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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 27 Oct '19
A brand-new Golf, Tokyo Motor Show madness and Schwarzenegger on cars
Dodge Charger Widebody review: new US super-saloon tested
"Just in case you are starting to think the US is one long stream of autopiloted Teslas and Uber-driven Priuses, Dodge is here to remind you that the country’s thumping, red-blooded heart is still alive and well. While almost everyone else is worrying about how they can do more with less, Dodge is still on a headlong quest to give you more bang for your buck than ever before."
Advertisement - Page continues belowABT has given the new Audi TT RS 450bhp
"A new ECU has boosted the 2.5-litre five-pot’s output from 395bhp to 450bhp, along with a healthy torque increase from 354lb ft to 390lb ft. 'Of course with the ABT way of performance tuning, all the safety features of the original engine stay active, offering a safe and reliable power increase,' says ABT itself."
Hyundai has made a 402bhp drift bus, because skids are life
"Hyundai Australia is responsible for this excellent creation. What started life as a standard, eight-seat iMax people carrier (known as the i800 in the UK) has now been transformed into a one-off, track-only tyre shredder."
Advertisement - Page continues belowAutobahn speed limits? Germany says nein, danke
"The most famous bastion of legal speed is safe for another day, after Germany’s parliament rejected plans to enact a blanket 130km/h (80mph) speed limit on its 8,000-odd miles of Autobahn."
This Toyota Supra has the massive wing you’ve always wanted
"Iconic features of the Mk4 Toyota Supra: the single-exit, off-centre exhaust, its round taillights and… that wing. Three things that, when it was launched earlier this year, the Mk5 Supra did not possess."
Buy this Volkswagen XL1 at auction, become a hypermiler
"Still want a diesel-engined car but don’t want to be lynched by pitch fork-waving mobs wherever you go? Silverstone Auctions has exactly what you need.
"You’ll no doubt remember the Volkswagen XL1 – not least because it’s one of the coolest green cars in recent history. And now is your chance to own one, because this very car is going up for auction at the NEC Classic Motor Show sale in early November."
Schwarzenegger: ‘the more basic a car is, the more fun you have’
“It was never my goal to be into cars, it’s just that I have fallen in love with certain things,” he says, a wee twinkle in his face. “Maybe it’s because I never stopped being a kid.” A laugh, and thus begins a fascinating descent into ‘How Arnold Fell In Love With Cars’.
Advertisement - Page continues belowCan you possibly make a Ferrari F355 better?
"We hear it coming. With a noise akin to a MotoGP bike chuntering against its pit limiter, the sound of Jeff Segal’s Ferrari F355 fills our ears long before a flash of Rosso Corsa punches through the dank, grey conditions. He pulls into the car park with an immature splash through the minor flood on one side of its entrance, giggling as he does so."
Tesla Roadster to be 'even better' than prototype
"Tesla’s chief designer Franz von Holzhausen recently gave an interview on an unofficial Tesla podcast where he said the production version of the Roadster will surpass the prototype quite dramatically."
Advertisement - Page continues belowNissan GT-R Nismo vs Lexus RC F Track Edition
"To try and replicate UK conditions as much as is possible in so-dry-it’s-on-fire California, we assembled at The Streets of Willow racetrack in the high desert about an hour north of Los Angeles. This might look like the slower, poor relation to Big Willow, the warp-speed ribbon of smooth Tarmac next to it. But Streets is right for this test as its crumbling, dust-covered surface is far more real-world British B-road than anything else here. All that’s missing is the old tractor, a hyperactive sheepdog with its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth, and a flock of sheep."
TG24: listen to the Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro
"Merc’s V8 supercar clears its throat. Listen to it here."
Electric cars could get green number plates
"EVs sold in the UK could get green number plates, rather than conventional white/yellow ones, under new plans. The Government has started consulting on the proposal, which it says would “encourage the uptake of electric vehicles” and make it easier for local authorities to introduce their own incentive schemes (such as allowing EVs to use bus lanes or park for free)."
Here's your first look at a tuned Tesla Model Y
"Meet the first modified Tesla Model Y. Sure, it’s kinda just a render for now. But Unplugged Performance have form – as we discovered in 2018 – so you can expect something like this to appear very, very soon."
The Honda Jazz has gone hybrid-only
"Welcome, everyone over the age of 75, to the new Honda Jazz. Cute isn’t it? The previous generation went a bit faux-sporty, but Honda has shunned sharp edges and slapped on a loveable little face for this new one."
The LF-30 Concept is the future of Lexus
"Lexus is going electric. Properly electric, that is. The company will reveal its first full-electric car next month, and by 2025 will have launched a plug-in hybrid, a dedicated BEV platform and “electrified” versions of all its models.
"The LF-30 probably won’t be one of them. This is a concept that looks ahead to 2030, hence its outrageous looks and technologies that won’t see the light of day for decades yet."
Nissan’s Ariya concept gives us a glimpse at its EV SUV
"Nissan used its home motor show to unveil a radical 1,200bhp twin-turbo SUV. Psych! Course it didn’t. It followed the current trend for family-friendly electrified vehicles, showcasing a new EV SUV concept – one full of tech and slathered in a new, curvier design language."
Lexus GX review: a 300bhp V8, US seven-seater
"Known in the rest of the world – where it’s sold – as the Land Cruiser Prado, the Lexus GX460 is a luxury, slightly smaller version of the Lexus LX560. As such it is part of a small but select group of SUVs which still boasts a body-on-frame construction, which, when specced with the right suspension package, can scrabble up and over mountains and through sump-licking mud without breaking a sweat."
These motorbikes will kill a supercar for under £20k
"Sure, you come to Top Gear for cars. Cars are good. We like cars. But we’re partial to other modes of transport, too, especially ones which put 200bhp though less than 200kg. Welcome to the world of supernaked bikes, which are probably even more NSFW than their name suggests."
The Brazil-only Troller T4 looks completely excellent
"Since 2007, Ford has owned a manufacturer in Brazil called Troller Veículos Especiais, or Troller for short. Unless you’re a Brazilian, or a follower of the Dakar Rally, you may not have heard of Troller, but the company is best known for its go-anywhere 4x4 – the T4 – which has been around in different forms for over two decades."
Porsche to build a starship for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
"Porsche is building a starship for the Star Wars universe, and this news excites us greatly, mostly because we get to speculate on names. Such as the Death Star Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo. Or the TIE Fighter Carrera 4 S Targa, once a Jedi undoubtedly blows the roof off it."
BMW M340i xDrive review: 3.0-litre turbo saloon tested
"The M340i xDrive is the only remaining six cylinder petrol 3 Series, because there’s no M3 yet. It can be had only with four-wheel drive. It sits hard up against the Audi S4 Quattro and C43 AMG. It’s not just a normal xDrive 3-er. The persons from M have had a go."
The Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70 is the best thing you’ll see today
"This special edition version of the ‘standard’ GTO weighs less than 700kg. And we say special edition because the JD70 refers to Donkervoort Automobielen’s founder, Joop Donkervoort, who is celebrating his 70th birthday this year. Not a bad gift, eh?"
It’s official: this is the new Volkswagen Golf
"The ID. 3 hasn’t taken over just yet – the Golf is still, and will probably remain for years to come, the ubiquitous Volkswagen. Still the answer we’ll give pretty much anyone when they ask us what new car they ought to buy. Assuming it’s not terrible, that is."
Eight things you need to know about the new Volkswagen Golf
"The lights are controlled by touch buttons, while traditional climate and volume controls have been replaced by touch-sensitive sliders on a little shelf beneath the 10-inch centre screen (where you might want to brace your hand…). You can tap them to increase the volume or temperature by one unit, or slide your finger across them to make bigger changes. A double tap on the climate sliders switches the heated seats on or off. The controls for the sunroof are where you’d expect to find them, but they too have been replaced with a touch-sensitive slider. All this makes us nervous."
Is Jaguar’s 1,020bhp Vision GT Coupe the most beautiful EV?
"Jaguar knows how to design a pretty car, and even a handsome EV – the I-Pace is a looker, says us, and who’d dare disagree? But Jag’s young team of designers has outdone itself here. This is the Vision Gran Turismo Coupe and well, phwoar, eh? A classically low, long-bonneted, svelte-hipped sports car if ever there was one."
Tokyo Motor Show 2019: the good, the bad and the mad
"It’s busy in Tokyo. Well, even busier than usual. Japan’s capital isn’t just playing host to the cauliflower ear convention (also known as the Rugby World Cup), it’s also showcasing the future of mobility and transport via the Tokyo Motor Show. Missed it? Fear not, as we’ve rounded up all the weird, wacky and futuristic cars from it."
Top Gear’s Top 9: the crazy Golf edition
"Brand new Golf? Sure, whatever. Time to remember the bonkers ones, we reckon"
Review: DS 3 Crossback E-Tense
"Not the EV we’d recommend, but if you like the way it looks and battery-power suits your lifestyle then by all means."
Review: Renault Captur
"Jumped-up Clio is miles less tinny than the old one. Breaks no rules, but it's good-looking, refined and comfy."
Bollinger’s electric B1 and B2 4x4s are… not cheap
"New adoption tech rarely comes cheap, though. For now, you’ve only got to find $1,000 for the deposit. The rest comes later. You’ll need a bloody big sofa to rummage in for the change."
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