50
List
Everything you need to know about cars this week: 1 Sep '19
Pop-up headlights, three Porsche reviews and - oh yeah - hitting top speed in a Chiron
Can you road trip the £1million Nissan GT-R50?
"The veins in my eyes are throbbing. A sheen of stress sweat shines on my forehead, and I can feel my heartbeat in my temples. Midtown Manhattan in rush hour is – without exception – the worst place to drive a car I’ve ever experienced."
Advertisement - Page continues belowHow TG bought an S-Class that sounds like an F1 car
"Speed, silence, efficiency. This is what the future of modern motoring looks like, and it’s everything the Mercedes S600 is not. Or rather, this particular AMG-tuned example from honourable Japan."
Ferdinand Piech: 1937-2019
"The former VW boss - and father of the 917, Quattro and Veyron - has died aged 82."
Advertisement - Page continues belowCheck out this V8-powered, armoured BMW X5
"The Bavarians have been bullet-proofing their cars for over 40 years now, starting with the BMW 733i High Security way back in 1978, and BMW claims that this generation of X5 was even developed from the very start with an armoured version in mind."
The Porsche Taycan has set a Nürburgring record
"Driven by Porsche hot-shoe Lars Kern, he hustled a camouflaged pre-prod Taycan (pronounced ‘tie-can’, as Porsche suits keep telling us) around the Nordschleife’s near 13-mile course quicker than any other four-door battery-powered car before."
Somebody who isn’t Séb Ogier might win WRC 2019
"The last time the World Rally Championship was won by someone other than a Frenchman named Sébastien was way back in 2003. Yep, seriously. Messrs Ogier and Loeb have had things completely sewn up for the past 15 championships."
Porsche Taycan review: our first go in Tesla’s big rival
"A sense of tightly-coiled energy under your right foot, a car that wants to leap forward with the merest brush of the throttle, but typically well-sorted to deal with low-speed driving.
"The ride isn’t Bentley plush, but this is a so-called sports car still capable of oozing itself down the road at normal speeds, utterly silently, a whine from the motors only apparent when you really slam the throttle."
Advertisement - Page continues belowMercedes has chopped the tail off the GLE
"The Frankfurt motor show is just around the corner, so German manufacturers are furiously ironing silk car covers to cloak their new cars before whipping them straight off again. But Mercedes has decided to skip that element of surprise and show us the new GLE Coupe. So here you go."
This BMW X6 is painted in the world’s blackest black
"What you’re looking at above is the BMW X6 Vantablack. It’s a one-off from the folks in Bavaria, who have collaborated with British firm Surrey NanoSystems in order to draw some attention to the premiere of the new X6 at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show."
Advertisement - Page continues belowGaming: Wreckfest is a worthy Destruction Derby heir
"With many modern racing games dishing out penalties for track limits violations, avoidable contact and other tedious motorsport infractions, it’s refreshing to find one that actively encourages you to use the other cars as a high speed cornering aid. Wreckfest, which debuted on PC last year and has just arrived on Xbox One and PS4 in a confetti-like shower of metal, is exactly that game. This is what Mad Max sees when he shuts his eyes at night."
Meet the Hyundai Kona that’s an 800bhp electric rally car
"The Kona - just a model in these pictures - is being developed alongside Hyundai New Zealand in Paddon’s homeland, with the assistance of the University of Canterbury, Yes Power and Stard, an Austrian racing team that’s been working on electric rallycross cars."
All hail the eDumper, the largest EV in the world
"Who doesn’t love a dumper truck? We bet at some point you spent your youth shuffling around atop Tonka Toys trying to mine precious metals out of your back garden. Dumper trucks are lightning rods to your inner toddler; they’re so big, so purposeful, so… dumpy. But they’re also dirty beasts. Not just because they spend their lives slothing around filthy quarries, but because they’re powered by gargantuan diesel engines. This fantastically titled truck is here to change that latter point. Because it’s electric."
Audi's AI:TRAIL is an electric off-road concept
"This is the Audi AI:TRAIL Quattro concept, which in HumanSpeak we can broadly translate as: autonomous, electric and off-road. There’s probably more to it than that, but Audi hasn’t yet divulged those particulars."
Litchfield has unlocked 582bhp from the new 911
"How about 582bhp for both the Carrera and Carrera S thanks to a cheeky little ECU remap. That’s a boost of 200bhp from the turbocharged 3.0-litre flat-six without having to go near a set of spanners. Better than that, it makes this new entry-level 992 as powerful as the previous generation’s most halo product, the Turbo S."
The Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 is like a baby G-Class
"See the bigger tailpipes and toothier grille? That’s what tells you this is the AMG 35 version of Merc’s Kodiaq. That and the new, schporty graphics on the screens inside. And the snugger seats. And the choice of 21-inch - yes, twenty-one inch - wheels. And a roof spoiler."
Retro enthusiasts rejoice! Wiesmann is back
"Remember Wiesmann? Of course you do – the German sports car maker knew the perfect recipe during its heydays of the mid-2000s. Its cars were retro-styled, rear-wheel drive and fitted with whacking great BMW engines at the front. There was even one, the GT MF5, which used the E60 M5’s 5.0-litre V10."
What do you think of Startech’s modified Aston Martin Vantage?
"Startech, the subsidiary of Brabus that tunes non-Mercedes Benz cars, has had a crack at improving the already rather good Aston Martin Vantage. Looks pretty restrained though, doesn’t it? And the modifications aren’t cheap either."
The Dalai Lama’s old Land Rover is going up for auction
"As past owners of used cars go, we can’t think of many better than this. What you’re looking at above is a Land Rover Series IIA that was previously owned, from new, by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama - Tenzin Gyatso."
Valtteri Bottas is staying at Mercedes
"Bad news, gossip-mongers: the Mercedes Formula 1 team have confirmed that Valtteri Bottas is staying for another season."
Esteban Ocon is joining Renault F1 next season
"Renault’s Formula 1 team are certainly not hanging about on their summer holidays. Just moments after hearing that Valtteri Bottas was staying at Mercedes for the 2020 season, Renault confirmed that they’ve signed the Silver Arrows’ current development driver Esteban Ocon."
Gawp at this immaculately restored McLaren F1
"This isn’t just any old McLaren F1, but one fresh from an 18-month restoration undertaken by the good people over at McLaren’s Special Operations division."
The Porsche Macan Turbo is back with more power
"This is the new Porsche Macan Turbo and here are the headlines: a new full-width light bar at the back. Only joking. There’s a bit more to it than just LED silliness. Porsche has actually found a replacement for displacement: German cleverness."
Vauxhall Astra review: facelift hatch tested
"It’s the new Vauxhall Astra. Could you not tell? Can you not spot the new grille and bumper? Look, here’s the score. Vauxhall is now owned by PSA Peugeot-Citroen, which obviously wants to save costs by integrating the model ranges as closely as possible. But that takes time. And by the time the deal was done, Vauxhall was already hard at work on the Astra, too far gone in the project to make cancelling it economically viable."
Porsche 911 Carrera review: surprise, the cheaper 911 is the one to buy
"It’s still a 911. It’s still got a 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six dangling out of its bottom – with a bit less power than the Carrera S. But, the cars Porsche handed out to test had been beaten black’n’blue with the options stick…"
Here’s a better, unofficial look at 2021’s Formula 1 cars
"Well, doesn’t that look better than a wind tunnel prototype? These rather lovely renders are from TG’s friend Sean Bull, who has taken it upon himself to give the world a slightly better look at what Formula 1 will look like in 2021."
Extreme E’s first race location will be… Greenland
"Hosting one of the proposed five rounds for the inaugural season will be Greenland (that is if Mr Trump doesn’t get his chequebook out, of course). The circuit, which aims to cover an area no larger than 10km2, will be located close to the Russell Glacier and will “incorporate existing obstacles and features with elevation changes and jumps without the need to adapt the environment,” say the sports’ organisers."
Top Gear’s Top 9: pop-up headlights edition
"Oh yes, it’s not all classics and supercars here, folks. Pop-up headlights have adorned more than just bedroom wall material. Take this wedge of Swedish magnificence: the magnificent Volvo 480. Phwoar."
Porsche 718 Boxster T review: a more exciting roadster?
"It’s the Porsche 718 Boxster T, as the resurgence of the ‘Touring’ branding makes its way down from the 911 range and onto Stuttgart’s two-seat, mid-engined models.
"While it’s designed to be a harder-cored, lighter weight version of the Boxster, don’t confuse it with the new, fully Motorsport-developed Boxster Spyder."
Video: doing 261mph in a Bugatti Chiron Sport
"With 1,479bhp on tap, the Bugatti Chiron Sport has a theoretical top speed of 420kmh. Or 261mph in British. Theoretical… because no one outside Bugatti has ever hit it. Until Top Gear had a go…"
Trending this week
- Electric
