The Redline is at the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hour and we are in the heat of battle – the BMW SRM pit box.
We’ll be here for top-ten qualifying and all through the race to bring you the drama.
Use this page as the hub for all thing #b12hr and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all of the photos and videos we get plus we’ll have some fun on YouTube for you to drink in.
So strap in – we’ve got access to drivers, cars, the works. Keep coming back to this page for updates or keep an eye on Twitter.
Britain really knows how to do sports cars of a particular type. Then another British company takes that sports car and turns it into a total nutter. Lister is just such a company and almost thirty years since the mad 7.0-litre V12 XJS called the Lister Le Mans, they’re back.
The new car is a called Thunder. That’s appropriate before they throw a single spanner at the supercharged V8 F-Pace because as we discovered in our SVR review, that engine is possibly the most gloriously anti-social out there.
But throw spanners Lister did and the V8 now kicks out a massive 457kW (627bhp). That extra grunt cuts almost a second from the 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time which now stands at 3.1 seconds. Top speed is a whopping 335km/h.
It’s an F-Pace, but not as we know it
All that extra power obviously requires some modifications. Liberal application of carbon fibre not only drops a few kilos from the F-Type’s portly frame, but brings some good weight in the form of downforce.
The 22-inch wheels will likely make a mess of the ride but prevent you making a mess of yourself, with gumball Michelins painted on. Bigger brakes also help while the go-faster adjustable dampers will have the handling nerds rubbing their hands in delight.
You can take the standard interior or pay more and choose from 36 colours or go even madder and start specifying it yourself.
How many and how much and what is Lister anyway?
Lister might be back, but there’s only 99 available for the princely sum of £139,950, which is quite a lot of money but it is a lot of performance. Options include a carbon fibre bonnet but the lovely enamel Lister badge in the grille is part of the package.
And, if you’re interested, Lister says there is more to tell, so we’ll keep an eye on it for you.
If you’ve already got an F-Type, Lister will sell you a retro-fit carbon fibre body kit for a mere £19,950.
The Lister Thunder will be built alongside the Knobbly, which will be road-legal for the first time. The Knobbly uses a Jaguar D-Type 3.4-litre six-cylinder unit clothed in an aluminium body. Raced by Stirling Moss, it’s one of those famous classics that has kept the Lister name alive.
The company itself claims to bet the Britain’s “oldest surviving racing car company,” which Bentley might want to challenge, but we’ll let them have it.
Lister’s CEO, Lawrence Whittaker, is in charge of Lister’s comeback and is rightfully pleased with himself. “Like Brabus and AMG with Mercedes and Alpina with BMW, we are hoping to become synonymous once again with tuning Jaguar vehicles, giving customers new enhanced, bespoke performance and design alternatives to Jaguar’s acclaimed model programme. Although we are not directly affiliated with Jaguar Land Rover, Lister has a Jaguar tuning heritage dating back 65 years.”
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The message from Jean-Marc Gales, Lotus CEO: Two new cars by 2020. And guess what? There’ll be an SUV as well. Some months after Chinese car company and Volvo owner Geely bought Lotus from Proton, Lotus’ future plans are out in the open.
Well, a bit.
Lotus 2020: Two New Cars
It won’t be a new Esprit.
Lotus made its name with sports cars, so by 2020 we’ll have two new cars.
The first will replace either the Evora or Exige. The Evora runs on the newest of Lotus’ platforms while the Exige rides on the Elise’s now 22 year old tried and tested hydroformed aluminium tub.
It seems weird that the Evora would be the first to be replaced (it’s only been around since 2009) but Gales is a smart fellow who seems to know what he’s doing. He had previously said that the Elise replacement would arrive in 2020, but that was before Geely turned up.
Gales told CAR Magazine that the new car won’t feature a hybrid powertrain, with Gales citing the weight of two engines.
Reading between the lines, it’s possible the Elise could get the chop. Gales said that there’s not much money in sports cars – they cost a lot to develop and you can’t sell too many of them. Either way, the Elise’s super-clever, iconic aluminium platform will live on doing what it does best – reasonably cheap to build, super-strong, super-light, easy to work with.
The second new car is the car I reckon Lotus should be doing – a carbon-tubbed track monster. That car can’t replace the Elise unless a financial miracle occurs (or Lotus works out how Alfa Romeo do it so cheaply in the 4C).
SUV
This is the car nobody really wants Lotus to make, but it has to. An SUV is the way to the market’s heart and a Lotus SUV should be something very interesting indeed. Gales promised that all future cars will stay true to the Lotus DNA of lightness. He wouldn’t be drawn on engines but did drop a heavy hint about an electric drivetrain being in the mix.
A Lotus SUV will be interesting, if nothing else. The less information I have makes me further intrigued…
Geely, Volvo and Lotus
There is finally new money flowing through Lotus, which also managed a profit in the last financial year. The production line has scored a cash injection and Lotus engineers have been on a parts-bin raid to update electrical and safety systems. We might finally see decent stereos, a sat nav and hopefully some new switchgear.
We won’t be seeing the big Volvo touchscreen (from experience, it’s way too big to fit in a Lotus) and it’s highly unlikely the SUV will be a rebadged XC-something. That’s good news, even though both of those things are excellent in their own right. They’re just not right for Lotus.
While the news isn’t that of a new sports car onslaught – and I’m a bit worried that the Elise may not live on – it’s great to see Geely money is flowing. In my head, Lotus could be almost a McLaren sub-brand, a harder-core drive-to-the-track sports cars that are more user-friendly than, say, an Ariel Atom.
For the full story without my bleatings, check out CAR’s story (which missed the bits about the previous plans).
Land Rover has gone a bit overboard in its 70th Anniversary year, producing the Defender Works V8.
As most of you probably already know, the Defender went out of production a couple of years back after many decades in service. Over the years it scored little in the way of creature comforts. Less attention was paid only to the styling, which barely changed. You can imagine the consternation in the Defender project corner every time a new homologation rule arrived in the mail. “We have to put indicators on?”
Defender Works V8
I’ve been to a few 70th birthday parties over the years, but none has been this stark raving mad. While dropping a V8 into the Defender isn’t new – the 1979 Series III Stage 1 started the trend – it’s not exactly commonplace. It’s not really part of the Defender’s charm to have a bellowing bent eight under the square-rigged bonnet.
The V8 develops a rather decent 297kW (481bhp) and 515Nm. The last Defenders to roll down the line were rather more sedate, with 90kW (145bhp) and 360Nm. Top speed wasn’t 170km/h and even if it had been, trying to hit it would have been madness. 0-60mph (98km/h) arrives in 5.7 seconds. Imagine the look on a quick 5 Series driver’s face. Ironically, you’ll both be using the same ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. The Defender even has a Sport mode. Hipsters the world over will be utterly furious.
To help tame the grunt, beefier springs, dampers and anti-roll bars help keep things on the road.
Further evidence of caution having been thrown to the wind is a distinctly un-Defender set of 18-inch diamond turned sawtooth alloys. While you can accelerate toward muddy ruts at great speed, these wheels will probably eject themselves to avoid certain ruination in the ruts.
The website says the production cars are “specially selected” but Twitter phenomenon Sniff Petrol spotted a set of partially assembled cars on a factory tour last year.
Seems these official Defender V8s will be brand new cars. When I went to see the last Defender come off the line in 2016 I spotted these new panel sets out the back of the factory and at the time I thought ‘now why would they need those…?’ pic.twitter.com/RkO9EnP9A5
Well, turning 70 in any business is a gigantic achievement, triply so for a car maker. It’s a notoriously difficult business and Land Rover came face-to-face with ruin more than once over the years. So it’s worth celebrating, as Ferrari demonstrated last year.
The head of Jaguar Land Rover Classic, Tim Hannig, says the idea has been kicking around for a while.
“The idea of reintroducing a V8 Defender was something we were discussing as far back as 2014, when we were still building the Defender in Solihull. We knew the demand was there for a powerful and fast Defender; the Land Rover authenticity is the ultimate finishing touch for discerning clients purchasing these collector’s edition Defenders.”
Fair enough. They’ll be a collector’s item alright – just 150 will be available for purchase in either 90 or 110 versions. A 90 will cost a staggering £150,000, which will score you an Audi R8 Spyder in the UK.
If you want one, you better be quick and, basically, live in the UK. The press release carefully avoids mentioning countries outside of the kingdom except to say Middle East and North Africa region customers can grab one on a personal import basis.
If you fancy a closer look at the business producing the Defender Works V8, click here.
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Hyundai unveiled the 2018 Hyundai Veloster N at the North American International Motor Show.
The 2018 Hyundai Veloster N has broken cover at the Detroit Motor Show and you know what? It looks alright.
Building on the (critical) success of the i30 N, the Veloster will also have an N badge slapped on the rear. If it’s half as good as the N appears to be (we’ve not yet driven the i30, but watch this space), the Veloster N will be the complete package.
The N features Hyundai’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 202kW (275bhp) and 353Nm. Alfred Biermann’s M N team did the chassis work in various places around the world, inevitably calling the Nurburgring home. Those numbers will be familiar to fans of Hyundai’s i30 N.
As it stands, only the US market is confirmed and various sources are suggesting it won’t be UK-bound and maybe not even Europe-bound. Produced in Hyundai’s Ulsan plant, the Veloster will go on sale in the second quarter of 2018.
Like the i30, the Veloster is a front-driver with a six-speed manual. The N also scores the red accents of the i30 and an all-round lift in visual aggro.
The less sporty models should be alright too, with a decent pair of 2.0-litre and 1.6-litre turbo engines, again lifted straight from the i30 range, available with manual or automatic transmissions. The 2.0-litre is a torque converter and the 1.6 turbo the dual-clutch semi-auto.
Hyundai clearly has more in store for the N brand, including for both the i30 and the Veloster. You don’t poach half of BMW’s M division for a couple of 200kW front drive hatchbacks…
See more of the 2018 Hyundai Veloster N in the full gallery below.
Hyundai Veloster v1.0
I have, in the past, called the first-generation Veloster “a Frankenstein car”, which it was. Cobbled together from a few different Hyundais, it was nevertheless a very, very cool car. Not many manufacturers would have the guts to spend the money on an asymmetrical design.
For those who don’t know, the Veloster is a four door hatchback. As in, three passenger doors and the liftback door. The driver’s side has just one long, coupe-style door for the coupe cread. The passenger sid has a shorter front door and a semi-concealed rear door for practicality.
Unlike the lazy sods at Mini who just left the suicide door on the “wrong” side for right-hand drive markets, Hyundai made the Veloster properly no matter which side the steering wheel is. It seems that from now on the extra expense for right-hand drive markets is a bridge too far. There’s no official word on that, but it’s unlikely right-hook production is going to happen.
The early cars certainly looked good but they weren’t brilliant to drive. The Turbo was a laugh but the obstructive clutch in the manual along with a slightly dodgy gearbox meant it wasn’t really a sports car. It also spent a little more time than was absolutely necessary bouncing off the stops when thrown through corners. But I really liked it.
Having said that, it was still a lot of fun to drive and it really did look good. Over the years it evolved and in Australia at least, the ride and handling had the magic of the local suspension team applied. This was a good thing and the cars on sale today are pretty good.
Along with the improvement in ride and handling, the looks picked up some aggression and the engine and transmission packages regularly received attention, with the dual-clutch transmission joining the six-speed manual. It wasn’t the last word in dynamism – and goes up against the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ in a lot of markets despite them being conceptually different cars – but kept selling well anyway.
The modders love them and it doesn’t seem to matter how old you are which gender – everyone loves the Veloster. Or hates it. Nothing in between.
US fans can click here for more info on the Hyundai Veloster N.
Jaguar’s F-Type SVR feels like it’s the end of a story fifty-odd years in the making. With the incredibly beauty of Ian Callum’s roadster crammed with go-faster goodness from Jaguar Land Rover’s SVO team, it feels like it’s full of 1950s Le Mans excitement.
The F-Type SVR is one of the fastest Jags ever put on the road and we had time on some fantastic winding roads to stretch its claws.
History
The F-Type arrived in 2013, based on the rather successful XK. The XK was also designed by Callum, fresh from Aston Martin and another arm of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG). PAG was bad news for any brand involved, with the possible exception of Volvo. The Blue Oval certainly brought in some great people to design the sheetmetal, but underneath wasn’t particularly premium, and buyers knew it.
Jaguar was also struggling with a line-up that was pastiche rather than homage. The XK was Callum’s first move to modernity, but looking back, it was clear he wanted more. The X-Type was a sales disaster, a Mondeo in daggy Jaggy clothes.
In 2007, Ford sold Jaguar. In the American giant’s hands, the company never made a profit and it was considered a bit of a basket case. India’s Tata took on Jaguar and Land Rover and the rest, if you know anything about cars, is history.
Within a year, the gorgeous new XF went on sale (that was obviously started under Ford), the XJ and then the F-Type.
Mythology
For many years, Jaguar traded on the glory of the E-Type. Enzo Ferrari famously called it the most beautiful car in the world. The other famous Jag, the Mk II, was also a favourite and so Jaguar kept trying to recapture that spirit.
The E-Type’s lustre was elusive, however. The XJS didn’t quite get there, the XK was more of a luxe-barge than a sports car and then, after years of false starts with concept cars that promised much but delivered little, 2012’s Goodwood Festival of Speed saw the debut of the new F-Type.
First available with a two supercharged engines – a V6 and a V8 – the F-Type was the complete package. In 2017, in an effort to broaden its appeal, four-cylinder turbocharged engines became available.
But just before that, Jag went the other way. In 2016 at the Geneva Motor Show, the F-Type SVR wowed the Geneva crowds before it even turned a wheel. It looked great, the F-Type R already sounded great and with a chunk of weight lopped out, it should go like the clappers.
Project 7
Jaguar Land Rover’s SVO operation’s work had mostly been with go-faster Range Rovers. The F-Type was ripe for a kick and the US market begged for a really fast version of the car. Based on the same aluminium chassis as the standard car, the skunkworks immediately went to work knocking weight out of the F-Type. The first fruits of that work was the super-limited run of the Project 7.
The name came from the classic D-Type racer and the car even included the single hump behind the driver’s seat. It was a short run of just 250 cars, selling in the UK for a whopping £130,000. With more power and a much more aggressive chassis tune, even Jaguar conceded owners would only do between 3000km and 4000km (2000-3000 miles) per year, some of those on track.
F-Type SVR
The Project 7 was wildly successful, so the SVR was the next logical step. With the charismatic supercharged V8, a more road-friendly suspension tune and seats that could fit a wider range of humans.
The SVR went on sale in 2017 and was an immediate smash hit. Inheriting bits of the Project 7 but without the massive price-tag, it’s a halo model for the road.
Supercharged V8 Engine
Jaguar’s supercharged V8 engine – as seen in the brilliant XF-R and XJ-R – isn’t the same as the F-Type R. For a start, it has more power and torque and a lot more noise.
A range of changes contributed to the power hike. Larger air intakes swallow more air, there’s a bigger charge-air cooler and a chunkier cooling system handles the extra heat.
Power is up to 423kW (575PS) and torque rises by 20Nm to a nice round 700Nm. The 0-100km/h (0-62mph) drops by nearly half a second to 3.7 seconds. With 19 fewer kilowatts (25PS), the R hits the same mark in 4.1 seconds.
The exhaust is largely responsible for the rise in noise and a big chunk of the weight loss. Weighing in 16kg (35lb) lighter than the R’s unit, it’s made of titanium and Inconel. Inconel is a alloy of nickel and iron, if you’re wondering.
The exhaust also includes a now very-common bi-modal system. Activated by switching to Race mode (or with a separate exhaust button on the console), the noise is obnoxious, anti-social and bloody brilliant.
F-Type SVR Chassis
Amazingly, not a lot has changed from the R AWD. The all-aluminium double wishbones stay, with a slightly softer front end and a stiffer rear, both five percentage points different. The eight-speed automatic transmission comes from ZF and I’ve never driven a car where it’s a dud. An automatic that shifts like this one is a rarity and it seems it can cope with enough torque to drag the Empire State Building to another neighbourhood.
As usual, the internet got itself into a lather about the all-wheel drive chassis. Most of the time, it’s rear-wheel drive. Rear-wheel drive is good. All-wheel drive in something like this, is better. With all that power and grunt, you want something to catch you if something goes wrong. Yes, it’s 1820kg (4004lb), and part of that is the extra gear to drive the front wheels. But as we discovered in the Aventador and Huracan, all-wheel drive, when done right, is good.
So in a heavy bruiser like this (it’s an easy 300kg heavier than it should be), all-wheel drive is perfectly fine. The active rear diff means that the fronts are a last resort.
Obviously with a more performance and sometime-trackday focussed buyer, tyres are an important factor. SVO fitted 20-inch lightweight alloys with 265/35s up front and 305/30s at the rear.
Driving
Jaguars are always something special. Even in the supercharged V6 (we haven’t driven the 2.0 turbo yet), the F-Type is really something. Everybody loves a Jag. The only car that pulled a bigger crowd than the F-Type was the BMW i8. People knocked on our front door for both of these cars asking about it (that’s fine), asking if they could have selfies (er…okay) and could I take them for a drive (uh, no).
If I did take them for a drive, they would have loved it. The convertible really is the must-have. I am normally a coupe guy, and I definitely prefer the F-Type in coupe form. But to get the coupe is rob yourself of the wonderful noise this car makes.
Stick it into Race and leave it there. It’s still perfectly fine around town in that mode, with plenty of aggression in the throttle and suspension but without ruining it. Even though we drove the car a long way from home base, it was wonderfully quiet and happy on the freeway with the roof up.
When we got to the good bit, though, the roof came down. Few things are as wonderful as cranking up the F-Type SVR under a canopy of trees on a nice sunny day. Dappled sunlight, the wind in your hair and oh, my goodness, a noise that sounds like it’s straight from Le Mans.
I found myself slowing down way too early before corners, speeding up again and then slowing down, just for the huge baritone sound. The belligerence of the exhaust is addictive.
Added to that, it’s an extremely handy thing even on bumpy, jumpy roads. We were able to fire down the lumpy tarmac without fear, the suspension soaking up the worst of the depressions and compressions with ease, letting me get on the with the job of braking, accelerating and steering.
The front end is amazingly agile despite the hefty number of kilos it lugs about behind it. It never feels like the front wheels are taking any drive, it takes a very heavy downpour before you feel anything.
The driving position is just right, with plenty of adjustment. It’s got a decent sound system and a user interface that’s getting there (after quite a few attempts). The cabin still looks great five years on, the only thing I don’t like being the off-centre steering wheel with the oversized airbag boss.
The SVR isn’t the best fast drop-top but it’s certainly one of the great performance cars when it comes to the overall experience. It’s a car that makes you feel good, makes you feel happy that you’re behind the wheel. Other people absolutely adore it, too, and begged me to take them for a ride. And I mean total strangers. My friends were suddenly not busy that weekend. If you owned one, there would always be somewhere to go…
Okay, yes, that’s a weird headline and it does feel a little like BMW M5 day here at The Redline given this morning’s M5 drifting-related news. But I quite liked this story for two reasons.
I like BMW M5s
I like Heritage Fleets
Heritage fleets aren’t anything new. I was lucky enough to visit the Ford Heritage Collection in January 2017 and oh my giddy aunt, I thought I was going to pass out I had so much fun. The Ford fleet is packed full of goodies, right from the Model T through to present day shenanigans such as the Focus RS. I even got to drive an Escort Cosworth for CarsGuide.
Heritage fleets in Australia are new, though, and BMW is slowly building its own collection right here in the middle of nowhere. Today the company announced its most recent addition, an E34 M5.
BMW E34 M5
This isn’t just any old E34 M5. One of 14 Australian-delivered Alpine White M5s (out of a global total of 90 cars), the old girl is a piece of history. The E34 was the first M5 officially sold by BMW Australia and was the last car hand-built by BMW M’s division.
It was also the last car to carry the the 3.5-litre straight six that could trace it roots back to the iconic M1 supercar and was the last M5 to roll out with that many cylinders in that arrangement. The E39 went to V8 and the E60 to that glorious dubstep V10 before the F10 switched back to a V8 with a couple of turbos bolted to it.
In the E34, the 3.5-litre engine produced 232kW (318bhp) at 6900rpm and 360Nm at 4750rpm. Drive was, naturally, to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual. The 0-100km/h is a still-quick 6.3 seconds, had a top-speed limited to 250km/h (155mph) and it has a limited slip diff (25 percent locking for the LSD fiends).
What’s the point?
Heritage fleets are great because it means the car’s original manufacturer owns the cars and looks after them in a way most of us can’t. Ford’s fleet is amazing and contains oddities such as an egg-yolk yellow Escort Cosworth that was used to test the paint process. While Australian heritage fleets can’t get their hands on that kind of fun (except maybe Holden and Ford), it does mean that fans of the brand and the cars themselves can get a look at them.
BMW Australia’s fleet is pretty tasty, including a 1938 BMW 327 Cabriolet, a 1989 BMW Z1, 1999 BMW Z8, a 1999 Mini Cooper S, a 2003 BMW E46 M3 CSL and the 2016 BMW M4 GTS.
We’ll beg to see which ones we can get a go in for your enjoyment.
Like the BMW M5? Want to see one drifting for eight hours? Click here.
Not sure about the whitewalls…Well, it is nearly 30 years old.Such a recognisable shape.Functional. I like it.Sweet, sweet straight sixSo. Much. Alpine. White.Classic shape
Some mad BMW chaps decided they were going to break two world records – drifting and refuelling. As surely as night follows day, if you drift a car for long enough, even at low speeds on a wet skid pan, you’re going to find yourself needing to top up the tank.
But you can’t break a world record drift attempt (eight long hours was the target) if you have to stop to refuel. So, just like an Air Force tanker refuelling fighter jets mid-mission, these madcap Germans devised a system to refuel the M5 mid-drift on the skid pan.
As the video shows, the geniuses installed a filler neck that punched a whole in the rear window. A second M5 carried extra fuel to pump into the drift-wagen while in flight. Now I’ve seen mad people on the internet but the chap hanging out of the refuelling rig to slam the pump home must be one of the braver people on earth.
Just like a drift battle, both cars had to be on the move in a slidey kind of way, preferably not touching and crushing the brave refueller. And they didn’t just do this once. They did it again…and again…and again.
The Cars
Keen spotters will notice that the refueller car is the older F10 M5. The newer cars have a carbon fibre roof, so the older car with the metal roof and a sunroof was chosen so the refuelling bunny could hang off the car. I half-expected him to start slapping the car’s flanks with a cowboy hat to urge the driver on.
One wonders how either driver didn’t spend the whole day puking their guts out. Perhaps the next attempt will involve a driver change. The attempt would have been more boring than a Lars von Trier marathon, just to really hammer home how committed the drifter was.
Two Guinness World Records?
Yep. We won’t spoil it. Watch the video for the slightly harrowing results…
The Lamborghini Huracan Spyder LP580-2 is Sant’ Agata’s “bargain” drop-top.
Right up front I’m going to tell you that I don’t like convertibles very much, even if it’s a Lamborghini Huracan. As a driver’s car, Lamborghini’s most affordable car is among my favourites, partly because of the generous racket it makes when you open up the throttle. Problem is, convertibles and my ridiculously fast-burning skin do not match. Every convertible I’ve ever reviewed has left me burnt and hot. And miserable.
However. I may be coming around a little bit. You see, most convertibles I’ve driven aren’t as good to drive as the fixed-head version. And not all convertibles have a Lamborghini V10 in the back…
History
The LP610-4 Coupe
The Lamborghini Huracan is the little brother to the madcap Aventador S and successor to the wildly popular Gallardo. The Huracan first saw light (officially) at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show to the usual mix of rapturous delight and idiots whining that Lamborghini had been too scared to design something crazy. It’s pretty crazy-looking if you ask me, especially in black. We got an accidental look at it in 2013.
The Lamborghini Huracan went on sale later that year as the LP610-4. LP stands for Longitudinal Posteriore, the engine mounted north-south behind the cabin. 610 tells us how many metric horsepowers and -4 tells us it’s all-wheel drive. In 2015, Lamborghini presented us with the Spyder at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with sales starting the following year. Alongside the 610-4 variants came the 580-2, a rear-wheel drive version.
Critical acclaim followed the Huracan wherever it went but the usual “it’s all wheel drive so it understeers” malarkey came with it. In 2016, slightly unexpectedly, Lamborghini gave us the 580-2, a rear-wheel drive classic supercar. Partly to quieten the peanut gallery but partly so dealers could offer a Huracan at a substantial discount to the LP610-4.
So we’ve got a two-for-one here – the 580-2 and the Spyder.
Lamborghini Huracan Spyder 580-2
There is nothing to fear from the loss of thirty metric horsepower. Ditching rear-wheel drive has saved a few kilograms but the reinforcements for the lack of roof weight more. A 610-4 Spyder weighs in at 1542kg (3392lb) while the 580-2 is 1509kg (3320kg). So it’s 30 horses down and 33kg (72lb) lighter. Hmmmm.
Lamborghini avoided disaster by sticking with a folding fabric roof. Folding hardtops are often disgracefully ugly – Ferrari need three goes before it got it right with the Portofino – and are heavy. The bodywork required some surgery but the effect is impressive – while there isn’t one of those dodgy springy windbreakers on the windscreen header rail, the cabin is quiet even at decent speeds.
If you look back to the Gallardo Spyder, the Huracan is forty-percent stiffer and that’s largely down to the aluminium and carbon space frame chassis. The interior is the same as the Coupe’s which is to say it’s a bit over the top and not ageing as well as it might.
Under the bodywork are a few detail changes. Springs and dampers are ten percent softer and the standard brakes are steel. The 580-2 isn’t just about delivering a classic supercar – it’s about making the Huracan cheaper, too.
Drivetrain
Powering the Huracan is the same 5.2-litre V10 from the 610-4, just with some software changes to reduce the power. That’s basically the sum total of the changes.
The cylinder bank angle is 90-degrees and sticks with the dry sump – there’s no other way the engine would fit. Irritatingly, you can’t see the engine in the Spyder, it’s sealed away. The only bit you can get to is the oil tank.
The same seven-speed twin-clutch transmission changes the gears, though, meaning rapid-fire upshifts and downshifts along with a delicious exhaust crackle. 0-100km/h is barely slower than the Coupe at 3.6 seconds. And if I was a betting man, I’d say that figure is a little on the conservative side.
It’s a brilliant engine, there are no two ways about it. Rev-happy, loud and obnoxious, it fits the Lamborghini bill. Here in the Huracan it’s great to listen to, with a messy bark on the downshift that sounds like a pre-ceasfire flurry of gunfire. As many of you know, this same engine rides in the back of the Audi R8 (in basically the same chassis) but it’s not nearly as much fun to listen to. Still fun, just not this much fun.
The rear wheels get their power through what Lamborghini calls “doppio frizione”, which sounds theatrical but just means twin-clutch.
Chassis
Aluminium and carbon fibre feature heavily in the Huracan’s space frame chassis, delivering a prodigiously stiff and strong car. Under here it’s not just a Huracan – it’s an R8 and the GT3 and GT4 race versions of both of those cars.
You can choose from three chassis modes – Strada (street), Sport and Corsa (Race). Some mode switches don’t mean much, but here in the Lamborghini Huracan, you’d have to be pretty thick not to notice.
Between the rear wheels is a mechanical limited slip differential. Those rear tyres are monsters, with standard 19-inch wheels (we had the gorgeous 20-inch wheels on our car) have 305 Pirellis while the fronts are rather more restrained 245s.
Lamborghini’s driving dynamics system has another cool-sounding name – the piattaforma inerziale – which translates to “inertia platform.” Someone described it to me once as 3D dynamics – it reads what the car is doing in three dimensions rather than the more usual two.
Driving
The Lamborghini Huracan is a terrific car. I’ve been lucky enough to drive it a few times before – on track and on the road – and every time I’ve come away loving it again. Let’s knock over a myth or two:
Myth 1: The Lamborghini Huracan Understeers
Yes. And no. Almost all road cars understeer, heck the Ferrari California T and 488GTB each has a smidge of turn-in understeer. I can tell you right now that both of those cars are brilliant and that the understeer is mild. So too is the Huracan’s. Now, not everyone gets to drive these, but internet and enthusiast wisdom tells you that understeer is always bad. It isn’t. If you need to swerve to avoid something – in low cars like this you have to do that a lot – turn-in oversteer is deeply undesirable. It’s how you back into hedges and it’s what made old Porsche 911s famous for backing into hedges and fences and deep ravines.
Does the LP610-4 understeer? Yes, and more so in Strada mode. But it’s controllable, consistent and very, very easily sorted. Does the Huracan LP580-2 understeer as much? We’ll soon see…
So if you’re one of those people who says the Huracan understeers, you can either stop or you can accept the realities of making a car fit for the road. Feel free to argue with me in the YouTube comments.
Myth 2: It’s just an Audi R8 in drag
Yes. And no. While it’s true that the fundamentals of the Huracan and R8 are near-identical, it’s actually very difficult to put these two cars back to back and honestly say they’re the same car. The Huracan benefits greatly from Audi’s input into onboard electronics, switchgear and even sat nav, but that’s about it.
It feels like a Lamborghini, it feels related to the Aventador whereas the R8 really, really doesn’t. And that’s a great thing for everyone, because despite them being the same platform, they feel different because they are different.
Myth 3: The Huracan’s interior isn’t as good as the R8’s.
Yes. Guilty as charged. It’s not bad, but the Audi’s is better for less money.
And on with the show…
The Huracan looks tremendous in bright yellow. No, I wouldn’t own a car this colour if you paid me to, but honestly, it’s amazing. Obviously, without a roof, it’s much easier car to live with as far as getting in and out goes. The doors are basically the same as the Coupe’s and it’s obvious that this car was always designed to be a Spyder.
The fabric roof folds away pretty quickly and when you’re in, you don’t feel at all exposed. Well, if you’re under six feet tall you won’t feel exposed. Much taller and you’ll be peeking over the header rail. The seats are super comfortable and those speedster-style humps behind your head look magnificent but also add to the feeling that you’re in the car and not on it.
Fire it up with the switch hidden under that ridiculous (and fabulous) red missile-style guard and the V10 shrieks into life before settling down into a quiet, if busy idle. The fully digital dash actually arrived before Audi’s Virtual Cockpit and for the most part, it’s good if a bit crowded when you’re doing things other than threading it down your favourite road. And the (optional!) reversing camera, which costs an extortionate amount of money in my home country Australia is better only than the terrible McLaren one. And that McLaren reversing camera is the worse in any car I’ve ever driven.
The steering wheel is lovely to hold and like a Ferrari’s, holds the switches for indicator and wipers on the face of the spoke rather than on stalks. The paddle shifters are the best in the business – big alloy units (don’t ever specify carbon fibre shifters, they feel nasty), they’re fixed to the column. Without stalks, they’re easy to reach and don’t suffer from clutter.
The driving mode switch is on the lower spoke.
Strada is, in short, pretty awful. The throttle is too sloppy, the noise is close to non-existent and in cars with the magnetic suspension, it’s just too soft. Along with light steering, it’s best avoided. So I did. Probably drove it for five kilometres to make sure it was as I remembered it. People sniffily denounce the Spyder as a poser’s car, but even in this version, you don’t want Strada.
Corsa is all about getting the car straight and going very fast around a race track. Some people really like this mode – it’s stiff, focussed and delightfully noisy while searingly fast. It’s not as fun as Sport.
Sport mode. Yes.
Sport. Yes. That’s where the sweet spot is. Along with the road and the crackle, the rear wheel drive really does suit this car so much better. There’s little wrong with the AWD versions, but seriously, this is the one to have. It’s just that little bit pointy, the weight is not only a touch lower, but it’s in a better place. The understeer is gone with the flex of a toe.
Like the Toyota 86 and Mazda MX-5, Sport allows a bit of body roll, which means you’re more involved. The traction and stability systems are less interested in getting you straight and hooked up, keen to let you wag the tail and enjoy yourself. All the while that engine – so charismatic, operatic, symphonic – is delivering a metric ton of punch, with 540Nm ready and willing to fry the rear tyres if you punch the button to shut out the nannies. It is a spectacular car.
What’s eve better about this particular car is the fact that you can hear the engine so much more, almost feel the heat and pop-pop-pop of the exhaust against your ear as you hustle it through the corners. Straights are boring, the Huracan loves corners and is happy on bumpy roads, especially in Sport mode where the extra softness compared to the -4 irons out the imperfections a little better.
Most of all, this car will make you feel like a hero. The electronics are perfectly settled for the road, dealing with pretty much anything a bad road can throw at you. The steering weight is just about perfect – never too heavy but with plenty of feel, you know what those tyres are doing. And because those fronts aren’t stupidly wide, it doesn’t get dragged into ruts. Heck, you can even do a U-turn in one of these on some roads without causing a traffic jam.
Is it my favourite Huracan?
Well, that’s a good question. See that video up the top? Watch to find out…
The Lotus Evora is the forgotten supercar. Launched in 2008 and on sale since 2010, it’s a car that has been critically-acclaimed everywhere it goes. Thing is, that’s not enough in the performance car realm. With Audi, BMW and Mercedes expanding their ranges and sales of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches going mental, you can’t trade on F1 glories from Seventies.
It also has to battle badge snobbery and not just the one on the nose. Every Lotus for the last thirty-odd years has had an uphill battle and it just doesn’t seem fair. Everyone craps on about loving the underdog, but when push comes to shove, the badge is the first thing they look at.
History
For some reason, the Evora was known as Project Eagle inside the Hethel factory where it was born. In 2008 it first appeared blinking under the spotlight (okay, it didn’t blink) as the Lotus Evora. Probably due to some sense of patriotism, Lotus chose the British International Motor Show to present the new car rather than the sane, logical choice of the Geneva show.
The usual idiots complained about its 3.5-litre supercharged Toyota V6, deriding it mercilessly. When it finally hit the road two years later in 2010, it did so in a blaze – it was good. Plasticky, yes. Not as good an interior as a Porsche, sure. But everybody raved about the steering and the chassis balance.
In 2015 the Evora underwent a facelift and became the Evora 400. The 410 joined it and then in 2017 the hard core GT430 made it three.
Some think the Evora is spun off the Elise platform, which is fair given that every car since 1995 shares the undergubbins of that lightweight wonder. The Evora, however, has its very own chassis that was supposed to spawn a whole new range. Before Evora there was Europa S, which was similar in concept but wasn’t particularly well-received.
Poor old Lotus has developed a habit of being passed from owner to owner, a bit like Lamborghini and Maserati in the 70s and 80s. General Motors owned it and did a terrible job. Proton owned it and did a terrible(ish) job, hiring Danny Bahar from Ferrari. He promptly made a huge fuss by saying the company could produce five new cars, but everybody hated them and him. He was subsequently fired for…reasons that are still before courts. Apparently.
But now Lotus is owned by Geely who has done an absolutely tremendous job with Volvo. So things are looking up.
2017 Lotus Evora
The Lotus Evora is unlike anything else on the road today. It’s a mid-engined, aluminium space-framed car with a composite body built pretty much by hand in England. It runs either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic (famous for being used in a truck).
Its name comes from the words Evolution, Vogue and Aura, but the less said about that, the better. It’s better than Eagle and I quite like the way it rolls off the tongue. Amazingly, it’s one of just two 2+2 coupes left in the sports car world, the other being the amazing BMW i8.
Unlike the BMW, its doors are perfectly normal but are very light. Getting in is rather easier, but with a fatter sill than a normal car, it’s still not a simple step-in proposition. But you’ll work it out. No special instructions needed, just remember to keep your feet up.
I’m not going to lie, it isn’t the greatest interior in the world. It is clearly dated and produced on a budget that wouldn’t buy GM a re-profiled indicator stalk. Speaking of which, that’s where the indicator stalk is from, as well as a few other bits and pieces. In the end it all works, and if you don’t like the Alpine stereo, it doesn’t matter. You can have it out in about five minutes and replace it with something better and with proper smartphone integration. Easy.
As with any car like this, it really isn’t a problem that there are bits of other and lesser cars in here. It goes double for the Lotus because the cars it pinches the bits from aren’t in production anymore, and I don’t say that to be cruel.
The 2015 update included new aero parts for more downforce, a bi-modal exhaust and new interior bits including dashboard and centre console.
V6 Engine
Ah, yes. The first thing people who have never driven the car complain about. It’s Toyota’s 2GR-FE V6, displacing 3.5 litres and producing a nice even 400bhp (406hp/299kW). When first released, the base Evora didn’t have a supercharger and produced just 276bhp (280hp/206kW) from its 2GR-FE. Alongside the Evora was the Evora S (2011-2014), which had the same engine with a Harrop supercharger and produced 345bhp (350hp/257kW).
The 400’s supercharger is from Edelbrock and not only ups the power but the torque, also a neat 400Nm. This upgraded engine slashed half a second from the 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time, dropping to 4.1 seconds.
Mounted across the car behind your back, you can see it in the rear vision mirror and when you hit the exhaust button (or race mode), you can really hear it. Behind the engine is a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, both from Aisin.
Of course, it’s rear-wheel drive. There have been front-wheel drive Lotuses, most famously the Peter Stevens-designed Lotus Elan of the 1990s. That was when Lotus was owned by the mad, rich Romano Artioli. He was good, though – he gave the world the Elise, named after his grand-daughter. And, somehow, the Bugatti EB110.
Weighing just under 1400kg (or just over 3000lb), the Evora 400 winds out to 299km/h (186mph). That’s pretty good for a car this size, price and provenance.
Chassis
This is what Lotus is all about. Right back to the days the company ran out of some old stables behind a pub owned by founder Colin Chapman’s father, the mantra was always add lightness.
Like the Elise, the Evora is built on a bonded aluminium chassis. As always, there’s a long story attached to it, but this brand new platform was meant to go underneath three more cars. Unsurprisingly, that hasn’t happened.
Part of the strategy of this platform was to build a car taller people could actually fit in. At the time, Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley was in charge and he was nearly two metres tall (6ft 5in, 196cm) and didn’t really fit in either the Elise or Europa. While the early cars were hard to get into, the car’s facelift included a nip and tuck of the wide sills.
The 2015 update meant some serious changes for the Evora. First, the Eibach springs were stiffened up, particularly at the rear. The Bilstein dampers were refined and retuned and bigger AP Racing brakes fitted. And, wonderfully, a Quaife limited slip diff was fitted as standard, working with four selectable driving modes (Drive, Sport, Race and Off). The driving modes also operate the loud and louder settings for the new three-inch exhaust.
Weight also dropped by about 42kg (about half a standard-sized human) and the new aero produces a decent amount of downforce. More to the point, it cuts lift.
Driving
Oh my. Oh me, oh my.
Here’s the thing. One would expect a low volume sports car to be full of compromises. Goodness, even big companies punch out sporty cars that force you to put up with things you don’t want in the name of sportiness.
But Lotus is different. The compromises come in places that people like you and me try not to care about. The interior, while perfectly functional, isn’t great and would make an Audi designer blush. But you sit in one of the best driving positions known to man. You can see out. The steering wheel is in the right place and the right angle and the seats are perfect.
Twist the key, press start – I love that affectation – and that other “compromise”, the Toyota V6, barks into life. This is no meek Toyota USA boredom barge engine, it sounds like a sports car should. Tiny but raw, too. In Drive mode there’s a faint supercharger whine until you give it a bootful on those lovely aluminium pedals and it fires up. It’s not hugely loud, but pleasantly raucous.
Sport and Race ups the exhaust histrionics, with a lovely chunky blare from the central exhaust. Those two modes also mean you can have a bit more fun, with a lovely wriggle from the rear end when you’re getting on it.
The amazing thing about the Evora is that it is incredibly user-friendly. Nothing – and I mean nothing, not even cars with clever dynamic dampers – this side of a McLaren rides this well and goes this fast around corners. The Evora has always been famous for being a plush ride but this is…well, it’s black magic.
What the Evora is also famous for is its steering. Few cars can replicate the balance of communication and weight that Evora has. It’s so good to drive, with perfect weighting, near-instant throttle response (no turbos to wind up) and a chassis with more grip than a Trump-Trudeau handshake.
It’s the lightness of touch that gets me – the throttle response, while sharp, will never scare you out of a corner. It almost knows before you do how much you need and coaxes you to push the pedal where it needs to be. The brakes are super-sturdy and none of your carbon-composite nonsense. A car this light doesn’t really need all that power.
It’s probably not really a supercar in the modern sense. Some hot hatches are as quick in a straight line. But very few cars can touch the delights on offer in corners, at least not at the price of the Evora. Plenty of cars are made to drive to, on and from the track, very few of them are as capable doing all three. It’s probably in the same league as a Porsche Cayman or a 911, but there’s one thing the Cayman doesn’t have: the Lotus pedigree and spirit. Money can’t buy that, but a long history stretching back to the glory days of F1 comes with that badge.
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