Top of the shots: Autocar's best photos of 2019

“I love the contrast of the greenery with the ribbon of Tarmac running through it,” says Max Edleston of his shot of the spectacular Great Orme road.

“A rear-wheel drive, rear-engined car with Mauro Calo at the wheel always makes for a dramatic image,” says Olgun Kordal of his Porsche 911 shot.

If the 911’s natural habitat is a track, then the Range Rover Velar felt just as at home on the off-road course at Land Rover Experience West Country. “It reminds me of a photo in National Geographic magazine, of a tiger creeping through towards a lake and it’s prey,” says Max Edleston. “I feel this is the automotive equivalent.” Maybe, Max, if you squint a bit..

Luc Lacey had his own pitch for National Geographic on his trip to the Carta Rallye in Morocco. “This young lad was slightly perplexed at finding a car full of cameras documenting his daily commute,” he says.

Our resident artist Ben Summerell-Youde has been busy again previewing the cars of the future – or, in some cases, the cars of his own mind. Starting at the bottom, this rally raid-style Peugeot 208 sadly will remain the stuff of Ben’s dreams. “As soon as the new 208 pictures landed I wanted to create a Peugeot 208 GTi, but the factory yellow paint just shouted 405 Dakar to me,” says Ben, who rates the 208 as the supermini segment’s best looker. White wheels and a body kit were the order of the day for the sporty Honda E, too. “I got a bit carried away, which is fine, because no one actually has to build what I come up with.” The Maserati Alfieri is destined for production, however, and we hope Maserati is taking inspiration from Ben.

Bravo to Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin for filling our concept car podium this year, each chosen by our in-house designer Ben Summerell-Youde. “It’s good to see a concept that doesn’t just have wider arches and some knobbly tyres,” says Ben of the Audi AI-Trail. “Silent, battery powered off-roading appeals far more than plug-in sports cars.” Ben feels the Mercedes EQS really shows how electric propulsion can benefit proportions. “I hope the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class isn’t too dissimilar.” There’s not an electric motor to be seen on the Aston Martin Vanquish concept, Aston’s preview of a mid-engined supercar. “It looks fresh, and has a better visual balance to it than the Valhalla,” the latter car the Vanquish’s big brother.

Central London rush hour traffic in fading light threatened to turn this David Brown Mini Remastered shoot into one to forget, until a gap appeared on Chelsea Bridge. “It looks a bit like being back in the ’60s,” reckons Max Edleston, who was born in the 1990s…

“I’m quite a fan of the cool, relaxing tones of this one,” says the cool, relaxed Luc Lacey of his Fiesta ST snap, taken at dusk. “A simple long exposure and a passing car highlighting the curves of the road lead your eyes through the landscape.”

And it’s a fading-light, last-shot-of-the-day hat-trick with Olgun Kordal’s Ferrari shot. “The light was finessing the side of car, highlighting its muscular stance.”

“A unique angle on two unique machines,” says Luc Lacey of the Dallara Stradale and Ariel Atom he caught together at our Britain’s Best Driver’s Car contest. “A bit of camera trickery was used here, with the camera being mounted six feet from the car.” Sshh, Luc, you’re giving away all the secrets…