29

‘There are actual guitar strings, on which you

can play actual songs, in the door bins’

Issue 6530 | Volume 313 | No 10

NEWS

Next-gen R8 Audi halo’s root-and-branch reinvention 4 Skoda EVs SUV range-topper leads new-model blitz 8 GR Yaris H2 Toyota’s hydrogen-combustion racer 10 Numberplate theft Cloning crime is rising sharply 12 Apple car US tech giant ramps up Project Titan 14 Car production Prospects are bleak despite growth 16

TESTED

MG 4 Is affordable EV a Volkswagen ID 3 beater? 22 BMW X7 Mid-life update ushers in new 523bhp V8 26 Alfa Romeo Tonale Mild-hybrid crossover hits UK 27 BYD Atto Chinese EV spearheads major Euro push 29 Mazda CX-60 Does first PHEV drive like a Mazda? 30 Genesis GV80 Diesel SUV, plus updated Ford Focus 31 Caterham Seven 420 Cup ROAD TEST 32

FEATURES Believe the Hipe Early taste of wild 1180bhp Ariel EV 42 If Airbnb did motors… Get paid by renting your car 50 F-150 Lightning Electric beast goes tree-felling 52 Rouven Mohr We meet Lambo’s new technical chief 58

OUR CARS Honda HR-V Epic 10-country European adventure 64 Mercedes S-Class Le Mans road trip beats flying 66 Dacia Jogger Budget MPV’s interior has Audi vibes 67

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Could this rotary unit save the engine? 13 Jim Holder EV transition could soon be on red alert 15 Matt Prior If only buying cars was like buying jeans 17 Steve Cropley Did you ever spot the Ariel Mustang? 19 Damien Smith Toasting Vauxhall’s racing heritage 20 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 40 Your Views Alfa blunder; 86mpg Yaris; Cavalier 4x4 60 On this day 1936: Delahaye test; Donington drama 63 Autocar Archive Access 125 years of issues for free 79 Slideshow Famous car badges and what they mean 82

DEALS

As good as new Last-of-its-breed VW Up GTI rated 68 James Ruppert Used Italians that are worth the risk 69 Cult hero How to buy a Porsche 928, now from £10k 70 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 72 Road test index Track down that road test here 81

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THIS WEEK

COMMENT

NEW ARIEL PROTOTYPE IS ALREADY A SUCCESS

ELECTRIFYING ARIEL HIPERCAR DRIVEN 42

ROAD TEST: CATERHAM SEVEN 420 CUP 32

F 150 EV: LUMBERJACKS’ NEW BEST FRIEND? 52

COVER STORY

❝THE INDUSTRY IS BEING SLEEPWALKED INTO A CONTRACTION FROM WHICH IT MAY NEVER RECOVER❞

JIM HOLDER ON WHY THE UK MUST SORT OUT ITS BATTERY FACTORY PLANS RIGHT NOW 15

LONG-STANDING readers will know our admiration for Ariel’s examples of excellent engineering, no better demonstrated than by the Atom 4, winner of our annual Britain’s Best Driver’s Car contest in both 2020 and 2021. We first reported on the next step in Ariel’s evolution in 2017, when it revealed images and plans for what we described as the “fastest-accelerating and most advanced supercar in history, a 1200bhp, four-wheel-drive electric two-seater with a revolutionary turbine range extender powertrain”. That very car, known for now as Hipercar, is at the advanced prototype stage and in this week’s issue road tester editor Matt Saunders gets an exclusive go in it (p42). The project, largely funded through various government channels over the years, has seen all partners benefit: electric motor maker Equipmake, for example, has five times more employees than when it all started and battery supplier Delta Engineering has recently been acquired by Cosworth. Given the challenges faced by the British automotive industry as it attempts to transition to electrification (p15 and p16), these collaborative efforts are an ideal example of how it can work together for the greater good.

IMAGE

Rachel Burgess Magazine editor rachel.burgess@haymarket.com

@theburgeword

DETAILS OF THE NEXT GENERATION AUDI R8 4

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