Say ‘covered headlamp’ and ‘single vent’ to a diehard collector and you quickly have their attention. While these expressions and the arcane acronym ‘TdF’ might be the preserve of the cognoscenti, show this glorious GT to the most casual observer and, after the initial “wow!”, they will immediately say: “Ferrari!”...   read more >>

Gosh, what a head-turner. The smartest parts of London are familiar with the most exotic motor cars, but for sheer style a Chapron-bodied Citroën certainly makes its mark...   read more >>

After the all-wheel-drive spatial miracle that is the Ferrari FF comes the supercar for the fresh-air pragmatist. Thanks to an aluminium hardtop, the 458 Spider is the marque’s first mid-engined coupé to offer open-top driving thrills...   read more >>

So, you're the MINI marketing chief and you want to extend your brand. You have used up the historical shape associations, so what do you do next? You do this, says John Simister...   read more >>

Perhaps annoyingly to some, the 1-Series M Coupé hasn’t been allowed to inherit the name of the legendary M1 sports car. But maybe this is the right decision; after all, the 1-Series M is more of a spiritual successor to the E30 M3 than the Giugiaro-styled, mid-engined icon of the late seventies...   read more >>

John Simister finds the new open-topped Continental to be an excellent stress-reliever, for more reasons than one...   read more >>

Even BMW's M–cars have to move with the times, writes John Simister. No longer can the engine be a racetrack fugitive with a throttle–valve for each cylinder; mainstream road–car rules must apply. Up to a point...   read more >>

The new S8 is one of the quartet of new Audis powered by the Ingolstadt firm’s 4.0-litre V8 with cylinder-shutdown technology. But has driving pleasure been switched off in the process? We take the powerhouse for a spin to find out...   read more >>

Razor-edged sports car, green eco-mobile, or luxury saloon? The new Fisker Karma suggests these descriptions are no longer mutually exclusive, as we take the Californian eco-warrior on Milanese roads to find out if its split personality can find an appropriate balance...   read more >>

How does a 450bhp Ferrari V12 sound to you? I’m not just referring to the notion, it’s the actual aural pleasure of four megaphone exhausts, six Webers and four cams producing that unique Ferrari 12-cylinder howl that permeates every corner of this car...   read more >>

The idea that serious drivers of big, high-performance cars also want a fast, daily runaround is not a new one. It started in the 60s with the Mini Cooper S and then, in 1976, along came the ultimate Q-car, the Golf GTi...   read more >>

So fast, so powerful, so precise. With 700HP, the Aventador sets an Italian technical benchmark. To find out whether Lamborghini’s latest beast convinces on bumpy highways, we tested it in the hills around Sant'Agata, Italy...   read more >>

Well, this is a privilege. This mid-engined, louvred-and-riveted machine with its 5.0-litre, 502bhp V12, the face of a current XK and the tail-lights of an E-type, is surely one of the best-looking racing cars ever made...   read more >>

“A safe car for a journey on fast, unknown roads,” was one conclusion we reached having driven Aston’s latest V8 Vantage S in Spain earlier this year. The car impressed on the track, but how would it behave on a real life journey, to Le Mans and back?...   read more >>

“Would you buy this car?” asks John Simister. The Delta E-4 Sport sounds almost too good to be true. It's an electric four-seater coupé with four-wheel drive, able to travel 200 miles on one charge, reach 150mph and hit 60mph in four seconds. Holy Electric Grails, Batman!...   read more >>

Have expectations ever been higher for a new supercar? asks John Simister. Multiple Formula One championships, the horizons-busting McLaren F1 even-more-supercar, a company reputation for almost obsessive perfection… it was never going to be easy...   read more >>

Driven: Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0

All 600 examples of the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 have already been snapped up by buyers eager for a piece of history so, if you haven’t placed your order, you'll just have to imagine the RS 4.0 experience with the help of John Simister’s at-the-wheel impressions...   read more >>

Driven: Aston Martin Cygnet

A four-cylinder, 97bhp 1.33-litre engine; CVT transmission, front-wheel drive and a top speed of 106mph. No, it’s not a bad dream, we are indeed talking about the latest Aston Martin. Our reporter drove the brand-new Cygnet in London, to see what he made of it all...   read more >>

Driven: Aston Martin DBS and V8 Volante

With Bonhams' annual Aston Martin Works Service auction just a week or so away, we were able to put some miles on two, quite perfect entries in the catalogue...   read more >>

McLaren MP4-12C: The Carbonfibre Story, First Drive and Video

Yes, I have driven it, for a couple of all-too-brief, exhilarating laps at Silverstone. So, too, did John Watson who – 30 years ago at this very track – was the first man to win a Grand Prix in a carbonfibre-chassis car...   read more >>