Sommaire pour January 2016 de Evo

Test location: a-397, málaga, spain GPS: 36.66070, -5.09988 I’m not sure about you, but the mercedes-amG range leaves me with something akin to snow-blindness, such is the increasing breadth of affalterbach’s portfolio. maybe that’s why it’s always reassuring when a freshly minted super-C-Class is released, for this is the heartland of amG’s performance division. earlier this year we enjoyed seeing the battle play out between the C63 s saloon and bmW’s m3. In the end the bmW nicked it by a whisker – at least as far as we were concerned (see evo 211) – but the slugfest was always going to continue when amG launched a brace of new C63 Coupes. We’ll have to wait until next year for our chance to compare one with the m4, but this…

Test location: Tenerife GPS: 28.259639, -16.615124 Wandering around the huge halls at the Frankfurt motor show in September i noticed a trend. Like flares in the ’70s, it wasn’t a difficult trend to notice. every stand i visited seemed to have given pride of place to a small ‘sporty’ SuV. Some were ambitious concepts, some worryingly close to production, but all seemed far less practical than a similarly footprinted estate, and despite the frequent addition of wings they all seemed distinctly unsporty with their high centres of gravity. as a breed i disliked them. Which brings me to the Porsche Macan gTS. Within the Macan range the gTS sits between the S and the Turbo, both in terms of price and power output, with its turbocharged 3-litre V6 dispensing 355bhp…

I MAGINE OWNING A SUPER CAR in the 1970s. Imagine creeping down to the garage and painfully inserting yourself into a driving position designed by a yogic monkey. Imagine silently incanting a thousand Hail Webers as you twist the key and hope the fragile motor won’t falter or flood itself. Imagine heading out for a drive, praying it stays dry so the damn thing won’t spit you into an oak tree while patiently allowing the fluids to warm through before attempting to use second. Or fourth. Or the steering. Of course, all this is to assume that you’ve been able to buy the car in the first place, because chances are the sole UK concessionaire is some gimlet-eyed ex-military indie who can ask you to put away your chequebook and…

Rings a Bell I have just received my copy of evo 216 with the wonderful photo of the Kylesku Bridge on the cover. It immediately flashed me back to 1986 when Roger Bell of Car magazine came up to Scotland to meet me for three unforgettable days in my 288 GTO. The article even featured a similar photo, if not quite so wonderful as your cover! The NC500 roads are the perfect place to appreciate these cars. I was lucky enough to use them in so many brilliant cars when I had a Ferrari franchise in Scotland in the ’70s and ’80s. I kept my Daytona for five years and one summer morning at 4am managed to average 100mph from Dunkeld to Inverness. What a sensational trip that was! evo…

Zonda_ Neglected cars I was dropping my mate at her mum’s a few days ago and spotted a rare shape in next door’s drive, a 309 GTI. Apart from the moss growing on the window seals and the flat tyres it looks to be in pretty amazing condition. Apparently it’s been parked up for eight years! What’s sitting neglected near you? Two ancient rusty XJSs in the farmer’s barn. They’d be worth a fortune if only there was a white background. Mito Man There’s an Opel GT (think scaled-down ’70s Corvette) gently rusting away in the garden of a bungalow near us. It’s probably saveable, but sourcing parts would be a nightmare. PaulJ Impreza Catalunya. It hasn’t moved for two years. I am tempted to knock on the door. Maccmike…

FORGET ABOUT THE turbocharged engine for a moment. It’s late in the afternoon and we’ve just landed in Tenerife, where the launch of this latest iteration of Porsche’s most famous car is being held. We’re following the prescribed route in the new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system by driving up the dual carriageway towards the hotel. Sitting at 120kph, sun visor down, shielding eyes from the setting glare, the new 360mm-diameter steering wheel is gently moving in my hands. Having criticised, bemoaned and generally disliked the lifeless electrically assisted steering of the first-generation 991-series 911, this constant stream of quiet but tangible chatter in the 991.2 is a very good thing. Admittedly, the first gen’s steering did improve gradually, but this feels like another step on to reducing the air…

THERE ARE FERRARI F40S and there’s the F40LM. Built to do battle in the GT classes at Le Mans and the BPR Global GT Series (forerunner to today’s Blancpain Endurance Series), the F40LM took Ferrari’s wildest supercar and turned it up to 11. Nostalgia plays its part, of course, but these were surely the glory days of modern road-based GT racing. How could you think otherwise when BPR grids pitted F40LMs against Porsche 993 GT2s, McLaren F1 GTRs and Callaway Corvettes, not to mention a weird and wonderful array of rare groove machinery, including quick and quirky cars such as the Lister Storm, Marcos LM600 and Lotus Esprit Turbo. All F40LMs started as road cars, but the first 19 were pulled from the production line and taken to Ferrari’s trusted…

WHY IS A DIESEL MAZDA gracing the pages of Fast Fleet? It’s a fair question. One I myself asked when I knew I’d be running it for a short while. A few months back, when looking for a replacement for the petrol Octavia vRS I had been running, I at first dismissed the Mazda 6 for no real reason other than having never tried one and wanting a car with more ‘prestige’. Yes, I am a badge snob. But the thing is, a lot of us live in the real world, where we need a car with a large boot, decent fuel economy and good comfort levels, and, if it’s not too much to ask, one that is also relatively interesting to drive, reliable, easy on the eye and reasonably…

THE OCTAVIA vRS WILL ALWAYS HAVE a special place in evo’s affections, and not just for its combination of practicality, build quality, great value and surprising pace. Actually, surprising pace has quite a bit to do with it. Back in the summer of 2011 (evo 162), a team from Skoda UK took a vRS to the salt flats of the Bonneville Speedway with their sights set on the production-class speed record for a 2-litre car. In the driving seat was a certain Richard Meaden. It’s fair to say that the definition of ‘production’ was a tad malleable. The rules allowed the fitment of a monster Garrett turbocharger, longer gearing, and skinny wheels with special salt tyres. Oh, and a parachute. The 2-litre TSI engine was pretty much standard, though, as…

THE LATEST MAZDA MX-5 IS SMALLER than the model it replaces, lighter, sharperlooking and feels special. If you own a Mk3 MX-5, it’s enough to give you itchy feet. However, the Mk3 is a blank canvas for affordable improvement. We’d start with a good set of tyres, followed by a full wheel alignment – MX-5s are hugely sensitive to both. A set of Toyo Proxes T1-Rs (popular with owners) in 205/45 R17 costs £256.24 delivered from blackcircles.com. Next, we’d get a pair of Delrin door bushings ($65 from garagestar.com). The Mk3 is torsionally stiffer than our bushing-equipped Fast Fleet Mk1 MX-5, but these bushings’ ability to cut down on even minor squeaks and rattles is remarkable. The standard stoppers should be fine unless you plan heavy trackday use, but a…

KOENIGSEGG. TWENTY - ONE YEARS OLD and mixing it with the big boys at the bleeding edge. Damn impressive. And it doesn’t try to be them, which is part of the appeal. So, no elements of single-seater in the bodywork (legitimate for Ferrari or McLaren, contrived for almost anybody else) or imitation of any sort. The cars have a laconic design but intense performance, like a fast-forward Nordic noir. This month’s art is part of a mästerverk that starts with the cartoonishly quick Agera R and adds speed. Indeed, if you ever wanted to know what happens when your factory is at an airfield and you have 24/7 access to the runway, the One:1 is the answer. Naturally, its wing is huge; a proper whaletail, as curvaceous as it is…

TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE FIAT last offered an open-topped two-seat roadster, and it has been half a century since the original Fiat 124 spider first appeared, but last month the italians revealed a 21st-century remake of that car at the lA motor show. The last roadster was the barchetta, based on humble punto underpinnings and never adapted for right-hand-drive markets, but brimming with enough character to tempt a hardy few from the comforting sturdiness of a mazda mX-5. with the new Fiat 124 spider, there may no longer be any need to choose. thanks to Fiat’s joint venture with mazda, the spider and its mX-5 counterpart are broadly similar under the skin, differentiated largely by their styling and Fiat’s use of in-house powerplants. 200,000 Number of original 124 Spiders…

FRESH FROM CLAIMING evo’s car of the Year title, the cayman GT4 has been taken a step further with the announcement of the GT4 clubsport. But before you get too excited about a lighter, more focused version of this mid-engined masterpiece, it’s our sad duty to tell you that this is a race car only, and that it won’t be homologated for road use. not by Porsche anyway. Starting with a GT4 road car, Porsche motorsport sheds 40kg by removing the usual superfluous road-car trim. in place of carpets and door cards there’s a welded-in roll-cage and a fixed race seat. The 380bhp 3.8-litre flat-six remains untouched from the road car, but the six-speed manual gearbox is replaced with a six-speed dual-clutch unit modified for racing. A mechanical LSD is…

I’VE ALWAYS LOVED hot-rods. I’ve never owned one but I’ve driven a few. Generally they are catastrophically bad to drive, breaking all the dynamic rules and wandering down the road with a freedom of direction shared with the owners who create them. And that’s the draw. Hot-rods are all different, no two the same and each one an expression of an individual’s passion. They’re also a very good way to cart around an extreme engine. Any sort of engine, from a huge big-block with a supercharger on top to an aero engine. This month’s event is for vintage hot-rods from the pre-1949 era. It’s the Vintage Hot Rod Association’s annual races on Pendine Sands in west Wales. Next year’s event, which will be on the weekend of June 4-5, will…

Test location: A-397, Málaga, Spain GPS: 36.78136, -5.08069 BENTLEY BENTAYGA // MERCEDES-AMG C63 S COUPE MINI COOPER S CLUBMAN // KIA PROCEED GT //PORSCHE MACAN GTS // AUDI S8 PLUS EVERY NEW EVO CAR THAT MATTERS, REVIEWED AND RATED WHAT DO YOU THINK of the idea of a Bentley SUV? Not the car itself, or the styling or anything else, but the idea? Do you love it or hate it? Likewise, what do you think of a Bentley based on the same platform as an Audi Q7? Bentley admits that the purists it spoke to during early research were disgusted at the thought of a big 4x4 wearing the famous wings badge, and the EXP 9 F show car of 2012 did nothing to appease them. Dumpy, frumpy, overwrought with…

Test location: san sebastián, spain GPS: 43.28595, -2.09100 Modern Mini’s interpretation of the Clubman has been a Marmite car ever since its 2007 introduction. The majority didn’t get its quirks, but for those who did, its split rear doors and suicide side door gave it a more appealing character than the hatch. And Mini didn’t hold back on performance either, offering a full-fat John Cooper Works model. For this, the new Clubman, Mini continues along the same path. The wheelbase is longer than the current Mini hatch’s and the car is wider, too. The rear doors still open like a van’s, and if you opt for the Comfort Access package a wave of your foot under the rear bumper will save you the trouble of opening them by hand. What…

Test location: Frankfurt, Germany GPS: 50.277932, 8.667071 THE NEW AUDI S8 PLUS is extremely fast. It looks terrific, even on a dull day in Frankfurt, in its satin silver paint finish. Its 4-litre twin-turbo V8 sounds wonderful – a distant rumble so bassy that you feel it as much as hear it. It’s beautifully built and when you climb into its understated, elegant interior, suddenly the world seems a much nicer place. These are the things I can be certain about. Sadly, our time with the S8 Plus at this launch event will be short and confined almost entirely to Autobahns or traffic-clogged secondary roads. So as for the car’s dynamics, balance and responses, I wish I could tell you more, but save for some observations on ride quality and…

AFTER LISTING MY FAVOURITE racing cars in evo 214, it’s only fair that I expose the worst. Selection has been a trickier task than you might think, chiefly because the difference between a good racing car and scrap metal is usually perishingly subtle, but here are the finalists. Acura’s ARX-02 – a snake-eyed enduro racer – was a textbook example of a modest outfit overstretching to match the big boys (in this case Audi and Peugeot in the 2009 American Le Mans Series). The ARX-01 developed a couple of years earlier had been one of the most delicious racers you could imagine, but taking the concept from LMP2 to LMP1 didn’t come off at all well. The headache for Wirth Research, which built the car, was that there wasn’t an…

IT WAS PROBABLY THE WHITE SOCKS, or perhaps the insouciance of the loafer-andwhite-sock combination set against the race circuit. It was certainly the naked aggression of the driving around Suzuka. This was, of course, Ayrton Senna’s now near-legendary lap in a development-spec NSX-R, and it is my defining image and memory of the original New Sportscar eXperimental. As a fellow car-obsessive, I’m sure you have yours too. I wonder what they are. Even the name perfectly captures that essentially Japanese fastidiousness that wrought a sports car that would define all others after the year 1990. Was it really that significant? Of course it was, not necessarily in the way it drove, but in the philosophy of its creation and execution. Now isn’t the time to deconstruct the excellence or otherwise…

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN VERY GOOD AT colouring within the lines. Not metaphorically, but literally, especially in my childhood. The glee of receiving a new box of crayons and carefully skimming away their waxy tips between the untouched lines in a colouring book, or popping the top off a felt-tipped pen and casting perfect, even swathes of colour over a freshly scribbled drawing. As it turns out, the pursuit is similarly satisfying as an adult. I may even once have filled in a desert scene as a child, much as I’m doing now – though my seven-year-old self might have demanded apparatus less limiting than the fluorescent greens, blues and oranges of highlighter pens. The stakes are higher now, of course. An errant marking here or inappropriate shade there would have…

THERE ARE SOME WHO are drawn to the mk7 Golf r and others who simply cannot understand the appeal. Before I’d spent a meaningful amount of time in one I probably fell into the ‘don’t get it’ camp. For a car that did precisely nothing new or innovative – its basic formula was unchanged from the largely unloved mk6 version, after all – the mk7 r had somehow made itself the darling of the real-world performance car set. what was even more baffling was that its very close relative, the audi s3, hadn’t garnered half the praise the Vw had. It all felt like some sort of wolfsburg-sponsored love-in that had snowballed out of control… It’s true that the latest Golf r doesn’t do anything new, but it does do…

I KNOW I SHOULD TAKE one to the supermarket, yet still I frequently find myself standing at the till with my heart sinking as the person behind the checkout asks: ‘would you like a 5p bag?’ the same feeling has washed across me every time I’ve got into the Corsa over the last few weeks, when I realise that yet again I’ve forgotten the can of wd40. settle into the embrace of the Recaro, turn the ignition key and watch the clear white-on-black dials come to life, then dip the clutch and… squeeeeak! there aren’t many ways in which I’d liken the VXR to a haunted house, but the left-hand pedal is certainly doing a good impersonation of a spookily creaky door hinge. thankfully other things have been less annoying…

I GET TO WITNESS SOME pretty spectacularly prepared cars in this job. I’ve stroked concept cars saturated with paints rich in glass to exaggerate the shine, and I’ve seen hypercars lavished with thousands of pounds worth of carnauba wax. In many ways, that’s why I’ve never indulged too much in the world of detailing – I’d never reach those levels, so why bother? That was until I bought the GT2. The Polar Silver paint on the GT2 was pretty good but as I’m not prone to Sundays with a toothbrush and some polish, and the car is approaching 14 years old, I was conscious that it should have some kind of protective finish. Richard Tipper of perfectiondetailing.co.uk suggested Crystal Serum – a paint protection treatment from Gtechniq. Crystal Serum promises…

ASPORTS-SALOON FACE-OFF THIS month. Well, it would be, if this hadn’t been the generation of M3 where BMW decided to only make a coupe. Nevertheless, the ubiquitous E46 M3 is a high-water mark for the type, combining the electrifying response and rasp of the classic M Power straight-six, handsome looks, fluid handling and surprising useability. And it’s hard to see them getting any cheaper. The Audi is a different character but matches the M3 for looks: there’s never been a better example of the wide-arch German saloon than the B7 RS4. With a high-revving V8 and supreme traction, it’s a future classic. That leaves the AMG. With 376lb ft, the C55 has the grunt to make the others look puny lower down the rev range, but its more benign appearance…

A THICK, WHITE BLANKET of cloud sits heavily atop the Cumbrian hills, and from beneath its dense canopy an endless stream of rain tumbles down into the forest below. The tracks through the forest are turning into a gloopy mess of deep standing water and cloying mud that is peppered with gravel and stones. In other words, perfect conditions in which to prepare for the Wales Rally GB, the last round of the 2015 World Rally Championship and traditionally a stern challenge for man, machine and tyres. Of all motorsport disciplines, the World Rally Championship, or WRC, places the toughest demands on everyone who takes part in it. Long stages and short. Scorching heat and sub-zero cold. Snow and ice, dust and rocks. Dry tarmac and rain-drenched mud. The teams…

Test location: B645, Northamptonshire GPS: 52.32012, -0.49824 RegulaR ReadeRs will know that, following an aston Martin V8 Vantage, a BMw 1M and a Mclaren 12C in Fast Fleet, yours truly took delivery of a Kia Proceed gT. Regular readers will also remember i enjoyed it. we ran the car for a year. The first six months with me, then photographer aston Parrott piled on the miles in it as his daily. it proved tough, dependable, comfortable and quick, easy to operate and fantastic to look at. as a warm hatch it couldn’t muster the outright thrills of a golf gTi or a Renaultsport Mégane, but it properly announced itself in a group test with betterknown rivals (in evo 207). The entire Ceed and Proceed range now gets up an update,…

I F YOU LOVE CARS THENTHERE’S no doubt motoring journalism is the ultimate in vicarious living, but what would you imagine to be the best bit? The private ‘off-the-record’ unveilings? Supercar launches? Life-affirming road trips? The occasional bit of free racing? All of these things can be wonderful, but for me the most consistently special part of the job is arguably the one most grounded in normality. I’m referring to the long-term test car. When there’s an endless succession of cars to test it might seem strange that we run long-termers at all, yet in all the years I’ve been doing this job, many of my fondest memories are of the test cars I’ve lived with. Yes, of course it’s the jammiest thing you can possibly imagine, but get beyond…

THERE ARE SURELY FEW FINER ways to spend a day than exploring the roads of Snowdonia in a powerful, rear-wheel-drive car. If you’re evo reader Mark Reeves, driving his E92 M3 newly fitted with Öhlins Road & Track suspension, that enviable combination is about as good as it gets. ‘I love driving great roads,’ he says. ‘I’m very lucky to have Cumbria, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors all pretty close to where I live. The Castleton and Kirkbymoorside roads are particular favourites. Myself and a few of my mates head out there at weekends when we get the chance. We’re all evo readers, so it’s fun to experience some of the roads the magazine uses. They really are amazing to drive and a proper test of your…

A welder, training on how to use a welder, compressor and paint guns, paint, training on how to use them, time in a ventilated paint room, a gearbox, some coilovers, and a supercharger. Beany Some dry weather so that I can take the Exige out and drive it properly. Maurice A functioning DRC suspension system for my Audi, thanks. JL Carbonfibre gearknob and steering wheel. Alex_ A 2-litre Renaultsport engine for the Kangoo, please. If it fits. Robby1977 Extra 60bhp for the 968. Extra 45bhp for the M3. Electric drivetrain for the Golf. Marv Insurance. N A pair of JCW Bucket seats for the Mini and a Lego Ferrari F40. 16vcento Given that in the last 24 hours I have been almost wiped out twice by lorries jumping red lights…

evo’s road testers assess potential NSX ownership. We’ve all been there… Henry Catchpole Perhaps it’s because I’ve just come back from Japan, but I’ve got a real hankering for an NSX at the moment. That long, belly-scrapingly low shape seems so pure and uncluttered and has only improved with age. The big lightbar at the back still looks futuristic and above it the integrated rear wing doesn’t spoil the lines. The pop-up headlights obviously increase the desirability of the whole thing. The first time I drove one I remember being very surprised (and slightly worried) how easily it oversteered, the long tail swinging round behind me with only the slightest provocation on a wet roundabout. But I also remember this wonderful fluidity and a terrific gearshift. I’d want an early…

WE’ VE BEEN LOOKING for 17 years now for the car that perfectly encapsulates the Thrill of Driving. If anything, the search has shown that the feedback, excitement, balance and sheer joy that we crave can be found in all sorts of places, from hot hatches to supercars via lightweight track cars, focused coupes and bruising saloons. From cars with no power assistance or driver aids to those that put technology at their very core and yet still value and encourage the fleshy bag of skin, bones and human error at the wheel. The search has been fun, uplifting, hilarious at times and very definitely better than finding ‘a real job’, as I’m often reminded by friends and family (and by evo’s publisher, come contract renegotiation time). But on the…

I’VE BEEN FORTUNATE To have had some very special cars in my garage. The P1, however, has taken this to a whole new level. I’ve actually ‘car-proofed’ the garage for it. anything that could have possibly fallen onto or been knocked into the mcLaren has been moved. I also measured the various bays to ensure the P1 would live in one where both of the car’s doors could be fully opened. Not even the F50 got this treatment. The other major consideration was how and where to set up what I’ve nicknamed ‘life support’. This is essentially a large block of steel that connects, via a massive cable, to a port under a flap on the top left side of the car. It keeps the P1’s batteries topped up but…

IT WAS THE END OF A long day testing at Blyton Park. The Caterham had, as ever, proved fabulous on track. Adjustable, immensely fun, fast; pretty much perfect It was getting cold and dark, but I was looking forward to popping in some earplugs, pulling on a hat and gloves and driving home. Once every nook had been stuffed with race suits, helmets and timing gear, I nestled into the snug cabin, buckled the harness, turned the key and… nothing. Dead. kaput. Bugger. Fuel? Check. Must be electrical, then. Luckily, we had another car at the circuit, so I decanted all the kit and left the Seven to be recovered the next day. Typically, when the AA arrived it started first time. Huh? The car was taken to Caterham Midlands,…

WITH JUST A MONTH OR so left of the mégane’s year-long loan, I’m in a reflective mood. the point of Fast Fleet is to report on what it’s like to live with these cars. driven thus, faults and niggles that slip through the net of a short-term road test loan quickly come to the surface, but ironically, prolonged exposure to one car can sometimes make you blasé about the things that are really exceptional. not so in the mégane – its most impressive qualities are so central to the concept of the car you could never take them for granted. I love the way it goes about its business. Its focus is absolute – something you see from its Brembo brakes, akrapovic exhaust and Cup 2 tyres, and then feel…

WITH THE GALLARDO, LAMBORGHINI went from being a tiny firm building V12 supercars to shifting cars by the thousand. The model also had a long production life (2003-2013), so there are many varieties and, in particular, numerous special editions. Carlo McCrindle at Top Gear Specialist Cars (topgear-cars.co.uk) reckons you’ll need £60,000 for an early car with 40,000 miles. ‘But I’d spend £70,000 to get a 2006-on car, probably a manual; e-gear then wasn’t great,’ he says. Around £90,000 should secure a nice 2008 LP560-4, while £100,000-120,000 provides lots of choice. ‘I’d buy the highest spec manual coupe I could find for up to £80,000, or for the best investment, a manual LP550-2 Balboni,’ says Carlo. Expert view NEIL VAS, VAS VEHICLE SOLUTIONS ‘We usually have around 20 Lamborghinis in stock,’…