The Land Rover Defender is a British icon. Its significance goes far beyond its purpose of getting from A to B—its quintessential Britishness is on a par with Queen Elizabeth II, afternoon tea and aggressive politeness. It was used by armed forces on the frontline, driven by royalty, and is now owned by families across the UK.
The name Lexus is supposedly derived from a combination of the Latin word “Luxus” meaning excess or luxury, and the French word for luxury “luxe”. While this holds true – Lexus is synonymous with many of the brand’s defining factors, luxury, reliability and sensibility – some claim that Lexus is an acronym that Toyota created for “Luxury exports to the US” after Toyota decided to brand their luxury vehicles as Lexus in 1989. The 90s saw hip hop giants Snoop Dogg and the Notorious B.I.G. spitting bars about their Lexuses, which gave the luxury Japanese brand unprecedented street cred. By 1999 Lexus had sold 1,000,000 units in the US, solidifying…
If you’re like me – scrolling through various car-filled feeds every day – you will know that the Bentley Continental GT is not only an outstanding grand tourer but an award-winning one. The Continental GT is akin to Beyoncé at the Grammys or Meryl Streep at the Oscars, cosseting trophies in its simultaneously heated and cooled leather seats on return to Crewe. Bentley has recently revealed their new Continental GT which features a new face, and more notably, an all-new High-Performance Hybrid V8 powertrain. Since I won’t be behind the wheel of the new hybrid Continental GT for some time, Bentley asked if I wanted to say a final…
A few key events are akin to film festivals and fashion weeks in the automotive world. The British have the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival. The French have Retromobile and the Chantilly Concours of Elegance. The Swedes have the newly launched Auroura Concours, Italy brings us the legendary Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este and Fuori Concorso, and then there’s North America…
The French are known for many things: fine dining, haute couture and an unmistakable flair when it comes to automotive design.
DS, a nameplate synonymous with some of the prettiest cars in history, promises to bring a French luxury savoir-faire to a German-dominated automotive sector.
As someone born and raised in Essex, I’m no stranger to the Range Rover moniker. In my childhood years, before Instagram and reality TV, I was glued to car magazines in which you could browse the latest modified Range Rovers from the likes of Kahn and Overfinch in the classifieds.
BRABUS is evolving, and their approach to unveiling cars is far from conventional with the introduction of the ‘BRABUS Signature Night’ – an annual showcase which started in 2022 and sees both motor and model take the catwalk in a night of performance and fashion.
At first glance, not much has changed aesthetically since the ’50s. The M11’s body is a full-metal housing composed of magnesium, a brass top plate and a black leatherette cover providing reassurance of build quality whilst dismissing any concerns of fragility. The M11 provides the same satisfying heft that you get from wearing a Rolex Submariner or slamming the door of a G Wagon; it’s weighty but a small price to pay for superior build quality.
I slip my slightly clammy hand gingerly into the slot, ease some pressure and pull gently skyward. That scissor-door entry is nothing less than muted pornography. So effortless in its execution, it’s part of the recipe that makes the Aventador just that little bit more special.
I will always remember the first glimpse I had of Lake Como. I was coming from Milan and just remember seeing a glint of sunshine bounce off the Lake as I approached. I was fixated on this mammoth lake that consisted of some of the clearest water I had ever seen, cosseted in between the Italian hills.
The grandfather of the segment is the Land Rover Range Rover. Not the Range Rover Sport, not the Velar, not even the Discovery. The full fat, bonnet at shoulder height, wafting armchair that is the Range Rover.
There is sometimes a theme in automotive tests, where, for want of entertainment, a concept is created, one that rarely showcases any usable information on the car in question. ‘We hooked a caravan to the Urus and entered the Harewood Hillclimb’. I mean, what in the hell is that telling the intended purchaser? Unless it’s an Airstream, and the hill climb is actually the Tete de Chien, it’s normally well wide of the mark.
The first generation of Bentley’s Bentayga didn’t do much for me at first. I think my issue was that, as a partner cog in the VAG machine, they should have learnt from Porsche’s mistakes with the straight-up-ugly original Cayenne. Then I had coffee. More specifically, I was sat on a Kensington street sipping my morning cortado, and there sat a Bentayga. Black with the large Mulliner five spoke alloy wheels (thankfully in silver).