Everything you need to know about cars this week: 3 Feb '19

"We now learn that the company is considering doing a run at That Racetrack In Germany (Nürburgring? We want to say Nürburgring). “[The] Aspark Owl performances are allowing us to aim [for] the Nürburgring record,” explains an Aspark spokesperson. Currently the NIO EP9 holds the EV record, but – as Aspark points out – that’s a track special. The OWL is a road-legal hypercar..."

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"Flick the wheel, the TCR follows your lead instantly. The brakes are superb – it takes one corner to acclimatise to how much harder you have to push the pedal, and in a short stint in the car, at least, it feels supremely satisfying – but if you still manage to overcook your entry speed, this is a forgiving car..."

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"The Porsche 911 has shown an amazing resilience to the fashions of more than five passing decades. Its look, its dynamics and its very purpose have been steadfast and yet adaptive. Now it’s time for the next step, but in the same direction..."

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"The new Clio’s 14mm shorter and 30mm lower than before, but that brand-spanking new chassis foundation unlocks more space inside. You can daub its body in ten different colours (but not on one car). All-LED headlights are standard across the range. Cutting aerodynamic friction has also been a priority – Renault’s added wind deflectors to the front wheelarches to limit efficiency-sapping drag..."

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"This is utterly magic. Sorry to jump straight to the ending, without any dramatic build-up, but there’s simply no evading the fact this thing is spectacularly good to drive..."

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"If you need a reminder, the Ford Mustang Bullitt is a special edition of the current ‘Stang that apes Steve McQueen’s wheels in perhaps the most famous movie car chase of them all. It was launched last year to mark 50 years since the release of Bullitt but is still on sale, topping the Mustang range at a smidge under £50,000..."

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"'If everybody is moving in one direction,' explains John Hennessey, 'I like to go the opposite way.' That, ladies and gentlemen, is confirmation that we won’t see an all-electric version of the Hennessey Venom F5..."

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"Koenigsegg sees a battery cell shortage in our all-electric, shiny new future. Which is why company boss Christian von Koenigsegg is a bit hesitant about building a proper, world-beating fully electric hypercar.

"It’s definitely something he imagines, though. 'Eventually, we see that as a possibility. It has everything to do with battery pack weight, the car weight, the cell availability, and – to a certain degree but not much – battery cell cost,' he told TopGear.com.

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"Ginetta – who you may know from the little G40 racecar – has announced it’s developing a new, 600bhp-plus, carbon tubbed and bodied supercar that’ll be designed and manufactured in-house at its Leeds base..."

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"Yep, the three-door Range Rover isn’t making a comeback after all. Unveiled at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, the Range Rover SV Coupe was to be a limited-edition model developed by the company’s Special Operations division..."

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"The headline-act suspension uses unusual dampers. They progressively exert extra control towards their distant excursions, but allow easy motion in the middle of their travel. The idea is to let the springs absorb small intrusions comfortably, without the whole thing turning to jelly in more vigorous driving..."

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"He’s the racing hero of TG’s Chris Harris. And now he’s been inducted into the FIA’s motorsport hall of fame. Walter Röhrl is the first rally driver – and perhaps more surprisingly, the first non-F1 world champion – to receive such an honour..."

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"The Corvette C7 doesn’t have long for this world, with the C8 – and its possible mid-engined layout – due later this year. Any errant tears can be dried with this Final Edition, though..."

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"Thought SUVs had all but killed off the people carrier? You are wrong, and the latest Mercedes V-Class is where to pick your fight if you disagree. It has just been updated after setting a sales record in 2018, and it’s posher and more powerful than ever..."

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"Nearly 60 years ago, Bruce Meyers created the Meyers Manx - an indecently cute VW Beetle-based dune buggy that came to define the beach culture that conceived it. If you’re under the age of 30, it’s the BF Injection from Grand Theft Auto. Now, VW is bringing the dune basher back. And it’s electric..."

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"Intel from, er, Morgan says this new Wide Body Sports Car will be based on ‘an all-new bonded aluminium fabricated platform’. Crivens. Goodness gracious. We know Morgan’s done away with building chassis out of wood before – see the recently discontinued, aluminium-based Aero for details – but still. This is still tantamount to Porsche announcing the next 911 will be front-wheel drive and use a diesel V8..."

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"We’re not talking about the successor to the Agera RS, because that’s Koenigsegg ‘proper’, nor about any other variant of that or the Regera. This is a supercar with an estimated price tag of around €1m, to help give Christian von Koenigsegg the capacity to grow the company’s sales volumes from currently 20 cars per year, into the hundreds..."

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"And this is where the new 8 Series starts to wobble. It’s now a £100,000 car, competing with some very serious machinery with very desirable badges and heritage. Psychologically, you’re expecting a big ol’ leap from the 6 Series to the 8 Series. And well, it just isn’t there. This £100,000, 530 horsepower capsule of ambient lighting and speed just doesn’t feel that special to sit in, or to drive..."

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"This is a Rezvani Tank, something described by its maker as a ‘tactical urban vehicle’ and an antidote to the increasingly samey SUV segment. Its designer aimed to make a modern-day successor to the Hummer, and for sheer in-your-face impact, he’s doubtless achieved it..."

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