Autocar UK - 22 June 2022

84 Pages·2022·83.6 MB·English

50 YEARS OF BMW M.
Ultimate
The Driving Machine
T H I S W E E K
‘The riot of graphics includes an animated fox wearing wellies’
16
Issue 6520 | Volume 312 | No 13
NEWS
COMMENT
6
BMW M3 Touring Four-wheel-drive 503bhp estate
8 FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF
Goodwood Festival of Speed Guide to its star cars
10
Peugeot 408 Innovative fastback design, due 2023
12 BMW M STILL HOLD TRUE
Fuel cost crisis Full analysis, plus tips to save money
14
Ferrari’s blitz 15 new models by 2026, including EV
16
Smart’s big reboot New CEO reveals what to expect
FERRARI SF90 SPIDER: FIRST DRIVE VERDICT 24 HAPPY 50TH, BMW M.
TESTED
Our 20-page look (starting
24
Ferrari SF90 Spider Roofless 986bhp PHEV flyer
26 on p38) at ‘the most powerful
Electrogenic Mini Cooper Classic car turns EV
27
Citroën ë-C4 More range for revised electric hatch letter in the world’ – one
27
Nissan Juke Hybrid Novel powertrain arrangement
marketing slogan we’ll happily repeat –
28
Chevrolet Corvette 3LT Coupé ROAD TEST
is, I hope you’ll agree, a fi tting tribute.
FEATURES
There are those who point to a
38
BMW M road trip Key people, key places, by M5 CS
perceived diluting of the M brand in
48
The best M car is… Our experts name their favourite
52 recent years, in attaching its badge to
Telling tales 50 years of personal M car highlights
BMW M’s top 10 victories Motorsport by name… 56 ever-larger and heavier SUVs at one
end and ‘lite’ models at the other, plus
OUR CARS
BMW M5 CS ROAD TRIP SPANS M’S 50 YEARS 38
its fi rst forays into electric cars, where
62
Ford Mustang Mach-E First impressions of new SUV
64 it is very much still fi nding its feet.
Skoda Kodiaq What we learned from a long-haul trip
65
Mazda CX-5 Insight from firm’s Europe design boss We’re having none of it. That is
EVERY WEEK business; that is survival. Without
13 those cars, many of which are
Jesse Crosse How regen can transform EV range
15
Matt Prior All-electric Meyers Manx buggy, anyone? excellent, regardless, M would become
17
Jim Holder Cazoo’s tumble and its subscription exit
a nostalgic irrelevance – and those cars
19
Steve Cropley Land Rover Discovery joins the fleet
20 are hardly the only shows in town.
Damien Smith All the gen from Le Mans; plus BTCC
58
Your Views Euro NCAP; Formula 1 stewards; Audi Q5 Just as, perhaps simplistically, Porsche
60
Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits builds SUVs to fund its sports cars and
61
On this day 1976: novel Golf GTI and six-wheel Tyrrell
Slideshow The best slow cars to drive like you stole it82 CORVETTE CHEVROLET 3LT: FULL ROAD TEST 28 go racing, so the same can be said of M.
And without the sports cars and
DEALS
EVEN A REGULAR
racing, there can be no authenticity
(cid:96)
66
James Ruppert S-Max; MX-5; Grande Punto; Celica
to the cars that keep the tills ringing.
68
Cult hero Why you’ll really want to own a Bristol 411 M5 IS A FINER GT
70 As then BMW exec Bob Lutz said at
As good as new Renault Kadjar, now from £10,500
71
Take it or leave it McLaren MP4-12C; Jimny; Citigo CAR THAN ANY 812 M’s inception on why BMW needed
72
New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenos
to go racing and create specialist
81
Road test index Track down that road test here SUPERFAST OR DBS
performance models, “a company is
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A BEACON FOR M, SAYS RICHARD LANE 38
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STORY
road test car – show, Lutz’s words are
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committee of BMW M3 TOURING: ALL THE CRUCIAL DETAILS 6 autocar_official
Car Of The Year
caroftheyear.org
22 JUNE 2022 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5
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BMGOODWWOOD FES TIMVAL OF3 SPEE DTouring unleashed
with supercar performance
Hot estate arrives this year priced from £80,550 and promising 0-62mph in 3.6sec
T
he first-ever BMW M3 out, track-focused M4 CSL exclusively in range-topping
Touring is making its (see overleaf) revealed Competition xDrive form,
long-awaited world last month. taking 503bhp and 479lb ft
debut at the Goodwood This is the first time that from BMW’s venerable B58
Festival of Speed this week, BMW has applied the full-fat 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged
combining supercar levels M treatment to the 3 Series straight six and sending
of straight-line pace with estate in seven generations – it through an eight-speed
the familiar comfort and although it did build a one-off automatic gearbox and Active
utility of the 3 Series. Touring version of the E46- M differential to both axles.
Arriving as part of the gen M3 in 2000 (but kept it That makes for a 0-62mph
ongoing celebrations for under wraps until 2016). time of just 3.6sec and a top
M division’s 50th anniversary, The new arrival will go speed of up to 174mph with the
it is the latest addition to the on sale in September, ahead optional M Driver’s package
M3/M4 family and follows hot of production beginning in – figures that just surpass Carbon buckets are optional; 14.9in central screen is standard
on the heels of the stripped- November. It will be available the outgoing Mercedes-AMG
6 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 22 JUNE 2022
The front axle
can be disconnected
and drivers can choose
the extent of traction
BRING IT ON – WHILE WE CAN STILL HAVE IT
control intervention
when pushing on, which
MATT SAUNDERS
means ‘controlled drift
manoeuvres’ are
We live in a world fast estate car is clearly on and has plenty of lateral
possible.
increasingly well furnished borrowed time. support.
with electric and plug-in There is pent-up demand To this tester, a four-
hybrid family cars that will for an M3 Touring, after all, cylinder Volvo V60 Polestar
crack 60mph in considerably given it has always been left or Peugeot 508 PSE just
less than five seconds. to tuner Alpina to satisfy the isn’t ticking the same box
Cars that you can run appetite for a fast version of or scratching the same itch
surprisingly cheaply as the 3 Series estate, which it as an M3 Touring would
fleet options as well as has always done rather well. – and a Porsche Taycan
private buys – and that The current G80- Sport Turismo, as great as
won’t earn you disgusted generation M3 is a fabulous it undoubtedly is, doesn’t
glances in responsible saloon, so I’ve no doubt that either. This will be a car
company, like a noisy, the G81 M3 Touring will be whose combustion engine
old-school, petrol-burning brilliant, too. BMW M has will be right at the centre of
performance option might. already used the adaptive its dynamic appeal. It will
Does that leave a lot of dampers it developed for the be all about mechanical
room for cars like the BMW new Touring on next year’s connection and driver
M3 Touring? I’d say it does, M2 Coupé, which I drove in engagement, as well as
for a number of reasons, prototype form the other outright performance – and,
although the petrol-powered week – and it rides pliantly now, room for the dog too.
OFFICIAL PICTURES
Touring retains M
cars’ typical 50:50
weight distribution
(cid:96)
It sends 503bhp and 479lb ft
from a 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight
six to both axles
(cid:97) Poise doesn’t
come at the expense of
practicality: the rear seats
C63 S estate and are sure to the M3 up with the
still fold individually, anti-slip
make the M3 Touring a fierce Touring addition of
rails can be fitted to the boot
rival for that car’s plug-in is nearly carbonfibre
floor and the rear windscreen
hybrid replacement, which is identical to trim elements
opens independently of
due in 2023 (although not yet the saloon. and full-carbon
the tailgate.
confirmed as an estate). It swaps bucket front
It is also only slightly slower the standard seats.
off the mark than the four- 3 Series’ wide Prices for the M3
wheel-drive M3 Competition snouts for the M car’s Touring start at £80,550,
Saloon, despite the added larger vertical items, and adds which makes it roughly the
weight of its extended chunky flared wheel arches, same price as the saloon, and
bodywork, which, says BMW, bespoke bumpers and side it is available with the same
endows the Touring with skirts, a beefy quad-exit sports choice of colour and trim
“variability and generosity exhaust, 19in front and 20in combinations. Wheels are 19in front and 20in rear; tailpipes reveal sporty intent
in terms of transport rear M Sport wheels, and a It will be among the final
capacities for eventful bespoke rear spoiler. non-electrified additions to AUDI RS4 BMW M3 COMP’N MERCEDES-AMG
everyday mobility and Inside, it’s a closer match for the full-bore M car line-up, AVANT TOURING xDRIVE C63 S ESTATE
fast-paced travel activities”. the standard, recently updated alongside the upcoming M2
In addition, because it 3 Series Touring, with a familiar Coupé (which uses a variation
has nearly 50:50 weight cabin set-up dominated by of the same powertrain) that
distribution and a suspension a new 14.9in infotainment will be revealed later this year.
and steering set-up that has screen running BMW’s latest, The brand’s first PHEV, the XM Price  £69,275 £80,550 No longer on sale
been lightly fettled to account eighth-generation iDrive super-SUV, also lands later this Engine  V 6, 2894cc, 6 cyls i n line, V8, 3982cc,
for the new body, BMW says operating system, and a 12.3in year, and the next-generation t win-turbo, 2993c c, twin- twin-turbo,
it offers “the combination of digital gauge cluster. As with M5 is widely tipped to use p etrol turbo, petrol petrol
agility, dynamics and precision the M3 Saloon, subtle nods to that car’s hybridised twin- Power   444bhp 503bhp 503bhp
in handling that is characteristic its performance billing – red turbocharged 4.4-litre V8. Torque 443lb ft 479lb ft 516lb ft
of BMW M automobiles”. driving mode selectors on the FELIX PAGE 0-62mph 4.1sec 3.6sec 4.1sec
Aside from the extended steering wheel and M-themed Top speed 174mph 174mph 174mph
»FIFTY YEARS OF BMW M P38
roofline and upright rear end, upholstery – can be bumped
22 JUNE 2022 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 7
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
Star cars flock to Festival of Speed
Goodwood welcomes new metal from BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and many more
H
BMW M4 CSL
eading to Goodwood
for the Festival of Speed The most potent M4 yet arrives
this week? So are some with 542bhp and 479lb ft
of the loudest, quickest from its beefed-up straight
and most hotly anticipated six, exactly 50 years after
new cars around. Here’s our the legendary 3.0 CSL. The
quick-fire spotter’s guide to stripped-back monster will take
the event’s headline acts. pride of place on BMW’s stand.
BMW CONCEPT XM
BMW’s M division will display the concept that previews
its first plug-in hybrid and only its second stand-alone
production model: the 740bhp V8-engined XM SUV.
BMW i7
Munich’s new tech-saturated
EV flagship lands on UK soil.
BMW M HYBRID V8
BMW is returning to top-flight endurance racing
24 years after winning Le Mans. The boldly styled new
BMW iX1
M Hybrid V8 LMDh prototype will compete in America’s
fearsome IMSA Sportscar Championship from next year. Entry-level SUV takes the fight
to VW ID 4 with 272-mile range.
LOTUS ELETRE
Simplify and add…
batteries. Lotus’s
first EV really is the
most crucial model
to bear the badge in
decades, playing a
LEXUS ELECTRIFIED SPORT LEXUS RZ 450E
fundamental role in
its ambitious global The futuristic successor to the Lexus’s first car built on
growth plans. The LFA will be on static display – a dedicated EV platform is
aero-optimised, but you wouldn’t hear it charge an electric SUV that brings
592bhp Lamborghini up the hill anyway, because the 309bhp and a range of more
Urus-baiter will surely howling V10 has made way for than 250 miles, but we’re
cause a stir among a searing-hot EV powertrain, more interested in seeing
the British public. making this concept capable of its innovative wireless
0-62mph in just over 2.0sec. steering system at work.
THE BEST OF THE REST
FORD RANGER RAPTOR KIA EV6 GT TOYOTA GR SUPRA MANUAL
Sporting pick-up truck Still doubt Kia has made a One for the purists: Toyota
gets a huge power boost, real Porsche Taycan rival? will display its new stick-
courtesy of a 3.0-litre Maybe when it deploys all shifting straight-six coupé
V6, and a new design 577bhp from its dual-motor as part of an expanded
influenced heavily by powertrain up the hill, you and diverse Gazoo Racing
its American F-150 sibling. will think otherwise. performance car family.
8 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 22 JUNE 2022
NEWS
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE 4DR COUPE
AMG’s first series-production PHEV is here, and with it getting
831bhp from its V8 and electric motors, we’re happy to see it.
MERCEDES-AMG ONE
Ever wanted to put a 1049bhp Formula 1 engine into a road-legal chassis? Well, Mercedes-AMG has,
and after what feels like a lifetime of waiting , we will now be able to see the finished One in the metal.
MERCEDES-AMG C63
AMG’s rival to the BMW M3 is about to make the watershed
switch from V8 to hybridised four-cylinder power. It will
make its first UK appearance in concept form.
RANGE ROVER SPORT LAND ROVER DEFENDER 130 FISKER OCEAN
Making its public debut a few Gaydon’s take on the limo-SUV Fisker is back and, if all WHAT’S THAT COMING OVER THE HILL?
weeks after its unveiling, the is an eight-seater with luxury goes to plan, bigger than
Sport is as radical an evolution appeal and go-anywhere before. It expects 50% of 50 years of M
as its full-size sibling. Straight- ability. Pub trivia: it’s also all Ocean EVs will be sold To mark the half-century of
six, long-range PHEV and V8 the only car on sale in the UK – in Europe and cites the UK its M division, BMW will be
power are on the roster, plus aside from dedicated MPVs – as a top-three market, so bringing legendary cars to
an EV is just two years away. with more than seven seats. this will be a big moment. the event, with those from
the past, present and future
tearing up the hill. Promised
highlights include the M1 Procar, Le Mans-winning V12 LMR,
Brabham-BMW BT52 Formula 1 racer and legendary 635 CSi.
Mansell mania
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Nigel Mansell’s dominant
Formula 1 championship
POLESTAR 5 POLESTAR 2 BST EDITION 270 CZINGER 21C
victory, the British legend
The radical Precept electric Limited-run high-performance Radical hypercar from will be reunited with some
luxury saloon concept has variant of the popular electric new American firm packs of his famous grand prix
evolved into the 5. A prototype fastback will make its debut, a 1233bhp 2.9-litre V8 cars, including the Williams-
will come down from Polestar’s showing off bespoke sporting hybrid powertrain and is Renault FW14B, and will take
MIRA engineering base to show design cues and a 469bhp innovatively made using to the hill in some of them.
what it can do on the hillclimb. dual-motor powertrain. 3D-printed panels.
Aston Martin V12 bonanza
As it premieres its latest – and final – V12 Vantage,
Aston Martin will celebrate all things 12-cylinder, with
the ultra-rare Speedster,
DBS and DB11 hitting the
Goodwood hill alongside
the new Valkyrie hypercar
– which you will be able
PORSCHE 911 SPORT CLASSIC PORSCHE 718 CAYMAN RADFORD 62-2
to hear all the way from
GT4 ePERFORMANCE
The second heritage design Lotus Evora-based special Chichester.
Porsche is powered by the Radical electric racer, based on will take to the hillclimb
same 3.7-litre flat six as the the chassis of the Cayman GT4 with Radford co-founder
911 Turbo, with 542bhp and RS, gets a staggering 1072bhp and F1 champion Jenson For live updates and behind-the-scenes READ MORE ONLINE
442lb ft. Goodwood will be from four motors supplied Button at the wheel. stories from the Goodwood Festival of autocar.co.uk
its global public premiere. by the Mission R concept. Speed, stay tuned to autocar.co.uk.
HISPANO SUIZA CARMEN NARDONE PORSCHE 928 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT S
Reborn Spanish brand’s French restomodder New driver-focused S version
“hyperlux” electric grand Nardone reimagines of luxury coupé gets sharper
tourer costs £1.3 million. the Porsche 928. Its slick handling and a performance-
It packs 1005bhp, but new look is accompanied themed makeover. It will be
innovative construction by a 400bhp V8 and joined by a similarly conceived
keeps weight to 1690kg. modern infotainment. new Flying Spur S saloon.
22 JUNE 2022 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 9
i-Cockpit: two screens
and low steering wheel
OFFICIAL PICTURES
Peugeot uncovers ‘do it all’ SUV
All-new 408 blends best of saloon, hatchback and SUV; petrol, PHEV and EV due
T
he 408 is an entirely The final product was seven It features Peugeot’s latest The petrol engine will be owners who want more
new model for Peugeot years in the making, because i-Cockpit layout, including a replaced with a mild-hybrid roominess but the same
that adds an innovative it was considered quite radical digital dial display and a 10.0in unit by the end of 2023 and driving experience,” said 408
fastback design to its at its inception and apparently infotainment touchscreen an electric e-408 will follow, product manager Aurélie
compact car range, which took some convincing at board with wireless Apple CarPlay although a date for that Bresson, “or compact SUV
currently comprises the level. Design project manager and Android Auto, and has isn’t yet confirmed. owners looking for a more
more conventional 308 Pierre-Paul Mattei revealed extended storage space. Peugeot hopes the 408 distinctive car and a more
hatchback and 3008 SUV. that giving the car “dynamism Three powertrains will will attract new customers to dynamic driving experience,
Unrelated to the Chinese- without hiding the fact that be offered from launch: the brand, having positioned or larger saloon owners
market 408 small saloon, the it’s roomy” was a hurdle. two plug-in hybrids, which it price-wise between the looking for modern lines
fastback is intended to marry “A classical fastback – should match the 308 PHEV’s 308 and 3008 (the latter while maintaining a longer car.
the best of SUVs, hatchbacks the 508, for example – starts electric-only range of around of which starts at £33,225), “They have in common
and saloons by combining an to drop the car’s top line at 40 miles, and a 128bhp 1.2-litre despite it being closer in that they’re open-minded
aerodynamic, coupé-esque the B-pillar, but here it’s the turbocharged three-cylinder length to the 508 saloon. and don’t just buy a car
silhouette with ample space back of the rear door, which petrol. All are mated to an “Customers might be for functionality.”
and good driving dynamics in makes rear access and space automatic gearbox. compact hatchback RACHEL BURGESS
a relatively compact package. better,” explained Mattei.
Due at the start of 2023, the The front grille is
408 sits on the same EMP2 reminiscent of the current THERE’S NO THREAT TO THE 508
modular platform as the 308. Peugeot range but modernises
At 4690mm long and it, introducing a vertical Peugeot positions the 408 “We have the 508 PSE “We’re very happy with
1480mm tall, it is a significant body-colour pattern in which as a take on the traditional [performance PHEV], which what 508 does for us.”
440mm longer and almost the blocks of colour get bigger saloon, rather than an SUV is an interesting proposition Data sourced by Autocar
40mm higher than the 308. towards the edges. (hence the three-digit rather in the marketplace, and the reveals that Peugeot sold just
Mattei said this new grille than four-digit name), but 508 SW [estate], which fulfils over 1200 508s in the UK last
plays to the next generation it’s adamant that there’s a specific customer need too. year, compared with 12,200
of electrified cars and is likely still a place for the larger 508. 3008s, but York suggested
to be used again in future. “The 508 does a good job the 508 plays an important
The interior was developed for us,” Peugeot marketing role in the fleet market and
alongside the 308 – “our job boss Phil York told Autocar. suggested an “animation in
was to balance making it the “It’s an icon for the brand – the life cycle” (or facelift) will
408 but with the best bits of a high-end product. freshen it up some time soon.
Mattei explains 408’s design
the 308”, said Mattei.
REBRANDING EXERCISE FOR DACIA FORD GT40 RECREATED AS 800BHP EV
Dacia has rolled out a fresh look for its entire line- The legendary Ford GT40 has returned as an EV…
up, hailing the restyle as a “new beginning” for the kind of. British firm Everrati’s new replica swaps a
brand. The Sandero, Duster, Jogger and Spring thunderous V8 for two motors making 800bhp,
EV get an updated grille, Dacia’s new logo and a 60kWh battery pack and 700V rapid-charging
the marque’s name written across the tailgate. functionality. Best of all, it weighs just 1300kg.
10 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 22 JUNE 2022