Autocar weekly round-up: The three-wheel Fiesta, Noble's giant-killer and more
We round up this week's hottest stories, pictures and videos for you to devour in your Friday lunch break
As the working week draws to a close, you no doubt want to catch up with everything that has happened in the world of motoring over the past few days.
So we’re bringing you our favourite videos, stories, photos and quotes of the week all in one place. Here are today’s picks:
*HOT NEWS*
The all-new BMW 4 Series Coupé has finally been unwrapped, and it has already become one of the most talked-about new cars of the year. Headline features include a new platform, a 369bhp range-topper and improved driving dynamics, but there’s no distracting from the polarising front-end styling. The new, 'more vertical' grille is said to be inspired by BMWs of old and is a radical departure from the design of other current BMW models. Full details below.
*2020 BMW 4 Series Coupé revealed with dramatic new look*
*VIDEO OF THE WEEK*
We make no secret of our adoration for the Alpine A110. In fact, it’s one of our favourite sports cars in recent memory. But how is it best served? To find out if you can improve upon automotive perfection, we gathered a standard A110, the firmer A110 S and the specially modified Life110 and set about choosing a winner.
*PHOTO OF THE WEEK*
Another car you wouldn’t think needed improving is the Ford Fiesta ST: one of the most capable and addictive affordable driver’s cars on sale right now. But the masterminds at Essex-based Mountune know how to get the best out of a Ford hot hatch, and the new M235 is great fun to drive, whether it has two, three or four wheels on the ground. Full review below.
*Ford Fiesta ST Mountune M235 2020 UK review*
*QUOTE OF THE WEEK*
“We’d set what we thought was a decent 0-60mph time, but Noble’s engineers believed it could go quicker. We had another go, and it didn’t. They later said they’d never seen a clutch quite so melted.”
There once was a hand-built supercar from Leicester that was faster than a McLaren F1. No really, there was. In the latest instalment of our Road Test Rewind series, we look back at when we crunched the numbers on Noble’s insane M600, before - ahem - crunching its clutch.
*Road test rewind: Noble M600*
*FROM THE ARCHIVE*
Almost everything done to a car nowadays is via a computer. Even if you have to call out breakdown services, the mechanic will often resort to connecting a laptop to the diagnostics port.
This may seem a fairly modern development, but in fact the trend goes back to 1968, when Volkswagen announced its 'diagnostic and service centre system' in Germany. We take a look back at the pioneering system that revolutionised vehicle health checks.
*From the archive: How Volkswagen pioneered computer check-ups*
*POPULAR OPINION*
Easing lockdown restrictions have meant our testers can begin putting new metal through its paces on public roads once again, and we’ve got plenty to get through. Sadly, as Matt Prior notes, few drivers appear to have used their extended downtime to brush up on the Highway Code, and the recently quiet roads have become a bit of a rat run.
*Matt Prior: How lockdown has changed car testing*