Skoda has launched a new range-topping version of the performance Octavia vRS, featuring more power and extra standard equipment.

Proving that practicality can still be fun, the Octavia vRS Challenge packs more than £4,500 worth of extra goodies, for only a £2,460 premium compared to the regular vRS version.

Key to the vRS Challenge is the use of the enhanced 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine, previously used in the vRS 245 model.

For those who missed out to buy that particular version, this is a second chance opportunity for an extra 15hp over the normal vRS.

What, no diesel?

With 245hp and 273lb-ft of torque, the vRS Challenge accelerate from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds. Opting for the cavernous estate version drops that slightly to 6.7 seconds – an acceptable debit for 1,740 litres of luggage space.

A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, with a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch on the options list. Whatever transmission choice, the vRS Challenge comes fitted with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential to help transfer power to the road more effectively.

Sadly for fans of long-range cruising, the vRS Challenge trim won’t be offered with the 2.0-litre diesel engine.

Fully loaded for the challenge

Standard vRS Challenge specification closely mirrors that of the previous vRS 245 version. That means 19-inch ‘Xtreme’ alloy wheels, a sports exhaust with black tailpipes, and black vRS badging front and rear.

Inside, the sports seats are finished in grippy Alcantara trim, and can be adjusted electronically. Front and rear parking sensors, folding and automatically dimming exterior mirrors, and keyless entry are also notable upgraded compared to the standard vRS.

Dynamic Chassis Control is also fitted to the vRS Challenge, featuring electronically regulated suspension dampers. Engaging vRS mode sees the dampers stiffen, along with adding extra weight to the steering. For the really committed, there is even a lap timer function for the colour trip computer.

Available to order right now, prices start at £30,085 for the hatchback, with the estate beginning from £31,285.

The man who helped create landmark Jaguars such as the F-Type sports car and F-Pace SUV has, after 17 years, left the firm to set up a new UK design centre for Chinese giant Geely Auto Group.

Wayne Burgess, formerly chief designer and design director at Jaguar Cars, is now vice president of Geely Design UK.

The brand new UK design centre will be based in Coventry – where, for years, Burgess worked for Jaguar.

There are already plans for the new Geely Design UK centre to quickly expand, growing to a staff of around 100 designers. It is being set up to expand the design base of Geely’s in-house brands: these include Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, Proton, Lotus and LEVC, the London Electric Vehicle Company taxi brand.

The new UK design and innovation centre will complement other Geely design studios in Shanghai, Gothenburg, Barcelona and California.

Speaking of his new role, Burgess said: “Geely Design has moved quickly to establish itself over the past five years, growing to become one of the strongest teams in the automotive design field.”

His new boss, Peter Horbury, said: “The addition of Geely Design UK showcases Geely’s commitment to the UK and also shows Britain’s leading position in the areas of creativity and design.

“Wayne brings with him a wealth of experience in premium car design which will help us develop our brands.”

Brexit has already done ‘enormous damage’ to the British car industry as new figures show 2018 production figures fell by 9.1 percent.

Overall investment in the UK car industry also halved in 2018, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Total 2018 car production of 1.52 million cars was a six-year low for the British automotive industry.

“UK automotive is on red alert,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. “Brexit uncertainty has already done enormous damage to output, investment and jobs.” New investment of less than £600 million in 2018 was 46.5 percent below 2017 levels.

“Yet this is nothing compared with the permanent devastation caused by severing our frictionless trade links overnight, not just with the EU but with the many other global markets with which we currently trade freely.

“Brexit is the clear and present danger and, with thousands of jobs on the line, we urge all parties to do whatever it takes to save us from ‘no deal’.”

UK demand for British-built cars fell 16.3 percent, while exports dropped 7.3 percent. 80 percent of new cars built in Britain (that’s 1.24 million cars) are exported – the majority of then to the EU.

10 percent of all cars sold in the European Union are built in Britain.

Overseas demand from China fell 24.5 percent, but exports to the United States actually grew 5.3 percent. The U.S. is now the second largest export market for UK automotive, behind the EU.

Exports to Japan also grew, by 26 percent, and South Korea grew 23.5 percent.

As the SMMT pointed out, both markets, along with Canada and Turkey, are “subject to preferential EU trade agreements, from which the UK benefits.

“Time has almost run out to guarantee continuity of any of these arrangements before Brexit, and ‘no deal’ could therefore put more than two thirds of UK automotive’s global trade under threat.”

Top 10 British-built best-sellers in the world

1. Nissan Qashqai
2. Mini
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Auris
5. Vauxhall Astra
6. Range Rover Sport
7. Nissan Juke
8. Range Rover
9. Range Rover Velar
10. Jaguar F-Pace

We imagine not many people would describe an intake manifold as the favourite part of their vehicle. But Ken Block does. Although the one fitted to his insane ‘Hoonitruck’ is no ordinary part…

Block’s latest Gymkhana Ten video saw his newly created 900-horsepower Ford F-150 pickup truck burning rubber and causing mayhem.

Yet such antics would not have even been possible without some groundbreaking engineering by Ford Performance and researchers in Germany.

Full metal racket

Powering the Hoonitruck is the same 3.5-liter V6 Ford EcoBoost engine as found in the GT supercar. There, the twin-turbocharged unit makes an impressive 647-horsepower, which is more than sufficient for a top speed in excess of 210 mph.

However, this was never going to be enough for Ken Block, who wanted the 1977 F-150 to have more than 900-horsepower. Mating the engine with a complex uprated turbocharger system meant special parts would be needed, including the intake manifold to funnel the boosted air.

The answer was a complex solution, based upon simulations undertaken by Ford Performance engineers in America. Data was shared with colleagues in Europe, who worked with the University of Aachen to produce a record-breaking 3D metal-printed intake manifold.

Burning rubber, and metal

Weighing almost 6 kilos (13 pounds), and having taken some five days to print, the special manifold is genuinely one of a kind. Creating the complex shapes in one smooth piece would have been impossible without 3D printing, according to Mr. Block.

Even once created, the design team had to come up with new methods to make the printed item usable. A complex system of supports, used whilst the printed layers were created, needed to be dissolved with acid once their work was done.

The result of their efforts was the epic tyre-slaying seen in the Gymkhana video, plus the prize for the single largest 3D metal-printed part to feature in a working vehicle.

Ford has previously won awards for the use of plastic 3D printed parts in the Mustang and Ranger models. Given the success seen with the Hoonitruck, more 3D metal-printed items seem a logical step forward.

The latest Suzuki Jimny is already one of 2019’s most-wanted cars. Now, ratifying that cult status, a private buyer has advertised one for £5,000 above list price.

This new Jimny is for sale on Auto Trader for a heady £24,950. The strap line? ‘Beat the waiting list!!’

The Jimny has, of course, been lathered with affections by motoring journalists. Whether that would translate into real sales was the question. After all, the Toyota GT86 was equally lauded by the press, yet failed to follow-up with sales success.

That’s not the case for the Jimny, it seems. Indeed, the owner of this car claims ‘there’s a year’s waiting list for this car in the UK’.

Jimny residuals are set to be inordinately strong, too – kicking off , apparently, with 125 percent of list price to own one now.  

Such mark-ups are normally the preserve of limited-run sports cars and supercars like the Ford GT, LaFerrari and Porsche 911 R. Early Porsche Cayman GT4s were hitting the classifieds at similarly inflated margins.

In reality, the Jimmy is good for going off-road, but struggles a bit at being a normal car. That’s to say, motorway speeds are a windy, noisy struggle, and the space known in other cars as the ‘boot’ is barely larger than a rucksack.

Affairs of the heart recognise no such logic, though. We love the Jimny for its flaws as much as the next person. We’re not sure we’d pay £25,000 for one, though.

If you’re interested, this car is a 1.5-litre auto with the £650 Kinetic Yellow paint, and just 90 miles on the odometer. The supply is there but is the demand high enough? Time will tell…

The new Renault Clio’s interior was revealed yesterday (28 January) and now, just 24 hours later, the exterior has been shown for the first time, ahead of the car’s public debut at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. 

We can see Renault’s logic: the revolution with this car comes inside, as the exterior is very much evolutionary. Intentionally so, says designer Laurens van den Acker, pointing to sales figures that have increased year-on-year since the outgoing car was launched in 2012.

“The exterior design of Clio IV won over our customers and continues to do so today, so we chose to keep that DNA, while bringing modernity and elegance to the new model.”

Renault adds that the new car really is 100 percent new. 

So while the curves and bulges of the old car are still present within an evolutionary profile, the details have been honed and refined. Look at the ribs on the bonnet, says Renault; the bigger grille, the more pronounced front bumper. 

The headlights are now 100 percent LED across the range, and more like jewellery than ever before. There are also LED lights at the rear, and both have a C-shaped light signature. 

At the side, fancy chrome window surrounds offset gloss black pillars, and the hidden rear door handle remains. There are premium-style creases in the body surface and tiny little chrome-plated ‘Clio’ logos on the lower body sides.

Renault says everything has been reworked for much higher perceived quality.

Oh, and the new Clio is actually smaller than the old model, by 14mm in length and up to 30mm in height. Despite this, it’s bigger inside, with the boot now holding 391 litres: a new record for the supermini sector.

Renault is also proud of the new Clio’s paint. Ten colours are available, including new Celadon Blue and this vivid Valencia Orange. It uses a special new paint varnish that offers “unprecedented depth and radiance,” apparently. It’s an automotive industry first for this new paint tech.

A new trim level has already been confirmed by Renault for the new Clio. Called RS Line, it replaces the old GT-Line and matches Renault Sport trimmings with a more efficient range of engines. 

Key features include 17-inch alloys, an F1-blade front bumper, honeycomb grille and, inside, sports seats, aluminium pedals and carbon-style dash inserts.

New research has uncovered the worrying eyesight of Britain’s drivers. More than a fifth (21 percent) say road signs appear blurry when driving.

The research, by specialist eye hospital group Optegra, also revealed that 27 percent find it hard to see when driving at night. That may sound obvious, but our ability to deal with varying levels of light, such as when cars and streetlights pass through our field of vision, is vitally important. Four in 10 said they experience distracting levels of glare from other cars’ lights in the dark.

In addition, 28 percent of the drivers admitted they wished they could see better when driving. And 17 percent said they did not feel safe driving because of the quality of their eyesight.

Short-sighted youth

Interestingly, it’s a major issue with young drivers. One in five British drivers had to buy glasses or contact lenses in order to pass their test.

Incredibly, as many as 44 percent of 16-24 year-olds say road signs appear blurry. Over half said they are majorly affected by light glare at night – and 39 percent said they don’t feel safe driving because of their eyesight.

“This concerning data really worries me – that so many drivers are citing problems with their vision when driving,” said Optegra eye surgeon, Shafiq Rehman.

“It is so, so vital that all drivers see well. As we have heard in the news recently, accidents can so easily happen”.

What are the DVLA ‘standards of vision for driving’?

As quoted directly from the DVLA site, ‘you must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres’.

‘You must also meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuity of at least decimal 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) using both eyes together or, if you have sight in one eye only, in that eye.

‘You must also have an adequate field of vision – your optician can tell you about this and do a test.

‘At the start of your practical driving test you have to correctly read a number plate on a parked vehicle. If you can’t, you’ll fail your driving test and the test won’t continue. The DVLA will be told and your licence will be revoked.’