Even as 2013 draws towards a close, don't think anything slows down at PH! Christmas festivities may soon be upon us, but there's still more than enough on four wheels to keep us distracted from the looming silly season.
PH features this week span everything from the Vauxhall VX220 to the BBR GT270, SEAT to Fiat and Tokyo to, err, Dover. Anyway, much to catch up on as the winter only gets fiercer.
If you have to ask the price...
Quite a bit of modified metal this week. But don't worry, it's absolutely PH-worthy. Take the
458Niki Lauda
for example. Just in case a regular Italia isn't exclusive enough with the normal options list, take it to Ferrari's one-off division for a 70s F1 livery. The result looks far better than that description sounds actually.
BBR announced the return of the MX-5 turbo this week too. The GT270 verdict will be on PH as soon as we can get in the car. Another car we're keen to drive is the latest PolestarVolvo, the 350hp V60. Can it imbue the production car with some of the wild spirit found in the concepts?
Modifying Porsches is a huge business in California, as Dan discovered in a 911 pilgrimageon Thursday. There's more to come from that little visit too...
BMW Motorsport revealed its latest creation this week as well, the M235i Racing a fantastic looking junior racer. And we've reviewed the reception to the Nissan GT-R NISMO in our latest What They're Saying. For those unaware of the NISMO back catalogue, a read of our Nissan Heritage Centre visit is a must.
Farewell Gallardo, hello Cabrera?
Plenty of cars from the home of automotive passion since Monday too. Dan returned rather enamoured by the
Maserati GranTurismo MCStradale
, a review which prompted a You Know You Want To on
a 4.2 GT
The final Lamborghini Gallardo was produced this week ahead of its Cabrera replacement being revealed next year. Revisiting an old Gallardocommercial was therefore only apposite too. And if all that Italian exotica is out of reach, see this week's Fiat Cinquecento Sporting Shed.
But there was plenty to discuss on the British side of things also. The Jaguar F-Type is never from our minds (or hearts) at present, so the latest V8 R Coupe teaser made a Time For Tea? The rumours of four-cylinder engines featured in a news story on Friday.
PH has also got involved with the Race2Recovery Dakar team this week, driving theWildcat racer and featuring its latest prep video.
However, the biggest British motoring news of the week came from Lotusafter it was finally awarded Government RGF money. The £10m grant will help R&D and recruitment.
Not POTW, but can you have enough Singer?
There are already 95 comments on
Chris Harris'slatest blog
about the demise and resurgence of the fast car, so that's surely a must-read over the weekend. His video this week is an 1,185hp twin test between the
Porsche 911 Turbo S and
McLaren 12C
; standard fare from Monkey then.
As the youngest PH recruit, Matt was tasked with writing the Clio RS vs Fiesta ST comparison, a duel the Fiesta won. We await Renault's riposte with interest. For the same money as either of those two, a Beetle RSI is also available in the PH Classifieds. 'Divisive' probably best describes that car.
After a bizarre experience with Skoda's latest 'driver assist' functions in the Octavia vRS, Dan put fingers to keyboard to have a proper grumble about steering. Mr Trent wasn't too complimentary about the BMW 435i either. He's writing about Porsche next week though, that may calm him down. A Singer POTW should appease him for a while.
Carpool this week featured a Vauxhall VX220. We've also been updated on life at the 'ring with Dale's BMW 328i.
We've saved the best news until last though. There are still some spaces left on the finalSunday Service of the Year at Goodwood plus, if you're stuck for festive gift ideas, take a look at the latest additions to the PH shop.