the drive

Car geeks are obsessed with concept cars and sneak previews. The Corsa VXR Nurburgring is no exception to this, the exciting small Vauxhall powerhouse was photographed at the German racing circuit itself in early 2010.

Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nurburgring Edition

Coming to a Vauxhall dealership near you this month, the Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nurburgring Edition will be priced from £22,995.  Not inexpensive and if that proves hard to swallow consider a quality used vauxhall. Having leased a Vauxhall Corsa 1.8, I know how crazy it can feel to have so much power underneath the bonnet of a small car. However this is more Saxo VTR / Clio Sport land than that. Well-off boy racers, you are reading the right blog. This VXR has 1.6 turbo engine, increased torque (up to 250-280 Nm) in excess of 200 bhp resulting in a 0.60mph of 6.5 seconds with a 145 mph top speed.

Considerable work  and testing has been carried out between the Luton mechanics and the Nurburgring racing track. Traction control, electronic stability, braking and chassis modifications have been made in order to deal with the increased PS. The brakes are brand new – Brembo brakes and so is the suspension which is provided by Blistein.

The Corsa VXR Nurburgring has impressive specification and headline stats but is potentially too dear. It is about £5K more expensive than the Clio Sport and that is very much the benchmark in the premium boy racing bracket. After another September where Ford have stolen the UK car market headlines, this is a well-timed development for General Motors as they look to challenge the leaders that possess the jewel in the crown that is the Ford Fiesta.

If crazily fast, small cars are your thing then definitely check out this new beast. Trusted Dealers have a huge co-operative of Vauxhall franchised dealers and will be displaying this vehicle in their showrooms later this month – click here to find your nearest new and used Vauxhall retailer.

First things first, this is not a new E-type Jaguar, it is according to Jaguar, a “sustainable sports car of the future”, that just happens to take more than a few visual cues from the 1960’s icon. The car itself is Jaguars C-X16 concept, a lightly disguised production ready road car, that Jaguar hopes, will take on the might of the Porsche 911 in the coming few years.

Jaguar C-X16 Review

The second thing to point out is that the C-X16 is not a replacement for the XK, it is a whole new car that will slot into Jag’s line up. Whereas the XK is unashamedly a Grand Tourer designed for eloping across Europe, the new car is designed to be an out and out sports car ready to scare the bejesus out of you.

Jaguar over recent years have become quite handy when it comes to wielding a design pencil, the XF, XJ and XK have all replaced their rather dated looking predecessors, rescuing the brand from the brink of financial meltdown. The C-X16 looks fit to continue this rebranding and I feel a closer look at it is required to understand its beauty and uncanny resemblance to the aforementioned E-Type. From side on the car has that typical long nose, short rear profile of the iconic coupe. It also features a gently sloping glass hatch that’s not all too dissimilar from the coupe E-type. That glass hatch leads down to the thin horizontal rear lights, which wrap around both sides of the car, stopping just before and above the rear wheels. At the bottom of the sculpted rear bumper sits a rather purposeful looking rear diffuser housing quad upswept exhausts at either side. From the front the C-X16 looks equally as good. Its swept back headlights and wide open grill make it look ever so slightly like the animal after which the company takes its name. From every angle the car looks fast, its bonnet’s bulge with little air scoops on either side give it a 70’s, muscle car feel and hint at the supercharged engine beneath, which funnily enough is the next part of the car that I feel needs exploring.

Engine wise, the C-X16 features a not too shabby, all new supercharged 3 litre V6. However, the C-X16 is an experimental hybrid, which means it’s got an electric motor too! Total power equates to 380bhp from the engine and 95bhp from the electric motor. It uses the electric motor in the same way as the KERS system in an F1 car, meaning that you can press a big shinny button to release a boost of power to get past any particularly slow moving traffic. Thanks to this instant torque of the electric motor, coupled to the V6, 0-62mph is dealt with in 4.4 seconds and top speed is limited to an adequately illegal 186mph. Despite the turn of speed, the icing on the cake for all this hybrid’ness is a city car rivalling mpg of 41 and low C02 emissions for a car of this class at 165g/km. Finally, what this also means is that the car can run on pure electric power at, according to Jaguar, up to 50mph. Pretty clever stuff I’m sure you’ll agree, but it doesn’t stop there. The car also features the obligatory stop/start system and electric regeneration to recharge itself. All the power and techy bits are hooked up to the rear wheels through Jaguars new 8 speed auto box with manual override, which has just debuted in the 2.2 diesel XF.

Jaguar C-X16 Concept car

Inside the C-X16’s very red interior there is an abundance of clever gadgetry, which hints at what sort of things Jags of the future will offer. There is a plug which can be used for connecting numerous types of smartphone, the touchscreen display in the centre consul then changes to reflect the specific phones layout. It then allows you to use the phones functions through the cars screen. Very clever stuff although totally useless if you still use a Nokia 3310. Having a touchscreen in the centre means that the need for masses of buttons is no longer, this gives the cabin a simple uncluttered and elegant appearance. The only major controls left, are the beautifully crafted aluminium heater knobs, gear selector and steering wheel of course!

Although this car is still officially a concept, the amount of real world technology, viable engine and performance figures, suggest it will become a production ready car sooner rather than later. It is likely to make a welcome addition to Jaguars line up and put more than just a worried thought into Porsche and Aston’s bosses heads, as this car will be major competition for the new 911 and now dated V8 Vantage. Although Jaguar insists it is not a new E-Type there are definitely some visual cues to the classic, which is in no means a bad thing. However Jag doesn’t need to worry, the C-X16 is definitely a unique, modern, sports car of the future.

The last couple of cars I have had a first look at were, shall we say a tad exotic. They were not exactly run of the mill everyday vehicular transport for the masses. So this time around I thought I’d tell you about the new Fiat Panda instead! The last Panda was a massive success for Fiat; single-handedly rescuing Fiat from building awful stuff like Stilo’s, that broke all the time, and taking them back to their roots of building simple honest fun little cars.

Fiat Panda 2012 First Look Review

The third generation of the Panda will hit the streets early in 2012 and from the pictures it is still recognisably a Panda, albeit slightly more bloated than the last one. It’s lost its angular edges, now sporting a rounder, chubby, smiling face. This theme continues along the car with big chunky wings and doors. However Fiat still manages to encompass those trademark flared Panda wheel arches. Round the back the Panda is still very flat, but now embraces Fiat’s design identity of a large black bump strip. This unfortunately makes the Panda look a bit like one of Fiat’s Doblo vans from behind. Never the less the car as a whole looks like it’s ready for the rough and tumble of the urban jungle if you will.

The bigger outside dimensions also mean that the Panda has grown on the inside too; however, this also has something to do with the clever packaging and design of the interior. The new car features incredibly skinny seat backs… how very interesting you might think, but they allow plenty of leg room for 3 back seat passengers. It’s very dull yet it’s very clever things like this that make the Panda so ingenious. For instance have you ever wanted to carry a long plank of wood but find your normal car is a bit too short? Not to worry, with the Panda you can fold the front passenger seat flat to carry one. Either that or use the back of the seat as a make shift table. Keeping on the interior note the new Panda will feature plenty of tech. Which is a far cry from the original panda, I would know, my dad owned one. The new one is the equivalent of bringing an ipad to a medieval jousting event. Tech includes, electric everything, power steering that can be switched to be uber light for city driving. It also has stop/start and auto emergency brakes that come on at anything up to 20mph if you’re about to hit a tree. The Panda can also be spec’d with a big panoramic sunroof if you so wish.

New Fiat Panda 2012 Review

Engine wise, the new Panda is available with Fiat’s excellently frugal Twinair two cylinder petrol engines, with either 64bhp or 84bhp in turbo’d form. It is also available with a 1.2 litre petrol (68bhp) and a 1.3 multijet diesel (74bhp), still both good in their own right.

To conclude then, the new Panda is bigger, rounder and cleverer than the old one. It also happens to be a million miles away from the 80’s original in terms of simplicity. However, times have moved on and it seems as if the Panda will continue to solidify Fiat’s growing reputation for funky, practical and frugal little cars. It’s basically a Fiat 500 for slightly less image conscious and slightly more practical people.