UNWITTINGLY, THE DAY BEFORE we shoot the Audi RS6 Avant and BMW M3 Competition Touring on the rolling roads that thump and yump over the North York Moors, I remind myself just why the fast estate car is such a special concept. My first sight of the RS6 is at 6am. It's shrouded in thick ice and the air is so cold that my clothes crackle as I walk towards it. A few minutes later I'm thawing in heated seats and pointed towards Brands Hatch, some 100 miles south. The miles accrue easily and the 4-litre twin-turbocharged engine slips almost silently into the background. It's just the start of a very RS6 sort of day.
The track is perilously slippery but the Audi barely notices. It's acting as fast chase vehicle, photographer and video team taking turns to lie in the boot to capture an old race car with 900bhp or more. Once I've removed the baby seat, of course. The Group C car tiptoes where the RS6 claws and I'm pretty sure the Audi would give it a real run for its money in these conditions. Then, when the sun sets and the temperature plunges again, I head north. Way north, to Kirkbymoorside, a solid 250 miles away, taking in the hell of rush hour M25 and mile upon mile of oddly dilapidated A1. It's after 10pm when I arrive, fuelled by burger and McFlurry, and the last 20 miles or so are cross-country, straights punctuated by bursts of tight corners. The big Audi morphs from refined cruiser to relentless, unstoppable force and delivers me to the hotel feeling remarkably fresh. I almost wish there was another hour to run.
Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 2023-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
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?
