In pictures: VW has given its classic camper van a futuristic, driverless revamp with the ID Buzz January 9, 2017 Volkswagen's classic camper van has been a symbol of hippie-dom for decades now – but flower power types may find it hard to love its sleek new update. Forget snazzy new supercars – VW presented its ID Buzz concept at the Detroit Auto Show, which began yesterday, dubbing it a "multi-functional vehicle of a new era". The [...]
In pictures: Bentley has just unveiled its macho Continental Supersports, the world’s fastest four-seater January 6, 2017 If your kids' looks of terror during the school run aren't abject enough, here's a manly new way to put the fear of god into them: Bentley has just unveiled its fastest and most powerful production model – and it's a four-seater. The decidedly macho Bentley Continental Supersports is the world's fastest four-seat car, it reckons. With a W12 [...]
Silverstone owners threaten to drop British Grand Prix January 5, 2017 Silverstone's management is threatening to drop the British Grand Prix because of spiralling costs of running it. John Grant, chairman of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), owners of the racing track, has written to members warning of the "potentially ruinous risk" of hosting the loss-making event. In a letter, seen by ITV, Grant said he wanted to "preserve [...]
Aston Martin Vanquish S review: Lotus steal Matt Becker has transformed this model from glitzy to genius January 3, 2017 To make Aston Martin’s new models drive as beautifully as they look, CEO Dr Andy Palmer went to the company that makes some of the best-handling cars in the world: Lotus. There, he hired a genius called Matt Becker, who’s already helped deliver the divine new DB11. Now the first of Aston’s existing cars to [...]
Volvo V40 Cross Country T5 review: A car that defies categorisation for motorists that defy categorisation December 19, 2016 We love to label things. “The tendency to classify and categorise objects is a deeply ingrained aspect of human nature,” Dr Scott Barry Kaufman once wrote in Psychology Today. Maybe you were the kind of person who took pleasure in arranging your CD collection in alphabetical order, or perhaps labelling people is the sort of [...]
BMW 530D XDrive SE review: When a car is this good to drive, why let it drive itself? December 12, 2016 B MW flew me out to Portugal to drive the new 5 Series and made such a song and dance about its Autonomous Drive technology, you’d think it had reinvented the self-steering wheel. Frankly, I hated it. Yes, the 5 Series will drive itself for 30 seconds at a time on straight roads, and will [...]
A new Tesla dealership is opening in West London today December 9, 2016 Tesla fans, take note: a new dealership will be launched in Chiswick today. The new dealership, on Hogarth roundabout, will have both the Model S and the Model X on show – although not yet the much-anticipated Model 3, which was unveiled by the company in April but has yet to roll off the production line. [...]
Tesla Model X SUV review: Elon Musk takes a break from Mars mission to make a killer self-driving car November 29, 2016 No car brand knows how to build hype like Tesla. This relatively recent start-up (in terms of car manufacturers) has a boss who can generate hundreds of column inches just by tweeting. Every time one of its vehicles is involved in a serious crash, online forums are awash with rumours about the cause. And a [...]
Volvo S90 review: A nice car for nice people November 21, 2016 When Grey Advertising was given the unenviable task of changing the public perception of motorcyclists in America, the firm came up with the memorable 1960s ad campaign: “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” Five decades on, these nice people would feel right at home in a Volvo S90. The S90 and its sibling, [...]
Jaguar has lovingly remade the XKSS, aka the world’s first supercar – a snip, at £1m November 17, 2016 If you're a sucker for classic cars, look away now. For while Jaguar has lovingly remade one of its most iconic motors, there are only going to be nine of them, and they've already been sold – for more than £1m each. Jaguar debuted the first "genuine" Jaguar XKSS in almost 60 years at a Los Angeles museum (because [...]