Everything you need to know about cars this week: 29 Sep '19

"The process of renting a car is not fun. Long queues at the airport, lots of paperwork, various hidden charges that end up basically doubling your bill… and then a crummy hatchback at the end of it.

"But maybe all those frustrations would be forgotten, were you to walk out of the terminal and be greeted by one of these things."

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"The Panther ProgettoUno is the first in the ‘Legends Reborn’ series from Ares Design, Dany Bahar’s Modena-based carrozzeria, which is looking to capitalise on the zeitgeist for personalisation in the supercar marketplace. Inspired by the original De Tomaso Pantera, the Panther echoes its key design cues but catapults them into the modern era. And, given the amount of air being sucked through the teeth of the onlookers – and the surge in the local area’s social media activity – the design has won approval in Italy’s motor valley."

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"The Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro. The many addendums to its name prove that this is the most hardcore version of Merc’s halo supercar (for now at least)."

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"Away from that grille there’s extended wheel arches, a new front bumper and massive 22-inch wheels. Inside is some new black quilted leather with red trim, and some Kahn seat studs. Lovely."

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"As of November, the ubiquitous BMW 520d is set to get a new mild-hybrid system. Comprised of a 48V starter-generator and second battery, BMW says additional power harvested by the system will be used to power ancillaries and for an 'electric overboost' function."

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"Meet the fasted naked electric motorbike in the world. This is the bike Nottingham University have developed for the Isle of Man TT’s Zero race, but as a tribute to its fallen rider, it’s been tweaked for straight-line speed and spent last weekend at Elvington Airfield in York racking up five different records."

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"Woah boy, there’s a lot to take in here. Quite literally, because Lumma’s €8,270 kit has beefed out Land Rover’s best-selling SUV with 45mm of additional width on either side via wheel arch extensions. That’s front and back. Width restrictors are currently wagging their tails in anticipation. If they had tails."

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"Having supercharged and boosted everything from pick-up trucks to Corvettes (to cupholders, no doubt), Hennessey Performance is now planning on entering the shiny new world of electric cars.

"Yes folks, the Texan tuner is going to modify its first ever fast EV."

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"Aston Martin has announced that its first ever SUV, the DBX, will come equipped with a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 engine. No big surprise there, as it’s the very same one you get in the DB11 and Vantage… and a plethora of AMG-engined Mercs. Because it started life as an AMG engine.

"But in the DBX, it produces more power than either of those other Aston sports cars."

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"RS7 mk1 certainly wasn’t an all-time great, so Audi’s gone right back to the drawing board, and convinced the keeper of the company finances to dig deep so that it can swap most of the body panels to endow it with a much wider, burlier look than a regular A7. It’s gained 40mm in width and the makeover is so successful, say the designers, they’ve not had to add a fixed spoiler or the faux vents and grilles that plague even some of their own cars."

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"We’d like to imagine that at some point in the recent past, someone at Scania asked ‘what would the car internet like to see?’ followed up by the best possible answer. ‘How about an autonomous dumper truck powersliding around an abandoned mine modelled after a DOG?’

"Yes folks, this is that thing. Autonomous. Dumper truck. Powersliding. Best day ever."

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"This is Porsche’s first all-electric car, previewed by the Mission E concept way back in 2015. A car we’re expecting to re-write the rule book on what an EV is capable of. A torch-bearer for the future of the performance car. No pressure."

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"What happens when 15 of 2019’s greatest performance cars battle it out all day and all night on one mega circuit? Well, someone call the tyre fitters, as Top Gear magazine and Chris Harris find out."

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"These things were all the rage once upon a time, before the car industry went all ‘pumpkin spice latte’ and decided what the world needed was yet more crossover-coupe-SUVs and shooting-brakes-that-are-just-swoopy-estate cars."

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"Attention, anyone with OCD triggered by the old Audi RSQ3 only having one massive oval tailpipe instead of the signature two RS pipes. We have good news. Meanwhile, anyone who’s sick to the back teeth of coupe-SUV-crossover-4x4 niche-o-thingys: go and pop the kettle on."

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"Time for some Top Gear science. You see, Tesla claims the Model 3 Performance will do 0-60mph in a rather impressive 3.2 seconds. That’s thanks to dual e-motors, fed by a 75kWh battery, giving all-wheel drive and 444bhp/471lb ft. Remember, this is a five-seat family saloon with two boots that costs under £50,000. Not shabby."

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"A quick bit of research on the Interweb proves that there are studio flats for sale in London that cover a space as small as 10 square metres. Why do we do it to ourselves? What we all really need is to get out of the city and into one of Peugeot’s latest concept vehicles – the Boxer 4x4."

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"In BMW language, a GC is a four-door coupe-ish thing. In this case a version of the ritzy 8 Series coupe, with added doors. It’s not just some lazy stretch job. Every exterior panel is different aft of the windscreen. 

"The front doors are longer, the rear doors simply exist, the wheelbase is longer, the roof is higher. The rear track is a fraction wider, mostly for design reasons. Even the boot lid and rear wings are new, enclosing extra litres in a longer rear overhang."

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"California is becoming a petri dish for EV start-ups. Off the back of the rise of Tesla, we’ve got companies like Rivian sprouting up all over the shop – plus the people tuning all the leccy cars. But there’s also Canoo, a SoCal start-up that thinks it has the answer to the future of mobility with this, the, err, Canoo."

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"WARNING: the following video contains footage that some viewers may find distressing. And by some viewers, likely it’ll be all of you.

"That’s because this video contains footage of the £1.5m+ Rimac C_Two hypercar crashing. A lot. Five times, in fact. It’s all a part of the C_Two’s homologation process to ensure it’ll be safe and road-legal across the globe. Still, five times."

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"We’re told that factory test driver Sonny Persson pointed the 1,479bhp Regera down the Råda military airfield - near the town of Lidköping - at some point last week, and managed to do a 0-249mph-0 (or 0-400kmh-0) time in just 31.49s. You will note this is just under two actual seconds faster."

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"Looks and drives like a supercar, but doesn't sound like one. The NSX is something wilfully, wonderfully different."

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"Don’t worry, Toyota and Subaru haven’t forgotten about the GT86 and BRZ twins. In an official announcement, both companies have committed to working together on the next generation of the affordable, rear-drive hero."

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"To the casual observer, this S209 will look pretty much like every other recent Subaru WRX STI. The name and wing might hint that this is something a bit more special. On the flip side WRX STI fans need no explanation whatsoever. They are getting light-headed at the very fact this car exists at all. This is the water-spray cooled, carbon-roofed, be-winged messiah of their dreams."

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"From the 670bhp Volkswagen I.D. R, right down to the £72k Renault Megane Trophy-R, here's everything you need to know about our full 15-car line up for TG24, with Top Gear Magazine's Jack Rix."

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