Everything sounds better in Italian. For example: “Il mio scarico è bloccato. Chiama un idraulico.” If Google Translate is to be believed, that’s telling somebody you have a blocked drain and you’d like them to call a plumber. With this in mind, I’ve been tasked with coming up with 25 car names that sound great in Italian, but sciocchezze in English.

Ferrari 488 Pista

The Ferrari 488 Pista: ask an Italian to pronounce the name and it will sound beguiling, evocative and exotic. Ask somebody from an English-speaking nation and it will sound unpleasant and slightly whiffy. Pista is, of course, Italian for “track”, but if you thought it sounded faintly ridiculous without an Italian accent, have a look at Travis Okulski’s piece on Road & Track. It doesn’t translate particularly well, especially if you’re Estonian, Lithuanian, Persian or Ukranian.

Fiat Strada

The Fiat Ritmo was exported to most English-speaking markets as the Fiat Strada, which itself sounds more appealing than the Fiat Street. Why was it called the Strada in the UK and USA? Simply because Ritmo is Italian for “rhythm”, which is a natural form of contraception.

Ferrari 458 Speciale

Say the word “special”. Now say “speciale” in your finest Italian accent. It just sounds so right, even if your impression of an Italian is about as convincing as Joe Dolce’s Shaddap You Face. Ask your parents.

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

Strada is Italian for “street”, while stradale is “road”. Whatever, just admire the majesty of the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. Italian car manufacturers have a history of using the name to denote a road-going version of a racing car.

Audi Quattro

Anybody who has ordered a four-cheese pizza will know that quattro is Italian for “four”. An apt name, then, for a performance coupe that put four-wheel drive on the map as a real-world option.

Maserati Quattroporte

It sounds like the most exotic car on the planet, but it means little more than Maserati Four Door. Back in 1963, when the original Quattroporte was launched, it was the fastest four-door saloon in the world.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde

The history of the Quadrifoglio Verde – or “green four-leaf clover” – dates back to 1923, when Ugo Sivocci decided to add the symbol of luck to his race car. Sivocci won the 1923 Targa Florio, and it was assumed that luck played a small part in his victory. Later that year, Sivocci died during practice for the Italian Grand Prix. The Quadrifoglio Verde hadn’t been applied to his race car…

Fiat Cinquecento

The Fiat Cinquecento: the city car of choice for The Proclaimers. Well, they’d almost certainly walk 500 miles to find a good one.

Fiat Seicento

But the Scottish duo wouldn’t walk 600 miles for a Fiat Seicento. That would be da da da (da da da) daft.

Fiat Tipo

The Fiat Group’s Tipo Due platform – or “Type Two” platform – was conceived from the outset with the intention of shared use, beginning with this: the Fiat Tipo. It was designed by IDEA to go head-to-head with the Volkswagen Golf, and was good enough to scoop the European Car of the Year award in 1989.

Fiat Sedici

Fiat teamed up with Suzuki to develop the Sedici, which is also known as the Suzuki SX4. The Giugiaro-designed Sedici was the official car of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and the name means “Sixteen”. It’s a 4×4, you see. And four times four equals sixteen. Neat.

Fiat Tipo Sedicivalvole

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that sedici means “sixteen”. And you won’t need access to Rosetta Stone to know that valvole means “valve”. Back in the 90s, a 16v badge on your car’s rump was a sign of merit. But SEDICIVALVOLE on the back of your Tipo was a badge of distinction.

Fiat Uno

The Mini One: yeah, it’s OK. But the Fiat Uno? Much, much better.

Fiat Punto

Giorgetto Giugiaro described the Fiat Punto as “a two-box, verging on one-box, car with all the advantages that this type of build offers in terms of habitability and visibility within a predetermined length.” Twenty-five years on from its launch in Turin, it’s time to recognise the glorious simplicity of the Fiat Punto, or Fiat Point.

Fiat Grande Punto

Anyone who has ordered an expensive takeaway coffee will know what Grande means in Italian. The Fiat Big Point doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Fiat Barchetta

The Barchetta name can trace its roots back to the Fiat 509S Bateau of the 1920s and racing Ferraris of the late 1940s. But the Fiat Barchetta – or Little Boat – is arguably the most famous use of the name.

Fiat Stilo

If you’re going to call your car Stilo – or Style – you need to ensure it hits the mark. Sadly, the styling of the Fiat Stilo wasn’t greeted with universal acclaim. “We clothed our new car in a markedly ‘pan-European’ skin, reserving our more distinctively Italian creativity for a few of the details,” said Nevio Di Giusto, Fiat Auto’s product engineering chief.

Fiat Topolino

Is this the cutest name in the history of the motor car? The Fiat Topolino, aka the Fiat Little Mouse.

Ferrari Testarossa

The Ferrari 500 TR featured a cylinder head painted red, hence the name Testa Rossa, or “Red Head”. The name was revisited in 1984, albeit in Testarossa form for the Pininfarina-designed supercar.

Fiat Campagnola

Campagna means “country”, so Campagnola is an apt name for an Italian off-road vehicle. The Fiat Campagnola enjoyed success in its domestic market, most notably among the Carabinieri and Polizia.

Fiat Multipla

The Multipla name was used for the four-door MPV version of the Fiat 600, before being reused for the aesthetically-challenged, but oh-so-cool, MPV launched in 1998. Multipla means “multiple”, which in this case means seats. The Fiat Multipla has two rows of three seats.

Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta

In Italian, a berlina is a saloon car, while a berlinetta is a “little saloon”. The name has been used by manufacturers to denote a sporty coupe, but the Berlinetta badge is not restricted to Italian marques. Take the Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta: the European name was designed to add a touch of luxury to the all-American pony car.

Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole

The Quattrovalvole name, often shortened to QV, simply means “four-valves”, as in four valves per cylinder. It’s a good excuse to use this photograph of a Lamborghini Countach QV.

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante

The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante or “Flying Saucer”. Its curvaceous styling led to it being given the internal nickname of Disco Volante, and the unofficial name caught on, thanks in part to the obsession with UFOs in the 1950s.

Ferrari F430 Scuderia

We conclude with the F430 Scuderia, or “stable” in English. It sounds so much better in Italian and is rather apt for a company name with blacksmith roots and a Prancing Horse for a badge.fi

Read more:

• The 20 best car names ever
• 20 years of Italian supercars
• The coolest car dashboards

New car registrations plummeted by 15.7 percent in March 2018 compared to the same month last year, latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed. March is traditionally the largest month of the year for new car sales. 

The latest figures mean new car sales have fallen month-on-month for 12 months running.

However, the trade organisation has stressed that although the headline figure is “grim”, the bigger picture is “relatively strong”. Speaking to the BBC, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes revealed that new car sales in March 2018 were still the fourth-biggest month on record. 

Things were distorted in 2017 due to a spike in sales ahead of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) road tax changes coming into force the following month. Many buyers pulled forward their purchase to escape punitive added costs. 

“March’s decline is not unexpected given the huge surge in registrations in the same month last year,” said Hawes.  

Other factors in the weak 2018 performance include the weather – and this is why, said Hawes, the 4×4 sector was the only one to do reasonably well: registrations remained broadly stable, while all other sectors fell. 

“Consumer and business confidence… has taken a knock in recent months and a thriving new car market is essential to the overall health of our economy.” What needs to happen in order to restore momentum? “Creating the right economic conditions for all types of consumers to have the confidence to buy new vehicles,” said Hawes.

Diesel declines – again

Diesel car sales, in contrast, continued to suffer. The market was down a whopping 37.2 percent percent in March, adding yet more pressure to car manufacturers seeking to meet upcoming new car CO2 targets. Less than 1 in 3 new car buyers purchased a diesel car in March. 

Sales of petrol cars rose slightly, by 0.5 percent. Pure petrol sales comprise 62.5 percent of all new car sales – and while alternative fuel vehicle sales rose, the gain was a mediocre 5.7 percent, taking the share up from 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent. 

Overall, new car sales in 2018 are down 12.4 percent – with the decline of diesel a striking 33.3 percent. 

“All technologies, regardless of fuel type, have a role to play in helping improve air quality,” said Hawes. “Government must do more to encourage consumers to buy new vehicles rather than hang onto their older, more polluting vehicles.”

Top 10 best selling cars: March 2018

1: Ford Fiesta

2: Volkswagen Golf

3: Nissan Qashqai

4: Vauxhall Corsa

5: Ford Focus

6: Ford Kuga

7: Mini

8: Mercedes-Benz A-Class

9: Mercedes-Benz C-Class

10: Kia Sportage

Read more

• Britain’s best selling cars of 2017
• Europe’s best selling cars of 2017
• World’s best selling cars of 2017

Talk about a poisoned chalice. ‘Find 25 muscle cars that aren’t American, and create a gallery,’ they said. Tough call, given that the muscle car is as American as Bruce Springsteen, corn dogs and a home run. If you’re an American with even the slightest interest in cars, you might want to look away now.

What is a muscle car?

You’re still with us? OK, so what exactly is a muscle car? Road Test magazine, June 1967, nailed it, by saying: “It is a product of the American car industry adhering to the hot rodder’s philosophy of taking a small car and putting a BIG engine in it. To balance this out, handling, braking and related essentials are modified to result in a performance machine for the streets.”

Holden HK Monaro GTS

According to the Muscle Car Club, a muscle car must be an “intermediate sized, performance oriented model, powered by a large V8 engine, at an affordable price”. Cars like the Holden Monaro, then? Along with the Ford Falcon, the Monaro is the Aussie rules interpretation of the muscle car recipe. The GTS and GTS 327 were powered by an American V8, yet uniquely Australian in character. The GTS 327 was the first Holden to win the fabled Bathurst 1000, with Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland racing to victory in 1968.

Jensen Interceptor

A muscle car is not a “British sports car, a Morgan, TVR or Jaguar, which could never be regarded as fitting the bill”, so says Jim Glastonbury in the Ultimate Guide to Muscle Cars. As a GT car, the Jensen Interceptor isn’t a classic muscle car as such, but with a Chrysler V8 at the front and classic rear-wheel drive handling, it’s arguably a muscle car in spirit. It also has the right name: Charger, Challenger, Interceptor – it feels part of the same club.

Vauxhall VXR8 GTS

It’s rather comforting to know that, alongside the Viva, Corsa and Astra, Vauxhall still offers the VXR8 in the UK. It doesn’t matter that it’s based on the distinctly Australian Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) GTS, because the VXR8 is a welcome tonic to the endless supply of eco-hybrid-crossover-type things. Its Camaro-sourced 6.2-litre supercharged engine ticks the V8 box, and prices start from below £55,000, so it’s also relatively affordable.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3

Some readers will be choking on their Pop Tarts at the mere thought of a Mercedes-Benz included in a list of muscle cars, but hear us out. Admire the lunacy of taking a 6.3-litre V8 engine from the S-Class of the day and shoehorning it into a smaller four-door saloon. The 300 SEL 6.3 could sprint to 62mph in just 7.4 seconds, giving it the ability to rub shoulders with the likes of the E-Type and 911. It was also the godfather of AMG.

Ford Falcon XR GT

Face it, if any country could challenge America’s claim for muscle car supremacy, it would be Australia. You can thank Bill Bourke of Ford Australia for taking the humble Ford Falcon saloon and transforming it into a performance car of merit. Launched in 1967, the XR GT was powered by the same Windsor V8 you’d find in the Mustang, developing 225hp. The Falcon XR GT was there at the birth of the Australian muscle car.

Volkswagen Passat W8

Look, we have to offer a few wild cards, don’t we? Jim Glastonbury was rather dismissive of Europe’s potential to build a muscle car, saying: “… nor is it a German Porsche, which is too efficient and too clever by half”. But what about a Volkswagen Passat? It’s powered by a flat plane crank V8 engine, so it certainly ticks the ‘big engine/smallish car’ box. You’re not convinced, are you? In truth, neither are we.

Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9

We’re not giving up with the Mercedes-Benz thing. The way we see it, the recipe for the American muscle car is deep rooted and set in stone. But for the rest of the world, a little rule bending should be allowed. The 450 SEL was powered by a 6.9-litre V8, giving this German colossus the power to give a sport car driver sleepless nights. We do concede that it wasn’t exactly cheap, but the 450 SEL wasn’t lacking in muscle.

Ford Capri Perana

As the ‘European Mustang’, you could argue that the Ford Capri was more pony car than muscle car, but that’s a debate for another day. For now, marvel in Ford South Africa’s decision to chuck a 5.0-litre V8 engine into a Mk1 Ford Capri 3000 XL and offer it for sale with a standard warranty. Ford also sanctioned a host of upgrades, including lowered suspension and a custom limited slip differential from a Ford Falcon XW. The best Ford Capri we never got?

Ford Sierra XR8

God bless South Africa for giving the world these two unlikely V8 heroes. First the Capri Perana and now this: the Ford Sierra XR8. It wasn’t exactly packed with muscle – a mere 209 horses – but a host of upgrades and the fact that it was relatively light for a V8 car meant that it was rather good on road and track. You can imagine how good it sounds.

Lancia Thema 8.32

Is this the closest Lancia ever got to building a muscle car? The Thema is front-wheel drive, which doesn’t give it the best of starts, but with a thumping great Ferrari-sourced 2.9-litre V8 engine at the front, it begins to claw back some ground. Lancia also uprated the steering, brakes and suspension, while adding a trick rear spoiler.

Rover 75 V8

You could argue, with some justification, that the Rover SD1 3500 has a whiff of muscle car about it, but we’re opting for the Rover 75 V8. The company went to extraordinary lengths in order to crowbar a 4.6-litre V8 engine into the front, while the conversion from front- to rear-wheel drive is the stuff of legend. The results weren’t altogether successful, but this was like your grandad taking up wrestling. And for that, we applaud it.

Mercedes-Benz 500E

Part Mercedes-Benz, part Porsche, but 100% muscle car, right? Ditching the straight-six in favour of a 5.0-litre V8 meant that the 500E developed 326hp and could reach a top speed of 160mph. And yet it looked like a regular W124, leading Mercedes-Benz to give it the nickname ‘The Velvet Hammer’.

FPV F6

It might sound like the name of a domestic appliance, but once you realise FPV stands for Ford Performance Vehicles, things start to make sense. Think of the F6 as a performance version of the Ford Falcon, built between 2004 and 2014. Before you say anything, we know, the F6 is powered by a 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine and not a V8. But with as much as 417lb ft of torque available on tap, it’s not short of muscle and it certainly looks the part.

Holden Torana A9X

The Holden Torana was a medium-sized family car built between 1967 and 1980, so it provides the ideal basis for a muscle car. Step forward the A9X of 1977: an option available on the 5.0-litre V8 SLR 5000 saloon and SS hatchback. These homologation specials featured a bespoke floorpan and were stripped back to race specification. For a while, the A9X was a dominant force in Australian touring car racing.

Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III

“Simply one of the best cars in the world, a true GT that could take on Ferraris and Astons on their own terms.” Not our words, Lynn, the words of Sports Car World. Draw up a list of the world’s best muscle cars and the Falcon GT-HO Phase III will be somewhere near the top. A mere 300 were built for Bathurst purposes, with the Cleveland 5.8-litre V8 developing in excess of 300hp. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to read Mel Nichol’s epic drive in the book And The Revs Keep Rising.

Chrysler Valiant Charger E38

The E38 was the first homologation special based on the Chrysler Valiant Charger and powered by a 280hp Hemi six-cylinder. Yes, six-cylinder. But the Valiant Charger was an incredibly successful car for Chrysler, with a range of engines and styling that was pure muscle. There were also V8 versions, powered by the Chrysler LA engine.

Lexus IS-F

Remember when Lexus went chasing M cars and AMGs in the IS-F? We believe the Lexus IS-F has an aura of muscle car about it, although you could argue it’s a bit too polished, a bit too efficient for inclusion here. But with a 5.0-litre V8 engine up front and 371lb ft of torque being pushed through the rear wheels, it’s not without credentials.

Holden VH Commodore SS

There can be no debate about the Holden VH Commodore SS. Take one medium-size family car, add a 4.1-litre V8 and, hey presto, a muscle car is born. The VH Commodore represented the debut of the SS (Sport Sedan) badge, which has adorned the potent versions ever since. In the UK, you’ll remember the third generation car as the one exported as the Vauxhall Monaro.

Holden ‘four-door Corvette ZR1’?

At the end of 2016, GM will pull the plug on Holden production, instead offering rebadged import models from other General Motors brands. Australian website Motoring.com.au is suggesting HSV will say goodbye with the help of a GTS-R W1: an “awesome LS9 supercharged 6.2-litre V8 from the previous generation Corvette ZR1”. A four-door Corvette: how’s that for a swansong?

Ford Falcon XA GT

The Falcon XA was the first Ford to be designed and built from the ground up in Australian, making it a rather significant model. The XA GT was essentially a replacement for the fabled GT-HO Phase III, but Ford was keen to make it feel as much at home on the road as it did on the track.

Ford Falcon XB GT

The Ford Falcon XB GT formed the basis for the Interceptor in Mad Max. Even without the movie connection, this a muscle car in the truest sense, with a solid rear axle, leaf springs and an Australian-built 300hp Cleveland V8. You could add a ‘Concorde’ nose, if you fancied yourself as a kind of Max Rockatansky for the new millennium.

Holden Monaro GTS 350

“The race-bred GTS 350 was fast. It’d give you 55, 79, 99 and 130mph in the gears; 0-60mph in 7.0 sec, 0-100 in 16, and 14.8 for the standing quarter mile. Among contemporaries, only Ford’s Falcon GT-HO – another of the great Australian muscle cars of the early ‘70s – could shade it (just).” An excerpt from the aforementioned And The Revs Keep Rising. It’s a must-read book.

Chevrolet Can-Am ‘Little Chev’

According to African Muscle Cars, the Chevy Can-Am was an “insane car”. They’re not wrong – beneath the bonnet of the Vauxhall Firenza was the beating heart of a Z28 engine lifted from the Chevrolet Camaro. If you’re after figures, the ‘Little Chev’ offered 290lb ft of torque and a 0-62mph time of 5.4 seconds. It’s probably the best ‘Vauxhall’ you’ve forgotten about.

Ford Fairmont GT

Another South African diamond here, this time in the shape of the Ford Fairmont GT. According to African Muscle Cars, it was based on the Australian Ford XW Falcon GT and built from 1970 to 1973. We love the summary in Car magazine, June 1972: “It is not a family car, nor is it a street rod for the boy-racers to play around with. It is the type of car which, in America, provides ammunition (and some justification) for the legislators who want to restrict horsepower and govern engine speeds.” The Fairmont GT: what a rebel!

Opel Diplomat V8

We conclude with something fruity from Opel. As a large, luxury car, the Diplomat doesn’t satisfy the strict criteria required for a muscle car, but by using a Chevrolet V8 engine in the flagship models, Opel hoped to compete with Mercedes-Benz. This is muscle, German style.

With the return of cold weather expected this Easter weekend, what are you going to do once you’ve devoured the hot cross buns and polished off the chocolate? Polyphony Digital might have the answer with the latest update to the Gran Turismo Sport Playstation 4 game, and they’ve stored up the best Easter Egg many could have asked for.

You won’t need us to explain that the values of BMW E30 M3s have gone through the roof in recent years, with £40,000 now the entry point for even cars with huge mileages. However, if you’re a Gran Turismo Sport player, you’ll be able to add an E30 M3 to your garage for absolutely nothing.

As with previous updates, this latest one doesn’t just add one car to the game but actually throws in a total of thirteen new machines. From retro classics, to Super GT racers and crazy concepts, there is likely to be something for every motoring taste with this month’s release:

• BMW E30 M3 Sport Evolution
• Aston Martin DB11
• Ford GT40 Mk1
• Eckerts Rod & Custom Mach Forty
• Honda Raybrig Concept-GT
• Lexus Au Tom’s RC F
• Nissan Motul Autech GT-R
• Gran Turismo Red Bull X2014 Standard
• Gran Turismo Red Bull X2014 Junior
• Lexus RC F GT3
• Mazda FC RX-7 GT-X
• Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R V-Spec
• Nissan GT-R Nismo

For those familiar with older Gran Turismo games, the launch of Gran Turismo Sport may have been something of a shock with the usual roster of Nissan Skylines seriously depleted. Thankfully Polyphony has made amends with various updates, and this latest one sees the iconic R33 GT-R slotted in alongside the thundering GT-R Nismo.

Having new performance Nissans would be pointless without a special competition in which to race them, and this update does not disappoint. New additions to the GT-League options include:

• Nissan GT-R Cup – Beginner League
• Red Bull X-Junior Series – Amateur League
• All Japan GT Car Championships – Professional League

This means you will be able to put all the new cars to use immediately with specific competitions, rather than merely worrying about creating new liveries or what best location to photograph them in. Update 1.15 does include a new location for the photography ‘Scapes Mode’ though…

With the addition of a classic racing circuit, you may want to spend more time driving than snapping, though. The reappearance of Tsukuba Circuit will be a major bonus to long term GT fans, with the short track providing a deceptively challenging environment to pit even low powered machinery against.

As with previous updates, 1.15 also brings a number of new technical tweaks and improvements, including official support for the Fanatec series of steering wheel controllers, and even the addition of MINI and Renault ‘museums’ to the brands featured.

Finally, you can also laud it over those stuck with Forza Motorsport, with a new time trial feature for GT Sport’s VR mode. Maybe test out that before breaking into the chocolate eggs.

The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet struck the first blow, which was swiftly followed by a knockout punch by the Range Rover Evoque Convertible. Now, the Honda CR-V Roadster is here to kick you when you’re down.

Honda has quite literally left every stone unturned and taken a no-expense approach in its quest to deliver a topless SUV, which is guaranteed to turn heads, especially at the Euro NCAP offices in Belgium.

One look at those jagged edges and exposed pillars will send the safety officers reaching for their Trappist beers before embarking on a tour of the Belgian countryside in a Rover 100 without seatbelts.

Drive-through car washes and the British summer are out of the question, as the Honda CR-V features no roof whatsoever, which gives it something in common with the Smart Crossblade. But unlike the Smart, the CR-V won’t look good parked alongside a marina in the south of France. And we doubt Robbie Williams will be queuing up to place an order.

Eipururufüru, Future Opportunity Occupational Lead at Honda UK, said: “This is a bold new direction for the CR-V and opens up an entirely new non-existent market. Our sales target is somewhat conservative to start with, at zero cars, but we are confident that once the minor glitches are ironed out, such as the lack of roof and the fact it is totally structurally unsound, the car will fly out of showrooms.”

Predictably, the CR-V Roadster will be arriving in said showrooms from 1 April 2018. Alternatively, interested parties – those without taste or common sense – are politely reminded that Land Rover offers something similarly baffling and are prepared to relieve you of £45,000 for the privilege of owning one.

Seemingly, a drop-top SUV is for life, not just for April Fools’ Day.

Mini is getting us excited for the idea of its new 2019 pure electric car… by revealing a classic Mini converted to run on electric at the 2018 New York International Auto Show.

This is no early April Fool’s joke, either. Mini’s serous, and says it’s converted the classic Mini partly to prepare us for the car’s 60th anniversary next year. Presumably, so old and new electric Minis can be shown off together.

The new car, based on the Mini Hatch three-door, is currently in final development. Plant Oxford is being readied to start building it. And Mini reminds us it won’t be the first electric model to go into production – the 2008 Mini helped prove a lot of the tech that went into the BMW i3; the firm ended up building around 600 of them.

It’s only going to build one classic Mini Electric. The New York model is derived from a fully-restored late-model classic Mini Cooper, and wears red paint set off with a white roof and bonnet stripes.

The soon-to-be-familiar Mini Electric logo adorns the bonnet, rear quarters and the wheel hubs. Even the fuel filler is retained, albeit converted to take an electric charging socket.

Its ultra-light weight pays dividends on the road, says Mini. “The spontaneous power of its electric motor provides a new dimension to the unmistakable go-kart feeling that helped propel the British small car in its original form to worldwide popularity.”

Not that we’ll get to drive it at New York, sadly. “With this unique vehicle,” says the firm, “Mini sends out a clear signal demonstrating its commitment to retaining the brand’s unmistakable character whilst embracing innovative zero local emission technology.”

We get the idea. The 2019 Mini Electric will be a real Mini. And what better way to underline this than by showing a real Mini, made electric.

They’ve finally done it. Jaguar’s petrolhead engineers have dropped the firm’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 into the F-Pace SUV. In doing so, they’ve created an ultra-potent, ultra-desirable homegrown answer to a Mercedes-AMG GLC. At last.

The F-Pace SVR debuts at the New York International Auto Show. All 550hp of it, which is enough to take the mid-size premium SUV from 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds, and onto a 176mph top speed. There’s also 501lb ft of pulling power: in all, a 44 percent hike in output compared to the four-cylinder and V6 F-Pace models we’ve had up to now.

Because it’s the work of JLR’s hot Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division, there’s a suitably standout visual makeover to go with all this power. An all-new front bumper has been scalloped out to feed in air, and there are vents in the sides of the wings to further aid cooling and reduce lift.

Another front-end feature are the new SVR bonnet vents, which look mean (they’ll be your instant F-Pace SVR differentiator) but are also functional, helping air heated by the V8 to escape.

New wheelarch extensions wrap around either 21-inch or 22-inch alloys, and there are meatier lower body mouldings and, of course, a whopping great four-pipe exhaust at the rear, complete with the Jaguar Variable Valve Active Exhaust System. Interestingly, this higher-performance system weighs 6.6kg less than the standard setup. Note the enlarged rear spoiler as well.

It’s not all for show, either. “The F-Pace SVR delivers the handling and agility to match its performance,” says JLR handling guru Mike Cross. Spring rates are up, by a hefty 30 percent at the front, and a new anti-roll bar cuts body lean by five percent in corners.

The lightweight forged alloys wear tyres 25mm wider at the rear than the front, and the 22-inch rims are up to 2.4kg lighter than normal. Hiding behind them is a performance brake system with two-piece discs that are 395mm in diameter on the front, 396mm at the rear.

Jaguar has fitted its rear electronic active differential to the F-Pace for the first time. This has been honed for the SVR – indeed, said Cross, “everything from the steering to the bespoke suspension set-up has been tuned specifically for our performance SUV”.

Inside, there are slimline front sports seats that look like they’ve been taken straight from the F-Type. Who knows, maybe they have – and they’re matched by two more in the rear. They’re SVR-branded, as is the steering wheel, and the paddle shifters are cool aluminium metal. There’s a choice of four interior colour schemes as well.

Prices start from £74,835 in the UK and ordering will open in May. Want to be the first in line? In the usual Jaguar way, head to the firm’s website and register your interest. Bosses tell us this really is worth doing – the people at the front of the queue generally do this as early as possible…