CAR UK October 2021

‘I just hope they realise its importance – it’s Jaguar’s Porsche 917’ Maybe it’s because I’m getting old. Maybe it’s because I caught the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the weekend, and few of the cars could be described as beautiful; certainly not the hypercars. Or maybe it’s just because I’m ignorant, and if you don’t know much you tend to go with the mainstream choice (like when you start drinking beer and think Fosters is fine). When it came to important old Jaguars, my thinking ran to the D-Type and E-Type and little further. Whatever the reason when I saw Jaguar’s Classic’s first finished C-Type Continuation I wasn’t ready for it, and the effect was profound. A half-eaten bagel dropped to the floor, my heart rate soared and I lost…

‘I just hope they realise its importance – it’s Jaguar’s Porsche 917’ Maybe it’s because I’m getting old. Maybe it’s because I caught the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the weekend, and few of the cars could be described as beautiful; certainly not the hypercars. Or maybe it’s just because I’m ignorant, and if you don’t know much you tend to go with the mainstream choice (like when you start drinking beer and think Fosters is fine). When it came to important old Jaguars, my thinking ran to the D-Type and E-Type and little further. Whatever the reason when I saw Jaguar’s Classic’s first finished C-Type Continuation I wasn’t ready for it, and the effect was profound. A half-eaten bagel dropped to the floor, my heart rate soared and…

Audi is planning a private jet for the road. Its latest concepts – the luxury-lounge GrandSphere and the morphing, open-top SkySphere – are proof of its lofty ambition. After a few false starts, it wants to go from business class to the VIP elite. Design boss Marc Lichte and his deputies – exterior head Philipp Romers, interior head Norbert Weber and senior design director of Audi America Gael Buzyn – have been tasked with creating a next-generation A8 to have Bentley worried. On this evidence, they might just manage it. While the brains behind the GrandSphere and SkySphere concepts have taken inspiration from classic coachbuilt Horch models, they are firmly future-orientated, with advanced self-driving capability, electric power and sustainability all front of mind. The five-door neo-GT GrandSphere, which will eventually replace the A8…

Audi is planning a private jet for the road. Its latest concepts – the luxury-lounge GrandSphere and the morphing, open-top SkySphere – are proof of its lofty ambition. After a few false starts, it wants to go from business class to the VIP elite. Design boss Marc Lichte and his deputies – exterior head Philipp Romers, interior head Norbert Weber and senior design director of Audi America Gael Buzyn – have been tasked with creating a next-generation A8 to have Bentley worried. On this evidence, they might just manage it. While the brains behind the GrandSphere and SkySphere concepts have taken inspiration from classic coachbuilt Horch models, they are firmly future-orientated, with advanced self-driving capability, electric power and sustainability all front of mind. The five-door neo-GT GrandSphere, which will eventually…

Bentley is already doing a fine job as the VW Group’s luxury badge. On average, a Bentley sells for around £200,000 – £28k of that being options added during the customisation process. The Crewe factory is flat-out. Its waiting list is growing – and its operating profit for the first half of 2021 stands at €178m, €113m more than in 2019. Room for Audi to get punchier on price, then? Looks that way. The German marque could push well north of £100,000 while still leaving plenty of headroom to Bentley’s patch. Mercedes has similar ambitions. As Audi heads upmarket it’ll find itself up against the upcoming Maybach version of the Mercedes EQS.…

Bentley is already doing a fine job as the VW Group’s luxury badge. On average, a Bentley sells for around £200,000 – £28k of that being options added during the customisation process. The Crewe factory is flat-out. Its waiting list is growing – and its operating profit for the first half of 2021 stands at €178m, €113m more than in 2019. Room for Audi to get punchier on price, then? Looks that way. The German marque could push well north of £100,000 while still leaving plenty of headroom to Bentley’s patch. Mercedes has similar ambitions. As Audi heads upmarket it’ll find itself up against the upcoming Maybach version of the Mercedes EQS.…