100 years ago SB

ol WH ts ha 2 he ,0 PU he R

LOTUS EMIRA

WHAT IS IT?

It’s Lotus’s last ever combustion engined car and now the only sports car you can buy from Hethel. RIP Elise, Exige, Evora etc. The Emira is set to enter another dimension this year, with the option of a smaller, lighter 4cyl engine mounted midships.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

The Emira has only been available with Toyota’s ageing 3.5-litre s/c V6, but the 4cyl will be AMG’s extremely angry 2.0-litre turbo with an 8spd DCT.

PUB AMMO

When the Emira was unveiled we were told the 4cyl would be a 360bhp hardcore track option... GP

MASERATI PROJECT24

WHAT IS IT?

It’s a Maserati MC20 that you can’t use on the public road. Yep, under that aggressive, bewinged carbon bodywork is Maserati’s latest V6-engined supercar, but with the wick turned up to such a great extent that it no longer complies with the laws of the highway. This is the sort of silliness we like.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

The 3.0 Nettuno V6 is now dry-sumped and fitted with a new set of turbos to increase power from 621bhp in the road car to 730bhp in the 24. And for the proper racecar feel, that power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential box and an LSD, with a target weight of less than 1,250kg.

PUB AMMO

Just 62 examples of the Project24 will be built, with Maserati preparing to deploy its Fuoriserie customisation programme in order to ensure that every single car has a completely bespoke spec. GP

Anything else from Lotus?

They’ll be busy at Hethel in 2023, with customer deliveries of its latest cars set to begin We first saw the Evija back in 2019, and four years later the bonkers 1,972bhp, 4WD electric hypercar will finally get to scare the crap out of those who shelled out £2 4m for the pleasure

The Eletre will be a slightly more sensible arrival. Prices for Lotus’s first SUV start at just under £90k and a 112kWh battery will supposedly offer “at least” 300 miles of range. Oh, and for those wanting even more neck-snapping acceleration, there’ll be an R version with 900bhp and 727lb ft of torque Lotus needs this to be a big seller GP

WORDS

OLLIE MARRIAGE PHOTOGRAPHY JONNY FLEETWOOD

To understand the rise of Hyundai, you need to explore where it comes from... in two of its polar opposite new products

HYUNDAI IONIQ 6

Midnight on a boat in the East China Sea. Or is it the Sea of Japan? Or the Yellow Sea? It’s very strategically placed, is Jeju. That’s our destination, an island an overnight ferry ride off the bottom of South Korea. So far the port experience has gone a long way to convincing me that Dover... you know what I’m going to say here, don’t you? That Korea’s industriousness and organisation has found slick new ways of loading cars and directing people, so the whole experience whisks past so fast you barely get a whiff of fish in the nostrils.

Er, no. I park up at the terminal in Mokpo and am instructed to unload any bags I want to take onboard. Then I’m told to drive the car onto the ferry, jinking it past reversing lorries, down ramps, past pillars before reversing it into place. I then stand there like a lemon wondering what happens next, while oilskin-clad crew chain it to the deck. I interpret the international language of gestures to mean “walk off the way you drove on”, and dodge the loading melee of trucks, forklifts and containers all the way back to the terminal. I then pick up my bags, join the check-in queue and finally walk up the gangplank feeling slightly bewildered.

Not exactly slick. Lunch, on the other hand, had been. Octopus tentacles. I’d asked our guides to take us somewhere local. We ended up on plastic patio chairs selecting food from a fish tank. The table butchery nearly caused a stomach backfire.

This is the side of Korea we know less about. We see and hear about the neon vibrancy of the place, the sheer can-do, make it happen energy. The TVs, phones, gadgets, the Samsungs and LGs, the rise and rise and rise of Hyundai and Kia. None of that is false, it’s just that – as we know all too well – economies don’t move at the same pace everywhere. We talk about levelling up the north of England. The Koreans want to disseminate Seoul’s success southwards.

As much as it is an island, Jeju is a project. Back in 2012, Korea’s central government announced a plan to make the island carbon free

Well, it makes a change from the meal deal options in Tesco

From square and chunky to sleek and slippery in just one parking space

by 2030, with all energy coming from renewables. It was an achievable spearhead: Jeju is to Korea what Hawaii is to the US. It’s for recreation. Shaped like a suppository and about 45 miles from end to end, there’s no heavy industry on this volcanic island. Less energy demand, lower emissions already. Solar panels have been fitted to many homes, 120 wind turbines installed in the sea around it, there are added incentives to buy EVs here (it has the highest percentage in the whole country now) and as many chargers as there are cars. No, you didn’t read that wrong. This jolly holiday island is the perfect place to drive electric. So is Seoul. I was last here seven years ago, the whole city blanketed then by smog that was blamed on emissions from China drifting across the Yellow Sea. Things seem to have changed: today the views over this megacity from the 556-metre summit of the Signiel Tower are crystal clear, it’s not clouds I’m looking down on, but buildings that sit like a cloud layer, steep hillsides appearing to poke up through the billowing urban sprawl. It’s a reminder of how mountainous this country is.

Downstairs a Hyundai Ioniq 6 is cramming in a few final electrons ready for the 300-mile drive to Mokpo. Seoul is in-at-the-deep-end driving. The pavement-less back streets are tight and littered with a detritus of scooters, cardboard, scaffolding and draping cables that contrasts heavily with the primped and preened main avenues. Out there it’s the multilane traffic that’ll get you. And carry on getting you.

Fifty miles. That’s how far it is before I’m aware of being in the countryside. There are 10 million people in Seoul, 25m in the greater metropolitan area. It’s like driving through a Scooby Doo backdrop, a constantly repeating loop of thick urban sprawl. The Ioniq 6 sees it off with panache. The light cabin is instantly calming, the control responses are measured, the satnav bong and whisper is delivered just so. I want the full experience, so leave it talking Korean, and tune in to local radio to experience K-pop in its natural environment.

It might be based on the same underpinnings as the Ioniq 5, same 77kWh battery and twin motor 321bhp set-up, but it’s more sophisticated. The suspension damping and insulation is more akin to a Mercedes EQS, and like that (the only car that has a better drag factor than the 6’s 0.21Cd), it slips easily through the air. Turn brake regen off and it’ll coast for miles. Good for range.

So there’s no need to recharge when I break for motorway snacks. This is the intention of course. The Ioniq 6 can travel 25 miles further per charge than the 5 simply due to aerodynamics. Restrain yourself to a 225bhp single motor on smaller 18s and max range rises from 320 miles to 382. In theory I can drive the whole way to Mokpo on a single charge, but I can’t recharge on the ferry, so I’ve looked out a lunch spot. It’s close to somewhere I’ve been before, the Saemangeum Seawall. If you like gigantic engineering projects, look it up, it’ll blow your mind.

Korea isn’t an intimidating or even particularly alien country to drive through. Many road signs are in English, the influences are more westernised than in China or Japan, the society is open and friendly and, well, contactless payments make things easy, don’t they? And so the day continues, gently dusting distance, miles slipping past as easily as octopus slips down (once past the gag reflex) at Seonyudo, an island that is – was – several miles offshore until the seawall joined it up.

The EV charger there recognises a British credit card more readily than most UK chargers do, and proceeds to hose in power at 200kW. The new meeting the old. Despite the connection – both electric into

the car and seawall to the mainland – Seonyudo feels like a place trying to make sense of itself, a rural fishing backwater that’s now a haven for Insta-selfies. It’s a stunning spot, a broad beach looking out on a dolloped chain of forested islands. We make the most of the opportunity, bag shots until sunset then drive to Mokpo.

When the sun rises I’m driving up Jeju’s most dominant feature – Hallasan. A dormant volcano and, at 1,950 metres, the tallest mountain in South Korea. Above 800 metres it’s designated national park and there’s barely a soul here, just a sinuous road threading through lava colours as autumn runs down the flanks of the mountain. The Ioniq 6 is neater and more composed around corners than I expected, it manages roll well and the torque vectoring seems keen to prove it knows what it’s about. It’s capable and effective, moves the game on substantially from the vague 5.

“THE

Oh, the disappointment when there’s no chip shop or arcade at the seaside

A surprise lurks at the visitor centre. As befits a country with 70 per cent of its land area covered in mountains, Koreans are very outdoorsy. Hiking is a national obsession, even in the wackier parts of Seoul technical fabrics and walking boots dominate, while down here on Jeju, it’s all about the camping. Until recently Hyundai –despite, including Kia, having an 80 per cent market share – hadn’t tapped into this, but now it’s turned the Staria people mover into a VW California-rivalling Camper. Just way more futuristic. Look at it! What a cracking piece of design, a lesson in how to give a box personality and charm when you don’t have any heritage to call on. But before we get too carried away, this futuristic wagon hides a dirty secret. Quite literally: it’s powered by diesel. Looks like it should have an ID.Buzz-style EV powertrain, actually sports a 2.2-litre fume belcher. However there’s another angle here. It needs electricity

to power all its onboard systems. It’s got a chunky battery to do that, but really wants to be plugged in... and the Ioniq 6 supports V2L discharging. Vehicle to Load. So the plan is a spot of wild camping, with the Ioniq 6 helping to keep the lights up and the diesel guilt down.

The van driving experience is obviously different. After two days of silent wafting, having to wait for a coil light and deal with vibrations and noise seems strange. The driving position is less upright and vanlike than a Veedub, the low window line is exposing, the auto gearbox slurs about lazily, it’s top heavy and tilty around corners and at each and every one there’s a rattle of cutlery and concerning sliding noises from the camping kit.

I make my way south west, the Ioniq 6 tagging along behind. It’s aerodynamically astute, that car, but a successful piece of design? No, not in the same league as the Ioniq 5. The lines gather awkwardly at

Outrageous exterior styling, but more traditional inside thankfully

You’ve really made it when you have someone driving behind with your bed

Make youself comfortable Ollie, we’ll just stand out here in the cold and do all the work...

Ah, the Elton John Museum –where Ollie now works six days a week doing ‘Rocket Man’

Ollie’s up for a game of Red Light, Green Light if someone explains the rules

the back, the headlights are pinched. It’s better from a distance, but overall the Staria is the more confident, exuberant piece of design.

Hallasan’s hillsides give way to fertile farmland, mostly groves of citrus fruits, the fields often enclosed by black dry stone walls. Good use for volcanic rocks. But economically speaking agriculture plays second fiddle to tourism. We’ve driven here, but Seoul to Jeju is the world’s busiest flight route, with up to 230 flights a day. Not a typo. Korea is prosperous, Seoul is chaotic, so this is the pressure release for some 15 million visitors a year. That has bought the pollution problems the government is trying to address.

The west coast isn’t as blissful as I hoped. It’s rocky and barren –the good beaches are on the north and south, but the sun sets on this, the China-facing, tradewind-receiving side. Wild camping used to be a big thing here, but over-camping means many spots have been blocked off. But it’s November. I park up and prepare the van. The hook-up to the Ioniq 6 is easy, current flows in to help raise the roof, fold the back seats, make tea, charge phones, run mood lighting and pump tunes. It’s a well thought through conversion, deceptively big and well packaged.

The colours are belting that evening, the wind turbines churn and hum, running electric power from the car feels good. But I get cold and the cool camper has another dirty secret: the heating is by diesel, too. It’s not the only energy issue. Jeju itself is lagging well behind plan. Only 25 per cent of energy is from renewables at the moment, and although the island has the highest proportion of EVs in Korea, that’s still only six per cent market penetration when the 2022 target was 23 per cent. The electric switchover isn’t going according to plan. Yet. The UK is proportionally further down the EV adoption road, buying 191,000 EVs last year to Korea’s 90,000.

Be wary of betting against Korea. Things get done here. They see an issue and fix it. Immediately. Partly this comes from the national experience: I’ve written about this before, but Korea is a minnow, caught in the pincers of Japan and China, and used throughout history as their political football. Korea was occupied, considered part of Japan in fact, from 1910 to 1945. When it emerged from that, and the Korean war that divided this country at the 38th parallel, it had the USA standing firmly in its corner. And it came out swinging. There’s a confidence, a certain chutzpah, to Korea’s growth and development. You see it in Hyundai, in the energy switch – and in the tourism.

Keen to encourage holidaymakers to do more than lie on beaches or hike Hallasan, tax breaks and incentives were put in place to encourage the building of museums. And, get this, all you needed to qualify was a collection of at least 100 objects, a room, a thermostat and a burglar alarm. Many are upstanding and honourable. Some are gloriously silly.

So the following day I set out on a tour. Starting with such family friendly favourites as Chocolate Land, the Teddy Bear Museum and inevitable Hello Kitty Island, before moving on to some more rare groove stuff. The Seashell Museum is five times the size you think it could be given the subject matter, the Museum of Citrus smells wonderful and is an unexpected delight, the Toy Museum looks like someone’s dumped a Blue Peter cereal packet artwork in a layby, Jeju Figure Museum is clearly a hobby that got entirely out of hand and since when was the Automobiles and Piano combo a thing? The Maze Museum we can’t find, Pororo and Tayo mean nothing to me, Osulluc Tea Museum is teeming, while the Sex and Health Museum

Takes about three weeks to drive home from here... At least it’ll save on hotels

What’s got two thumbs and just got its wallet and keys nicked?

“KOREA’S ATTITUDE HAS ALLOWED HYUNDAI TO MAKE BOLD MOVES AND REMARKABLE PROGRESS”

is empty. Given the state of the sculptures in the otherwise lovely gardens around it, it’s only family friendly in the biological sense. Reader, I blushed.

My favourite was Greek Mythology. A couple of warehouses in the middle of nowhere, crammed with statues, pillars and a looming question. Why? The museum incentives have now been removed. But look at how eagerly they were adopted. That’s the attitude here. It’s the attitude that has allowed Hyundai to make such bold moves and achieve its remarkable progress. The Ioniq 6 gives it a convincing long range executive that equals or betters Tesla’s Model 3, while the Staria (now available in Europe) could, alongside the ID.Buzz, help herald an MPV comeback. What of Jeju itself? Not everything has gone according to plan, but that’s kind of the point. Jeju is Korea’s test centre – see if things work here, then roll them out elsewhere. Hyundai now has plans to make it a centre for hydrogen adoption. They haven’t levelled up electricity yet, and already they’re looking beyond.

Sure, it’s probably nine and a half movies too many, but the pacy franchise is an easy watch

GRAN TURISMO AUGUST

FAST X MAY

ENZO FERRARI Q4

Adam Driver stars as Enzo Ferrari – he worked hard on his House of Gucci accent, nice for him to use again

This rags-to-riches tale sounds quite fun, even if Ginger Spice has somehow managed to bag a starring role

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HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 N

WHAT IS IT?

The first electric step for Hyundai’s N performance offshoot. So far it’s all been about hot hatches, with the i20N and i30N leading the charge. Next year it’ll be about, er, hot hatches. Hyundai will reveal an N version of the Ioniq 5 EV. It won’t tread on the toes of the existing N line-up (we can safely assume it’s not going to be a featherweight), but instead with 4WD and a likely £60,000 price tag, it’ll clash heads with the likes of the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG A45.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

Power. Because we can already guess what its mechanical make-up will be thanks to another car

that is available on the market today: Kia’s EV6 GT. That uses twin motors that develop a combined 577bhp and 545lb ft. Decidedly un-hot hatchy numbers. The Kia is intended as a rapid tourer, but it’s safe to assume that the Hyundai will be more dynamic. Although how dynamic when it must weigh around 2.2 tonnes remains to be seen.

PUB AMMO

It ought to kick hot hatch acceleration into a new realm. We predict 0–62mph in under 3.5secs and 100mph in around eight. Porsche 911 levels of pace. The definition of a hot hatch is going to have to be stretched to include the 5 N in the first place. OM

RENDER: ANDREI AVARVARII

WORDS STEPHEN DOBIE

This is a car that’s going to take some wrapping our heads around. Gone is the V8, taking with it both a simple link to the rear axle and the ‘eloquent muscle car’ vibe of C63s of old. What takes their place is writ large in a new suffix –this is the Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance, and it’s a hybrid. An uprated version of the AMG A45’s 2.0-litre turbo engine claims to be the world’s most powerful production four-cylinder – with 469bhp – and pairs with an electric motor for peak outputs of 671bhp and 752lb ft. Supercar numbers. But there’s a figure that doesn’t belong in that realm: the saloon and estate C63 come in at 2,165 and 2,190kg respectively. Their predecessors weigh around half a tonne less. That’s because AMG hasn’t just added a motor and batteries, but a whole heap of new tech. The C63 is now four-wheel drive only (though with a RWD drift mode) while allwheel steering is standard. Usually the preserve of much bigger cars, it’s new to this class and helps nip away at the sensation of mass in low-speed corners. While making its own contribution to that mass, of course.

So, the tech itself. Mercedes has leaned in hard on the C63’s link to both its AMG One hypercar and Formula One programme at large. To describe the various states of how its powertrain operates would fill this issue, but needless to say there’s Electric mode –for eight miles of EV range, enough to get you quietly away from home in the mornings – among the eight modes available. Then there are four ESP settings and four levels of brake regen... Once the engine’s kicked in, power shifts between the axles depending on grip and driver gusto, with a maximum of 50 per cent going up front while the full whack can go to the rear tyres. This is what the car favours in quiet cruising, for optimum efficiency, as well as when you’ve prodded your way into Drift mode, for optimum yobbery.

F1 know-how is imbued throughout the car – in how the battery quickly gives and receives power, in its complex cooling system, in how the electrically powered turbo contributes regen to the system and in the “boost strategy” you can select on track.

In short, as you exit particular corners, the digital dials will flash a big yellow ‘BOOST’ so you know it’s time to fully flex your right foot, activating the kickdown switch beneath the pedal for full power and torque. Over the rest of the circuit you press the throttle as far as it’ll go without kicking down, to save the e-power for where it’s implemented best. But is it actually fun?

C63s of old were instant, irresistible charmers. In a nutshell, this one isn’t. There’s simply too much going on for this car to slap a grin straight on your face. Which isn’t to say it’s dull. Far from it. With nearly 700bhp this is still undoubtedly a quick car that shuffles along with a real effervescence, not least because finer-tuned bums will sense the power shifting dynamically around the wheels as it does so. That goes hand in hand with the extra incisiveness of the rear-wheel steer, which is a constant presence in tighter turns.

But while that all does an admirable job of chamfering off the edges of the C63’s bulk in the middle of corners, there’s no escaping it under hard braking. For all AMG’s talk of clever track apps and boost strategies, this isn’t truly the car to buy if you’re looking to improve your sector times at the local track evening. The brake pedal is hardly brimming with feel anyway – you can thank four levels of regen for that – but it goes even softer after a handful of hard stops.

On track, this never truly feels a 671bhp car, its extra mass over the current M3 immediately soaking up the extra power. But it’s still a swift old thing on the road, particularly when you accelerate out of villages and into national speed limit, the instant hit of torque from the 202bhp/236lb ft e-motor giving a notable shove in the back when you’re not worrying about lap time

strategies. It also leads to a pretty lively back end; oversteer has always been easily won in a C63, and nothing changes here. It’s just corrected far sooner with the front axle helping pull you straight.

The old C63 always rode firmly, and we endured it for the magic that lay beyond. There’s a broader range of options from this new car’s adaptive damping system – with components descended from the AMG GT Black Series, and thus the GT3 paddock – but more undulating roads reveal its softest Comfort setting is languid, while Sport punts you right back to the old car’s level of stiffness.

There’s plenty that sparkles too. The nine-speed paddleshift auto is snappy and its short ratios bring some real brio to Manual mode. The four-cylinder engine sounds plain at low revs but really sharpens in timbre the harder you work it. You’re best turning the more dynamic sound mode off, though, as it brings an amusing but distracting warble to electric-only driving.

The C63 practically begs you to engage with its different drive modes to get the best out of it. Its various screens and toggle switches are distracting to begin with but you’ll work with it, and the almost endlessly adjustable dials and head-up display are very legible indeed. You can have a pair of classic ‘analogue’ instruments if you really wish, while at the opposite end of the spectrum is an energy flow diagram, with data as nerdy as the current rpm of the electrically powered turbocharger (as much as 150,000rpm, fact fans).

Rather like the AMG One, this feels as much a rolling scientific experiment as it does a sports saloon. Especially when its battery so notably shrinks the boot capacity. Some of its ‘F1 for the road’ vibe is also a touch contrived. But criticising its almost gratuitous link to motorsport would mean having to criticise Land Rover for stuffing even its plushest cars full of terrain response systems.

I liked the car the more miles I covered in it, as the complexity of its powertrain – and how best to use it – was slowly soaked up |by the sponge of my mere human brain. Perhaps, over the course of a typical lease deal, the new C63 would really cast a spell on its driver. It just hasn’t happened for me yet.

“THE C63 PRACTICALLY BEGS YOU TO ENGAGE WITH ITS DRIVE MODES”

TOYOTA PRIUS

ASTON MARTIN DBX COUPE

there’s a small market for grotesque coupe-styled SUVs, but hasn’t Aston missed the boat?

BMW X8 Munich’s quest to release enough brashly styled models to offend every person on the planet continues

SUPERPOWER

Pretty much everything, given it’s basically a McLaren F1 with 30 years of better R&D and plusher budget. Lightness, noise, aero – the lot

LIKELY TO BE DRIVEN BY

Moustachioed connoisseurs of low-mass perfection wearing Hawaiian shirts. And 99 other very lucky people

PUB AMMO

The only bit of the T.50 heavier than necessary is the gearknob. Gordon picked the weightier one as it improves the feel of the gearshift

Weirdly for a car company that hasn’t actually delivered any cars yet, the GMA T.50 feels slightly like the old model. Not because it’s been delayed or entangled in legalese, but because of the pace of GMA’s expansion. Since the tri-seat fan-assisted V12 dream machine was revealed with a sketch in 2019, the good professor has disclosed a track-only ‘Niki Lauda’ variant and the elegant two-seat T.33. Spyder and hardcore versions of that car are allegedly also inbound. Plus ground has been broken on a new British factory, with its own test track. So the T.50 might seem like ancient history, but when the first of the 100 eventual owners get their 12,000rpm, sub-tonne love letter to zero compromise in the spring, it could be the rest of the supercar industry that looks a bit last week. OK

We saw the first model in 2016 – two years after Adrian Newey began work on his road car project. Then a finalised exterior design and an interior. The V12 hybrid powertrain stats were nailed down in March 2019. But the first Valkyrie customer cars weren’t delivered until late 2021 – apparently in a beta state without the active aerodynamics and suspension operational. In the meantime, Aston Martin and Red Bull are no longer F1 partners – they’re rivals, albeit at opposite ends of the grid. Newey’s brain is being flexed on his RB17 track-only hypercar. Aston has seen off another CEO, and revealed an open top version of its road-going F1 car to maximise profits. Safe to say, it’s not easy building the world’s most extreme road car. This year we’ll finally find out if Aston’s time, money and effort was worth the wait. OK

T h i s r a t h e r s t r e t c h e dl o o k i n g v e h i c l e i s t h e L a n d R o v e r D e f e n d e r 1 3 0 . N o w, a 1 1 0 w i t h a n e x t r a c h u n k o f b o d y w o r k p l o n k e d o n t h e b a c k a n d e x t r a s e a t i n g i s n o t s o m e t h i n g t h a t w o u l d u s u a l l y h a v e T o p G e a r s a l i v a t i n g , b u t i f y o u ’ v e o r d e r e d o n e t h e n i t ’s q u i t e l i k e l y y o u ’ r e d e s p e r a t e f o r d e l i v e r y a n d w o n ’ t b e s e e i n g i t u n t i l w e l l i n t o 2 0 2 3 J L R c u r r e n t l y h a s f e w e r c h i p s t h a n a k e b a b s h o p a t c l o s i n g t i m e , w i t h p r o d u c t i o n d e l a y s t h a t w o u l d m a k e t h e b u i l d e r s o f L a S a g r a d a F a m í l i a w i n c e .

T h e 1 3 0 i s t h e f o u r t h m o d e l i n t h e D e f e n d e r r a n g e –t h e o t h e r s b e i n g t h e 9 0 , t h e 1 1 0 a n d t h e c o m m e r c i a ls p e c H a r d T o p M o s t c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e 1 1 0 , t h e r e ’s a n e x t r a 3 4 0 m m o f b o d y a d d e d t o t h e 1 3 0 b e h i n d t h e r e a r w h e e l s a n d s e a t i n g f o r e i g h t i n s i d e .

T h e r e i s n ’ t q u i t e t h e r a n g e o f p o w e r t r a i n s t h a t y o u ’ l l fi n d i n t h e s m a l l e r D e f e n d e r s , w i t h t w o m i l dh y b r i d p e t r o l s o r a m i l dh y b r i d d i e s e l i n t h e f o r m o f t h e s i xc y l i n d e r D 3 0 0 . N o V 8 s o r p l u gi n h y b r i d s h e r e . I n s i d e y o u g e t a n 1 1 4i n c h t o u c h s c r e e n a n d t w o s e a t s u p f r o n t S o f a r, s o n o r m a l I n t h e m i d d l e r o w y o u g e t l e s s l e g r o o m t h a n i n a 1 1 0 , b u t t h e r e i s s p a c e f o r t h r e e p a s s e n g e r s a n d t h e s e a t s f o l d f o r w a r d t o a l l o w a c c e s s i n t o t h e r e a r m o s t r o w . T h a t fi n a l r o w a l s o h a s t h r e e s e a t s , a n d L a n d R o v e r i n s i s t s t h a t t h r e e a d u l t s c o u l d fi t b a c k t h e r e . W e ’ r e n o t s o s u r e G r a n t e d o u r t e s t d u m m y w a s s i x f e e t t a l l , t h o u g h A n d t h e n t h e r e ’s t h e b o o t W i t h a l l t h e s e a t s i n p l a c e t h e r e ’s 3 8 9 l i t r e s o f s p a c e i n w h i c h y o u ’ d fi t a s m a l l l o a d o f s h o p p i n g . B u t h a n g o n , b e c a u s e h o w o f t e n w i l l y o u b e t a k i n g s e v e n o t h e r s t o t h e s h o p s ? F o l d t h e r e a r m o s t r o w fl a t a n d y o u g e t 1 , 2 3 2 l i t r e s o f s p a c e , a n d i f y o u f o l d t h e m i d d l e r o w t o o t h e n t h e r e ’s a c a v e r n o u s 2 , 2 9 1 l i t r e s . W e ’ v e h a d a q u i c k g o i n a D 3 0 0 a n d –s u r p r i s e –i t f e e l s m u c h l i k e a 1 1 0 w i t h i t s p l e a s a n t m a n n e r s , s t r o n g b o d y c o n t r o l a n d l i g h t s t e e r i n g . T h e a i r s u s p e n s i o n i s p e r h a p s a l i t t l e fi r m e r t o c o p e w i t h t h e e x t r a w e i g h t , b u t y o u ’ d b e n i t p i c k i n g t o n o t i c e . W i t h t w i n t u r b o s , 2 9 6 b h p a n d 4 7 9 l b f t o f t o r q u e t h e 3 . 0l i t r e d i e s e l e a s i l y s h i f t s t h e b i g 2 . 7t o n n e 1 3 0 , w h i l e t h e e i g h ts p e e d a u t o g e a r b o x i s a s s m o o t h a s e v e r O ffr o a d , a l l y o u n e e d t o r e m e m b e r i s t h a t t h e e x t r a r o w o f s e a t s i s h a n g i n g o u t t h e b a c k , s o y o u r d e p a r t u r e a n g l e i s c o m p r o m i s e d c o m p a r e d t o a 1 1 0 . U n l i k e l y t o b e t o o m u c h o f a n i s s u e i n t h e W a i t r o s e c a r p a r k o r o n a f u l l y l o a d e d s c h o o l r u n .

SCRIMP & SAVE

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WALK

The easiest way to save money on driving is not to do any

GO TO THE NEAREST PETROL STATION

UK drivers waste almost £347 every year trying to save 1.6p a litre

DON’T CRASH

Crashing is a leading cause of having to spend money on your car

KEEP YOUR OLD CAR

Buying a new car is also a leading cause of spending money

READ TOPGEAR

Looking at our pictures is a pleasant alternative to going anywhere

Adults can sit in the second row, or chop their legs off and sit back here!

CAMERA

The new Pagani Utopia is a staunchly analogue V12 hypercar. Only fitting then, that we shoot it with a camera that feels the same way

REFRACTION

WORDS PAUL HORRELL PHOTOGRAPHY TOM SALT

PAGANI UTOPIA

Six photos. That’s Tom Salt’s output today. Six near-silent precision clicks of the shutter in this outlandish camera’s lens. Between each shot is a complex set of actions to lightproof the gigantic eight-by-10-inch negative, and swap its film holder for a fresh one. Every photo takes more than an hour of inch-fussy manoeuvring of car and camera, meticulous composition, focus and light metering. Every shadow and reflection has to be managed, any superfluous piece of litter and distraction has to be physically cleansed from the scene. No digital retouching is allowed.

There are electric SUVs that accelerate as fast as a Pagani Utopia. No fuss. But they don’t have the charisma of a 6.0-litre V12 or the involvement of a manual transmission. Analogue isn’t dead. Not yet, not ever. And just as streaming never quite replaced vinyl and the pdf never quite replaced calligraphy, digital photography hasn’t quite replaced film.

The reason should be obvious on these pages. Put in the hard yards and the results from a large-format film camera can be spectacular. Even with the muffling effect of magazine printing, they show mesmerising detail and a gorgeously luminous tonal quality. You could jump into these prints like a pool.

But that’s just the start. The optics of large-format cameras let the photographer control the depth of focus: Ansel Adams and Group f/64 closed the lens right down like a pinhole camera to get everything sharp, whereas flinging open the aperture will lift the subject sharply out of cloud-soft surroundings. The vertical and lateral movements of the bellows-mounted lens allow perspective control to prevent keystoning, the tapering effect looking up at buildings. Of course our phone cams have digital keystone correction and a bogus ‘portrait mode’ that (mostly) recognises a face and blurs the background. But they’re so not the same. Besides, the tilt function of the lens means the photographer can twist the pane of focus, keeping sharpness through an object that diagonally recedes into the distance. It all bestows immense artistic freedom.

Alessandro Gibellini trained as a civil engineer, but one day his dad gave him a film camera, and he was hooked. He began to experiment with larger film formats, and soon built a view camera,

promoting his version of this 170-year-old apparatus via social media – oh the irony. His engineer’s inclinations led him away from the traditional hardwood frames into titanium and aluminium alloys, and even carbon fibre. It makes them more rigid, obviously a vital characteristic with precision optics. He also wanted to make every component, every bracket and arm and control knob, a thing of beauty in itself. His little factory is in a hillside village just south of Modena. I must have passed it, oblivious, dozens of times when road-testing Ferraris, Lamborghinis... and Paganis.

Although younger, Alessandro shares much in common with Horacio Pagani. Technocrat, artist, materials expert, entrepreneur, maker of functional objects imbued with beauty to the core. He was introduced to Horacio a few years ago by a supplier of metal parts to both firms. The idea brewed up to do a Pagani version of the Gibellini camera. So was born the GP810HP.

Not just a rebadge job, mind. Pagani’s designers made changes to many of the moving parts, and added their own flourishes, including a big control knob tipped with their four-tailpipe motif. The camera comes with a leather bound carbon-fibre tripod and matching cases. Again, all very Pagani. The price is pretty Pagani too: £70,000. (Although Gibellini’s 3D printed cameras for education start at less than a grand.) About half the limited run has been reserved for Pagani car buyers. I’m told most of those actually have some intention of using it, and some idea how to. This isn’t a trophy piece for the corner of the sitting room. Or at least, not just that.

It’s an assembly of gorgeous parts, mostly milled from solid metals into strong, light arms like birds’ rib cages, and fluted controls and locking knobs. It operates with exquisite precision. Which all adds to the satisfaction of using it, but the real distinction is the process itself. In a view camera the lens casts its image on a removable ground-glass screen acting as a proxy for the film while you compose and focus. It’s not a very bright image, so you kill the ambient light by ducking under a lightproof cloth. Under there, you’re on your own. Is it too fanciful to compare that to being alone in a car on an empty road?

Except it’s slow. You’re working with an upside-down image on the glass. Tiny movements of the lens have a multiplied effect. You need a magnifying loupe to check focus. Move one aspect of the composition and everything else morphs too. Then you have to run around the scene with a light meter. Tom says it’s both physical and philosophical. He’s the man for this job. In the Nineties he spent three years as assistant to James Hedrich of preeminent Chicago architectural photography firm

Where’d all that water come from? Best get a roofer out ASAP, Horacio

Tom Salt polishing his lens before getting the correct side of the camera...

Paganis are used to being in the spotlight, just not quite like this

Just out of frame – a photographer propping his eyes open with matchsticks

Hedrich-Blessing, favoured image makers to Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Buckminster Fuller, Eero Saarinen and other modernist giants. He’d lug 17 flight cases of cameras and lights all over the US, spending evenings in hotel bathrooms, the doors taped up to lightproof them so he could load the film into its holders.

Tom came back to Britain and started photographing cars. He and I first worked together as the century turned, him shooting and me driving. We first came to this factory in May 2002 to test a thennew Zonda S. That day Tom shot with a Hasselblad, a miracle of convenience beside a bellows camera, but ridiculously cumbersome compared with the digital hardware and techniques that have since taken over his photography, as almost everyone else’s. Digital is simply faster on the ground. “Today’s shoot just made me realise how much leeway we now have,” he says. “It’s a completely different approach to get it right in camera versus patch it together afterwards. Analogue is way more honest and more of a craft.”

As the shoot in the warehouse labours onward, I’m back in the main factory with Horacio Pagani, maker of pinnacle analogue supercars. The Utopia follows the Pagani philosophy that every part, even the hidden ones, must be beautiful, first because that gives pleasure in itself but also because they often find it also improves their function. Except that Horacio, in his softly spoken way, always insists it isn’t his philosophy at all, but refers you to Leonardo da Vinci’s dictum: “Art and science are disciplines that must walk together hand in hand.”

For its era it was almost preposterously powerful, its intimidation boosted by its otherworldly looks, and yet driving it turned out to be charming and friendly as well as searingly exciting. If the Utopia captures that, it’ll be another triumph. Its bespoke 852bhp twin-turbo V12 from AMG and his own carbo-titanium structure help keep kerbweight under 1,400kg, so it’s in with every chance.

The Utopia’s ‘unfiltered’ experience means no four-wheel drive, no four-wheel steering, no active roll control. It has the option of a manual transmission and 70 per cent of buyers go that way. Most significantly, it has no hybrid drive. Pagani tells me that AMG offered him, instead of the V12, a V8 with a plug-in hybrid system and four-wheel drive. “It was 1,000 horsepower, and it would have been easier to homologate worldwide. But it would have added 350 to 400kg. Our customers want a V12 and no hybrid.” So they get it.

UTOPIA FOLLOWS THE PAGANI PHILOSOPHY

After a morning of staring at the thing from all angles, I don’t need telling that the Utopia is indeed a machine of extraordinary aesthetics. Even if you find its form language a little over-ornate – although less so than the Huayra I’d say – it’s still impossible to not be overawed by its cohesion. Every tiny part harmonises. Nothing here is commonplace or borrowed. Look under the vast rear clamshell. Between the sculpted components it’s also obsessively tidy. Not a tube or wire interrupts the composition. This was Horacio’s manifesto from the start, with the Zonda, and it continued with the Huayra. That and the megalithic V12. Plug-in hybrid drive has become almost the norm among hypercars. Horacio’s personal 918 lurks under a dustsheet next to where Tom is shooting – and yet... “I’m not a pro driver, but I have driven lots of other supercars. Once a car is more than 1,500kg the electronics make it a filtered experience. It’s artificial. Our cars aren’t for the week, for taking your child to school. They’re for the weekend. Our customers want a car that isn’t complicated, they want one that is close to you and has a connection with you. That was what made the Zonda magical.” Oh yes. That springtime experience back in 2002 remains engraved on my mind.

For the Utopia, Pagani has developed about 40 new types of carbon-fibre composites, with different properties for their particular task throughout the car. They don’t need to be dressed or trimmed, saving even more weight. That’s obvious in the cabin. The shift gate and linkage for the seven-speed manual transmission is a skeletal work of art. The steering wheel begins life as a 30kg aluminium block, machined to a 2.5kg solid item that won’t flex or vibrate. The dials have the look of chronographs. There is no central touch screen. Horacio thinks they’re a distraction (can’t disagree), and they date fast. He wants the car to be timeless.

Which is why he also wanted a relatively clean and organic exterior, free of spoilers and wings. Airflow through the car was a focus of extensive CFD and tunnel testing. In the Huayra, Pagani introduced movable flaps on the nose and tail. These lift and drop, to affect downforce and drag. The left and right sides are independent, producing variable lateral aerodynamic force for corners, and countering roll. It was the first car in the world to have that capability. For the Utopia, the moving aero surfaces appear only at the back. They make up the upper section of the Pagani signature oval shape that loops around the exhaust pipes with the tail-lights at its pointed ends, so they’re more effective as air can pass under as well as over them. With the Huayra’s flaps, air could pass only over. Instead of moving surfaces at the nose, the front suspension rises and falls, changing the body’s angle of attack to balance up the aero forces. This all demands super complex electronic control, developed in-house by Horacio’s young and empowered team.

The Utopia’s 6.0-litre twin-turbo engine is increasingly unlike any other. AMG no longer sells a car with a V12, and the one used by Maybach obviously needs to be a wholly different animal. Pagani’s revs to 6,700rpm and makes a bewildering 811lb ft of torque. The

“THE

THAT EVERY PART MUST BE BEAUTIFUL”

transmission is transversally mounted, so its weight is further forward than a longitudinal unit. That helps handling.

Even so, disable the ESP in your analogue hypercar and you can no doubt spin off. So it is with analogue photography. You’re denied the ESP-like comfort of immediately checking every shot on the screen. After a day’s shooting, Tom and Alessandro process the film. Disaster. We have a spin. Every sheet of film turns out uniformly black – it’s negative remember, so this is previous exposure to light. It’s not like the light leak in a camera or processing tank, which produces streaks from an edge. We wrack our brains. Most likely someone in the setting up or transport opened the lightproof film package, not realising what was in there. Whatever. Waste of a day.

So it’s an all-night repeat of the shoot, using borrowed lights instead of the warehouse window daylight. And through it all the magic of film comes good. Under the direct electric light, the extraordinary detail resolution of large format makes the car’s carbon fibre zing, enlivening its curves yet more. Tom had shot backups with his digital Nikon, later fessing up to a notion of printing them with fake film borders. Then the night shot negatives emerged from their processing chemicals and it was clear that wouldn’t have washed. “There is a real quality to the 8x10 that’s hard to replicate. I think it’s mostly in the focus but also something about the formality.”

Today’s bitter experience has only entrenched what progress means. “For work, under pressure, I wouldn’t go back,” says Tom. “There’s no time for it any longer. Digital offers so much flexibility.” Even so, “Given time shooting a subject of my own choosing, I’d still go analogue. I do miss it. The ground glass experience is unmatched.”

Guess that’s exactly what Horacio is saying about his weekend hypercars.

OK, you noticed: this exhibition car shows two wheel options –ultra-light spoked on the right side, and an aero set with carbon-fibre shrouds on the left

Photographed with Rodenstock Apo-Sironar 300mm f/5.6 lens at f/16 (this page) and f/5.6 (opposite) on Ilford HP5 film developed in Tetenal chemistry

POLESTAR 3

WHAT IS IT?

Polestar’s biggest effort yet; a giant, five-seat, pure electric SUV with a 111kWh battery and a possible 379 miles of WLTP range. Initial cars are all dual motor, with 483bhp/620lb ft, or a Performance Pack option with 510bhp/671lb ft. And gold bits.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

It’s quick, big and full of tech, with the typical Polestar low fuss/eco conscious interior. And it looks good; Polestar is on a roll.

PUB AMMO

RENAULT 5

WHAT IS IT?

The production version of Renault’s super cool, retro-ish pure electric supermini, as rendered above. It’ll be attainable, too, sporting a 134bhp front mounted motor, a target price of around £20k and a proposed range of nearly 250 miles on a charge.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

The ‘Renault 5’ is a hell of a badge to bring back –it’s a cult icon. But the styling of the nouvelle 5 concept shown in 2021 has been a hit... so it’s on.

PUB AMMO

There’ll be a larger EV crossover too that pays homage to the Renault 4 TF

o t e e a t

Anything else from Polestar?

The 3 is based on the same platform as the new flagship VOLVO EX90, so you’ve got options if you want a more sensible scandi-style SUV. Here’s hoping the 3 will come in at less than the Volvo’s £100k asking price, but match or better the EX90’s 360-mile range and 4.9secs 0–62mph time.

The headlights and wing blades on the front and back are inspired by the Precept concept. Not a bad thing. TF i

Anything else from Renault?

How does an ALPINE R5 sound? Quiet, sure, but also... enticing. Think larger 215bhp motor from the Megane E-Tech, lowered suspension, swollen bodywork and lashings of blue paint. We’ll see a concept first in early 2023, followed by the real thing a year later.

RENDER: ANDREI AVARVARII

FERRARI PUROSANGUE

WHAT IS IT?

The Prancing Horse’s answer to the Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX. It’s a 4WD Ferrari with a front mounted V12 pumping out 715bhp and 528lb ft through an eight-speed double-clutch box, capable of 0–62mph in 3.3 seconds and more than 190mph.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

The Purosangue is not short of controversy. Apparently it’s the first four-door/four-seater to occupy a new niche that definitely isn’t an SUV. Nope. No way. Ahem...

PUB AMMO

It has parts adapted from the GTC4 and SF90, as well as the 812 Competitzione. TF

MINI

WHAT IS IT?

Mini: The Next Generation. Still in both petrol and EV formats, with the petrol ones built in Oxford and the electric versions born in China. Pics of a prototype were leaked in late 2021, this is our artist’s take on those.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

The new platform is a joint venture deal between BMW and Chinese manufacturer GWM.

PUB AMMO

The new Mini is based on the same platform as the Funky Cat. It’s a Mini in a Cat costume. TF

SAND S R

Wanna play a game? Have a guess at how many models of Porsche 911 are now available. Wrong. There are currently 25. Twenty five! That’s two dozen and one different flavours of the iconic arse-engined sports car that encompass the worlds of hard top, soft top, Targa, turbocharging, softcore T, hardcore bewinged RS and middling GTS. After all that you’d think that the blades on Porsche’s niche-cutting machine were blunt. But you’d be wrong – yes, it’s found yet another hole in the market to plug: the off-road market. Yippee!

Ladies and gentlemen, lovers and haters, with great pleasure we give you the 911 Dakar – a jacked-up 911 that believes driving

WORDS ROWAN HORNCASTLE

doesn’t have to end when the tarmac does. The recipe is simple: a high-riding armour-clad version of the 992 GTS. That means a 473bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six at the back, four-wheel drive, and an eight-speed PDK gearbox... all raised 50mm higher off the ground than usual, while a lift system at both axles can extend the Dakar a further 30mm for “ambitious off-roading”.

Where the GTS has supplied the mechanical hardware, the super sporty 911 GT3 has donated its carbon-fibre bonnet, bucket seats and roll cage to the off-road cause.

But to make sure you’ve got plenty of grip on mud, sand, snow and every loose surface in-between, knobbly Pirelli Scorpion tyres are fitted as standard. Being so knobbly and aggressive, the Dakar’s top speed is limited to a mere 149mph to stop them bursting –

making this the slowest Porsche 911 for decades. But it gets there quickly as 0–62mph takes just 3.5 seconds.

Porschephiles will know 911s have quite a history of rallying off-road, which is the heritage thread that’s led to the Dakar name – inspired by the Paris–Dakar rally which Porsche conquered in the Eighties, first with 911s and later the 959. All of which were slathered in the iconic Rothman’s livery which you can pay homage to via an £18k Rally Heritage paintjob. The options don’t end there as there’s also a powered roof-rack with integrated spotlights that can be loaded up with sand ladders, fuel cans, possibly your own beer fridge.

Only 2,500 911 Dakars will be produced for a hefty €222,000 each. No doubt they’re all accounted for now, but we’re just praying they’re used for their intended purpose.

There’s no question the new Volkswagen ID.Buzz looks the

WORDS PAUL HORRELL, PETER RAWLINS, OLLIE KEW PHOTOGRAPHY OLGUN KORDAL, MARK RICCIONI

ZZ

part, but what about the rest? Time for a thorough investigation...

VW ID.BUZZ

IS IT A GOOD EV?

vs TESLA MODEL Y

Say camper van and people think VW. Say EV and it’s Tesla: the Hoover or the Biro of electric vehicles. I’m not just talking about range and charging here, but also about the other stuff that electric power enables: packaging, comfort, dynamics. With the ID.Buzz, all this reflects its origin in a conservative 85-year-old German car company struggling with software. The Tesla too reflects its origin, in a radical 19-year-old California-born tech company that has struggled to come to terms with car manufacture and ergonomics.

The Model Y is basically a tall Model 3, which means it’s low in drag and comparatively light. This AWD long range one has a 75kWh usable battery and two motors, and still it squeaks under

two tonnes. The Volkswagen is half a tonne more, and it casts a very big, very square shadow. Pushing that through the air has a penalty. With us the VW did about 2.6 miles per kWh on a motorway in 10°C weather. The Tesla is narrower in the cabin, lower and more hawk shaped and was good for 3.3mpkWh at the same speed. That means a range of 200 miles for the VW and nearly 250 for the Tesla, though both would go further in mixed driving. This isn’t just about aero drag – the Model Y is also a bit more energy efficient than VW’s crossover, the ID.4.

Ignore the efficiency readouts and the Model Y can be also famously quick. Free of wheelspin you’re at 62mph in the low fives. The VW absorbs double that time. The Tesla still feels lively on the motorway, but in the VW you need ambitious anticipation to join a gap in outside lane traffic. Both have well modulated accelerator mapping so they’re graciously smooth to operate.

In a broad brush sense, the Tesla has cornering to match its power. Its steering is quick in ratio, but well damped, so you won’t be twitchy, and the well mannered body roll rate helps too.

Next to the candy coloured Buzz, the Tesla looks positively last century

But it’s oddly joyless. Blame steering with no feel or engagement. Yet the suspension is far firmer and harsher than it needs to be, so it bangs and hops along. It’s a sporty SUV that isn’t. Tesla should have recognised it’ll mostly be driven rather less furiously. The Volkswagen soothes away all fury. OK, its steering is numb but it bids you enjoy the landscape not stress the tyres, riding on lovely supple suspension.

Despite its car platform, the ID.Buzz is packaged as a van. It’s a box. The windscreen is way ahead of you, your shins are near vertical and you sit tall – going eye to eye in your flower power EV with the compensators in their snorting AMG G63s. But your raised seat is mounted on a crude frame that steals legroom from the people behind. So the lower Tesla has more room for five people’s legs. The Model Y shows some amazing packaging nous actually, including of course the frunk/froot.

The VW’s calm and happy nature offsets the frustration of using its screen system. The latest version is better organised – the energy computer now sits permanently in the driver’s screen. But the touchscreen is still horribly laggy. The Tesla’s screen reacts instantly, and its graphics are sharply rendered in ultra cool monotone. I’m sure it looked terrific in the test lab. Yet it is absolutely diabolical to use in a moving car. There’s nowhere to rest your hand. The maps show light grey roads on a slightly less light grey background. Frequently used and urgently needed functions demand scuba-deep menu diving.

But it’s great at finding you a Supercharger. Lately Tesla has also opened a few of those to civilians who have the Tesla app, and that’s also trouble free, so we did a side by side test on 150kW Superchargers. Starting around 20 per cent on a cool evening, both the VW and the Tesla accepted around 145kW, and still 100kW past 50 per cent. Impressive.

The Tesla is faster and more efficient, but its driving experience is oddly hard to warm to. The VW relaxes you, because of the drive and the joyous design and habitability. I’d choose it. Tesla has always been a cult. The Buzz will be too, if for very different reasons. PH

“THE VW IS HALF A TONNE MORE, AND CASTS A VERY BIG, SQUARE SHADOW”

VW’s interior is bright and cheery – helps soothe the pain of its infotainment foibles

RACING GAMES COMING IN

2023

five causes of thumb strain coming this year

Top

FORZA MOTORSPORT

While Forza Horizon has been partying across the planet, this nuts-and-bolts rework of Forza Motorsport is the result of half a decade’s work. Should be good, then

TEST DRIVE UNLIMITED SOLAR CROWN

The original online open-world racer returns, this time in Hong Kong as you compete to secure the titular Solar Crown, which we’re hoping is an actual shiny hat

DISNEY SPEEDSTORM

Disney’s answer to Mario Kart plumbs from the megacorp’s library of characters. If you’ve ever wanted to fire a missile at Mickey Mouse from a moving vehicle, now’s the time

PACIFIC DRIVE

Not a racing game, but a survival horror affair that has you customising and driving a modified station wagon through a surreal, supernatural Pacific Northwest

WRECKREATION

A sequel to Dangerous Driving, this game adds a 400km sandbox to build your own circuits. The most fun you’ve had since your mum gave all your Hot Wheels track away

“Guys, I’m struggling a bit,” comes the call over the radio from the 1972 Volkswagen Type 2, nicknamed ‘Solbrit’, that’s just rolled to a stop halfway up the hill ahead. Uh oh. This part of our ID.Buzz test could be over before it’s even begun.

We’re on the Wrynose Pass in the Lake District, headed towards the Hardknott Pass, one of the gnarliest and steepest roads in the UK. We wanted to face the Buzz off against its 20th century predecessor, by means of a hillclimb – no small task, with the Type 2’s original rear-mounted, air-cooled engine renowned for overheating when tackling even the slightest of gradients. Looks like its living up to its reputation.

But hold your horses, because at the wheel is Kit Lacey, founder of classic vehicle electrification company eDub Services. And the Type 2 he’s driving is no ordinary Type 2, having had a full heart transplant – and now running on electrons. Here we’ve got the top spec conversion kit with 53kWh battery, 93bhp electric motor, and 150ish-mile range, priced from £64,999. Cheap it isn’t.

Kit’s concerned because the constant start/stopping for photos is causing the electric motor’s temperature to spike. Fortunately, he’s brought his laptop along and wirelessly tweaks the settings so the fan switches on at a lower temperature. We roll back to level ground, get a good run up, and the challenge is back on.

Until we bump into traffic headed in the opposite direction, halfway up the even steeper climb to the summit of the Wrynose Pass. Though the temperature is now stable, Kit’s lost all momentum. He tweaks the eDub’s settings to maximise the power output, floors it, and finally makes it up and over.

I’m following in the Buzz (77kWh/204bhp/258-mile range), where it’s fair to say that it’s breezing it so far. But it doesn’t come cheap either – the as-tested price of £65,465 makes it almost like-for-like with the eDub.

Wonder how many people have blindly followed their satnav up here, then...

It’s not hard to see that VW has clearly riffed on the Type 2’s image with the Buzz, from the wraparound windscreen to the sliding side doors and fake cooling vents, but quirky styling apart it’s there that the similarities really end. While the ID.Buzz is currently little more than a glorified MPV, the Type 2 offers endless customisation options, with this one previously modified by its owner and fully roadtrip equipped. It’s a stark comparison.

The Hardknott Pass – and its 30 per cent inclines – soon looms into view. Kit waits to check the route is clear and then starts the ascent, before I set off in pursuit. The lofty driving position and light steering lends itself to the rutted single track road, and while the Buzz feels slightly cumbersome, you just have to trust your instincts, ignore the constant beeping from the proximity sensors, and go for it. Several twists and turns later, and we make it up and over the summit too.

A “completed it, mate” moment for both the ID.Buzz and the eDub then. On the return journey I jump at the opportunity to swap. The Type 2 is far more involving to drive, the heavy steering all in the shoulders and the brake pedal quite frankly a cramp risk, but there’s no denying the new electric gubbins have transformed the drive. The accelerator pedal is perkier compared with the progressive feel of the ID.Buzz, and its 0–62mph acceleration is swift enough.

Where to spend your £65k? There’s no denying the ID.Buzz’s quirkiness, and as a funky family runabout it’s got plenty of charm, but for an adventure like this the eDub feels the more authentic. Electric drive has given the Type 2 a new lease of life, improving on many of the original’s flaws, and secured its future in our new battery powered world. The Buzz isn’t quite a tailormade replacement just yet, but I suspect its time will come. PR

Seven, count em, seats in the Volvo – you’ll have to wait for the LWB Buzz to get that

The ID.Buzz wants to claim the Kombi crown, but we can see right through it

Everything you need to live off-grid, apart from plugging in to the National Grid

IS IT PRACTICAL FAMILY TRANSPORT?

vs VOLVO XC90

If the ID.Buzz is to succeed as more than just a Pixar-faced novelty act propping up VW’s maligned ID range, then it needs to succeed not just as a credible EV and a £60,000 item, but as a family car. And the quintessential active outdoorsy family lifestyle vehicle is, without a shadow of a doubt, the Volvo XC90. It’s the least objectionable large premium SUV. It’s 276 per cent less ‘powerfully built company director’ than a BMW X5. You might consider giving way to one as it indicates to depart Waitrose. It outwardly projects its mission – to look after your family, not sneer at other people’s. The Buzz is even more doe-eyed, and you’d imagine it’s also much better packaged. No bonnet to park, a taller tailgate – and a lower floor, freed of even the Volvo’s vanishing off-road pretensions. Except, on contact with the real world, the Buzz doesn’t emphatically hand the ageing Volvo its P45. It too has a raised floor, because of the underslung batteries, so the legroom isn’t generous. True, sliding rear doors are invaluable in a car park, but once aboard the Volvo’s more clearly annotated seat fold mechanisms are

simply easier to tumble, and the view outward marginally superior. Plus the XC90 offers either a 1,007-litre boot, or two child-only rearmost seats, and still squeezes in a clever pop-up luggage divider to prevent the organic quinoa mushing into the desiccated squid. The ID.Buzz’s (admittedly vast) split level boot floor is less versatile, and the extended overhang seven-seater version that’ll make better use of this cavern is perhaps a year away. Up front the XC90 is ageing, but its 12-year-old touchscreen (which mistakenly contains the heater controls) is both less laggy and more intuitive than the very best VW can build you right now. It argues back that cubbies are the real currency in this market, with huge door bins and more charging ports, suspending any threat the family might have to talk to each other on the slog back from Calais. Volvo is about to supplement its XC90 range with the £100k EX90. But VW shouldn’t presume this is a natural changing of the home guard moment. The Buzz is a fab piece of exterior design, but not the Swiss Family Robinson army knife we’d hoped it was – yet. OK

With thanks to Willen Lake, Milton Keynes’ watersports and activity park

ALPINE A110R

WHAT IS IT?

It’s the Porsche RS treatment applied to France’s premier lightweight mid-engined sports car. So that’s less weight (a 34kg reduction thanks to carbon wheels and panels, less soundproofing and slender seats), 29kg more downforce and more grip thanks to stickier tyres. But no more power...

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

Probably the price: just shy of £90,000 for the standard A110R and almost £130k for the 32 signed Fernando Alonso editions (just as he’s departed the Alpine team for Aston. Awkward).

PUB AMMO

You don’t actually get any more power in the A110R: the 1.8-litre turbo four-pot remains pegged at 300bhp. But with a kerbweight of just 1,082kg, performance ought to give a Porsche Cayman GT4 or Lotus Emira a proper headache. Also remember: this is a last dance for Alpine with petrol, before the electric SUV and joint venture EV with Lotus arrive... OK

DACIA DUSTER

WHAT IS IT?

Dacia’s gamble to keep its plucky 4x4 an honest bargain basement 4x4. The next Duster won’t be another crossover, more ‘rugged mini-Defender’.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

Expect a chunky aesthetic with elements of the Bigster concept, and Dacia’s first Renault-derived hybrid drivetrain underneath.

PUB AMMO

Dacia is one of the few brands not ranting about going fully electric. Low demand from diehard customers and associated costs mean Dacia may be one of the last carmakers to embrace the plug. OK

TESLA CYBERTRUCK

WHAT IS IT?

Three years since its reveal on stage, Tesla’s all-electric and curve-allergic pickup truck is promised to be in production by the end of this year.

WHAT’S THE BIG TALKING POINT?

Since the road-going pyramid’s unveil, Tesla’s hope to be the first EV truck on the huge US market has been gazumped by Rivian with its R1T pickup, and Ford with its F-150 Lightning.

PUB AMMO

There are already over 1.5 million preorders in the bank, each yearning for a range of up to 500 miles, a 0–60 time of 2.9secs and a 6.4-tonne towing capacity. That’s serious talk. OK

Busy times ahead...

Even if the Cybertruck does emerge without the usual Tesla production delays (and quality control mayhem) in 2023, there’s a lot on its controversial boss’s plate, notwithstanding his recent Twitter takeover and other interests like SpaceX and Boring Company tunnelling.

Construction of the Semi truck (claiming a 500-mile range fully loaded)

needs to begin in earnest, while the flagship new Roadster – revealed in 2016 with fanfare of 0–60 in 1.9secs and a rocket-propelled optional booster (really) is still nowhere to be seen. A much rumoured $25k city car good for 250 miles of range is also supposedly in development. As is a humanoid robot. Makes you wonder how Elon finds the time to tweet. OK

The Lancia Delta is without question rallying royalty... but there’s always room for improvement. Just ask Juha Kankkunen

KANKKUNEN HAS DRIVEN

“So Juha, that 1987 title winning season. What stands out to you from that year?”

TG is chatting to four-time World Rally champion and genuine hero Juha Kankkunen, who at 63 years of age shows no sign of slowing down. He won his first WRC title at the wheel of the Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2 as the fearsome Group B era was brought to an abrupt end in 1986, then followed that up a year later with a second title in the Group A-spec Lancia Delta HF Integrale.

“I can’t remember it,” he replies in a typically Finnish fashion. “I won in the UK and I think the Olympus Rally in America, but it was a long time ago.”

When you see what he was doing with the Delta in the images on these pages, it’s a wonder he’s not reliving the memories every time he shuts his eyes. Still, Kankkunen has driven everything in the world of gravel and snow, starting out in his father’s Ford Escort ice racer in the Seventies before competing for the final time at the 2010

running of Rally Finland. But it’s Lancia we’re here to talk about, hence the rather short-lived recap of that season.

Immediately after his second title win, Juha made the switch to Toyota for ’88 and ’89, but he would return to drive the ever-developing Delta for three more seasons from 1990–1992.

“Group B cars were physically very hard to drive,” says Kankkunen in what may just be the understatement of the year. “The 205 T16 was somewhere between 500bhp and 700bhp, and the weight was around 960kg. When I first drove the Delta after that, it was like going from a 500cc motorbike to a moped. There was no power – maybe 280bhp–300bhp – and the handling was whatever.”

Hardly the most glowing review for the car that would deliver the laid back Finn yet another world championship in 1991, but then he does admit that the Group A cars were quick to develop into proper rally machinery.

“By the beginning of the Nineties the Group A cars were fast. They very quickly became good rally cars to drive.

“JUHA

EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD OF GRAVEL AND SNOW”

Everything improved – the engines became more powerful, gearboxes got better, suspension developed and the brakes were stronger. Comparing a 1987 car and a 1992 car is like comparing a Volkswagen Beetle from 1959 and a Porsche 911 Turbo from today.”

And despite the underwhelming first impressions, he also has a whole lot of love for the Delta: “It was very reliable. It was strong. That was probably the best thing about the Delta, and as I understood from the mechanics and engineers it was quite easy to service too.

“The suspension maybe wasn’t the best, but in those days there wasn’t a better set-up available. If you could fit modern suspension to that car it would’ve been incredible.”

And luckily enough for us, that’s exactly where Juha’s new job comes in, although we can’t remember seeing the advert for this one in the local paper...

These days Kankkunen still tests and advises on modern rally cars (after forays into the diverse worlds of politics and luxury real estate), but in his latest role

The Maturo garage is part dream factory, part time machine

he will have final sign-off on a project that should be rather close to his heart – a road-going restomod Delta known as the Maturo Stradale.

We might need some background because it’s unlikely you’ll have heard of the folks behind this exciting project. Maturo Competition Cars is a Dutch firm created by amateur rally driver Marco Geeratz and his former mechanic (and the man who used to sell him rally cars) Frank van Ganzewinkel. They’ve been in the game for a while, building and servicing all manner of classic rally cars, but focus has now switched to Delta Integrales.

Yep. Want a boxy, four-wheel-drive Italian hatchback that goes like stink and makes all manner of turbo noises in the process? You now need to head to the Netherlands

Maturo offers three different routes into Delta ownership There’s the Classic (essentially a restored and slightly improved Delta HF Integrale Evo or Evo II), the Rally (a Delta built up to full Group A rally standards but with sympathetically upgraded parts for improved safety, reliability and performance) and finally the aforementioned Stradale.

destinations will be Juha’s doorstep, because who better to sign off on the way a dream Delta drives?

It may also help that, although he has a vast wealth of experience and a storied competition history with the brand, it’s not like Juha is emotionally attached to Lancia as some of us are. When we ask if he was disappointed at its decision to leave the sport of rallying in 1992, Kankkunen responds plainly “No Not really That was their decision ” He simply went back to Toyota the following season and won yet another title at the first time of asking Just another day at the office. I) ards e

Just 10 Stradales will ever be built, with the basic premise being to take the underpinnings of Maturo’s modernised Group A rally car and cloak it in a full carbon-fibre body that looks like a cleaner, meaner Evo.

“We changed as little as we could from the rally car to make the Stradale usable as a daily driver,” Geeratz tells TG. “It’s a very manual car. There’s no support –no ABS or traction control.

“The background of our company is a mechanical one, and we know the rally car inside out. We’ve rallied it, we’ve broken it and we’ve then improved it.

“We started by acquiring an original Group A car – the car that Kankkunen won the Olympus Rally in – and we re-engineered all of the original Abarth parts Because those parts are either massively expensive or worn out and unreliable For example, the gearbox housing always breaks at a certain point – we can see it from the original parts because they’re always welded. So without changing the external design we know to strengthen it at certain points

“Over the past few years we have developed or redeveloped around 2,000 parts.”

This isn’t just a case of slotting in a crate engine and fitting a nice interior then, it’s a proper rally spec Delta HF Integrale with numberplates. The engine is the original twin-cam 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit, but it’s fully rebuilt with a revised intake, new camshafts, lighter valves, a new cylinder head and forged pistons. Then there’s the turbo, which typifies the approach to the whole car by sitting in its original Garrett T3 housing but with all-new internals that help it to spin up faster and reduce lag.

The result is nearly 400bhp being sent through a rebuilt five-speed manual gearbox and upgraded diffs to all four wheels. The brakes are FIA homologated, the suspension incorporates four-way adjustable dampers and there’s a hydraulic handbrake for Kankkunen-spec hairpin skids.

Maturo hopes to have the prototype that you see on these pages up and running soon, and one of its first

ave spor ponds re l e we t ack Toyo th f nd w n e fi st t nother d y office

CLASSIC £130,000+

Maturo’s entry level offering takes an original Evo or Evo II, replaces all of the known problem parts and

TOP

STRANGE SEATING CONFIGURATIONS

Our

CONCEPTS THAT TIME FORGOT

MAZDA MX-81, 1981

The long history of the concept car is one that is wrapped up tightly with a sort of glow-up by association, the idea that a brand can boost its fusty image by punting out a crazy looking bag of bits at a motor show and wowing the crowds Take Mazda, for instance The company had worked with esteemed Italian styling house Bertone throughout the Sixties to inject a bit of Latin flair into its cars and steal a march on its fellow Japanese rivals The 1963 Mazda Familia was styled by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro, who went off to work for Ghia, while the relationship between Bertone and Mazda blossomed But was Mazda cool? Not an easy case to argue there The company gave Bertone a blank sheet commission to create its first ever concept car in 1981, the nattily named MX-81 The MX part stood for ‘Mazda experimental’, a moniker that the company says is only given to its “most challenging” cars, and the MX-5 The exterior wasn’t too challenging for Mazda, given that it was all Bertone’s work The styling was draped over the underpinnings of the fifth generation of Giugiaro’s original Mazda masterpiece, although the Familia had by now been rebadged as the 323

The grand introduction of Mazda’s first concept was made at that year’s Tokyo Motor Show, striking with its huge windows, pop-up

lights and crazy interior The steering wheel was replaced by a tracked belt running around the instrument panel

Wildly impractical, then, and showing off a bold new look for Mazda, but one that wouldn’t actually see its way through to any production car Correction: any Mazda production car You might sense a certain sort of familiarity about the MX-81, a recognition that you can’t quite put your finger on Like you’re at the supermarket and you see someone who gets the same bus as you in the morning

You see, compare the MX-81 with the 1979 Volvo Tundra concept and you’ll perhaps see some similarities And that car of course was turned down by Volvo but readily taken in by Citroen and turned into the iconic blocky BX in 1982 – by way of Japan, as it turns out

The ultimate insult of the MX-81 concept being passed by in favour of more glamorous European rivals was finally turned into a touching story of redemption and renewal in recent years Though the car not go into production and was left abandoned in a dark corner of a storage facility at Mazda’s headquarters, on a glorious day in 2020 it was rediscovered and restored, then punted out – over the internet this time – to give the firm’s image a bit of a boost Everything comes around again eventually Sam Burnett

The

Yes the McLaren F1 also did three seats, but the Bagheera beat it to the punch – although it did lack the central driving position

In

The precursor to many boring MPVs, the Scarab was intended to be an office on wheels with a swivelling second row of seats

STOUT SCARAB

Car of the Year in 2000 (we’re not joking), the Multipla featured three seats in the back row and three seats in the front

FIAT MULTIPLA

Brat featured two rearfacing jump seats in its pickup bed so that Subaru could classify it as a passenger car and dodge paying tax

SUBARU BRAT

MATRA BAGHEERA

2009, Geely showed off the suspiciously Phantom-like GE concept. Rolls-Royce lawyers ensured it never reached production. Shame

GEELY GE

E ICCI’S GARAGE

One of the problems with owning extremely specialist cars is that they require extremely specialist maintenance. And the problem with extremely specialist maintenance is it requires an extremely specialist attitude from an extremely specific mechanic.

That person is not and never will be me. I am hopeless with mechanicals and my patience goes from Philips screwdriver to hammer and chisel in roughly half a turn. The goals I set from a car are also slightly different to what it actually needs. And nobody knows that more than Paul at ICS Motorsport.

Paul does things properly. His main battle with the Ferrari isn’t stubborn bolts or wiring, it’s me. I enjoy making noise, being an idiot and putting cars in situations they were never designed for. Paul? His focus is speed and safety. So, when it came to changing the exhaust for something a bit spicier, his thought wasn’t Instagram stories... it was thermal management.

Those two words aren’t exactly clickbait. But they are important, especially when mucking about with a 22-year-old racecar that now has numberplates.

Its last owner did at least try with some heat wrap. Albeit not brilliantly because parts were coming undone and actually causing a fire hazard as opposed to suppressing heat. Needless to say, Paul wasn’t keen on this for the new exhaust. In fact, his exact words were “get it coated or it’s not going on”.

Zircotec is one of the longest-running brands for thermal management, but its expertise goes way beyond the silly world of racecars. The company has actually been around since the Seventies; initially tasked for creating heat barriers in the nuclear industry before hitting motorsport in 1994. But the firm’s coatings are used in agriculture, aviation and even EV batteries and vehicles.

The Ferrari 360 is one of its simpler jobs, but it’s still a mindboggling process that takes around 10 working days. Each part is inspected and masked up before the surface prep and grit blasting can begin. After this, the initial plasma spray begins with a metallic bonding coat –essential for the ceramic top coat (also plasma sprayed) to bond properly. Get all this right, and the coloured paint finish is added before oven curing and final inspection.

For the two exhaust manifolds and decat pipes, I’ve opted for Zircotec’s Performance

Graphite finish which not only reduces surface temperature by up to 33 per cent, but also boasts a safe operating temperature right up to 900°C. The four exhaust tips have the same thermal benefits but come finished in Performance Solid Black for the simple reason that it looks bloody cool. But, if 900°C isn’t quite enough for you, then Zircotec’s Performance White will see you all the way to 1,400°C.

“One thing we’re seeing a lot more of is the use of our ZircoFlex heat shielding,” I’m told by Gareth Roberts from Zircotec. “We can add these to just about any system, and this technology is capable of reducing surface temperatures up to 85 per cent while being applied to heat sources up to 1,000°C. Aside from the temperature benefit, these help aid exhaust emissions and engine performance too.”

One of the benefits not listed on the Zircotec website is the happiness these coatings bring to people like Paul at ICS Motorsport. For once I’ve brought him a solution rather than a headache, and that can only be a good thing while the Ferrari is in many pieces. Especially as I might have just booked it on a track day in a few weeks’ time which he knows nothing about. Mark Riccioni

Internationally renowned photographer Mark has been working with TG for many, many years. When not taking photos he’s buying inappropriate cars. Here he shares his addiction with the world

“I

(2022)

PROGRESS REPORT

VW GOLF ALLTRACK vs VW GOLF COUNTRY

IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT MKII GOLF?

Does look a bit funny, doesn’t it? Can’t quite put our finger on it... This second-gen Golf was the car that cemented the concept of a solidly built, smooth-talking family hatch. It was built from 1986 to 1992 with around 6.3m trundling out the factory. The company’s engineers liked to show off and amuse themselves occasionally. The GTI proved the Golf could perform on the road, and this model, the Country, was an outlandish 4x4 spun off the first AWDequipped Golf (the Syncro) that could do the business off-road.

HOW DID VOLKSWAGEN MAKE IT?

VW actually let the clever folks at Puch in Austria have their wicked way with the MkII Golf – the company that built the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and came up with the muddy bits for the MkI Panda 4x4 way back when. Less than 8,000 were made, mostly popular in the Alpine reaches of central Europe. This one is rare, and mostly original, apart from the bits that aren’t. The 97bhp 1.8-litre engine’s cylinders were bored out for some extra performance when the current owner rebuilt the engine, the rear drums swapped for disc brakes (sensible move) and there’s a better radio.

IT’S SO TALL, MUST BE A CRAZY DRIVE RIGHT?

To our great surprise, it’s actually a solid drive. You’d expect the Country to lean over like a half-inflated bouncy castle through

(1990)

corners, but it’s planted and assured. Don’t get us wrong, it feels like 1990, but it’d be easy to live with day to day. You lost a bit of boot from the standard Golf and the beefed up subframe means there’s not actually any more ground clearance, but otherwise this is a premonition of everything people would come to enjoy about SUVs. It’s apparently decent off-road, but we didn’t try it out. Like most 4x4 drivers then.

WHAT’S THAT SENSIBLE LOOKING THING NEXT TO IT?

Almost missed the MkVIII Golf range’s “charismatic all-rounder” over there. It’s got electronic AWD to help with dodgy conditions, 15mm extra ride height and fancy bodywork to make it look cooler. Can’t hold a candle to the Country, which has a similar effect to a supercar rumbling down the road. We quite like the latest Golf estate, though, visually the most successful version yet.

HAS VOLKSWAGEN LOST SOME OF ITS FUN?

The Alltrack doesn’t have the same Frankenstein’s runabout feel as the Country, but it does have heated seats and Apple CarPlay. We won’t revisit VW’s touchscreen woes here, but being inside a Golf feels very different today. You can’t even imagine the company squirrelling a cheeky little game away somewhere in the infotainment, let alone allowing engineers to go crazy with a limited run skunkworks-style model. Shame, really.

Two rounds of Golf designed to get you out of the rough. Does either one make par?

QUARANTINE

There have been plenty of games that offered you the opportunity to ply your trade as a humble cabbie, Crazy Taxi for example, or the Grand Theft Auto series, for those people who don’t fancy doing any of the hundreds of more interesting activities in that game. None of those games, however, ask you to somehow scratch out a living ferrying passengers around in a sealed off, psychopath riddled prison city in the distant, dystopian future. And you thought being an Uber driver on a Friday night was a thankless job.

Quarantine was a, usually quite literal, collision between Crazy Taxi and iconic first person shooter game Doom, which had debuted only a year beforehand. The floaty handling of the game was explained away by the fact that your vehicle was actually a hovercar and your task was to pick up your fares and deposit them with all their limbs intact at their chosen destination. This was an objective made slightly more complicated by the fact that every other road user and pedestrian was attempting to murder you. To aid you in your survival, your yellow cab was positively festooned with military grade ordnance, most notably a giant, roof mounted chain gun of the variety you’d more commonly see dangling beneath an Apache helicopter.

Played almost entirely for laughs, the game was spectacularly violent and naturally any pedestrians unfortunate enough to wander in front of your taxi would end up splashed across your windscreen. If you had a particularly troublesome fare, you could simply tap the E button on the keyboard to eject them from the car. Quarantine imagined a world where being a taxi driver was a brutal, dangerous profession, where every fare involved taking

life in your hands, but it’s still probably better than picking

the

A YEAR IS A LONG TIME IN ELECTRIC CARS. RENAULT HAS TAKEN ITS time in moving the steering wheel and pedals over to our side of the dash, so although I loved the electric Megane when I drove it a year ago, will I love it now? Only time will tell...

The car sitting in my street is a Megane E-Tech EV60 Optimum Charge Techno. E-Tech is simply Renault’s way of saying it’s electric, to distinguish from the old petrol Megane. (Oh, hang on, E-Tech is also Renault’s word for hybrid, and there was a hybrid old Megane by the same name... hmm.) EV60 means it has the 60kWh battery and 217bhp motor. Optimum Charge means it can ingest AC up to 22kW three-phase. Techno is the middle spec and I can report that it’s well stuffed with gear. The car I’m in has one £950 extra – its paint. But apart from that there are no options fitted and none are available.

I had quite a bit of trouble connecting the Renault remote-charging app on my phone to the car. That always happens. Why do manufacturers all pretend they can do reliable car connectivity when they can’t? The difference here is Renault’s call centre was fantastically helpful.

No long trips so far, so I can’t say anything about efficiency. Early non-definitive indications are that range won’t be far above 210 miles in winter. My friend Tom Ford has come into a Cupra Born (see opposite) with a bigger, 77kWh battery. Last year I drove that very spec of Born side by side

with this very spec of Megane, and greatly preferred the Megane’s control interface and rather preferred the drive too. For those things I’m happy to enjoy being in the Renault and very occasionally break a journey for 15 minutes to add the 17kWh by which my battery is undersized versus his. Besides, a smaller battery means a lighter car. I’ve come out of a Volkswagen ID.4 with the 77kWh battery and the Renault establishes a more enjoyably vivid connection between driver and road.

SPECIFICATION

GOOD STUFF

Lovely interior, sharp to drive, quiet. So far, so good...

BAD STUFF

Long motorway trips will very much depend on charger availability.

THIS MONTH, I HAVE MAINLY BEEN DRIVING A CUPRA BORN 77KWH absolutely everywhere, revelling in an electric car that delivers a few more than 270 miles of range even in cool temperatures. Honestly, it’s a gamechanger. Big range just means more convenience – when you’re attached to a powerful public charger the fast charge sweet spot from 10–80 per cent is bigger; you add more miles in less time. I’ve tested EVs with better range, but never quite realised how much difference actually living with one would make.

Back to the matter at hand; this is a Cupra Born 77kWh V3 e-Boost. So the Cuprised sibling to VW’s ID.3. As the name might suggest, we’ve got 77kWh of usable space in the battery, RWD, four seats and a motor that produces 228bhp/229lb ft. That equates to 0–62mph in seven seconds (the lighter 58kWh Born is actually quicker), a 99mph top speed and 341 miles of official WLTP range. But that’s a pie in the sky number –you’ll see 270 in the real world.

As far as the spec goes, V3 is the top model. The base spec (V1) is actually fine, featuring 18in alloys, LED headlights and tail-lights, the same size MMI screen (12in) with 5.3in driver display, bucket seats in recycled yarn, a rearview cam, aircon and a load of online gear and advanced driver assist systems. The V2 gets rear tints, 19in alloys, heated seats and wheel

and an augmented head-up display, and the V3 gets smart 20s, electric seats with pneumatic massage function and a couple of other bits.

We’ve got granite grey Dinamica bucket seats (a no cost option), and the Rayleigh Red metallic paint for £565, as well as Tech Pack L for £720. There isn’t a huge amount of options to choose from, but you can get an efficiency increasing heat pump for £970, or a Beats stereo for 470-odd quid. There’s a load to talk about already but I’m told that I’ve already run out of spa...

SPECIFICATION

GOOD STUFF

First impressions are excellent. I drove it 1,000 miles in less than a week.

BAD STUFF

Second impressions reveal difficulties with the user interface. Disappointing.

BMWiX

GOODBYE

£94,000 OTR/£115,670 as tested/£2,259 pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

This is BMW’s techno flagship, what’s it like to live with?

DRIVER Jason Barlow

BMW CEO OLIVER ZIPSE RECENTLY TOLD ME THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a future-oriented design without controversy. True and, personally, I like seeing this car cut a swathe through a sea of grey conformity on the M25. That’s the subjective bit. Objectively, there’s no question that the xDrive 50’s 105.2kWh battery pretty much erases range anxiety. The best I saw on a full charge, in the height of 2022’s sticky summer, was 360 miles, although that’s dropped to 288 now it’s cold. It’s also impressively efficient for a big machine: I averaged between 2.9 and 3.2mpkWh, pretty much bang on BMW’s claims. On my 7kW home charger, it took 14 or 15 hours to replenish; a decent top-up is about 50 minutes on a 100kW rapid charger.

BMW has also nailed the HMI, and even having the climate control on a touchscreen is tolerable here. The switchgear on the steering wheel is fiddly, though, and the profusion of sensors can make reversing stressful. The iX can park itself; maybe it resents being denied the opportunity. There’s surely no debate about the cockpit’s configuration: with that elegant curved screen and the fantastic seats, there’s no better car interior available. The frameless glass kinda irritated me, especially with my son’s habit of slamming the passenger door shut (he never grasped the soft close concept). And you may want to hold off on the crystal switchgear, one example from the extensive and expensive options/configurator list.

On which point, no one I showed the car to could get their head around its £116k cost (including £17k worth of options, which is more, in fact, than I recently paid for a year-old Dacia Duster. Let that sink in...). But let’s keep it in context. This is a top flight consumer good.

Luxury cars are meant to cosset and repel the world, and even against the likes of the Merc EQS and Range Rover, I think the iX does this better – and more intriguingly – than anything. It’s an idiosyncratic masterpiece.

HONDACIVIC

REPORT 2

£32,995/£33,820/£410

WHY IT’S HERE

Maybe the best family hatch – just as everyone stops buying hatches

DRIVER Vijay Pattni

SPOILER ALERT, BUT THIS IS A fabulously unfussy and tranquil car. Despite the presence of quite a lot of powertrain hiding underneath the cleaner aesthetic, it is as easy as cars can get. Get in, press the start button, hit go. Simple.

There’s no sense of the enormity of mechanical complexity whirring away underneath while you make serene, peaceful progress, but it’s important to understand just how complex the eHEV set-up is.

There’s an engine – a new 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol – and under the rear seats sits a 1.05kWh lithiumion battery pack. Then comes a pair of e-motors – one that acts a generator, and one that directly powers the front wheels.

Now, you can’t actually isolate any one particular source because the computers figure it out for you. If you’re on a motorway, the engine is the primary source. If in town, the battery takes the hit. If the battery is low, hybrid charges and powers the car. There’s brake regen, of course... Complex, very. To use? An absolute doddle.

AudiS3Sportback

HELLO

£39,045 (£47,370 for Vorsprung ed.)/£49,030 as tested/£794 pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Fast Audis are consistently inconsistent – is the S3 a hit or miss?

DRIVER

Ollie

Kew

HERE’S A MACRO DEMONSTRATION OF THE CURRENT CAR AVAILABILITY crisis. Having been suitably bowled over earlier in 2022 by the sensational new Audi RS3, we arranged to spend some time living with one. But because Audi now sells the RS3 in the USA, and only one factory builds the 400bhp 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine it requires, RS3s were already few and far between before the semiconductor asteroid impacted Planet Car.

As a result, the TGG RS3 first slipped to summer 2023, and then to not coming at all, because demand in the superhatch-mad UK is off the dial.

Bereft, we asked if Audi might let us live with another flavour of the current A3, which is why my winter will be spent in the quattro-secure embrace of an S3 Sportback Vorsprung Edition. This basically ticks all of the options boxes on your behalf, jacking the price from sub-£40k to beyond £47k. Standard S3s go for £650 on finance – this is almost £800, in return for a sunroof, B&O hi-fi, dubious wheels, cleverer headlights, electric seats and adaptive suspension. This S3 is very nearly last-gen RS3 money.

There is but one optional extra left to apply: £575 for British Gas van blue paintwork, which puts paid to any hope the S3 would blend into grey autumnal Britain like Audi S cars of old. It’s all mesh, creases, glinting exhaust tips and LED-encrusted menace. Expensive car wants people to know it’s expensive.

Time was that the Audi A3 was the only ‘premium’ badged hatchback around, but BMW’s 1-Series and the Merc A-Class have long since caught on, and the A3 can no longer just trade on aspirational brand value – it needs to be a really good hatchback, a miniature exec saloon and in this case, half of an Audi RS6. And make us forget the RS3 exists. Off we go...

Alpine A110S

REPORT 5

£60,645 OTR/£71,689 as tested/£749 pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Does the concept of a lightweight dissolve on contact with Real Life?

DRIVER Ollie Marriage

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT VALUE AND OPTIONS. BECAUSE IN MY HEAD

the Alpine is a sub-£50,000 car. And it is. If you don’t stick any options on you can have one for £49,900. About £650 a month. But an S, with an extra 50bhp, is £10k more. And this one is another £10k more than that. And at £70,000, the A110 does not look great value when the alternative is a Porsche Cayman GT4.

But say you do still want the Alpine. Firstly, congratulations for choosing efficiency and intelligent engineering. Every time I slide down into the A110 it makes me feel good. It’s tiny and light, not many resources went into its construction, it’s diligent with its fuel, easy on its tyres and brakes and, what’s more, it starts interesting conversations with people – often about how it contrasts with electric cars, all of which are heavy with huge resources invested in their construction. The unseen carbon impact.

By now I’m sure I’m preaching to the converted, so let’s look at what you should and shouldn’t have. First up, £480 for parking sensors and rear camera. You probably need that – visibility out the letterbox rear window is dismal. Now, £468 for folding wing mirrors and a photochromic cabin mirror. Don’t do it, waste of time. Just not quite as much of a waste as another £468 splurged on the Storage Pack – which is a cargo net behind

the driver and a flashy leather box between the seats that you can only physically get anything in and out of if you’re kneeling on the seat.

Moving on... £620 on the Sabelt seats. Do it, they’re superb. Then £1,430 on microfibre for the wheel, roof lining, console and dash? I’m a sucker for the sporty touch, but you can have the wheel by itself for £90. Last one inside: the £552 Focal hi-fi. The sound all comes from the front so it’s unbalanced, but there’s more bass than you expect. It’s not awful.

Outside, £660 is wasted on the diamond cut 18s. They come black as standard. The only free paint colour is white, the best ones (Alpine Blue and this Fire Orange) are £1,656. Don’t bother with the £640 Michelin Cup 2 tyres. The standard PS4s are utterly brilliant. Last one: the Aero Pack, which costs £4,650 for a carbon rear spoiler and front splitter and claims to add 80kg of pressure at the back, 61kg at the front. At what speed, Alpine doesn’t say. But the A110 isn’t about downforce, it doesn’t need this and it doesn’t improve the looks. It also adds drag and reduces fuel economy. In other words, spend £3,398 on options for your Alpine rather than £11,182. There you go, just saved you eight grand.

ALPINE NUGGETS

DS 9

REPORT 6

£46,100 OTR/£50,415 as tested/£686 pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Can a luxury French car cut it against its established rivals?

DRIVER Peter Rawlins

TIME FOR OUR DS 9 TO STEP OUT OF THE SHADOWS AND INTO THE limelight, by way of a head-to-head against one of its fancy French luxo-barge predecessors: the Citroen XM.

Regular readers may recall long-term owner Esther’s very first report where she highlighted the DS 9’s Active Scan suspension, a camera controlled damping system that adjusts each wheel independently according to imperfections in the road for improved comfort. But the DS 9 is far from the first French saloon to claim a clever suspension system, with Citroen having much history in this department.

Enter the Citroen XM stage right. Launched in 1989 and in production until the turn of the century, it featured self levelling, electronically controlled hydropneumatic suspension that promised – and when it worked, delivered – an exceptionally smooth ride. So what better way to see how the DS 9’s tech-focused suspension system fares, than up against the XM’s old school mechanical approach?

First things first was seeing if we could get hold of an XM, a call duly answered by Rob Draper of the excellent Citroen Car Club (citroencarclub.org.uk) with his well used but much loved early 1990 example. Meet point agreed, photographer booked, and we were on.

It was a day of firsts for me, having never driven the DS 9 or the Citroen XM before, but allow me to puncture the suspense: both were commendably comfortable. Different – the DS 9 cuts through the air with its clever suspension ironing out any bumps and ruts where the XM floats along absorbing any imperfections – but both equally impressively in their own way. Want more? Visit topgear.com to read the full progress report.

DACIAJOGGER

REPORT 6

£18,745/£19,640/£313

WHY IT’S HERE

Can the cheapest MPV cut the TopGear mustard?

DRIVER

Sam Philip

FOR THOSE OF US OLD ENOUGH TO remember when you could buy a family estate and two-bedroom flat for a tenner, and still have change for a bag of pear drops, 16 grand might still sound a lot for a Dacia.

But 16k for a seven-seat MPV is, in today’s inflationary climate, stonkingly affordable. Cheaper than any new Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa or Peugeot 208. All very much smaller, and less likely to get appreciative nods from the grizzled veterans of your local recycling facility.

To find out how they make it so (relatively) cheap, I had a chat with Stanislas de Sury, Dacia’s product performance lead for Jogger, who pointed out a few of the car’s money saving hacks (check out the full report on topgear.com).

One person’s ‘elegant simplicity’ is another’s ‘stingy corner cutting’, but I love all this stuff. Yes, a money no object supercar that explores the outer limits of exotic materials and tech wizardry is all very impressive, but there’s arguably as much ingenuity in delivering such a lot of car to such a cost-limited brief. Pricier isn’t always cleverer.

RH: FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS WE’RE GOING to be hopping between these two: a Volvo XC40 Recharge and BMW M8 Competition. Which might be the ultimate below-the-radar, two-car garage of performance and practicality.

JR: Yep, these two may be the perfect pairing as they counter each other’s failings. The XC40 is small, soft riding and very urban friendly. Plus, it has a claimed 263-mile range – not sure we’ll see that though. Meanwhile the BMW is big, firm and difficult around town. And it runs on this innovative liquid energy source called ‘petrol’.

RH: They’re perfect for us, well, except you have children – good luck getting the kids in the back of the BMW. However, you do have home EV charging for the Volvo – mine is sporadic and shared. So I guess I’ll live in the BMW, then?

JR: Don’t be so quick to dismiss the Volvo. I’ve now lived with a string of electric cars and I guarantee the inconvenience of charging is less than you expect, although it does require organisation and thinking ahead.

RH: To be fair, I am excited about the Volvo. Having never lived with a full-fat EV I am

WHY IT’S HERE

DRIVER Rowan Horncastle

interested in the joys and frustrations it brings. Plus, it’s a refreshingly simple spec.

JR: Tell me about it. There’s no front parking sensors, keyless entry or wireless CarPlay. The only options are that off-gold paint (£585) and tailored wool upholstery (£1,750).

RH: Simple powertrain too – it has the smaller ‘Core’ single motor and a 67kWh battery, with 228bhp powering the front wheels. It’s not rapid – 0–62mph is served up in 7.5secs – but the instant torque makes it feel quicker than it is.

JR: Not as rapid as the BMW. This is a 616bhp, 558lb ft missile, and with 4WD looks like it’ll be a winter weapon, too. It comes at a price though – £129,750 is a lot.

RH: Well, the Volvo isn’t exactly cheap – £45k is a lot for a family car. Anyway, Volvo has some cachet for safe, reliable cars – and now it’s gone electric. What’s not to love? I guess it’s my job to find out.

JR: I agree, it’s the BMW that has more to prove out of this duo. Is a 600+bhp super coupe socially acceptable now? Can the BMW decide whether it wants to be a performance car or wafty coupe with limitless torque? All will be revealed...

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

This month: the XC40’s digital dash

Jack Rix

I’m all for Scandi minimalism, but whoever designed the XC40 Recharge’s digital dash is just taking the mick. You get a remaining battery percentage, but no predicted range, which means you’re never quite sure if you’re going to make your destination on battery power or on the back of a recovery truck, and therefore in a constant state of stress. Yes, you can click a ‘Range Assistant’ app on the central screen and it’ll give you a best and worst case range scenario and a median estimate, plus the range uptick if you engage ‘Range Optimiser’ mode (which dials back the aircon a bit), but you can’t look at that and your map on Apple CarPlay at the same time. It’s lunacy. To be fair, the range on the XC40 isn’t fantastic – a lot less than 200 miles real-world in the winter – so perhaps it’s a ploy to shield us from the truth.

VOLVO XC40 SPEC

BMW M8 SPEC

THERE’S LITTLE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT WITH OUR SPORTY E-PACE. YES, our spec comes in at a rather costly £54k and unsurprisingly from a JLR product there were a couple of build quality niggles. Namely the rear wiper unfastening itself and a suspicious rattle developing from the underside of the car. However overall, it looks good, offers a decent 30ish miles of electric-only range and has been a comfortable place to waft around town in.

Other than that, well, it’s another small SUV in an extremely crowded segment. What makes the E-Pace stand out? Is it the badge? Perhaps it used to be, but now Jaguar seems to be losing its identity. Its lineup consists of three SUVs, two saloons with dwindling sales and a sports car that’s being killed off in 2024...

I get it, SUVs are important for sales, we only have ourselves to blame for that because we can’t stop buying them. But let’s take a step back in time to 1972 when SUVs weren’t so popular, the year the XJ12 was released. At the time it was the fastest production four-seater available and featured the world’s first mass produced V12. Fuel economy was laughable, but it was praised for its refinement, ride quality and was much more keenly priced than its competition. The same can’t be said for many modern Jags, and therein lies the problem.

I’m not suggesting Jag goes and stuffs a V12 in an E-Pace, but given it is pursuing an all-electric model range by 2030, it’s now or never to follow through with its so-called “Reimagine strategy” to turn the brand into a luxury EV maker, because there’s little else to turn to.

I for one want to see Jaguar return to its glory days, but until then, I can only hope that selling SUVs such as this one can keep it afloat long enough to weather the storm.

IF YOU ASKED ME SIX MONTHS AGO WHAT I’D BE WEARING FOR ONE OF my last drives in our Bentley Bentayga, I’m pretty sure “beekeeper’s suit” would only come out of my mouth if I was remarkably drunk. But there I was – sober – in a beekeeper’s suit around the various arterial roads of the Bentley factory, home of cars with the Flying B for the past 76 years. Why? Well, before the big blue Bentayga went back for good, I wanted to see aspects of Bentley’s Beyond 100 sustainability plan with my own two eyes. Next year, every Bentley will be available as a plug-in hybrid. By 2030 all Bentleys will be EVs, the W12 and V8s consigned to history. And my inbox has been filled with endless press releases that there’s been a lot of work at the factory to clean up the act of making some of the world’s most luxurious cars, so I wanted to see it for myself. And getting in a beekeeper’s suit was part of it.

Back in 2019 local beekeeper and founder of Buckley’s Bees Emma Buckley and her dad installed two hives with 120,000 British Apis Mellifera honeybees at the site. “Bees are vital for pollination, a crucial process for the food we eat,” Emma says. Since then 11 more hives have been installed in order to increase biodiversity, pollinate wildflowers and produce thousands of jars of honey for Bentley staff and VIP visitors to chuck over their granola and yoghurt in the morning.

It’s safe to say I’ve had a few questioning smirks when I’ve told people I’m part of a sustainability movement by driving the Bentayga. A 27-ish e-mile range isn’t an easy sell, either. But the thought of a fully electric Bentayga excites me greatly. The original helped the explosion of luxury SUVs and it’s the car consumers want. EVs are what legislators tell us we need. So therefore it should be the perfect blend for success – 2030 will be here in no time at all. But it’s time to wave our Bentayga goodbye.

BEGINNER’S

WORDS SAM BURNETT, OLLIE KEW, GREG POTTS

What’s Tesla and when did it start making cars?

Elon Musk did not found Tesla. How about that?

In fact, Tesla was founded on 1 July 2003 in Palo Alto, California by engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. The former was Tesla’s first chairman and CEO, with Musk coming onboard as chairman in 2004 along with a boatload of cash he made inventing PayPal.

Tesla didn’t build its first car in 2003, though, or in 2004. In fact, no new car wore the Tesla

badge until the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster arrived in 2008. Tesla’s first bespoke car, the Model S saloon, finally went into production in summer 2012.

Eberhard was sacked by the board in 2007, with two further CEOs unable to stem the flow of money going in the wrong direction. Elon Musk took over as CEO in October 2008, and pulled off a string of cash-based coups with

carmaker Daimler taking a 10 per cent stake, the US Dept of Energy lending money and Musk’s one-man hype machine ensuring the firm’s stock listing went well in 2010.

Recent years have been more stable – the company has a reasonable range of decent cars, even if new product is taking a little while to reach the market and the firm managed its first four straight quarters of profit in 2019/20.

IMAGES: MANUFACTURER

Tesla’s greatest hits 01 02 03

Tesla Model 3

The first Model 3 rolled off Tesla’s production lines in July 2017, the first truly accessible Tesla available to ordinary buyers at a decent price. The car passed a million sales in 2021 (the first electric car to do so) and is officially the bestselling EV in the world

Tesla Model Y

Based on the Model 3 but with a much more practical hatchback set-up, the Y arrived in early 2020 in the United States but didn’t reach UK shores until 2022 We haven’t got the seven-seat option yet either, but that hasn’t stopped buyers from snapping the Y right up

Tesla Model X

The Model X really is bonkers A seven-seat, zero emission family car that comes with dancing ‘Falcon Wing’ doors and 1,020bhp in Plaid form The latter does 0–60mph in a staggering 2 5secs (with a US rolling start) but is still officially rated for a 333-mile range

Tesla Roadster (MkI)

Elon unveiled the Plaid in 2021, claiming it was the “quickest production car ever” Mate Rimac might disagree, but a sub-2 0secs 0–60mph time and 200mph top speed from three e-motors producing 1,006bhp is not to be sniffed at. All this for a mere £120k.

Tesla is yet to target the estate car market, but a number of aftermarket solutions have appeared over the years Brit firm QWest was first to the punch, but this version by Niels van Roij Design in the Netherlands is the best we’ve seen so far.

Tesla’s story begins with the original Roadster, based on the Lotus Elise and indeed built by Lotus minus the powertrain It was the first production EV to use lithium-ion batteries and its 200-mile range is still impressive There was also some mild controversy after its appearance on TG telly.

Tesla Roadster (MkII)

And now we arrive at a section we’d like to title ‘Unfulfilled promises’ First up is the next-gen Roadster, which we first saw renders of back in 2017 If it does ever arrive it’ll be mighty quick, with claims of 0–60mph in less than 1 9 seconds and range over 600 miles

Tesla Cybertruck

Next up, the slab-sided Cybertruck. Tesla started taking deposits for its madcap pickup in 2019, but we’re still waiting Smashing the armoured window at the live launch event proved to be a decent indication of how the journey to production would pan out

Tesla Semi

Stop laughing at the name. The Semi is Tesla’s concerted attempt to change the world of trucking Pepsi is getting the first batch of production models, which will have a range of over 500 miles and can be charged at 1,000kW if you can plug straight into a power station

Tesla Model S Plaid

Tesla Model S Shooting Brake

hat’s

What’s the cheapest car that Tesla builds... and what’s the most expensive?

There aren’t really any cheap Teslas, but the RWD version of the Model 3 saloon still offers 305 miles of range for £48,490. Fiddle around with the finance pages and you could get it on your drive (or near your house at least) for £600 a month with a reasonably modest initial payment. With the exchange rate the way it is, Tesla will only tell you what you’re paying for one of its pricier built to order models once it’s been built.

That’ll be around £120k for the Model S Plaid with its 396-mile range and sub-2.0secs 0–60mph. A blue cross sale bargain next to the new Roadster, which will cost around $250k whenever it arrives. We’ve been promised a 600-mile range and 0–60mph between 1.1 and 2.1secs depending on who you listen to and whether the test involves the classic US ‘one-foot rollout’, which gives a 300mm headstart before the stopwatch starts.

Where does the name Tesla come from, you might be wondering. Why is the world’s favourite EV maker not Musk Motors? Well, it’s a tribute to the 19th century Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, who developed an induction motor that ran on a new electrical system he’d designed: alternating current. This could be produced by the ‘Tesla coil’ transformer circuit he developed in 1891.

What is Tesla’s fastest car?

The fastest car that Tesla builds (among a roster of already fairly perky machines) is the Model S Plaid, which offers a brain scrambling amount of performance from its three electric motors. They pump

out 1,006bhp between them, for a (US measured) 0–60mph time of 1.99secs and on to a top speed of 200mph. Which is all frankly terrifying from a car that weighs over two tonnes and doesn’t even have a full

steering wheel. It’s a brand new model, mind – UK deliveries are expected right about now, despite the car having been launched way back in June 2021.

Speaking of launch, the other car that qualifies as the

fastest Tesla is the Roadster that was launched into space via one of Elon Musk’s side hustles back in 2018. It’s on a large trajectory around the sun and at the time of writing was heading away from Earth at around 10,500mph.

NOTABLE PEOPLE

936,172

Tesla’s main facility since 2010 has been its ex-GM Fremont factory in California, which employs more than 10,000 people assembling the Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y. Its batteries are made in a vast facility known as the ‘Gigafactory’ in Nevada. Batteries are sent by train from the Gigafactory to Fremont. Since 2019, Tesla has built Model 3s and Model Ys at a facility in Shanghai, and a new factory opened in mid-2022 in Berlin assembles Model Ys for the European market. The firm’s long documented production woes seem to be over – Tesla delivered 936,172 cars in 2021, an increase of almost 90 per cent on the previous year. This was also the year that the Model 3 became the first EV to shift a million units.

Tesla doesn’t really do out-and-out concept cars. Its production models exhibit plenty of features others will stick on their concepts, then bin for production – like the Model 3’s button free interior, or the Model X’s doors. However, Tesla does have a habit of revealing a car, then making plenty of tweaks in the intervening years before

it actually goes into production. The Model S was one such vehicle, and the latest example is the Cybertruck. The angular steel body is like nothing we’ve ever seen, but Tesla insists it will meet the required safety regs. It won’t be sold in the UK, but we’re watching with interest to see how much of it makes it through...

Where are Minis built, and how many does it build a year?

What’s the best concept that Tesla has made?

Robyn Denholm

Aussie businesswoman became Tesla chair in 2014 after Elon had to step back

Marc Tarpenning Engineer and entrepreneur cofounded the company with Eberhard, was first CFO

Elon Musk

Controversial billionaire has managed to take Tesla to the top of the automotive tree

Martin Eberhard

Original chairman and CEO was the visionary behind Tesla idea

Jay Clayton

Tough head of the US regulatory body SEC clipped Musk’s wings back in 2018

Where are Teslas built and how many are sold a year?

What was Tesla’s best moment?

Once it managed to actually build its first cars, Tesla’s rise to automotive industry prominence has been impressively meteoric. There have been plenty of high points – the opening of the Gigafactory in Nevada, the Model S outselling the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7-Series and Audi A8 put together in the USA back in 2014...

Perhaps its most triumphant moment was the reveal of the Model 3 at Fremont on 31 March 2016. The scene was one of total hysteria – like Beatlemania for cars. Within 24 hours of opening orders, 180,000 deposits had been taken. After two days, this had risen to 273,000 orders, and the list kept climbing, past 373,000 in May 2016. The first 30 cars were delivered by the end of July 2017, but the Model 3 now holds the record for the fastest selling car of all time, a record previously held by the Citroen DS, which took 80,000 orders in the 10 days after its reveal at the 1955 Paris show.

What was Tesla’s worst moment?

We’ve got a limited word count here, so we should probably make an effort to tease apart Tesla’s growing pains from the mistakes of its enigmatic and haphazard boss, Elon Musk. Musk has, on plenty of occasions, rather let his company down with poor choices of expression on social media, to the extent that US regulators mandated certain tweets of his get checked by lawyers before being sent.

For Tesla, its darkest hour was probably what Musk called “production hell” following the reveal of the Model 3. Tesla massively misjudged how quickly it could ramp up production, aiming to make 5,000 cars a week by the end of 2017, but in fact building 2,425 in the last three months of 2017. A tent was put up outside the factory in a desperate attempt to extend the production line, but the Model 3 didn’t start to ship in substantial numbers until the end of 2018, with many buyers complaining of quality issues.

LOGO EVOLUTION

Tesla logo was originally designed to appear on a shield that would sit on the firm’s cars. Swiftly ditched

What was Tesla’s biggest surprise?

In many ways the fact that Tesla is still around is a surprise in itself –even just a few short years ago it wasn’t necessarily guaranteed. Its failure wouldn’t have had anything to do with the swivel-eyed internet conspiracy theories, it’s just really tough to start a brand new car company.

Perhaps Tesla’s most surprising moment was the test launch of SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018, which featured Elon Musk’s personal Tesla Roadster as payload. Let’s hope he remembered to SORN it, or whatever they do in America.

Beside the Apollo mission buggies left by NASA on the moon, it’s the only human driven car in space. And it’s never coming home. It’s carrying a mannequin wearing a pressurised spacesuit who’s been called ‘StarMan’, and the stereo has been set to play David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ into the endless void for all eternity. Or until the battery gives out.

Blocky stylised company name looks like a sci-fi film logo that was put together on a cheap calculator

Musk said in 2017 the T-shaped logo is meant to be a cross-section of an AC motor segment

Latest version of the company mark is a bit blockier, a bit more stylised. Nice in chrome

What’s the most Tesla car in the back catalogue?

Tesla Model S / 2012–present

The Roadster was Tesla’s first car on sale, but that one was sort of cheating because Lotus did all the hard work, building Elises without the engines in and sending them over to America. The Model S came out in 2012 (it wasn’t available in the UK until 2014 mind) and immediately set about upsetting the establishment as it challenged some of the perceived industry norms. Some of them, like interior design and packaging, were entirely due a bit of a challenge, but others, such as build quality and customer service, could have been left as they were. Tesla under Elon Musk’s careful guidance has always been a disrupter, though, even if what it was disrupting was its own customers’ commutes.

What set the Model S apart from previous efforts at electric vehicles was that it didn’t ask for too many compromises from drivers to run the car – performance was the sort of thing you’d show off to your friends, range was impressive, the car was a reasonably fancy five-seat saloon and Tesla immediately set about addressing the issue of charging infrastructure by creating its own network of rapid charging stations that buyers could – gasp – use for free.

The Model S has also been the car that’s showed the evolution of Tesla over time. It’s been available on the market for 10 years or so, with constant changes made during that time. A visual refresh in 2021 sharpened things up, but Tesla has pioneered the sort of ‘over the air’

Percentage game Tesla reckons the battery will be at 70 per cent after eight years, so expect range figures to be rather less than when new

Brake

updates that most new cars now seem to offer as a matter of course. It was all a bit new and terrifying not very long ago. In Tesla’s case these over the air changes have been able to be more far reaching thanks to the way that almost every feature of its cars has been shifted to the gigantic central touchscreen or delegated to the multi-use buttons on the steering wheel. It’s a subtle change in the automotive industry, moving from hardware maker to software provider, and not a change that many have been able to make either quickly or successfully.

Indeed, most electric cars seem to date quite quickly once they’re on sale as others arrive on the market with bigger batteries and better range. It’s not just the remote updates that

Tesla can do, it’s a mark of the technological advantage that the firm managed to gain over its opposition that even now the Model S looks like a solid proposition. Mainly because a central part of the strategy has always been wanging in as much battery as the engineers could fit in –60kWh on the first versions has expanded to 100kWh on the latest cars that are on sale. Remember that back in the day a Nissan Leaf came with a 24kWh battery. Of course you do hear the odd mention of small fit and finish issues with a new Tesla, but surely that means with the early cars getting on for a decade old that other drivers will have taken the hit on sorting out those things? An 8-year-old Model S could be the best Model S.

Power of recall

There have been a number of Model S recalls over the years for various parts – check all those have been carried out

Next month: Land Rover

PERFORMANCE EVs

SPECIAL MENTIONS

BEST FOR BEING SENSIBLE

Ssh, don’t tell anyone but we quite like the look of the newly facelifted MG5 EV – and believe it or not it’s the only electric estate car that you can buy at the moment. Time to smash the crossoverarchy...

“I’VE BOUGHT ONE!

WHAT NOW?”

BEST FOR BIG FAMILIES

Good news for big families – the new Ford e-Tourneo Custom is an eight-seater EV with 230 miles of range from its 74kWh battery. Even better, if you’re a big familiy with a caravan, it’ll tow up to 2,000kg behind it.

BEST FOR OUTDRAGGING

BEST FOR WINNING TOP TRUMPS

US firm Drako Motors has revealed its bonkers new Dragon SUV, which has 2,000bhp on tap from four e-motors, apparently. It’s not that quick, though, because it’s not getting anywhere until 2026.

You have a home charge point. Don’t you? Well, get one. There’s a grant, so it’ll cost you less than £500. If you don’t have a driveway, to get an overnight or allday recharge check zapmap.com for posts near home or work that give between 5kW and 7kW. Always make sure that you know in advance the supplier for the post you want to use, and register on its app or get its dedicated RFID card. Rapid (DC) chargers, at a slightly higher price, are best used for long trips, like you’d stop for fuel. They take roughly as long as filling with petrol and having a full English. In winter, keep plugged in until you drive away, as pre-warming the battery and cabin increases range. When possible, choose heated/cooled seats over cabin heating and aircon. Try to drop your motorway speed by 10mph: it’ll hugely increase range, getting you there far more quickly if it avoids a recharging stop.

Pininfarina has started delivering its Battista hypercar to customers fortunate enough to stump up the £2m asking price. Excitingly, it can can apparently outdrag an F1 car off the line with its 0–120mph time of 4.49secs.

LEWIS

BAFFLED BY ELECTRIC CAR JARGON? YOUR GUIDE TO DECODING THE FUTURE IS HERE

EV

Let’s start with a simple one. EV means electric vehicle, as opposed to one powered by petrol, diesel, used chip oil, Chanel No 5 or magic.

BEV

People in the car industry like to use this one. It stands for battery electric vehicle, as opposed to, say, an FCEV (fuel cell electric vehicle) that’s powered by hydrogen. We just call them EVs.

ICE

The internal combustion engine. Confusingly, ICE can also stand for in-car entertainment (ie the stereo, touchscreen and so on).

PHEV

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or a hybrid with a bigger battery that you can plug in to charge, giving you a short, say 20-mile, electriconly range. Amazing taxdodging mpg figures in the official tests, not so amazing in real life... unless you plug in every night and use the car exclusively for short trips.

MHEV

The mild hybrid EV, or MHEV, the very bottom rung of the electrified vehicle ladder. A small electric motor assists the engine, but doesn’t have enough gumption to push the car on its own. MHEVs usually manage a fuel saving of about 10 per cent compared with a pure petrol car.

REX

Refers to range extenders, or small internal combustion engines used as generators to recharge EV batteries on the move. The engine can be run at its most efficient rpm, converting fuel to electricity, which is fed to the motors that supply the motive force.

Volts, amps and watts

We’re going to go full science teacher on you and use an analogy. Imagine a river: the volts are how fast the river flows, the amps are how much water is flowing, and the watts are how easily it’ll carry you downstream.

kW

Logical, metric countries use kilowatt to measure power from petrol and diesel engines. For the rest of us a kilowatt is 1,000 watts, and is the most common measure of power in an EV. A kilowatt is equal to about 1.34bhp.

kWh

Stands for kilowatt hours and can cut two ways – how much power you’ve used (which a utilities bill does), or how much capacity there is in a battery. For instance, a Tesla Model S has 100kWh of capacity, of which you’ll be able to use about 90, because fully depleting a battery is a great way to ruin it forever.

AC and DC

AC stands for alternating current, and DC stands for Batman comics... er, wait... direct current. AC’s better for long-distance transmission, because it can easily be transformed (to higher voltage, lower current, so fewer heat losses).

Transforming DC power is a faff but, because DC charging stations can be as big as they need to be, they can employ high-voltage power, giant transformers and rectifiers and get huge power – up to 350kW.

Slow, fast and rapid charging

Slow or level 1 charging is when you use a regular wall

plug. Fast or level 2 refers to the wall mounted AC charging boxes you can install in your house or office, which go up to 7.4kW on normal 240V single phase AC, or 22kW on industrial three phase. Rapid or level 3 is the high-power, DC supply, this is the sort you’ll find at motorway services and dedicated charging areas.

CHAdeMO

CHAdeMO is not the result of a cat walking across a keyboard. It’s basically the fast charging standard Japan came up with. Competing standards include CCS and Tesla Superchargers, which all look reaaaaally similar.

CCS

The DC charger you’ll most likely use across the UK and Europe. Works in everything from a Tesla to a VW.

Supercharging

If it looks like a CCS charger and works like a CCS charger, it could very well be a Tesla Supercharger. But you can’t use it unless you’re in a Tesla.

mpkWh

Not content with the unholy union of litres of petrol and pints of milk, the UK’s uneasy blend of metric and ReesMogg leaves us measuring EV economy in miles per kilowatt hour. So, if you have 50 usable kWh, and run at 4.0mpkWh, you’ll do 200 miles before you’re stranded.

WLTP

Stands for Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure. A way to test new cars to see how much fuel, or energy, they use, how much greenhouse gas they expel, and how far they get on one tank/charge. More

accurate than the old NEDC standard, but still optimistic.

Regen

Shorthand for ‘regenerative braking’. Electric motors work by using electricity and magnets to spin a shaft. So, if you were to spin it manually, say, by coasting, you will then generate electricity, because generators are basically motors operating the opposite way.

Range

How far you’ll get in your car from the amount of energy you put into it. So, it’s been fuel from a tank for most of your life, now it’s a battery.

Range anxiety

The fear of being very far from home, on a dark and cold night, without enough power to make it to a charging station. In the short term, the solution is more rapid charge stations, in the long term, better energy density and more efficient cars should ease our furrowed brows.

Li-ion

A contraction of lithium-ion, which refers to the chemical make-up of a typical battery pack. The 12V brick used to start your petrol powered car is a lead-acid battery, but lithium-ion is now the global norm for powering new EVs.

Solid-state battery

The next big step in battery tech – holds more energy than an equivalent-sized li-ion battery, or the same amount of energy but in a smaller and lighter pack. They’re easier to cool, too, which means you can charge them quicker before they get too hot. At least five years until any come to market.

Supercapacitor

Supercapacitors can charge and discharge more quickly than regular batteries – good for bursts of speed – and can tolerate more charge and discharge cycles, but they’re still not as energy dense as batteries, so you’re unlikely to see them as direct battery replacements. More likely to supplement a petrol engine’s performance. See Lamborghini Sián.

CCZ

The congestion charge zone that covers central London. From 7am to 6pm on weekdays, or 12pm-6pm at weekends and on bank holidays it’ll cost you £15 to drive in this zone. But, with a zero emission car you can fill out a form and pay a oneoff £10 for an exemption that lasts a year.

ULEZ

The CCZ is there to ease traffic; London’s Ultra Low Emissons Zone is to ease pollution. The ULEZ is in effect every hour of every day, and will rain down with great vengeance and furious application of a £12.50 charge if you drive into the zone in a petrol car that doesn’t meet Euro 4 standards or a diesel car that doesn’t meet Euro 6 standards. The good news is that full EVs are exempt.

FCEV

Fuel cell electric vehicles, like the Toyota Mirai. Separating hydrogen and oxygen takes a lot of energy, but reuniting them in just the right way releases energy. You can burn hydrogen, but in a hydrogen fuel cell you generate electricity to drive an electric motor. It’s also easier to move H2 over long distances than electricity.