54

‘This Volkswagen T1 bus is at one with nature, having been

elevated by the tree growing out of its wheel arch’

Issue 6544 | Volume 314 | No 11

NEWS

Mercedes-AMG S63 Hot limo now a 1054lb ft PHEV 6 Toyota C-HR Reinvented Mk2 to get plug-in hybrid 8 Honda Type R Does it have a future in an EV world? 10 Renault enters metaverse How it’s using latest tech 12 Nissan GT-R successor Nismo flagship bound for UK 14

TESTED

Acura NSX Type S Swansong for Honda’s supercar 18 Xpeng G9 Plush SUV from tech-savvy Chinese firm 21 Audi TT RS Iconic Edition Exclusive £88k finale 22 Audi RS3 Performance Edition Even more power 23 Caterham Seven 600 A 1960s special with 88bhp 25 Alpina B3 Touring ‘Absurdly versatile’ on UK roads 27 Volvo V90 Cross Country 4x4 wagon’s tech update 27 Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD ROAD TEST 94

FEATURES Secret Santa Cars gifted at road testers’ Xmas lunch 32 2022 highlights It doesn’t get any better than this 42 Bangers at Xmas James Ruppert’s top £1k bargains 46 Are we all done? £118m car and other auction sales 52 US scrapyard gold Astonishing finds among the rust 54 Scalextric heaven We visit its UK HQ and go racing 58 Xmas road trip Edinburgh to Shetland by Polestar 2 60 The bigger picture Photos on a mind-bending scale 70 Watch it! Motoring-themed timepieces (ask Santa) 74 Kalle Rovanperä Why the new WRC champ is special 76 Motorsport 2022 review F1, BTCC, Indycar, WEC 80 Cars we bought and sold Staffers’ own 2022 deals 84 Flat out in a steamroller Eventually. On public roads 88 Festive page-turners The books we can’t put down 92 The wheels on the bus 1931 gem restored, driven 102 Ministry of fun Why driver’s cars won’t go extinct 106 Nigel Mansell On fire, metaphorically, at Goodwood 108 London to Brighton run We drive it in a 1904 Rover 112 Photos of 2022 Trigger-happy snappers’ top shots 114 Frankel’s festive miscellany It’s incredible but true 122 Mercy mission Plane needs help. Urgent. Send EV 124 Kid gloves British EV that’s teaching kids to drive 128 Day with a supercar How to get one and do it right 130 DIY lol Perfect Xmas project: build your own kit car 134 Xmas quiz Can you get all 45 correct? No Googling 136

OUR CARS Autocar Fleet Awards Best cars in the real world 138

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse ZF reinvents next-gen e-drive units 11 Jim Holder Europe’s car makers spell out EV future 13 Matt Prior New alternative found to the public bus 15 Steve Cropley Star cars and best moments of 2022 16 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 28 Damien Smith World Touring Car Cup; Extreme E 30 Your Views Spare wheels; ace Emira; EV emissions 144 On this day 1969: Triumph 2000 Mk2; Dear Santa… 147 Slideshow The greatest snow machines in the world 162

DEALS

As good as new Latest BMW 5 Series now just £18k 148 James Ruppert Japan’s surrogate ’90s supercars 149 Cult hero Why the Audi S3 was so ahead of its time 150 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 152 Road test index Track down that road test here 161

4 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 7/14 DECEMBER 2022

BRIT EV FOR A NEW GENERATION OF DRIVERS 128

DRIVEN: STEAMROLLER WITH A SPECIAL PAST 88

GET A SUPERCAR FOR A DAY: HOW TO DO IT 130

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ROAD TESTERS DO SECRET SANTA WITH CARS 32

XMAS ROAD TEST: ISLE OF WIGHT HOVERCRAFT 94

MERCEDES-AMG S63 TURNS 791BHP V8 PHEV 6