BBC Top Gear Magazine

@jack_rix editor@bbctopgearmagazine.com Hypercars and F1 have a lot in common. Nope, not the tech drip manufacturers insist their latest hyperthing is riddled with, but because the hype, anticipation and web of stories and scenarios before a new season or car launch is often more interesting than the driving itself. A line in Chris’ Valkyrie piece stopped me in my tracks: “It could be argued that these cars are better left as static objects and maybe demonstrated by others so we can all hear them and see them scream past.” A dedicated driver to parade your £2.5m purchase in front of you so you can revel in its beauty and aural firepower without sacrificing your spine and eardrums? Now there’s a hell of an optional extra. Don’t get me wrong, my enthusiasm for the Valkyrie’s…

# NEW CARS # ENTERTAINMENT # CAR CULTURE # CELEBRITY # GADGETS # GAMING 1 Most likely to deny Max Verstappen a title hat trick? LEWIS HAMILTON Red Bull’s punishment for breaking the cost cap in 2021 is less wind tunnel time in 2023. Mercedes has apparently cracked its porpoising woes. George Russell beat Lewis last year because he’s ace at dragging the best from a bad car, but in 2023 we reckon Hamilton will come out swinging for a deserved eighth title. 2 Least likely to be on speaking terms by the summer break? FERNANDO ALONSO & LAWRENCE STROLL A notoriously sensitive veteran world champion has gone to work for… a notoriously sensitive billionaire bankrolling an underperforming team. And his son just so happens to be the other driver. Aston Martin’s not going to be a…

David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away) British and Yorkshire icon Hockney teams up with Lightroom at its revolutionary new space in King’s Cross. Immerse yourselves in 60 years of his art, projected onto the massive walls. Si’thi’ there! Drive to Survive, Netflix Season five of the F1 circus is back to watch from 24 February. Feel the fury, survey the showmanship, relish the ruckus. The perfect pre-season entertainment TopGear magazine fix You can download the latest edition and back issues direct to your phone or tablet from the App Store. Because when life gives you lemons… settle in and read TGP 95th Academy Awards, 13 March Man the Oscars is oollllldddd. This year, the Irish and Brits will be out in force: Farrell, Gleeson, Riseborough, Condon, Mescal, Nighy, Deakins are each up for…

Picture the scene. A two-seat, rear-drive Italian roadster on a sinuous Amalfi coast road. Roof down, Champions League theme on the stereo, bowl of piping spaghetti alla vongole in your lap. What could be finer? In the case of the Fiat 124 Spider, quite a lot. There’s nothing like a truly great Italian sports car, and the 124 Spider was indeed nothing like a truly great Italian sports car. The fact it was based (heavily, heavily based) on the lovely Mazda MX-5 wasn’t really the issue, even if Fiat should have tried a bit harder than simply Ctrl+C/Ctrl+Ving the MX-5’s interior wholesale. After all, Italy has a grand history of taking a tried-and-tested donor car and… Italianifying it with prettier bodywork, rortier engines and sharper handling. But Fiat didn’t take the MX-5 and…

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the latest must-have accessory to help G-Class owners keep their 4x4s warm in these cold, dark times: a puffer jacket. Specifically, a puffer jacket made by Moncler. Welcome to Project Mondo G, officially designated an ‘art piece’ that debuted at London Fashion Week, presented in “an imaginary universe with low gravity”. We’re told the addition of Moncler’s “style defining” puffer jacket atop the G-Class allows for a delightful contrast: the sharp, decades-old look of the iconic G-Wagen mixed with soft, quilted textiles contributing to something that’s not far off a moon buggy. There’s a fair chunk of DesignSpeak at play here, suffice it to say the final piece weighs 2.5 tonnes and measures in at 3.4m wide with those moon buggy wheels. That’s nearly two Range Rover’s worth of wideness. We’re…

CHRIS HARRIS DRIVES… THE VALKYRIE We’ve finally got our mitts on the most extreme Aston ever. Hell, probably the most extreme car ever made. Harris grapples with ‘standard’ and track-only AMR Pro versions in Bahrain. Ear defenders required. FAST X TRAILER There’s proper old school street racing in the trailer for the new F&F film, with Jason Momoa’s villain in a Chevy Impala going head-to-head with Dominic Toretto in his classic Dodge Charger. Ride or die is back, folks. TOURING SINGER’S NEW FACTORY Purveyor of the world’s most achingly gorgeous reimagined 911s has moved house… to a new, shinier, 115,000 sq ft facility in Torrance, California. Ollie Marriage was in town, so popped in for a poke around. FERRARI PUROSANGUE vs THE DOLOMITES If it looks like an SUV and quacks like an SUV, is it an…