Evo September 2021

IN OUR SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL OF TODAY’S new driver’s cars are we sometimes too quick to dismiss some because they don’t meet every aspect of our exacting criteria? I think we are. We shouldn’t accept lacklustre cars, and we don’t, which is why we’re struggling to find the appeal of the Mk8 Golf GTI and R models, hot hatches that feel like cars engineered to a delta over the outgoing versions rather than developed to maximise the potential of the new model. It feels as if VW has already closed the file on the Golf GTI and moved on. We’ve also struggled at times with Porsche’s 992-generation Carrera. It’s lacking that 911 soul we and so many have fallen for over the decades, and in the harsh light of road…

HAVE I ENTERED A SUBTLY ALTERNATE universe? A sort of steampunk wonderland, perhaps? For starters I’m in Wales and the sun is out, the grass bleached brown. Most unusual. Then there is the vehicle in front of me. Even the most fleeting of glances tells me it’s a Morgan: the flowing wings, the round headlights, the bonnet louvres. But this is also like no Morgan I have ever seen before. From the front, the quartet of spotlights ranked along the top of the windscreen is the first indication that something is out of joint. Then you clock the chunky tyres surrounding modern-looking rims, the raised ride height and extra cooling capability. But it’s at the back where things get really quirky; a T45 cage ensnares the rear half of the car…

FOR A FIRST-TIME EFFORT, THE ORIGINAL Hyundai i30 N was a pretty incredible car. It wasn’t perfect, though. The ride was a bit too fruity for the worst UK roads in its most aggressive damper modes, the seats could have been more supportive given the amount of grip the car could generate, and the engine, although potent, was never that smooth at the top end and in the mid-range, the flow of torque not quite as rich as it is in other big-hitting hot hatches. Hyundai’s response? A new, subtly improved version of the i30 N boasting a touch more power (5bhp), a bit more torque (10lb ft), revised suspension and the option of a pair of much more supportive lightweight sports seats (saving 2.2kg each). And if for some reason…

YOU COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR BEING A little overwhelmed by the sheer number of new R models being introduced in quick succession by Volkswagen at the moment. After a few years of restraint, keeping the badge exclusive to the Golf, in 2021 VW seems happy to slap its flagship performance letter and Lapiz Blue paint on pretty much anything with a modicum of performance intent. So with the Mk8 Golf R at one end of the spectrum and the disappointing Touareg R plug-in hybrid at the other, where does the Arteon R Shooting Brake fit in? Being an adoptee of VW’s MQB platform, the Arteon R Shooting Brake essentially hotfoots the Golf R’s powertrain into a larger estate body, then adds just enough R-specific design elements to keep it distinctive, but…

THIS IS THE NEW ASTON MARTIN VALHALLA. NO LONGER A concept, but a real representation of a car you’ll be able to buy in late 2023, with production limited to two years (’24 and ’25), fewer than 1000 units, and the sort of headline stats we’ve come to expect in these crazy times: 937bhp hybrid! Six hundred kilograms of downforce at 155mph! Nordschleife target lap time of 6:30! £700,000! Okay, we’ll stop now. Such statements have become an everyday part of the rapidly evolving supercar reality. So how do you cut through the noise? How does Aston Martin convince us that this is more than simply another moon-shot to save the company and emulate the incredible successes enjoyed by Ferrari? The key, it turns out, is to put the numbers and…

ARE THERE TWO BMWS CURRENTLY operating in this world? There’s the one that continues to transition to a manufacturer of electric vehicles via its iNext revolution, which isn’t really that revolutionary when you consider the i3 and i8 broke the mould over a decade ago and BMW has been waiting for others to catch up ever since. Then there is the century-old BMW, the one that gave us the ultimate driving machines, marvellous M-cars and, yes, SUVs. The one that built the traditional BMWs that many of us cut our teeth on when venturing into the world of driver’s cars that could also be used for daily chores and company-car duties, cars that for a while it appeared were no longer a priority to the company, there being a suggestion that…