RUSH Issue 004

HATCH WAR

MCLAREN 720S SPIDER

Welcome back

Another edition of the magazine, another issue to overcome not of our own making. This time the cost of living crisis and the shocking rise of fuel prices have pushed us to the limit, but we keep driving forwards. That word - driving - as you’ll no doubt be aware has multiple meanings. The first and obvious definition is why we are all here, for the thrill and catharsis an engaging car can provide along a good road. Another use of the word can relate to willpower and the ethos of this magazine, which is to inspire. Some of the eagle-eyed amongst you might have therefore spotted our new tagline - driving enthusiasm - on the front cover, to which multiple definitions apply.

This incorporates a fractional shift in the magazine, best illustrated by the McLaren 720S Spi der to the left. Don’t worry, we are not abandoning our roots that focus on real world performance cars, we’ll just be adding an occasional sprinkling of stardust to expand our reach. I’d be inter ested to know how you feel - I think Trinity and Ben did a great job on the article. The supercar is balanced our by our monster feature, part II of our internal Hot Hatch War where we take our own, secondhand, £5,000 hatches to do battle in the Scottish Borders. We experienced all four seasons and then some, which certainly curtailed the planned photography with the weathers best efforts to turn Andrews cameras into snow globes, but no-one stopped smiling the entire time. The trip was inspired by EVO magazines brilliant car of the year epics, and to enjoy such great roads in four opposing cars, with cracking drivers and company, then to sit down and dissect each car, the highs and the lows over a couple of beers really felt like we were living our own ecoty moment. I hope that comes to life in the storytelling when you read the mammoth 10,000 words spread across 32-pages. In such conditions, it really was any cars’ game - especially when you throw in the inevitable secondhand gremlins all cars acquire at this price point. This is so different from testing pristine press fleet cars and in my humble opinion, makes for a compelling read.

Elsewhere, we celebrate another McLaren, the F1, which has just turned 30. Buying Power takes a look at how you can get your hands on a Porsche 968 Club Sport, John Bee takes some Aus sie muscle for a spin and I see how the Suzuki Swift Sport, one of the simplest motoring pleasures, stacks up with hybrid tech. Sandwiched somewhere in between is a Clio V6, the usual Fast Club reports and a critique of the new direction the WRC is taking, finished off with Short Shift. Phew. As you can tell, this is our biggest, most ambitious issue yet, totalling over 50,000 words, all free, and once again I thank the team for making it happen. In return, please do us a small favour and spread the word. Thank you

I do hope you enjoy our forth publication

GIVEN

SENSE

WINNING

SHORT

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BENIGN DICTATOR/EDITOR DESIGNERS

CRAIG TOONE

CRAIG TOONE ANDREW AMBROSE

PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM

KOTTO WILLIAMS

JOHN BEE CRAIG TOONE ALEX DUNLOP ANDREW AMBROSE BEN MIDLANE JAKE THOMAS

ROAD TEST ASSISTANTS CHRIS TSOI RICHARD POWELL

CONTRIBUTORS TRINITY

KRISTIAN SPRECKLEY

TIM DUNLOP

MATT HARDWICK

JONATHAN BENJAMIN

TIM

FINLAY RINGER

MICHAEL

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@PISSED_ON_PETROL

ANDREW@RUSHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Ever more stringent emissions laws means even the most efficient cars must adapt to survive. But the swift Sport has always been about simple, honest thrills. Does the fun factor remain?

The warm hatch is a vitally important sub category of cars. They’ve been around almost as long as hatches with more firepower under the bonnet, professing to have equal sporting intent, but forever living in the shadow of the big guns. Owning one is an important stepping stone for the young car enthusiast who wants to experience en gaging motoring without the crippling insurance premi um, or a refreshing reset for the experienced driver who’s grown tired of the horsepower war. If a warm hatch fails to inspire, it could be the end of the road in that particu lar four-wheeled obsession.

Champions of the breed have come and gone, but since the mid 2000s the one constant has always been Suzuki’s sublime Swift Sport. Yet 2022’s Sport is a rather different animal from the one that first stole our hearts. Stringent emissions laws has meant the sweet and eager 1.6L four has been downsized and turbocharged, sup plemented by a 48v hybrid system. On top of that, EU meddling means the car now comes equipped with all manner of safety systems - blind spot assist, lane change assist and automatic collision avoidance, while the me dia system occasionally barks hazard warnings at you. It sounds like a recipe for weight gain and the complete antithesis of honest, carefree driving pleasure. Can the Sports cheeky character survive the increasing influence of the bureaucrats? Spending a week with one should ei ther confirm or allay these fears.

Straight away the exterior of the Sport strikes the right tone. The five spoke, 17” alloys look sharp and the subtle body kit, wrapped in matte carbon, adds a touch of ag gression alongside the rear spoiler and twin exhausts. It’s a well proportioned car that just sits a fraction too high, despite a suspension overhaul that drops the ride height 15mm compared to the cooking Swift.

I also rather like the interior of the Sport. For sure, it’s not going to light the fire of those fixated by soft touch plastics, but the standard bucket seats hug you in all the right places, the steering wheel looks and feels great whilst dark red highlights and a ‘piano wood’ effect centre console add a stylish element. I’m also pleased to see the touchscreen (including Apple CarPlay) is located within the dashboard rather than mounted upon it. Alongside the distraction, this current on trend eyesore is some thing we feel will age badly - graphics always do. Per haps that’s why I’m also getting too excited about seeing proper, analogue dials. Two main pods (one rev counter, one speedometer) are well executed on a satin grey back ground with maroon highlights, and inserted within each one is a smaller secondary dial to cover fuel and water temperature. Between the two sits a small digital display giving the impression of a sporting chronograph watch. The only oddity is the rather optimistic peak readingsthe rev counter counts to 8,000rpm and the speedometer reaches 160mph, yet it all feels part of the charm.

This is an interior that makes a rival Mini feel rather try-hard. It also has to be said that the overall build qual ity is superb and all the big car toys are present, such as radar cruise control, climate control, automatic head lights, rear parking camera and parking sensors.

There are drawbacks however, and the first major flaw rears its head in the driving position, which is far too high - my eyeline is only a couple of inches below the sloping roofline (despite having ample headroom) and my ankles are pitched at an acute angle to operate the pedals. It brings to mind sitting in a Golf buggy. Anoth er is the decision to insert some of the ‘piano wood’ into the bottom half of the steering wheel. It certainly looks flash, but it also looks rather prone to scratches from a fancy set of nails or a wedding ring.

The good news is restored by the powertrain, for the mild hybrid system only acts like the blank tile in a game of Scrabble, filling in the gap below 2,000rpm before the turbocharger comes on song. Think of it as electronic an ti-lag, our sort of green technology. Otherwise the duties of the 48v system are to act as a starter motor, take care of electricity generation, and offer a coasting mode dur ing motorway driving, all powered by scavenging energy via regenerative braking. Once you become accustomed to the feeling of strong engine braking when coasting, the integration of the technology is seamless. All in, the technology saves a potential 129kg of CO2 in a year com pared to the previous Sport.

Being a warm hatch, you’d think this is the sort of ve hicle where you’ll pay little attention to the performance figures, but such is the sheer roll-on pull of the thing I simply refuse to believe the quoted 0-60mph time of 9.1s is anything but sandbagging by Suzuki. The Sport has an indecent turn of pace in give and take driving, acquiring another 20-30mph faster than the cookie monster emp ties a jar of his favourite triple choc chips. I would love to see the in-gear figures, for I would certainly be more confident executing an overtake in the punchy Swift than I would in my much faster on paper Renault Clio 200. The performance certainly falls off sharply above 80mph, but I am not in the least bit surprised to note What Car? has recorded a Sport taking seven seconds dead to reach 60mph. Keep chasing the horizon and the Swift will eventually touch 130mph.

The key to this surprising turn of pace is a feather weight kerb weight of 1,025kg, motivated by a turbo charged, mild hybrid 1.4 litre, four-cylinder engine. That’s a lot of effort to make a humble 129bhp (delivered at 5,500rpm), meaning the “booster jet” engine is devel oping a mere 92bhp/litre, all in the name of emissions. But the flipside is an abundance of torque - a strong 173lb/ft maximum generated at just 2,000rpm. In fact, the little Swift puts a lot of heroic hot hatches in the shade in terms of torque-to-weight ratio, and actually matches today’s default choice, the Fiesta ST with 169lb. ft/tonne. Not bad for a ‘warm’ hatch.

Of course, this means the performance of the Swift is front loaded, the engine giving its best before 5,000rpm. That doesn’t mean it drives like a turbid turbo diesel, it’ll still respond and spin keenly to 6,000, but there is little reward in terms of thrust so the most enjoyable tech nique is to short shift at 5,500rpm and surf the torque once again. The slick and tightly spaced 6sp gearbox also

helps you keep things on the boil. One curiosity is the rev counter, which is red lined at 6,250rpm, but all the engine will give is 6,000.

Attack some corners and it soon becomes clear Su zuki has set this car up to be ultra friendly and accessi ble, with an overall handling balance of absolute neutral ity. Those 17” alloys are wrapped in modest 195 section rubber, meaning ultimate grip levels aren’t sky high, and combined with the low mass this results in very progres sive behaviour. The steering also toes the composure line, having a reassuring amount of weight to it but little in the way of feedback - such is the achilles heel of an electric rack - while the gearbox and clutch have a light and slick action. Driven hard enough, the body will start to roll, but it is the tyres, not the chassis, that succumbs to pressure first. At the limit the car leans heavily on the sidewalls, which compress easily and the car ‘folds’ into unpleasant understeer. The trait is reined in quickly and cleanly, but you’ve learned not to venture to that zone again - this is an eight tenths car that you steer around a corner in one smooth swoop of the wheel, almost guid ing it with your fingertips.

Driven thus, the Swift is immense fun threading through narrow country lanes or making the most of that clear roundabout, complete with a little protest from the tyres on exit as you ride that mid-range thrust. I would love to try a Sport on some more focused tyres - whilst the standard fit Continental Sport Contact 5 are performance orientated, they have been around for over five years now and the game has moved on. Certainly a switch to something sharper such as a Michelin PS4 would eliminate this behaviour. Purposely try and in duce some lift off oversteer and the most the Sport will do is tuck its nose back into line progressively rather than snap into an immediate correction. In this instance, the Sport loosely reminds me of the Fiat Panda 100HP taking part in the Hot Hatch War elsewhere in this issue, only one that’s been through a medieval stretching rack.

One minor frustration is the initial bite of the brake pedal, which has at least an inch and a half of soft trav el before the true bite begins. This is likely a deliberate move to smooth out the effect of the regenerative brak ing during regular driving, but the consequence is left foot braking becomes nigh on impossible to judge, and heel and toe takes some practice. In more expressive cars this might become a problem, but it is of little con cern in the neutral Swift.

For some keen drivers, a bigger potential pitfall is Su zuki appears to have put all its eggs in the sub NSL speed limit basket, and the team is divided over this one. The rift is caused by a complete dominance of tyre roar orig inating from the rear of the car above 70mph, which is loud enough to suffocate any encouragement given by the engine. The zesty spirit that got you up to this speed in the first place suddenly evaporates. The good news is

this means the swift isn’t a rowdy sod when zipping down the high street, which is refreshing in an era of artificial pops and bangz, but it’s a potential deal breaker for those who enjoy sustained performance on the open road.

That tyre noise also becomes a nuisance on a motor way cruise too, meaning you have to dial the volume up more than expected on the media system, whose speak ers could do with a bit more clout. Tuning into my fa vourite podcast streamed via my phone, I had to set the volume to twenty out of thirty for it to become audible. Again it’s a simple but intrusive fault that could be cured with a change of rubber, because otherwise the refine ment is superb for a supermini, and while the ride quali ty is taut, it’s never jarring.

Across a week of mixed driving that included stopstart commuting, motorway runs and two specific jour neys to our favourite North West roads for general road testing tomfoolery, the Swift simply refused to give an ything worse than 45mpg. Remarkable. Again, bringing up my own Clio 200 as a reference point, from a £47 tank of fuel the Swift covered 325 miles. The last Renault topup cost £87 and the trip computer offered me a range starting with a two. Such results trigger the man maths calculator, over my 12,000 yearly average, the Swift would save me £1,428 - or £119 per month in fuel. Now subtract that from the monthly PCP of £235 and the ac tual cost (to me at least) for a brand new car complete with all the toys and a warranty is £116, and I’ve already spent more than that maintaining the Clio in this calen dar year. Bring road tax in as a factor, and the outlay gets closer to £100/month. Compared to the dedication re quired to commute in my Clio, the Suzuki is like a magic carpet ride.

Previously the Sport has attracted criticism for its list price of £22,580, but currently Suzuki is offering a £2,000 contribution as a part of the above PCP example, making it great value once more. Overall, the Swift Sport isn’t a car for the get up at 5am and drive to the Yorkshire Dales brigade, and whilst that remains the primary focus of this magazine, we have to recognise fitness for purpose. This is a warm hatch, one that thrives in the real world with traffic, speed limits, spiralling costs of living and general misery, all while putting a smile on your facea sparse commodity in this day and age. It’s not perfect with the flawed driving position and soggy tyres, but it receives our full endorsement for its pure joy factor and honest motoring. Rather than smothering the driving experience with a dull throttle and 1,001 safety gadgets, the new hybrid technology is keeping the fire alive. For a keen driver, a second hand Fiesta ST remains the more focused machine, but it’s certainly worth trying a Swift Sport before you sign on the dotted line.

SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT

Engine - 1,373cc turbocharged I4, mild hybrid, 16v, max 6,000rpm Output - 129bhp @ 5,500rpm, 173lb-ft @ 2,000rpm Weight (DIN) - 1,025kg, 126bhp/tonne, 169lb-ft/tonne Transmission - 6sp manual, FWD, open differential Performance - 0.60 - 9.1s, max 130mph List Price - £22,570

The McLaren 720S Spider gives nothing away to its coupe counterpart. Surely that makes it a no-brainer?

he McLaren 720S needs little introduction. Successor to the acclaimed 650S, the 720 is arguably one of McLaren’s best road legal supercars to date. Its lineage is steeped in racing liveries and game-changing performance stats. The 720S moved the game on so much, it quickly garnered compari sons with the brand’s own, £1-million plus, P1 hypercar.

A tenth of a second slower than the P1 to 60mph, 49kg lighter than the 650S and far more striking than a Ferra ri 488 GTB, you won’t miss a 720S hurtling past - providing you don’t blink! Nestled behind the driver is the familiar 4.0 litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 720PS (hence the name), a top speed of 212mph, just 5mph less than the P1, 0-62mph time of 2.9s and it’ll do 0-124mph in an earth shattering 7.8s. What’s equally impressive is the Spider will return to stand still in an astonishing 4.6s.

But this car is so much more than raw numbers. Histor ically the P1 held the power as one of the most sought after McLaren’s but the 720S remains one of the best examples of a supercar that dominates on the track and doubles as a daily driver, as long as you travel light. It’s like the duality of the original Honda NSX dialled up way past a Spinal Tap 11. The Coupe was originally released in 2017, with the Spi der following in 2019, it was way before its time and for less than a quarter of the eye watering price of a P1 and nearly matching in performance, the 720S is a steal. Even at nearly six years old the design remains striking, captivating and fu turistic. If only the new Artura hybrid was so bold.

Curb appeal has to be strong for any supercar, especially one that’s worth more than a one bedroom flat (£200,000+). McLaren choose a different animal to inspire the design for each of their cars with the 720S taking cues from the Great White Shark. Admittedly in Volcano Yellow, it could’ve taken inspiration from an angry wasp but the design language is well suited to cut through the air or water.

Unlike the rear intakes on the 650S, the 720S channels the air through the door and up over the rear to keep the back end down. Where you get to really see and feel the impact of the calculated aero design is the spoiler. Hit 70mph and it pops up to give you extra downforce, not that the car feels like it needs it. The real novelty is when you brake hard and if you’re going fast enough it’ll spring up and act as an air brake. Unlike the accelerator you have to push firmly on the brake before it starts to respond but it’s satisfying to use a lead foot on at least one of the pedals. If you’re not keen on the Spider flashing its tail feather, you can deactivate the ad ditional aero via a button in the cockpit, however given the performance on tap, it should be considered a vital asset.

What struck me the most was how the laws of physics don’t seem to apply to the 720S. The standard sensations you come to expect in any car is forward motion and some body lean when cornering hard, even in cars tuned for minimal body roll. But the 720S makes you forget that movement in the sideways plane of motion exists. It’s so grippy and low to the ground that there’s no lean in the bends, but not in an un comfortable way because the chassis is so communicative.

It gives you implicit trust and maybe a little too much con fidence that the car will place exactly where you tell it to. You get so used to the grip, the wonderfully responsive steering and a lack of any tilting sensation that when you get back into another car, it feels like you’ll fall out the window going round a bend.

To play with the grip you’ve got track mode which flips the dash down into a minimalist no frills display showing just the revs, gears and speed. And there’s also Variable Drift Control so if you want to throw it into a corner and drift out of it, you can set the traction for your desired drift arc. Rather than con fuse, this is a suite of electronic aids that enhance the driving experience, focus the mind and open up the performance of the Spider to mere mortals.

For more low key driving around town, the front axle has a lift system to raise the car under 30mph so it can clear speed bumps without destroying the front bumper. It’s reasonably quiet at low speeds (particularly when off-boost) and it’s cer tainly a rarity on local roads. Tickle the accelerator though and the horizon you were just looking at is suddenly upon you and 30mph very quickly turns into 100mph. Should this amount of power and acceleration be legal on the road? The acceleration is so violent that 60mph feels like 120mph, you hardly have time for your brain to register how fast you’re going. There’s barely an occasion to even put your foot half way down. Ideal ly you need an open road that stretches for miles and miles to push this car to its limits. But even then you’ll always reach the limit of your conscience before the car’s roadholding expires.

It’s easy to see how people can wrap themselves round a lamp post within five minutes of owning a supercar like this. But if you’re going to crash it, it’s likely whatever you hit will end up worse off. The 720S has what McLaren calls the Mono cage II, and the Spider has the Monocage II-S. This carbon fi bre cell is designed to protect passengers and keep the weight of the car to a minimum, achieving an impressive kerb weight of 1,419kg. The carbon fibre makes it super lightweight but incredibly tough to withstand impact. For the Spider model, the cell has been adapted to add roll protection so even with the roof down you’ll be safe inside. Even though it’s an inte gral safety feature, it’s not unstylish, the carbon fibre comple ments the all-black interior.

In the cabin it all feels well put together with leather and suede feel materials all over. As a two seater you don’t expect heaps of storage room but there’s a cubby hole in the centre console to hold your phone and door pockets for any other bits and bobs.

The gear selection is straightforward with buttons down the centre but the infotainment screen is starting to feel a little dated. It’s due a refresh in 2023 so that’ll make the interior feel modern all over again. There’s plenty of steering wheel and seat adjustment so you’ll be able to get comfortable. If you’ve got someone riding shotgun, a handbag or overnight bag is probably better off in the frunk. It’s surprisingly spacious (for a supercar) with 150 litres of room or if you’ve got the roof up,

“RATHER THAN CONFUSE, THIS IS A SUITE OF ELECTRONIC AIDS THAT ENHANCE THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE, FOCUS THE MIND AND OPEN UP THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SPIDER TO MERE MORTALS”

there’s 58 litres where the roof sits, if it’s down, ideal for suit bags or your backup cocktail dress.

We’re all so used to the high SUV ride height but down low in the 720S the visibility is pretty good. Thankfully it’s got a reversing camera and an optional 360 camera as well as parking sensors so it’s not a handful to park or manoeuvre. It’s quite a wide car though at 2161mm, considering its chief competition, the Ferrari 488 Spider is 1952mm wide. But it’s not difficult to drive or gauge how big it is. As it sits so low to the ground it’s fairly easy to situate yourself in it and anticipate what gaps it’ll fit through. If in doubt, opt for a bright coloured version and people will move out of your way.

Out the back, the flying buttresses are glazed to max imise the view out the rear window. And if you want a little more engine noise from behind you, the rear win dow goes down even if the roof is up so you can let the V8 into the cabin.

One of the most satisfying things about the 720S is seeing the heat waves rising off of the engine in the rear view mirror and feeling the heat radiating from the engine. Now, the 720S has been criticised for not being tuneful enough and I can see why. In a way, it’s a victim of its own success - the drama all comes from how ef

fective it is rather than operatic, despite a redline that begins with an eight. In a way, it suits the Great White Shark aesthetic, just one with blood lust that’s got a whiff of crimson on the currents.

The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is flawless. If an ything it’s too good. It changes seamlessly and if you’re pushing it, it’ll stretch out beautifully through the gears but as soon as you’re cruising it calms down again. If you want that supercar roar all you need to do is switch to the flappy paddles.

If you like the manual driving experience then it’s a great way to feel more in control of the car. And it’s easy to see why it’s not available as a manual, it would be even more lethal. The purist in you might pine for three ped als, but trust me, in a car this fast it would be nothing other than a hazardous distraction that would land you in the nearest ditch, so the flappy paddles are the perfect compromise between fun and not dying.

Overall, the Spider takes all the advantages of the fixed roof version with none of the traditional drawbacks fresh air motoring can inflict upon a chassis, thanks to that carbon construction. The next inevitable quantum leap forwards McLaren makes from here will be truly special indeed

MCLAREN 720S SPIDER

Engine - 3,994cc twin turbocharged V8, DOHC, 32v, max 8,500rpm

Output - 710bhp @ 7,500rpm, 568lb-ft @ 5,500rpm

Weight (DIN) - 1,468kg, 484bhp/tonne, 387lb-ft/tonne

Transmission - 7sp dual-clutch, RWD, open differential with E-assist

Performance - 0.60 - 2.8s, 0-124mph - 7.8s, max 212mph List Price - £237,000

DRIVEN DISTRACTIONTO

The cost of living has Craig pondering one or two sacrifices, and his be loved Clio 200 is right in the firing line. But what could possibly replace it?

When I started this magazine I had a dream test in mind - gathering ten of the best and varied performance cars available for under £10,000 and taking them all to the Yorkshire Dales for a battle royale. Perhaps it would have occurred over two days or three days, whittling the initial list down to five, the survivors moving onto Cumbria for round two. On the shortlist was a 986 Boxster S, a Nissan 370z, the best Impreza the budget would buy, a Toyota GT86, Mazda MX-5, Integra Type-R, Renault Clio 200 and Megane 250, a Golf R32 plus an executive saloon curveball such as an Audi S4 or Vectra VXR.

It was a ridiculous notion given the logistics and scale involved for a publication run on whatever I can find down the back of the sofa each month, but I am a great be liever in the power of dreams and their ability to motivate. Sadly I no longer believe this dream is a reality, thanks to a perfect storm of Covid, the cost of living, fuel prices, the war in Ukraine and a will we, won’t we go into recession, the values of second hand car prices have skyrocketed. At least half of the initial list of contenders has appreciated beyond the cut off point. Some have even doubled in val ue. Of those that are left, you’ll be very lucky to purchase a sweet, trouble-free example. I urge you to form your own list of ‘ten-for-ten’ and then compare it to the above. I apologise in advance for the depression this might cause. We certainly had an abundance of choice eighteen months ago, whittling lunch hours away on Autotrader and eBay was a great pastime, now it’s all rather demoralising.

I’ve no doubt many of you have also been feeling the pinch. I adore my current sub £10,000 steed, the Clio 200 you can read about in the Hot Hatch War in this issue, but the squeeze has me assessing my options, and sadly it’s motivated by the head and not the heart. The list of excuses and denials that previously rolled off the tongue to justify blowing yet another wage slip on refresher parts no longer come. The to-do list has become longer than my patience and like the weather, it’s slowing but relentlessly eroding away my love affair with the Renault. What’s the point if I can’t afford to drive the car anymore? I can’t hide the fact a 22.8mpg average and bone shaking town ride is pissing me off - the Clio is my daily driver after all. The compromise used to be worth it. Should I buy a second car? An isolation chamber with die sel economy, heated seats and working air conditioning? I

could potentially save £100 a month in fuel alone making such a switch. This would also allow me to go “full project” with the Clio, turning it into a focused, lightweight special inspired by the Megane R26.R. As phenomenal as the 200 already is, I believe there is further latent potential in the platform that could turn the car into something truly as tonishing to drive. Alas, I’m soon moving onto a tight ter race street with parking already at a premium so it’s not an option. I desperately need a goldilocks car. Something fast but frugal. Engaging and fun but with sophisticated suspension. I don’t need Apple CarPlay but I would like a USB or the ability to stream podcasts and Google Maps. My budget is, you guessed it - £10,000.

So what paragon of refinement and refinement has caught my attention and driving the mental arithmetic? A Clio 182 Trophy. That’s right, I’m considering replacing an old Renault with questionable reliability as a daily driver with an even older one. I must need my head testing. But hear me out that evil little brain worm says. The subconscious voice that plays both the devil and angel on our shoulders, the one we all strive to resist but inevitably succumb to. It’s a part of our DNA as car enthusiasts. The whispers first start with how you’ve already owned three, so you know your way around the car. The voice recalls that whilst the 182 might not be as refined, it’s certainly more comfortable with its softer damping…especially with those remote reservoirs…right? Right? Gaining authori ty and momentum, the brain worm turns to economics. Despite only having five gears and the same engine, every 1*2 you have never dipped below 34mpg, and you drove like a complete idiot. Motorway runs will see 40+ and you know the Trophy will be just as fun when you turn off. Heck, the cars’ limited run, peak of the breed status means the residuals will be twice that of the 200. It might even appreciate.

The brain worm has won. I’m fully hypnotised and storm onto eBay. Sadly no decent 182 Trophy is available for £10,000 anymore. Dream-on sunshine, that ship has sailed. But then the brain worm starts again…just take out a small loan. Bank the proceeds of selling the 200 for a rainy day, or spend them on Rush. On average, you’ve already spent the £150 or so a month the loan would cost fettling the 200. I’ve found you the perfect Trophy. Go on, you know it makes sense…

PETRO SEXUAL

My anus is very happy right now, I bought it a gift. My bicycle now has a suspension seat post which softens any blow to my buttocks. Riding around is a joy without having to brace for potholes, divots, rivets or eager cats-eyes. The best thing is it only cost me £30 too. Far cheaper than buying a full-suspension mountain bike which are about £15,000 for some reason.

Unfortunately that brings me onto cars, because I managed to solve my hard tail’s hard tail by buying a £30 seatpost. So why can’t car manufacturers make their cars or seats soft and comfortable?

I sat in a MY2022 Mercedes CLA this week and the seat was so hard I ricocheted out of it and into a nearby attenuation pond. The seats were rock solid, painfully, remorselessly so… I even tried playing with the buttons and switches that make zero sense and do nothing that you expect them to and it was hopeless. The seats were hard, uncomfortable and not even good looking to make up for shortfalls. It’s a miracle that the suspension was actually good in terms of shock absorption because a compound fracture of the buttocks would’ve been guaranteed.

I thought I’d seek refuge in a new MY2022 Ford Fiesta ST Line Vignale Line Ecoboost Line Petrol Line MHEV Line and it was the same there, I’ve had more comfortable experiences sitting in a Judas Chair. Rock hard, flat, uner gonomic surfaces. Is it a new trend where manufacturers compete to make chairs that came out of 1920s peasant railway carriageways? Do they employ people who’ve sat in chairs before fitting them to cars or just idiot bookworms studied them in, well, books?

I’ve been in cars that cost £500 to £10,000,000 and all of which were made roughly before 2015 and the seats in those ranged from good to extremely comfortable. What seats as a bear minimum expectation tends to be. A 2007 Seat Ibiza’s seats are quite comfortable, a 1966 Ford GT40 MKII RK seats are surprisingly comfortable and a 2010 Alfa Romeo GT seats are extremely comfortable and sup portive, it’s like being Shaq’s little-spoon.

But new cars just make seats that are more common with a budget airline than a car now and I just don’t understand it. Because a seat can be hard, most sports or bucket seats are… But they’re adjustable or built in such a way it match es human anatomy so even the Sparco racing seats in my Racing Puma were perfectly good on a twelve hour drive through France. But the seats in a new Mercedes or even a 2018 Vauxhall Corsa I couldn’t bear sitting in for more than half an hour, being 100% truthful. Please try them if you don’t believe me and compare them to the car you had in the 90s or 00s, it’s astonishing.

I’m honestly lamenting the days where you could get into a car after work, drive home and just sit for a few minutes in your driveway because the seat’s comfortable, the music on the stereo is good and it’s quite zen, quite chill just to have five minutes to yourself in a comfortable chair. I’d give John’s left testicle to sit in a 1988 Ford Sierra Sapphire in a great gray velour armchair and listen to Ten Years After - I’d love to change the world. But now if I drive a new Mercedes, I get home and a team of sports physios have to fold me back into shape. You’d think Mercedes would be the last straw of comfort but they’re not.

There needs to be some sort of reform where manufac turers look to the past rather than the future and get the basics right so they can proceed with surer (butt) footing. The only car I can think of in recent years that’s been no ticeably comfortable is a £200,000 Aston Martin DBX 707. The seats in that car are very lovely, a bit hard from all the heating and cooling bits but they’re ergonomic so it doesn’t matter. But I don’t feel that’s acceptable… A car that costs as much as a two-bedroom house you’d expect to be very comfortable.

But why isn’t a new Ford Focus comfortable? The mk1, 2 and 3 focus were fantastically comfortable, the last two generations have been horrific. I drove a 2016 ST to Scotland and it made me sick, genuinely.

I’d love to change the world, starting with numb bot toms and bad car seats. But I don’t know what to do.

Big wheels, sports suspension and ‘ring records aren’t the only things contributing to a decline in ride quality in recent years, claims Kotto.

I have come to realise something about myself in the past few months and years, something that I feel I shouldn’t boast about out loud. Imagine you’re the only petrolhead at a party and it takes all you can do to not mention horse power, or the new suspension you recently fitted for fear of blank faces and awkward escaping shuffles. What I’m talk ing about is the love of estate cars, performance-oriented estates to be exact, because on one hand they make no sense but on the other hand they’re the only thing that does make sense. I love the mix of practicality for the everyday tasks and the sporting capability for when the ‘need for speed’ strikes.

Say ‘fast estate’ to a petrol head then and they’ll likely be thinking of Audi’s RS Avant offerings or a Mercedes wagon, breathed upon by its in-house tuning company AMG. They may even be thinking of the new electric Porsche Taycan Cross Tourismo which looks like a squashed Macan, in a good way.

There is one obvious offering missing from our favour ite German manufacturers though and it’s one that even the company themselves explored 20 years ago with the E46 shape, BMW and an M3 touring. A small caveat now as I’m sure you’ll be keen to point out, BMW did offer the M5 as a touring option twice in their history, but they seemingly didn’t quite get the recipe right like Audi and Mercedes. Having not driven either of them I can’t comment on an ything other than the looks and the specs on paper, where they look fantastic. In the looks department though, I feel as though they lack a bit of the drama that Audi and Mercedes bring, almost as if that wasn’t on BMW’s mind. With the M5 being aimed at the more luxury market, perhaps this wasn’t a priority for the M5 estates.

BMW M cars are one of the most popular offerings to those who dwell in the ‘Euro’ scene of car communities. M cars have often dominated in road tests and racetracks alike, but we have not seen the blending of performance and practicality to BMW’s smaller M3 offering. This is strange as Mercedes and Audi seem to have had great success with their performance estates, however from BMW’s perspec tive, an M version of the estate was too complex and compli cated (and therefore expensive) to be viable for production. They did try though, even completing a fully functional E46 M3 touring prototype (which is just glorious). However, adapting the E46’s touring body to fit the running gear of the M3 was deemed to be too expensive and complicated of a task for the company. Rather embarrassingly, BMW fans

have not shared the same thought process and have been converting touring’s, especially E46’s, into M3 tributes, to varying degrees of success, for years now. Perhaps the loom ing deadline for the production of ICE cars has prompted BMW’s decision to finally offer an M3 touring, trying to have as many last hurrahs as they can. It could also be that it is BMW’s performance brand’s 50th anniversary, hap py anniversary M cars! Whatever the reason we can now rejoice at the news of a properly manufactured performance estate from BMW.

Talking of performance then, how does this wonder ful new offering from BMW stack up against its fellow German rivals? Well with BMW holding fire on releasing actual numbers for now, they have told us that it will have the same turbocharged, six-cylinder S58 engine as the M3 saloon, as well as sharing much of its mechanicals. The S58 engine produces 473bhp and 443lb ft in standard form, with the competition variant giving 504bhp and 479lb ft, I think that more than qualifies the M3 touring for the fast estate category. What about how it sits in the market then, would you be better off financially buying a tried and tested RS4 or AMG C63? Well, the M3 touring is stated to cost you a touch more than its saloon variant which starts at £76,000 so expect it to be a few thousand more than that. Meaning that the BMW will be around £10,000 more than the RS4 Avant, it is pegged to be a much better instrument for the pursuit of driving pleasure however, so it just comes down to how much you value that.

Personally, I’m very glad to see an M3 estate as I have recently taken my first dive into BMW ownership with an E46 touring, purchased to have as a cheap diesel commut er. I had daydreamed about buying a crashed E46 M3 and swapping the parts over as so many BMW fans have done in the past 20 years, not being an engineer though this new offering from BMW might end up being the cheaper option. Something about this new M3 is nagging at me though and it’s the fact that it will have ‘that’ front end. I couldn’t help but watch the announcement and walk through on You Tube, showing the E46 M3 touring then showing the um… controversial front end of the new M3 and thinking there was a reason they only showed the rear of the car. However, you feel about the new grille design of the M3 you can rest assured that with that S58 engine on board you’ll not be seeing much of the front end of the car in saloon or touring form as its most likely to be blasting past you, now with the kids and the dogs hanging on for dear life too.

The fast estate bug has well and truly bitten Matt. So much so, he’s even rather fond of the new BMW M3 Touring, despite the grille.

FUEL

I must confess to being surprised, and somewhat nervous, given the RUSH team has continued to resist putting the kibosh on my piece in this fledgling digital publication. Surprised, as it never occurred to me I would be fortunate enough to share such ramblings with a wider audience; yet also nervous about scraping the bottom of the barrel after only two issues…

But since another bite at the apple has presented itself, I feel more emboldened to share my own dirty little petrol head secret: I don’t like Formula 1.

Actually, that is not completely true. I’ll often have the briefest skim of the BBC race weekend pieces, although more to ensure I’m not caught short in a moment of pain ful silence when small talk at the office water cooler dries up. Just enough to appear informed, but not so much as to prompt any enthusiastic response. According to the online metrics, I sit squarely in the cross-hairs of Formula 1’s mar keting team. So why the historic lack of engagement?

Like many other millennials, the legendary Evo/Impreza rivalry from the nineties and early noughties left a major im pression, spilling over into a wider appreciation for the other machinery that graced the sport. Although there was never any chance of getting behind the wheel of the real thing, we still had the posters, the model cars, the playground arguments, and most importantly, the road-going avatars of the beasts themselves. The emotional investment was in no small part rooted in the notion that through moderately hard work, we could, ourselves, drive the cars like the ones on television. By contrast, it’ll take a pretty determined marketing effort to convince me of any material connection between, say, the Mercedes 2022 Formula 1 offering and an AMG GT, beyond the badge, the presence of four wheels, and propulsion by a series of coordinated explosions. Rath er, manufacturers have to strenuously flag the connection to motorsport’s premier event by festooning their sporty road cars with naff decals and “editions”, in the hopes of amplify ing the lust factor. The effect is often quite the opposite.

Then there is the racing itself, which I have long found quite uninspiring. I’ll concede there are flash-points of drama, but by and large those are exceptions, rather than the rule. On the whole, the event feels more like the world’s

quickest parade for sponsors, spread across over 60-odd laps. Even the most recent changes to the Formula 1 2022 regulations to promote more of a cut-and-thrust dynamic, appears to be a tacit admission the racing isn’t as specta tor-friendly as the organisation would like.

Interestingly, Formula 1 seems to be launching a major media offensive to reach a new audience, which does seem to be working. On more than one occasion, friends of mine who couldn’t care less about automobiles noted their addiction to Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”. In a moment of weakness, my wife and I relented to peer pressure and were immediately hooked. Despite the slight whiff of staging, the opportunity to peek behind the curtain was fascinating. In particular, learning more about the characters and rivalries bubbling beneath the surface, both on and off the track. The 2021 stats released by Formula 1, appears to validate this charm offensive: cumulative TV audience for 2021 was up 4% from 2020, and total engagement across social media platforms jumped 74%. I even started to doubt my own prior assessment of the sport.

Tellingly, such doubts were quickly alleviated half an hour into an actual race. Distilling the drama and entertain ment of a full race weekend into a forty-minute episode may not present the mightiest of challenges, but trying to keep my eyelids open during the race itself certainly was. What became increasingly clear to me was the most compelling part of Formula 1 wasn’t the wheel-to-wheel action itself, but the characters and personal dynamics within the sphere. I didn’t so much care about the Red Bull vs. Mercedes rivalry, as for Horner vs. Wolff. Similarly, despite generally not giving two hoots about the Haas team, I almost shed a tear watching Guenther Steiner celebrating the fifth-place finish at the 2022 Bahrain GP. Interestingly, the 2021 numbers provided by Formula 1 don’t clarify how many viewers actu ally watch the entirety of the actual race itself, although my hunch is there would be a lot less to shout about.

Sadly then, despite my best efforts, a potential love affair with Formula 1 remains some way off. Yet as far as my colleagues at the office water cooler are concerned, I’m firm ly on-board the good ship Steiner. Just don’t ask me what D.R.S stands for.

Formula ~One is the pinnacle of motersport. Yet like many, Jonathan finds the off-track action far more compelling than the races themselves.

N E S W

THE SCOTLAND SHOWDOWN

HADRIAN’S WALL HAS SEEN SOME INTENSE FIGHTING OVER the millennia. Commissioned in 117 AD by Roman Emperor Had rian, the wall separated the civilised empire from the barbaric Caledonian tribes. Legionnaires defended their conquest against waves of native attacks around the clock, and every scar is etched across seventy broken miles of stone and fossilised in history... But nothing compares to this.

Be in no doubt this has all already gotten out of hand. Mortgages have been switched to interest only. I’ve been eating exclusively pot noodles, John has been staring so hard at the TDI North website he’s gone cross eyed. Every participant has stripped anything superfluous from their lives and channelled the savings into their cars. No more TV subscriptions, golf club or gym memberships. Anniversaries and birthdays have passed by without cards or flowers. Brown envelopes containing bribes that would make a FIFA executive blush are being bandied about like sweets.

The constant bickering has given me tinnitus, or maybe that’s because I completed the last stint of the road trip up to the stunning Scottish Borders in the Clio. The refinement of a saw mill combined with super short gearing - a 70mph cruise in sixth equates to just over 3,500rpm - was enough to see me casting envious looks towards the Focus and Civic Type-R. Despite being the newest car here the 200 is comfortably the most uncouth, and despite being the lightest of the trio making the pilgrimage

north, it’s proving to be the thirstiest.

As per usual Kotto has bought an engine first and a car second. Mark has purchased a motorised roller skate whilst everyone keeps telling me and John to “stop boring us all to death about cam changeovers and fancy hubcaps”. Do not for one second underestimate the Panda 100HP. Low weight, gummy tyres, Mark’s local knowledge and a bin-it-to-win-it mentality means scalps will be taken. At one point in the weekend Kotto will be seen walking around looking a little sheepish, and that’s not just because he’s Welsh.

The chances are you might have already made your choice based upon personal taste, or tribal loyalty. Even neutral judges Alex and Andy secretly admit to having pre match favourites. It’s been a couple of months since our initial opening salvo, so as ever, things have moved on. For some that has meant some automotive doping via modifications. For others it’s just been about ensuring they have the fairest representation of the breed. We’ve all had our issues and with so many flaws to fix, this test originally was in danger of becoming a phoney war. I had to call time and set a date. Thus several protagonists are wading into battle already sporting war wounds.

The engine in the Clio 200 might as well have been held in place by plasticine, so worn and torn were the engine mount bushes. In their place now resides a full set of Powerflex poly bushes. Next, an MOT highlighted play in the near side steering

rack joints. It’s a job that requires specialist tools thus better han dled by the professionals at BTT Motorsport, who also clocked a new wishbone and ball joints were required whilst in there. After fixing the annoying exhaust heat shield that rattled more than a pissed off texan snake, the car received an oil change, fresh spark plugs and ignition coil packs. Kotto notes the car seems suspi ciously raucous, which might be down to the Scorpion resonated cat back exhaust fitted whilst under the care of BTT. Rumbled.

John meanwhile must have been spending a significant amount of time in the company of the Russian Olympics team, because he’s dropped over £1,000 tuning his Type-R to the naugh ty side of 220bhp at the TDI North clinic.

This promptly caused the “new” clutch fitted by the previous owner to let go. Cue another £515 on an Exedy clutch upgrade and a lightened flywheel. This means there was no money left over for a decent set of tyres which could prove a massive over sight against this lot. At least that’s what he told us to expect, be cause he’s rocked up on immaculate lightweight alloys sporting suspiciously fresh Uniroyal Rainsport 5 rubber. Who needs a new bathroom anyway?

Mark, who won’t be joining us till the morning owing to a family matter (which is quickly assumed to be a cover story for some secret last minute Panda fettling by Loris Bicocchi) has endured some plain sailing after the mammoth re-commision upon delivery. It still hasn’t stopped him from having another

alignment - just to be on the safe side.

Kotto, bless him, has been spending a lot more time in the mirror each morning due to the persistent minor niggles his ST keeps spannering up. But in the moments of clarity - when he doesn’t have to take his more reliable TVR on the daily commute - he claims it’s still worth it. Just. His relaxed disposition suggests he might’ve finally conquered the gremlins.

Is all this fair? Perhaps not, but that is life in the secondhand car world - there is always something. They are reported for com plete transparency and to give members of Pistonheads some thing to argue about.

A different kind of argument is brewing on the A708 between Moffat and Selkirk however. I’ve been openly confident about the Clio’s chances in this round but right now there is a strong possibility the Type-R and ST225 will form a pincer movement and cut off the 200’s supply of 99 ron. Kotto has come a long way to be here and the road is impossible to resist - it’s only fair I let him and John go off and play whilst I impatiently scout photo locations with photographer Andrew. It’s our first time up in the Scottish Borders territory, yet already the anticipation is palpable. Even at crawling pace with constant stops the road is charming and the scenery isn’t too shabby either.

At least it would be if we could still see it, because at the Grey Mare’s Tail a sudden blizzard envelopes us. Five minutes ago we were basking in the sunshine. Welcome to Scotland.

he next morning Mark makes it to our arranged meet ing point with independent judge Andy in tow aboard the Panda. It seems the barbs have started as early as the alarm clock as Alex, the second impartial contributor to proceedings remarks that parked next to the other three, the little Fiat doesn’t look as if it belongs, like the awk ward outcast is trying to fit in with the cool kids at school. He might regret that comment.

I’ve been dying to get behind the wheel of the Panda ever since Mark woke up one morning with a fuzzy head and a sense of dread, the eBay app on his phone patting him on the back for his purchase. Having driven a 595 Abarth for issue 001, I know roughly what to expect - a major charm offensive, but dynamics that begin to un ravel as you push past seven tenths. This is because the two cars share a platform, but I believe the Panda has a trump card - its sensible 15” alloys and tyres with a gen erous 45 section sidewall. There is also no escaping the fact the Panda weighs a substantial 250kg less than its offspring, meaning there is less mass to keep in checkwhich matters when you have a wheelbase on par with a Mario Kart. Given that I’m also deeply into a phase of believing less is more when it comes to performance (at least on the public road), big things are expected of the 100HP.

You can’t help but grin in the presence of the Fiat. The regular Panda isn’t much of a looker but has an honest, utilitarian appeal to it, especially in 4x4 form. The 100HP takes the upright, top heavy body and visually lowers the car with chunkier bumpers and fabulous dinky alloys

that practically burst out of the moderate arches. There’s even a mock rear diffuser and a sporty tail spoiler. It’s like one of those purposeful but oddly proportioned car doodles you did in the back of your school book has come to life.

The strong Scottish wind is making itself known in full gale force form, so I swing open the flimsy lightweight door with both hands fearing it might get blown off down into the Glen. Safely ensconced from the elements, what captures your attention isn’t the expansive view out or a dashboard that looks as if it’s been crafted from stacked Lego pieces, but the comically tiny mirrors. The funky seats look tremendous but sadly they don’t cradle you in the same manner as the others here. It’s not helped by the perched driving position which would certainly ben efit from some reach adjustment in the steering column, as the wheel is positioned a fraction too far away to get truly settled.

Throughout my research there has been a bit of a ‘parts bin special’ feeling brewing in my head. The front brakes are lifted from the Grande Punto, as is the sixspeed gearbox, whilst the rear brakes are sourced from the 4x4. The suspension is improved 25 x 25 - which means 25mm lower ride height and 25% firmer springs and there’s a thicker anti roll bar at the front, whilst the rear axle doesn’t even have one. There is also a sport mode which backs off the power steering assistance by 20% whilst increasing the throttle response below 3,000rpm. Sadly, there is no switch to banish the ESP sta bility program.

Getting going, the Panda betrays its city car roots with horrid, light control weights that are better optimised for bumper car parking in Rome than the twists and turns of the Borders. Yet Mark has clearly weaponised wheel alignment - this is not your average Panda. It wanders around in a straight line like a distracted puppy sniffing out every camber and when you have to dodge a pothole you can zip around it like a pinball. He’s doubled down on the Fiat’s joker card - its agility. As I attack my first cor ner however, the Panda gives me a fright. The lofty, in secure driving position, light steering and penchant for body roll gives the impression the car is about to topple over - especially directly after a stint in the pancake Civ ic. Or maybe it was the strong gust hitting the slab-sided body at the exact moment I turned in.

It’s a very spooky sensation that takes some getting used to. It’s not helped by the fact the Panda seems to be devoid of any feedback whatsoever during this moment, due to the featherweight steering which is making it dif ficult to trust. Perhaps the car is just mocking my efforts, because I’m clearly not trying hard enough.

Once you get up to speed and push through the dead zone I’m pleased to report you’re treated to a hilarious handling balance that is actually very predictable and benign. The Panda simply needs to roll hard and settle into a bend, where it can lean heavily on its sidewalls. From this point the car just encourages you to drive it harder and harder. As the front tyres reach the limit of adhesion, the Panda transitions into understeer almost in slow motion. It doesn’t suddenly lunge off-line and cause you to instinctively jump off the throttle to pre serve life - its front wheels just start to spin and claw for traction desperately trying to keep the car pulling in the direction you’re pointing it. If you are pushing on and lift off the power or even apply the brakes mid corner, the car remains neutral and composed. Absent are the lift off oversteer antics associated with the likes of a 106 Rallye or Saxo VTR, which could be considered honorary rivals when you glance at the Panda’s spec sheet. There is no point in trying either, because you cannot turn off the ESP, although I’m sure I caught Mark rummaging around the fuse box earlier.

The Focus ST and Panda 100HP form the bookends of our purchases. They couldn’t be more different in the way they go about their business

Some might be more than a little disheartened to read this, but such handling security is what allows you to really drive the Pan da so bloody hard on the road. It never feels like it’s going to bite and consequently you spend more time attacking the road and with the throttle pinned than balanced. Kotto seems to be a very smooth operator in the Panda - “if you go looking for the engi neering expense and precision of the others then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. This is a tiny car with a generous engine so it’s very chuck-able and just brilliant fun.”

Alex agrees “there’s a spongy feeling to the controls, which takes a while to get comfortable with. The steering and chassis have an excessive amount of slop that the others just don’t. But if you trust it, it will reward you. You have to drive to its strengths, enter a corner a little too fast, lean into the body roll and let the chassis settle. It’s lack of weight means you really can manhandle it, but it never feels tied down. The driving position exaggerates

the topsy-turvy feeling of the chassis and in some corners, you feel like you might fall out of it. But if anything, that adds to the experience.”

Andy “I’d like a touch more power and less intrusive ABS brakes, but otherwise a rollicking great laugh and it doesn’t em barrass itself in this company.”

John however - a champion of the warm hatch category - is looking at us all with a furrowed brow. “I just can’t get on with the controls of the Fiat. I’m not saying I’m not enjoying the Panda - it has a character all of its own plus you can carry great momentum along the right road. It remains an antidote to the saturated power market and personality vacuum of modern cars, I just think you can do better than a 100HP if this is the type of car you want, such as a Suzuki Ignis Sport”

One car that is already garnering universal praise is the Clio 200. Mark is instantly besotted - “that front end bite is incredible

and the steering feels fantastic. Straight away you notice that Renaultsport magic. The car felt incredibly tied down and feelsome - the front end through my first set of tight bends felt hooked into the tarmac, as only an RS Clio does. I’m even a big fan of the M car girth steering wheel and I adore the ex haust too. It’s been over ten years since I was last behind the wheel of an RS Clio, and I wondered whether my memories of the various cars I owned and drove back in the day would come flooding back, or whether my perception would have changed after such a long time, and so much more experi ence behind the wheel. Turns out I’m already falling for it.”

It’s not hard to see why. The 200 is one of those instant impact cars that immediately feels right the moment you fly into the first corner. And you will, because the Clio inspires so much confidence from the off. The steering is head and shoulders the most feelsome here, alongside being perfectly weighted and ultra direct. Reactions to off centre inputs are instantaneous - this car turns in so sharp, and the chassis is right with it every step of the way, pouring into a corner as one cohesive unit. The body control is pure witchcraft - there is no need to let the suspension ‘settle’ into a corner or hard direction change, just flick the wrists, pin the throttle to the bulkhead, snatch a couple of gearchanges and hunt down the next apex.

Grip feels boundless and the brakes are a revelation too in the present company. The closest they get to fading is when you park the car outside a barbershop. The initial pedal travel is light, but wonderfully progressive and modulation quickly becomes second nature and if you do have to anchor on, the car sheds speed straight and true. You quickly forget about analysing the car and just immerse yourself in the drive, mi nutely trimming your line, pushing harder and harder. The Clio comes alive the more “on it” you are and soon you’re in the full rental/hire car zone, and still the 200 eggs its driver on.

The rear axle is so stable it makes the Focus in particular feel very nose heavy. It feels as if the weight distribution in the Clio is closer to 60:40 than the typical 70:30 split of a front wheel drive car. Like the Panda, this might lead those with the skills in their locker to assume the 200 is too inert, but switch off the well judged ESP and introduce some trail brak ing and the Clio will swing round. The difference is in the 200 any involvement from the rear is instigated rather than micro managed.

Is such a balls out approach to getting your kicks tiresome in the long run? Only if you like easy, turbocharged torque and quilted leather armchairs. In isolation, the F4R is a fire cracker of an engine, but in the company of a K20 equipped Honda, it’s made to feel a little industrial and dare we even say, sluggish? Perhaps it’s rather unfair to be judged against a modified VTEC, and there is no doubt the poly bushes are transmitting some rather unpleasant noise, vibration & harshness into the cabin that is absent from a standard car.

“Renaults befuddling two stage throttle doesn’t exactly help” says John “it feels like I’m activating kickdown in an old school auto. In isolation, the engine would be fantastic, like any NA unit it comes to life over 4-5000rpm and keeps pulling all the way to the redline where you hear a very motorsport inspired beep to let you know when to change gear. At first I thought that might become irritating, but I quickly ended up relying upon it. However, I was just hitting the 8,600rpm limiter in the FN2 and it revs with an eagerness the Clio can’t

Every car here is modified, whether thats through tweaked geometry (Panda) or doubling down on boost pressure (Focus)

match. The engine internals in the Honda spin with less inertia and it sounds better too.”

It’s an interesting conundrum because in the Clio’s predecessor the F4R was a centrepiece asset. In 200 guise it revs harder and higher than ever before thanks to the close ratio six speed gearbox. It also has a fatter spread of torque. It’s frantic, buzzy and bang up for it, yet you can’t help but feel the motor has lost a step compared to its application in the 172/182. Lifting up the bonnet could almost be viewed as a metaphor - in the older car, the unit looks steroidal, bursting out of the engine bay like the Hulk. In the 200, the engine appears constricted, suffocated by its surroundings.

One thing that is proving to be a big hit is the revised driving position. I’m not shy about admitting the £130 I forked out on the lower seat mount is quite possibly the best money I have ever spent on a car. It can drop the Recaro by as much as 50mm, but I settled on 40mm. It has changed the entire feel of the drive, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say its lead to better dynamics too considering some here are - cough cough - the wrong side of 110kg. That’s almost 10% of the weight of the car, which will no doubt have a knock-on effect on the centre of gravity. It’s not hyperbole either, because the kit only lowers the driver’s seat, so there is a direct, eye opening comparison whenever someone jumps in the passenger side. It cannot, however, disguise the low rent interior with its lopsided glovebox and a steering wheel that’s shedding its skin, plus the rather high running costs. We

know it’s futile to expect Lexus-like build quality from a French supermini, but next to the Ford and Honda the gap in quality is difficult to swallow. Don’t forget this is the youngest car here by a number of years - the 200 is teetering dangerously close to weekend toy territory in this company.

One car that doesn’t have a problem with its engine or refinement is the Focus ST. I will admit to having pre conceived prejudices against the Focus. Pure hot hatches for me are always the smaller cars. The Fiesta’s, Clio’s, 205’s and Mini’s. It’s just what I gravitate towards. And I know I should be professional and never judge a car by a stereotype, but the whole goldie lock ‘n chain, late night industrial estate meet and tuned to bursting point with an ASBO exhaust ownership profile puts me right off.

Yet the word coming down the grapevine is rather positive. Andy “this is my cup of tea. The gearbox feels the sweetest to use in my humble opinion and the steer ing is lovely”. Kotto “it can’t quite mix it with the others in the corners but if you do fall behind the Clio and Civic, just send a message to the engine room and you’ll be tail gating them again in the blink of an eye.”

Time for an attitude adjustment. It’s no groundbreak ing mk1 Focus in the styling department, but it does look rather fetching - even understated - in Performance Blue with dark alloys. The interior however does come across a bit too sober and lacking in imagination - the only thing that spices the place up are a trio of additional gauges and snug bucket seats, which are sadly mounted much

higher than anticipated. Still the materials are a cut above and the straightforward ergonomics mean I’m right at home.

None of that doesn’t matters the moment you give the Volvo sourced five pot its head. Lighting up the turbo engages warp drive and my god it sounds fantastic. The warble from the five cylinder motor is truly characterful right from tickover and the turbocharger is keen to join the party with minimal lag. You’ll know when it arrives though - there is not a chance this is a standard example the way it demolishes a straight. My butt dyno logs it at circa 260bhp with a nice round 300lb/ft. of torque. It re ally feels nice to rely on the boost too after the other three, which require driving like you stole them to get any meaningful form of progress. The mid range is a delight to occupy, letting the five pot dig deep against the gearing yet still keeping touch with the pack, and the aftermarket exhaust is perfectly pitched - full of bass without putting holes in your eardrums. There’s not a pop

and bang the entire weekend either. I’ll take my humble pie with extra custard thank you.

The steering, although quite light, guides the car sweetly - in fact all the control weights have a fantastic, fluid consistency to them. They aren’t exactly brimming with feedback, they’re just very pleasant to use. The gearshift is worthy of particular praise.

There is however, no disguising that bloated kerb weight. The Clio gained 150kg in its transition from mkII to mkIII also - a EURO NCAP safety rating of five stars a worthwhile penalty - but what Renault did is shift the dynamic bandwidth and altered perceptions. Ford chose to replicate what was already dynam ically great in the old ST170 but attached ankle weights. The chassis and damping feel good at a medium pace, where the car responds best to those with a smooth style. But once you push past a certain level the weight begins to tell and the body control is ultimately too soft, then the damping starts to get flustered

and it ruins the entire interaction. It’s not as overwhelmed as the front axle mind, which falls to bits with any enthusiastic ap plication of the turbo nutter pedal. Being fair to the Focus, I’m now on the narrow, nuggety section of the test route which isn’t exactly its natural habitat, but I’d already pegged the Focus as a point and squirt machine because the rewards for trying harder just aren’t there. I understand why Ford went to such extreme lengths when they engineered the RS now.

And it seems I’m not alone. “I have to start by saying, what an engine. I am Stig Blomqvist. Five pot warbles are the best!”

Says Alex “It makes all the right noises and just feels raucous. Its chassis is soft and it doesn’t want to be hustled, but you can push it and feel comfortable doing so. It’s shockingly refined for something that makes so much noise. Driving at medium pace is where this car works so well, use the torque and make up time on the straights. It’s not a car for attacking a road, but it is a car

for enjoying them.”

Mark “mega engine - sounds brilliant and I love the big fat lump of mid-range torque that arrives when the turbo spools up. Chassis felt capable, but unfortunately the front wheels can’t even begin to handle the fury the five pot can produce, which I’m sure was magnified by the weather conditions and that ruined the experience for me. Trying to push on felt like trying to tame a wild animal, entertaining to an extent, but ultimately unsafe! It also felt like quite a big car compared to the rest and a little wal lowy. I’m sure on the right roads, in nice dry, warm conditions, it’s a great car, but on these roads in the middle of a Scottish winter, not for me.”

On paper it appears that every generation of the naturally as pirated Type-R loses some of its banzai sparkle. The EK-9 had double wishbone suspension all-round - incredible on a car of this class. The EP-3 ‘breadvan’ kept the independent rear sus

“THE K20 SPINS SO FREELY IT’S AS IF ALL THE ANCILLARIES THAT DRAW BLOOD DETACH THEIR FANGS WITH THE ENGAGEMENT OF VTEC”

pension, but devolved to MacPherson struts at the front. The FN-2 is the least loved CTR because this time around the weight went up, the car gained a solitary BHP and a Torsion beam was now in place at the back, which demands firmer suspension in order to handle well. A poor showing on some poxy British motoring show also cemented the FN-2’s repu tation. Yet the Clio also has the same setup and is lauded, so what gives?

With Alex behind the wheel, the Civic bounds into view, intake chomping on the sub zero air before he sends the car into the final right hander, deftly handling a wiggle from the front axle. That looked good, and sounded even better. Time to sample what the Type-R truly has to offer.

Me and the Honda need to get up to speed quickly, be cause I’ve left it late in the day to get behind the wheel and the mad charge back to base for a hot shower and hotter curry awaits. After an embarrassing guffaw about not being able to start the car (why does the Civic have both a key and a starter button?) I’ve got some ground to make up. Still, at least it gave me time to appreciate the interior, which is as sharp as the Fords is sterile.

Straight away I’m driving the Honda much harder than I’d anticipated, impressed by its wheel at each corner feeling which is unusual for a family hatch of this size and mass. The refusal to acknowledge any form of body roll combined with an intake that draws breath like a peak 1990’s touring car quickly has my head full of Best Motoring fantasies. STARTOH! Suddenly I’m jousting with Dori-Dori ahead in the Clio, Hattori in the Ford on my six with Gan-San in the Panda making one of his trademark late braking lunges. I can still hear the over-excited Japanese commentary and pulsating euro-beat baseline now.

The K20 spins so freely it’s as if all the ancillaries that draw blood detach their fangs with the engagement of VTEC. I’m a little perplexed, because I’m fortunate enough to have driven John’s car in its standard format and I can assure you this is some transformation act. The uprated clutch and lightened flywheel are a match made in heaven for the tweaked engine software, which now introduces yo! mode at 4,000rpm. And don’t for one second think that erases the famous fireworks at the top end, because with another 20bhp to play with, the lunge to the redline is keener than ever.

Winding the K20 out to and playing chicken with the shift lights becomes addictive, allowing a momentary kiss of the limiter before snatching another upshift, hell bent on keeping the engine singing in the land of internet memes. It works both ways too, because the gearbox is so incisive and the throttle response is so sharp every downshift is a joy to perform, complemented by another bark from the intake. I don’t believe this particular gearbox is peak Honda, but in this company it doesn’t matter because it’s still outstanding and the Type-R has the only gearbox you whip around the H pattern just for the thrill of it. The aluminium gear knob also looks and feels fantastic.

The chassis is the next revelation. Hmmm, it shouldn’t feel so capable and close to the Clio - I didn’t expect to go around that last tight sequence with such speed and com posure. John has only fitted 25mm spacers alongside lighter alloy wheels and Uniroyal Rainsport 5 tyres, but it’s another quantum leap over stock. The spacers effectively increase roll resistance and lower the centre of gravity, which is in clear evidence, but my attention is drawn towards how effec

tive the damping is. Dropping to 17” rims has clearly been a masterstroke by John. With a lot less unsprung mass to keep in check and juicier sidewalls, the suspension is better able to take the sting out of the worst tarmac whilst still keeping the body in check. Speaking of which, it feels like the Honda has the strongest structure here when pressing on.

The ride quality remains undeniably firm - shading even the Clio for the most aggressive rebound here - however it never crashes or shits the bed down a nasty stretch. It real ly doesn’t like fast compressions, but the worst you will ex perience is a lack of travel or the tyres fouling the arches. You’ve got to get the confidence to drive through it, because the Type-R is never deflected off its line. It could be different however with a car full of passengers when loping alongI can’t imagine it coping anything like as well as the Focus when four up.

The steering is the big fly in the ointment for me. Nice ly judged weighting and gearing means it isn’t a complete dealbreaker - the feedback is just completely inert, making you wonder if the Honda will be difficult to trust when the going gets truly unsticky. The lads however, remain hugely impressed around the dinner table.

“The Clio and Type-R both go around a corner in a sim ilar manner - the Clio feels like it rotates better because the initial bite is so strong and the body pivots more, which makes it feel more playful. The Civic feels like it’s on rails, like a touring car that took a wrong turn out of the paddock. I f-king love it” exclaims Mark.

Alex concurs “I’d say the Clio is definitely more nimble. Its front end goes in at whatever rate you want and the rear follows. It’s alive during corner entry. The Civic is so flat, you turn in and there’s a stable balance from entry to exit. The 200 handles with excitement, the Civic corners with convic tion.”

Negotiating the poppadom platter with the precision of the Honda’s gearbox, Mark begins recalling his run back to the hotel in the Clio via the B6399. Pretty soon it becomes clear the blossoming romance is on the rocks. “I know that road was particularly choppy but the Renault was just awful. The damping fell apart, way too busy. I noticed earlier on a particularly tight, left hand hairpin that the suspension mo mentarily felt loose, but I ignored it. I was excited to get back into the Clio for the high speed run, my initial interaction with it having been so positive! Immediately I sensed trou ble, the previously immaculate steering was transmitting some signs of unrest, vibrations and subtle knocks quickly became evident of dampers that simply could not cope with the uneven and ragged surface below. The problem became magnified in the next few bends, the car unable to take my pre-apex throttle application without skipping 6-12 inch es wide, understeering violently as the front tyres simply couldn’t find any purchase because the dampers couldn’t

keep them planted to the unsettling road surface. Now, you might think this was just the road surface, and nothing to do with the Clio’s dampers, but the fact that I’d already been through the exact same section in the CTR and Panda, with no such dramas, made the problem abundantly clear.”

After ordering another round of Cobra’s, he continues - “I know Craig has been curious to hear the team’s thoughts as he singled them out in the group chat beforehand. I believe on this road that inkling has become a reality. Now I am left wondering if every RS Clio I’ve ever driven has in fact been a ‘tired’ example as I just never got the praise thrown at them when they were new. Up until now, the 200 had me under its spell”.

Away from the damper destroyer B6399, Alex has been impressed by the Clio’s damping and ponders outside of hard test parameters, would you send your own car down that stretch in the same manner? “The slightly softer edge in terms of damping works well across all roads and surfaces, only the roughest roads will undo it. It’s compliant and sup ple, which feels fantastic at higher speeds, next to the Type-R there is a feeling of brittleness about the Clio however. I’d love to try a refreshed car to put it beyond doubt.”

Over a curry spicy enough to thaw the Abominable Snow man, John gives us all some food for thought. “As modified the Civic now feels the raciest car here. There is plenty more to come from this platform too, such as the limited slip dif ferential from the later Championship Edition. This is how I feel Japanese performance cars should be viewed - you’re buying a baseline to modify from hoping to turn the car into something special. Me and Craig are probably on the same amount of money invested into our cars now.”

Indeed, it’s an interesting topic that warrants further phil osophical debate - the cheaper, unloved car with money to refine, or the more expensive ready made option and leave well alone. John chimes back in - “out of the box the Clio has a clear edge over the Civic in terms of driving dynamics” cue the but - “however, if you take into consideration the poten tial of modifications to the Type R’s chassis, I think the Hon da can take it. I believe it’s easier to bring the Honda’s chassis up to the level of the Clio’s - granted you cannot capture that steering feedback - but no amount of fettling will bring the Renaults engine up the the VTEC realm. And there is a much higher tuning ceiling in the K20 too. That said, right here, on this combination of tarmac the 200 still has its nose in front by a gnat’s whisker for me”.

What of the other two? Little is said other than when the Panda is mentioned it’s quickly followed by a mischievous grin, but the consensus is it lacks the ultimate clout to take on the leading duo. And the Ford? Everyone agrees it needs a big day tomorrow, but we’re heading for St. Mary’s Loch, where the roads are more open and flowing - which should play to its strengths.

“WHENEVER THE PANDA IS MENTIONED IT’S QUICKLY FOLLOWED BY A MISCHIEVOUS GRIN”

IT’S A HILARIOUS SIGHT WHEN YOU’RE SNAPPING AT THE heels of a smoothly piloted Focus ST, only to look over at the other side of the valley to see a Fiat Panda about 100 yards ahead of a pursuing Civic Type-R. Mark and the Panda are proving to be quite the double act.

There is quite the contrast between the way the Focus and the Renault make their way down a road. Mercifully it’s stopped raining, however the roads are still glistening. This is more of a friendly joust making progress than full on contact with the enemy. The gap ebbs and flows as the Focus finds a moment to deploy its straight line shock and awe, but cranking the 200 up through the next couple of bends immediately re-es tablishes the equilibrium. It’s clear the Clio has something in

hand over the Ford down this stretch of road, nevertheless I now feel a little guilty about christening it the Blue Whale at dinner last night.

The cars have nearly all picked up nicknames by now. There’s Kung Fu Panda for its giant killing act, Le Baguette for the Clio because we lack imagination and the aforementioned for the Focus. Only the Civic remains nameless, however eye ing up its brooding black paint and contemplating a superhero level performance thus far, The Dark Knight comes to me.

It’s an appropriate title, because once again the Honda is working its magic. Fresh from the Kung Fu sparring session, Alex is once again effusive. “The power train is an absolute master stroke. The engine is so tractable and free reviving, and

that gearbox is just something else. There’s a mechanical slick ness to the Civic that no other car here can hope to compete with. It felt so stable and was incredibly confidence inspiring, even in the pouring rain.”

There’s a security to this car that encourages you to keep the foot in, even as the rain momentarily turns to snow. In the dry, could that translate into a lack of ultimate adjustability? “I don’t think it would matter,” argues Andy, “you’d just go full Banzai chasing the limiter everywhere. Ten tenths is where this car seems happiest!”

“How great will this be on track with a set of R888’s?” Pon ders Mark, before snatching the keys out of Alex’s hand “as hard as I push, the Type-R remains unflustered. It’s always

100% composed and locked onto whatever line I point its nose down, with truly impressive damping.”

It’s a performance that continues to defy popular wisdom. And to think John almost bought the properly lauded EP3.

There’s a different cadence to day two that upsets an asses sor’s rhythm. Its tracking and action photography day, which isn’t the back stage access to a rock ‘n roll concert you might think. There is more standing around, more crackling radios and cars disappearing for extended shifts in front of a lens. Mo ments behind the wheel come in staccato bursts.

Perhaps that’s why I haven’t found myself itching to get back behind the wheel of the Focus ST. For me the Ford is a good car with a spellbinding engine, but it’s quite telling the ST is the

one I’ve spent the least amount of time in and we still can’t forge that bond even when passing St. Mary’s Loch for the umpteenth time. Sometimes, car and driver just don’t gel.

Being fair, this is the sort of day where the breeze bites and the rain penetrates down to the bone marrow. A day with as many tributaries streaming across the road as feed ing the - just about visible - Loch. That said, I’m still not sensing the inherent control and balance required to take the fight to the fleet footed Honda or twinkle toed Clio. The inescapable bottom line is, engine note aside I’m still not in clined to drive the ST very fast, nor am I being cajoled into misbehaving. Isn’t that one of the most crucial elements in a hot hatch? If not the most? After a while I find myself simply backing off and that doesn’t happen in the other three. The front tyres are struggling to accurately deploy the mountain of torque with the traction control off and it’s not the remap because the Focus is torque limited in first and second gears. Leave the system on and it scolds you far too much, hamper ing progress.

Despite our personality clash of the highest order, the Blue oval is still finding admirers. Chief cheerleader is Andy “I admit it can’t compete with the Clio or Honda, however it just seems to do anything I ask of it without any complaints. I know from previous experience that the handling balance is very neutral and compliant when the conditions aren’t against it. The suspension is really supple and have I men tioned the engine yet?”

“I’m normally quite vocal against unnecessary trinkets such as heated seats, but today they have proved quite in viting!” proclaims John. “The driving position is more nat ural than the Honda’s and the wheel comes up close to your chest and having such a wall of torque from what feels like tick-over is just as exciting as VTEC. This is a very fast car when the tyres find purchase or the torque limiter lets you have free reign once into third. It’s a level of surge only a turbocharged motor can provide. Gearbox lacks a little me chanical feel, throttle response is dulled compared to the others and the seats are a touch too squishy. Also, after afew hard miles the brakes can’t disguise they are slowing down a fair amount of mass. Despite the conditions they still ended up smoking after even a short run. That said, I’ll admit to having a wee browse in the classifieds last night for one to replace my Audi A2 as a daily - not that I can afford to. That’s usually a good sign.”

The punky Panda is beckoning for another stint behind the wheel so off I go bouncing down the road grinning from ear to ear. This car is a complete and utter hoot to drive and the opposite of the Abarth I mentioned earlier, which spar kles below seven tenths before deteriorating into a soggy mess when pushed properly. The Fiat will feel out of sorts unless you’re prepared to drive it on its door handles - it practically begs you to.

The little 1.4L motor has more than adequate perfor mance below 50mph, where neither the Honda or Renault can stretch and maintain a meaningful gap. The throttle re sponse is on point too - at least a match for the Clio if not the Type-R. The Panda is one of those cars in which the road testing figures disguise its true roll-on performance, because two gear changes are required to hit the (massively outdat ed in our opinion) benchmark of 60mph. The wide band of mid range torque plus practically zero inertia means the Fiat

picks up really well. An excess of grip over grunt also means you’re on the throttle much sooner than anything else here too. In fact, there are long sections in which you never con template coming off the loud pedal - the Panda is a car that stretches and elongates straights.

Unique here is the engine and exhaust remaining stock, so the Panda doesn’t exactly shout about what it has. How ever the engine emits an approving gruff noise when given it’s head. It’ll rev right out to 7,000rpm too, but sadly its best work is spent by 6,500. In the first couple of gears you’ll go looking for the redline, but once into third and fourth it’s just as effective to short shift around 6,000rpm and drop back into the hot spot of torque.

For Panda owner Mark, the love affair continues to blos som “the Uniroyal Rainsport 5 tyres I went for are proving

to be a great choice. They have excellent grip in the wet, and the steering feel is pretty decent too. Many complain they have soggy side-walls but in a car this light it’s simply not an issue. I used to only ever drive the car with Sport mode engaged, which used to be a ritual every time I started the car, but now I prefer the regular steering mode, it just feels more natural.

“The new brakes feel really good now and are bedding in nicely. I’ve read a few contemporary road test reports that talked of them being snatchy and difficult to modulate, but I haven’t experienced that at all. In this car the pedal feels nice and progressive and easy to judge. Perhaps the sneaky fettling by specialist mechanic JHD had a hand in that.

“Downsides? The ride is a bit lively and on a choppy stretch of tarmac it can get uncomfortably bouncy! However

it’s not a deal breaker on 90% of surfaces, and even when it does start to pogo about, it still tracks dead straight doesn’t seem to get overly flustered, most probably due to its low mass”

It is not a complete love-in however. As we all huddle to gether like Emperor Penguins the gearbox is causing quite the rift between the six of us. Mark is a big fan “it’s one of my favourite features of this car. The lever is mounted high on the dash like an EP3 Civic Type-R, touring car style. The shift action is very positive, and the ratios are short and evenly spread - second only stretches to 45mph, and third hits the giddy heights of 70mph! This helps the outgunned 1.4L feel much sportier than it actually is, and makes the most of the modest power. It gives the impression you are accelerating much faster than reality, as you fly up the ratios in a spirited manner, as if piloting a Group N rally car”.

Alex however, ranks amongst the worst he’s experienced. Personally I have it on a par with the Clio’s unit for the com plete opposite reasons. Where the ‘box in the 200 is far too notchy, you at least have the impression that you’re operat ing a mechanical device. The six-speeder in the Panda is in offensive in its action and you can zip around the box at great speed, but I agree the shift operation is so light I get little satisfaction stirring it.

But let’s not get carried away. It’s worth remembering that when new, the Panda wasn’t a huge amount more expensive than some of the cars here were purchased for only a few short weeks ago. It’s being kind to say the car was built to a price - when you back off all sorts of curious, functional noises emerge and the cabin would have all the ambiance of a Butlins caravan if it weren’t for the leather retrim. Every time the wipers operate I can hear the relay in the motor clicking. But then again, the only time I backed off in the Panda was for a snow drift.

Parking the Panda up and rejoining the Penguin Parade I can just about hear snippets of conversation above the wind. “Good god the Clio is a looker, its bubbled arches and pert lit tle derrière are just perfection. Then you spot those Recaro seats, wibble” squarks Alex.

John wades in, “just magical out here. You know exactly how far you can push the car and better still, it gives you this sensation no matter what speed you’re doing. You swear the already small car shrinks even further around you the faster you go - a trait only the best cars achieve. It talks to you, gives you the required information you need to make a decision as to what inputs you want to give back and then it responds instantly. Even as a certified JDM and Honda nut I’m com fortable openly saying this - I’m completely sold.”

Kotto has clocked all is not well with the Clio’s Brembo’s“whenever the car returns to base it’s clear something is up, because the passenger side disc ends up a different colour to the drivers side and is expunging a lot of heat. We have ourselves a sticking calliper - great for staving off frostbite, but not good for Craig’s wilting bank balance.”

Something else that appears to be wilting is the gearbox. The third generation Clio is famed for its chocolate syncros, most notoriously into third and fourth gears - yet that isn’t

It’s clear two cars have separated themselves from the pack, but which way will the judging go? And who takes home the wooden spoon?

the issue here. This example simply isn’t a fan of be ing rushed, almost as if it’s low on or has degraded oil. Press road tests waxed lyrical about the six speed unit, so I have fingers, toes and everything else crossed that a switch in oil as suggested by the forums is the solution.

For some it’s starting to ruin the flow of a drive con sidering the 200 encourages such an all action approach. Kotto confesses it’s starting to get on his nerves “the Clio is like that big summer blockbuster that everyone hypes up ad infinitum and you’re afraid that when you get to the cinema, it’s a let down. The chassis is right up there and the turn-in is so sweet, however the steering lacks that ultimate granular feedback required to elevate the car onto the god tier. The gearbox is terrible too and once I found out the brakes weren’t 100% it became difficult to put my trust in them.” But Kotto still leaps to the Clio’s defence “in spite of such irritations, it remains the most fun car here and the one I’m most comfortable pushing to the limit down roads that are unfamiliar to me. Can I have another go?”

South of Hawick (pronounced Hyyyckk - throw in a hint of Wookie and you’ll get it) a different member of the team is once again succumbing to the Clio’s charms as Mark disappears down the A699 on his own at quite a lick. When we eventually catch up, the big grin is back“that car has just redeemed itself for me!” he proclaims

with a glint in the eye. “The 200 and I were feeling a bit awkward with one another following our tempestu ous love-hate affair so far. Back on a smoothly surfaced and fast section of tarmac, I could sense within the first three bends that the little Frenchie was out to win my heart back! The unflustered steering and suspension was mind-blowingly good, the front end was limpet-like in its initial bite, resulting in corner entry-speeds that would no doubt be impossible in any other car here. This all meant that just a few miles down the road I actually had to pull over and wait for the rest of the convoy. We were flying, and the Clio felt absolutely epic!

That’s not to say the conclusion here is foregone. There is always more to a car than the way it tackles a series of switchbacks. For certain members of the team, there are compromises worth making for that one mo ment where it’s just car and driver on the open road. Others might put greater emphasis on theatre over pre cision. There are nuances in play that allow us to make a case for each one of the contenders. Hot hatches are a melting pot of priorities. The Focus has the blue collar muscle, the Panda is overflowing with a lust for life and we can all think of 8,600 reasons why the Type-R is in with a shout. But right here, on these roads and in these conditions, which set of keys do we gravitate towards first?

“IT TALKS TO YOU, GIVES YOU THE REQUIRED INFORMATION YOU NEED AND THEN IT RESPONDS INSTANTLY. EVEN AS A CERTIFIED JDM AND HONDA NUT, I’M COMFORTABLE OPENLY SAYING THIS - I’M COMPLETELY SOLD ON THE CLIO”

MORE THAN ANY CAR HERE THE FOCUS WAS A VICTIM of the conditions. Deploying almost 300lb/ft of torque us ing the front wheels with Michelin PS4 tyres was asking for trouble. Whilst its chassis was amiable, jumping straight into the Focus from the Clio or Honda highlighted the gulf in class - and the extra weight in play when hustling. In this company the ST was just a little too soft and alot too heavy.

Hustling was one thing the rather wonderful five pot engine was good at however, and this corrupted a couple of our judges into placing it ahead of the pugnacious Panda. The Ford’s turbocharged thrust was both its greatest asset and its biggest limiting factor on these roads, frequently overwhelming the front axle. You spent as much time ap peasing the WMD under the bonnet in the corners than tucking into the handling, which showed glimpses of its dry weather ability along the right road. Otherwise, the Fo cus was happy to let the house flies buzz off in the bends before teleporting right back onto their back bumper at the merest hint of a straight.

When the dust (or snow) settled however, the Focus qui etly began its assault on the ranks. Whilst we are first and foremost a publication about drivers cars, there is a lot to be said about how important the flipside of the coin is when you’ve spent over eight hours on an exposed mountain top, soaked to the bone and just want to get to the curry house free of interior rattles, with good headlights and the heated seats cranked up to maximum. The more polished control

weights, weightier gearbox and nicer steering (by majority consensus) also favoured the Ford. This meant it drew on ranking points with the Panda, but on tight and challeng ing Scottish Borders roads, it simply wasn’t as much fun to drive as the Fiat and thus collects the wooden spoon by my executive decision.

The Fiat Panda 100HP has proven to be quite the enig ma. It aggressively split the judging panel right down the middle between those who were willing to embrace its gusto, and those who simply could not gel with its ro ly-polyness. Panda by name, Panda by nature.

The little Fiat may have finished third in the rankings, however it gave many judges the biggest grin of the dayin some cases there were tears of laughter. It even enter tained when you weren’t even in the thing as it bucked and bounced its way down a road laser locked onto its prey or leading the way.

It was undeniably unfair to put the 100HP up against cars starting with double the power, but it can hold its head up high. It’s proof that driving pleasure comes in many dif ferent flavours (and that you shouldn’t always look for per fection), we just think this is one dish best served as a third or fourth car. One thing worth noting - whilst everyone could think of ways to improve the Panda, nobody wanted to modify it. The owners of the other three cars here can’t say the same.

There was quite the step up from the Fiat and Ford to

“IT WAS UNDENIABLY UNFAIR TO PUT THE 100HP UP AGAINST CARS STARTING WITH DOUBLE THE POWER, BUT IT CAN HOLD ITS HEAD UP HIGH”

the Honda and Renault. We have our winner, and it’s the FN-2 Civic Type-R. Shocked to see the odds-on favourite slain by the least critically acclaimed Civic Type-R? John certainly was, talking down the Honda’s chances through out the duration of the test. Or maybe it was tactical, low ering our expectations before unleashing the VTEC fury. Either way the Type-R has been a complete revelation and deserves the spoils of war.

Popular wisdom and the Jeremy Clarkson fan club will write the FN-2 off as being too slow, too crashy and a shadow of what came before. But this is a car utterly trans formed with the simplest of modifications. There is also the consideration that all is not well with this particular Clio. By no means a lemon, it’s clear as the day wore on that my 200 isn’t the fittest example of the breed. The gear box wasn’t as crisp as expected, the damping felt tired, the passenger side front calliper displayed evidence of stick ing and the car requires a new thermostat pronto. That’s the reality of our tight budget and we had to call it as we see it on the day - assessments made by our peers in fastidious ly maintained press cars are a different animal.

Even still, the Clio went down fighting. This was a nar row points decision - three judges still placed the 200 first in their personal rankings. It edges the Honda comforta bly in the steering and initial turn-in departments, it has

the best seats and driving position by a country mile and stronger brakes - despite the reported ailments. However, it doesn’t have a powertrain combination from the mo toring gods and if you could live with the FN-2’s steering, the Civic became a match for the Clio’s chassis in the wid er corners turning flatter and just as hard. It’s damping also proved to be firmer but more composed, whilst the body structure felt the most rigid here. When the going got tough, the Civic got better and better, and the revised VTEC profile and barking intake also made the car just as exciting when you just wanted to flow down a road. Then you factor in an interior that’s a clear step up and still looks current, plus much greater refinement when your hair isn’t on fire and the Honda completes the upset.

First blood goes to the Type-R then. But this isn’t over. There will be no peace treaty. This is a war of attrition. I’ve already vowed to return without my tail between my legs in a 200 with fit dampers and a sense of vengeance. Walking even taller than his usual 6ft 3, John is riding the crest of the victory wave and has agreed to a rematch - on track. He has further modifications up his sleeve. The Panda might join in for the craic, but one car that won’t be attending is the Focus, because Kotto has sold it. Neutral judges will once again be on hand to avoid mutually assured destruc tion - unless it’s of tyres

THE OBLIG OF

ATION GATION HOMOLO

The WRC is the world’s most exciting motorsport, so why does it feel like a shell of its former self?

has marked

the start of a fresh chapter for the World Rally Champi onship. The new Rally1 cars have brought a wide-ranging host of technical and regulatory changes to the sport, in troducing 500 horsepower hybrid powertrains - necessi tating shortened stages. The cars have sprouted massive aerodynamic addendi, and come complete with a ride height that wouldn’t look out of place in the Paris-Dakar paddock. They still bear some resemblance to showroom production cars, but only because the rules say so - under neath the silhouettes lie dedicated space-frame chassis’.

The new Rally1 regulations are predictable, but quite disappointing measures. For us rallying purists, it is rath er difficult to consider the soul of the sport as alive and well. The main allure of rallying is the commonality of stage and street. The rally homologation special brought the desirability of the poster residing, mid-engined super car to the masses and in most cases, at an affordable price.

After all, ever since the first rally held by the Automobile Club de France in 1895, rallying has existed to be the ul timate test of the road cars that consumers can purchase. Entire brands and sub-brands have their reputations built on the image of being stage-attacking machines that simply happen to be road cars. Ford has built its “RS” brand based on its rallying homologation cars such as the MK1 Escort RS1600 and the Escort RS Cosworth. Lancia’s entire standing in the world of car makers still rests upon their rallying back catalogue. Additionally, Audi has be come synonymous with the benefits of four-wheel-drive and the word Quattro. And then of course there’s Subaru. For many (myself included), the Impreza still represents the blue and gold chariots that propelled McRae, Burns, and Solberg to their respective world rally titles. Rallying was one of the best ways for a manufacturer to get their cars on the map, and was also one of the most relevant forms of motorsport to enthusiasts and consumers. Ret rospectively, there has not been a form of motorsport that can be credited for the creation of so many iconic homolo gation performance cars.

Homologation is the key. Even when the WRC had its crazy high watershed moment in Group B, it still spun off ridiculous halo models. Unfortunately, the current Rally1 regulations are only practical for the accounting depart ments of car manufacturers who take cost cutting to the nth degree and have no desire in creating rally cars that road car clients can relate to. Let’s take the new Rally1 Ford Puma. What relevance does a space frame chassis, 500 horsepower car clad in the most ridiculous aero seen since Fast and Furious carry to the average car buyer looking for Ford Puma family crossovers? The only con nection that the road and rally cars may share is a possible mentioning of the rally programme in the brochure. (In fact, I highly doubt that the WRC programme is helping Ford shift any more of its crossovers).

The pages that held the recipe for the rally-rep have already faded. It seems as if there has not been a proper “rally car for the road” since autonomous cars were considered an unrealis tic idea that best reside at Google HQ. In order to fix the World Rally Championship and create exciting, yet germane compe tition, I would like to point the FIA in the direction of a twowheeled form of motorsport. My exemplar is superbike racing.

The Superbike World Championship, as well as national equiv alents, have always utilised modified versions of high perfor mance road bikes for competition, rather than the silhouette style bikes in MotoGP. This approach has not only kept the championship closely relevant to sports bike enthusiasts and consumers, but also allowed more teams and manufacturers the opportunity to compete at a very high level due to lower financial barriers and developmental costs. For example, there are only three factory run teams in the WRC (Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai), while there are five in WSBK. That is also withstand ing the 12 privateer teams (10 of which are full season entries) also taking part in the championship, in comparison to precise ly zero privateer teams in the World Rally Championship.

The fact that the WSBK requires that race bikes be based upon road-legal superbikes is an approach that directly affects and improves the current crop of high performance motorcy cles due to the constant evolution that must occur for manu facturers to remain competitive. The need to homologate race bikes upon road legal superbikes created iconic modern ma chines such as the BMW M1000RR and the Ducati Panigale V4R. Both of these are at the forefront of the high performance motorbike pack with additional modifications to aerodynamics and drivetrains to propel their riders to superbike title crowns. This is the same mindset that car manufacturers had before the

advent of the World Rally Car regulations of 1997, that in order to create a competitive rally car, modifications must be made to make the suspension travel longer, the engine more powerful, robust, torquey and of course have wider bodies, rubber and wheels for a better contact patch and lower centre of gravity. All of these constant onslaughts of development served to cre ate more reliable, faster and compliant road cars. An additional byproduct of homologation is the outright coolness of the cars in comparison to most run of the mill flash supercars. Ironical ly, some of the rally-reps of yesteryear fetch higher prices on the market than many modern day supercars.

As we have seen in years past, the next generations of rally ing enthusiasts start to take interest in the sideways machines seen in media once these cars make frequent appearances on public roads and families’ driveways. I for one, speak from ex perience with this matter. During my very early years, my Dad owned a blobeye Subaru Impreza WRX STi in the traditional livery of World Rally Blue Mica and the iconic gold wheels. Our STi, along with WRC season reviews and the Impreza versus Evo rivalry on Best MOTORing, are what ignited my passion for both the motorcar and motorsports. In fact, there were very few things I enjoyed more than booting up Gran Turismo 4 and driving a version 8 Impreza Spec C. Although, while I consid ered myself a rival to the likes of Petter Solberg, Tommi Mak inen and Keiichi Tsuchiya, in reality, my objective was to keep four wheels on the tarmac and not crash at Flugplatz!

Just as with my enthusiasm for the Subaru World Rally Team, enthusiasts are naturally drawn to supporting the team or driver that compete with their desired car, therefore increas ing viewership and event attendance of rallies. This newfound enthusiasm of the public would also popularise rallying as a

sport and incentivize sponsors and governments to support and host events. This incentivizing would also extend to man ufacturers to continue to compete in rallying and to create ho mologation versions of their cars. Privateer participation would support both organisers with entry fees and manufacturers by selling additional cars.

We have already seen a small spark in the old pit of the rally replica in the utter epiphany that is the Toyota GR Yaris. Its bespoke platform and development inextricably tied it to rallying, thus setting the car community ablaze. This was the first occurrence since the Imprezas and Evos of old that a car manufacturer had bothered to bring a car that utilised rally car attributes to produce a better performance car for enthusiasts to drive on their favourite back roads. That link to motorsport that so few cars have brought the GR Yaris and Toyota not only ultimate kudos, but also order books that are accounted for through next year. With plans to make 25,000 units, the GR Yaris has reached production numbers that few thought were achievable for a type of car that has, for the most part, not been around for a decade and a half.

Toyota received grand praise for the GR Yaris throughout the world, including the rather problematic case of the U.S. market. Toyota had obviously not planned it as a “world car”, meaning that the GR Yaris had not gone through the strin gent American emissions and safety tests. Additionally, Toy ota stopped selling the Yaris nameplate after the 2020 model year in the United States, and since the GR Yaris is based on a separate platform and drivetrain, Toyota would have to bring a new GR model in the ilk of the GR-FOUR Yaris based on the U.S. homologated Corolla. That car, as I am sure those read ing are already aware of, is the GR Corolla, equipped with the same drivetrain as the GR Yaris, as well as a host of other Ga zoo goodies to satisfy the quench of American rallying enthusi asts. The GR Yaris had a profound effect on the world, whether as the ultimate modern-day backroad blaster, base for a rally stage hunter, or the perfect denier to those who say that the ho mologation special is a type of car that best resides in the natu ral history museums of the world rather than the Nürburgring or Rally New Zealand. It reminded us of the prodigious benefits

of motorsport directly feeding back to the people.

However much the GR Yaris revived interest in rallying, it was still never able to compete on the world stage, unlike the rally reps that came before it. In particular, I would like to point out the revolutionary Audi Sport Quattro, the stunning Lancia 037 and the oblique Peugeot 205 T16. All of these were success ful cars during the infamous Group B era. While most of the homologation specials during this time did not have as much recognition as road cars due to their lower mandated produc tion numbers and less stringent development, there is one im portant ingredient in the Group B recipe, variety. Street cred aside, one of my personal vexations with the sport of rallying is the fact that even going back to my beloved era of Group A, the cars have always been strangled by strict performance reg ulations: four wheel drive, a specific displacement, turbocharg ing, etc. Earlier in this piece, I wrote that rallying was created to be the ultimate test of the reliability and worthiness of the cars that the public can purchase. Rallying can no longer be the optimum evaluation of the motorcar as a whole if only one drivetrain layout and car body style is permitted to compete.

Instead of the overly stringent technical regulations that have been imposed by the FIA from the eras of Group A to Rally1, I believe that the optimum set of rallying regulations combines the freedom of technical layouts of Group B with the focus on homologation of Group A. In fact, perhaps multiple classes of rallying is the answer.

Ever since the dawn of the Audi Quattro, four wheel drive was always going to dominate the world of rallying no matter how much the Audis understeered off the stages and regardless of Lanica’s loyalty to rear wheel drive with the 037. Therefore, a four wheel drive class should be included, with no written rules on displacement. Thus admitting 1.6 litre front engined cars such as the Toyota GR Yaris and a 3.0 litre rear engined car such as the 992 generation Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. Let’s be honest, displacement has a minimal effect on the performance of modern cars. The only differentiators of outright firepower are the turbo boost and ability to cool the engine. Of course, aswith modern day rallying, power would still have to be re stricted, preferably slightly above 400 horsepower to maintain

status as the competitively dominant class of rallying. With these new regulations, the four wheel drive class will have a more diverse field including everything from rear to front engined cars, inline, V and boxer engines, etc.

Although, not everyone is looking for a turbocharged four wheel drive car to purchase, perhaps an additional class can be a front wheel drive class aimed at hot hatch backs that would be successful on tarmac based events such as Tour de Corse. Eligible cars could include the new Civic Type R, the Mark 4 Focus ST, or a John Cooper Works Mini.

Finally, what better way to add to the excitement of rallying than rear wheel drive. For decades, rear drive cars have been popularising rallying by powering around corners at absolutely ballistic angles, adding an additional layer of driver involvement and required skill. Even over the past decade, we have seen the benefit of allowing rear wheel drive sportscars through the R-GT class. The varie ty of cars competing with a wide scape of engine layouts, placements and most importantly sound, have increased spectator numbers at events and made for some absolute ly fantastic YouTube compilations. It is an absolute shame that the FIA decided to abandon the development of the R-GT category as it showed great potential, from creating additional intrigue in the sport among the public, to in creased involvement from manufacturers, to even priva teer participation. The new rear wheel drive class would admit a diverse field of sportscars with the likes of the front-engined Toyota GR86, rear-engined 992 GT3, and the mid-engined Alpine A110 as the ultimate attention drawers of the stages. To sum up, the three classes of ral lying overviewed provide a myriad of road-based perfor mance cars that could participate with great success in the world of rallying, whether that be on an international ba sis or on the smaller national scale. Inspiring the general public to become more passionate about the sport as well as to better relate to the cars used in competition.

For the past quarter century, the FIA has tried to make rallying more appealing to manufacturers by attempting to lower developmental costs with extremely lenient ho mologation requirements. This method was also used to try to appeal to the public by purporting it to be more relevant due to similar badges and basic shapes of car shells seen on the public roads. Yet, over time it has lost manufacturer participation because of the über costs for developing competitive cars as well as a lack of response by consumers to the competition programmes. And the general public who consist of consumers and enthusiasts have lost interest in the sport due to a very high discon nect between the rally and road cars. As shown above, the GR Yaris changed that perspective, it brought back some of the rally car magic to the public highways and drive ways. However, this year’s Rally1 regulations were a new step in the wrong direction by the FIA, causing them to continue down the rabbit hole of alienating rallying to the public. It is already time for a drastic change for the better with the suggested regulations to bring the performance road car back to the “six left, over crests” and the “imme diate hairpin rights” of the WRC.

In the early 2000s Vauxhall’s dour image was in need of a shot in the arm. Luckily for us, they dialled up some V8 thunder from down under

down under

adge engineering is one of the most depressing realities of the car manufacturing universe. The phrase immediately conjures up images of soulless white good hatchbacks com fort braking their way to the Post Office and unsympathetic accountants typing fat profit margins into spreadsheets. In our trying times, even flagship sportscars aren’t immunestep forwards the Toyota Supra. But occasionally, something rebellious sneaks its way past the bean counters and com pletely turns the concept on its head. One such car is the Vauxhall Monaro VXR.

It’s a curious melting pot of nationalities, the Monaro. Built down under in Australia on a Holden chassis, powered by a Chevrolet ‘small block’ V8 and in this case, lumbered with the most uninspiring of British badges. If it was a burg er it would have a double Detroit patty, a large dollop of Vege mite sauce and be smothered in smart price cheddar cheese. Depending on what part of the colonies you call home, it also goes by three different names. If your ancestors were prisoners, it’s the HSV GTO Coupe. If your late relatives got a bit upset about taxation on tea, then it’s the Pontiac GTO. There was even a briefly mooted attempt at reviving the Bit

ter marque on a re-bodied Monaro in Germany, but it didn’t gain enough traction with investors.

You’ll no doubt be keen to point out that Vauxhall has previous - the lithe VX220 and ludicrous Lotus Carlton spring to mind. But where the VX220 went to great lengths to distin guish itself from its Elise foundation with retuned suspen sion, inhouse powertrains and a distinctive rebody, the Mon aro received absolutely nothing other than a set of Griffin badges. And this is a very good thing, because the HSV in the above paragraph stands for Holden Special Vehicles, an off spring of GM’s Australian arm that likes to go motor racing.

At first glance, this big Aussie brute appears to have missed a corner at Mount Panorama and got lost in the Lan cashire countryside. V8 Supercar features like its massive AP racing brakes, cavernous bonnet nostrils and long boot spoiler are giveaways this isn’t your run of the mill sports coupe. A chic Audi TT rival, this is not. It has serious pres ence this car and I can’t help but admire its menace, espe cially painted in sinister Phantom Black.

Things get really intimidating when you crank the Chev rolet Corvette sourced V8 into life and everyone in a 5 mile

radius becomes aware that you’re here to cause some mischief. It takes a split second to turn 6 litres of freedom before the LS2 thunders away into a chop chop idle that shakes the entire car. Blip the throttle and you may well trigger the Met Office into giving a severe storm warn ing. That savage of an engine dominates the car, helped by what are in my opinion, must have modifications. A Brian Tooley Racing stage 2 cam gives it the lumpy idle it should have had from factory and a Wortec exhaust is responsible for the amplified anger coming from (a supercharged variant matching) 483 bald eagles at the flywheel. If you want a car that flies under the doppler radar, look elsewhere.

Slip behind the wheel and the intimidation factor switches to hospitality. Here the Bathurst comparison fades and the car shows a different, softer side. The electrically adjustable seats are like leather armchairs, comfortable, supportive, and perfectly suited for cov ering long distances. As soon as you turn a wheel, the car’s grand tourer credentials come to the forefront. The steering is low geared, taking more input to get round a corner than you first think. The wheel is also larger in di ameter than you expect, although its rim is thin and falls nicely to hand. Once you get used to these quirks, the feel and feedback it gives are surprisingly, one of the cars strong points. It’s beautifully weighted whether you’re cruising on the motorway changing lanes or charging hard on a twisty A road.

Despite the fantastic steering feel, don’t expect to be clipping apexes or throwing it into corners like it’s a VX220. Supple suspension and slow steering combine to give a more relaxed approach to getting down a road. The car just seems like it’s in no rush for the inner tyre to be hugging the inside line. You’ve also got to take into consideration the mass that you’re forcing to change di rection, around 1,700kg with no fancy electronic damp ing to help disguise it. That’s not a big figure by today’s standards but 16 years ago it was a bit on the porky side.

Far and away the car’s biggest weakness is its gearbox. It’s a short, stiff throw and it doesn’t like to be rushed. It’s clunky, notchy and is about as heavy duty as I’ve come across. The fact it requires patience to use, once again amplifies the grand tourer vibe though and not wanting to make excuses for it, the mountain of torque availa ble means you’re never really rowing through the box searching for that power band anyway. Owner Chris tells me there’s an aftermarket replacement available in the Tremec T56 Magnum - it’s a pretty penny but if it cures the car’s Achilles heel then it’s a price worth paying in my eyes. The standard box is very long geared, it’ll do 30mph in 4th but only just. That’s in part thanks to the spicier cam sacrificing low down drivability but also means by the time you’re hitting the limiter in 6th, if you’re brave enough and can find somewhere to do it, you’ll be blast

“SLIP BEHIND THE WHEEL AND THE INTIMIDATION FACTOR SWITCHES TO HOSPITALITY. HERE THE BATHURSTCOMPARISONFADESANDTHECARSHOWSADIFFERENT,SOFTERSIDE.THEELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLESEATSARELIKELEATHERARMCHAIRS,COMFORTABLE,SUPPORTIVE,ANDPERFECTLY SUITED FOR COVERING LONG DISTANCES”

ing along at nearly 180mph. This is the cars’ Australian roots showing - geared to cover vast distances for hours on end with the air conditioning cranked to the maximum.

The engine that propels you to that speed gives you the feel ing you have the power to change the Earth’s orbit with each shove of your right foot. It’s a relentless surge that only lets up at the upper reaches of its 6,600rpm redline and the noise it makes is nothing short of sensational. If you’ve not driven an LS powered car, it’s by no means as lazy as you think a Yankee 6.0 V8 would be, it’s all aluminium after all and the BTR cam gives it more peak power than standard. Give the Monaro a lighter, more positive throw gearbox and I would guarantee you’d shave huge chunks off 0-60 and ¼ mile times. Not only that, it would make the car more versatile, giving you the choice to keep it in gear and ride the wave of torque or drop down a few cogs and

enjoy the thrills of a big capacity V8 at full chat. I’m beginning to realise why “LS swap the world” is a trend.

Considering the huge pace on tap, I was disappointed in the brakes, especially since they are the uprated AP Racing units. They look the business with large, red painted callipers but lack any initial bite and you find your foot sinking further and further into the carpet before the freight train momentum gets scrubbed off. If you’re on a twisty stretch of road and pressing on in the big Vauxhall, you’ve really got to plan ahead with all of your inputs. It’s easy to think you’re going to plough straight on at the first corner when you’re not used to the car and that’s not due to understeer. You’ve got to hit the anchors early and with a fair amount of force, before getting the car turned in, again giv ing more input on the wheel that first anticipated. You begin to question if this car is a one trick pony, a straight line juggernaut

that can’t hide its American heart.

But this is where the Aussie hooligan comes out fighting. Forget how the car behaves at entry or apex, corner exit is where this car truly shines - it’s fantastic. That feeling when you plant the throttle mid corner and start easing off the lock to let the car drift out wide, the suspension squats, the cone type LSD finally wakes up and it just goes. Any minor adjustments can be made with your right foot but be brave, keep it pinned and the V8 hits its crescendo and slingshots you down the next stretch. For the vast majority of the time, the Monaro is a comfortable cruiser, more than happy to be the daily driver or road trip companion. On the right stretch of fast sweeping bends however, its mood changes and you become embroiled in a game of chicken. How early can you put the power down post apex? Truth be told, the traction control is on the intrusive side and when it does kick in

it’s not all that sophisticated either but I was under instructions from the owner to leave it on. It’s on budget tyres and this much torque can be a handful to say the least.

With a set of Michelin PS4S tyres (which Chris intends to fit soon) and a wide open road to play with, I can see why this car has a bit of a reputation with the Bogans down under. It’s a real Jekyll and Hyde and no doubt would be more than happy to throw you into a hedge if you’re not giving it your full concentra tion. Give it the respect it deserves however and I can see that long wheelbase giving you plenty of notice before the drift angle gets too much to save.

When the car was new it was unfairly shoehorned into a cat egory with the BMW M3 and Mercedes C63 of the day, of which neither is a direct rival. The BMW is much stiffer, far more re sponsive and sharper. However, unlike other cars of the comm-

onwealth, the Monaro has a transcontinental skillset. Imagine a Jaguar XKR with a manual gearbox, a limited slip differential and a naughty exhaust on you’re on the money. There’s no doubt it’ll cruise as well as the big cat - just without the opulence. For some that is a major stumbling block, just like the Vauxhall badge it wears. What about reliability? Chris’s car does have the odd niggle, the seat adjustment button that randomly downs tools and goes on strike is just one of a few things that need addressing and he’s already spent a few quid getting the paintwork up to scratch. But at this point, it’s a 16 year old car, I’m sure even a Lexus wouldn’t be perfect at this age. For me the badge really doesn’t matter and the LS2 is the main reason for that. It’s an assault on the senses like nothing else for the money and a two fingered salute to those who value style over substance. I can’t think of another car that would be so at home on a comfortable and relaxing, long distance cruise as it is bouncing off the limiter doing burnouts. I adore the Mon aro’s split personality. That ability to be an antisocial yobbo one minute, relaxed cruiser the next and back to being a menace to society with one press of the loud pedal is something that speaks to my inner child.

The follow ups to this model became even more potent with bigger capacity and supercharged engines kicking out preposter ous power for a saloon car. But what they gained in brute force they sacrificed in character. In my eyes at least, the coupe shape looks far better than the newer four door VXR8, squint and they’ve even got a whiff of fat Vectra about them. In an effort to move the car more up market, they tried to raise interior quality and give it

some style, chasing the BMW M5. However, going off the steering wheel alone, which is one of the least attractive designs in a mod ern performance car, they missed the mark by a mile. The Monaro on the other hand - despite its multiple identities - doesn’t try to pretend it’s something it’s not. Its designers probably spent 90% of the budget on the engine and did a very decent job of the chassis but bollocks to the rest. Other members of the team, in particular Craig, disagree. He used to live in Australia and has a real affinity for their macho saloons. Make of that what you will, or the fact that down under he’s a Holden man, yet in the northern hemi sphere he swings back towards Ford, the Judas.

The bottom line is there’s a real honesty to the Monaro VXR that’s endearing and no doubt why Chris is happy to keep throwing money at it. We are grateful the badge engineering focused entire ly on the engineering side of the equation, and the car cosmos is all the richer for its existence. If Craig could only afford the fuel bills, a HSV Maloo ute would be the perfect RUSH photography and support car.

VAUXHALL MONARO VXR 6.0

Engine - 5,967cc n/a V8, SOHC, 16v, max 6,400rpm Output - 397bhp @ 6,000rpm, 390lb-ft @ 4,400rpm

Weight - 1,677kg, 236bhp/tonne, 232lb-ft/tonne

Transmission - 6sp manual, RWD, LSD

Performance - 0.60 - 5.2s, 1/4m 13.9s @ 103mph, max 170mph

THE WINNING FORMULA

Is the McLaren F1 the greatest car ever made? Finlay Ringer takes a deep dive into the creation of a legend

On the face of it, Milan’s Linate Airport isn’t the most inspir ing of places. The city’s third ranked airport lacks any of the style and glamour most associated with the worlds’ capital of style, despite being just four kilometres from the centre.

There is no sharp architecture or distinctive interior design to fire the creative juices. But delve a little deeper into the de tails, and the catalyst emerges. You see, Linate’s official title is Airport Enrico Forlanini, named after one of Italy’s great inventors and aeronautical pioneers.

One man that cares deeply about the details is Gordon Murray, the chief designer of the all conquering McLaren Formula One team. He’s just watched his dominant MP4/4 fail to grant him the gift of a whitewash season - the Italian GP would prove the only race the team wouldn’t win that sea son, and Gordon needed to channel that frustration. Keeping him company are the other three key executives of McLaren; team principal and chairman Ron Dennis, investor Mansour Ojjeh and commercial director Creighton Brown. Mansour floated the idea of a McLaren road car, which struck a chord as each man had privately wanted to capitalise on the team’s success. The conversation flowed and by the time the four men boarded the plane home, Murray had fleshed out a four page manifesto on A4 paper, a blueprint to building the greatest supercar the world had ever seen.

But before we glimpse at the hollowed doctrine, it’s im portant to understand Gordon Murray - because all the great est cars throughout the years have tended to be the result of a single anchoring visionary. Ford’s Model T, the Mini, Land Rover, Miura, Lotus 7 and the McLaren F1. Cars by commit

tee tick boxes, they lack the singular purpose of a vehicle by the hand and mind of an Issigonis or a Bizzarrini. So, who is Gordon Murray? It’s more than likely that you’ve heard of his antics in motorsports and in road cars over the past sixty years, but his story is more than just an F1 win statistic. The South African born designer was the son of car-enthused Scottish immigrants and began his racing career on the Dur ban stage. His father was a motorcycle racer and designer himself, and he exposed Murray to the car world of the era through attending race meetings.

This was the spark, his mind the furnace which it ignited. From that point, his engineering prowess would forge crea tions of unwavering promise. He, like many of us, had been indoctrinated by the exceptional nature of the performance car and the tremble of the ground when it rumbled by. From a young age, he would spend his time exploring and drawing the technicalities of the motorcar – foreshadowing what was to come. An accumulation of chassis, engines and suspen sions systems were all ready for their moment to adapt the rule book.

The man with a penchant for music and speed soon rec ognised the importance of lightweight design – a trope that follows him to this day – and he became obsessed with the creations of the designers he idolised, such as Lotus founder Colin Chapman. Weight shedding became his creed, it was part of his most fundamental belief system.

He eventually had a chance to sample the forbidden world of motorsport when he built his first car (the T.1 or IGM Ford) in 1967, channelling his lightweight rationale as

Everything has a hierarchy, even ideas; those that defy convention normally stand out above the rest. It’s seldom seen, but there is the occasional vision which conquers the superlative, dominates hyperbole, and truly transcends criticism. In the 1990s, a certain Hawaiian shirt-wearing designer had such an idea, and he wielded it like a lightsaber against competitors armed with broadswords. It started, like most projects do, as a humble idea with a few visionaries scratching their chins ponderously - in a drab Italian departure lounge, in September 1988.

he wrenched away in his parents’ back garden. The racer used a reworked 1.1 Litre 4-Cylinder Ford engine and was based on the Lotus 7 platform, weighing a feather-like 440kg and paired with 90HP. He partook in a relatively suc cessful racing career in his homeland and maintains that learning more about driving made him a better designer as he knew how a car was supposed to drive and feel. He rev elled in the feel of a nimble and balanced machine; even later, he engineered some of his F1 cars to be able to fit his 6”4 stature for testing.

Heeding a calling to design at the greatest echelon of motorport, he jumped on a converted cargo boat to the UK in 1969, which was (and still is) the beating heart of Formu la One. There he wanted to hone his creative skills and he saw Brabham F1 team as a means to do it. A lucky interview led to him being hired by Jack Brabham. As a designer for the team, Murray worked with drivers like Carlos Reute mann and Alan Jones, garnering 22 wins and giving Nelson Piquet the materials to take two World Drivers’ champion ships.

Following a takeover by Bernie Ecclestone in 1972, he was made chief designer at Brabham. Corresponding with this was a contract from racer Alain de Cadenet; he wanted to build a 3-Litre Le Mans prototype powered by an F1-de rived Ford Cosworth DFV V8. Ecclestone allowed him to work with de Cadenet after hours, meaning he designed F1 cars by day and endurance behemoths by night - there’s worse professions, don’t you think?

Murray’s side project was understandably taxing, none theless it was what “put him on the map,” according to him; the Duckhams racer ended up 12th at the 24 hours race af ter running at a steady 4th for most of the event. That may sound underwhelming, but you must remember that they had a budget of a measly £5,000 and they somehow trans lated that to nearly being on the overall podium on their first visit to the circuit. Brabham’s newfound management and Gordon’s own growing notoriety meant that, at just 25 years old, he could take his experience and designs to fight at the top of the F1 table with cars like the BT46B ‘fan car’. He enjoyed great success with them for seventeen years but eventually parted with Brabham in 1986 following a de caying situation at the team.

After a sizable period in F1, Murray was raring for a fresh challenge. Fatigued from constantly rushing around

the globe, Gordon began thinking tentatively about step ping back and designing a road car. But then Ron Dennis came calling. When the persuasive McLaren CEO (who was understandably irate after losing his chief designer to Fer rari) picked up the phone, Gordon was coaxed into signing when promised full control on the programme and a blank canvas on which to paint his aerodynamic masterpieces. Oh, plus the prospect of working with both Aryton Senna and Alain Prost, which you’d have to be mad to turn down.

Murray pledged a maximum of three years at McLaren, bringing his time in the sport to a conclusion at the pleas ingly round number of twenty years. His three year stint as technical director translated to consecutive Constructors’ and Drivers’ World Championships from 1988-1990. Not too shabby. With a heavily fattened CV and twenty years of F1 experience, he departed from the sport to put all focus as chief designer and overall dictator of the F1 road car pro ject. By this point it was well underway and the best was yet to come. To build his ultimate vision, he began to utilise past ideas and designs that were yet to have their moment in the spotlight. His addiction to weight reduction began to consume him as he went to the most outlandish degree to hack away at the mass; it would make the backbone of the whole project. If you want proof of just how well and truly hooked he was on the kilo killing drug, just look at his carefully curated garage full of Lotuses, Abarths, Zagatos and even a Honda S800.

The stepping off point for the F1 was spread across those four sheets of A4 paper. There were no technical blueprints or watermarks, it was just plain old pen and paper. On the manifesto was an explosion of Gordon Murray’s psychehis ethos, ideas and design was sprawled across the page in haphazard bullet points. He wanted to execute a singular vision - no focus groups or shareholders, just the quartet of like-minded creators. It’s why the F1 is so different from its competitors. Such a simple piece of paper would set the precedent for a shift in the motor industry; it had weight reminiscent of Ford’s proposal to buy Ferrari or Audi’s peti tion to allow Quattro in WRC.

The nucleus of the F1 sat in a filing cabinet for a while be fore being pinned to the drawing board. It was not as simple as requesting parts to be shipped and production to get to work. When I say blank canvas, I mean it. There was noth ing; Murray was venturing into unknown territory, utensils

in hand, as he had to lay the foundation for the McLaren Au tomotive brand that we know today. It may sound glib, but everything that McLaren has accomplished since is partly down to what Murray and his colleagues did to lift their vessel off the ground. Gordon was given the opportunity to design the Woking offices in which he would erect his unorthodox reverie. The wall paper, personnel, and carbon composite monocoques all came with the Gordon Murray seal of approval.

A storm was brewing above the rival offices of Bugatti, Ferrari, Porsche and alike - their competition was about to get the insider look at every crease in their battlements. Favours were called in and cars loaded on transports to give Murray the opportunity to sample the current crop of supercars from the early 1990s (as well as some earlier examples like the Lamborghini Countach). He was a harsh critic, making a list of all of their foibles to know what to avoid in his own project. Once again applying his skills as a racer to root out problems; he knew what a car was supposed to feel like, and when something was awry. Unfortunately for the cult-classics of the ‘90s, they were more askew than a piece of ab stract art. The Porsche 959 was dull in comparison to the others but he loved its on-track ability; he believed the Jaguar XJ220 was cumbersome and poorly packaged; and the Bugatti EB110 was

bereft of torque with severe turbo lag. It wasn’t so scathing as to make Ettore Bugatti turn in his grave, but he was blunt enough to show up the trio’s indisputable faults. He’s an eloquent fellow too, I wonder what would have happened if Murray had dabbled in auto journalism. Could you imagine? ‘The ultimate ’90s group test, penned by Gordon Murray’

It was the Ferrari F40 that stood out in the sea of performance – he loved the steering feel and the powerful character that it embodied. Though, he critiqued the build quality (as many re viewers did), infamously quipping “I couldn’t build one because I didn’t know anybody who could weld that badly.” He found that his own daily driver of the time, a Honda NSX, was the bench mark for ride and handling quality due to its low scuttle height and the way the air conditioning had been moved from the dash board to the front boot.

He had sampled most of the best products on the market, now it was time to look for the best producers; Murray cherry-picked the best designers and engineers from the biggest institutions. They were jumping ship faster than the Titanic, specifically Lo tus and Jaguar lost a noticeable amount of their staff. The most famous of which was designer Peter Stevens, known for his work on the Jaguar XJR-15 and Lotus Elan, who was pinched from a

brief spell as Lamborghini chief designer. The F1 shared indica tors with the Elan, presumably swiped from the Hethel offices in a comically labelled box by the staff who migrated to McLaren after they had handed in their notices.

News of the project had been dotted through the automotive press, sending workers into an excited frenzy; this meant that Stevens had no trouble coercing his team to move to Woking.

His colleague, body engineer Barry Lett, left Lotus after working on the Lotus Carlton and the stillborn Lotus supercar with Ste vens, whilst his close friend Mark Roberts joined as a technical illustrator. Suspension wizard Steve Randle, who was the son of Jaguar chief designer Jim Randle, also joined the team. Murray also made a point to hire a group of young engineering gradu ates - I can think of less exciting first jobs. With his pre-produc tion ready and armed with the same design tools gifted to him years ago by his parents in South Africa, he got to work.

So what do you call the greatest car ever fathomed? The McLaren Work of Genius was a bit on the nose so, following two great debates in Masour Ojjeh’s London flat, the team went with something much simpler: F1. The name would invoke thoughts of their Formula One success and, as Murray quipped, “be 39 ahead of an F40”. Witty.

With the name under their belt, they just needed a car to accompany it. Gordon was an F1 engineer, so in his mind this project was “purely Formula One Technology applied to a road car.” The most radical form of motorsports translated to several fundamental ideas that he wanted to implement. I’m sure just mentioning the F1 provokes ideas of the 3-seater centre-mount ed, arrowhead driver’s seat design.

His test in rival cars had incited him to blow the dust off of the design, which he had drawn in college, in 1969. He became wea ry from their pedal offsets finding that his million dollar product shouldn’t need its drivers to contort themselves like an acrobat just to change gear. The wise choice of placing them directly in front of the driver also meant that the engine and gearbox were behind and the ram air intake was above them. All of this made for better weight distribution and made the driver more in volved with the cabin; the intake in particular was famous for its mind-warping noise, especially in the passenger seats. Another brainchild of F1, it lined the spine of the car and directed high pressure air into the engine and removed low pressure.

Alongside this, Murray followed his weight shedding scheme religiously and set an ambitious target of a dry weight of 1,000kg, which was nearly achieved. To him, parts couldn’t just be suffi-

cient - they had to be sensational. He went to the extreme and spent money with a ‘you only live once’ attitude, which is code for excessively. Each lightweight part was fitted to a carbon fibre pol ymer composite monocoque, which was one of the first of its kind and could - you guessed it - trace its roots back to F1.

The F1’s body is a staggering example of compact design. Its sleek nature is hypnotising and intentionally juxtaposed the obese, bewinged nature of rivals. But beauty sacrificed downforce, meaning that the underbody and rear diffuser were sculpted and paired with a small automatic rear spoiler and two electric fans which made use of ground effect - anybody else noticing a motif of Formula One design? The dihedral doors were inspired by the Toyota Sera, of all things, and its sharp and simple design is still distinctive compared to the busy angles of modern-day supercars.

The interior is where Murray’s packaging talent - another thing he learnt in his Formula One days- shines. It was function em bodied. Accompanying comforts like air conditioning and remote central locking were more niche details like a titanium-nitride Facom tool kit, 0.5mm thick metal plating and a Kenwood CD ste reo system (he didn’t feel radio was necessary) which Murray had tasked to weigh 8.5 kilos.

The driving position was adjusted specifically to the owner. The interior itself was covered in Connelly leather (aside from chassis 037, which had full alcantara) with some in a contrasting colour for the centre seat insert to make the revolutionary design stand out more.

Nothing was unnecessary; there were even carpeted storage compartments in the side of the car which swung out - he really made use of every inch of space, and it looked cool too. To finish the purchase, tailored luggage to fit said compartments and a spe cial edition Tag Heuer 6000 Chronometer wristwatch emblazoned with the chassis number came as standard; they would now prob ably sell for more than a modern McLaren. The only thing missing was airbags and ABS – for weight saving reasons, of course.

Statistics and finer details were murky at the point of con ception; their small company was originally riding on an over all program budget of £21 million, which included £8 million for development (excluding engine production). Gordon eventually overran by £500K.

The budget for the sales price, however, was left ambiguous. They had no idea how many people were interested in buying what was likely the world’s first million-dollar car, or how hard they would have to push the rhetoric of exclusivity and perfor

mance to make them look past such a ludicrous sum (and a £50K deposit). This also meant that they were not sure how many would be made: it was eventually decided that the contract would stip ulate that no more than 300 cars would be produced. In the end, only 106 examples were made, including the race cars.

If we’re following the theme of vehicles which sparked industry revolution, it would be criminal not to bring up the BMW 2002. Europe’s first car ever fitted with a turbocharger changed the land scape of performance cars permanently, and it was the brainchild of one Paul Rosche. Why mention this? Take a guess who’s office the stereotypical ‘90s hairstyle of Gordon Murray entered seeking a propulsion system for his creation. For Porsche, it was Hans Mezger. For Ferrari, it was Gioacchino Colombo. To BMW, Rosche was the engine guru.

The engine itself was enough to make him cackle like a super villain clutching his planet killing weapon. Gordon’s designs called for a V10 or V12 with around 450BHP. After inquiring at Honda, who were McLaren’s F1 engine supplier at the time, his saviour came in the form of BMW. Rosche proposed a 6-Litre naturally aspirated V12, which revved to 7,500rpm and produced 627BHP and 479 lb ft of torque - far higher than expected.

It was mounted in the middle of the McLaren, making use of new variable valve timing with an aluminium block and heads, double overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. Job done. The F1 was also the first production car to feature a 200mm diameter aluminium flywheel and carbon clutch assembly (much like in F1 cars) meaning engine response and efficiency go up and weight goes down. Cue Gordon’s grin.

Famously, the engine bay was lined with 16 grams of gold foil as a heat reflector. The only thing Murray didn’t like about the bay was the bracket on which the light switch sits, as it had to be moved due to the decklid lifting at high speed. It’s the little things, quite literally.

It was a powerplant that would put nuclear reactors in their place. The BMW masterpiece is now heralded as one of the great est powertrains ever composed, with an engine note reminiscent of Luciano Pavarotti’s deep bellows, combined with his screams as he’s hurled down the Mulsanne Straight at 200mph. The engi neers were so good that the start-up sequence was mapped out using a verbal impression that Peter Stevens did in a meeting, and their product was so mighty that the straight-six engine found in BMW’s M cars of the same era was derived from Rosche’s F1 crea tion. Murray would match it to a compact transverse-shaft 6-speed

“Alongside this, Murray followed his weight shedding scheme religiously and set an ambitious target of a dry weight of 1,000kg, which was nearly achieved. To him, parts couldn’t just be sufficient - they had to be sensational”

manual transmission and four-pot, aluminium Brembo brakes coated in 5-spoke OZ rims and bespoke Goodyear and Michelin tires. Light, fast and extravagant - the quintessen tial supercar, or perhaps the first hypercar?

To fine-tune such an immense piece of engineering, it had to endure some hefty mileage. So, what better than to cram a supercar engine into a BMW E34 M5 Touring? Rosche and his team chose the high-performance estate to house his design; it was never shown to the public and is the untold hero of the F1’s journey -without it, the ultimate naturally aspirated engine would be no more than fantasy.

Another two test mules were to follow; specifically, it was chassis number 12 and 13 of the Ultima Mk3. The first of the two lightweight track-toys was ‘Albert,’ which was used to de velop features like the gearbox, brakes and driving position. It used a Chevrolet V8 to replicate the V12’s torque and was named after the street where McLaren was based – Murray has used the names of English kings since. The other Ultima, ‘Edward,’ was focussed on engine setup. The royal duo was overseen by the McLaren team and would provide crucial development to put into the first purpose-built F1 chassis –XP1. The Ultima twins did not share the same fate as their spawn: they were both crushed to keep them away from the prying eyes of the automotive press.

Once all creases were ironed out, the prospective inter nals were fitted to McLaren’s first carbon monocoque. To create the F1, five experimental prototype vehicles of var ying degrees of completion were commissioned; they have been affectionately dubbed ‘the XP cars’.

Gordon had made it his goal to have a running car by Christmas of 1992. He and his cheery flock of engineers would have their grins wiped from them over 6,000 hours of work. This included the frantic few days known as ‘The Lost Weekend’, which saw sparks fly and sleep dwindle. The organised chaos would see no reprieve (except for one engi neer who deviated for the birth of his child before rushing back to the workshop - an excusable interlude, I’m sure you’ll agree). None of it was in vain as XP1 rolled out of the garage on its own power on December 23rd 1992, Murray at the wheel and weary-eyed mechanics watching on in awe. It was these sort of extraordinary events that showed how devoted they all were to build the most extraordinary car.

Once they had a working vehicle, thousands of test miles clicked away on the odometer. That was until it was vapour ised along with the rest of the car. During hot weather testing in Namibia, a BMW engineer clipped a gutter and careened off the road at speeds in excess of 150 mph; after several barrel rolls, the car settled in the sand and the fluids ignit ed, consuming the mass of crooked metal. The new carbon monocoque, however, remained unscathed, meaning the driver trudged away from the scene somewhat embarrassed, but nevertheless intact. The strength of the construction was proven once again with XP2 as it was used for crash testing. The chassis was so strong that it passed the test with ease – a testament to its thorough engineering.

XP3 had a more prosperous life in testing as it complet ed countless endurance runs at various circuits in Europe with drivers like Mika Häkkinen and Jonathan Palmer at the wheel. It was Palmer who made XP3 noteworthy as he reached a speed of 231 mph around the Nardo Ring in Ita ly, in 1993; the team knew there was more to give, but that would come at a later date. It was enough to whip the dumb founded journalists into a chorus of delirium, making them all the more excited for when they could have a taste of Gor don’s grandest creation to date. Eventually this silver spearlike machine would be gifted to Murray, as stipulated in his contract. He would sell the car later due to the high value making it difficult to drive on public roads.

The gleaming Dark Metallic Grey of XP4, which was per sonally configured by Gordon, as all of the XP cars were, would be one of the first F1s sold to a private customer. In dian businessman Roger Bhatnagar, who was based in New Zealand, wanted to avoid the wait of producing an F1 so ap proached McLaren about buying XP4. He resprayed the car Electric Blue and it stayed in Bruce McLaren’s home country for several years before being sold to a Californian collector.

It is XP5 that most enthusiasts come to remember: the infamous record breaker. After use as a test vehicle, it was registered as K8 MCL in April of 1994 and began to make the rounds with various automotive publications the following month. McLaren had made it explicitly clear that only one organisation would be allowed to gather performance sta tistics; those figures could then be standardised across all reports. The F1 wasn’t built with the intention to be overlord of all performance data, so Murray only thought one test was necessary to get some general understanding of just how good it was on paper. The only pitfall with this was the discovery that it was slower from 0-30 than an Audi RS2. It’s fine, nobody’s perfect.

It would be Autocar that eventually got the privilege of producing the first published road test of the paragon that came out of Woking. After years of negotiation, they would be allowed to test the F1 in May of 1994 with the road test editor at the time, Andrew Frankel, behind the wheel.

The test, which took place at the Millbrook Proving Ground and the Bruntingthorpe aerodrome, was hindered before it even began by the death of Ayrton Senna the day before. The legendary driver had close personal ties to the McLaren team and those involved with the F1 project. Though, the devoted engineers and team members were still present at the test. If there was ever an example of a group of individuals who were loyal to their work, this was it.

They laid the foundation for a flurry of praise which was hurled at the F1 in the following months; it carried agility reminiscent of a Lotus, but when mated with its 627BHP and 1,138kg, it pounced like a lustful animal. Car Magazine’s Rog er Bell said “My mind is blown. My soul corrupted. Absolute power has cast its spell.” Equating it to an unforgettable, ad dictive driving experience – a clear verdict, if I ever did see one. These types of proclamations were the reason why the

“My mind is blown. My soul corrupted. Absolute power has cast its spell. An unforgettable, addictive driving experience”

F1 is embedded into four-wheeled mythology, why car geeks far and wide can recall every idiosyncrasy.

Even in the modern age, Evo Magazine’s analogue super cars test was still bested by none other than XP5 – it was still the benchmark; the Porsche Carrera GT and Ferrari F50 got close, but the cigar was still somewhat out of reach. After 98,000 miles of rigorous use, it retired to the McLaren Her itage collection at the Mclaren Technology Centre. Though dormant, its escapades in Germany still print it into automo tive folklore.

On a brisk Spring Day in March of 1998, McLaren wheeled the Dark Metallic Green spaceship out of a garage in Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien Proving Ground with one goal in mind: solidify their car as the fastest production car of all time. After a few test runs and a change of trousers for driver Andy Wallace, the final combined speed was recorded at 240 mph. To this day, the F1 is still the fastest naturally aspirated production car in existence. Bugattis and Koenigseggs have usurped it on the top speed front but the F1 is still known as the first of its kind to achieve such feats of velocity.

But how was the buying experience for those fortunate enough to be able to afford the world’s most expensive car?

McLaren first demonstrated the car in 1992 during the Mo naco Grand Prix weekend, with the pre-production Clinic model, which looked the part of an F1 despite being based on an Ultima chassis. Such a grand concept stunned a wealthy audience and orders began to trickle in; sale was a slow pro cess with a handful of early buyers, but I guarantee that to day they regard it as one of the best decisions they have ever made.

It wouldn’t have been possible without sales director Da vid Clarke, who independently oversaw the distribution of McLaren’s product. He worked with the rest of the team to forge deals with some of the world’s richest collectors, in cluding the Sultan of Brunei; he is still the go-to reseller for the F1, which is not a bad responsibility to have. Clark is also famous for owning chassis 06R, which was the F1 GTR spon sored by Harrods that finished third place at Le Mans in 1995.

Ironically, he implemented a policy that a racer would have to purchase a road car if they wanted to buy a GTR as well, setting the precedent for the sale of upmarket cars for years to come. I’m looking at you Ferrari sales team. Ever the investor, he also owns a majority of the spare engine parts for the F1 road and race cars, just in case they should go up in value…Today the F1 has an owners list that makes even the most exclusive of manufacturers feel a tinge of jealousy; ce lebrities and racing drivers alike decreed it a worthy invest ment, highlighting just how special it is.

Accompanying a lengthy pay cheque, the creators of the F1 either received or purchased an example for themselves. Murray received XP3 whilst his associates, Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh, purchased several chassis. While not an owner, chassis 029 was painted a striking shade of Creighton Brown.

Ojjeh originally owned the Pale Blue chassis 036 before selling it and purchasing chassis 075, which was owned by his brother, Aziz, and was the last F1 ever produced. The Yquem golden-orange paint was unique – it remains with the family following Mansour’s death in 2021, a touching tribute to one of his greatest achievements.

It is Ron Dennis who has the most complicated rela tion ship with the F1.

F1 is a mervel of packaging, leading to a footprint smaller than acontemporary 911, yet room for three and greater luggage capacity than a Ford Fiesta

Central driving position as iconic as the staggering performance

He bought the second F1 ever produced (chassis 003) as a per sonal and promotional vehicle for McLaren. Dennis also owned chassis 039, which is widely regarded as being the ugliest F1 with its gold wheels and brown scheme, for a brief stint before his wife grew dissatisfied with the colour and he sold it. He made up for this by buying the Magnesium Silver chassis 050 - problem solved.

It is 039 that has the most far-fetched story of all F1 chassis – it’s the stuff of cinema. After going through several buyers, it eventually made it to Culiacan, Mexico, which was a base of operations for the Sinaloa Cartel. A high-ranking trafficker and associate of drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman (who is current ly incarcerated) Humberto Ojeda, owned the Brazilian Metallic Brown car until he was killed in a firefight; the car has not been seen since. It is believed to still be in the cartel or the Ojeda fam ily’s possession. Eerily, it carries the same UK registration (P440 CPJ) and VIN number as the Le Mans podium-scoring chassis 06R owned by David Clarke. Aside from varied conspiracy theories, nobody seems to be able to explain why…

Though not on par with the might of El Chapo, many celebri ties have taken delivery of the F1. Collectors such as Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, fashion designer Ralph Lauren, musician Wyclef Jean, entrepreneur Elon Musk and Comedian Jay Leno all added an example to their garage. The lead guitarist of the Bea tles, George Harrison, owned the unique chassis 025 finished in Dark Purple Pearl with Satin Black wheels – he had a close per sonal friendship with Gordon Murray who added personal touch es such as song lyrics and symbols of his Hindu faith. Comedian Rowan Atkinson had the Dark Burgundy chassis 061, which he crashed twice; the second incident was so severe that £910K was paid to McLaren to repair it before it was sold for £8 million.

It wasn’t just collectors who had a soft spot for the F1; several racing drivers wanted to experience Murray’s engineering thrill. 7-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton purchased his chassis (ironically numbered 044) in 2017. He had previous ly been promised the prototype F1 LM by Ron Dennis if he won three World Championships for McLaren, a feat he later accom plished with Mercedes. Andretti Autosport team owner Michael Andretti received the Grand Prix Red chassis 028 as part of a com pensation package for being dropped by the McLaren Formula One team in 1993. However, the F1 was not allowed for US road use in 1995 and he did very little mileage in it, which must’ve add ed salt to the wound.

The Sinaloa Cartel were not the only criminals involved in the sale of an F1. James Munroe purchased chassis 069 in 1998 and had it finished in Mercedes-Benz Brilliant Silver. He worked as an accountant for a publishing company and made a regular wage,

but he somehow amassed a valuable supercar collection and raced in a Ferrari F355. He would also buy an F1 GTR Longtail (chassis 27R) which he raced in the British GT Championship, in 1999. His employers were completely unaware of his wealth and an investigation later discovered that he had stolen £2.9 million from them. His antics landed him a jail sentence and the car was sold on; the real injustice, however, was that he covered only 924 miles.

Whilst in his care, his F1 was sent back to McLaren and fitted with the optional High Downforce Kit. It upgraded the road cars to “LM specification”, which included a reworked front end with altered vents and a very noticeable rear wing. It’s supposed to create more downforce than the F1 GTR and was a rare example before it was removed by a later owner. Only two F1s still bear this kit and one recently smashed records as it sold for a mad dening $19.8 million.

Of all of the F1’s caretakers, the most prominent has to be the Sultan of Brunei. No-one is more loathed by fans for his treat ment of such a behemoth of design. The Sultan, Hassanal Bolki ah, and his brother Prince Jefri had been collecting exotic vehi cles since the 1980s, using Brunei’s money from natural gas and oil reserves to finance them. Huge volumes of cars, numbering in the thousands, were purchased and stored in warehouses; they were often bought in bulk and the F1 was no exception.

In fact, the first F1 ever to roll off of the production line (002), which was the only car to be produced in 1993, was sent straight to Brunei. The Dorchester Grey car was later accompanied by chassis 004, which was soon crashed and broken up for spare parts. The Jet Black 005 and the Titanium Yellow 014 have since been sold to foreign collectors and 008 accompanies 002 in the depths of Brunei to this day.

Following the success of the F1, the Sultan also purchased some of the variants accompanying the original model. The first of which was one of the 28 F1 GTRs, which was the racing version of the F1 that would propel them to a host of victories including an overall victory at Le Mans. He designed it to be identical to the Le Mans winning car of 1995 and the car has reportedly not been used since it was bought.

Subsequently, he purchased three - yes, you read that right - of the six F1 LMs ever built (including the prototype XPLM, which resides in the McLaren Heritage Collection). This mod el was created to commemorate the successes of the F1 at Le Mans and added all of the upgrades from the endurance racing winner to a road-going chassis. This included all aerodynam ic upgrades, a stripped interior and the removal of noise sup pression, a different transaxle, Magnesium 5-spoke wheels, an uprated gearbox, much stiffer suspension to tackle circuits and

“Following the success of the F1, the sultan also purchased some of the variants accompanying the original model. The first of which was one of the 28 F1 GTRs, which was the racing version of the F1 that would propel them to a host of victories including an overall victory at Le Mans”

the ultimate F1 engine. It was the same unit from the GTR, but it came without the race restrictor plate so made 680 HP and peak torque of 520 lb ft. The Sultan specified two of his cars in a contrasting black and grey colour scheme with blue and yellow stripes down the side. The final car was painted Papaya Orange, a nod to McLaren’s racing heritage.

He also bought chassis 054, otherwise known as the F1 GT. It was a homologation special to allow McLaren to stay competitive in GT racing alongside its more advanced rivals. The road legal car had an extended rear, otherwise known as a “Longtail”, which allowed it to produce better downforce with only a rear spoiler and not the cumbersome wing like on the GTR; they were based on a normal chassis and includ ed a longer front end and wider arches, similar to the race cars. The interior and internals were relatively similar to a normal car.

Only three were ever made (including the prototype chas sis 056, known as XPGT) with the Sultan owning one and the other (058) being in the care of a Swiss collector. The Sultan’s car was recently spied on a plane to London, where it is be lieved to be bound for restoration by McLaren. Thereby lies the root of the distaste for the Sultan in the car community: he and his brother hoard nearly $5 billion worth of cars and in the stifling Brunei heat. The warehouses in which they are kept are not temperature controlled, meaning their contents sit rotting away with barely any miles on the odometer – it’s a fair assumption that the F1s I have mentioned are no longer in pristine condition. What’s more sacrilegious in the car

world than letting its ultimate incarnation rot away?

When Mansour Ojjeh first concocted his supercar scheme, it was when his holding group, TAG, sponsored Wil liams F1 Team. Even back then, he had one aim in mind: cre ate a car that would mosey down to the south of France with ample luggage space, unequivocal opulence and at socially taboo speeds, then voyage back to your point of origin. All whilst grinning, of course. His attitude did not change when his dream became a reality and thoughts of motor racing appeared far fetched, not least because the F1 was not built with competition in mind.

“I would have done it differently” says Murray, had he known the F1 was to compete in GT racing. The way he de signed the car was exclusively for on-road driving; it was adept on track but that wasn’t meant to be its calling. Gordon favoured a very soft suspension setup so that the F1 could tackle any surface or distance, whether being driven spirit edly on a country lane or tackling mileage on a motorway. This did mean that the world’s fastest car appeared “floaty” on track, so it was a bold idea to wheel it into a paddock to compete.

Though needs must, as they say; the F1 caused mass hys teria throughout the automotive world but it wasn’t actually a success commercially. By the time of production, McLaren were £21 million deep into the project with far fewer pennies rolling back into their pockets. Their bold spending paired with the economic slump at time of launch meant that no profit was being made on the sale of each F1. McLaren Au

tomotive craved the media exposure of motorsports success. We knew that their product was electrifying to drive, but a win at a race like Le Mans would engrain it into the record books much more than any group test or deep dive ever could. To Murray, it was “priceless”.

Though in its infant stages, the BPR Global GT Champi onship seemed like the perfect way to springboard the F1 onto the racing scene. It had replaced the deceased World Sportscar Championship in 1993 and was the only interna tional sports car series in place at that time. They sold sev eral newly designed F1 GTRs to privateer teams who entered them into the roster in 1995.

The GTR was not far off of being a standard road carit had greater aerodynamics to counteract the F1’s playful nature, but even they were limited by having just a day in a wind tunnel to develop them. Their prototype, which was originally meant to be road-going chassis 019, was fettled to the most minute degree - especially during a 24 hour test at Magny-Cours - in the limited time that McLaren had to get a design ready to race in late February. Chassis 01R, as it was dubbed, would be retained by the team for development throughout the year.

Three F1 GTRs would debut at the BPR season opener in Jerez, taking the top three spots in qualifying to make their grand entrance. They were quick, the whole grid knew it, but by no means was the victory of the Gulf Racing GTR the fol

lowing day an easy one. It was more of a violent sprint to the finish than a canter to victory; the F1 jostled for the whole race with 911 GT2s and F40 LMs to reach the chequered flag first. It had worked though, the early GTRs were not without flaws but it still won a majority of the races that season, aside from a few stumbles here and there.

Both its advantages and its foibles showed themselves when they trekked to Le Mans. The race wasn’t actually part of the BPR Championship, but the payoff of a possible win was too great for McLaren not to enter. By this point, there were seven F1 GTRs participating in the race with nine regis tered chassis overall (the other two being 01R and 04R, which underwent heavy damage at Jarama so was replaced by 08R for the rest of the season). All of the cars were filled for the duel at Le Sarthe with famed racers like David Brabham and Derek Bell making up part of McLaren’s lineup.

This would cause a problem for them when the owner of the Ueno Clinic in Japan approached them asking to sponsor a car to race at Le Mans. It was quite a conundrum - there simply were not enough cars to stick his sponsorship on. That was until the decision was made to blow the cobwebs off of 01R, paint it in a stealthy two-tone black and grey scheme and enter it in the race. An agreement was struck with its sponsor: if the car wins, McLaren keeps the car and sells him a tasteful road car as consolation. If it doesn’t, 01R was the Ueno Clinic’s to keep.

The challenge was near enough impossible - a heavily modi fied road car designed for testing was supposed to battle the pro totypes and GT cars of the Le Mans grid. Nature was on its side, however, as a monsoon descended on the circuit for 16 hours of the event. This meant that most of their competitors did not finish as they crashed or underwent reliability issues.

The rain also meant that the drivers had to be hugely careful through the standing water, especially given that downforce was reduced to improve balance in the harsh weather. It was chas sis 06R, piloted by Derek Bell, his son Justin, and Andy Wallace, which was predicted to win; the yellow and green Harrods car had led most of the race until a clutch issue in its closing stages caused them to drop back to finish in third.

Meanwhile, as the sun dipped below the clouds, chassis 01R was gaining speed. Finnish driver JJ Lehto was scything through the field and made up an enormous deficit throughout the nightat certain points, he was 17 seconds a lap quicker than any other car. Miraculously, this meant that the unlikely underdog in the F1 GTR lineup was the one to take victory. Lehto and his co-driv

ers, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya, stood on the top step of the podium with the other four F1s that finished a re spectable third, fourth, fifth and thirteenth. 01R would retire to the McLaren collection where it now sits next to record-breaker XP5. McLaren are still the only manufacturer to win Le Mans on their first outing (excluding a privateer Ferrari in 1949) and to complete the F1’s dominating streak, it won the 1995 BPR Cham pionship.

For 1996, nine more GTRs were commissioned and two oth ers were modified to fight with the new additions to the BPR Championship such as Porsche’s 911 GT1. It was not a faultless season as the competition was tougher and even denied them a podium spot at Le Mans that year. Nevertheless McLaren took the championship again.

BPR was rebranded as the FIA GT Championship for 1997 with the GT1 class that had been growing over the past few years be ing at the forefront of their racing repertoire. The homologation rules changed, prompting the release of ten F1 GTR Longtails alongside the likes of the 911 GT1 and Mercedes CLK GTR. The

season was an enthralling brawl with utter domination in one race meet and crushing defeat at the next. They would score a second and third overall at Le Mans (with a class 1-2) and would achieve second in the championship.

The F1 then officially withdrew from competition as its over lords, BMW Motorsport, decided to take their powertrain and work on the V12 LM project; though not run by a factory team, privateers would race the F1 in British GT and Japan GT until as late as 2005. After they withdrew, the GT1 championship would be abolished as Mercedes was just too dominant to make com peting against them viable. Ironically, the CLK GTR was actually designed by putting its internals into a retired F1 GTR chassis; Mercedes had borrowed from the best and fine-tuned the GTR recipe with their own materials. Sinfully, they hacked away at an F1 to create the car that would eventually beat it - rest assured, their Frankenstein-esque GTR was later returned to original specification.

Once the dust had settled and the squeal of tires had ceased, bureaucracy reared its head once again; in Formula One, Ron

Dennis had signed a deal with Mercedes to be an engine supplier for 1997 onwards. Understandably, this enraged the BMW exec utives, who have been engaged in a gang-like war with Mercedes for decades, and they ended an ongoing second project with Murray and McLaren, dropping them quicker than Wile E. Coy ote drops a cartoon anvil.

All was not lost as the agreement with Mercedes tacked on a job for the McLaren Automotive segment of the company. They had been impressed by the F1 and its racing record (this rec ognition by Mercedes is partly why the exploits on the circuit are considered a success) and contracted Murray to build the car that would eventually become the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. It was originally meant to be a mid-engined sports car using the Mercedes V8, but they instead asked Murray to create a produc tion version of a previous concept called the Vision SLR.

Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be the dream that Mur ray thought it was - for starters, it was 1768kg, far surpassing his lightweight benchmark. By most regards, it is still a fabulous car, but it suffers from what Murray described as “an identity crisis”.

Was it a luxury GT or thoroughbred supercar? Once the shareholders and heads of department had got involved with the project it had strayed too far from Gordon’s origi nal concept.

But it did reiterate his fundamental belief system from the F1 project - “you cannot get an iconic motorcar by com mittee.” What made the F1 great was the fact that it was made by a small group of harmonious individuals and was, from start to finish, unadulterated. He carries this vision in his latest project with his own company (Gordon Murray Automotive) with the T.50 and T.33. “This is my F1.” he says - 24 years after the F1’s original conception, he is once again tackling a call to create the last of the analogue supercars with a return to a sonorous Cosworth V12 and intoxicating centre-seat design. It too is simple. It too is a bespoke build of unrelenting passion. And that’s quite poignant because at 75 years old he is still devoted to building the ultimate motorcar, to once again inspire generations of enthusiasts with his unfaltering inventions

I remember my first encounter with the V12 titan, I was hooked on every component, every curvature. I orig inally saw the gleaming orange paintwork and iconic four tail lights in the 2010 instalment of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit on PlayStation 3. Though not as romanticised as building a model on the living room floor, this game would make up the bulk of my car knowledge from a young age. It would catalyse an obsession with the motorcar, and in particular the F1. No, Need For Speed was not as attentive to the finer details as other titles such as Gran Turismo, but it did make a point to write a short description of each ve

hicle featured. Amongst the sea of Porsche and BMW, the F1 stood bejewelled as ever.

The game went on to describe its story, give technical data and even mention Murray by name. I knew there was something different. What was this jet-like mass on screen? I was intrigued - and then I drove it. Even with the some what comedic handling and peculiar tundra setting, the F1 performed like a lion in a den of house cats. My infant form was unphased by the time trial mission, the F1 made it so simple; it was easy to catch when sideways, effortless ly fast on straights, and such acoustics had never before sweetened my ears. The premier automobile had already cast its spell, admiration of the highest order would ensue. Perhaps that’s why I still have a model of chassis 01R on my shelf today, and still drive that snowy mission from time to time.

For decades, armies of designers from Maranello to Stuttgart hurled every ounce of expertise and untold sums of money at the creation from Woking; throughout it all, McLaren’s venture into the unknown did not falter. They took its records and bested its results, but for sheer pleasure and design brilliance, they could not topple its defences. A purer driving experience there is not, and of the entranc ing vehicles that have graced car enthusiasts, the F1 stands stoic and resilient as top of the list. Most of us will never drive an F1, let alone own one, but ask fans young and old, no vehicle has them more transfixed from that concoction from four madmen in an Italian airport all those years ago. It stands as a monument in the history books as a trailblaz er and, I daresay, the greatest car of all time

THE WITHIN

The

ow do you define the Renault Sport Clio V6? A car so unique, the vehicle it was based upon was literally turned inside out. A front-engine, front wheel drive hatchback sacrificed and mu tated into a mid-engine, rear-drive, two-seater quasi supercar, complete with wild proportions and a handling reputation that would make the owner of any classic 911 ‘widowmaker’ blush. Only Renault could produce such a machine, and there’s little doubt we’ll never see another. This car has all the magnetism of a Lamborghi ni, yet possesses none of the stigma - everyone who comes into contact with the V6 falls under its spell, its appeal is universal - enthusiast or not.

Yet if you’re sitting behind the wheel as I am now, stationary with everything turned off, it’s most definitely a humble Renault hatchback. OK, I’ve negotiated an exceptionally wide sill to get here, but otherwise it’s 99% standard is sue Clio - there’s a steering wheel with vaguely sporting intentions and supportive seats, plus a gear stick in a slightly unusual position. How ever, you’ll already know that the V6 is all about what’s behind you, than in front. Obviously there are no rear seats, but nothing prepares you for the sheer volume of the three-litre V6 - it eats up all the rear cabin space and a large engine cover dominates the view astern. Start it up and things go a notch further, there’s that characteristic big engine whir as the starter motor turns and then after a few revolutions the V6 fires into life, making a lovely initial noise before settling down to a very calm, al most sewing machine like noise at tick over. There’s no doubt that although it’s a big engine, it sounds pretty mechanically efficient at idle and calm, which is at odds with its proximityyou’d expect it to be pulsating a firing order in your spinal fluid. This car is an enigma, and I can’t wait to dig deeper into the puzzle.

This is my first article for Rush and I honest ly couldn’t have hoped for a better way to kick things off. The V6 is a car that I’ve adored from afar, having probably only ever seen a couple on the roads since the Phase 1 variant launched back in 2001. So, the chance to finally get up close and personal with such an icon was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Fortunately, the weather gods are being kind, serving up an ‘In dian summer’ of sunshine and dry roads, ideal for testing a car with a wayward handling bias!

The Renault Sport Clio V6 launched in 2001

as a road car, having been unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 1998 to wild acclaim, following the production of the Clio V6 Trophy which was produced for a one make race series to pro mote the Clio II, taking over from the Sport Spi der to promote Renault through motorsport. These racers inspired the road cars, taking in spiration from the widely famed mid-engined Renault 5 Turbos of the mid 80s. The Trophy cars were full competition cars developed and built using a standard Clio FWD chassis by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) between 1999 and 2003. As well as completely rework ing the standard Clio shell to take the rear en gine and wider tracks, each car was fitted with a sequential Sadev gearbox, full roll cage and magnesium wheels. They looked fantastic and their success paved the way for the production of a road car in limited numbers, although the trophy was a very different car to the road var iant, sharing only very minor body parts. 159 Trophy cars were built in total, relatively large numbers for a one make race series.

The engine was derived from the 3.0 litre 60 degree V6 ES9 that was installed in the (prob ably best whispered!) Laguna, producing 285 PS (281 bhp; 210 kW) in the Trophy cars, 230 PS (169 kW; 227 bhp) in Phase I guise and 255 PS (188 kW; 252 bhp) in Phase II cars. Torque was also marginally higher in the Trophy at 307 Nm (226 lb.ft) versus 300 Nm (221 lb.ft) in the road car. A total of 1,555 (256 UK) Phase I cars were built between 2001 and 2003, before the Phase II was introduced with additional power (to off set the increase in weight) alongside thorough chassis tweaks. All Clio V6s were built by hand at a rate of 12 cars per day - Phase I cars were manufactured by TWR in Uddevalla, Sweden.

Renault then moved production to the ex-Al pine Dieppe factory for the Phase II, but TWR remained at the tip of the development spear.

Production ended in 2005 with a total of 1,309 (354 UK cars) Phase II cars produced.

So what’s the difference between a Phase I and Phase II car? Phase II cars received a face lift in line with the standard Clio models, an increase in power to 252bhp and significant chassis changes which included longer trail ing arms, hence a slightly longer wheelbase, increased front track, revised subframes in cluding cross members to stiffen the structure, stiffer suspension and corresponding changes to the bump stops. These changes resulted in a

car that gained an additional 45kg but importantly, the chassis changes made a big difference to the dynamics of the Phase II car, producing a car that handled much more predictably and that was also able to make use of the ad ditional power. At the time it was said to be night and day better than the Phase I from a pure handling perspective.

As we know, the engine was put in the rear of the car and the combination of the sheer size of the engine and the increased structural work required to house it meant a 334kg (379kg for the Phase 2) increase in weight over the featherweight 172 Cup. Whilst the engine output is a significant hike over the 172’s 2-litre unit, the addition al weight means it’s only marginally quicker to 60 mph, posting 6.2 to the 172’s 6.7 seconds. However, the layout and engine produce a completely different driving expe rience.

What do you notice first? From the look of the car and the wide tracks, you expect it to be physical but it’s not, it’s rather like all other Renaults, fast or not, they all feel like shopping cars, which is both good and bad. Bad because on initial turn in and at slow speeds it feels overly light to steer but press on a bit, load the steering up and that starts to change but make no mistake, like most cars of this vintage, you need to wind more lock on to turn the car compared to modern machinery like an M2. Although the lack of any feel and feeling of over assistance is slight ly disconcerting at first, you actually become glad of it very quickly and realise just how easy the car is to drive in everyday situations and as soon as you’re dialled into your favourite road and picking up pace, everything weights up nicely. What could be improved in the V6 is the vague ness around the straight ahead, there’s just a bit too much initial ‘slop’ but perhaps this is by design so as not to pro voke the short wheelbase chassis during initial turn in. And how does the chassis react to steering input? In a way you don’t expect based on that initial feel. The car has to take a moment, we’re talking very brief moments in time, to settle after an initial weight transfer but then it takes on an altogether different character, as if it has latched onto tracks in the road, it digs in and genuinely feels like it has endless amounts of grip, which I suspect is a result of that wide, short, almost square, chassis set up.

The gear change is tight, easy to use, relatively precise and feels much stronger than most other Renault gear boxes I’ve ever used. It really is great to use and only let down by being perhaps set slightly too far forward, in a way that’s hard to believe from an ergonomic design perspective. I suspect it’s the result of an engineering re quirement where they had to arrive at a best fit scenario. However, the height is nice and helps make up for the for ward positioning.

The steering is affected by similar ergonomic misgiv ings, at least for me, in being set too far forward to al low for a comfortable leg position, forcing my legs to feel slightly cramped without sitting with over extended arms. It’s also slightly original Mini-esque in not being set par ticularly vertical - we’re not talking London bus flat, but it’s certainly noticeable. I do however manage to reach a reasonable compromise that allows for confident driving.

Once in a comfortable position, as with many cars from this era, visibility is superb.

How do the pedals fall? Pretty well actually and the brake and accelerator are well positioned with good sur face area for easy heel and toe gear changes - a theme that runs through all the manual Renaults I have driven over the last 15 years.

For a car as seemingly ‘exotic’ as this, the interior is a bit of a let down and is very Renault! The seats are stand ard Renault Sport seats from the Clio 172 but you feel they could have stretched to something more fitting like the seats from the Clio Trophy, Recaros in other words. The interior plastics and switchgear are similarly low rent, the soft touch plastics have become sticky through years of use and seem a little out of place in a car that now commands a price tag of £50k upwards, but having said that, there is a certain ambience and charm about the interior that suits the car.

But this car isn’t about interior build quality and ergo nomics, it’s about how the thing looks and drives, that’s where the magic lies. As we head out, the autumn sun frames a fantastic landscape with rolling roads and chal lenging bends for miles. There’s a fantastic hairpin as we approach the bottom of the moors and the car feels really secure around here, accelerating out it really grips and puts the power down with what feels like traction, firing us down a the next short stretch before a right then left over the bridge at the bottom of the hill where we can carry good speed - these roads are fantastically free flowing and on a dry day like today, perfect for the Clio.

What strikes you when pushing on is that it’s a noisy car, but in a good way - it’s wonderfully raw and exhil arating. It’s all about the engine and mechanical noise, there’s no overly loud exhaust note but you get fairly in timate with the engine and even hear the gear linkage moving around. Chris tells me that if you remove the first, predominantly sound deadening, engine cover, you get significantly more noise and then if you remove the second cover, all hell breaks loose! I can imagine doing this on an early morning spirited drive but in general, you’d want those engine covers in place as they filter out just enough noise to make the car perfectly hospitable but remain exciting. The engine never sounds gruff but always mechanically smooth and builds to a lovely V6 crescendo as you head towards the redline, a process that you’ll want to repeat over and over again.

After getting a good few miles under the belt an im pression of the car starts to form. Family resemblance aside, this is nothing like a Clio 172/182 Cup but surpris ingly more of a grand tourer - it would make a great car for a European road trip. Where you bond with it most is at 7-8/10ths, pushing along quickly, allowing the chas sis to breath with the road and leaning on it through the apex to exploit the strong grip and with a timely squeeze of the accelerator you can be ‘pinged’ out of a corner in much the same way as you do when driving an older 911 hard, the traction the mid/rear engine position provides helping to fire you out onto the next straight. I’d be inter ested to see how it behaves on a sodden day, I do won der whether it would be keen to fire me into the next dry stone wall, rather than down the next straight! And it’s not just corner exit that’s similar to a 911, you tend to adopt a similar driving style because the nose also feels

“I’D BE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW IT BEHAVES ON A SODDEN DAY, I DO WONDER WHETHER IT WOULD BE KEEN TO FIRE ME INTO THE NEXT DRY STONE WALL, RATHER THAN DOWN THE NEXT STRAIGHT!”

light in the same way, you don’t get the same character istic 911 ‘bob’ but you do get the light, slightly eerie feel ing when you turn in. It can be disconcerting at first, but once you understand it and know it’s not going to under steer into the next hedge, you trust the wide track to bite into the tarmac and transition to a thoroughly locked-in cornering attitude. It’s terrific and thoroughly entertain ing when driven like this.

The brakes are strong and pedal feel is great, another Renault feature that you find repeats itself from one Re naultsport product to the next. I find them resistant to fade, strong and progressive, really allowing you to work in harmony with the rest of the chassis when pushing on. Given the mid-engined, short wheelbase nature, hav ing strong dependable brakes is a must and TWR clearly ensured both retardation and balance were developed to inspire confidence around the limit.

From a driving perspective, forgetting how fantastic it is to just take in as a static object, the defining element of the car is the engine. Not because it’s incredibly exot ic (it’s from a Renault Laguna after all) but because it is what endows the car with its personality. From the mid engined position, to the big engined ability to waft along, to the way it handles and in turn the respect that com mands from its pilot, to the intoxicating sound that fills the cabin in a way very few cars can match at any price, the engine plays a huge role in the character and enjoy ment of this car. It provides plenty of torque from rela tively low revs, making the car almost effortless to drive from a progress perspective, and if you ring its neck the

thrust continues right round the rev range, allowing you to pile on speed - this is a quick car. But I’ll come back to a point made earlier, you never feel you have to pin your foot to the floor everywhere to get your thrills from the V6 and I’d go as far as to say it feels a better car for it when driven like this.

So does it live up to the hype? Absolutely, and then some. It is a genuinely exotic car, the way it looks, the position of the engine and perhaps most of all that it turns heads - people seem to love the thing and it doesn’t divide opinion like a traditional, ostentatious, Instagram pleasing supercar. A humble piece of French exotica if you will. It’s a rare car, one that makes you smile from ear to ear whether you’re merely standing admiring it, driving it hard, teetering on the brink of disaster on a damp autumnal night, or cruising through the Alps on a hot summer’s day. There’s something for every occasion and it would almost certainly take a place in many dream garages, it’s that special.

RENAULT CLIO V6 255

It’s always nice to make friends when out and about. The two Clio’s might share DNA, but their personalities could not be more different

Engine - 2,946cc naturally aspirated V6, DOHC, 32v, max 7,250rpm Output - 252bhp @ 7,150rpm, 221lb-ft @ 4,650rpm Weight - 1,400kg, 182bhp/tonne, 158lb-ft/tonne Transmission - 6sp manual, RWD, open differential Performance - 0.60 - 5.8s, 0-100mph - 14.6s, max 153mph Value - £40,000+

BUYING POWER PORSCHE 968 CLUB SPORT

One

HISTORY

The 968 Club Sport is a curiosity from Porsche’s back cat alogue, the only front engined car to be given the Club Sport treatment and also one of its sweetest cars, endorsed by none other than Walter Rohrl as Porsche’s best handling car. Given the 911’s back catalogue, that’s quite the accolade.

The 968 was an evolution of the 944, and took up the baton in 1993. Despite Porsche claiming the 968 was 83% new and a fresh new look taking cues from the 928, sales were slow. Its high list price, awkward looks and poor press reception meant that sales were slow. The ageing platform it was based on (first seen in the 924) was no longer competitive and the boom in affordable sports cars had left Porsche in a pickle. The BMW M3 had moved up market in six-cylinder E36 guise and the Japanese had muscled in on Porsche’s territory with the likes of the Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra. All had over 280bhp for less money, making the 240bhp, four-cylinder Porsche look undernourished.

Money was very tight at Porsche and the 968 still had a few years of production left to run. In an attempt to reconnect with

customers and prove that Porsche could still make a great driv ers’ car out of the 968, the Club Sport was developed. By taking a regular 968 and putting it on a diet, sharpening its chassis, and adding a few colour coded touches, it transformed the me diocre 968 into the car it should always have been. This time, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, and the Club Sport even took Performance Car magazine’s coveted Car of The Year title, fending off the likes of the box fresh Supra, Lotus Esprit S2, Lancia Delta Integrale, TVR Griffith and Ferrari 348 Spider in the annual showdown. Autocar also awarded it their ‘Best Handling Car’ title. The CS was unveiled in 1992 and built be tween 1993 and 1995 for the UK, European, Japanese and Aus tralian markets. A total of 1923 cars are believed to have been built, with 179 cars coming to the UK.

Five colours were available - Black, Maritime Blue, Guards Red, Grand Prix White and Speed Yellow - and as standard the car came with Club Sport decals and colour coded 17 inch “Cup design” wheels. Optional PTS (paint to sample) colours were available, as was the option for silver wheels and decal deletion.

TECHNICALHIGHLIGHTS

An impressive 50kg was cut from the curb weight of 968 in or der to create the Club Sport, all thanks to a meagre standard specification. Due to having little money for the project, Por sche decided that removing anything it deemed unnecessary, rather than engineering lightweight components was the way forward. The interior was stripped back and only the bare es sentials, i.e. a pair fixed-back bucket seats and a sports steer ing wheel were left. Nevermind the air conditioning and ste reo, even the alarm, central locking and electric windows were culled, whilst the heated washer jets were ditched for non-heat ed, and the rear screen lost its wiper mechanism. All this al lowed Porsche to fit a smaller battery, meaning the kerb weight of the CS was 1,320kg, and unlike today’s trend of charging more for less, the list price of the Club Sport was actually re duced to reflect its lack of luxury.

The M44 three-litre inline-four engine remained untouched from the standard car and still put out 237 bhp & 225 lb-ft. This engine was an all-new design for the 968 (the 944 had finished production on a 2.5L four-cylinder, which was effectively half of the 928’s five-litre V8), and featured Porsche’s VarioCam

technology which gave a better spread of low down torque whilst maintaining power at higher rpms. Thanks to the weight reduction its 0-62mph time was down to 6.1 seconds (from 6.5) and its top speed was up to 158mph (from 157mph). The 968 had also moved from a five-speed gearbox to a six-speed unit.

Whilst the regular 968 never set the world on fire, the pre vious 944 Turbo and UK only, limited run 944 S2 SE proved the platform had huge potential, despite being able to trace its origins back to the 924 of 1975. The transaxle layout proffered a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution and although the CS ran 20mm lower than a standard 968, the biggest difference from the standard car came with the M030 option kit. This added a 0.8 inch drop from new springs and dampers, stiffer anti roll bars, and bigger brake discs. A 40% locking Torsen diff was also available under option code M220 for those who wanted the ultimate 968 CS experience.

Alongside the suspension revisions, the Club Sport also benefited from adopting 17” wheels over the standard cars 16” items, which were wrapped in wider rubber - 225 front/255 rear (up from 205/225).

WHATTOLOOKFOR

There were 3 option packs available for the CS. The most desirable is the M030 sport pack, then there’s the comfort pack which added original seats, electric windows and electric mirrors. There was also the security pack which added central locking, alarm and locking wheels nuts. It’s worth noting that Porsche did allow buyers to option back in a stereo, AC, sunroof etc, so don’t be surprised if you see a car with these. It sounds like a minefield but handily an option sticker should be found inside the boot and this will detail what the car left the factory with. For 1994my cars, Maritime Blue was superseded by Riviera Blue.

Be wary of cars that are being listed as a Club Sport as they may be a 968 Sport which was made in higher num bers (over 300 came to the UK). The Sport was essential ly a 968 CS but Porsche GB optioned in all the creature comforts under a lux pack and sold the car as a 968 Sport. An easy way to tell is that the Club Sport will have no rear seats and instead will have a large rigid parcel shelf cov ering the area, a Sport will have rear seats and no shelf.

If unsure, you should contact Porsche Heritage with the VIN of the car and they will be able to tell you exactly what the car is from the original build sheet. Should the car be fitted with air conditioning, it’s important to give the sys tem a good workout when inspecting the car - a regas may not be enough if the condenser or compressor is faultyleading to a potential £750-£1,000 bill.

All CS examples are now over 25 years old and as such, you should buy on condition and history. Ensuring the car has had regular servicing, evidence of a recent timing belt service and a clean MOT history is a must. Some cars will have seen lots of track action and may be fitted with after market upgrades like bigger brakes, coilover suspension and different anti roll bars, which isn’t an issue, but if you plan to return the car to standard specification it can be expensive to hunt down original parts.Clues that all is not well with the suspension include a clunking noise or front wheel shake when driving suggests either lower control arm or anti-roll bar drop-links, while loose handling indi cates worn out or leaking shock absorbers. It’s key to get under the car to assess the suspension as well as the con dition of brakes and brake lines. Whilst a worn exhaust isn’t a deal breaker, expect a decent, custom stainless system to set you back around £4-500. Given many Club Sports will now also be cherished weekend cars covering lower annual mileages, make sure to give the tyres a quick once over to check for any signs of age related degrada tion.

968s are mechanically very sound, but avoid high mileage cars with little paperwork. Top end rebuilds tend to be required at the 120k mile mark and a full rebuild required at around 150k. Higher mileage cars can suffer from corrosion and will most likely have tired suspension components. It’s highly recommended to buy a CS from a specialist or have a pre-purchase inspection carried out for peace of mind.

MARKETASSESSEMENT

In recent years, the 968 CS has developed a cult following and values have risen significantly. Bottom of the mar ket cars with high miles and less desirable options start around £30,000 and low mileage collector grade cars have sold for north of £50,000. Expect to pay £40,000 for a mid-market example with over 60,000 miles.

The 968 Sport is the smarter buy if you want to actu ally use the car. It’s still a Club Sport, but by having the lux spec, you have a car that is easier to live with. Another bonus is that Sports tend to command less of a premi um than a true Club Sport, so you get more for less, when does that ever happen?

With these cars being so rare due to low production numbers, RHD UK Club Sports are becoming harder to find. A handful of cars come up for sale each year and are often snapped up by Porsche savvy collectors who know the 968 CS is yet to have its day. With the likes of the 964 RS and 993 RS reaching stratospheric values, it’s only a matter of time before the 968 CS follows suit.

Having been passionate about cars all my life I had a love for 2 cars all my childhood which was the E30 M3 and 944 so when the 968CS came out it took over my passion. In the late 90s I managed to find myself a good E30 M3 and in 2008 I found the best 968 CS I could find at the time. I went for miles, service and condition over colour. I really wanted a Riviera blue but got a 63k miles Grand Prix white lux model. The great thing about the lux is that you get creature comforts while having the CS. Lots of people see the interior and say it’s a sport but the rear seat delete, no rear wiper and smaller alternator confirm the CS

Driving the car is unreal - the car is 28 years old yet has a 6 speed gearbox and could be driven everyday unlike the E30 M3 that drives like an underpowered BMW until you ring its neck to get it going. The 968CS can do 70mph in second if you feel the need but also 25mph in 6th - the car really can be everything to everyone. Caning it round the twisty roads with the fine chassis or cruising at 30mph taking in views. The way Porsche have set the car up needs no playing with, if you want

to give it some beans it will stick to the road like glue yet sedate enough to absorb the usual bumps and undulations you come across everyday. The gears seem very long yet make pace very quickly, the 6th gear can see over 150mph which is very fast for the early 90s and still a good number these days.

With every classic car you’ll have a job list, as you take a couple off another three are added. Because the 968CS was put together so well there’s no need to replace anything with any aftermarket uprated parts. Just make sure the part numbers are the right ones and get them from Euro Car Parts. A full set of discs and pads can be had for around £1,000, cam belt service with water pump around £700 and a full set of OEM shocks can be had for around £400. Because it’s an old and pretty basic car a decent home mechanic can do most of the work themselves and get a decent Porsche specialist to do the rest.

Having had the car for 14/15 years I have no interest in see ing it gone because it’s everything I want from a classic car and can’t think of anything newer or older that could replace it.

Fast

An eclectic mix of performance cars, certifiable insanity and hidden credit card receipts. In a series of special feature reports, we talk at length about why we drive the cars we do.

Well first the good news, the suspension on the Biposto has had a good check over and all seems ok (breathes a sigh of relief).

Shadow Motorsport in Long Eaton, were recommended to me and I have to say the service owner Chris gave was second to none. They are perhaps not the biggest outfit in the world having only set up after the pandemic caused their motorsport work to come to an abrupt end but they certainly know their stuff. The Biposto spent a couple of hours with them and I even managed to get underneath it while it was on the ramp to have a little nosey, it is as I thought pretty much a race car underneath the bright yellow bodywork.

Chris checked the tracking and all the geo settings along with inspecting the Xtreme suspension set up, we also popped it on the scales to get the car corner weighted. Pleasingly, aside from a slight bit of wear in one of the top mounts which I shall keep an eye on, the car required next to no attention. What did get my attention

while with the guys at Shadow was a car that Chris’s assistant was working on, and I have to admit as an avid classic car enthusiast it was a new one for me. Parked in the workshop yard was a very elegant maroon coloured open top vintage car, I simply couldn’t place what it was, so had to ask. Turns out it’s a Raymond Mays, (nope still not a clue). Apparently Mays was one of the founders of ERA cars (that’s better I know the ERA name) and the car was one of only two left in the world. It was creat ed by the British racing driver just prior to the outbreak of the second world war and up until recently had been kept in the USA. The restoration of the car was almost complete as it was needed in a few days to be parked outside the opening of a new Wetherspoons pub in Mays home town of Bourne, Lincolnshire, the name of the pub well of course The Raymond Mays.

So, job one off the to do list, thankfully without a bruising to the wallet and time for the next one. I knew this would require

restraint not to let out a whimper when pre sented with the bill, but the thoroughness that Matt at Italia Tec in Huthwaite showed during the 5yr big service and especially when finding a cross threaded bolt in the bottom pulley when changing the cam belt made the slightly higher than expected invoice a pleasure to settle.

Feeling like my luck was in with no major issues so far, I took the car to a local tuning company to finally get it on the rolling road to see what power it actually is running as I am a curious soul. I guess two out of three isn’t bad as this visit certainly didn’t go to plan. Despite them being quiet and able to pop the car straight in when I turned up on spec, it quickly became apparent that the Abarth was too short for their 4-wheel set up. So, plan B saw them pop the car on the rear roller to run the front wheels only (fine in a front wheel drive car I thought). However, the car’s computer had other ideas. Given the back wheels weren’t spin ning, the ABS kicked in and wouldn’t let the

mechanics take the car over 15mph. A quick call to head office and a few adjustments to the ECU saw them try again, this time with a little more success before the car had other ideas and the ABS system kicked in again. Game over for now although it seems after a few replies to a post on the Abarth forums the removal of one of the fuses would have led to a successful mission, I am going to save this for another day.

Maintenance work completed; bills paid, so time to have some fun with the car’s first proper outing on track. Living close to Curborough Sprint Course in Stafford shire means I have tracked a few cars at this great little venue. It’s not, as the name would suggest, a huge track and thanks to some like-minded enthusiasts regularly of fers an afternoon’s track running for a very reasonable £50.

This was a good chance for the driver to find some talent (as the car is certainly more than capable) prior to playing with the big boys at an Open Track event at Donington

in August. Originally my track day at Don ington had been booked for May but a work commitment meant I had to move it to later in the year. While at Curborough I had prob ably 10 or 12 runs over the couple of hours I was there and using the same layout for the duration of the event meant I actually felt I was making some progress in learning more about the car in its natural habitat.

Speaking of Donington, a few weeks after my trip to Curborough the Biposto joined some fellow Abarth owners at the Historic Festival. Alongside my ticket I had also taken up the chance to join the lunchtime parade laps, £10 well spent as it turns out. I have done these parade laps at events before over the years and found them to be like queuing to get out of a shopping centre multi storey the week before Christmas. This one was quite different though, the number of cars taking part was quite small and the pace car drivers were pretty sprite ly leading to almost seeing three figures on the speedo along some of the long

my trip back to the circuit in late summer.

Not content with a trip to Donington, get ting invited to the Silverstone round of the British GT series as a guest of one of the championship’s top drivers was an opportu nity not to pass up. Arriving at the circuit to meet the driver’s dad I was presented with full hospitality passes for the day including lunch in the British Drivers Racing Club (oooh get me) and a parking pass for not just the infield, but outside the BRDC. The Biposto looked very at home next to some stunning machinery including a rather nice red Porsche Carrera GT and a very stealthy looking new Ford GT.

I am really enjoying owning this little car, however there is an itch starting. It’s hap pened before and gone away without too much attention but this time the urge is a little stronger and might mean my browsing the classifieds becomes a little more regular and intense.

After a three and a half month period of winter hibernation, I pulled the dust sheets off the SL65 AMG in mid march and put it back into service as my daily driver. You may remember from my last update that my trusted mechanic @jhd_ltd was working on the car back then, chasing a couple of issues that the vehicle had developedmainly an intermittent power loss, that felt a bit like heat-soak, and an intermittent stall ing issue. The car spent a couple of weeks in Jamie’s workshop, where we thoroughly overhauled the Chargecooling system, including installing an uprated header tank and a new BOSCH pump. The engine was smoke-tested and Jamie found a split map sensor vacuum line. When replacing this, he thought it prudent to completely replace all vac lines throughout. We also de-clogged and cleaned out the charcoal canister as, after hours and hours of searching the worldwide web, I found reports of another car in the US that had this intermittent stall ing issue and a clogged charcoal canister turned out to be the culprit!

Jamie phoned me to say the car felt much better, and he thought it was back to full fitness. I collected the car later that week and it did immediately feel vastly im proved. The engine felt so much smoother throughout the rev range and fuel econo my has improved drastically - to the tune of about 50%! Also the stalling issue had disappeared, which was great. However, I still felt like it wasn’t producing full power, and a late night test with my draggy box confirmed it was still a good bit slower than it should be. Contemporary road tests indicate the car should be doing 0-100mph

in somewhere around 8.5 seconds, but my rolling 30-100mph tests were showing that, with a clean launch, this car would be achieving something in the 10’s. I was starting to feel frustrated at this point, and another chat with Jamie didn’t really help! He explained that he had done everything he could, he simply doesn’t have the diagnostic equipment necessary to dig any further. These engines and their electronic management systems are so complex it really needed to go to a specialist. So I did nothing else about it for a couple of weeks, as the car was still absolutely lovely to waft around in and, let’s be honest, wasn’t exactly slow.

I then realised that it was due a service and promptly booked the car in with my local main dealer. I normally wouldn’t trust a main dealer with any repair work outside of servicing, but I thought what the hell - it won’t do any harm. And so, the day before the service, I dropped them an email explaining this power loss issue and a detailed list of all of the work Jamie had done with the car since I’d had it - asking them if they wouldn’t mind plugging it into their diagnostic system and seeing if there was anything they could find. I must admit I didn’t have a lot of faith that they would find anything.

However, when I collected the car a cou ple of days later, to my amazement, the guy on the service desk explained that they had done a thorough diagnostic test, and found an intermittently faulty boost sensor….halle lujah!! The dealers had replaced this sensor with a new one (which cost me £72) and it has absolutely transformed this vehicle. The

mighty SL is now running as it should, and performance is absolutely eye-watering for such a huge car - 2.1 tonne vehicles have no right to feel so absurdly fast! This outra geous straight-line punch is at its most vivid from a 70/80mph roll-on, when - in the dry at least - traction is not an issue. The way this thing pulls when you open the throttle fully from that kind of speed is hilarious and completely unnecessary! This increased power (my butt-dyno reckons it gained around 150-200bhp from replacing that sensor…) is exposing the car’s chassis flaws somewhat, however. When full boost and 1000NM of torque arrives in second or third gear, the car feels like its chassis twists, the rear end lunges and sleuths around, as the car’s structure tries desperately to contain the fury that its power plant is delivering to its back tyres. The rudimentary traction control system aggressively cuts in to try and control the chaos, but does so in a very blunt manner - meaning it’s better to drive with the DSC switched off, or even better with the car in ‘dyno-mode’ which is accessed by a specific sequence of dash buttons and disables the system all together.

Following this triumphant return to full fitness, I thought I would also try and allow the car’s monster V12 to have a bit more of a voice, and booked it in with @chis_tech for a backbox mod. I am absolutely de lighted with the results, which have seen a subtle increase in volume along with much more pronounced spooling sounds from the turbos. There are some videos for you all to see for yourself on my instagram page

Mini

It’s been a busy quarter for the Clubman, from taking me up to the borders for hot hatch war, carrying most of the Rush crew up to Carter Bar for some impromptu star gazing and schlepping around Derbyshire visiting potential new houses. It’s behaved impeccably well (including flying through its MOT) and as a result has received a few goodies.

Last fast club entry (Rush 003) I intro duced the Clubman and although I was happy with the car, I wanted a little more power and I wasn’t gelling with the 19” wheels. I’ve set about solving those two points and I’m pleased to report that all is now well in the land of the not so Mini.

A bump in power has come courtesy of a Burger Motorsport JB4 tuning box, and although the wheels have remained, a new

set of PS4S have been fitted. Being chron ically tight, I of course didn’t pay full price for either, I’m a full believer in the ethos of lightly used and due to that I was able to source the JB4 and tires for less than £600.

The JB4 was installed in 10 minutes and a first test drive left quite the impression, you’ve got boatloads more BHP and Torque and the turbo is now very much present, with more chuffs, cheeps and flutters than your grannies pet budgie. Hopefully the turbo lasts longer than its avian counterpart, but that’s a worry for another day.

What the newfound power did reveal is that my front tires could not cope, barely hanging on in the dry and utterly hopeless in the wet. I’d estimate the car now has over 230bhp and the tyres are very much in agreement. I’ll get a dyno run done sooner

or later, but I can confirm that regardless of the number, the power is “sufficient”. A new to me pair of PS4S have helped massively with putting the extra power down , and have also given the car a much pointier front end, weight is still very much the enemy, but there’s not much i can do about that, short of breaking out the angle grinder and removing bits of the interior.

I don’t have much planned for the Mini now, an impending house purchase means that I have much more important things to spend time and money on. It will still fill in as a great all rounder and will no doubt see its fair share of furniture during the move. It’s due a service in the next few thousand miles, but outside of that I’m not planning any more expenditure, unless I see a JCW brake kit that is…

At long last, the sun is starting to show itself more, the roads are rinsed of the salt and grime associated with a UK winter, and the chance has come to exercise the fresh (and very summer oriented) Nankangs I had fitted a few months ago. I concede that I may seem hypocritical in that I’ve done under 2000 miles after almost a year of Clio ownership, despite being an open advocate for people using their ICE cars while it’s still accessible, but there are reasons for this. First off, there were the inevitable teething problems with buying a used car, so over winter there were periods of time that it was out of action due to various issues needing to be fixed.

Secondly, the NS-2R tyres I chose at the start of January aren’t the ideal tyre when it’s cold and wet, lacking the bite and aggression that you need to instil confi dence in driving when cold - not pushing it either, just pootling. They hadn’t seen any rain before my last entry, but I attended Goodwood’s Supercar Sunday last week and I got the chance to put them to work as the heavens opened on the way home. They were passable on the more arterial roads, where drainage is better and there is less standing water, but any roundabouts became a bit sketchy if you’re in a rush.

Stay off the power though, and you can play about a bit if the front digs in, as the lack of weight in the rear wiggles it round nicely and because you’re going wet round about speed, it’s easy enough to entertain with that feeling and adjust it as rounda bouts come and go. All it requires is a glass

half full perspective on the complete lack of grip and you can make it quite amusing.

I did get a bit brave once though, and it solidified my dislike for understeer. If you daily your car and use it all year round, I’d suggest a more road biased tyre.

The rain did show off a brilliant quirk of Clios though. I don’t know if it’s something you can get on regular models, but some 182s have automatic wipers, and lo and be hold, mine still work. It’s not something that would be a deal breaker in buying a car, or that it’s a huge selling point for myself, but I find it incredibly charming to the point of comedy, so I’m glad they work.

Beyond winter though, the warm roads and longer evenings have given me more time to get out for a blast, and the little nugget is really starting to shine. I’m lucky enough to live near a few decent sections of road, with some well sighted turns, a va riety of more stretched out sections, and a healthy dose of challenging twisties. These are where hot hatchbacks shine. Short gear ratios, agile front end and sticky summer tyres make it a complete riot, the stiff shoulder allowing you to pitch it in on the brakes, shifting all the weight to the front outside and effortlessly bouncing you round the apex like a golf ball off a marble floor. Tackling lower geared sections is a joy, and trying to keep it above the five and a half thousand rpm sweet spot for the angry little four pot keeps you busy stirring gears.

For future, I have a few things in mind that I think would improve the experience tenfold as time and budget allows, likely

starting with contact points in the cabin. What they say about these Clios having a questionable driving position is true. The seat is just an inch or two too high, which can make you feel a bit like the pope, perched on top of the car rather than within it. After a few journeys in the Clio I can set off in my Volvo V50 for a longer journey and feel as if I’m in a more driver focused car, just because you sit lower. Ideally, I’d end up with a set of Recaro Pole Positions, and I’d probably get a new steering wheel at the same time, just as I feel the standard unit is again, an inch or two too wide. This effect is exaggerated in my car as at some point in its life, it had the wheel retrimmed, which makes it feel a bit chunky. Like a modern BMW wheel, just with way more circumference.

These are only minor hiccups though. I’m still absolutely in love with the car. It does everything I could want it to: tremendous fun when asked, whilst also being remarka bly - and unexpectedly - good at the boring stuff.

Whether that’s because it’s hard to have a tedious journey in this car I’m not sure, but still. It’ll manage just under 40mpg on a long run, the seats are really comfortable and it even has cruise control. Granted, it doesn’t work, but the thought was there. If you’re after a fairly cheap to run weekend toy, practical runabout or you just like to stick it to the big guns in something on a very accessible budget, I would absolutely recommend one

The good news is I remain not on fire, same for the car. The intake mod and a new/im proved washer jet setup were a great suc cess so it’s running beautifully and I can see where I’m going. Which is useful because Christ this thing is still quick, I’ve driven a few modern fast cars and there’s just no replacement for a naturally aspirated V8. Many miles of smiles until I get to the fuel pump because petrol’s about £6 a litre, not because of a war in Ukraine…But because of corporate greed making us all but the

TVR

new one for £20. But no I can’t because it’s not a 2008 Ford Mondeo. The mirror pods on my car were shared with a Citroen CX, Aston Martin DB7, Jaguar XK220, Mclaren F1, Lotus Esprit, Aston Martin Vantage, Mar cos Mantis...So they’re very hard to find and achingly expensive. Fortunately, the police and my insurance company have a number plate and a witness, so the local TVR body shop has a blank cheque to repair.

Because I’m weird I priced it up - £800 door mirror unit, £400 paint - Rolls Royce Black Sapphire, £200 door alignment, £200 polish & seal. Very expensive spot of rage.

Anyway, moving on, I’ve found a compa

ny in Swansea that is up for making me an active exhaust system. So this summer I’ll be taking it to them to plan a way to do it. I essentially want a way to retain the straight piped V8 noise but without my ear canals melting on motorways. So an active exhaust where I can switch between loud and notso-loud will be welcome. Bit of a first for TVR pages as people have been discussing these for years but no one has actually taken the plunge for some reason so we’ll see how it goes.

You may note I’m not sure about MPG and mileage. That’s because the odometer is broken. It’s still a TVR after all.

So…it’s that time again to report the pro gress on the Subaru legacy build. What’s happened since the last issue then, you might ask? Well, I’ve finally managed to get two coilovers and wheels mounted for a test fit, to see what the fitment is like and to see how low it’ll actually go before things start to hit stuff that it shouldn’t. Haha!

The coilovers were a total nightmare to get them freed off! Moral of the story is don’t ever buy used coilovers, despite how attractive the price savings may be. Trust me! I’ve managed to free two of the four BC racing coilovers off and on the car, luckily BC racing will sell you all the individual components to build up a fresh set of coilovers, which has been a god send and one of the reasons I decided to purchase them, as a lot of other suspension

manufacturers don’t offer this and basically force you down buying totally brand new coilovers. Which as you can imagine is a big kick to the old wallet.

Overall, the damping part of them seems to be working perfectly as well as the damping adjustment, which is a nice selling point of these coilovers, depending on your use case. I am very happy with how the car is looking, even sat on wooden blocks instead of tyres! The wider wheels really accentuate the body lines of the car and give it a more meatier stance, which was definitely needed, as the stock wheels are only 6.5J wide and the new bbs’s are a nice 8j wide with a healthy increase to the offset to help fill out those arches. The wider wheels almost make you see curves to the car that you may never have seen before

which is really cool and something I wasn’t expecting,

In other news, some of my parts have turned up from Japan, after 3 months of cruising around the world on a mk3 mx5 oh…sorry I meant container ship, and finally arriving into the UK. Most notable is my full set of Cusco chassis bracing, which I am super excited about as it was a killer deal! This should help stiffen up the chassis a bit as well as replace some very rusty anti roll bars that look like they’ve been in the ocean for the last decade. Hopefully by the next issue I will have gotten the rear subframe removed and fully restored with new rubber bushings, plated bolts and freshly painted components….so I’ll report back then.

Bentley Arnage Red Label

Owning a twenty-two-year-old, thirsty beast is a constant work in progress. Since my last article about ownership the Bentley has almost never been faultless but still, she soldiers on. An engine management light regularly reminds me that I have a problem with a knock sensor of which there are two; an easy to get to one, and one that requires major fiddling and removal of many parts. Guess which knock sensor I have to replace?

An ongoing grinding noise from the rear brakes is still an issue and in the next few weeks she’ll be going in to have the hand brake cable swapped out, which I hope will cure the fault given it’s the only thing left to change! The brakes work perfectly, it’s just the noise. You get used to it though and I’ll probably miss the sound when it’s gone. Other ongoing things to sort include a prop er polish of the plastic headlight covers, I am using a product that I am not happy with that claims to both polish and protect. The polish is OK, but they very quickly dull over again so I suspect the protect bit is not up to much. A new product will therefore need to be sourced. The noisy fan is another thing, the bi-metallic strip in the viscous fan is not doing a proper job and is currently not available.

This is a point worthy of note. My Bentley is over twenty years old and some parts are fast becoming obsolete. Finding equiva lents is sometimes nigh-on impossible and the volume of cars produced means that it’s rare that parts get remanufactured by oth ers. What this has led to is a rise in break

ers. Even a slight bump is enough, these days, for insurance companies to simply write the car off. This means that there are some great cars out there being scrapped for parts. It’s good in some ways, it keeps the roadworthy ones going but it also is subject to the law of diminishing returns. Eventually the only cars left will be those in collections, never used, never enjoyed except visually and that’s sad. I love car museums, I visit Lakeland Motor Museum regularly – there’s a nice car meet on the first Saturday morning of each month – but I also feel that cars were made to be driven and slowly, inexorably the numbers contin ue to dwindle. Mind you, with the changes to fuels coming, it may kill most current cars off anyway. Nothing stays the same.

As well as a supply of parts, these cars need constant attention and when you buy into this club, you do so knowing that it will be a constant and on-going list of things to do. But do you know what? Each and every time I get behind the wheel, it’s all forgiven. She drives like a dream and all is well as I make my way to the next petrol station.

In early summer, I sort of fell out with the radio. The stereo I had put in when I got to the car was OK, but with the built-in Bentley sat nav now very obsolete I wanted to get something that did both things. So, I invested in a Sony 9-inch screen (XAV AX-8050D) which uses Apple CarPlay™ or the Android equivalent. In the groups on Facebook where us Bentley owners help each other out I immediately fell foul of the purists, “you can’t do that”, “it has to be

original”, “are you mad?” were a few of the comments made about my choice. How ever, the addition of the flat screen does nothing apart from take up a little more space and, the design of the Bentley centre console and dash means that the screen fits with nothing being covered up. Almost like it was designed that way. A future owner can also, in about ten minutes, return the car to original, if they wish. However, what this gives me is sat nav, access to my Spotify and, if I were to get a suitable antenna, DAB radio. One thing I did notice immediately is that the existing radio, both the original one and my first replacement were not making the most of the speaker system in the Bentley. As soon as the Sony device was powered up and music started coming out, you could tell that there was a more rounded sound, crisper perhaps. Either way, the quality was vastly improved. Interestingly, it is still not as good as the best “non-modified” sound system I ever experienced which was a Dolby system in a 2003 Volvo C70 – to this day an incredible system to listen on – but it’s very good, nonetheless.

This is the single biggest thing I have done to her all summer apart from constant polishing and attending car meets. There are still a few niggles on the bodywork to do, some wood refurbishment and leather treatment but nothing urgent and nothing that stops people admiring the car from near and far. She’s doing a few weddings later in the year and it all helps to keep her going.

Renault

It’s been quite a busy month for the V6 in preparation for the summer. Discs & pads fitted, fresh rubber on the rear, MOT passed & my wallet significantly lighter. The disc & pads weren’t quite as straightforward as anticipated as the rear callipers also need ed a rebuild. Lack of availability for original parts reared its head again with these. Also after doing some research it turns out that the rear callipers are the same as found on the front of a Citroen XM. Last job on the list for this month is to carry out a 4 wheel alignment.

I’ve ditched the plans for modifying the Clio V6 & will be keeping it OEM, I’ve got another project car incoming that should scratch the OEM+ itch. Anyway back to the V6, looking forward to getting out to some shows & meets over the summer months. Come say hi if you spot me out & about, I’ll hopefully be at Silverstone Classic & no doubt a couple of trips to Caffeine & Machine will be on the cards. Hopefully, I will also be aiming to break the 50k barrier (mileage not value) as I can’t bring myself to have it sat in the garage & not being used as intended.

It’s been a testing few months for the trusty A2 daily workhorse. With a house move complete and renovation work current ly being carried out, it’s really been put through it’s paces. Lots of short journeys to pick up building materials and tools, moving furniture and hauling rubbish to the tip. All handled with zero complaints whilst aver aging high 50s mpg round town, costing me absolutely nothing in maintenance, not using even a drop of oil or psi of air in the tyres. With road tax a non issue at £30 a year, I couldn’t ask for a better car to suit my (skint) situation.

old girl did throw up an ABS warning on the dash and made a bit of a song and dance about it but weirdly cleared itself after a few days. Maybe that was in protest at the fact I can’t remember the last time I washed it or that the interior looks and smells like a skip? Sorry about that. Once the hard graft with the house slows down, I’ll recommence the mission to top 70mpg on a run. Not very RUSH I know but in a car as dull to drive as the A2, you need ways of keeping yourself awake.

In contrast to the A2, it’s been an extremely quiet few months for the Type R. I’ve barely had time to breathe never mind get it out to stretch it’s legs. With the new house comes a new home for the Honda though and that’s in the form of a rickety but stable old garage, made of rotting wood and asbes tos. It doesn’t sound great but it’s my first garage and it feels great locking the car away, knowing it’s safe from the elements. I’ve got almost as many plans for this space as I do the ever expanding list of wants and needs for my erstwhile track car.

A big frustration is the absence of a tun ing package purchased in early December from TDI North. I ordered an Injen cold air intake, TDI North exhaust system, a baffled sump and a ECUTEK remap to take power to approximately 240bhp. I was told the problem lies with the supplier, but TDI North have since gone into administration. I am now relying on my bank to do battle with the administrators. Fingers crossed said supplier gets their act together soon, we’re nearly at the halfway point in 2022 and my track car has yet to hit the track.

LAPS

Sir Stirling Moss | 1955 Mille Miglia | Mercedes 300SLR

The 1955 Mille Miglia is where this record was set, a fearsome time trial ran over Italy’s most beautiful yet treacherous roads. First held in 1927 the Mille Miglia was created by a group of friends who loved racing, the story goes that they created the event in response to the Italian grand prix being moved from Brescia (their hometown) to Monza. This inaugural event saw 77 entries with 51 finishing, Giuseppe Morandi won the race at an average of 48mph in a 2 litre Officine Meccaniche.

Fast forward to 1955 and the Mille Miglia is one of the most prestigious events on the sportscar racing calendar. 1955 saw 661 cars entering the race, with entries from Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Porsche. As for drivers, well you likely have heard of a few of them, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Umberto Maglioli, a real who’s who of the greatest of the period.

Moss was yet to win the MM, with 1950-53 seeing retirements due to mechanical issues. 1954 saw Moss step away from the MM, in stead racing a Maserati 250F across Europe. Although he wasn’t hugely successful in that year’s Formula One Championship, he did see success with the 250F in other events. These multiple victories and podiums lead to Moss catching the eye of Alfred Neubauer at Mercedes Benz.

Mercedes had recently re-entered the world of motorsport after an absence dur ing the war years. Their W194 300 SL was proving to be extremely successful, taking victories at Le Mans, Nürburgring and even the Carrera Panamericana. Their other car, the W196 open wheel car had taken Juan Manuel Fangio to victory in 1954’s Formula One Championship. Head of motorsport, Al fred Neubauer wanted to continue Mercedes dominance and assembled a team of all-stars with Moss being the second star driver. After a successful test in the winter of 1954 Moss joined Mercedes to race in the 1955 season alongside Fangio.

Victory at the Mille Miglia still eluded Mercedes, 1952 saw 2nd and 4th place fin ishes but in subsequent years they stopped entering in order to focus on Formula One. The W194 race program was axed and as

such they had no sports car to race. They did however have the W196 Formula One Car, you see where this is going don’t you?

Turning the W196 R into the 300 SLR (W194 S) was a relatively easy task for the team’s engineers. Engine capacity was in creased to 2982cc, compression was dropped to 9.0:1, wheelbase extended, and a large fuel tank added. The car was then topped with a streamlined body that could support 2 occupants in relative comfort, if you ignore the side exist exhaust, prop shaft between your legs and lack of windscreen that is. The car was fast, but commanded respect thanks to its rear swing axle, Moss himself even described the car as “Not an easy one to drive, not forgiving, but it had a tremendous amount of power”.

With Mercedes now having the car and the drivers the 1955 Mille Miglia was on the cards. 2 cars would be entered with Moss and Denis Jenkinson in car 722 and Juan Manuel Fangio in car 658. Moss now having the team and the car set about a serious training re gime. Alongside his co-driver Denis Jenkin son, the pair undertook months of trial runs, analysis of the course and creation of the famous “toilet roll” pace notes. These notes ran for 18 feet and went into such details as “saucy ones, dodgy ones and very dangerous ones” to describe the twists and turns of the route. Moss famously crashed a 300 SL Gullwing on one trial run hitting an Italian military truck that happened to be carrying unexploded ordinance, so strong was Moss’s focus that even this didn’t phase him.

Come race day Moss and Jenkinson were match fit and ready to go, the 300 SLR was in fine fettle with the team believing it could complete the 1000 miles with no mechani cal issues and only needing to stop for fuel. Mechanics pushed the car onto the start whilst Moss and Jenkinson made themselves comfortable, once the clock hit 7:22am the pair were gone, and the race was on.

Leaving Brescia at a confident pace it was only 10 minutes before they caught number 720, Jenkinson’s pace notes and hand signals clearly giving Moss the confidence he need ed to push on. Trusting the notes allowed Moss the reach over 170mph on the run

towards Verona and continuing to hold this speed even whilst overtaking and cresting hills. Jenkinson described Moss as “ sitting back in his usual relaxed position, making no apparent effort”.

Moss was driving hard but taking no risks, a small venture into some hay bales in Padova lost the pair some time but being unscathed they carried on. The next section saw Moss dice with a pair of Ferraris, but by keeping his cool he held a tremendous pace without damaging the car or taking unnec essary risks. The strategy paid off and Moss cleared both Ferraris at the next checkpoint.

Jenkinson now experiencing fatigue thanks to the combination of heat, fumes and sideways g forces, led to him releas ing his breakfast at 150mph. Fast food eh?

The sickening ride was far from over yet and Moss continued to drive flat out. After stopping for fuel at the next checkpoint the pair received a note confirming they were in second place and 15 seconds off the lead car.

This spurred the pair on to push harder and catch Taruffi in the lead.

Continuing at speed, an issue developed with fuel leaking from the filler, but unde terred by this they carried on. A front brake was also starting to grab and although Moss could adapt the unthinkable happened and the car pitched into a spin on the Radicofani Pass. Luckily no damage was caused other than a dent in the tail from entering a ditch, Moss calmly selected first gear and simply drove out, again showing his composure. The pair continued to work in unison enjoying the brief respite each control checkpoint gave them, but the pace was starting to take its toll. After a local policeman had tried to shut the engine off at one checkpoint Moss chose to no longer stop but instead roll through each checkpoint with Jenkinson hanging out of the car and frantically waving the route card at officials.

Coming onto the final stretch, traffic was increasing as were the crowds, passing some

cars in the 2 litre category Jenkinson cal culated their average must be over 90mph, this encouraged Moss to press on and hunt Taruffi. Little did they know that Taruffi had retired with a broken oil pump, his car was hidden by officials hence Moss not spotting the car. As they headed towards Brescia, Jen kinson put the pace notes away and enjoyed the last few miles watching Moss go to work. They reached the finish line, stopped the car and Moss asked “Do you think we’ve won?”

Yes they had, the official time was 10 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds, at an average speed of 98mph. Their average on the final stretch was 123 mph. The pair were elated, the first British duo to win the Mille Miglia and the first victory in a Mercedes. As the crowds descended Moss and Jenkinson were rushed back to the hotel, during the journey Moss remarked “We’ve rather made a mess of the record haven’t we”. He wasn’t wrong, the record has never been beaten and I doubt it ever will.

READYSALTED

The words Subaru Justy and Bonneville land speed record holder are two phrases that you would never associate with each other in any way shape or form, you’d be mad to associate them together to be honest. However, the two are in fact very much linked together, no matter how odd it may sound. The humble little Justy proudly holds one of the longest standing record-breaking runs across the revered salt.

Wind the clock on the DeLorean way back to 1989 – way before my time - and the unlikely little Japanese economy car set a new - and still holding – two-way average in the I-Production class. The Justy achieved ‘just’ (how appropriate!?) 123.224 mph. Now this doesn’t sound too impressive compared to speed records held by the likes of Donald Campbell, AB Jenkins and Craig Breedlove. But that misses the point entirely – flip though the rule book for I-Production class and you’ll realise it's one of the most inflexible classes to compete within. You won’t find any engine swaps or wide body kits here, all cars must utilise the body and drivetrain of the original production model, coupled this with a 1,015cc maximum engine size. It's safe to say it’s hard to be competitive

here - marginal gains really do matter. These restrictions posed some real problems for the Justy, for starters its engine is over the limit at 1200cc and that's before you consider the aerodynamics properties comparable to a Biffa waste bin. Still, at least the Justy had weight on its side. Now that two-way average speed of 123.224mph, recorded on the 22/8/89, can be rightly considered an astonishing achievement. No wonder it still holds.

The origin of these unlikely plans were stewing a couple of years earlier back in 1987, Nine Technicians at Subaru America Technical Centre were having some lunch time small talk about bringing a Subaru to the racetrack. This was a few years before Subaru struck the world rally stages with its iconic Rothmans and then 555 liveried MK1 Subaru Legacy, piloted by a certain C.McRae. Back in 1987, getting a Subaru into the racing scene was a totally fresh idea at the time, but running an entire season of circuit racing is an expensive affair, now and more so back then. So, one of the guys suggested the Bonneville salt flats, in Utah. The team began researching some of the previous land speed records set for production vehicles, cross

An unlikey candidate holds on of the longest standing record breaking runs agross the salt plains of Utah...

referencing them with Subaru’s line-up. They quickly realised most turbo-charged and nor mally aspirated classes were “pretty stout”, as Roger Banowetz recalls. Then “one of the guys suggested the Justy and we all laughed at him” and understandably so. The Justy was probably the least likely candidate from the Subaru fleet for racing. Humouring the idea, the team discovered I-Production class. This class had a previous Southern California Timing Association record of 115mph. The team had their target locked and loaded, so off to work they went.

Since the project didn’t have official backing from Subaru, the car would be built on evenings and weekends after work. This somewhat backyard-built race car, really shows throughout the build. As the fuel-cool er was made out of an old pampers box duct taped together, this was a spur of the mo ment modification amidst 1989 speed week.

Let’s dive into the modifications that turned this 40mpg 3-cylinder 66hp econo my car into a Bonneville record breaking machine. They first tackled the engine block itself. They took the standard 1190cc and de stroked it to a measly 997cc to fit the 1,015cc I-Production class limit. This also meant they

could use the 1.2’s cylinder head, which had a far superior flow rate. Next the team ma chined a custom billet camshaft for the car. 12:1 pistons were also added to the mix, as well as using the 1.0 crankshaft and conrods with the springs removed from the seals to reduce engine friction. The Justy’s balance shaft was also removed from the engine, which keeps the engine from shaking the car to bits at low rpms. This was done to unre strict the engines rpm limit. Which used to sit at 6,000rpm. Now with the shaft removed, the little motor was able to reach a whopping 11,900rpm, enough to put the Honda S2000 F20C to absolute shame. On the breathing side of the engine, a custom fabricated steel tubular exhaust manifold was added as well as titanium valve spring retainers in the head. A custom intake manifold was also fabricated to allow the three 40mm Mikuni motorbike carburettors to be mounted to the engine, instead of the standard two-bar rel Hitachi carb. Complete with a straight through exhaust, the horsepower had nearly doubled to 120hp at 11,900rpm - up from 66bhp at 5,900. What an awesome racket the Justy must have made as it screamed down the salt - it’s a shame time machines haven’t

been invented yet! With a featherweight kerb weight of just 771kg. The little Justy had a faintly ridiculous 155BHP/tonne.

Given the thoroughness of the engine overhaul, it’s pretty surprising to learn that the Justy ran the standard production gearbox and ratios. The only change was a switch to automatic transmission fluid to reduce friction in the driveline. On the ex terior the Justy was lowered by three inches all round to decrease frontal area and to improve high speed stability. This was paired up with smooth wheel covers, a Japanese market front lip and the removal of the door mirrors. The exterior had a livery sporting the car’s number - 440 plus very dark window tints to combat the scorching Utah heat.

Unusually, the interior was largely un modified from the production car, bar a roll cage and a tachometer that matched the new higher rpm limit. It even had the original seats and carpet installed. After all of the mods, the completed Justy ran at Bonnev ille for the first time in 1988, where it set a speed of 117.553mph. breaking the previous 115mph record straight out the gate. The team was ecstatic with this, but inevitably, they wanted more and knew the little Justy

had more to give. They wanted to set a record that would stand the test of time, and who could blame them? Back to the drawing board they went, reworking the engine for the following year - again, all in their spare time. Speed week 1989 rolled around and all the extra graft to improve and tweak the car had paid off. They achieved 123.224mph on the 22/8/89 with T.Worlitz behind the wheel. The Magical number still holds the I-Produc tion record today, which is probably the most impressive part of the whole story, not even modern technology 33 years later has been able to beat it. Or maybe someone is stupid enough to try it. Who knows?

Ever since then the record breaking Justy hasn’t turned a wheel in anger, which is a shame. It currently resides in Subaru of North America’s private collection. Subaru has put it back into running order again, which is nice to know. I personally would love to see it run again, maybe with some more tweaking with our technological advances and proper funding the little Justy might be able to do a higher pass, but one can only wish.

So I’ll keep dreaming of a 150mph capable Justy in the meantime.

DRIVING

MATTERS

Takona is a very worthy cause that helps you look and feel good, driving mental health awareness and connecting like-minded car enthusiasts. Founder Lewis Warren explains what motivates him.

This story starts, as many do, with an email. Unlike most emails I get, this particular email asked me to write about myself and what I do, which sounds easy as who knows me and what I do better than I. It transpired that it’s actually quite difficult to write about yourself without immediately feeling sheepish, unfortunately for me, that feeling is exactly why I should be writing about what I do. That is because I’m the founder of Takona, an automotive clothing brand that is encouraging people to talk more. So for fear of being branded a massive hypo crite, here’s a bit more about me, Takona, how it all came about, and what it’s all for. I’ll try and keep it linear.

Like a lot of guys, I’ve inherited my love of cars. My grandfather had an Austin seven in pieces in his garage when I was a kid, the first car I remember my dad having was a 205 gti (the 1.9 in black, I know you want to know), and my first car was a 1988 mini mayfair, for context I was born in 1993 so my mini was already a classic by the time it got to me. This love of cars runs deep and has been the source of many adventures, many friends, and many conversations.

Since receiving that email, I’ve debated back and forth about just how much shar ing I should include in this. Takona itself represents a lot of what I hope to achieve and my working in psychiatric hospitals prior to starting it leads very well into why Takona exists. “Mental health worker starts brand driving mental health awareness” has a nice ring to it doesn’t it. Whilst it is true that I did work in psychiatric hospitals, and I did learn that getting a person to talk is a far more valuable tool than being able to restrain them. The underlying reason why Takona exists is because my cars, in essence, saved me. And if they can help me they can help others.

That little mini mayfair was my escape from a troubled place, a house in the mid dle of the countryside, filled with trauma, fear, and abuse. Not only was that car a way to physically leave, it also gave me some

thing to focus on, something to take pride in, and something that opened the doors to the car community. It’s impossible to drive a bright orange mini without meeting new people, the beauty of the car world is that everyone you meet from within it wants to be your friend, and when times are at their darkest these friends pull you through. Be it a 3am McDonalds coffee after a late night drive, or hitting the road at 6am with a few mates to go to a car show, the memories made and the relationships built around cars are invaluable, and precious.

So how does an old mini lead to a mental health awareness clothing brand? Well there are many steps in between which aren’t all that relevant to this story, and I’ve talked about my time working in healthcare already, but in essence Takona started as an idea whilst I was renting a room down in Brighton having relocated there for work. This idea was to create a way to establish connections with the other car people I would encounter whilst working in sales. I’d found that during a new business meeting if it transpired the other person was into their cars we instantly connected and the conversation began to flow easily. I was making a new friend and the business side of things became less pressured, as I said, car people want to be your friends.

This idea then transformed from making business meetings flow easily into my passion for mental health. What if rather than making business conversations flow better because of cars, we could get people to connect with one another through that love of cars but build that connection on a foundation that understood it’s okay to talk. In a predominantly male dominated com munity, what if we could make it normal to talk more openly, and to not feel ashamed or scared to feel emotions, and what if we could use the power of brand awareness to make that happen.

So Takona was born, with the fundamen tal principle that through familiarity and consistent branding it is possible to help

change the mentality of a community, such as the automotive one, to be more open to talking about mental health. A question that I am asked frequently is “what does the name mean and where does it come from?”

So in anticipation I’m going to answer that here. Whilst having dinner with a friend who is a bit of a serial entrepreneur I noticed that none of his businesses used recognisable words, his advice was “when starting something new, use a unique name, that way what you do with that idea becomes synonymous with that word”. So Takona effectively means “cars and mental health”. The word itself I have traced back to being a kid that wanted to design cars, and as my surname isn’t as exotic as Ferrari or Lamborghini, I took inspiration from two things I was a bit obsessed by, Tokyo and the Pagani Zonda, to create a new name for my imaginary car company. Seemed rather fitting for what I’m trying to do.

After three years of trying, it looks like I’ve just about cracked it. From a few simple designs printed onto some low quality t-shirts, to a new design of pretty good artis tic merit (if I do say so myself) each month and a range of high quality products I’m proud of. Alongside this Takona has its own podcast that’s featured guests such as Alex Goy, Ian Callum, and Henry Catchpole. And has a network of 4 monthly coffee and car meets happening on second Sundays across the country. It’s still early days, and there’s a lot of work to be done, the signs are looking positive for this to be something that makes a difference. It’s creating connections through clothing, giving examples of how conversations don’t need to be daunting, and creating the space for communities to flourish. I’d say it’s ticking some good boxes.

As I’ve found is often the case, this 750 word feature now being 1,090 strong, once the barrier to talking about yourself comes down, you find it hard to stop. And that’s the point - we just need to break down those barriers.

SCREAM

SCREAM

SCREAMPRIMAL

Mazda’s victory against all the odds at the 1991 Le Mans 24hr remains the stuff of legend. By Paul Davies

The starting grid for the 1991 Le Mans 24 hour would have been a quieter place had the FIA pressed ahead with its original plans for the event. The governing body was keen to push a new set of regulations that would see all sports-prototype cars running 3.5L conventional piston engines. Jaguar, Mercedes, and Peugeot all built cars to the new rules, but when it became clear that there were never going to be enough new spec entrants developed in time, it was decided that cars conforming to the previous generation group C regulations would be allowed to race too.

These would, however, not be able to start higher than 11th as the first five rows would be reserved for the 3.5L cars. This resulted in Peugeot lining up in first and second spot, despite being only third and eighth fastest in qualifying. Three of the top five quickest cars were Mercedes running old regulation 5L twin-turbo engine cars after both Jaguar and Mercedes entered their previous generation prototypes having failed to qualify with their new regulation 3.5L cars. For the race, Mercedes and Peugeot were looking like the teams to beat.

Mazda chose to take advantage of the abil

ity to run ‘old’ cars too, entering three 787B’s in the race. The quickest 787B in qualifying had been only twelfth fastest and would start down in nineteenth once the rules governing the top ten positions were applied. This was Mazda’s thirteenth attempt at Le Mans and, apart from a junior class win in ’84 when a Mazda powered Lola T616 finished tenth overall, success for Mazda had been conspic uous by its absence. Before the race began, there was little to suggest that this year was going to be much different.

However, the 787B was more than a tweaked 787, a car which had suffered two engine related retirements at Le Mans the year before. The car’s designer, Nigel Stroud - a man who had experience in F1 and who had previously worked on the Porsche 962 - heavily revised the car for the ‘91 season. The 787B sported carbon brakes (a first for any Mazda race car), a carbon fibre and Kevlar monocoque, plus heavily revised geometry which allowed the fitting of wider wheels, and perhaps most notably, a revised R26B rotary engine.

The R26B is arguably the feature that defines the 787B. Rather than using conven tional pistons, the R26B was a rotary engine

which utilised two triangular rotors. A single rotor version of this engine design was first used by Mazda in the 1960’s when it became the only manufacturer to really push the ro tary engine concept, however despite racing rotary engine cars for decades, success for the concept had always been limited. For the ’91 season the rotary engine had been extensively reworked. It now had 3 spark plugs per rotor, ceramic rotor tips and a very clever constantly variable intake system. The variable intake system was not new, however previously it had operated in steps. The new constantly variable intake system allowed the engine to produce more torque, more of the time. Paired with the other upgrades the R26B could produce 900bhp, though this was detuned to around 650-700bhp for endurance racing where reliability and economy are key.

What the engine also produced was noise! Words cannot accurately convey the sound of the 787B, however, to say that the R26B screamed all the way to 9,000 rpm would certainly not be hyperbole. There were reports that around some parts of the circuit spectators were warned when the 787Bs were approaching so they could cover their ears.

Indeed, it has been suggested the noise led to the 787B being banned, however the truth is simply that it was the victim of the changes in regulation.

At Le Mans, reliability is key. Mazda were confident in the reliability of their engine, and the 5 speed Porsche gearbox it was mated to was also known to be reliable. The team had avoided 200kg of ballast (which the larger capacity, non 3.5L regulation cars had to carry) after the team successfully argued that their engine was not large capacity and could therefore run with a starting weight of only 830kg. That starting weight meant a power-to-weight ratio over 800bhp per tonne.

Controlling such power required skill and for the number 55 car that skill came in the form of Volker Weider, a previous Formula 3 champion and Formula One driver, Johnny Herbert, another F3 champion and three times F1 victor, and Bertrand Gachot, also a relatively successful racer in various Formu las, who was not long out of prison having been locked up for using CS spray on a taxi driver he had got into an altercation with in London. That Johnny Herbert was racing at all was quite remarkable having nearly lost a foot in an accident three years prior in

which the front of the Formula 3000 car he was driving was ripped off. Indeed, by the end of the ’91 Le Mans race, having driven a double stint and having run out of water, Herbert had to be removed from the 787B by medical staff, suffering from exhaustion and crippling pain in his ankle.

As the ’91 race got underway the Mercedes team were on the move, quickly moving up to take position behind the lead Peugeots. They would go into the night in first, second and third places after both Peugeots suffered issues. However, the Maz das were on the move too. The team threw caution to the wind and instructed their drivers to go flat out. Passing cars on track, and others when they fell by the wayside, the number 55 Mazda was now behind the three lead Mercedes, and keeping them honest.

The number 31 Mercedes suffered gearbox issues causing it to lose 9 laps in the pits, the number 32 Mercedes was damaged when it hit debris, and as the night wore on the Maz da which had started nineteenth was sitting pretty in second.

This wasn’t what anyone had expected and with confidence in the reliability of their car, team Mazdaspeed ordered their drivers

to push hard. They did. Perhaps pushed to run faster than they wanted to, the number 1 Mercedes suffered overheating problems which proved to be terminal. And so, as the 24 hours drew to a close, the strange screaming engine Mazda which had started nineteenth and which had not really been seen as much of a contender, was now out in the lead.

Johnny Herbert crossed the finish line 2 laps clear of the Jaguar in second, cementing the first and only Le Mans victory for Mazda, for a rotary engine car and the first Le Mans victory for a Japanese manufacturer. The regulations brought in for ’92 meant a rotary car would never compete again, but the Maz daspeed team had done it – they had proven the rotary could win on the most famous stage in endurance motorsport.

The 787B had triumphed where its predecessors had stumbled and it was pure elation for Japan and the Mazdaspeed team. While Mazda would return in ’92 with a 3.5L conventional engine car, they would find no success and would not enter the follow ing year. 1991 had truly been the high tide moment for the Mazda team and for the screaming rotary engine.

AUTO

FOCUS

A series of events contributed to my trip to the 2022 Silverstone classic not really going according to plan. Firstly, my media accred itation was quite slow in coming through. This meant to make sure I could attend knowing how popular the event is I bought a set of tickets for the full weekend, only for the media accreditation to drop in my inbox a few days later. Secondly a fellow rush contributor changed the date of their house move to the same weekend as the classic. Not normally an issue you would think, however being the dutiful father, I gladly obliged. I did spend the time we were humping boxes up and downstairs over the weekend telling him how very inconsiderate he was though.

So left with one option, that being only able to attend on the Friday the first day of the event I downloaded a copy of the timeta ble, map and entry list and tried to work out how to fit working my way round seeing the hundreds of clubs, thousands of cars, loads of on track action and a classic car auction into just a few hours. The Friday morning came around, up at the crack of dawn I grabbed the keys to the daily driver (Audi Q4 eTron, I know not very RUSH) turned on the car only to find out the home charger hadn’t done its job and I wasn’t left with enough battery range to get to the circuit and back given it’s a 200 mile round trip. Given motor racing circuits are not renowned for their banks of electric car charging points it meant plan B was needed.

Plan B as it happened worked out quite well. You see I had always planned to head to the circuit on the Friday in the Audi, get all the photos I wanted on track etc thanks to my accreditation and then head back on the Saturday in the Abarth Biposto, park this up as part of the owners club display and then walk around the many other club displays grabbing some photos of anything interesting and quirky, talking to the owners and generally taking in the atmosphere for the basis of a RUSH article. Having this plan meant I had a display pass for the Abarth and could park this with the owners club rather than leaving it in the depressing media car park outside the track. So a quick print out of the relevant passes, move all the camera gear to the Abarth and off we headed.

RUSH 005 will see me share more about

the recent happenings with the Abarth but lets just say after a few pretty uneventful months the car has more than made up for it as my credit card statement will prove. Hence the reason it was not my first choice for making the long motorway drive down to Silverstone.

Arriving at the circuit, media sign on com pleted and time to head to the extensive car club display area, not before a quick drive around the VIP car park though. It was quite early so not that much of interest apart from a Polestar 1 (I do like these), an Aston Martin DB4 and a lovely Renault Sport Spider fin ished in all over silver rather than the typical two tone. I have been attending this event for a fair number of years now and it has contin ued to grow year on year with more cars, an increase in spectators and more attractions for families to keep everyone enthused. The move this year from the previous traditional date to the new date of the late August Bank holiday did not seem to work for everyone, there was also a redesign and repositioning of some of the main areas which lead to the 2022 event seeming to be noticeably quieter.

Car Clubs are probably the biggest feature of the Classic with each year’s event seeing many of the clubs celebrating significant anniversaries, the 2022 event saw over 125 original and imitation AC Cobra’s on display and on track for a special parade to celebrate 60 years of this truly iconic car. There were also 60th birthday celebrations for the MGB, and Lotus Elan, plus a commemoration of 50 years of BMW M’s division along with many more across the 3 days of the event.

Away from the infield the on track action at the event is more or less non stop from early morning into the darkness of the evening, and no one could accuse the organisers of not offering something for everyone. I had marked a few things on the time table I wanted to see and photograph so headed trackside (thanks to my media vest), set the camera up and waited patiently for the green flag to be shown. Up first was the MRL Pre War Sportscars BRDC 500 for cars built before 1941. I am going through a bit of a classics phase at the moment as I do think there is something very special about watching these cars, some of them approach ing 100 years old thundering round the track

piloted by drivers who spend the whole lap see-sawing the huge steering wheels while trying to keep the car on the tarmac, all the time in cars with no seat belts. Racing for when men were men !

Once the vintage cars had completed their session it was only a short wait until the second on track offering I wanted to catch was assembling in the pit lane. This time it was some more modern machinery in one of the weekend’s most popular races, the Tony Dron Memorial Trophy For MRL Historic Touring Cars. This amazing grid of 58 cars is literally the stuff of dreams with many of the most iconic touring cars being reunited. Seven Sierra RS500’s would battle it out with five BMW E30 M3’s and three R32 Skyline GTR’s whilst holding off various RS Capri’s, a Vauxhall Cavalier, and an eclectic mix of oth er cars with everything from a Mini Cooper to a BMW CSL Batmobile.

Given the limited time I had at the circuit the final on track action for me would be the Masters Endurance Legends. Since the decision by the European Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championships not to have a round in the UK the opportunity to see modern prototype racing is very limited. This means when I can I always make the effort to catch the Endurance Legends. Seeing a early 2010’s Peugeot 908 HDi or Aston Martin DBR1-2 race alongside Dodge Vipers, Moslers and Ferrari’s brings back fond memories of when I worked as a photographer at the LMS/ WEC rounds at Silverstone 8-10 years ago. Amazing times when Peugeot, Audi, Toyota and Porsche would fight it out for the prestig ious trophy as a run up to the great race at La Sarthe a few weeks later.

Away from the track and time to pick out some highlights from the various club displays. Jaguar clubs were occupying their usual infield spot on the banking at Copse corner. This year saw the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust bring a selection of cars along from their base at Gaydon and also a nice display of racing big cats including the one off X Type SCV8 which sat alongside the TWR 9R (the prototype that led to the production XJR15). One of the highlights for me was seeing the Jaguar XK120 of Philip and Yvonne Haslam, a car I had been reading about recently in another publication.

The car looked great and fresh as a daisy complete with the commemorative stickers of all the rallies this car has competed in from the Trans-America rally in 2012 via Japan in 2017 for the Samurai Challenge to Nepal and Tibet in 2019. Leaving the Jaguar display and heading over to the area along side the Wellington straight for a brief chat with one of the directors of the Alfa Romeo owners club who had come along in his friend’s immaculate Alfa Sud, which almost got my full attention until I spotted the SZ parked just a few cars away. As a huge fan of the Italian coachbuilder Zagato it’s always great to see one of these cars, and I know they are a real marmite car but for me a car that would definitely make it into the dream car lottery win garage for sure.

Walking over from the infield to the heritage pits took me through the display by the RS Owners Club, aside from the various Sierra and Escort Cosworths there were three cars that caught my eye. First up a very pretty Mk1 Escort Mexico. There is a common theme with many Mk1’s that see’s owners change the wheels to mini lite style, add some stripes and a huge set of spotlights

so it was refreshing to see this one still in its original colour scheme with chrome hub caps and looking quite understated. Next up the only car that I have driven that actually scared me, rewind to the early 2000’s and my spell as a car salesman. One of the cars we had in stock was a Fiesta RS Turbo, and it might surprise you to know that it was this small hatchback that put the fear of God into me. Seeing two parked in the paddock sent shivers down my spine. I really must face my fear at some point.

I reached the assembly area at the back of the pits just in time to see the TVR Car Club getting their members and their cars lined up for their parade laps. I grabbed a quick video on my phone of the 50 odd cars and pinged it over to the RUSH writers WhatsApp group as I think as a collective we all have a soft spot for various members of the TVR family. Personally the bright red Sagaris was the one for me, although Griffiths do look amazing value at the moment (yes I’ve been browsing the classifieds again).

Once the TVR’s had left for the track I worked my way back through the remainder of the car club displays passing a gorgeous

Ferrari 348 in yellow (better than red for me on this car), then a nice line up of Aston Martin’s before arriving at a special display entitled Britain’s Rarest Cars. This display that had been pulled together by the Tele graph newspaper featured 50 cars with some of them being the sole survivors of their breed. Avoiding selecting one-off prototypes or multi-million pound limited edition hypercars, the spotlight was put on more fa miliar mainstream motors from bygone eras that are hardly ever seen on our roads today. I picked out the Orange Fiat 127 sport, I am guessing as it’s ancestor of my Abarth, and also a Vauxhall Cavalier Calibre probably due to the fact when I was younger and had a paper round I would deliver to a house that had one on the drive more or less identical to the one at Silverstone.

Time was running away from me and I still needed to get over to the new pit complex to see the various attractions so a quick sprint around the rest of the car clubs saw me pick out a very pretty Alpina D3 (still an itch I need to scratch), a subtly modified Lotus Elise S1, a display of more MX5’s than a petrolhead would ever need, a superb Pon

tiac Judge GTO and three Silver Clio V6 (not sure if there is a collective noun for these).

Although single seater racing does noth ing for me, a hasty stop to grab a pic of the display of Lewis Hamilton’s championship winning cars just had to be done, especially as it’s the first time they have all been togeth er. Judging by the crowds queuing to see this I am in the minority in not really enjoying this form of racing, but each to their own I guess.

One of the great features of the Classic is the shuttle buses that tour the circuit ferry ing people around, at many of the Silver stone events these are modern buses but for the Classic they ship in a selection of vintage buses which are always a superb sight and offer the visitors a great throw back to a bygone age.

I decided to swerve the queue for the bus and walk over to the far side of the circuit, this proved to be a superb decision as it gave me a chance to catch up with an old friend. The friend in question was not a person but a very nice McLaren F1 which I had last seen in 2007. It appears the car is still in the hands of the same owner and now has to be

one of the highest mileage F1’s in existence with over 45000 miles on the clock. Always a pleasure to see it and especially when it’s completely unexpected.

Arriving at the Wing complex I simply had to grab some images of the 40th anniver sary celebration of Group C. I actually don’t think there is a more iconic car for people of my age than the Silk Cut Jaguar and seeing a few examples of these along with a smatter ing of Porsche 956 and 962’s was a further highlight of an already great day.

My final task for the day was to visit the Silverstone Auctions sale that is a regular feature at the classic and is housed in two halls of the Wing complex. The auction team always manages to pull together a superb selection of cars, the highlight of the sale this year was a S1 Escort RS Turbo previ ously owned by Lady Diana which sold on the Saturday afternoon of the Classic event for over £650,000 (plus fees). From a RUSH viewpoint there were a few bits I picked out which I thought would excite our readers (and indeed our contributors judging by the chat on our writers group when I shared a few pics. The organisers of the auction must

already be readers of the magazine as they had parked 5 such cars together. How about a Corolla AE86, a BMW E30 M3, a Mercedes 190 Evo II, a Lancer Evolution VI and a Lotus Carlton. If only the magazine budget would allow that, it would make a cracking group test with three super saloons and a couple of left field choices for the Japanese fans. Speaking of fans of all things Japanese, heading back outside the wing to look at the additional auction entries found me having a good nosey around a rather nice Subaru P1 before turning my attention to another car that would find its way into my dream garage in the form of a Nogaro Blue Audi RS2. Sim ply gorgeous!

It was getting late and knowing I had a busy day moving furniture coming up I decided to make my way to the bus stop and hitched a ride in a lovely old bus back to my car to head home. Next year’s event is already in the diary, hopefully there will be no house moves and I can spend some more time at this great event.

If you’ve not been please do give it a look I am sure it will like me become a firm fixture on your calendar.

THE ONE

As you may have already read, the McLaren F1 recently turned thirty. But flying under the radar, and perhaps destined to always live in the shadow of it’s illustrious forebearer, is the P1 - the firms other legacy hypercar. It turns ten years old this year, and Alex Dunlop feels thats also worthy of a celebration

It’s not just the F1 that’s had a big birth day recently, the P1 has just nudged into double digits and it’s a car I feel needs more celebration. Now before I start, I want to set something straight, the P1 wasn’t the suc cessor to the F1. That’s the Speedtail, which is a story for another day. The P1, well that was a whole new thing.

The early 2010s was a renaissance period for McLaren, being reborn with separate racing and road divisions that would take the company in a new direction. Their first full road car since the F1, the MP4-12C had been unveiled and gave the likes of Ferrari and their 458 a bloody nose. But McLaren needed more than just a supercar, they needed a hypercar, something to show the world just what they could do.

The P1s brief was “to be the best driver’s car in the world on road and track”. See? told you this wasn’t an F1 successor, it needed to be master of BOTH road and track. Breaking away from the F1 lineage gave McLaren the freedom to throw the kitchen sink at their new top dog, but just like the F1 it would borrow heavily from McLaren’s F1 expertise. IPAS, DRS, RCC, Monocage, Brake Steer, E-Mode it’s a spec sheet that reads like the owner’s manual for the Millennium Falcon. McLaren weren’t so much as flexing their technical capabilities but instead building a car the world hadn’t seen before.

The engine was the craziest part of the P1. Re-engineering the M838T engine found in the MP4-12C resulted in 727bhp. But why stop there? McLaren went a step further and integrated an electric motor, churning out 176bhp. Add those numbers together and you’re starting to see why this engine is so mad. But it wasn’t just about raw power, it’s how it makes power. 2.4 bar of boost takes a lot of air, the 3.8 litre engine was up to the job but there would inevitably be some lag. That’s where the motor comes in, quite literally. That motor provided torque

fill, essentially plugging the gaps until the turbos joined the party. Performance was mind boggling, 0-62mph in sub three seconds, 0-124mph in under seven seconds and 0-186mph in less than 17 seconds. It was a powertrain that delivered unrivalled performance and yet also had stealth capa bilities, its E-Mode enabling you to drive a short distance on pure electric, perfect for sneaking out of your neighbourhood for an early Sunday morning drive.

The P1’s chassis borrowed more from the MP4-12C, still using a hydro-pneumatic system rather than anti roll bars. But the system was enhanced further by adding a Race mode, which when in use would lower the car 50mm as well as stiffening roll by 3.5 times and heave/pitch stiffness by 1.4. This combined with the active aero system allowed the P1 to generate over 2G of cor nering forces. Track performance is where the P1 really excelled, but even on road the car was compliant with a good ride and an approachable nature, providing you don’t switch all the systems off that is.

Stepping away from the specs, the P1s design was a breath of fresh air for a car of its performance. Penned by Frank Stephen son, he described the P1 as “striking but also functional” that means no fake wings, diffusers or vents. A trend that modern de signers really should be flogged for. The de sign needed to be functional as the car was capable of 600kg of downforce at 160mph, at the time a record for a series production car and thanks to the DRS system the P1 could still hit a top speed of 217mph. It did all this without the need for silly trinkets or fripperies and that’s why to my eyes the P1 is one of the best designs of the last decade, it’s the right blend of curvaceous and aggressive with everything being there for a reason, function and form done a typically McLaren way.

Contemporary reviews for the P1 were gushing with praise, Pistonheads called

it “the bestest, fastest, most exciting car sports/super/hypercar I’ve driven. Nothing else comes close.” Car magazine claimed, “There’s never been a car that offers such an astonishing breadth of capabilities.” Evo’s review was more of the same “I’ve never, ever driven anything like this”. Clearly it was a car that delivered on its promise. There are some great videos of the P1 online, it’s hard to capture a car’s soul but those videos of it mid slide with blue flames coming out of the rear end certainly man age that. I highly recommend giving them a watch later.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the P1’s history was the arms race it took part in, better known as the holy trinity. Porsche, McLaren and Ferrari all planned to release a genre defining hypercar that would use hybrid technology, although their philosophies were similar the cars couldn’t have been more different. Porsche’s 918 opted for an NA V8, 2 motors and 4WD, Fer rari’s LaFerrari was RWD and used a com bination of an NA V12 and a single electric motor. Internet forums were ablaze with fans of each brand claiming their car was the best and the fastest, Nürburgring times were banded around, people questioned why McLaren never released theirs, it all got a little silly. We never really got a true answer as to what was the fastest around a track, with different outlet’s tests reporting different outcomes. For me the P1 was the daddy, but I wouldn’t exactly complain if one of the other two appeared on my drive way, all three are phenomenal cars that we haven’t seen, nor will ever see again.

That’s how you can sum up the P1, it’s a snapshot in time. Back when we thought a hybrid was a Prius, DRS the stuff of Formula 1 and Race modes a gimmick. The P1 creat ed the mould for the modern supercar and to this day it’s yet to be beaten, we will never see another car like it, doesn’t that remind you of another McLaren?

DELTA FORCE

The Lancia Delta Integrale is a very RUSH car. Maturo cars have therefore created a very RUSH restomod. You can keep your hot-rod 911

ARE YOU GETTING A LITTLE BORED OF the conveyor belt of 911 restomods? Barely a week goes by without the wraps being pulled off another. Frankly, it’s getting as bad as hypercar saturation (although infinitely more desirable) and we’re starting to wonder if there are any 964s out there that remain original. Don’t get us wrong, we adore the restomod concept, we just feel it’s time for a new flavour to come along and take residence in our EuroMillions win nings fantasy garage, alongside the Singer and E30 M3 DTM car for track days.

We don’t normally go for news articles, but when a company in the Netherlands sent us a press release covering their Lancia Delta Integrale reimagination excitement amongst the RUSH collective reached fever pitch. The best thing about it is you won’t need your numbers to come up because Maturo Competition Cars have built three flavours of Delta across a tiered pricing structure. There’s the Classic which is effectively an original, but improves upon it by removing thirty years’ worth of known problems and weaknesses as well as improving it over factory specification, e.g. adding multiple new welds to the chassis to stiffen it and prevent it developing the issues the original had without changing how the car looks. Effectively a nut and bolt restoration with modern technological/en gineering application.

And then there’s the Rally Which builds upon the Classic by turning it into a modern interpretation of the ludicrous, brilliant, hugely successful Group-A rally car. It features an FIA homologated roll cage, Group-A spec engine with improved internals and intake to improve perfor mance reliability. There’s even a choice of 5 or 6spd dog-leg FIA approved gearboxes.

On top of this engineering masterpiece is the ultimate seal of approval from the man himself, Juha Kankkunen - “Maturo made the Group-A works car I used to drive even faster, but also more durable and reliable. It’s truly engineering of the highest stand ard”.

With 25-years of industry experience and 5 years of development, which all start ed with restoring an original Group A works car, these order books are now open for the Rally and the Classic. But in December ’22 there’ll be an official launch for a third vehicle.

Maturo’s Stradale is the penultimate Lan cia Delta HF Integrale. It uses the technical knowledge gained from the previous two models and the works restoration to create a thoroughly modern Delta. It’s a Group-A rally car disguised as a road car, the type of recipe that gets me so overjoyed it usually ends up with me being tasered for my own safety. The bodywork is carbon fibre, a significant upgrade to the original’s quality of fitment, corrosion resistance and weight. The chassis is stripped, the ‘fixes’ and safeguarding modifications to enable the chassis to cope with 200bhp+ are applied. And then the engine, the masterpiece, is a Group-A reinterpretation with a staggering 360bhp. Full Group-A spec with a carbon airbox, bigger intercooler, modern fuel injection and ignition. The internals as previously mentioned are better - it won’t blow up as often as the old one.

To cope with the new potency the sus pension is cutting edge, 4-way adjustable depending on what course it’s on and the differentials are completely rebuilt limited slip functionality, even the driveshafts are improved so they don’t break under hard cornering and application of power. Then

there are the brakes - 50. calibre, powerful quad pistons with 330mm of meat at the front and 282mm at the rear. On-theme is the hydraulic handbrake to ensure a vigour of cornering Juha would be pleased to see.

Onto the styling, you’ll find a sensitively redesigned outer shell that needs a keen eye to spot the difference from the origi nal. But look closely you’ll see the larger spoiler, the more aggressive intake setup on the front, the wheels footfall stretched to the limit under the Group-A wheel arches with plenty of carbon touches to elevate it. Even the interior matches the exterior’s proportionality, it has retro inspired suede buckets, analogue dials, a simple dog-leg ged manual gear stick and a classically 80s dashboard like the original. Maturo improves upon this with more carbon fibre, suede detailing on the dashboard and beau tifully remade switchgear and dashboard warning lights. Inside, its DNA is typical Lancia but Maturo has given it a thorough improvement with respect to the original’s design. Some ‘restomods’ go too far and the legacy of the original is spoiled, with this it exudes a passion and respect for the Delta and makes changes to promote the analogue feel of the original.

It’s difficult to put into words how excit ed I am to see this car in the metal, which is problematic when you’re a writer. Maturo has done pretty much what I would’ve liked to do to any of the original greats, allow ing you to drive a classic Lancia Delta HF Integrale in whatever configuration appeals to you without worrying about it rusting to nothing, leaving you stranded or worrying every time a new noise develops. December 2022 is the official press launch, but in the meantime you can find out more by visiting www.maturocars.com

VIRTUAL REALITY - NISSAN GT-R

NISSAN’S RE-INVENTION OF AN ICON COURTED CONTROVERSY. GOOD JOB THEY ABSOLUTELY NAILED IT THEN

The sixth iteration of Nissan’s GT-R lineage was a bold and radical departure for one of Japan’s definitive super sports cars. Previous ly, the sage advice of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applied to the subtle evolution from R32 through to R34. But for the first time ever, the GT-R would become a standalone global flagship for Nissan, separating itself from the Skyline production car, ditching a strong association that upset purists. It was however considered an essential sacrifice that allowed the car to go on sale in the USA and Europe. The manufacturer also made another, even more controversial decision - to drop the iconic RB26DETT straight-six, beloved of tuners the world over, in favour of an all-new twin-turbocharged V6. In order to reassure punters, the new engine obliterated the JDM gentlemen’s agreement limit of 276bhp, producing a very healthy 485bhp, with a ceiling to develop far more with tinkering.

The styling made just as many waves, with an overall form that was brutal, challeng ing and futuristic, as did the timing of the debut - the 21st Century GT-R Concept was unleashed at the 2001 Tokyo Motorshow, an entire six years before the car hit show

rooms. It was right in the midst of peak R34 GT-R fever, so rocking the boat like this was unprecedented and brave. To see the new GT-R concept would have felt like looking at an alien spaceship from Star Trek, with its very forward-thinking design features. From head-on, the square jawed nose featured a large front grill that spanned from the bot tom of the bonnet to the splitter, something only Audi’s at the time were doing Couple this with its distinctive headlights that follow from the top of the aggressively sculptured wings and down to meet the grill at front splitter level. These full black lights hide a really interesting concept that were unfor tunately later removed from the production version. They had polarising cornering headlights which meant the driver could keep their dipped beam lights on, while still having these corner lights on to aid visibility when it’s needed most. The GT-R Concept also lacks a rear wing, which was another signature design flourish of Skyline GT-Rs, although Nissan did bow to peer pressure and restored one for production. The lack of a rear spoiler was an attempt to appeal more to the European market, as was the decision to build the Concept in LHD.

The interior of the Concept again houses some really unique features that look like they came straight out of the Starship En terprise. Point and centre is a feature which has potentially inspired McLaren - a floating centre console that forms a triangular void under the dash, bringing a driver centric feel to the car making sure those important knobs and switches are just fingertips away, another unique touch which was sadly never realised in production. Once you have taken your eyes off the centre console you’re drawn to the seats themselves. These futuristic sculptured pieces look like they’ll be comfortable for all of about four minutes until the back pain kicks in. But these are a great nod to what is located to the rear of these seats.

Before I get onto that, let’s focus on the steering wheel and the gauge cluster, or lack thereof. The steering wheel is an incredibly basic design that I’m not particularly keen on - it’s probably the worst part about the interior. Looking beyond that blight is the gauge cluster, when you focus your eyes fully onto it, you would have to pinch yourself as you’d for a second believe you’d accidently jumped into a Eurofighter typhoon not a car.

The stacked layout of the two screens really does look like it’s straight out of a fighter jet. It looks awesome! Is it practical? Definitely not, but who cares about that on a concept car?

Right, onto the main piece of the interior. The rear bench section featured a sculptured raw brushed aluminium brace that connects the rear of the roof into the rear bench seat section, this can only be described as what looks like a piece of landing gear that would look at home on the set of Prometheus rath er than the rear seats of the GT-R. A unique feature that was unsurprisingly removed, no doubt due to the amount of concussion rear passengers would endure down to the GT-Rs famed cornering G-forces, but the dedication from Nissans engineers to make the GT-R as rigid as possible really shows. This is especially evident when the eventual produc tion model set an astonishing 7 minutes 29 second Nürburgring time, which has subse quently fallen to 7:08.6 with further develop ment over the years and the introduction of the NISMO version. This was a world record at the time for a volume production car around the ‘Ring, besting even the Porsche

911 Turbo for a fraction of the cost of a base 911 Carerra. Stuttgart was not amused.

But before that, Nissan teased a second, more restrained teaser concept in 2005 (once again at the Tokyo Motorshow) that was very close to the finished production car. Called the GT-R Proto, it remained faithful to the 21st Century but was streamlined for production, meaning most of the drama had been diluted. It still featured the long polarised headlights that flowed from the top of the wings to the splitter, but this was later removed for the production vehicle. But that’s pretty much the only major difference besides minor details tweaks to the wing mirrors and such.

The avid gamers among you will instant ly recognise the GT-R Proto from the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue game, which now adorns every single charity shop across the UK. The Proto was playable in the game itself, as well as being available to play on other popular gaming franchises such as Need For Speed. This was another great marketing chess move by Nissan, ensuring strong sales.

The production version of the GT-R was released in 2007 at the - you guessed

it - Tokyo Motorshow, and continues to be produced today. If you can put the over-fa miliarity to one side, it’s clear to see the 21st GT-R Concept was a ground-breaking design for 2001, especially when you think of the blob-like cars the likes of Volkswagen and Peugeot were producing at the time. The GT-R’s design has definitely stood the test of time over its 15 years, remaining current and looking better than ever in facelift form. It is a credit to design director Shiro Naka mura and his team that the final outcome remained so faithful to the futuristic concept car whilst winning over the die-hard Skyline fanbase.

We can only wonder where Nissan will take the R36 GT-R. Perhaps they’ll return to the refinement policy, inspired by 2019’s stunning GT-R50 by Italdesign. Or perhaps another ground-up platform will be required in order to package hybrid technology, or even worse - go fully electric - which would only serve to cement the R35s legendary status further. In the meantime the R35 will remain on-sale, and even if the competition does catch up, there is always tuning to re-establish the status quo.