Autocar October 10, 2018

ANY INVITATION TO lose yourself in the bound volumes of the Autocar archive is welcome, but this one was irresistible. “Look up some old tests,” they said, “and tell us what you can about the variety of testing equipment the Autocar road tester has used over what now amounts to 90 years of the job.” The search yielded results disappointingly readily (see page 44). But it amused me most to find out that, while our timing gear’s plainly a bit more sophisticated and a lot more reliable today than it was even as recently as the 1990s, two things remain utterly irreplaceable as parts of it. With a tape measure and a roll of gaffer tape, all will be well. We even broke out the gaffer for our history-making figures on the…

The new Land Rover Defender has been spied testing on public roads for the first time as development of the rugged 4x4 ramps up ahead of its official 2020 on-sale date. The pictures show the new Defender in camo livery on the roads near the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Gaydon. Speaking at the Paris motor show, Jaguar Land Rover marketing chief Felix Bräutigam admitted their authenticity, confirming they were of the first prototype to leave Gaydon. Behind the usual disguise, the Defender’s bodywork looks to be approaching that of the finished product and the trademark boxy profile remains intact. Hints of the previous-generation Land Rover Discovery can also be seen in the front end, although the Defender looks to be shorter, with a lower roofline. “The first four test cars are ready,…

A new Jaguar XJ is under development, Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth confirmed for the first time at the Paris motor show. The future of the car is believed to have been hotly debated by Jaguar, as it has struggled for sales alongside rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. However, executives are now understood to have signed off the car’s design, with sources continuing to imply that Autocar’s scoop earlier this month, which suggested it will be reinvented as a purely electric saloon, is accurate. “As far as XJ is concerned, a flagship is a flagship and you can be assured that our design and engineering teams are already at work on some unbelievable solutions for it. For now, all I can say is: watch this…

ANY INVITATION TO lose yourself in the bound volumes of the Autocar archive is welcome, but this one was irresistible. “Look up some old tests,” they said, “and tell us what you can about the variety of testing equipment the Autocar road tester has used over what now amounts to 90 years of the job.” The search yielded results disappointingly readily (see page 44). But it amused me most to find out that, while our timing gear’s plainly a bit more sophisticated and a lot more reliable today than it was even as recently as the 1990s, two things remain utterly irreplaceable as parts of it. With a tape measure and a roll of gaffer tape, all will be well. We even broke out the gaffer for our history-making figures…

The new Land Rover Defender has been spied testing on public roads for the first time as development of the rugged 4x4 ramps up ahead of its official 2020 on-sale date. The pictures show the new Defender in camo livery on the roads near the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Gaydon. Speaking at the Paris motor show, Jaguar Land Rover marketing chief Felix Bräutigam admitted their authenticity, confirming they were of the first prototype to leave Gaydon. Behind the usual disguise, the Defender’s bodywork looks to be approaching that of the finished product and the trademark boxy profile remains intact. Hints of the previous-generation Land Rover Discovery can also be seen in the front end, although the Defender looks to be shorter, with a lower roofline. “The first four test…

The upcoming Mercedes-AMG A45, due in 2019, will have a power output in excess of 400bhp to make it the most powerful hot hatchback in the world. Speaking to Autocar at the launch of the Mercedes-AMG A35 at the Paris motor show, AMG boss Tobias Moers said the A45 was the “next level of performance” for AMG in the hot hatch class. He confirmed that power from the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine due in “another year” will offer up more than 400 metric horsepower, meaning an output of around 410hp (404bhp) is expected. But Moers said the A45, which features a “totally new engine”, was “not just a power output” and would be a more engaging drive all round. He added: “It’s a better ride, better handling. There is no understeer. It’s an…