Friday Fix: Autocar's best of the week
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*
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s rugged new off-roader, the Ineos Grenadier, has broken cover with a variety of clear design references to the old Land Rover Defender and a specification that could easily pass for a modernised version of the 1948 original.
Despite this, the Grenadier is an all-new 4x4 created by a ground-up team and brand, with modern components, a state-of-the-art powertrain and possibly an even more singular purpose than the icon that it seeks to supplant.
*Ineos Grenadier revealed as rugged off-roader for 2021*
*VIDEO OF THE WEEK*
The F8 Tributo is the latest in a long line of mid-mounted turbocharged V8-powered supercars from Ferrari, following in the footsteps of the already-legendary 458 Italia and 488 GTB. This here is the Spider version, and we've been putting the 710bhp drop-top through its paces on UK roads to see if it really is a match for the two other super-Spiders on the market: the Lamborghini Huracan Evo and McLaren 720S.
*PHOTO OF THE WEEK*
Volkswagen hasn't officially unwrapped its new Golf R hot hatch yet, but a recently spotted prototype told us nearly everything we wanted to know. Will it have massive brake discs? Yup. Lower suspension than the standard car? Of course. Unmissable quad-exit sports exhausts? You bet.
So that's the design all but revealed. Now all we need to do is get behind the wheel of the 329bhp AMG baiter and find out what it's made of.
*New 2020 Volkswagen Golf R: best look yet at 329bhp hot hatch*
*QUOTE OF THE WEEK*
"I wouldn’t buy one without a service history because they’re 10-15 years old, and lots of people have bought one and spent £10,000 on it in the first year, which is ridiculous. One of ours has 195,000 miles on the clock and another 160,000, and they’re fine.”
Angus Leat there, from Land Rover specialist AHL Engineering, explaining concisely why the acclaimed Discovery 3 is both one of the most desirable but risky second-hand cars on the market. Sure, it will carry seven people comfortably across the most challenging terrain you can find, but only if you buy a good one. This week, we told you everything you need to know about bagging a solid example of the luxo-truck.
*Used car buying guide: Land Rover Discovery 3*
*FROM THE ARCHIVE*
Any in-car audio entertainment aside from conversation didn't really exist in the early days of mass car production, when radio (or wireless, as we should really call it, old chap) before technology had progressed enough that receiver sets could be offered. But in 1925, we reported on an advance in radio technology that would make portable entertainment properly practicable for motorists.
*From the archive: Wireless and the car*
*POPULAR OPINION*
In BMW's announcement of a wide-reaching new connected car software rollout this week, a small nugget of information became a big talking point: the brand will now use a subscription-based scheme for car options. Essentially, what this means is that your BMW will now be sold with optional software and hardware already installed, but not switched on.
Debate-worthy the decision may be, but it's not as mad as it sounds. Lawrence Allan explains:
*BMW's subscription-based options scheme isn't as mad as it sounds*