Here at ESM we quite like the BMW i8, but the colour choices have been a little bit uninspiring for a car that’s meant to shout ‘FUTURE’ in huge capital letters. BMW now seems to have remedied that situation with some new options.Yes, as of right now you can order your hybrid supercar in a variety of…
2016 Mercedes-Benz Media Driving Day
It takes a lot to persuade ESM’s editor to jump out of bed at 5am. But the combination of Silverstone and nineteen new Mercedes models seemed to do the trick. We’ve certainly been on something of a three-pointed star theme here at ESM the past few weeks, but things went into overdrive by attending this year’s Media…
2016 Mercedes-AMG A45 4MATIC | Review
According to William H. Land, the most important thing about power is making sure you don’t have to use it. But when there is so much of it on offer, can you really resist? We spent a week with the Mercedes-AMG A45 to test our resolve. Question. What’s bright red, has 376hp and does 0-62mph…
BTCC 2016 – Thruxton | Reviewed and Rated
Without doubt, the latest rounds of the British Touring Car Championship from Thruxton proved to be the most entertaining and intriguing of the season so far; crashes, punctures, arguments, withdrawals, shortened race distances, a red flag, it had it all. ESM’s BTCC Correspondent reviews the aftermath. Saturday’s qualifying session brought the second outright pole in…
Friday Video – Mercedes-AMG GT S through the Alps
If you follow us on social media, you’ll know we recently spent some time with a rather raucous Mercedes-AMG hatchback. Our comprehensive review of the A 45 is coming very soon but, for now, we just wanted to share this rather cool video of another AMG product. We’ll admit there’s also an element of excitement about the possibility of…
New – Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S takes Nürburgring record
Did you honestly think everyone had forgotten about hot-hatch Nürburgring lap times, after Honda’s Civic Type-R effort last year? No, of course not. So what better way for VW to celebrate 40 years of the Golf GTI than by setting a new Nordschleife record of 7:49.21. We’ve already seen the regular GTI Clubsport, and it’s actually on sale…
Opinion – Seven fast estates we want to see built
The number of performance estates seems to have expanded massively in recent years but, here at ESM, that’s not enough for us. No, we’re greedy, and we want to see even more quick wagons on the market. To help we’ve come up with a septet that we think should happen. These aren’t just ‘pie in the sky’ ideas – we’ve…
BTCC 2016 – Donington Park Reviewed and Rated
The second meeting of the season saw the BTCC return to Donington Park. The three races produced some exciting racing, but at the end of the day, the championship had a familiar look to it. ESM’s BTCC Correspondent passes judgement. Race One (1st Jackson, 2nd Cook, 3rd Ingram) Ashley Sutton secured pole in only his…
Friday Photo – Design your very own Ford GT
Wanting your own slice of the Ford GT’s American pie? A new online configurator lets you live the dream. Be warned – just because you can now pick out the colours and trim you desire, doesn’t mean you can have one though. In a move that sounds more Maranello than Dearborn, those who want the…
Opinion – Should we get that excited about the 2017 WRC Polo?
With changes afoot for the 2017 World Rally Championship, why is EngageSportMode’s editor failing to get excited about the prospect of a 380hp Polo? Here’s the deal. I’ve owned five different Volkswagen Polos in 14 years, including an R-Line and two different GTI versions. As such, it’s fair to say I’m something of a fan…
BTCC 2016 – Brands Hatch Indy Reviewed and Rated
BTCC is back, and EngageSportMode’s dedicated correspondent has also returned to action. Here’s his rundown of who shined and who flopped on the first weekend of racing. Six newcomers, various driver changes, a new manufacturer and a major regulation change and the British Touring Car Championship was ready for action in 2016. Once again, the…
Ned Jasper – Bentley Continental GT Speed Black Edition. Something different?
Bentley has a new special edition of the Continental GT. Is this how a sporting luxury car should look? Ned Jasper gives his opinion. This is the Bentley Continental GT Speed Black Edition. It’s the fastest production Bentley ever, with 633bhp on tap and a top speed of 206MPH. It also has enough torque to move…
