Autocar October 31, 2018

YOU MAY QUESTION the relevance of a 250mph, £1.75 million hypercar with a central driving position and a strictly limited production run that’s already been snapped up, yet to do so would do the quite incredible McLaren Speedtail a huge disservice. It’s so rare for a true ‘dream’ car to come along, the likes of which used to be found on posters on bedroom walls (as the McLaren F1 was for Speedtail designer Rob Melville) and now fill social media streams. The Speedtail’s spaceship looks – which won’t be to all tastes – and Top Trumps-winning stats will expose it and thus the industry to a far wider audience than any ‘conventional’ supercar might. Which young person wouldn’t want to be a car designer or engineer after seeing a Speedtail? The car’s significance…

Ford is putting the finishing touches to a new Focus ST, due to be unveiled at the start of next year. The launch of the hot hatch will follow that of the regular car this summer, and will be timed to beat the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI to market. A Ford insider has confirmed to Autocar that the new Focus ST will feature an updated version of the 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-cylinder engine found in the current Focus RS, albeit detuned from the 345bhp it currently puts out to suit the parameters of the ST’s front-wheel-drive platform. Initial speculation was that the current range-topping 1.5-litre engine in the standard Focus would be uprated to suit, but achieving the necessary power gains would push that unit beyond its reliable limit. Power output has yet…

YOU MAY QUESTION the relevance of a 250mph, £1.75 million hypercar with a central driving position and a strictly limited production run that’s already been snapped up, yet to do so would do the quite incredible McLaren Speedtail a huge disservice. It’s so rare for a true ‘dream’ car to come along, the likes of which used to be found on posters on bedroom walls (as the McLaren F1 was for Speedtail designer Rob Melville) and now fill social media streams. The Speedtail’s spaceship looks – which won’t be to all tastes – and Top Trumps-winning stats will expose it and thus the industry to a far wider audience than any ‘conventional’ supercar might. Which young person wouldn’t want to be a car designer or engineer after seeing a Speedtail?…

We held the last Focus ST in high esteem when the car was last updated in 2015. However, the hot hatchback game has moved up a level since then, with faster, grippier and more engaging debuts from the Hyundai i30 N and Honda Civic Type R. The latest Focus should, in theory, be an excellent basis for the ST – it has already fended off all of its major rivals (3 October issue) with its “outstanding driver appeal”. With less weight and more power expected, it remains to be seen whether an electronic diff set-up can help the hot Focus get that power down onto the road, or whether the Performance Pack would be the one to go for. Our hope is that Ford will retain the broad-batted appeal of the old car…

Ford is putting the finishing touches to a new Focus ST, due to be unveiled at the start of next year. The launch of the hot hatch will follow that of the regular car this summer, and will be timed to beat the Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI to market. A Ford insider has confirmed to Autocar that the new Focus ST will feature an updated version of the 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-cylinder engine found in the current Focus RS, albeit detuned from the 345bhp it currently puts out to suit the parameters of the ST’s front-wheel-drive platform. Initial speculation was that the current range-topping 1.5-litre engine in the standard Focus would be uprated to suit, but achieving the necessary power gains would push that unit beyond its reliable limit. Power output…

FORD HAS CONFIRMED it will not attend next year’s Geneva motor show – the second major European show it has skipped after Paris earlier this month. A Ford spokesman told Autocar that the timing of Geneva, opening its doors in March, “doesn’t meet our requirements” for product launches. “Rather than go to Geneva with relatively small news, we would rather do something later of our own that would give us more bang for our buck.” However, Ford does not intend to make a habit of missing major motor shows, citing Geneva and Detroit as two of its biggest priorities. Car makers have been putting motor shows under increasing scrutiny. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Vauxhall/Opel, Volkswagen and Volvo also had no presence at Paris this year.…