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Transcript of Autocar - April 20, 2016
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FIRST INTERVIEWREVEALED ROAD
Extreme Vantage GT8Race aero and 440bhp – yes please! Adrian Newey speaksF1 genius on his ‘unique’ new hyperNew Tesla Model S‘Tesla is light years ahead of rivals’
20APRIL2016 £3.80 | AUTOCAR.CO.UK
WORLD’S BEST USED CARS F K
F u t u r e c l a ssi c s t h a t a r e m oa f f or d a
b l e t h a n y ou ’ d t h i n k
Can Merc’s super-luxury, high-techexec topple the best fromJaguar and BMW?
vs XF, 5 Series
F I R S T U K C O M PA R I S O N
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5/9220 APRIL 2016 A U T O C A R . C O . U K 5
DEALS
4 0 M o d e l b e h a v i o u r : i n s i d e N i s s a n ’ s d e s i g n s t u d i o 4 6 R e i c h m a n a n d N e w e y t a l k a b o u t t h e A M - R B 0 0 1
2 2 F e r r a r i 4 8 8 G T B d r iv e n i n r i g h t - h a n d d r i v e f o r m a t l a s t7 0 M a z d a M X - 5 s a n d o t h e r s f o r £ 1 0 k
J a m e s R u p p e r t When is an AMG an AMG?6 8
U s e d b u y i n g g u i d e Corking cars for £10k 7 0
N e w c a r s A - Z All the latest models rated 7 2
R o a d t e s t r e s u l t s Autocar’s data archive 8 5
C l a s s i fi e d s Cars, number plates, services 8 8
F o u r - d o o r f a ce - o f f:
n e w M e r c e d e s- B e n z
E - C l a s s m e e t s J a g u a r
X F a n d B M W 5 S e r i e s
32
N E W S
A s t o n M a r t in V a n t ag e G T 8 Lighter, fastercoupé 8E m e ra ld A u t o m o t iv e T - 0 0 1 UKtomakeEVvan 1 2
P e u g e o t i - C o c k p it Newinterior techrevealed 1 5
B M W M c a r s t o g et 4 W D Optionis “inevitable” 1 6
T o y o ta C - H R Performance version planned 1 8
T E S T E DF e r ra ri 4 8 8 G T B Fast,tactile and fantastic 2 2
P o r s c h e 9 1 1 T u r b o S Outstandingly effective 2 4
J a g u a r F - P a ce 2 . 0 d R - S p o r t Efficientandagile2 7
B M W M 2 Rapid,adjustableand rewarding 2 9
A u d i A 4 A l lr oa d S p o r t 2 . 0 T F S I Raisedestate 3 1
T es l a M o d e l S P 9 0 D R O A D T E S T 5 2
F E A T U R E SM e r ce d e s E - C l a s s v s r i va l s Saloonscompared 3 2
N i ss a n d e si g n We visitthe Sunderlandstudio 4 0
A s t o n - R e d B u l l h y p e r c ar Meetingits makers 4 6
N e x t G e n e ra t io n A w a r d 2011finalist revisited 5 0
O U R C A R SH y u n d a i T u c s on Newcrossoverjoinsthe fleet 6 2
S u z u k i V i t a r a Getting toknowits infotainment 6 5
R e n a u lt K a d j a r Measuring up toa FordFocus 6 7
E V E R Y W E E KM a t t P r i o r Hashe finally losthismarbles? 1 9S t e v e C r o p l e y WhyTesla ismaking history 2 1
S u b s cr i p t io n o f fe r FreeValetProcar carekit 3 0
Y o u r v i ew s Minisaloonshouldbe Sportsman 6 0
R e a r v i e w m i r r or Porsche’sfour-potroots 9 0
6 2 O u r c a r s : n e w H y u n d a i T u c s o n
9 0 F o u r - p o t P o r s c h e s f r o m t h e p a s t
TheModelSaccelerateswithatummy-troubling,neck-snappingoutburst’
COVER
STORY
COVERSTORY
COVERSTORY
M a t t S a u n d e r s, p 5 2
THIS WEEK
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THIS WEEK
autocar.co.uk/subscriptionsFor all our latest subscription offers
autocar.co.uk
youtube.com/autocar
autocar.co.uk/facebook
twitter.com/autocar
at the Apple App StoreDownload our Car Name Game and Car News apps
autocar.co.uk/magDownload the digital edition of Autocar wherever
you are in the world every Wednesday
Autocar magazine is also published in Greece, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle
East, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
VIDEO
GALLERY
N E W S
FEATURES
RID E
Car makers rely one ecutive decisionsEVIDENCE OF THE unstoppable rise in popularity of SUVsand crossovers is readi ly apparent to anyone who uses theUK’s roads. H igh-riding vehicles are everywhere and carmakers are desperate to take advantage of the sales boom.Yet the comparison that forms the centrepiece of this issue
new M ercedes-Benz E-Class, Jaguar XF and BM W 5 Seriesremains one of the most compelling car tests in the business.The resources that all three manufacturers continue to
pour into their development are formidable, reinforcing thenotion that the mid-sized exec battlefield remains importantand intensely competitive. Lucrative, too. Global sales of thecurrent 5 Series far outstrip those of the previous version,while the latest XF has helped Jaguar to kick off 2016 withits strongest performance this decade and the new E-Class,which hit showrooms earlier this month, is set to furtherboost the double-digit growth that Mercedes has already
enjoyed this year in the UK.It’s even more heartening that one of
these three cars, the XF, is made herein the UK. W hat’s more, it started ourtest as class leader. Turn to p32 to seeif itemergeswith thespoils.
S e a t h e r i t a g e
Seat joins heritage trendwith new digital museum
T o y o t a C - H R
Can it inject adrenalininto the Toyota line-up?
C h i n e s e c o p y c a t sSee these memorableChinese copycat cars
A s t o n M a r t i nDiscover how and whereits badges are created
B M W M 2Catch the new ‘baby’ BMW M car in action
Issue 6199 | Volume 288 | No 3 Established 1895
MATT BURT [email protected] @Matt Burt
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THIS WEEK
AstonV8Vantagegoes
8 A U T O C A R . C O . U K 2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6
As t o n M a r t i n h a s r e v e a le d
i t s l a t e s t l i m i t e d - e d i t i o n
s p o r t s c a r , t h e V a n t a g e
G T 8 , a m o d e l i n s p ir e d
b y t h e G T E r a c e ca r t h a t
c o m p e t e s in t h e W o r l d
E n d u r a n c e C h a m p i o n s h ip .
T h e G T 8 f o l l o w s in t h e w a k e
o f t h e s u c c e s s f u l , l im i t e d - r u n
V a n t a g e G T 1 2 o f l a s t y e a r.
Ju s t 1 5 0 e xa m p l e s o f t h e
G T 8 w i l l b e s o l d , c o s t in g
f r o m £ 16 5 , 0 0 0 a p i e c e .
Un l ik e t h e G T 1 2 , t h e G T 8 — a s
i t s n a m e s u g g e s t s — i s b a s e d
o n t h e V 8 V a n t a g e , w h i c h h a s a
4 . 7 - l it r e e n g i n e , r a t h e r t h a n t h e
l a r g e r - c a p a c it y V 1 2 V a n t a g e S ,
w h i c h u s e s a 5 . 9 - l i tr e e n g i n e .
I n t h e G T 8 , t h e V 8 ’ s p o w e r
h a s b e e n i n c r e a s e d b y 1 0 b h p
o v e r t h e r e g u l a r V a n t a g e ,
g i v in g i t 4 4 0 b h p , w i t h d r i v e
b e i n g s e n t t o t h e r e a r w h e e l s
v i a e i t h e r a s i x- s p e e d m a n u a l
g e a r b o xo r a s e v e n - s p e e d
S p o r t s h i f t s in g l e - c l u t c h
a u t o m a t e d m a n u a l g e a r b o x.
T h e G T 8 w o n ’ t b e o f f e r e d
w i t h t h e s e v e n - s p e e d
m a n u a l t r a n s m i s s io n A s t o n
h a s b e e n d e v e l o p i n g .
O f m o r e s i g n i fi c a n c e i s t h e
G T 8 ’ s w e i g h t . B e c a u s e i t i s
i n s p ir e d b y t h e W E C r a c in g c a r ,
t h e G T 8 h a s b e n e f i t e d f ro m a
s i g n i f ic a n t w e i g h t r e d u c t i o n
p r o g r a m m e a n d a n o p t i o n a l
a e r o d y n a m i c p a c k a g e s a i d
t o m i m i c t h a t o f t h e r a c e c a r .
W i t h w i d e r , c a r b o n f i b r e
b o d y p a n e l s , a l ig h t e r
e xh a u s t s y s t e m w i t h t h e
s e c o n d a r y c a t a l y s t s r e m o v e d
a n d m a g n e s i u m w h e e l s a s
s t a n d a r d , p l u s a c r y l i c p l a s t ic
w i n d o w s a n d a l it h i u m i o n
b a t t e r y a s o p t i o n s , t h e G T 8
w e i g h s u p t o 1 0 0 k g l e s s t h a n
t h e s t a n d a r d c a r , m a k i n g i t
t h e l ig h t e s t a n d m o s t p o w e r f u l
V 8 V a n t a g e y e t m a d e . T h e
w h e e l s s a v e 8 k g a l l r o u n d a n d
t h e b a t t e r y s a v e s 17 k g , a n d i t ’ s
e v e n p o s s i b l e t o s p e c i f y p l a s t ic
r a t h e r t h a n g l a s s s w i t ch e s
i n t h e c o c k p i t , a lt h o u g h t h a t
s a v i n g is m e a s u r e d i n g r a m s .
T h o s e s t a t i s t ic s , a l o n g w i t h
t h e c a r ’ s e xc l u s i v i t y , h a v e b e e n
e n o u g h t o e n s u r e t h a t A s t o n
M a r t i n h a d s o l d t h r e e - q u a r t e r s
o f t h e c a r ’ s 15 0 - s t r o n g
a l l o c a t io n b e f o r e i t w a s p u b l i c ly
a n n o u n c e d . A r o u n d a t h ir d
I n s p i r e d b y A s t o n M a r t i n ’ s G T E e n d u r a n c e r a c e r , t h e t r a c k - fo c u s e d G T 8 i s t h e l i g h t e s t
a n d m o s t p o w e r f u l V 8 V a n t a g e y e t ; o n l y 1 5 0 w i l l b e b u i l t , e a c h p r i c e d f r o m £1 6 5 , 0 0 0
EXCLUSIVEPICTURES
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hardcorewithnewGT8
2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 A U T O C A R . C O . U K 9
o f t h e b u i ld r u n i s li k e ly t o
r e m a i n in t h e U K , w it h t h e r e s t
s p l it e q u a l l y b e t w e e n A s i a
a n d m a i n l a n d E u r o p e , w h e n
d e l i v e r i e s b e g i n i n t h e a u t u m n .
T h e G T E r a c in g c a r s i ts in t h e
m i d d l e o f A s t o n ’ s co m p e t i t io n
l in e - u p , a b o v e t h e 4 .7 - l i tr e G T 4 ,
w h i c h h a s t h e s a m e p o w e r t r a in
a s t h e V 8 V a n t a g e r o a d c a r , b u t
b e n e a th t h e V 1 2 - p o w e r e d G T 3
r a c e r t h a t i n sp i r e d t h e G T 1 2
r o a d v a r i a n t ( w h i c h w a s i t se l f
g o i n g t o b e c a l l e d G T 3 u n t i l
P o r s c h e c o m p l a in e d ) .
T h e G T E r a c e c a r w e ig h s
s o m e 4 0 0 k g le s s th a n t h e
r o a d - g o i n g G T 8 , w h i c h , a p a r t
f r o m t h e a b s e n c e o f l e a th e r
u p h o l s t er y , r e t a i n s m u c h
o f t h e r e g u l a r V a n t a g e ’ s
i n t e r i o r , w h i l e p o w e r i s a r o u n d
4 8 0 b h p . T h e G T E a l s o
r e c e i v e s s o m e s i g n i f ic a n t
a e r o d y n a m i c m o d i fi c a ti o n s .
I t m u s t s h a r e th e s a m e b o d y
s i lh o u e t t e a s t h e r o a d c a r , b u t
a e r o d y n a m i c a d d e n d a a r e
g i v e n m o r e fr e e d o m .
S o m e o f t h o s e a e r o d y n a m i c
c h a n g e s a r e r e c r e a t e d f o r t h e
G T 8 , a l t h o u g h t h e y a r e o p t io n a l
e x t r a s r a th e r t h a n s t a n d a r d
f i t a s t h e y w e r e o n t h e e a r l i e r ,
m o r e e x p e n si v e a n d m o r e
e x c lu s i v e G T 1 2 , w h i c h c o s t
£ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 a n d w a s l im i t e d t o
a 1 0 0 - s t r o n g b u i ld r u n .
L i ke w i s e, t h e G T 1 2 ’ s v e n te d
b o n n e t i s n ’ t a n o p t i o n o n t h e
G T 8 , i n o r d e r to r e t a in s o m e
d i f f e r e n t i a t io n b e t w e e n t h e
t w o l im i t e d - e d i t i o n m o d e l s .
B o t h f r o n t a n d r e a r e l e m e n t s
o f t h e G T 8 ’ s a e r o p a c k a g e ,
i n c o r p o r a t i n g a l a r g e f r o n t
s p l it t e r a n d a h u g e r e a r w i n g ,
h a v e t o b e s p e c i f ie d t o g e t h e r ,
b e c a u s e h a v i n g o n l y o n e o r t h e
o t h e r w o u l d u p s e t t h e c a r ’ s
d o w n f o r c e b a l a n c e .
S p e a k i n g e x c l u s i v e ly t o
A u t o c a r , A s t o n M a r t i n d e s ig n
c h i ef M a r e k R e i c h m a n s a i d
t h e e x t e r i o r c h a n g e s “w e r e
a l l a b o u t e n h a n c i n g t h e a e r o
p a c k a g e b u t n o t a d d i n g a n y
w e i g h t ”, s o i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e
s p l it t e r a n d w i n g , t h e r e a r e
a e r o d y n a m i c i m p r o v e m e n t s
v i a t h e b o d y s u r f a c i n g i t s e lf .
“Y o u c a n s e e f r o m t h e f r o n t
w i n g w h e r e w e ’ r e r e l e a s i n g
h i g h - p r e s s u r e a ir f r o m t h e
w h e e l a r c h , ”s a i d R e i c h m a n .
A s w i t h t h e G T 12 , t h e
V a n t a g e G T 8 i s a v a il a b le i n
s o m e ‘h a l o ’ c o l o u r s , i n c l u d i n g
t h e S t i r l in g G r e e n w i t h l im e
p a i n t jo b s e e n o n t h e A s t o n
M a r t i n G T E c a r s . A l s o a v a il a b le
i s w h i t e w i t h g r e e n h i g h l ig h t s
a n d s i l v e r w it h b l u e . P r o d u c t i o n
o f h a l o - c o l o u r c a r s w i l l b e
c a p p e d , h o w e v e r , b e c a u s e
t h e y g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e t h e
G T 8 ’ s b u i ld t im e d u e t o t h e c a r
b e i n g r e t u r n e d t o t h e p a i n t
s h o p f o r t h e c o n t r a s t i n g c o l o u r
d e t a i l s to b e a d d e d a f t e r i t
h a s b e e n a s s e m b l e d . I f t h o s e
w e r e p a i n t e d i n i ti a l ly , t h e r e ’ s
a c h a n c e t h e y w o u l d n ’ t l in e
u p o n c e t h e b o d y p a n e l s w e r e
f i t t e d t o t h e c a r .
Vantage’s 4.7-litreV8 has been tunedto produce 440bhp
GT8 retains muchof the standardVantage’s interior
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R e i c h m a n s a y s G T 8
c u s t o m e r s a r e t e n d i n g t o b e
f a i r ly e x t r e m e w i t h co l o u r a n d
s p e c i f ic a t i o n c h o i c e s , a l l o w i n g
t h e i r “w i l d s i d e ” t o c o m e o u t
a n d “p u t t i n g t h e g r a p h i c s o n ,
c h o o s i n g a l l t h e o p t io n s a n d
e n j o y i n g t h e c a r ’ s a n a l o g u e
f e e l in g . S o f a r w e ’ v e s e e n a
g r e a t r e s p o n s e i n t e r m s o f
c u s t o m e r s w a n t i n g t o s h o w
t h e t r u e s p i r i t o f w h a t V a n t a g e
G T 8 i s a l l a b o u t ”.
O t h e r o p t i o n s a v a i la b l e o n
t h e G T 8 i n c l u d e c a r b o n f ib r e
b a d g e s , a c a r b o n f i b r e g r i l l e ,
c a r b o n f ib r e l o w e r v a l a n c e s a n d
a c a r b o n f i b r e r o o f , a l t h o u g h
t h e l a s t o p t i o n b a r e l y s a v e s a n y
w e i g h t b e c a u s e th e c a r ’ s V H
a r c h i te c t u r e m e a n s t h e r o o f
i s n ’ t a l o a d - b e a r i n g p a n e l .
Q u i t e h o w t h e G T 8 w i l l
d r i v e w e ’ v e y e t t o d i s c o v e r ,
b u t R e i ch m a n d e s c r i b e s it a s
“v e r y d y n a m i c ”. A s t o n c l a i m s
t h e G T 8 i s t h e m o s t d r i v er -
f o c u s e d V 8 V a n t a g e i t h a s y e t
m a d e , a n d th e d y n a m i c s t e a m ,
u n d e r t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f M a t t
B e c k e r , h a s d o n e a s u r p r i s in g
a m o u n t o f w o r k o n t h e r i d e a n d
h a n d l in g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .
T h e r e s u l t is i n t e n d e d t o
s t a r t p u t t i n g m o r e c l e a r s p a c e
b e t w e e n d i f f e r e n t A s t o n
M a r t i n m o d e l s , a c co r d i n g t o
R e i ch m a n . “W e h a v e a m u c h
b r o a d e r v i su a l l a n g u a g e t h a t
w i l l g o i n t o A s t o n M a r t i n s
a n d t h e r e f o r e t h e d r i v in g
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , ” h e s a i d .
T h e G T 8 i s th e f ir s t o f t w o
s p e c i a l - e d i t io n c a r s t h a t A s t o n
M a r t i n w i l l l a u n c h t h i s y e a r .
A s t o n i s p l a n n i n g t o l a u n c h
t w o p e r y e a r , c a p i t a l is i n g o n
t h e m a r k e t ’ s i n c r e a s i n g
d e m a n d f o r l i m i t e d - r u n ,
s p e c i a l - e d i t io n c a r s s u c h a s
t h i s o r , f o r e x a m p l e , P o r s c h e ’ s
C a y m a n G T 4 a n d 9 1 1 R m o d e l s .
N o t a l l s p e c i a l s w i ll b e r a c e -
i n s p i r e d , b u t t h e y a r e s a i d t o
a u g m e n t t h e c o r e r a n g e . “I t ’ s
t a k i n g a w a l k o n t h e w i ld s i d e
a n d d o i n g t h e u n e x p e c t e d , ”
s a i d R e i ch m a n .
T h e c o r e r a n g e i t s e l f i s a l so
u n d e r g o i n g a m a s s iv e n e w
p r o d u c t r o l l o u t , st a r t i n g w i t h
t h e u p c o m i n g D B 1 1, w h i ch
i s s a i d to h a v e a m u c h m o r e
c o m p l i a n t r i d e , a s b e f i t s a G T
c a r , t h a n t h e o u t g o i n g D B 9 . T h e
r a n g e w i l l a l s o b e su p p l e m e n t e d
b y t h e D B X c r o s s o v e r b e fo r e
t h e e n d o f t h e d e c a d e .
“T h e D B 1 1 i s t h e s t a r t o f
o u r s e c o n d - c e n t u r y p l a n , a
s i x- y e a r p l a n , ”s a i d R e i c h m a n .
“T h e r e ’ s a c a d e n c e , a n d e v e r y
n i n e m o n t h s t h e r e ’ s a n e w
p r o d u c t c o m i n g .”
MATT PRIOR
H u g e r e a r w i n g i s o p t i o n a l
b u t c a n o n l y b e s p e c i f ie d
w i t h t h e f r o n t s p l i t t e r
‘ H a l o ’ c o l o u r s c h e m e w i l l o n ly b e o f f e r e d o n a l i m i t e d n u m b e r o f G T 8 s
Aston claims the GT8 is the mostdriver focused V8 Vantage yetmade
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ASTON MARTINANDRed
Bull are plotting two variants
of their new AM-RB 001
hypercar, design guru Adrian
Newey has revealed.
The bulk of the 99 examples
due to be built at Aston’s
Gaydon factory will be road
legal, but there will also be
a small number of track-
optimised versions.
“The cars are very
closely related, but they are
different,” said Newey, who
has collaborated with Aston’s
chief creative officer, Marek
Reichman, on the design of
the AM-RB 001. “The track-
only car has bigger wheels,
bigger wings and you don’t
have to put on some of the
things that you have to put
onto the road car. You won’t
needa stereo,for example.
“In principle, if you kept
swapping parts you could
convert one version from the
other, but I’m not sure why
you’d want to buy a product
then cut it around to make it
something different.”
The track version will be
important in achieving the car’s
mission of lapping Silverstone
at the pace of an F1 car, as
stated by Aston boss Andy
Palmer at the launch of the
collaboration between Aston
Martin and Red Bull Advanced
Technologies in March.
The AM-RB 001 has
progressed to the modelling
stage and now has a definitive
shape seen only by the top
brass involved in the project.
Few technical details have
been revealed, although
Reichman has said it “looks like
nothing else on the road today”
while still being “recognisable
as an Aston Martin in terms of
its proportions”.
What is known is that
the car has a mid-engined
layout, with a bespoke internal
combustion engine harnessed
to a hybrid system, although
Newey has hinted that the
team is “looking at things
that perhaps haven’t been
done before with that kind
of technology”.
The AM-RB 001 is a two-
seater that is comfortable
for6ft-talloccupants andis
intendedto bea carof two
characters,according to
Newey,capable of extreme
performancebutalso usable as
a dailycommuting vehicle.
THIS WEEK
2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 11
Aston boss Andy Palmer wants the AM-RB 001 to be able to match an F1 car around Silverstone
Adrian N ew ey and M arek
Reichm an interview p4 6
RML to convert 820bhpAston Vulcan for road use
Track version of AM RB 001 hypercar on its way
A ROAD CONVERSION
package for the £1.8 million
Aston Martin Vulcan
supercar is to be offered
after some owners expressed
interest in driving their
track-only cars on the road.
Conversions of the7.0-litre V12-powered
Vulcan work will be carried
out independently of Aston
Martin by engineering
company RML.
The conversion will take
about three months and the
changes are likely to focus
on three key areas: safety-
critical aspects, alterations
to make the car more usable
on the road — such as ride
height and gear ratios — and
any other bespoke changes
requested by the customer.
Converting a track car for
the road is easier in some
countries than in others,
but it should be possible in
any nation that offers single
vehicle type approval.
Speaking about the Vulcan
conversions, Aston boss
Andy Palmer said: “When
we went to market, there
was hesitation from a few
prospective owners because
it didn’t have a road pack. We
didn’t want to make it roadlegal from the start, because
special projects boss] David
King and his team wouldn’t
have been able to make such
a stunning car in the first
place, but RML said they had
the ability to do it.
“So it has taken a bit of
time to work out what’s
possible from an engineering
perspective, but we expect
four or five owners will take
advantage of this . We have
the sales of the last two cars
currently under negotiation
and it looks like the road
conversion could be the
closer on those deals.
“Fortunately, we put
things like the lights in the
right place to begin with,
but it is about fixing
those lights, checking the
emissions of the engine and
some up-front work such as
simulating crash test ability
and that sort of thing.
“It’s a significant cost, but
most of that cost is in thecrash simulation and original
engineering, and the outlay
will then get amortised via
the cost of about four or
five conversions.”
Alterations that might
compromise safety will be
forbidden. “We’re saying you
can’t chop the roll cage, for
example, because as soon as
you do that, you can’t take it
onto the track,” said Palmer.
The Vulcan conversion
follows a trend towards
owners of track-only cars
wishing to take them on
to the road. The 986bhp,
£1.98m McLaren P1 GTR, for
example, is being converted
for road use by Hampshire-
based specialist Lanzante.
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TheT 001hastheabilitytodealwitha1400kgpayloadonthreestandardpallets
UK to make world’s
irst electric vanBritain is expected tobecom e hom e to thew orld’s first m ass-prod uced electric d eliveryvan w ith the launch ofthe
Em erald T-00 1late nextyear,
Autocar can reveal. B ased
around a rang e-extender
pow ertrain,the vehicle
com bines a 6 6-m ile E V range
w ith the ability to dealw ith a
1400kg payload arrang ed on
three stand ard pallets.
The technology opens
the w ay for zero-em issions
deliveries in tow ns and cities
to arrive ata tim e w hen the
annualaverage m ileage oflight
com m ercialvehicles (LCVs)is
grow ing dram atically due to
the significantcon sum er shift
tow ards internetshopping.
Em erald Autom otive is ow ned
by Chinese car m aker Geely,
w hich also ow ns Vo lvo and
London TaxiInternational
(LTI). LTI’s new London black
cab,the TX5,is based o n the
sam e alum inium chassis and
pow ertrain as the T-001van.
The van and taxiare part
The range-extenderT-001 van will have a66-mile electric range
12 UTOC R.CO.UK 20 APRIL 2016
ofa £250 m illion investm ent
w hich should also resultin
1000 n ew jobs being created
ata new produ ction facility
near Coventry. Both the taxi
and van sho uld be rolled outin
Sep tem ber nextyear.
Lastautum n,Chinese
prem ier XiJinp ing visited
the UK and view ed the final
version ofthe TX 5 — the d esign
ofw hich w as overseen by
ex-Volvo design chiefPeter
H orbury — w ith prim e m inister
D avid Cam eron,although no
m ention ofthe delivery van
derivative w as m ade. It has
been revealed,how ever,that
the new factory w illhave an
annualcapacity ofaround
36,00 0 units per year. W ith the
TX 5 facing com petition from
the new Frazer-N ash electric
black cab and sales expected
to run ata m axim um of5000
units per year,itw ould appear
thatG eely is expecting sales of
up to 30,00 0 delivery van s a
year. So far,Em erald has only
revealed details oftw o version s
ofthe van — a short-w heelbase
m odeland a high-roof,long -
w heelbase variant— buta
m inibus derivative is also likely.
Em erald Autom otive also
has a US base in StLouis,
M issouri,and is com peting for
the contractto replace the
170,00 0 vehicles used by the
US PostalService. Should the
bid be successful,the T-001
w ould becom e a significant
player in the boom ing g lobal
m arketfor LCVs.
Originally developed
independently in the U K by
Em erald Autom otive w ith help
from engineering specialist
Ricardo,the T-001projectw as
boug htby Chinese car m aker
G eely in February 20 14 ,shortly
after the Chinese too k full
controlofthe ailing LTI. D etails
abou tthe T-00 1are relatively
sparse,because the division
ofG eely thatow ns the business
is privately held and the
com pany is notcom m unicating
w ith the pu blic or press.
H ow ever,a single spec
sheetreleased by E m erald
show s thatthe van prom ises a
battery-only range of“over 66
m iles” and an additional34 2
m iles using the four-cylind er
engine/generator. Ithas a top
speed of85m ph and can hit
60m ph in 8.5 sec,aided by its
4 42lb ftoftorque.
It’s possible the T-001w ill
benefitfrom ‘live’pow ertrain
m anagem ent,w ith the
system acting intelligently
by u sing inform ation on
localtraffic con dition s and
road topography to extract
m axim um efficiency. Em erald
also says itexpects a five-star
Eu ro N CAP crash testresult.
The T-001uses com posite
body pan els,has a 25kW h
battery under the forw ard floor
and the internalcom bustion
engine m ounted in the nose.
Em erald isn’tsaying w hether
itw illuse a petrolor diesel
engine,although the form er
is m ore likely. Th e rear w heels
are driven by the veh icle’s
electric m otor,w hich is
m ounted on the rear axle.
There’s no w ord on the
costofthe T-001as yet,but
Em erald says itw illhave a
low er ‘w hole life’costthan
conventionaldiesel-pow ered
van s. It’s also estim ated to
have a refuelling costthat’s
around 18 ofthatofa
conventionaldieselLCV over a
typicaldaily use cycle.
The new vehicle is likely
to be w elcom ed by delivery
com panies,w hich are
increasingly keen to m ove aw ay
from dieselvehicles because
ofthe grow ing controversy
surround ing urban pollution
and service problem s such
as blocked dieselparticulate
filters. Urban delivery d rivers
are also expected to benefit
from the gearless transm ission
and sign ifican tly im proved
pow ertrain refinem ent.
Pure electric d elivery
vehicles have been ruled outby
m ostindustry experts,because
the w eightofa large battery
pack reduces the vehicle
payload significantly. Ran ge
in the colder w inter m onths is
also significantly affected on
battery-only vehicles.
H ILTON H OLLOW Y
New TX5 black cab willshare its chassis andpowertrain with T-001
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THISWEEK
T H E R E A R E T W O r ea so n s
w h y t h e T - 0 0 1 i s a l m o s t
c e r t a in t o s u c c ee d i n t h e
U K . F i r s t l y , t h e a i r q u a li ty
i n m a n y c it ie s i s w e l l b e lo w
t h e s t a n d a r d s e t b y t h e E U ,
p a r t i cu l a r ly f o r t h e n i t r o g e n
o x i d e s a n d p a r t i cu l a t es
e m i t t e d b y d i es e ls ,
e s p ec i a l ly a s t h e y a g e .
S e c o n d ly , t h e p r o b l e m
w i t h d i e se l p o l lu t i o n i s l ik e l y
t o g e t w o r s e , n o t b e t t e r , a s
t h e a n n u a l m i l ea g e s o f L C V s
c o n ti n u e t o b o o m .
A c c o r d i n g t o g o v e r n m e n t
f ig u r e s , a v e r a g e a n n u a l
L C V m i l e a g e s h a v e g r o w n
b y 1 6 .7 % s in c e 2 0 0 7 ,
w h i le H G V m i l ea g e s h a v e
d r o p p ed b y 9 . 7 % . I n d e e d ,
o v e r a ll t r a ff ic m i le a g e i n
t h e U K w a s , a t t h e e n d o f
l a s t S e p t em b e r , 0 . 6 % l ow e r
t h a n b e f o r e t h e 2 0 0 8 -
2 0 0 9 r e c e s s io n .
G i v en t h a t L C V s a r e
n e a r l y a l l d i e s e l, t h a t t h e y
a c c o u n t f o r 4 7 b i l li o n U K
v e h i c l e m i le s ( m o s t o f i t
i n u r b a n a r e a s ) a n d t h ey
a r e o n t h e r o a d f or m o s t o f
t h e d a y , c l e a n i n g u p L C V
p o ll u t i o n m u s t b e a p r io r it y .
A t p r e s en t t h e r e’ s o n l y
o n e h y b r i d c o m m e r c i a l
v e h i c l e o n t h e g l o b a l
m a r k e t : a h e a v i ly m o d i fi ed
s e p a r a t e - c h a s s i s p i c k - u p
m a d e b y V I A i n t h e U S .
T h e r e a r e a l s o r e t r o - fi t
h y b r i d k i t s f o r e x is t i n g L C V s
s u c h a s t h e F o r d T r a n si t .
A s a r e su l t , t h e T - 0 0 1
w i ll h a v e t h e m a r k e t a l m o s t
t o i t s e lf , a l t h o u g h t h e r e
c o u ld b e a s m a l le r d e li v e r y
v e h i c l e s p i n - o f f f r o m t h e
n e w F r a z e r - N a s h e le c tr i c
t a x i . A l t h o u g h t h e T - 0 0 1
w i ll b e m o r e e x p e n s i v e t h a n
a c o n v e n t i o n a l d i e s e l v a n ,
g o v e r n m e n t p l u g - in g r a n t s
a n d l o w e r r u n n i n g c o st s
s h o u l d m a k e i t a f f o r d a b l e
f o r l o n g - t e r m o w n e r s .
T h e g o v e r n m e n t i s
t r y i n g t o r e s t r i c t t h e u s e
o f o l d e r d i es e l v e h i c le s i n
D e r b y , B i r m i n g h a m , L e e d s ,
B r i s t o l, S o u t h a m p t o n ,
N o t t in g h a m a n d L o n d o n
b y 2 0 2 0 . I n t r o d u c in g d a il y
t o ll s f o r u s i n g s u c h v e h i c l es
c o u l d p u s h b u s i n es s e s t o
i n v e s t i n t h e T - 0 0 1 .
HILTONHOLLOWAY
D o e s t h e U K n e e d a
c l e a n d e li v e r y v a n ?
2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 13
2007 Q1
P e r c e n t a g e
2015 Q3
-9.7%
LCV t r a ff ic h a s g r o w n o v e r a ll
W h i l e H G V t r a f f i c h a s
d e c r e a s e d o v e r a l l
120
110
100
90
80
70
+16.7%
LON G ER-TERM TREN D S
C o m m e r c ia l v e h i c le m i l ea g e , 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 5
MahindratoundercutZoeandLeafwithelectrice2oI N D I A N C A R M A K E R M a h i n d r a
h a s l a u n c h e d i t s e 2 o e l e c t r i c
c a r i n t h e UK . T h e t h r e e - d o o r,
f o u r - se a t h a t c h b a c k c it y c a r
h a s a c la i m e d 7 9 - m i le r a n g e .
U n v e il e d l a st w e e k i n L o n d o n
b y M a h i n d r a b o s s A n a n d
M a h in d r a , t h e e 2 o h a s o u t p u t s
o f 4 2 b h p a n d 6 7 l b f t , w i t h a t o p
s p e e d o f a b o u t 6 3m p h a n d a
0 - 2 5 m p h t im e o f 4 . 9 s e c .
W i t h a 1 3. 9 k W h l it h iu m i o n
b a t t e r y , i t t a k e s n i n e h o u r s
t o c h a r g e f r o m e m p t y ; a f a s t
c h a r g e o p t i o n t a k in g 1 .5 h o u r s
i s a l s o a v a i la b l e .
A v a i la b l e t o p u r c h a s e
o n l in e o n l y , w i t h d e l iv e r i e s
s t a r t in g n e xt m o n t h , t h e
G - W i z s u c c e ss o r i s p r i c e d f r o m
£1 2 , 9 9 5 a f t e r p l u g - i n g r a n t ),
m a k i n g i t m o r e t h a n d o u b le t h e
p r i ce o f i t s I n d i a n e q u i v a le n t ,
w h i ch c o st s a r o u n d £6 0 0 0 .
H o w e v e r, t h e UK - b o u n d e 2 o i s
a n u p g r a d e d v e r s i o n w i t h m o r e
s a fe t y k i t , a l a r g e r b a t t e r y a n d
a h i g h e r - q u a l it y i n t e r i o r.
H i g h - s p e c T e c h X v e r s i o n s
w i ll c o s t £ 1 5 , 9 9 5 a n d i n cl u d e
t o u c h s c r e e n i n f o t a in m e n t ,
a r e v e r s in g c a m e r a , a r a p id
c h a r g in g p o r t a n d l e a t h e r.
T h e p r ic e r a n g e m a k e s
i t m o r e e xp e n s iv e t h a n t h e
R e n a u lt T w i z y , w h i c h s t a r t s a t
£6 8 9 5 , b u t c h e a p e r t h a n t h e
R e n a u l t Zo e a n d Ni ss a n L e a f ,
w h i c h c o s t f r o m £1 8 , 4 4 5 a n d
£2 6 , 0 30 r e s p e c t i v e l y .
M a h i n d r a s a y s o w n e r s d o i n g
t h e U K a v e r a g e o f 7 9 0 0 m i le s
p e r y e a r a n d c h a r g in g a t h o m e
a t n i g h t w i ll s p e n d l e s s t h a n £1 0
p e r m o n t h t o r u n t h e c a r.
B y s e ll in g c a r s o n l i n e
o n l y , M a h i n d r a e l e c t r i c c a r
b o s s A r v in d M a t h e w s a id t h e
c o m p a n y w a s “t r y i n g t o c r e a t e
a c o n v e n i e n c e m o d e l ”.
T e st d r i v e s c a n b e b o o k e d
o n l i n e i n L o n d o n , B i r m i n g h a m ,
B r i s to l a n d M i lt o n K e y n e s ,
w i t h a d d i t io n a l l o c a t i o n s t o
f o l l o w . S e r v i c in g w i l l a l s o b e
b o o k e d o n l i n e , w i t h m o b i l e
v a n s c a r r y i n g o u t w o r k a t
o w n e r s’ h o m e s .
A n a n d M a h in d r a s a id :
“T h e w h o l e b u y i n g p r o c e s s
h a s m u t a t e d . W e ’ r e s e ll in g y o u
s o m e t h i n g t h a t i s a s f r ie n d l y
a n d e a s y t o b u y a s a n i P h o n e .”
VWeyesEVtechsupremacyT H E V W G R O U P c a n l e a p f r o g
i t s r i v a ls i n e l e c t r ic c a r
t e c h n o l o g y i f i t a c h i ev e s
s c a le a c r o s s a l l o f i t s b r a n d s
e f fe c t iv e l y , a c c o r d in g t o t h e
f ir m ’ s t e c h n i c a l d e v e lo p m e n t
b o s s , F r a n k W e ls c h .
V o l k s w a g e n b o s s M a t t h ia s
M ül le r r e v e a le d a t t h e
G e n e v a m o t o r s h ow t h a t t h e
f ir m w o u l d l a u n c h a n e le c tr i c
f a m i ly c a r w i t h a r a n g e o f
5 0 0 k m ( 3 1 0 m i le s) a n d a
r e c h a r g e t i m e o f 1 5 m i n u t e s
f o r a p r i c e l o w er t h a n t h a t o f
a n e q u i v a l e n t G o l f . I n s i d e r s
h a d p r e v i o u s ly t o ld A u t o c a r
t h a t t h e V W G r o u p ’ s h i g h e s t
m a n a g e m e n t s e e s t h e
p o t e n t i a l f o r i t t o b e t h e f ir s t
i c o n i c e le c tr i c c a r a n d t h e
p e r f e c t v e h i c l e t o b a n i s h
m e m o r i e s o f t h e D i e s e lg a t e
e m i s s io n s s c a n d a l .
“T h e M E B p l a t fo r m
t o o lk i t g i v e s u s t h e p e r f e c t
o p p o r t u n it y t o g a i n s c a l e b y
u s i n g t h e p l a tf o r m s o lu t i o n
i n a s m a n y w a y s a s p o s s ib l e ,”
s a i d W e l s ch . “I f w e c a n
a c h i ev e s c a le t h e n a l l
s o r t s o f t h i n g s w i l l b e c o m e
o p e n t o u s , f r o m r e d u c e d
c o st s t o f a s t e r R & D . ”
W e l s ch a l s o r e v e a le d
t h a t a h e a v i ly r e v a m p e d
V W e - G o lf w i ll g o o n s a l e a t
t h e e n d o f t h is y e a r o r e a r ly
n e x t y e a r , w i t h a c la i m e d
e le c t r i c r a n g e o f 1 8 6 m i l es ,
u p f r om t h e c u r r e n t m o d e l ’ s
1 18 m i le s . “C e l l t e c h n o l o g y
i s m o v i n g f o r w a r d q u i c k l y ,”
h e s a i d , “a n d w i ll m o v e e v e n
f a st e r i n f u t u r e . ”
The e2o has a claimed79-mile range and atop speed of 50mph
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THIS WEEK
Pe u g e o t h a s r e v e a l e d i ts
n e xt - g e n e r a t i o n i - C o c k p i t
a h e a d o f t h e t e ch n o l o g y ’ s
p r o d u c t i o n d e b u t i n t h e
u p c o m i n g 30 0 8 t h is s u m m e r .
T h e s e c o n d - g e n s y st e m h a s
b e e n c o m p l e te l y r e w o r k e d
t o i n c o r p o ra t e a 1 2 . 3i n T F T
d i sp l a y , a n 8 . 0 i n t o u c h s c r e e n
a n d j u st e i g h t m a i n b u t t o n s
l o c a t e d o n t h e c a r ’ s c e n t r e
c o n so l e . I t i s s a i d t o u s e t h e
f a s te s t s o f t w a r e p r o c e s s o r
c u r r e n t ly a v a i la b l e f o r t h i s
t y p e o f i n f o t a in m e n t a n d
a r r i v e s a s P e u g e o t ’ s a n s w e r
t o A u d i ’ s V i r t u a l C o c k p i t .
A h e a d o f t h e d r i v e r a n d
b e h i n d t h e s t e e r in g w h e e l , t h e
T F T d i s p la y i n co r p o r a te s a
s im i la r m e n u s t r u c t u re t o t h a t
s e e n o n A u d i ’ s V i r t u a l C o c k p i t ,
b u t t h e P e u g e o t h a s i t s o w n
u n i q u e g r a p h i c s w h i ch h a v e
b e e n d e v e l o p e d i n - h o u s e )a n d
f i v e c u s t o m i s a b l e d i s p l a y s .
D r i v e r s c a n u s e t h e s t e e r i n g
w h e e l c o n t r o l s to v i e w t h e
s y s t e m ’ s s t a n d a r d - f i t s a t e l li t e
n a v i g a t i o n o r d r i v e r a s s i s t
d i s p l a y s , w i th s p e e d a n d r e v s
p u s h e d t o t h e sc r e e n ’ s c o r n e r s .
A l t e r n a t iv e l y , a s p e e d o a n d r e v
c o u n t e r d i sp l a y c a n b e s e le c t e d
f o r t h o s e w h o p r e f e r a m o r e
c o n v e n t i o n a l l a y o u t .
T h e c e n t r e c o n s o l e’ s
t o u c h s c r e e n c a n a l s o s h o w a
v a r i e t y o f d i s p la y s , i n c lu d i n g
a 3D v e r s io n o f t h e T o m T o m -
b a s e d s a t e ll it e n a v i g a t io n t h a t
f e a t u r e s l i v e t r a f fi c u p d a t e s
a n d e n a b l e s u s e r s t o t o u ch
b u i l d in g s t o s e l e ct t h e m a s a
d e s t in a t i o n . D r i v e r p r e f e r e n ce s
a r e a l s o a c c e s se d o n t h is
s c r e e n , a l l o w in g i n d i v i d u a l
s e t t in g s f o r l ig h t i n g , s e a t
m a s s a g e s e t t in g s a n d e v e n
c o c k p i t f r a g r a n c e t o b e s a v e d
i n u p t o t h r e e p r o f il e s .
T o m a k e a c c e s si n g t h e s e
p r o f i l e s e a s y , P e u g e o t
h a s a d d e d a b u t to n t o t h e
d a s h b o a r d ’ s c e n t r e t h a t
r e q u ir e s j u s t o n e t o u c h t o c a l l
t h e m u p . I t s a y s t h is b u t t o n
a n d t h e s e v e n o t h e r s n e xt t o i t
o p e n c o n t r o l s f o r k e y f e a t u r e s
t o w h i c h d r i v e r s w a n t d i r e c t
a c c e s s. T h e o t h e r b u t t o n s
o p e n m e n u s f o r t h i n g s su c h a s
c l im a t e c o n t r o l , h e a t e d s e a t s
a n d p h o n e c o n n e c t iv i t y .
S m a r t p h o n e s c a n b e
c o n n e c t e d t o i - C o c k p it v i a
2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 15
New generation ofi-Cockpitwillmakeitsdebut this summer
W hy is cabin design soimportant?
“T h e r e a r e k e y a t t r i b u t e s t o o u r c a r s t h a t w e
m u s t m a i n t a in , s u c h a s h o w t h e y r i d e , d r iv e
a n d h a n d l e , b u t s o m e o f t h e s e fe a t u r e s a r e
n o t s o m u c h f u n w h e n y o u a r e s t u c k i n t r a f f ic ,
o r c r u i s i n g a t 5 0 k m /h . T h e i - C o c k p i t is t h e
b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s t o r y o f a n a l t e r n a t i v e , fo r
m a k i n g d i f fe r e n t , p e r h a p s t y p i c a l ly m o r e
m u n d a n e , t y p e s o f d r i v i n g m o r e i n t e r e s t in g . ”
W hat makes i-Cockpit special?
“I t i s a h e a d o f w h a t o u r o p p o s i t i o n o f f e r . W e
h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g o n t h e s e id e a s f o r m a y b e
f iv e y e a r s , a n d n o w w e h a v e r e a l i se d t h e m .
I t h a s n o t b e e n e a s y , b l e n d in g t e c h n o l o g ic a l
a d v a n c e s w i t h m o r e t r a d i t io n a l t o u c h e s , b u t
w e f e e l w e h a v e s o m e t h i n g t h a t i s b o t h h i g h -
t e c h a n d e a s y t o u s e , a n d w h i c h p u t s t h e d r i v e r
a t t h e h e a r t o f t h e c a r . A
d r i v e r s p e n d s a l l t h e i r t im e
l o o k i n g a t t h e i n s i d e o f a
c a r , n o t o u t s i d e , a n d t h a t i s
w h y w e h a v e p u t s o m u c h
f o c u s o n g e t t i n g t h i s r i g h t . ”
This is the second-generation i-Cockpit.
W hat did you learn from the first?
“W e ’ v e r e f in e d a n d i m p r o v e d w h a t w e
h a d , u s in g f e e d b a c k f r o m c u s t o m e r s a n d
h a r n e s s i n g t e c h n o l o g y a d v a n c e s , s u c h a s
p r o c e s s in g p o w e r . T h e d i g i t a l d a s h w i ll b e
s t a n d a r d o n s o m e m o d e l s , a n d i t ch a n g e s t h e
e n t i r e c a b in e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e i n f o t a in m e n t
s c r e e n i s m u c h f a s t e r t o r e s p o n d a n d t h e
g r a p h i c s m u c h m o r e a d v a n c e d . T h e p u s h -
b u t t o n s a r e a v e r y p h y s i c a l e xp e r i e n c e . ”
Q&A MAXIME PICAT, CEO, PEUGEOT
A n d r o i d A u t o , A p p l y C a r P l ay
a n d M i r r o r L i n k . T h i s p la c e s
c e r t a i n j o u r n e y - a p p r o p r i a t e
a p p s o n t o t h e t o u c h s c r e e n
s o t h e y c a n b e u s e d w i th o u t
t o u c h i n g a p h o n e .
P e u g e o t s a y s i t h a s
w o r k e d h a r d t o i m p r o v e t h e
c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n h u m a n
a n d m a c h i n e b y d e v e lo p i n g
a s e a t i n g p o s i t io n a n d d a s h
l a y o u t o p t i m i s e d fo r l o v e r s
o f d r i v in g . T h i s m e a n s t h e
s m a l l s t e e r i n g w h e e l o f t h e
c a r m a k e r ’ s cu r r e n t m o d e l s
r e m a i n s , a lt h o u g h i t h a s
l o w e r e d t h e t o p o f t h e w h e e l b y
2 m m t o h e l p i m p r o v e v i s i b il it y
o f t h e T F T s c r e e n b e h in d — a n
i ss u e m a n y f e l t t o b e a m a j o r
f l a w i n t h e p r e v i o u s s y s t e m ’ s
d e s i g n . F r o m A u t o c a r ’ s
p r e v i e w o f t h e s e t - u p , i t ’ s
c e r t a i n l y m u c h i m p r o v e d , b u t
s h o r t e r d r i v e r s m a y s t i ll fi n d
t h e i r v ie w o f t h e T F T s c r e e n
s l ig h t l y o b s t r u c t e d .
T o m a k e t h e d r i v in g
e xp e r i e n c e f e e l m o r e
i m m e r s i v e , P e u g e o t s a y s i t h a s
d e v e l o p e d t h e e n g i n e n o i s e
a m p l i fi e r t h a t it in t r o d u c e d
t o t h e 30 8 l a s t y e a r . T h e
r e s o n a t o r p l a y s a d i g i ta l s o u n d
t h r o u g h t h e c a r ’ s s p e a k e r s t o
‘ e n h a n c e ’ e n g i n e n o i s e .
P e u g e o t ’ s i - C o c k p i t w i ll b e
a v a i l a b l e o n a l m o s t a l l o f t h e
b r a n d ’ s n e w m o d e l s . A l t h o u g h
f u t u r e t r i m l e v e l s a r e y e t t o
b e c o n f ir m e d , t h e F r e n c h f i r m
s a y s i t ’ ll o f f e r t h e t e c h n o l o g y
o n e v e r y t h i n g b u t t h e 1 0 8
a n d i t ’ l l b e a s t a n d a r d f i t m e n t
o n m i d - s p e c t r im l e v e ls a n d
a b o v e . T h a t s u g g e s t s m o d e l s
a s sm a l l a s t h e 2 0 8 w h i c h
s t a r t s a t £1 2 , 0 6 5 i n i t s c u r r e n t
g e n e r a t i o n )w i l l b e o f f e r e d w i t h
t h e t e c h n o l o g y . T h i s c o n t r a s t s
w i t h A u d i ’ s V i r t u a l C o c k p i t ,
w h i c h i s o n l y a v a i l a b l e w i t h
m o d e l s t h a t a r e p r i c e d fr o m
a b o u t £1 8 , 9 0 0 t h e e xp e c t e d
b a s e p r i c e f o r t h e r e c e n t l y
r e v e a l e d A 3 f a c e l i f t ).
SAM SHEEHA N
Peugeot ramps up cabin tech
‘ It is high-tech and easyto use and puts the driver at the heart of the car’
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JLR CREATES NEW TECH FIRMJ a g u a r L a n d R o v e r h a s la u n c h e d a t e c h st a r t - u p ,
I n M o t i o n , t h a t w i ll fo c u s o n a p p - b a s e d t r a v e l a n d
t r a n s p o r t s o l u t i o n s . I n M o t i o n w i l l b e g i n t e s t in g
s e r v i c e s s u c h a s c a r sh a r i n g a n d a l t e r n a t i v e c a r
o w n e r s h i p m e t h o d s in t h e c o m i n g m o n t h s .
NEXT-GEN C3 BREAKS COVERT h e t h i r d - g e n e r a t i o n C i t r o ën C 3 s u p e r m i n i h a s
b e e n s e e n f o r t h e f i r st t i m e , i n t h e f o r m o f t h e
C 3 W R C , w h i c h w i ll b e t h e F r e n c h m a n u f a c t u r e r ’ s
e n t r y f o r n e x t y e a r ’ s W o r l d R a l l y C h a m p i o n s h i p .
T h e n e w C 3 w i l l g o o n s a l e la t e t h i s y e a r .
Mcarstogetfour-wheeldriveB o s s o f B M W ’ s M d i v i s i o n s a y s f o u r - w h e e l d r iv e is o n t h e w a y , a l o n g w i t h s e le c t e d a u t o n o m o u s t e c h
Fu t u r e B M W M c a r s w il l b e
o f f e r e d w i t h a l l - w h e e l d r i v e
a n d i n c r e a s in g a m o u n t s o f
a u t o n o m o u s t e c h n o l o g y ,
b u t n o t t o t h e d e t r im e n t o f
d r i v in g e n g a g e m e n t , a c c o r d in g
t o t h e b o s s o f B M W M d i v is io n .
S p e a k i n g t o A u t o c a r ,
M d i v is io n C E O F r a n k v a n M e e l
s a i d f o u r - w h e e l d r i v e w a s l ik e l y
t o f e a t u r e o n m o d e l s s u ch
a s t h e M 5 a s p o w e r o u t p u t s
i n c r e a s e d , b u t h e s u g g e s t e d
r e a r - w h e e l d r i v e w o u l d
a l w a y s r e m a i n t h e d e f a u l t
s p e c i f i c a t i o n .
“T h e y [M c a r s ]a r e r e a c h i n g
t h e p o i n t w h e r e g r o w i n g p o w e r
o u t p u t s w i ll o b l i g e t h e m t o d o
s o m e t h i n g , ”h e s a i d . “T h e y ’ r e
s t il l w e d d e d t o r e a r - w h e e l d r i v e
f o r p h i l o s o p h i c a l r e a s o n s , b u t
i t ’ s a l r e a d y g e t t i n g h a r d t o
s e ll th e m a t 6 0 0 b h p - p l u s in
m a r k e t s s u c h a s C a n a d a a n d
S w i t z e r l a n d . ”
T h e B M W M b o s s s a id
e n g i n e e r s h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g
h a r d t o i m p r o v e t r a c t i o n ,
s t a b i l it y c o n t r o l a n d t o r q u e
v e c t o r i n g s y s t e m s b u t h i n t e d
t h a t o p t i o n a l f o u r - w h e e l d r i v e
w a s i n e v i t a b l e i n t h e lo n g r u n .
“I t w o u l d n ’ t b e b r a n d e d a s
x D r i v e ,”h e s a i d . “W e h a v e t o b e
s e n s i t iv e a b o u t e q u i t y b u i lt u p
w i t h r e a r - w h e e l d r i v e .”
V a n M e e l s u g g e s t e d a n a m e
l ik e 2 + 2 W D o r s o m e t h in g
s i m i l a r w a s p o s s i b l e , in o r d e r
t o e m p h a s i se t h e c a r ’ s r e a r -
b i a s e d s e t - u p .
I t s e e m s t h e i n t e g r a t i o n o f
i - b r a n d e l e c t r i c p o w e r t r a i n
p a r t s i n t o M c a r s i s s t il l a
l o n g w a y o f f , b e c a u s e t h e
t e c h n o l o g y “i s s t i l l t o o h e a v y ”,
a c c o r d i n g t o v a n M e e l . “Y o u
c a n ’ t a d d 15 0 k g o f e q u ip m e n t
t o o u r c a r s w i t h o u t f e e l i n g i t in
t h e h a n d l i n g , ”h e s a i d .
T h e t e c h n o lo g y c o u l d
t r i c k le a c r o s s i n t o M m o d e l s
i n th e f u t u r e , t h o u g h . B M W ’ s
h e a d o f s a l e s a n d m a r k e t in g ,
I a n R o b e r t s o n , s a id a t t h e
N e w Y o r k m o t o r s h o w l a st
m o n t h : “C o n s u m e r s w a n t
m o r e p e r f o r m a n c e a n d l e s s
C O 2 , s o t h e r e ’ s a s t r o n g
c a s e f o r i n t r o d u c i n g t h i s
t e c h n o l o g y i n t o f u t u r e
p e r f o r m a n c e m o d e l s .”
T h e n e x t - g e n e r a t io n
5 S e r i e s lo o k s s e t t o i n h e r i t
t h e a u t o n o m o u s s y s t e m s
S P Y S H O T SBMW M5
Fully autonomous driving is ‘many, many years away’
BM W H EAD OF sales and
marketing Ian R obertson
(pictured) thinks ‘true’
autonomous driving is
still a long way off, despite
promises from some
manufacturers that it’s just
around the corner.
“It depends w hat you
mean w hen you say
‘autonomous driving’,” he
said. “Some people class
things like automatic cruise
control as autonomous
driving, but it isn’t. It’s a
step along the w ay.
“W e determine it in
layman’s terms as feet off,
hands off, eyes off, brain off.
Feet off is done — w e have
automatic cruise control —
and I can take my hands off
the w heel for up to 15 seconds
w ith steering assist. B ut that
steering assistant then needs
me to put my hands back
on the wheel, the primary
reason being to make sure
I’m stil l responsible.
“That 15 seconds w ill
become one minute, five
minutes and so on, but
there’s an extended period
before in all circumstances
that becomes hands off and
feet off for a meaningful
time. Eyes off and brain off is
still many, many years aw ay.
“W hilethe technology
w ill advance, I think the
legislation, the responsibility
and the societal questions
relating to a machine making
decisions to do w ith life and
death means w e’re not quite
ready for that.”
o f t h e l a te s t 7 S e r i e s a n d
t h e co n t e m p o r a r y 4 8 - v o l t
e l e c t r i c a l a r c h i t e c t u r e
t h a t ’ l l e n a b l e i t t o f e a t u r e
h a n d s - o f f o p e r a t io n u p t o
a p r e - d e t e r m i n e d s p e e d , a
s o p h i s t i c a t e d a n t i - c o l l is i o n
s y s te m a n d f u l ly a u t o n o m o u s
b r a k i n g , a m o n g o t h e r f e a t u r e s .
I t w o u l d m a k e s e n s e f o r t h e
M 5 t o g a i n t h e s e fe a t u r e s , b u t
v a n M e e l sa i d t h e p e r fo r m a n c e
m o d e l w o u l d g e t o n l y a s m a l l
s e l e c t i o n . “I c a n i m a g i n e t h e
d a y t h a t M c a r s c o u ld d r i v e y o u
h o m e f r o m t h e t r a c k , ”h e s a i d ,
“b u t M c a r s w o n ’ t g e t i t [t h e
t e c h n o l o g y ]f i r s t ”.
G i v e n t h i s , it s e e m s l ik e l y t h e
n e x t - g e n e r a t io n M 5 — w h i ch
i s e x p e c t e d t o a r r i v e n e x t
y e a r — w i ll b e r e a r - w h e e l d r i v e
o n l y , w i t h a l im i t e d a m o u n t o f
a u t o n o m o u s t e ch n o l o g y . B u t
t h e f o l lo w i n g g e n e r a t i o n c o u l d
b e d r a s t i c a ll y d i f f e r e n t .
SAM SHEEHAN
16 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6
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Extrapower,longerrangeforrevisedi8
O P E N - T O P V E N O M H I T S 2 6 5 M P H
A m e r ic a n s u p e r ca r m a k e r H e n n e s s e y
P e r f o r m a n c e h a s s e t a n e w w o r ld r e c o r d f o r t h e
f a st e s t p r o d u c t i o n c o n v e r t i b l e a f t e r a c h i e v in g
2 6 5 . 6 m p h i n i t s V e n o m G T . T h e c a r ’ s t w i n - tu r b o
7 . 0 - l i t r e V 8 n o w p r o d u c e s 1 4 5 1 b h p .
T E S L A T W E A K S M O D E L S
T e s l a h a s u p d a t e d t h e M o d e l S r o a d t e s t e d
o n p 5 2 )w i t h a M o d e l X- s t y l e n o s e . I t h a s a l so
i n t r o d u c e d t w o n e w c a b in d e c o r c h o ic e s a n d
a n a i r f il t r a t io n s y st e m c la i m e d t o b e 1 0 0 t im e s
m o r e e f f e c t i v e t h a n o t h e r p r e m i u m s y st e m s .
THISWEEK
Con identialBM W ISSET to givethei8
m ore pow er,an extended
range,various chassis tw eaks,
an inductive charging option
and a series ofnew lightw eight
com ponents.The changesare
partofacom prehensive m id-
life faceliftforthe high -tech2+2 ,w hich firstw enton sale in
the UK in 2014.
The facelifted i8 is due to
reach show room s in the final
quarterofn extyear. It’s set
to adoptan upgraded petrol-
electric pow ertrain currently
being tested in a fleetofroad-
going prototypes as w ellasthe
latestiteration ofthe i8-based
safety carseen atForm ula E
events around the globe.
D etails rem ain scarce,
although high-levelen gineers
atB M W ’sresearch and
developm entfacilities in
M unich say the revised hybrid
pow ertrain w illhave a m ore
pow erfulelectric m otorthan
the 129 bhp unitusedby the
existing i8.
In com bination w ith a lightly
fettled 1.5 -litrethree-cy linder
turbo petrolengine,the front-
m oun ted synchronou s electric
m otoris claim ed to provide
the facelifted i8 w ith m ore
than a 10 boostin pow er
overtoday’s m odel,lifting the
futuristically styled coupé’s
outputto around 420 bhp.
Togetherw ith new softw are
m apping forthe i8’s six-
speedau tom atic gearbox,
the boosted outputis claim ed
to im prove the perform ance
ofthe B M W ibrand’srange-
topping coupé,w hich currently
hasa 0-62m ph tim eof4.4sec
and lim ited 155 m ph top speed.
Atthesam etim e,BM W is
w orking to extend the overall
range ofthe i8 through the
adoption ofa revised battery
pack. W ith im proved energy
density properties— the sam e
is being touted forthe battery
in the facelifted i3 tha tw ill
m ake its debutatthe Paris
m otorshow in Septem ber— it
is said to bring an increm ental
increase in pu re-electric and
hybrid ranges.
Secrecy surrounds the
capacity ofthe new battery.
H owever,BM W hasconfirm ed
thatthe Form ula E safety car
eschew s the 7.1kW h unitofthe
production car fora larger,
10.0kW h battery,possibly
hinting atw hat’s to com e for
the facelifted version. As on
today ’s i8,itw illbe m ounted
dow n the centre line inside a
carbonfibre tunn el.
D raw ing on further
developm ents usedby the
Form ula E safety car,the
facelifted i8 is also in line to
receive a num berofchassis
m odifications. N othing has
been confirm ed,butthe tw o
i8 safety carsatForm ula E
events have m odified upper
w ishbonesand m ounting
points,together w ith revised
spring and dam pers,a 15m m
low erride heightthan the
production carand 20 in alloy
w heelsshod w ith 24 5/35 front
and 285/30 rearM ichelin
PilotS uperSporttyres.
An inductive charging
system is also being tested
and is expectedto be offered
asan option on the next
iteration ofthe i8. D raw ing on
w ireless charging techn ology
developed by Qualcom m ,
ituses resonan tm agnetic
induction to transferenergy
betw een a ground-based
pad connected to the high-
voltage electricalsystem
and a collectorfitted to the
underside ofthe B M W .
Fu rther possible updates
being pursued by BM W forthe
facelifted i8 are carbon fibre
w heels. Already show cased
bytheG erm an carm aker,
the lightw eightw heels use a
carbonfibrerim and alum inium
spokesin a m ovethatis
claim ed to reduce w eightby
up to 25 overthe alum inium
w heels used today.
The launch ofthe facelifted
i8 cou pé is likely tocoincide
w ith the introdu ction ofthe
long-m ooted i8 roadster,
w hich B M W chairm an H arald
Krügerrecently confirm ed as
the nextnew m odelfrom the
com pany’s ibrand.
G R E G K A B L E
ALL JAGUARL AND RoverSVRmodelsw ill befour-wheel drive,divisionbossJohn Edwardshasrevealed.“Somepeoplequestioneditw ith theF-TypeSVR,butwemadethatdecision veryearlyonand ithasbeen fully
justified. It givesthedriversuch high levelsofconfidenceand driveability,”hesaid.
VOLVO INSIDERSSAYtheinvestmentin Polestarmeansother modelsalongsidetheV60Polestar areinevitable,althoughno productshavebeen confirmed.T hephilosophyisperformancefor theroad, rather thanthetrack,and models thatcanbeused in all conditions.However,Polestar’sremit isexpected togo beyondspeed,with theintroductionof
bespokeinteriors, forexample.
TH E SEAT ALTEA and AlteaXL may have been largelyrid iculed in their day, but thefirm was stil l selling 2000examples per year whenproduction was discontinuedlast autumn, sources haverevealed. Introduced in1994, the Altea was anunusual M k5 VolkswagenGolf-based MPV conceivedunder the leadership offormer BM W boss BerndPischetsrieder and designguru Walter de Silva.
VOLK SWAGE N’S ‘DasAuto’tag line is unl ikely toreturn after it was droppedin the wake of the emissionsscandal. However, marketingboss Jürgen Stackmann saidthis is because VW mustevolve from being about‘the car’into a services,connectivity and softwarecompany, and not because ofa need to change perceptionsfollow ing the negativepublicity. “For now, we wi ll
just use the company name:VW,” he said. “It’s the people’scar, a li felong companion.”
2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 A U T O C A R . C O . U K 1 7
BM W ’s i Vision Futureconcept previews
the new i8 roadster
Formula E i8 safetycars have receivedlarger battery packs
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DieselSTcouldjoinnext-generationFiestaline-up
Hot Toyota C HR mooted
t h a t p u b l ic r e a c ti o n t o t h a t
c a r w i ll h e a v i ly i n f o r m t h e
b u s in e s s c a s e f o r p r o d u c in g
a p e r f o r m a n c e v e r s i o n o f t h e
r o a d - g o in g C - H R .
T h e r a ci n g C - H R i s p o w e r e d
b y a t u r b o ch a r g e d 1 . 5 - l it r e
p e t r o l e n g i n e w i t h a r o u n d
17 8 b h p . A s im i l a r e n g in e c o u ld
w e ll b e u s e d i n t h e r o a d c a r ,
a n d K o b a h a s h in t ed h e ’d l i k e
t o s e e m o r e p o w e r f u l v a r i a n ts
o f t h e C - H R l a u n c h e d . S o m e o f
t h e r a c in g c a r ’ s l e s s o b t r u s iv e
a e r o d y n a m i c b o d y w o r k c o u ld
a l so b e c a r r ie d o v e r.
I t ’s h i g h ly l ik e ly a n y
p e r f o r m a n c e v e r s i o n o f t h e
C - H R w o u ld a ls o i n c l u d e
u p r a t e d b r a k es a n d s u s p e n s io n ,
a s w e l l a s h e a v ie r s te e r in g a n d
a m o d i fi e d i n t e r i o r.
T o y o t a ’ s n e w c r o s s ov e r ,
w h i c h s i t s b e lo w t h e R A V 4
i n t h e J a p a n e se c a r m a k er ’ s
l in e - u p , w i ll b e l a u n ch e d i n t h e
U K t h is D e c e m b e r. I t w i l l b e
o f fe r e d w i t h a c h o ic e o f t w o
p o w e r t r a i n s : a 1 .2 - l it r e p e t r o l
e n g in e a n d a h y b r id l in k in g a
1 .8 - l it r e p e t r o l e n g i n e w i t h a n
e l e c tr i c m o t o r .
A l t h o u g h t h e h y b r i d v e r s io n
o f t h e C - H R i s e x p e ct e d t o
t a k e t h e m a j o r i ty o f s a l e s i n
t h e U K , t h e r e i s a n o b v io u s
g a p a t t h e t o p o f t h e r a n g e
w h e r e a p e r f o r m a n c e - b ia s e d
C - H R c o u l d s it . G i v e n t h e
d e v e lo p m e n t t im e n e e d e d t o
p r o d u c e t h a t m o d e l , t h o u g h , i t
w o u l d b e u n l ik e ly t o a p p e a r i n
s h o w r o o m s u n t il a t l e a s t 2 0 1 8 .
D A R R E N M O S S
ST200 w illbe the
lastofthe current-
generation Fiesta STs
HotC-HRis likely to
take visualinfluences
from the race version
FORD IS CONSIDERING thepossibility of a diesel Fiesta ST,according to Ford of Britainchairman Andy Barratt. Butbecause the newly revealedST200 is more or less arun-out model, a diesel STalmost certainly wouldn’tarrive until the next-generation Fiesta goes on sale.
More than half of the UK’sFocus STs are now beingordered with the TDCi engine,and although demand for dieselsupermini s is likely to fall inthe face of tougher emissionsstandards, there will still besignificant benefit-in-kindsavings on more expensiveperformance models.
Although Ford has yetto release pricing for theupcoming ST200, earlydemand has meant increased
numbers will come to the UK.“We’ve been delighted by
the response,” Barratt saidat a presentation of the carrecently. “It’s one of thosecars that we could probablysell several times over.”
The original plan was foronly a few hundred ST20 0sto come to the UK, but it isunderstood that the highdemand will increase that toaround 100 0 cars.
The ST20 0 won’t besignificantly more powerfulthan the standard ST, with its197bhp output mirroring thatof an ST equipped with theMountune tuning pack, but itwill get suspension tweaks,shorter gearing and quickersteering. Barratt said pricingwill be “highly competitive”with obvious rivals.
1 8 A U T O C A R . C O . UK 2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6
To y o t a i s e v a l u a t i n g a
p e r f o r m a n c e v e r s i o n o f
i ts r e c e n t ly r e v e a l e d C - H R
c r o s s o v e r .
T h e n e w m o d e l , w h i c h h a s
b e e n m o o t e d b y C - H R l e a d
e n g i n e e r H i r o K o b a , w o u l d
a c t a s a r i v a l t o t h e l i k e s o f
t h e N i s s a n J u k e N i s m o a n d
a l l o w T o y o t a t o c o m p e t e in
t h e e m e r g i n g a n d p r o f it a b l e
m a r k e t f o r h o t c r o s s o v e r s .
S p e a k i n g t o A u t o c a r d u r i n g
a p r o t o t y p e d r i v e o f t h e n e w
C - H R , K o b a s a id a p e r f o r m a n c e
C - H R w a s n ’ t “c o n c r e t e l y ”
i n T o y o t a ’ s p l a n s b u t “I a m
p u s h i n g t o m a k e s u c h a c a r .
I n e e d t o g e t a p p r o v a l ”.
T o y o t a s e n io r m a n a g e r
R e m b e r t S e r r u s a d d e d : “T h e
c a r l e n d s i t s e lf t o i t . I t w o u l d
b e p o s s i b l e , b u t it d e p e n d s o n
h o w m u c h w e h a v e t o ch a n g e . A
s p o r t s v e r s io n c o u l d b e a m i n o r
c h a n g e o r i t c o u l d b e a n e w
p r o j e c t . A s p o r t s v e r s i o n w o u l d
m a k e a l o t o f s e n s e .”
K o b a h a s a l r e a d y p i l o te d
a r a c in g v e r s i o n o f t h e C - H R
a n d i t ’ s k n o w n t h a t t h e c a r w i l l
c o m p e t e a t t h e N ür b u r g r i n g
2 4 H o u r s e n d u r a n c e e v e n t n e x t
m o n t h . A u t o c a r u n d e r s ta n d s
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We ride in theToyota C-HR
I CLIMBINTOthe carnext
todriver andC-HR lead
engineer HiroKobaand note
thatthere’s mostlyplentyof
roominside,although taller
passengers will findtheir
heads brushingagainstthe
slopingroof.Much ofthe
interior is under wraps, but
a largecentral infotainment
screen is hard tomiss.
Our caris a manual, two-
wheel-drive1.2-litrepetrol
model.Ona testroutethat
takes incountry roads andcobbledurbanstreets,the
driving dynamicsof this
prototypeseemcloseto
productionready.TheC-HR
has beenbenchmarked
againstmodelssuch as the
AudiQ3andSkodaYeti.
Kobaputs the 1.2-litre
enginethroughits paces on
theopen road.It whines a
littlebut is strong enough
topull theC-HRwithouttoo
mucheffort.TheC-HRturns
in tocornerswell,feeling
balancedand controlled.
Indeed,there’s verylittle
body roll through turns
andthe rideis comfortable,
despitethe larger18in
wheelsof ourtest car.
Ourbriefpassenger
ride suggests thatthe
C-HR will have someof
thebest dynamicsofanymainstream Toyota. It
feels remarkably likea
hatchback — a compliment
for any modelin this class.
Therestof theToyota fleet
— andin particular ageing
models like theRAV4—
might struggleto live up
toits standard.D M
L A ND R O V E R H A S r e f re s h e d i t s R a n g e R o v e r E v o q u e r a n g e w i t h
e xt r a t e c h n o l o g y , a n e w d e s i g n p a c k a n d a n e w s p e c i a l e d i t io n .
A d d e d t o t h e e n ti r e ra n g e i s L a n d R o v e r ’ s ‘L o w T r a c t io n L a u n c h ’
a l l - t e r r a i n t e c h n o l o g y . I t ’ s d e s i g n e d t o o p t i m i s e t r a c t i o n w h e n
p u l l in g a w a y o n s l i p p e r y s u r f a c e s b y l im i t in g t h e a m o u n t o f t o r q u e
t h a t ’ s s e n t t o e a c h w h e e l . A n e w o p t i o n a l I n C o n t r o l T o u c h P r o
i n f o t a i n m e n t s y s t e m a l s o j o in s t h e r a n g e .
A u t o b i o g r a p h y - s p e c E v o q u e s a r e n o w o f f e r e d w i t h a n o p t i o n a l
G r a p h i t e D e s i g n P a c k , w h i c h b r i n g s n e w s a t in g r e y 2 0 i n w h e e l s , a
b l a c k g r i l le a n d g r e y d e t a i l s , a s w e l l a s a b l a c k r o o f a n d l e t t e r i n g .
T h e p a c k c o s t s £2 1 2 5 .
T h e n e w s p e c i a l - e d i ti o n
E m b e r l e f t), b a s e d o n t h e
r a n g e - t o p p i n g H S E , g a i n s
a F i r e n z e R e d r o o f a n d
S a n t o r i n i B l a c k p a i n t j o b a n d
m a t c h i n g i n t e r i o r . I t ’s p r i c e d
f r o m £4 7 , 2 0 0 — £38 0 0 m o r e
t h a n a n H S E D y n a m i c. It
w i l l b e o n s a l e f o r j u s t t h r e e
m o n t h s th i s s u m m e r .
2 0 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 A U T O C A R . C O . U K 1 9
THIS WEEK
m a t t . p r i o r @ a u t o c a r. c o . u k @ m a t t y _p r i o r
T e s t e r ’ s N o t e s
MattPrior
Acolleagueemails.H ehas
detailsofanother set
ofracesthataremore
exciting than Formula1 ,
hesays. It’squick tow atch,
unpredictableand close, and
there’slotsof overtaking. You
should giveita look, hesays, soI
do, andrealisehe’sgota point.
Theprotagonistsareeasy
toidentify. T heleadchanges
many,many times. It’sfast,
it’saction packed and it’sover
quickly. A shigh-octanethrills
go,i t’sright up there.
Thismagical,mythical racing
series?G oogle‘beachmarble
racevideo’andyou’ll gettheidea.
So, no,althoughthere’smore
overtaking in fivemi nutesof
racingbetw een small balls
rolleddow n achannel dug
intosomesandon afamily
holidaythan thereis in a
typical tw o-hour,pinnacle-
of-motorsport, multi-tens-of-
mil lion-quid Sundayafternoon
romp,marblerunsareunli kely
tohaveCVC Capital Partners
tooconcernedthat they’re
F1canaffordtobecomplacent,becausewe’veallinvestedsomuchof
ourselvesinit
N o,we ha ve n’ t lo st o ur m ar bl es :t he r a ci ng is m o r e exci t in g t ha n F1
F1 m a y n o t a l w a y s
s p a r k y o u r i n t e r e s t ,
bu t it ha s lo ng ev it y
going to be undermined by a
phone video of a lazy T hursday
in M arbella.
M y colleague know s this,
too;he know s F1 can afford to
be complacent even i n the face
of thedeadly threat of marblesbeing rolled dow n a beach –
and, more seriously, other
genuinely bril liant motorsport,
of w hich there’s lots – because
w e’ve all i nvested so much of
ourselves in F 1 over the years.
W e’ve all put so much into it –
time, enthusiasm and probably
money – that w e feel like w e
ow n a little bit of it, so w hen
it’s going through a bad patch,
w e w ant to see it out the other
side. Plus, w e’re inherently
lazy. In thi s case, w e don’t resist
change because w e fear it, but
because it takes a lot of time to
learn all there is to know about
an alternative.
Some race series tried to
make learning them, and
w anting a w inner, simple. They
w anted to ease you aw ay from
F1 gently. Superleague Formula
aligned its cars w ith football
clubs, reasoning that, hey, if you
li ke Liverpool FC, surely you’d
w ant a Liverpool-branded car
to w in a race. (You didn’t.)
A 1 G P cars represented
nations, in the hope that
national pride w ould make you
w ant to cheer for something
other than this shallow , flag-
w aving puff to all be over,
please, and soon. T he racing
might have been bril liant in
those series. I don’t remember.
A nd more important, I –
and apparently many other
people – didn’t care.
A nd therein l ies F1’s constant
advantage. It may be rubbish to
w atch at times, but it can afford
to be. It has simply been around
for too long and has established
itself into our psyche and
consciousness too deeply for
other series to pry our attention
aw ay from it. H ow ever, I do
recommend the marble thing –
w atched betw een the opening
laps and the first set of pit stops.
Updates specialedition forEvoque
M o s s o n t h e r i g h t )w a s d r i v e n b y C - H R l e a d e n g i n e e r H i r o Ko b a
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[email protected] @StvCr
THIS WEEKA Week In Cars
Steve Cropley
20 APRIL 2016 A U T O C A R . C O . UK 2 1
N ew m eetsold at
the N ationalTrust’s
superb16th century
Cornw allHouse,
Trerice,w here the
m ostprom inent
thing in the carpark
is a charging post
forN issan Leafs
and theirilk.
In 1925alone,Henry Ford soldmore than twomillion Model Ts.That’s 6400every single day
M O N D A YElon M usk, Tesla’s founder
and front man, isn’t one to
boast. I know this from having
interview ed him a couple of
times during his rare trips to the
UK . So w hen he describes the
400,000-odd orders generated
by the launch of his 35,000
M odel 3 – the accessible Tesla
that w il l follow the pricier
M odel S and M odel X – as “the
single biggest one-w eek launch
of any new product ever”, it’s
hard to resist the feeling that,
even view ed against the motor
car’s entire 131-year span, thi s
is exceptional public support
for a new car.
There are other amazing
statistics about the public
demand for various cars, of
course. For instance, in 1925
alone, H enry Ford sold more
than tw o million M odel Ts.
That’s 6400 every single day,
if you accept that dealers
w ere closed on Sundays. Four
decades later, the first Ford
M ustang sold a mil lion copies
in i ts first 18 months, having
been tipped to do no more than
100,000 a year.
O f course, pundits are
already queueing up to refute
M usk’s assertion on the
grounds that the 1000 a head
paid by each of 300,000-plus
budding Tesla ow ners is
refundable and non-binding.
It’s an expression of faith, say
the critics, not a contract. A nd
having promised all these cars,
M usk has the enormous task of
follow ing through. Stil l, I can’t
resist the thought that this Tesla
episode is big hi story and w e
should al l be enjoying it.
W E D N E S D A YW ith Tesla in the new s –
and thi s w eek’s mag – I ’m
seeing handsome M odel Ss
everyw here. T he only part of the
styling I can’t get on w ith i s that
apparently superfluous gri lle, so
it’s a relief to hear it’ll be ditched
w hen the car gets refreshed. The
shape has alw ays reminded me
of the late 1950s Jensen 541 –
w hich did i t first and best.
F R I D A YFunny, but even though I’d
already driven Jaguar’s F-Pace
‘sports crossover’on fami liar
roads in company w ith expert
w heelman M ike Cross (and
loved it), I w as still desperate
to discover w hat veteran road
tester M att Prior w ould say
after last w eek’s official launch.
W hy? Because it’s utterly vital
that this car hits the spot. Not
only is the F-Pace a variety of
Jaguar that has never been bui lt
before, but i t also has to become
the biggest-selling Jag in history
– and quickly – if the marque is
ever to attain the success of its
stablemate, Land R over.
A s time has passed, I’ve come
to trust M att P’s impressions
(and of all our review ers) even
more than I trust my ow n. T his
group is unique in taking the
trouble to drive every relevant
version of every competitive
model before giving a view
about a crucial new car. A nd
given the proli feration of new
models, that’s tough.
Prior’s F-P ace verdict,
delivered on video w hile he
drove a pacy V6 on a precipitous
piece of road in M ontenegro
linki ng 25 consecutive hairpin
bends, w as nearly all positive,
and it aligned happily w ith my
ow n view . W e’re only interested
here in delivering impartial
review s, but w e also w ant to see
Jaguar succeed, big time.
T U E S D A YAw ay to Cornw all in the Land
R over D iscovery Sport of
managing editor A llan M uir, a
touring trip w ith the Steering
Committee that I’ve been
looking forw ard to for w eeks.
Fi rst impressions are not all
positive, though: the interior
seems more spartan than the
prototype I took to the Faroe
Islands at launch time, the seat
cushion w on’t adjust exactly as
I’d l ike, and the ride, although
flat and composed, is a shade
too knobbly to be luxurious. Yet
as the miles roll, I’m continually
reminded of the four-pronged
excellence of the steering.
The perfect rim effort, ideal
gearing, small w heel diameter
and excellent ‘feel’around
the straight-ahead are now
delighting me every time I drive.
And another thing…
T e s l a ’ s M o d e l 3 h a s
be en a r em a r ka bl e
hi t wi t h t he pu bl ic
T r i p t o C o r n w a l l i n a Di s c ov e r y S p o r t c o n f i r m e d i t s s t e e r i n g i s s u p e r b
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This week’s new cars
FIRST DRIVES
Ferrari488GTBT
h e l a s t t i m e w e e n c o u n t e r e d t h e
4 8 8 , i t w a s t a k i n g t o p h o n o u r s a t
B r i t a i n ’ s B e s t D r i v e r ’ s C a r – a
f e a t i t m a n a g e d d e s p i t e h a v i n g
i t s s t e e r i n g w h e e l j a u n t i l y m o u n t e d
o n t h e p o r t s i d e . N o w , a f t e r w h a t
s e e m s l i k e a n a e o n t h e 4 8 8 S p i d e r
h a s b e e n l a u n c h e d i n t h e m e a n t i m e ),
a U K - r e g i s t e r e d , r i g h t - h a n d - d r i v e
c o u p é h a s l a n d e d i n o u r l a p .
A b r i e f r e c a p . T h e 4 8 8 i s F e r r a r i ’ s
m i d - e n g i n e d h e a r t b e a t – m o r e
e xp e n s i v e t h a n t h e s o f t - t o p p e d ,
s o f t - b e l l i e d C a l i f o r n i a T a n d a l i t t l e
c h e a p e r t o s t a r t)t h a n t h e V 1 2 F F
o r F 1 2 . I t g e t s – b r o a d l y s p e a k i n g –
t h e s a m e t w i n - t u r b o 3. 9 - l i t r e V 8
e n g i n e a s t h e C a l i f o r n i a T , a l b e i t w i t h
u p r a t e d i n t e r n a l s , a l o n g e r s t r o k e a n d
m o r e p o w e r . Q u i t e a b i t m o r e , i n f a c t :
6 6 1 b h p a t a h i g h e r 8 0 0 0 r p m l i m i t .
T h e c h a s s i s i s b a s e d o n t h a t
o f t h e 4 5 8 , a l t h o u g h i t h a s b e e n
s u b s t a n t i a l l y o v e r h a u l e d . T h e
s t e e r i n g r a c k a n d d a m p e r s a r e f r o m
t h e 4 5 8 S p e c i a l e , a n d i t g e t s a n e w
g e n e r a t i o n o f t h a t m o d e l ’ s i n n o v a t i v e
S i d e S l i p C o n t r o l . T h e b r a k e s a r e
f r o m L a F e r r a r i , i t ’ s t h e f i r s t s e r i e s
p r o d u c t i o n F e r r a r i t o g e t a c t i v e a e r o
a n d t h e r e ’ s a r e v i s e d v e r s i o n o f t h e
f i r m ’ s s p e c t a c u l a r s e v e n - s p e e d
d u a l - c l u t c h a u t o m a t i c g e a r b o x.
P r i c e s s t a r t a t £ 1 8 3, 9 6 4 , w i t h
c r u i s e c o n t r o l , r e a r p a r k i n g s e n s o r s ,
U S B p o r t a n d s a t e l l i t e t r a c k e r
t h r o w n i n g r a t i s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , a s
w i t h a n y t h i n g e l s e i n t h e b a l l p a r k ,
t h a t b a s e p r i c e w o n ’ t f e a t u r e o n t h e
b o t t o m o f m a n y o r d e r f o r m s . O u r
p r e s s c a r , t h a n k s t o p l e n t y o f e xt r a
c a r b o n f i b r e , a £7 k p a i n t j o b a n d £ 5 k
s e a t s , w e i g h e d i n a t £ 2 4 8 , 8 6 0 .
T h e 4 8 8 r e q u i r e s a f e w m i n u t e s o f
r e c a l i b r a t i o n . N o t b e c a u s e i t i s h u g e l y
f a s t a l t h o u g h i t i s )b u t b e c a u s e t h e
S p e c i a l e r a c k i s e xc e p t i o n a l l y q u i c k
a n d t h e s u s p e n s i o n o st e n s i b l y v e r y
b u s y . D r i v e i t b a c k t o b a c k w i t h p r e t t y
m u c h a n y t h i n g e l s e o n a r u m p l e d
B - r o a d a n d t h e p a l p a b l e d y n a m i c
c h a t t e r t h r o u g h t h e s e a t b a c k s a n d
s t e e r i n g c o l u m n c a n m a k e i t s e e m
c o l t i s h a n d a n xi o u s .
T h i s f i r s t i m p r e s s i o n , t h o u g h ,
c a n b e d i s c o u n t e d , b e c a u s e b y t h e
t i m e y o u ’ v e w i r e d y o u r s e l f i n t o t h e
f i n g e r t i p s e n s i t i v i t y o f t h e a r c a d e -
g a m e s t e e r i n g , t h e c a r i s s o f a r
u n d e r y o u r s k i n t h a t i t ’ s p r a c t i c a l l y
i n t r a v e n o u s . T h e s t a r t i n g p o i n t i s i t s
e l e c t r i c d i r e c t i o n - c h a n g i n g a b i l i t y ,
w h i c h i s n o t o n l y b e c a u s e t h e s n a p p y
h e l m d e c r e e s i t b u t a l s o b e c a u s e t h e
ch a ssi s i s b r i l l i a n t a t c h a n n el l i n g
a l l t h e i n c i s i v e n e s s o n t o t h e d e c k .
C r u c i a l l y , t h i s o c c u r s n o t w i t h t h e
t h i c k - n e c k e d , g r i p - o b s e s s e d s t a b i l i t y
o f i t s r i v a l s , b u t w i t h a p r o g r e s s i v e
Itisn’texactly softly sprung,so there’s som e noticeable harshness on broken roads
22 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 20 A PR IL 2016
The 488 doesn’t tearup the road;it wantsto lit and loat over
it,tethered by itssympathetic chassis
14 .4.16, Devon Maranello’s mid-engined masterp
