Autocar November 3, 2021

IF YOU THOUGHT the march towards full electrification in 2030 was going to make the 2020s a quiet decade for that most wonderful of breeds, the light-weight-and-soundsgreat British sports car, think again. The Wells Vertige (driven, p20) is perhaps the most exciting and credible new entrant to that market in a decade. Wonderfully styled and with a depth of quality engineering and usability that many a big firm would be proud of, the Vertige seems, on our first acquaintance, to avoid the pitfalls that hamper most new sports car entrants. On the evidence of our prototype drive, the Vertige looks to be a car that you don’t have to make excuses for: you can enjoy owning and living with it just as much as driving it. Refreshingly, its maker has realistic ambitions for…

GOT A STORY? Email our news editor felix.page@haymarket.com “The new SL adopts a totally fresh look with more overt cab-backwards proportions” Mercedes-AMG has revealed the seventh generation of the SL roadster, which brings back the fabric roof and 2+2 layout of earlier incarnations and receives both four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering as standard. The R232-generation SL, which is set for UK sales early next year, has been developed by the AMG performance division and is expected to share its drivetrains, chassis, electrical architecture and other key components with the second-generation AMG GT, which is due in 2023. An all-new aluminium platform, consisting of a spaceframe and a self-supporting body structure, is significantly more rigid than that of the previous SL, which used Mercedes’ Modular Rear Architecture (MRA) platform. Transverse rigidity is claimed to be 50% higher…

THE RAKISH-ROOFED new ID 5 is the third member of Volkswagen’s family of bespoke EVs, joining the ID 3 hatchback and the closely related ID 4 crossover in UK dealerships in the first quarter of 2022. The standard rear-driven ID 5 will be offered from around the £47,000 mark with a familiar choice of 172bhp and 201bhp motors, which get it from 0-62mph in 10.4sec and 8.4sec respectively. A 77kWh battery (standard in the UK) offers a maximum range of 323 miles – a slight boost over the straight-backed ID 4, courtesy of the new car’s improved aerodynamics. The ID 5 matches the ID 4’s 135kW maximum charging rate, too, so it can be topped up to 80% in less than 30 minutes. Like its sibling, the ID 5 will also be offered in…

IF YOU THOUGHT the march towards full electrification in 2030 was going to make the 2020s a quiet decade for that most wonderful of breeds, the light-weight-and-soundsgreat British sports car, think again. The Wells Vertige (driven, p20) is perhaps the most exciting and credible new entrant to that market in a decade. Wonderfully styled and with a depth of quality engineering and usability that many a big firm would be proud of, the Vertige seems, on our first acquaintance, to avoid the pitfalls that hamper most new sports car entrants. On the evidence of our prototype drive, the Vertige looks to be a car that you don’t have to make excuses for: you can enjoy owning and living with it just as much as driving it. Refreshingly, its maker has…

GOT A STORY? Email our news editor felix.page@haymarket.com “The new SL adopts a totally fresh look with more overt cab-backwards proportions” Mercedes-AMG has revealed the seventh generation of the SL roadster, which brings back the fabric roof and 2+2 layout of earlier incarnations and receives both four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering as standard. The R232-generation SL, which is set for UK sales early next year, has been developed by the AMG performance division and is expected to share its drivetrains, chassis, electrical architecture and other key components with the second-generation AMG GT, which is due in 2023. An all-new aluminium platform, consisting of a spaceframe and a self-supporting body structure, is significantly more rigid than that of the previous SL, which used Mercedes’ Modular Rear Architecture (MRA) platform. Transverse rigidity…

A SUBTLE MID-LIFE facelift for Audi’s flagship, the A8 saloon, ushers in a fresh front end, new trim options and advanced lighting technology. The front grille is wider and the air intakes more upright than before, while the new Digital Matrix LED headlights use 1.3 million mirrors per cluster to emit a finely adjustable “carpet of light”. The rear clusters, meanwhile, now feature digital OLED technology as standard. Elsewhere, there are new upholstery options for the interior, more paint colours and upgraded 10.1in rear infotainment touchscreens.…