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... latest news ...
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18 March 2003: BMW has announced UK pricing and specification for the much hyped new BMW Z4. The Z4 will initially be available with 2.5 and 3.0-litre six-cylinder engines, though we hold high hopes for a range-topping M-version, and there is a serious possibility that BMW's excellent diesel engines will find their way under the bonnet. The new Boxster rival is due to be launched in June, priced at £26,650 and £30,850 respectively, easily undercutting the Porsche. Will that be enough to lure drivers away? We will let you know when we drive it. It certainly does look the part and thankfully moves up the sporting ladder from the less-than-inspiring Z3. |
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18 March 2003: The MG TF has been judged the 'World's Most Beautiful Cabriolet' at the awards ceremony held by L'Automobile più Bella del Mondo, in Milan. A panel of 13 judges, made up from design experts outside the automotive industry, credited MG TF with the class win 'for blending great originality and typical elements of MG tradition, with a strong casual and dynamic character'. Considering the age of the basic MGF shape, this is quite a surprise, though we have always raved about the facelift (read our road test of the TF160 here). |
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18 March 2003: This week, the Editor (Shane), is driving a Mitsubishi Space Star. It is equipped with a 1.9-litre direct injection turbo diesel engine. So far, we are impressed by the car's packaging and its dynamics. It is actually an enjoyable drive, with a stable stance and good balance. The brakes and controls add to the feeling of a well sorted mini-MPV. A Ford Focus driver would not be too disappointed to drive it, though the engine is not the most refined diesel on the market. Then again, the fully loaded Equippe model we have is only £12,995 on-the-road. The full driving review will be online shortly, linked from the Road Tests main page. |
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17 March 2003: Nissan have just incredibly announced that the UK allocation of the 350Z for 2003 has been snapped up within an hour of the official on-sale time. That time was 3:50pm today, and, unless you were one of the lucky 450 to get your name down at that time you will not be buying the long awaited coupe this year. The 350Z is long overdue in the UK, but US demand took priority unfortunately. It is not difficult to see why the 2003 allocation is gone though - it is only £24,000 after all, for one of the best looking Japanese cars on sale at the moment. We recommend visiting www.nissan-350z.co.uk if you need more information. |
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16 March 2003: Hot on the heels of the re-worked Maserati Auge and G.C. Alfa Romeo-based concept seen in Geneva this week, Castagna have revealed glimpses of the Rosselini Barchetta which will première during the "Concorso di Villa d'Este" that will be held in Cernobbio, Como, Italy from April 25th-28th. Click here for the full story. |
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16 March 2003: Audi, as expected, dominated the 51st Sebring 12 hours this weekend, leading all 367 laps. Frank Biela (partnered by Marco Werner and Philip Peter) was the eventual winner, though Emanuele Pirro only lost out due to an unscheduled stop with cramp. In third place was the works Bentley, driven by Johnny Herbert, David Brabham and Mark Blundell. The Audi Sport UK team (Mika Salo, Jonny Kane, Perry McCarthy) achieved sixth place. |
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14 March 2003: We had our first look at the Peugeot 807 MPV at the British Motor Show late last year and it is on sale in the UK now. It is a significant step on from the 806, and should be a big player in the European MPV market. Peugeot are particularly proud of the electric sliding doors, full-length airbag curtains and 'child surveillance' mirrors! Prices start from £18,295 for the 2.0-litre petrol LX, through to £24,755 for the 2.2 HDi Executive SE version. One of its biggest competitors will be the Fiat Ulysse, which we drive next month. |
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13 March 2003: Vauxhall celebrate their centenary this year (2003), as do Ford. Until now Vauxhall's celebrations have been low-key in comparison to some of the Ford events going on across the globe later this year. Here is a token gesture from Vauxhall - a special edition Astra. The Astra Edition 100 is available in Coupe and Convertible forms and with all three petrol engines, including the Turbo. The Edition 100 has its own 'Centenary Blue' paintwork and lovely BBS alloy wheels. The Coupe also has a subtle rear spoiler. The car is on sale in the UK on April 2nd between £16,585 (1.8-litre 16v Coupe) and £21,610 (Turbo Convertible). We drove the Coupe Turbo - click here for the review. |
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12 March 2003: Audi will launch a new range-topping Allroad in the UK this summer (2003). The flagship model will be known simply as the Audi Allroad Quattro 4.2. The heart of the car is a new 4.2-litre V8 engine, which is a development of the unit found in the A6 and S6 Quattro. All this power (300bhp) will not come cheap. Though prices have not yet been announced, expect a significant increase over the current range topper (2.7 T Quattro), which is £33,080 on the road in the UK. |
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11 March 2003: BMW, sensing perhaps sales loss to Jaguar's excellent new XJ, have launched a serious competitor to the XJ6 - the BMW 730. However, unlike Jaguar, there is also a diesel version available so, including the long wheelbase versions, the 730 is available as six different models in total, with on-the-road prices varying from £44,555 (730d) to £51,450 (730Li SE). The diesel straight six boasts 218 bhp, and an eye-watering 500 Nm of torque. It won't surprise you to learn that it hits 60 mph in under 8 seconds then. Considering how refined this engine is, it begs the question, why bother with the petrol 3.0-litre? |
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10 March 2003: It is important for Jaguar to keep the X-type range fresh in the face of stiff competition from BMW and Mercedes. BMW in particular have done very well in the small executive saloon market with the 3-series. Jaguar aim to steal a few customers with a new high specification version of the 2.1-litre V6 - the X-type V6 S. The on-the-road price is £20,995, which is only £1000 more than the regular V6. However, there is over £3000 of extra equipment, including the Sport alloys, metallic paint and reverse parking sensors. There is very little to distinguish this car from its more powerful 2.5 and 3.0-litre brothers in terms of looks. Outright performance may not match the more expensive models, but in return you get better fuel economy. Read the full press release here. |
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10 March 2003: The renewed MSA British Rallycross Championship went off with a bang in Croft. The hotly contested first round went to Will Gollop in his Ford Focus. Fighting with an intermittent misfire, Gollop held off Dermot Carnegie and Pat Doran, with only 0.51 seconds to spare at the finish line of the Superfinal. The next rounds are held in Ireland - March 29th at Nutts Corner in Antrim and the day after at the Mondello circuit in Naas. We recommend www.rallycrossuk.com if you are interested in finding out more about this series, though we will be keeping a close eye on it ourselves. |
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