TRUNDLING AROUND A COBBLED SQUARE in Ronda, warm Spanish sunlight dappling the pavé, my mind wanders, obviously, to skis. Nothing to do with the lengthy load space of the Avant that I'm in, but everything to do with the coilover suspension that is managing the multitudinous bumps of the stony surface beneath.
You see, the last time I bought some winter sports planks I did a bit of try-before-you-buy at an indoor ski slope in Milton Keynes. I had already invested the usual hours poring over catalogues and websites reading numerous reviews. I knew I wanted more width underfoot, with a bit more performance off-piste. A pair that was light, but still capable of speed. The options were whittled down and then I spent a couple of hours switching between demo models and testing each set on the artificial slope.
Some friends questioned the wisdom of this. What was I really going to learn about the skis on such a short, shallow incline? Surely it was as pointless as taking a new GT3 RS on a test drive slowly round a car park. Or a new RS4 Avant Competition around a cobbled square in Ronda.
But what I was interested in with the skis was whether I would be able to potter in them. I had faith that they would all perform as intended at speed and in powder and probably be far more capable than me. Outright performance was a given. What I wanted to discover was whether they would feel awkward and difficult to pivot when skiing more sedately with the family. I needed one pair of skis to do it all, and the slow stuff was the real unknown.
Bu hikaye Evo UK dergisinin December 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Evo UK dergisinin December 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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?
