Car UK 08.2022_downmagaz.net

First drives Badge says The fat-rimmed steering wheel is comple- Countach, but mented by the world’s longest shift paddles. interior is neither There are some vaguely modern features, retro nor up to date like air-con and a basic infotainment system framed by ancient Audi switchgear. Judged purely in 2022 supercar terms, it And don’t even mention the scant 63 litres of never truly excels on winding B-roads, luggage space because of its size and ride quality A naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre engine is Are we ready to lift the red metal flap driving position and that inherent inkling certainly not what the eco doctor ordered. and unleash the devil inside? At the first of light initial understeer soften to a degree Forget for a moment the fig-leaf hybrid roundabout, still in second gear, we turn the explosive handling demonstrated to nonsense. What matters here is the brutal, left, heading for the hills toward Pavullo, perfection by the Huracan Tecnica. The tuneful delivery of all that power and Ferrari test driver heartland. Although the Countach LPI 800-4 is much harder work. torque. The multi-vocal tune of the airflow road out west is bumpy, the Lambo wastes Dialling in and unwinding lock can be an over, under and through the car changes no time playing Pac-Man with the flock of arm-twisting business, bracing yourself for constantly in sync with speed, tempera- Stilos, Puntos, Bravos and Cinquecentos. ruts, bumps and potholes siphons attention ture and aero needs. Valves, chains and With 769bhp on tap from the V12 alone, and energy, the fat A-posts keep interfering camshafts, the vast intake manifolds, the and 34 spare electric horses waiting in the with your field of vision through second- quad-pipe exhaust – they all combine into wings, 30mph feels like barely moving at all, and third-gear corners, and the visibility a glorious racket of intense grunting and 60mph is hardly worth one more upshift, from the B-posts backwards is practically growling, screaming and shouting. 80mph creates a bit of a breeze at last, but zero, although the reversing camera does it takes a foray into triple-figure territory to help to contain major embarrassments. When parked, it’s an easy nine out of summon the driver’s full attention. 10. When it’s moving, make that 11. At full The seats, dashboard and door panels speed, it transcends normal ideas of what Despite its elaborate carbonfibre chassis are trimmed in supple red and black leather a car looks and sounds like. It could easily and that tourbillon-complex 12-cylinder with contrasting white stitching – nice. Less pass as a taxiing jet, a two-seat hovercraft, engine, the LPI 800-4 feels decidedly appealing are the plasticky rocker switches. an alien object preparing for take-off… more high-mech than high-tech. For a start, it does not ride well at all on its dou- Judged purely in 2022 supercar terms, ble-wishbone pushrod suspension with not the LPI 800-4 never truly excels on winding particularly forgiving adaptive magnaride B-roads peppered with hairpins, recurrent dampers. Although the front axle is fitted surface imperfections and camber changes, with a quicklift feature – the car’s 40mm because of its size and its flawed ride quality. lower than the Huracan Spyder – the low-flying nose keeps bottoming out. Some Grip and traction are available in more user-friendly settings would have abundance, and the brakes reel it in with been welcome. reassuring repeatability, but it’s most at home on very fast A-roads or anywhere it At 12.5 metres, the turning circle is not can use its second-to-none 125-to-220mph excessively wide, but the cab-forward urge, ground-effect roadholding, and full-on feedback all the way to the limit. Be prepared, though, for occasional brusque cornering antics, high-speed tramlining, susceptibility to crosswinds, even mild lift- off aftershocks. To get the best out of this Lamborghini, find a wide open road and treat yourself to the car’s many talents while keeping an eye on its few shortcomings. Or look for a catwalk-quality boulevard and enjoy watching others marvel at this rare piece of street furniture from behind an ice-cold champagne cocktail. GEORG KACHER First verdict Highly emotional and visually striking, but the rebooted Countach is too pricey, violable and unwieldy to make sense ★★★★★ PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE €2.4m 6498cc 48v V12 plus 803bhp @ 8500rpm, 1595kg (dry) 14.5mpg, Now (all 112 e-motor, seven- 531lb ft @ 6750rpm, 440g/km CO2 sold) Data speed automatic, 2.8sec 0-62mph, all-wheel drive 221mph AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 51

The C43 scores with its composed handling and ace roadholding 52 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

First drives MERCEDES-AMG C43 The brawn ultimatum Yes, you can still get a rapid saloon. No, it won’t have a big-bore V6 The roads between Strasbourg and Mul- Remember when Merc interiors were just two stalks and an ashtray? house, just on the French side of the border Revolution with Germany, are busy, bumpy and ar- make the grade either. It felt as if its black THE FIRST HOUR under the hood; row-straight for miles on end. Although box was filled with sedatives, not aphrodisi- 2minutes there is a glorious mountain range beckon- acs. There were plenty of situations when evolution ing west of the Rhine, getting there involves pick-up and turbo lag equalled that of an Gentlemen, start everywhere else enduring speed restrictions that these days Audi V6 diesel – for instance, when arriving your engines. And are vigorously enforced, even on the most at a stop sign, eager to join cross traffic. The notice that it’s only minor roads. hesitant throttle response returns when the artificial sounds cruising in a tall gear in Comfort, which Not the ideal terrain to launch an AMG forces the accelerator to take a deep dive that make it model? Patience, my friends, because the before the transmission responds and kicks interesting landscape does eventually open up, the butt. The AMG engineers are aware of this 12 minutes forest gives way to wide open plains, and deficiency, citing software issues which are Lots of speed you can suddenly see for miles. At last, the allegedly as good as fixed. bumps and Mercedes-AMG C43 is free to roam. cameras on this Based on our test car, the C43 contains a route. Boring… There’s much to investigate. This new car dash of frustration which confirms that 20 minutes keeps the C43 name but drops the old V6 in progress can be a double-edged sword. Oh here we go. And favour of a version of AMG’s mild-hybrid there’s lots to enjoy four-pot. It also brings a new gearbox and As also found in the current AMG 45, the 55 minutes standard rear-wheel steering, along with four-cylinder on steroids develops 402bhp It’s a good car, but many other changes. at 6750rpm and a feisty 369lb ft at an above- very different the-clouds 5000rpm. It has what Mercedes Good news first. The new C-Class offers calls an electric exhaust gas turbocharger, ▲ more space, comfort, refinement and tech- which put simply means that at low revs the PLUS nology than the previous generation. The turbo gets some electronic assistance, to (in Well sorted AMG sports seats are spot-on, the driving theory at least) eliminate lag. It’s tied in with chassis; position suits all frames and postures, and the mild-hybrid system, in which surplus reassuring the level of equipment is impressive. In the energy is stored in a 48-volt battery, which steering; goes UK, there are two versions. Premium, priced works with a belt-driven starter-generator from £64,110, and Premium Plus, for an to ease the burden on the engine and well extra £4000, which turns 19-inch alloys into regular 12-volt electrics, for greater efficien- MINUS 20s and adds a panoramic sunroof. cy and responsiveness. ▼ The C43 also scores with its composed The C43 is, as before, available as both a Throttle lag; handling, ace roadholding and benign be- saloon and an estate. The estate, priced at rough ride on big haviour in the zone separating drama from just £600 more than the saloon, is slightly wheels; too little disaster. All in all, the Benz with the taller and longer, but has the same wheel- benefit from too dogbone front bumper, the black rear apron base and the same power output; its much tech sausage wrapping four fat tailpipes, and the 0-62mph time is a mere 0.1sec slower. Both tiny wee air deflector on the bootlid is an have 4Matic all-wheel drive. ⊲ easy car to befriend. It finds the right rhythm almost by itself, morphs easily with the flow, is not a chatter- box but is communicative in a pleasantly pragmatic manner. The engine has its merits, too. It is eager to rev, neither rough nor rowdy and quite energetic considering the bonsai displacement and the reduced number of cylinders. But there’s also bad news. There are a lot of menus and sub-menus to be negotiated in order to perform what should be simple functions, and those dreaded tiny shiny touchsliders cover the busy five-spoke steer- ing wheel like a rash of monkey pox. The drivetrain of the test car did not AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 53

Ride and handling both good, but avoid big wheels We drove the saloon, which weighs More room in 1840kg, accelerates from zero to 62mph in the back than 4.6sec and maxes out at a restricted 155mph. the last C43 The official fuel consumption is in the low 30s; the test car managed 19.4mpg as we The electrification hardware almost whipped it through the Alsatian mountains neutralises the four’s weight advantage from the wooded foothills to the bald peaks. Comfort to secure a minimum of compli- C43 that is highly impressive. It suggests What are the main changes over the pre- ance before dealing with the dynamic that the more powerful C63 – a four-cylin- vious model? As well as rear-wheel steering temptations. The transmission in Sport and der plug-in hybrid – could be very interesting now being standard, the 4Matic AWD the engine in Sport Plus is our favourite indeed; its unveiling is imminent. hardware is rear-biased at a fixed rate of 31 to choice for that coveted full-throttle punch 69 per cent, and the transmission has at low to medium revs. And although the price and performance gained a ninth ratio. The extra hardware in- aren’t a terribly neat match (as the Merc is volved in the electrification almost On top of all this there is AMG Dynamics, less powerful and less expensive), the new 43 neutralises the weight advantage of the four which offers three additional detail calibra- brings an extra dimension to the eternal over the discontinued V6, but since every tions (Basic, Advanced, Pro) activated by comparison between the C-Class and its kilo counts the axle load balance is margin- tweaking the ESP and steering settings. German rivals, the Audi RS4 and BMW ally yet quantifiably more neutral and thus a Software nerds may be tempted, but the rest M3/4 – rivals that have not gone hybrid. little less nose-heavy. of us won’t miss much by ignoring it. GEORG KACHER The variable-rate speed-sensitive steering The new C43’s numbers leave little to be can be tweaked by changing the drive mode. desired. But the switch from a big V6 to a First verdict Comfort equals less effort and a more smaller, electronically enhanced four-cylin- relaxed gearing, Sport plus tightens the der engine has significantly changed the If what you liked most about the old C43 reins. The rear-wheel steering – which aids way in which those numbers are delivered. was its engine, then please move along. manoeuvrability at low speeds and stability Happily, there’s much about the rest of the But the new one is a fine sports saloon at higher speeds – is only noticeable if you ★★★★★ drive the old and new cars back to back. Adaptive dampers are also standard, as part of the AMG Ride Control suspension system. To combine the friendliest ride with maximum agility, choosing one of the set dynamic menus is not an option. Instead, it’s best to go for the configurable Individual setting and lock the shock absorbers in PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE From 1991cc 16v e-turbo 402bhp @ 6750rpm, 1840kg 31.4-31.7mpg Summer £64,110 four-cyl, mild hybrid, 369lb ft @ 5000rpm, (official), 19.4mpg Data nine-speed auto, 4.6sec 0-62mph, (tested), 196- all-wheel drive 155mph 206g/km CO2 54 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

First drives MERCEDES-AMG EQE 53 course if you take advantage of the power THE FIRST HOUR the driving range shrinks fast. But accept 1 minute AMG magic the limitations, and you can in short bursts enjoy the explosive power delivery and Different grille, Turns out the performance division’s seamless supercar performance. The different wheels, brilliance transfers to EVs just fine optional AMG Dynamic Plus pack, which aero bodywork: briefly boosts the output to 677bhp and you can tell it’s the ▲ Three little letters that mean so much. No, 738lb ft, makes this 2.5-tonner accelerate in PLUS not EQE. I’m talking about AMG, which 3.3sec from 0-62mph, at least as long as the AMG one Awesome has turned the solid if rather unexciting state of charge has not dropped below 70 3 minutes performance; well EQE – you can see more about the 350+ per cent – that’s Ferrari Roma territory. Hyperscreen is an sorted chassis version elsewhere in the issue – into the option, not and steering; most convincing electric Mercedes so far. Long before the battery is running on available on the clever route and empty, the system is, cleverly, guiding you to 350. Not essential, charge planning It only takes a few minutes to discover the closest, least expensive and currently but visually how different it is. The 53 is a lot quicker, unoccupied high-performance charger. dramatic totally poised, nicely balanced, and more 5 minutes rewarding to drive overall. Although clearly The steering feels meatier, more direct A choice of fake part of the same family, this is the kid that and more communicative than the EQE engine sounds. got all the good Christmas presents: two 350+. The two motors do an ace job Fortunately, also e-motors instead of one, all- rather than orchestrating the ever changing torque the option to turn rear-wheel drive, air suspension and a split, which only goes full rear-bias when them all off superbly tuned chassis. ESP is switched off completely. The 9 minutes rear-wheel steering shortens the virtual It’s very quick when The UK price has not yet been confirmed, wheelbase through tight first and sec- you floor it but we expect it to start at more than £100k, ond-gear bends, where the EQE feels 10 minutes before you start adding options like the almost as chuckable as an A-Class. And the range full-width Hyperscreen. As standard, the drops very quickly AMG interior is brightened by red accents If you’re in the market for a high-end EV, when you floor it and matte aluminium details. don’t buy before you have driven this one. 39 minutes Rides more You have 617bhp and 701lb ft at your right GEORG KACHER smoothly than the foot. The maximum range indicated C43, driven on the simultaneously is more than 320 miles. Of First verdict same roads More desirable than the EQS 53 and a much more satisfying car to drive than the EQE 350+, although expensive  ★★★★★ MINUS PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE ▼ From 90.6kWh battery, 617bhp, 701lb ft, 3.5sec 2525kg £105,000 dual e-motors, 0-62mph, 137mph 2.7-3.1 miles per kWh Autumn Expensive; rough Data (est) all-wheel drive (official), 1.6 (tested), ride on optional 276-322-mile range, 21-inch wheels 0g/km CO2 Saloon with supercar pace: yup, AMG’s still got it AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 55

TOYOTA SUPRA Stirring the Sup Two-door coupe gets manual gearbox option and chassis tweaks It doesn’t seem long ago that CAR was field- Manual shift action is easy and rewarding THE FIRST HOUR ing complaints from Toyota for headlining 1 minute our first drive of the 2007 Auris with a com- 38kg drop in kerbweight, thanks to the parison to magnolia paint: bland, lighter gearbox, alloys and infotainment. Spot the manual by unexceptional, sensible. Fast forward a few red Supra script on years and some spicier colours have been in- The manual transmission is only availa- troduced, thanks to the Gazoo Racing ble on the 3.0-litre straight-six, not the 2.0 the rump division. First the GR Supra in 2019, then four-pot, which remains auto only. Out on 7 minutes the crackerjack GR Yaris in 2020 and – as track, the Supra feels a natural fit with three Going for DIY seat you’ll read in this month’s cover story – the pedals: the clutch pedal and driveline cali- adjustment saves recently rebadged and brilliant GR86. bration are athletic without that over-chunky weighting that used to mark 5kg This represents a startling turnaround by out Nissan’s Z cars. 19 minutes the world’s biggest car maker. Toyota clearly You sit lower with sees the merit in sports cars, even as the We test the Supra around the expansive non-electric seats, world pivots to electrification. In fact, the Monteblanco track near Seville, where the making the car feel breadth of Toyota’s ambition is staggering. I car feels more alive with a DIY wand to hand love that it pioneered hybrids with the Prius, than the arcade-game auto; there’s a new bigger makes the jungle-spec Land Cruiser 4x4, rev-matching syncro function that blips the 32 minutes boasts a reliability record the envy of throttle on downshifts, which helps on Straight-six sounds Europe, and invests in tomorrow with acclimatisation laps, though it’s more fun to great, manual ’box hydrogen fuel cells. have a go yourself. easy to cog-swap 59 minutes Unlike the sold-out GR86, the GR Supra But the 2022 Toyota Supra feels bigger Shame we can’t hasn’t exactly set the sales charts alight, but and heavier and lurchier than the GR86 we drive on road: this it does a good job of connecting the Toyota drive back-to-back around the same circuit: test is track only… brand with the Fast & Furious generation it’s more of a brutal car than its smaller GR who grew up dreaming of earlier Supras. brethren and this comparison robs it of the ▲ delicacy we’ve come to admire in the Yaris PLUS This launch is mostly about the new and 86. Engineering a manual ’box helps, More choice; manual gearbox, with a #SaveTheManual but we’re not quite sure it’s enough to make more handiwork; hashtag. Contrary to what many premium us fall in love with the Supra all over again. less weight; less brands report, Toyota is insistent there is money demand for a stick shift: it predicts a 46 per TIM POLLARD MINUS cent take-up in Europe – countering reports at Porsche and Ferrari that people are First verdict ▼ deserting manuals in droves for paddleshift Slower, thirstier, automatics. It’s a bespoke six-speed trans- Toyota continues to treat us with GR dirtier than auto; mission, requiring a redesign of the centre models – but manual Supra lacks the manual not as console to stop the driver’s knuckles knock- pizzazz of Yaris and 86 involving as GR ing the heating controls. ★★★★★ siblings It’s accompanied by a series of other tech- nical changes across the Supra line-up, with sturdier suspension bushes front and back, retuned dampers and reprofiled power steering – all designed to sharpen the han- dling. There’s even a Hairpin+ mode, Toyota-speak for drift mode, allowing a degree of tail-wagging on tight corners. Accompanying this newfound agility is a PRICE POWERTRAIN PERFORMANCE WEIGHT EFFICIENCY ON SALE Red badge £53,495 2998cc 24v 335bhp @ 5000rpm, 1577kg 35mpg (est), Late 2022 means turbocharged six-cyl, 369lb ft @ 1600rpm, 198g/km CO2 it’s a manual Data six-speed manual, 4.6sec 0-62mph, Supra; all Euro rear-wheel drive 155mph GRs now available with a self-shifter 56 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

First drives The clutch pedal and driveline calibration are athletic without over-chunky weighting AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 57

Opinion SPONSORED BY WALTON MAGIC + LE A SE WOE S + A STON MARTIN MUST LIVE ! Letter Where’s the EV for me? people’s car for the electric age but of the Thanks for the very interesting VW sales policy seems like commu- month article in the May issue comparing nist-era Russia: you get a choice of various BEVs, including actual one model and have to wait months A crying shame miles/kWh and practical range for delivery. figures. Now I know that at present The pictures of the new V12 version of the manufacturers mostly need to aim at To actually withdraw models in Aston Vantage in your June issue make it look the luxury end of the market in order high demand seems unbelievable. absolutely gorgeous – a far cry from the earlier to muster a reasonable profit margin, ‘gummy’ manifestations of this current gener- but I’m looking forward to the day Paul Daws ation of Vantage. when we can buy a family vehicle with (say) 8.0sec 0-60mph, 120mph Not so clever There are clearly some great talents at work flat out (but able to do 90-plus all Has Smart just made a hash of its at Gaydon. And, judging by Ben Barry’s fine day), and a range of at least 500 miles, founding idea with the #1? Jake the words, it’s not just great design talents – this even on a wet winter’s night. Perhaps Sceptic and Curtis the Convert had sounds very much like a car to be driven. for £40k-ish, not five figures. their say (Insider, June) but you better trust the previous owner. The So it’s hugely frustrating and annoying and But that’s not yet. Put that togeth- ForTwo was second to none in interi- disappointing – if not actually surprising – to er with the (thus far) inadequate or space – ask the 6ft 4in human who read on the CAR website that Aston’s boss charging infrastructure, and the moved house with it twice. Tobias Moers has gone, after less than two non-trivial question of where all the years in the job, and there are clearly many electricity is going to come from, and This one, though, with its podgy problems to be addressed. I’m very much looking forward to my crossover looks and high S-Class new 320d in a few weeks’ time. tunnel console, has traded brilliant I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking and occupant packaging for gleaming hoping that this time – with Lawrence Stroll’s Andrew Fogg new outer packaging. I guess that has business nous and Moers’ AMG-honed engi- something to do with the hashtag neering rigour – it would be different, and that I want the one I can’t have era: style over substance. E-Class in- Aston wasn’t about to take one of its periodic I was disappointed to read in your terior space, really? detours into the run-off area. But it seems I May edition EV Giant Test that VW was being over-optimistic. has closed the UK order books for all Maxime Engels-Deutsch but one model of the ID.3. There It can’t be easy to transition to electric, but must be thousands of potential Posterity calling surely there must be a way to keep this bril- buyers like me interested in the Has Mark Walton ever considered liance alive. Not that I have any of the answers 45kWh model with a view to getting compiling his one-pagers into a – just a fervent hope. the government £1500 grant before it book? For connoisseurs, a much Will EvansBOTB-CAR-Mar-2021-65x40mm.pdf 1 10/03/2021 is taken away. more tasteful set of musings than Clarkson’s ramblings. I’d be hon- The ID.3 was meant to be the new oured to receive a signed first edition. Check the Bill Haynes badge: this really is a Smart 16:07 YOURCADRREAAWMAITS! 2 GUARANTEED WEEKLY WINNERS ALL CARS IN THE DREAM CAR COMPETITION NOW COME WITH £50,000! 58 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Enough of that nonsense RS drivers not which I am interested in purchasing, lifetime, what is the alternative to I have been a fan of leases for the last interested in so when you got the new Audi RS3 on diesel? few years as a cost-effective way of performance- your test fleet I eagerly awaited a re- Frank Eltham getting into nice new cars that I oth- enhancing al-world review. There’s so much to erwise wouldn’t be able to drive until tech? Really? talk about: the performance, the Gripping yarns they were three or more years old. Alfa Tonale: economy, the reaction it prompts… In your interesting GBU Bonus Five on tip toes about AMGs in the May issue, reader However, my latest experience of But no, in the June issue all we get Jasmin Banks-Lee claims that her handing a car back has been infuriat- is half a page about a button and Mercedes-AMG GT’s tyres have ing, with various claims for Drift mode, which nine out of 10 lasted 26,000 miles and are still non-existent damage, supposedly people who buy this car will barely, if going. Many of us would dream of unpaid tax, etc. Scare tactics and in- ever, use. such tyre life; my rather more practi- competence combined have resulted cal E-Class Coupe has seen very poor in over £2000 worth of bills landing I could have walked into an Audi tyre wear despite moderate road-on- on the mat which some poor souls showroom and looked at said button. ly use and never invoking oversteer. might be intimidated enough to pay. I don’t need half a page to tell me I’ve just put on a set of Hankooks and I fully expect in a few years’ time this about it. would be delighted if I get just 18k out will make a lot of lawyers rich in a of them. similar way to the mis-selling of PPI David Dingwall Lance Allen and diesel cars etc. This was one of a series of Reading isn’t voting I have no need for a lease car now, reports that between them will I feel that I must take issue with Alan courtesy of work vehicles, so I’ve cover all aspects of the car. And Melady, writer of the Letter of the gone Gavin Green’s route and bought Drift mode is part of the new Month in your June issue. a 13-year-old low-mileage Subaru Torque Splitter tech that Audi is diesel to do my bit for the environ- very proud of, so it’s our job to Most people who read your excel- ment. It doesn’t tell me to look where put it to the test. BB lent magazine are car enthusiasts, so I’m going or when to have a rest there is bound to be a lot of mourn- either. Which is nice. Charge of the heavy brigade ing for the end of the petrol engine, Towing is rarely mentioned when as this does contribute to the general Keith Hills EVs are being reviewed. Caravans, character of those cars that we know, larger trailers and horse boxes may love, lust after etc. Have other readers felt ripped be a minority market, but what to off at the end of a lease? Share do? The few reviews I’ve seen on While 2030 sees the end of new your experiences and perhaps towing appear to knock at least 50 petrol-engined cars, it does not mean we can help one another avoid per cent from the range. the end of the petrol engine – ⊲ getting conned. CO I foresee several issues. Reduced Have your say: Suspect aspect ratio range means stops every 100-120 The Alfa Tonale is a very pretty car, miles. Many charging bays lack the VIA EMAIL though I surely can’t be the only one space for a car plus a caravan. Anyone [email protected] to think it also looks a smidge too regularly towing with an EV is likely narrow. It is too tall for its width, no? to choose a vehicle with a big battery, VIA TWITTER Particularly evident in the pure front so are likely to occupy the bays for a @CARmagazine and rear pictures in the March issue long time (if they can get in). And if it of CAR. all goes wrong, the recovery services VIA FACEBOOK will have a hard time. facebook.com/CARmagazine Rod Davies Hybrids are an alternative up to a VIA POST The wrong stuff point, but most are petrols, which CAR, Media House, Lynchwood, I’ve been a subscriber for many years, limits their range. Peterborough, PE2 6EA and I especially enjoy Our Cars, which seems to reflect the real world As there seems to be no chance for and the way we use our cars. five-minute hydrogen fuelling in my I especially look forward to cars AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 59

Opinion plenty of people are currently driving Double the was some ‘spare’ renewable energy seem to put people off buying them – around in perfectly serviceable cars weight, bung an for cars) by which time new EVs and when given the choice of a light, that are 10, 15, 20-plus years old (and SUV body on it, should be significantly more effi- agile, good-looking sports car, they that’s not including beloved classics), sales success cient, with the current ones verging don’t buy it. so people will still be driving such guaranteed on obsolescence. cars in 2040, 2045, etc – these cars are Do not try this People, eh? not going to just disappear overnight. at home. You I would also be cautious buying an Peter Stocks might damage EV based on current costings. The Finally, just because people read your 956 government will be suffering a huge Or is the problem simply that the articles on EVs doesn’t mean that shortfall in tax from motorists as Porsche alternative is so good? they are about to buy one; I read more and more people switch to EVs True, the Cayman is heavier and pretty much every article in the and there will surely be a tipping more expensive, but not by such magazine (and another magazine) point at which time EVs themselves big margins that buyers take the every month purely because I have an are targeted. French option. CO interest in cars. I am not so blinkered that I’ll only read articles about cars Ian Tatler New laws of physics, please that I would consider buying. I’ll read Your article in the June issue about about EVs (I have no intention of Hen’s teeth endurance racing Porsches remind- buying an EV any time soon), diesels I saw an Alpine A110 the other day, ed me of my visit to the Porsche (never owned one in 30-plus years, bright orange, being driven with Museum in Stuttgart, while en route and not likely to), £100k-£200k SUVs some vigour. It made me smile. It also from Inverness to Lake Como in our (even though I do not have £100k to made me think: okay, well that 1999 Boxster. spend on any car). makes it two that I’ve seen since the A110 went on sale. Clearly this is not a One of the many excellently pre- So I don’t think I’ve moaned – I scientifically precise sample, but two sented exhibits that stuck in my have tried to spell out a few facts in- examples of a car that’s been around mind was the 956, accompanied by terspersed with a few opinions, long enough to merit a midlife this note: ‘According to the theory of hopefully valid ones. facelift seems not so much rare as downforce, when this Porsche 956 completely uncooked. reaches a speed of 321.4km/h it could Sydney Dott theoretically drive on ceilings.’ As you say in your review in the Don’t rush May issue, it’s impressively light, agile Keep up the great work on the At the risk of boring Alan Melady and easy on the eye. What more do mag, even covering those cars that I further (June letters), he needs to ap- people want? No wonder other cars will never be able to afford! preciate that EVs are not for keep getting heavier and uglier, John Thornton everyone, not just yet anyway. Yes, because being heavy and ugly doesn’t governments are pushing the shift to Did you watch James Taylor’s zero emissions, but for the foreseea- video? It’s on the CAR YouTube ble that’s only at the tailpipe. It will channel. Science and emotion be quite a while until there is enough intersect perfectly in those renewable energy to meet the Porsche endurance racers. CO demand for just home and business use, and only then will EVs in reality Hy horse start using any renewable energy. With regard to Gavin Green’s column (June issue) in which he wonders I have nothing against EVs, and if one suited my circumstances now I would consider one. However, this would not be in the mistaken belief that I would be helping the planet. If that was my aim I would definitely wait a few years (at least until there 5 MOST READ STORIES ON CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 1 New Range Rover Sport: the full story 2 All-electric Audi RS6 e-Tron in the works 3 The Mercedes-AMG One is finally here 4 Alfa Tonale review: make-or-break crossover 5 Toyota GR86: close to affordable perfection 60 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Subscription hotline 01858 438884 or visit greatmagazines.co.uk/car CAR magazine, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Tel 01733 468000 Email [email protected] or visit us at www.carmagazine.co.uk Display advertising 01733 366312 Classified advertising 01733 366310 what Colin Chapman would think But where’s the Short-termism EDITORIAL about the Lotus Eletre, he would hydrogen I read in your long-term test of the surely be appalled. The mass of these Eletre? Come Range Rover Velar (Our Cars, June) Editor SUVs requires more energy to move on, Lotus… that ‘typically you can’t run on elec- Ben Miller and build them. ‘Add lightness’ tric until the car’s warmed up’. What Editor-in-chief means using less energy and of is the point of that? Phil McNamara course ‘zero emissions’ is a myth. Managing editor My one-mile run to the supermar- Colin Overland Has anybody critically looked at ket will be done on petrol/diesel, not Deputy features editor the copper required for the electric electricity, as the car won’t be warm James Taylor motor windings that would be – isn’t that exactly the sport of urban Deputy news editor needed by completely embracing trip that should be on electric as Jake Groves all-electric vehicles worldwide?! much as possible? New cars editor Whatever, an eventual change to hy- Alan Taylor-Jones drogen power is inevitable. Daft, in my opinion. Digital editorial director Tim Pollard Alan Froy Steve Rhodes Online editor Curtis Moldrich Why would you? INSTANT REACTIONS VIA FACEBOOK Art director On a recent journey from Sunder- Mal Bailey land to Southampton in my BMW BMW M4 CSL Editors-at-large 320i M Sport Plus I achieved an Chris Chilton, Mark Walton, average 55mpg. 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‘In a frenzied four years Mini, Range Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce all regained world leadership’ T wenty years ago, the British motor industry was trans- formed (by the Germans) and since then our sceptred isle has been the world’s foremost produc- er of luxury cars. From English Patient to English Paradigm. As we greet the arrival of a new Range Rover, the world’s best luxury SUV, it’s an appropriate time to look the refinement, comfort and luxury of an S-Class with all the off- road prowess of a Land Rover. It was an astonishing technical back and see how, during a heady period from 2000-2003, the British achievement and, ever since, the Range Rover has been the aspiration of all rival luxury SUVs, as well as the original inspiration. motor industry went from cost-cutting producers of shoddily assem- Now there’s a new Range Rover, recently sampled. I’m a fan of bled but often cleverly engineered cars, to the makers of world-best design director Gerry McGovern’s ‘reductionist’ architectural style and, instead of the graceless fuss and frill of a Bentayga, or those ma- Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Range Rovers. When it comes to top-end chismo monsters from BMW or Mercedes, or Lexus’s tangle of angles, we find an elegantly simple SUV shape, fine stance and luxury, the Germans can’t even get close. minimal ornamentation. The cabin is a ‘less is more’ design master- class. Perceived quality, so often a Land Rover failing, is exceptional. Yet our German friends were responsible for the revivification of On the road, it’s astonishingly refined: only a Rolls Ghost or all three marques, just as they were for Mini. Equally astonishingly, Phantom, or Mercedes’ electric EQS, is more silent. Ride comfort, suspended on its big air cushions, is exemplary. It’s not an exciting one man oversaw all bar the Bentley renaissance – BMW’s engineer- drive, less engaging than a Cayenne and less spirited than a Bentayga or BMW. Rather, Range Rovers waft with almost Rolls-Royce sereni- ing boss Wolfgang Reitzle. ty. Anyway, if you want real driving engagement, don’t buy an SUV. In the late ’90s, before BMW infused its magic, Rolls-Royce made This superyacht for the street can almost play superyacht in the water too, wading up to 900mm, and able to clamber up dizzying stately saloons of hand-crafted Edwardian virtue but equally antique steep gradients. No rival comes close in all-terrain dexterity. technology. Bentley was the same, not least because Bentleys were And if, like all big luxury SUVs, the latest Range Rover is about as forward-looking in our new green-and-Greta world as a 32oz T-bone, the same. They were badge-engineered Rollers, with a few excep- then that is a huge challenge for JLR (and rivals), but for which new CEO Thierry Bolloré has a zero-carbon plan. It won’t be easy. tions such as the turbocharged engine on the Turbo R. Meanwhile, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mini sail ma- That era’s Range Rover, the P38A, had a ladder-frame chassis and jestically on. Now we must see if Jaguar, Aston Martin and Lotus, serial underachievers all, but with new investment and ambitious beam axles, a 4x4 adorned with luxury appliqué, not a luxury car. plans, can follow suit. Then there’s Mini: a ’50s curio of undoubted genius, the most And what was Gavin Green doing between 2000 and 2004? Being the world’s leading automotive commentator. No reinvention required space-efficient car of all, but by the time BMW (and Reitzle) began work on the new Mini, it was 40 years old and felt it. Then, in arguably the most frenzied and fertile few years in British motor industry history, along came the Mini (2000), Range Rover L322 (2002), Bentley Continental GT (2003) and the Rolls-Royce Phantom VII (2003). Four great British nameplates re-emerged from idiosyncratic obscurity, back to world leadership. Out went cost-con- trolled compromises. Instead, BMW (and VW) taught the Brits to Illustration: Peter Strain engineer and design the best possible car, and price accordingly. BMW’s Mini brilliantly reinvented a wonderful British brand. The new Bentley became the best-selling luxury car in history. The Phantom VII really was the best car in the world, never mind it was also the most expensive. And the L322, or Mk3 Range Rover, mixed 62 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022



‘It’s time to accept we’ve been obsessed with power and speed for too long. Those days are ending’ I t’s time for us all to make sacrifices. It’s been in the news recently that the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken has replaced lettuce with cabbage in some of its Australian restaurants, in response to a national lettuce shortage. Obviously KFC can’t help it if record floods in eastern Australia have wiped out the lettuce the car you have a couple of storage tanks (like big scuba tanks). An electric pump in your garage or at the fuel station compresses air into crops… but it does feel like they’ve decided to replace the tanks. This high-pressure air is then released to power a pneu- matic motor. With a top speed of around 50mph, the underfloor ketchup with shoe polish. tanks can keep a lightweight CAV going for around 60 miles, which means air cars might never replace petrol or EVs, but they make Mind you, ketchup is also under threat, because climate change is sense for short-range, lightweight, zero-emissions city cars. affecting tomato crops around the world. The word ketchup comes Plus, the physics of compressed air are so elegant. French CAV pioneer Guy Negre, who died in 2016, put it like this: ‘All engines from a Chinese word, kê-tsiap, which was the name of a Vietnamese work with compressed air. Most engines suck it in, heat it up, it pressurises and it pushes on a piston. In our engine we pressurise the fermented fish sauce, brought to the UK in the 17th century. We air first, so when we apply it to the piston, the piston is pushed.’ could go back to that original recipe, in order to save the tomatoes; Negre created his engineering company MDI in Luxembourg in 1991 and developed his first compressed-air engine in 1996, demon- however, fish are also endangered by climate change. So we’re going strating it in a Citroën AX. After touting it around the auto industry for a decade, Tata finally bought the rights to create a compressed-air to have to replace them with fermented insoles from discarded version of its Nano, though that’s never appeared. Instead, MDI (now run by Negre’s son, Cyril) continues to be the only CAV manufactur- trainers. I contacted KFC for a comment and they said they were er, with its Airpod 2.0: a tiny, egg-shaped quadricycle with a 430cc, one-cylinder pneumatic engine that puts out 9bhp. fully onboard with this plan. Either that or they said ‘cardboard is Okay, so you’re thinking: this idea has been around for decades our plan’. and it’s gone nowhere, so it can’t be that great. You’re probably also thinking: ‘9bhp?’ – but don’t forget the original 2CV had a 375cc Anyway we, in the car community, are also going to have to make twin-cylinder engine that put out 9bhp; and weirdly, compressed-air engines sound almost exactly like a 2CV, making a characterful sacrifices. Replacing petrol cars with more frugal diesels didn’t work chiff-chiff-chiff noise. out; now the plan to replace diesels with battery cars is coming It’s time to accept we’ve been obsessed with power and speed for too long. Those days are ending and we need to rediscover the unstuck. The price for lithium carbonate, the raw material that’s pleasure of simple, characterful transportation. Even if it does sound like a limp lettuce. processed to become a Nissan Leaf, is up 430 per cent compared to Time to end our obsession with power and speed? Normal service 2021 prices, hitting £56,000 per metric tonne in April. It’s averaged from power and speed obsessive Mark Walton resumes next month around £9k per tonne for the last six years. There’s actually plenty of lithium to go around, but new mines take up to five years to become operational and brine extraction pools take up to seven. With demand spiking and supply so slow to react, we’re heading for a serious lithium shortage in the next two to three years. Now, I’d like to suggest that we replace lithium with lettuce, because that would be such a pleasing, tied-up-in-a-pretty-bow conclusion to this month’s column. However, replacing lithium with lettuce is a ridiculous idea and scientifically unsound. Plus, there’s a Illustration: Peter Strain lettuce shortage after record floods in eastern Australia. So I’ve been pursuing the idea of compressed-air engines. (Well – I say ‘pursuing’ to make it sound like I’m some kind of researcher or inventor. In reality, I’ve just been Googling.) Compressed-air vehicles (CAVs) are a simple idea. In the floor of 64 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022



The future of Porsche motorsport 66 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Lightning & thunder The thunderous new 963 spearheads Porsche’s return to Le Mans. But motorsport’s future will be electric. The 1000bhp+ Cayman GT4 ePerformance explores how Words James Taylor Photography Richard Pardon/Porsche AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 67

963 has done 4900 miles of testing – and now 1.2 miles at Goodwood too You can hear the crowd as the GT4 blasts silently past 68 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

The future of Porsche motorsport T hese two cars represent the future of Porsche in motorsport. The white/red/ black 963 is the prototype hybrid missile with which Porsche aims to take victory at Le Mans next year. The grey/blue Cayman GT4 ePerformance is a battery-electric study created to help ensure Porsche’s customer racing programme flourishes in the engine-less age. It’s nothing less than the future of sports car racing and, by extension, the future of the sports car itself. The battery-electric next-gen Cayman is due in 2024. Lightbar design makes the 963 a But first, the 963. Nine-six-three. Great number for a Porsche Le Porsche at 20 paces Mans car, isn’t it? If that makes it ‘one better’ than the all-conquering The GT4 ePerformance silently, violently blasts up the 962 of the ’80s, Porsche’s in for some happy trophy hunting. And Goodwood hill in 45 seconds endurance racing is entering an era which may prove more epic than The hybrid components might be ‘spec’ parts but it’s Porsche’s own even the ’80s Group C heyday. engine: a 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8, with its roots in the 918 Spyder hypercar and, before that, the RS Spyder racing car. Quite the gene Next year the 963 faces Toyota, Peugeot, Cadillac – and Ferrari. pool, then. ‘It’s not a 1:1 relation of that engine but that was the basis,’ Laudenbach explains. ‘We did look at other engines but there are BMW joins the fun from 2024, and Audi and Lamborghini are in clear given figures we have to fulfil in LMDh; there is no need really to develop a new engine from scratch. That wouldn’t make sense the frame too. The 963’s race debut is scheduled to be the 24 Hours from a financial or competitive point of view.’ of Daytona in January 2023, although Porsche is mulling the final Rules limit the 963’s engine and motor’s combined output to 671bhp. Or about 400bhp less than the mutant electric Cayman round of this year’s World Endurance Championship as a non-com- which ripped up the hill over the weekend. Type ‘Porsche GT4 eP- erformance Goodwood Festival of Speed’ into YouTube’s search bar. petitive dress rehearsal. Then you can see first-hand the silent, violent way in which it quietly blasts up the Goodwood hill in 45 seconds, the second-fastest time ‘It’s a special milestone to show it to the public,’ beams head of of the event (beaten only by the record-breaking McMurtry fan car). Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach at the 963’s Goodwood ‘I’m still shaking from the excitement,’ grins the car’s project manager, Björn Förster, as we meet him and the car, back safely from Festival of Speed unveiling. And subjectively it’s quite a looker, with a its run and plugged into a portable charger. The cooling system ⊲ full-length lightbar at the rear (a modern Porsche design hallmark), a quartet of high-intensity lights at the front (ditto) and fantastically low-lying, shrink-wrapped body in between. ‘Since LMDh rules mean you have a [relatively low] ballpark figure for aerodynamic effi- ciency, this gives some freedom in giving it a nice shape,’ Laudenbach explains. ‘Looking at it today, to the design guys, I say: well done.’ LMDh? That’s the class the 963 will run in, standing for Le Mans Daytona hybrid. Endurance racing’s top table has been divided into two categories: LMH (Le Mans Hypercar, which offers wider design freedom and in which Toyota, Peugeot and imminently Ferrari will compete) and LMDh, which is more cost-effective but has less creative flexibility (for example, cars must use the same hybrid drive components and a third-party chassis; the 963’s is supplied by Multi- matic). Balance-of-performance regs mean both classes will be able to fight for overall victory. ELECTRIC HIGHWAY Porsche Motorsport’s five-stage electrification story to date 2010 2014 2015 2019 2021 911 GT3 R Hybrid 919 Hybrid Porsche Mission E Formula E Mission R The first big Last time Porsche …the electric concept With cash saved Concept study to ex- returned to the pointy from leaving Le plore what an electric hybrid experiment: a end at Le Mans was car which, in 2019, Mans’ megabucks racing GT Porsche 40,000rpm flywheel with a hybridised becomes the Taycan, LMP1 class, Porsche might look like – and harvests energy and enters Formula E. Its feeds two front-axle V4 powertrain. Porsche’s first engineers sit with also preview the motors for a 160bhp Its sophisticated electric road car. It the ePerformance next-gen electric electric motor control becomes a bigger team, for a constant Cayman road car. boost. Very nearly software learning seller than the 911 transfer of know-how. GT4 ePerformance is wins the Nürburgring goes straight into… and Porsche is now a this car’s next step. bona fide EV brand. 24 Hours. AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 69

The future of Porsche motorsport On board the 963: console designed for night racing quietly hums nearby. ‘This car is a race lab,’ he explains. ‘The aim was to build an electric racecar with the same performance as a Porsche Cup car,’ he says, motioning to the 911 GT3 Cup car next to the Cay- man, ‘and to be able to do a full Cup race length of half an hour.’ The 911 Cup (of which there are multiple series in different coun- tries) is a perfect benchmark for feasibility. ‘We know about develop- ing cars and organising one-make series with an emotional engine,’ says Oliver Schwab, who manages the 911 Supercup championship. ‘But we don’t know about the future. Ecological sustainability will be key to acceptance on a public level. Frankly, it’s our bloody responsi- bility. We don’t do this project only for ourselves. Although the 911 Cup is the benchmark for the ePerformance car, the study is built around a Cayman’s chassis and steel body rather than a 911 (not least because an electric 911 would almost certainly upset people). To get the required capacity within the existing Cayman structure, the battery is split into two halves, one at the front and one at the back. But the Mission R, this car’s predecessor, suggested a single mid-mounted pack is optimal. ‘In terms of packaging and centre of gravity, our battery pack is a copy of a mid-engined design,’ Dr Michael Steiner, member of the board for R&D, told CAR last year. ‘But now it’s not the engine, of course, it’s the battery. Then you have a weight distribution opti- mised for sporty driving, and we reflect this in the four-wheel-drive torque split, with much more torque in the back than the front.’ Yep, this is an all-wheel-drive Cayman. ‘But that’s not for accel- eration, even if it does help in slippery conditions,’ Förster says. ‘It’s because to race for 30 minutes you need 110kWh. But this car only has 60kWh on board. The rest comes from regen from both axles [the front axle can generate more energy because it is far less likely to lock-up under deceleration]. If it were rear-wheel-drive only, we’d need another 250kg of battery. That’s extra weight and extra cost.’ The ePerformance is capable of 1073bhp (today it’s running 800bhp) and 0-124mph in 5.8sec. Goodwood is its first public outing, though it’s already racked up around 2500 test miles. From here it goes on a two-year world tour, gauging reaction and gathering data. ‘It’s not a question of if we will go electric racing – it’s how, where and when,’ says Laudenbach. ‘We said, “Let’s build a car,” because that’s how you learn about it. It’s a commitment from our company to sport and to our customers.’ Elsewhere at the Festival of Speed there are Rothmans 956s and Jacky Ickx in a 936 Spyder. Soul-stirring stuff for race fans of a certain age. That legacy will fade if Porsche doesn’t look ahead. Projects like the ePerformance mean it can continue to make soul-stirring sport – and sports cars – long into the future. 70 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

‘It’s not a question of if we will go electric racing; it’s how, when, and where’ THOMAS LAUDENBACH e-Performance is a full 14cm wider than a regular racing Cayman, to fit its huge tyres AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 71

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Ferrari: the next five years 74 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

PUROSANGUE, LE MANS AND THE ELECTRIC FERRARI Synonymous with sports cars and sublime engines, ambitious New Ferrari is ripping up the rulebook with its imminent SUV and 2025 EV Words Ben Miller Illustrations Avarvarii AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 75

Ferrari: the next five years M ona Lisa-special V12s. Hand-beaten alumini- MARANELLO MEN um to move grown men to tears. Scarlet cars scribing black arcs in a symphony of power and control, violence and elegance. Tantrums, world titles and a pair BENEDETTO ENRICO of dark sunglasses. Purple ink. VIGNA GALLIERA The chief marketing Think you know Ferrari? Think again. Nine months into his and commercial officer new role, the CEO is a is keen to broaden the The world is changing, and one of its physicist and tech offering most valuable and deftly managed car entrepreneur brands is changing with it. There is a rest- lessness about Maranello right now, and this despite its conspicuous success. Since 2018 Ferrari has generated a cumulated industrial cash flow of more than €2.46bn, expanded its customer base by 25 per cent and launched 15 new models. What’s more, back in 2018 Ferrari was a combustion-engined car maker – perhaps GIANMARIA ANTONELLO the definitive combustion-engined car FULGENZI COLETTA Product development maker. Now it offers the 296 GTB and SF90 boss must create an Heads up Ferrari electric Ferrari, rather motorsport outside of hybrids. And come 2025, as part of another than just another EV F1. Also runs the XX 15-car roll-out (2023-2026, as Ferrari targets programme earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of €2.5bn-€2.7bn and a margin of 38-40 per cent), we’ll see the unthinkable: a Ferrari without an engine. THE PUROSANGUE WILL ARRIVE WITH FERRARI’S 6.5-LITRE TURBO-FREE V12 ENGINE Our render of the still-secret Purosangue. It will offer V12 power, active suspension and exclusivity 76 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Is the EV the most important Ferrari gies that are changing not just the 296 GTB is born since the first Ferrari? New CEO Benedetto automotive industry but also the wider out of Ferrari’s Vigna, who started in September, will duly world. Benedetto has the profound techno- in-house hybrid remind you that every Ferrari is special. But logical knowledge required.’ expertise you need only look to his appointment for proof that this car matters like few in the The next few years, as Ferrari spends ments, not a Lamborghini Urus or Porsche storied maker’s 75-year history. €4.4bn on product development (of which Cayenne-style volume product. Nor will it 75 per cent will go on cars, including a re- offer much by way of driver assistance If the Ferrari legend was forged in found- placement for the V12 812 Superfast, rather beyond Level 2. A self-driving Ferrari simply ries and machine shops, the coming years than infrastructure), will present Vigna isn’t, bosses claim, the Maranello way. will be defined by expertise in electronics with the opportunity to write himself into and software. The Ferrari difference is fun- Ferrari legend as the electric Enzo. CEO Vigna: ‘We are not a mobility damental to its value, and it’s to these new company. We provide a unique experience. battlegrounds that it must translate its Before the EV, the SUV This is key. We will stop at Level 2 plus. We superiority. Happily, motor racing, so fun- Not long now. Finally, Ferrari has confirmed will not go Level 4 or 5. We must always damental to Ferrari’s 20th century success, it will unveil the long-awaited Purosangue enhance the driving experience, and put the remains relevant, with Formula 1 and now ‘SUV’ in September. The company also used human at the centre of that experience.’ Maranello’s endurance racing project nur- its recent capital markets day to announce a Given Maranello has now confirmed turing in-house EV expertise. couple of technical details. the Purosangue will arrive with Ferrari’s 6.5-litre, turbo-free V12 under the bonnet, ‘We have 120 electronics engineers in F1. While some elements of the project, not being at the centre of this particular driving They’ve been pushing towards hybridisa- least its physics-defying suspension, come experience is likely to be quite a privilege… tion for 13 years now,’ notes product as no surprise, others are news. For example, development boss Gianmaria Fulgenzi. the Purosangue will be a niche halo vehicle ‘The Purosangue is 100 per cent a Ferrari accounting for less than 20 per cent of ship- and it will bring several unique features to ‘Electrification and electronics allow us the market, including our V12 engine – our the opportunity to make even more unique most passionate engine,’ says Vigna. ‘We cars,’ says chairman John Elkann (who was are confident this will meet and exceed all also caretaker CEO between Louis Camill- customer expectations for performance, eri’s departure and Vigna’s arrival). ‘That is innovation and design. And we will ⊲ why I was convinced that we needed a CEO with a deep understanding of the technolo- AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 77

maintain the highest possible level of exclu- ‘We are always pushing for more.’ development, ‘a high-range suspension sivity. Purosangue will not be our most The V12 elevates the Purosangue into a capable of both comfort and sport.’ relevant product. It will be a very interesting add-on to our product line-up.’   class of one for performance and desirabili- Active suspension will give Maranello’s ty. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Bentley engineers complete control (ride height, The new CEO has also confirmed he’s Bentayga both offer 12-cylinder engines pitch, roll, front/rear dynamic weight distri- driven the car. ‘It is unlike any other,’ he but both are very civilised and overtly bution) over the Purosangue’s body as the says. ‘I have driven the car in the hills around turbocharged units. Spectacularly, Ferrari’s car moves, granting them mastery over here and it really is a sports car.’ V12 is neither. the difficult physics that come into play when you give a big, relatively heavy and The Purosangue will use a version of Fer- ‘The V12 is the most iconic engine in high-riding car an 800bhp V12… rari’s lightweight and versatile front/ all Ferrari history, targeted to the most mid-engined platform, which can be con- passionate members of our family,’ says The electric Ferrari figured in various wheelbase lengths and marketing chief Enrico Galliera. ‘The If electrification represents opportunity, it with two- and four-wheel drive, hybridisa- Purosangue will maintain the highest levels also – perhaps for Ferrari more than any tion or not, and V6, V8 or V12 engines. And of exclusivity and won’t be our most relevant other marque – looks a little like an existen- while spy footage of the car in dynamic model from a volume standpoint.’ tial threat. Enzo begrudgingly saw the light testing suggested a V12 might be in play, on the virtue of putting his engines in the confirmation that Ferrari’s most Ferrari The four-wheel-drive Purosangue will middle of his cars, but a Ferrari with no engine will power the car is huge news. likely use Ferrari’s twin-clutch transaxle engine whatsoever? transmission, an e-diff and rear-wheel Ferrari isn’t yet confirming power steering, which has shown on cars like the Well, it’s happening. The LaFerrari was outputs or performance figures but the 812 Competizione that it can deliver breath- the first Ferrari road car with an electric recent 812 Competizione and SP3 Daytona taking low-speed agility with rock-solid motor, and come 2025 we’ll see the first both use an 830bhp evolution of the engine high-speed stability. Key to giving the Ferrari without a combustion engine. If the with an unrivalled 9500rpm rev ceiling. Purosangue the agility Ferrari demands will notion flies in the face of everything you Ferrari’s engineers may de-tune the engine be an innovative new suspension system, understand Ferrari to be, it’s also a logical a touch for the Purosangue, but don’t FAST – Ferrari Active Suspension Technol- progression from the hybrids that already count on it… ‘Specific power output is one of ogy. Back in 2018, then CTO Michael Leiters proliferate in the current range. our core areas of excellence,’ says Fulgenzi. confirmed such a chassis system was in ACTIVE SUSPENSION WILL GIVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE PUROSANGUE’S BODY 78 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Ferrari: the next five years Right now, some 20 per cent of Ferrari’s deploy our skills in aerodynamics and me- cell in a ‘mid-engined’ configuration. The line-up is electrified. By 2026 the new BEV chatronics [integrated mechanical and battery, which Ferrari will assemble in- and ongoing hybridisation will shift that electronic systems] to increase the range of house, mounts rigidly into the structure, mix to five per cent electric, 55 per cent the car without sacrificing design. And we bolstering the rigidity of what looks to be an hybrid and 40 per cent combustion engine. will integrate our latest vehicle dynamics aluminium-intensive structure, but can be By 2030 the electric/hybrid/petrol mix will capabilities to achieve the Ferrari driving removed if required. be 40/40/20. emotion and create a unique sound.’ ‘Battery ageing is a factor,’ acknowledges ‘Next for us is the electric powertrain,’ Put it to Fulgenzi that he can’t possibly be Fulgenzi. ‘We have to think about the future explains Fulgenzi. ‘The electric Ferrari serious – that an electric Ferrari doesn’t because a Ferrari must be forever. This is must, first and foremost, be a Ferrari. It stand a hope in hell of being as fun to drive more challenging than developing a com- must deliver a visceral driving emotion, as the hyperactive 296 GTB – and his com- bustion engine for life. We have to think unique performance and beautiful design.’ posure refuses to slip. ‘A battery-electric about how to change the battery to ensure vehicle can enhance some aspects of the the same performance. So, the BEV will be cut no slack. But driving emotion; aspects that you can’t have Ferrari is further down this road than its with a combustion engine,’ he counters. ‘For us also there is a big difference EV-less current line-up might suggest. Ma- ‘You lose the gearbox, and you can balance between a fast electric car and a Ferrari with ranello’s brightest minds have been at work the weight gain by lowering the centre of an electric powertrain,’ he continues. ‘At the on the e-revolution (and yes, elements of it gravity and reducing the inertia. In this way, moment there is no one offering a dynamic were televised, mainly on Sunday after- when you turn the car you need less force to experience with an EV – nothing like the noons) since the dawn of F1’s KERS era. do so. An EV can be the correct technology enjoyment you get from our hybrid 296 for a certain Ferrari.’ GTB, for example. It’s incredible. ‘We will derive the latest technology from our racing departments: design, materials To unleash the potential in a perfor- ‘With EVs, longitudinal acceleration is and production capabilities,’ confirms Ful- mance-orientated, clean-sheet BEV, the easy. But for us is it is important to be fastest genzi. ‘We will use all our manufacturing 2025 electric Ferrari will use a new platform. around a track, and for this you need and assembling expertise to create unique Earlier this year Ferrari filed patents everything; dynamics, control integration, electric components, optimising specific showing a two-seater with a low and weight and aerodynamics.’ Expect the 2025 power to enhance performance and to compact battery unit behind the passenger EV to feature active aero as Fulgenzi’s team guarantee driving enjoyment. We will balances efficiency with downforce. ⊲ Subsequent, possibly non-V12 Purosangue versions will grow Ferrari’s customer base AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 79

Ferrari: the next five years Our take on what Ferrari’s LMH racer might look like. Might we see a roadgoing twin? Toyota’s done it FERRARI WOULD D E AR LY LOVE TO WI N LE MANS OVERALL AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1965 80 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Current F1 car CEO Vigna stresses that, for him, electri- this reason, we chose to come back in LMH. a shining example fication simply cannot mark the end of Because to be a true Ferrari we need to make of Ferrari’s hybrid spine-tingling Ferrari powertrains. ‘The everything; the engine, the aerodynamics, competence (when emotional side is very important. Electric the electrical power, the suspension, the motors are not silent. Each one of them has gearbox. We don’t have many parts from the it’s not grinding its own signature. It is different to the signa- road car in the LMH car. But this is a good to a halt…) ture of a combustion engine, of course, but laboratory. [Porsche derived a great deal of it is a signature nonetheless.’ high-performance EV powertrain know- how from its 919 Hybrid LMP1 car.] And Just as Ferrari designs and builds its sure, we have experience of taking a similar engines in-house, so it will create its own path with road cars as we take on the track.’ electric motors and battery packs in a new purpose-built production facility, the A new supercar, LaFerrari’s successor E-building, with the cells sourced from a Next year Ferrari’s product cycle will gift to supplier. Fulgenzi: ‘The powertrains will be the world a successor to the likes of the Enzo designed, hand-crafted and assembled in and LaFerrari. ‘The highly awaited new su- Maranello. They will be unique. They will percar will join a long and stunning line-up be Ferrari motors. When you think about of models that started many years ago with the tolerances of an F1 crankshaft or the 288 GTO,’ confirms Galliera. ‘Four years turbine, these are so small they are difficult ago we announced we were starting work to measure and they are difficult to do. We on a car in this segment and now we are will put this competence into our electric happy to confirm that it will arrive soon.’ components to reduce weight and dimen- sions. Cells are a commodity, and by The new machine will lean heavily on purchasing them we can constantly have technology transfer from Ferrari’s F1 and access to the best technology available.’ LMH Le Mans programmes. Documents shown at the capital markets day point to Back to Le Mans the car being a V8 hybrid, and SF90-based Earlier this year Ferrari confirmed its return mules have also been spotted testing. But to top-flight endurance racing with a hybrid Galliera’s insistence that the new car is LMH prototype. The car, which has been in a successor to the likes of the Enzo and development for 18 months and begins track LaFerrari would suggest that this hotted-up testing imminently, will make its competi- SF90 ‘Speciale’ or ‘Modificato’ is a car dis- tion debut early next year ahead of an tinct from the new supercar. assault on the big prize, Le Mans 2023. Next year’s 24 Hour marks the 100th anniversary These landmark supercars, more special of the world’s most important motor race, even than the Icona machines, have always and Ferrari would dearly love to win it been conceived around a key new technolo- overall again for the first time since 1965. gy. A V12 isn’t likely either; Ferrari has previously pointed out just how heavy such ‘Ferrari is special by definition, and Le a car would be when the engine is bolstered Mans is one of the most important races in by hybrid hardware. the world,’ says Antonello Coletta, head of Maranello’s 150-strong (non-F1) motorsport Given the V8 SF90 comfortably exceeds department. ‘We have won the race many the power output of the V12 LaFerrari, times, including nine overall victories and either a V8 or V6 hybrid powertrain would 29 in class. To return to Le Mans was a must, provide the required level of performance, and to do so with a prototype is a dream.’ and a V6 would mirror Ferrari’s F1 power- train. While it hasn’t confirmed the cylinder Like Toyota and Peugeot, Ferrari is build- count of its LMH car (which arrives around ing a bespoke LMH car. In doing so it will the same time as the new supercar), Toyota develop technology for the benefit of its and Peugeot have both gone for a V6. Either hybrid and battery-electric production cars. way, a level of output-boosting electrifica- tion well beyond anything yet seen in a ‘When we decided to come back with a Ferrari would also neatly prepare the world prototype racer, we decided to come back for that EV in 2025… with a true Ferrari,’ explains Coletta. ‘For AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 81

The legendary 250 GTO 82 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

THE G O A T As Ferrari plots a transformative five years, we examine the car that more than any other has shaped the last 60 Words Gavin Green Photography John Wycherley AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 83

The legendary 250 GTO Proportions live on still in cars like the 812 Competizione T omologato). As part of the ruse, he skipped chassis numbers to give the illusion of quan- he 250 GTO was both the last of its breed tity. It went on to be one of the most and a model for Ferrari’s future. It was the successful sports racers of the early ’60s, last front-engined Ferrari sports racer and as well as probably the most beautiful and the pinnacle of Maranello’s front-engined certainly the most desirable. V12 genre. And yet, 60 years on, every subse- quent front-engined Ferrari is in essence a The 250 GTO is also, to this day, the most direct development of the GTO. special Ferrari to drive. It was a car of contradictions. Today it Its birth was a difficult one. Eight key stands as one of the most valuable of all staff, including chief engineer Giotto Biz- classics. Until the recent record-breaking zarrini and chief designer Carlo Chiti, Mercedes sale, the most money ever paid for walked out in November 1961 while the car a car – $70 million or £52 million – was for a was in its final stages of development. Biz- GTO, back in 2018. Yet Enzo Ferrari made zarrini and Chiti then founded a new only 39 out of a promised production run of (short-lived) Ferrari rival, ATS, which 100 units, the minimum number needed for included an F1 team. GT racing homologation (the O stands for It was the most troubled time in the (at that point) 15-year history of Ferrari. To finish the development of what would become the GTO, Enzo Ferrari turned to his junior engineers. ‘We got rid of the generals,’ he told the wet-behind-the-ears youngsters. ‘Now you corporals must take charge.’ Into the breach as chief engineer stepped Mauro Forghieri, just 27 when the GTO was unveiled at Maranello in February 1962. Soon after, he was appointed technical director of Scuderia Ferrari and remained in charge until 1984. His cars won four world drivers’ titles, most famously for Niki Lauda in 1975 and 1977. ⊲ 84 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

The front-engined GTO was still on sale even as the mid-engined 250 P and 250 LM heralded the future AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 85

250 GTO ideal whether you’re heading out for a sandwich or winning at Sebring 86 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

The legendary 250 GTO Forghieri refined Bizzarrini’s GTO overhead cam per bank, two big valves per design, Stirling Moss helped with the devel- cylinder, Weber double-barrel carburettors opment work, and it was clothed in a and, in the GTO, produced a claimed spectacularly beautiful body, the work of 300bhp at 7500rpm, the highest output for Sergio Scaglietti. A month later, the GTO any 250 variant. It was the first road-legal made its competition debut at the 12 Hours engine to produce 100bhp per litre. of Sebring in Florida, convincingly beating the E-Types, Corvettes and Porsches in the It was high revving and fast revving, GT class, and finishing second outright responsive as well as powerful, spectacular behind a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa racer. A few to look at and awesome to hear; renowned months later it won the GT class at Le Mans, for both its song and its performance. This finishing second and third overall. wonderful engine has inspired a host of other V12s, including all subsequent Ferrari To understand the development of the V12s, Lamborghini’s V12-powered Miura, GTO, and its links to the subsequent and now Gordon Murray’s new T.50/T.33 Daytona and cars like today’s 812 Compe- power unit. (He wanted a fast-revving 60° tizione, we need to travel back to the ’50s, V12, citing the ’60s Colombo unit as inspira- beyond the GTO to the earlier 250 models tion. To develop sufficient power and meet on which the GTO was based. It was the emissions regulations, Murray settled for a company’s most successful line of vehicles 65° 4.0-litre, developed by Cosworth.) and its first proper ‘production’ car, at least in any quantity (although by 1958 produc- The GTO’s tubular steel chassis was old tion ran at only one car a day). and relatively crude, and much the same as previous 250s, although the tubing was The two-seat GT versions were roadgoing lighter. The live rear axle carried simple leaf cars that were also ideal for sportscar racing, springs. Never mind the crudeness, it and amateurs and professionals alike used handled beautifully, as many photos of them with success. The 250 GTO was this racing drivers elegantly four-wheel drifting bloodline’s spectacular finale. It was a racer GTOs bear testimony. first and foremost, but road legal to boot. Its biggest technical advance over previ- All 250s were powered by the long-serving ous 250 GTs was its body. Until the GTO, Gioacchino Colombo-designed 60° V12. It Ferrari engineers had not concerned them- was successful on both road and track, was selves much with aerodynamics. Its V12s used in Ferrari’s first car (in 1947) and were usually good enough to win, outpow- remained in production 40 years later. Over ering opposition from Jaguar, Aston Martin, that time its capacity blossomed from 1.5 Lotus and Porsche. Enzo Ferrari himself litres to almost 5.0 litres. had remarked that you bought a Ferrari for the engine. The rest came free. All 250s, including the GTO, had capaci- ties of 3.0 litres. This power unit was simple, The GTO was the first aerodynamic beautifully made and reliable. It had a single Ferrari. Engineers examined penetration, ⊲ SPECTACULAR TO LOOK AT AND TO HEAR, THE V12 IS RENOWNED FOR ITS SONG AND PERFORMANCE AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 87

The legendary 250 GTO Numerous variations across the cars built include vents and rear wing AS WITH THE E-TYPE JAGUAR, THE 250 GTO PROVE D THAT A CAR PR I MAR I LY D E S I G N E D TO CLEAVE THE AIR COULD PLEASE THE EYE drag, downforce and lift. They did develop- final-drive ratio (customers had a choice) hinting at the muscle below. ment work on the autostrada, on the track the GTO could hit 175mph, subsequently Start the V12 and it growls into action, and in the wind tunnel. The GTO’s alumin- proven at Le Mans. It also had four-wheel ium body was born entirely of purpose. Yet disc brakes, one of the first Ferraris to do so. like an angry lion poked with a stick. What a it was achingly beautiful. As with its hand- There was also a five-speed synchromesh noise! It snarls and rasps, the 12 big inlet some contemporary, the E-Type Jaguar, it gearbox. Previous 250 GTs used four speeds. trumpets sucking for air, gloriously unfil- proved that a car primarily designed to tered. Throttle response is way sharper than cleave the air could equally please the eye. I have driven two GTOs. My first drive on any over-plumbed, emission-strangled, was in Norfolk in spring 1985. It was racer turbocharged modern engine, partly due to There were some wonderful styling flour- Jack Sears’ own car, then worth £200,000. a very light flywheel. It zings, astonishingly ishes too, from its dainty chromed Twenty-two years later, I drove Nick eager to rev. Switch off the engine and the windscreen wiper arms to the hand-beaten Mason’s GTO – photographed here – in the song is extinguished, instantly. headlamp cover surrounds, to the big alloy New Forest in Hampshire. I have re-read Prancing Horse dancing gracefully on the both these stories while researching this It is a very physical car, of course. The small black oval grille. These were decora- story but, really, there was no need. Both brakes are heavy, the steering takes forearm tions. The three vertical vents behind each those drives burn so bright in my mind they and shoulder heft. The steering comes alive front wheel, now a GTO signature, were could have happened yesterday. as the speed builds. But the engine is the entirely functional, exhaling hot air from star. It’s tractable from just over 2000rpm, the engine bay in which the high-revving The small bucket seat grips you tight, the by 4000 it delivers a blood-curdling howl V12 went about its work. handsome wood-rimmed steering wheel and you’re now pulling in the horizon, fast. seems impossibly big by modern standards, Its long, low, elegant nose sliced the air and in front of the small and quite vertical The gearshift is meaty and metallic, and its pert rear, including Ferrari’s first windscreen stretches that long flowing effected by a long, elegant alloy lever rooted kick-up spoiler, gave extra rear downforce. It sculpted bonnet, elegantly shrouding the in a handsome six-finger alloy gate. The had big shapely front wings, muscular hips engine. The wings raise gracefully either change action is firm and long of throw. You and a low roof and waistline. side of the centre power bulge, subtly can feel the cogs meshing, feel the tarmac under tyre, feel the instant response of that Indeed, the 250 GTO became the wonderful engine, and you can hear the front-engined Ferrari mechanical and engine sucking for air and growling and styling template, as recently departed chief snarling, and you are always aware of its technical director Michael Leiters told CAR power and eagerness. It’s a wonderfully before upping sticks for McLaren… ‘Look at mechanical, visceral car, in stark contrast to the 812 Competizione, the SP1/SP2 Monza, today’s anaesthetised EVs, so devoid of the Roma: the long bonnet and short rear, texture and touch. the smooth curves, the lines, the elegance. The GTO still influences these cars, includ- The GTO has helped guide Ferrari for the ing its front mid-engined concept.’ last 60 years, a lodestar for every subsequent model. It remains the greatest car made by The V12 was sited well back in the GTO to the world’s most celebrated maker of fast aid handling balance, as it is in the 812 Com- and beautiful cars. petizione. The engine was also mounted as low as possible, assisted by a new dry sump With thanks to Nick Mason and all at made from magnesium. With the right Ten Tenths for their assistance 88 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Disc brakes and an all-synchro gearbox helped make the 250 GTO a weapon

MERCEDES EQE 350+ I BMW i4 40 90 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

THE Giant MORE test THE DEFINITIVE VERDICT THINGS CHANGE The world might be going electric but you still fancy a nice German saloon. The choice remains the same: Mercedes or BMW? Words Georg Kacher Photography Tom Salt AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 91

Giant test: Mercedes EQE vs BMW i4 Y ference of physical size. But the fact is that if you want a premium German electric saloon, and don’t want ou don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. Not literal- one of the flashy flagships, this is where you’d be ly gone in the case of the combustion-engined looking. There’s currently no BMW electric rival to Mercedes E-Class and BMW 3/4-series, but clearly the E-Class, and no Mercedes electric alternative to beating a hasty retreat from decades of loyal service. the 4-series. So here we are: EQE versus i4. Decades in which we’ve got very excited about the flagship AMG and M versions, but also come to trust Where, exactly? In the Bavarian Alps, territory that the lesser models, and to take for granted their all- the E-Class and 4-series would both relish. Let’s find round excellence. out what the EQE and i4 make of it. By hanging on to elements of the styling and the The BMW, with 335bhp and 317lb ft, is instantly naming, both manufacturers are clearly hoping to more agile than the beefier and heavier (2355kg plays carry over some of that goodwill to their electric 2125kg) Benz, with its 288bhp and 417lb ft. Bear in equivalents. In the case of the BMW, it’s not all smoke mind, though, that the output numbers indicate the and mirrors. The i4 is based on the same CLAR archi- maximum power and torque, with the full boost tecture as the 4-series, and both inside and outside it effect active and the batteries over 60 per cent looks a lot like a petrol 4-series. charged. When the energy cells are close to running on empty, and as soon as the power pack is beginning The EQE takes far more liberties with continuity. to feel the heat at about 105ºC, the car from Munich From some angles – especially side-on, where the intermittently musters a mere 80bhp, which is barely truncated nose is most obvious – it’s clearly something enough to maintain the advertised top speed of quite different from the classic three-box ‘Stuttgart 119mph. The 130mph Mercedes goes through a similar taxi’. Inside there’s a similarly large disconnect; yes, rollercoaster cycle which can – like in the i4 – be fol- familiar Mercedes seats and vents, but the view out is lowed on the active drive monitor. disconcerting and the rear passengers are lost in space – space that’s only possible because this is part of the Both cars, by the way, have plenty for EV nerds to same EVA2 electric-only family as the EQS. enjoy if they fancy taking a deep dive into the various graphs, curves, read-outs, projections, analyses and You’ll be aware that the 4-series and E-Class are one calculations, not to mention fundamentals like size different. The bigger dimensions of the Mercedes energy consumption, distance to empty and charging are amplified in the transition to electric, with the facilities within a given radius. EQE much bigger than the i4 outside and roomier still on the inside. With their combustion-engined counterparts, we’ve become used to many members of the line-up That’s reflected in the pricing. This is the entry-lev- having all-wheel drive, especially when you’re ⊲ el i4, with a UK price of £55,345 on the road. The step up from Sport to M Sport spec, taking the price to Time to get nostalgic £64,255, gets you mostly visual changes; it makes an for the days of fake eDrive 40 look a lot like the more powerful xDrive analogue dials M50 (which itself costs £72,995). EQE’s screen is The EQE, by contrast, starts at £76,450 on the road. easy and quick That’s for an EQE 350+ (the only powertrain currently to use. Also big available, although others aren’t far behind) in base AMG Line spec. Adding £5k gets you AMG Line Premium; a further £7k reaches AMG Line Premium Plus, or the Exclusive Luxury level that is close to our German-market test car. So a significant gap in price, and an unmissable dif- 92 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

THIS IS TERRITORY THE 4-SERIES AND E-CLASS WOULD RELISH, BUT WHAT DO THE i4 AND EQE MAKE OF IT? EQE will get frisky if you turn off the electric safety net in the wet AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 93

BMW’s boot is larger and accessed via a hatch; Merc has actual bootlid Plenty to make Merc lifers feel at home, without the EQS’s excess 94 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST2022

Giant test: Mercedes EQE vs BMW i4 Could a THE i4 IS THE FASTER CAR ON WINDING three-box ROADS BUT THE EQE IS THE MORE SURE- saloon be less boxy? FOOTED TOOL ON SLIPPERY GROUND paying this kind of money. But entry-level powertrain fitted with the optional rear-wheel steering and air ‘THIS REAR-DRIVE 40 means no xDrive for the BMW and no 4Matic for the suspension. Rear-wheel steering not only reduces the FEELS MORE ALIVE Merc, just rear-wheel drive in both cases. turning circle from 12.5 metres (which is on par with THAN THE AWD 50’ the i4) to a tight 10.7 metres, it also sharpens the han- In many ways this is a good thing – keeping weight dling to a degree which is both entertaining and The i4 40 and 50 are down and driver involvement up – but this creates failsafe. True, the i4 is the faster car on winding roads, very different to drive. traction problems in the wet when the driver tries to but the more compliant EQE does a better job waltz- The less powerful, make use of those big, instant torque outputs. With ing to the desired rhythm and maintaining the more affordable car is traction and stability control in play, the occasionally matching flow. Fuss-free yet committed, it is the more also the more sta-g-g-er-ed acceleration curve out of tight-ish bends sure-footed tool on slippery ground. nuanced, the 40 makes it quite clear that wet-weather cornering grip being less strait-laced can be an issue for eco-hooligans. Dismiss the elec- The BMW battery is good for 80.7kWh, the and more engaging. tronic supervisors, and the full catalogue of power-on Mercedes equivalent is rated at 90.5kWh. While the The all-wheel-drive 50 and lift-off oversteer will unfold. Benz will charge its energy pack with up to 170kW, its has that EV standing- smaller rival can cram up to 205kW into the lithi- start theatre, but the Quite surprisingly, the Mercedes is the more playful um-ion cells. The WLTP official figures give a rather rear-drive 40 feels yet better controllable car in these low-friction condi- sunny view of how far these cars can go on a single more alive, more tions. Its beefier torque flow is easier to modulate, its charge: almost 400 miles for the Merc, and almost 370 Ultimate Driving breakaway behaviour is more benign, and the 255/40 for the BMW. On our test, both are pretty much done Machine. ZR20 Pirelli P Zeros are notably grippier in the rain within 250 miles. Yes, they are hard miles, but there is than the aquaphobic 245 and 255/40 ZR19 Hankook no flat-out autobahn driving involved. The cockpit lacks Ventus S1 tyres fitted to the BMW (optional larger drama but works well wheels in both cases). Whereas 250 miles should suffice for most two-way enough and the BMW commutes, this restricted real-life range is not accept- is both desirable and Before the roads eventually dry up, the i4 can able to company reps in a hurry, or to holidaymakers sensible. It’s quick be induced to throw some extravagant shapes. in countries with an underdeveloped charging infra- enough, drives well, Controlling these deliberately provoked slides is structure. offers decent helped by the low centre of gravity, firm chassis set-up, efficiency and can slip gyro-friendly 50:50 weight distribution and explosive The official efficiency figures – 3.3-3.9 miles per pretty seamlessly into torque delivery. kWh for the EQE, 3.7-3.9 for the i4 – are similarly your life (particularly if over-optimistic, compared to our test results: 2.3 miles you’re able to hang on Like most BMWs, this one plots its path with due for the Merc, 2.2 for the BMW. (These test numbers to your 530d for those accuracy, promptness and that famously unambigu- are very pessimistic. In the UK, back in May, we saw non-EV-compatible ous direct line to your palms, but it makes the driver 2.9 miles per kWh from an i4 40, and on the EQE trips…). work quite a bit harder at the wheel than an EQE launch in Germany we got a similar reading.) BEN MILLER There’s only so much that Mercedes and BMW can do about batteries and e-motors, and indeed the charging network. But they still have complete control over the design of their cars, the equipment they fit and the materials they use. And both are quite disappointing. The Mercedes cabin is impressively ⊲ ▼ PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING I MERCEDES-BENZ EQE ⊲ Why is it here? that glory. The cleverness of battery than the EQS. You 288bhp. Coming along soon Although the bigger EQS the EQE is taking the same can spec air suspension, rear (although not every market gets the headlines, the EQE EVA2 platform, scaling it steer and a high level of will get every version) will be is likely to get more sales, down slightly, keeping most driver assistance. the 300, 500, 43 and, first, echoing the S- and E-Class. of the bigger car’s excellent the 53. In the UK there are It’s the electric extension of a aerodynamic sleekness (its ⊲ Which version is this? four trim levels, all pretty tradition of Mercedes saloons Cd of 0.22 betters the i4 by The only one currently plush – AMG Line (from going back nearly 70 years 0.02) and offering impressive offered, the 350+, making £76,450), AMG Line – a tradition that to a large range despite a smaller Premium, AMG Line Premium extent defines Mercedes. Plus and Exclusive Luxury (closest to the spec of our ⊲ Any clever stuff? German test car). In the UK, Nothing new debuts on the you can’t currently get the EQE – the EQS grabbed all Hyperscreen; no great loss. AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 95

The world’s insistence that blue means green remains baffling iDrive? Check. Gearlever? Check. Gears? Not so much 96 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Giant test: Mercedes EQE vs BMW i4 CLIMBING INTO THE i4 IS LIKE COMING Decent HOME, AS IT HAS HUNG ON TO AS MUCH handling, but 4-SERIES FAMILIARITY AS POSSIBLE i4’s ride suffers ‘NEATLY EFFICIENT big, giving the rear passengers extra legroom and Merc top speed MEETS LUDICROUS’ everyone more shoulder room. But the rear bench is higher, if largely oddly uncomfortable – if flattered by comparisons academic Two details on the with the BMW’s. EQE highlight the get used to the brakes. The problem isn’t stopping dis- challenges and While the BMW fields a larger luggage compart- tance – dropping the anchors yields similar opportunities facing ment (470 versus 430 litres with the rear seats in energy-squashing results, which leave little to be manufacturers as position) along with a more practical hatchback con- desired – but operating these left pedals requires their cars lose their figuration, the cargo bay of the EQE must be accessed plenty of thought. The BMW is so grabby at low speed engines and edge through a narrow lid with an accordingly smaller ap- it’s almost embarrassing. The response is less aggres- towards self-driving. erture. In contrast, the more upmarket EQS is sive at speed. The reverse scenario can be experienced equipped with a less upmarket tailgate. Go figure. in the Mercedes. Here, the pedal feels heavy and dead, To top up your the response is reluctant at best, the pedal pressure is screenwash, you Climbing into the BMW feels like coming home, as too high and the modularity accordingly difficult. simply nudge open a it has hung on to as much 4-series familiarity as possi- flap above the front ble. Yes, it has succumbed to in-dash digital overkill, It’s a reminder of how fundamental brake feel is to left wheel, which is but at least it keeps the useful iDrive controller, the driving pleasure – and a reminder of how much even much easier and surrounding switchgear and the self-explanatory huge hitters like BMW and Mercedes still have to cleaner than opening shifter. Unfortunately, the trim is positively low-rent, learn when it comes to bringing the brilliance of their a non-existent there are no shift paddles to set the level of brake recu- combustion cars into the electric age. ⊲ bonnet. That’s neat peration – hidden in a sub-menu – and rear legroom and efficient. behind tall drivers is non-existent. Not so smart is the A frunk would also be nice to have, if only to accom- ludicrous size and modate the charging cable which keeps romping in position of the sensor/ the boot. The same issue plagues the Benz, the nose of scanner/camera array which is occupied by a huge air filter. at the top centre of the windscreen. The The Airmatic suspension (standard on the top two irony of safety kit that spec levels) brings important bonus points for the stops you seeing EQE, but even the standard steel suspension is more where you’re going compliant than the basic set-up of the i4. Since the will stop being funny BMW’s ambition is not only to save the planet but also very quickly. to put a smile on the driver’s face, it has traded compli- COLIN OVERLAND ance for handling prowess. The EQE puts more of a focus on calm, quiet and taking the strain off the driver. Its electronic assistance is not quite up to EQS levels, but it feels like it’s quite a long way down the path to self-driving capability, although that can be sidestepped by the driver who is keen to drive. Having tested these cars back to back for several hundred miles, I eventually stopped thinking I would ▼ PRE-FLIGHT BRIEFING I BMW i4 ⊲ Why is it here? opening makes it easy to all-wheel drive and more but the 40’s powertrain, Because BMW needed an actually use the space. power, go for the pricier M50 upgrade from Sport to M answer to the Tesla Model 3 Intelligent software knows xDrive. For the M50’s looks Sport trim. that looked less homespun what’s best for the battery than the electric 3-series and the driver’s peace of derivative offered in China. mind. Wisely, BMW has This is the result: essentially a backed away from the 4-series Gran Coupe with general EV war on the BMW’s fifth-generation EV physical button, instead powertrain. keeping faith with the iDrive   controller. ⊲ Any clever stuff?   Huge boot with the rear seats ⊲ Which version is this? folded, and that hatch rear The base model, the 40. For AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 97

Giant test: Mercedes EQE vs BMW i4 EQE vs i4 THE DETAILS MERCEDES-BENZ BMW i4 40 EQE 350+ eDRIVE AFFORDABILITY WE SAY... £88,450 £55,345 (Exclusive Luxury) (£89,645 as (Sport) (£58,985 as tested) BMW appreciably tested) Representative PCP Representative PCP £765 (47 more affordable, £1200 (47 payments), £8.8k payments), £5.3k deposit, deposit, 10,000 miles per year, 10,000 miles per year, 6.9% APR but both cars 6.9% APR Typical approved Typical approved used value are subject to used value n/a (too new) £61.5k (500-mile ex-demo) waiting lists POWERTRAIN WE SAY... 90.5kWh battery, single 80.7kWh battery, single e-motor, rear-wheel drive e-motor, rear-wheel drive Twin-motor, all-wheel-drive versions available PERFORMANCE WE SAY... Power 288bhp Power 335bhp Torque 417lb ft Torque 317lb ft BMW’s on-road Top speed 130mph Top speed 119mph perkiness reflects 0-62mph 6.4sec 0-62mph 5.7sec its 0-62 win B O DY/ C H A S S I S WE SAY... Structure Steel Structure Steel, aluminium Weight 2355kg Weight 2125kg Mercedes uses a Suspension Four-link front, Suspension MacPherson strut scaled-down EQS multi-link rear front, multi-link rear chassis, while i4 is at heart a 4-series Length/width/height Length/width/height 4946/1961/1510mm 4785/1852/1448mm Gran Coupe Boot capacity 430 litres Boot capacity 470 litres EFFICIENCY Both cars avoid the temptation WE SAY... Official energy consumption Official energy consumption to go too far in 3.3-3.9 miles per kWh 3.7-3.9 miles per kWh their embrace Merc has bigger battery but Tested 2.3 miles per kWh Tested 2.2 miles per kWh of the future; WLTP range 356-394 miles WLTP range 347-365 miles buttons real-world range Tested 250 miles Tested 250 miles near-identical Emissions 0g/km CO2 Emissions 0g/km CO2 welcome here 98 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022

Not quite right for you? Plenty more EVs coming from both very soon FINAL RECKONING with oranges. After all, the EQE is one size bigger and =1st one class more expensive than the i4, which in turn is SO MUCH the quicker and better-handling proposal. MERCEDES-BENZ EFFORT, EQE 350+ But there are more edges to the sword than this. In SO LITTLE terms of pure undiluted EV-ness, it is hard not to fall Refined, roomy REWARD for the extra space, refinement, silence, prestige and and easygoing overt modernity only the Mercedes can offer. It’s an At the end of a day spent swapping between these two emphatically advanced automobile, airy and sophisti- =1st cars, several questions are nagging away. cated, classy in concept if less so in execution. BMW i4 40 eDRIVE Why did Mercedes spend millions on a new EV For all its strengths, there’s no getting away from matrix when the result can match but not beat the ef- the fact that the Merc’s packaging is flawed, despite More spritely than ficiency of BMW’s longer-running components set, this being a car created from scratch as electric-only. the Merc, and less which also supports PHEVs and combustion engines? And, disappointingly, the range advantage over the expensive BMW teased by the official figures turns out in prac- Why is the dedicated EV platform 230kg heavier tice to be exactly zero. than its multi-traction counterpart? That the Benz is faster overall matters less than the 0-62mph accelera- Both manufacturers have many more electric tion time, which favours the BMW by 5.7 against products in the pipeline, not only in terms of different 6.4sec. The gap widens above 70mph when the lighter motor/battery combinations, but also different i4 feels nippier and more eager to step up the pace. bodies. In the case of the EQE, the hot 53 version is almost upon us, as is the SUV variant. And why are the brakes so far from ideal on both cars, albeit in different ways? Will they overcome this car’s weaknesses? We’ll see. Will they be less expensive? Definitely not. It’s easy to dismiss this pairing as comparing apples The i4 40 eDrive is more affordable, more agile if less composed, sportier overall but less comfortable. Like its opponent, it doesn’t offer quite as much ex- citement as you’d hope for, judged in pure driving terms. But like the roomier and more sophisticated EQE it has a remarkable level of refinement, a range that should be enough for many, and a way of making you feel good. Some things never change. AUGUST 2022 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 99

New Peugeot 408 100 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST 2022