This month's evo
Henry Catchpole is in Japan to discover if the GT-R is the world-beater we’ve been promised and Richard Meaden takes the R34 GT-R back to its spiritual home..
News Koenigsegg builds an 888bhp track special, US supercar manufacturer SSC pulls the Veyron’s pants down with a new top speed record, and Vector is back with a 1850bhp, 275mph road rocket. And not one mention of the bloody environment
Driven Lotus Exige S, Maserati Q'porte GT S, Cadillac CTS 3.6 V6, Ariel Atom 3 245, Porsche Cayenne GTs, Vauxhall Corsa SRi Letters Some of you are still struggling to grasp the concept of eCoty. So here is it is again: the best car wins Farbio GTS John Barker decides if the Farbio can fill the void left by TVR, Marcos and the Noble M12
Cover Story: Nissan GT-R This is it, then. No more hype, no more tantalising tales from the Ring. Finally we can judge Nissan’s new supercar from the driver’s seat. Henry Catchpole is in Japan to discover if the GT-R is the world-beater we’ve been promised Skyline GT-R R34 revisited The new GT-R is a ‘world car’ but its predecessors were unashamedly tailored to their home market and forged legendary status street- racing in Tokyo and being tuned to unfeasible levels. But in Europe the Skyline was all about that lap of the Nürburgring. Richard Meaden takes the R34 GT-R back to its spiritual home Manthey Racing Step 1: buy a GT3. Step 2: deliver it to Manthey Racing along with a blank cheque. Step 3: become a god amongst men who love to talk about ‘geo’ settings. Step 4: lose all your friends and any hope of marriage. Step 5: die happy BMW 135i Destined for cult status or just another ugly BMW? Richard Meaden finds out under the cover of darkness… Sierra Cosworth 204bhp, 6.2 seconds to 60mph, 143mph – doesn’t sound very impressive, does it? But in the late ’80s the Cossie was the wildest ride in town, as David Vivian recalls Our Cult Heroes Dodgy electrics, terrible shut-lines… but just look at them. Better still, drive them. Flat-out.* These are our ultimate cult heroes. * On second thoughts, don’t drive the Shamal flat-out, we don’t want that on our conscience Cult Hero: Henri Toivonen The man who tamed the Lancia Delta S4. What more do you need to know? Ian Eveleigh pays tribute to one of the greatest talents in rallying history C63 AMG v M3 v VXR8 Supercharged BMW’s M3 looks a bit weedy in this company, but can the bruising Merc and monster Vauxhall match the deft dynamics of Munich’s finest? John Barker says… something about a NASCAR rumble. Probably 350Z racers Race virgins Peter ‘The Crab’ Tomalin and Ian ‘Psycho’ Eveleigh get a baptism of fire at a very wet Pembrey. Those lucky enough to witness their scintillating debut will always remember the day that the dynamic duo announced their intentions to the racing world Long-term tests The girly-blue Impreza is gone, the Lamborghini is being thrashed and spun to within an inch of its life, the 964 RS is gently weeping from an oil seal somewhere and Richard Meaden is quietly sobbing at the prospect of the bill to fix it. And Henry has been cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats… The Knowledge These pages are an exploratory toe in the water of ‘in-house repro’ – so if all the pictures are blurry the blame lies squarely with Carey Icon: Porsche 911 Ian Eveleigh looks back at the birth of what would become evo Car of the Year 1964, the original Porsche 911
