Everything you need to know about new cars this week

When do we get it? In the UK in late 2016, at a price around £150,000.

What we say: “The NSX never feels turbocharged, simply bolting ahead on any flutter of your toe. All from very low revs too. How that is divided at any given instant between electricity and petrol doesn’t matter a hoot – it’s the result that counts.

“There’s no step-up like when a turbo cuts in, or like when the old NSX climbed onto into its caffeinated VTEC second cams. The race for the red-line is straight, steep and urgent.”

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When do we get it? Spring 2016, if you’ve an entirely reasonable £28,940 to hand.

What we say: “The footage you’ve seen of Ken Block hooning sideways do not exaggerate the RS’s drifting capabilities. This thing will do donuts, slides, skids and any other form of rear-biased silliness you fancy, all at the drop of a particularly droppable hat.

“Stick the RS into Drift mode – the most liberal of the RS’s four set-ups – then stuff the throttle with plenty of steering lock applied, and the Focus effectively becomes all but rear-drive, shoving its power to the back axle to enable drifts of every radius.”

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When do we get it? If it makes production, reckon on some time around 2018.

What we say: “The RX8’s front-engine, rear-wheel drive formula is untinkered with, but what’s under the hood is box fresh. It’s a “next generation” rotary engine christened SKYACTIV-R that Mazda says addresses the three perennial stumbling blocks for Wankel engines: economy, emissions and reliability.

“Let’s assume Mazda can extract 300bhp from its new rotary. It would need to weigh in the region of 1,300kg to undercut the Cayman by 100kg – enough for 0-62mph around the five-second mark. To reach those heights turbocharging seems likely.”

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When do we get it? Now, if you tick a £2,100 upgrade box on your Model S order.

What we say: “The system works thus: you pull onto a motorway, toggle the cruise control lever to your desired speed, then pull it towards you to activate ‘Autosteer’.

“We managed a full 15 minutes of interruption-free Autosteer along a congested M4, more than enough time to prove just how much stress a system like this can alleviate from a commute or long journey.”

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When do we get it? 2017, though just four are planned, so get your name down now.

What we say: “0-60mph, says Hennessey, now takes just 2.4 seconds. 0-100mph takes 4.4 seconds, 0-200mph is dispatched in 12.8 seconds, while a standing quarter-mile takes just 9.4 seconds at a speed of 167mph.

“Picked up your jaw yet? There’s more. The GT’s top speed is quoted as ‘280+ mph’. The normal, 1244bhp Venom manages a paltry 270mph, the highest speed recorded by a production car but, for complicated reasons, not quite enough for a Guinness world record.”

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When do we get it? Now, at a cost of around £98,000.

What we say: “This hotter S8 develops 597bhp, the same power figure as the Ferrari 458 Speciale.

“The S8 Plus churns out 516lb ft of torque in regular service, but the bi-turbo 4.0-litre V8, as seen in Audi’s RS6 and the Bentley Continental GT, can overboost to 553lb ft for those dicier overtakes.

“Which means you’re looking at the torquiest Audi in production today – R8 V10 included…”

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When do we get it? Imminently, with prices starting at £55,188.

What we say: “The repertoire of GTS tweaks ought to be obvious: matt black alloys and exterior details, sportier and lower suspension, a sports exhaust and a more powerful engine than standard.

“With a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 sending 355bhp and 369lb ft to all four wheels, this is not the most powerful Macan you can buy. In fact, it slides between the Macan S and Turbo, its power output leaning towards the former, but its £55,188 price tag closer to the latter.”

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When do we get it? Now, with prices starting a smidge below £20,000.

What we say: “Infiniti claims that it did lots of research about family hatchbacks and noted that, in pursuit of ‘sportiness’, several of them are uncomfortably firm. This is a sensible observation.

“So the Q30 doesn’t wear low-profile tyres, and gets longer travel suspension to better soak up bumps. The pay-off is a slightly loftier, tippy-toes look – which just happens to be the fashionable faux-by-four thing right now.” 

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When do we get it? We don’t, yet. Australians, however, need just £12,000 to give their Holden such loopy clout.

What we say: “Described by Walkinshaw as one of its 'greatest engineering accomplishments', the new W547 supercharger kit boosts power at quite a rate.

“This saloon has 734bhp and 649lb ft of torque. That’s as much horsepower as a Ferrari F12, but with 140lb ft more torque. Yikes.”

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When do we get it? Quite some time in the future, in time for “a future generation of megacities”, apparently.

What we say: “Aimed at Generation Z (those born since 1995, or ‘Max Verstappens’, as they’re otherwise known) the Vision Tokyo possesses all the smarts you would expect.

"It’s powered by a fuel-cell electric drivetrain, with the capacity for autonomous driving thanks to a 360-degree camera and various sensors. Merc is banking on a total driving range of around 609 miles.”

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