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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 4 Nov '18
VW's body-punishing ID R, Lewis's fifth title and a very green new Porsche
The Volkswagen ID R does funny things to us
"There’s one bend out here I can take at near max speed, and because I can, I just shut off the self-preservation voices in my head and turn-in hard. And the car simply… turns. Without delay or scrub or slip. My head, body and internal organs follow the laws of centrifugal force. The split second after turn-in is alarming, terrifying even, but then, because the corner is long, my brain does something funny. It relaxes. It tells me all’s fine and I should take some time out, kick back, have a nap.
"And then, as I straighten up, my brain snaps back to attention, synapses whirr and I wake up gasping, as if I’d had a nightmare and sat bolt upright in bed. It’s weird."
Advertisement - Page continues belowLewis Hamilton is a five-time F1 world champion
"He summoned up absolute magic, producing the sort of qualifying pace that left you – and the rest of the pit-lane – genuinely mesmerised.
"In Singapore, for example, he may even have produced a pole lap to rival the one his idol Ayrton Senna delivered in Monaco in 1988. Sometimes it really does look as though Lewis is driving beyond his conscious being, a feeling that chimes with his deep spirituality."
This Chevy Camaro is a nine-second electric drag car
"Here’s one to ruffle feathers. Chevrolet is taking a nine-second drag Camaro to the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Nowt wrong with that, you might think, but there’s one caveat: it’s electric.
"That makes perfect sense at a glance, mind. Electric powertrains provide instant and (often) humongous torque, with sledgehammer acceleration that no comparative petrol car can hope to match. Just look how Tesla can squeeze quicker acceleration times out of big heavy saloons than Ferrari and McLaren can from dainty sports cars."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe new Porsche Panamera GTS is green AND mean
"It takes a few laps to realise several things: you can lean on the carbon ceramic brakes later and harder than you think, and if you don’t scrub enough speed it will understeer. Badly. But get the nose turned in and the way it tucks into the apex and then claws its way out the other side is seriously impressive. There’s even whispers of 911 in the steering feel, which is saying something for a car this size."
The Ford GT Carbon Edition is best kept away from kerbs
"This is the Ford GT Carbon Edition. Its use of carbon wheels, a plastic engine cover and the deletion of cupholders and doorbins saves a grand total of… 18kg. Making it 1,367kg before fluids rather than 1,385kg. Hmm.
"It’s a small drop when you consider those delicate-looking carbon wheels also have titanium nuts, and the exhaust system is now titanium, too. But hey, it’s not like the GT was a big fatty that needed a diet. We suspect the real appeal of this Carbon Edition is the way it looks, with more exposed carbon than any previous GT."
Aston Martin's made a motorsport-themed DBS special
"The paintwork is Aston Martin Racing Green, naturally, with details in carbon fibre and bronze. Meanwhile the interior is trimmed in black and tan leather, plus a patterned fabric like the one used in original DBR1s back in the Fifties. Bespoke ‘Helmet Pods’ hold special crash helmets, race suits and gloves designed to look like the ones worn by Carroll Shelby for his win, and of course everything is embroidered with DBS 59 logos."
The Polestar 1 is very good at crashing
"Volvo’s targeted no one being killed or seriously injured in its cars by 2020. That sentiment clearly extends to its electrified Polestar sub-brand too, for its first product – the BMW M4-rivaling Polestar 1 sports car – appears to crash exceedingly well.
"It’s not been NCAP tested yet, but this initial video from Polestar’s own lab suggests it’ll score highly. The front impact test – conducted at 35mph – sees the ripples of the impact barely make it to the cabin, the area ahead of the front wheels absorbing most of the shunt."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe Suzuki Jimny has bounced into Britain
"Using the metrics by which we usually judge a new car, it’s crap. Bouncy in a straight line, vague around bends and slow everywhere.
"The ride is like turbulence in a small plane: no harsh impacts, just a sequence of perturbations of random direction, amplitude and frequency. But I absolutely cannot leave it at that. Because I enjoyed it."
The Mansory Rolls-Royce Phantom is - shock! - outrageous
"You didn’t expect anything less, did you? Mansory has set about the Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII with its usual enthusiasm for gaudy grilles and lamentable leather, and the results are, well, very Mansory. Sorry, you had finished your breakfast, hadn’t you?"
Advertisement - Page continues belowWeirdly, Will Smith may have just revealed the new Audi R8
"The RSQ e-tron’s appearance in what’s ostensibly a kids’ film is probably good for making electric, autonomous cars appear like an acceptable thing we’ll want to happen in the future.
"On a more superficial note, the RSQ e-tron also looks flipping fantastic, and if Will-Smith-driven-RSQ form is anything to go by, it could even show us what Audi’s next supercar will look like."
BMW's already ripped the roof off the new 8 Series
"Welcome everyone, to the inevitable: the new BMW 8 Series Convertible, the second variant in the all-new 8er line-up before the Gran Coupe arrives to complete the range.
"We’ve had the Coupe – and come away impressed by its technical ability but unsure of its specialness – and seen the M8 GTE racer. This Convertible features a folding cloth roof, said to offer superb sound insulation and one that 'pulls taut over the interior when closed'. Well, you’d certainly hope so."
Jaguar's latest F-Type comes as a pricey special edition
"There’s much gloss black detailing – inside and out – while you get the posh Meridian stereo as standard. Good news, given a Chequered Flag will add as much as ten grand to the cost of a basic F-Type, the cheapest one being the £62,335 P300. That means a 296bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. For £62k…"
A few mods make the Tesla Model 3 a BMW M3 rival
"Unplugged Performance has made the Model 3 feel like a proper driver’s car and a genuine sports saloon. The RWD car wins for purity, but one small taste of the AWD car’s performance is enough to convert you to its unfathomably quick ways. Sample either, though, and you’ll not want to drive a standard Model 3 again."
But modified Teslas can also be 1949 Mercurys
"This 1949 Mercury is running dual electric motors and a Tesla 85kWh battery. The result is 400bhp, 470lb ft of torque, between 150 and 200 miles of range, and CHAdeMO 125A fast-charger and Tesla Supercharger plugs hidden behind the front number plate and in the original fuel filler cap respectively."
The Mercedes-AMG A35 costs £35k
"The Mercedes-AMG range is getting increasingly tricky to understand, with all manner of model numbers that don’t equate to the engine sizes of the cars their badges are stuck to. But some welcome clarity has arrived with the pricing of the A35 AMG hot hatchback, which costs, rather neatly, £35,000."
New pics of the Aston Martin Valkyrie have landed
"We know the Valkyrie will have around 1,100bhp, be made of much carbon, and cost £2.5million. Oh, and it’ll sound pretty wonderful. But the pictures we’ve seen so far have depicted a car so exciting, so otherworldly, it’s been hard to actually imagine driving one with the use of mere human arms, legs and eyes. These new images help dilute the fear-factor."
