NEWS

    Colloquially known as the car that burned touring car hero Jason Plato on national TV, there’s far more to the Caparo that just being, er, a bit of a hottie. Designed to demonstrate cutting-edge British technology, it’s thoroughly deserving of Cult Car status. Indeed, its fiery habits maybe even only enhance this… The designers, [...]

BMW has designed the 730Ld luxury limo to be something of a Tardis in reverse. Huh? Well, sure, there’s no arguing with the presence it has on the road. Yes, that ‘L’ stands for long-wheelbase. Fittingly, it’s huge. Long, lithe and designed – at no little expense – with a totally bespoke roofline to the [...]

PORSCHE’S new 911 Turbo can accelerate from 0-62mph in as little as 3.4 seconds. Now that is fast – very fast. But maybe not quite fast enough. See, Porsche’s engineers dropped enough hints to us on the new car’s launch to suggest it’s very much on the  ‘conservative’ side of cautious. Meaning, to all intents, [...]

SO, the latest Astra is a ‘vital’ car for Vauxhall? A ‘make-or-break’ model in many ways? Well, no change there. It’s always been so, ever since the very first was launched back in 1980. Back then, Vauxhall was in strife. It had a grim reputation, an ageing model line-up of rear-drive cars… one of the [...]

NISSANS didn’t used to be Nissans in the UK. They were Datsuns, and models such as the supermini-sized Cherry made the firm’s name here in the 1970s. Reliable, cheap and sturdy, they were pretty dire to drive, but reassurance-seekers didn’t care. The cars were fuss-free enough to establish the idea of Japanese cars in the UK. [...]

A Fiat with a waiting list? You bet. That’s the measure of success earned by the funky 500, which is sold in 51 countries and has won over fans in every one. Fiat’s take on the MINI is more than up to the task. Now it’s established, Fiat’s expanding the range. First key addition is an [...]

If Continental GTs are new-gen Bentley, this is very much the old money choice. Class, elegance, upstanding dignity – oh, and a huge great slug of none-too-subtle British beef. That’s the Arnage, alright. If Brunel were alive today, he would drive one of these. Some may be surprised to discover that, despite its stately appearance, it is [...]

Land Rover admits the Range Rover Sport has been a brilliant car for them. It boasts almost the cachet and allure of the bigger Range Rover Vogue, yet is derived from the more attainable Discovery 3 mechanicals. This keeps prices realistic – and demand high. Beefy profit margins on this hit model mean the firm’s [...]

HARD to believe that Renault used to be known as a conservative, middle of the road brand. Oh, sure, it had funky cars such as the 5 supermini. But, alongside these were Renaults 9s, Renault 11s; even the Fuego coupe somehow managed to make sporty boring. Today, the brand is one of Europe’s most forward-thinking. [...]

It’s a direct line from customers to BMW engineering staff that has led to the new Z4 being how it is. See, BMW engineers are sporty types. The sort who turn DSC off. They like their hard-riding, focused machines – cars such as, ooh, the original Z4. Particularly ones with high-output straight-six engines. Customers, however, [...]