Author: Ryan Hirons

More details on the long-awaited new Toyota Supra appear to have been leaked by a BMW parts catalogue, ahead of the car’s full reveal.

RealOEM, a tool for searching for parts produced by the German manufacturer, has now added a detailed section on its website for the upcoming Japanese sports car — providing an insight into its mechanical specifications and equipment offering.

The new Supra has been jointly developed with BMW, with the latter basing the new Z4 on the same architecture as the Toyota.

Three models are shown in the catalogue — 20i, 30i and 40i. This reflects those of the new Z4, although it’s unlikely the final Supra will be offered with more than one powertrain choice at launch.

If the catalogue proves correct, it would appear UK-spec Supras will be offered with technology such as a head-up display and adaptive cruise control. Other equipment looks set to include Alcantara upholstery, with multiple interior colour options on offer.

It also appears to support long-held rumours Supra will only be available with an automatic transmission at launch.

The catalogue also gives an outline at what looks to be Supra in final production form — having so far only been shown in racing concept and heavily-camouflaged concept guise

Expect to hear more details on the new Toyota Supra early next year, with a full reveal expected at the Detroit Motor Show in January.

What is it?

With the world turning towards electric mobility, it’s only a matter of time before commercial vehicles become a mainstream target of electrification for a number of manufacturers — and Volkswagen is one of the first to be doing so.

This is the Volkswagen e-Crafter which — as you may have guessed by the name, following on from the trend of sticking an ‘e’ in front of electric stuff — is a battery-powered variant of the Crafter van, aimed squarely at town-based businesses.

What’s new?

Although the Crafter has been around in its current guise since early 2017, Volkswagen insists the battery powertrain is not shoehorned in — rather the platform was designed with electrification in mind.

That aside, there’s little else to distinguish it from the van it’s based on. The German firm has introduced this to give city-going business users a van that works with anti-fossil fuel regulations and also reduces costs over the long term.

What’s under the bonnet?

Powering the e-Crafter is an electric motor lifted from the e-Golf, which sends power to the front wheels. The system develops 134bhp and 230Nm of torque, with the van’s top speed capped at 56mph — so don’t expect this to be much of a motorway cruiser.

As for range, Volkswagen claims 107 miles on the NEDC cycle on a full charge with the battery capable of fast-charging as standard. Of course, being electric, emissions aren’t a concern here.

As with all electric machinery, the e-Crafter delivers a fair bit of punch. Although not exactly quick, the instant and constant torque makes it potent enough for zipping around town and isn’t hampered much by a medium load of cargo in the back.

So yeah, this trip to Hamburg was a bit of a departure from the usual car launches. A pretty fun one, at that. #volkswagen #crafter #ecrafter #hamburg

A post shared by Ryan Hirons (@rth42) on Aug 29, 2018 at 2:55pm PDT

What’s it like to drive?

The e-Crafter, much like its fossil-fuel brethren, is rather car-like to drive considering it’s a huge van. Its electric steering is well-weighted, and it’s also quite a maneuverable machine.

Large, double-stacked mirrors make visibility a breeze — aided further by the standard inclusion of a reversing camera, which works wonders when navigating tight spots.

While the Crafter may be ideal for business use in town, it falls flat if you’re looking to head long distance. With a maximum top speed of 56mph and limited 107 mile claimed range, it’s hard to suggest as anything more than an inner-city workhorse. In defence of Volkswagen, it knows this, and pitches it as no more than machine for the local grind.

How does it look?

Despite being electric, the e-Crafter does well in making no huge visual fuss of its battery-powered mechanicals. It looks just like a regular Crafter, aside from a bit of badging and a lack of exhaust pipes, and that’s a good thing in this case.

The design is sharp, with Volkswagen’s corporate look heading it up, while standard LED headlights give it a pronounced look on the road.

Otherwise, it’s all very standard van — slab sides and tall dimensions – but this is of course a machine designed for functionality over form.

What’s it like inside?

Being a van, it’s all about space and ruggedness in the Volkswagen e-Crafter. It may have hard, scratchy plastics in the cabin, but they’re there for good reason — along with plenty of cubby holes and other storage spots, the interior has been designed to handle anything thrown its way. It’s also recognisably VW inside, with the family dashboard making a sharp and stylish appearance.

What about its intended purpose, though? The e-Crafter has a payload of up to 1.72 tonnes, with space for 4 wooden pallets to fit in comfortably, making it well up to the task of an inner-city machine.

Unlike its diesel stablemates though, the e-Crafter is not rated for towing — making it a hard sell to anyone looking for trailer functionality with their van.

What’s the spec like?

Creature comforts are pretty minimal for the e-Crafter — after all, it’s a workhorse, not a luxury machine — but there’s plenty of gear to improve safety and make the van a more practical and livable machine.

Standard features include ParkPilot assistance, cameras at both the front and rear of the vehicle, automatic post-collision braking (the first in its class to boast this), cruise control with lane keep assistance and cross wind assist.

There are some luxuries, as well. There’s a full-colour infotainment display complete with navigation and Bluetooth support, a heated windscreen and heated ‘comfort’ seats.

On paper, the Volkswagen e-Crafter looks set to be a well-equipped van when it arrives on UK shores — but pricing has yet to be confirmed, so we’ll have to reserve judgment on its value for money.

Verdict

The Volkswagen e-Crafter shows there’s a place in the current world for electric vans, as well as hope that they’ll continue to grow stronger in the future.

With great town usability and a respectable payload, it makes sense as an inner-city runabout. If you’re looking to expand beyond that though, the e-Crafter’s limited range and capped top speed make diesel options still the better choice in this case. That said, we predict the future of electric vans becoming a common sight on roads might be sooner than you’d think.

Facts at a glance

Model: Volkswagen e-Crafter
Price: N/A
Engine: Electric
Power (bhp): 134
Torque (Nm): 230
Max speed (mph): 56 (restricted)
0-60mph: N/A
Range: 107 miles
Emissions (g/km): 0

Lego replicas of rare, exotic cars are nothing new – but this full-size Bugatti Chiron facsimile boasts something no other does.

Built using more than a million Lego Technic elements, this electric replica can actually be driven.

Power comes from 2,304 motors and 4,032 Technic gears, producing 5.2bhp and 92Nm of torque. Weighing around 1.5 tonnes, the car is capable of ‘over’ 12mph – quite a bit shy of the real Chiron’s 261mph top speed from its quad-turbocharged W16 engine.

Perhaps most impressive about it, though, is the fact that it’s made entirely out of Lego – save for the wheels and badges – with no glue holding the pieces together.

BUGATTI and @LEGO_Group achieved the impossible: a full-sized LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron that drives! #BuildforReal #BUGATTI #Chiron #LEGOTechnicBugatti pic.twitter.com/C3LA2AJ5KZ

— Bugatti (@Bugatti) August 30, 2018

There aren’t any plans for this Bugatti to go into production, but in theory you could walk into one of the Danish firm’s stores and buy the pieces to build one for yourself. Be prepared to lose a lot of time if you decide to do so, though. The experts at Lego spent 13,438 hours developing and constructing the model, which features working lights, a retractable rear wing, functional speedometer and removable steering wheel.

Lena Dixen, senior vice-president of product and marketing for the Lego Group, said: “This life-size model is a first of its kind in so many ways, and with it we wanted to push the boundaries of our own imagination.

“For over 40 years, Lego Technic has allowed fans of all ages to test their creativity with a building system that challenges them to go beyond just creating new designs – to also engineer new functions. It’s a fascinating example of the Lego Technic building system in action and its potential for creative reinvention.”

If the project seems a little daunting to build at home, Lego does offer a smaller Chiron model in its regular Technic range. Priced at £329.99, the 1:8 scale kit consists of 3,599 pieces and features moveable pistons, a functioning paddle-shift gearbox plus an adjustable spoiler – and is somewhat cheaper than the £2.5m real thing.r

Jaguar Land Rover has used new concept technology in an effort to gauge how humans will come to trust autonomous vehicles in the future.

Named Virtual Eyes, the cartoon-like driverless machines were used in a trial in a fabricated street scene in Coventry. The pods are fitted with LED ‘eyes’, which appear to be following pedestrians as they cross the road.

This allows the autonomous vehicle to communicate with pedestrians that they are aware of their presence and, and that it intends to avoid them.

Engineers then recorded the levels of trust in the person crossing the road before and after the pod makes eye contact, to find out if it would generate sufficient confidence that Virtual Eyes would stop for them.

The trials have taken place as Jaguar Land Rover continues to commit itself to prioritising safety in developing self-driving technology, with the firm stating its long-term goals are to ‘make cars safer, free up people’s valuable time and improve mobility for everyone’.

Pete Bennett, Future Mobility research manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said:

“It’s second-nature to glance at the driver of the approaching vehicle before stepping into the road. Understanding how this translates in tomorrow’s more automated world is important.

“We want to know if it is beneficial to provide humans with information about a vehicle’s intentions or whether simply letting a pedestrian know it has been recognised is enough to improve confidence.”

Infiniti has revealed a new, all-electric concept that has been inspired by ‘the spirit of early speedsters’.

The Prototype 10 is a modern take on the classic recipe of speedster cars – with low drag bodywork and a roofless design, as well as seating for just one.

While speedsters of the past are associated with loud engines and the smell of petrol, this concept is entirely electrified. The Japanese firm claims it represents its ‘creative and ambitious’ plans for EVs in the future – although exact figures for the powertrain haven’t been confirmed. All vehicles from Infiniti, which is the luxury vehicle division of Nissan, will be offered with electrified variants from 2021.

With this car, Infiniti continues a design theme that it has used on concepts since the Q Inspiration of 2016 – with minimal creases and thin, long headlights making it instantly recognisable as a product of the firm. The initial design phase was overseen by Infiniti’s design centre in Japan, with the physical machine hand-built in California.

Meet Prototype 10. This new #conceptcar is the perfect incarnation of INFINITI’s vision of an electrified future. Explore more. https://t.co/uysIIL6bqz pic.twitter.com/ZWaoDJHKrS

— INFINITI USA (@INFINITIUSA) August 23, 2018

The cabin of the concept has been created to ‘deliver a thrilling driving experience’. Inspired by single-seat Formula racers, it just has a seat, four-point harness and a ‘highly technical’ steering wheel.

Infiniti president Roland Krueger said: “We all feel a certain degree of passion when talking about roadsters and speedsters. We are equally passionate about the potential that electrification holds for the future of our cars – a daring speedster is the perfect study for our designers to explore an electrified future and ignite such excitement.”

It’s unlikely the Prototype 10 will ever make it into production, although the design supposedly hints at a future look for the firm’s regular machinery.

In 2017, Infiniti made another concept that was a future take on a classic recipe, with its Prototype 9 the realisation of a historic Grand Prix car in all-electric form.

Typically, cars come with two different types of engine configurations — ‘V’ and ‘inline’, with cylinders and pistons aligned in two banks, or all in a row.

But tradition can be boring, and some manufacturers prefer to do things differently. Rotary engines could be once found under the bonnets of many Mazdas and other vehicles before that, but they have since become nullified. There’s still another option, though. The flat — or ‘boxer’ — engine lives on in a handful of vehicles.

Never heard of it? Let us explain…

What is a boxer engine?

A flat engine — commonly known as a ‘boxer’ — has horizontally-opposed cylinders and pistons. This means two banks of cylinders lie opposite each other on a single crankshaft — unlike straight and ‘V’ layouts, which sees them in line with one another.

Imagine a boxer punching in rhythm. One fist swings and retracts, with a smooth transition for the next and then rinse-repeat. In fact, it’s thought the nickname ‘boxer’ came from this analogy.

The boxer engine is no new thing. Karl Benz created the first motor with horizontally-opposed pistons in 1896, then naming it the ‘kontra’ engine.

What’s the benefit?

Boxer engines have a number of advantages over traditional configurations, particularly in performance cars.

Their flat nature allows them to be built low, while opposing the cylinders creates an overall shorter unit too. The result is a lower centre of mass than would be found with a more conventional layout.

Vibrations from the engine are also reduced, with each piston effectively cancelling each on that front, creating a smoother ride.

Any disadvantages?

For all their plus points, there’s plenty of reasons why flat engines are not the go-to choice across the board.

First of all, the design is much more complex to produce — meaning costs are higher, which isn’t going to work for manufacturers wanting to maximise profits. Two banks of cylinders means two cylinder heads, two gaskets, two rocker covers – as opposed to the one you’d find on a regular inline unit.

They’re also wider than inline counterparts, making them less usable in compact vehicles, which often rely on transverse placement of engines to maximise space.

Who uses them?

While boxer engines are undoubtedly a minority in terms of engine configurations available on the market today, they’re not hard to find.

Subaru swears by them exclusively — with all of its current UK offerings using the horizontally-opposed configurations. In fact, the firm is as synonymous with boxers as Mazda once was with the rotary engine, having historically used the tech in many of its vehicles, perhaps most famously the WRX STI performance hero.

Perhaps lesser known is Porsche, which has used flat-six engines in every iteration of its most famous car — the 911. It also uses four-cylinder boxer units in the 718 Cayman and Boxster — the latter of which gets its name from the engine configuration.

Toyota also has one in its line-up in the GT86 sports car — although that’s derived from Subaru, which uses it in the mechanically-identical BRZ.

What is it?

Volkswagen Group hatchbacks are on something of a refresh trail at the moment, with the VW Polo and Seat Ibiza both recently entering new generations on the MQB A0 platform.

The Skoda Fabia though staggers on without new underpinnings — instead seeing a minor refresh for 2018.

It may be surprising on the face of things that the Czech firm hasn’t gone for a total overhaul, considering the availability of the new platform, but this generation of Fabia has only been around since 2015 — so it’s not exactly outdated just yet. Can a bit of nip and tuck justify be justified, though?

What’s new?

As far as facelifts go, the new Skoda Fabia pretty much meets the definition — minor changes to an already existing model.

Don’t expect a revolution here, but that’s not to say there hasn’t been some notable changes. A tweaked look comes thanks to new headlights, a larger grille and a fettled bumper, with LED daytime running lights now a standard feature.

New dashboard trims bring a new lease of life to the cabin, while more assistance tech makes this the safest Fabia to date. As for engines, there’s been little in the way of change — although the line-up now consists exclusively of petrol units, with three set to be offered in the UK.

What’s under the bonnet?

Powering our test car is a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder, here paired up to a five-speed manual gearbox, developing 94bhp and 160Nm of torque. It can take the estate from 0-60mph in 10.7 seconds and on to a 115mph top speed. As for efficiency, Skoda claims it can achieve 63mpg with CO2 emissions of 103g/km.

On paper, it doesn’t sound particularly fast — in fact, incredibly slow — but in reality, it’s quite spritely. Ok, we’re not suggesting it’ll give you a fright when you put your foot down, but there’s certainly enough go to have some fun with — and it’s definitely more than up to the job if you plan on using the car for getting around town.

What’s it like to drive?

Nothing has really changed in the way the Fabia drives, which means it’s still a pleasant experience behind the wheel.

It’s well suited for the town, thanks to light-but-not-overly so steering paired up with good all-round visibility, while the addition of a parking camera to our test car just made it that little bit easier to pinpoint.

Take it out on a B road, and it’s not the most dynamic of machinery — but by no means bad. It’s not quite as fun as rivals like the Ford Fiesta or Suzuki Swift when things get a little bit tighter, but it handles well and doesn’t roll around a huge amount.

Just Czeching out the countryside #Skoda #Fabia #czechrepublic #carsofinstagram

A post shared by Ryan Hirons (@rth42) on Aug 14, 2018 at 6:06am PDT

How does it look?

Although the updated Skoda Fabia looks largely the same as before, a little bit of nip and tuck has given the aesthetic a new lease of life.

Revised headlights, combined with a larger grille, give it a little more presence on the road and even creates a mini Superb-like look. LED daytime running lights as standard also means the whole range looks more premium than before. LED rear lights now feature on the options list, but it’s hard to see much difference than before without them.

It remains a good-looking car, and the tweaks mean it’s not yet showing its age — despite its VW Group stablemates brasher look as a result of the longer wheelbase on the MQB A0 platform.

What’s it like inside?

The Skoda Fabia benefits from some new dashboard trims with this facelift, which keeps it up to date.

Despite its relatively low price point, it doesn’t feel particularly cheap to be in and it’s genuinely quite pleasant. Monte Carlo trims brings sports seats and carbon-effect finishers, and while we like the former, the latter doesn’t really do much more than cheapen the interior.
As for space, our estate test car offers 530 litres of boot space — although rivals don’t come with such a body option. The hatch can store 330 litres of luggage with all seats in place — boasting more than the Ford Fiesta’s 292 litres, although less than the Seat Ibiza’s 355 litres.

What’s the spec like?

Keeping in line with usual facelift formalities, the updated Skoda Fabia gains more tech as standard — with more also joining the options list.

Every car now gets LED daytime running lights for no extra cost, while autonomous emergency braking also comes as part of the package.

Monte Carlo trim cars, as tested here, get climate control, LED rear lights and electric rear windows — along with styling upgrades in the form of a black-painted front spoiler, roof and matching floor mats.

For its £17,670 starting price, we think the Monte Carlo trim offers some pretty serious value for money — although those wanting to spend a little less wouldn’t be going wrong regardless of the trim. With the range starting at £12,840, the Skoda Fabia might just be one of the best bargains on the market.

Verdict

The updated Skoda Fabia is a facelift in its truest form — bringing minor touches and tweaks to a car that’s recognizable to a point you’d likely struggle to notice a difference unless you were told.

That’s no bad thing in this case, with the compact machine still proving that it has a lot to give despite the recent total refresh many rivals have gone for. It may not offer the most engaging of driving experiences, but as a daily machine, it’s definitely one of the best-valued packages in its segment.

Facts at a glance

Model as tested: Skoda Fabia Estate Monte Carlo
Price: £17,670
Engine: 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol
Power (bhp): 94
Torque (Nm): 160
Max speed (mph): 115
0-60mph: 10.7secs
MPG: 63
Emissions (g/km): 103

As far as car parts go, tyres are one of the most important – but also one of the most neglected.

Tyres are the car’s only contact with the road, and as such can make a huge impact on not just the driving experience, but also vehicle safety.

To keep yourself safe on the road, and to also get the best out of your car, it’s important to maintain the rubber on each wheel. Here are our tips for making the most of your tyres.

Cheap isn’t always the best

While it may be tempting to go for those £40 tyres from a brand nobody’s ever heard of, you could be doing more harm to your wallet in the long run.

A good set of tyres may cost more, but you’re likely to get better grip from them — helping to keep you safe. They will usually have a longer life too, saving you more down the line.

If in doubt about which tyres to fit to your car, consult your vehicle owner’s manual for manufacturer recommendations.

Keep them well inflated

Underinflated tyres have a higher rolling resistance than those at the correct level, increasing wear on the sidewall. To keep your tyres lasting longer, regularly check pressures and keep them at manufacturer recommendations — which can be found in the owner’s manual, and inside the door sill of many cars.

Watch the tread

Tread is the part of the tyre that contacts the road, and as a result, wears out. Not only is it important to ensure you have a good amount of tread for your own safety, it’s also a legal requirement to have at least 1.6mm of it on all four tyres.

An easy way to tell if your tread is sufficient is to place a 20p coin between the grooves. If any part of the rim of the coin is visible, then it’s time to get a new set of rubber.

Optimise your driving style

Find your right foot often pinned to the floor? Brake heavily? Corner hard? You’re probably doing some harm to your tyres.

A smoother, more consistent driving style puts less stress on rubber and results in less wear — ultimately meaning more time between changes, and less hit on your wallet.

Stay aligned

If your car’s wheels have gone out of alignment, the tyres will see more stress on a smaller contact patch. The result is quicker and uneven wear.
If you notice an uneven level of wear, take your car to a specialist to have alignment checked and corrected if necessary.

Rotation equals elongation

No matter how careful your driving style, new your tyres are or even if they’ve all been fitted at the same time — they’re going to wear unevenly.

This is usually down to where the power is sent. On most cars, the fronts will wear much faster than the rears – in most cases, they’re tasked with delivering power to the road, steering, and most of the braking. To get more life out of your tyres, swap the fronts and rears — most mechanics will do this during a service or MOT anyway, but it’s always worth asking beforehand if you’re not confident of doing the task yourself.

Rotating your tyres is also a necessity on cars with a part-time four-wheel drive system. These systems require all four tyres to be virtually identical for the best performance.

Seasonal rubber

While all-season tyres can offer plenty of grip all year round, splashing out for season-specific tyres can keep prepared for all eventualities.

Although ultimately more expensive, having a set of rubber for both summer and winter can leave you safer on the roads and also see less time between buying new tyres. Summer compounds operate at higher temperatures, offering better grip in hotter weather and lasting longer than harder rubber — which could potentially blister on hot surfaces.

Winter tyres operate at lower temperatures and also tend to have much more tread — ideal for clearing rain, snow and slush in the colder months of the year.

Check the spare tyre

It’s easy to forget about looking after a spare tyre — after all, you’ll ideally never have to use it.

In the event of a tyre failure though, it’s going to come in handy, so you’ll want to ensure its prepared to keep you safe before putting on a replacement tyre. Ensure the rubber hasn’t perished, and that it’s inflated to a good level.

Hiring a car can be seriously useful. They can help you get around Spain on your summer holiday, make it possible to enjoy your dream American road trip or simply be a cost-efficient way to visit family in the Lake District.

With so many different cars available for hire, and a variety of providers, there’s a ton of choice out there and plenty of deals to be had – but how do you know if it’s the best deal for you?

Shop around

With a number of hire car providers on the market, there will inevitably be some that offer better deals than others.

While it may be easy to just book with the first company to come up in Google search, you could save plenty with some savvy shopping. Take advantage of the growing number of comparison sites that show the latest deals — and don’t be afraid to take that a step further and pick up the phone. Even the cheapest provider online may still be able to knock a few pounds off…

Book well in advance

Know you’re going to need a hire car for your holiday later in the year? Get it booked as soon as possible.

Providers will charge much more if you leave sorting a hire car until the last minute, as you’re left with few other options. Getting ahead of the game can not only save you pounds for simply booking well ahead of time, but it also gives you the flexibility to shop around for better deals.

Look at package deals

A number of package holidays now offer hire cars in the deal, and it could well be cheaper to head down this route.

All-in-one deals may not just save you a few pennies on the car, and not to mention time, but also on hotels, flights and even trips within your break.

Consider your size needs

Three of you heading on holiday? Then it may be best to avoid booking that seven-seat MPV.

Simple maths: the smaller and cheaper the car you opt for, the less it will cost you to hire. If you only need space for a few bags, then don’t be afraid to stick with that economy hatchback.

Limit your drivers

While adding more drivers to your car insurance can brings costs down, the opposite is true for a hire car.

Unless you absolutely need more than one or two drivers named on the hire car, it’s best to keep numbers low in order to keep the cost even lower.

Check the fuel policy

Fuel is such a trivial thing with cars, it’s easy to forget about it — but with hire cars, you could end up paying over the odds if you’re not careful.

Although most providers offer ‘full-to-full’ policies which mean you get the car with a topped-up tank and will be expected to return it like that — so you’ll only pay for the fuel you use — there’s some with ‘full-to-empty’.

‘Full-to-empty’ policies mean you pay for a full tank of fuel upfront and can return it empty. Sounds ideal, but you’re likely to pay a premium on the regular cost of fuel and you may not even use all of it — leaving you out of pocket. We’d recommend opting for ‘full-to-full’ when possible.

Got £4 million burning a hole in your pocket? You could consider spending it on this — a Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK-GTR.

You might be thinking to yourself “hang on, £4 million for a Mercedes CLK?”, but this is no ordinary German coupe. In fact, just take a glance at it and you’ll see this is something truly special.

This 1998 AMG CLK-GTR is the ninth example of just 25 cars built in order to homologate the manufacturer’s endurance racing efforts in the late ‘90s. It boasts race car looks, sure, but what lies underneath all the aerodynamic bodywork?

Well, there you’ll find the real meat of this car. Sitting in the middle of the chassis is a 6.9-litre V12 engine — even bigger than the 6.0-litre unit in the race car — delivering a staggering 604bhp and 775Nm of torque to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox.

The result of all that performance? 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds and a possible top speed of 212mph.

This particular AMG CLK-GTR has also covered just 894 miles in its lifetime, partially as a result of strict United States ‘Show and Display’ regulations which heavily restrict the usage of the car — surely making it one of the more pristine examples anywhere in the world.

RM Sotheby’s, the auctioneer of the Mercedes, estimates the car could sell for $5.25 million (circa £4 million) when it goes under the hammer at Monterey Car Week in California on August 25.