Latest car, EV, sportscar, supercar and motoring news, facts and industry gossip from Smart-Motoring.com.
There was something for everyone this weekend at the Race Retro International Historic Motorsport Show. Descending over Stoneleigh Park in Coventry, stunning displays of the legendary cars from Team Lotus were available, while tribute was paid to the rallying career of Renault Alpine.
The all-new VW Golf GTI will make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week, and doesn’t it look smooth in all white, with aggressive black and red GTI highlights. Classic GTI style then, and with well over 200bhp
New Golf GTI for Geneva Read Post »
McLaren Automotive has announced the final set of astonishing figures for their new P1 hypercar, ahead of its starring role at the Geneva Motor Show next week. The price, acceleration stats and pure top speed should put it right on the Veyron’s back bumper.
The McLaren P1 – the final fantastic figures Read Post »
Described as the largest motoring garden party in the world, the Goodwood Festival of Speed feels like a scene from a Steve McQueen film, full of good old fashioned style, glamour and the heady smell of petrol mixed with the exhilaration of fast cars going fast as well as fast cars standing still, taking their
Gerry Judah's spectacular Goodwood Festival of Speed sculptures Read Post »
The Gumball 3000 is annual gruelling and very British race that spans 3,000 miles across the world’s borders as the often free-spirited participants strive to negotiate international language barriers and traditional customs to get their chosen mode of transport from start to finish. The Gumball rally takes place on public roads with the route varying each
The Gumball 3000. The 15th anniversary of a unique event Read Post »
The motoring press don’t get to drive Jaguar’s new, all-aluminium 2-seater – called F-Type – until this April, but Motor-Vision very recently got to have a good look around this silver-grey production-ready prototype, an F-Type S with 380bhp, much like the car we’ll see in the Jaguar dealers in a couple of months. No driving,
Jaguar F-Type in the metal Read Post »
If you’re a fan of Porkers, this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will be like having all your birthdays and Christmases at once. The famously speedy southern UK car show is celebrating 50 years of the 911 this July, with all sorts of stunning, rare, tuned and gorgeous 911s from throughout history taking part. There’ll
50 years of the Porsche 911 at Goodwood Read Post »
Motor-Vision has driven the new seven-gen VW Golf and it’s a pretty sweet-chassis-starting place so far. But, no GTI yet. So, this new Golf GTD hot diesel is the quickest new Golf around right now, all 182bhp and a ton of turbodiesel torque of it.
The power of the dark oil… Read Post »
In a meeting in a large building somewhere a short while back, a startlingly bad decision was made. This decision rivalled another startlingly bad decision when Nissan named a car the Cedric. For reasons beyond reason, the normally refined Alfa Romeo had named their new concept car the Gloria. Ironically, as if calling a car
Alfa Romeo Gloria concept and new Giulia saloon Read Post »
Now here’s a thing, a Bugatti Veyron from 1945. But all is not quite as it seems. This is computer generated design from the creative mind of ‘Rc82 Workchop’ a designer who has created a vivid imagining of what the legendary car might have looked like if it was built in 1945. And pretty stunning
What a 1945 Bugatti Veyron might have looked like Read Post »
McLaren Automotive has been drip-feeding us info about their new P1 supercar, ahead of its full reveal at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. Until that day when the pretty show ladies roll back the covers, here’s a little picture story of the P1’s stats so far, and it’s all about the numbers big
The McLaren P1 – the story so far Read Post »
It’s always a pleasure to see a Jaguar XJ220 in the wild. And how about this beautifully photographed, slick-jet-black big cat, that could actually be yours for about a quarter of the original, £470,000 price. A bargain indeed – if you’re the cat-flap-haired Donald Trump, maybe! – and part of over 100 fast, rare and
Supercar royalty under the hammer Read Post »
A few laps around the famously motorsport-y Goodwood estate during the Revival show weekend, on some lovely back lanes, is surely the perfect way to sample this entirely standard, 1976 Ford Escort RS Mexico…
A quick blast in… a Ford Escort RS Mexico Read Post »
Nissan, amid much speculation, have just released details of the new 370Z Nismo. Way back in 2009 reviewers were drooling with excitement at this tweaked sportscar, but also lamenting the fact that it wasn’t to be officially available in the UK. Roll forward a few years to the present, and we have the exciting news
Hot on the heels of the JUKE Nismo, the 370Z Nismo finally comes to Europe Read Post »
The engineering team at Renaultsport’s built up enough of a rock solid front-wheel drive tuning reputation for themselves, that when a new hot Clio is announced, and the name of the car reads like this one, petrolheads all over lick their lips and start researching loan interest rates. At around £21k when it goes on sale
The name says it all! Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo Read Post »
The battle of the small, fast, premium, German hatches just went nuclear with Mercedes announcing a full blown A-Class AMG that’ll get the biggest guns of any production hot hatch on the road – a smouldering 355bhp, and a sub-5-seconds-to-62mph sprint time. But, it’s unlikely that BMW and Audi will toss out their turbos in
New Merc A45 AMG brings all the heat Read Post »
The Volvo V40 is the most important new model for the famously not-so-far-out Swedish brand for 20 years. It’s the first time they’ve had a 5-door hatch the same size, but more expensive or ‘premium’, as the big-selling Ford Focus in their range for that double-decade, and they’d like a fat-as-possible slice of the 25
Test drive: Volvo V40 T5 R-Design, 251bhp – sharp, but not razor Read Post »
Aston Martin have completed the task of designing the new Vanquish admirably, it is one of the best looking cars currently on the market. Well apart from the view from the front in my opinion, though the side-on view is near perfect. But then, Aston Martin seem to have a knack of producing good looking
New Aston Martin Vanquish 2013 Read Post »
The fourth-generation Range Rover was designed and built from the ground up to impress those that are hard to please. It’s a big money car – at least £71,295, but more like £85k with a few toys – but, in return for your serious stack of hard cash you get a stunning all-aluminium body, a
Test drive: the all-new Range Rover – the next level Read Post »
Over fifty events are set to take place this year at the famed Santa Pod Raceway which is host to some of the fastest and loudest motorsports on earth! Sensational race action will be on the agenda from modified car shows and VW Beetle Camper festivals to Retro shows and Japanese performance events and more!
Performance Direct Insurance sponsors Santa Pod – Early bird savings of 20% Read Post »
The number of motorists being arrested for drink-drive offences in Cheshire fell during the recent festive period in comparison to the same time in 2011, new data has revealed. Local publication the Northwich Guardian reports Cheshire Police undertook Operation Keret between December 1st 2012 and January 1st this year, with 95 per cent of drivers
Cheshire drink-drive numbers fall Read Post »
Classic car owners across the UK have been advised of the ongoing dangers of travelling during the British winter, with motoring organisation the AA highlighting the many hazards that can trouble drivers during the colder months. Icy conditions and darker nights add up to a recipe for disaster in many instances and motorists are therefore
Brits advised on winter weather challenges Read Post »
A German motoring publication has named Ferrari’s 458 Spider as its Best Imported Cabriolet of 2012. According to the readership of Auto Motor und Sport, the Italian marque has a long history of designing some of the best convertibles in the world – a notion supported by the fact this is the 15th time a
Ferrari's 458 Spider named Best Imported Cabriolet Read Post »
A new report has been published by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that has highlighted the extent to which drink-driving was witnessed across the UK in the recent festive period. It showed that levels of this dangerous activity were similar to those seen in recent years during 2012, with 7,123 drivers arrested last
Crackdown review on drink-driving Read Post »
