71

‘ In case you wondered, a car-derived van is dated by the

car trade in dog years’

THIS WEEK

Issue 6555 | Volume 315 | No 9

NEWS

Porsche 911 GT2 RS Hybrid Race tech, 700bhp-plus 6 Dacia Bigster Large SUV key in brand’s growth plan 8 2035 ban Crucial exemption for niche car makers 10 UK hydrogen network New firm’s H2 station roll-out 12 Thatcham expands Research body’s new test base 14 BMW X5 M, X6 M Facelifted duo priced from £123k 16 Crash repair issues Needless write-offs on the rise 18

TESTED

AC Schnitzer ACS2 40i Special take on BMW M240i 24 Volvo XC40 B3 Facelifted SUV in plugless guise 26 BMW iX1 Does electric power right the X1’s wrongs? 27 Nissan X-Trail e-Power e-4orce AWD ROAD TEST 28

FEATURES Civic Type R vs rivals Tough test for new hot Honda 38 Hazim Nada Aehra boss on launching his luxo brand 48 M&M pick and mix We create our dream BMW M car 50 Artist at work F1 and supercar parts turned into art 56 Inside Lunaz Why it’s not just EV-converted classics 58

OUR CARS Ora Funky Cat You won’t believe its keeper’s name 64 BMW iX Surprising figures after a mega-mile week 65 Alpine A110 Who needs seat ad justment? Actually… 67 Peugeot 308 SW More range for our PHEV, please 69

EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse How regen is pulling out all the stops 15 Jim Holder Why Tesla may regret its latest price cuts 17 Matt Prior A cunning plan to keep ICE engines alive 19 Steve Cropley Genesis GV60; F1 tech; Lotus Emira 21 Damien Smith Rally Sweden and Hyderabad ePrix 22 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 36 Your Views Price of progress; Lego cars; EV refurbs 60 On this day 1966: Audi reborn, DB6, Tasman Series 63 Slideshow Most complex cars the world’s ever seen 82

DEALS

As good as new Best way to bag a Cupra Formentor 70 James Ruppert Scrapyard-inspired bargain buys 71 Cult hero Bristol Fighter: 200mph-plus, £200k-plus 72 New cars A-Z Key car stats, from Abarth to Zenvo 74 Road test index Track down that road test here 81

Autocar (ISSN 1355-8293 USPS 25-185) is published weekly by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price is $190.00. Air freight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256. US postmaster: Send address changes

to Autocar, Air Business Ltd, c/o World Container Inc, 150-15, 183rd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA.

Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road,

Twickenham TW1 3SP, United Kingdom. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. Autocar is published by Haymarket Media Group, Bridge House, 69 London Road, Twickenham,

TW1 3SP, United Kingdom, haymarket.com Te l +44 (0)20 8267 5000 Autocar magazine is also published in Estonia, Greece, India, Japan, Latvia, Korea and Thailand.

Autocar is a member of the Independent Press Standards

Organisation (IPSO). We abide by the Editors’ Code of

Practice and are committed

to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you

think we haven’t met those standards and want to make

a complaint, contact autocar@haymarket.com. For more information, contact

IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or

visit www.ipso.co.uk

Haymarket is certified by BSI to environmental standard

ISO14001 and energy management standard

ISO50001

ISSUES WITH YOUR MAG? For subscriber issues, call 0344 848 8816. If you can’t find a news-stand copy of Autocar

in your local area, email autocar@haymarket.com

IMAGE

INSIDER INFO ON PORSCHE’S NEW 911 GT2 RS 6

AC SCHNITZER CREATES A CAYMAN RIVAL 24

FANTASY BMW M CAR BY DISDALE AND PRIOR 50

C O V E R STORY

❝ THE ELON MUSK PENDULUM HAS SWUNG YET AGAIN, BUT FOR HOW LONG? ❞

TESLA CUTS PRICES: EVERYONE’S A WINNER, RIGHT? NOT SO FAST, SAYS JIM HOLDER 17

Autocar is a member of the

organising committee of Car Of The Year caroftheyear.org

CIVIC TYPE R TAKES ON RS3, GOLF R, i30 N 38

COMMENT

THE NEW CIVIC TYPE R FEELS EPOCH-DEFINING

THE LIKES OF the Honda Civic Type R and Audi RS3 have specifications and technolog y more in keeping with a mid-engined sports car than the humble family hatchbacks on which they’re based. This rate of progress from car makers never ceases to amaze, yet the new Civic Type R, which faces all of its key rivals this week (p38), has a real end-of-era feel. It’s the k ind of car unlikely to be bettered without a significant change in approach, such is the leap forward it has made and the depth of engineering quality within it. Car makers recognise the change that will come through electrification and what that means in the short to medium term for true enthusiast driver appeal, so there’s a sense that the k itchen sink is being thrown at these era-ending machines because further steps simply won’t be allowed. Cars like the Civic Type R seemingly have so much more to lose and more challenges to overcome in a future switch to being all-electric. Those debates and stories are to come, but for now we must recognise and celebrate being in a golden age for everyday performance cars and enjoy them while they’re still with us, rather than lament any coming change.

Mark Tisshaw Editor mark.tisshaw@haymarket.com

@mtisshaw Rachel Burgess is away

youtube.com/autocar facebook.com/autocarofficial

twitter.com/autocar

autocar_official

NEVER MISS

AN ISSUE Subscribe p36

22 FEBRUARY 2023 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 5