anablogcar

    The new, second-generation  Mercedes-Benz GLC  SUV will be officially revealed on 1 June, the manufacturer has confirmed.  Confirmation comes alongside a new preview image showing off the crossover's rear end, and not long after new spy shots gave us a good look at its final design.  The GLC, which will again look to rival the  BMW X3  and  Audi Q5 , will adopt the same fundamentals as its more-than-seven-years-old predecessor, which has established itself as the brand’s best-selling car worldwide with over 270,000 sales in 2021 alone. But subtle improvements and tweaks across the board have been made with a view to sustaining that momentum. It will be 60mm longer at 4718mm, for example, and adopts a 15mm longer wheelbase, giving more legroom for passengers and greater boot space. No prices have been released yet, but it is expected to be more than the current GLC, which starts from £45,240 in standard guise and £49,465 in coupé...

    This is our first opportunity to hear the 4.0-litre V12 at speed, and as Franchitti approaches the headline-bating 12,100rpm rev limit, the engine note has obvious echoes of the twelve-cylinder power units used in Formula 1 until 1996.  As was the case with the McLaren F1 (also developed by Gordon Murray and widely regarded as the T50's spiritual forebear), this test mule, known as George, is based on an Ultima, which is usually powered by a Chevrolet-derived V8 and as such has had to be extensively modified to accomodate the larger engine. Three functioning XP cars are in operation, however, and one will star at the Goodwood Member's Meeting next week, lapping the Sussex circuit in anger in what will be the T50's public debut.  The biggest mechanical difference between George and the final production car is that the early prototype goes without the T50's trademark downforce-enhancing fan technology. Inspired by the device used by Brabham's 1978 F1...

 

    Aston Martin has revived the hallowed V12 Vantage name for a commemorative and highly exclusive range-topping edition of its two-seat sports coupé, promising substantially enhanced performance over the standard V8 car. The British firm will build just 333 examples of the new  Aston Martin V12 Vantage , all of which were sold prior to its unveiling for a starting price of £265,000 - £123,000 more than the previous range-topping Vantage F1 Edition. "The engine is the heart of every  Aston Martin , but never more so than in this," the company said. The eight-speed automatic gearbox is carried over from the standard Vantage but recalibrated to give faster shift times and "driver interaction". Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers said the V12 Vantage has been the firm's "hero car" in recent years and that this latest iteration is a fitting final outing for the name. "Right from the moment the first V12 Vantage RS Concept was shown back in 2007, our c...

    Keen drivers wanting a healthy bang for their buck have for years sought solace in Type R   Honda s, whether through the pumped-up kicks of the Integra Type Rs or the tantalisingly agile   Honda Civic Type R s, both of whose entertaining handling goes at least some way to making up for their occasional lack of subtlety and finesse. If any of them can lay claim to being the sweet spot, though – the baby bear’s porridge in the history of the sporting Honda – it’s the Accord Type R, a four-door, five-seat thriller that combined terrific and immensely usable performance and real driving purity with a modicum of practicality and a hint of decorum and, dare one say it, even maturity. For starters, what you got under the bonnet was a gem of an engine, a hand-finished, naturally aspirated 209bhp 2.2-litre VTEC DOHC inline four known as the HA27 and derived from the engine in the contemporary Prelude. It produced its maximum power at a tingly and sonorous 7200rpm and woul...

    Keen drivers wanting a healthy bang for their buck have for years sought solace in Type R   Honda s, whether through the pumped-up kicks of the Integra Type Rs or the tantalisingly agile   Honda Civic Type R s, both of whose entertaining handling goes at least some way to making up for their occasional lack of subtlety and finesse. If any of them can lay claim to being the sweet spot, though – the baby bear’s porridge in the history of the sporting Honda – it’s the Accord Type R, a four-door, five-seat thriller that combined terrific and immensely usable performance and real driving purity with a modicum of practicality and a hint of decorum and, dare one say it, even maturity. For starters, what you got under the bonnet was a gem of an engine, a hand-finished, naturally aspirated 209bhp 2.2-litre VTEC DOHC inline four known as the HA27 and derived from the engine in the contemporary Prelude. It produced its maximum power at a tingly and sonorous 7200rpm and woul...

    UK sales of the rugged   Audi A4 Allroad   and   Audi A6 Allroad   estates have been ended, with   Audi  declaring no intention of importing any future generations.  The decision was taken due to the variants accounting for only a small proportion of sales for their respective model lines. Audi sold 292 examples of the A4 Allroad in 2021, for example, compared with 446 of the significantly more potent and expensive  Audi  RS4 Avant, accounting for just over a thirtieth of total  Audi A4  sales. The larger A6 Allroad was an even slower seller, shifting just 256 units in the UK last year, less than half the number of  Audi  RS6 Avants sold in the same period and just 4.4% of  Audi A6  sales. Neither variant is now available to configure on Audi UK's website, and a spokesman confirmed to Autocar that the German brand has no plans to bring any future Allroad models here. The A6 ...

    While the hot hatch class continues to grow in size,   Mazda’s   two-seat sports car retains the compact dimensions of   the 1989 original   – in fact, it’s slightly shorter – and makes handling purity, rather than outright pace, a priority. So although it lacks the rear seats and luggage capacity that make a hot hatch such a usable everyday proposition, it stays small enough to be enjoyed on even the narrowest of B-roads. Today’s fourth-generation car proves endlessly entertaining without needing enormous amounts of horsepower, rejecting forced induction in favour of a naturally aspirated engine. A recent mechanical upgrade may have raised the more potent 2.0-litre variant’s output slightly, but you’re still able to explore the entirety of its rev range while staying at road-legal speeds. Even the more modest 1.5-litre, with its 128bhp that stays more true to the original MX-5, encourages you towards 7500rpm with every gearchange. Few other modern...

    The   Nissan GT-R , one of the longest-serving production cars on sale today, will finally go off sale in Europe in light of strict new noise regulations coming into effect later this year. Official confirmation of the move comes some 13 years after the GT-R first went on sale in Europe, and a few months after Nissan withdrew its supercar from the Australian market due to impending stricter side-impact crash regulations. The new regulations are aimed at reducing road noise with a view to mitigating sound-induced stress for pedestrians and people who live near roads. They will be tightened further in 2026 when the legal limit for engine noises will be reduced to just 68dB - which could have heavy implications for sports car and performance exhaust system manufacturers.  The final examples of the GT-R will arrive in the UK in summer, and Nissan has yet to officially detail plans for a replacement.  The hardcore GT-R Nismo, which Autocar revisited ear...