The dictionary defines stop-gap as a temporary way of dealing with a problem. Just over three years ago, my problem was a lack of suitable transport. I plugged that car shaped hole by buying a much maligned Saab 9-3. It was only supposed to be a quick fling, but the Saab isnt far off becoming my longest period of car ownership ever. How?! I would have counted myself as a serial car buyer, regularly chopping and changing when the feeling arose. There are many cars that I admire and want, so when I ticked one off, I’d move on to…
Author: Chris Andrews
The World Rally Championship (WRC) stands at a crossroads and 2017 could be a make or break season. During the heady heights of the 80s and 90s, world rallying regularly made headline news and drivers were household names. Over the last decade or so, the sport has appeared a bit rudderless, suffering from debacles like the former promoter going into administration and a team exodus. Rallying just wasn’t interesting or relevant enough for manufacturers to back the series. In an effort to reinvigorate the championship, the FIA have sanctioned the biggest rule shake-up since the death of Group B. Even the…
Having possibly the ultimate M car in the showroom is no mean feat; a car which had a list price somewhere north of £120,000; despite that price tag, it sold out without ever having to be on sale. And to top it all, only 30 were ever allocated to the UK. Say hello to the BMW M4 GTS. The BMW M4 GTS is impressive for many reasons. Not least, the incredible performance – 500 bhp and 600 nm of torque means the GTS can lap the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 7 minutes 28 seconds. But perhaps the most impressive thing about the M4 GTS is…
Everyone knows the Toyota Land Cruiser is about. Tough, rugged, reliable. A 4×4 with strong heritage that won’t see you stuck. Speed and performance are not the Land Cruiser’s forte. Until now, that is. Meet the Toyota ‘Land Speed Cruiser’. A 2,000 hp brute built by Toyota USA’s motorsports technical centre in Los Angeles for the annual SEMA show. This incredible piece of engineering is billed as the world’s fastest SUV, with a potential top speed of 220mph. On the face of it, the Land Speed Cruiser looks remarkably like a stock US-spec J200 Land Cruiser (sadly this version is no…
It may sound like a cross between a Shakespearean play and a gourmet pizza, nevertheless the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio promises to blow the highly competitive sports saloon segment to pieces. Classic Italian styling hides a thumping 510 bhp bi-turbo V6 engine which produces a whopping 600Nm of torque. Alfa reckon the car can sprint to 1oo km/h (62 mph in our money) in just 3.9 seconds. That’s phenomenal performance. The engine note, as you would expect from a powerplant that shares DNA with the Ferrari California, is suitably throaty. It really just wants you to rev it so you…
Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle brought the curtain down on their season with a solid but frustrating fifth on Wales Rally GB. There was no doubt that the pairing would have liked to have given the Citroen DS3 WRC a more spectacular send off. However, all weekend, the crew struggled with poor grip and an unfavourable road position. Three days earlier, the outlook for the Abu Dhabi Total World Rally Team had been much brighter. In dry and mild conditions, Meeke and countryman Craig Breen featured at the sharp end of the shakedown times. Breen went third quickest, whilst Meeke recorded…
Jonathan Rea wrote his name into the history books by securing his second World Superbike Championship in succession. The last time this feat was achieved was 17 years ago by the legendary Carl Fogarty. A second place finish in the opening race at Losail in Qatar was all Rea needed to secure the necessary points. Rea had claimed an eighth career Superpole earlier in the day, fending off former MotoGP star Nicky Hayden in the process. Tom Sykes, Rea’s team-mate and the only rider who could threaten his world title challenge only made it to the second row of the…
The latest Land Rover Discovery was only unveiled in September 2016 and won’t be on sale to Spring 2017, but RMS Motoring grabbed a first look at the new model, courtesy of Charles Hurst. The fifth generation Discovery breaks with tradition by moving away from the angular, squared off design of previous models. The front is more sculpted and slippery and clearly shares a number of design cues with it’s incredibly popular Range Rover and Evoque stable mates. The end result is the most aerodynamic Discovery to date with a drag coefficient of only 0.33. It’s also much, much lighter,…
In one of the many discussions that take place during the month in RMS Motoring Towers, resident snapper Graham Curry revealed he was off to a Targa Rally. Blank faces all round. What exactly is a Targa Rally? Head honcho Andy Cooper developed visions of semi-convertible Nissan 300zxs dicing with old skool Porsche 911s, gumball-style. The reality is somewhat different. Targa rallies are a very low cost entry into a proper regulated motorsport. However, roofless is always an option. Imagine navigational rallying crossed with elements of autotesting. Competitors complete on special tests, which are held on private land and the…
Sunday. Day of rest. Lie in. Loaf around on the sofa. Relax. Or alternatively, get up at the crack of dawn and use the coffee element of the Thoroughbred Sports Car Club’s cars and coffee meet as the stimulant to enjoy an incredible collection of cars. The lush green expanses of Down Royal Race Course were bathed in the last remnants of summer sunshine and provided the TSCC with perfect conditions for their latest get together. An incredible number of beautiful and diverse cars parked up in front of the main stand and viewers admired an altogether different breed of…
The DeLorean DMC-12 is arguably the most recognisable car of all time. People stop in their tracks when they see a DMC-12; they point fingers, they smile. The DeLorean is a car that even non-car people can gush about. The distinctive shape, gull wing doors, coupled with a starring role in the Back to the Future trilogy has ensured global fame. Not bad for a lacklustre sports car that was hastily built in West Belfast, by people who had no automotive manufacturing experience. The DMC-12 started out as the brainchild of one man – John DeLorean. A whirlwind career in the US automobile…
Kris Meeke collected a momentous victory on the Neste Rally Finland today, after dominating the prestigious event from start to finish. The win means that the Abu Dhabi Racing driver joins an elite group of only six non-Scandinavians to triumph on the fast, demanding roads, surrounding the university city of Jyväskylä. The event served up the usual helping of high drama and spectacular incidents. Reigning World Champion, Sebastian Ogier saw any hope of a win evaporate on day 1, losing 16 minutes when his Volkswagen Polo WRC became trapped in a ditch. Ott Tanak had looked like an early contender…