If the road-going T.50 looks a bit too civilized to you, what about this one? With a massive front splitter and winglets, a huge delta rear wing, F1-style vertical fin at the back, huge diffusers, 3 NACA ducts on the bonnet, an air scoop on the roof, and don't forget that 400mm-diameter turbo fan at the tail, this is as aggressive a track car you can dream of, yet it retains a beauty unfound in nowadays' race cars.

Named after the late triple world champion, T.50s Niki Lauda is a pure track car. Gordon Murrray Automotive is going to build only 25 cars, each priced at £3.1M before tax, even more expensive than the £2.36M road car (100 units to be built). However, this price includes track and tuning kits as well as free seating and chassis setup tailored to the taste of each buyer. Moreover, this car offers probably the most thrilling driving experience in the automotive world, especially when full electric era is coming...

The Cosworth 3.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 retains its 12,100 rpm capability, but with race-car intake, straight-through exhaust and removal of catalytic converters, in addition to a 15:1 compression ratio (thanks to drinking race fuel), its output is lifted from the road car's 663hp to 711hp. Moreover, a redesigned roof air scoop and air box takes advantage of ram air effect, lifting horsepower further to 735hp at 200mph (all DIN figures). The peak power is still released at 11,500 rpm. Max. torque inches up from 344 to 358 lbft, again produced at 9000 rpm. However, the torque curve gets even peakier, since Cosworth has ditched the variable valve timing system to cut weight. Murray said as a track car the engine is always running at high revs, so it is not much important to lose a bit low-down torque. The V12 weighs just 162 kg, 16 less than the standard unit.



Murray always talks of driver engagement, but when it comes to a race car, he could not escape the idea of an automated manual gearbox. Here, he opted for Xtrac's 6-speed Instantaneous Gearshift (IGS) box with paddle shift, which has been used in motorsport for more than a decade but not on road cars until now. IGS can select and engage 2 gears at the same time but drive only one. It uses individual ratcheting clutch for each gear instead of synchromesh, so it can change gears quickly but at the cost of refinement. No wonder the T.50 road car keeps using manual gearbox. One benefit of the IGS is weight, which cuts another 5 kg.

The chassis of the track car is bespoke, too. It is a monocoque made of carbon-fiber wrapping around aluminum honeycomb core. The body panels are again fully carbon-fiber, but even lighter. Thinner glass are used all round to save weight.

The passive suspensions are carried over from the road car, although springs, dampers and anti-roll bars are much stiffer (to reduce roll and withstand huge down force), while ride height is lowered a lot, leaving minimum ground clearance.

The whole car tips the DIN scale at an incredible 852kg, compared with 986kg of the road car, showing Gordon Murray is unquestionably the real successor of Colin Chapman. Apart from the aforementioned weight saving, it also has the air-con and audio ditched, obviously. Because the car is so light, it can carry over the carbon-ceramic brakes of the road car and employ unusually small, 18-inch wheels and relatively narrow racing slicks (250mm and 300mm wide front and rear, respectively). The small wheels are magnesium and have center lock, weighing just 6kg each.



With massive aerodynamic aids in addition to the fan, the car can produce 1500 kg of down force at 200 mph. Unlike the road car, it has no active aero - the fan always spins at 7000 rpm like the high-downforce mode of that car, and the spoilers are only adjustable at pits with tools. The purpose is to save weight, of course.

The car has 2 sets of final drive ratios to choose from, one geared for 200-210mph top speed, another at 170mph but in return gives stronger acceleration. According to Murray, he has no interest to break speed or lap records, but he promised a driving thrill you can't find elsewhere, thanks to that 12,000 rpm V12, 852kg kerb weight and 1500 kg downforce.

Inside the cockpit, it turns to racing steering wheel, instrument reading and control panel on the right hand side, but keeps the center driving position and leaves one passenger seat at the left hand side.

Mercedes has renewed its C-class to W206 series. Design of the new car is evolutionary, getting sleeker but its minimum Cd of 0.24 remains unchanged. It adopts the inverted front grille as found on most other new Mercedes models, as well as double power budges on the bonnet for cosmetic only. The car gets larger again, at 4751mm long (+65mm), 1820mm width (+10mm), 1438mm tall (-4mm), and has its wheelbase stretched by 25mm to 2865mm. This distants itself further from the A-class sedan.

The car retains the old car's suspensions, which consist of 4-link up front and multi-link at the rear. As before, you may opt for stiffer and lower sport suspension setup, or adaptive dampers, or even air suspension. The latter is made standard on the plug-in hybrid model, as its boot-mounted battery takes more suspension to control its weight. The only completely new feature is optional 4-wheel steering, which is strange for this class.



The engines are also mostly carried over, albeit with some improvements. For the first time in its history, only 4-cylinder engines will be offered, which is necessary to cut emission. However, all of them are now fitted with EQ Boost mild hybrid system, which uses a 48V ISG to provide an additional 20hp. Petrol engines include 1.5-liter turbo with either 170hp (C180) or 204hp (C200), and 2-liter turbo with 258hp (C300). Diesel engine is an updated 2.0-liter twin-turbo, now with 2700 bar injection, both turbos converted to VTG and a slightly longer stroke to lift its capacity to 1992 c.c. It produces either 163hp (C200d), 200hp (C220d) or 265hp (C300d).

Most resources have been invested into updating the C300e plug-in hybrid, which gains a stronger permanently excited synchronous motor with 129hp to mate with the 2-liter turbo engine for a combined output of 313hp. Its battery capacity is nearly doubled to 25.4kWh, enabling an electric range of 100km for speed up to 87mph.



Inside, the new cabin follows the new S-class to remove all rotary controls and buttons from the center console, replacing them with a sleek portrait touchscreen (9.5in or 11.9in), and a floating instrument screen of 10.25 or 12.3in. There should be a little bit more rear legroom due to the lengthened wheelbase. The sedan's boot volume is unchanged at 455 liters, while wagon gains 30 liters.

Strangely, Lexus launches a V8-powered IS just when we expect the IS is set to retire in a couple of year's time. A farewell model? Maybe. Strangely, instead of reusing the IS F label, the company opted to call it IS500 F Sport Performance.

Power comes from the same 5-liter naturally aspirated V8 from the RC F and LC500, producing 472 horsepower at 7100 rpm and 395 lbft of torque. This gives a claimed 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. It is not quick enough to worry Alfa Giulia QF, BMW M3 or AMG C63, but if priced aggressively, could be a worthy competitor against M340i etc.



Sadly, the rest of the package seems not keeping up with the delicious V8. It uses Toyota's 8-speed automatic transmission which is not quite as superb as ZF's. The chassis setup is largely unchanged from the lesser IS350 F Sport, although suspensions are beefed up to take on the extra weight of 65 kg.

Ioniq 5 is the first series of dedicated electric cars to be introduced by Hyundai over the next few years. it is built on the skateboard EV platform called E-GMP. Although the car looks like a compact hatchback, it is actually a mid-size car, measuring 4635mm in length, 1890mm in width, 1605mm in height and runs a massive, 3000mm wheelbase. The styling is boxy, minimalist and a bit classical, has a hint of Lancia Delta in my opinion. Pixelated LED head and tail lights, folding-paper crease lines and clamshell bonnet are some of its design highlights.



The car offers 2 choices of battery: 58kWh or 72.6kW. The standard model uses a single motor with 218hp / 258 lbft, driving the rear axle, good for 0-60 in 8.0 seconds with the smaller battery or 7.0 seconds with the larger battery. With dual-motor and 4-wheel-drive setup, it is good for 306hp and 446 lbft, 0-60 mph improved to 5.8 and 5.0 seconds, respectively. Regardless of models, top speed is limited to 115 mph. The car supports 800V / 350kW quick charging.

McLaren is replacing its "Sport series" 570S, 570GT and 600LT with a completely new generation model called Artura. This also signals the end of using numbers to name its cars.

The Artura is more expensive than the 570S at £183K, but in return in offers higher performance and zero-emission driving capability. However, you might be disappointed with an exterior design that looks so close to its predecessor, especially the cockpit, the nose, the flanks as well as the taillights. I suspect it might share the same windscreen and windows with the old car to save cost.

The Artura is almost the same size as the 570S, although its wheelbase is cut by 30mm to 2640mm for more agility.



Underneath the familiar skin, which is made of mainly aluminum, is practically an all-new architecture. It features a new carbon-fiber monocoque which is now produced by McLaren itself using some automated process. The carbon chassis has extended B-pillar mountings and integrated battery compartment, no wonder weight is up by 6kg to 82kg. As before, the front crash structure is aluminum, as is the rear subframe for mounting the powertrain and rear suspensions. The windscreen surround has been upgraded from steel to carbon-fiber.



The battery pack is placed just behind the passenger cell at floor level. Its capacity is only 7.4kWh, giving the Artura an electric range of only 30km. Behind engine is a new 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox. An axial flux electric motor is positioned between the engine and DCT, and is contained inside the bell housing of the transmission. It offers a maximum output of 95hp and 166 lbft, enabling the car to run on battery power alone at speeds up to 81 mph (130 km/h). Nevertheless, unlike some plug-in hybrids, its electric power drives only the rear axle, providing no 4WD or torque vectoring functions.

Being a plug-in hybrid,  electric power lowers its WLTP emission to 129 g/km, making it by far the least polluting McLaren model. Moreover, electric power also fills the torque gap in each gearchange, resulting in relentless acceleration.

The entire electric powertrain adds 130kg to the car, resulting in a DIN kerb weight of 1498 kg, or nearly 90kg more than the 570S. The electric motor and battery pack weigh 15.4kg and 88kg, respectively.



By electrifying the power unit, McLaren is able to downsize from V8 to V6 engine. Codenamed M630, this is a 3.0-liter V6 with an especially wide, 120-degree V-angle. It is again built by Ricardo exclusively for McLaren. The wide angle enables a lower center of gravity as well as common crankpins to be shared between two cylinders, resulting in a compact dimensions. Moreover, the V6 has undersquare combustion chambers with 84mm bore and 90mm stroke to realize a swept volume of 2993 c.c. reducing the length further. It has a hot-vee architecture, mounting the 2 turbochargers inside for a compact packaging, no wonder the twin-exhaust exits from the middle of the tail at a relatively high level. Ricardo has finally introduced direct injection to its engine, accompanied with dual continuous VVT, of course.

The M630 V6 is also pretty lightweight at 160kg, or 50kg less than the outgoing V8.



The V6 can rev to 8500 rpm intermittently or 8200 rpm continously. It produces 585hp at 7500 rpm, and 431 lbft of torque between 2250 and 7000 rpm. Despite a specific output of almost 200hp per liter, it is not exactly the most powerful 6-cylinder motor in the industry. That title should go to Maserati's Nettuno V6, which produces 630hp and 538 lbft from the same 3.0-liter capacity.

However, in combination with electric power, the Artura has a total output of 680hp and 531 lbft, eclipsing its rival. Admittedly, the maximum electric power is available for only 15 seconds, after which it falls back to a steady 635hp.



While its 205mph top speed and 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds have the slightest advantage over 570S, 0-124mph is more indicative for its true performance. It takes 8.3 seconds to go there, down from 9.5 seconds of its predecessor. That actually matches the outgoing Ferrari 488GTB, or just a tenth adrift of the lightweight 600LT.

The car retains double-wishbone front suspension and continuous adaptive dampers, but the rear suspension has abandoned double-wishbone for a multi-link setup. The latter consists of an upper wishbone, two lower links and a toe-control link, guaranteeing higher stability under braking.

Another new feature is an electronic LSD, so McLaren is finally admitting its brake-biased torque vectoring system is not quite as good as Ferrari's e-diff.



The car employs Pirelli P-Zero or P-Zero Corsa tires measuring 235/35ZR19 at the front and 295/35R20 at the rear, both are 10mm wider than before. Braking is provided by standard ceramic brakes, justifying its higher price. Meanwhile, electrohydraulic power steering is retained for better feel.

At its elevated price, the new McLaren has fewer direct rivals than the 570S. It is significantly more expensive than the likes of 911 Turbo S, AMG GT R and Audi R8, but not quite as expensive as Ferrari F8, Lambo Huracan Evo or AMG GT Black. Its closest rival is the new Maserati MC20, which closely matches the McLaren in price, weight, power and performance.

Porsche last updated the 911 GT3 some 4 years ago, based on the 991.2 body. Now it enters the 992 generation. Like other 992 models, the new GT3 features a wider front track for improved handling, and the rear wheels have grown to 21-inch. However, the most surprising change is the front suspension. Porsche replaces the 911's traditional MacPherson struts with a double-wishbone setup that comes from the RSR race car. It is attached to the body by rigid ball joints. This should improve roadholding further in extreme cornering. Meanwhile, the 992's PASM adaptive dampers offer a wider range of adjustment to improve ride quality. 4-wheel steering is again standard equipment.

The naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six is basically carried over from the 911 Speedster launched 2 years ago. Its performance figures are identical: 510 horsepower, 347 pound-foot of torque and 9000 rpm redline. As in the last GT3, you can choose between 6-speed manual or 7-speed PDK gearbox (other 992 models employ a heavier 8-speed PDK). The PDK is quicker to accelerate, taking 3.3 seconds to go from 0-60 and 7.0 seconds from 0-100 mph. The manual version takes 3.6 and 7.9 seconds, respectively. Both versions spend 0.3 second less to do 0-100 mph, so the new GT3 is a bit quicker. However, top speed remains unchanged at 199 mph for manual or 198 mph for PDK.



At 1418 or 1435 kilograms, the 992 GT3 is only 5kg heavier than its predecessor, which quite remarkable considering its wider body, more sophisticated front suspension and other enhancements. Weight saving comes from mainly a carbon-fiber front bonnet, lithium battery (-10kg), lightweight exhaust (-10kg), thinner glass, single-nut forged alloy wheels (-0.8kg) and lighter brakes. Although the front ventilated discs have been enlarged from 380 to 408mm, they are actually 17% lighter. Lightweight options include PCCB brakes and a carbon-fiber roof panel.

Apart from suspension, another improved area is aerodynamics. The 992 GT3 has both the front splitter and rear spoiler overhauled, and they are manually adjustable in 4 stages. The rear spoiler is not only larger but now suspended on aluminum brackets, leaving a smooth underside for improved efficiency. As a result, Porsche claims downforce is increased by 50% in standard setting, or as much as 150% at track setting.

All in all, the 992 GT3 is able to lap the new, 20.8km Nurburgring in 6:59.9, or the old 20.6km lap in 6:55.2. The latter is a remarkable 17 seconds less than the old car. Admittedly, some 3-4 seconds of which is contributed by the use of track-oriented Michelin Cup 2 R tires instead of the standard Cup 2 rubbers.

Price of the car has risen again, from £111K four years ago to £123K. Still, it is cheaper than everything else offering the same track performance and driving excitement.

It is no secret that Audi e-tron GT is the sister car of Porsche Taycan. Both share the J1 platform with the same battery, electric drivetrain, suspension and even the same proportion. You may see it as a slightly slower but more luxurious kind of Taycan. However, they do not share the same production line. In fact, the Audi is built in the Böllinger Höfe facility near Neckarsulm, sharing the same production line with the R8 supercar, remarkably. Meanwhile, the Taycan is built at the Zuffenhausen main plant of Porsche.

The e-tron GT meaures 4989 mm in length, 1964 mm in width, 1413 mm in height and 2898 mm in wheelbase. It is therefore 26 mm longer and 35 mm taller than the Taycan. The latter should give it a bit more headroom. Both its frunk and trunk are slightly larger than the Porsche's as well.



However, this cross-section picture shows that it shares the same architecture with Taycan. The battery is located under the front passengers and the rear seats, while rear footwell is carved out to give more foot room. Battery capacity is the same, too, at 93.4kWh, or 85kWh in net capacity. At the moment, it doesn't offer a smaller battery option, but we expect sooner or later the 79.2kWh battery of Taycan 4S will be available in a cheaper e-tron GT model, if not two models.

Like Porsche, the car is launched with 2 top of the line models: e-tron GT quattro and RS e-tron GT. Both have one electric motor on each axle (the rear one is about twice as powerful as the front). The base car produces a combined output of 476 hp and 464 lbft, but in launch mode it can be overboosted to 530 hp and 472 lbft for 2.5 seconds. Top speed is capped at 152 mph, while 0-60 takes 4.0 seconds. In other words, it is slightly slower and less powerful than a Taycan Turbo.

Meanwhile, RS e-tron GT runs a more powerful rear motor, and its combined output is lifted to 598 hp or 646 hp in short overboost. Max. torque is 612 lbft. It is able to crack 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and top a regulated 155 mph. Again, slower than a Taycan Turbo S.

They can travel up to 487 km (303 miles) and 472 km (293 miles), respectively, this time a little bit longer than Porsche. Charging is done using the same 800V DC system with 270 kW charging rate.

In Germany, they are priced at €100K and €138K, respectively, slightly cheaper than Taycan as well as R8.



The e-tron GT has a low drag coefficient of 0.24, although not quite as low as the sleekest Taycan, which is 0.22. Its roof is panoramic glass in standard, but you may opt for carbon-fiber roof to save a few kilograms from its highest point.

Most mechanical hardware are taken from the arsenal of Porsche, including a 2-speed gearbox at the rear axle (unusual for an EV), height-adjustable 3-chamber air suspensions and 4-wheel steering option. The base model is equipped with a rear LSD, while RS model comes standard with an active LSD. Braking is provided by steel discs on the base model, while cast iron discs with carbide coating serve RS. Carbon-ceramic brakes are optional. 

The e-tron GT's styling brings no surprise, as it was already previewed by the concept car bearing the same name in 2018. It is almost identical to that car, save the use of black rather than chrome window frames. The seal panel of single-frame grille with honeycomb cosmetic patterns is kept intact. The same story can be told for the interior, although it now features a few more hardware buttons for easier access, and the fitment of 2 cup holders at the transmission tunnel, like Porsche.

Funny, when Cadillac replaces the ATS and CTS sedans with CT4 and CT5 (their underpinnings are largely carried over), it has its performance labels reshuffled. The new CT4-V and CT5-V are actually direct replacements for the mildly-hot Vsport models of last generation. Meanwhile, the highest performance models are called CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing instead. More confusingly, "Blackwing" was the nickname of the 4.2-liter quad-cam twin-turbo V8 serving the shortlived CT6-V. Neither cars are offered with this engine.

The new CT5-V Blackwing carries over the 6.2-liter supercharged push-rod V8 of its predecessor, CTS-V. However, improvements to intake and exhaust system result in 668 horsepower and 659 lbft of torque, compared with 640 hp and 630 lbft of the old car. Moreover, the transmission has changed as well. You can now order a Tremec 6-speed manual (from Camaro ZL1) with rev-matching and no-lift shift function, or you can opt for a 10-speed automatic (upgraded from 8 ratios). The latter is the faster one, taking 3.7 seconds to go from 0-60. Top speed is over 200 mph. That said, such performance figures are more or less the same as the old car, and slips behind the 4-wheel-drive BMW M5 Competition and Mercedes-AMG E63 S.



Compared with the old car, the CT5-V Blackwing gets wider tires (+10mm each), quicker reacting Magnetic Ride Control 4.0, larger Brembo brakes and improved aero for reduced lift. Carbon-cermaic brakes are optional for the first time.



The CT4-V Blackwing carries over the ATS-V's 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6. It gets also a power bump, but far more subtle - 472 hp, or 8 hp more than before. Torque is unchanged at 445 lbft. Cadillac claims it goes from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds when mated with the new 10-speed auto. 6-speed manual returns as standard. Top speed is 189 mph, 4 higher than before. This sounds quite remarkable, as the new car features larger front splitter and rear spoiler to cut aero lift.



Anyway, the introduction of both cars are confusing. While the standard CT4 and CT5 have their market positioning lowered to aim at BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe and BMW 3-Series, respectively, their Blackwing models still compete with M3 and M5, respectively. The CT5-V Blackwing starts at $85,000, while the smaller car starts at $60,000, not low enough to reverse their pessimistic fate. Cadillac already said that they will be the brand's last petrol-powered performance models. The future V-series cars will turn to electric power.

This should be the ultimate M5 in this generation. The Club Sport version has its engine ECU remapped to produce 10 more horsepower at 635hp. Peak torque remains unchanged at 553 lbft, but it lasts a further 150 rpm. Still, these improvements sound minor. Fortunatetly, the CS has undergone a weight saving program, cutting 70 kg by using more carbon-fiber parts (e.g. bonnet, aero kits and door mirrors), standard ceramic brakes (-23 kg), ditching sound deadening materials, using carbon-fiber bucket seats up front and lightweight individual rear seats. As a result, its official 0-60 mph time is dropped by 3/10ths to a mindblowing 2.9 seconds, making it the quickest performance saloon in the world if you don't count the electric Porsche Taycan.



Changes to the chassis is subtle. As the M5 Competition already gets stiffer engine mounts, lowered suspension and more negative camber, all the CS needs are only further stiffening springs and dampers, the use of Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires and the aforementioned carbon-ceramic brakes.