Caterham reveals retro Seven Sprint ahead of Goodwood Revival debut

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September 9, 2016

Caterham is celebrating 60 years of its Seven sports car by launching a limited edition model at this weekend’s Goodwood Revival.

Just 60 examples of the car will be sold, based on the entry-level Suzuki-powered Caterham Seven 160.

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The brand says the Seven Sprint was “seemingly planned in the mid-1960s but never launched”, and is available in a choice of six paint colours that were original British manufacturer colours available in 1966/67.

Caterham Cars CEO, Graham Macdonald, said: “We have always prided ourselves on continually developing the Seven during the 44 years we have been custodian of the model.

“But we never wished to dismiss our heritage either and I know there are plenty of Seven purists and aficionados out there who will really appreciate the level of detail we’ve gone to with the Sprint to resurrect the spirit of those early cars.

“It’s a car that has been built today, with all the benefits that modern engineering brings with it, but the essence of the swinging ‘60s and is the perfect precursor to our 60th-anniversary celebration in 2017.”

The Sprint’s chassis is powder-coated grey, making it period-accurate for a Series 2 Lotus 7. The suspension and rollover bar are also reminiscent of Colin Chapman’s original.

Other retro touches include the flared front wings, polished exhaust silencer and retro-styled individual rear lights. The wheels will be painted cream and finished with polished hubcaps.

Inside the basic cabin, the Seven Sprint features a wooden-rimmed sports steering wheel and a wood-effect dashboard. The interior panels and seat upholstery are hand-stitched in scarlet red.

Meanwhile, the interior panels and Muirhead Scottish seat upholstery is hand-stitched in the period style and finished in striking scarlet red.

The three-cylinder 80hp Suzuki engine accelerates the lightweight sports car to 62mph in 6.9 seconds.

Only available as a factory-built car at a price of £27,995, orders for the Seven Sprint open today.

James May caught speeding minutes after buying new motorbike

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Motoring Research team

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September 5, 2016

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Ex-Top Gear host James May has revealed that he was caught speeding on his new motorbike, just moments after picking it up from a London dealership.

May, who was given the nickname ‘Captain Slow’ by fellow presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, collected the Honda CBR600RR from a main dealer in West London last month.

The 599cc bike was clearly too much for the presenter to handle – as he was snapped by a speed camera exceeding the 30mph limit just down the road from the dealership.

Unashamed by the blunder, May tweeted a map of the location where he was caught – and mocked a customer testimonial for a speed awareness cause that described it as ‘excellent’.

Speeding conviction update. Bit shameful, really. It’s a fair cop, I’ll come quietly. pic.twitter.com/7ZmHzIHKMj

— James May (@MrJamesMay) September 5, 2016

The Honda CBR600RR will hit 62mph in less than 3.0 seconds and can hit more than 155mph.

It’s not clear how fast May was going when he was caught by the camera, but speed awareness courses are only usually offered if you’re caught driving over 10% plus 2mph of the limit, but below 10% plus 9mph. That means, in a 30mph limit, May must have been travelling below 42mph.

Really? pic.twitter.com/MJPgS0PlPv

— James May (@MrJamesMay) September 5, 2016

It’s believed he blamed the error on the road previously having a 40mph speed limit – but he reportedly was braking by the time the speed camera caught him.

May will be starring in his new series, The Grand Tour, alongside Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson from autumn.

It’s not known whether his Captain Slow nickname will remain – there are rumours that it remains trademarked to the BBC.

Leicester City footballers are wrapping their BMW i8s to avoid confusion

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Andrew Brady

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September 2, 2016

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A fleet of identical BMW i8s given to Leicester City players is causing some confusion in the car park – leading to some getting their cars wrapped in a different colour to make them stand out.

The line-up of blue BMW i8s were given to the players by the team’s Thai owners as a reward for winning the Premier League.

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But now, seven of the footballers have asked a local company to fit wraps to their cars.

The work, said to cost £2,000 a car, is being carried out by AC13 Premier – a specialist company managed by ex-Forest and West Ham star Marlon Harewood.

Good morning i8s, 2 of the first 6 pic.twitter.com/w1ocbY7w9K

— AC13 Premier (@AC13PREMIER) August 25, 2016

Players having their car wrapped are believed to include Riyad Mahrez, Demarai Gray, Danny Simpson, Ben Chilwell, Andy King and Wes Morgan.

It can take several days for each wrap to be done properly – and can be reversed entirely if the player decides to sell their car.

The hybrid i8 has a list price of £104,540 – meaning the 19-strong line-up is worth close to £2 million.

The supercar combines an electric motor with a 1.5-litre petrol engine. It can hit 62mph in 4.4 seconds while top speed is limited to 155mph.

Chris Evans’ CarFest South 2016

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Richard Aucock

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August 30, 2016

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Just months after he quit the latest series of Top Gear following a ratings flop, Chris Evans showed fans he can still put on a good show – with thousands headings to Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire for the annual CarFest show.

Established by the Radio 2 breakfast presenter in 2012 to raise money for Children in Need, two CarFests are held every year – CarFest North (in Cheshire) and CarFest South (in Hampshire).

So far, CarFest has raised £6.7 million for Children in Need. Weekend family camping tickets cost more than £300, with at least 25% of ticket prices (and any profits made) going to the charity.

Supercars

So what were the highlights at this year’s CarFest South? Visitors could see supercars such as the Jaguar XJ220 and Ferrari F40 up close in the paddock.

Hillclimb

It wasn’t all stationary cars, either – with a variety of classics, supercars and even F1 cars going up the hillclimb.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Evans tried to sell his Chitty Chitty Bang Bang replica at auction last year – but failed. He pleased crowds with it at CarFest – while his children drove a miniature version.

Food Fair

For those not as interested in cars, or just wanting a break from the track action, CarFest’s Food Fair featured a variety of live demos including a roast challenge and a pie eating competition.

James Martin

Celebrity chef James Martin is a regular at the event – appearing this year in his Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Jody Scheckter

Former F1 champ Jody Scheckter owns Laverstock Farm, where CarFest South is held. Here he is going up the hill in his 1958 Porsche tractor.

Aston Martin Vulcan

Spectators were treated to this rare Aston Martin Vulcan roaring up the hill. Just 24 have been sold worldwide.

Drifting displays

Drifting displays entertained young and old – and yes, that is a taxi you can see in the background.

Official: Ford Mustang is Britain’s favourite performance car

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Motoring Research team

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August 23, 2016

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The Ford Mustang is the most popular high-performance sports coupe on sale in Britain, with year-to-date sales 60% ahead of its nearest rival.

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Classed as sports cars boasting 250hp or more, the high performance car sales chart sees Ford beating the Jaguar F-Type, BMW 6 Series and Porsche 911.

Surprisingly, the perennially-popular Audi TT is down in sixth place, behind the Porsche Cayman. That’s probably because most TT sales have less than 250hp: not a problem for the Mustang, which produces 314hp even in ‘standard’ 2.3-litre Ecoboost guise.

The 5.0-litre V8 GT produces 418hp.

70% of all UK Mustang sales are of the V8 engine: understandable, given a list price from £34,995 (the Jaguar F-Type starts at £51,775). The Ecoboost is priced from £30,995, or the same price as a Ford Focus RS.

Since introducing the Mustang to Europe in autumn 2015, Ford has sold 19,500 Mustangs across the region: 4,000 of them are in Britain alone.

Top 10 high performance cars: Jan – June 2016

1: Ford Mustang (2,317 sales)

2: Jaguar F-Type (1,446 sales)

3: BMW 6 Series (1,367 sales)

4: Porsche 911 (1,315 sales)

5: Porsche Cayman (787 sales)

6: Audi TT (778 sales)

7: Porsche Boxster (526 sales)

8: Mercedes-Benz SL (489 sales)

9: Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman (482 sales)

10: BMW i8 (382 sales)

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante uncovered

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Richard Aucock

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August 22, 2016

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Aston Martin has revealed a new open-top Volante version of the limited-to-99, now-sold-out Vanquish Zagato at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The Vanquish Zagato Volante will also be limited to 99 units and deliveries will begin in 2017. It is likely to cost upwards of £500,000.

Aston Martin says it’s “overwhelming customer interest” for the coupe that encouraged it to take the logical step of launching an open-top version: it’s a trick McLaren also used with the 675LT. Expect the Vanquish Zagato Volante to sell out similarly swiftly.

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The roof has been Zagato-ised: the soft-top is a bespoke hood derived from the regular Vanquish Volante, that drops beneath twin cowls on the rear deck.

Generally though, it’s the same car as the striking, stunning Vanquish Zagato, which designer Marek Reichman says has emphasised surfaces changes and intersections to make it look more muscular.

“We’ve endeavoured to create an elegant, flowing shape that really works to emphasis the car’s sculpted rear haunches”.

Inside, there’s plenty of Zagato ‘Z’ logos; Z quilt patent stitch on the seats and the door sections is complemented by embossed ‘Z’ logos on the headrests and, rather snazzily, stitched into the centre console.

Under the bonnet, sitting behind those distinctive LED running lights, is a pumped up version of the 6.0-litre Aston Martin V12 (the normally aspirated one, rather than the latest 5.2-litre twin-turbo in the new DB11); this produces 592hp for 0-62mph in a predicted 3.7 seconds.

Aston Martin has been working with Zagato for six decades and this is not the first Zagato convertible the Gaydon-based firm has made. The V8 Vantage Volante was launched in 1987 and the wonderful DB AR1, a Zagato version of the DB7, was launched in 2003 (and created for the North American market).

“The Vanquish Zagato Volante illustrates the ways in which Aston Martin design can evolve in collaboration with such a trusted and long-standing partner,” said Reichman, “strengthening the association between these great automotive marques in the process.”

Ford gamers set new racing world endurance record

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Motoring Research team

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August 19, 2016

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Five gamers have set a new Guinness World Record by racing a Ford GT in Forza Motorsport 6 for more than two days solid.

The new Guinness World Record holders for ‘longest video marathon on a racing game’ raced the virtual Ford GT for 48 hours 29 minutes and 21 seconds, getting through industrial-level supplies of sweets and energy drinks in the process.

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One of them, Cara Scott, was a Brit: also driving were Helene Cressot from France, Johannes Knapp from Germany, Italian Andrea Lorenzo Facchinetti and Spain’s Jesus Sicilia Sanchez, who all survived the two-day marathon by taking power naps (oh, and drinking 32 energy drinks, 146 bottles of water and 47 bottles of soft drinks).

The marathon challenge took place at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, and saw the gamers each drove 603 laps of the simulated Le Mans 24 Hours circuit. Compare that to Ford GT racer Stefan Mucke, who waved off the race: he drove for ‘just’ 9 hours 5 minutes and 136 laps at the real Le Mans 24 Hours this year.

But the gamers haven’t had it easy, he said. “Just like driving at the real Le Mans, this achievement required extreme levels of concentration, attention to detail, and most importantly endurance – because they had to keep going for twice as long as we did.”

“Two days of racing is a superlative effort,” agreed Guinness World Records official adjudicator Lena Kuhlmann. “The endurance of the gamers is remarkable. They were engaged, concentrating and having fun even after the record was broken.”

Neatly, Ford also stationed a real GT in view, which Kuhlmann reckoned was an important touch: it helped “keep the gamers from getting completely immersed in the virtual world”.

We’re also sure the 3kg of sweets the gamers munched through helped keep them alert, although we don’t envy the comedown from the sugar rush…

Ford GT supercar production extended to meet demand

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Andrew Brady

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August 19, 2016

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Huge demand for the new Ford GT supercar has led the company to take the unusual step of doubling its production lifespan: Ford will now build the GT for four years instead of just two.

This should see twice as many GT build as originally forecast – which may upset a few values-conscious car collectors but should otherwise raise a universal cheer.

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Many Ford loyalists have recently been disappointed to receive a letter informing them they hadn’t made the grade to own a GT: the firm opened applications a while back and hand-picked those it felt would be the most suitable brand ambassadors.

This may have put some noses out of joint, as Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak tacitly admitted: “While we can’t build enough Ford GTs for everyone who has applied, we are going to produce additional vehicles in an effort to satisfy more of our most loyal Ford ambassadors.

“We want to keep Ford GT exclusive, but at the same time we know how vital this customer is to our brand.”

How will it work? The third year of production will be for for applications placed on the waiting list by Ford. Year four will be for deferred applicants and those who missed the initial application window.

This additional application window doesn’t open until 2018 though. Which leaves plenty of time for those most determined to own a GT to get purchasing Focus RS, Mondeo Vignale and range-topping Ecosport to show how committed they are to the brand.

This Mercedes-Benz Unimog handles like it’s on rails

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Andrew Brady

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August 18, 2016

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Not familiar with the Mercedes Unimog? It’s a beast of a vehicle. Seriously. The off road workhorse-cum-plaything has been taking humans to places where vehicles shouldn’t go since the 1940s – and it even does a good impression of a train.

Yup, the Unimog U 423 proves that the Mercedes 4×4 truck thing is the most versatile vehicle ever – with the latest version about to be revealed at next month’s Innotrans exhibition in Berlin.

Packing 231 hp, the long-wheelbase Unimog U 423 can tow an incredible 1,000 tonnes of train – thanks to its four-wheel-drive system and torque-converter clutch.

Likely to be bought by rail companies for carrying out essential tasks like overhead cable maintenance, the U 423 features a elevating work platform – and it can even be driven remotely.

It also complies with strict fire regulations, available with a fire alarm and fire extinguishing system in the engine compartment so it can be used to carry out work in tunnels.

When it’s not pretending to be a train, it can also be driven on the road like a regular Unimog. OK, you might not want to use it for the school run, but its regular road tyres are up to the job of carrying out any tarmac-related duties you may have for it.

The new Unimog U 423 will be shown at the Innotrans exhibition in Berlin on 20-25th September.

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New 2017 Honda Civic hatchback: official

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Motoring Research team

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August 16, 2016

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The new Honda Civic hatchback has been officially revealed by Honda North America after earlier being scooped by the firm setting sail across the Atlantic.

The Swindon, UK-built five-door is the first hatchback to be sold in the U.S. and it seems the firm is getting rather excited about it – rushing out details of the new car ahead of its European colleagues who developed and will build the car.

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The official studio images confirm the new Civic hatchback will be little-changed from the striking concept car revealed at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show; Honda’s even showing the new car in a similar matt grey paint finish (sadly sans the lime green detailing of the concept).

Honda North America’s anticipation stems from the fact this 10th generation Civic, in saloon and Coupe guise, is the reigning 2016 North American Car of the Year; it’s expected the new five-door hatch will be similarly impressive.

To be launched in autumn 2017 – hence the boat-loads of new Civics now headed across the Atlantic – Honda North America has confirmed further details about the new Civic hatch.

It’s to be offered with just a single engine initially: a new 1.5-litre direct injection turbo, producing either 174hp or 180hp – the extra 6hp comes on Sport models, which have a high-flow centre-exit exhaust (as featured on the Geneva Motor Show concept car).

Pair it either with a six-speed manual or a so-called “sporty” CVT: Honda says the latter will deliver class-leading fuel economy. European cars will also get an upgraded version of Honda’s 1.6-litre i-DTEC turbodiesel.

Following criticism of the down-specced suspension on the current model, the new Civic hatch returns to independent suspension front and rear, with fancy liquid-filled bushings. The bodyshell is stiffer, to further aid ride and handling, and the electric power steering is promisingly described as “sport-tuned” with variable ratios.

It will be big, too: class-leading volume includes the best rear legroom and the biggest boot in its sector. Those in the back will even enjoy the option of heated rear seats.

Honda’s current dreary infotainment system will get a big lift with a new Honda Display Audio system featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The new Civic hatch has been jointly developed by Honda in Europe and Japan, says Honda North America: the Swindon, UK plant will be the only one in the world producing it. And Honda U.S. enthusiasts can’t wait for it to arrive.

“The Civic Hatch has been a staple for Honda in Europe, but has long been the forbidden fruit for Honda fans in the U.S.,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

“Now, we’re bringing this sporty, stylish and versatile Civic Hatchback to North America, as we amp up the performance of our incredible Civic lineup with each new Civic model.”

More news on the European-spec new Civic hatch is expected in coming weeks: it will make its motor show debut at Paris next month.