BBC Top Gear Magazine November 2023

@jack_rix editor@bbctopgearmagazine.com His name is Thommie and I’m staring at his belly for the second time in as many days. Yesterday he was stretched across a table like a go-go dancer, shirt lifted to reveal his prize torso, for a group photo none of us will forget in a hurry. Today he’s swapping T-shirts with Ollie Marriage in a dark car park outside Gotland’s premier waffe house (both pictures can be obtained for a fair price, DM me). He’s a warm, funny chap with a waxed moustache who used to work for Lamborghini and Koenigsegg, but now lives part-time in a caravan at the Gotlandring and is The Man That Gets Things Done. Like angle grinding padlocks of the garages so we can get our cars out because the keys…

MAGAZINE Order a copy at MagsDirect.co.uk SUBSCRIPTION OFFER buysubscriptions.com/TGSP3M DOWNLOAD The TopGear app from your App Store WEBSITE Visit topgear.com for your rolling hit of news, reviews, entertainment and advice YOUTUBE Subscribe to the TopGear YouTube channel to watch the best car videos on the planet PODCAST Visit topgear.com to download the TopGear podcast @topgear facebook.com/topgear @BBC_TopGear…

This is the new Lotus Emeya, and it is 17mph slower than the last saloon car to wear four doors and a Lotus badge. That infamous Nineties troublemaker – because not enough has been written about it – was a Vauxhall breathed on by Norfolk’s specialists deemed too fast for public roads. TopGear estimates there’ll be 100 per cent less parliamentary debate and newspaper campaigns to get this car off the public highway, such is the 21st century motoring landscape. You’ll likely have some internal debate over the Emeya’s silhouette and visual language, though. And how that debate materialises rather depends upon your feelings about the Eletre SUV, from which this new Emeya clearly takes its aesthetic. The twin headlight treatment sits atop a similarly fang-like front, sweeping back over…

Men’s Cricket World Cup, 5 October Aussies ruled the women’s game in 2022, can the men do the same in India? England bats off against New Zealand in the first game. We expect editor Rix to be WFH with a pumpkin spice latte Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, BBC iPlayer Season six of this angling revelation is on BBC2 now – catch up on iPlayer. Carp(e) diem TopGear magazine fix You can download the latest edition and back issues direct to your phone or tablet from the App Store. Because when life gives you lemons… settle in and read TG Pumpkin spice amnesty Literally keeping our coffees normal and everyday. So maybe a flat white (extra hot), cortado or an extra large mocha with cream and sprinkles. None of this autumnal…

What was peak niche? This is a question FOTC likes to ask, mostly because it sounds like FOTC is adopting a strong foreign accent while asking about al fresco dining. And a strong contender for the peak niche crown was 2009’s 5-Series Gran Turismo, a car looking to exploit a gap in the market only visible through an electron microscope. BMW claimed the GT catered to the buyer wanting something more spacious than a regular 5-Series saloon. Problem was, BMW already offered precisely that in the shape of the 5-Series Touring, one of the most excellent estate cars of its generation. Ah, said BMW, but the GT caters to the buyer who wants something taller and also very slightly less sporty than a 5-Series Touring. Problem was, BMW already offered…

You read that correctly: the GTI badge has a future in the electric age after all, and the Volkswagen ID.GTI concept is the car that proves it. Huzzah! Based on the ID.2all concept that was revealed back in March, the ID.GTI is the hot hatch version that head of design Andreas Mindt (who drew up the MkVII Golf) has quietly had in mind all along. And as you can see from the pictures above, various GTI hallmarks have been retained: the red grille surround (though the ‘grille’ is mostly closed), the towing eyes, flared wheelarches, the head turning 20in alloys that pay tribute to the original, the tartan seats… it’s all there. Even the golf ball of all things lives on. Sort of, repurposed as a rotary dial. If you’re…