Autocar Lunchbox: Must-buy McLarens, Beemer dreamers 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*
The first electric Ferrari, which is tipped to arrive after 2025, will utilise new technology to ensure it can deliver on the brand’s heritage, commercial boss Enrico Galliera has said.
The Italian firm has yet to confirm any plans or a timeline for its first EV, although leaked patents earlier this year hint that it’s working on a four-wheel-drive two-seater with a motor mounted to each wheel. Click the link below to find out everything we know.
*Ferrari says first EV will pioneer new technology*
*VIDEO OF THE DAY*
The Mercedes-AMG A45 S has an unusual mix of skills: a five-door family hatchback with 415bhp and an all-new 'drift mode'. Matt Prior went to Spain to find out if you should have an A45 S over an Audi RS3 or BMW M2 Competition on both road and track.
*PHOTO OF THE DAY*
Time to make some room in your dream garage - we've been for a (virtual) walk around the BMW museum in Munich, and there's not a single exhibit we wouldn't take home. Take this gorgeous E30 M3 for example: 300bhp from a 2.3-litre four-cylinder (in 1986!) and one of the most recognisable bodykits of its era. Yes please. Fancy something else? Click through our gallery below.
*Virtual tour: Treasures of the official BMW museum*
*QUOTE OF THE DAY*
"I don’t like to think of this as an eight-seat MPV; I prefer to think of it as a family man’s NSX. Yup, you see, for starters there’s that lovely 2.4-litre VTEC motor under the bonnet, a typically clever Honda automatic gearbox and irreplaceable double-wishbone suspension all round."
Well, that's one way of trying to make a people carrier cool... This week's 'Clash of the classifieds' saw our used car fanatics fight it out to find the perfect eight-seater. Would you have this wacky Honda Elysion or a slightly more staid Mercedes Vito? See what we ended up with: *Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 15 May *
*FROM THE ARCHIVE*
Around 2.3 million new cars were sold throughout the UK in 2019. To the uninitiated, that figure may sound remarkably high, but it actually represents something of a dissapointment, being 2.8% down on the year prior and 14.6% of the all time peak – 2.7m – set in 2016.
It's a good time to see how different things were in this country half a century ago, another point at which the future seemed to be full of uncertainty. Could the brewing social and political troubles at home be remedied? What consequences would a potential entry into the European Common Market bring? And could we boost our global automotive exports?
*From the archive: The UK car market in 1969*
*POPULAR OPINION*
Last week, a two-year-old McLaren 720S - one of the most capable and revered supercars available - sold for £124,500 (half of its value in 2018), sending shockwaves through the automotive industry. Is this a turning point for supercar prices, and should you take advantage of the jaw-dropping depreciation? Matt Prior investigates:
*Matt Prior: Why now's the time to buy a used McLaren*