Mason Gibbons

The V90 T8 is a highly capable and efficient big estate, but it is not as versatile or as smooth-riding as a Volvo should be If you’re looking for a large luxury estate equipped with a plug, your options are limited.Mercedes has yet to apply the 350e powertrain to the E-Class Estate, it’s unlikely that BMW will offer a Touring version of its excellent 530e and the arrival of an Audi A6 Avant e-tron remains a distant, murky prospect.That leaves the Swedes. Volvo, specifically, with the T8-badged version of its handsome V90 estate, which in solely oil-burning guise we’re rather fond of.This flagship wagon uses a similar mechanical set-up to the T8 XC90 SUV, which is to say a force-fed four-cylinder petrol engine – the marque no longer indulges in a greater cylinder count for any model – that drives the front axle while an electric motor does so for the rear.Bridging the two power sources is a 10.4kWh battery pack (larger, surprisingly, than the 9.2kWh unit in the XC90...

Coupé and Volante special edition is based on S model and available in just 175 units Aston Martin is bowing the current Vanquish and its atmospheric V12 engine out of production with the launch of a special swan-song model. The S Ultimate is based on the regular S so uses the same 595bhp 6.0-litre motor and eight-speed Touchtronic automatic gearbox, enabling it to hit 62mph in 3.5sec and reach a 201mph top speed. It also sits on three-stage adaptive damping and comes with carbon ceramic brakes and carbonfibre exterior trim. What sets the Ultimate apart from its sibling is an exclusive choice of three bespoke design themes. The first, Contrasting Carbon, mixes Ultimate Black paintwork with Copper Bronze accents outside and Obsidian Black leather with Kestral Tan accents inside. The second theme, Sport Line, paints the car Zenon Grey and adds Cobalt Blue graphics, with yellow and blue accents contrasting Phantom Grey leather inside. The final theme, Modern Lux, uses White Gold...

This week: Porsche’s electric M5 rival, stars of the Tokyo show, new Nissan Leaf driven and much more This week’s issue of Autocar is chock-full of new metal, most of which comes from the Tokyo motor show , but some are scoops by us.  There’s sports car news at both ends of the spectrum.  Porsche is preparing the Mission E for 2020 and we’ve got all the details on the brand's first all-electric model. At the other end of the market, Honda is preparing an electric rival to the Mazda MX-5, which will be based on the Sports EV concept seen at the Tokyo motor show.  We’ve driven the feisty new Suzuki Swift Sport  to find out if it can maintain the handling charm and personality of its predecessor, and the Nissan Leaf to see if green can also be fun.  Also in this issue There’s a trio of Porsche features. We took a drive in the 911 GT3 RS to see if it can be tamed on the roads as well as unleashed on the track; took a trip dow...

Jeep didn’t have the redesigned JL-series Wrangler on display at this week’s SEMA show—the debut doesn’t happen until November’s 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show—but it did preview some of the Mopar accessories that will be available for the off-roader. The Wrangler is one of the most customized vehicles in production...

Rezvani debuted its Jeep Wrangler-based Tank SUV earlier in October. At the debut, the vehicle was equipped with a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8. But for those buyers not in need of such a big, stonking engine, Rezvani has a smaller option. The Californian firm on Tuesday at the 2017 SEMA show revealed a V-6 powered Tank for the more frugal minded. We say...

The Acura NSX is no slouch with 547 horsepower arriving from a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine and supplementary hybrid system, but tuning firm Science of Speed cranked things up a notch with their latest custom build. The company, known for its focus on the NSX itself, presented its 610-horsepower Acura NSX at the 2017 SEMA show with...

Lamborghini is looking to add numerous Huracán variants in the years to come, but looking further into the future, the automaker's "entry-level" slot will take the hybrid route when the Huracán's successor debuts around 2022. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali spoke with Autocar and spilled new details on what to expect from the...

The name of the game here is power-to-weight ratio. That's how you can have one car out perform another. As you climb to higher and higher speeds, you're going to need more and more power. That's why a car like the Bugatti Chiron packs a W-16 engine producing 1,480 horsepower. It needs that tremendous power to push the nose of the car past the 200...

When Lamborghini was cranking out the Gallardo, it had a major hit on its hands. Over the course of ten years, the Italian supercar marque produced over 14,000 examples. That's 1,400 Gallardos churned out on average each year between 2003 and 2013. Now with the Gallardo's successor, the Huracán, Lamborghini has switched production into...

McLaren could opt for a 'papaya orange' livery for its 2018 Formula 1 car and to celebrate Halloween Autosport's sister title Motorsport.com has visualised the Renault-powered machine

Tom Cotter is hard at work on the hunt. That hunt is for rare old cars, and he's often poking his nose into overgrown yards, dust-filled sheds, and yes, into the odd barn here and there. You'd think in this day and age that the idea of a barn find car would be something from a past era devoid of cellphones and instant Internet access. That's not...

Marcus Ericsson says a breakthrough in the way his Sauber Formula 1 team manages its tyres is the key reason behind its recent upturn in form

Massively modified yet still street-driven cars are a wild element in the world of high-horsepower straight-line road rockets. These cars have horsepower figures measured out with four digits thanks to strengthened engine components, reworked ECUs, and typically a pair of massive turbochargers. One such car is the Ford GT of Johnny Bohmer, and its...

Revised regs suggested by the FIA would introduce more standard components, make hybrid systems more road-relevant and improve engine noise The FIA has set out the direction for the new engine regulations for the 2021  Formula 1  season, with lower engine development costs at the top of the bill .  The 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 hybrid power unit formula, which was introduced in 2014, will remain, but with some key modifications. Stricter parameters for the design of engines' internals are intended to reduce development costs for engine manufacturers and to "discourage extreme designs and running conditions", while a "high level" of new external parameters are said by the FIA to provide teams with a "plug-and-play engine/chassis/transmission swap capability". Dimensional parameters for the turbocharger will also be specified. In addition, the power unit's MGU-H element, which recovers heat energy from exhaust gases, will be deleted. This will ...

Looking for a car that combines ridiculous power and scalpel-like handling? Hennessey Performance of Sealy, Texas may have just what you want. The company has announced the new The Exorcist Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It made a formal debut on Tuesday at the 2017 SEMA show. The car is the follow-up to Hennessey’s The Exorcist Camaro ZL1...

The last motor show of the year is almost upon us, so let's take a look at what to expect this time around. Doors open to the public on 1 December The Los Angeles motor show is the last motor show of the year and often offers something different; it’s usually not to the same scale as Detroit , Geneva or Frankfurt , but each year it holds the premieres of some of the most interesting and important cars of the future.  This year is no different. So with only a few weeks to go before the show opens its doors, take a look at what’s coming to LA in November. Los Angeles motor show: the cars BMW i8 Roadster BMW’s hybrid drop-top supercar has been spotted and hinted at a few times now, so a reveal in sunny, eco-friendly Los Angeles would fit the model perfectly. It’ll spearhead the facelifted i8 range, following the facelift of its smaller i3 sibling. BMW X2 The BMW X2 has been revealed already, C-pillar badges and all. We’ll get our first in-person look at the...

Force India believes it was on for its first podium of the 2017 Formula 1 season in the Mexican Grand Prix but for the virtual safety car

SEMA is once again upon us, and there are numerous high-horsepower vehicles on display at the Las Vegas Convention Center where the annual show is held. One of them is the 600-horsepower VelociRaptor 6x6 from Hennessey Performance. Another awesome pickup truck on display at the SEMA show is the Ford F-150 RTR concept. It’s a good bet this...

The Lexus LC is a concept car come to life. It started life as the LF-LC concept at the 2012 Detroit auto auto show, and the public's response was so overwhelming that Lexus put it into production. We're glad it did because this grand tourer drives as good as it looks. From the arrowhead LEDs that bracket its shimmering hourglass grille, to its...

Over the past two decades, AMS Performance of Chicago, Illinois has built up a reputation for churning out some insane builds. The tuner is famous for its Nissan GT-Rs designed to spit 4-digit power figures, with the cars routinely setting new drag strip records. Now Infiniti has tapped AMS’s talents for a Q60 concept car on display this...

Formula 1's top teams diverged slightly in their tyre selections for the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix, as the grid as a whole overwhelmingly favoured softer compounds

Formula 1 bosses have revealed details of the 2021 engine plans that were presented to teams on Tuesday

In case you hadn’t heard, the Ford Fiesta has been best-seller in the UK for a number of years. Here’s what other European Union countries are buying The top ten best-selling cars in the UK are easy to spot ; on every street there’s at least one Fiesta , Corsa , Focus or Golf . What is the best-selling car in other countries, though? Find out below which cars the rest of Europe loves as much as the UK loves the Ford Fiesta , measured by market analysts JATO Dynamics: Austria: Volkswagen Golf With no mainstream car manufacturers, Austria’s top-seller can’t be from a domestic manufacturer. 10,912 buyers have flocked to the Volkswagen Golf so far in 2017, while the next two are also VW Group big-hitters; the Skoda Octavia, at 7372, and the Tiguan at 7192.  Belgium: Volkswagen Golf The same can be said for Belgium, but clearly being wedged between France and Germany has its effects: the Volkswagen Golf is the most popular car, followed by the  Renault Clio  a...