Car and Driver News: April 2015

April 30, 2015

Corvette Z06 is the Indy 500 pace car

Excited for the Indy 500? ‘The greatest spectacle in racing' takes place in three weeks, and if you're tuning in, this is the pace car you'll see leading the 33 competitors around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Naturally, it's American. And blatantly it has absolute bootloads of power. It is, as you've surely twigged, a Corvette Z06.

It will be the 13th time a ‘Vette has been pace car in 99 Indy 500s. And fittingly the latest is also the most potent yet, the supercharged Z06 pumping out a not inconsiderable 650bhp, making it as powerful as the cars it'll be leading, albeit with twice as much weight to propel.

All that sets the Indy 500-leading Zee-oh-six apart from its showroom-dwelling relations is its stickers and strobe lights, adding some welcome authenticity to a high-profile and probably rather noisy dose of publicity.

At its helm will be Jeff Gordon, a Nascar racer with a fairly stocky CV at the Indianapolis speedway. Alongside Michael Schumacher, he's the only driver to have lifted five trophies there.

It's the 14th year straight in which a Chevy has enjoyed pace car status. While Indy 500 legend Dario Franchitti took the wheel of a Camaro Z28 last year, previous drivers have come from outside the world of motorsport, Morgan Freeman and Lance Armstrong both driving Corvettes. Though it shouldn't surprise you to learn the latter was nearly a decade ago now...

First drive: 2015 Ford S-Max

Ah, the S-Max. Ford's idea of a sexy MPV...

Well, they might have a point. MPVs are obviously for people who have procreated at least a couple of times before - hence all the kids inside. But with most people-carriers, the dull and boxy styling seems to indicate they've now entirely given up on the idea.

The slinkier S-Max seems to indicate there's still some, um, life left in the driver.

So why are we talking about it now?

Because this is an all-new one.

Why does it look so much like the all-old one?

The outline is similar because the S_Max's purpose is similar. It's often a sign of a good car that its maker doesn't need to do a total re-think every time.

But look closer and the styling is more three-dimensional than before, the nose is re-shaped, with a more definite bonnet line rather than a shovel front, and there's more love in all the details. And the platform is all-new, same as the new Mondeo.

How does it drive?

The S-Max is a good car. As with the Mondeo itself, this has nudged slightly in the direction of refinement and excellent smooth-riding comfort rather than driver engagement.

But it's still a good steer, better than almost all of the crossovers that have become the default big family car. You can even get it with a 240bhp version of the Focus ST engine. But that sounds duller here than in a hot hatch, and is paired to a slushy six-speed auto, has a job overcoming the weight, and has dypso tendencies.

Instead you want the 180bhp or 210bhp versions of the 2.0 diesel. We tried the 180, and it's got the torque to tackle the S-Max's not inconsiderable mass. You can have it with a slick manual, or a good twin-clutch auto. To that you can add all-wheel-drive for what would be a brilliant ski-trip wagon.

Away from snow, the front-driver's cornering manners are fine. It reacts very progressively and roll is well damped, though you'd hardly call the steering sharp. Still, Ford will be offering a clever active steering setup that makes the S-Max more direct at most speeds, but usefully slows the reactions at motorway mph for better stability.

Fancy. Any more novel tech?

Ford is also using the S-Max to premier another new gadget, the intelligent speed limiter. You set a top speed, and it then reads road signs and navigation data, and whenever the car passes into a lower limit it'll slow down to that speed.

When the limit rises, more throttle gives you more speed again. If you need to go faster for a moment, just floor the throttle completely. 'No more speeding fines?' says Ford. It felt a bit odd at first, but once we trusted it, the system seemed to do the job and is handy when the limit keeps changing. There's always the cancel button if it makes a mistake.

It's an MPV. Plenty of space inside?

When did you last see an MPV full of seven adults? The sloping roofline means the S-Max is really a 5+2. But that's fine: five people each get their own individual adjustable seat, and there's a huge boot.

On rare journeys with more people, one or two extra seats appear from the boot floor. They all fold one-by-one on spring assistance at the touch of five little trigger buttons in the boot. Overall it's a tremendously versatile space.

It it a nice place to be?

For the most part, the S-Max's interior is very nicely crafted and equipped. For instance, all versions have a big colour telly in the middle of the dash, so it's only £450 to add nav. It al feels solid and well-trimmed. Funnily enough the only bit that's conspicuously brittle plastic is the control plate of the 'premium' Sony hi-fi. But it sounds terrific.

This, or a Discovery Sport?

You've hit the nail on the head. The S-Max is faster and more economical and versatile, but it's a left-field choice in a world that's going SUV-crazy.

First drive: 2015 Skoda Superb

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What's this, then?

It's Skoda's new Rolls-Royce rival, the third-generation Superb.

Rolls-Royce rival?

Indeed. See, apart from the Phantom and Ghost, the new Superb is - to our knowledge - the only car to secrete not one, but two umbrellas within its doors. It is, quite simply, the most rainproof car you can buy for the cash. If you and a passenger want to stay dry on the walk from driveway to front door, it's this or a Roller.

Helpful. So does the Superb resemble a Rolls in any other way?

Size. Though admittedly not quite of Phantom LWB dimensions, the Superb is vaster than ever before: 3cm longer and 5cm wider than its really-not-very-small predecessor, with more space inside too.

It's customary in reviews of big cars to note there's ‘room for one six-footer behind another', but in the Superb you could likely squeeze another in the rear-seat footwell for good measure. It's truly cavernous inside, a cabin in which you could lose a small child for several weeks.

The boot is commensurately vast, too, measuring 1,760 litres with the seats folded. And that's just the hatch version: the Superb estate arrives in a couple of months to cater to those needing to ferry a family of African elephants on a regular basis.

Larger it may be, but the Superb is lighter than its predecessor too. Employing the VW Group's MQB underpinnings, it has shed some 75kg.

So it's big. Anything else?

Big, and stuffed to the rafters with many technologies. Skoda has thrown the full suite of VW Group goodies at the new Superb, offering everything from a tailgate that opens with the waggle of a shoe, through lane- and park-assist to adaptive damping and an on-board telly.

Of course you won't get such lavishness as standard on the base models, but it's there if you want to splash out.

Tell me of engines.

All very sensible, for the most part. Diesels start with a 118bhp 1.6 TDI, and rise to a 187bhp iteration of VW's familiar 2.0-litre turbodiesel. Even that fruitiest diesel officially returns 61mpg and 119g/km of CO2, propelling the Superb to the upper echelons of the little-used road-tax-band-to-wheelbase ratio.

Petrols won't make much of an appearance in the UK, but nonetheless there are plenty available. There's a 1.4-litre TSI making 123bhp, or a 148bhp version of the same engine equipped with cylinder shut-down, effectively becoming a two-cylinder under light loads.

Need more power? There's a 217bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol, capable of getting from 0-62mph in about seven seconds. Incongruously, but rather pleasingly, you can even have your Superb with four-wheel drive, and the 276bhp 2.0 TSI from the top-spec Seat Leon Cupra. Obviously we had to try this one.

And how was it?

Rather cheery, in a future-resale-disaster sort of fashion. For such a grand barge, the range-topping Superb hustles along at quite the rate, that hot-hatch engine a better match for the big Skoda than you might expect.

Though it's hardly a feelsome sports-beast, it'll get round corners without trouble, only belying its sheer length in the fastest, knottiest bends. The six-speed DSG generally does its job immaculately, but occasionally gets into a spot of bother on downshifts.

Even so. If, say, you're looking for an all-weather, family-ferrying alternative to the Audi RS6 on half the budget, this could just fit the bill.

But no one will buy that one, will they?

No.

So how are the Superbs people will actually buy?

Equally nice, and rather less resale-disaster-tastic. Though it can't quite match the (admittedly rather pricier) Mercedes S-Class for unruffled, whispery progress, the Superb does a fair impression of a top-drawer German limo, wafting along serenely and generally making a decent fist of keeping the outside world at bay.

Get too enthusiastic and you'll discover plenty of tyre squeal and not much in the way of feedback, but that's not really what the Superb's about. It's about spiriting away many miles with minimal stress, especially with the (optional) adaptive damping left in its softest mode.

On that note, we'd advise steering clear of the biggest alloy options, as we suspect big-wheeled Superbs could tend towards the clunky on bad British roads.

How much does it cost?

A surprisingly reasonable amount of money for such a lot of car. Despite its dimensional swelling, the new Superb is, spec-for-spec, a fraction cheaper than the outgoing car, with prices starting at £18,640 for the basest petrol, and rising to over £34,000 for the all-the-trimmings 4WD version.

Option wisely, and - short of a panel van - there's not much out there that offers such sheer volume for your cash. That the Superb looks tidy, goes nicely and offers plenty of tech only sweetens the deal. And just think how much you'll save on annual umbrella expenditure...

April 29, 2015

This is a Skoda Fabia pickup

Good news! A bunch of 17 and 18-year-old students from Skoda's vocational academy have managed to pull themselves away from Snapchat and the Bruce Jenner hashtag to come up with a crazy creation. It's called the Funstar and it's brilliant.

Based on the new Fabia, it's a diddy pickup concept that's Skoda's showpiece for the upcoming VW Wörthersee meet that takes place annually in May. It's also the first mini load-lugger from the Czech Republic since the Felicia Fun - a Top Gear cult hero.

The most obvious change is that they've lopped off the rear end of the standard hatch to make room for a small flatbed, which currently appears to be all of the rage. But, to our great disappointment, there aren't two retractable seats that can pulled out like its pickup predecessor. We're sure they can work something out for a production version.

Under those monstrous bonnet nostrils sits Skoda's 1.2 TSI kicking out 121bhp to the 18-inch wheels borrowed from its bigger Octavia RS brother. But to make sure the car doesn't collapse on itself like a soggy soufflé, the B-pillars have been widened while the suspension at the rear has been tweaked to accommodate the lighter rear end.

Given its creators, there have also been a number of yoof-ful flourishes. These include a ASBO-inducing 1400W sound system and 200W subwoofer for yo' choons, a sporty interior complete with hip-clamping seats, and, making a return for the first time since 2004, pea puree green neon accents complete with undercar lighting kit. Brap.

Unfortunately, like the academy's last project - the CitiJet, a two-seater sports convertible based on a Citigo - there are no plans for the car to make production. Which is a great shame as Car World needs a successor to the epic Felicia Fun. So, come on Skoda, have a think and make this a reality.

April 28, 2015

Video: the Nurburgring's oddest racers

The Nurburgring is more than a deeply scary racetrack. It's a test-bed for prototypes, a universal (and debate-inducing) benchmark of fast cars, but also the de facto destination for have-a-go heel-and-toe heroes.

Being a public toll road, if you've got a valid driving licence and road-worthy machine, you can rock up and pay €27 to lap the legendary Green Hell for yourself.

Which means, normally, an array of supercars, track prepped specials and more than a handful of ratty BMWs driven by average drivers who bury them into the Armco.

But there's also a subset of ambitious drivers who bring absolute oddities to the ‘Ring. And, for our viewing pleasure, someone's stuck them all together in the video above.

Take, for example, the man straddling a fully laden Vespa. Or the coach trip that took a wrong turn at Nurburg Castle and ended up holding off a McLaren 12C round Brunchen. Oh, and a rather familiar ratty Toyota Cressida that lives for sideways.

But Top Gear doffs its hat to the enthusiastic helmsmen competing in the completely unofficial van class. There are a few of them in the video, but we must give a shout out to the DHL delivery driver who went for an outside overtake on a VW Polo. True commitment to the cause, that cause presumably being to make sure Herr Hatz's Amazon delivery got to him before 4pm...

April 27, 2015

Mazda MX-5: prices start at £18k

We may have driven the delightful new Mazda MX-5 a few months ago, but it's taken until now for firm numbers to materialise.

With a bargain bucket sports car like this, though, you could argue there are just two that really matter: power and price.

The latter has always been a key part of the MX-5's appeal, and its £18,495 starting point looks particularly enticing. See, when the original MX-5 launched over 25 years ago, it cost just over £14,000. That made it more than a VW Golf GTI and the equivalent of nearly £30,000 in today's money.

There are two engine choices, both of them naturally aspirated petrols and driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. In a world increasingly dominated by turbochargers and paddleshifters, three cheers for that.

A 129bhp 1.5-litre kicks the range off, and thoroughly enjoyable it is too, while further up the range there's a 158bhp 2.0-litre, which we're yet to drive. Starting at £20,095, it carries an £850 premium over the 1.5.

As well as extra performance, the 2.0 also brings with it a limited-slip differential and 17-inch alloy wheels, so it looks like an easily recommended upgrade on the face of it.

All models get alloys, LED lights, air con and much media connectivity as standard, with goodies like Mazda's swish new touchscreen system, heated leather seats and active safety stuff - including a blind-spot monitor - available further up the range.

Buy the toppest-spec MX-5 and you'll be shelling out £23,295: sharp value when its closest rival - the Toyota GT86 - demands just 300 fewer pounds in its comparatively poverty-spec entry-level trim. True, the Toyota is 39bhp healthier, but it's also heavier and stays resolutely roofed when the sun is out.

Nevertheless, we'd expect it to give the MX-5 a very strong fight when it comes to turbo-free, old-school entertainment. Which would your money be on?

This is the brand-new Batmobile

Holy Sudden Incapacitation, Batman - it's the new Batmobile!

Specifically, this is the new Batmobile from next year's Batman v Superman film, called Batman v Superman, and it will be driven by, um, Batman, in his fight against, um, Superman.

Unfortunately, that's all we know at this early stage. The video above is just 32 seconds of silent panning around the industrial design of the new car. It appears Christopher Nolan's ‘Tumbler' design from the last series of Bat-flicks has been refined into something a little lower and sleeker.

There's no word on gadgets - though the appearance of a pair of front-mounted CANNONS bodes well - nor is there any detail on a potential powertrain. The ‘Tumbler' from the previous Batman films, as we told you, featured a 5.7-litre Chevy V8 packing around 400bhp. "It's very reliable, and gives that great sound as well," Oscar-winning special effects maestro Chris Corbould told TG.com.

TopGear.com grabs a ride in the Batmobile

Here's hoping the new one makes a great sound, too. Judging by the size of the tyres, the aforementioned cannons and small windscreen, it could be the sound of screaming...

Tell us, then: where does this fit in the pantheon of Batmobiles through the ages? Click the link below to take a trip through time.

Gallery: a brief history of the Batmobile

First drive: Jaguar XE petrol and diesel

What's this, then?

It's the Jaguar XE, recipient of the award for the lengthiest drip-fed launch in automotive history.

We've had teaser images, images of engines, a static reveal/barmpot West End musical, a motor show debut and, back in January, a pre-production prototype drive. Is there anything left to say, or know?

Well, is there?

Hell yes. Because those prototypes really were early cars, and as promising as they were, Jaguar insists that the slightly grumbly diesel and quality glitches we detected three months ago have been eradicated.

We've just driven the real thing, including a first go in the 237bhp, 2.0-litre four-pot turbo, and an extended run in the 178bhp diesel, and whaddya know, they've knocked it clean out of the park.

Remember, the XE is that rare thing: a genuinely clean sheet piece of design and engineering. There's nothing reheated, rebooted or facelifted - there's an all-new platform that's 75 per cent aluminium, new engines, and a new multi-link rear suspension that can absorb vertical and lateral loads without getting remotely flustered.

A new factory and lots of jobs have been created to support the XE, so there's a load riding on it. Including Jaguar's credibility and aspirations to become a proper contender rather than a charming but rather parochial sideshow on the global stage.

Two words: BMW and Mercedes.

Pore over the numbers, the dull stuff that fleet managers and accountants get juiced up about, and you'll discover that the XE makes a major case for itself as a company car, with class-leading emissions figures, residuals and insurance groupings.

But 3-Series and C-Class owners tempted to change should know that, based on the drive that TG.com has just had in the XE 3.0 S, we reckon this is the best all-rounder in the segment based on the criteria we most value: entertainment.

Why's that?

The test route, in the Navarra region of Northern Spain, was a humdinger with curious echoes of roads in the UK that we know and love, but without the traffic and muppetry because nobody seems to live there.

Fourth and fifth gear from the ZF auto's silky eight-speed armoury does the job perfectly, such is the 3.0-litre V6's mid-range flexibility, even on relatively tight hairpins.

The XE resists understeer, has peerless mid-corner balance, and its electric power steering is easily the best we've tried so far. It rides beautifully on its adaptive dampers, and manages to be nimble, supple, but controlled all at the same time.

In short, this new chassis is world-class, and simply shrugs off whatever you throw at it. Roll on the 500bhp SVR...

Tell me about the engines.

The 2.0-litre, 237bhp turbo (there's also a 197bhp version) could be the pick of the range. It doesn't sound especially inspiring, and can be a bit vocal when it's being stretched. But it's smooth and so refined at a steady state motorway speed that it's almost undetectable.

In passively suspended Comfort or Sport spec, the XE has that oiled, slickly engineered feel that used to be the principal USP of the 3-Series. Jaguar's guys have an unscientific but useful ‘50 metre feel' metric, and the XE nails it. All the control weights are spot-on.

We also tried the 178bhp Ingenium diesel, with a manual gearbox, in both Comfort and Sport set-up. Refinement has been improved, and although we prefer the auto (it's a £1750 option on this model), the manual 'box is perfectly good. You have to work harder to liberate the sports saloon within, but it's definitely still there.

Anything you don't like?

Not much, really. The exterior design is a real grower - with its cab-forward stance, short overhangs, and strong graphics, it's better resolved overall than the over-styled BMW and slightly porky looking C-Class.

The cabin is a slight let-down, though. It's clean and functional, and real effort has gone into the infotainment system, which supports all manner of apps as is the modern way. The indicator stalk feels lovely.

But the sat-nav during our various test drives was horrendously glitch-prone, and some of the interior plastics are a bit Albert Steptoe. The XE is also notably spec-sensitive, and beware the colour and trim combinations lurking in the online configurator that yoke Jaguar to its unlamented bowls club past.

So should I buy one?

The XE has star quality for sure, and it bodes well for the new XF and F-Pace.

British media is often accused of being overly partisan when it comes to ‘our' brands - whatever that really means in 2015 - but the XE isn't just an interesting alternative, it's a straight-up corker. We suspected as much back in January, and now we know.

Prices start at £26,995 for the 2.0-litre SE petrol, £29,775 for the 161bhp diesel.

April 24, 2015

Yes, Fast and Furious 8 is coming

This week in America, a man has confirmed that a film will be made. That man is Vin Diesel, and that film is Fast and Furious 8. Yes, EIGHT.

Speaking at Universal Pictures' presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the amiable Diesel confirmed that on 14 April 2017, moviegoers would bear witness to the eighth installment in the supernaturally successful franchise of films-that-used-to-be-about-cars-but-are-now-about-stuff-exploding-and-people-machine-gunning-helicopters-out-of-the-sky.

"I swear to you and my brother upstairs," Diesel told the audience, referring to the late Paul Walker, "we are going to make the best movie you've ever seen." So, that's it: Fast and Furious 8 is now officially a Thing. EIGHT.

Though it should come as no surprise. Fast and Furious 7 has made more than - cue Dr Evil close-up - $1 billion worldwide, and the franchise shows no sign of slowing down.

We have no idea what the plot will involve. We have no idea what cars will be involved. We have no idea who'll be in it. But we do know this: THERE WILL BE GEARCHANGES.

Click the links below to read more on Fast and Furious 7, and then tell us what you'd like them to do in the next film. TG's starter for ten: they build a rocket-propelled Nissan Micra, go into space, oversteer on the moon while The Rock machine guns down invading aliens and tears the galaxy a new one. Or are we playing it too safe?

Fast and Furious 7: secrets behind the stunts

Fast and Furious 7: the stars talk

Video: just another day in Scandinavia

When Captain Slow wanted to learn about car control, he caught up with a bloke called Mika Hakkinen. Mika told James that Scandinavians are notoriously handy behind the wheel thanks to something called ‘Sisu'. Well, we've found a man with lots of Sisu.

His name is Fredrik Sørlie, and, like absolutely everyone in Scandinavia, he loves going sideways.

In the video above, you'll witness a five minute foray of endless left-right-left drifting, as Fred flings his Underground Garage Cressida JZX30 (complete with rear-view mirror rhinestone bauble) through a frozen forest.

Of course there's a helicopter too, offering an incredible insight into what a 2JZ-GE-swapped 70s Toyota looks like in Full Banzai Rally Mode, the car penduluming effortlessly around its front axle.

Because he's clearly a responsible sort of chap, Fredrik thoughtfully employed a co-driver to feed him pace notes: in this case Caroline Eng, who just so happens to be a model as well as a professional rally co-driver. Handy, that.

Even though Fredrik looks more heavy-metal bassist than lithe racing driver, he sure can hustle his car with talent. Check it above.

First drive: VW Golf Alltrack

What's this, then?

The Alltrack is a Golf estate with an extra 20mm of ground clearance, some special bumpers and a unique off-road mode. Like the bewilderingly named Seat Leon X-Perience we drove recently, it's backed up by the latest Haldex-based all-wheel drive system, which shuffles power around all four wheels as it sees fit.

What's the point?

VW says the Alltrack "brings together the on- and off-road worlds, both technically and visually". Basically it's a Golf with a modicum more go-anywhere ability.

Right. So can it actually go off-road?

It can. Selecting off-road mode from the drive menu may do funny things to the gearbox and throttle mapping (generating any acceleration whatsoever demands a very decisive prod of the throttle), but it nonetheless turns the Alltrack into a deceptively capable off-road machine.

There's even hill descent control, which brakes the Alltrack to a near-standstill before grabbing at individual wheels to safely see you to the bottom of whatever cliff it is you need to be at the bottom of. The Leon can't do that, but whether it needs to is another matter entirely...

How about on-road?

See our review of every Golf ever. The 20mm increase in ride-height hasn't turned the Alltrack into a wallowy mess - in fact, the ride is supple and body movements well damped over even the roughest of surfaces. You've three engines to choose from, all diesels, with between 108bhp and 181bhp, à la GTD. We tried the latter, which is only available with a DSG. Hushed at speed, refined, no silly synthesised engine note - it does the job, and it does it well.

Do you think I should buy one?

There's something weirdly appealing about the Alltrack. It's a thoroughly pleasant thing to mooch around in, and a good deal more capable than most of its estate-slash-SUV competitors. But it's pricey, with even the cheapest weighing in at £26,790.

For what is essentially a Golf wagon with a bit more ground clearance, whose off-road abilities you likely will never come close to needing, that's a lot.

April 23, 2015

G-Power turns M5 into 700bhp bruiser

Business as usual in Germany: esteemed tuner G-Power has revealed plans to make a ballistically fast car even more ballistic.

Meet the new, old, 700bhp BMW M5: a yet-faster version of Munich's last-gen, V10-engined super-estate and super saloon.

The E60/E61 has been treated to G-Power's new ‘Mono-Kompressor SK II' kit, which, in short, means a socking-great single supercharger bolted onto the 5.0-litre V10's M5's venerable banks.

Though a range of power outputs are available, the one you want is is the SK II, which gets an ASA T1-724 supercharger running 0.5 bar of boost, new intakes, a cast aluminium air box, boost pressure control, motorsport spark plugs, high flow injectors, a racing catalyst, full ECU remap, and a high performance fuel pump.

G-Power will also move the limiter to 205mph, which is nice, and also necessary. Overall, you're staring down the exciting end of 700 horsepowers and 501lb ft of torque, enough to get it from 0-62mph in... well, we don't know, actually.

No acceleration figures have been provided, but we'd expect them to be a bit faster than the ‘standard', 507bhp BMW M5. Depending on traction, you're looking at a 0-62mph time well under BMW's official 4.7 seconds, perhaps even dipping under the fours.

G-Power will sell you a twin-supercharged, 800bhp kit for this V10, but argues that the reduction in size and simplicity of installation of this new single supercharger is better. The whole kit - with installation - costs around £18k (€25,000). On top of the cost of your last-gen M5, of course.

Meddling with a future classic, or entirely appropriate upgrade?

First drive: 2015 Renault Espace

What's this?

The all-new Renault Espace. And when we say all-new, we mean new engines, platform, suspension, interior design - it's as blank a sheet of paper as you'll see for a new vehicle.

Doesn't look much like an Espace either...

Which was exactly the intention. Slab-sided, van-like MPVs are now about as fashionable as bumbags, so Renault's rummaged around in the toybox marked ‘Crossover Styling'. The result is an extra 40mm of ground clearance over the old Espace, wheels sized between 18 and 20 inches in diameter, and pumped-out arches.

It's supposed to look like France's best engineering project since the Eiffel Tower: the high-speed TGV. The seven-seat Espace isn't quite as rakish as the 300mph train, but a cunning application of chrome around the chopped windowline does distract your eye from the oblong shape.

In the flesh, it's a clever piece of design - pleasingly detailed and easily the most interesting-looking MPV since the original Ford S-Max.

Blah blah. MPVs are all about the interior, no?

And the Espace has one to write home about. Let's start in the back, where you'll find a keypad that can lower the five rear seats remotely. You either pick and choose the squabs to fold, or hit one button and watch them all drop in unison, leaving a monstrous 2000-litre cargo bay.

It's a genius idea that'll impress the kids and make parents' lives a little easier. Until you fold the seats back up again - that requires muscle.

The rearmost seats are a kid-only zone, but the middle three will easily take three adults without much grumble. The plumply stuffed leather chairs are supremely comfortable, almost Volvo-like, wherever you're sitting, and the fact they're no longer entirely removable has helped towards a - wait for it - 250kg (!) weight saving versus the old Espace.

What were the old chairs made of? Lead?

Most of that massive weight loss is thanks to an all-new platform that's been developed to support the bigger cars in the Renault-Nissan alliance. Future SUVs and crossovers will all borrow the Espace's skeleton.

One of them may well be a seven-seat SUV for Brits. The reason? Renault has decided not to offer the Espace in the UK this time, four decades after pretty much inventing the European MPV. No right-hand drive this time, however.

Why not?

Renault's bosses argue the numbers don't add up. They point to freefalling MPV sales, as fickle buyers gravitate towards the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sportage and even Land Rover's Disco Sport for their seven-seat, family car kicks.

‘Never say never' is the reply when you ask if that tactic could change - the chassis will accept RHD - and we were promised, "if we see queues out of dealers and around the block, we will think about changing our minds". But for the foreseeable future, this Espace isn't for us Brits.

Ouch.

Here's hoping the Espace's fabulous dashboard previews what we can expect in the new Megane hatch, which we most definitely will be offered in Blighty.

Renault's completely re-approached its cabin design, blessing the Espace with a ‘floating' console topped with a freestanding glassy tablet. Its touch-sensitive shortcut buttons are haphazard (and oddly orientated for right-hand drive) but the 8.7-inch touchscreen itself is a triumph - clear, snappy and intuitive. Range Rover Sport owners would weep at this level of user-friendliness from an infotainment screen.

What does it do?

Everything. Obviously the tablet has nav and phone gubbins built-in, but it'll also adjust the myriad driver assist gadgets, flip the seats down, change the ambient lighting and offer a baffling array of driving modes, similar to Audi's Drive Select pick'n'mix. More on that in a moment.

The cabin isn't quite a home run for Renault though. Several of the trim panels in our test cars squeaked and groaned, and the (surprise surprise) aeroplane-inspired gearlever is dreadful.

If the Wright Brothers had come up with something this awkwardly nasty to use when developing their plane, they'd have packed up and gone back to fixing bicycles.

Does how the Espace drives really matter?

Ordinarily in an MPV, handling is low on the priority list, but Renault has gone so extravagantly to town on the new Espace that we're paying attention.

There are no fewer than five driving modes - predictable Neutral and Eco settings are joined by a wholly unnecessary Sport and Comfort options, plus an individual ‘Perso' mode.

These modes alter not just the steering weight, throttle response and gearbox mapping, but even the adjustable dampers, rear-wheel steering system (really) and air-con. Really.

Comfort mode automatically wakes a masseuse from within the driver's seat, who sets about jabbing you in the back with a rolling pin. It's possibly the most radical French tech-fest since the Citroen SM, this.

And the result is?

Not good enough. The modes offer little noticeable distinction - the ride remains lollopingly soft, yet still crashy over sharp ridges. And for such a big bus, the vague steering's wandering lightness is a real bugbear, making the Espace a nightmare to place in city traffic.

The much more simply set-up Ford S-Max is likely to be a far better compromise.

Similarly, the petrol engine (a 197bhp refugee from the RS Clio) is eager and smooth, but hamstrung by the dim-witted seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which could fool you into believing it's actually a CVT. The diesel is better, with more torque and only six speeds to juggle, but neither is really happy at anything more strenuous than a motorway waft, with wind noise blasting around the mirrors.

So we're not missing much?

Driving-wise, the only piece of tech we'd save is the four-wheel steering, which gives the Espace an uncanny Clio-like turning circle, and excellent high-speed stability.

Otherwise, the Espace feels like a collection of brilliant ideas, which haven't all been exactingly executed. In the UK, it probably won't be missed, given how polished Ford's MPVs are.

We like the design touches tremendously, but most of the driving tech needs a rethink before it finds its way onto whatever we're getting in the UK...

Yours for £220k: one shabby Aston DB4

Here is an Aston Martin DB4 Series III. It has been in storage for more than 30 years, looks like a mess, will require many hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment to make it look pretty, and is coming up for auction.

The estimated sale price? Around £220,000, which is more than a brand-new Vanquish. Welcome to the world of classic cars, circa 2015.

The story is thus. In July 1961, a man named Robert Drummond, who lived in London, paid good money to buy this Aston Martin DB4 Series III new. He sent it back to Aston barely two months after purchase, to have an overdrive fitted.

Between 1961 and 1982 - when the current owner purchased the Aston - the story goes blank. And, well, it's also quite blank for the 33 years from 1982 to the present day, because said owner started on a restoration project, but for whatever reason abandoned it.

So this sorry-looking DB4 has sat in storage for many, many years. Bonhams, who are offering up the Aston icon as part of their ‘Aston Martin Works' sale, say work on the engine was started - it was rebuilt with new bearing shells, valves and so forth - while bits of the chassis and sills were also fixed. But that was back in the Eighties.

It's being sold strictly as seen, is said to offer "a most rewarding restoration project", and is expected to fetch something between £200k to £220k.

If you don't fancy getting your hands dirty, and fancy a ready-finished classic Aston - and have a few bob lying around - there's also a mint condition DB5 Convertible up for grabs too. It's silver, left-hand-drive, was restored by a Brit in the 1980s and looks absolutely bloody gorgeous.

The sale takes place in Newport Pagnell on 9 May. Fancy taking a punt on one of these icons?

Check out the listings here and here

April 22, 2015

First drive: VW Golf GTD Estate

What's this, then?

Something of a niche within a niche: a diesel hot hatch estate. The Golf GTD Estate borrows the Golf GTI's styling and sharper chassis, but replaces its punchy two-litre turbo petrol with a torquey, and rather more taxman-friendly, diesel.

Oh, and a boot. Though you can have a Golf R in estate form, you can't (at least yet) get a Golf GTI wagon.

That combination of frugality and practicality means the GTD Estate might not be such a rare sight as its niche-squared pitch suggests. In hatch form, the GTD outsells the Golf GTI by nearly three to one.

What's under the bonnet?

A 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel with 181bhp and many, many torques. 380lb ft, to be precise. Company car drivers love GTDs because as well as being relatively swift - 62mph arrives in 7.9 seconds, 143mph max - they're good on fuel.

VW claims 64.2mpg, and you'll see fifty-something if you drive it normally, less if you drive like the man in the white suit. 115g/km of CO2 isn't bad either.

The auto knocks those figures a bit, so like two-thirds of GTD buyers, we'd stick with the manual. The shift is smooth and the clutch easy, so it's still no chore on longer runs.

But is it any good?

Yep. The GTD may not be much ‘fun' in the traditional sense, but it'll hold its own on a twisty road. Sport mode does bad things to the steering and introduces a comical synthesized engine note into the cabin, so leave it in normal and ride that wave of torque between bends.

The ride's not bad, either: the GTD sits on sports suspension 15mm lower than a normal Golf's, but it's certainly less busy at any speed than a Focus ST Diesel.

But it's on the motorway where the GTD will spend much of its time, and as you'd expect, it works well there, too.

Why shouldn't I just go for the hatch?

The wagon is a £695 premium over the hatch, and that's not half bad considering you get 1,620 litres of bootspace if you flatten the rear seats. That's more than you get in a 3-Series BMW. Or a Ford Mondeo Estate, for that matter. And in terms of cargo space, more is most definitely better.

Prices start at £28,285, so it isn't cheap. But if you're a company car driver (and leaser) who wants something a little more exciting than a Mondeo, and a bit more practical than a normal hatch, go right ahead.

It’s the Bare Naked D8 GTO

The new Batman vs Superman trailer missed a trick. This should have been in it. Superhero fans, meet the Donkervoort D8 GTO Bare Naked Carbon Edition.

Amusing though that tag might be - and we suspect many of you coming to this story will be sorely disappointed - this carbon fibre special edition is about as Batman as you can get.

It's the first D8 GTO - the Netherlands' version of a steroidal Caterham - to be built entirely from carbon fibre, inside and out. It's been a long-held Donkervoort goal, we're told, to build one of these two-seat track-stars entirely from the bare, naked stuff.

The carbon components are all developed and produced in-house: tubular frame, panels, the seats, door panels, window frame, dashboard and door sills. Even the ignition cylinder housing, roll-bar trim and headlight housings are all made from carbon fibre.

It's finished in either a matt or gloss UV finish, which means it's all visible, BARE NAKED carbon fibre. And, Donkervoort explains, because there's no paint, there's a weight reduction of several kilos. The ‘standard' GTO weighs around 700kg.

The GTO is still powered by Audi's 2.5-litre five-cylinder TFSI engine, producing between 340bhp and 380bhp depending on spec.

While no performance figures are given for this Bare Naked edition, the 380bhp non-naked GTO sprints from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds, 0-124mph in 8.6s, and on to a top speed of 168mph.

"The very first Donkervoort fully fitted with visible carbon fibre not only accentuates the high-tech, super-fast character of the D8 GTO but also reveals a bit of its ‘dark side'," says Donkervoort. Is this the best BARE NAKED thing you've seen on the internet this week?

Actually, on second thoughts, please don't answer that question. This is a family site.

April 21, 2015

Di Resta: “People want noisy cars”

The first weekend of May sees the return of DTM. Germany's touring car series has been given a rejig for 2015, with each of its nine race weekends boasting two races rather than one, extra action intended to perk up spectator numbers.

Also hoping for improvement are Mercedes and Paul Di Resta. The Scot's return to DTM from Formula 1 coincided with an uncompetitive season for his team, and a 15th place finish in the drivers' standings was well off the pace of his title-winning 2010 campaign.

"It was harder coming back to DTM than it was switching from it," Di Resta told TG ahead of final preparations for the Hockenheim opener on May 2nd.

"We had to play catch up," he said, referring to his V8-powered C-Class racer being a second per lap off the pace of its BMW and Audi rivals at the beginning of the 2014 season. "But Mercedes is the most successful team in DTM and I can pretty much guarantee we'll be back. Being a bit more mature, and not daft and young, I accept you have to go through the waves of motorsport", he said.

Those waves of motorsport took him from winning the DTM to being in F1's mid table, and it's impossible not to ask how life in the two sports has compared.

"Your mindset is different. DTM's an ultra competitive championship," said Di Resta. "If you make a small mistake in qualifying it's going to cost you three or four rows on the grid. It's not a case of if you're in the best car, with the best manufacturer, you can go out give it a balls-out lap and in the worst case qualify second on the grid."

DTM cars vary in all but shape to their road car ‘relations', and as such are often thought more of as saloon-bodied single-seater prototypes than traditional touring cars. Di Resta assured us they're still quite a different beast to drive than an F1 car, though.

"The car's very fun to drive, and requires a bit of finesse as well. It's a heavier car, your centre of gravity is different, your position in the car is quite a bit different. The way the car moves about, too: you get a different sense of what's happening on the rear axle to the front axle, and it's about finding that balance of what you're comfortable with."

Plenty of F1 influences are present in DTM, with DRS and soft and hard option tyres introduced in 2013 to inject more overtaking into the sport. For 2015, the former has been tweaked - requiring a 1sec rather than 2sec gap to the car in front to activate - while the latter has been dropped for one single Hankook tyre, to the chagrin of drivers including Di Resta.

"We quite like the double option, it brings another equation and another compromise in setup and how your race is going to pan out. We want it to be difficult because you want to be able to have an edge over competitors. We'll push for the option tyre next year.

"The races people love are the races where something goes wrong, and it all falls apart for certain people," said Di Resta, referring to the fallout of soft tyre degradation. "And let's see the cars sliding about a bit!"

Di Resta would also like to see a return to a British DTM round. Three of its nine weekends in 2015 will be held outside of Germany, but the series hasn't visited UK shores since 2013.

And Di Resta reckons it's far and away the race series to rattle F1's cage. "I'm not saying F1 is missing something, but people's mindset is changing away from it. People want noisy cars, they want to see close racing. We're entertainers, it's not traditional sport. I think DTM is the second best series in the world by a long way."

April 20, 2015

Supra from Fast & Furious up for sale

A modified Toyota Supra used in 2001's The Fast and The Furious has come up for auction.

You know the one. 2JZE engine. NOS. Bright orange paintwork. 19-speed gearbox. Yep, ladies and gentlemen, Mecum Auctions is offering up one of the original Supra stunt cars driven by the late Paul Walker.

Of course, it's not the only modified Supra in existence. This car was one of several Supras used in the movie - specifically the final race scene where it jumps a railroad crossing - and one of 58 stunt cars all built by a chap named Eddie Paul.

So, befitting its ‘hero car' status. Mecum tells us this particular Supra gets a full roll cage, heavy duty suspension, a set of competition seats and a strengthened fuel tank.

There's more, too. Along with that wild body kit and huge rear wing, there are those famous alloy wheels shod in Yokohama tyres, body graphics, a performance steering wheel, and many gauges telling you many things. Like speed.

It's not fast, though. This one's the non-turbo version of Toyota's classic straight-six, here producing 220bhp, and matched up to a five-speed gearbox driving the rear wheels. In the movie world of course, Walker's character drives the twin-turbo version, with many gears and many horsepowers, to blow away a Ferrari F355...

This particular car recently came first in class at the Detroit AutoRama hot rod exhibition. And while no estimated sale price has been offered, we suspect it'll be quite high. The auction takes place between 12-17 May.

Via Mecum Auctions

This is a £2m ultra-rare Maserati

Sell everything you own. House. Car. Family. Dog. Treasured He-Man action figure collection. Sell it all, because an ultra rare Maserati track car has come up for sale, and you must do everything in your power to buy it.

It's a Maserati MC12 ‘Corsa', just one of 12 ever built in the world, intended as a hardcore, track-only variant of the MC12 supercar.

Before you drool over the gorgeous Maser' at the top of this story, some details. You'll remember that the MC12 was essentially an Enzo in drag, built for homologation purposes so that Maserati could take it racing in GT. So, the road cars were built just so the race cars could exist.

And those MC12 racers were fast. Since 2005, it won two constructor's cups, five drivers' titles, six teams' titles, a Citation Cup win, and three absolute victories at the Spa 24hrs. So, quite handy, then.

This MC12 ‘Corsa', however, was a very special thing. A rung above the ‘standard' MC12 road car - and in the same vein as the P1 GTR and Ferrari's FXX programme - it was a track-only, limited edition run of 12 cars, each originally costing around €1m.

Each featured a more powerful engine than the road going MC12, too. The 6.0-litre V12 produces 745bhp at a glorious 8,000rpm, hooked up to a sequential gearbox driving the rear wheels. The nose is shorter, too - a requirement for entry into the ALMS - and there are steel/carbon racing brakes on offer.

Also, and we don't need to remind you, but it's absolutely bloody gorgeous. Here's one up for grabs from a Ferrari/Maserati dealer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It's being advertised at $2,999,000 (around £2m), and you must buy it.

Check out the listing here

April 19, 2015

Rise of the crossovers: it's Merc's GLC Coupe concept

"This year will be an SUV feeding frenzy," proclaimed Merc marketing boss Ola Kallenius at the Shanghai unveiling of the GLC Coupe concept.

And Merc's latest shark into the water is this very-nearly-production-ready preview of the firm's upcoming X4 rival, a coupe crossover spun off the C-Class platform. It's some 6cm longer, though 3cm lower, than that BMW, and only 15cm taller than the C-Class saloon on which it's based.

Mercedes proudly boasts that the production GLC Coupe will be ‘the sportiest SUV there is', a hefty boast in a class containing Porsche's Macan and Cayenne, the BMW X6M and Audi's RS Q3, to name but a handful.

We're told the GLC Coupe is, conceptually, a blend of GLE Coupe (that's Mercedes' recently revealed BMW X6 rival) and GLA 45 AMG. That might lead you to imagine that the GLC Coupe employs AMG's 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo, but no: power comes from the C-Class's 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, here sending 362bhp and 383lb ft to all four wheels through a nine-speed automatic box.

Merc reckons it'll get from 0-62mph in just under five seconds, with a top speed limited to 155mph.

Make no mistake, this is far from a never-to-reach-reality trailer queen. "We will take this beauty into series production," confirmed Kallenius, which, as statements of intent go, is pretty unarguable. Well, apart from the ‘beauty' bit, perhaps.

Not that the GLC Coupe is, by the standards of coupe-crossovers, a bad one. We reckon it's a less bothersome bit of design than the X4 - the Merc's rear lights, in particular, are smartly resolved, if likely to be toned down a little for production - but can't help thinking how much smarter it'd look with the SUV element removed, thus becoming a regular four-door coupe rather than, um, high-riding four-door coupe.

But SUVs are what the world wants: in particular they're what China wants, which goes some way to explaining why Mercedes chose to launch the GLC Coupe concept in Shanghai.

In 2014, over 18 million passenger cars were sold in China - making it the biggest market in the world - with 26 per cent of them SUVs of some form. With even bigger sales expected this year, that's a honeypot that no manufacturer can ignore.

Least of all Mercedes. Set to reveal the production version of this concept within 18 months or so, not to mention the newly released GLE (formerly known as ML) and GLE coupe, and upcoming GLS (a vast, Q7-rivalling seven-seater), it'll soon boast no fewer than seven SUVs in its line-up...

April 17, 2015

First UK drive: Mercedes-AMG GT S

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Ah, the Son Of SLS. You've already driven this, right?

We have. Paul Horrell gave the Merc a shakedown in California late last year, but what's new is that we're now driving a right-hand-drive car in the UK.

I apologise if you're part of our international contingent, because what follows will have little relevance to you, but us Brits like to get our knickers in a twist about cars feeling different in the UK, so here we are.

Remind me of the Big Numbers?

It's Merc's Porsche 911 rival, based on the SLS chassis, but shorter and without gullwing doors. The old 6.2-litre nat asp V8 has swung its last haymaker, killed by legislation, so now we have a dry-sump 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, but still driving the rear wheels only through a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox.

The numbers generated by this top-line S version are healthy enough: 503bhp at 6,250rpm and 479lb ft from 1750-4750rpm.

Power's a bit down on the 562bhp SLS, but torque's identical and delivered much lower down, and the numbers put the GT into direct competition with the Jag F-Type R (542bhp/501lb ft) and standard Porsche 911 Turbo (513bhp/486lb ft). And oh, OK, we can also include the Nissan GT-R in that line-up (542bhp/466lb ft).

The internet gets angry when you forget the GT-R.

It does, although I thought we'd settled the GT-R versus GT debate when James revealed on the TV show that the GT's Dunsfold lap time in the hands of the Stig (1.17.5) was 0.3 seconds faster than the GT-R's. Only apparently that GT-R was four years old, thus making the internet even more angry.

Point is, the Merc GT was enormously fast at the track: quicker than an old SLS Black, FOUR seconds quicker than the Jag, and ahead of a host of other stuff including the Koenigsegg CCX. Fast.

So it's sporty, then?

It is. Merc doesn't have the back catalogue of driver-focused sporty stuff that, say, Porsche does, so feels compelled to show how sporty its new cars are by making them very sporty indeed. The result is that the GT is not as easy to live with as a 911.

You're hemmed into a tight driving position by a high centre console and relatively close windscreen. There's not much elbow or headroom and you're immediately aware of the GT's width and lengthy prow.

It's just as well you don't need to do much with the gearlever, because it's mounted so far back on the console that you need a second elbow to operate it.

It's a handsome cockpit, though, nicely assembled and attractively laid out. More emphasis on the sporty side means all the buttons on that tall centre console control aspects of the driving, from exhaust noise and damper settings to manual gears and traction control.

Personally I'd have found it more useful to have one of them as a dedicated FF/RWD (that's fast-forward/rewind, not a setting that allows you to switch the driven wheels) button for the infotainment, but then I suppose I'm meant to be listening to the engine. Which, to be fair, does sound mega.

Even though it's turbocharged?

Merc seems to have got the knack of this better than almost anyone. The blown V8 is properly grumbly and rowdy at low speed, and does the full wounded buffalo as it bellows towards the top end. It's the sort of sound that could get you into trouble, because you want to stay on the throttle to keep listening.

How is it around town?

Not great. The GT is very wide, and the low seat and high scuttle makes it difficult to place accurately. You seem to be forever craning your neck over the wheel. The throttle response is a bit off in Comfort mode, so you end up cycling to Sport or setting it all up yourself in the Individual setting.

This is the best idea actually, because - oddly - the settings that work best in town are also the ones that work best for a bit of B-road action. This basically consists of putting everything into its sportiest, except the dampers, which need to be left as soft as possible. This is basically the default setting for almost every configurable German sports car.

Avoid Race mode for the engine, as it's a bit too abrupt and snatchy, but Sport+ is fine as the throttle wakes up, and the extra precision actually makes it easier to modulate. Go for manual gears too, if you can be bothered. Stops the gearbox being too frantic around town.

And when you get out of town?

Noisy on the motorway, but it tracks straight and true, plus the torque means you can leave it in seventh and still haul hard. And you can make the road noise disappear by turning the Burmester up loud, although you might arrive home slightly deaf.

Then you get to your favourite local road. For me, that's the B4494. There's no doubting the GT's speed. It's vastly fast, throwing itself down the road with no sense of self-preservation. Some fast cars have power deliveries that are more circumspect, but this is just a full-on headbutt at the horizon.

There's no doubting the GT's grip either - it'll maintain velocity with extraordinary prowess - and there's a good strong electric safety net to catch you if it does start to lose traction.

And will it?

Yep, the little orange uh-oh light does flicker pretty regularly. Let's make one thing clear: it's much more sorted than the old SLS. That was a hairy-arsed thing at times, a bit cantankerous with a fearsomely sharp front axle and the rear that couldn't quite do enough to keep up.

This is from the same school - it's a long bonneted, rear drive coupe after all - but here the masses are more centralised and better controlled. The engine sits remarkably far back, for instance and our car had the active engine and transmission mounts which help to prevent the mass of the heavy oily bits creating a problem of its own.

So the GT will get itself down a tricky road without getting spooked too badly, but I found the steering a little flighty. It doesn't have great feedback and is a little light and vague just off-centre, before weighting up if you nudge it a bit further.

It just means you can't place it quite as accurately as you'd like to be able to with a car that feels as wide as this one.

So is it better than a 911? And, of course, that GT-R?

I'll fail to answer both those questions to start with by saying it's harder and sharper than its closest conceptual rival, the Jaguar F-Type R.

It's very, very different to a GT-R, slower down a road, not quite as well balanced, but delivering a more raucous experience.

The rival that matters is the Porsche 911, and the AMG GT doesn't have the same precision, litheness and feel that give the Porsche the edge in my mental notebook.

However, if it's drama, excitement and raw edginess that floats your boat, the GT is the one to go for. It's an epic device.

Video: 1000bhp RS6 on the snow

A couple of weeks back we showed you Jon Olsson's certifiable, 1000bhp Audi RS6 Avant, a DTM-inspired estate with enough power to reverse tectonic movement.

Very nice, you lot said, but tell us this: what does it sound like? And what does it look like smashing through snowbanks in a whiteout, pursued at close quarters by a helicopter?

As luck would have it, we have the very answer to both questions in the shape of this rather lovely little vid, in which Mr Olsson smashes his RS6 through snowbanks in a whiteout, pursued at close quarters by a helicopter.

Olsson, in case you needed reminding, is a professional skier who apparently lives a perpetual energy-drink-advert lifestyle.

As well as throwing himself off hills with nothing but a couple of planks strapped to his legs, the Swede has also developed a rather natty sideline in modifying - and then thrashing - performance cars, usually up mountains, usually sideways.

Last year we saw him blatting his custom-built Rebellion R2K - complete with Audi R8 V10 engine - up a snowy hill, and this year he's arguably gone even better. Well, at least he's got space for all his ski-related luggage this time.

Watch, enjoy, turn speakers up to 11, etc. Reckon Audi should release this RS6 as a special edition?

April 16, 2015

First UK drive: Mercedes-AMG GT S

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First drive: Audi RS3 on road

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The new RS3? Haven't you driven this already?

We have. But wait, this time we can actually tell you what it's like to drive!

Were you lying last time?

No, but we've only tried it on ice lakes so far. And while Audi's performance car launch strategy of first unleashing its Quattro-drive hot hatches on ice rinks provides an adept demonstration of noise, stability system calibration and extreme slip angles, even TG doesn't drive at twelve-tenths all the time.

You can find the full breakdown of vital stats in our previous encounter here, but suffice to say we've 2.5 litres, 362bhp, 343lb ft, and performance figures to embarrass all but the most rarefied German and Italian hardware. Let's head for a proper, ice-free road.

What's it like?

Enormously, mind-warpingly fast. On paper, Audi promises a 62mph time of 4.3 seconds and a 174mph top speed - the former is frighteningly conservative, the latter patently absurd for a hatchback (and entirely believable).

It's the sheer quantity of said performance you can brandish at any given moment that lights the RS3's afterburners beyond any hot hatch we've come across. Full-time all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox team up to ensure not a single horsepower is wasted - nor that titanic torque output that's on cue from a silly 1625rpm.

Principally because of that linear power delivery, and the rapid-fire transmission, this is the fastest hatchback out there now. Meet the new benchmark.

The naughty but laggy Mercedes A45 AMG isn't in the same postcode for drivability, while VW's stellar Golf R is suitably down on power as its £6000 price undercut suggests. The RS3's foolproof, twist-and-go performance is hilariously, terrifying accessible. Come rain, shine, or, indeed, snow.

Is it just a straight-line weapon, then?

No. The RS3's point-to-point road ability is mind-blowing. It's almost mini-GT-R-ish in the manner it reels in and chows down a road - except fifty times as refined and wieldy. That wider front axle is nailed to the surface as well, and through loaded-up corners you momentarily can sense the rears doing their bit to whack you up the road.

Does it ever feel 100 per cent rear driven, as Audi claims is possible during ‘enthusiastic driving'? No, no way. But on road at least, the RS3 is less nose-led than we'd feared.

Flat-out on track, you'll discover understeer (the entire engine, gearbox and radiator live ahead of the front axle, so no surprise) but so far as road use goes, it's a mighty device.

What else?

Oh, the waaaaarrbCRACKwaaaarb Sports Exhaust (a worthwhile £1495 option) exhaust is still a genius creation, making the most of what's now the only five-cylinder motor left in series production. No hi-fi cheatery here - just old-school mechanical valves and some gratuitous flatulence accompanying every nailed upshift, last-gasp downshift and lazy overrun. Delicious.

Ride-wise, we're not back in the bad old days of the RS5 and previous RS3, which tackled B-roads like a bouncy ball on a flight of stairs, but it's still on the ‘busy' side of firm.

Audi is developing a magnetic ride system that will become optionally available on the RS3 later in 2015, but right now you're stuck with a passive set-up.

It seems potential customers don't mind: RS3 order books have filled faster than Gordon Ramsay's swear-box. One company source predicted Europe's 2015 allocation will sell out as early as next month, with none of the 5000 buyers having taken a test drive. Talk about brand loyalty.

Are those ‘blind buyers' going to be disappointed?

Not if they liked the last RS3. The new one is faster, rides night-and-day better, and doesn't corner like you've hurled a nose-tethered anchor out of the window pre-apex.

But, at the same time, it just isn't that involving. Seamless - that's the RS3 in a word. It's uncompromisingly effective, and the sheer pace with which any novice can conquer a road from behind its Alcantara-clad wheel is laudable. Or should that be laughable?

However, that suede wheel is totally divorced of speaking terms with the front tyres, the transmission so handy when left to its own devices that you might not wade in and interfere with the cheap'n'nasty plastic paddles as often as you would in the auto-only A45.

One more for the PlayStation generation?

It boils down to what you personally find exciting in a car. If sheer speed, a fabulous noise and pulverizing, any-weather grip, composure and acceleration get your pulse racing, the RS3 is indeed the best car this side of a GT-R for you. It's extraordinarily competent.

But, if you delight in feeling a car adjust its trajectory when you brush the throttle, encourage you through its control weights and feedback, and even let you change gear yourself (step forward, Golf R), then the ultimate A3 is ultimately unsatisfying.

Fast Audis, R8 excepted, have rarely majored on the above, though. Their owners still seem to adore them.

Same old fast Audi then?

Tricky one. Should Audi be criticised for using its prodigious engineering and technical prowess to manufacture the fastest hatchback it can? Certainly not.

And we should all be grateful Quattro GmbH's powertrain boffins convinced the EU testing killjoys to grant that glorious five-pot engine a swansong, though mid-twenties rather than the claimed 34mpg (up from 31) is a safer bet.

So, RS3 v2.0 is lighter, more neutral hot hatch and has a superior interior - all welcome ticks. If you need adrenaline kicks beyond eye-watering speed, just stick to driving it on snow.

Here’s Audi’s 725bhp Allroad concept

This is the third in Audi's series of 'Prologue' concept cars. It's the most powerful yet, and therefore the best.

It's called the Prologue Allroad, and it's got a mighty 725bhp. Welcome, all, to the family-car future.

This Shanghai-bound study follows the first Audi Prologue concept we saw back in November last year - the Coupe - and the Prologue Avant we saw in Geneva just last month. As its siblings, this new car previews Audi's future design strategy, and toys with the concept of a supercar-crushing hybrid powertrain.

Top Gear drives the Audi Prologue Coupe

How crushing? Well, the Prologue Allroad uses the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, as deployed in the S8 and Bentley, here treated to a powerful electric motor snuggled between engine and eight-speed tiptronic gearbox. Total power output stands at that headline 725bhp, and a whopping 664lb ft of torque, sent, of course, to all four wheels.

Though no weight figure is given, we'd venture on somewhere just shy of two tonnes, which makes the 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds all the more astonishing.

And yet, despite such pace, Audi reckons the hybrid setup - and a 14.1kWh lithium-ion battery in the rear - will help the Prologue Allroad to 33 miles on electricity alone, and return a combined 117mpg. There's wireless charging too, which Audi is developing for series production. No more unsightly cables, then.

Otherwise it's the same as the Prologue Avant we saw at Geneva, though here jacked up by 77mm. It still measures in the same - a mahoosive 5.1m long - though there's lightweight materials, used for example in the front axle, which is a lightweight five-link job. There are 20inch brake discs made of carbon fibre ceramic, adaptive air suspension, all-wheel-steering, and an interior pinched straight from the future.

You've got three touch displays up front, configurable infotainment options with swipe functionality, and stuff like OLED tablets in the rear.

It'll get its world premiere at the Shanghai Motor Show, all 725bhp-5.1-metre-hybrid-ness of it. Thoughts?

April 15, 2015

First drive: BMW M4 MotoGP Safety Car

What's this, then?

This lights-and-stickers BMW M4 is the vehicle tasked with policing MotoGP's unhinged biking talent when someone's had an off. So it has to be a bit quick and tasty, given the speeds of which the two-wheeled loons are capable.

BMW's M Division hasn't taken any chances with this M4 then, equipping it not just with brakes, a roll cage, Recaro bucket seats with six-point harnesses and KW coil-over suspension, but an experimental water-injected version of its turbocharged six-cylinder engine.

Water-injected?

H2O and combustion might be uncomfortable bedfellows, water's inability to compress meaning it'll grenade an engine if it gets inside. So here BMW M uses water in the turbo system, cooling the charge air, which in turn allows the engine to run at greater compression, and those turbos to run higher boost. It's all to the benefit of not just performance, but economy and emissions, too.

Sounds pretty simple. Why's nobody done it before?

It was tried once in racing but quickly banned: BMW M's boss Frank Van Meel saying he's astonished that it's not been used since. It's so new that Meel's not actually able to say how much more power it's producing.

Officially, BMW is tentatively saying an eight per cent increase on the stock M4's engine, which would put it at around 467bhp. But Van Meel says a bhp figure starting with a ‘5' isn't entirely unreasonable, and that the engine would easily manage that - particularly as thermal loads are less.

What's the catch?

None. Well, unless you're prone to driving your M4 at less than the 5,000rpm at which the system really starts working. It's got the people from BMW's i department interested, as well as those from the mainstream machinery. The benefits of water injection are potentially useful across the board, and increasingly significant as downsized engines all run turbos.

Anything else?

The power increases might be at the upper end of the M4's rev range, but the Safety Car actually feels more benign in its delivery than the stock M4, despite its greater potency. A couple of laps around the flat, wide - and thankfully huge run-off-area-equipped - Losail International Circuit in Qatar underlines that this feels like a very different M4.

Initially that's down to the way it steers, the wheel familiar in its weighting, but adding so much more immediacy and information, even on the glass-smooth tarmac of the circuit. The suspension has a lot to do with that. Add the grasping hold of those Recaro seats and their tight six-point harnesses, and the limits of BMW M4 Safety Car feel so much more approachable and readable, the engine's delivery less difficult too, even at lower revs.

And with the traction control off?

Switch off electronic intervention, and the Losail circuit is seen predominantly from either of the side windows, progress accompanied by a deal of tyre smoke and black line. That's not just in the bends, either...

Yet if Van Meel's talk of 500bhp is true, the M4 Safety Car is a rare machine in that it allows such grand power to be so easily deployed, and enjoyed.

It sounds magnificent too, thanks to what Van Meel describes as a BMW Performance Parts exhaust with the centre muffler removed.

When might we see water injection on the road?

Nobody's saying it, but the rumours are rife that the M4 Safety Car is effectively showcasing BMW's forthcoming track-focussed M4 GTS. If it is, then sign us up.

As for wider application for water injection, some more testing is needed, but it's essentially there. Van Meel admits an easier filling technique - the five-litre water tank is currently accessed through the boot floor - is required, with a refill likely required every thousand miles or so.

That of course depends on how it's driven. In the M4 Safety Car that means sideways, all the time.

Is this the greatest modified Range Rover ever?

Is this the greatest modified Range Rover in existence? Yes it is, and if you dare to argue, you are a fool. Estimable people of TopGear.com, may we humbly present to you... the Startech Pickup!

Startech - a Brabus Group company, which will explain literally all of the words on this page - is planning on showcasing its simply marvellous creation at the upcoming Shanghai Motor Show. And truly it is something to marvel at.

Buried under all that modification and carbon fibre and red paint lies a supercharged, 5.0-litre V8 Range Rover with 526bhp. But Startech has turned the aristocratic Rangey into what it ambitiously describes as "one of the world's most exclusive pickups following the best coach building tradition that was once common for English luxury cars".

So, with "harmonious fashion", Startech has designed and manufactured 100 bodywork components from aluminium, carbon fibre and steel to make the conversion. The wall to the pickup bed - with a loading length of a whopping 110 centimetres - is welded to the shorter roof skin, and there are newly developed C-pillars to accommodate the excellence at the rear. Business in the front, party in the back: it's the automotive equivalent of a mullet!

It's a plastic-lined pickup bed - almost square in shape - with a remote operated tailgate opening which gives another 60cm. Perfect, says Startech, for "customers from the Arab region [who] like to use the pickup bed also for transporting a securely fastened cage that holds their falcons for the hunt". If you're not squeaking with joy at the mental imagery involved here, you're dead inside.

And yet, somehow, it gets better. There's a widebody version available - on either the SWB or LWB RRs - which incorporate new front bumpers, LED lights, a new front spoiler, wider arches (natch), and new air intakes for "a touch of motor racing flair". Yep, MOTOR RACING. With falcons on the flatbed. What could be better?

It gets modified air suspension to allow a drop of 30mm at the push of a button, a new exhaust system, 23-inch forged wheels, 'breathable' black leather and carbon fibre literally everywhere inside.

And because this is officially The Greatest Modified Range Rover In Existence, Startech will even save you money. "The conversion to a pickup means the Startech multi-utility vehicle meets the prerequisites to be registered as a commercial vehicle in many countries, which often eliminates import fees," it confidently asserts. Yep, they're marketing this at farmers. Presumably very minted farmers of very small livestock. Premium micropigs?

Top Gear simply cannot imagine how this work of wonder could be improved in any way. No, actually, scrap that. We've got it: add some perspex and a pontiff to that rear deck, and you've got a kick-ass Popemobile...

April 14, 2015

Watch VW's 900bhp drift-Passat in action

Just as Liam Neeson transformed himself from Oscar luvvie into Hollywood hardman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger morphed from Hollywood hardman to eco-minded politician, is the VW Passat to be reinvented from grey-suited saloon into tyre-chewing loon?

Very much so, if Tanner Foust has anything to do with it. Last week, we gave you a first look at his nitrous-boosted, V8-engined Formula D Passat, and now sponsor Rockstar has released this rather excellent four-minute video of the 900bhp drift car in action.

As you'd expect from a car built with the express intention of going sideways, always, you'll be pleased to see the Passat going sideways, always. There is smoke. There is noise. There is some rather natty flashlighting.

Foust has, as the Americans say, previous with Formula D, winning the USA's premiere drifting championship in 2007 and 2008. 2015 sees him return to the series after a five-year absence, during which he competed in the European Rallycross Championship.

"My motivation for coming back to drifting is not just to pick up where I left off, and fight for the win," says Tanner. "Drifting is fun for me. Fact is, I've got a 900 horsepower Passat, and I want to throw down some runs on the track..."

April 13, 2015

These are Mini's Terminator glasses

At next week's Shanghai Motor Show, Mini will premiere a new concept. It's not a new car, but a new pair of goggles: eyewear that can project driver information into a driver's field of vision.

It's called ‘Mini Augmented Vision', and is basically a head-up display for your face. Using the help of ‘several' Qualcomm companies, Mini has produced, effectively, the driving version of Google Glass.

So, you strap on the prototype goggles, and before your very eyes is beamed a wealth of helpful info: everything from destination entry for navigation, the first and last mile (from your current walking location to the vehicle, or vehicle to final destination), speed and speed limits, points of interest, parking assistance and more.

Mini stresses that the driver's direct field of vision is never obscured, and other road users are in full view. It's all gone a bit Terminator, hasn't it?

"We have created an interlinked system and augmented reality eyewear with a characteristic Mini design that revolutionise the experience both in and outside the vehicle," says project manager Dr Preißinger, clearly failing to realise the goggles' potential to create bloodthirsty robo-drivers.

We're told we can expect something like this in the near future. We'll endeavour to get our face into a pair in Shanghai, and report on our findings. We'll be back...

April 10, 2015

Gordon Murray's city car is back

Design grandmaster Gordon Murray has teamed up with Shell and engine specialists Geo Technology to design and build a concept city car, which is a "total rethink" of Murray's revolutionary 2010 T25 concept car.

It's codenamed ‘Project M', and though not intended for production, is more of an exercise in seeing how a lightweight, petrol-engined small car could work in the future. Specifically, 2050, when it's estimated up to three quarters of the world's population will live in congested cities.

Although details are pretty thin, we're told that it'll be a ground-up re-think of the podlike T25. Shell will be working on all the fluidy bits, Murray will use his design nous and Geo Tech will fit a tiny combustion engine to power the three-seater, rear-engined car.

The car will still use Murray's patented 'iStream' manufacturing, something he and partner Yamaha hope to bring to reality. The tech aims to escape the inflexibility of modern monocoque construction and its massive up-front costs, moving to a system of simple steel spaceframes wrapped in recycled, composite monocoque panels.

But considering the last project on which Murray, Osamu Goto (the man in charge of the engines) and Shell collaborated on was the McLaren-Honda MP4/4 F1 car that won 15 of 16 races in 1988 for Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, we're expecting big things.

Oh, and don't forget, Murray himself was behind yet more revolutionary F1 cars from the '70s and '80s, the McLaren-Mercedes SLR, LCC Rocket, plus a little thing called the McLaren F1.

We're expected to see Project M - as a concept only - later this November. Can his new motor change the city car game?

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