Welcome to white knuckle endurance racing, 2023-style. This is the inaugural (and, let's be honest, probably last) 24 Heures du M25: a daylong, non-stop battle round London's notorious, traffic-jammed orbital. The 117-mile loop most drivers avoid at all costs, but that we're selflessly embracing for the ultimate real-world EV challenge.
The rules? Simple. Most miles racked up in 24 hours, wins. Only miles accrued on the M25 itself count. Direction changes are permitted, but only after completing a full lap. Tapping out is not an option.
The cars? Precision honed efficiency machines: the five longest-range electric cars on sale in Britain today for under £50,000. Each will be staffed by a team of two drivers, one driving while the other takes the opportunity to sleep/eat/weep at Hertfordshire's glamorous South Mimms motorway service facility.
So, at 12.16pm precisely on a cold, grey, early spring Wednesday, the flag drops and five EVs roll silently onto junction 23 of the M25.
TEAM HYUNDAI (Sam Philip): Editor Rix and I are helming the banana-tastic Hyundai Ioniq 6, and frankly I'm not sure I fancy our chances. Firstly because, despite its streamlined profile and slippy drag coefficient, it has one of the shorter ranges of our five contenders, its 77kWh battery rated at 338 miles. Secondly because I have the bladder capacity of a harvest mouse. Thirdly because our tactical approach runs, basically, 'drive at speed limit until low on charge. When low on charge, recharge'. Others, it seems, have gone rather more detailed on the strategy front.
Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Top Gear.
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
Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Top Gear.
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
HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO
For as long as we can remember the Porsche 911 has been the default best sports car money can buy. Does the new Aston Vantage represent a changing of the guard?
BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO
In a world exclusive, three makers of the world's most powerful hypercars are cordially invited... to drive each other's creations
THE THEORY 0F 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?
Koenigsegg Jesko Attack
The Jesko Attack drives like a conventional supercar. Brakes like one, turns like one, grips like one. But it doesn't accelerate like one.
STIC LAPS are back!
It's a 1.75-mile figure of eight on an old Canadian Air Force base just south of Guildford. Hardly Monza, or the Mulsanne straight, and never in a million years - you'd think a place that would become one of the most sought after performance benchmarks in the motoring world.
URBAN OUTWITTERS
Does the solution to city motoring lie in designs from the past with powertrains from the future? TopGear goes in search of answers... at rush hour
FUTURE FERRARIS
If you thought Ferrar's past was colourful, wait until you see what it's cooking up next. The future's bright, the future's rosso
DIRTY DOZEN
Ferrari's new super GT makes no secrets about what's under the bonnet, but can it swallow five countries in just a few hours? Better get on with it...
MYTH BUSTER
\"ADAPTIVE DAMPERS ALWAYS NEED TO ADAPT\"
The S2000 from a parallel universe
Meet Evasive Motorsports’ Honda S2000R, the car the Japanese firm should have built itself
