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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 4 Oct '20
Reviews of the McLaren 765LT and electric Volvo XC40, plus a UK drive of the VW ID.3
The Giocattolo Marcella is a 1,400bhp hypercar hot rod
"This, as you’ll likely be patently aware already, is a series of drawings. And we’re usually a bit on the suspicious side of completely disbelieving when it comes to the conversion rate from drawings on a page to running and driving cars."
Advertisement - Page continues belowVideo: TG's Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI review
The new eighth-generation GTI has landed. We head to the Anglesey track to see if there’s any revelations in the corners and new magic in the chassis. Is VW’s new hot hatch really as sensible as it looks?
Official: the Polestar Precept is going into production
"Polestar has confirmed that it plans to put its Precept ‘commitment car’ into full production. Which means one day in the future – should you be attired in your favourite Money Suit – you can buy this very car."
Advertisement - Page continues belowReview: Lexus LC500 Convertible
"Repeat after us: this is not a sports car. It’s a world-class cruiser, brimming with character"
Review: McLaren 765LT
"McLaren's third LT is its most ferocious yet. Take your brave pills and strap in"
Woohoo! It's the new Dacia Sandero
"A Top Gear hero returns. I know we usually bang on about stratospheric numbers in horsepower, top speed, maybe these days kilowatt-hours. But no. Here’s a car that grabs our admiration for a teensy-weensy number. The new Dacia Sandero starts off somewhere less than £8000."
Behold: Prior Design's widebody Audi Coupe
"This is not your average automotive modification. Because it looks like something Audi itself would have built had it decided, back in the Eighties, to build a motorsport-infused Coupe."
Advertisement - Page continues belowNissan’s Re-Leaf is an emergency response EV concept
"This is an electric concept car built by Nissan. It does not preview the next-generation GT-R, nor is it a nutjob 1,000bhp+ hyperthing. It is a prototype built to drive into the centre of a disaster zone and provide emergency electrical assistance."
Citroen C5 Aircross review: plug-in hybrid crossover tested
"CO2 emissions of 32g/km mean you won’t pay much tax. Company car drivers get the most benefit – a BIK rate of ten per cent means a top-rate taxpayer could save as much as £270 per month versus the top-spec C5 petrol."
Advertisement - Page continues belowHonda Civic Type R review: madcap Limited Edition driven
"This is Honda playing Renault Sport at the stripped-out special game it’s mastered since the majestic Megane R26.R. So you’re looking at a Civic that’s lost 47kg while gaining about £5,000."
Video: flat out in the McLaren 765LT
"Where does this new McLaren longtail sit in the pantheon of fast McLarens? Time to find out on track."
Yes folks, Hyundai is developing a WALKING CAR
"Hyundai is developing a walking car. There’s lot of talk about ‘pushing boundaries’ and shaping ‘the future of mobility’ and so on in the announcement, but ultimately, it boils down to the fact that Hyundai is developing a WALKING CAR."
Gallery: the 2020 Nürburgring 24hr race
"Spoiler alert: BMW won the 2020 Nürburgring 24hr race, held last weekend at… the Nürburgring. That’s the winning car above, the #99 Rowe Racing M6 GT3 driven by Alexander Sims, Nicky Catsburg, Nick Yelloly and Philipp Eng. The team won ahead of Audi Sport’s #3 R8 LMS GT3, and Schnitzer’s #42 M6 GT3. The win also comes 10 years after BMW’s last victory at the ‘Ring."
Garage: does the BMW i3's better battery mean it's no longer a city car?
"Way back in the mists of its conceptualising (the work was done in 2008-9, and I’ve shown a design sketch they released in mid-2010), BMW people called what was to become the i3 the ‘megacity vehicle’. So lots of decisions were taken to prioritise its whole shape and proportions for that use. An urban car."
Trailer: the cars of Top Gear series 29
"The new series of TG TV kicks off Sunday, 4 Oct at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Here's a small taster of the cars on offer..."
Review: Seat Leon Estate
"A superb effort from Seat that might just give the Golf Estate, when it’s launched, something to think about"
ABT has turned the Audi RS4 into a 526bhp estate
"We’re pretty sure nobody ever got out of an Audi RS4 and thought, ‘sheesh, that could really use another 70-odd horsepower’. Mostly people get out of an Audi RS4 and think ‘sheesh, only ten bumpers ridden today, must try harder’."
Jeep Renegade 4xe review: plug-in 4x4 tested
"This PHEV Renegade is best suited to a more sedate pace – throttle response is languid and the auto gearbox best left unhurried or it’ll get flummoxed. The ride is fairly smooth and compliant, and there’s roll through corners if you push on. It’s a comfortable car at seven-tenths, and definitely feels more like a downsized off-roader than a supermini on stilts."
Volkswagen ID.3 review: EV’s first UK test
"This is the ID.3, the Golf’s future-leaning cousin, a sensible five-door family hatchback that runs entirely on electricity - so it’s a different shape, and has a different set of pros and cons. We’ll come to those in minute but first let’s set the scene, because the significance of this car is… significant."
Review: Volvo XC40 P8 Recharge
"What we have here is nothing less than the most dynamically capable Volvo ever. Seriously."
Here's your big Top Gear series 29 preview
"The presenters then were ordered to make their cars road-legal (a quicker job for some than others), and report to London’s glitzy Alexander Palace, where the Top Gear producers had constructed an enormous Wall Of Death. A hundred feet wide, 25 feet tall, and completely, terrifyingly vertical. Time for a very different kind of sideways action…"
