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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 14 Mar '21
We drive the new BMW M3 & M4, plus your Top Gear Series 30 preview
Meet F1’s new safety car, a bewinged Aston Martin Vantage
"Aston’s Vantage safety car and DBX medical car will make their debut at the first race of the season in Bahrain, but the good ol’ AMG GT-R and C63 Estate (now painted bright red) will return for the Emilia-Romagna GP at Imola a couple of weeks later."
Advertisement - Page continues belowSkoda Octavia vRS review: does it work as a diesel 4x4?
"With all of the engine’s muscles flexed by 4,000rpm, there’s little actual fun to be had from tugging the paddles yourself. But if you’re feeling excitable, flicking the transmission into S (rather than D) livens things up nicely and the gearbox feels smartly mapped for brisk driving. Undercover police officers will have a jolly good time chasing down crims in these."
Porsche has just bought a bigger stake in Rimac
"Porsche has just invested another €70million in Rimac, increasing its stake in the Croatian tech company from 15.5 to 24 per cent."
Advertisement - Page continues belowHere's a sneaky glimpse of the Kia EV6 electric car
"This, girls and boys, is our first look at the Kia EV6. It is an electric car with some crossover vibes, which won’t make it in the least bit unique. Good job it’s channelling some Stinger styling touches to ensure it’ll stand out from the crowd, then. If someone popped some coins in the meter and turned on the lights, we reckon it’d look cracking."
Vauxhall Combo Cargo 4x4 driven: special delivery
"Postman Pat wishes he had a van like this – the targets get tighter all the time, and it’s not easy to traverse those rural delivery spots in Greendale during the colder, wetter months. "
Progress report: the Aston Martin Vantage, 1999 vs 2021
"Where Vantage used to be a suffix, it’s now a model line. So while in grey we have the Vantage in its current iteration – a punchy two-seat sports car with myriad rivals – the darker colour is worn by the Vantage version of the Aston Martin Virage, a land yacht of a Nineties coupe with four seats wrapped in the leather of nine cows. Seriously."
Restomod of the week: Chieftain's 700bhp Range Rover Extreme
"The Chieftain Extreme is a two-door Range Rover Classic in running spikes: lowered, side-piped and completely unapologetic. Even in two-tone retro Bahama Beige. There’s more than just a failed air suspension under here though: Chieftain build some of the nicest restomod Range Rover Classics out there, so the Extreme is a kind of logical, 700bhp demonstration of what can be achieved if you really want to annoy owner’s clubs."
Advertisement - Page continues belowGaming review: Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
"If you play modern racing games and think ‘I wish the suspension felt more like it was made of blancmange’ then Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 may be the videogame for you. Here is a game where you’ll spend at least 50 per cent of your time bouncing wildly out of control having clipped some divot or other."
Look inside the new Audi Q4 e-tron SUV
"We won’t see the Q4 e-tron sans camouflage until next month (but as you can probably tell, it’ll look almost exactly like the concept). For now all Audi wants to talk about is the interior and a bit of headline tech."
Advertisement - Page continues belowFormula Woman is back for 2021
"Applications will open soon and ‘after a series of online assessments’ the 16 finalists will go through televised on-track tests, with a final at the end of February 2022. This time around, the winners will receive entry into the 2022 GT Cup Championship with McLaren’s customer racing department providing two 570S GT4s. "
Now’s your chance to own an actual Audi Le Mans car
"In 2013 chassis #100 was modified to look like a later hybrid-spec car for the media to fawn over while the real cars were out testing and racing. But in 2018 it was returned to original 2011 spec and fully restored by Audi Sport. Art & Revs says it hasn’t moved since, so the 532bhp 3.7-litre V6 diesel engine and sequential gearbox are good for 10,000 and 7,000km respectively before they need rebuilding."
AC Cars is building 12 special Cobras to mark its 120th birthday
"120 years and many owners later, AC Cars is still in business. So to celebrate, its current owner is building a run of 12 Cobras – one for every decade the company’s been trading."
It's our first proper look at the Hyundai Kona N
"We already know a fair bit about the Hyundai Kona N: same 276bhp and front-wheel drive as the i30N hot hatch, and similarly mischievous behaviour too. We just haven’t, until now, known what it looks like."
Revealed: the BMW M3, M4 and M5 MotoGP safety cars
"This is BMW’s 2021 fleet of safety cars for the upcoming MotoGP season, and a chance to wheel out the new kids on the block. (No, you’re suddenly humming along to Hangin’ Tough.)"
This is Ferrari’s new Formula 1 car
"Things can only get better for Ferrari – 2020 was its worst season in F1 for more than 40 years. It finished a lowly sixth in the Constructors’ Championship and didn’t win a single race. So there’s much pressure on its new car, the SF21, to turn things around. "
The most powerful Volkswagen yet is now on sale
"Welcome to the most powerful production Volkswagen yet – the 456bhp, 516lb ft Touareg R. It’s just gone on sale for £72,995, which also makes it the most expensive VW you can currently buy in the UK (with the exception of the £75,000 Grand California). "
Crashing a Valkyrie on Aston's shiny new £70k sim
"The story goes that the prototype was so popular that it came back covered in designer’s clay, and so began a collaboration to build a luxury, high-end home simulator with Aston DNA that the two companies could sell to the public. "
Top Gear TV: the cars of Series 30
"Ahead of the new series this weekend, here's a quick look at the CARS"
Review: Audi A4 Avant
"Might not have the hustle of a BMW 3 Series Touring, but it’s got high-quality and refinement on its side"
Nine of the new BMW M3 (and M4)'s most noteworthy features
"In short, it’s the techiest M3 yet. No surprise, given it’s swelled in size, weight and price, now effectively occupying the space the M5 used to (the delightful BMW M2 now occupying the footprint and producing the power of M3s of yore)."
Jaguar is restoring 12 E-Types for its 60th anniversary
"That’s better, isn’t it? A cheery good morning to the nicest thing – things – you’ll see today, which is a pair of Jaguar E-Types. They’re called the ’60 Collection’, because they are built in honour of that most famous of Jags turning 60 years old."
New Top Gear: here's your Series 30 preview
Here’s what Paddy, Freddie and Chris have been up to since we last saw them
Review: BMW M3 Competition
"Ignore the grille, what lies behind makes the M3 the most complete sports saloon on sale today"
Chris Harris Drives: the new BMW M3 saloon
"The new M3 is here. Being such a controversial car, there was only one person to slot into the carbon bucket seat of the £75k, 503bhp, rear-wheel drive saloon: Craig Revel Horwood. Sadly he wasn’t around, so we put Chris Harris behind the wheel instead. Here’s what he had to say…"
Review: BMW M4 Competition
"Not an instant hitter like the cars that came before it, but a considerably greater all-rounder awaits those willing to give it time"
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