Month: June 2020

The Cannonball Run is a 1981 comedy film that saw teams race across the United States. Actors included Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore and Jackie Chan, with their characters all hoping to win a $25m prize.

It might have been a goofy comedy, but it sparked a craze that would last decades. Cannonball Runners, taking inspiration from the film’s premise, have been competing in unofficial – and highly illegal – timed runs from New York to Los Angeles.

The traditional starting point is the Red Ball Garage on East 31st Street in Manhattan, and the finish line is the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California. It’s approximately 2,800 miles, depending on your route.

There’s a small but dedicated community of people who not only attempt to break records, but also oversee the legitimacy of claims by those who take part. Most use GPS to verify their trip, or record the full journey.

One of the best-known record attempts was American journalist Alex Roy, who spearheaded a drive into the record books. His team’s time of 31 hours and four minutes beat the previous record by more than an hour, and because they had filmed it, ushered in a new generation of Cannonball Run fans through the internet.

The record stood until 2013, when a team consisting of Ed Bolian, Dave Black and Dan Huang hit a time of 28 hours and 50 minutes, then six years later, Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt and Berkeley Chadwick achieved a time of 27 hours and 25 minutes.

These attempts are far from a bunch of people jumping in a car and driving fast. There’s some serious planning, money, and a big support network to make it happen. In 2007, Roy used a spotter plane to follow his car and see potential dangers ahead. Bolian and crew had someone in the back seat using stabilised binoculars to watch out for police or obstructions. Most teams have cars festooned with technology, from military-grade navigation software to police speed gun jammers. Many rely on a network of cars driving ahead to spot police.

Unsurprisingly, traffic tends to be the biggest issue. While weather can come and go, traffic is everywhere, and often the fastest runs are simply those that picked the right time to leave and got a bit of luck.

So it’s perhaps no surprise to learn that some Cannonballers saw the coronavirus pandemic as an ideal opportunity to break some records. Former record holder Ed Bolian now runs a YouTube channel called VinWiki, and is widely considered the go-to voice for Cannonball Runs.

He recently exclaimed: “Consider that it took six years and dozens of extremely well-prepared attempts for anyone to beat [his record of] 28 hours and 50 minutes, in the span of five weeks it was just beaten seven times.”

In fact, with no traffic on the road, times have been tumbling so quickly it can be tough to keep up. Bolian told The Smoking Tire podcast that there have been other times that would have been records a week or so previously, but don’t even register now.

In April, anonymous drivers achieved a time of 26 hours and 38 minutes, smashing the previous record set in November 2019. They had planned to keep it a secret, but a friend gave the game away.

Most record attempts are achieved using high-performance vehicles, but this attempt was in an unmodified Audi A8 L that hadn’t even had its 130mph speed limiter removed. Considering most records are achieved with drivers hitting top speeds well in excess of 150mph, this seemingly encouraged others to have a go.

As it stands, the “official” record – or as official as this wholly unofficial competition can be – is held by Fred Ashmore with a time of 25 hours and 55 minutes. That’s an average of 108mph. His story is particularly fascinating because he completed the run in a rented Ford Mustang GT, all alone.

He ripped out the interior and fitted large fuel tanks that meant he could complete the trip on one stop. A friend had an industrial fuel pump on a pickup truck and met him at the side of the road.

Breaking the 26-hour barrier must have seemed impossible even a few months ago. With police otherwise occupied, Ashmore said his only law enforcement encounter was just outside LA, where he was spotted but immediately lost the officers chasing him when his sat nav redirected him.

However, according to Bolian, there’s another record, and it’s beaten the 26-hour mark ‘by a considerable margin’. The team has decided to remain anonymous for now because they’re making a documentary about their exploits, but it’s not inconceivable that they would have averaged 130mph-plus through some States.

The Cannonball Run community appears to have had a crisis of conscience over these coronavirus runs. Bolian himself admits that he tried to discourage others from taking part by hinting that these runs will always have an asterisk next to them, because they were achieved during exceptional circumstances.

He also acknowledges that, despite the fact ‘there have never been any crashes involving other cars or any serious injuries’ during these attempts, these runs are even less ethical than usual because no one wants to divert the emergency services during a pandemic.

However, there are those that point to the fact that this is the very spirit of the Cannonball Run, and that it is there to show the government that they can’t tell them what to do.

While few outside this secretive pasttime could find many reasons to justify triple-digit speeds on public roads, Bolian appears to be more concerned about the future of this community.

In another of his videos discussing the recent records, he says: “The only reason I was able to pursue the record was that, given the availability of existing technologies, I thought I could beat Alex Roy and Dave Maher’s time of 31 hours and four minutes. I don’t know if people can go out, after the full record story is announced, and think they can do that.”

Could this be the end of the Cannonball Run as we know it? As traffic levels begin to return to normal, to the disappointment of very few, this particular chapter appears to be over. What remains to be seen is whether it adapts and lives on.

Driving lessons will be allowed to resume in England from July 4, it has been announced today by House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will, according to Rees-Mogg, be writing to all approved driving instructors today (June 25) to set out plans on how to recommence driver testing and to ‘help them return to a life that is as close to normal as possible.’

“From 4 July, I am happy to say that people will be able to take driving lessons on a motorcycle, or in a car, lorry or bus,” said Mogg. “And there will be a phased approach to resuming practical testing, so learners have the opportunity to practice before taking a test.”

Rees-Mogg also stated that lessons would recommence ‘as quickly and as fairly as possible, in a way that avoids a second peak in infections’ as he spoke during Business Questions in the Commons today.

The move was welcomed by driving instructors, with Peter Brabin, head of training at Bill Plant Driving School, saying: “This is fantastic news for the industry. Not only have many Britons been unable to start or complete their driving lessons and take their tests, thousands of driving instructors have been left without an income for the past three months, with the industry coming to a halt – except for key workers who have been able to continue.

“Bill Plant Driving School will be recommencing driving lessons as of Monday 6th July, with regional differences expected but to be announced. Ahead of this, given the expected increase in demand, we as a national driving school have also launched the Queue Jump initiative for Britons to get access to lessons ahead of others for just £10 – which is to be redeemed against their first driving lesson in July.

“All driving instructors have been given guidance on how to go about resuming lessons in terms of health and safety and risk assessments, and this will be published on www.billplant.co.uk shortly.”

The weather in the UK is cranking up and even though it’s set to drop away, it’s more than likely that it’ll begin to climb again once we enter summer proper. With more drivers on the road as lockdown measures ease, more people will find themselves getting hot in the car too.

So what are the features inside a car to help keep the heat at bay? And is there anything you can do to keep your car cool if you don’t have them? Let’s take a look.

Park in the shade

It’s a bit of a no-brainer, but parking your car out of direct sunlight is a sure-fire way of keeping it cooler as the mercury rises. Underneath a tree, overhanging branches block sunlight and stop it from cranking up the heat in your car’s interior.

Use a windscreen sunshield

If that must-have shady parking space has been taken, then a sunshield is the next best thing. Usually lined with a reflective material, it can help block a lot of the sun’s rays from entering into the cabin and warming it up.

Windows or air conditioning

If your car hasn’t got air conditioning then there’s not much debate about how to stay cool when moving – drop the windows. However, what if you do have AC? At lower speeds, lowering the windows might be the best bet, but when travelling on the motorway it’s far more effective to use air-conditioning – it uses less fuel, too.

Cover the steering wheel

Ever gone back to a parked-up car after it’s been sat in the sun and jumped at the temperature of both the steering wheel and gearstick? Avoid this unpleasantness by putting a tea towel or other piece of fabric over each – it’ll keep them far cooler than if they were left exposed.

Cooling in-car features

If you’re looking at a new car, however, there are some features that you might want to have fitted – or see if they’re included in the case of a used car – for when things do get hot. Here are some of the best.

Climate control

Climate control builds on standard air conditioning by actively monitoring the car’s temperature and adjusting the system accordingly. Some cars even have multi-zone climate control, which allows individual passengers to tailor the temperature to their liking. The system works just as well in winter when you want to warm things up too, making it doubly useful.

Ventilated seats

If the party-piece of any car in winter is heated seats, then in summer it has to be ventilated versions. These gently waft cool air through the seat base and back, ensuring that you stay as chilled as possible while on the move.

In-car fridge

An in-car fridge gives you the ability to chill water, snacks or other drinks while you’re moving. It’s a common feature on many high-end models, though we’ll add a caveat; many of the plug-in fridges available from automotive retailers are just as good.

Convertible roof

If you’re after the breeziest car experience possible, then you’ll want a convertible. With the wind in your hair, even the hottest of days don’t seem quite as bad. Just make sure you’re wearing a hat and have topped up with sun cream – a ride in a convertible can be quite deceptive, with the sun feeling not quite as strong as it actually is thanks to that wind.

It’s 6am, I’ve hardly slept, and the car behind me is not taking it easy. What’s worse, his car is ‘blinking’ because he has a bad connection, which is terrifying because you’re never totally sure where he’ll reappear.

It’s at this point I start to question the sanity of using up my whole weekend competing in the virtual version of the world’s most famous endurance race. So how did I end up here?

What is sim racing?

There’s much debate about the correct terminology within the community, but ‘sim racing’ is essentially a video game that tries to create the most realistic feeling of racing cars possible, hence being a ‘simulation’ rather than a ‘game’.

Whatever you call it, there’s no denying it’s a booming business that has seen a huge increase in participation during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s been driven by real-life drivers turning to the virtual world to get their competitive fix, and real-world racing series such as Formula 1 creating virtual versions of their events.

As a long-time gaming fan, particularly racing games, I’ve long wanted to try iRacing, which is widely considered to be the most competitive sim racing software on the market. I signed up at the start of the pandemic and updated my gaming rig – a steering wheel and pedals that works in games for extra realism and control. I wasn’t alone, as iRacing saw its signup numbers shoot into the stratosphere.

Chaos at the start

Each year, iRacing holds various special one-off events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Given the huge increase in interest in iRacing, this year’s event drew massive signups – and the game’s servers simply couldn’t handle the thousands of teams and drivers logging in when registrations opened 30 minutes before the race started.

The result was hundreds of teams, including us, unable to join. Fortunately, the organisers hosted another race to start an hour later than planned to allow people to still compete. This didn’t make much difference to us, because we’re new and have a low rating, so we would only be put against other low ranking drivers. However, long-standing, higher ranked members were left angry, as it meant the ‘top split’ of drivers was broken up, meaning their ability to race against the best drivers in the game, including many famous real-world drivers, was taken away.

The actual competition

After the initial stress of trying to sign up, we joined the later race, due to start at 3pm BST. Usually, 24-hour races involve teams of four drivers taking about six hours each, but because we’re pretty new to this we only knew three people who could take part.

The first team member was me, a long-time gamer who hasn’t played much in the past few years so is still getting back to grips with it all and hoping I don’t let down my two more experienced colleagues. The second member was my good friend Jayson Fong, a leading automotive photographer from Australia who I’ve worked with ever since he moved to the UK about six years ago. And finally we had Joao Beato, another automotive photographer, though living and sim racing in Portugal.

While in the real world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans would take over drivers’ lives for the weeks leading up to it and they’d have no distractions on the weekend of the race, we had to work our scheduling around the fact I had to run errands on the Saturday afternoon and Joao had a real-life track day on the Sunday.

Joao took a steady pace during qualifying, putting us 30th of 54 entries, and after completing his first ‘double stint’, he’d managed to stay out of trouble to get us up to 15th. A stint is the time it takes to use a full tank of fuel, with drivers swapping during the pit stop.

Jayson and Joao shared driving duties all evening, and I put in a single stint at about 9.30pm before going to bed for a few hours. When my alarm went off at 3.30am, I was groggy. I had a shower to wake myself up and actually felt more tired afterwards. Coffee wasn’t helping either.

When I took over the wheel from a bleary-eyed Jayson, who’d volunteered to do the tough 1am to 4am slot, I was nervous. The guys had been lapping consistently and got us to 10th place, and a top 10 finish was looking on the cards – astonishing given our inexperience and lack of preparation.

And that’s when it happened. Just over two hours into my four-hour stint in the pitch black, with the car full of fuel, a car that had completed fewer laps than us was catching me. Our tactic had been to go slow and steady and avoid crashing, because the worst thing you can do in these races is get stuck in the pits doing repairs.

He was ‘blinking’ because his connection was bad and the game couldn’t always tell me where he was on the track. I had decided that when he got close enough to pass I would just move over, because it wasn’t worth the risk.

However, heading into the difficult right-hand kink heading into the Indianapolis corner, he disappeared behind me. His headlights that had been filling my mirror vanished, then as I turned in at high speed he appeared again – alongside me. I moved the wheel to avoid a collision and lost control, spinning into the tyre wall.

I was gutted, but with just 15 minutes of repairs it looked like we’d only lose three or four places. Our ninth position turned into 12th, so I headed back out onto the track to continue our slow and steady pace in the hope of regaining a top 10.

But just two laps later, it all went wrong. Coming out of the Tertre Rouge S early in the lap, the right hander goes over a small crest. It’s enough to unsettle the car as the rear goes light, but it’s not usually enough to cause a crash. We’d been lifting the throttle slightly during the race just to make sure.

Inexplicably, whether due to residual damage, a touch too much throttle, or simply driver fatigue, the car span as I crested the corner. It was a crash I’d never done before, not in testing or practice races. I couldn’t keep it out of the wall and caused damage that would require about 30 minutes of repairs.

Not only was our shot at the top 10 gone, but we found ourselves in the high 20s. Jayson and I would battle on with a lightly damaged car for the remaining eight or nine hours, eventually finishing 25th after a splash and dash fuel strategy call that paid off and gained us two positions on the last lap. Our battered and bruised Porsche 911 RSR finished less than two seconds behind 24th after 24 hours of racing.

The verdict

It’s safe to say that the ending was bittersweet. This might be a virtual race with nothing on the line, but the sense of achievement was fantastic. We had fewer drivers than most teams, no experience, and two of us had never met. Yet we worked together, came up with strategy, supported each other when it went wrong, and got to the finish.

On a personal level I spent most of Sunday absolutely gutted. The first incident wasn’t my fault, but the second, more damaging one was. I watched the replay multiple times and I’m still not totally sure what I did differently to every other time, so we’ll just put it down as a learning experience.

What it did leave me with was an appreciation for the real thing. It’s a tiring, emotional rollercoaster, even when there’s no prize at the end of it. How those guys deal with the pressure and physical exertion of the real thing is admirable.

The next 24-hour race on iRacing is in July at Spa-Francorchamps. We’ll be there – hopefully this time we’ll have a fourth team member, a little more practice, and a little more luck!

Footballers are well-known for having expensive taste when it comes to cars. It’s no surprise that these athletes own some of the most desirable cars on the planet, given most Premier League players take home the UK’s average annual income every week.

And with so much cash to burn, footballers also tend to update their cars fairly regularly, meaning there are plenty of desirable cars on the used market with a famous name in the logbook.

Online marketplace Auto Trader has scoured the classified adverts on its site to find the most expensive cars for sale that used to be owned by some of the country’s top footballers.

Rolls-Royce Wraith, owned by Alex Song. £119,950

Any Rolls-Royce is desirable but the Wraith might be the coolest of the lot, being smaller and more driver-focused than others in the range. This particular example was owned by Cameroonian footballer Alex Song, who sold it in 2018 when he moved to Switzerland from Arsenal.

The dealer describes it as having a ‘huge spec’ from the factory – it looks like Song ticked every optional extra including starlight headlining, night vision and massage seats.

Ferrari 512, owned by Mark Hateley. £174,900

Fifty-eight-year-old Hateley had a long and successful football career. He made his breakthrough at Portsmouth before moving to Milan and Monaco ahead of a long spell at Rangers in Scotland.

Hateley was the first owner of this 512, which was purchased during his time at Rangers. It’s a manual model painted in Rosso Corsa red with a crema leather interior.

Range Rover Overfinch, owned by Wayne Rooney. £50,000

Legendary England international Rooney owned the ultimate stereotypical footballer’s car in the form of this modified Range Rover, though it is rumoured to have been his wife Coleen’s runaround, according to Auto Trader.

It has a body kit and alloy wheels by aftermarket tuner Overfinch, a black and red interior package – and even a television with Freeview built in.

Range Rover, owned by Michael Keane. £49,990

Another footballer, another blackout Range Rover with aftermarket modifications. This time it’s the turn of England and Everton player Michael Keane, who took his SUV to Urban Automotive for upgrades.

It has an expensive specification inside as well as 23-inch alloy wheels, upgraded body panels, and the classy ‘Y7 XXX’ personalised plate.

Land Rover Defender 90, owned by Christian Fuchs. £49,950

Going slightly against the footballer JLR trend is this Defender 90 owned by Austrian Leicester player Christian Fuchs.

It’s a 2016 model from when Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri bought each of his defenders a Defender as a present for winning the league title. Puns are slightly different when you’re a multi-millionaire, aren’t they?

Naturally, Fuchs took his Defender to be modified by Overfinch, and then proceeded to drive it just 500 miles before putting it up for sale.

Ford Mustang, owned by Vincent Kompany. £49,499

Man City’s Belgian legend Vincent Kompany has gone against the grain with this purchase – a Ford Mustang Shelby GT-California. You didn’t expect it to be a normal one, did you?

This yellow and grey model has a 4.6-litre supercharged V8 engine, manual gearbox and a Ford Racing Power Upgrade Package.

Porsche Cayenne, owned by George Boateng. £39,900

If you’re thinking a Porsche Cayenne is finally proof that some footballers can own understated cars, think again. This example, owned by now-retired Dutchman George Boateng, is a one-off example.

It was modified exclusively for the footballer and painted in ice white metal flake, lavished in chrome and given 22-inch alloy wheels.

Porsche 911, owned by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. £37,500

Dutch Chelsea icon Hasselbaink owned this 911 back in 2003 while he was playing for the London club, but it has since had four more owners.

The current owner says they bought it as a damaged vehicle and repaired it. It comes with 19-inch Techart wheels and a few other Techart modifications, as well as a custom Alcantara interior.

What is it?

Following a slow start, the Kuga SUV has been one of Ford’s best-selling models for a while now, with the industry’s love of big, practical SUVs mixing with the brand’s blue-collar appeal to make it a definite sales hit.

The latest generation is bigger than before with a whole new styling direction, and perhaps most importantly, a commitment to electrified powertrains from a brand that has lagged somewhat behind rivals in this department. The plug-in hybrid variant we’re testing here is a pretty big deal, then, thanks to lower running costs from a car that buyers already seem to love.

What’s new?

The big news is the plug-in hybrid powertrain, but we’ll go into more detail on that in the next segment. Instead, we’ll first look at the fact that the new Kuga has gone down a completely different styling direction than its predecessor, taking cues from the Focus – in fact from some angles it’s easy to mistake it for Ford’s hatchback model.

Elsewhere, the interior has been brought up a notch, and there are new technologies both in the cabin and under the skin to improve the driving experience such as driver safety and assistance systems.

It sits on Ford’s new C2 vehicle architecture, which the company says has resulted in the new Kuga being lighter than its predecessor, more aerodynamic for better fuel economy, and with better crash safety.

What’s under the bonnet?

The hybrid powertrain uses a 2.5-litre petrol engine combined with an electric motor and generator that are powered by a 14.4kWh battery. This provides a decent, usable electric-only range of 35 miles, which means you could get away with rarely even using the petrol engine.

It makes a total of 222bhp with a top speed of 125mph. Fuel economy figures are pretty wild at 202mpg, but only if you’re regularly topping up the batteries and only taking short trips is that a possibility, though we saw economy figures in the 60s during mixed driving. CO2 emissions are low, at just 32g/km.

It’s a rather hit and miss powertrain to use. At lower speeds where the electric motor is doing most of the work it’s brilliant, providing smooth but punchy response and silent operation. At motorway speeds with the engine on it’s still quiet enough, and even when the engine kicks in around town it’s not too intrusive. However, the CVT gearbox means that accelerating harder using the petrol engine is unrewarding with an unappealing soundtrack to boot.

What’s it like to drive?

There’s a lot to like about the Kuga, but the way it drives is its weak point. First, the positives. As we’ve come to expect from Ford products, it handles well, doing a good job of restraining its heft in corners, while also not being intimidating to drive around town thanks to the smooth and responsive electric motor.

However, there are quite a few negative aspects to the driving experience, such as the bizarre, rubbery self-centring of the steering wheel as you turn – something common to Fords but most prominent in the Kuga. Meanwhile, the brake pedal gives little feedback but is very sensitive, which makes slowing down smoothly difficult. We’re also not convinced by the ride, with it feeling very heavy over bumps.

How does it look?

While previous generations of the Kuga wore chunky “I’m an SUV” styling, the latest model ditches this in favour of a sleeker appearance. From a distance it looks like a family hatchback rather than an SUV, meaning it stands out less than rivals on the road but still offers the high driving position and practicality that has made this segment so popular.

Aside from the softer styling, some of this non-SUV look is achieved by having a more reclined windscreen and lower roof angle, which hides its height. Despite this appearance, it’s actually bigger than the outgoing model…

What’s it like inside?

The cabin is one of the Kuga’s trump cards, because it feels exceptionally well made. Our top-spec Vignale model also comes incredibly well-specified, with high-quality materials used throughout and luxury extras such as a heated steering wheel and leather-wrapped instrument panel helping to improve the overall feel.

It’s very spacious too, making it ideal for families. Rear seat passengers, big and small, will have plenty of leg room, while boot space is decent at 411 litres, even if it is less spacious than non-hybrid versions.

If you’re not looking to stretch to the price of a top-spec model – or just don’t fancy putting premium leather at the mercy of the kids – the Kuga’s interior has all the practicality and build quality you could need in a family car, regardless of trim level.

What’s the spec like?

There are five trim levels available for the Kuga: Zetec, Titanium, ST-Line, ST-Line X and Vignale. However, if it’s this plug-in hybrid powertrain you’re after, that excludes Zetec.

Prices start at £33,085 for the Titanium PHEV, and rise through the sporty-looking ST-Line models to the luxury-focused Vignale we’ve been testing. For this, prices start at £37,785 and equipment includes 19-inch alloy wheels, full LED headlights with automatic anti-glare full beam, premium leather seat trim with heated front seats and heated steering wheel, Vignale body kit, metallic paint, a fully digital 12.3-inch instrument cluster, automated park assist and a head-up display.

Traditionally, Ford’s Vignale trim levels have felt like an unnecessary expense over less expensive but still generously equipped trims. However, commanding only a few grand more than the ST-Line trims, the Vignale PHEV feels like good value for money, especially if you’re more focused on comfort than sporty looks.

Verdict

The Ford Kuga PHEV is so close to being great. Its styling is sleek and unimposing, the interior is well made and spacious, and the electrified portion of its powertrain makes for a relaxing, effortless driving experience. What’s more, keep the batteries topped up and that useful electric range means running costs should be very low indeed.

However, it’s hard to get away from the fact it’s a bit of a letdown from behind the wheel. The inconsistent control weights make smooth driving a chore and detract from what should be a brilliant family SUV. A test drive is highly recommended, because if you can live with those negatives you’ve got yourself a handsome, practical SUV.

Ask most car enthusiasts for their propulsion method of choice and they’ll probably say petrol. This fossil fuel has powered some of the greatest engines known to man, and has fuelled engines with the power to catapult tonnes of metal to inconceivable speeds in a matter of seconds – sounding great while doing it.

However, with climate change now at the forefront of people’s minds, the role of heavily polluting fossil fuels is quickly dying out. That means we need an alternative, and it appears electric will be the future.

Porsche is at the forefront of both old- and new-school technology, epitomised by the 911 Turbo S and Taycan Turbo S. While they might not seem like natural competitors – a two-plus-two, petrol-powered sports car and an electrically powered four-door saloon respectively – on paper they make for an intriguing comparison.

Last week we were given the chance to test drive both back-to-back, and it made for a fascinating and thought-provoking day. Here’s what we found…

The facts and figures

Let’s start with the 911 Turbo S. The Porsche 911 has long been one of the best sports cars on the market, and this newly released Turbo S version sits at the very top of the range of this latest generation.

Its 3.8-litre, six-cylinder, twin-turbocharged petrol engine makes 641bhp and 800Nm of torque, with a top speed of 205mph and a 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds. It also emits 257g/km and achieves fuel economy of 25mpg. Prices for the coupe start at about £155k, or £165k for the convertible we tested.

The Taycan uses twin electric motors (one on each axle to provide all-wheel drive) that produce a combined 616bhp and 1,050Nm. With launch control engaged, that figure goes up to a scarcely believable 750bhp, contributing to an identical 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds and a lower top speed of 161mph. It emits no CO2 and has a range of about 250 miles between charges. The Turbo S starts at £138,826, but the one we tried had been specced up to £151,210.

Which feels faster?

Both are fast enough to scramble your brains. Put your foot down in the 911 and there’s a moment’s lag as the turbos spool up and fuel is dumped into the cylinders to get the pistons firing – but once you’re away you’re really away.

There’s a perceptible shift of the car’s weight to the rear and you’re catapulted towards the horizon. What’s incredible is that the higher your speeds and the further round the tachometer the needle spins, the harder the car accelerates. The first time you’ll be shocked into silence before laughing hysterically once you regain your composure.

The Taycan, on the other hand, scrambles your brain in a completely different, if similarly effective manner. Electric motors are different to petrol and diesel engines because while the latter builds power with revs before tailing off, electric motors have 100 per cent of torque available from ‘zero’ RPM. They then consistently lose power as speeds get higher, hence the lower top speed. (This also has to do with the fact electric motors work over a broader rev range than traditional engines so don’t need multiple gears… but that’s a story for another 10,000-word article.)

The result? The Taycan and its 750bhp hit you like a freight train. The 0-60mph times might be identical, but the 0-30mph is surely heavily in favour of the EV. Even with this jaded journalist’s experience of fast cars, that first couple of seconds of acceleration in a Taycan takes the breath away.

The difference between petrol and electric is like the famous quote from The Interview: “Same, same; but different.” Both cars do a great job of accelerating faster than the human body could ever be prepared for, they just do it in different ways. The result in both cases is fantastically addictive.

What are they like to drive?

Where the difference lies is more in the corners. The 911 Turbo S feels like a big old brute that’s heavy in the corners. It’s capable of cornering hard, but you’d need to be driving at silly speeds to get the most out of it on the road. We tested the Cabriolet – models that are almost always going to be less sharp than an equivalent coupe for reasons of weight and weight distribution – but it just felt a bit ‘too much’ for the road. Especially narrow, unsighted British roads.

The Taycan, on the other hand, felt more nimble and compact. It had more immediate turn-in and felt less like it was filling a full lane on the road, even if the odd brush with an overreaching hedge told a different story. With the batteries in the floor, all the weight is down low, and the Taycan actually has the lowest centre of gravity of any Porsche road car, which helps in the handling department. The 911 convertible has a roof and roof mechanism up around the rear seats. That’s not light.

What’s particularly interesting here, though, is that the Taycan is actually wider than the 911 Turbo S. I was shocked to see that when I got back and dived deeper into the numbers, but the 911 is 1,880mm wide and the Taycan is 1,966mm. It’s amazing how the ‘feel’ of a car alters your perception behind the wheel.

Which one’s better?

Now that’s an impossible question – but one that I’m going to try to answer. For me, it’s the Taycan, because it offers all the performance of the 911 but feels more nimble on a fun road. That said, it’s also spacious inside, has four doors and decent leg room for rear passengers. I also adore the looks to the point where it could be awful to drive and I’d still want one.

The 911 Turbo S couldn’t be closer behind, though. Being a 911, the average person probably won’t recognise that it’s ‘the fast one’, so if flying under the radar is your thing, the 911 is just about common enough that you won’t turn too many heads. (Though if nimble performance is what you’re after a 911 GT model will leave both in its dust on a twisty road.)

It’s also got utterly addictive performance and epitomises everything we’ve loved about petrol engines over the decades. Porsche’s boxer engines are iconic, and this being one of the last wouldn’t be a bad way to go out.

However, the good thing for car enthusiasts in particular is that owning an electric vehicle doesn’t mean saying goodbye to fast fun. It just means you can go fast with a clearer conscience and lower running costs.

While most corners of the economy are counting the cost of the coronavirus pandemic, one segment has seen significant growth – online motorsport.

With race series around the world being postponed for more than three months, motorsport fans and drivers turned to the virtual world to get their competitive fix.

Following the huge surge in popularity of online racing, the organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race – postponed until 19-20 September – decided to host an online equivalent on the race’s originally planned date using the rFactor 2 game.

Here’s everything you need to know about a historic weekend for sim racing – the winners, losers and drama in between.

Who took part?

Current Formula 1 stars Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Antonio Giovinazzi and Pierre Gasly were some of the biggest names to take part, but with each team needing a minimum of two professional drivers, the event drew some big names from world motorsport.

These included Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Antonio Felix da Costa. Richard Mille Racing Team had the only all-female team, made up of professional racers Katherine Legge, Tatiana Calderon, Sophia Floersch and sim racer Emily Jones.

Most teams were made up of two professional drivers and two sim racers. These included big names from the virtual world such as Joshua Rogers and James Baldwin, as well as the hugely popular YouTube star Jimmy Broadbent, who hit 500,000 subscribers during the race with less than an hour of his birthday remaining.

An awkward mistake

One of the big questions for sim racing aficionados was how rFactor 2 would hold up under the microscope during a 24 hour race. It was a big moment for the game, which has been overshadowed by competitor iRacing during lockdown.

Matters weren’t helped by an early red flag situation caused by Le Mans’ race control, who were overseeing a virtual race for the first time.

Motorsport legend Fernando Alonso had caused a crash with another car on his final lap before needing to refuel. Race control decided to hand him a ‘drive through’ penalty, which the driver can choose to ignore in their next pit stop and take at another time. However, the penalty was handed out as Alonso entered the pits, so he didn’t have time to cancel it. The game required him to drive through the pits and not stop to refuel, and he didn’t have enough fuel left to complete another lap, putting his team out of the race.

The organisers acknowledged their mistake and stopped the race so they could reload it and reinstate the FA/RB Allinsports team.

The next morning, another red flag was thrown and the server was reset because drivers loading into the game to take over driving duties could not select their car.

Bug means game over for F1 stars

While rFactor 2 held up well for the most part, its owners will have been gutted to see that the only major potential bug outside of the aforementioned server issues ended the race for arguably the most high profile team taking part.

Team Redline featured F1 drivers Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who have gained a reputation as two of the highest profile sim racers in the world.

With Verstappen at the wheel, the car crashed heavily when the Dutchman lost connection, and when the same thing happened to sim racer Atze Kerkhof during the night the car was retired.

Like Alonso’s team earlier in the race, they were reinstated following the next morning’s red flag incident, but were too many laps behind to mount any sort of meaningful challenge.

The winners

Despite their challenges in Formula 1, Williams has emerged as one of the frontrunners of the esports scene. They entered three teams into the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans in collaboration with motorsport team Rebellion Racing.

The Rebellion Williams eSport entry of Louis Deletraz, Raffaele Marciello, Nikodem Wisniewski and Kuba Brzezinski ended up victorious, winning by just 18 seconds after 24 hours of racing.

The GTE class was won by one of four Porsche eSports Team entries. The German car maker has invested heavily in esports recently, and its newly created online motorsport team dominated the GTE class. The number 93 car driven by Nick Tandy, Ayhancan Guven, Joshua Rogers and Tommy Ostgaard secured pole position in qualifying before going on to win the race.

British driver Tandy became the first person to have won both the real and virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans.

What is it?

This is the Porsche 911 Turbo S – the biggest, baddest 911 you can buy right now. The Turbo name has long been synonymous with being the ultimate incarnation of this famous sports car outside of the more racey GT models, but with this generation, Porsche has ramped the lunacy up to 11. Its performance figures are frankly astonishing.

The question it has to answer is this: What’s the point of the Turbo S? Now that all Porsche models have turbocharged engines the name merely denotes a model variant rather than a stand out mechanical feature, and at well north of £150k it’s competing with arguably more exotic machinery in the form of the Audi R8 and McLaren 570S.

Also, do you really need 641bhp? The appeal of non-GT 911s is their ability to be fast but also commutable. You could buy a still-fast 911 Carrera 4S and get a Porsche Cayman for the weekends for the price of one 911 Turbo S.

And that’s all before we mention the electric Taycan, which is slightly less expensive but even more violent in its acceleration, but with none of the environmental guilt. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive in.

What’s new?

Aside from the engine, which we’ll go into detail on below, the most significant change is perhaps the size. Even Porsche says it’s ‘significantly’ larger than before, being 45mm wider above the front axle and 20mm wider at the rear to allow for a wider track to improve handling.

Other changes designed to improve the way the car drives include improved aerodynamics, mixed-size tyres for the first time, the option of Porsche Active Suspension Management that improves handling and lowers the car by 10mm, and a sports exhaust system with adjustable flaps to control the sound.

What’s under the bonnet?

Performance comes from a rear-mounted 3.8-litre petrol engine, which is based on the existing 911 unit but with an extensive performance-focused overhaul. It gets a new charge air cooling system, new larger turbochargers and new injectors, as well as an updated intake system that improves airflow to the engine while creating less resistance.

The result is astonishing. Pin the throttle and there’s a momentary lag in response before the engine comes alive and catapults you forward. The engine note isn’t the sweetest but it’s all-encompassing and really adds to the attack on the senses this car provides.

With 641bhp and 800Nm of torque going to all four wheels, Porsche quotes a 0-124mph time of just 8.9 seconds – and that’s entirely believable. The surge in speed is incredible and it accelerates harder as the speed increases. Honestly? It’s too much for the road, but it’s an engineering marvel and the kind of performance you just have to keep tapping into again and again.

What’s it like to drive?

The unique selling point of the Porsche 911 has always been its ability to soak up daily duties with ease while also being great fun to point down a twisty road, and that’s still true here despite its ludicrous performance.

Drop into the familiar surroundings and the engine feels perfectly happy to pootle around town at 30mph, with no juddering or a sense it would prefer to be at higher revs. There are some concessions to performance though, with the ride becoming quite jiggly on rougher roads, while the fact it’s so wide can make it a little intimidating on narrow streets or country lanes.

When you’re making the most of the performance, though, it comes alive. If you want a car that’s light and agile down a British B road then the Turbo S is not the right car, especially in Cabriolet form as we’re testing here. It feels heavy and the front end isn’t as eager to turn in as you’d hope. But take it easy in the corners and unleash that six-cylinder engine when the road opens up and you’ll get a grin from ear to ear.

How does it look?

There’s been a long-standing joke that the Porsche 911 looks the same every time it gets updated, but with its position as one of the most popular sports car ever made, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Taken at face value the idea that this car is understated is hilarious, with its massive rear arches and prominent brake calipers making it clear there’s performance on tap. But compared with exotic rivals in this price and performance point it definitely flies under the radar, giving it a different appeal to the likes of the Audi R8 and McLaren 570S.

Drink in the details though, and the relative subtlety has to be admired. Up front there are wider intakes that contribute to a more purposeful look, while prominent intakes in the rear wheel arches that are visible in the wing mirrors are a nicely aggressive touch to set the Turbo S out from the rest of the range. And while the front end might be subtle there’s no denying the rear is more aggressive, with a prominent spoiler, chunky vents and a quad-exit exhaust.

What’s it like inside?

It’s exquisitely Porsche inside, feeling enclosed without being claustrophobic. It’s ergonomically brilliant, with everything falling to hand as it should and there’s just the right combination of physical buttons and touchscreen controls too.

The materials are excellent as well, and the infotainment screen is clear and easy to use. Once you get used to seeing it, even the odd stubby gear lever becomes normal. Naturally, being a 2+2 rather than a strict four-seater means those in the back will struggle for leg room, but this being a serious sports car it’s difficult to mark it down for that.

What’s the spec like?

Prices for the 911 Turbo S start at £155,970 or £165,127 for this Cabriolet we’re driving. Standard equipment includes 20-inch alloy wheels up front and 21-inch at the rear, Porsche’s various stability and chassis control systems, ceramic composite brakes, active aerodynamics, a BOSE surround sound system, a subscription-based tracking system, LED headlights, cruise control, adaptive sports seats and two-zone climate control.

Our test car came with a long list of optional extras that took the price up to £178,414 and included highlights such as sport suspension (£1,052) that lowers the ride by 10mm, sports exhaust (£2,180), ‘Exclusive Design’ wheels (£1,608), adaptive cruise control (£1,203) and the Burmester surround sound system (£2,256).

Verdict

There’s no denying that the Porsche 911 Turbo S is a highly desirable sports car. It treads a fine line between being understated compared to its rivals while also making it clear it’s a serious performance car… while also combining everyday practicalities with the kind of pace you couldn’t buy for any money a few decades ago.

It’s ridiculously capable in corners, but it’s so big, heavy and insanely fast that for most mere mortals extracting that performance will require an overdose of brave pills. For those looking for the ultimate ‘driver’s car’, a GT3 RS would be a better option – though we’re yet to see the latest 992-generation version of this. But for those who will happily sacrifice a little agility and focus of purpose in favour of warp-speed performance then look no further.

The next instalment of the Gran Turismo series was confirmed during a launch event for the new PlayStation 5 games console.

The hit series has been exclusive to Sony’s console since the first game was released on December 23, 1997.

Although the finer details are yet to be revealed, an announcement trailer demonstrated the incredible graphical capabilities of the new console, while also hinting at the game’s structure and features.

While the most recent version – Gran Turismo Sport – focuses on motorsport and online competition, historically the series has seen you start your racing career in slow road cars and work your way up by winning races and buying faster cars.

It appears this structure could be making a return, with the trailer showing ‘GT Town’, a bird’s eye view of a fictional city reminiscent of the main menus of classic games. It shows options for championships and online races, as well as a used car dealership and tuning parts shop.

The game’s release date has not yet been confirmed, but it is likely to go on sale at the launch of the PlayStation 5, which should go on sale ahead of Christmas 2020.