Autocar Lunchbox: Driving a bubble car, AMG goes electric and more
We round up our hottest stories, pictures and videos for you to devour in your lunch break
It’s everyone’s favourite part of the working day, lunchtime, and you’re no doubt craving a hefty dose of car-related content.
So we’ve revived our Autocar Lunchbox feature to bring you our favourite videos, stories, photos, quotes and more all in one place. Here are today’s picks:
*HOT NEWS *
*AMG goes silent*
Porsche has the Taycan, Tesla the Model S and Jaguar the upcoming XJ, and now it’s Mercedes’ turn to dip a toe in the electric luxury saloon segment. Its EQS flagship swill arrive in standard form in 2022, but word has now reached us of a planned 600bhp AMG version that will spawn a series of new hot zero-emissions models. Expect a twin-motor set-up to deliver power and torque on a par with the existing S63.
*Mercedes EQS: electric luxury limo to spawn AMG version*
*VIDEO OF THE DAY*
*Learning from the best*
Think of the best Japanese sports cars of all time and it's a fair bet that the Honda NSX and Mazda MX-5 will be near, if not at, the top of the list. Question, then: how would the new Toyota GR Supra compare to these two greats? It’s coupé vs roadster vs supercar as we head to the track for the ultimate Japanese sports car showdown.
*PHOTO OF THE DAY*
*Good sports*
Moody skies, an empty B-road and the rear ends of two of the best-looking sports cars money can buy: this was a good day.
The Jaguar F-Type has been revamped for 2020 with a bold new front end, a new engine derivative and subtle chassis tweaks, and we had to find out if that was enough to keep it in contention for sports car supremacy. Enter the standard-bearing Porsche 911, then, and let battle commence.
*V8 vs flat-six: Jaguar F-Type R battles Porsche 911*
*QUOTE OF THE DAY*
*Combust or bust*
“We take our CO2 targets very seriously and want to be a role model on CO2, but that doesn’t mean we will exclude the combustion engine.”
Strong words there from Volkswagen technical chief Matthias Rabe, who has expressed his belief that combustion engines will survive, due to the development of environmentally friendly fuels.
*Volkswagen: Combustion engine has life in it yet*
*FROM THE ARCHIVE*
*From trouble to bubble*
The name Messerschmitt conjures up images of snarling fighter planes zipping after Spitfires in the skies above southern Britain, but when the Second World War had ended, the Bf 109’s manufacturer had to find another way to keep afloat. Say hello to the KR200: a frugal three-wheeler with just 10bhp and, curiously, "two and a half seats". We clambered aboard in 1957 for our first drive.
*Throwback Thursday: 1957 Messerschmitt KR200 first drive*
*POPULAR OPINION*
With everything else that’s going on in the world at the moment, the temporary postponement of motorsport seems like a drop in the ocean, but it could be the death knell for Britain’s thriving national and historic fraternities. Including Formula 1, UK motorsport employees 40,000 people across 4500 firms, so the impact could be felt much wider than anticipated.
*Opinion: Coronavirus ushers in dark times for motorsport*