WHEN I FIRST SAT DOWN AT MY LAPTOP W way back in March of 2021 and opened the Jaguar Land Rover configurator to spec what turned out to be KN71 LWR, I did so dreaming of taking our future Fast Fleet F-type on a long road trip.
I didn't know where that trip would be to, but I knew that if I was to appreciate what this car is all about - and do justice to what is, in all probability, Jaguar's last combustion-engined sports GT - it needed to be beyond our shores.
It took a while to materialise, but that trip came in the form of a recent jaunt to Switzerland to visit family. It's a journey Mrs M and I have done on countless occasions. Many times by car, but more often by plane, as I somewhat ashamedly confessed in my column in evo 302. This time around, with airports in chaos and cheap flights apparently a thing of the past, it didn't even take Man Maths to decide it would be cheaper, less stressful and far more enjoyable to jump in the Jag.
With no kids to cart around, an impractical two-seater is a fine way to slice through Europe. The F-type's boot is a reasonable size, but the depth tapers due to the rakish fastback styling. You can just about fit a couple of carry-on cases in there if you push them right up against the rear bulkhead, but anything else needs to be slim or squashy if you're to make the most of what space there is. The almost total lack of stowage space in the cabin doesn't help.
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BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
