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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 5 Jul '20
The Defender Hard Top van, plus the Defender-like Ineos Grenadier. And much more
Big test: VW Golf Mk8 vs Seat Leon vs BMW 1 Series
"The old Mk7 was, after all, one of those rare cars (like an E39 BMW 5 Series or a Ferrari 458), that shot to the top of its class when it arrived, saw off all claims to its throne, and was still at the top of the game when it retired. The new Golf 8 takes more risks. You may like them… or it might wind you up."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThis is the new Audi Q5, and it has... fancy taillights
"OLED tech allows for a more intricate design, of which there are three to choose from. Each one gets its own lock/unlock animation, and the signature changes if you pop the car into ‘Dynamic’ mode. There’s proximity detection too – if another car gets within two metres of the Q5 when you’re stopped at a junction, for example, ALL the rear lights illuminate."
Mercedes-AMG will run black F1 cars this season
"Mercedes-AMG has revealed a new black livery for its 2020 Formula 1 car, as a public sign of its commitment to increase diversity, and stand against racism."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThe Land Rover Defender Hard Top is your rugged new van
"The Hard Top name dates back to 1950, to give the Defender van some proper retro credibility given that’s likely what a lot of buyers are queuing up for. Prices start at £35,500 before VAT (it’s a commercial vehicle, after all) which is around five grand less than a regular, five-seat Defender 90, though the Hard Top could end up being a couple of grand more if you’re a private buyer adding the VAT back on."
This is a 1,200bhp road-legal Lambo Huracán racer
"Zyrus’s plan is to make two versions of the LP1200; one will be track-only, the other will be road legal – although it’ll still have race car aero, full carbon bodywork and a bespoke twin turbo setup on the 5.2-litre V10 for a total of 1,200bhp. Yikes."
This is the US Army’s new Chevrolet troop carrier
"This, fellow car-fans of the Internet, is the US Army’s badass new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV). It has been designed to carry a nine-soldier squad through the battlefield and is based on the road-going Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup truck."
Everything you need to know about the new Citroen C4
"Seems bizarre that you can use the word retro in the context of the new Citroen e-C4. It is after all pretty much a game of 2020 buzzword-bingo: an electric fastback crossover-influenced hatch."
Advertisement - Page continues belowReview: Ferrari F8 Spider
"Ferrari's twin-turbo F8 Spider might be a facelifted 488, but it's still a bloody good supercar"
The Bentley Bentayga wants to be a Conti GT more than ever
"What do you do when your SUV is criticised for being too bold and in-yer-face? If you’re Bentley, you go ahead and embolden it some more. Apparently, owners love the Bentayga’s vertical face and stern features, so the designers have doubled-down for the facelift."
Advertisement - Page continues belowPorsche Cayenne GTS review: the big V8 is back
"Porsche will sell you a ‘GTS’ in loads of flavours: the Boxster and Cayman, now with a proper engine again, the 911 of course, the Macan, and the Panamera. GTSs are usually the Porsche engineering teams’ baby. Not as quick as a Turbo S, but probably the version that the chassis boss would choose as a company car."
Say hello to the new 316bhp Volkswagen Tiguan R
"While once we had just the Golf R, we now have the Touareg R, the T-Roc R, the Arteon R and this… the brand-new Tiguan R. Get used to it, Internet, it’s not going to stop any time soon."
Here's your first look at the Ineos Grenadier off-roader
"The basics are this: the Grenadier sits on a steel ladder frame chassis sourced from Toyota, it has a 3.5-tonne towing capacity, uses multi-link suspension but with beam axles and separate coils and dampers to give you a fighting chance should something go snap in the field. It’ll be assembled at a new factory in Bridgend, it’ll use straight-six petrol and diesel engines with a ZF automatic gearbox supplied by BMW and a rigorous 1.8 million km testing programme starts now."
AC Cars has built an all-electric 304bhp Cobra
"Well, here’s something we didn’t expect to see today. The modern-day iteration of AC Cars is bringing the iconic Cobra kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, with a limited run of all-electric iterations."
The new BMW M3 and M4 come with many transmission choices
"We all need some good news at the moment, right? And that good news has arrived with confirmation that the new BMW M3 and M4 are very nearly here, and they’ll arrive with a choice of manual or paddleshift gearboxes, and rear or four-wheel drive."
The Maserati MC20 makes 621bhp and revs to 8,000rpm
"Maserati’s got a new sports car coming, and ahead of its reveal in September, this is our glimpse at what’s powering its rear wheels. While the company has promised all-electric stuff in the future, you’ll have spotted this powertrain isn’t a big pile of batteries and wires. It’s an engine. With cylinders."
Has Mansory totally ruined the Ford GT?
"Since it was launched in 2017 the Ford GT has mostly escaped the attention of companies like Mansory. But alas – its good luck has run out. Now the notorious tuner has finally somehow got its hands on one of Ford’s tremendous supercars and boy, has it made up for lost time."
The Audi e-tron S is a surprisingly fun 500bhp SUV
"This is the all-electric, all-wheel-drive e-tron S, and it’ll throw shapes like few Audis before it. Seriously. We drove a prototype in February (remember ‘February’?) and found it to be about as playful as fast four-ring-badged cars get. Now, after a small delay, we’ve caught glimpse of the production version."
Ford Focus ST Mountune m330 tested: Brit-tuned hot hatch driven
"Power-wise, this is up there with the big dawgs. Mountune’s off-the-shelf upgrade for the Mk4 Focus ST lifts power from 276bhp and an already huge 310lb ft to 325bhp and a *massive* 380lb ft."
Mugen’s tuned Civic Type R is um… interesting
"Check out the aero addendums for starters. There’s an XXL carbon rear wing, a new roof spoiler, an extremely busy rear diffuser, lower side sills, a new front lip and even carbon wing mirror covers. Oh, and then there’s the new bonnet which can even be had in full carbon fibre (with even more vents) for the equivalent of £8,179 in Japan. Ouch. "
Here are 10 of the biggest Formula 1 fails
"So at the end of the formation lap all Michelin shod teams peeled off into the pits, leaving only six starters – two Ferraris, two Jordans and two Minardis. What was set to be a great GP with Jarno Trulli on pole, Kimi Raikkonen in second and Jenson Button in third turned into a farce."
These are the crazy scooters of Japan
"Overly rich fuel rips up my nostrils, kicking my tear ducts into ‘mild sob’. Below, an army of titchy 50cc two-stroke scooters are ring-a-ding-dinging around like the Crazy Frog having an orgasm. They’re all slammed, wearing outrageous fairings, wild paint jobs and bizarre trinket jewellery. Perched on top of them, not a bunch of youths craving a car licence, but enthusiastic elders – all beaming with wide smiles and radiating enthusiastic golden retriever energy. It’s a scene. Literally."
Top Gear’s Top 9: Practical features in exotic supercars
"The little switch on the left of the steering wheel replaces a traditional indicator stalk. It feels so material to flick it this way and that, barely moving your hand, compared to the Victorian-era faff of a stalk behind the steering wheel. Like Ferrari’s separate indicator buttons, it’s an acquired taste, but once you’ve mastered it, feels perfectly natural. "
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