Autocar Online - News |
- Picture special: Flying cars at the 'Ring
- First drive review: Honda N Box
- Aston owner seeks buyer for firm - report
- Your favourite car of 2012
- Caterham launches Supersport R
- Mokka ‘not good enough’ for UK
- First drive review: Mini John Cooper Works GP
- First drive review: Toyota GT86 evolution
- First drive review: Mini Paceman
| Picture special: Flying cars at the 'Ring Posted: 10 Nov 2012 03:10 AM PST  Spy shots of the latest metal being taken seriously beyond the limit by fearless factory test drivers It's no secret that almost every car manufacturer tests its cars at the Nüburgring. For some it's a common-sense move to hone performance machinery to perfection, for others it would seem little more than a PR stunt to impart some sporty pretensions by being associated with the world's most famous racetrack. Whatever your opinions on manufacturer testing at the Nüburgring, there's no doubting that the test mules really do get put through their paces. It's not just sports cars, either. As our picture special shows, even the most unlikely cars are taken to the limit (and to the skies) by insane test drivers determined to find the weak points, so you never have to. Enjoy. Daljinder Nagra |
| First drive review: Honda N Box Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:39 AM PST  The Honda N Box is Japan's best-selling kei car, and is underpinning the firm's current upturn in financial fortunes Japan's best selling kei car.Around one-third of the cars sold in Japan are kei cars, size restricted vehicles that attract favourable toll and tax breaks in the largest cities.The main restrictions are in length (3.4m), width (1.48m) and height (2m). Engine size is also restricted to a maximum of 660cc and 63bhp.Around 20,000 Honda N Boxes are sold each month.The car is also noteworthy for having been commissioned by ambitious Honda boss Takanobu Ito, and its success is credited with forming part of the bedrock that is allowing the company's more forward-thinking plans now.It sits on a bespoke platform, the investment in which goes some way to explaining Honda's ambitious plans to spin-off more kei car products in the near future, including a roadster successor to the iconic but slow-selling Honda Beat.The N Box is available in front and four-wheel drive (Which adds 60kg and seems unnecessary given the car's urban credentials), with three trim levels on offer. We tested a mid-spec GL version with a CVT box. As well as the Honda N Box, buyers can choose the Honda N Box Plus, which is built for additional practicality, and has features including a rear ramp, and the Honda N Box Custom, which allows buyers to customise the colours and trims of their vehicles. |
| Aston owner seeks buyer for firm - report Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:27 AM PST  Bloomberg claims Toyota and Mahindra & Mahindra are among potential suitors, but the asking price is being baulked at Aston Martin's majority shareholder is seeking to sell its stake and has approached potential buyers, according to online reports. Bloomberg claims the Kuwait firm Investment Dar Co, which owns 64 per cent of Aston, has hired financial advisory firm Rothschild to advise on the sale and several buyers have already been approached, including Indian firm Mahindra & Mahindra. Autocar is awaiting an official comment from Aston Martin on the reports. Investment Dar was part of a consortium fronted by Prodrive's David Richards that bought Aston from Ford five years ago. Richards became chairman of the famous British sports car maker, which has been led by CEO Ulrich Bez since 2000, after the takeover. Bloomberg claims a sale of Aston is proving difficult, as a buyer willing to pay the $800 million (£640m) Investment Dar is seeking for its stake is not forthcoming. The report also claims Toyota conducted a one-week study around two months ago into the feasibility of buying Aston, but it has progressed no further with its interest. As recently as last month, Bez said Aston was not for sale, following rumours that it was looking to be taken over by a major car maker to help fund future product development. |
| Posted: 09 Nov 2012 08:00 AM PST  Its been a truly outstanding year for new cars. We've shortlisted our favourites, but can you tell us yours. Click your favourite and tell us why. We'll bring you the findings in our Christmas issue of Autocar magazine Survey Software powered by SurveyGizmo  |
| Caterham launches Supersport R Posted: 09 Nov 2012 05:08 AM PST  Faster Seven Supersport gets 2.0-litre Duratec engine This is the Caterham Seven Supersport R, the latest addition to the company's range of Seven sports cars. The mid-range model sits directly above the Supersport, and features a 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine in place of the regular 1.6-litre Sigma motor. It's mated to a five-speed gearbox and standard fit limited-slip differential. Power is up 25 per cent over the standard Supersport, now at 180bhp. With a kerb weight of just 535kg, the Supersport R will cover the 0-62mph dash in 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 130mph. The R retains the adjustable double wishbone front and De-Dion rear suspension, with Supersport dampers, of the standard car. Inside, the Supersport R is specified with a bespoke steering wheel, integrated change-up light, composite race seats with four-point harnesses and an aero screen. Optional equipment includes ventilated brake discs, trackday silencer and rollbar, carbon dashboard and a high performance Avon ZZR wheel and tyre package. Customers will also be able to specify a wide body (SV) chassis. The Supersport R costs £24,995 in kit form and £27,995 for a factory-built car. Daljinder Nagra |
| Mokka ‘not good enough’ for UK Posted: 09 Nov 2012 03:10 AM PST  Vauxhall commissions rush-job retune for baby SUV chassis Vauxhall has responded to stinging criticism of its new Mokka compact SUV by re-specifying and retuning the car's suspension and steering systems to suit British roads and tastes. But those first in the queue for the Nissan Juke rival will need to be vigilant to avoid buying a car built too early to benefit from the changes. Having believed the standard European-spec Mokka to be suitable for the UK during the early stages of development, Vauxhall was forced into a hurried retuning program at short notice, after verdicts landed from the first press drives of the car last month. "We were disappointed by the first press reports on the car," said Vauxhall Motors Managing Director Duncan Aldred, "but quickly concluded that the suspension tune of the car wasn't good enough." A team lead by Vauxhall vehicle dynamics manager, Gerry Baker, was tasked with bringing the car up to scratch dynamically, and has this week had the resulting revisions signed off. They consist of a stiffer steering gear mounting bush, a new software calibration for the car's electromechanical power steering, and re-rated dampers for the suspension. UK-specific dynamic tuning is usual for most new Vauxhall models. It's normally finished well before cars are launched to the press, but in the Mokka's case, was delayed by slow right-hand drive supply from GM in South Korea. The delay was just long enough, says Vauxhall, to provide an opportunity to react to press criticism and retune before executives were due to sign it off this week. There will be no post-launch re-tune for the new Adam 'fashion' supermini, however. UK Adams are due to get their own power steering software calibration, but will ride on the same suspension settings as European cars, which can be equipped on either 'comfort' or 'sports' springs. And, while the vast majority of UK Mokkas should be built late enough to be fitted with the updated parts, when Autocar asked the question, Vauxhall couldn't guarantee that very early UK cars ordered as dealer demonstrators or for dealer stock won't slip through the net. A spokesman stopped short of confirming that there would be no erroneous right-hand drive examples in the UK at all, but did say that "individual customers ordering at or after the car's official showroom launch later this month are certain to benefit from the revision". |
| First drive review: Mini John Cooper Works GP Posted: 08 Nov 2012 10:34 AM PST  Second generation Mini GP improves on its hardcore forebear in all aspects, but at a price The quickest Mini ever according to BMW. The previous GP was a stripped down, run-out model for the previous generation hatchback, but it was not as finely fettled as the 2012 edition, and the manufacturer has the Nürburgring North Loop lap times to prove it.An 18-second betterment is all the more impressive when you consider that the standard 1.6-litre petrol unit's output has only increased by 7bhp (thanks to an engine management overhaul) and 0-62mph has improved by just 0.2 seconds over the orthodox JCW.The difference, then, has come at the apexes; little wonder when you consider the seriousness of the chassis refit. The Mini's regular components have been replaced with individually adjustable coilover suspension, permitting the ride height to descend by up to 20mm. Vastly more expensive motorsport-derived dampers have been installed all-round; at the front they're fitted upside down to enhance longitudinal stiffness.First drive review: Mini PacemanAlong with the increased camber and reduced toe-in, the 17-inch wheels have been shod in bespoke (mercifully non run-flat) rubber, developed especially for the GP by Korean manufacturer Kumho. To tie it all rigidly together, front and rear braces have been inserted, with the latter occupying the place once occupied by the Mini's back seats.If that all sounds expensive, it is. The car's final cost is an eyeball-raking £28,790 - only marginally less expensive than the 315bhp M135i we road tested this week. |
| First drive review: Toyota GT86 evolution Posted: 08 Nov 2012 06:57 AM PST  Making the Toyota GT86 'better' is a tricky path. More grip and speed isn't necessarily more fun It's our current favourite driver's car. But, great as it is, inevitably the Toyota GT86 will evolve during its production life. More power? Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada hints at a supercharged version, pointing out there's no room for a turbo because the flat-four engine sits too low.Much more imminent, though, are the various options offered by Toyota Racing Developments (TRD), due in the UK early next year, and a possible harder-edged production GT86 with chassis and aerodynamics changes.That's the dark blue car, unofficially called evolution, you see here, which we've sampled at the scenic ParcMotor track outside Barcelona. An orange TRD car, specced-up with some expensive chassis modifications, made an intriguing comparison.In all, that TRD car had around £16,000-worth of kit including KYB dampers adjustable for ride height and damping force, a 15mm-power ride height on springs stiffened by 20 per cent, an extra carbonfibre front brace for the suspension towers, bigger brakes clamped by Brembo monobloc calipers, a four-tailpipe exhaust system, 225/40 Michelin Pilot Sports on 18in wheels and a racier interior with extra gauges and a concave-topped gearlever knob. Revised spoilers and valances finished the job.Result? It sounds deeper, revs a little better, stops with firm-pedalled authority and goes round corners faster, with sharper steering and a flat, planted feel. Which may be what some owners will like, but the standard GT86's delightfully accessible progression from grip to drift has suffered. It's almost too good, and part of a GT86's point has been lost. In this form it's simply a very precise, very grippy sports coupé, and if you do get it out of shape it gives you less time to think about sorting it out. |
| First drive review: Mini Paceman Posted: 08 Nov 2012 05:54 AM PST  The Mini Paceman is competent enough, but it just doesn't make enough sense - especially to look at The production version of the Mini Paceman - the three-door offspring of the Countryman we've only previously driven in development form. Dubbed, optimistically, a Sports Activity Coupé, BMW insists this is the car to bridge the gap between its family-focused crossover and the now ageing hatchback.A new design has been penned around the deletion of the Countryman's rear doors, which necessitates a retooled rear end, including a lowered roof line and altered tailgate. The subtraction continues inside where the standard rear bench has been replaced by Mini's individual rear seats (formerly an option on the five-door).Despite sharing all of its running gear with the Countryman, the Paceman's racier brief means it gets Mini's sports suspension, dropping the car a further 10mm closer to terra firma. The engines and transmissions are all direct carryovers: the familiar 1.6-litre petrol unit comes in both 121bhp Cooper guise and 181bhp Cooper S format (driven here). First drive review: Mini John Cooper Works GPSimilarly, the diesel options are split between the 110bhp 1.6-litre Cooper D and the 141bhp 2.0-litre Cooper SD. Every powerplant (with the exception of the entry-level Cooper) can be mated to Mini's ALL4 four-wheel-drive system for a premium, although front-wheel-drive variants will form the bulk of sales. |
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