Everything you need to know about cars this week

"You get the feeling, sat in the Bentley, that life could only be better if you were chomping on a Cohiba. Yes, the Continental GT is the sort of car that demands a chunky cigar. The Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe? Something less heavy, perhaps a dash more debonair. A cigarillo, perhaps?"

Read the full story

"Do a World Cup of Cars, they said. Everyone loves a tenuous World Cup feature! It’ll be topical and fun and highly shareable! After all, Packaging Europe has done a World Cup of Packaging! You don’t want to be shown up by Packaging Europe."

Read the full story

"Keen viewers of Top Gear TV may recognise our latest Top Gear Garage recruit. Yep, it’s the same Ford Mustang used in the last series to take part in a triple-header across the States in order to celebrate the sheer wonder that is the V8 engine. And now, somehow, it’s in our garage in west London. Magic."

Read the full story

"The company emerged four years ago, with the Speedback GT, an Aston DB5 pastiche built around the underpinnings of a Jaguar XKR. Reception was mixed. Then last year it did something much cooler, and Singer-ised a Mini. A few months ago, the firm, newly relocated to a brand new premises at Silverstone, revealed this, the Speedback Silverstone Edition."

Read the full story

"Well, this is a bit special. One of three Ford GT40s to have crossed the finish line at the 1966 Le Mans 24hr race is coming up for sale. And the price, as you would expect for something which oozes motorsport heritage and credibility, is quite eye-watering."

Read the full story

"Striking-looking isn’t it? There are some very neatly designed saloons in this size class, but they all seem pretty terrified of being noticed across a crowded car park. The 508, actually a fast-tailed hatchback, isn’t trying to look reserved or German. That never worked for the French carmakers in the past."

Read the full story

"Breathe a sigh of relief: Aston Martin still makes a big, naturally aspirated V12 engine. And in this new Rapide AMR, it has made its big, naturally aspirated V12 engine more powerful."

Read the full story

"Having travelled to exotic locations like the South of France and Australia’s Gold Coast in previous games, Forza’s Horizon festival lands in the bucolic countryside of Blighty for Forza Horizon 4, which arrives on Xbox and PC on October 2nd. Dismal holiday camps, ponderous caravan drivers and thermonuclear service station pasties remain unconfirmed."

Read the full story

"Big news. Up until now you’ve known Porsche’s all-electric performance car – due next year – as the Mission E. That was a good name; futuristic, optimistic and powerful. But Porsche has now put that name in the bin: the impending 600bhp four-seat EV has been christened ‘Taycan’."

Read the full story

"Toyota is yet to win a Le Mans 24 Hours outright, and after years of disappointment, it’ll be hoping 2018 is finally its year. Its lack of success hasn’t made the cars it’s entered any less iconic, though, and three of them are paid homage to here."

Read the full story

"This is a bit of McLaren’s new, upcoming supercar, believed to be a lighter, more hardcore version of the 570S. Specifically, you’re looking at the bit where the exhaust tips emerge. You will notice that they do not emerge from the bottom, or the sides, or indeed from the middle of the bottom, but instead from the top."

Read the full story

"Exciting news from Apollo, the Chinese-backed marque that’s constructing ten insane-looking carbon fibre track cars, inspired by the GT1 racing class of the 1990s and powered by a naturally aspirated V12 good for 769bhp. Apollo’s got a new tech partner on board – with serious GT1 pedigree."

Read the full story

"For the time being, the smallest, cheapest Jeep, though the Fiat-owned-but-staunchly-American company says an even smaller baby Jeep is in the works. That’s likely because the Renegade has found plenty of friends – over 800,000, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa since 2014 – for its characterful styling and low running costs, but is rather over-engineered as a tail-munching tractor for most everyday needs."

Read the full story

"Volvo has enlisted the help of its electric performance car division Polestar to give its 60 series hybrid T8 cars a bit of a boost. They’re badged Polestar Engineered, and the S60 is the first to benefit from this treatment."

Read the full story

"Those classic American ‘police-camera-action’ car chase shows are about to get a lot more…economical. Because Ford’s just revealed its new Police Interceptor Utility, and the headline isn’t the weight of its battering ram or the quantity of Krispy Kremes that can be stuffed into every interior orifice. It’s the green-ness."

Read the full story

"The brief to deign a 400kph (248mph), 1,000bhp supercar was beyond the limit of road legal vehicle comprehension. So it was inevitable that there’d be one or two mishaps during testing. And with that thought lingering, we’ll merely point you towards this video interview with legendary supercar test driver Loris Bichocci. Here, he recounts a little-known tale about what happens when a Bugatti Veyron prototype’s front left tyre lets go while lapping the Nardo test bowl at an estimated 245mph."

Read the full story

"Based around a Formula 1 inshore powerboat, Jaguar Vector stripped it back and inserted 320kg of batteries in the frame and a pair of Yasa electric motors into the rear housing. With learning and technology taken direct from the Formula E project, the V20E boat develops 295bhp."

Read the full story

"Two interlinked lithium-ion batteries sit either side of the cockpit, which provide power for the two electric motors – one on each axle. In total, Volkswagen reckons on 670bhp and 480lb ft of torque."

Read the full story

"The idea was to explore how to make an EV hypercar dramatic and engaging enough to deliver both the kerb appeal and performance that makes it worthy of the brand, as well as engage Lambo’s future audience. The Terzo is basically a rolling technical test bed designed to challenge current EV thinking and jump-start a more radical approach."

Read the full story

"Welcome to the New BMW. Not just specifically this all-new 8 Series Coupe, resplendent here in its range-topping, £100k M850i suit, but deeper than that. This new 8 Series ushers in a new design form that’ll soon filter through BMW’s entire line-up."

Read the full story here