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JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
83<br />
Contents<br />
62<br />
COVER STORY<br />
Discovery Sport in wild Iceland<br />
JOIN THE<br />
CENTENARY<br />
ROAD TRIP<br />
Hundreds of Maserati<br />
owners descend on<br />
Modena – and<br />
we’re with them!<br />
– p84<br />
100<br />
y e a r s o f<br />
MASERATI<br />
MASERATI’S<br />
BIRTHDAY<br />
PRESENT!<br />
Meet bella macchina<br />
Alfieri, the sports car<br />
for century #2 – p96<br />
83centennial special<br />
The power and the<br />
glory – Maserati<br />
A HISTORY OF<br />
MASERATI IN<br />
22 CARS<br />
We pick the<br />
models that<br />
define the<br />
legend<br />
– p94<br />
84<br />
96<br />
Gatecrashing<br />
Maser’s birthday<br />
bash in Modena<br />
Alfieri explored –<br />
the next century<br />
starts here<br />
110<br />
Nine<br />
of 2014’s best<br />
driver’s cars, one<br />
sensational winner
76<br />
The latest saviour<br />
– Lotus CEO<br />
Jean-Marc Gales<br />
AGENDA<br />
12 German giants ready their Tesla fighters<br />
16 Ferrari FXX K: P1 GTR gains a red rival<br />
18 VW’s Golf R estate, plus 6 key new cars<br />
20 The world’s best cars, as voted for by you<br />
22 F1 2014 had its moments: here they are<br />
In Our iPad<br />
Edition<br />
Available on Apple’s Newsstand and App Store,<br />
the app brings each month’s issue to life with:<br />
Videos: watch 2014’s greatest sports cars at war!<br />
Extra photos we couldn’t squeeze in the mag<br />
Extra stories just for iPad & interactive layouts<br />
Download it from the Apple Newsstand for £3.99 an<br />
issue or get our fantastic subscription deal: 3 issues<br />
of mag & app for just £3 (see p74)<br />
3 ISSUES<br />
OF IN<br />
PRINT & ON iPAD<br />
FOR JUST<br />
£3!<br />
No Corvette has<br />
ever been quite<br />
this fantastic<br />
32<br />
104<br />
The view from<br />
the top – Lauda<br />
on F1 2014<br />
INSIDER<br />
26 Harald Wester’s Alfa Romeo rescue plan<br />
28 Tesla’s Elon Musk despairs of the fuel cell<br />
FIRST DRIVES<br />
32 Corvette Stingray convertible<br />
36 Tesla P85D<br />
38 Smart ForTwo<br />
39 Alfa Romeo 4C RHD<br />
40 Mazda 2<br />
42 Audi TT 2.0 TDI vs BMW 225d M Sport<br />
46 Fiat 500X<br />
47 Suzuki Vitara<br />
48 Audi RSQ3<br />
OPINION<br />
50 The CAR columnists<br />
56 Letters to CAR<br />
FEATURES<br />
62 Cover story: Discovery Sport vs the glacier<br />
Freelander’s Evoque-inspired replacement is here, but<br />
does it have soul? We go looking for it in Iceland<br />
76 The man who must save Lotus<br />
Hethel’s latest great hope, Jean-Marc Gales, and<br />
his rescue plan for the perenially in-peril sports car maker<br />
84 Maserati: celebrating the centennial<br />
Masers of all ages take Modena by storm<br />
94 Maserati’s greatest hits<br />
From race-engined tourers to Citroën-powered coupes<br />
96 Alfieri: the next 100 years start here<br />
Maserati’s sensational new 911-bothering 2+2<br />
104 Niki Lauda unplugged<br />
F1’s pre-eminent straight-talker on the season that was<br />
110 2014’s greatest sports cars: fight!<br />
Crowning the year’s best driver’s car<br />
REAR END<br />
130 OUR CARS: Hello Mini 5-door<br />
162 TOP 10: the pillars of the Ecclestone legend<br />
CAR MAGAZINE IS NOW ON ANDROID! GO TO GOOGLE PLAY MAGAZINE STORE
Agenda<br />
Holy FXX K! Is this<br />
the ultimate Ferrari?<br />
McLaren has already lost out to LaFerrari on the road (see last month’s world<br />
first twin-test) – is the same about to happen on the track? By CJ Hubbard<br />
THIS STUNNING LaFerraribased<br />
FXX K is Ferrari’s answer<br />
to the McLaren P1 GTR, and the<br />
latest output from Maranello’s<br />
‘XX’-clusive research and<br />
development programme. The preserve<br />
of ultra-rich and hand-picked ‘Client-<br />
Test Drivers’, forerunners to the FXX K<br />
include the Enzo-derived FXX and the<br />
599XX, all so extreme they’re not just<br />
illegal on the road but beyond the<br />
regulatory restrictions of any current<br />
race series. This time, however, Ferrari<br />
hasn’t so much turned the knob up to<br />
11 as snapped it right off and kicked<br />
the amp over – FXX K isn’t a prancing<br />
horse, it’s an electrified stampede.<br />
The K stands for KERS – a direct<br />
reference to the F1-inspired Kinetic<br />
Energy Recovery System electric motor<br />
LaFerrari uses for extra performance.<br />
That some sloppy spacing in the logo<br />
also makes it look like Ferrari is<br />
dropping an F-bomb here is, we’re<br />
assured, entirely accidental. But also<br />
wholly appropriate, since the combined<br />
total output from the high-revving V12<br />
and shock-tastic motor is now a faintly<br />
incredible 1035bhp.<br />
This breaks down to 848bhp from<br />
the 6262cc bent-12 and 187bhp from<br />
the electric whizzer – increases of<br />
59bhp and 26bhp, respectively. The<br />
actual activation of the motor can be<br />
tailored by a specific manettino switch<br />
on the dashboard, offering a choice of<br />
Qualifying, Long Run, Manual Boost<br />
and Fast Charge modes. Flat-chat with<br />
everything spinning, torque is said to<br />
be ‘in excess’ of 664lb ft. The P1 GTR<br />
produces a piffling 986bhp, but an even<br />
more monsterish 738lb ft.<br />
This wouldn’t be an XX model<br />
without wild aero, and the FXX K duly<br />
WHAT THE<br />
HY-KERS<br />
MODES MEAN<br />
Qualify maximises<br />
speed for a short<br />
session while<br />
Long Run delivers<br />
consistent high<br />
performance if<br />
you’re lapping all<br />
day. Manual Boost<br />
makes overtaking<br />
easy, Fast Charge<br />
amps up the battery.<br />
obliges. You can’t miss the ‘pushchair<br />
handle’ – not an official Ferrari term<br />
– winglets and enormous diffuser at<br />
the rear; less obvious is that the moving<br />
rear wing element of LaFerrari now<br />
extends 60mm. The double-decker<br />
front splitter arrangement is based on<br />
Ferrari’s triple-championship winning<br />
World Endurance GT cars, while<br />
everything else from the sideskirts to<br />
the underbody is tasked with sucking<br />
the air through, round and beneath the<br />
car as effectively as possible.<br />
Downforce is up 50% in low drag<br />
configuration, 30% at grip max – the<br />
AMAZING AERODYNAMICS<br />
By the time the FXX K is done with the air it’s<br />
going to feel more managed than Olly Murs.<br />
Every exterior surface is honed to perfection,<br />
with the singular aim of delivering the best<br />
possible balance of drag reduction and grip.<br />
16 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I JANUARY <strong>2015</strong>
equivalent of 540kg pressing down on<br />
the car at 124mph.<br />
Slick tyres and super-sophisticated<br />
traction control complete the package.<br />
As for the cost, Ferrari isn’t saying, but<br />
don’t doubt it’ll be judging potential<br />
buyers harder than St Peter and will<br />
end up turning many would-be<br />
customers away. Console yourself that<br />
the lucky few will only get to drive<br />
their cars eight times in two years, as<br />
access is limited to Ferrari’s own elite<br />
events. A similar deal for the Enzo<br />
FXX was €1.3 million (plus tax), by the<br />
way, so pick the bones out of that.<br />
SERIOUS<br />
SEAT TIME<br />
The interior of the<br />
FXX K reveals a<br />
focused carbonfi bre<br />
emporium of<br />
excitement. F1-style<br />
steering wheel,<br />
functional racecar<br />
switches on the<br />
centre console and<br />
a monster pair of<br />
neck-protecting<br />
bucket seats.<br />
HOW THE V12<br />
MAKES MORE<br />
POWER<br />
FXX K is powered<br />
by an upgraded<br />
LaFerrari V12,<br />
featuring new<br />
camshafts, revised<br />
intake manifolds and<br />
mechanical tappets.<br />
Oh, and no silencers<br />
in the exhausts – just<br />
imagine the noise at<br />
9000rpm…<br />
Audi design: the five<br />
commandments<br />
Design chief Marc Lichte briefs us on<br />
Prologue, his preview of Audi’s design future<br />
1<br />
REWORKED GRILLE<br />
Lichte cites Walter da Silva’s imposing Auto Union-esque<br />
grille as the moment Audi design found its mojo and<br />
moved onto a par with German rivals. ‘Before that [2004]<br />
Audi had no face,’ he says. ‘Now the grille is still a single<br />
frame but it is more horizontal for a progressive look.’<br />
2<br />
LOWER, WIDER, FASTER<br />
‘The proportions of this car are more sporty than before,<br />
with a longer wheelbase, wider track and a lower cabin,’<br />
explains Lichte. ‘You’ll also notice that in profi le the front is<br />
almost vertical. Combined with a fast back, this creates the<br />
sense of a car rushing forward.’<br />
3<br />
EMPHASIS ON QUATTRO<br />
Quattro is a key Audi USP. Lichte plans to emphasise it<br />
with ‘muscles’ above each wheel, and with balanced, foursquare<br />
proportions. ‘We have a longer front overhang [than<br />
rear-wheel-drive rivals] and a cab in the middle. In future<br />
every Audi will emphasise quattro; the A7 will do this even<br />
more strongly than Prologue, the A8 more quietly. Quattro<br />
is more than a powertrain – it is a big differentiator.’<br />
4<br />
SPACIOUS, LOUNGE-LIKE INTERIORS<br />
‘Audi is the benchmark in interior design but the<br />
competitors are getting better,’ says Lichte. ‘My vision is<br />
a different architecture, one that expresses width and a<br />
sense of space. Each line is horizontal and the doors are<br />
negative, to stretch the dashboard.’<br />
5<br />
GREATER DIFFERENTIATION<br />
No more Russian-doll design across the range, pledges<br />
Lichte. ‘We must differentiate more within the range. In<br />
future an A8 will look very different to an A6.’ Given that<br />
Prologue apparently previews the essence of four next-gen<br />
cars – A6, A7, A8 and A9 – we’re not holding our breath.<br />
JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
17
First<br />
Drives<br />
featuring<br />
Tesla p85D<br />
smarT forTwo<br />
alfa romeo 4C<br />
m a z D a 2<br />
auDi TT vs Bmw 225d<br />
skoDa faBia<br />
fiaT 500x<br />
suzuki viTara<br />
auDi rs q3<br />
Corvette Stingray<br />
Plastic fantastic<br />
Is America’s most famous sports car, now in its seventh<br />
generation, finally a genuine contender? By Ben Miller<br />
greg pajo<br />
Los Angeles trAffic is<br />
ruthless and unforgiving like<br />
alonso into turn one,<br />
punishing wide-eyed, jetlagged<br />
ditherers fresh from<br />
Europe with fast and hard passes<br />
wherever it spots even a ghost of an<br />
opportunity. your options are stark; get<br />
up to speed fast or get chewed up. Of<br />
course having the right car for the job<br />
helps, and right now the C7 Corvette<br />
Stingray convertible is doing a pretty<br />
fine impression of being that car. Which<br />
is, it must be said, something of a<br />
surprise. But then taking your<br />
preconceived ideas of what a Corvette is<br />
like and emphatically taking them apart<br />
is a task at which the latest generation of<br />
Chevrolet’s all-american sports car is<br />
very handy.<br />
This confounding of prejudices starts<br />
with the way it looks, inside and out. The<br />
exterior is, to these eyes at least, a great<br />
blend of devilishly skewed proportions<br />
– prairie-vast bonnet, cute sawn-off back<br />
end – and some confident surfaces,<br />
particularly the blade-sharp creases in<br />
the composite bodywork running over<br />
the front wheelarches. The detailing<br />
backs up the broad-form stuff too,<br />
particularly the pretty rear lights and the<br />
central battery of four big-bore exhausts.<br />
Of course it’s all faintly ridiculous in its<br />
over-the-top sporting aggression, but<br />
where’s the fun in building a thumpingly<br />
quick two-seater powered by a 6.2-litre<br />
V8 that isn’t faintly ridiculous to behold?<br />
and certainly you can’t fault Chevy’s<br />
bravery – next to this thing the F-type r<br />
looks positively understated.<br />
Inside the cockpit shares similarities<br />
with the aforementioned Jaguar, with a<br />
trendy wraparound buttress to the dash<br />
to ward off any inquisitive probing from<br />
your passenger. But the big story is that<br />
this cockpit is, possibly for the first time<br />
in Corvette history, a nice place to be.<br />
The optional bucket seats are<br />
comfortable and supportive, not to<br />
mention brilliantly low-slung, and the<br />
leather and plastics alike feel good to the<br />
touch. yes there’s the odd creak over<br />
expansion gaps but really there’s little to<br />
fault here and, besides, if the V8’s not<br />
drowning these out you’re really not<br />
getting into the spirit of things.<br />
and so the proving wrong goes on.<br />
Traditionally a proudly analogue 4<br />
Price<br />
£73,080<br />
engine<br />
6162cc 16v V8,<br />
466bhp @ 6000rpm,<br />
465lb ft @ 4600rpm<br />
gearbox<br />
Seven-speed<br />
manual,<br />
rear-wheel drive<br />
Performance<br />
4.2sec 0-62mph,<br />
175mph, 23.2mpg,<br />
283g/km CO2<br />
Weight<br />
1589kg<br />
on Sale<br />
Now<br />
32 CARMAGAZINE.Co.uk I <strong>January</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
It’s handy at<br />
taking apart your<br />
preconceived<br />
ideas of what a<br />
Corvette is like<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.Co.uk<br />
33
cover story<br />
Land Rover Discovery Sport<br />
62 CARMAGAZINE.Co.uk I <strong>January</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
This is<br />
why Mark<br />
goes to<br />
Iceland<br />
Is the Discovery Sport – unlike the Freelander<br />
it replaces – a Land Rover to love like the family<br />
labrador? Perhaps the answer’s on top of a glacier<br />
Words: Mark Walton I Photography: Charlie Magee<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.Co.uk<br />
63
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THE CAR INTERVIEW<br />
Lotus’s new boss<br />
I believe<br />
I can turn<br />
Lotus around.<br />
Fundamentally.<br />
Every morning,<br />
every evening,<br />
I don’t ever think<br />
anything else.<br />
Lotus dreamt of launching a new Esprit and four more cars. But the dream<br />
ended in disaster. This man must pull the company from the wreckage<br />
WORDS: Phil McNamara I PHOTOGRAPHY: James Lincoln<br />
76 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I JANUARY <strong>2015</strong>
JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
77
100 years of<br />
MASERATI<br />
THE HUND<br />
To Modena’s Piazza Grande they came – over 200 cars from every era and from<br />
84 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I JANUARY <strong>2015</strong>
RED CLUB<br />
30 countries – to join Maserati’s birthday party. We went too, in an MC Stradale<br />
WORDS: Ben Barry I PHOTOGRAPHY: Richard Pardon<br />
JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
85
100 years of<br />
MASERATI<br />
MASERATI:<br />
One hundred years after he founded the company, Alfieri Maserati finally gets<br />
96 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I JANUARY <strong>2015</strong>
CENTURY #2<br />
a car named after him. And what a car! Is the future about to outshine the past?<br />
WORDS: Ben Barry I PHOTOGRAPHY: John Wycherley<br />
JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
97
motorsport<br />
Niki Lauda exclusive<br />
‘We could have<br />
104 CARMAGAZINE.Co.uk I january <strong>2015</strong>
Niki Lauda’s<br />
never satisfied,<br />
even after a<br />
season in which<br />
his Mercedes<br />
team scored the<br />
most emphatic<br />
triumph in F1<br />
history. He talks<br />
exclusively to<br />
CAR about Lewis,<br />
Nico, and a year<br />
of infighting<br />
DONE BETTER. WE SCREWED UP TWO RACES’<br />
WORDS: Tom Clarkson I PHOTOGRAPHY: Darren Heath<br />
JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
105
9<br />
Here, ready to tackle the best roads in the UK, are our favourite drivers’ cars<br />
BMW M4<br />
RENAULTSPORT<br />
MEGANE<br />
TROPHY-R<br />
JAGUAR F-TYPE R<br />
COUPE<br />
BMW i8<br />
McLAREN 650S<br />
SPIDER<br />
WORDS: Steve Moody, Chris Chilton, Ben Pulman<br />
110 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK I JANUARY <strong>2015</strong>
BEST OF 2014<br />
Sports <strong>Car</strong> Giant Test<br />
of 2014. Two days and the entire CAR road-test team should sort them out!<br />
PORSCHE<br />
CAYMAN GTS<br />
FERRARI 458<br />
SPECIALE ALFA ROMEO 4C VW GOLF R<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: John Wycherley<br />
JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> I CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK<br />
111
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