Kalmar 9X9 review: Exclusive drive of new Porsche-based hypercar December 11, 2024 Britain’s best-selling car in 1986 was the fourth-generation Ford Escort. In aptly named Popular spec, it had a 50hp 1.1-litre engine that could wheeze to 62mph in 18.2 seconds and nudge 90mph. The Escort brochure boasted of plastic head restraints, a lidded glovebox and ‘door panels with the unexpected luxury of cloth inserts’. Meanwhile, on [...]
Callum Skye: first look inside the radical, British-built EV December 11, 2024 Callum has revealed the interior of the new Skye – a mould-breaking, British-made electric off-roader, due in 2026. The Skye’s cabin is surprisingly spacious for a compact car, including two child-sized rear seats that fold down to boost luggage capacity. Its minimalist aesthetic is combined with high-end materials, plus near-endless scope for personalisation. I sat [...]
Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge review: Embrace the darkness December 2, 2024 Carbon fibre? In a Cullinan? More often seen in supercars, this lightweight, man-made material looks slightly incongruous inside a 2.7-tonne SUV. The goal here isn’t to save a few grams, though. Rather than fit-for-purpose functionality, this is craftsmanship in carbon fibre. Each of the 23 carbon trim pieces has been woven into a repeating geometric [...]
New Lamborghini Temerario: hybrid supercar revealed in London November 28, 2024 The new Lamborghini Temerario, due next summer, has made its UK debut at a special event in London. The Temerario slots into Lamborghini’s lineup beneath the flagship Revuelto and replaces the long-serving Huracan, trading its predecessor’s naturally aspirated V10 for a turbocharged V8 and three electric motors. The headline numbers are 920hp, 0-62mph in 2.7 [...]
Lamborghini Urus SE 2025 review: The super SUV goes hybrid November 23, 2024 The ground quakes and the air seems to crack as 30 unsilenced V10 engines explode into life. There’s a moment of tension, then the lights change, the track becomes a blur of clashing colours and the sound builds to a furious crescendo as the cars race towards the first corner. The Lamborghini World Finals are [...]
Porsche 911 Targa by Theon Design review: Bright fantastic November 19, 2024 Back in the 1960s, Automobile Engineer magazine expressed its fear that dark paint colours made cars more dangerous. Shades such as grey and black, it reasoned, could transform a vehicle into a ‘camouflaged weapon’. The respected German car magazine Auto, Motor und Sport held a similar view. It suggested that sports cars should be [...]
Aston Martin Vanquish 2024 review: Veni, vidi, Vanquish November 15, 2024 Remember when Daniel Craig replaced Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond? Britain’s least secret agent was as sharp and urbane as ever, but a newly powerful physique lurked beneath his Savile Row suit. If Brosnan is the Aston Martin DB12, Craig is the new Vanquish. Positioned above the DB12 and replacing the DBS [...]
Audi RS E-Tron GT Performance review: With great power… November 14, 2024 My knuckles wrap white around the roll cage as the car slews violently sideways then slingshots onto the main straight. A mechanical war cry bursts forth as the driver rams the graunchy manual lever into third gear, then fourth, then back to third, each shift punctuated by the giddy chirrup of a dump valve. I’m [...]
McLaren GTS 2024 review: Woking’s forgotten supercar November 13, 2024 For its first 11 years in existence, every car built by McLaren Automotive followed the same template: two seats, a mid-mounted V8, a dual-clutch gearbox and rear-wheel drive. From the original MP4-12C to Ultimate Series exotics such as the Senna, these supercars majored on going fast and having fun. Only the McLaren GT really broke [...]
Porsche Panamera GTS 2024 review: A sports car for all the family November 11, 2024 Stonking V8 engines without electrical assistance have suddenly become an endangered species. Not long ago, all of Germany’s super saloons followed this recipe; now the BMW M5 has become a plug-in hybrid, while the Mercedes-AMG E63 has thundered off into the sunset, replaced by the E53 and its hybridised straight-six. Aside from the (largely forgotten) [...]
