What else could lead this week’s Autocar magazine but the first drive of the highly vaunted and much anticipated Alfa Romeo 4C, a car which carries the mantel of establishing all the values for yet another Alfa relaunch?
Car fans and Alfa aficionados can breathe a sigh of relief as Steve Cropley discovers that the 4C is everything we could have hoped. In summary he says it is fast, fun and a little bit flawed – and that the flaws will hardly matter to the lucky customers.
Another manufacturer looking to break out of its mould is Caterham, which revealed the Caterham AeroSeven last week. We have the full details on the car, the firm’s plans to widen its market appeal and an interview with boss Tony Fernandes.
Other news scoops include the first details of the new BMW 1-series saloon, the next Renault Twingo, Jeep’s plans for a baby SUV and the shocking (in many of the wrong ways) Keating Bolt. We also reveal the sales success that is driving Jaguar Land Rover’s incredible growth.
The Toyota Auris Touring Sports is the subject of our eight-page road test, with the hybrid estate emerging with credit after being put through the toughest of examinations. Other first drives include the Mercedes S63 AMG, Vauxhall Insignia VXR SuperSport Sports Tourer and Audi A3 saloon.
Our long-term test fleet updates include the MG 6, Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake and Mazda MX-5. The eclectic features section includes a first drive of Volkswagen’s mooted seven-seat SUV, the CrossBlue, a test of the one-off but hugely compelling Formula Ford road car, powered by a 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, and a drive of an all-new and shockingly good Frontline MGB.
Other features include the tale of our victory in the World Cup of eco driving, run in VW Volkswagen e-ups, and the behind-the-scenes story of start-up sports car company Zenos, which is run by a small team of ex-Caterham bosses.
Our Deals section has the usual array of tempting and (possibly) not-so tempting machinery, ranging from a full buying guide for a Lamborghini Diablo, now available from £50,000, to James Ruppert’s favourite £2000 cars (think BMW 3-series, Mercedes SLK and Porsche 928) and a £120,000 poser as to whether you should buy a new Porsche 911 Turbo or used Ford GT.
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