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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 21 July ‘19
A new Lotus, a new Corvette, and all the latest car reviews
This is the Lotus Evija: a 1,972bhp electric hypercar
"Lotus says its target is to be the world’s most powerful production car, with 2,000PS, or 1,972bhp. Torque, totalling some 1,700Nm (1,253lb ft – over double what a McLaren Senna churns out) will be vectored between all four wheels, because yep, it’s four-wheel drive. Lotus’s first road-legal 4x4 isn’t the long-mooted SUV after all."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThere’s now a Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S Shooting Brake
"Have you been waiting for a ludicrously fast estate car that isn’t too big? Have you been hoping for a 400bhp hot hatch but thought the AMG A45’s boot was just too small? Then you lucky people, meet the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 Shooting Brake. The estate version of the four-door saloon coupe version of the AMG hot hatch. Wait, what?"
Review: Audi A4
"Audi’s starting to realise what we all knew years ago – that designing every one of its umpteen saloons to look exactly the same isn’t very clever. Which is why the A4’s had such a hefty going-over - only the bonnet, roof and bootlid have survived for the 2019 version. It’s got new lights, new wheels, angrier bumpers and even new doors, complete with fresh styling lines that direct your eye to the bulk above the wheelarches and make you think ‘hmm, that’s a quattro-drive rally car’, apparently."
Advertisement - Page continues belowRed Bull did the fastest ever pit stop in F1 history
"F1’s official source tells us this 1.91sec stop was 0.01sec quicker than the previous fastest ever pit stop time, held then by Red Bull and Williams. Mind. Blown."
This is the new mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
"It’s here at last, and yep, the engine’s in the middle. That engine being a 6.2-litre, naturally aspirated smallblock ‘LT2’ V8, sending 495bhp and 470lb ft to the rear wheels via a rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox."
Progress report: BMW M Roadster vs BMW Z4 M40i
"The 1998, BMW Z3-based M Roadster on the right possesses a 3.2-litre straight-six with 321bhp. Its 2019 equivalent, the Z4 M40i, utilises a 3.0-litre straight-six turbo with 335bhp. Not much progress between the two, you might ponder, but that’s rather the point; as the Z4’s rivals flock to tax-evading four-cylinder engines, it’s stuck steadfast to the M Division rulebook. Sometimes more is more."
Review: Harley Davidson Livewire
"This is the Harley-Davidson Livewire, a bike they started developing nine years ago, the first all-electric motorcycle from a company associated more with tattoos, leather waistcoats and thumping V-twins than anything remotely friendly to the environment."
Advertisement - Page continues belowIan Callum's new job is to make cars beautiful again
"Anyone who knows Ian Callum will also know that his exit from Jaguar last month – Jexit? – after almost two decades steering its design wasn’t the end, more a new beginning. “Liberating, that’s how it feels,” he says as his new design and engineering business CALLUM (upper case) is unveiled."
Buy these two rally legends for the price of a new Civic Type R
"With their mighty 2.0-litre engines and clever 4WD systems, both the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI Tommi Makinen and the Subaru Impreza P1 were born in the world of rallying, and barely toned down for the road."
Advertisement - Page continues belowThis is the colossal Hennessey Goliath 6x6
"The Goliath has not only gained that extra rear axle, but it’s also been lifted by a huge eight inches to make it even more of a task to get in and out of. There can’t be many things with more road presence though."
Review: Mazda3 Skyactiv-X
"The ‘Skyactiv-X’ engine is the next step on what Mazda calls its “ceaseless quest to develop the ideal combustion engine”. It is, in essence, another 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine. Only it borrows from the world of diesel to theoretically give its driver “the best of both worlds” – an engine with the fuel efficiency and low-down torque of a diesel, but also the high-revving character of a petrol."
The new Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 twins are back from the dentists
"Up front, the slatted AMG grille appears to give the GLC 43 some face-end attitude to scare away anyone who might dare ask ‘so you couldn’t afford the V8, then?’. At the back, there are four round tailpipes. At the side, a different style of alloy wheel."
Review: BMW M135i xDrive
"The M135i xDrive has only a four-cylinder engine, when the old M140i famously had six pistons in a longitudinal formation. Sigh."
Jean-Eric Vergne has won the 2018/19 Formula E world title
"DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne has won the 2018/19 Formula E world championship after finishing seventh in the final race of the season, becoming the sport’s first ever two-time champion since its inception in 2014."
Audi has confirmed two all-new RS models will arrive this year
"Audi has confirmed that we’ll get six new RS models in 2019. Six! Though, we haven’t actually been told what those models will be, only that two are completely new additions to the RS roster."
Formula 1's safety car driver is delighted Silverstone's staying
“During the race we’re sat in the car with two screens, we can see the G-forces and everything. In Austria I was absolutely awake as it was a fantastic race… in France I was sleeping. I said to my co-driver Richard ‘if I’m starting to snore, let me know’.
“I’m joking of course, but if we are sat in the car and it’s not the best race, our blood pressure goes down a little bit. But here at Silverstone you never fall asleep because it’s a fantastic track and everything can happen."
Review: Audi S4 Avant TDI
"It’s never the first car you park in the Dream Garage, but even if you had an underground bunker brimmed with Bugattis and Paganis, you’d use an S4 more days than a platinum-plated Lambo-segg."
The fully-electric MG ZS will only cost £21,500
"For the first 1,000 ZS EV customers, MG will match the UK government’s £3,500 grant, meaning you’ll pay just £21,495 – and you’ll get a home charger installed for free too.
"That makes the MG over £4,000 less than the cheapest Hyundai Kona EV."
My life in cars: TT winner Dean Harrison
"I passed my test in a Vauxhall Corsa, which let’s be honest, you could probably brand as one of the worst cars in the world. My first ever car was a green Seat Ibiza. All my mates used to take the p*ss and call it the Green Goddess because it was the same bogey green as those ancient fire engines that stood in when the firemen went on strike years ago."
Review: AC Schnitzer i3S
"The i3S launched last year and ups the dinky electric car’s power to 182bhp - and 0-62mph below seven seconds - while also lowering the suspension and widening the tracks, for neater handling.
"For some, though, that’s not enough, and in the absence of a proper M Division i3, Aachen-based tuner AC Schnitzer has pumped a couple of protein shakes into the car’s diet. It’s emerged looking more assertive than ever."
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