Latest car, EV, sportscar, supercar and motoring news, facts and industry gossip from Smart-Motoring.com.
With USC, then Mini In The Park and now Ford Fair, the UK car show season is in full flow, and the weather seems to be holding. Despite a warning of showers, Silverstone stayed sunny and dry much to the relief of the concourse cars and huge array of clubs. When I say huge, I’m […]
Santa Pod Raceway once again played host to the Mini In The Park show on Sunday 11th August. Thousands of people swamped the race ground visiting the many trade stands and to take part in the Mini Run What Ya Brung (RWYB).
Mini In The Park 2013 Read Post »
Motor-Vision is back behind the wheel of the new Ford Fiesta ST; the hot hatch of the moment. And guess what? It’s now even hotter thanks to a mild, under-bonnet fettle from Essex-based Ford tuners, Mountune Performance. A couple of uprated aftermarket parts here and there and a tickle to the ECU has delivered a
Test drive: The Ford Fiesta ST Mountune, now with 212bhp Read Post »
As these stunningly enticing images from Motor-Vision’s team of top-notch snappers shows, Ultimate Street Car 2013 had absolutely everything to get your motor running hot, hard ‘n’ fast. Extreme show cars, gorgeous show babes – with the finest of them wearing red Performance Direct hot pants – and some seriously up for it punters who
Ultimate Street Car 2013, Santa Pod Read Post »
Uri Geller has been in and out of the news for about 5 decades. He is currently back in the news following (mainly self claimed) reports that the famous spoon bender has been a spy for the CIA and Mossad, the Israeli secret intelligence arm. Although there does seem to be a surprising amount of
Uri Geller spoon Cadillac & the peace pilgrimage Read Post »
The ultimate Subaru Impreza? Now that’s a bold claim, I hear you say, especially for one of the most tuned, raced and rallied cars ever to bark its big-bore exhaust. But, I think you’ll agree, after watching this 2-minute video full of 900bhp 4-wheel drifts and the kind of acceleration that would have an F1
The ultimate Subaru Impreza Read Post »
With over 32.5 million views on YouTube, this supercar-super-shootout between a Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Aventador, McLaren MP4-12C and Lexus LFA is one of the most viewed car videos ever. And, as you’ll soon see for yourself, it’s a tidy bit of video kit, with each of these supercars going head-to-head in probably the truest test
The most viral car video ever! Read Post »
No sniggering at the back! STI stands for Subaru Tecnica International, thank you, and is the internationally respected tuning arm of the Subaru factory. All of the great Subaru models over the years – well, the fastest and most flickable, at least – have worn the pink STI badge of pride at a couple of
STI supercharging for Subaru BRZ Read Post »
The fastest ever Jaguar production car around the legendary Nurburgring – 7 minutes 40 seconds – is now destined for the UK streets with news that 10 of these very big cats will be offered to buyers here. At £135,000, this track-focused, street legal XKR-S GT is at the top end of GT car pricing,
Super-Jaguar XKR-S GT from the Nurburgring to UK streets Read Post »
With the last bit of sun still shining, this weekend saw the return of the much loved French Car Show at the iconic Castle Combe Circuit. On Friday 26th July, as soon as the gates opened the crowds flooded the fields to enjoy the finest in French design and engineering.
Fun and Games at The French Car Show. Read Post »
This years gathering of all things classic and racy at the famous Silverstone circuit was a biggie. Not only did we see record crowds – some 90,000 over the three-day event – but there were a couple of impressive on-track records too; one for the number of Porsche 911s together in one place, and a
The Silverstone Classic, 2013 Read Post »
The Euro Mopar Nationals, held for the last 20 years at the Santa Pod Raceway, is a run-what-you-brung event for American Muscle cars. They don’t have to be from the Mopar family – that’s anything built under the Chrysler brands banner – indeed we saw plenty of everything big, Yank and tank-like at the famous
Euro Mopar Nationals 2013, Santa Pod Read Post »
It’s probably fair to say that the Subaru Impreza WRX cars of years gone by have never failed to deliver on the performance front. That turbocharged boxer engine, 4-wheel drive with a clever centre differential, and a body weight that’s more supermodel than super-sized, have generally meant that the hotter old school Scooby models are
New Subaru WRX concept goes back to old school cool Read Post »
Seb Loeb has had another gorgeous racecar built for him, just weeks after stepping out of his Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak super-rally car – after smashing the course record – but this time he’s taking to the tarmac fulltime. This wide ‘n’ mean, new Citroen racer is the C-Elysee WTCC, and it’ll be competing
Citroen and Seb Loeb to challenge in World Touring Cars Read Post »
Bentley announced yesterday that their new SUV, which is likely to resemble the EXP 9 F concept vehicle, will be built in the UK. This is of course great news for the British economy and long suffering job situation. The new SUV will go on sale in 2016 and will be built at the Bentley
Bentley to manufacture new SUV in UK Read Post »
So, which Nissan GT-R is best? The original R32 GT-R from the late 1980s, or the new R35 GT-R. There’s only one way to find out… Fight!
Godzilla vs. Godzilla – battle of the GT-Rs! Read Post »
This year Hyundai will be launching the ix35 hydrogen fuel-cell car onto the market. The launch will take place in London in autumn. Now Hyundai aren’t really noted for being ahead of the game when it comes to new car technology, but the Korean company is claiming that this will be the world’s first series
Hyundai to launch ix35 hydrogen fuel-cell car in autumn Read Post »
Once again Bug Jam hit Santa Pod with a huge bang this year and Motor-Vision were there to soak up all the lovely VW action on hand. From the get-go on Friday morning, thousands of attendees lined the streets to the entrance of Santa Pod to try and grab a head start on the weekend’s
A scorching weekend for Bug Jam 27 Read Post »
This is my Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R. There is none other like it. It’s modified to the hilt with some very fine and very rare Japanese aftermarket parts, and with nearly 400bhp, it goes like a wild-rocket. But there is a problem.
The price of performance? Read Post »
If you’re not sure just how loud 130db is, watch this video of the new Honda Mean Mower. This 1,000cc, V-twin motorcycle engine-powered, custom lawn mower kicks out one hell of a snap, crackle and pop from its hand-built Scorpion exhaust system. There’s no way it would pass noise regulations at UK race circuits, even
130mph Honda Mean Mower for turbocharged trimming! Read Post »
Mercedes-Benz apply AMG power to new S-Class to make the S 63 AMG, and with more power and less weight than ever, it’s the hardest hitting super-cruiser in town. With a hand-built-by-one-man, AMG, 5.5-litre, twin-turbo, V8 petrol engine, and a ready-to-roll weight of around 2,000kg, the latest Mercedes mega-saloon’s stats are all going in the
The most powerful high-performance luxury saloon Read Post »
It seems that you just can’t keep a good, 875bhp, tube frame, carbon encrusted, four-wheel drive super-racecar down. Indeed, this Peugeot 208 T16 racecar likes going up. Going up hills, really, really quickly, and beating the odd record on the way.
Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak racer at it again! Read Post »
Every year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a lucky few drivers get to attack the legendary Goodwood hillclimb course in all manner of exotic machinery. Some of the very best drivers have just finished flying up the twisty Goodwood course, as another Festival of Speed wraps up for 2013.
Get your own adrenalin-fuelled Goodwood hillclimb experience… Read Post »
Occasionally you see something that grabs your attention in the automobile world and generates that boyish excitement that drives you to find out more. Such an event happened to me the other day when I heard about the WaterCar Panther. While it might be a strange name choice for such a car (why not the
The WaterCar Panther – now you can buy the world's fastest amphibious car Read Post »
