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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 17 May '20
Musical chairs in F1, plus more on the new Golf GTI
Retro Review: Citroen AX GT
"A hot hatch so lightweight it only used three bolts to hold each wheel on. Yikes"
Advertisement - Page continues belowIs it more fun being a test rider than a MotoGP star?
"The 37-year-old is a test rider for Suzuki’s MotoGP team, but has more recently become a minor video star, taking stock road bikes on track to see how close he can get their lap times to proper Premier League race metal."
Nine of the best supercar concepts from the 90s
"The outrageous supercars of the 1990s that never made production, but really should have"
Advertisement - Page continues belowMercedes’ new steering wheel knows when you’re touching it
"Most cars, like the old Mercedes E-Class, ask you to give the steering wheel a little wiggle every so often, so the systems know you’re a) holding on to the wheel and b) thus still very much in control. It does this even if the road is dead-straight, so no input is required. This is annoying."
Change Our Mind #8: Covid-19 will save the supercar
"With the Bank of England forecasting the sharpest recession on record and UK car sales down NINETY SEVEN PER CENT in April, I’m going to make a prediction: Covid-19 will save the supercar. You’ll have to bear with me."
#TopGearChallenge Four: Journalism
"Your #TopGearChallenge this week is to write 500 words on your greatest car story. It doesn’t matter what the story is about (it can be a memory, journey or even a love letter to your favourite car), we just want your best. Our writers are looking for accuracy, colour, enthusiasm and immersive, descriptive writing. "
What would your three-car dream garage look like?
"The internet is awash with people spamming each other into unconsciousness via ‘challenges’ that resolve into a mere few minutes lobotomised diversion, and not ones to be left without at least a toe-hold in the world of pointlessness, we thought we’d get involved."
Advertisement - Page continues belowElon Musk wants to reopen Tesla in defiance of lockdown orders
"Tesla’s renegade boss is no stranger to a feud, nor an online rant getting him into trouble. Elon Musk vs Alameda County could be the next episode of the saga."
Mechatronik is restomodding a 70s Merc SL. Yes
"Safe to say, we’re a tad excited about this one. German restomodder Mechatronik has announced it is building a very special Mercedes-Benz SL. Specifically, the R/C107 generation from the 70s and 80s."
Advertisement - Page continues belowF1: Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of 2020
"The announcment adds a twist to the already surreal nature of 2020’s so far non-season. Whether it’s an unexpected turn of events, though, is moot. As recently as last month, Vettel was talking confidently about extending his contract to stay with the Maranello-based team before the season properly commenced. "
Lotus says the Evija hypercar has ‘fighter jet’ aerodynamics
"Lotus has released a video showing the pretty patterns its holey hypercar makes as it cleaves the air around it apart, and Hill has explained a little about how the Evija is going to stick to the road harder than the white lines themselves."
Retro Review: Citroen DS
"Supreme comfort and impossibly elegant looks never go out of fashion"
11 cars that saved their companies
"Under new management, VW invested in a totally new line of models, led by the Passat, and shortly afterwards, the Golf MKI, which featured a new front-wheel drive platform and straight four engine. Volkswagen had struck lucky; it was an immediate hit."
This is how we'd spec a 1,972bhp Lotus Evija
"Is the Lotus Evija the best-looking of the new near-2000bhp pure-electric hypercar breed? For my money – and at approximately £2m, that’s a chunk of hypothetical change – it’s certainly the most space-shippy. This is what I want my pure-electric wedge of unobtanium to resemble, thanks very much."
BYD’s Han is a Model 3 rival that can do 0-62mph in 3.9s
"It is called the BYD Han EV (named after the Han dynasty), and it also appears to be aimed squarely at a certain Tesla Model 3, because that aforementioned 0-62mph time is claimed at 3.9 seconds. Very, very fast, then."
The Corvette C8.R won’t race at Le Mans after all
"While it’s tremendous news this year’s Le Mans 24hrs has been merely postponed, rather than cancelled, the new September date doesn’t suit everyone. Corvette Racing, for example, has just announced it won’t be competing in this year’s race. Boo."
A Bugatti intern has designed this wild Type 35 tribute
"It’s not like this was an out of hours project either – the whole thing was apparently overseen by Bugatti’s Head of Design Achim Anscheidt and ex-Head of Exterior Design Sasha Selipanov (now design boss at Koenigsegg) as well as other members of the Bugatti team."
Six more interesting used cars you should be buying
"No one, it seems, is buying interesting second-hand cars. Isn’t that the whole point of the second-hand market – expensive cars that depreciate until we, the great unwashed, can get our grubby mitts on them and be ruined by the costs of servicing and upkeep? It’s probably the most-fulfilled dream in the Top Gear office. "
This is an Audi RS6 with almost 1,000bhp
"Remember German tuner Wheelsandmore and its 1,036bhp Audi R8 V10 Plus Spyder? Well the same folks have now put that same kind of face-melting power into the new RS6."
Buy Colin Chapman’s actual Lotus Turbo Esprit
"Chapman’s Esprit was built in February 1981 (but not registered until August), and used by the Big Man until his death in December 1982. He covered just over 4,000 miles in the car, which was built to his exact spec. And as the man in charge, Chapman wasn’t bound by the same options list his customers were…"
Bugatti is now testing the Chiron Pur Sport, and it’ll drift
"Weeks of Covid-19 lockdown have clearly made the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport rather angry. Here it is, in menacing prototype form being thrashed to the limit at Bilster Berg; a circuit that’s not to be taken lightly."
Here's your best look yet at Maserati's new supercar
"Shouldn’t be too long before we get to see what Maserati’s MC20 “super sports car” looks like without its zany camouflage, now that it appears to have ditched the shonky Alfa Romeo 4C bodywork in favour of what could be production-ready panels."
Six things you need to know about the Mk8 VW Golf GTI
"Of course changes have been made – VW wanted the new GTI to be more precise and predictable than the old car, but also more practical and comfortable, so it’s tinkered with the suspension and introduced some new tech."
Carlos Sainz has joined Ferrari's F1 team for 2021…
"No pressure, Jr, but next year will be a big ‘un. Sainz’s departure from Woking means there’s a fresh spot there, and in 2021 that’ll be taken up by the biggest smile in Formula 1. Yep, Daniel Ricciardo will leave Renault and join McLaren, partnering up with Lando Norris."
Behold: Superformance’s MKIII-R Cobra continuation car
"This is Superformance’s follow-up to the wonderful MKIII we drove a while back. Hence, it is called the MKIII-R, and judging by how life-affirming the older car was, this promises to be excellent."
Confirmed: VW’s ‘R’ performance brand will go electric
"The new, Mk8 Volkswagen Golf R will be revealed later this year; a four-wheel-drive, 2.0-litre turbo’d hot hatch that will most probably tick your ‘yeah this car will do everything I need’ box. But in the future, a Volkswagen R model – the fast, exciting, annoyingly competent performance ones – will look altogether different."
