The new Amazon Prime TV show set to rival the BBC’s Top Gear has been named: The Grand Tour.
The programme will be presented by former Top Gear stalwarts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Only those who have signed up to Amazon Prime’s £79-per-year streaming service will be able to watch it.
Clarkson announced The Grand Tour on Twitter by saying: ‘Start the smoke. We have a name.”
The controversial presenter then explained: “We’ll be travelling the world hosting each episode in a different country, from a giant tent. It’s a sort of “grand tour”, if you like. So we’ve decided to call it ‘The Grand Tour’.”
Lads on tour
Clarkson later tweeted: “So, The Grand Tour (GT for short) will come from a tent, which we will put up in a different location every week. Your town?”, although it’s not yet clear if fans can nominate their town to host the show,
Hammond and May seemed less enthusiastic about the name. Hammond said: “We’ve got a name. And it was bleeding obvious cos it’s what we’re doing: coming from a different place every week.”
And James May remarked: “I wanted to call it ‘Nigel’, or ‘Roger’. We needed a name, and they’re names.”
Hypercar group test
With the three presenters, plus former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman on board, it’s likely the show will have many similarities to the old BBC Top Gear.
And we know the new series will start with a bang: namely a group test of the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder hypercars.
In a similarity with the forthcoming, Chris Evans-hosted Top Gear, several Reliant Robins will feature, too.
A 12-episode series of The Grand Tour will begin on Amazon Prime this autumn.
Premium car dealer Stratstone has bought one of the six Jaguar Lightweight E-types recreations and the firm’s enthusiastic CEO Trevor Finn has vowed to use the car to ensure as many people see it in action as possible.
It will not be locked away in a museum and will be used as Jaguar originally intended when it first created the 18-car ‘Special GT E-type’ race car programme back in 1963.
Only 12 of the 18 cars were built back in the 60s: 50 years on, the missing chassis numbers were rediscovered and a plan was hatched to build the missing six cars using period machinery and original Jaguar E-type craftsmen and engineers.
The Stratstone Lightweight E-Type is the only one that’s going to be based in Britain and Finn has promised to make sure this car – chassis number 15 – literally is the star.
“I want the car to be a celebrity in its own right,” Finn told us. “It’s going to have an ambassadorial role for us – I don’t want it to be all about who’s driving it, but about the car itself.”
Finn and his team plan to showcase the #15 Lightweight E-type at all the big automotive events, such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but will also take it to events outside the usual automotive calendar. It’s a car that reaches out beyond petrolheads, explained Finn, and so will be showcased there so many more people get to see it.
It may even be raced: all six Lightweight E-types have been built with full FIA historic racing homologation.
The Stratstone Lightweight E-type even has its own hub on Stratstone’s website, and social media activities are being planned for it.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do this a year ago,” said Finn, “but media continues to evolve so quickly, it’s now possible to give special cars like this an enormous reach across multiple channels.
“This is why we’re not keeping it locked away and unused: this car is going to become a celebrity and I’m determined as many people as possible will get to see it and to experience it.
The 500-athlete Invictus Games 2016 for wounded ex-servicemen has been held in Orlando, Florida with a very special guest helping out with the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge – founder and patron Prince Harry.
The Royal didn’t only present the medals at the end of the driving event either: he took part in the final Driving Challenge round, joining Estonia in a Land Rover Discovery Sport and Denmark in a Jaguar XF.
Prince Harry’s high-profile support comes as Jaguar Land Rover announces plans to recruit 1,000 ex-service men and women by 2020 – a five-fold increase on today’s numbers. The firm says it’s offering former armed forces recruits “the opportunity to rebuild their lives and careers… (with) opportunities for passionate people to unleash their full potential”.
The Orlando Invictus Games 2016 was the second to be held after the inaugural event in London 2014. 500 athletes from 14 nations competed over five days in numerous sports such as tennis, cycling and athletics.
Jaguar Land Rover held the driving round – the opening event of the Games – and it was this event that received full royal support from ex-serviceman Prince Harry, to the delight of the 11 competing nations in this part of the competition.
It was the first competitive medal event of the 2016 Games: France won gold, with Estonia taking silver and Denmark taking bronze. Prince Harry presented medals to all three teams.
What are the Invictus Games?
Prince Harry helped found the paralympic-style multi-event Invictus Games for wounded ex-servicemen in 2014, helped by the backing of Jaguar Land Rover. The first event was held in September 2014 at venues used in the 2012 London Olympics.
The second Invictus Games at Orlando was opened by VIPs including Michelle Obama; sporting events over the five-day games include track and field, archery, indoor rowing, wheelchair basketball and a triathlon – plus, of course, the Jaguar Land Rover driving event.
This year, HRH said he wanted the 2016 Games to help “smash the stigma” around military mental health issues such as Post-Traumatic Tress Disorder.”There’s no reason people should be hiding in shame after they’ve served their country,” he said.
“We are all grateful to HRH Prince Harry for founding and championing this visionary idea of the Games,” said Jaguar Land Rover CEO Dr Ralf Speth.
“We congratulate him and the organising committee on establishing yet another inspiring Invictus Games.”
The next Invictus Games will be held in Toronto, Canada in 2017.
Volkswagen has released a limited edition Golf GTI Clubsport S to mark 40 years of the Golf GTI – and the lightweight 310hp special has already entered the record books by breaking the front-wheel drive production car lap record around the Nürburgring.
Limited to 400 individually-numbered cars, the new GTI Clubsport S is the most radical Golf GTI in four decades: it’s a two-door only, will only be offered with a six-speed manual gearbox, has no rear seats, no parcel shelf, less soundproofing, a lighter battery – all to save weight and go after a record lap time.
German racer Benny Leuchter (and former team-mate of multi-F1 champ Sebastien Vettel) duly delivered: he drove the new GTI Clubsport S around in 7:49.21, beating the reigning hot hatch Nürburgring champ, Honda’s Civic Type R, which set a time of 7:50.63.
Watch the Golf GTI Clubsport S Nürburgring record lap in full
Rather fittingly, what’s now officially the fastest hot hatch around the Nürburgring is fitted with a special setting in the standard Dynamic Chassis Control driving profile selector – the Nurburgring setting in Individual model.
This mode accounts for the bumps of the Nürburgring with special damper settings, and also has dedicated engine, steering and sound settings: a new exhaust with bigger tail pipes adds to the effect with loud backfires under braking…
Golf GTI Clubsport S: the details
The Golf GTI Clubsport S sticks to the original colour palette of the original Golf GTI: red, white or black (red and white cars have a black roof). There are lower body decals, mimicking those on the original 1970s GTI. It also has 19-inch alloys with Michelin Sport Cup 2 semi-slick tyres, hiding 17-inch brakes with uprated brake discs and pads. The brake covers are aluminium, as is the front subframe.
The Clubsport S uses the existing Golf Clubsport’s aero-tuned front bumper, larger roof-edge spoiler and black rear diffuser: Volkswagen says the aero pack produces more downforce on the rear axle than the front, improving stability – and allowing chassis engines to tune out understeer.
There’s a special traction control which both intervenes later and gives less of a cut in pulling power when it does: this helps reduce the ‘wheel hop’ of quick front-wheel drive cars being driven hard around challenging circuits, says Volkswagen. It’s also fitted stiffer engine mounts and engineers have reinforced both the transmission and the connection between gearbox and front axle.
The individual numbering (001/400 to 400/400) sits on the front centre console there are GTI-branded bucket seats, Alcantara steering wheel with 12-o’clock marking – and, of course, the traditional Golf GTI golf ball gearknob.
The engine produces 310hp and 280lb ft of torque; it’s similar to the 330hp racing engine used in the new TCR touring car racing series. The EA888 engine, also used in both regular Golf GTI and Golf R, has special tuning, those bigger 65mm exhausts and a higher-output fuel pump.
Overall, the Golf GTI Clubsport S is 30kg lighter than a regular Golf GTI, tipping the scales at 1,360kg.
As for where the idea for the Golf GTI Clubsport S came from, over to head of chassis tuning Karsten Schebsdat: “It was obvious to all of us that this GTI had immense potential, so we decided to get the most performance possible out of this car.
“A small team went through the entire process, from bottom to top, pretty much like it was back when the first Golf GTI came into being.”
The team will now help showcase the new Golf GTI Clubsport S at the world-famous GTI event at Lake Wörthersee between 4-7 May.
BMW will launch a revised version of its i3 electric car in July 2016, with a bigger battery capacity that extends the range to almost 200 miles.
The i3 94Ah model gets a larger-capacity 33kWh battery that adds more than 50% to the standard NEDC-tested EV distance: BMW now claims a range of 195 miles in everyday driving.
That’s despite the 170hp i3 EV also being capable of accelerating from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds (naturally, you won’t get such a big range if you utilise this…).
BMW does, impressively, also claim the full 195-mile range is available even if you use the air con or heating – “with no subjective loss of driving performance and agility”. Makes you wonder what the range is if you really decided to hypermile with all the systems turned off.
Gallery: 2016 BMW i3
BMW says the new battery is faster to charge as well: a DC rapid charge system is now standard.
The arrival of the bigger-battery i3 94Ah, which will cost £27,830 including the £4,500 government OLEV grant, may now make the i3 Range Extender alternative a little less of a must-have. Costing £30,980, BMW does, however, claim an also-extended range of 276 miles for this version, many times more than the average daily drive (and not far shy of a conventional family hatch petrol car).
The i3 Range Extender, which has a tiny 31hp motorcycle engine in the rear to extend the range by 81 miles when the batteries are flat, emits a scant 12g/km on the official cycle – that’s 1g/km less than before, despite the bigger range.
Other revisions for the bigger-capacity battery i3 EV include the introduction of BMW’s distinctive Protonic Blue paint, first seen on the BMW i8 PHEV supercars.
BMW has updated its interior trim packages, for more choice from the four ‘world’s: Loft, Lodge and Suite are joined by an Atelier interior trim ‘world’.
As before, all materials are a mix of naturally treated leather, wood, wool and other renewable raw materials – so, says BMW, “the sustainable premium character of the i3 (is) both visible and tangible”.
BMW also reminds us the i3 is made in factories that use 70% less energy than normal plants, which are powered by 100% wind turbine energy. The factories even use 50% less water than normal facilities.
The Haynes International Motor Museum is one of our favourite car museums, offering an eclectic blend of supercars and everyday classics.
We’ve selected 25 of our favourite exhibits, leaving you to create a shortlist of your own. You’ll find the museum in Somerset, just off the A303.
Multimillion pound ‘Doozy’
Sitting proudly in the hall entitled ‘The American Dream’ is this 1931 Duesenberg Model J. The Duesenberg company was established by E.L. Cord of the Cord Motor Company, with the sole aim of building the most luxurious cars in the world. The example in the Haynes Museum is one of eight built and was formerly owned by Mrs Payne Whitney of Pratt & Whitney fame. The museum values the ‘Doozy’ at a cool £8 million.
Gandini’s greatest triumph?
Once upon a time, this Lamborghini Countach took pride of place in the famous ‘Red Room’, but following the museum’s multimillion pound revamp it was moved to the supercar collection. The Countach is one of Marcello Gandini’s most famous creations and remains the pin-up star for a generation of petrolheads.
When Ford gave Ferrari a bloody nose
Legends are born out of the strangest of circumstances. Back in the 1960s it looked highly likely that Ferrari would be sold to the Ford Motor Company, with the American giant keen to go racing. Having spent millions of dollars on due diligence, Ford bosses were left high and dry when Enzo Ferrari famously pulled out of the deal. Ford reacted in the best possible way, by creating the GT40 and winning Le Mans. The rest, as they say, is history.
Just don’t mention the electronics
This might be a gallery featuring cars you don’t want to miss at the Haynes Motor Museum, but with the Aston Martin Lagonda it’s more a case of can’t miss. A flawed gem it might be, not least because of the eye-wateringly expensive electronics, but you can’t help but marvel that such a car exists. We’d be tempted to say they don’t make’em like they used to, but Aston Martin has launched an all-new Lagonda super-saloon.
Big cat crippled by the economic crisis
We all know the backstory: Jaguar builds a four-wheel drive, V12-engined prototype; people get rather excited; huge deposits are put down; car becomes rear-wheel drive, V6-engined; economy collapses; potential buyers pull out; Jaguar struggles to sell the car, even at a reduced price. Back in the early 90s, the Jaguar XJ220 was a bit of a laughing stock, but time has been kind to the 212mph supercar from Oxfordshire. And let’s face it: Jaguar has built nothing else quite like the XJ220.
Who ya gonna call?
Fans of Ghostbusters will tell you that Ecto-1 was a 1959 Cadillac Professional ambulance/hearse, but that hasn’t stopped Haynes slapping a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on the roof of this Pontiac Superior ambulance and having a little fun. Press one of those buttons to the right of the former City of Lewistown emergency vehicle and Ray Parker Jr. will do his thing. Who ya gonna call?
Maserati and Citroen: a match made in heaven?
This has to be the most eccentric corner of the Haynes Motor Museum. To the left of this Citroen SM you’ll find a DS and Traction Avant, with a 2CV appearing further down the line. The DS gets its fair share of press, so we’ll focus on the SM, which was powered by a Maserati V6 engine.
The most desirable Porsche in the world?
This is one of the most highly sought-after 911s on the planet and to some, the most desirable Porsche in the world. A total of 1,580 RS examples were built, in either Touring or Lightweight specification. This example could be worth as much as £1 million.
Classic Pininfarina styling
The 250 GT Cabriolet on display at the Haynes Motor Museum is a series II, first launched at the 1959 Paris Motor Show. The original 250 GT Cabriolet made its debut at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show and a mere 40 were built before Ferrari toned down the styling, increased the size of the boot and treated the cabin to a more luxurious feel.
Mark Webber’s Red Bull RB6
Next to the display of supercars you’ll find a section of the Museum dedicated to Mark Webber and his Red Bull RB6 F1 car. This is the actual car the Australian drove as he raced to victory in the British and Hungarian Grand Prix of 2010. His dulcet tones are played through speakers as you wander around the car.
Nobody mention the fuel bill
If we had to name the car we’d most like to drive home in, this Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 would be in with a shout. This was the flagship of the S-Class range, featuring the likes of hydropneumatic suspension, ABS brakes and the small matter of a 6.9-litre V8 engine. The Museum’s patron, John H. Haynes OBE, used it as his personal car, clocking up 130,000 miles in the process. We won’t ask what he spent on fuel.
Fast Ford to Mexico
Even when surrounded by such illustrious and exotic vehicles, a fast Ford still manages to hold its own. Of course, it helps when the Ford in question is an Escort Mexico, so named following success in the London to Mexico World Cup Rally. The Mexico was powered by a detuned version of the engine found in the Escort RS1600 and soon became a hero of road and track.
The ultimate Haynes registration number?
If we’re honest, as nice as this 1987 Bentley Continental Convertible is, the registration number is the only reason it makes our 25-car shortlist. CAR 800K – or CAR BOOK – is a reference to the Haynes Publishing Business, famous for producing the Haynes Manual.
We don’t need roads…
It needs no introduction, does it? The DeLorean DMC-12 is a prime example of a seriously flawed vehicle, elevated to a higher status by external factors. The story surrounding the development and collapse of the DeLorean Motor Company would have ensured a lasting legacy for the Belfast-built sports car, but its starring role in Back to the Future presented it with an iconic status.
Genesis of the hot hatch?
Was the Volkswagen Golf GTI the first hot hatch? Strictly speaking, no, because the likes of the Simca 1100 TI and Renault 5 Alpine/Gordini got there first, but the Golf GTI is credited as perfecting the recipe and taking the idea to the mainstream. Hard to believe it is 40 years old in 2016.
Good enough for Ringo Starr
How can a car so large and imposing look so elegant and beautiful? The HK500 is arguably the ultimate Facel Vega, not least because of its huge Chrysler 6.3-litre V8 engine. This gave it a tremendous turn of pace, but it wasn’t the most nimble of creatures to chuck into a corner. But does that matter when something looks this good? Previous owners such as Stirling Moss, Pablo Picasso, Ava Gardner, Ringo Starr and Tony Curtis didn’t seem to mind.
Gordon Bennett, that’s pretty
OK, cards on the table: of all the cars at the Haynes Motor Museum, this the one we spent the most time gawping at. There’s just something about the Gordon-Keeble GK1, with its Italian styling, American V8 engine and British engineering. This four-seater coupe featured a glassfibre body, two petrol tanks and an interior that could shame more illustrious rivals.
Who needs a 280 Brooklands anyway?
With all the hoo-ha surrounding the auction prices of Mk3 Ford Capris, it would be all too easy to forget there was a Mk1 and Mk2. The model on display at the Haynes Motor Museum is actually a Mk1 facelift model, notable for its larger headlights and separate indicators. The facelift also benefited from a revised suspension, larger taillights and new seats.
Born to be the miniMetro…
Here’s a rarity and a must-see exhibit for fans of the classic Mini. It’s a 1978 British Motor Corporation (BMC) Mini prototype, otherwise known as the 9X. Sir Alec Issigonis was convinced he could create a small car superior to the original Mini and to this end the 9X was blessed with more interior space in a smaller overall package. Sadly, it never saw the light of day and – three years later – British Leyland launched the Austin miniMetro.
Electric dream turns to nightmare
This one doesn’t take up a great deal of room in the Museum, but it deserves its place amongst the more exotic exhibitions. Sir Clive Sinclair’s vision of the future was a great British failure and there were too many problems to list in one short paragraph. That said, who wouldn’t want a go in this 1980s electric dream?
Prince William and Prince Harry’s Zip Cadet Karts
Here’s another blast from the past, with two Zip Cadet Karts, designed for children aged between 8 and 11. The karts remain the property of Princes William and Harry. We wonder if the Duke of Cambridge will present these to Prince George and Princess Charlotte?
Corvettes overload
Fans of the Chevrolet Corvette will not be disappointed with the display of Vettes at the Haynes Motor Museum. You can chart the history of this all-American sports car thanks to six historic models. We think these cars are unlikely to fall down a sinkhole.
The Lotus position
Not to be left out, there’s one corner of Haynes devoted to Norfolk mustard. We adore this four-car collection, consisting of Elise, Europa, Elan and Elite. One day, somebody might fix the Elite’s headlights…
In the corner stands a Boxer…
In its day, the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer (BB) was one of the fastest cars you could buy. The 512 stands for 5.0-litre, 12-cylinders – an engine that developed 360hp. With a top speed of 188mph, this wasn’t a Ferrari for the fainthearted.
A Triumph of British engineering
When you see cars like the Dolomite Sprint, you have to ask yourself, where did it all go wrong for Triumph? Of course, the reasons for the decline in the British car industry have been well documented, but in the ‘Dolly’ Sprint, Britain had a performance saloon to take on the world. It seems like a fitting conclusion to our round-up of the best exhibits at the Haynes International Motor Museum.
LDV has returned to the UK with a range of models including an all-electric green van that promises a 215-mile range, combined with city-friendly zero local emissions. There’s also a surprise all-new MPV that claims input from Lotus.
China’s first all-electric van, the LDV EV80 will launch later this year as the flagship of the reborn LDV range of vans, following its debut at the Commercial Vehicle Show currently underway in Birmingham.
Now owned by China’s SAIC Maxus, the LDV brand collapsed in Britain back in late 2008. It was the last remaining part of the once-great Leyland company, although by then the brand was owned by the Russian GAZ group.
A rescue attempt failed and SAIC acquired the dormant brand in 2010 – and has since restarted production of the familiar LDV Maxus, now called the LDV V80.
It’s the V80 that’s been converted to a full EV, packing a lithium-ion phosphate battery capacity of up to 75 KWh, plus a choice of short- and long-wheelbase panel van configurations and a custom-built chassis cab option.
LDV says the EV80 can be fully recharged in around two hours – faster than rivals such as the Nissan e-NV200 – while other technical specifications are among the most advanced of any commercial vehicle in the world.
Mark Barrett, general manager of LDV UK & Ireland, said: I think it’s safe to say that LDV has demonstrated just how obtainable the future is for a commercial EV vehicle, following today’s EV80 reveal.”
The LDV MPV
LDV also revealed the new G10 panel van, powered by a 2.0-litre turbodiesel offered in both manual and automatic guises.
It’s this panel van that’s given windows and other luxuries to create the new LDV G10 MPV. This is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine (curiously rated at only 105hp, says the firm) that’s mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox.
Seating five, seven or nine people, the G10 MPV is well equipped with touchscreen infotainment, rear-view camera, cruise control and Bluetooth. It’s only quoted as having two airbags but LDV says prices will be competitive when they’re released later this year.
The most fascinating aspect? No less than Lotus has been involved in calibrating the chassis. Whether this means it will handle like no van-derived people carrier before it remains to be seen…
LDV back in the UK
LDV’s return has generated a “phenomenal” response, said Barrett.
“We are well ahead of our forecasts with almost 40 dealers on board, 11 of whom are in the UK with many more signings imminent in the UK and Ireland.
“I think this is indicative of the strength of the new LDV range and spec and the confidence and trust that the market has in the future of the brand, particularly given SAIC’s investment in LDV, which is set to top $2.9bn by 2020.”
The firm is even offering a carrot to those unsure about rediscovering the LDV brand – a five-year warranty, offering coverage up to 160,000 miles, with five years’ free roadside assistance thrown in for good measure.
Mitsubishi has admitted cheating fuel economy tests dating back to 1991 and the Japanese car company has now set up an independent investigation committee to establish just what’s been going on.
Since the news broke that 625,000 Kei cars had been given falsified fuel economy figures, Mitsubishi has lost around half the market value. It seems more bad news is likely to emerge in coming days too as attention focuses on the sixth-largest Japanese car company’s fuel economy test procedures.
Here’s what we know so far about the Mitsubishi fuel economy test cheat crisis.
What has Mitsubishi done?
Mitsubishi has overstated fuel economy figures of four cars sold on the Japanese market: the Mitsubishi eK Wagon and eK Space, and the Nissan Dayz and Dayz Roox.
Not only has testing not been conducted correctly, it was also done in a way different to that required by Japanese law – something that has infuriated Japanese ministers who have said such manipulation is “extremely serious”.
How did Mitsubishi cheat the test?
It seems misconduct centred around the running resistance value test cars were subjected to. This rolling road resistance mimics two things – the rolling resistance, largely from the tyres, and the effect of air resistance when vehicles are moving: cars are tested stationary in labs where there’s no wind resistance, so it has to artificially be applied.
An analyst put it more bluntly: Mitsubishi appears to have over-inflated the tyres to cut rolling resistance and thus artificially inflate fuel economy.
What effect would this have had on official figures?
Experts say this practice may have artificially inflated Mitsubishi fuel economy figures by around 5-10%.
Are the cars with dodgy fuel economy figures still on sale?
No – when news of the scandal broke, Mitsubishi immediately stopped production and sales of the eK models. Nissan has also stopped selling the Dayz models (and is now in discussions with Mitsubishi over compensation).
Who discovered the fuel economy test cheat?
Ironically, it was Nissan that discovered the fuel economy test misconduct, during initial development for the successor to these cars. It took evidence of the deviations to Mitsubishi, which discovered things were amiss.
Is anything else amiss with Mitsubishi’s fuel economy test procedures?
Separate to this misconduct, further revelations about how Mitsubishi carries out fuel economy testing in Japan have emerged.
Japanese fuel economy test regulations are configured differently to tests in other parts of the world to better reflect the stop-start city-style driving commonplace in Japanese driving. Remarkably, when they changed, Mitsubishi admits it did not follow this rule change.
So how long has Mitsubishi been doing this?
Alarmingly then, Mitsubishi has admitted it’s been testing fuel economy this way for a quarter of a century. “For the domestic market, we have been using that method since 1991,” said Mitsubishi vice-president Ryugo Nakao at a press conference. The regulations changed: Mitsubishi testing did not change to reflect it.
Are other Mitsubishis affected?
Mitsubishi says it’s thus likely other Japanese market cars are affected: “During our internal investigation, we have found the testing method which was different from the one required by Japanese law has been applied to other models manufactured by Mitsubishi for the Japanese domestic market.”
Does it involve emissions cheating like the Volkswagen scandal?
This is an issue related to fuel economy test figures, not emissions. While any official emissions figures may well be different once fuel economy is restated, this will be an incremental addition – unlike Volkswagen, Mitsubishi has not been employing ‘cheat’ devices that alter the engine to get back emissions regulations.
Thus far, the Mitsubishi scandal is also related to petrol cars, not diesels – and petrol cars generally meet emissions regulations with ease.
So if Japanese cars are affected, do UK Mitsubishis have dodgy fuel economy figures?
Mitsubishi says this issue is restricted to the Japanese market: there is no evidence cars sold in Europe and the U.S. are affected.
European cars are tested according to the NEDC fuel economy test cycle, which itself is largely agreed to be outdated – but it is an independent test that all cars sold in Europe must pass. Manufacturers cannot overstate fuel economy: when they do, as Volkswagen discovered last year, clarifications must be issued when it is discovered.
What is Mitsubishi doing about it?
Mitsubishi, after expressing “its most sincere apologies to all of our customers, shareholders, and stakeholders,” has set up a special investigation committee that’s fully independent from the company itself.
It will have three members – all attorneys of law – who will fully investigate the matter, see if there’s any other improper conduct at play within Mitsubishi, and then reveal both the cause and suggested remedial action to prevent it happening again.
Mitsubishi fuel economy test procedures have not been compliant with Japanese regulations since 1991, an unnamed source has revealed.
Reuters says the leaked news was first reported to Japanese business title Nikkei: Mitsubishi is to hold a press conference briefing on the matter later today.
Top 10 most economical cars – spring 2016
Mitsubishi reveals fuel economy test misconduct
Europe’s car makers admit fuel economy test is obsolete
It is said the firm compiled its fuel economy data using U.S. standards, which involves more high-speed driving, rather than Japanese standards which demand more stop-start inner-city driving. Japanese standards generally deliver worse economy figures than U.S. standards.
The latest Mitsubishi revelation follows last week’s admission that it overstated the fuel economy of four city cars, sold under both the Mitsubishi and Nissan brands.
Since then, the firm – Japan’s sixth-largest vehicle manufacturer – has lost half its market value.
Manipulation of fuel-efficiency tests is “extremely serious,” Japanese transport minister Keiichi Ishii told reporters yesterday after a cabinet meeting, reports Bloomberg.
Top Gear’s original ‘Stig’ liked what he saw at car tuning firm TopGear Tuning so much, he bought the company – and now ex-racer Perry McCarthy is revealing his plans for expansion.
The former F1 driver has just launched a new website for the ECU remapping firm based in Bridport, Dorset, with the aim of rapidly growing the number of dealers and garages its systems are offered in.
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To date, 20,000 cars have been remapped by the tuning firm, via 270 dealers nationwide. McCarthy wants to quickly ramp that up and hopes his profile and former career as The Stig will help the company gain traction.
“I was invited by the owner of Topgear Tuning, Steve Kilcoyne, to visit their head office,” he said. “Steve thought I may be interested in the process of ECU remapping and his team’s approach to it.
“I agreed but after arriving, what was scheduled as a one-hour meeting turned in to five hours… my initial curiosity quickly changed to recognising a great business opportunity within my home ground of the automotive industry.”
Why has The Stig bought a car tuning company?
McCarthy believes the remapping sector as a whole is a growth market in the UK – largely driven by consumers becoming more aware of the performance and economy gains claimed.
Performance improvements from remapping are well known, of course: it’s the economy improvements that’s a particularly interesting growth area, given the ongoing fuss over Europe’s outdated economy test cycle…
The B2B firm is now “offering independent and larger service centres the same opportunity to take commercial advantage of increased public awareness of remaps.
“With its experience, expertise and unique brand marketing, it can deliver, manage and support existing tuners or new entrants in to the remapping trade.”
Naturally, McCarthy can’t resist reminding us of his Top Gear days either. “If only some of those reasonably priced cars that we raced around the Top Gear track had been remapped, I’m sure the leader board would’ve looked very different.” Quite.
The new Amazon Prime TV show set to rival the BBC’s Top Gear has been named: The Grand Tour.
