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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 3 Nov '19
We drive the Mustang GT500 and revisit the Renault 5 Turbo
Why the Renault 5 Turbo is a hot hatch hero
"Among the first competition cars Renault ever turbocharged, it’s now almost 40 years since the car was conceived as a mid-engined, RWD response to the Lancia Stratos’s rallying dominance. The company may have an extraordinarily rich back catalogue of hot hatchbacks, but the 5 Turbo is unquestionably the most exotic, the most remarkable, the most implausible of the lot."
Advertisement - Page continues belowBMW Z4 sDrive20i review: is cheapest best?
"The s20i does prove that Toyota should give the lesser-powered Supras a crack outside of the Japanese market, too. This engine slots right into the Z4’s chassis-mate and I suspect the interest in a £40k Supra that’s shaved 100 or so kilos could be quite high. A cheaper entry price means more money for tuning, right?"
Gemballa wants you to buy its new bespoke supercar
"Hoo-rah for Gemballa, the German tuning nutters who’ve taken a break from applying power, wing and dubious paint to Carrera GTs, 911 Turbos and various McLarens to cook up its own newcomer to the supercar scene."
Advertisement - Page continues belowProdrive is helping build an electric lorry with McLaren F1 seating
"Swedish start-up Volta Trucks has called upon Prodrive to help engineer its new all-electric HGV. Yep, the same Prodrive that lists six WRC titles, five Le Mans class wins and four British Touring Car Championship trophies among its achievements is now working on a lorry."
This is Lamborghini’s new V12 track monster
"Lamborghini’s motorsport division – Squadra Corse – has been let loose to build a track-only, V12-engined hypercar, the first glimpse of which you can see above. Exciting times are afoot for the world’s billionaire trackday-ers, then."
Alpine A110S review: harder, faster, stronger… better?
"Alpine has strengthened a lot of its car’s ingredients but not messed with the recipe. So we’re still dealing with one of the best-judged real-world performance cars currently on sale (well, as real-world as £56k can be) just one with more nous and likely a fiddlier ride when we get to try it on UK roads."
There's now an even harder cored Hyundai Veloster N
"Hyundai’s doing SEMA right. After showing us a teaser of what’s basically a Veloster monster truck, it’s revealed this Veloster N Performance, its quirky 3+1-door coupe thingy with a heap of seriously nerdy fast bits attached, turning it into a right tearaway."
Advertisement - Page continues belowFerrari’s new GT3 car isn’t an F8 Tributo
"This is interesting – Ferrari’s new GT3 racer is modelled on a car you can’t actually buy anymore. Rather than develop a GT3 racer off the back of the new F8 Tributo, the Italians have instead decided to refine the existing 488 GT3. Within the boundaries of the FIA’s regulations, naturally. Meaning changes are subtle."
The De Tomaso P72 has a supercharged Roush V8
"The V8, a supercharged Ford 5.0-litre modified by Roush, will still be fantastically powerful, though. Over 700bhp and 600lb ft, spinning at “in excess of 7,500rpm”, powering the rear wheels only via a six-speed manual transmission."
Advertisement - Page continues belowToyota’s 426bhp Supra GT4 will cost £180k
"The GT4 Supra we first told you about in the summer has now been priced, with a few more spec details thrown in for good measure, too. That 3.0-litre turbo six gets a healthy boost to 426bhp and 479lb ft – up considerably over the road car’s 335bhp and 369lb ft."
Shelby GT500 review: crazed 750bhp Mustang driven
"Impressed is not the right word. Staggered is more like it. When I drove the Chevy ZL1 1LE, I thought it was going to take some beating. On this first impression, the GT500 crushes it flat. I can also see that, on non aero-sensitive tracks, that it’d probably have the measure of the vaunted Viper ACR, too. But the really impressive thing is that it can do all of this AND then cruise home – or to the other side of the country – in church-like silence and lounge comfort."
Review: BMW X6
"All-new third-generation X6 is easy to drive quickly, but not as rewarding as we'd hoped."
Someone has converted this Ariel Nomad into an EV
"It’s an all-electric Ariel Nomad that was converted by Michigan-based parts supplier BorgWarner. If you were to pick any car to provide a sense of fun, the Nomad would be at the top of most lists."
Mazda3 Skyactiv-G — long-term review
"It really is a pity people who want a family hatchback just default to the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf. Because good as those cars are (very), the Mazda3 has a great deal to offer. I mean, just look at it."
Suzuki Jimny — long-term review
"You’ve never seen a melee like it. Every day, at 5:27pm on the dot, there’s a scrap between my colleagues to work out who takes the Jimny home. Unprecedented levels of demand in an office that frequently has a Porsche, Aston or Tesla in its car park. And all for a car whose miles per hour figure can’t scrape into three figures."
This Toyota Supra has been abandoned for over 15 years
"Second-hand car dealers use all kind of zany bait to try and lure potential buyers in. In the US, those giant inflatable men that look like they’re having a disco seizure are common. While over here in the UK, we tend to park an old Freelander haphazardly on some rockery. In Japan, they go the extra mile – using a rotting (and completely genuine) 1999 Toyota Supra GT500 JGTC race car as a sort of marketing magnet."
Video: Porsche Taycan Turbo S vs Tesla Model S
"This is the battle for EV supremacy. In the green corner, the £140k, 750bhp Porsche Taycan Turbo S. In the red corner, the £100k, 754bhp Tesla Model S Performance Ludicrous+. Place your bets now."
Groupe PSA and Fiat-Chrysler are joining forces
"As tie-ups go, this is up there with the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block going on tour. Both companies, who would each hold 50 per cent of shares of the new combined entity, announced the merger would potentially result in combined revenues of €170bn, and sales of 8.7m cars."
The Porsche 911 now permits you to shift your own gears
"Do the words ‘heel’n’toe’ make you think of downshifts rather than dance moves? Do you own polo shirts with car logos embroidered on the chest? Then at last, here’s your version of the new 911. It’s the manual, people."
Fisker’s electric SUV is called… Ocean
"After Fisker titled its gullwing doored electro-coupe-saloon the ‘Emotion’, TopGear.com has had a nice crisp fiver bet on the certainty that Fisker’s new 4x4 would be called the SUV-motion. Because rhyming and that."
Formula 1 announces 2021 regs, including spending cap
"Here we go then. Formula 1 has finally announced the rules and regulations for 2021’s big shakeup. We’ve brought you wind tunnel shots and unofficial renders galore, but this is the real thing."
This car graveyard is where rare gems go to die
"You may have seen our recent article on the abandoned Toyota Supra race car. To the surprise of many, that legendary racer had been left to rot for over 15 years. Unsurprisingly, a lot you were sad about that – especially the generation that had a misspent youth getting pale and angry while endlessly playing Gran Turismo. Well, we’d hate to rub it in, but we kept something from you, as that was only the tip of the iceberg. Salt, meet wounds."
