It’s true to say that there’s a paucity of boggo Porsches, but, as far as it goes, this 2.7-litre, 265bhp Boxster is it. It’s got optional wheels and a couple of other bits, but is more or less a basic Boxster.
Which means the least powerful engine, with the least expensive manual six-speed gearbox, and mostly passive or standard systems operating on the rest. And it just might be the best version.
It’s narrow. It’s short. It’s upright, so its edges and corners and ends are easy to place. Compactness is an underestimated virtue. Have you actually tried steering a full-size SUV or luxury car around the streets of Chelsea, never mind parking them? If your rubbing strips don’t get shredded your nerves definitely will.
All of the engine pimpification conspires to it delivering all of 260 Newton metres of torque from 1,750 rpm, then 280 Nm from 2,000 rpm thanks to an overboost function. You have to wait till 6000ropm to get all of the 218 horsepowers, but you won’t be twiddling your thumbs - it’ll hit 62mph in 6.3 seconds. The mid-range looks impressive, too; 50mph to 75 mph in fifth (of six) gears only takes 5.9 seconds.
Mini promises it’ll be able to lay the power down. You get a set of 17-inch 7.5-inch-wide lightweight wheels running 215/40 tyres, a package developed from the Mini Challenge race cars. There’s also fully adjustable threaded suspension, so you can drop the ride height by 20mm. The front shock absorbers are also mounted upside down in the tube, which Mini reckons increases lateral stiffness.
I have a 1927 Sunbeam motorcycle. The steering is done by means of a horizontal bar with padded grips at either end. It’s exactly the same as the system employed on my brand new ZZR1400, a motorcycle so powerful and modern that I am required to warn NASA and wear breathing equipment before opening the throttle further than 1mm.
Yes, there are a few differences but those little niceties were soon ironed out in subsequent generations of bikes, and we arrive at roughly the current set-up about 75 years ago. A motorcycle, like a car and a camera, is required to do only certain things. The manner of achieving those things might change, but the interface between the machine and the human operating it was generally worked out and honed many decades ago and is best not buggered about with. Richard Hammond on: retro styling - BBC Top Gear
When the Berlin wall fell in 1989, former airline executive Gunther Holtorf and his wife Christine left Germany in their Mercedes G Wagen, bound for an 18-month tour of Africa.
500,000 miles later, and 74-year-old Gunther is still going. He has no sponsorship and no factory backing - his trip’s been entirely self-funded, without so much of a sniff of Facebook or Twitter.
Gunther told BBC news: “The main cost for the traveler is restaurants and hotels”. Which is why he kitted out “Otto” the G-Wagen with cooking and sleeping facilities, choosing to spend his money on fuel and shipping the car around the world. Literally.
Included in his epic roster of destinations are Brazil, Paris, Mount Everest, Cuba, Northern Iraq (during the war, naturally), Hollywood, Kazakhstan, Alberquque, the Caribbean, lots of Africa…
And despite covering half a million miles, his trusty G has never had a serious breakdown. Ever.
Ever want a classic MGB but without the headache of owning a 50 year old British sports car? Then we give you the MG LE50:
Here’s a better idea. A brand-spanking MGB using new-original parts on the surface, and new-modern systems underneath. It’s got a 215bhp tuned MX-5 engine, and matching six-speed box. That’s 215bhp in 941kg. Which should get you awake.
Amazing Reactions by Dino Zamparelli in a Racing Car!! (by DinoZamparelli)
The driver is 19-year-old Dino Zamparelli, the weather is atrocious and the avoid-and-save is - well, we’ve never seen anything quite like it. We defy you not to wince while watching this one.
Responding to criticism he might have ignored a yellow flag, Zamparelli said: “We had already passed the incident that caused the yellow flags. If you look at the car ahead, he was actually pulling away from me up Eau Rouge. Someone then slowed down on the straight line after Eau Rouge and that caused everyone to bunch up.”
