Supercars

We took the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo, for a blissful week of high speed luxury, and were pretty damned impressed...
This is the second-generation Panamera. The original car was introduced to us in 2010 and had a 6 year run until it’s replacement in 2017. 1st gen Panamera was certainly an acquired taste. Smooth and somewhat bulbous, it wasn’t often described as pretty.

Lexus is a brand synonymous with luxury automobiles.They are the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota.
The Lexus brand originated in 1983 and has been making luxurious and outstanding cars ever since.
‘We design to provoke, with bravery, courage, and confidence. We ignore the thinking of the crowd, always exploring new concepts, new outcomes, and new ways to express ourselves.’

Bentley has announced that the pioneering Bentayga Hybrid – the luxury SUV sector’s first true plug-in hybrid – is now on sale in Europe. Handcrafted in Crewe, England, the latest version of Bentley’s exquisitely appointed SUV will be the company’s most efficient model ever, with CO2  emissions of just 79 g/km (WLTP – weighted, combined).
The Bentayga Hybrid is the ultimate grand tourer, offering a serene and luxurious driving experience through future-focussed technology. Already on sale in North America, order books are now open across Europe too.

Isuzu are the oldest Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer. They’ve been manufacturing vehicles since 1916.
In the UK they are known for their tough, hardworking, dependable commercial vehicles, predominantly pickups.
In recent years they've become more practical, more comfortable and nicer to drive. This was helped by the continually increasing company car users tax bills and the fact that a pickup is a commercial vehicle and as such, attracts a low, flat rate of tax for the user.
This has led to a whole new category being spawned; lifestyle.

One of the most iconic cars from Bentley’s history – Sir Tim Birkin’s 1929 supercharged 4½-litre “Blower” – is to be reborn with a new build of 12 matching cars, each individually handcrafted by a team of specialists from Bentley’s bespoking and coachwork division, Mulliner. Together, the new cars will form the world’s first pre-war race car continuation series.

Mercedes are masters at creating luxurious and stylish convertibles. They have a long and distinguished history of making beautiful and timeless convertible cars.
One of their latest is the E Class convertible. We were fortunate to have been given an E220d AMG line recently for a week of effortless and stylish cruising in the lap of luxury.
Mercedes currently offer 3 convertible models. The C class, E Class and S class. The E Class sits right in the middle with a starting price of £45,960.

With increasingly stringent legislation, manufacturers are being squeezed and challenged to meet changing goals for reduced emissions and an ever more environmentally friendly footprint.
By January 2018 there were more than 100,000 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV's sales across Europe, making it the most popular plug-in vehicle. In fact, despite a growing number of competitors it remains the best-selling plug-in vehicle – hybrid or electric – in the UK.
Which brings me to the next point.

For my day to day riding, I've been wearing my old textile gear until recently. The old jacket and trousers have seen many, many miles in wind, rain and shine. To be honest, they were well past their best and not only did they leak, but I looked like a tramp in them.
The final straw was when the seam on the arse of the textile trousers split.
Design, trends and materials have moved on significantly since I bought my old gear.

International Excellence Magazine chatted with Jack Lambert, Vehicle Dynamics Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, about the exciting developments of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy and what it took to turn the production I-PACE into a street circuit racing, electric demon for the Formula E Challenge. Jack was a pleasure to chat with, charming and a complete expert in his field, speaking passionately about all aspects of racing the Jaguar I-PACE. We’ll be following the Jaguar eTrophy with great interest.
 
This is a faithful rendition of our conversation.

The Jaguar I-PACE SE was delivered in its own individual trailer by a very nice chap and we admired the grey and black styling together as he winched the impressive looking car onto my drive. It’s clearly not photogenic as it looks better in the flesh, much lower and sportier than you’d expect. It resembles a Paris Dakar rally car more than an SUV, so I was very much looking forward to taking this on a distance test the next day. A 200 mile hike up North to see if it has range enough to be practical as well as luxurious.