Tag: topgear.com

Can that V12 Aston Martin possibly be as good as it looks? From 1994, Aston Martin’s sales numbers took off like a rocket following the arrival of the DB7. It was the car that saved Aston Martin. But the 1999 V12 Vantage was the car that saved the DB7. See, the DB7 had a convoluted…

Can that V12 Aston Martin possibly be as good as it looks? From 1994, Aston Martin’s sales numbers took off like a rocket following the arrival of the DB7. It was the car that saved Aston Martin. But the 1999 V12 Vantage was the car that saved the DB7. See, the DB7 had a convoluted…

Can that V12 Aston Martin possibly be as good as it looks? From 1994, Aston Martin’s sales numbers took off like a rocket following the arrival of the DB7. It was the car that saved Aston Martin. But the 1999 V12 Vantage was the car that saved the DB7. See, the DB7 had a convoluted…

Does anyone do overpowered practicality like the Germans? A country of rich engineering heritage that happens to have stretches of derestricted motorway was probably never going to major in anything else. Perhaps the epitome of the genre – the car you’d shove in front of any extra-terrestrials bemused by what a ‘German powerhouse’ could be…

Last month BMW officially took control of Alpina, and to celebrate it unveiled a fresh wordmark and lightly updated font for its new luxury sub-brand. Now, four weeks later, we have an all-new BMW Alpina emblem. Going to be years before we see the first actual car at this rate, isn’t it? Anyway, the new…

The Mercedes-Benz SEC was – is? – one of the world’s very finest luxury two-door coupes, from an era when Mercedes-Benz was knocking out hit after bulletproof, double-glazed, wood-trimmed hit. The Renntech Sledgehammer is – definitely is – a reimagining of Mercedes-Benz’s solid gold hit that just happens to hit very, very hard. Because this…

The auto industry loves to innovate, but its hit rate is mixed. Seatbelts and airbags, now they’re great. But other times designers and engineers meddle unnecessarily, which gives us stuff like the McLaren MP4-12C’s touch-sensitive pads on its swish dihedral doors. They needed a Freemasons-style secret handshake to work, were soon dropped for little buttons,…

Toyota’s second ever electric car. For which there’s been a jolly long wait – the Japanese manufacturer’s first effort was the larger bZ4X back in 2022, and after that… nada. That’s because Toyota has been coy about the switchover to EVs, preferring to keep its powder dry rather than join the rush to stick a…

Image: rendered by Andrei Avarvarii for Top Gear We’re 45 seconds in, and Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna has just asked me what I like most about the new Luce. The boss fixes me with a titanium-plated glare, then smiles. And here I was thinking I was the one asking the questions… Be in no doubt,…

Rolls-Royce prides itself on details, which makes this one-off Phantom built for a client in the Middle East peak Rolls-Royce; the latest example of the British carmaker’s, ahem, laser focus. It’s called the Phantom ‘Arabesque’, and it’s the first ever Rolls-Royce motor car to get a fully laser-engraved bonnet. That’s right, frickin’ lasers. Rolls-Royce apparently…