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…
Friday Video – No Fooling
As the post goes live it’s April Fools’ Day, which means the press offices and PR departments of car companies have been in overdrive trying to find the wittiest way of plugging their products. Nissan – Alive (2016) from Alessandro Pacciani™ We’ve covered these efforts before on ESM but, instead, this year we’ve decided to take…
New York Auto Show – Revised 2017 Nissan GT-R now available in orange
The Nissan GT-R has been around for almost nine years now, with several minor facelifts along the way. Other than a new ESM-pleasing colour, how many changes can you spot on the 2017 Model Year GT-R? Existing as a rival for the Porsche 911 Turbo, there’s a chance Nissan’s engineers have adopted the German marque’s love of…
Friday Photo – 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
What better way to bookend the week than with another stupidly-powerful V8 muscle car? If an orange Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat doesn’t quite tickle your fancy, there’s always the Chevy option… Admittedly if you go for the Camaro, you’re going to have to take a 67hp hit compared to the Hellcat. Yes, the new 6.2-litre supercharged…
Go Mango! Retro colour option for Dodge SRT Hellcat models
EngageSportMode likes cars that are painted orange. It also likes the Dodge SRT Hellcat twins. Someone, somewhere, has been listening to our prayers it would seem. Thank you! We’re not sure which sacrifice, offering or blessing it was that made this happen – we’re just pleased one of them worked. Joking aside, the option to purchase…
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