Frankfurt Motorshow is soon upon us and we are manning the desks in preparation, the build-up including stories on TVR, Jaguar's F-Pace SUV and some PH merchandise discounts for Bank Holiday Monday.
Two lots of cars battle it out for glory.
German vs British
Japanese vs erm... Japanese
. All rear-wheel drive, (nearly) all manual, different cylinder layouts, engine placements, cost and power. In the welterweight division, Mazda's newest iteration of the MX-5 goes head to head with our back to basics Toyota GT86. Meanwhile in the heavyweight division we thought we'd lined up the definitive F-Type against 911 ... and then discovered a small pricing issue. PH2's Jon Urry meanwhile took delivery of a new
Suzuki
and got a bit muddled trying to figure out its role in life. Fear not, he's got a few months with it to find out!
On a more serious note we started the week with news JustinWilson had been seriously injured in an IndyCar crash, confirmation he'd tragically died as a result of his injuries the following day. PHers paid tribute and we celebrated his career with an appropriate Pic Of The Week. .
The world loves a 4x4 as we know. Or, at least, a car that looks like one. Sad to report sales of the real thing are struggling to the extent that one of the true Daddies - the Toyota
Landcruiser V8
- is no longer for the UK market. Boo.
Frankfurt looms and the teasers and pre-reveal press releases are landing. First up Hyundai with a Vision Gran Turismo conceptsaid to preview its much discussed but yet to be seen 'N' performance sub-brand. TVR won't be at Frankfurt but, given we hear 250 people have put money down for the new car already, it sounds like they don't need to bother with all that motor show nonsense. Bravo for that.
Meanwhile news Ford Mustang buyers are ordering more V8s than Ecoboosts was heartening, even if Ford had to 'fess up to a 5hp loss converting the car to RHD. Jaguar promised to build "the most rewarding driver's car of its kind" with reference to its new F-Pace crossover while more pics of the BMW M235i Cup and a full Nurburgring chase lap with Dale hot on the heels of the new Alfa Romeo Giulia QV brought a new dimension to the recent crop of spy shots.
Shed was given the near-impossible task of discussing a rather tasty looking
Honda Prelude
WITHOUT referencing the late great LJK Setright's endorsement of the car. Matt's wallet is trembling at the idea of a sub-grand Honda with a manual gearbox too...
Meanwhile if you want to do some Bank Holiday shopping from the safety of your sofa we've got some new PH Autumn merchandise with a tempting 10 per cent discount.
Le Mans might seem a long way off but we are already planning our trip for 2016 and would love as many of you as possible to join us. In the meantime we've got Episode 2 of PHTV with Dan's report from the North Coast 500 and a drive in the McLaren 675LT and elsewhere he bids a teary farewell to his Subaru WRX STI, while admitting there may be something of a similar theme appearing on his driveway soon.
- PH races in Japan - the return!
- Porsche 911 GT3 RS driven
- Skoda Yeti across the Carpathians
- Frankfurt show
- And much more!