Evo May 2022

THERE’S NO ESCAPING IT, THE THRILL of driving is harder to seek out with every passing day. In the pursuit of, quite rightly, catching the reckless and dangerous, every motorist has a higher probability of being snared in the authority’s net. The process is black and white: the camera caught you, here’s your fine. Shame the cameras can’t also catch the uninterested and dimwitted who drive at night with no lights on because they see an illuminated dashboard as confirmation someone has turned their dipped beam on for them, too. But it doesn’t have to be doom and gloom, because away from the congestion, the ANPR cameras and the Vauxhall Zafiras in stealth mode there are venues and activities up and down the country that allow you to go play and…

IT’S BEEN A YEAR SINCE WE FIRST WENT BEHIND THE scenes of RML’s fascinating Short Wheelbase project (evo 286). Since then much has happened. So much, in fact, that we rejoin the team at the Millbrook Proving Ground, where ‘Car Zero’ is undergoing detailed set-up work and extensive accelerated reliability and durability testing. Between that first visit to the studio and this test drive at Millbrook, we’ve visited RML’s Wellingborough HQ on a number of occasions to see Car Zero in build. As it has progressed, it’s clear the project is something that the wider RML workforce has embraced. When it was ready to be started for the first time, everyone in the building gathered round. Michael Mallock made a short speech, and then it was wall-to-wall smiles as the starter…

ONE THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED AND ninety kilos. No, that’s not a misprint, BMW’s new ‘junior’ sports coupe weighs 120kg more than the previous generation M4. And yes, we’re well aware of the improvements in occupant safety and that economies of scale mean exotic weight-saving materials aren’t always an option. And yes, we’d rather cars such as this existed than not. But seriously? A two-door BMW coupe tipping the scales at nearly 1.7 tons with a tank of fuel on board and no occupants? This needs to be good. When I gather myself, one initial thought is that the M240i xDrive will be a car defined by numbers. There’s not just that weight figure but also the not-so-small matter of 369bhp between 5500 and 6500rpm, and a numerically identical 369lb ft over…

AT THE END OF 2021 AUDI RATIONALISED the line-up of its R8 V10 supercar. Out went the entry-level quattro and RWD (rear-wheel drive) derivatives and in came the Performance RWD to accompany the Performance quattro that remains at the top of the tree. The RWD’s upgrade to Performance spec has seen its price increase by £12,460 to £129,785, while the ‘Edition’ trim level tested here – adding 20-inch wheels, carbon sideblades, black detailing, upgraded upholstery and a Bang & Olufsen sound system – takes the price up to £140,785, which is £16k below the quattro Edition and £26k less than the R8 RWD’s Italian relative, Lamborghini’s Huracán Evo RWD. As has been the case since 2015, the meat in the R8’s aluminium sandwich, regardless of the axles driven, is the 5.2-litre…

THIS IS IT THEN, THE END OF THE LINE FOR Aston Martin’s penchant for shoehorning twelve cylinders and over five litres of swept volume into the front of its smallest car. The new V12 Vantage marks the end of an era that began 15 years ago and delivered not only some spectacular Aston Martins, but a number of remarkable driver’s cars, too. The V12 Vantage is a concept that started with just that: the V12 Vantage RS Concept in 2007, created to mark the opening of Aston Martin’s then new Design Studio. In the intervening years the V12 Vantage has evolved to become one of the most desirable and sought-after Vantage models, the original V12, the V12 S with its seven-speed manual gearbox, the brutal GT12 and the bespoke Zagato editions…

THERE ARE CHALLENGING TIMES AHEAD for all car makers. In early 2021, the UK government confirmed that it would ban the sale of petrol- and diesel-engined new cars in 2030. Other governments around the world have announced similar plans with deadlines a few years later. Some large-volume car makers have announced the end of internal combustion engine (ICE) development, others that their range will be entirely BEV (battery electric vehicle) within a few years. But what will low-volume, specialist car makers do? There’s an argument that the environmental impact of the ICE cars of all specialist car makers combined is so small as to be indiscernible, another that the future of personal transport should logically contain a number of low-emission solutions alongside BEV, perhaps allowing hydrogen fuel cells and ICE running…