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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 30 Sep 2018
McLaren 600LT, AMG GT 4-Door and BMW X5 driven, plus a special new Porsche
Review: McLaren 600LT
"Strictly speaking this is the fourth in McLaren’s ‘Longtail’ range after coupe and Spider versions of the 675, and the car that kick-started it all back in 1997, the F1 GTR Longtail. Only nine of those were made. More of these will be made, although McLaren hasn’t put a limit on exact numbers, merely saying that production will begin in October this year and all will be built in the next 12 months."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe diesel Porsche is dead
"Porsche has finally confirmed that it will 'no longer offer vehicles with diesel propulsion,' and instead focus on hybrids and pure electric vehicles like the upcoming Taycan, which is due to be launched next year."
BMW 635 CSI Group A review: stunning touring car driven
"For £375,000, it’s a lot of money, but for those who consider a track day supercar such as the McLaren Senna a fun thing for some circuit work, I reckon they might well have more pure enjoyment in this.
"Why? Because when the speeds aren’t too dizzying you get to concentrate more on the sensations rather than the next braking point. It’s a more lively and life-affirming car than any modern racer."
Advertisement - Page continues belowReview: Audi Q3
"The second generation Q3’s body is bigger by 10cm, better-proportioned and a lot roomier than before. It had to grow really, just to open up a gap between it and the Q2, which arrived late in the old Q3’s life and rendered it largely redundant."
We take our Hyundai i30N to the races
"It’s surely impossible to name a performance car hero that doesn’t have roots in motorsport. Whether you like its occasionally complex politics or not, it’s pivotal to the development – and marketing – of performance cars.
"The Hyundai i30N is no different. Long before we knew what ‘N’ meant, i20 rally cars were being flung around forests with Ns emblazoned on their bodywork, while the i30N effectively had its final sign off at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. A perfect excuse to jump in ours and go and see some racing, then."
The Renault Espace F1 is back!
"Remember when people carriers were all the rage? An innocent, pre-SUV age, when the Renault Espace kick-started a Europe-wide love for big chunky seven seaters?
"Perhaps those days could return if Renault did the decent thing and made this Espace F1 real. In short, it’s the current (really quite cool) Espace with the stickers, slicks and wings of Renault’s current RS18 Formula 1 challenger."
Image: Marco van Overbeeke
A screen chip can bring yet more doubt about automated cars
"A windscreen chip or crack has always been one of the irregular hassles of running a car. But you can deal with it. A van comes round, and a couple of hours later you’re good to go.
"But no more. Not if your car has any kind of driver-assist system involving cameras and other sensors mounted on the screen by the rear-view mirror. Which many now do."
Advertisement - Page continues belowWatch out! Ford's new tech helps make way for ambulances
"Everyone knows that when flashing blue lights appear in your rear-view mirror, you get right out of the way. Sharpish. You do not – Vauxhall Mokka drivers, we’re looking at you – panic-stop in the middle of the road.
"Ford knows this is a problem, so together with Vodafone it’s developed a system that alerts drivers to approaching police cars, fire engines and ambulances, and tells them exactly how to get out of the way."
Lotus wants you to find Colin Chapman’s first car
"Have you seen this car? If it happens to be lying about in your garage under some oily rags or covered in hay bales in one of your barns, would you mind awfully giving Lotus a call? They’re looking for it, you see. To Lotus, this is genesis. The original. Colin Chapman’s Mark I."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe Volvo V60 Cross Country is here to prove we don't need massive 4x4s
"Volvo has applied the Cross Country treatment to its handsome small estate car, the V60. Top Gear is reliably informed that this does not mean being told to don short-shorts and plimsolls and run laps of the school playing field until your tears freeze."
This leviathan is the new 705bhp Hennessey Goliath 6x6
"Having already forged a tuned, six-wheeled version of the Ford Raptor (neatly titled VelociRaptor), John Hennessey and co. have turned their super-unleaded intentions to the latest Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss Z71"
Review: Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door
"Mercedes’ model range is still expanding with a near-viral rapidity, so while you might reasonably wonder what’s wrong with an E63 or indeed CLS 53, someone has spied another distant but vacant niche – presumably using something akin to the Hubble telescope – and the result is the AMG GT 4-door coupe."
Watch Vaughn Gittin Jnr. attempt to drift the Nürburgring
"Drifting is usually banned at the Nürburgring. Sensible idea, actually. The internet hosts a trillion crashy videos to demonstrate why exuberant behaviour is not advisable on the Nordschleife. So, if you’re a champion drifter with special permission to slew sideways around the entire 13-mile circuit, it’s not an opportunity to pass up."
Hyundai’s new i30N Fastback is a hot hatch with less hatchback
"Hyundai’s created a swoopy-roofed version of its superb i30N hot hatch. Meet the i30N Fastback, as everyone will call it. Except Hyundai, which insists on clumsily titling it the i30 Fastback N. Which looks like a typo."
Honda Monkey review: reborn Japanese icon ridden
"A 125cc miniature motorbike with an iconic design and pretty much idiot-proof controls. So probably the easiest and most amusing entrance into the world of two wheels. Put simply, it’s the return of a legend – a freshly rebooted Honda Monkey bike for 2018."
Review: the new BMW X5
"BMW has got to know crossover buyers well, and has built a really solid entry. The basics are right. It’s competent, and you don’t have to spend a pile on options to get a desirable spec."
The Mercedes-AMG Project One is now just called ‘One’
"The new trinity of hybrid hypercars has so far been blessed with evocative, exciting names. The Aston Martin Valkyrie. The McLaren Speedtail. Cor. We’ve been waiting tensely to see how Mercedes-AMG would complete the trio. What would the final name for its F1-engined special, codenamed Project One, turn out to be?"
The tweaked BMW i3 gets all of the range
"Besides new optional equipment and interior/exterior colour schemes, BMW’s fitted a brand-new lithium-ion battery with more than double the usable energy capacity of the original, but the same physucal dimensions."
Elon Musk has been charged with securities fraud
"The USA’s Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, alleging a tweet in which he claimed he’d secured funding for a buyout of Tesla at $420 per share was 'false and misleading'."
Pininfarina's PF0 supercar will have nearly 2000bhp
"A quick look at the PF0’s promised stats proves they’re pretty much identical to the Rimac C_Two. They’re a Top Trumps dream ticket, with around 1900bhp, 1700lb ft, a sub-2sec 0-62mph time and a 250mph-plus top speed. All combined with a fully charged range of around 300 miles."
Video: your guide to the Mercedes-AMG G63
"Let Jack Rix walk you around the latest AMG G-Class, the 577bhp, £143k G63. In a world increasingly full of super SUVs, it might be the most super."
The £750k Porsche 935 is a modern-day Moby Dick
"The modern-day 935 has been revealed at Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca as another 70th birthday present from Porsche to, well, itself. Though this one you can actually buy – providing you have around £750,000 and you’re one of the first 77 people in the queue, for this is a very limited-run car."
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