44
‘For every person taking a picture, there will be 10 who
think you’re a bit of a knob, and they might be right’
THIS WEEK
Issue 6522 | Volume 313 | No 2
NEWS
Electric Lamborghinis New GT to be first, Urus next 6 McMurtry Spéirling Driver’s view of radical hypercar 10 EV-friendly racetrack Jonathan Palmer’s eco circuit 12 Vauxhall makeover New design-led change of image 14 Pagani shuns EVs Why hypercar firm won’t make any 16 Citroën ë-C4 X Fastback addition for genre-bender 18 Williams’ next project Green venture in Australia 20
TESTED
Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica Is this an STO lite? 28 Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 Up to 677bhp for EV saloon 32 Nissan Ariya Crossover muscles in on VW ID 4’s turf 34 Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Rally-inspired flagship 35 Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Who needs an SUV? 35 Cupra Born 204 58kWh V3 ROAD TEST 36
FEATURES Lamborghini Countach A66 road trip in reborn icon 44 Living with an ë-Berlingo ‘MP-EV’ real-world test 50 Slick operation Tyre insights at Nürburgring 24hr 54 Used car bargain buys Beat the cost of living crisis 56
OUR CARS Polestar 2 Final report after 9670 real-world miles 64 Honda HR-V When is a hybrid more like an EV? 66 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Range Rover comparison 67
EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse How EVs can be 96% energy efficient 17 Matt Prior Why car buyers ignore expert advice 19 Jim Holder Sad tale of new Defender’s unreliability 21 Steve Cropley Bugatti rearranges internal organs 23 Damien Smith Ride of the Valkyrie up Goodwood hill 26 Your Views Diversity best for powertrains and staff 60 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 62 On this day What was making headlines in 2003? 63 Slideshow One-off road cars get no cooler than this 82
DEALS
As good as new Mazda’s latest MX-5, from £11,500 68 James Ruppert Low-cost route to an open-top 4x4 69 Cult hero Lotus Elise S1 – and how to buy a good one 70 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenos 72 Road test index Track down that road test here 81
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COMMENT
AS A CAR ENTHUSIAST, YOU’LL LIKE THIS NEWS
MERCEDES AMG EQE 53: FIRST DRIVE 32
POLESTAR 2: VERDICT AFTER SIX MONTH TEST 64
CUPRA BORN ROAD TEST: WHY IT BEATS ID 3 36
COVER STORY
❝ALL THIS TALK OF 0 62MPH TIMES IS MEANINGLESS. WE WANT SO MUCH MORE FROM OUR CARS❞
LAMBORGHINI CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER ROUVEN MOHR ON GOING ELECTRIC 6
LAST WEEK, THE EU pushed forward plans to ban the sale of combustion engines from 2035, reflecting a similar decision here in the UK. Good news in the quest for a better future for the planet, but where does it leave the low-volume combustionengined cars that we so love?
Encouragingly, things are looking up. The suggestion – as yet unconfirmed – is that car makers with volumes below 10,000 units annually, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, will be exempt from meeting interim carbon targets ahead of 2035, rather than the proposed 2029.
Both of those firms are developing EVs – for details of Lamborghini’s zero-emissions 2+2 GT, see p6 – but this news suggests that combustionengined sports cars (with a hybrid element) can continue alongside these models for even longer than we hoped. That a mass volume of EVs can save the world (to some extent) while smallvolume, low-mileage, predominantly combustion sports cars can satisfy petrolheads is an exciting prospect.
But does it only apply to luxury car makers? The UK government must follow suit and bring clarity to Britain’s innovative low-volume sports car makers, such as Ariel, Caterham and Morgan, which contribute so much to the industry and bring joy to so many.
IMAGE
LAMBORGHINI’S ELECTRIC GT PLUS URUS EV 6
Rachel Burgess Executive editor rachel.burgess@haymarket.com
r
@theburgeword
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