CAR UK July 2022

Ben Miller Editor That’s it then: The New Honda NSX will, come the end of the year, be The Old Honda NSX. And we’ll have to re-brand The Old NSX the The First NSX. You remember The First NSX: the lightweight, rear-drive, aluminium-skinned, jet fighter-glazed, Honda-in-its pomp masterpiece with the shrieking V6 and the pop-up lights. (The pop-ups died with the 2002 facelift. A shame, but pedestrians didn’t deserve the really quite significant pain the pop-ups could mete out.) If none of the above is ringing a bell, perhaps you’ll recall the first NSX as the car that starred, together with the great man’s fast-twitch and very natty loafers, in Ayrton Senna’s virtuoso-footwork video. (Search ‘Ayrton Senna’s heel-and-toe’ on YouTube.) Or, to keep things simple, maybe we just go for…

IN THE SPOTLIGHT No other acronym carries more weight within BMW’s M division. Munich’s athletic Coupe Sport Leichtbau cars have been winning championships, gracing art galleries and gate-crashing concours events ever since the first 3.0 CSL arrived as a homologation special back in 1971. BMW only ever brings out the name for very serious cars. Of course, wheeling out the CSL moniker makes sense this time round, with this heavily modified version of the M4. M division is in the throes of a rather off-the-chain (and what feels like three-yearlong) 50th birthday extravaganza, with birthday presents to itself being built, wrapped, given and unwrapped at a frankly alarming rate. The new, limited-run, £128,820 M4 CSL is one of them. Just 1000 will be built, with the UK being allocated 100…

BEN MILLER Editor, hopeless BMW fanboy, German cookery enthusiast COLIN OVERLAND Managing editor, man of taste, student of BMW’s rich design history CO: M cars are at their best when they look and feel (and cost) a lot like regular BMWs, just a bit perkier. This seems a long way removed from that. BM: I hear you, but at the same time I also wish this went further. This CSL uses the same playbook as 2016’s M4 GTS, created under Frank van Meel in his first stint as M boss, but there are no new ideas here. The GTS at least had water-injection, a neat system that lowered intake manifold temps, allowing for more boost and power. CO: Never mind how much weight has been saved: it’s still very heavy.…

Porsche 911 GT3 Our 2021 Sports Car Giant Test winner and the CSL’s closest rival in terms of track-focused ethos, price and power. It’s an absolute hero of a car and manages to be vastly faster around the ’Ring. Good luck getting your hands on one, though. Audi R8 Performance RWD Audi’s ace supercar isn’t long for this world, but its scintillating engine and rear-driven balance make it hard to ignore after years of ‘safe’ quattro versions. If all of the UK allocation of CSLs go in a flash (which they will), be safe in the knowledge you’ve got a good ’un here. Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm An already fun performance car made even sharper with lightweight carbonfibre and a new bodykit, as well as more power and the rear…

THE BIG LEAGUES While the Eletre SUV tackles the luxury SUV establishment, Lotus needs something to take on the Taycan. The as-yetunnamed ‘Type 133’, earmarked as an ‘E-segment four-door coupe’, is just the car. Like the Porsche, Lotus is planning on making rear- and all-wheeldrive versions when it launches next year. PUZZLE PIECES Lotus is evolving into a pure EV brand fast, with the Emira its last combustion-engined car. In 2024, another SUV smaller than the Eletre will arrive to boost revenues as part of Lotus’s new range of ‘lifestyle’ EVs. An EV sports car is planned for 2025. Alpine will take advantage of the Lotus sportster for its next-gen A110. BRIT POWER Geely ownership means Lotus Engineering is moving to Wuhan in 2024, but there’s plenty of British DNA…

‘AMG is reinventing itself,’ says its boss, Philipp Schiemer. Turns out it’s reinventing itself as a maker of pebble-smooth, aero-intensive machines like Merc’s EQXX prototype. This is the four-door Vision AMG, a slick concept penned by Gorden Wagener and his team. It previews AMG’s post-2025 aesthetic. AERO IS KING Taking many leaves out of the EQXX’s playbook of aerodynamic supremacy, the crease-less Vision AMG hides some clever tricks. The wheel rims are segmented, popping out to cool the brakes, while both front and rear splitters extend, to provide extra downforce and cut more cleanly through the air. Merc’s most classic colour combo is in full effect here, with teal blue touches highlighting AMG’s continued F1 presence and its motorsport history with the Silver Arrows. LIGHT SHOW AMG’s classic Panamericana grille…