Plug-in McLaren Artura leads our best Easter car photos

The electrification trend sweeping the car industry hasn't ignored supercar makers: carbon isn't just a material used to save weight with fancy composite materials - it's now also target #1 to reduce in CO2 output and fuel consumption. So the McLaren Artura should come as no surprise, as Woking unleashes its first plug-in supercar. It stars in the April 2021 issue of CAR magazine, as editor Ben Miller gets under the skin of the £183k PHEV, whose 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 is boosted by a 94bhp e-motor and 7.4kWh battery for a 19-mile electric range. Droolworthy photos by Alex Tapley. Click 'Next' to see more of this week's best car photos. How to test the new 2021 BMW M3? Well, there's no sterner test than borrowing a Porsche 911 Carrera S, heading to the Alps and commissioning CAR magazine's esteemed European editor and tyre-destroyer-in-chief Georg Kacher to test the two sports car benchmarks head-to-head. Ace photographer Steffen Jahn's pictures capture the scene perfectly, as four-door saloon takes on the evergreen (but bright yellow) coupe across the winding roads of central Europe. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photography. Track-day heroes ahoy! In the January 2021 issue of CAR magazine we invite the world's fastest woman - reigning W Series champion, F3 racer and F1 test pilot Jamie Chadwick - to help us judge the year's best track-day cars: cue six hilariously focused vehicles pounding Silverstone's Stowe infield circuit in pursuit of maximum smiles-per-hour. Jordan Butters' photos capture the purity of the Caterham Seven being pursued by the madcap Jannarelly Design-1. 'At any speed, on any type of track, and for sheer fun, the Caterham 420R is everything I want,' enthuses Jamie. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. Just how good is the new Land Rover Defender? To find out, CAR magazine took the 2020 Landie to meet its toughest partners in crime - the equally robust, if disparate, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and the Jeep Wrangler. Different price points and execution, but three harder 4x4s we cannot imagine. The group test leads the September 2020 issue of CAR magazine and Tom Salt's photos capture the mud-slinging action perfectly; don't miss Georg Kacher's full verdict over the course of 10 muddy, hard-driving pages. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. Fast BMWs old and new lock horns in the latest issue of CAR magazine. Our European editor Georg Kacher owns the wonderful 2002 tii from 1974 - and it seemed rude not to bring it alone when we came to test the latest M2 CS. Photographer Tom Salt captures the two perfectly in the August 2020 edition, and just look how petite the 2002 seems nearly half a century later. It might only have 128bhp but it only weighs a scant 1026 kilos, enough of a power-to-weight ratio to guarantee an 8.2sec 0-60mph sprint back in the day. 'Although the M2 and 2002 operate in two separate speed and tech orbits, what unites them both is the fine art of flow, the high school of bonding with the driver.' Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. And so to Lister, based near CAR magazine HQ in Cambridgeshire. For the July 2020 issue, we dispatched James Taylor to tour the factory, meet boss Lawrence Whittaker and drive this, the fabulously named and engineered Knobbly. A continuation project reviving the original 1950s road and race car DNA, a reborn Knobbly will set you back at least £300,000 today. That's enough to ensure you get one of the most memorable views in motoring: 'Either side of the square bonnet bulge that keeps a lid on the straight-six, the wheelarches rise like humps of the Loch Ness Monster,' James notes of the curves that inspired the Knobbly name. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. A heart-warming juxtaposition: in the July 2020 issue of CAR magazine we tested the new Mini Electric by seeking out an old relative on the streets of London. Alex Tapley's photos capture the size difference between the 2020 plug-in Mini and Austin Seven, while writer James Taylor pores over the chasm in technology and uncovers a few similarities too. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week and read the full story in the July 2020 edition of CAR. One of the last drives before lockdown: CAR magazine's Ben Barry took the first Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD in the UK on an epic drive across Britain, as he tested the mettle of Lambo's latest two-wheel drive junior supercar. We might all be missing proper driving during lockdown, but Charlie Magee's brilliant photos capture the thrill of an Italian thoroughbred in perfect detail. The original Lamborghini Countach: still the perfect blueprint for a supercar? After visiting the Lamborghini factory and museum, we think so. Our Chris Chilton went deep inside Sant'Agata to meet the men building Lambo's future - but as well as looking forwards, it's hard not to be influenced by the company's bold, aggressive, rorty and naughty past. Alex Tapley's photo from the museum vaults leads this week's best car pictures and you can swipe or click 'Next' to see more of our favourite automotive photography. Two giants of the hypercar world: a flashback to happier pre-viral times when we could rag two of the world's most extreme supercars across sun-dappled Italian hilltops. Our archive gem by Greg Pajo captures the moment we introduced the new LaFerrari to its British nemesis, McLaren's P1, back in 2014. 'There’s no getting away from the fact that the Ferrari’s drivetrain is the more impressive: faster revving, smoother, more soulful and so much lustier,' observed Chris Chilton. 'The Ferrari feels more of an event because that’s what it is. A ground up clean-sheet car with the most outrageous front-end response this side of a pitwall. At this level, the McLaren’s reassuring similarity to the 650S is partly its undoing, because whatever any eventual track test or Nürburgring laptimes might prove, I suspect the Maranello car will always feel more special. Staggering, wonderful achievement as the McLaren P1 is, on these roads, and for these drivers, the epoch-defining LaFerrari wins.' The first BMW M car: in the May 2020 issue of CAR magazine we join Australian motoring writer Peter Robinson and photographer Steffen Jahn on a road trip to a one-man specialist in Germany who's cornered the market in parts for the original BMW M1. We drive a fine factory heritage example of the supercar to visit Fritz Wagner's stash and pore over the back story of Giugiaro’s masterpiece. Robbo raves about the 270bhp 24-valve, 3.5-litre six: 'Engine noise is never less than glorious,' he muses. 'Accelerate hard and the six soars to a hard-edged intake symphony that’s overtaken by an exhaust snarl at 6000rpm.' Driving. Remember the thrill of a road trip? It seems like a distant memory at this time of viral lockdown, but this week's inspiring picture of the week comes from a pre-shutdown road trip north to Scotland in the latest Lotus Evora, the long-legged GT410. James Taylor and snapper Jordan Butters took Hethel's new GT on a trip from Norfolk to Scotland to pay homage to the great Jim Clark. Click 'Next' to see more of this week's best car photos. The latest and greatest Porsche Cayman GTS takes the dizzying powertrain of the GT4 and pops the turbo-free boxer six engine into the popular GTS package. Result? As Georg Kacher found out in Lisbon at the recent media launch, pre-lockdown, it transform the 718 Cayman into the best thing since sliced bread. This picture was taken by CAR magazine regular Tom Salt. In these unprecedented times, we applaud altruistic moves by car makers left, right and centre. Although many are fighting for survival, many manufacturers are acting to help the fight against the Covid-19 virus - and Land Rover has opened up its fleet of test vehicles to the Red Cross, with more than 160 cars dispatched to help emergency workers. The British Red Cross has taken 57 cars, including 27 new Defenders, to deliver food and medicine to vulnerable people across the UK. In normal times, we'd be evaluating these press fleet vehicles ourselves; right now, we salute Land Rover for changing the rules. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. In troubling times, we take a look back to Audi's Ur-Quattro, one of the seminal coupes of the 1980s, and a trailblazer for four-wheel drive. It was pricey back at launch in 1983, when it cost twice as much as any other Audi on sale. Yours for £17,721. Click 'Next' for more of our best car photos this week. Most controversial car of the year? Probably. The BMW i4 has certainly set the cat among the pigeons, principally because of THAT grille, photographed here by Sam Chick for CAR magazine. But it's also the harbinger of a new range of electric BMWs. Munich went full EV early, with the wildly futuristic i3 seven years ago. But this - the close-to-production 523bhp i4 - is heartland stuff: 'a sports saloon to futureproof a dynasty,' according to our feature in the new April 2020 issue of CAR magazine. See more of this week's best car pics by clicking 'Next.' This week was all about the Geneva motor show, cancelled for the first time in its 115-year history. The risk of Coronavirus, which gripped northern Italy the week before the show and arrived in Switzerland, led to the national government banning all major events attracting more than 1000 visitors. The cancellation bill could total £200 million, according to estimates of the event, stage, personnel and travel fees wasted. Will the Geneva motor show bounce back next year? After the cancellation of car shows in London, Frankfurt, Detroit and elsewhere, this is one of the big questions facing the auto industry in turbulent times. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. Join us deep inside Rimac HQ, as CAR magazine's Ben Oliver meets entrepreneurial founder Mate Rimac at his Croatian base. Tom Salt's photograph captures perfectly the steely determination and think-different ambition of the 31-year-old, who's been dubbed Europe's answer to Elon Musk, thanks to his clever electric car tech, C_Two hypercar and power supply solutions being developed in Zagreb. See the full eight-page feature in the March 2020 issue of CAR magazine and click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. Our Ariel Nomad long-termer goes rogue: editor Ben Miller's daily driver is the king of doing everything - he's using it for his daily commute, for weekend errands and now for its true purpose: going anywhere, any time, any weather. In the March 2020 issue of CAR magazine, Miller takes his Nomad for a cross-country blast in the Peak District. Charlie Magee's lush photos capture the drama as Miller and Nomad bond over the Derbyshire byways and trails that criss-cross the national park. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. A pair of iconic Porsches, taken from our ground-breakers feature in the new March 2020 issue of CAR magazine. We sent Ben Barry to the Sonoma Raceway in California to drive the greatest game-changers from Porsche's back catalogue - and there are plenty. This shot by Jordan Butters captures the seminal 959 jostling for position with the 917 racer, as Ben ponders each car's import. See the full 12-page feature in the new issue of CAR and click 'Next' to see more of this week's best car photos. The groundbreaking Brabham BT44B leads our best car photos this week: it stars in our feature marking 70 years of Formula 1 racing, as we pick the most influential cars from each decade. We dispatched CAR's brightest minds and photographers to capture the magic of each icon - and the Brabham set the template for the modern F1 car, says editor Ben Miller, leading the way with its very modern aero management, clever ground force effects and relentless pursuit of marginal gains. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photography. The new 2020 Jaguar F-type, photographed for CAR magazine by John Wycherley for our preview of the important new cars landing this year. The first new product to be launched under the watchful eye of Julian Thomson, the new design chief, the F-type is a slick, sensible update to Ian Callum's original. The slimline, pointy front end is the most noticeable step forward. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car pictures this week. It's 30 years since the Land Rover Discovery went on sale in the UK, and to mark the anniversary our Ben Oliver took an original heritage model for a drive across Scotland alongside our contemporary 2020 Disco. It's striking to see how much has changed in the intervening decades, yet there's a boxy, practical strand of DNA that links both generations - despite the influx of electronics and computers that turn the modern iteration into a luxury SUV more than a tough-as-old-boots 4x4. Read Ben's full story, and see all of Sam Chick's evocative photos, in the January 2020 issue of CAR magazine. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The new Aston Martin DBX, photographed for CAR magazine by Dean Smith. It's Aston's first SUV - and it manages to blend the upright, more practical five-door aesthetic of the crossover genre with the company's usual grille and detailing. Well, either that, or it's a travesty of product planning, depending on your perspective. But with red ink haemorrhaging the balance sheets, Gaydon needs a car that'll sell like hot cakes - and we'd wager this is it. Click 'Next' to see more of CAR magazine's best car photos. A classically French scene: in the January 2019 issue of CAR magazine we sent Gavin Green to Paris to referee the Gallic twin test of Peugeot's new 208 vs the box-fresh Renault Clio. Alex Tapley's indulgent photos capture the French duo at home, on the streets of the capital amid the cut-and-thrust of city life. Click 'Next' for more of our best car photos. One of the more surprising photos of the week was the sight of Pope Francis taking delivery of a Dacia Duster as the new Popemobile. It's been modified by coachbuilder Romturingia with special tweaks for the Vatican including a 30mm drop in suspension height and a large removable glass superstructure so its VIP can wave at crowds when seated on the special rear bench. Click 'Next' to see more of this week's best car photos. The Gotthard Pass rumbles to the 24-cylinder beat of a CAR magazine Bentley vs Aston Martin twin test. Alex Tapley's striking image captures the majesty of the Swiss mountain road, shot as part of our Bentley centenary package in the December 2019 issue of CAR magazine. Don't miss the full 12-page feature on the Bentley Continental GT Convertible vs Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. Twin testing the Ferrari 488 GTB and Lamborghini Huracan in December 2016, it seemed apt to recreate one of our most famous photos from the 1980s: 'Reds'. Photographer John Wycherley carefully positioned the two Italians on a beach in Wales for a meeting on the sands. No cars were lost or sunk in the making of this photograph. Click 'Next' for more of our best car photos. The £163,000 McLaren GT introduces a new, more relaxed touring vibe to the Woking mothership. With enough storage cubbies to give it an on-paper load capacity similar to a Volvo estate car, it's surprisingly practical yet the latest Macca struggles to match the gran turismo creds of a Bentley, said our Georg Kacher after driving it for the first time in our November 2019 issue. But it's also one of the sharpest driving GTs we've driven all year. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. CAR magazine's editor at large Ben Barry doing his thing in the new Ferrari F8 Tributo. Shot for our October 2019 issue by Alex Tapley, this photograph captures the new entry-level V8 supercar on the Modenese hill roads near the Maranello HQ. Is it a big enough leap forwards, or a modificato too far? Read our F8 Tributo review to find out. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car pictures this week. We shot the original Bugatti EB110 in its disused Campogalliano factory in Italy, as a counterpoint to the new Centodieci concept car revealed to mark the supercar brand's 110th anniversary. John Wycherley's photos capture the forlorn emptiness of the site - brought to life by the rugged aggression of the EB110, here in race-spec. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. As autumn approaches, we take a step back and look at the year's best sports cars. In the new October 2019 issue of CAR magazine we took our best writers and the McLaren 600 LT Spider, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, Toyota Supra GR, Lambo Huracan Evo, Porsche 911 Carrera S and Renault Megan RS Trophy-R to some of our favourite roads in Wales. Alex Tapley's photos tell the story of Sports Car Giant Test 2019. Click 'Next' for more of our best car photos this week. Has the Lotus Esprit ever looked better? Forty years on from launch, we took one for a spin in the September 2019 issue of CAR magazine, as our chief contributor Gavin Green visited Norwich's Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts to interview design chief Russell Carr. It's maximum wedge - and you can hear all about the next chapter of Lotus product plans and see more of Jordan Butters' evocative pictures in his revealing interview. See more of our best car photos by clicking 'Next.' The Jaguar D-Type has a special place in many racing enthusiasts' hearts: its outright win in 1955 is remembered fondly and Norman Dewis's exploits at 190mph on the Mulsanne Straight are the stuff of folklore in Jag circles. So it was an apt addition to our Last Gallon feature in the September 2019 issue of CAR magazine, where our writers announced their picks to consume the last drops of petrol on Earth. Sam Smith chose the majestic D, photographed evocatively by Alex Howe. Click 'Next' to see more of our favourite photos this week. Driving purity: Alex Tapley's photo in the August 2019 issue of CAR magazine captures perfectly the honed aggression of the latest £75,348 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 sports car. Overt aero tweaks and hidden engineering upgrades to engine and chassis make one of our favourite coupes even better - especially with the sonorous 414bhp 4.0-litre flat six replacing the regular 718's low-drama four-cylinder boxer engine. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The August 2019 cover star of CAR magazine is the radical Lotus Evija, the all-electric hypercar that looks set to relaunch the British sports car maker into the big time. Chinese ownership has provided funds to develop the 1972bhp battery-powered rocketship, whose wild aero was captured perfectly by John Wycherley's inspiring photography. You can read the full story by Gavin Green in CAR magazine. Click 'Next' to see more of this week's best car photos. A trio of the most desirable electric cars on sale today nestle in Suffolk woodland: our photo of the Tesla Model X, Jaguar i-Pace and Audi E-Tron from The Shortlist feature in the July 2019 issue of CAR magazine was taken by Alex Tapley. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. Proof that the Suzuki Jimny is a proper little toughnut 4x4: it impressed Mark Walton in CAR magazine's latest mud-plugging exploits, as we took the little Suz around a pretty gnarly off-road course in a local quarry, where it held its own alongside a Mercedes G-Class costing eight times as much and a Jeep Wrangler. Alex Tapley's photo captures perfectly the muddy mess we encountered on this shoot. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The July 2019 issue of CAR magazine contains this striking image of the new Toyota Supra taking off on a bumpy stretch of country road. Photographer Jordan Butters caught the moment perfectly as James Taylor briefly caught some air over a compression. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The Alfa Romeo Tonale ushers in a new era of products from Turin: it's a second SUV to slot beneath the Stelvio and it's the first new product from Alfa since the death of CEO Sergio Marchionne. CAR magazine photographed the new compact crossover at the company's design HQ and John Wycherley's dramatic photos in our June 2019 issue capture a lithe, plug-in hybrid to tempt buyers away from X3s and GLCs. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider brings open-top thrills to our reining Sports Car of the Year. Shot for the June 2019 issue of CAR magazine by Alex Tapley, we took the new rag-top supercar for a blast around the Maranello HQ as part of our Coffee with CAR feature interviewing Ferrari design chief Flavio Manzoni. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The Duke of Richmond is the driving force behind modern Goodwood - and the architect of the Festival of Speed, Revival and Members Meetings synonymous with the picturesque West Sussex country estate. CAR magazine's Ben Oliver and ace photographer Sam Chick caught up with the auto-obsessed aristo at Goodwood for a profile in the May 2019 issue, including a ride in his Porsche 911 GT2 RS (above) and Land Rover Defender. 'I don't do a bloody thing,' he told us. 'I just sit here and drink lots of cups of tea.' We somehow think this is not true... Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. Backstage at the genesis of the Koenigsegg Jesko, CAR magazine's Ben Barry gets the inside line on the new Jesko hypercar, in the days ahead of its world debut at the 2019 Geneva motor show. The Swedish supercar specialist opened its doors and gave unfettered access to its new creation, the boss Christian Koenigsegg playing very proud parent. Click 'Next' to see the look on the face of Jesko, his father after whom the car is named. We were there the moment the covers where whisked off the Koenigsegg Jesko in Geneva - and captured the look on the founder's father. The emotion in his eyes is clear to see, as he's surrounded by his son Christian and other family members. Click 'Next' to see more of this week's best car photos from the CAR magazine collection. How to build on near-perfection? With the new Ferrari F8 Tributo, photographed here by Sam Chick for CAR magazine for a five-page feature in the April 2019 issue. The new entry-level V8 takes the learnings from Pista and applies them to the bread-and-butter Ferrari, with devastating effect: 710bhp, 0-62mph sprint in just 2.9sec and a 211mph v-max. Not to mention that F40-echoing slatted rear screen... Click 'Next' for more of our best car photos this week. A blast from the past: our European editor Georg Kacher bought a clapped-out, 35-year-old Yugo in Germany and took it on a slow and wheezy road trip across Europe to the former Yugoslavian factory that built it in Kragujevac in modern-day Serbia. Tom Salt's photos capture the mood perfectly: the derelict factory a stark backdrop to the other-era, back-to-basics car design. See the full story in the April 2019 issue of CAR magazine. Click 'Next' to see more of our best photos. The Aston Martin Vanquish Vision Concept was one of the undisputed stars of the just-finished 2019 Geneva motor show. CAR magazine got in there early to shoot the new mid-engined Ferrari 488 rival ahead of the Swiss car expo and John Wycherley's ace snaps bring the radical supercar to life. 'The message from your eyes to your beating heart is clear,' notes editor Ben Miller. 'This is an Aston that promises to drive like no other.' Click 'Next' to see more of our best car pics this week. In the March 2019 issue of CAR magazine we asked our writers to come up with their dream secondhand three-car garage. The choices were rich and varied - and none more so than Mark Walton’s trio: a £9k Toyota GT86 for day-to-day coupe thrills, a used Land Rover Discovery 5 at £20k off list price for family manoeuvres, and a £30k Ariel Atom for solo blasts to reconnect with the joy of driving. It’s a reminder of what a diverse marketplace the car world remains today. Click ‘Next’ to see more of our best car photos this week. The new Porsche 992: still defiantly 911, but remastered for 2019. That's the verdict of our triumvirate of experienced road testers in the March 2019 issue of CAR magazine. We sent out three critics to the launch of the new sports car - and editor Ben Miller, European editor Georg Kacher and chief contributor Gavin Green all returned a little bit smitten. 'After 56 years of evolution and honing, sharpening and polishing, Porsche's greatest car is even better,' we concluded. 'There is no sports car that can really compete with the Carrera S. The truth is, with 911s, there never really was.' Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. It's clash of the heavyweight SUVs: Lamborghini Urus meets Mercedes G-Wagen vs Range Rover. In the March 2019 issue of CAR magazine our European editor Georg Kacher tests the mettle of the toughest, fastest 4x4s on sale today. 'The three super SUVs are leagues apart in the way they perform,' he observes. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. It's a classical Italian face-off, as the latest Lamborghini Aventador SVJ in the green corner takes on the scarlet rosso of the new Ferrari 812 Superfast. Our European editor Georg Kacher referees this battle of the old-school V12s, in what could be one of the last encounters of its kind. Don't miss the 10-page twin test in the new March 2019 issue of CAR magazine out now, photographed by Tom Salt. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The Ruf CTR takes Porsche 911-kind to the next level: it's a carbonfibre-tubbed, 700bhp lightweight special that distils the coupe to its purest, hardest form. In the latest February 2019 issue of CAR magazine Ben Whitworth heads deep inside the Ruf headquarters in Pfaffenhasen, Germany and meets owners Alois Ruf Jr and his wife Estonia. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. CAR magazine has taken the outrageous BAC Mono for a blast around the Isle of Man - famous for the TT bike races, stunning scenery and mountain sections with no speed limits. Ben Oliver is smitten by this low-volume, high-tech missile, but wonders how big the customer base will be. 'Who buys a four-cylinder F3 car with number plates for £200,000?' he asks. See more of Barry Hayden's brilliant photos in the February 2019 issue of CAR magazine. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. Ice-skating in the new BMW 3-series. We've taken the new Three for a 700-mile blast across the Alps this winter and Alex Tapley's drone shot here captures Ben Barry in his element, drifting the 330i across a mountain pass. Don't miss the 12-page feature in the February 2019 issue of CAR magazine out now. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The box-fresh McLaren 600LT takes on its rivals in a CAR magazine triple test: can the sharpened junior Sports Series Macca dislodge the evergreen Porsche 911 GT3 RS and the equally new Lamborghini Huracan Performante? We took them for a thrash around Snowdonia in the Welsh mountains to find out, photographed by the talented Greg Pajo. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car pictures this week. The new Range Rover Evoque is the cover star of the January 2019 issue of CAR magazine. Land Rover's played it safe with the same-again style of its luxury SUV, with a dash of added Velar here and some clever-clogs tech there. Wilson Hennessey's photos capture the ice-cool vibe of the 2019 Evoque perfectly - see the full shoot in the new issue. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week This startling picture of stockpiled VW Group cars abandoned in California’s Mojave Desert has won National Geographic's photo of the year contest. The aerial image captures cars held in a giant holding pen in the wake of the emissions scandal. It was taken by amateur pilot Jassen Todorov in his 1976 Piper Warrior, who stumbled upon the Volkswagen vehicle storage lot located just outside the Southern California Logistics Airport. See the full story at National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/photography/2018/12/pilots-stunning-aerial-desert-picture-wins-national-geographics-2018-photo-1 We’d say that 2018 is a good year to be a family hatchback buyer: on the evidence of our new Ford Focus vs Mercedes A-Class vs Kia Ceed shoot-out, customers haven’t had it this good since the millennial Focus Mk1 landed two decades ago to shred years of Escort mediocrity. The Giant Test in the December 2018 issue of CAR magazine by James Taylor tests three of the latest hatches, photographed by Alex Tapley. Click ‘Next’ to see more of our best car pictures this week. Was it just us who started drooling when Porsche rolled out the heritage models at the new 992 world debut this week in Los Angeles? This is a brand acutely aware of where they've come from - and this dainty early 911 shows the rear-engined template was set in stone early on. Five and a half decades, they're still going strong... Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. McLaren Speedtail, shot in studio for CAR magazine by John Wycherley, is one of the most dramatic cars we've seen all year. The 1035bhp hybrid take the spirt of the F1 - and its three-abreast, central driving position - and reinvents it for the hybridised age. Our full 10-page feature in the December 2018 issue of CAR tells the full story. Click 'Next' for more of our favourite car photos this month. Rolls-Royce's new Cullinan engages in a spot of light off-roading in our new feature for the December 2018 issue of CAR magazine. Long-serving contributor Gavin Green takes the controversial SUV for a spin across the Wyoming mountains with a tough passenger for company: company boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös. This drone shot by Jamie Lipman captures the big landscapes of the USA - a fitting backdrop for a huge crossover. Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos. An out-take from our test of the new Lamborghini Aventador SVJ: Charlie Magee's photo captures the drama of the maximum Lambo, as Chris Chilton hot-laps a slippery Estoril circuit in Spain. It's an angry beast of a supercar, packing 40% more downforce than a regular Aventador and 20 extra ponies for a 760bhp total from the characterful V12. 'There's more to the SVJ than numbers,' observes Chilton. 'It's about absurd emotional connection a man make with a machine.' Click 'Next' to see more of our best car photos this week. The six contenders in our Sports Car Giant Test 2018 extravaganza, a 26-page special in the November 2018 issue of CAR magazine. We took the Ferrari 488 Pista, McLaren Senna, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M2 Competition and Alpine A110 on a special road trip to the middle of France - the very special Circuit de Charade. Click 'Next' to see more photos from our sports car mega-test. Another of Richard Pardon's stunning pictures from our latest Sports Car of the Year feature in the new November 2018 issue of CAR magazine. Shot in southern France, the Ferrari 488 Pista leads the Porsche 911 GT2 RS on the sort of mountain roads enthusiasts dream of. Don't miss the full 26-page feature in CAR magazine's November 2018 issue. The real grand tour: when Bentley launches a new car, we give it a proper test - by taking the new Continental on a road trip to the Med and beyond. James Taylor pops in to the swankier parts of Monaco in his odyssey in the October 2018 issue of CAR magazine, photographed at this upmarket marina by Alex Tapley. We've gone on a tour around the Porsche Effect, the 70th anniversary exhibition at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. Jamie Lipman's photos in the October 2018 issue capture the magic of the marque, including this wonderful 550 racer. The 590kg flyweight was so low-slung, Hans Hermann piloted his under a level crossing barrier in the 1954 Mille Miglia. Lucky Sam Smith got to race the iconic BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile in an historic motorsport race in Monterey, alongside the new 8-series for the cover story in the latest issue of CAR magazine. Photographed by Alex Tapley as it negotiates traffic at Laguna Seca, Sam ponders if the new Eight can possibly live up to its top-notch heritage. We've driven the new Mercedes-Benz G-Class up the Schöckl mountain where it was developed in Austria for a 12-page feature in the September issue of CAR magazine. Here Tim Pollard negotiates a narrow granite path as photographer Justin Leighton watches on. 'It's gnarly, gregarious and great with a capital G,' is Tim's verdict on the new tough Tonka SUV. Two of our favourite hot hatches of 2018: the September issue of CAR magazine anoints the pocket rocket king, and here we test the new Renaultsport Megane against the red-hot Honda Civic Type R on the soon-to-close Rockingham inner circuit. Can you keep up with all the new McLarens rolling off the line at Woking? For a supercar manufacturer in its first decade, the pace of change is startling. Now they've just shown the new 600 LT, a fettled 570S and the first indication of how the cheaper Sports Series will toughen up to produce some very special supercars. Ace snapper John Wycherley has photographed it for the August 2018 issue of CAR magazine in a nine-page feature. In Lotus’s 70th anniversary year, an unusual photograph emerged this week: the girl who inspired the name of the evergreen Elise roadster returned to Hethel, 22 years after the sports car was launched. Elisa Artioli is the granddaughter of then-chairman Romano Artioli, and she attended a 1996 event the year after launch (inset). Elisa was reunited with the second Elise ever built, toured the factory and did her first laps of the Norfolk circuit in a Lotus Exige Sport 410 and Evora GT410 Sport. Editor Ben Miller takes the latest Ferrari 812 Superfast to the Spa-Francorchamps opening round of the WEC race season. You can read the full story in the August 2018 issue of CAR magazine - and Alex Tapley's pictures of the £263,033 super-coupe capture the dramatic style of Ferrari's hottest - and yellowest - GT coupe. British artist and designer Gerry Judah has designed his 21st sculpture for the Goodwood Festival of Speed - and this year it's celebrating 70 years of Porsche sports cars. The 52m high installation spears into the azure sky with seven branches carrying landmarks including the 959 Dakar, a 918 Spyder and the legendary 917. The Jaguar i-Pace is the big cat's first electric car and to test its mettle CAR magazine drove it coast to coast from Blackpool in the west to Scarborough in the east. Longstanding CAR photographer Charlie Magee shot the e-SUV in situ amidst the neon lights, wild rollercoasters and ferris wheels of Blackpool, its cool modernist tech contrasting with the lairy, old-school hubbub of the pleasure beach. Aston Martin Vantage or Porsche 911? To decide, we took Britain's newcomer to Rockingham and the roads around the Northamptonshire circuit near CAR HQ. Its arch rival? A late-edition 991 GTS, one of the toughest obstacles for any sports car challenger to overcome. In the July 2018 issue of CAR magazine we find out if the Aston has what it takes to dethrone the class benchmark, with photos by the ever-talented John Wycherley. Alfa Romeo has confirmed it's bringing back the 8C supercar, as a carbonfibre, PHEV slice of exotica. Which got us thinking about the last one: launched in 2007 as a coupe, with a roadster following, it was a limited edition with just 500 of each bodystyle built. Designed by Wolfgang Egger before he joined Audi, our photo from the launch captures the sensuous style we've come to expect of Alfa. Join us inside the finest collection of Citroens anywhere in the world, as Gavin Green tours the Citroen Conservatoire collection outside Paris. In the July 2018 issue of CAR magazine we detail the treasure troves within courtesy of a personal guide by PSA scion Xavier Peugeot. The Tesla Model 3 starred on the cover of CAR magazine recently (May 2018) and this moody shot of the breakthrough electric car was taken by ace photographer Jamie Lipman to accompany our 500-mile test around California. The omens are good: 'It's here to save us, not drive like a BMW: Musk's marvel does both,' our coverline concluded. The new Alpine A110 joins the Ford Fiesta ST in the latest issue of CAR magazine as we revisit what a purist's sports car can be - at any price. Thirty big ones separates these two, but they're joined by a focus on driver fun and simple thrills. Which would you pick? The Porsche 356 is where the Porsche road car story began: it's one of the stars of the June 2018 issue of CAR magazine, where we celebrate the brand's 70th anniversary. John Wycherley's photos capture James Taylor driving this wonderful 7000-mile example recently restored by Porsche Centre Leeds. Hot hatchbacks: still alive and well in 2018, as the new Ford Fiesta ST proves. Writer Mark Walton loves a good fizzy pocket rocket and in the June 2018 issue of CAR magazine he showed why. It's still a checkable, responsive little terrier of a car, as proven by this snap taken by photographer Alex Tapley. Possibly turbocharged? The 76th Goodwood Members' Meeting was held in the grip of an English winter, transforming West Sussex into an ice rink. That didn't stop 20,000 members piling down to Goodwood to enjoy the car culture on offer. CAR magazine sent Ben Barry and snapper Richard Pardon along to record the scene. A row of Porsches lines up in the paddock at the 76th Goodwood Members Meeting. With a fraction of the crowds of the Festival of Speed or Revival, this is a more intimate event. It's like stepping back to the FOS two decades ago. Two rear-wheel drive 'junior' supercars glisten in a Borders sunset. Alex Tapley photographed the latest twin test in the May 2018 issue of CAR magazine, where the new rear-wheel drive Audi R8 RWS met its nemesis from Woking, the sublime McLaren 570S. Don't miss Ben Barry's exquisite comparison in our print and digital editions - and click 'Next' to see more of our best photos. Seventy years ago this Land Rover marked the launch of the 4x4 brand, post war. Ahead of the company's 70th anniversary celebrations, CAR magazine photographs the 1948 trendsetter in all its unrestored glory in the latest May 2018 issue. Click 'Next' to see more of our favourite photos. Can you spot the car yet? That's the Lexus LC500 in our latest adventure drive, as editor Ben Miller took the rather brilliant GT on a drive across California in the latest issue. Photographer Jamie Lipman used his drone to get this aerial picture. Click 'Next' to see the car closer up. 'The LC's shape owes a little to the LFA and a lot to the 2012 LF-LC concept car that followed. The detailing is sublime, from the cascading grille to the headlights that look to be weeping into the ducts beneath. But it's the proportions that set your pulse racing: the impossibly low nose; the endless bonnet; the hourglass coke-bottling to the body ahead of the rear wheels.' The new BMW M8 Gran Coupe Concept shown at this spring's Geneva motor show is a clear pointer to the new 8-series being readied for launch later in 2018. CAR magazine was granted early access to the Eight for our six-page feature in the April 2018 issue. Our exclusive photography by Xisco Fuster proves that Munich isn't about to throw the baby out with the bathwater - expect the concept to survive little changed to production. Maybe not with 1980s-French-spec yellow lights though... Click 'Next' to see more of our best photos. Three of our favourite everyday performance heroes, photographed in Wales by Charlie Magee: in the April 2018 issue of CAR magazine we pit the new Audi RS4 Avant against its German rival, the Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate, plus a leftfield, rather more cramped alternative from Italy - the sublime Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. Click 'Next' to see more of our favourite photos The new Ferrari 488 Pista, photographed exclusively for the new April 2018 issue of CAR magazine. Snapper Alex Tapley spent the night with the new maximum V8 at Maranello: it's a 488 turned up to 11, with a heady 710bhp to help it rocket from 0-62mph in a scarcely believable 2.85sec. Is that figure quoted to two decimal places because McLaren's 720S does it in 2.9sec? We suspect so... To see more of our best photos, click 'Next' The Ariel Nomad flying gracefully through the Somerset sky... Richard Pardon's stunning shot captures perfectly the mash-up character of Ariel's go-anywhere sports car. Part buggy, part Atom, part Porsche-botherer - driver Chris Chilton emerged impressed. 'The Nomad is a fascinating, ludicrous machine,' he mused. Further proof, were it needed, that electric cars are taking off: there's a new Tesla rival in town, and we've driven it. Editor Ben Miller dropped in on Lucid Motors over in California and took the new Air out for a spin. It's a Model S rival due in 2019 - don't miss more great pics by Jamie Lipman in our feature in the March 2018 issue of CAR magazine. Click 'Next' to see more great photos from CAR's archives. A bright yellow, four-wheel steer Renaultsport Megane, CAR writer James Taylor and an empty weekend in Spain... Cue a 500-mile drive across some of Spain's finest driving roads, duly captured by ace snapper Alex Tapley. 'The new Megane RS is brilliant in Cup form: a truly engaging and responsive hot hatch.' The Aston Martin Valkyrie stars in the February 2018 issue of CAR magazine: photographer John Wycherley captures the menacing spirit of the joint AM-Red Bull hypercar, which carries a £2.5 million price tag and a whole host of Adrian Newey-inspired F1 tech. Ford GT supercar meets the WEC racer: CAR magazine introduced the road car to the Le Mans race car to check just how close the two are in concept. Don't miss James Taylor's epic tale in the February 2018 issue of CAR magazine, photographed by Tom Salt. The new Rolls-Royce Phantom: Goodwood isn't taking any chances with its new limousine - the aesthetic is decidedly same-again, even though the 4wd, aluminium-intense architecture is all-new. But that's what the world's plutocrats want, research shows... Who makes the best super saloon of 2018? CAR magazine finds out in our new twin test, as we pit the latest all-wheel drive BMW M5 against its nemesis from Stuttgart, the mighty Mercedes-AMG E63. Stunning photo by Steffen Jahn in the January 2018 issue of CAR. Porsche, ancient and modern: a lovely shot of the day when we introduced the latest old-school GT2 RS bruiser to the next-gen Porsche Mission E electric car. Part of the cover shoot by Steffen Jahn for the December 2017 issue of CAR magazine. Drift mode in an L200? CAR recently drove over the Alps to Florence, as part of a Mitsubishi adventure drive to watch an early form of rugby being played out in the Italian city. Our team oversteer addict Ben Barry couldn't help but go a bit sideways in the leaf-sprung pick-up. It's the Pope's Lamborghini: yes, Sant'Agata really did give His Holiness Pope Francis a Huracan this week - and a RWD one at that. Alas, it's not the new Popemobile, but rather a gift to auction for charity. McLaren 720S leads the pack on Sports Car Giant Test 2017, CAR magazine's annual performance car gathering. This year we decamped to Wales and you can read all about it in the November 2017 issue of CAR magazine. This UK-registered Bugatti Chiron has appreciated in value by £1 million in just four months. It's believed to be the first secondhand Bug sold in Britain; it made a cool £3.6m at the Romans International supercar dealership in Surrey. Lurid green Mercedes-AMG GT R hunts down a more soberly painted Audi R8 Spyder V10 Plus under an orange sky on CAR's Sports Car Giant Test 2017 - read the full feature in the November issue on sale now. Photo by Alex Tapley Its rivals nicknamed it 'the yellow teapot', because it spent so much time steaming by the side of the track. But when Renault cured its first turbocharged Formula 1 car's reliability woes, the RS10 conquered the world. Wilson Hennessey photographed the '77 icon for CAR's October 2017 issue, to celebrate 40 years of Renault F1 Even more extreme camping than last week's picture: in CAR's latest issue Ben Miller packs a tent and a rollmat in the nose of Lamborghini's incredible Performante and heads from Sant'Agata to home, the long way round. Read the full feature, photographed by Barry Hayden, in the October 2017 issue of CAR magazine, on sale now Extreme camping: we visit the British GP in a selection of wild Brit sports cars in the September 2017 issue of CAR magazine. We camp at Silverstone and take our Ariel Atom 3.5, Caterham 310S and Elemental RP1 on a track day on the way. Photo by John Wycherley. The Royal Mail surprised us all this week by showing off what can only be described as Postman Pat's van made real. It's part of a new fleet of electric post vans made by EV specialist Arrival and nine silent delivery vehicles will whirr silently around London, with a promised range of 100 miles. Keep us posted... The September 2017 issue of CAR magazine is led by our Range Rover Velar review, as Mark Walton drives across Norway in the new Rangie. Here it contemplates the stunning scenery around Geirangerfjord. Exclusive photography for CAR by the talented Richard Pardon. Inside Alfaholics: CAR magazine visited the west country Alfa Romeo specialist, and considered an organ donation to acquire Jochen Rindt's Sprint GTA (right) and other past masters to make Alfisti drool. Photographed for CAR by Alex Tapley The UK followed France's lead by announcing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040. It's major news, but leaves plenty of unanswered questions: where will the electricity come from? Where will all these EVs plug in? Won't the world be fully electric by then, anyway? Vive la difference... Jumping into the record books: Jaguar launched its new E-Pace baby crossover - literally - at London's Xcel convention centre on 13 July 2017, by completing the longest barrel roll of any production car. Months in the planning, spectacular to watch. Most 520d BMWs will lead dull lives of motorway drudgery. This one hasn't. CAR's Ben Barry takes a breather from cliff-edge dicing with drug dealers in Morroco during his epic adventure drive - read the full feature here: http://bit.ly/2txzm5D We three kings: in CAR magazine's July 2017 issue, we assembled Ferrari's greatest non-turbocharged engines for a very special get-together. F12 tdf meets 458 Speciale meets Enzo at dawn In CAR's July 2017 issue we take a peek inside the race team that time forgot. This is the main workshop at Classic Team Lotus, car no. 25 won the F1 championship in Jim Clark's hands, and that's Bob Dance in green, its original mechanic. Photograph by Mark Riccioni Earlier this year, precision driving maestro Paul Swift gave us a one-to-one stunt driving lesson - that's him doing the 'side-wheelie', though, not us CAR's long-term Ginetta G40 vs drive-thru. Because race car No-one does promo stunts like Red Bull F1. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen race each other in Aston Martin Volantes... towing caravans The most photogenic race circuit in the world? That'll be Mount Panorama in Australia Our long-term Radical SR1 racing into the sunset, on the way to a championship win at Snetterton Levitating XJ220 supercars at Jaguar's brand-new Classic Works facility in Coventry Earlier this year we became the first magazine to drive Jaguar's electric i-Pace concept on the road. No missing it in its new 'Photon Red' paint job... Inside the cabin of the Ferrari 250 GTO. A stunning example of 1960s sporting purity. Wanna drive? Of course you do... Bird's eye view: a red-hot Ferrari 599 GTO sizzles on the tarmac in Italy, ahead of a first drive by CAR magazine's Ben Barry One of the early McLaren F1s... and this one belongs to none other than Gordon Murray, its designer. This photo was taken at his house, as CAR's Gavin Green revisited for a drive on its 20th anniversary CAR magazine's longstanding European editor Georg Kacher doing his thing in the BMW M2. It's very tail-happy, don't you know? Is there a more evocative sight in motoring? The curved rear screen of a Ferrari Dino is an exquisite frame for Barry Hayden's shot in England's pretty New Forest Ye gods! CAR gathered three iconic supercar heroes together for our golden anniversary in 2012: McLaren F1, Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari 250 GTO. All landmark cars that dominated their respective decades