The pall of black smoke over VW shows little sign of clearing as the emissions scandal continues to smoulder. And from new electric cars to resurgent French hot hatches tempting alternatives to fuelling from the black pump are everywhere this week. Read on...
Given what's been going on with diesels Tesla chose a good time to reveal its production gullwing-doored
Model X SUV
, complete with 250-mile plus range and ludicrous acceleration.
Meanwhile we welcome back Peugeot to the hot hatch fold, the new 308 GTI by Peugeot Sport benefitting from the input of the guys building Loeb's 2008 DKR 16 Dakar challenger, also announced this week. With better power to weight than a Golf R, all-round comfort and a general air of maturity do we have a real challenger to the Golf GTI?
Speaking of VW Group the show goes on and - yes - there's a new product powered by a 2.0-litre TDI engine. Don't worry, it's EU6 and totally legit guv. Joking aside a four-wheel drive Skoda Octavia vRS looks like a winning blend of all-weather usefulness, with the added appeal of NOT being an SUV or crossover.
To more PH metal we drove a Japanese curio in the shape of the Honda S660 Mugen, a mildly backdated 997from our friends at RPM and the moment captured when Aston Martin's Vulcan met its namesake.
Renault
is set to return to F1 next year with its own team after signing a letter of intent to take controlling stake in Lotus. Even though this doesn't mean the sale is guaranteed, both parties are said to be working towards a 'definitive transaction'.
Good news if you have a retro Porsche racing car in the stable - factory restoration and verification is now an option to preserve its value and provenance. Just don't forget to drive it, eh? Elsewhere in motorsport PH had topical transport for the latest round of the Leaders Multi Car Hillclimb challenge in the form of a diesel-powered VW.
After a lap of Scotland and more besides Matt had a slightly more 'normal' month in his
Toyota
GT86
but the love remains strong. Meanwhile Chris Rees reckons now is the time to buy a
Porsche 928
before values start chasing those of air-cooled 911s.
On PHTV Dan drove a GT3 RS (badly) around Donington having failed to do his homework with the PH Circuit Guide by track instructor David Brise. See how it should be done here. We also had updates from Jesse Crosse and his new rally Escort, James and his Golf R addiction (one isn't enough so he booked two more variations on the theme in for 'test') and Shed, attempting to convince us the Mk3 Golf GTI isn't actually a rotter.
- Ferrari 488 Spider
- McLaren 570S
- Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe
- Audi RS4 (B5) PH Heroes
- BMW Z4 M Buying Guide