A subdued start to 2014 as all struggle back to the office and amble through January? Not a bit of it! The first full week on PH included new features, the Autosport show and all the pre-Detroit news. And we've already signed up as an exclusive media partner
of the BTCC
. There will be plenty more going on as the month and year progresses too. And if ever anything is missed, it can all be found again in the Motoring Week. Happy New Year!
With Detroit kicking off the motor show circuit again next week, the preview teasers and stories have been coming thick and fast since the New Year. Can the
Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge
improve on the rather disappointing standard car? Will Kia actually make the
GT4 Stinger
? Why is VW likely to make the
Beetle Dune
There are plenty of questions to be answered as the Detroit doors open then, but some definitive info has already been revealed. The week started with the GLA45 AMG being confirmed; check back for a review verdict in February. Full details were released on Thursday about the Lexus RC F, which surprised everyone by using a normally aspirated V8 when its rivals are going turbocharged. More than 450hp is promised too....
Speaking of big power, a glitch on the Corvette website meant the C7 Z06’s 620hp and 650lb ft maximums were leaked into the public domain.
The Autosport show also kicked off this week, with plenty of PH relevant metal on display. See our full lowdown of the show stars here, with bigger stories on the Zenos E10 and the latest Ariel Atom too.
Are the SEAT Cupra glory days back?
SEAT Leon Cupra
was made official this week, and its combination of VXR-rivalling power with a price that undercuts the Megane could be brilliant. Let’s see.
Rolls-Royce doesn’t need headline power stats to sell cars, but the 600hp Rolls Royce Ghost would surely be the ultimate PH luxury express. And if that’s a little detached for your fast four-door, how about an exceptionally rare Porsche Panamera manual? There can’t have been many of those in the 162,000 cars Porsche sold last year...
Even before Detroit, there’s been plenty of news from the States this week. Caterham will now be officially sold in the US, partly because of Simon Cowell’s influence (yes, really). And with the Consumer Electronics Show currently open in Las Vegas, the latest automotive tech has been revealed. See BMW amazing self-drifting 2 Series and the next Audi TT’s innovative cabin as examples.
Just a few days into 2014, the new motorsport season is already underway too. With the Dakar in full flow it was the perfect week to chat with Xavier Gavoury, the rally’s organiser, and use it as the theme for POTW as well. This weekend sees the inaugural United Tudor SportsCar Championship round too, with Mazda fielding its extraordinary new Skyactiv diesel racer. And for those wishing to embark on their own motorsport career, what better car than Rickard Rydell’s old BTCC Mondeo?
Here's what the Leon needs to beat
2014 will see even more content populating PH, and the first instalments of two new features went live this week. Dan Prosser will be running a regular motorsport feature on a Monday called, you’ve guessed it,
Motorsport On Monday
, and Keith Adams will be looking back at former heroes in the classifieds with
Catch It While You Can
Elsewhere, Dan has spent the week in his old Megane 265 long-termer after commandeering it back from the Renault press fleet (plus he’s still not that keen on the 435i). There was no video from Chris Harris this week but expect him back in action soon. However, we have had the final instalment of our Dunlop-sponsored videos to keep you entertained.
The story on a 60mph M1 speed limit now has a 12-page comments thread and no doubt there’s plenty more opinions coming from there. Shed’s first find for 2014 is a Vauxhall Omega, and this week’s Carpooler owns the last six-cylinder, four-door M3.
- Chris Harris in Detroit
- Mercedes GLA 45 driven
- Walter Rohrl on Carrera GT vs 918 Spyder and his favourite GT3
- And much more!