Supercars

The SUV That Started It All: Still the One to Beat

Christmas. Snowdonia. Mud. Ice. Mountains. Yr Wyddfa. Logic suggested I should be flinging a rally-spec electric Mustang up the side of Eryri National Park like some sort of eco-conscious mountain goat. Reality, however, intervened. I took the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally to The Ritz instead. Champagne. White tablecloths. Soft lighting. Our own table, suspiciously close to David and Victoria Beckham.

International Women’s Day can be marked in many ways: flowers, speeches, panel discussions, social media posts. Maserati, however, chose something far more appropriate - handing a group of women the keys to several of its most powerful cars and inviting us to drive them at full throttle around the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit.

We were recently invited to a private, behind-the-scenes peek at TranAm’s UK operation, with a look at some of the new products in their portfolio.

Images by Hayden Povey

There are angry SUVs and then there is the BMW XM Label. The former tends to apologise for their size by trying to look athletic or vaguely restrained. The latter makes no such effort. It arrives like it already owns the road and the minerals beneath it. Vast, square-shouldered, ostentatiously illuminated and absolutely certain of its own importance.

There was a time when an Audi RS model announced itself with little more than a swollen set of wheel arches and the faint whiff of mischief. Now it arrives armed with a charging cable, a 400-volt electrical system and enough computing power to run a modest space programme.

This is the new Audi RS 5, Audi Sport’s first high-performance plug-in hybrid and it produces a faintly ridiculous 470 kW, or 630 bhp in old money. Which is to say, quite a lot.

We were recently invited to join Harley-Davidson in Malaga to ride some of the new “Limited” range of motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson boasts a rich and fascinating history, one that elegantly interweaves a celebrated American industrial dynasty with the golden age of the open road and vital service during two World Wars. Originally conceived in a humble wooden shed in Milwaukee, the marque has blossomed into one of the world's most prominent purveyors of luxury two-wheeled travel.

In an era of relentless electronic advancement and razor-sharp, robotic aesthetics, the true joy of motorcycling often feels diluted, traded for blinding speed and digital complexity. Yet, when we speak of excellence, that sublime intersection of heritage, mechanical theatre, and modern refinement, Suzuki has delivered a masterstroke with the GSX-8T and GSX-8TT.

For me, Formula One likes to present itself as the pinnacle of global sport - and, to be fair, it makes a rather convincing case. Beneath the polished bravado lies not merely a championship contested across 24 race weekends, but a travelling circus of power, precision and very well-dressed ambition. Think theatre at 300 kilometres per hour, wrapped in carbon fibre and champagne mist, where innovation doubles as both weapon and currency, and reputations can be rebuilt - or very publicly unravelled - in the space of a single season.

Images by Hayden Povey

On the whole, cars have an extraordinary habit of encouraging somewhat unrealistic behaviour. The marketeers will almost certainly suggest that ownership could, at any moment, lead to paragliding, wakeboarding or something faintly instructional involving ropes, karabiners and a face mounted GoPro.