Everything you need to know about cars this week: 4 Nov '18

“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.”

Read our Volkswagen ID R review here

“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.”

More info on the Camaro eCOPO is right here

“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.”

More info and pics of the Ford GT Carbon Edition this way

“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.”

Watch the Polestar 1 have a crash right here

“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?”

More pictures here, if you can stomach it

“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.”

Behold, many more BMW 8 Series cabrio pics

“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.”

We review two tuned Tesla Model 3s here

“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.”

More Mercedes-AMG A35 pricing details here