Driving around Tokyo is daunting. With no centre or suburbs, its road network is huge, spiralling, occasionally latticed and sometimes subterranean. At times, even Mr Roboto in the satnav gives up and shrugs directions your way. Which has happened. Meaning I’m lost while leading Mick Schumacher (behind the wheel of a stunning Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II) through Japan’s neon-lined labyrinth.
It’s a hot, humid evening and Mercedes F1’s reserve driver (and son of iconic seven time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher) is cutting the perfect shape of a Nineties boyband member. Where I’m perspiring like a burst pipe, he palms back his blonde curls and looks effortlessly cool in his loose fitting, oversized Tommy Hilfiger contractual clobber. Sartorially, it couldn’t be more of a perfect fit for the car he’s driving.
Born out of German touring cars, the Evo II is a deeply lustworthy, boxy and bewinged sports saloon. With a revvy, induction-tastic 232bhp four-cylinder engine mated to a dog leg close-ratio five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive and aero appendages that get petrolheads salivating, it’s a proper tip one’s hat ‘if you know, you know’ car. Mercedes only built 502 of them (as per DTM’s homologation rules) out of some 1.9 million W201 models that it’s based on. So they’re properly rare beasts. The fact we’ve got a quadruplet of Evos following Mick makes the situation we’re in a bit more mind-blowing. But that’s the plan. We wanted to give Mick an evening to remember – to take him away from the repetition and rigmarole of modern media junkets. We don’t want to know where he keeps his ketchup, or when the last time he thought of the Roman Empire was. We want to indulge his love for cars.
Esta historia es de la edición November 2023 de BBC TopGear India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 2023 de BBC TopGear India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Does It Fly?
2024 TVS APACHE RR 310 ₹2.75 Lakh - ₹2.97 Lakh (ex-showroom)
Is It A Scooter? Is It A Bike? No! It Is The BMW CE 02
It is rare when you come across a moment where a company brings out a vehicle into the market without knowing who exactly they want to sell it to.
Aston Martin Valkyrie
The Aston Martin Valkyrie still looks like nothing else on four wheels. Probably because it isn’t.
ONE-MAN BAND
We are a cynical bunch of people as we try our best to narrow down our vision and focus on the things that are lacking.
CRISIS AVERTED! THE EXISTENTIAL KIND
Finally, the Yezdi Adventure won’t be suffering from an existential crisis anymore.
ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN
ALTHOUGH IT IS A PERENNIAL ORDEAL FOR ANY MOTORCYCLIST to feel sad while parting ways with a motorcycle, it became even sadder for me this time around.
TVS APACHE RTR 310
THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SAY IS - “IT IS A MENACE ON WHEELS”.
ACE OF BASE
What happens when you take Porsche's old school entry level model and give it a very not entry level upgrade? This is a 914 as you've never seen it before
MOMS KNOW BEST
Volvo's XC90 was the stereotypical Soccer Mom car. So how will the all-electric EX90 be received among the soccer pitches of Orange County?
THE THEORYOF EVOLUTION
Ridged bladder seats, an inflating steering wheel and an AI track day coach... has Lotus hit on the supercar’s future, or gone mad’?