Will CO2 rules choke car industry profits? November 12, 2019 | City Talk Europe’s car industry needs to tackle the huge challenge posed by new emissions regulations. But for those who do, it’s a major opportunity. The commitment to limit global warming to 2 degrees is the greatest challenge of our time. If we’re going to meet it then we need to cut harmful emissions from industry, and [...]
The Lister LFT-C is a modified Jaguar F-Type with a devilish 666bhp November 11, 2019 What would Jesus drive? It’s a question you see posed by bumper stickers across America. The answer, of course, is an old Honda he prefers not to talk about: “For I did not speak of my own Accord”. The devil, one suspects, has more extravagant taste, and while the scriptures aren’t specific – I checked, [...]
How a Lexus mid-life crisis led to a £3m yacht and a car that outshines Jaguar and Porsche October 30, 2019 A few years ago, at the prestigious Pebble Beach concours in California, the president of the Toyota Motor Company was holding court and pressing flesh. Akio Toyoda, 63, is the grandson of Toyota’s founder and so, you can imagine, he takes enormous pride in its products, and none more so than its luxury off-shoot, Lexus. [...]
Super Soco TC Max review: A stylish and speedy electric moped with classic 60s swagger October 2, 2019 Electric motorcycles are about as close to real life Tron as you can get without tying an orange bed sheet to the back of your bike and only ever turning at 90 degree angles. Riding one is an experience akin to gliding around on a ghostly steed, the only sound the quiet rumble of rubber [...]
Putting the new Audi R8 through its paces on some hair-raising roads from Calais to Paris to Provence September 25, 2019 The Audi R8 is a mid-engined supercar with multiple personalities. Ideal, therefore, for a blast through France to visit three characterful but very different hotels. The 2019 Audi R8 might have only received a mild facelift but it can still stop people in their tracks. From the front, I worry that the recent nip-tuck makes [...]
Consumer group calls on car manufacturers to recall faulty models September 10, 2019 Some of the UK’s most popular car models are among the least reliable and could leave motorists facing mechanical failures and potentially high repair bills, new research has found. Consumer rights group Which said it has uncovered “inherent flaws” in some vehicles made by carmakers including Nissan, Seat, and Tesla, and called on manufacturers to [...]
The Jaguar F-Pace SVR is a fire-breathing SUV brute. But Tim Pitt discovers its softer side September 9, 2019 Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations division hasn’t been backwards about coming forwards. Its opening salvo was the 2016 F-Type SVR, a bona fide British supercar to rival the Porsche 911 GT3. In 2018, SVO then followed up with something even more extreme. The XE SV Project 8 was a hand-built 600hp road racer that vaguely resembled [...]
Tribute act: Why Ferrari’s F8 Tributo is an extraordinary piece of engineering September 3, 2019 Talk about hallowed tarmac. Fiorano is Ferrari’s private test track next to its world-famous HQ in Maranello. It was built in 1972 to run both road and racing cars. Driving it is a rite of passage for any serious Ferrari owner, and for many a motoring journalist. As I passed through the famous gates, I [...]
The Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante is the best looking car in town – and boy is it a rush August 12, 2019 Forgive me, officer, for I have sinned. If absolute power corrupts absolutely, then 725 metric horsepower tests even the sternest sense of resolve. It will blast you to 62mph in less time than it takes to say ‘Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante’ and leave black lines on the Tarmac longer than the Costa Brava. Thankfully, [...]
The David Brown Mini Remastered is a small car with a big price tag August 6, 2019 My first car was a Mini. If you’re fast-approaching middle age, yours probably was too. I bought my (t)rusty 1983 Mini City for £325, sprayed go-faster stripes on the bonnet and shoehorned a subwoofer into the boot. After passing my test, I enjoyed one day of glorious freedom, then crashed it in Croydon. Result: a [...]