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Everything you need to know about cars this week: 6 Dec '20
Russell steps in for Hamilton, we drive the new hydrogen Toyota Mirai and some 911s
Review: BMW X5 M Competition
"Possibly the silliest super-SUV this side of a G-Wagen. Mad, bad and dangerously expensive"
Advertisement - Page continues belowReview: Toyota Mirai
"The culmination of decades of work for Toyota, but it's for very specialist cases and hydrogen cheerleaders only"
Review: Skoda Octavia vRS
"The Octavia vRS, 20 years on, balances fun and liveability just as sweetly as ever"
Advertisement - Page continues belowHow did Grosjean walk away from his terrifying F1 crash?
"Having collided with the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kyvat, Grosjean’s car speared uncontrollably off the track on the opening lap of the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix and impacted a metal barrier at 137mph. On-board data readings have suggested the impact force was some 51g, yet Grosjean remained conscious and was able to set about undoing his harness, removing the cockpit head restraint and jumping from the burning wreckage."
Audi is quitting Formula E to enter the Dakar Rally AND Le Mans
"It’s happening. Audi will quit Formula E to focus on Dakar and LMDh projects"
Progress report: Porsche 993 Turbo vs 992 Turbo S
"You can mock Porsche’s design conservatism all you want, but getting these two together is vindication of the 911’s ‘evolution over revolution’ philosophy. This comparison proves the engineers haven’t made progress where it’s not necessary. They’ve heaped on power and grip, but not lost what we love about 911s."
Hamilton to sit out Sakhir GP after positive Covid-19 test
"Hamilton reported mild symptoms on Monday morning, and Merc said he was “informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive”. He took another test which returned a positive result."
Advertisement - Page continues belowOfficial: Mini is building an electric JCW hot hatch
"True, news of a prototype hot hatch testing around the Nürburgring isn’t exactly cresting ‘Dog Learns To Speak!’ levels of hysteria, but this particular combination is quite a Big Moment. Because underneath said prototype hot hatch lies a fully electric drivetrain."
Pininfarina Battista boss: “there’s no such thing as too fast”
"The most powerful Italian road car ever has had its shakedown at Italy’s high-speed proving ground. Yes, Pininfarina’s all-electric Battista ‘hyper-GT’ has been thrashing around Nardo, conducting high speed laps of the 12.6km bowl, and multiple circuits of the 6.2km handling track."
Advertisement - Page continues belowRevealed: the winners of the 2020 TopGear.com Awards
Check out the full list of this year’s worthy winners
The Jaguar F-Pace SVR is now 2mph faster and 3% slipperier
"It’s a modest facelift as opposed to a complete reinvention, which is no surprise given it’s not been on sale two years yet. It’s been restyled to sit neatly above the regular F-Pace – also updated in 2020 – with new lights front and back and restyled bumpers."
Hyundai and Kia's new electric car base will go up to 600bhp
"Remember the cute Hyundai 45 electric show-car? Or the madder Kia Futuron? Well, if they – especially the latter – struck you as a bit concept-y, at least the parent company has now given full details of the electric platform that will, next year, carry the toned-down production versions of both. The Hyundai will be called Ioniq 5."
George Russell will stand in for Hamilton at the Sakhir GP
"Russell has been a Mercedes junior since 2017. He was the team’s reserve driver in 2018, but was allowed to sign a three-year deal to race for Williams from the 2019 season onwards. Mercedes allegedly considered signing Russell for the 2020 season, but stuck with Valtteri Bottas after Williams refused to release the 22-year-old Brit from his contract."
Mick Schumacher will race in F1 next season
"Mick Schumacher will race for Haas in the 2021 F1 season, as part of an all-new driver line-up for the American team. The 21-year old German, son of seven-time world champion Michael, will partner Russian Nikita Mazepin."
Review: Volkswagen Arteon
"Good looking, spacious and well equipped, but the wow-factor is only surface-deep"
The Mk8 VW Golf R's launch price is £10k more than the Mk7's
"When the Mk7 Volkswagen Golf R launched, it did so costing less than thirty grand. Like the Ford Focus RS and BMW M135i, it arrived with a tantalising price tag – just £29,900 – to pique everyone’s interest. And my, didn’t it work with spectacular effect: the attractive lease deals followed, and now you’d be forgiven for thinking half of all Golfs sold have circa-300bhp and an R badge."
BMW has quit Formula E
"There’s mention of technology transfer between its electric racing activities and the enormous electrified grilles (with BMW bodies attached) you see knocking about, but the simple line is this: BMW has quit Formula E."
The big Honda e question: will it drift?
"No rear diff of course, so it’s the inside rear that starts to smoke first, but with so much steering angle, keeping it in a wide arcing drift with lots of opposite lock is entirely possible. You can see Stig having a ‘play’ in our TopGear.com Awards 2020 video on YouTube, now."
Top Gear’s Top 9: the worst car facelifts edition
"Want less character, or a downright uglier car? Give it a facelift!"
Seat Leon eHybrid review: plug-in family hatch tested
"It uses largely the same powertrain as the Cupra but detuned, so it’s slower and a bit more efficient."
Check out this modified G-Wagen with suicide doors
"German tuner Hofele is well aware that most modern G-Wagens barely scratch the surface of their off-road ability. It rightly reckons that most are bought as alternatives to luxury limos, and so instead of churning out a proper rock-crawler or a 1,000bhp+ G63, it has built a G with rear seat passengers in mind."
