Table of contents for July 2016 in Evo

“Last year the event sold out its 150 places within 36 hours of entries opening” IF YOU PRESSED ME TO NAME my favourite part of the world, I would probably say it was the remoter parts of scotland. Given the far-flung reaches that I’ve been lucky enough to gad about in, it might seem odd that I would pick somewhere that doesn’t require an aeroplane to reach, but the quietly rugged beauty of scotland is simply magical. If you continued this rigorous line of inquisition (threatening me with a soft cushion or comfy chair) and asked me about my favourite type of motorsport, I would obviously say rallying. so, combine the two and you have my perfect event – the mull rally. It began in 1969 after a chap called…

GIVEN THAT PIRELLI is the oe tyre supplier for more than half of all prestige cars sold worldwide, the launch of its third-gen P Zero range – the italian company’s premium and highperformance product – is big news in the industry. at the launch at estoril Circuit, Portugal, there are also big claims: the new P Zero offers not only more grip than previous versions, but less rolling resistance, too. The P Zero line was first introduced for the lancia Delta S4 rally car in 1986 before making its debut on a road car the following year, on Ferrari’s F40. today, the P Zero range incorporates 11 derivatives, ranging from the all-season nero to the ultrahigh-performance Corsa, mostly in sizes from 17in to 22in. Throughout the new line-up, tread patterns,…

Test location: B660, Cambridgeshire GPS: 52.31077, -0.40140 Photography: Aston Parrott WITH ALL THE FURORE surrounding the focus rS, it’s easy to forget renault is still building an rS Mégane. a class leader from the year it was launched, the renaultsport Mégane might now be in its dotage, but on the evidence of the new (kind of) 275 Cup-S, there’s plenty of fight left in it. Apart from its name, there’s nothing especially fresh about the Cup-S. indeed, it’s effectively a shortcut spec for those who know they’re on the hardcore spectrum of hot hatches. to this end, it gets the track-ready Cup chassis as standard, rather than the more compliant (but still sharp) Sport chassis, as fitted to the plusher, road-focused Nav 275. You know the rS recipe by now:…

Test location: Aynho, Northamptonshire GPS: 51.99491, -1.25154 SINCE ITS LAUNCH THREE years ago, the audi RS Q3 has continued to surprise us with just how enjoyable a hot hatch on stilts can be. conversely, the closely related rs3 sportback, which has largely the same engine but a more conventional ride-height, has left us underwhelmed. Where the rs3 has had the edge, however, is in terms of power, with a 27bhp advantage. But now, thanks to a new ‘Performance’ variant of the RS Q3, the suV can be ordered with an identical power output to the hatch. the extra grunt required to take the charismatic, warbling five-cylinder turbocharged engine from 335bhp to 362bhp has been liberated thanks to extra cooling from the radiator, a modified fuel pump and a new map.…

NOT FAR FROM MY HOUSE THERE’S A chap who really likes American things. I’ve deduced this from two things about him. Firstly, he wears a cowboy hat and clothes that would be unnoticeable in South Dakota but seem a little conspicuous in north London. And secondly, because he has a small collection of American cars. To kick off, there are a couple of Jeeps that seem to act as his daily drives. Although you can’t say ‘drives’ if you wear a cowboy hat, can you? You’d have to say ‘rides’. Finish your grits, spark a Lucky Strike and saddle-up your ride for a mosey down to Marks & Spencer in Muswell Hill to buy some socks and a ready meal. This chap also has a Pontiac Firebird, one of the…

For me they do nothing for a performance car but rob it of its soul. Turbos have a place and I am glad they exist, but while I can choose a fun car without them, I will. Life is not just about big numbers to shout about in the pub. You need the visceral memories that only all your senses combined can generate. Markcoopers My second car was a Metro Turbo – properly old-school in its power delivery. Modern electronics have taken the fun out of turbos. If you look at the torque curve of many ‘downsized’ turbo lumps it’s often a torque plateau, presumably a) to tame the power delivery and b) so that it doesn’t tread on the toes of other models higher up the range. _Who_ Old-school…

FOR TOO LONG THERE’S BEEN A crushing sense of the inevitable about every new Aston Martin model. Because ‘new’ in Aston Martin terminology has really meant ‘revised’. I still remember the buzz of anticipation when the DB9 and Vantage were unveiled, but since then it’s been a nip here and a tuck there. And on the rare occasion that it hasn’t – the Rapide or Vanquish, for example – the ingredients have remained the same: an elegant, beautiful but oh-so familiar form stretched and teased but never truly reinvented. Same aesthetic, same engines, same chassis… same old same old. That’s history now, though. In fact Aston Martin has become remarkably unpredictable. In the space of 18 months, Gaydon has churned out a new Lagonda and a track-only hypercar that looks…

My introduction to the Boxster Spyder could have gone better. It had been left with barely a dribble of fuel when I collected it late one evening from the office, so I had to feather it to the local filling station. Then, walking back across the forecourt after paying for the petrol and a hearty dinner of crisps and a Coke, I was collared by three youths with quite significant facial scarring. As they refuelled ‘their’ EP3 Civic Type R while it was still running(!), they insisted I revved the Boxster so they could find out ‘what that Porsche sounds like’. When I suggested it was perhaps a bit late at night to be making that much noise, the look on their faces wasn’t one of disappointment, but sheer menace.…

‘IMAGINE A PETROL STATION forecourt. A fortysomething bloke is filling his 911 with Optimax when a twentysomething bloke pulls up to the pump next to him in a 205 GTI… Both have a mutual admiration for the other’s car: fortysomething because he used to own a 205 GTI, twentysomething because he wants to own a 911. It was our belief that this shared outlook on cars and driving united these two blokes, and an appreciation of great cars at any price point was crucial to the success of evo as a magazine.’ The words of Dickie Meaden in issue 075 of evo were, as ever, carefully chosen. And so were the cars. The 911 for obvious reasons, but the 205 GTI? Some may scoff, but for many of us the…

‘Engine, chassis and brakes have been extensively re-engineered’ OVER MORE THAN THREE DECADES, Peugeot has created, developed and honed some of the most enthralling hot hatches to ever cock an inside rear wheel. and instrumental to the greatness of these cars was the team at Peugeot sport. It may come as a surprise, then, that it was only with the 2015 introduction of the 208 gti 30th anniversary by Peugeot sport that the hallowed name was officially applied to a road car. now the 308 gti has earned that honour, too. and rightly so, because the work that has gone into creating the latest 308 gti models (in 247bhp and 266bhp guises) is far more than just applying a couple of badges and a fruity exhaust: engine, chassis and brakes…

‘Most of the drivetrain is similar to the street version – it helps with reliability’ 1 ENGINE A 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged THP unit derived from that of the road-going GTi. Where that car makes 266bhp in its strongest form, the race car develops 304bhp. Internals are the same as the standard engine, including the Mahledeveloped pistons. A new turbocharger and new inlet and exhaust manifolds contribute to the power increase. A 70mm exhaust system is used to expel combustion gases, although a catalytic converter is retained. 2 TRANSMISSION One of the major departures from the road car. Out goes the six-speed manual, in comes a six-speed sequential transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddles. 3 STRUCTURE Largely similar to that of the road car, albeit reinforced with a multi-point welded, FIAstandard roll-cage.…

106 GTI Not too many great motoring memories are formed whilst following a Toyota Yaris SR, I suppose. But tailing John Barker back from Wales – on the most convoluted route ever devised in the history of road tests – was my Peugeot hot hatch epiphany. I was in a 106 GTI and still very wet behind the ears; John was in a Yaris and on the door handles everywhere. Fearful of the lift-off oversteer legend, I tried to be smooth and never waiver on the throttle midcorner and, miraculously, the 106 GTI really looked after me. I still think it’s the sweetest Peugeot hot hatch I’ve ever driven, 205 GTI included. Jethro Bovingdon 205 GTI 1.6 Driving Kris Meeke’s championship-winning 207 rally car was pretty special, but competing in…

‘A hard top just suits the raw, focused nature of the Scuderia much better’ THE ARRIVAL OF MARCH brought both joy and anguish. The joy came from speccing out a very special car that will arrive later this year; the anguish from having to make a difficult decision. As I already have more cars than garage spaces, one of the current occupants would have to go. The decision was emotionally difficult, but it made sense as the replacement is a similar machine. As a result, the 16M has departed. For a car with its roots in the early 21st century, the Spider 16M didn’t suffer from the ‘that was cuttingedge but now feels very dated’ technology drawbacks that a few of its contemporaries do. The singleclutch ’box still felt quick…

THE GENEVA MOTOR show… I love it, and try to find a way to get in early, on one of the press days, whenever I can. This year I managed just that, and lo and behold there were real journalists there, including evo editor Nick Trott. We met at the Porsche stand and drooled over the 911 R. I unkindly hoped that the snow flurries would mean his flight home would get cancelled so he could join us for ice-driving that evening. Fortunately it didn’t, as the snow meant the circuit got closed! On the subject of driving on slippery surfaces, I’ve come to realise that I screwed up slightly on my winter-tyre choice for the Z/28. I had happily taken narrower, 295-section rubber because I couldn’t locate any 305s,…

OUR FOCUS IS BACK FROM repairs to fix the damage caused when someone drove into it last month. Ford kindly loaned us a less generously specced sT while our long-termer was away, so i wanted to identify some of the differences between the two. Not the obvious engine differences – our long-termer has the diesel motor, while the ‘short-termer’ had the Ecoboost petrol unit – but more what’s lacking in terms of extras in a less expensive sT. Both cars are top-of-the-line sT-3 versions, so feature cruise control with a speed limiter, a tyre-pressure monitoring system and blind-spot detection. However, our long-termer has the sT style Pack (£450), with 19-inch alloy wheels and rear privacy glass. The latter is really handy, especially as i’m often carrying around a ton of…

THIS MONTH I’VE BEEN trying to avoid driving the 7-series. Well, sort of. it’s been a month of trialling the various driver-assist systems – to the extent that on some trips i’ve questioned who, or what, was in control of the big beemer. Driving Assistant Plus is dialled up via the iDrive rotary knob, and its various settings can then be seen on the main screen. The 10.25-inch screen responds to touch and gestures, but i tend to use the dial because i find it allows me to achieve inputs with the least amount of time spent looking away from the road. Gesture control should be the best way of interacting, but it’s inconsistent. BMW claims Driving Assistant Plus offers ‘partially autonomous driving’. How? By combining Active Cruise Control, Stop&Go…

EAGLE-EYED COLLEAGUES and the keen of ear among my neighbours will have detected a subtle shift in the Ford’s persona, because its rear end now smokes a pleasingly chubby pipe. A tipsy evening on eBay? you’d be forgiven for thinking so, but no. you might remember that two of the original exhaust’s hangers corroded, leaving the tubing to rattle around between the rear subframe and the floorpan. I can’t adequately express how irksome this was, but I threw myself into finding a replacement. My head said maintain originality, yet I’ve always thought the standard item looked a bit piddly, so when Ford wanted a kidney in return for one, I seized the moment. Besides, I’d always viewed the aftermarket artillery of other RSs with an odd blend of envious disdain,…

SUBARU’S IMPREZA IS A PHENOMENON, PLAIN and simple. For starters, no car has ever been quite so happy to hand out hidings to machinery beyond its price bracket. The RB5 cemented that perception with a third-place finish at eCoty 1999, seeing off a BMW M5, an Aston Martin DB7 and a Nissan Skyline, amongst others. Things had changed little eight years later, when an STI Type UK met a Gallardo Superleggera on the roads of Snowdonia (evo 115) and made the V10-engined supercar work very hard indeed. The latest Imprezas are a tad malnourished compared with their competition, there’s no denying that, but over the years the performance has nearly always been addictively potent. And then there’s a culture – all the variety and the pedantry – that serves as…

“On more than one occasion the first time I know there’s an M6 or R8 nearby is when it thumps past in a braking zone” THERE IS NOTHING QUITE like wandering up and down the grid prior to an endurance race at the nürburgring. At the front it’s all gleaming gt3 cars – the new BMW M6 parked in pole position on airjacks with tyre warmers buzzing away, behind it a great wave of AMg gt3s, r8s, 911s and even the wild-looking Lexus rC F. Where the top-level gt3 cars peter out there’s an amazing mix of Porsche Cup cars, Audi tts with vast rear wings, a great gaggle of M235is and assorted front-drive hatches… the big manufacturers might have invaded the racing here but there’s still a sense that…

THE WORLD RALLY Championship’s new era started in low-key fashion last month, when both VW and Citroën started testing cars built to a set of fresh regulations due in 2017. Designed to make the sport more spectacular, the new regs are based on the same core values as the existing rules (which means 1.6-litre turbo engines, four-wheel drive and cars of at least four metres in length) but allow for greater exploitation of aerodynamics as well as wider tracks, a slug of extra power through a wider turbocharger restrictor and a more sophisticated transmission. The all-conquering VW team, which has been testing a 2017 mule for well over a year now, has issued only a sketch of its proposed challenger – a new generation of Polo that will underpin what’s…

A HOT V IS WHAT YOU call a turbocharged V8 engine with the exhaust ports pointing inwards, towards the centre of the engine and the turbos located between the two banks of cylinders. There’s a common misconception that placing the turbochargers next to the exhaust ports decreases turbo lag and increases throttle response simply by them being closer. Sadly it’s not quite as easy as that, but there are three significant benefits to nestling the turbos within the V. The first is heat. The configuration has the name ‘hot V’ for a reason: the shorter distance to the turbos means there’s less tubing to cool the exhaust gases down. Conventional wisdom suggests you want to keep everything as cool as possible within the engine bay. For the most part that’s…

Test location: Balocco Proving Ground, Italy GPS: 45.36038, 8.10556 TALKING TO YOURSELF is, apparently, some sort of indication of madness, but when you’re making notes into a dictaphone, there isn’t much choice. What I’m saying does seem slightly insane, though. After my initial laps, I’ve just said the words: ‘It feels like there is quite a lot of Ferrari in this new Giulia Quadrifoglio.’ For the avoidance of any doubt, that’s a good thing. When Alfa first unveiled the new Giulia last year, heart rates were raised and hopes lifted. It looked great and the details seemed mouth-watering: rear-wheel drive, 503bhp, 443lb ft, a twin-turbo V6, an active front splitter, a carbon bonnet, a carbon roof, a lap time around the Nürburgring of 7:39.0… the list went on. Inevitably, however,…

Test location: A4067, Brecon, Wales GPS: 52.00179, -3.41400 BACK IN ISSUE 013 OF evo, then associate editor Peter Tomalin described how, if the world were going to implode at midnight on 31 December 1999, he would use his last tank of fuel driving a Jaguar c-type along the Mulsanne straight. i was still at school when this was published (he’ll thank me for mentioning that) and it was one of the most evocative things i’d ever read. it still is. so, walking up to the beautifully fluid curves of the Proteus, i feel like it has quite a lot to live up to. Modern recreation or not, this is the stuff that dreams are made of. With the likes of Alfaholics, singer and eagle there is currently a wave of…

Test location: Padbury, Buckinghamshire GPS: 51.96170,-0.93118 FIVE-YEAR-OLD DIESEL Golfs are not evo’s usual fodder, so you can be sure we’ve a good reason for featuring such a car. Buckingham-based superchips has long been a leader in engine remapping, but it has recently turned its attention to transmission software, claiming it can improve vW Group dsG gearboxes in a matter of moments for a modest outlay. For the time being, superchips only offers its upgrade for the Group’s dQ250 six-speed dualclutch transmission, which was introduced in 2003 and fitted to various audi, vW, skoda and seaT models. The list includes all Mk5 and Mk6 performance Golfs. superchips expects to have an upgrade ready for Mk7 models within 12 months and a package for Ford’s Powershift transmission is on the way, too.…

BACK IN THE EARLY ’80s, WHEN HONDA began its ‘mid-ship research project’, nobody at the company believed (though some might have dreamt) the end result would be a supercar of generation-defining characteristics. In fact the mission was to simply develop a mid-engined, rear-driven sports car based on the humble CRX. But then ambition set in, a certain cavallino rampante cantered into Honda’s crosshairs, and things got serious. Serious enough to involve Ayrton Senna… For the past three years I’ve been lucky enough to follow in the Brazilian’s footsteps – albeit without any of the hype and certainly without the same pizzaz in the footwear department (just google ‘Senna’ and ‘NSX’). Travelling in a convoy made up of perhaps three or four scything pre-production models, several support cars, and top (and…

From the forums: community.evo.co.uk/forums I had a ride in David Yu’s before he sold it. It was running about 700bhp and had the upgraded Litchfield fast-road suspension IIRC. The ride was great, the speed shocking and the way it went round corners at speeds faster than my 330i could manage was alarming. Jimmy Choo On track they have a spectacular appetite for tyres and brakes. Foz Why not something more trackbiased? Obviously there are heavily compromised cars like the Atom, but something like an S3 Exige S (with a 430bhp Komotec upgrade if you like) would give a very different experience, and at 1100kg it would have no issues with lotsalaps. Mik The GT-R is just awesome. For the money nothing comes even remotely close. Not even in the same…

FIVE GUYS STAND IN A PIT GARAGE at oulton park circuit. They discuss the relative merits of 25 damper clicks on the rear axle versus 20, agreeing that the firmer setting is an improvement. ‘It helps the front end into the apex,’ offers one, and the others nod along. The garage will have witnessed this exact exchange a thousand times before, but probably only in relation to purpose-built competition cars. In the context of a small, factory-built, road-going hot hatch? I’ll bet this is a first. Let me fill you in on the Mini John Cooper Works Challenge project. There’s a nucleus of diehard driving enthusiasts at the Mini plant oxford – guys who spend their weekends racing cars – for whom the limited-edition Challenge is an extracurricular activity. Between…

AFTER A DAY WITH THE wind tearing at my hair as I pretended my name was Hamilton (no clarification should be needed, but just to be clear, that’s first name Duncan, not Lewis) in the wonderful but bare Proteus C-type replica (see Driven), I sank back into the F-type. Its lovely leather and Alcantara surroundings never felt plusher. Its steering also never felt lighter; the first few miles were like the first few steps you take in normal shoes after spending all day in heavy ski boots. However, it’s a mark of just how beautiful the F-type is that the lines of its aluminium bodywork still looked taut and flowing in the presence of the curves (also wrought in aluminium) penned back in the 1950s by Malcolm Sayer. Yes, the…

I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE what’s happening to me. I’m pretty certain that if Jethro Bovingdon had asked me just six months ago if I wanted to take a Cayman GT4 over the weekend and deliver it to Snowdonia for Monday morning, instead of taking my own long-termer, I’d have jumped at the chance. Yet 20 minutes after recently being asked to do just that, I found myself in ‘my’ RS Q3, not doubting my decision one bit. Perhaps it’s old age, fatherhood, or Bovingdon’s complaints that the GT4’s fixed-back seats are hideously uncomfortable (due to being set at such an upright angle). I put it down to the Audi’s heated seats and its ludicrous turn of pace on tap. Unlike with past long-termers, over the last five months I haven’t…

I’M FORTUNATE TO HAVE a variety of routes to choose from between evo Towers and my home. so at the end of any given working day, i can choose a journey to suit the time of day, the weather conditions, the car i’m in and my mood. Late and in a hurry? main a-roads it is. Driving a small hot hatch? Nadgety, narrow back roads here i come. in something a bit special? Quiet but quick b-roads all the way. For front-drive hot hatches equipped with a limited-slip differential, i often find myself drawn to one particular route, for two particular corners that lie along it. The first is a fast, wide, fourthgear left-hander. The second, about seven miles later, is a tight, thirdgear left. Well, actually it’s a flat-out…

I’VE BEEN PRETTY evangelical about the Golf R in the eight months I’ve spent with it so far, so in the interests of balance I thought I’d share my frustrations with it in this report. But before I go any further, I should acknowledge that some of these criticisms really are very petty indeed, and quite possibly more telling of my temperament than any particular shortcomings of the car itself. When the parking sensors start to chime, the volume of the stereo is reduced to an inaudible level. This makes me want to put my fist through the infotainment screen. Repeatedly. How dare the car shut off whatever I’m listening to because it deems its own parking beeps to be more important. As I said, very petty indeed. But there…

THE VRS AND I HAVE avoided motorways lately, mainly because leading up to the easter holidays they were insufferable. There are shorter – but longer in time – routes to the evo office, though, so the Octavia and I went on a B-road hunt. This approach does require a few pre-drive selections, however. First, I need to set the six-speed DSG gearbox up for paddleshift changes. I also need to go into the mode configurator and select Sport for the engine map, because while the throttle response in Normal is fine on the M25, it’s not when I’m on the A507 between Baldock and Buntingford and the window of opportunity to pass the farmer in his John Deere is a narrow one. The engine note is also best in Sport,…

ULRICH BEZ ALWAYS SEEMED TO have one eye on what his old comrades at Porsche were up to. The V8 Vantage was positively laser-targeted at the 911, and when Porsche revealed it was launching a fourseat, five-door saloon, it didn’t take long for Aston to respond. The Panamera appeared in April 2009; less than a year later, in early 2010, the first Rapides were rolling out of a dedicated facility at the Magna Steyr factory in Austria. Bez outsourced production because he envisaged annual sales of 2000 cars – far too many for Gaydon to cope with. In fact the Rapide never sold in anything like those numbers, and in 2012 production relocated to the UK. Indeed the Rapide is one of the rarest of modern Astons – according to…

Nissan Juke Nismo NISSAN’S JUKE NISMO IS AN unusual choice in a market teeming with talented hot hatchbacks, but their unexciting shapes are exactly why the curious crossover may appeal. It’s surprisingly talented, but if you’ve found yourself drawn to more accomplished rivals, the Nismo is only a few tweaks away from being even better. The droning engine note (also common to the Clio 220 that shares its 1.6-litre lump with the Juke) can be fixed with Milltek’s cat-back exhaust system (£558.50 from tarmacsportz.co.uk). It liberates a fruitier note without being offensively loud. It’s also tempting to take some height from the Juke’s lofty stance, both for styling and the added benefit of reducing body roll without compromising the Nismo’s pliant ride. Eibach offers Pro-Kit performance springs that shave either…

FOLLOWING THE magnificence of the Cayman GT4, there is the very real risk that the last flat-six, naturally aspirated Cayman will also prove to have been the best, never to be repeated. Why? Because the howling flat-six is gone, replaced by the same turbocharged fours that have underwhelmed in the new 718 Boxster (see evo 222). For the first time, the Cayman will not only share the powertrain of the Boxster but will also have identical power and torque figures (for the past decade the mid-engined coupe has always enjoyed a symbolic power advantage over the roadster), weigh the same, and sprint to 62mph in an identical time before going on to reach the same top speed. The closed car will, however, for the first time cost less than the…

CHINESE MOTOR SHOWS REMAIN A HAVEN FOR curiously proportioned facsimiles of well-known vehicles, but the huge market means western brands take the alternating Shanghai and Beijing shows very seriously. While large cars dominate, Smart’s latest Brabus models are of greatest interest this year. The Fortwo, Fortwo Cabrio (1) and Forfour get a 108bhp engine, six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and styling and suspension tweaks. VW’s T-Prime Concept GTE (2) is yet to be confirmed for production, but could indicate the look of a future Touareg. You’ll have to squint hard to see what Lexus has changed with the new IS (3), which gets new headlamps and tail lights, a larger infotainment screen and new colours. Mazda’s CX-4 (4) is effectively a sleeker version of the popular and fine-driving CX-5, with strong haunches…

MOST EVO READERS WILL be able to empathise with the joy of walking around a car manufacturer’s private collection of historic vehicles. Companies such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and the Volkswagen Group make those collections public, and display them in theatrical surroundings. Others, like that of SEAT, remain hidden from the public, waiting for a suitable building to be constructed to make them available for all to see. That’s why SEAT has come up with the SEAT Digital Museum – an online archive of the firm’s historic vehicles that anyone can access. You can read more about it on page 34. However, we were fortunate enough to see SEAT’s actual collection. Housed in a warehouse at the company’s Zona Franca-based facility near Barcelona and comprising over 300 vehicles, it is rather…

“The digital key replaces the traditional key with something like a smartwatch” IT’S ALL TOO EASY TO DEVELOP scepticism of new automotive technology, particularly when it’s the kind that seems to detract from the process of driving. One company exploring ways to improve our experience is seAT. Between ‘digital keys’, a new look at car-sharing, and ‘mobility partnerships’ with service providers such as parking facilities and petrol stations, the firm’s technology could make our driving lives easier without sacrificing the aspects of driving we love. evo spoke to seAT’s head of connectivity, leyre Olavarria, to see what the company has in store. On… digital keys ‘The digital key replaces the traditional key with something like a smartphone or smartwatch. From that device you’ll be able to open, close and start…

TAG Heuer Monza Price: £4000 From: tagheuer.com One of the hits of the Baselworld watch show in March was TAG’s latest re-issue of the much-missed Monza drivers’ watch. The original was launched in 1976 to celebrate Niki Lauda becoming F1 World Champion the previous year. The new model lacks some of that version’s quirks (such as the asymmetrical subdials and the left-hand winding crown) but it retains a suitably vintage look. Breitling for Bentley GMT B04S Carbon Body Price: £17,550 From: breitling.com Already available in titanium, Breitling for Bentley’s dual-time chronograph gets the all-black treatment with a carbonfibre case and dial. Featuring a red secondary hand to indicate ‘home’ time, the main hands can be easily adjusted to the wearer’s current location with a twist of the crown. Just 250…

WHEN IT COMES TO CAR-OWNERSHIP patterns, I reckon we all fall into one of three categories: the Lifer, the Serial Monogamist and the Hoarder. I’m deliberately excluding prolific collectors with the means to indulge every whim and fantasy – the Hefner, in case you were wondering – because we all know if we could, we would. So, which category most accurately describes you? Come on, don’t be shy. You’re amongst friends here. OK, I’ll go first. Perhaps I’m a bit odd, but I’ve exhibited symptoms of all three at one time or another, but I’d say the most accurate description of the last few years is that of a Lifer with very definite Hoarder tendencies. Of course, being a motoring journalist for the vast majority of my adult life has…

Data. Cold hard data. IT’S NOT E ASY TO DECOUPLE YOURSELF FROM THE SUBJECTIVE when your mantra is ‘the Thrill of Driving’, but that’s the exercise here. This is our biggest objective data test in quite some time, the results of which we hope you will find revealing. The point of the test? In a nutshell it’s ‘bang-for-buck’, but rather than look for the obvious giant killers (Ariel v Lamborghini, etc) we picked a group that we hope will inspire curiosity – and create debate. For instance, we thought about BMW M2 v AMG GT – both front-engined, both rear-wheel drive, both turbocharged, both twin-clutch (optional on the M2). But we had what we thought was a more revealing option… We’ve no doubt the M2 would give the AMG GT…

‘HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD?’ is the sort of easy question asked on a factory tour by someone with a thirst for knowledge but without a really deep understanding of what he is looking at. Someone like me. I’m standing in awe next to the Bentley Mulsanne’s magnificent six-and-three-quarter-litre (please, never ‘sixpoint-seven-five’) twin-turbocharged V8, which has been around in one form or another since 1959. This formidable longevity makes it the oldest engine still in production. The answer to the question is ten-and-a-half hours (by hand), which sets my brain cells pondering another question: how far could you drive in that time? After a bit of keyboard work back in the office the following day, I discover that one of the answers, conveniently, is ‘from London to Geneva’.…

THIRTY-TWO YEARS. THAT’S A LONG TIME TO WAIT FOR anything, let alone a Vauxhall Astra with 115bhp. And yet, look at the images accompanying this feature and tell me you wouldn’t love to have a go. More ’80s than a Maggie Thatcher and Miami Vice mashup, this was Opel’s (and Vauxhall’s) first attempt at a proper hot hatch. One to challenge VW’s genre-defining Golf GTI, no less. By all accounts it did a very fine job. At least according to contemporary road tests, most notably that from respected British weekly Motor, which pronounced a dead heat between the GTE and a Mk1 GTI, convincingly beating the Alfasud Ti Green Cloverleaf and Ford’s XR3i in the process. It’s impossible to discuss the way the GTE looks without commenting on its dazzling…

They say a racing driver’s heart-rate is at its highest moments before the lights change from red to green. My own cardiovascular system, sullied by years of takeaway pizzas and an appetite for the finest brewed products, would concur. I select first, slowly bringing the revs to that finite area between excessive wheelspin and an embarrassing splutter as you drop the clutch. Green. I’ve judged it perfectly, with just a chirp from the Michelin Super Sports before full throttle can be applied and the limited-slip diff prevents one wheel or the other from stealing all the power. I get the jump on the other drivers, snatching second for another brief flurry of revs and a tug from the steering. Then it’s hard on the brakes for the next red light.…

THERE’S ONLY ONE MAN YOU should sit beside in a rally raider if you want to know what it takes to win the Dakar. so we did. Frenchman stéphane Peterhansel won the world’s most demanding off-road race six times on bikes and, after 15 days and nearly 3110 miles of special stages in January, he made it six victories on four wheels, too. Peterhansel lined up this year in the upgraded, faster and significantly uglier Peugeot 2008 DKr. It shares nothing with any road-going Peugeot (even its grille is a sticker), probably because no road-going Peugeot could cope with the road surfaces this thing was born for, except a carefully ridden bicycle, or a patiently rolled pepper mill. I figured the 50-year-old Peterhansel would be sick of the sight of…

‘The fact the Conti GT looked at home in such a focused environment says a lot for how far Bentley has come in terms of image’ ONE MONTH IN AND THE Bentley has already got me hooked. Of course it feels good to be driving a £200k car, but the way the Conti GT combines massive performance with everyday usability is truly addictive. The fact it never feels less than an occasion to drive is the icing on the cake. One thing I feel I need to address is the ‘footballer’ image. I’m not saying every car to leave Crewe is a paragon of taste, but if I had a pound for every time one of my mates said ‘footballer’s car’ when I told them what my next long-termer was…

‘The mystery deepened, even after an inspection by an expert detailer’ THIS MONTH – THE curious case of the stripy bonnet… With the Gt2 laid up over winter under a car cover, I checked it every couple of weeks or so for damp, mice, battery charge and all the other things that winter storage can conjure up. One day, I pulled back the cover and a strange mark on the bonnet caught my eye – it looked as if something had dripped on it and then run down it, leaving a stripe. A good rub with a microfibre cloth didn’t make a difference, which was odd, so I phoned Gtechniq to ask if it was anything to do with the Crystal Serum paint protection that was applied late last year.…

I’D BEEN MULLING OVER the idea of buying a car for a while before i finally pulled the trigger on an E46 M3. For months i’d looked at Porsche 996s and 997s, but i could never quite make the man-maths work. I owe a lot to M-cars. it was an E92 M3 that convinced my parents that my decision to devote my career to all things automotive was a wise one. Five minutes in one with my dad – a man who had never been in anything quicker than a Saab 9-3 – and he was sold on the idea. All it took was a single sweep of the rev counter and that high-revving 4-litre v8 worked its magic. I’ve spent a lot of time in E92 and F80 M3s,…

THERE ARE VERY FEW things worse than driving to and from work in the dark. The MX-5 kept me snug and warm throughout the winter when I regularly got lost between London and the evo office in Milton Keynes. Or is it Wollaston? But I’m still glad that, finally, those cold, short days are behind us. Recently I had my first ever door-to-door roof-down run. The Mazda’s roof is so easy to open and close that you can do either in five seconds at a set of traffic lights. With the roof down, it doesn’t get particularly windy in the cabin and there’s appreciable protection from buffeting, which means even motorway hauls aren’t too uncomfortable. In fact, the MX-5 feels more at home with its roof down, which perhaps isn’t…

THERE HAVE BEEN FEW CARS QUITE like the Renaultsport Clio V6, and sad as it is to say, it’s unlikely there’ll be another. It’s a car that’s not without its faults, but one that’s hard to beat on an emotional level. Launched in 2001 with 227bhp, the Phase 1 Clio V6 rapidly acquired a reputation for brutal oversteer when provoked. A number of these cars have been damaged, so a history check is vital, and this is where the energetic V6Clio.net community plays a significant part: anyone serious about buying a Clio V6 should visit. The Phase 2 version arrived in 2003 and featured a higher-revving engine (now with 251bhp) and a significantly modified chassis. Renault marketed a select range of colours under the ‘ID’ badge, and these – Liquid…

WIN 2-NIGHTS AT HOTEL DE FRANCE PRESENTED BY If you’re heading to Le Mans this year, make sure you head to Hotel de France. This famous hotel, in La Chartresur-le-Loir 40km from Le Mans, was used as the HQ for manufacturers such as Aston Martin and Porsche. It’s an incredible venue, dripping with Le Mans history. There’s another reason to visit, too. evo has joined forces with TOTAL – the leading international oil and gas company and technical supporters of Aston Martin Racing – to hold the 24hrs of evo. The best car to visit the Hotel de France during the 24hr Le Mans weekend will win its owner 2-nights accommodation at the famous hotel, and exclusive TOTAL motorsport gift and a 12 month subscription to evo. There will also…