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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 28 Feb '21
Hyundai's new EV, Gordon Murray's track-only supercar and Ferrari returns to Le Mans' top class
Opinion: it's a mistake to can the Jaguar XJ
"One can only assume there’s sound reasoning. Perhaps that smart new EQS looks insurmountable as a rival, and a big posh SUV is a much safer bet to draw in buyers. Whatever Jaguar does reveal, it’s going to have to be bold to convince me it’s a better choice than a new XJ. The car world just lost one of its biggest charmers."
Advertisement - Page continues belowReview: Suzuki Vitara
"The Vitara isn't the coolest crossover on sale, but there's still some fun to be had. More to like here than you might expect"
The T50S Niki Lauda is Gordon Murray’s ultimate track-only supercar
"Breathing in through a RAM-induction roof scoop and 12 throttle bodies, and exhaling into a thinner-walled Inconel exhaust almost freed of silencers, the noise will rival F1 cars from the era when Murray and Lauda were reigning world champions. Can you imagine?"
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe Cupra Formentor VZ5 has five-cylinders and 385bhp
"The unthinkable has happened – Audi has let one of its VW Group bedfellows use the five-cylinder engine from the RS3, RSQ3 and TT RS et al. A birthday present, perhaps, for a company that turns three years old today, and the car it’s building to celebrate…"
This is the new, fully-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5
"Hyundais are cars we admire but don’t necessarily desire. Well that’s about to change. The Ioniq 5 is the first to use the brand’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform, so it’s hugely significant. It also references the Seventies Pony, the hatch (designed by il maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro) that first gave the brand serious traction outside South Korea. Not sure how many of us really remember it, but somehow that little nostalgia kick really works. The result is a sharply surfaced example of the perfect post-modern BEV."
Skoda Octavia vRS review: hot diesel estate driven
"A diesel engine has become a distinctly niche option in recent years – thanks of course to a previous iteration of this very 2.0-litre effort in the Octavia. Far be it from us to pass comment on your lifestyle choices, but surely sticking a diesel on the drive immediately cancels out any of the neighbourhood cool points you’d get from a vRS wagon?"
The all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is here
"Over the past ten years, Mercedes has sold more C-Classes than any other model. This is very good news – saloons (and estates) are far from dead yet. And whilst we’re on the subject of good news, there’s now an all-new C-Class to take on the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe new Lexus IS500 is as close as we’ll get to a new IS-F
"Welcome to the rarest of the rare – a brand-new rear-wheel drive BMW 3 Series-sized saloon with a naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8. It’s called the Lexus IS500 F-Sport and, predictably, will be sold exclusively in North America."
Check out the new Citroen e-Berlingo
"It’s a van with windows and seats, yes, but it’s also the latest Citroen model to be electrified in line with PSA’s aim of completely electrifying its entire line up by 2025. The e-Berlingo’s 50kWh battery pack can be re-charged from zero to 80 per cent in 30 minutes using a 100kW fast charger, while it can be fully charged in seven and a half hours using a 7.4kW wallbox."
Advertisement - Page continues belowCheck out Gunther Werks’ glorious 993 Speedster
"Presumably for legal reasons, what you see above is known as the 993 Speedster Remastered by Gunther Werks. In reality, it’s the Californian company’s take on the ultimate open-topped, air-cooled Porsche 911."
Here’s your first look at the new series of Top Gear telly
"The new series of Top Gear TV is nearly here, and with it comes yet another rational dose of sensible consumer advice and real-world road tests delivered by your hosts, Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris."
GTO Engineering’s Moderna is now available to order
"The engine and design teams are finalising both the V12’s spec, and outer body surfacing, working around that custom ‘muletto’ chassis, itself placed in the workshop as a daily reminder of what they need to achieve."
Dacia Sandero Stepway review: 1.0-litre Bi-Fuel tested
"Prices start at £10,995 and rise all the way up to £14,595. Comparing like-for-like engines, the Stepway is a grand more than the Sandero – you can’t get the smallest engine and most basic kit on the Stepway. But then no-one buys that version anyway."
Posh hot hatch fight: VW Golf R Mk8 vs Mercedes-AMG A35
"So, during the Mk7 Golf R’s life – while the three door bodystyle and manual gearbox were quietly shelved and the price was steadily creeping from sub-£30k to well over £37,000 – AMG was having a rethink. Well, I say ‘think’, but ‘shameless copy’ might be more accurate. "
The new Mini 5 Door has a fancy roof
"This is the new Mini 5 Door, and it follows the same recipe as the car it follows. Take one, regular Mini hatchback, and make it a little longer and ungainlier (while a whole heap more practical)."
Review: Mazda CX-5
"This is the second-generation CX-5, which was launched in 2017 and is updated pretty frequently with new tech and revised engines. The 2021 update brings new infotainment in the form of a 10.25 widescreen that – get this – isn’t operated with the pokes, prods and swipes of a finger, but with an iDrive-style rotary controller down by the gear lever."
Check out the new £100k V8-powered Land Rover Defender
"Yup – we all knew it was coming, and now it’s arrived. Land Rover has stuck its tried and tested 5.0-litre supercharged V8 in the new Defender. Available as either a two-door short-wheelbase ‘90’ or four-door long-wheelbase ‘110’, the V8 Defender makes 518bhp, accelerates to 60mph in a shade under five seconds and tops out at 149mph. Fuel economy is predictably shocking – just 19.5mpg and 327g/km of CO2."
Gordon Murray: 25 questions on the 725bhp T50S Niki Lauda
"The plan was to do exactly what T50 did for road cars on the track: the very best experience. Nothing to do with being the quickest around the Nordschleife – though it’s going to be blindingly quick. It was all focused on if you had to have one track car and potentially go racing one day, what would give you the very best experience?"
Hyundai Tucson review: mild-hybrid tested
"Hyundai used to do some mad design in the early 2000s (first-generation Tiburon Coupe, Veloster, even the ix35) but it was mostly pretty awkward. This Tucson is aimed at buyers of ordinary family cars who want to stand out without looking odd. It probably hits the spot."
Ten motorsport images you probably haven't seen
"Rose-tinted specs on, it's time for a glance into a racecar photo archive"
Ford Mustang Mach-E Standard Range RWD review: cheapest and best?
"The display said 215 miles. We reckon you’re safe in betting on 205 miles. As per all AWD Mach-Es we’ve tested so far, battery consumption levelled off at a respectable 3.0 miles per kWh. If you could theoretically use all 76kWhs and keep rolling until it went flat, you’d go 228 miles in total. "
Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo review: prototype EV tested
"This is a prototype of the Taycan Cross Turismo, the arrival of more metal at the rear, an off-road package and a Gravel Mode in the drive set-up being among the very few things we can think of that make Porsche’s all-conquering BEV even cooler than it already is."
Official: Ferrari will race a hypercar at Le Mans!
"Oh yeah, it’s on. Ferrari aims to enter the series in 2023 with an entirely new hypercar which will, let’s face it, be really bloody special. We’re told that it has kicked off the development phase of this new LMH car – stuff like design and simulation – with details like “the track testing programme, the name of the car and the drivers who will make up the official crews” to follow in due course."
Carroll Shelby’s own ultimate Cobra is heading to auction
"Well, this is Shelby’s own 1966 427 Super Snake – one of two ever built and the only one remaining after the other (a former PR car) was eventually sold and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. This car – CSX 3015 – started life as a 427 Cobra Competition race car, but in 1967 Shelby had it made road-legal and transformed into a Semi-Competition car."
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