Yes, this week ESM was back behind the wheel of another new compact SUV crossover, reviewing the Hyundai Tucson for the guys at Motoring Research. Helpfully, Hyundai decided to make the North East its base for the UK launch of the Tucson, meaning only a short trip to Newcastle airport to get acquainted with the handsome…
BTCC 2015 – Snetterton | Reviewed and Rated
The British Touring Car Championship returned to action on Sunday, following the mid-season break, at Snetterton and it continued the entertainment seen at Croft in the previous round. Our BTCC Correspondent gives us the low down. Colin Turkington re-ignited his title challenge following a disastrous weekend for Honda’s Gordon Shedden who relinquished top spot to…
Friday Photo – 2001 BMW M3 GTR in Monterey Gallery
Although Monterey Auto Week is often all about the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, there’s actually a huge number of events going on at different venues throughout the area. One of the newer shows is the Legends of the Autobahn Concours D’Elegance which, this year, features one of ESM’s most favourite race cars. In fact, it’s also one of the…
It’s a trend! | Plum Crazy for 2016MY Challenger and Charger
After the purple Mclaren yesterday, now comes two purple Dodges. This is just the tip of the iceberg; ESM is willing to stake whole pounds that purple is going to be the ‘next big thing’ that every car manufacturer chooses to use. If there is anything the muscle car period of the early 1970s can be remembered for,…
Pebble Beach 2015 | McLaren MSO 570S Coupé
It’s that time of year when British car manufacturers migrate to California to show off expensive custom creations at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. McLaren is back again this year, featuring a distinctively painted 570S. According to McLaren, it’s categorically not purple. No, it’s officially painted in a colour described as ‘Mauvine Blue’ which, to…
Tame Geek Review | Volkswagen Golf GTE
He’s back. Regular contributor, and good friend of EngageSportMode, The Tame Geek is here again with a new review. This time he’s given us the exclusive on his test drive of Volkswagen’s new electric hybrid Golf GTE. Read his detailed thoughts below, to find out whether it hit the mark with our tech guru. After driving the…
New Metal – Ferrari 488 Spider
Despite the fact we only got the turbocharged Ferrari 488 GTB less than six months ago, Maranello is clearly in the mood for spoiling us with news of the open-air Spider version. Whilst the internets may have gone slightly mad at hearing about a new Ferrari, it was hardly unpredictable. For as long as there has been a ‘baby’ V8…
Muscle Up – Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak open for order
At EngageSportMode we have a fairly healthy, or possibly unhealthy, obsession with photos of muscle cars doing silly burnouts. So when Dodge showed off the new Mopar Challenger Drag Pak cars, we knew we had to feature them. Whilst you can knock America for many things, what you can’t criticise is the way the auto builders of…
Friday Video – Kimi just couldn’t care less
It hasn’t been the easiest week in the world of Formula 1. However, you can always count on Kimi Räikkönen to provide some kind of distraction. Although hardly known for engaging with the media, the official Ferrari video ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix is a new level of Kimi: What amazes us more at ESM, is the…
Editorial – Goodbye, Jules
Death in Formula 1 used to be an occurrence that was all to common. Yet, for the first time in twenty-one years, F1 has lost a driver to a racing accident. ESM’s editor offers his on reflections on the sad news. A lot has already been written about the tragic death of Jules Bianchi. Compared to…
Friday Photo – NE1 Newcastle Motor Show Gallery
In something that seems to be worryingly turning into a trend, the North East saw yet another automotive event take place here at the weekend. Naturally, ESM headed along to check things out. The NE1 Motor Show, chiefly backed by the Benfield dealership empire, aimed to bring both new and classic cars right to the centre…
Audi RS 7 takes to the track by itself. Almost.
Audi has been playing around with autonomous cars for a while now, but stepped things up a notch by letting an RS 7 pilot itself around the Sonoma Raceway in California. Whilst it might be driverless, this car does at least have a name. It’s ‘Robby’ and he’s packing the same 552bhp, from a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8,…
