BBC Top Gear Magazine May 2018

This issue is an unashamed celebration of the best of the British car industry. And while it’s fair to say that the history of UK Automotive plc has previously been somewhat chequered by strikes, poor build quality, a love of velour interiors and a penchant for rust, the stars of this month’s cover show an industry that has never been in better health. As the British editor of the world’s greatest car magazine, I make no excuses for being hugely proud of the current state of UK Automotive and firmly believe it deserves to be celebrated. Additionally, part of the remit of this magazine, in my opinion, is to inspire the next generation to become part of this movement. But to attract the brightest minds you have to deliver products…

Not content with selling gazillions of well-built, affordable, mainstream cars, Hyundai is targeting the juicier profits enjoyed by BMW, Audi, Merc et al with a standalone premium brand of its own–Genesis–launched a little over two years ago. Trouble is, while Genesis’s efforts to date have all sold well (by offering luxury for less), they’ve also taken the form of rather uninspiring executive saloons. Enter the Essentia concept, revealed at the New York motor show, to right that wrong. If you’re not purring involuntarily or dribbling onto these pages about now, you might want to clean your glasses because, startled front grille aside, this is a remarkable design U-turn. If you want to infuse your premium brand with desirability, a sports car is what’s required (see Jaguar and the F-Type), but…

A couple of years ago, when we first heard about Volkswagen’s MEB electric platform, we were informed it would cover “cars bigger and smaller than the Golf”. Turns out, it will also cover banshee racing cars, too. This is our first proper look–following a shady teaser late last year–of Volkswagen’s brand-new I.D.R prototype. It is a car with two speciffic aims in mind: first, to smash the Pikes Peak electric car record, currently held by Rhys Millen at 8m 57.118s, set in 2016 in the 1600bhp 2016 eO PP100 electric racer. We’ll come to the second later. “It is about time we settled the score,” explains Volkswagen’s motorsport boss Sven Smeets. So it’ll sit on that electric car platform, and, while there aren’t any technical details to run with, Volkswagen’s…

The Karlmann King is a six-tonne, bulletproof SUV that’s set to cost £2.56m. Hey, you can’t put a price on safety. Especially when it comes to safety on the school run. Based on an American Ford F-550 truck, Karlmann describes it as “an unprecedented visual feast”, and tells us 1,800 people have been involved in the design. Looking at it, we’re not doubting them. It’s powered by Ford’s 6.8-litre V10–a big engine, but powerful it is not… 395bhp is all you get. And considering what it’s lumping around, performance is mild. Top speed is a paltry 87mph.…

It’s abundantly clear that Ford’s engineers and designers have altered pretty much everything about this new Focus. Yet one thing, they claim, has stayed the same: that it will be as good to drive as it always was. In the meantime, the bits that have changed… The new one is better-looking to us, and nicer-designed inside, with more room as a distinct bonus. It’s far better connected. It’s overall lighter and lower in drag, leading to better economy in the more realistic new official fuel test (WLTP). And it’s safer, not just in a crash but–with luck–avoiding one, thanks to a pretty serious suite of advanced driver assists. Last year, the Fiesta was given a going-over, not that the design changed much. Ford played it that way because people liked…

Behind the new Levante Trofeo’s new front grille lives a 3.8-litre bi-turbo V8 built by Ferrari in Maranello and related to the drop-top Portofno’s engine. Here it develops 582bhp and 538lb ft, which punts Maserati right into the sharp end of the super-SUV set. You’ll need a Bentley Bentayga or Lamborghini Urus to trump it. And even in our mind-pulverising age of potty 4x4 performance, the Levante Trofeo’s figures are eye-watering. Maserati has timed the car from 0–62mph in 3.9 seconds. Apparently, weight distribution is a spot-on 50:50 across the axles, and it has standard allwheel drive and a new Corsa driving mode, plus adjustable height air suspension. The top speed is said to be north of 187mph. At which point, we don’t really want to contemplate the forces attacking…