This month's evo, issue 129

NewsAs Lamborghini reveals its last hurrah for the Murciélago, the LP670-4 SV, Porsche shows us the second-generation 997 GT3, Renaultsport drops a teaser about a hot version of the new Mégane and Bentley gives us the Continental Supersports

DrivenMazda MX-5, Litchfield MX-5, Jaguar XKR, Corsa VXR-R, Autofarm Cayman, VW Scirocco 1.4 TSI, Toyota IQ

LettersA load of scrap – that’s what you think of the sugestion that the Government should pay people to send their old cars for recycling

2009’S BIGGEST TESTSNew cars. Lovely, aren’t they? But how do they compare with the current class champions? That’s the question you always want answered, so that’s why we’ve arranged head-to-head tests for the quartet of significant drivers’ cars that arrive this month. The much anticipated 300bhp Focus RS squares up to the stripped-for-action Mégane R26.R, the warbling V10-engined Audi R8 meets its mechanically very similar cousin, the Lamborghini LP560-4, the frisky Abarth 500 meets the car it wants to be (at least in sales terms), the pesky Mini Cooper S, and Jaguar’s new 500bhp XFR meets the guvnor of supersaloon-dom, the M5, in a nocturnal showdown Red-hot hatchesImpressed that the Focus RS has 300bhp? Don’t be. We’ve found four hatches with more – much more. How about an Astra VXR with 420bhp? Ollie Marriage braces for torque steer

Maserati’s long, dark historyThe long-lived Italian car maker has made many achingly beautiful cars over the years, but, says Martin Buckley, at times its history has been real ugly

The Grand Challenge: there’s snow business like…It was supposed to be a tyre-squealing, brake-fading shoot-out at the Bedford Autodrome, won by the one of the sports cars. Trouble was, the West Circuit was under three inches of snow. So instead it was a hilarious slip-sliding, spin-tastic shoot-out, won by…

SubscriptionsMr A Darling is subscriber number 00011, Mr G Brown number 00010. Allegedly

Ferraris on iceIn your dreams you are gracefully drifting a Ferrari F430 through a snowy maze. Then you wake up and find that it’s true! But also that you are Henry Catchpole

Long-termersNew cars aplenty this month, including a big V12 one for Simon George. Recession, what recession?

The KnowledgeIt’s all in here and it’s all 100 per cent accurate. Oh yes

Ask the ExpertsGo on, ask us absolutely anything

Birth of an Icon: Ford RS200Best looking Group B rally car by a mile. Shame it arrived so late

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