As we’ve said before, the Aston Martin Rapide has been so long coming it feels like it’s already here. But it’s not, despite the spy pictures of the Rapide we’ve seen, and now comes the first official picture – apparently. We’ve seen an ‘official’ Aston Martin Rapide image before, but this looks more convincing, even [...]
More on the ‘Recession-Busting’ deals that abound from car makers at the moment. Subaru has come up with a deal for the Impreza WRX Turbo where you can have the car for the same price as the 1994 equivalent – just £17,798. Which in itself is an interesting figure and shows that cars, or certainly [...]
The most successful car of its type ever made, the latest version of the M3 has a stonking V8 and huge power reserves, but still manages to be (slightly) more economical than the outgoing model. The new V8 model gives the powerful BMW a more relaxed demeanour (when you want it) but those huge reserves [...]
A couple of weeks ago we reported that Ron Dennis was stepping down from control of McLaren F1, to concentrate on other projects in the McLaren group. One of the main ones was the development of McLaren’s new Ferrari bashing P11, a mid-engined lightweight 2 seater, in the mould of the old McLaren F1, but [...]
When you think of VW (Volkswagen, not the group as a whole) you don’t usually think of stylish coupes. Sensible hatchbacks and fairly boring saloons are what spring to mind, with one or two exceptions. And perhaps the biggest exception is the VW Passat CC. Spawned from the very middle of the road Passat, the [...]
Yesterday’s drive of the new Fiesta ECOnetic got me thinking. It’s astonishing what car makers can get out of a car these days. The new ECOnetic manages a combined figure of 76mpg. But it is still a proper sized car, with reasonable performance and capable of transporting the average family, and their stuff, in style. [...]
Well, it’s not exactly a surprise, given the doom and gloom in the industry at the moment, but Porsche has just reported a 27% drop in sales, down to 34,000 units, over the last six months. As you would expect, some models fared worse than others. The recently updated Porsche 911, which has had mid-cycle [...]
[ad#ad-1] The Ford launch we went to today for the new Fiesta ECOnetic also had the new Ford KA to play with, and although we did a review of the Ford KA recently, I had not had the chance to play. So it seemed too good an opportunity to miss, so a little blat was [...]
UPDATE 28/05/2009: FORD FIESTA ECONETIC ROAD TEST / REVIEW Cars UK has been out on a bit of a jolly today, to the depths of rural Hertfordshire for the press launch of the Ford Fiesta TDCi ECOnetic. Any excuse for a free lunch! So what’s it like, this planet-saving Fiesta? Well, ‘Green’ cars are not [...]
The next in line for the mid-life facelift (Gen 2) of the Porsche 911 is the GT3, following on from last year’s revisions to the Carrera and Targa. The GT3 has had only minor modifications to its looks, instead the detail, as you would hope, has gone on under the skin. The engine has gone [...]
[ad#ad-1] Don’t mention the war, Basil! The Germans and Italians look like they’re getting in bed together again, but this time the axis could provide some goodies for us all, and some cost saving benefits for both BMW and Fiat. Fiat, in a strong position after posting their best ever figures for 2008, is on [...]
We knew Bentley was playing with biofuel for its cars (and the Queen’s Bentley to boot!) and the first ‘Teaser’ news comes that the first car to use this technology for Bentley will be making an appearance at the Geneva Motor Show in March. As this is all tease and no detail, Bentley are not [...]
Lord Mandelson is the man charged with finding ways to fund UK Car purchases (yes, he of the dodgy mortgage debacle – at least he should know a few tricks!) as the credit crunch has dried up funding, leading to an unprecedented drop in new car sales in the UK. Mandelson is due to make [...]
Opel (GM’s Euro division, and the Euro version of Vauxhall) has today revealed teaser images of the Opel Ampera, which is to debut at the motor show in Geneva in March. The Ampera is GM’s salvation – they believe. Based on the Chevvy Volt concept, it is a pure electric car. True, it has a [...]
Aston Martin has a long, and pretty successful, motor racing heritage. And the modern company has capitalised on that with success at Le Mans with the DBR9, winning the GT1 title for the last two years. But Aston are looking to go one better, and are challenging for the overall Le Mans title with two [...]
The world is in financial turmoil. Property prices have plunged, losing investors fortunes on the way. Banks are in trouble and depositors savings are in jeapordy. The stock market has been in free-fall, turning Princes in to paupers. Even whole sovereign states are close to bankruptcy. So what’s a man to do with his hard [...]
[ad#ad-1] This is a busy time for testers of upcoming cars in chilly climes. We’ve recently seen the next generation Porsche 911 (998) and Boxster out in the snow, and this time it’s the turn of the new ‘Baby’ Rolls Royce, the RR4. The new Rolls Royce (which is codenamed RR4 internally, but could well [...]
It was always going to happen. The current weakness of Sterling against the Euro was always going to end up with Euro car makers putting up prices, and Audi has now decided to bite the bullet and push up prices by an average of 2% from 23rd February. Audi will, however, honour all existing orders [...]
There have been a variety of E-Class Coupe shots cropping up lately, but they’ve all been disguised, or pictures you’d find hard to fathom! But this picture, published by Motorpasion, shows a virtually undisguised E-Class Coupe, except for what looks like a bit of black tape on the headlights. Quite a handsome looking beast. But [...]
A sensible move for Citroen this, adding a cost-effective 7-seat option for the best-selling Berlingo MPV. The new ‘Family-Pack’ adds a much-needed dose of practicality to the top selling Berlingo. The pack, which costs £800, can be fitted as an option on the VTR models with either the 1.6i or 1.6HDi engines. Offering a total [...]
The Lamborghini of today is a far cry from the Lamborghini of old. Starting life as a tractor maker, Lamborghini cars came in to being when Ferruccio Lamborghini complained to Enzo Ferrari about the clutch on his new Ferarri. The dismissive response was that “the fault is with the driver, not the car”, and so [...]
As we commented recently, the 911 is the soul of Porsche; its reason to be, if you like. Which is why the driver experience is at the heart of all that Porsche does with the 911′s development. And Porsche has added a new option to the 911 Carrera and Targa range, available from February. The [...]
Didn’t they do well!? Fiat has just announced that, despite the doom and gloom in the car world in 2008, particularly in the last quarter, they have had their best year ever, with their trading profit up by 4% and turnover by 1.5% to €60 billion. Well done them. A number of factors have led [...]
These are troubled times for Formula 1. Honda, rich as it is, has bailed out of F1 and is still looking for a buyer. Other teams are struggling to make a budget that adds up, despite the backing of billionaires and car manufacturers. But what of the real lone independent of F1 – Williams? How [...]
