Buy the very first Batmobile!

Bet you didn't see this one coming. This modified Oldsmobile - believed to be the world's first official Batmobile, no less - is coming up for auction in America.

You see, a few years before the TV series kicked off in the mid-Sixties, a man named Forrest Robinson decided to profess his love of Batman in the only way he knew how. By dismantling a car and remaking it in the image of the Caped Crusader's own whip.

Hardened Batman fans will remember that the original Batmobile was just a teardrop coupe from the 1930s, taken from the comics.

Gallery: a brief history of the Batmobile

So Forrest (you're better than those Bubba Gump Shrimp Company jokes, you really are) started with a 1956 Oldsmobile frame with the classic ‘Rocket' 324 V8 engine underneath, slashed away the body and attached his own custom design.

The whole thing ended up measuring over five metres in length and over two metres in width, including the fin, ‘bat-nose' front end and pocket sliding doors. Upon presumably declaring ‘Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!', Robinson painted it silver and used it as his personal car.

Then, of course, the Batman TV series began, and the public went a bit bat-sh-, well, you know what. Forrest's creation was bought up by a DC Comic Books company, repainted in official Bat colours and used for a short promotional campaign.

But then George Barris's car came good, and Forrest's one ended up being sold for just $200, before it lay abandoned for nearly 50 years. It was recently discovered, renovated and tarted up for sale.

It's being offered by Heritage Auctions, with bids starting from $90,000. A lot for an old, um, Oldsmobile, true, but remember: it's not who you are underneath, but what you do, that defines you...

View the listing here

Top Gear digital mag is half-price

2014 has been one hell of a year in cars. From the launch of LaFerrari to BMW's game-changing i8, from the Lambo Huracan to Jaguar's gorgeous F-Type Coupe, the last twelve months have seen a veritable explosion of glorious, shiny horsepower.

And, every step of the way, Top Gear magazine has been there. Strictly in the name of research, we drove the new Ford Mustang 11,175 miles across every (OK, almost every) US state, we brought the world's greatest performance cars, including the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918, together for a Spanish summer shoot-out - which miraculously ended in just one vehicle fire - and we piloted a Bugatti Veyron the entire length of Route 66. No, really, you're welcome.

Entering into the generous spirit of festivity just a little early, we're giving you the opportunity to download any digital issue of Top Gear magazine from 2014. Yes, you can save 50 per cent off any of this year's issues on iPad or iPhone, issues packed with digital goodies including hi-def video, extra image galleries and mind-boggling interactive, um, interactiveness.

The half-price offer runs only for this weekend, so get yourself over to this link and bag yourself a digital bargain...

Get ready for Renault's hybrid hot hatch

Renault has confirmed to TopGear.com that future Renaultsport models could feature hybrid powertrains.

Sacrilege, or the potential for more hardcore RS cars? Speaking to TG, a contact at Renault UK admitted that the RS division could soon collaborate with the bods over in electric vehicles.

"I could see it happening in the future," our Renault insider said. "Look at Formula E - all the vehicles are from Renaultsport. So I can certainly see RS hybrids in the future. Why not?"

No need to start saving just yet. Renault hasn't set out a definitive timeframe, so we'll be waiting a while for an RS hybrid to materialise. Probably necessary, considering the progression of the EV/hybrid sectors. "As the EV and hybrid markets mature," our man said, "there's no reason why there wouldn't be an RS version of that."

Speaking on the progression of battery technology, Renault's EV product manager Ben Fletcher also noted the potential for Renaultsport to collaborate with his department. "I think it would be a really interesting project [a hybrid RS] to be involved with, and a really interesting proposition to the customer."

What about that particular class of customer that wants that old-school, naturally aspirated, raw-as-sashimi RS experience? Don't forget, the world is still getting accustomed to a turbocharged Renault Clio RS with an automatic gearbox.

"You have some purists who will just go down the internal combustion route," says Ben, "but equally you've got a lot of people who are really into cars, really into the technology behind the cars, and actually that has a cachet to it. If you look at the McLaren P1 for example, nobody accuses that of being dull, do they? And yet that's got a partly electrified powertrain. Same goes for LaFerrari.

"You don't see people pointing at a Porsche 918 and say ‘that's boring'. It's about the two systems working together. So on a personal level it would make sense."

Fletcher also waded into the current debate raging around battery capacity and EV range. "There's lots of stuff in the media about battery tech that generally focuses on capacity," he said, "but actually what that ignores is that batteries are four dimensional.

"You need one that holds the right amount of electricity, that is cost effective, one that's stable, and one that's proven in a vehicle - the cycles a car battery goes through are very different from other applications."

For Ben and his team, its about the infrastructure behind the EV tech. "The battery technology thing is only a symptom of the range that people worry about, so its about how we tackle that range problem, and not necessarily the battery problem. For me, the range point is tackled via infrastructure," he told us. It's all getting a bit chicken and egg, isn't it?

On the subject of its electric cars, Renault announced today that a full purchase battery option is now available on the ZOE and Kangoo, dubbed the Zoe i and Kangoo i (the ‘i' stands for included).

Before, you bought your ZOE but hired the battery, but now you have the option of buying the whole car outright: better for fleet customers to incorporate the entire cost of the car in one lump.

It's a handy way of reminding us that the ZOE is the second best-selling EV in the UK (behind the Nissan Leaf), and has grown its share of the market by a whopping 75 per cent in the last year.

So, prices for the ZOE ‘battery hire' version start from £13,995, while prices for the ZOE ‘i' start from £18,443 - a £4,448 increase. The full price still undercuts rivals from Volkswagen, Nissan and Kia, Renault tells us.

But you're still chewing on that hybrid RS, right? Ben Fletcher again. "Tesla with the P85D has shown what electric vehicles are capable of, performance-wise," he said. That Tesla, for reference, does 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds...

You ready for a hybrid Renaultsport?

Pictured: Current Renault Clio RS

Peugeot 208 GTI vs Renault Clio RS vs Ford Fiesta ST

Meet the plug-in hybrid 3-Series

BMW has taken technology from its futuristic i8 supercar - and indeed, the i3 supermini - and transplanted it into something a little more familiar. Internet, this is a plug-in hybrid BMW 3-Series saloon.

It’s only a prototype at this stage, but a prototype that will very likely see production. BMW is fast becoming adept at hybrid technology, so why not bolt it into the car that bankrolls the entire brand?
 
What you get then, is a setup similar to the X5 eDrive we drove earlier this year, but in 2WD format. There’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor and an eight speed ‘steptronic’ automatic gearbox, to produce some interesting figures.
 
It’ll pump out a total of 245bhp – on par with a straight-six engined Beemer – a healthy 295lb ft of torque (as many torques as the last-gen V8 BMW M3) and return a claimed 140mpg and emit just 50g/km of CO2. Many cakes, lots of eating.
 
BMW reckons the prototype is only capable of a top speed of 74.5mph and a range of just 22 miles on electricity alone, but of course, it’s still a prototype. What’s important is the tech. The eDrive stuff is pinched directly from the i3 and i8, that motor being powered by a lithium-ion battery and cooled by a high-efficiency, um, cooling system. You can recharge this battery at any household socket.
 
All the power is wrapped up and sent in one big, 295lb ft-shaped parcel to the rear wheels and rear wheels alone. There are of course, many different modes to select, chiefly Comfort, Sport and Eco. They manage everything from the drivetrain right through to the air conditioning and seat heating.
 
No other performance data has been provided, but with such an abundance of torque and power, expect it to be swift. And that’s not all – BMW reckons that future eDrive models will feature more powerful electric motors and batteries packing twice the capacity of today’s units.
 
In fact, future plug-in hybrids will provide two-thirds of their power from electricity, the remainder coming from the combustion engine. BMW also tells us that in this low-emission future, there’ll be an electric motor as the main source of power for everyday driving – powering the rear axle – and a second motor and internal combustion engine powering the front.
 
We’ll see the plug-in 3-Series at some point in the next few years. Would you swap out your 335i for one of these?

BMW M4 sets new donuting world record!

This is quite niche, though admittedly excellent. Deep breath... a new world record has been set for the ‘most donuts around a car driving on two wheels in one minute'.

Yep, that actually happened. Last week in China, a man called Han Yue and another man called Zhang Shengjun strapped themselves into a Mini and a BMW M4 and then went a bit bonkers.

Mr Yue - the same chap who managed to score a Guinness World Record with this astonishingly adept display of parking - this time hoisted the Mini onto two wheels and steered it straight.

Zhang then duly got the BMW M4 slidey and managed to donut a full ten times around Han's two-wheeled Mini to set the new world record.

Top Gear extends its congratulations to the pair. How many donuts do you lot reckon Mr Stig could do in one minute around a car driving on two wheels?

First drive: new Suzuki Vitara

A new Vitara?

Yep, Suzuki's 4x4 has entered its fourth generation. If you include the Grand Vitara, it's been around since 1988, making ‘Vitara' one of the oldest nameplates in the SUV game. Its introduction predates the SUV boom by quite some margin, in fact.

That doesn't mean it leads where others follow, though. Quite the opposite, in fact; to ensure the new Vitara is a whole heap more competitive than the uninspiring car it replaces, it has taken influence from the cars that arrived late to the soft-roading party but have since eaten all of its cake.

It looks a lot more interesting than before.

There's an inescapable whiff of Evoque to its styling and a bit of Captur in its inevitably varied colour palette, but they're hardly bad cars to be taking visual inspiration from. The Vitara looks fresh and modern; much more so than the S-Cross on which it's spun from. It's shorter than the S-Cross but actually looks more substantial.

It kicks off a minor product onslaught, with six new Suzukis due in the next three years. The company plans to fill the city car, supermini and SUV segments with two models each, one logical and rational (in the SUV market, that's the S-Cross) and one more style-led (the Vitara).

Despite this, the Vitara is set to be around £1000 cheaper than its straighter-laced sibling, and should kick off at around £14,000 when sales begin in April 2015.

Better looking yet cheaper. Is the S-Cross now irrelevant?

Potentially. Though that's a car we really quite like; unpretentious, honest and unashamedly unfashionable, it's great value for money and a surprisingly decent thing to drive.

It's a strong base to work from, and the Vitara is equally impressive beneath the skin. For starters, its range is simple to understand: one petrol and one diesel engine, both 1.6 litres in size and producing 118bhp, both available with standard front-wheel-drive or optional four-wheel-drive. Both have a manual gearbox as standard; petrol buyers can spec an automatic transmission, and happily it's a proper six-speed item rather than a droning CVT.

It's good to drive too. The car we've tried is described as pre-production, but there's nothing crying out for improvement. Its steering is satisfyingly weighted, body roll is impressively minimal and on-road grip is plentiful regardless of your transmission choice. It all leads to consistent, and therefore trustworthy reactions. The aim was apparently to ‘bring Swift dynamics to a small SUV'. It's not as thrilling as a Swift Sport, but there's definitely some common DNA.

Sounds positive.

It's the end result of getting the basics right and not imposing needless stiffness or haphazard premium aspirations on something where they're not necessary. The driving position is well judged, and while the dials, steering wheel and gear stick that sit before you don't look particularly inspiring or cutting edge, they all work with a simple precision that's testament to keeping things uncomplicated.

Likewise the whole thing feels well screwed together, there's plenty of space in the rear quarters and its 345-litre boot includes a hidden floor. It sits closer to a Juke than a Qashqai in size, but feels more like a rival for the latter.

So which engine should I go for?

The petrol is set to be cheaper to the tune of around £2000; it's a pleasingly revvy little unit, but without a turbocharger, it's light on torque and just has enough poke to move the Vitara round with an element of vigour.

Far more natural in a car like this is the diesel, which has the same 118bhp output as the petrol but twice as much torque, 236lb ft playing 115lb ft. Its CO2 emissions also drop as low as 106g/km. It's not a glamorous engine but it's punchy and reasonably refined. Those covering lower mileages might take a while to pay off its price premium, though.

What about the four-wheel-drive system?

It's Suzuki's Allgrip system, and up to half of buyers could go for it, significantly up on the class average. It defaults to front-wheel drive, distributing power to the rear axle only when it detects wheelspin, which ensures there's minimal impact on fuel economy or CO2 emissions by going AWD.

Though while it has a hill descent control system and a harder cored ‘Lock' mode, Suzuki describes the Vitara as an ‘on road vehicle with all-road capability' rather than a full-bore mud-plugger. It's designed to keep you moving on slippy surfaces, not drag you up mountains or through rivers.

Anything else of note?

There are numerous big car features at the upper echelons of the range such as active cruise control, collision avoidance braking and a whacking great panoramic sunroof. A new touchscreen infotainment system is pretty intuitive to use and looks far better integrated than previously jarring third-party fitments in posher Suzukis.

With crossover and SUV competition arguably at saturation point, though, with some very talented rivals amongst it, your best bet is probably to keep things simple at the cheaper end of the range, where the Vitara is priced similarly to a well-trimmed Fiesta.

The most interesting nugget we gleaned from a Suzuki chief is the development of a Vitara Sport model, which will share a turbocharged petrol engine with the next generation Swift Sport hot hatch. Expect a minimum of 150bhp alongside a more butch torque figure than the standard petrol. A performance badge may seem a little incongruous on a Vitara, but the smart chassis deserves a bit more power. And the current Swift Sport is a popular little performance hero, after all.

Get ready for the Swift Sport Turbo

Suzuki is getting serious, with six new models in the next three years. And a welcome by-product of this is a new, more driver-focused direction for the Swift, including a faster, harder, turbocharged Swift Sport.

A new dawn for Suzuki will see the brand occupy its key segments with two models – one fun and design-led, the other more sensible and rational. The introduction of a bigger, Honda Jazz-rivalling supermini to fill the rational role (which we’ll see at Geneva next spring) frees up the Swift to be “lower and harder”, UK sales chief Dale Wyatt told TG.
 
The current Swift (pictured) is among the most fun small cars on sale, but small is very much the keyword: the boot is pokey and rear passengers had better be small or understanding. “The new car will answer all the reasons not to buy a Swift”, said Wyatt, “whereas the Swift will be all about the driver”.
 
Details are otherwise scant, save for the fact we’ll have to wait until 2017 for the new Swift to arrive. With it will come a new hardcore Swift Sport, lighter and more powerful, and with a turbocharged engine almost certainly at its heart.
 
Wyatt wouldn’t officially confirm this, but he said “torque to weight is the new measure for cars like this”. That can only mean forced induction, Suzuki’s current range of revvy naturally aspirated petrol engines are fun to work hard but conspicuously torque-light.
 
He’s had a go in a prototype of the new Swift Sport, and revealed only that “it’ll be a hoot”. Good. The engine will also appear in a Vitara Sport version of Suzuki’s reinvented SUV.
 
Going down a size, there will be a bold new Suzuki city car to balance out the sensible Celerio. Wyatt was teasingly coy, stating only that “it will create its own segment. There’s nothing out there like it.”
 
That doesn’t, however, mean a comeback for the crackers little Cappuccino, the 1990s sports car which was built to dinky Japanese kei-car regulations but sold in the UK. “There’s room for a new Cappuccino too”, said Wyatt. “There isn’t a plan for one, though.”

First drive: new Corvette Z06

What's this?

This is the Z06 version of the new C7 Corvette Stingray, which was Top Gear's Not the Muscle Car of the Year 2014. If that info doesn't immediately tell you that you are in the near presence of greatness, here is your one sentence primer. Z06 is an internal code used by Chevy to denote a ‘Vette that has been substantially upgraded in every way to make it perform better than the standard car. In previous generations of Vette, it has meant a substantial power upgrade, better brakes, tyres... that kind of thing. It's always been a useful upgrade.

For this generation, though, GM has gone completely, stark-staring mad.

Mad good or mad bad?

Good. Very good. Instead of just making a breathed on version of the C7 - the normal route for the Z06 - Chevy's engineers have used the previously range-topping supercharged ZR1 as the benchmark for this new car. So it's not a bit better than the old one, it's in a different class altogether.

Let's start with the engine. It shares its block with the LT1 lump but everything else above that in this 6.2-litre LT4 engine is new. And that includes a supercharger which is now a little smaller but spins 25 per cent faster than the ZR1's, to improve throttle response. Max power is 650bhp and max torque is rated at 650lb ft. That's roughly 200bhp and 200lb ft more than the standard C7.

What about the chassis?

Plenty to love here, too. To get the power down, the Z06 is fitted with much wider and stickier Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres rolling on lighter weight 19-inch (front) and 20-inch (rear) wheels . This has pushed the bodywork at the front and rear 56mm and 80mm wider respectively. So it looks impossibly low and mean now. What adds to this effect is the standard aero equipment, which includes a front splitter, a larger vent in the bonnet and the rear spoiler borrowed from the Z51's Performance Package. Brakes are the de rigeur Brembo steel saucepan lids.

Any options I should know about?

Yes. The Z06 is available with three different levels of aero. This standard set up (stage 1), this plus an optional aero package (stage 2), which uses carbon for all the aero bits including a larger rear spoiler and front winglets. And then there's the full-house Z07 package, which adds bigger winglets and an adjustable clear centre section for the rear spoiler. On top of this, the Z07 package also includes bigger carbon ceramic brakes and almost tread-free Sport Cup 2 tyres.

What's it like to drive?

In the same way the standard C7 immediately feels a world better than the C6, the Z06 feels a similarly and instantly vast improvement over the standard car. The speeds you can achieve on the track are scarcely believable. On Road Atlanta's back straight there is a right-handed blind kink. In the standard C7 you can, if you swallow hard enough, take this at around 140mph. In the Z06, you can hit it at 155mph and still have plenty of time to brake before the chicane.

So you can really feel the aero?

On the base Z06 you can a bit, but when you step up to the Z07 it feels like a proper race car. You have to go through the learning process for a couple of laps, but once you've tried it once and felt the car sucker into the track, you can go utterly beserk.

Is it better than a Porsche, Ferrari or McLaren?

Think it's fair to say it's going to crush anything less than a 918, P1 or LaFerrari. Its combination of relentless power, unshakeable chassis - with all its clever technology that works with you - and vast brakes is unbeatable at the moment. And that's just on the track. On the road, it's just as much fun. Dial back the chassis, flip off the roof panel - a first for all Z06s - and it'll cruise along in comfort. It's available with an eight-speed automatic or the seven-speed manual, now with uprated rev matching (this is being implemented across the whole Corvette range) that now makes it properly seamless.

Should I buy one?

Considering it starts at just $78,000 and rises to just over $100k for the Z07 with every box ticked, this is the performance car bargain of 2015. Which is why it's already sold out. If you can get your name on the list for 2016, we suggest you do it now. Thrills don't come any better - or for better value.

First drive: new Suzuki Vitara

A new Vitara?

Yep, Suzuki's 4x4 has entered its fourth generation. If you include the Grand Vitara, it's been around since 1988, making ‘Vitara' one of the oldest nameplates in the SUV game. Its introduction predates the SUV boom by quite some margin, in fact.

That doesn't mean it leads where others follow, though. Quite the opposite, in fact; to ensure the new Vitara is a whole heap more competitive than the uninspiring car it replaces, it has taken influence from the cars that arrived late to the soft-roading party but have since eaten all of its cake.

It looks a lot more interesting than before.

There's an inescapable whiff of Evoque to its styling and a bit of Captur in its inevitably varied colour palette, but they're hardly bad cars to be taking visual inspiration from. The Vitara looks fresh and modern; much more so than the S-Cross on which it's spun from. It's shorter than the S-Cross but actually looks more substantial.

It kicks off a minor product onslaught, with six new Suzukis due in the next three years. The company plans to fill the city car, supermini and SUV segments with two models each, one logical and rational (in the SUV market, that's the S-Cross) and one more style-led (the Vitara).

Despite this, the Vitara is set to be around £1000 cheaper than its straighter-laced sibling, and should kick off at around £14,000 when sales begin in April 2015.

Better looking yet cheaper. Is the S-Cross now irrelevant?

Potentially. Though that's a car we really quite like; unpretentious, honest and unashamedly unfashionable, it's great value for money and a surprisingly decent thing to drive.

It's a strong base to work from, and the Vitara is equally impressive beneath the skin. For starters, its range is simple to understand: one petrol and one diesel engine, both 1.6 litres in size and producing 118bhp, both available with standard front-wheel-drive or optional four-wheel-drive. Both have a manual gearbox as standard; petrol buyers can spec an automatic transmission, and happily it's a proper six-speed item rather than a droning CVT.

It's good to drive too. The car we've tried is described as pre-production, but there's nothing crying out for improvement. Its steering is satisfyingly weighted, body roll is impressively minimal and on-road grip is plentiful regardless of your transmission choice. It all leads to consistent, and therefore trustworthy reactions. The aim was apparently to ‘bring Swift dynamics to a small SUV'. It's not as thrilling as a Swift Sport, but there's definitely some common DNA.

Sounds positive.

It's the end result of getting the basics right and not imposing needless stiffness or haphazard premium aspirations on something where they're not necessary. The driving position is well judged, and while the dials, steering wheel and gear stick that sit before you don't look particularly inspiring or cutting edge, they all work with a simple precision that's testament to keeping things uncomplicated.

Likewise the whole thing feels well screwed together, there's plenty of space in the rear quarters and its 345-litre boot includes a hidden floor. It sits closer to a Juke than a Qashqai in size, but feels more like a rival for the latter.

So which engine should I go for?

The petrol is set to be cheaper to the tune of around £2000; it's a pleasingly revvy little unit, but without a turbocharger, it's light on torque and just has enough poke to move the Vitara round with an element of vigour.

Far more natural in a car like this is the diesel, which has the same 118bhp output as the petrol but twice as much torque, 236lb ft playing 115lb ft. Its CO2 emissions also drop as low as 106g/km. It's not a glamorous engine but it's punchy and reasonably refined. Those covering lower mileages might take a while to pay off its price premium, though.

What about the four-wheel-drive system?

It's Suzuki's Allgrip system, and up to half of buyers could go for it, significantly up on the class average. It defaults to front-wheel drive, distributing power to the rear axle only when it detects wheelspin, which ensures there's minimal impact on fuel economy or CO2 emissions by going AWD.

Though while it has a hill descent control system and a harder cored ‘Lock' mode, Suzuki describes the Vitara as an ‘on road vehicle with all-road capability' rather than a full-bore mud-plugger. It's designed to keep you moving on slippy surfaces, not drag you up mountains or through rivers.

Anything else of note?

There are numerous big car features at the upper echelons of the range such as active cruise control, collision avoidance braking and a whacking great panoramic sunroof. A new touchscreen infotainment system is pretty intuitive to use and looks far better integrated than previously jarring third-party fitments in posher Suzukis.

With crossover and SUV competition arguably at saturation point, though, with some very talented rivals amongst it, your best bet is probably to keep things simple at the cheaper end of the range, where the Vitara is priced similarly to a well-trimmed Fiesta.

The most interesting nugget we gleaned from a Suzuki chief is the development of a Vitara Sport model, which will share a turbocharged petrol engine with the next generation Swift Sport hot hatch. Expect a minimum of 150bhp alongside a more butch torque figure than the standard petrol. A performance badge may seem a little incongruous on a Vitara, but the smart chassis deserves a bit more power. And the current Swift Sport is a popular little performance hero, after all.

Mercedes reveals the CLA 45 Shooting Brake

Pity those poor souls over at AMG. The company still holds its ‘one man, one engine' philosophy to heart, and now it appears some overtime is required. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG.

Quite a moniker, but it's quite a lot of car. It's the fastest, most powerful version of the brand new Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake; essentially the estate version of the baby CLA saloon.

And because it's spun off the A-Class platform - like its A 45 AMG, CLA 45 AMG and GLA 45 AMG brothers - it gets the world's most powerful production four-cylinder engine.

You'll of course know it by heart now: a 2.0-litre turbo packing a whopping 360bhp and 331lb ft of torque, with a seven-speed DCT gearbox and ‘fully-variable' four-wheel-drive (a front-driver for most of the time, switching to a 50:50 torque split front/rear when required).

Strapped into this swoopy-small-estate body, that engine's good for a 0-62mph time of just 4.7 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph. If you're concerned about such things, it emits 161g/km. We suspect you might not be.

It's quite an engine, related to the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 in the new AMG GT and recipient of two ‘Engine of the Year Awards 2014'. Technically then, it's just like the A45 and CLA 45 underneath.

But on the outside you'll see it wears its Shooting Brake body well, Mercedes telling us it wants to be like big brother CLS Shooting Brake. Squint, and it's the stubbier little sibling. The AMG of course gets the twin exhaust pipes, spoilers, aprons, AMG lettering, aggressive bodykit and bigger wheels.

Of course, you can buy a non-AMG CLA Shooting Brake, a car that Merc design chief reckons is "a whole new class of vehicle". There's the option of the 2.1-litre diesel in 136bhp and 177bhp guises, as well as two petrol engines with three power outputs. The 1.6-litre gets 122bhp and 156bhp versions, while the bigger 2.0-litre comes in 211bhp flavour. In the A-Class, this last engine is a cracker.

All CLA Shooting Brakes come of course, with that extra payload at the rear: 495 litres with the seats up, 1354 litres with the rear seats folded down. You can even spec a ‘cargo' position that allows space for five and 595 litres of boot.

As ever, the interior appointments all look top notch, with the capacity to option everything Mercedes-Benz will sell you, from better leather, more electronic assists to brain-numbing audio. Oh, and a choice of colour schemes that'll beggar belief.

The CLA 45 AMG will debut at next year's Geneva motor show. It seems to suit this bodystyle more than the saloon, we feel.

Is this the baby AMG you'd take, or would you just have a Golf R estate and be done with it?

First drive: Dodge RAM 2500

Mother of whatnot, that's a huge truck.

Yes, yes it is. So big in fact that in America all pick-up trucks have their own zip code.

Really?

No, not really. But it is huge, so huge that I'm going to open with some stats. I apologise in advance if you are American and these numbers don't strike you as somewhat other-worldly. To us Brits they're mind-boggling. The Dodge Ram 2500 is 6.3 metres long, 2.1 metres wide and 2.0 metres tall, so shades about the same amount of road as a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but double the height. Or something.

Anyway, it weighs about 3.5 tonnes, can tow 7.7 tonnes and is basically a commercial vehicle. We used it to tow the Dodge Challenger Hellcat to the amazing Maryhill Loops road in Oregon, but that mention didn't really do our time with the Ram justice, hence why I'm telling you about it here.

What's it powered by?

Well, you can have your Ram with a V8 HEMI engine, but this one had something better: a diesel. Yes, I know that sounds wrong, but if you want your Ram to work and work hard, surely it's best when powered by something that develops 800lb ft of torque at just 1,600rpm?

The 6.7-litre Cummins six cylinder isn't the last word in civility, but that's not the point here, it feels as if it could haul the Titanic from the deep - without troubling to switch to 4WD. Apparently the engine alone weighs 499kg, which makes it heavier than our entire Caterham Seven 160 lifer.

What's it like to drive?

For the first two days, absolutely terrifying, even in America where the parking spaces are 10 feet across and the interstate lanes are as wide as runways. I kept losing small cars - by which I mean things like RAV4's - below the bonnet (OK, hood), like little bugs trapped in the grille. On top of that the throttle was less than responsive to commands and the steering lock was utterly hopeless. I picked it up in Seattle, where the enlightened residents have taken to Tesla and Prius in a big way, and the Ram felt a little at odds with their sensibilities. Just a tad, you understand.

But then you got to grips with it?

I did. It may seem obvious, but you realise that it's not a car, it's a utilitarian vehicle, and you start to treat it like one, to find tasks that scratch the surface of its abilities. Towing, for instance. We hauled the Dodge Challenger Hellcat from Portland to Maryhills, and trailer and muscle car made precisely no difference to the Ram's performance or cruising ability. Every time I accelerated I had to check the trailer was still attached. Then at the Loops road we bumped into Zane and his long-boarding buddies and it made perfect sense to throw youths and skateboards into the back for the ride to the top. And bit by bit I started to adore this thing.

Pickup adoration? From a Brit?

Oh yeah, completely. It's easy to criticise them from our side of the pond, but over there every pickup I saw was doing something that an estate, SUV or MPV wouldn't have been able to: hauling motocross bikes, people, timber, animals, huge trailers full of livestock, whacking great caravans. In America pickups blur the lines between cars and commercial vehicles in the same way a Transit doesn't quite in the UK. They are the missing link.

So what else did you do with it?

Used it for viewing wildlife in Yellowstone, hauling ski gear up to Mt Hood in Oregon, filling with bikes and luggage, giving kids a ride around a park. You'd think that last one would be illegal, but the kids waved at cops we drove past and they waved right back. And perched up in the crows nest driving position, swaddled in French leather (that's what the brochure said) and rear view cameras and vast cubbies and complex infotainment menus and cheap plastics and plentiful space, you felt so utterly isolated from the world outside it was, well, unreal. Until you fired up the diesel, that is. It's not the quietest or most sophisticated...

So not a match for the latest Ford F150, then?

I doubt it. But in the pickup hierarchy, toughness counts for more than refinement, and I reckon the Ram 2500 is as tough as they come. And it wasn't a pain to do distance in - the 20-inch wheels are wrapped in wonderfully plump, bulbous tyres that do the cushioning the suspension fails to, and the Ram's sheer scale commands you to adopt a specific driving style. You send signals via the cabin controls and a bit later and a long way away, something happens. Vaguely. You get used to it, but don't go trying to nip into gaps in traffic.

Any other useful features?

The Ramboxes. These are cubbies over the rear wheelarches, flanking the load bay. Each is as big as a supermini's boot, weatherproof and lockable. My favourite gadget was remote start - press a button on the keyfob and you could start the Ram without unlocking the doors from a distance of about 100yds. You knew it had worked because you could hear the engine at that range. Useful for cooling down black seats on a hot summer's day.

There were also some features I didn't mess too much with. One sliding switch adjusted the braking force to the trailer, another button adjusted towing height, it even had a proper three-pin plug input. On the dash. The thing that completely threw me was the DEF gauge. I now know what Diesel Exhaust Fluid is. I had to buy some and top up a secondary fuel tank (DEF is a urea solution that reduces particulate emissions). You don't have to worry about this sort of stuff in a BMW 320d.

OK, how far did it go on a tank?

About 400 miles. The bigger question is what it did to the gallon. When towing the Hellcat, 12.9mpg (these are UK gallons, not US), about 19-20mpg otherwise.

What options are available?

What options aren't available, that's the question. The Ram 2500 is the mid-range model, there is also a light duty 1500 model and a heavy duty 3500. The 2500 itself is available in ten trim levels with several cab options, two gearboxes and this diesel alone comes with a choice of three power outputs. That makes speccing a Ram more complex than nuclear physics. Fact.

What about rivals?

I've given this a lot of thought and there's only one thing in Europe that comes close -the 6x6 Mercedes G-Wagon. And that's hundreds of thousands of pounds. This Ram 2500 with all the whistles and bells costs $55,710 - about £35,500. It's a bargain. It's also wonderfully fit for purpose. And that, at the end of the day, is what matters.

First drive: new Corvette Z06

What's this?

This is the Z06 version of the new C7 Corvette Stingray, which was Top Gear's Not the Muscle Car of the Year 2014. If that info doesn't immediately tell you that you are in the near presence of greatness, here is your one sentence primer. Z06 is an internal code used by Chevy to denote a ‘Vette that has been substantially upgraded in every way to make it perform better than the standard car. In previous generations of Vette, it has meant a substantial power upgrade, better brakes, tyres... that kind of thing. It's always been a useful upgrade.

For this generation, though, GM has gone completely, stark-staring mad.

Mad good or mad bad?

Good. Very good. Instead of just making a breathed on version of the C7 - the normal route for the Z06 - Chevy's engineers have used the previously range-topping supercharged ZR1 as the benchmark for this new car. So it's not a bit better than the old one, it's in a different class altogether.

Let's start with the engine. It shares its block with the LT1 lump but everything else above that in this 6.2-litre LT4 engine is new. And that includes a supercharger which is now a little smaller but spins 25 per cent faster than the ZR1's, to improve throttle response. Max power is 650bhp and max torque is rated at 650lb ft. That's roughly 200bhp and 200lb ft more than the standard C7.

What about the chassis?

Plenty to love here, too. To get the power down, the Z06 is fitted with much wider and stickier Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres rolling on lighter weight 19-inch (front) and 20-inch (rear) wheels . This has pushed the bodywork at the front and rear 56mm and 80mm wider respectively. So it looks impossibly low and mean now. What adds to this effect is the standard aero equipment, which includes a front splitter, a larger vent in the bonnet and the rear spoiler borrowed from the Z51's Performance Package. Brakes are the de rigeur Brembo steel saucepan lids.

Any options I should know about?

Yes. The Z06 is available with three different levels of aero. This standard set up (stage 1), this plus an optional aero package (stage 2), which uses carbon for all the aero bits including a larger rear spoiler and front winglets. And then there's the full-house Z07 package, which adds bigger winglets and an adjustable clear centre section for the rear spoiler. On top of this, the Z07 package also includes bigger carbon ceramic brakes and almost tread-free Sport Cup 2 tyres.

What's it like to drive?

In the same way the standard C7 immediately feels a world better than the C6, the Z06 feels a similarly and instantly vast improvement over the standard car. The speeds you can achieve on the track are scarcely believable. On Road Atlanta's back straight there is a right-handed blind kink. In the standard C7 you can, if you swallow hard enough, take this at around 140mph. In the Z06, you can hit it at 155mph and still have plenty of time to brake before the chicane.

So you can really feel the aero?

On the base Z06 you can a bit, but when you step up to the Z07 it feels like a proper race car. You have to go through the learning process for a couple of laps, but once you've tried it once and felt the car sucker into the track, you can go utterly beserk.

Is it better than a Porsche, Ferrari or McLaren?

Think it's fair to say it's going to crush anything less than a 918, P1 or LaFerrari. Its combination of relentless power, unshakeable chassis - with all its clever technology that works with you - and vast brakes is unbeatable at the moment. And that's just on the track. On the road, it's just as much fun. Dial back the chassis, flip off the roof panel - a first for all Z06s - and it'll cruise along in comfort. It's available with an eight-speed automatic or the seven-speed manual, now with uprated rev matching (this is being implemented across the whole Corvette range) that now makes it properly seamless.

Should I buy one?

Considering it starts at just $78,000 and rises to just over $100k for the Z07 with every box ticked, this is the performance car bargain of 2015. Which is why it's already sold out. If you can get your name on the list for 2016, we suggest you do it now. Thrills don't come any better - or for better value.

New pic of ‘baby’ McLaren supercar

Top Gear can exclusively reveal that McLaren's upcoming, entry-level supercar will have at least one door.

We jest, of course, because this news comes off the back of McLaren's latest teaser image for the ‘baby' supercar, part of Woking's new ‘Sports Series' range. As you can see, there is a rather cool door involved.

And it's no ordinary door, but a vertically opening dihedral door. We suspect there shall be another, too.

What else do we know about the Sports Series? It'll go up against both the new Mercedes-AMG GT S and Porsche 911 Turbo, and is expected to arrive around April 2015.

It'll be based on a spin-off of the carbon fibre tubs used in the McLaren 650S and P1, with aluminium body panels and a variation of the familiar 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 and seven-speed dual clutch ‘box.

We'll find out more as McLaren continues its #BlackSwanMoments teaser campaign for the Sports Series range so stay tuned. You can of course, read more about the car codenamed P13 here, and check out TG's verdict on the Mercedes-AMG GT S here.

Pirelli's Robo-Tyre will make you faster

Sherlock Holmes knew a thing or two about the importance of detail. "It has long been an axiom of mine," said Arthur Conan Doyle's detective, "that the little things are infinitely the most important."

Clearly Mr Holmes wasn't referring to the size of the sensor on Pirelli's upcoming ‘Cyber Tyre', but the analogy works. For this sensor measures in at just over 1cm3 in size - tiny, then - and will soon be responsible for turning you into a bona fide Driving God. Yep, caps and all.

Pirelli's next generation of smart tyres will be capable of ‘speaking' to your car, providing up-to-the-millisecond information on condition and available grip levels. Yes, that tiny sensor essentially turns the wheel into a live sensor. Maurizio Boiocchi, Pirelli's general manager for technology, gave TG.com the lowdown on this revolutionary new band of rubber that could - could - turn you into A Stig.

"We started several years ago in order to exploit this concept of electronics inside the tyre," Maurizio explains. "What happens below the contact from the footprint to the ground, the unique areas in which the vehicle is touching the ground and interacting with forces to define performance... this is quite a difficult job to explore."

It all begins with that tiny little sensor. "We use either one sensor or up to three," explains Maurizio, "depending on what we want to achieve. Normally we use one sensor for a ‘safety' tyre, and two or three sensors for a ‘performance' tyre."

The sensors are then inserted directly into the belt - the tread area of the tyre - where it sends out a ‘predigested' signal to a small black box inside the car, kicking off a dialogue between the ABS, ESP and other onboard systems, as well as supplying the driver with vital information.

Information like friction, the force of contact between tyre and road, pressure, temperatures, average load and number of revolutions. "In a car the electronics are very sophisticated," Maurizio says, "because we have all the information in this case, in real time. It's then related with all the forces acting under the footprint of the tyre. How much potential grip you can have, the measure of aquaplaning if it is wet..." In other words, the tyre will not only provide information about itself, it will ‘read' the road conditions and give the driver just the right amount of detail.

But not too much. "If you give too much information you can confuse the driver, or worse, the driver might not listen to any of it," reckons Maurizio. But what does the driver do with this information?

"You can have a sort of monitoring system and offer to the driver some warning that you are too close to the limit of your car, to drive slowly," he adds. "Or for instance if you imagine it linked with a sat nav, you can see in advance that a band of weather is arriving with a certain amount of rain, and you will have a certain amount of grip." It'll also give you information on your optimal speed, too.

And what about a setup where the sensor feeds you exact braking distances to your head-up display in real time depending on the road condition? "This could be a real number acting on the braking system," says Maurizio. "But you only have to be aware of the fact that the distance you are measuring across might not be stable - there might be puddles in the middle. What's important is the device is listening to these instant condition changes and acting properly."

The sensor-laden tyre won't only be good news for safety, but performance too. "In terms of sporty vehicles," Maurizio said, "we substantially improved the maximum lateral g, by simply optimizing how the footprint had to be in a certain hard handling circuit. This is important for very extreme applications where the advantages are normally hard work for all the teams."

Stephan Reil, the head of Audi's Quattro division, agrees. "In my opinion, the tyre is probably the most underestimated part of the car," Reil recently told TG. "You can ruin everything with a bad tyre, and in that moment the performance of the car is lost.

"When you're developing your race car - or indeed road car - you have the engine guy, who works for a few weeks and manages to get a lap time two tenths faster.

"Then you have the suspension guy who after a couple of weeks manages to go another two tenths. Then you have the guy who I call has the ‘black gold', the tyre guy. He puts on a new tyre, and you get seconds quicker. That's how important tyres are to performance."

The cyber tyre - in less sophisticated form - is currently being trialled on a fleet of trucks, and could soon appear in production on high-performance sports cars. However, Pirelli concedes it'll be a little while longer before it makes its way to your garden-variety Mondeo. "We'd need a couple of years before a normal, medium car," Maurizio said.

So we're still a way off, but the era of the RoboTyre is on its way. Ready your finest 'maximum g' face...

Mitsuoka’s incredible Orochi is dead

Tissues at the ready, dear readers: the Mitsuoka Orochi hasn't long for this world. One of Japan's weirdest offerings - and in a world of Daihatsu Copens and Autozam AZ-1s that really is a statement with clout - bows out once 11 of these predictably whacky Evangelion Editions have been sold.

It marks the end of Orochi production with an eye-searing paint job, apparently inspired by the ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion' anime series.

Other than that it's business as usual (well, as ‘usual' as a car that looks like a melted hedge trimmer can possibly be), with a mid-mounted 3.3-litre Toyota V6 sending 230bhp to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic gearbox. It will be priced around £90,000.

If you're unsure whether the Orochi's impending exit from this mortal coil is a bad thing, let us fill you in.

Its name originates from the name of an eight-headed, eight-tailed dragon from Japanese legend. Fittingly, that's the only thing that would garner more second glances sidling down a busy Tokyo street.

On that note, Mitsuoka itself describes the Orochi as "the car to ride to gather attention from everyone". It also declares it a ‘fashion supercar', whatever definition those two words actually take when shoehorned together.

Its advertising for the car is unwaveringly superb. The Orochi is summed up as "brilliance and luridness in front of your eyes". Anything with that as its tagline ought to be bought immediately without question.

If you're inspired to do just that, then we have one final nugget of craziness to share with you: forget the local Mitsuoka dealer, the Orochi Evangelion Edition can only be bought at 7-Eleven shops. Yes, the 7-Eleven shops where you'd normally purchase milk or chewing gum.

We're going for a sit down.

Get ready for the all-electric Audi

Audi is working on an all-new pure-electric car. Talking to TopGear.com following the reveal of the Prologue concept, design director Marc Lichte let slip that, among the numerous models his 400-strong team is working on, a ground-up pure electric contender is currently being evaluated.

"I'll tell you a secret. The one I'm really excited about is the battery electric car," said Lichte. "It will be something totally different. I don't like the word ‘radical', but it will be... different. Everyone in my department is crazy to work on this car."

That points to an all-new EV, on a bespoke platform unrelated to the MQB architecture widely used across the VW group, introducing a bold aesthetic that uses the battery tech to liberate the design process.

"Tesla has done a great job," Lichte admits, "and the Model S is handsome. But it's also conventional looking, and the nature of the technology means we can do something that looks very different."

He wouldn't confirm Audi was planning to create a new sub-brand similar to BMW's i car range to bolster its A, Q, R, and TT product lines, due to encompass 60 separate models by 2020, but TG.com thinks it's highly likely.

Lichte also says that, as well as the new monster Q8 - confirmed yesterday by Audi R&D boss Dr Ulrich Hackenberg - the Sport Quattro concept is "still alive, yes. And it's very impressive. We've shown three show cars, I think, in three different colours. The next one will be the production car. Hopefully..."

Meet Audi's 700bhp Quattro concept

Meanwhile the highly impressive Prologue effectively showcases three new Audis in one car: 2015's all-new A8, as well as the next A7 and A6 models. Beyond the now-established single-frame grille, Lichte suggests that there will be greater visual differentiation between the different models in the future.

He cites the brilliant late '80s IMSA 90 Quattro racer, the ‘ugly beautiful' Quattro short wheelbase Group B rally car and the revolutionary 1982 aero ground-breaker 100 as personal influences.

"I want to emphasise Quattro in every Audi," he continues. "It's a big opportunity for us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors..."

Inside Audi's secret racing stash

Pictured: Audi R8 e-tron

First drive: new Audi Q3

Nip and tuck time for the Audi Q3?

Correct. Audi's unquestionably popular small SUV has reached middle age by car industry standards, and therefore receives its obligatory facelift. Over 400,000 Q3s have sold since its 2011 introduction, so quite understandably its update has been kept modest.

In summary: there are refreshed engines with the usual more power/less consumption witchcraft, the headlights and taillights are sharpened via a bulk order of LEDs, and the front grille is now a bolder styling element thanks to its ‘3D effect' frame. The equipment list has also had a nice little tickle.

What are the highlights?

Kicking off the range at £25,340 is a 1.4-litre TFSI petrol. It has 148bhp and cylinder deactivation, two of its four cylinders shutting down to aid fuel economy when throttle loads are low, familiar technology from other VW group products. Its claimed figures are 50.4mpg and 128g/km of CO2 emissions, both improvements of around five per cent on the engine it replaces.

The other petrol options are a 178bhp 2-litre TFSI, which comes with Quattro all-wheel-drive but will be a minority seller, and the even more niche five-cylinder RS Q3, which has had its power upped to 335bhp. Two diesels are offered, and the higher-powered 181bhp 2.0 TDI Quattro (53.3mpg, 139g/km) will be the Q3 range's bestseller.

Is that the one to buy?

The 181bhp TDI engine also appears in the VW Golf GTD and Skoda Octavia vRS, applications in which it feels reasonably fiery. The Q3's 1.6-tonne mass, however, serves to dull any outright performance here.

But it's still very easy to see its appeal. Audi expects it to sell best with the optional seven-speed paddleshift 'S tronic' gearbox, and thus equipped, it's an exceedingly effortless car to drive. The engine is vocal at high revs, but its punchy mid-range torque (peak 280lb ft is delivered between 1750 and 2500rpm) makes such a scenario avoidable.

It's all admirably polished, but if it's simply a Q3 you crave, then the £3900 cheaper 1.4 TFSI ought to be all the car required. Its claimed fuel economy gives little to the diesel and, being petrol powered, its engine is far more pleasant to work with, revving keenly and cleanly to its limit. Its switches to two cylinders (and back again) are also imperceptible.

It proves that four-wheel drive and a slick two-pedal transmission aren't vital traits of the Q3's character, too. It can be specced with S tronic, but the standard six-speed manual is sweet. And there's little to separate its front-drive setup from the 4WD of more powerful Q3s; both have grip aplenty and you'll have to really be goading either before traction starts to diminish.

What about that new equipment?

All Q3s get LED rear lights, 17-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control and sports seats, as well as Audi's Drive Select system, used to toggle between a handful of different modes (including Eco, Comfort and Dynamic) for the steering weight and throttle response. S line trim adds 18-inch alloys, LED headlights and electric operation for the hatchback, while S line Plus adds another inch to the alloys' diameter alongside satnav.

Does it all work well?

The interior of the Q3 feels solidly built and remains a feel-good place to be. Some of the design feels a touch outdated compared to newer generation Audis, something too complex for a facelift to fix. Operating the multimedia system via controls mounted on the dashboard rather than the transmission tunnel no longer feels particularly intuitive or ergonomically pleasing, for instance.

But that's hardly a deal breaker, and Audi's MMI software is still several notches ahead of some rivals. Stubbornly esoteric Lexus, in particular.

So cheapest is sweetest?

Less than a fifth of UK-bound Q3s are expected to use the entry-level 1.4 engine, but we reckon it deserves a fairer crack of the whip than that. Speccing it so also keeps the Q3 from the firing line of the notably more expensive Range Rover Evoque, which remains sharper both dynamically and aesthetically.

Meet Chevy’s insane Vision GT

A 240mph top speed. 0-60mph in 1.5 seconds. A frickin' 671kW laser. And 900bhp. Welcome everyone, to the most insane Gran Turismo concept we've ever seen.

Unveiled at the Los Angeles Motor Show, this fighty little thing is called the Chaparral 2X Vision GT, built - as you're probably aware - for Kazunori Yamauchi's seminal Gran Turismo racing series.

Those with particularly long memories will remember Chaparral: the Texas-based outfit partnered with Chevy over 45 years ago, knocking out a few outlandish racers along the way.

Unlike many of the Vision GT concepts you've seen from the likes of BMW, Mitsubishi and Subaru, this one's actually real. If you pop down to the LA show now, you'll be able to touch it any everything.

We're told the 2X - in the game at least - packs a 671kW laser (cue Dr Evil close up) powered by a pack of lithium-ion batteries, and an air-powered generator to produce a cool, clean 900bhp. Think McLaren P1 territory. Chevy tells us this powertrain was "inspired by technology derived from advanced work targeted at space travel and future aircraft design." This is excellent inspiration.

How does it work? The mid-mounted laser beamed energy propulsion system, we're told, pulses beams of light that focus in a shroud, to create shock waves that generate massive thrust.

In Gran Turismo, it'll do the performance stats as mentioned above. And if you actually get inside, you'll find the most bizarre - and slightly intimidating - seating position ever. You lie face down with your arms and legs splayed out towards the wheels, with suspension and propulsion built around the driver, which, says Chevy, "enables progressive strategies of active and driver adjustable aero."

"The Chaparral 2X VGT is a vision of how advanced technology may shape the look and driving experience of racing," explains Chevy. "Chaparral's race cars and methods were seen as outlandish four decades ago. The 2X VGT concept might just be a harbinger of motorsports in the next four decades."

We'll have more pics on this bonkers concept later fresh from the LA show floor. For now, have a scroll through the pics - best Vision GT concept so far?

It’s Lexus’s RC roadster concept

No sooner has the Lexus RC Coupe landed - and brought with it a mad, V8-powered RC-F variant - than Lexus has deemed it time to prepare us for the prospect of an open-topped version.

This is that version. It's called the Lexus LF-C2, and - officially at least - it's an opulent, "2+2 roadster design study that captures the key themes in a strong future style direction for Lexus."

What it also does is remind us that the RC is set to come with a drop-top variant, as well. This being a concept, however, means that it's been shorn of any kind of roof whatsoever - not a folding metal or fabric covering in sight.

What you get instead is body work influenced by the way "surface shapes interact with different types of light", which in turn led to a layered paint process that Lexus decided would seem correct in a golden yellow.

So you've got the signature Lexus Predator grille, triangular LED headlights, front bumper vents, chrome tipped exhaust pipes, a new rear diffuser and five spoke 20in alloy wheels.

Lexus has dropped an analogue clock set inside, a ‘straightforward' instrument cluster, a thick, leather steering wheel and ‘form fitting seats'. All fine and dandy.

This being a concept means there is no word on engines, but should an RC roadster ever see the light of production - and we'd wager it's a solid bet - expect the standard 2.5-litre four-pot hybrid drivetrain, and the larger 3.5-litre V6 rear-driver.

What about a mad, naturally-aspirated V8 ‘F' version? We can only hope.

"When you put something in the right light, people see it in a way they never have before," explains the LF-C2's chief designer Yasuo Kajino. How do you lot see it?

Maybach's back: the full details

This, lady-oligarchs and gentlemen-oligarchs, is Mercedes' new Maybach. In fact, it's the Mercedes-Maybach. Hyphen not optional.

The luxury badge returns after what turned out to be a brief hiatus; production of the original, £300k Maybach ended when new S-Class production began in 2013, but after protestations from avid customers (Paphitis and Jones, we're looking at you), it returns.

It does so as the sub-brand Mercedes-Maybach (in the same way the firm's new V8 sports car is branded Mercedes-AMG), and, rather than a standalone model, this is an iteration of S-Class. Something you've doubtless spotted from the pictures: it's basically an S with extra head- and legroom.

The rear quarters have received most attention, the place where its maker concedes Maybach owners belong. Mercedes claims it's the world's quietest saloon car inside, while the addition of a rear quarterlight window means, like in a Rolls Phantom, passengers get an extra bit of privacy by sitting out of sight of the main side window.

While the interior retains the S-Class architecture, there's a plethora of new, plusher materials. Hand-stitched leather trim, wood and chrome seem to cover every surface. And just check out those Maybach-badged cushions in the back...

Other frivolities include voice amplification - for rear passengers to bark orders at their driver with ease - and optional silver-plated champagne flutes. The front passenger seat can adopt a ‘chauffeur position', allowing extra rear legroom and a more reclined angle for the seat behind it. The rear seats can also imitate a hot stone massage.

There will be three drivetrain options. A 523bhp 6-litre V12 powers the range-topping Mercedes-Maybach S600, the only model we're likely to see in the UK. Below that sits an S500 (5-litre V8, 449bhp) and a four-wheel-drive S400 4Matic (3-litre V6, 328bhp).

At a preview of the new Maybach S600, we spoke to Ola Kallenius, chief of Mercedes sales and marketing. We asked where Maybach customers had gone after the previous generation was dropped.

"I think many of them have perhaps been in the regular S-Class. I know many Maybach customers personally, and they've been asking and begging and wanting [for Maybach to return].

"When we launched the new S-Class we said it would offer more than its previous family, and we would find a haven for the Maybach customers. That promise is now being kept."

Could we see an SUV emerging from the Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand? After all, Bentley is already lining up its giant 4x4, and Rolls looks likely to get in on the act too. Here's Kallenius's response:

"I don't want to be dogmatic about rules, and we haven't thought through every permutation we could do for the next ten years. Our focus is on this car." No SUV imminent, then, but he's not ruling it out completely.

The S-Class family hasn't finished growing just yet, either. Alongside the regular car, its Coupe sibling and the posher Maybach, an even longer Pullman limo is still apparently on the cards too.

Sales of the new Maybach start in February 2015, and while prices aren't yet public, expect a starting point of around £150,000. It's a lot more palatable than the old Maybach's starting point, though with huge potential for making your Maybach individual, there's every opportunity to send that price north rather quickly...

Meet Subaru’s Vision GT concept

Polyphony has revealed the latest in its stunning run of ‘Vision Gran Turismo' concept cars built for GT6. It's a Subaru, and it's mad.

The Vision GT series was born after Gran Turismo founder Kazunori Yamauchi sent out a call to the world's carmakers: build me a car I can use in Gran Turismo 6, he beseeched.

We've seen cars from BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Mitsubishi and even a spaceship from Aston Martin. So step forward Subaru, with a car that is said to inherit the design language of the VIZIV 2 Concept revealed earlier this year.

To this, Subaru's team have added something more solid, with a large diffuser, roof-integrated rear spoiler and more dynamism to that shooting-brake silhouette.

It's been virtually built out of carbon, with a virtual weight of 1380kg , packing a virtual version of Subaru's classic 2.0-litre flat-four engine. Oh, and there's a virtual turbocharger too, and three virtual electric motors - two in the rear, one up front - to give a total, virtual system output of 591bhp and 590lb ft of torque.

"By independently controlling each of the motor outputs," says Subaru, "turning ability while cornering is drastically improved, while torque vectoring lamps built into the fenders visualise its movement." Right.

The VIZIV concept will be available in Gran Turismo 6 (on your PS3) with update ‘1.14'. You can buy it, or indeed win it by completing a lap of the Subaru Seasonal Event in game.

Now, Subaru, can you do the decent thing and just build a real, actual, fire-spitting version we can drive please?

Audi Prologue: is this the A9?

This rather slinky looking thing is the Audi Prologue. It throws the brand's rigid naming structure to the wind because it's currently a concept car.

But imagine it with A9 badges and slightly toned down chintz and you probably won't be far off a future production model. A large one that's stuffed with luxury to top the whole Audi range, at that.

Officially a design concept - it paves the way for how all big Audis will look - it's described as ‘the sportiest car in the luxury segment'. To hammer home the point, a 597bhp 4-litre petrol V8 feeds its Quattro all-wheel-drive system.

That's Ferrari 458 Speciale power, and it endows the 5.1-metre, 1980kg Prologue with a 3.7sec 0-62mph time. The relevance of that in a concept car is negligible, but we like the fact there's an engine in there at all. There are even claimed economy figures: 199g/km and 32.8mpg. Such meticulous planning suggests a production version is a certainty, we'd say. As well as a big old fight with the Mercedes S63 AMG.

Further agility comes from a four-wheel steering system. The hallmark of complex 1990s Japanese coupes is suddenly fashionable, what with one of the greatest sports cars on sale, the 911 GT3 having it. The Prologue's rear wheels can turn by up to five degrees, which can aids low-speed manoeuvrability and high-speed stability.

Being a design concept, there's obviously plenty to talk about aesthetically too. You can make your own mind up on the success of its design, but there's a mix of old and new that ought to please most audiences.

The ‘old' comes in the shape of a side profile that A5 owners will be familiar with and wheel arch sculptures that give a nod to Audi's rallying past.

‘New' translates as a less upright grille design, giving the car wide presence (and a more intimidating look in your rear-view mirror, we'd wager), as well as intricate 22-inch alloys and a taillight design not dissimilar to the old Saab 9-5. Weird.

Overall, though, it's a more pert looking thing than an A7 or A8. It showcases more tech than them, too; the dashboard takes the TT's virtual cockpit to a whole new level, with three screens able to display more information than you're ever likely to need in hugely adjustable ways. It should be a boon once autonomous driving arrives and you need something to fiddle with, at least.

There are plenty of inspired touches: the car recognises drivers and passengers by their smart phones, and adjusts the seats to the positions they like. The rear headrests rise up when passengers climb in and retract when no one's in the back.

The driver and front passenger can ‘digitally interact', too, the latter sending information to the former via swiping motions. Helpful if you don't like talking to each other. The co-pilot ought to be happier than in a TT, though; they get their own display to scroll through music with, making it a much less selfish experience for the driver.

Audi's design boss Marc Lichte describes the Prologue as "a foretaste of the future of Audi". So over to you. Do you like what you see?

First drive: new Hyundai i20

Another new Hyundai?

Yes, the South Korea giant's transformation from purveyor of budget grey to proper Euro-competitor continues apace. This is the new i20, the second-generation version of Hyundai's supermini and a more serious proposition than before.

"We wanted to make a small car that's quality, and chosen by those who don't want a big car, not those who can't afford one," Hyundai's chief designer Thomas Bürkle tells us. List price is no longer prioritised above all else. The i20's gunning for the Polo.

Does it have a hope of competing?

It does. The i20's interior has a pleasantly grown-up vibe: the seats are comfortable for long journeys, the materials are pleasant and the ergonomics are close to spot-on, even if the lack of a standard touchscreen does set it behind several rivals nowadays. There's nothing to excite inside, but then there isn't in that Polo either.

There's decent kit on offer, mind, the mid-range SE boasting parking sensors and lane departure warnings, while big car features like a heated steering wheel and a panoramic sunroof lie further up the range. All very mature.

Does that mean it's not fun?

A little, yes. Dynamically, it's a car with comfort and ease of use as its cornerstones. The ride is soft and the handling balance safe, though credit must go to resolved body control and some nicely weighted steering. The feistiness of the Fiesta is clearly lacking, though.

What engines can I choose from?

From launch, there are three four-cylinder petrols (a 1.2 in 74 and 83bhp tunes, and a 99bhp 1.4) and two diesels (a 74bhp 1.1 and an 89bhp 1.4). Hyundai reckons 85 per cent of buyers will go petrol, and for now the most potent is our recommendation. Even with just shy of 99bhp and little over a tonne to shift, though, it struggles.

You'll need to use its revs to extract the modest performance on offer, and in an age where tiddly turbo petrols are becoming de rigeur, it simply feels wheezy and uncouth. Happily, a 1-litre turbo triple - with 100bhp and 120bhp tunes - comes next year, and while we're yet to try it, it's likely to go straight to pick-of-the-range status.

Of the two diesels, the 1.1 interests most. Certainly not for its performance - 0-62mph takes 16 seconds - but its 88.3mpg and 84g/km claims are notable. And it's surprisingly refined and civilised when you're eventually up to speed. It's punchy enough through town, though vocal in low-speed congestion.

Anything else of note?

Wholly designed in Europe, the i20 looks pretty smart, and much less top-heavy than its predecessor. Influences from elsewhere appear abundant - its rear three-quarter resemblance to a Citroen C4, coincidental or not, stands out - but it's hard to argue against it being an improvement over its forebears.

Is it good value?

The i20 is priced closer to that Polo than ever before. In SE spec, it's about £1000 cheaper than the VW, and has a smidge more equipment, but the gap isn't big enough to choose the i20 purely to save cash. That's reflected in the leaps and bounds Hyundai's made in the quality stakes, though.

If there's a major downside to address, it's a complete lack of fire in the i20's belly. It's a thoroughly worthy car with much to recommend it for, but enthusiasts need to look elsewhere. The Fiesta, basically. If sparkling engines and feisty dynamics aren't vital, though, we won't put you off.

First drive: new Audi Q3

Nip and tuck time for the Audi Q3?

Correct. Audi's unquestionably popular small SUV has reached middle age by car industry standards, and therefore receives its obligatory facelift. Over 400,000 Q3s have sold since its 2011 introduction, so quite understandably its update has been kept modest.

In summary: there are refreshed engines with the usual more power/less consumption witchcraft, the headlights and taillights are sharpened via a bulk order of LEDs, and the front grille is now a bolder styling element thanks to its ‘3D effect' frame. The equipment list has also had a nice little tickle.

What are the highlights?

Kicking off the range at £25,340 is a 1.4-litre TFSI petrol. It has 148bhp and cylinder deactivation, two of its four cylinders shutting down to aid fuel economy when throttle loads are low, familiar technology from other VW group products. Its claimed figures are 50.4mpg and 128g/km of CO2 emissions, both improvements of around five per cent on the engine it replaces.

The other petrol options are a 178bhp 2-litre TFSI, which comes with Quattro all-wheel-drive but will be a minority seller, and the even more niche five-cylinder RS Q3, which has had its power upped to 335bhp. Two diesels are offered, and the higher-powered 181bhp 2.0 TDI Quattro (53.3mpg, 139g/km) will be the Q3 range's bestseller.

Is that the one to buy?

The 181bhp TDI engine also appears in the VW Golf GTD and Skoda Octavia vRS, applications in which it feels reasonably fiery. The Q3's 1.6-tonne mass, however, serves to dull any outright performance here.

But it's still very easy to see its appeal. Audi expects it to sell best with the optional seven-speed paddleshift 'S tronic' gearbox, and thus equipped, it's an exceedingly effortless car to drive. The engine is vocal at high revs, but its punchy mid-range torque (peak 280lb ft is delivered between 1750 and 2500rpm) makes such a scenario avoidable.

It's all admirably polished, but if it's simply a Q3 you crave, then the £3900 cheaper 1.4 TFSI ought to be all the car required. Its claimed fuel economy gives little to the diesel and, being petrol powered, its engine is far more pleasant to work with, revving keenly and cleanly to its limit. Its switches to two cylinders (and back again) are also imperceptible.

It proves that four-wheel drive and a slick two-pedal transmission aren't vital traits of the Q3's character, too. It can be specced with S tronic, but the standard six-speed manual is sweet. And there's little to separate its front-drive setup from the 4WD of more powerful Q3s; both have grip aplenty and you'll have to really be goading either before traction starts to diminish.

What about that new equipment?

All Q3s get LED rear lights, 17-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control and sports seats, as well as Audi's Drive Select system, used to toggle between a handful of different modes (including Eco, Comfort and Dynamic) for the steering weight and throttle response. S line trim adds 18-inch alloys, LED headlights and electric operation for the hatchback, while S line Plus adds another inch to the alloys' diameter alongside satnav.

Does it all work well?

The interior of the Q3 feels solidly built and remains a feel-good place to be. Some of the design feels a touch outdated compared to newer generation Audis, something too complex for a facelift to fix. Operating the multimedia system via controls mounted on the dashboard rather than the transmission tunnel no longer feels particularly intuitive or ergonomically pleasing, for instance.

But that's hardly a deal breaker, and Audi's MMI software is still several notches ahead of some rivals. Stubbornly esoteric Lexus, in particular.

So cheapest is sweetest?

Less than a fifth of UK-bound Q3s are expected to use the entry-level 1.4 engine, but we reckon it deserves a fairer crack of the whip than that. Speccing it so also keeps the Q3 from the firing line of the notably more expensive Range Rover Evoque, which remains sharper both dynamically and aesthetically.

It’s the twin-turbo V8 Alfa 4C!

Lazzarini Design has clearly read the Top Gear Guide To Fixing Everything: Chapter 1, because this Italian firm (in no way connected to Alfa, we should make clear) has revealed an ambition to better the Alfa Romeo 4C.

How? By stuffing in a Ferrari V8. And not just any Ferrari V8, but a twin-turbo Ferrari V8. Like we always say, everything is better with a V8.

Lazzarini has announced plans - just plans at this stage, mind - to slot in a 4.3-litre Maranello powerplant into the dinky, gorgeous 4C Coupe, together with a pair of turbochargers from our good friend Mr Hennessey, and many other performance goodies.

And here comes the boom: total power is estimated to sit at 738bhp and a whopping 532lb ft of torque, powering those rear wheels to a 0-60mph time of 2.5 seconds. What now?

The ‘Definitiva', as Lazzarini calls it, will also get carbon fibre body panels, a new rear bumper, centre mounted exhaust, new wheels, and - we're praying - bigger brakes and beefed chassis control systems. The acoustic soundproofing to contain your screaming? No word.

Oh snap, you're still reeling from that 0-60mph time? Well, Lazzarini also reckons on a quarter mile time of just 9.5 seconds at 137mph. Yes, Mr Toretto, this is a ten second car.

Of course, at this point, and potentially many points in the future, this is about as real as unicorns that cry money. But if it ever happens... well, stand well back.

A prototype is expected to cost an estimated £196k, which is a fair slug of cash for a modified Alfa 4C. But hey, what could possibly go wrong?

First drive: Porsche 911 GTS

Was ist das?

This is the new 424bhp 911 GTS. It fits into the 911 range above the S and below the GT3, and is the second time the GTS badging has been seen on the benchmark rear-engined car.

The first time we saw it on the 911 was at the very end of the 997 lifecycle, back in 2011. That car was a ‘greatest hits' of the 997 range all rolled up into one car, and priced a good £20k less than it would have cost if you'd got busy with the configurator.

With its more powerful motor, delete-option rear seats, wide body and a stack of detail improvements, it was, by quite some margin, the best value, most complete, 997-gen 911 you could buy.

Same story with this one?

In many ways yes. But not entirely, as you have to be careful with how you spec it to get the best from the formula: tick a few of the wrong boxes and you'll be missing the point.

The sweet spot is the base GTS with two-wheel drive and manual seven-speed box. This car offers a barge-load of extra power and useful options over the standard Carrera S for not much more money (relative to the price of the car, at least).

The rear-drive manual version is also, by a stretch, the purest-handling, most fun of the GTS mini range, which also includes four-wheel drive and cabriolet options.

What do you get with the GTS that the S doesn't have?

It's a laundry list of the small and large, but the major features are a more powerful engine than the Carrera S's - a 30bhp hike to 424bhp, the Carrera 4's wider body, 20-inch centre-lock wheels, Sport Chrono Pack and sports exhaust.

The GTS package costs around £7,500 more than a standard S, but specced individually the engine upgrades alone would set you back almost £2k more than that, so the rest of the stuff, according to TG Man Maths, is effectively free.

PDK or manual, though?

As much as we love Porsche's PDK double clutch gearbox - it's still probably the best in the business - the company has outdone itself with the newly revamped seven-speed manual. This is, without little doubt, the best manual gearbox I have ever used. Smooth, quick, precise, it's like Porsche has reinvented it all over again. It's uniquely polished details like this that make so many people continue to buy Porsches.

Is this GTS, like the last one, signalling the end of the 991 range?

Not this time. It's going to become a regular member of the 911 line-up from now on. That said, the 911 is due for a refresh in the next year or so, so expect to see some new features added to the range in the not too distant future.

How does it drive?

The C2 GTS, much like the GTS version of the Cayman and Boxster, is the 911 at its best. Not too extreme to be a pain to use everyday, but exciting enough to be interesting at all road speeds. Compared with a standard 991, the steering feels more direct and precise; the suspension, which is slightly lowered, is just the right amount more composed.

Driven flat-out on a racetrack, it's excellent fun. But even at more sane speeds on the road the GTS is more entertaining, too, just a little more sorted and purposeful.

So should I buy one?

Yes, if you buy the base two-wheel drive manual model, which is both conspicuously good value and the best expression of the GTS badge in the 991 range. Maybe even if you want a PDK or four-wheel drive. But probably not if you want a convertible, as you would be missing the point in the GTS. Better, in that case, to opt for a standard open-topped 991 Carrera.

This is the new Shelby 350GT Mustang

This is the new Shelby GT350 Mustang, the most extreme iteration yet of Ford's sixth-gen pony car. And under that angry, stripped bonnet lurks nothing less than the most powerful naturally aspirated motor ever fitted to a production Ford.

Over 500bhp of power, to be more precise, courtesy of a 5.2-litre V8 that Ford calls ‘essentially an all-new powerplant."

It's the Blue Oval's first production V8 ever to employ a flat-plane crankshaft, a configuration Ford says permits faster revving, better cylinder breathing and an even better noise (a "distinctive, throaty howl," according to Ford performance boss Jamal Hameedi).

Oh, and no shortage of torque, either: the GT350's peak twist output stands at over 400lb ft.

All that power reaches the rear wheels through a lightweight six-speed manual transmission. Though Ford's yet to release performance figures, the GT350 is surely to significantly undermine the 4.4-second 0-62mph run of the latest 435bhp Mustang GT V8.

There are plenty of other performance goodies, too. Behind its 19-inch alloys, the GT350 boasts what Ford calls its ‘most track-credible brake system ever', with 394mm rotors and Brembo six-piston calipers up front, and 380mm rotors with four-piston calipers at the rear.

The Shelby is also the first Ford to get continuously controlled magnetorheological adaptive damping - or ‘MagneRide' in Blue Oval-speak. This can be adjusted with the five-mode driver control system, which also toggles ABS, traction and stability control, steering and throttle mapping depending how fervent the call of your inner Stig.

On the outside, you'll spot the GT350's deeper front splitter, new bonnet vent and diffuser at the rear: all changes, says Ford, driven by necessity rather than aesthetics. "Everything we changed on the GT350 is purely function-driven design with the goal of improving the overall performance of the car," reckons Mustang designer Chris Svensson.

On the inside, you've got Recaro buckets and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. But this is no hosed-to-the-bone racer: you can still have your GT350 with leather, LCD touchscreen and dual-zone air con, should you so desire.

The first Shelby GT350 arrived back in 1965, packing a 306bhp 4.7-litre V8 and establishing the Mustang as something of a track monster. Ford says the latest GT350 is faithful to its heritage, describing the Shelby as ‘an all-day track car that's also street legal'.

"We wanted to build the best possible Mustang for the places we most love to drive," says Ford's Raj Nair. "Challenging back roads with a variety of corners and elevation changes... and the track on weekends."

A noble goal indeed. Sadly Ford says the GT350 - unlike the stock Mustang - won't be coming to the UK, at least not in right-hand drive. Shocked and horrified by this cruel sanction against the UK? Make some noise below, proud Brits...

Top Gear wins Wales Rally GB!*

This event, I just don't know what to tell you really. We've had a bit of everything: sun on Saturday gave way to fog and rain on Sunday, the stages (I didn't even think this was possible) became even rougher, we've had mechanical issues, driver error and all sorts. But here's the important bit: we WON our class!

So we took a bog standard Hyundai i20 1.2 Classic 3dr from factory fresh to a class win at Wales Rally GB - one of the toughest WRC events - in under a year. That speaks volumes for the work done by 586 Motorsport who have built, maintained and run it for us, and the solidity of the original product. I know it doesn't look standard, but underneath the spare WRC panels this is still essentially a road car.

The main reason day three was so rough is that all the international class cars had been through each stage twice before we got there. It was like trench warfare from start to finish. The 4wd stuff had dug so deep into the Kinmel Park stage that it was nearly underground, but I couldn't care because the car that went off ahead of me was a V8 Vauxhall Firenza driven by Jimmy McRae.

It was as we were waiting at Kinmel that we heard Rob Tuer, the chap who was leading our B2 class by a country mile, go through. His Super 1600 MG sounded dog-awful. Co-driver Jack Morton and I exchanged a meaningful glance.

Kinmel was another country park stage - easy to drive and unlikely to catch you out. Alwen and Brenig, the last two stages of the rally, were a different matter.

Welsh forests are full of traps. There'll be grip on one corner, but you'll turn in identically at the next and get nothing. On the whole I couldn't believe the purchase the DMack tyres found on slick rock and thick mud, nor the fact we didn't suffer a single puncture, especially on the last day. The general theme was sloppy mud over harsh rock, carved by the passage of snorting WRC cars. I think there was a moment or two when the sump guard wasn't grinding the surface, but I can't be sure...

I had an off in Brenig, taking a slightly wide line into a tight two right half-long (that's a real note, by the way), but must have misjudged my turn-in by about six inches, so instead of grip, I got nothing and the nose ploughed straight into the undergrowth. In these circumstances there's only one thing to do: keep it absolutely pinned and pray.

We popped back out. Others weren't so lucky. It's the last seven miles of the whole rally, people just want to get to the finish and yet we saw at least five cars off in that stage, including a Subaru that had rolled within 300 yards of the finish. I bet it wasn't because he was trying too hard, but that he, like me, made a small misjudgement and it cost him big.

Jack and I were elated just to have made it through. We pulled over just after coming out of the last stage, shook hands in a gentlemanly manner and took a selfie (it's the slightly blurry one). But rallying isn't just about being fast through the stages - you also have to navigate yourself around the road sections and get to places on time. It's not over until the final stamp is in the time card.

And as we were coming out of Brenig we saw our class leader pulled over at the side of the road. We drove on and halfway back to Llandudno got the good news via text. He hadn't made it through Alwen. We'd won. I drove like a complete granny all the way back to final time control in Llandudno.

Then it was podium, silverware, team hugs, big smiles and well, that's it, adventure over. But that can't be the end. This has been too much fun.

TG drives Wales Rally GB: day one

TG drives Wales Rally GB: day two

First picture: Jamie Matthias