Latest from Top Gear
Top Gear
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
1,562bhp Chinese EV smashes its Nürburgring time, becomes third fastest overall
Electric Xiaomi prototype somehow lops 24 seconds off its original time. What Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading A very yellow, very fast electric car from China has gone unfeasibly fast around a scary racetrack in Germany. Xiaomi, makers of the SU7 Ultra Prototype, has once again sent this mad, bad, 1,562bhp prototype on a hot lap, and hoo boy is it hot. Because where last year this car managed 6m 46.874s – and thus becoming the fastest four-door car to lap the 'Ring – this year it's managed a scarcely believable 6m 22.091s. That makes it the third fastest car overall around the Green Hell, behind only the Volkswagen ID.R and Porsche 919 Evo. Advertisement - Page continues below What. The. Indeed. Xiaomi has not explained exactly how it managed to carve off 24 seconds from its original already-bat***-quick time, only saying this run was timed 'under optimal conditions'. That's a polite way of putting it. Nothing polite about the SU7's drivetrain, of course. It's got something called a 'HyperEngine V8s', which doesn't mean that, sadly, but does mean three electric motors capable of spinning up to 27,200rpm. They're powered by a powerful battery, generating that immense power figure. You might like Naturally the SU7 Ultra Prototype gets bespoke aero – which in last year's record-breaking car could generate 285kg of downforce – so we can only wonder if it's even more bespoke for this year's run. Elsewhere you'll find big brakes, adaptive dampers, and the ability to chalk off 0-62mph in 1.98s (with a one-foot rollout). You'll notice the 'Prototype' in this car's suffix. No, you can't purchase an example like the one that did 6m 22.091s, but Xiaomi is selling a 'Track Package' car – Bilsteins, Pirelli P Zeros, carbon fibre wheel arches, 21s etc – and a 'Nürburgring Limited Edition'. Advertisement - Page continues below That car gets everything the Track Pack offers, along with a six-point harness, racing buckets, roll cage, and various bits crafted from carbon fibre including the underbody aero panels, bonnet, skirts, and rear spoiler. But you don't want to know about that. You want to watch a very yellow, very fast electric car from China go interminably fast around a scary racetrack in Germany. And hoo boy, does it go fast. 6 minutes 31 seconds Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Top Gear
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Nissan has confirmed job losses at its factory in Sunderland
Ailing carmaker needs to cut around 250 employees via voluntary leave scheme Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. Nissan has confirmed there will be some job losses at its factory in Sunderland. The Japanese carmaker said: 'In order to support future competitiveness, this week we are beginning discussions with some of our team in Sunderland about the opportunity to voluntarily leave Nissan, with support from the company.'
Top Gear
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Ferrari is getting into boats... again
Ferrari is getting into boats... again The Ferrari Hypersail is leading the Prancing Horse to water Skip 4 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. 1 / 4 First it was Castoldi's record-setting V12-powered craft. Then it was the Riva Ferrari 32. Now, Ferrari has a new boat; the Hypersail, which is, er, (combustion) engine-less. Due for launch in 2026 and designed by French boat designer Guillaume Verder, the fancy hydrofoil boasts a 100-foot monohull prototype, where three points of contact provide stability, a canting keel to support one underwater fin, another fin on the rudder and two additional foils, deployed alternately. Advertisement - Page continues below Ferrari proudly reckons the thing "is the first of its size to be entirely energy self-sufficient", sailing with a flight control system developed from its fancy cars, and powered by solar, wind and kinetic energy. Giovanni Soldini, team principal of Hypersail and record-breaking yachting bloke, said: "From a nautical perspective, it's innovative in both its structure and how it will fly; on the systems front, Ferrari's contribution is driving the development of on-board control technology that has never been seen before. "To prepare as well as we can for the variability and force of the phenomena and conditions encountered at sea, our top priority is to strike the right balance between the pursuit of extreme performance and maximum reliability." Let's 'sea' what it can do when it gets on the water, eh? Advertisement - Page continues below Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email*
Top Gear
a day ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Here are 10 retro Japanese performance cars we found this week for under £30k
Advertisement Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (VI) Let's get straight into it with this Evo 5. It's been uprated to around 400bhp with a new fuel rail, blow-off valve and air intake, and since it's only covered around 90,000 miles, there's plenty of life in it yet. If you want something older, though, here's an Evo 4 'Winfield Special Edition' with the engine from an Evo 8. Both are properly proper. Advertisement - Page continues below Here sits a quite delicious example of Toyota's retro coupe, finished in 'Caribbean Blue' paint over black upholstery. It's one of only 250 '10th Anniversary' models released, and gets a removable targa roof, leather and wood steering wheel and a meaty gear stick. But it is the non-turbo, so a mere 173bhp from its 2.0-litre four-pot means 0-62mph in almost eight seconds. Still, looks fab. You might like It's difficult to put together a list of Japanese sports cars without including some modified lots, like this wide-bodied S14-generation Nissan Silvia. It's got a 180SX face swap and a 'Midnight Purple' jacket on, with Brembo brakes from an N1 Skyline and many items from the likes of HKS. Specific power outputs aren't confirmed, but just by looking at this thing, you'd expect them to be… substantial. Advertisement - Page continues below Mazda 323 (sixth generation) Something a little more left-field, because it's a rebuilt, lightweight, WRC-inspired version of the four-wheel drive Mazda 323 'GTA'. As standard, this one-of-300 example received a Torsen LSD and a short-ratio gearbox. But as part of a recent overhaul, the little hatch gets a tweaked suspension with fully adjustable coilovers, plus a restyled (and rewired) dashboard. Subaru Impreza WRX STI (second generation) A Scooby without a blue body and gold alloys would seem like a sacrilege to WRX purists, but this Litchfield-tuned 'Type 20' looks menacing with the Java Black paint and red alloys. Upgrades include a wider track, stainless steel exhaust, forged pistons and a great big turbo. Power? That'd be up to 560bhp with the right propellant, plus 545lb ft torque. Yobboism done right. Honda Integra Type R (DC2) From blob eye to bug eye, here's a DC2 Integra Type R with that fantastical 'B18' inline-four. It'll rev to your heart's content, and thanks to a sprinkling of VTEC, gets from 0-62mph in 6.7s en route to a Vmax of 145mph. It's not fast, but it's fun. The seller has also made a few subtle technical changes, including a Hytech exhaust and a cold air intake from Mugen, combining to improve low-speed torque. One of the all-time Japanese greats, packed with the sensorial single-turbo rotary engine with a custom downpipe and larger intercooler, plus the five-speed manual from an RX-8. This RX-7 also gets bumpers from famed tuner RE Amemiya, which looks epic in that shade of hot red. And consider this: it's up for a similar price to a brand-new, boggo-spec Volkswagen Golf. Advertisement - Page continues below Here's a Nissan 300ZX with a targa roof and a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 boosted to 430bhp. Those tasteful aftermarket upgrades - including the sleek new body kit and padded red Recaro seats - are the culmination of an 11-year project from the seller. Would you just look at the size of those alloys? Good luck keeping those clean. This is a sought-after twin-turbo 'MR' model. Sure, some of the exterior garnish is a little in-yer-face, like the bonnet vents and darkened headlight casing, but it's still a genuine four-seat sports car from a time when Japan was churning them out by the day. Click here to read why the 'GTO' is one of our serial guilty pleasures. Advertisement - Page continues below Wildcard: Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) Quite simply an 860bhp R32. The seller wants £38k for it, but at the time of writing, the highest bid still dips below this week's price threshold. With a few days left to sell, this could be your chance to snag Godzilla for a bargain. See more on Used cars
Top Gear
a day ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Audi A6 Review 2025
It's the new Audi A7! Except it isn't. You see, Audi's plan was to name its all-electric models using even numbers, while its internal combustion-engined cars would take on the odd numbers. It's why the new petrol and diesel-powered A5 is actually a saloon and estate replacement for the old A4. And yes, the two-door A5 is dead as a result. Unfortunately, after it had made that change to the A4/A5, Audi then agreed with its customers and dealers that this was a stupid idea, so it announced that it would return to its old system… starting with the new A6. Advertisement - Page continues below So, the A6 is just an internal combustion car still? Erm, no. There are now many flavours of A6, with the A6 e-tron all-electric version that's available as a super slippery Sportback or a more practical Avant. We've covered both of those off in a separate review that you can find by clicking these words. On these pages we will just focus on the combustion-engined Sixes in Saloon and Avant form, although before you head off to the full EV it's probably worth noting that there is a plug-in hybrid A6 on the way that'll manage 66 miles of electric range as an Avant and 69 miles as a Saloon. Impressive. What other engines can I have? This oily A6 still comes in both petrol and diesel forms, but on UK shores you only get the option of 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot engines. You'll get a seven-speed auto gearbox and 201bhp no matter which fuel type you pick, although the diesel gets mild-hybrid tech, quattro all-wheel drive and 295lb ft of torque, while the petrol makes do with front-wheel drive and 251lb ft. What else is new? Well, the first thing to note is that this car looks quite different to the A6 e-tron. The EV is based on an entirely different platform and gets split headlights, a closed-off 'grille' and the option of cameras for wing mirrors. Advertisement - Page continues below The combustion-engined A6 is slightly more conventional, although it's still super streamlined and manages a drag coefficient of 0.23Cd in saloon form and 0.25 as an estate. You'll notice the slimmer lights compared to the previous gen, plus the giant new air intakes in the front bumper, the flush door handles and the lack of chrome trim. It's also slightly longer than before. The saloon gets a little 'notchback' spoiler and the rear lights on both now include a full-width lightbar and strange little fang-like brake lights that hang down and look a little bit like fake vents until they're illuminated. We like the design overall, but that final detail doesn't really work to our eyes. What's it like inside? Hope you like screens. The A6 is full of 'em, with an 11.9in 'Audi Virtual Cockpit' driver display and a giant 14.5in central touchscreen merged together in a curved dash unit. There's also a configurable head-up display and an optional 10.9in touchscreen for the front seat passenger. Want to know more? Click through to the interior tab of this review. How much will it cost me? Great question. Prices currently start at £50,560 for the petrol-powered saloon, or £54,830 if you want the same shape and the hybridised diesel engine. The Avant is £52,510 as a TFSI and £56,780 in TDI form. What's the verdict? ' Audi knows how to play the large exec game, although this one does feel a little underpowered at times ' Can we all just take a moment to thank Audi for not calling this the A7? We're only just getting over the confusion caused by the new A5. Now that's out of the way, we can conclude that the new combustion-powered A6 is an attractive thing that works from most angles. We're not completely sold on those new rear lights and the interior is a bit of a tech fest, but generally this is a smart-looking saloon or estate. It's a bit of a shame that it borrows its engines from the A5 and Q5 and isn't offered with six-cylinders on our shores, because fully-loaded even the torquier diesel feels a bit stretched. But keep things sedate and this can be a properly comfortable cruiser. Loads of space for dogs in the Avant too – which of course is always the most important metric to judge these things by.
