We love concept cars! Those things of fancy where manufacturers give their designers a clean sheet of paper and tell them to indulge themselves. The results are beautiful sculptures that excite us enthusiasts and gives the world an insight into future design. Alas, these statements of freedom very rarely make it into production, or if they do their designs are castrated to be made more “real world.” Our Citroen DS5 test car bucks that trend and has stayed very true to the designers conception. The result is a car that looks like no other…
Just look at this machine! It is a magnificent thing to behold with its long proud profile and beautifully intricate details. The sloping roofline, large grill as well as its deliberate creases and curves make it truly unique. It is like looking at a modern skyscraper such as London’s gherkin, it has a majesty about it. The longer you stare at it the more design features you find. Simply parking this car in a public place results in people taking a good look as they walk past.
The art continues as you slip inside the DS5’s masterfully crafted cabin. In my opinion the interior is truly class leading, and I don’t say that lightly, with aircraft inspired consoles narrated with aluminium standing tall amidst top quality upholstery. Each button is also aluminium and stand as little individual monuments. However, this mobile palace’s star attraction is its triple glass roof that is seductively revealed by electric blinds. There is vast amounts of space inside the DS5 and it can comfortably seat five adults, though that sloping roof line does restrict rear head room for those of the taller variety. The seats themselves are very supportive and the front ones are also heated with the drivers supporting a massage feature. This DS5 is the top specification model and sports other features such as heads up display, DAB radio (which in conjunction with the premium audio system is excellent), automatic lights and wipers, keyless entry as well as cruise control.
Pushing the starter button fires up the 2.0 litre 163BHP diesel engine and provokes the HUD to rise from the dashboard. Acceleration is brisk and dominated by the great torque of the diesel engine. There is no getting away from the fact that this is a BIG car and the reduced rear visibility, thanks to its styling, does make it a bit tricky to park even with parking sensors and a rear camera. On the move the DS5 is quiet and refined creating a very relaxing environment to settle down for a long journey. It is on the motorway where this car is most at home when you simply set the cruise control, activate your massaging seat and let this luxury limo do the work. Just how comfortable is it? Well, setting the dual zone climate control “just so” makes it about as snug as a warm bed on a winters day. The steering is light which makes maneuvering the car easy and the gear changes in this 6 speed manual were effortless. Though the tight streets of Bath and busy industrial town centre of Bristol were a bit of a squeeze at times, the tranquility of the cabin reduced my stress levels dramatically. Yet, the DS5 has an Achilles heel. For such a big luxurious car the suspension is quite stiff. Potholes do tend to send a loud thud through the interior and Britons battered surfaces sometimes make the car feel unsettled. Like I previously said, the motorway is where this car is at its best with that torquey diesel surging you along in comfort. Fuel economy wasn’t too bad with our combined testing producing 46MPG from this 2.0 litre model.
The Citroen DS5 is a car that must be applauded for staying so close to its initial concept car roots. Though at £29,085 it is stepping on the toes of cars such as the BMW 5 Series, the Germans do not give you a package that is unlike anything else. This car is for the extravert, those who want to be different and don’t intend to blend into the background. In the very true words of Steve Jobs “Here’s To The Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world – are the ones who DO.”
The BMW 5 Series has long been a benchmark in the world of executive saloons. Its household name is almost a byword for such things as reliability, class, and a means to go about your business with minimal effort. The 520d is a particular favorite of the people here in the UK, so we thought it only right to grab the keys and see if the 5 Series is still the king of the castle.
Competitors, Mercedes-Benz in particular, have really upped their game over the past few years with the new C and E-Class’ putting a lot of pressure on BMW’s 3 and 5 Series. BMW can no longer afford to presume that their product will be “the ultimate driving machine” with the battle for car sales in Europe being more fierce than ever.
Our 2013 BMW 520d saloon was equipped with the M Sport package and a whole host of other toys. £6,765 of them to be precise bringing the total on the road price tag to £34,330. The key option of note is the Variable Damper Control, something we shall come on to soon. In all its silver glory this 5 Series does look the part. The M Sport alloys compliment its sleek profile as the whole package exudes professionalism. I believe the Germans would describe this cars aesthetics as “fit for purpose.”
If you were completely clueless about cars, the one thing that the 5 Series will teach you is that BMW are very good at attention to detail. Sliding into one of the leather seats instantly conveys their perfect execution of ergonomics. The seating position is not only supportive, but oh so very comfortable in the way its bolstering grips you. Control layouts for the console are logical and the widescreen display integrates itself into the cabin masterfully. What gets you most about the cabin of this car is not the beautifully crafted steering wheel or the now easy to use iDrive system, its not even the practical amount of space or that everything you interact with feels durable. No, when you sit down and think about it the most striking thing about the interior is the fact that you take it for granted because BMW have made every interaction so effortless.
On the road the car is quiet and refined with its 2.0 litre in-line four producing quite the surge thanks to 181BHP and 380Nm of torque. However, the highlight of the 520d’s driving experience is found in its steering. It is direct and accurate allowing the driver the enjoyment of placing the car exactly where he/she wants. In fact, despite this being a very grown-up car, you often find yourself trying to kiss the apex of a corner just because it is pleasurable. The chassis still retains a slight sporting feel and the aforementioned adjustable dampers when in sport mode, provide a great setup for a B-road blast. This M Sport model also had ZF’s excellent 8 speed gearbox that silently swaps cogs seamlessly.
It is not very often I say this, but the new BMW 5 Series is very near faultless. Maybe my only gripe would be that it does its job a little too well and lacks a bit of character, but the people walking into the showroom to buy one aren’t necessarily the worlds greatest enthusiasts. The 520d M Sport; Handsome, comfortable, efficient with 57MPG and still the best.
Fashion is something many of my friends would say I know nothing about. Whilst they all go chasing big brand names and wearing tight fitting shirts, I’m often found in smart/casual sporting my notorious orange shoes. Ok, so maybe they have a point when it comes to my fashion sense but something that I know is “cool” that is currently in my possession is this Citroen DS3. I don’t think the adjective of “funky” has ever been so appropriately used! With genuinely unique styling, something that is hard to come by these days, this little supermini turns many heads especially in the eye catching red our test car was wearing.
To be more specific, this DS3 is the DSport and it is equipped with a new diesel engine for 2013. Producing 113BHP from the 1.6 litre turbocharge engine and claiming impressive MPG figures, we came up with quite the test for this car. A road trip was devised consisting of transporting five fully grown adults and their luggage along the south coast to Portsmouth and then northward bound to the urban assault course that is London. This would test not only how comfortable the DS3 was, but also how it would cope with both motorway and the densely populated city.
First impressions from my traveling companions were that the car looks great and the interior was very accommodating. The boot swallowed sleeping bags and rucksacks no problem, and though our fifth passenger in the middle seat at the rear did wish he had a bit more legroom, he was plenty comfortable. The cabin of the DS3 is just as stylistic as the exterior. This car had a carbon effect dashboard that surrounded the sat-nav and led on to the beautifully designed instrument and dials. Seating is supportive with the fronts being nicely bolstered to hold you in place. The steering wheel gave us our first clue as to the more sporting nature of this little Citroen as its flat bottom is something found on some keen handling cars.
Throwing the DS3 into a corner reveals high levels of grip and very little understeer indeed. Steering is light but direct allowing for good accuracy when placing the car on an apex. The chassis setup is good and the whole car feels as if it wants to play when the roads get twisty. Its diesel engine may not be the sportiest for this car, a rather potent petrol is available, however it does have its merits with nice amounts of low end torque to use to your advantage. At junctions the car is never hesitant with turbo lag being minimal and the aforementioned torque surging you along. On the motorway it settles down to a tranquil cruise with its soft suspension soaking up those nasty bumps. Acoustics from the premium sound system were excellent and pleased everyone, as long as my iPod wasn’t connected to it that is.
Though very well accomplished on the motorway, it is in the city where the Citroen DS3 shines. Not only does its appearance demand the attention of the general public, but in the hectic stop-go traffic of London it is a nice place to be. You can sit there, whilst others blaze their horns, being gently cool by the air conditioner. The cars stop/start system is a very effective measure of saving fuel when it takes you half an hour to cover a couple of miles. Its engine is quiet, gear changes smooth and the car nippy enough to cheekily dart into a gap in the traffic.
The Citroen DS3 DSport is a brilliantly complete package offering all-round usability in a very attractive body. We even managed to average 54MPG. It is a very hard car to fault, in fact my biggest problem with it was that the key was a bit too bulky for my liking. The suspension is much softer than that of the Mini, trading less body movement for comfort. Some people won’t like that, but then that comes down to personal preference. The truth is that the DS3 can hold its own against the highly popular Mini, both in terms of performance and as a fashion statement.
In 2009 those crazy Germans unveiled to us the exciting looking 5 Series Gran Turismo and while most saw it as a strong move in to the GT market combining the grunt of an SUV with the comfort of the more traditional comfort focused grand tourer, others saw it as a bit of a wart on the BMW line-up. Now the 5 series is not alone and the Gran Turismo badge and treatment has been given to the 3 series and has had the mouths of car fanatics around the world drooling for months.
So with this in mind it would only make sense that the 1 series gets the same treatment and will add to the upcoming onslaught of front wheel drive BMWs which will undoubtedly be giving those FWD fanatics in camp Audi and Volkswagen a bit of a headache. Along with the release of the 1 series GT comes the Active Tourer Outdoor Concept which BMW hopes will be “combining sporting aesthetics and style with compact dimensions and functionality”.
The Concept Active Tourer Outdoor will be a hybrid which takes a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and glues on a “high performance” electric motor. The total power output is 188bhp, and BMW claims a top speed of 125mph while 0-62mph can be hit in just shy of 8 seconds.
It isn’t all about speed though, and an aptly named “ECO PRO” will cut the energy used by the air-conditioning and other battery draining features while the driver will be given driving tips to improve efficiency. The Proactive Driving Assistant will give the driver the most economic route by working alongside the satellite navigation to look for roads with the least traffic.
Although this is still in concept stage we will be seeing the long awaited 1 series GT hitting showrooms hopefully in 2015 in long wheelbase and normal wheelbase forms, so for now we’re just going to have to fidget impatiently until it finally arrives.
I hate to say it but over the past few decades Great Britain has lost a lot of the things the makes it so great. Gone are the industries of which this country were built upon, vanquished is the hunger to be the worlds best. All of this is very sad for people who say they are “proud to be British” and long for the days when Britannia ruled the waves to return. Well people of the United Kingdom stand fast as Aston Martin has heeded your call.
Aston Martin are one of the only companies in the automotive sector that remain British. Though subsidised by a few foreign investors, each car is designed and crafted at their HQ in Warwickshire, but more importantly, each machine is constructed with a true British “stiff upper lip” ethos. The company over the past have suffered many blows but their ingenuity and fantastic craftsmanship have triumphed in the face of adversity. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is their best selling model and for very good reason.
Sitting upon the tarmac is nothing short of a master piece. This is the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, not so much a car, but an automotive sculpture. It truly is glorious to look at with its bold lines and aggressive stance. The sheer attention to detail really affirms the Vantage as a premium product. Everything from the door handles that sit flush to the body, to the precision of the side vents all give this car a sense of depth, a sense that this is more than just a machine to ferry footballers to and from training.
Inside the beautiful mastery of materials continues with hand crafted leather and comfortable seats. The cockpit is a snug affair feeling like it literally wraps around you, cocooning you with both luxury and functionality. Visibility is rather good for a car of its caliber and though lacking the rear seats, if that’s what you want to call them, of its direct competitor of the Porsche 911 the Aston never feels cramped.
Turning the key brings to life the cars 4.3 litre V8, 380BHP beating heart. The sensation that rushes through your ears is akin to a a lions roar. The noise of this machine is simply biblical. 0-60MPH is completed in 4.8 seconds and the V8 Vantage wont stop until it hits its top speed of 175MPH. Unlike a lot of modern performance cars, our test car was equipped with a manual gearbox which suited the demeanor of this machine perfectly. In motion this Aston is not a machine that will let you lie back and do everything for you. It requires a driver not just to push buttons, but to take it by the scruff of the neck and make it dance. You get as much out of the V8 as what you put in. Turn-in even in difficult conditions is sharp and precise thanks to steering that offers good levels of feedback. Tickle the throttle upon the exit of a corner and the back end comes out to play in a manor that brings nothing but a smile to your face. Putting your foot down is met with a symphony of pure power that echoes booms around the surrounding landscape and when it comes time to slow down the rotors on this coupe are more than capable. With each downshift of the extremely satisfying gearbox the car pops and bangs adding to the drama.
Though it is clear that the Aston Martin V8 Vantage is meant for those continental blasts to France and not really spend its days pounding a race track, nothing stopped it from being anything short of impressive. It is refined yet capable, relaxing yet exciting. This V8 Vantage shall not only be remembered as one of Astons greatest creations, but also one of the best cars money can buy.
When you buy a car today you tend to get a fair amount of equipment for your hard earned pounds. Power steering is pretty much standard, air conditioning is a must, and satellite navigation is something that is deemed a necessary requirement of todays road users. Yet here I am confronted with a car so lacking in substance that it doesn’t even have proper doors! No carpet, no electronic aids of any sort, not even a roof worthy of a description any more complimentary than “being like a poorly erected tent.” So how is a car that offers nothing in the way of refinement and costs £25,000 expected to survive on the market? Well it has since 1957, why not another 54 years?
This is the Caterham 7 Roadsport 140. A 1.6 litre, 140BHP widow maker! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the most honest car you will ever lay eyes on. It doesn’t pretend to be comfortable, because it’s not. It doesn’t attempt to woo you with modern sports car looks, because it can’t. What this car can do, however, is put a grin on your face so wide that you will be picking flies out of your teeth for days. The Caterham may not be the most powerful machine you could buy on this budget, but I’m willing to bet it is one of the fastest. Weighing only a smidgen over half a ton the 7’s power to weight ratio allows for a 0-62MPH dash to be completed in a shattering 5.0 seconds. Yes you read that correctly. If you are willing to do without your favorite radio DJ you can have Porsche performance on a relative shoestring.
To get into the Caterham you must first master the art of human origami as placing yourself in the drivers seat is akin to posting yourself into a postbox. Once inside the snug cockpit you really do get a sense of just how spartan the car really is. Sitting just inches from the ground and with only a basic instrument panel for company, you fire up the engine. Everything from the whine of the starter motor to the growling exhaust note exudes character. That is the key thing about the Caterham, its character. This seemingly primeval piece of kit is pure. It simply sits at your fingertips as a tool to get you back to grassroots motoring.
In motion this car is an absolute riot! It thunders along with you just hovering above the tarmac. You can feel every bump and crease of the road as the communication between man and machine is like no other. Accelerating out of bend not only results in you being forced back into your seat, but is also intoxicating. The outboard wheels mean that you can place the Roadsport on the apex of a corner with millimeter precision. The satisfaction of driving this machine at a fair lick is off the chart. It fills you with confidence and rewards you when you decided to be brave. The brakes are terrific and actually possesses the ability to deform a human face under heavy use. Yes, it gets cold and you usually end up digesting an entire population of insects, but for out and out thrills it is breathtakingly liberating. Tickle the throttle in the right manner and sideways heroics are plentiful. It is effortless to kick the back out as you feel like Steve McQueen, king of cool, really working with the car.
There will be those of you out there who say “but the fuel tank is the size of a water balloon and the racing harnesses are far too much fuss.” To those people I say that you should get out more. This little car is all about the thrill and excitement of driving, and if you can’t understand why such a thing produces an adrenaline rush you might as well be in a coma.
Alfa Romeo symbolizes the holy grail of the car enthusiast. They are not here to be the most affordable nor the most practical. They aren’t here to please the masses or those seeking “just” a means of transportation. Every single Alfa Romeo is much more than a piece of engineering and it is this concept that many fail to grasp. Can a conglomeration of nuts and bolts have character? It is just a machine so surely it doesn’t imitate a sole? No, an Alfa does not think or feel but what it can do, that not many other hunks of metal are capable of, is induce feeling and emotion. It is this provocation of sensations behind the wheel that makes these cars so unique. Today I received the keys to a Mito with the 1.4 litre 135BHP engine and the new TCT flappy-paddle gearbox.
A few years ago when initially encountering the Mito I had a split opinion on the subject of its appearance. I could see how the companies 8C supercar had influenced the design but somehow it didn’t look quite right on a little hatchback. However, like a fine wine, a few years has made all the difference as our test car in its moody grey tone turned many a head. It’s bold hunches and front facia of pure attitude could only have stemmed from an Italians pen as not a single curve, body line or indentation is present for functionality but pure style. This continues inside the cabin with heavily sculpted seats and a steering wheel so elegant it looks as if it belongs in an art gallery.
In terms of practicality the Mito seats five in relative comfort with a good level of rear leg room. The boot is also very capable of swallowing the weekly shop yet its hight may lead some to employ tactics associated with the shot-put when loading the car. Rear visibility is also compromised with passengers in the rear thanks to a small back window. These faults are by no means the end of the world but could make living with the Mito in a small city a little harder than expected. But as previously mentioned, you don’t buy an Alfa for its ergonomics, you buy it for the way it drives!
The 1.4 litre MultiAir engine is an utter joy on the road providing high levels of torque throughout the rev band. This means you can be on the throttle with a much more instant response from the car. As with most Alfa Romeo’s the Mito is equipped with the DNA system that basically allows the driver to select from three modes ranging from comfort to a much more performance orientated dynamic mode. Naturally whilst we were behind the wheel the car stayed in dynamic for the majority of the time promoting a true Alfa experience. Now let me make this clear before I continue… I dislike automatic cars for several reasons. Firstly a computer does not know what I want and so its second guessing of what gear I require generally annoys me. Secondly it just isn’t as involving as you are no longer an intricate biological element of the car require to bring it to life. You become simply a bag of organs being ferried from a to b. This Mito has an automatic gearbox. So did the transmission kill the joy? Not a dot.
You see this Alfa Mito also has the TCT option giving the driver the ability to override the computer and use the paddles to change gear. Changing down and blipping the throttle results in not only a surge forwards in terms of acceleration, but a harmonic howl from the engine as the revs shoot up towards 7,000. Taking the car down twisting B-roads is such an enjoyable experience as the well sorted chassis and good levels of grip give you the confidence to push a little harder. Throw it into a corner and it copes brilliantly and amplifies the driving sensation that this car is. My only real complaint is that though responsive when shifting up, the gearbox did at times take a second or two to change down, a common issue with this type of transmission in general.
Yes you can hear the wind swirling around the wheel arches in the rear and the speedometer though beautiful in design is a pain in the arse to read; but again this car was built with very different objectives to its competitors. It was built to deliver driving pleasure and that is what the Mito along with all other Alfa’s before it do best. Our test car may have cost £17,500 but in my opinion it was worth every penny.
The Audi R8 is a collection of impossible things. It is a performance behemoth yet as refined as a luxury saloon. It is a mid-engined supercar yet is practical. It is German but reframes from being stereotypically sterile. When the four rings later decided to laden the astonishing car with a 5.2 litre it quite simply became one of the best cars on sale at any time in history. Now summer is in the city and as temperatures rise well above toasty nothing gave us more pleasure than sampling the R8 V10 Spyder. In essence it is the very same car as its coupe sibling but what effect has cutting its head off had?
A major problem with creating a convertible from a car that was originally designed to be a hard-top is that you remove one of the most structurally integral parts of the car. The result is all to often a great car ruined by extra weight and handling that can be likened to wrestling a moose up a tight staircase. Audi have attempted to reduce this rather unwanted trait by adding extra chassis support and some carbon fibre body panels. The rag top may be 100KG heavier than the coupe but the performance figures from that 5.2 litre V10 do a very good job of brushing the laws of physics aside. 0-62MPH is completed in a rapid 4.1 seconds and the Spyders top speed of 194MPH is by no means sluggish.
The fabric roof can complete the R8’s transformation in just under 19 seconds and if you have the unfortunate luck of being caught out by the British weather, the transition can be made on the move providing you are under 30MPH. Now a fairly obvious side effect of having the roof down is the increase in general noise. Not that I am complaining as most of it is produced in a glorious fashion by the howling V10. The sound is incredible as at low revs it emits a rather growly tone that is enough to scare innocent bystanders into a state of alert but let all 10 pistons come out to play and the symphony is nothing short of epic!
The R8 is all-wheel-drive but thanks to various onboard systems that only Stephen Hawking could explain, the balance of the machine is as precise as a decimal point. Make no mistakes this is a big car but it darts through corners with the agility of a mosquito and seemingly never ending levels of grip. It is so incredibly manageable and composed at all times. So much so that words need to be invented to describe just how good the handling is. The car is equipped with a proper 6 speed manual that so satisfying to use that it would be a crime if you chose the R Tronic flappy paddles. This car flatters you and then rewards you further the more you punish it. But once you have finished being a hooligan and decided that the tyres have had enough torture for one day you can relax and drive home in German luxury. The seats that were holding you in place firmly whilst the engine propelled you towards the horizon now hug you in comfort. The lavish upholstery really does make this feel like a car that is worth £112,000. Better still there is a usable boot that you can fit more than just socks in! Unlike many supercars of this caliber the Audi R8 Spyder can also achieve an impressive 16 MPG meaning you need not feel too guilty about killing the polar bears.
What you get from this car is something that is usable everyday and not something just to bring out for a Sunday drive. Just like the coupe it is an utter joy in motion be it bumbling along an A-road or testing your bravery, this machine never ceases to impress. It such a complete product with no real flaws worth mentioning. I said that the coupe was “the most complete car I have had the pleasure if reviewing.” Well I was wrong… The Spyder adds an extra level of engagement and by being every bit as good as its fixed roof counterpart becomes one of the best investments in motoring you could make.
Today I’m reviewing a car with no roof, a lack of carpet, the absence of a windscreen and a severe case of “whoops I forgot to put my body panels on.” The seats are made from plastic and the last time anybody saw a dashboard this basic was back when man still hunted mammoth. So as you can guess its not a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, or even a Ford Focus but as the old saying goes “less is more.”
Enter the Ariel Atom 300, the purest driving experience money can buy. This particular car has a 300BHP supercharged engine from a Honda Civic Type-R in tandem with an aerodynamic package. In this specification I would perhaps say the ideal driver would be Batman or if his imperial star-destroyer broke down, Darth Vader. Now 300BHP doesn’t sound very much at all by todays standards but factor in that the Atom weighs less than half a ton and all of a sudden that British built pile of scaffolding puts Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini to shame in the blink of an eye. It’s power to weight ratio is greater than that of a Bugatti Veyron (481BHP/ton) accumulating to 600BHP/ton! By forgetting what creature comforts are this Atom 300 will do 0-60MPH in 2.7 seconds and go onto a top speed of 155MPH. On paper this may well be the David amongst Goliath’s but how does something lighter than a garden shed behave out in the wild?
Well the lack of refinement is the first thing that will hit you as you trundle off down the road. It is a strange sensation being able to lookthrough the entire body of the car and see the road skip past underneath. Before the Ariel Atom I never really understood windchill factors that the weathermen keep going on about but I have now created a simple equation to help us all out. Moving at over 9MPH+no windscreen= BLOODY COLD. But thankfully the Atom has a box of toys to take your mind off the nonexistent heated seats.
As that supercharger winds up with its ever increasing scream only silenced at the dawn of a new gear, you work it out, you know exactly what this car is about. Its purpose was never to cart you from a to b neither was it to simply make cars costing four times the price think twice. You can feel it, you are so connected to the car being able to literally feel the road under you and see every components reaction to your input. This is not so much a performance machine but one of the best forms of ergonomics I have ever come across. But enough of this philosophical rubbish because thats not what you really want to read about, you want to know what happens when the heavy foot gets involved.
Opening the taps unleashes the most biblical acceleration I have ever experience. The supercharger screams as the air intake above your shoulder attempts to devour your brain via sucking it out your ear. Yes the gear leaver may appear to be something you would find on a 4 year olds toy but in this car it is your best friend. Each new cog generating more grunt and absolutely unrelenting speed. Around the corners this car with its added downforce changes direction faster than a kite being flown in a hurricane. Various organs rearrange themselves as this nimble mosquito just makes you breathless. The adrenalin surge that this machine can create is more than enough to make you forget all abut the cold and make you feel like Lewis Hamilton. The breaks are something else to compliment because after you have finished with the Atom rearranging your face, one good dose of the anchors should relocate your facial features and the pulp that once was your large intestine.
For just over £35,000 is there any other performance car that can claim what this Ariel Atom does? The answer you are looking for is NO. Yes it is less practical than the supercars it has vanquished, and being less practical is quite a task, but this is engineering pure and simple. Add a bag of lightness and the whole world goes by in a supercharged blur. Wow now that is an incentive for the obese to loose weight, maybe they should start putting that slogan on the side of salads.
These days it seems every manufacturer is taking the tin opener to their cars. Be it a Nissan Micra or Pagani Zonda today you can buy most things in both hard and soft-top flavours. Thinking about it this is hardly surprising especially in the UK as we are one of the largest markets for alfresco motoring. Ironic really is the fact that water falls from the sky over here more than Amy Winehouse falls to the floor on the way to rehab. Now cutting the head off a model is not only in breach of the law but is also a cruel and vicious act against humanity, however in terms cars it tends to result in a sales boost. The problem comes when people such as us have to drive them and find that thanks to the lack of a roof, structural integrity has been breached. The knock on effect results in poorer handling, ride quality and it being just generally worse than the original car in every way. But what happens when the original car was a bit of dissatisfaction and then you behead it? Well that is what we intend to find out with this Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spider.
The coupe variant of this Italian work of art was a stunning piece of design and could produce an engine note so pure itwould make Jesus look like a sinner. The problem was that the car was much more style over sustenance and though we hate to say it, the 8C just wasn’t up to standard. But then we fell under the rose-tinted spell of Alfa Romeo looking over all its faults, forgave it and even justified our actions. This time around, after some unsympathetic comments from Alfa immune readers, we shall treat this 8C with no bias.
Starting with the exterior we are graced with the same fantastic architecture as the coupe with sweeping curves and Italian attention to detail. Its carbon fibre body glazed in a sumptuous cherry red that really showed the car at its best. In my personal opinion I would have to say that this Spider is just a little more attractive than the already gorgeous coupe. I don’t know why, maybe it’s something to do with the rear proportions being more defined in this model. This car really is some of the best design work in the industry and is clear evidence that nobody puts pen to paper like the Italians!
Inside the cabin it is identical to that of the coupe and continues to treat your eyes to a feast of visual splendour. Everything appears millimetre perfect and is arranged in a manner that somehow engages you with the 8C on a more emotional level. Now I don’t think anyone has ever said that about the interior of a car before so I had better explain myself. Each item only requires you to look at it for a few seconds in order to appreciate its intricacy’s. The struts that arch down the centre console for example are so perfectly sculpted that you know that they have had allot of time spent on them, and when you know that so much effort has gone into such an insignificant part of that car you tend to appreciate the entire object more. The 8C Spider is even signed like a fine painting stating that much like the coupe it is one of only 500 examples. With the roof down the interior also feels much more spacious and less claustrophobic than its carbon roofed brother.
Under the sloping bonnet is a 4.7 litre V8 that produces 450 perfectly formed stallions, and this is where the Spider really comes into its own. When the roof is down that wonderful symphony that Alfa’s are blessed with is more audible than ever and is the perfect encouragement to push the car a bit harder. Now Alfa Romeo have done much more to this car than remove the roof as the struts, springs and roll bars are all bespoke to the Spider. The result is that this car is so much better to pilot that the coupe. It is responsive, not sedated. It is refined, not boorish. But more importantly you can enjoy it without your spine disintegrating. I was surprised by this outcome but it is clear that the Italian company has not only tried to reduce the effects of creating convertible but also went about perfecting the product at the same time. Yes the roof may be primitive and manual but the outcome is that the Spider weighs in at just 90KG more than the coupe.
At £174,000 there is no getting away from how expensive the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is but think about how much people pay for art. Driving this car should be a public service in the same way that the masterstrokes of Rembrandt are displayed every day. The only real issue with the 8C Spider is that the gearbox isn’t as quick as what I would like but other than that this is one of the ultimate drivers cars on offer, and if that’s the case I think we can overlook that foible regardless of being an Alfa Romeo or not. As a car this is a magnificent machine, but as an Alfa Romeo it is perfection.
