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‘Everyone should drive a go-kart instead of a car. Life would be better’
THIS WEEK
Issue 6494 | Volume 310 | No 13
NEWS
Bentley coupé £1.5m Mulliner car for W12 swansong 6 Volvo rethink Estates and saloons to get ‘coupé-ish’ 10 Dacia on emissions Why i t ’s doing what others can’t 12 2021 sales report Which car makers won; which lost 14
TESTED
Ruf SCR Looks l ike a Porsche 911 but don’t be fooled 20 Audi R8 V10 Performance RWD Rear drive, 562bhp 24 Morgan Plus Four ‘Clubsport’ Early taste of racer 27 BMW iX xDrive40 Electric SUV f lagship in the UK 28 Cupra Born Plus rear-drive manual Porsche 911 GTS 29 Bentley Continental GT Speed Coupé ROAD TEST 30
FEATURES BMW M3 vs Audi RS3 4WD shootout with 900bhp 38 Road Test Yearbook Highlights and every car tested 47 Frankencar Fantasy motor from 2021’s greatest hits 72 Best car of the year Testers name their favourites 74 What’ll happen in 2022 Plus things you should do 80 Top news stories of 2021 Review of an unusual year 90 Say what? 2022 predictions for a parallel universe 94 Dakar Rally In-depth look at Audi’s EV challenger 101 Motorsport review 1 1 series , from Formula 1 to WRX 104
OUR CARS Porsche 718 Boxster GTS Did i ts charm wear thin? 108 Ford Mondeo I t ’s goodbye from Ford – and from us 110 Renault Arkana Stylish coupé-SUV enters our den 112
EVERY WEEK Jesse Crosse Under the skin of Audi’s Dakar Rally EV 13 Jim Holder Why UK’s best-selling vehicle i sn’t a car 17 Steve Cropley 12 personal heroes of 2021 named 18 Subscribe Save money and get exclusive benefits 46 Damien Smith Preview of new Formula E season 98 Motorsport round-up Five must-see 2022 events 99 Your Views Drop-tops, BMW 2 Series, Opel Manta 106 Matt Prior Buy one idea, get a year’s worth free 130
DEALS
James Ruppert Bargain pick-ups from just £2k 114 As good as new Latest VW Golf now down to £5k 117 Spied in the classifieds Five true rally-bred heroes 118 Used buying guide Lamborghini’s wild Murciélago 120 New cars A-Z Key car stats , from Abarth to Zenos 122 Road test index Track down that road test here 129
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FIRST DRIVE: RUF SCR IS NOT ALL IT SEEMS 20
V10 POWERED, REAR DRIVEN AUDI R8 RATED 24
ROAD TEST: BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT SPEED 30
COVER STORY
❝I REALISED HOW BARMY I’VE BEEN ALL THESE YEARS IN ARGUING FOR SINGLE OWNERSHIP
STEVE CROPLEY ON HOW THE CITROEN AMI CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT CAR SHARING 50
AUDI RS3 TAKES ON BMW M3 COMPETITION 38
COMMENT
PROGRESS CAME FROM ALL QUARTERS IN 2021
HOW WILL WE remember 2021 in the motoring world? Unlike in 2020, we were able to get out and about plenty in our cars, mostly without restrictions, and potentially attend one of the many wonderful returning events live in person. Much like 2020, we couldn’t always buy cars when we wanted, not for showrooms being closed but rather a lack of supply caused by a shortage of parts with which to build the cars. Here at Autocar, we’ll reflect on 2021 as another year of quite remarkable progress in the automotive industry despite all the challenges. That progress came from all areas of the industry. There have been some impressive new electric cars like the Kia EV6 but the real standout models of the past year have typically retained pistons, the Hyundai i20 N and Alfa Romeo GTAm among them.
Progress from both the new world and the old (Lotus Emira and Toyota GR86 to whet your appetite) will continue in 2022, showing that while EVs are getting ever-better, so too are combustion-engined cars, even now.
In the meantime, everyone at Autocar wishes you, your families and friends a merry Christmas and a happy new year. We’re proud to make this magazine for you and are so grateful for your support. We’ll be back on 5 January to get 2022 under way. See you then.
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