*Originally written and published in April 2018.

Rolls-Royces have been chauffeuring the world’s elite about town for over a century, and they have earned themselves the reputation of building the finest luxury cars in the world. The driver’s seat has always been designed for a master of discretion, a person who can pick up a world leader and deliver them to their destination in complete calm and comfort.

The Rolls-Royce is the car to be seen getting out of from the rear seats, not the driver’s seat… or at least that’s how it used to be. In 2013, the company decided to throw out the rulebook and create something that was still the epitome of luxury but with a focus on the driver. With this, the ultimate Grand Tourer was born, the Rolls-Royce Wraith. With the company claiming this to be the most powerful car they have produced, the most technologically advanced and having the most engaging driver experience.

Inside the Wraith, it’s very much business as usual – it’s complete opulence as you’re surrounded by miles of wood, leather and lambswool, and the constellation headliner gives you this beautiful ambient atmosphere at night. The seats are more comfortable than any armchair you can buy, and to look out of the windscreen is a bit like looking out to the front of a boat. The bonnet looks a mile long with nothing but The Spirit of Ecstacy to mark the end. As you would expect, it’s more equipped than a branch of Currys with a very intuitive and slick infotainment system (admittedly “borrowed” from sister company BMW) and quite possibly the best car audio system ever made. Created by Bespoke Audio, the Wraith’s sound system boasts a 1,300-watt output through an 18-channel amplifier to 18 speakers within the cabin, including two “exciter” speakers in the roof. IT also has a hidden microphone that is constantly listening out for background noise and tweaking the levels to ensure complete aural clarity.

The Wraith also retains probably my two favourite features of the modern Rollers, the rear-hinged doors and the pop-out umbrellas. I’ll always be a fan of different doors, whether they are scissor doors, gullwing doors, dihedral doors or rear-hinged, they just make that car that little bit more special.

This may all seem very standard so far, but it’s when you start up the monstrous twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 that things start to change. Despite the engine and platform being from the Ghost, there have been many tweaks and modifications to make sure this is not just a 2-door version of the “entry-level” car. The power has been pushed from 562 hp to 623 hp, and the torque has risen from 575 lb-ft to 590 lb-ft. This is one very potent car, and a quick mash of the pedal, and it all becomes very real. 0-62 mph takes just 4.4 seconds which, when you think the car weighs 2.4 tonnes, is incredible. What makes it more incredible, though, is its gearbox. The Wraith uses an 8-speed ZF ‘box that is linked to the car’s GPS, and it essentially plans the gear changes ahead so you are never in the wrong gear and never short of power when you need it. There are no paddles or shifters in the Wraith; you just put your foot down and hold the beautifully hand-crafted steering wheel, and the car will do the rest.

Despite the lack of interaction with the gearbox, the sheer power and pace of the car keep you feeling involved and a part of the drive. It eats up miles like nothing else I have ever driven, but it can still navigate tight turns and climbs with ease. The joy of that GPS transmission is that it lets you just focus on what you are doing. Despite the car’s enormous stature, it is HUGE, it feels light on its toes and even agile at times. It is far from a weekend track weapon, but once you’ve demolished the 900-mile drive down to your French Riviera villa, you can have a bit of fun on those idyllic twisty roads.

The Wraith does a sterling job bringing the luxury brand to a new audience of drivers. By being a Rolls-Royce, it has carved itself a new niche in the market for those looking for the ultimate GT car. Bentley may have the Continental GT, and there are also the likes of Aston Martin and Ferrari in the pot as well, but none of them ooze the same class and sophistication as the big Rolls. From its sweeping roofline to its wide and imposing front grill and smooth, rounded rear, the Wraith looks fantastic from every angle, and there is nothing you could park next to it to steal the attention. To take a name so synonymous with luxury and to make it so powerful and fast is like taking a magic carpet and bolting a jet engine to it. It’s still the same smooth, quiet and tranquil environment, just a lot faster. It’s also one you would want to drive every day, everywhere.

*The Evolution of the Mercedes-Benz SL  - https://www.ngkntk.com/newsroom/blog/emea/well-driven-by-james-ford-the-evolution-of-the-mercedes-benz-sl/  - Originally written for NGK Europe and published in 2021: 

The SL has been around since 1952, and with 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the model, it only seems appropriate for Mercedes-Benz to launch its latest generation of the vehicle to celebrate the occasion. The seventh generation of SL, codenamed the R232, will hit the road next year, and it promises to be the best SL yet, but first, let’s look back at the previous six generations and how it has come to be such an iconic grand touring sports car.

The First Generation, W121/W198

Originally built as a race car in 1952, the W198 300 SL was never originally planned to be a road car. However, in 1954, after some extensive modifications to the body of the W194 racer, the first production model was introduced. Featuring the trademark gullwing doors, the 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ was powered by a 3.0-litre inline-six engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox that powered the rear wheels. At the time, the 300 SL had a top speed of 263km/h and was the fastest production car available. Despite its predominantly steel construction, many panels were made from aluminium to reduce weight, including the doors, bonnet and dashboard, meaning the 300 SL was not only quick in a straight line, but it handled well too.

In 1957, the coupe was succeeded by the roadster that shared the same engine and underpinnings as the coupe but was fitted with larger doors and more form-fitting headlights. The roadster came in weighing around 125 kilograms more than the coupe, but was also given a slight power increase to balance out the extra weight with a 240hp output.

As popular as the 300 SL was, it was also very expensive, so to appeal to a larger audience, Mercedes-Benz produced the 190 SL in 1955, which was a similar build to the exclusive 300 SL but came with a shortened unitary floor pan that replaced the costly tubular space frame. Under the bonnet, a smaller 1.9-litre inline-four engine was fitted that produced 104hp.

The Second Generation, W113

Introduced in 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show, the W113 Mercedes SL was the second-generation model and came in both a roadster and coupe body style. Unlike the previous generation, all models of the W113 were fitted with an inline-six engine with three engine size options: a 2.3-litre, a 2.5-litre and a range-topping 2.8-litre. Where most models were sold as ‘Coupe/Roadster’ with a soft-top and removable hardtop, there was also a 2+2 model called the “California Coupe” which only had the removable hardtop, and a folding rear bench seat replaced the folding soft-top.

Power was increased from the previous model with the entry-level 2.3-litre car and mid-range 2.5-litre car producing 148hp, whilst the top-of-the-range car had an output of 168hp.

Like the 300 SL before had its instantly noticeable Gullwing doors, the second-generation car had a distinctive look of its own with a concave roofline that gave the car its “Pagoda” nickname.

The Third Generation, R107

The third generation of SL was produced between 1971 and 1989 and is currently the second longest single series ever produced by Mercedes-Benz after the G-Class. The next generation was launched with a choice of a 2-seater convertible with a standard soft-top and optional hardtop and a hardtop coupe, referred to as the C107 or “SLC”. The first run of models were 350 SL models and were powered by a 3.5-litre V8, with a 4.5-litre being added in 1973, closely followed by an inline-six 2.8-litre 280 SL in 1974. Other engine e variants included a 300 SL, a 380 SL and a 5.0-litre V8 500 SL that was produced from 1980 to 1989 when the model was replaced by the fourth variant. There were also other variants, including a 5.5-litre 560 SL built for the North American market.

A lot like the previous models, the R107 was ground-breaking with its design, and it certainly stood out from the crowd. By this time, the SL had cemented itself as a truly desirable luxury vehicle from the German manufacturer, with one of the marque's owners being none other than Bob Marley.

The Fourth Generation, R129

Heading into the 90s, the next generation of Mercedes-Benz SL underwent its biggest transformation yet. The soft, rounded lines of the body had been replaced with straight lines, and more square headlights and chrome trims had been discarded in favour of a more minimalistic look. Early cars often had a two-tone colour scheme with the lower quarter of the body work either being grey or a slightly lighter colour than that of the rest of the car, and an electro-hydraulic fabric roof was colour-matched and fitted. Like the previous SLs, a detachable hardtop was also available.

Like the third generation, there were now many more engine options available throughout the R129's 12-year run, from a 2.8-litre inline-six all the way up to a very limited production AMG variant with a 7.3-litre V12 that produced a potent 518bhp. This mighty V12 engine will later be used to power the incredible Pagani Zonda supercar.

The R129 was another car often seen being piloted by various famous actors and musicians, but the most controversial story of celebratory ownership goes to Diana, Princess of Wales, who replaced her Jaguar XJS-C with a metallic red 500 SL in 1991. This was the first time a member of the Royal Family had used a foreign car, and due to much media scrutiny, she returned the car to Mercedes-Benz in 1992.

The Fifth Generation, R230

The fifth-generation SL, known as the R230, was by far the most advanced SL ever created. From its design stage, where state-of-the-art super-computer technology is being used in line with more traditional scaled clay models. Another huge leap forward with the R230 was the introduction of the folding metal hardtop that replaced the soft top used in previous generations. The new SL also featured a fully integrated Infotainment system with satellite navigation, and high-specification vehicles came with Mercedes’ new Active Body Control (ABC) suspension that had adjustable hydro-pneumatic struts that were designed to eliminate pitch and roll during braking, cornering, and accelerating. The suspension could be stiffened and even raised at the touch of a button. Other options that were now available included radar-assisted cruise control, Bi-Xenon headlights, Keyless Go, and a 7-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted shifters.

With the new R230 came a new choice of AMG variants, which included the 5.4-litre supercharged V8 in the SL55 that produced 510bhp, a car which famous motoring journalist and TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson bought, and a range-topping 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12 named the SL65. The SL65 produced an incredible 604bhp and 1,000Nm of torque, making it one of the most powerful production engines in the world. Later in the R230's life, the 5.4-litre SL55 engine was replaced by a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8, and the SL55 name was replaced by the SL63 AMG.

The Sixth Generation, R231

Released in 2012, the R231 Mercedes-Benz SL was the first SL to be produced with an all-aluminium spaceframe that, despite being longer and wider than the previous R230, was 140kg lighter. This weight reduction not only helped with performance and driver dynamics, but it was also paired with new and more efficient engines to create a more economical car. The new 4.7-litre V8 engine in the SL500 was twin-turbocharged and produced 429bhp, but almost more importantly, returned an average of 31 miles per gallon – a vast improvement over the low-20s the previous SL500 could return.

Being the flagship roadster for Mercedes-Benz, the R231 followed on from its predecessors by leading the way with innovation and technology and the latest SL was full to the brim with the latest safety features and new gadgets including Neck-Pro crash-responsive head restraints that would automatically move to protect the occupants’ neck in the event of a collision. Other safety features included Attention Assist, Collision Prevention Assist and Active Lane Keeping Assist. All these new systems were controlled by a plethora of sensors and ECUs designed to make the R231 SL the safest ever.

The Seventh Generation, R232

With this seventh generation, the R232 represents several departures from the previous SL-Class predecessors and a departure from the more traditional Mercedes-Benz brand. The new R232 has been marketed under the more exclusive Mercedes-AMG branding, making it the first SL-Class to be sold solely as an AMG variant and replacing AMG's current GT Roadster. The R232 will also lose the heavier hydraulic folding metal roof in favour of a lighter and more reliable fabric-lined roof with an electric motor.

The R232 SL-Class will also be the first example of the roadster to use AMG's 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system and rear-ale steering. All these changes will equate to a lighter, more efficient, and more dynamic and involving car and create a more sporting feel to the luxury grand tourer. Under the bonnet, the new Mercedes-AMG SL-Class will be powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that will initially be available in two model offerings. The SL55 model will make a return with 469bhp and a 0-100km/h time of 3.9 seconds, and a more potent SL63 will be available with 577bhp and a 0-100km/h time of 3.6 seconds.

The newest and latest Mercedes-AMG SL-Class is due to hit the road in 2022, and I’m sure it will be as iconic and impressive as its predecessors, and hopefully, its new Mercedes-AMG branding will only improve the car's desirability and lead to more impressive performance innovation in generations to come.

*Information source: https://mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com/

*Originally tested in 2013 and reviewed in 2018:

Where do I begin… The Bentley Continental GT was a real opinion divider when it was launched in 2003. A lot of people were not too keen on the styling and the message it gave, but the nouveau-riche and professional footballers were in a frenzy over its positively modern look compared to the existing models. The biggest dividing point was the VW influence, though the classic six and three-quarter-litre Bentley V8 had been replaced by a twin-turbocharged version of VW’s six-litre W12 engine from the rather pedestrian Phaeton. Personally, I liked it. I liked the way it looked, I like the 550bhp and I liked the fact that unlike pretty much all Bentleys of old this one might actually be a reliable option for people who would otherwise look at the more sterile and less interesting German options when it came to a big luxury GT car (not that there was much to choose from!)

Fast forward 10 years, and I am finally holding the key to one. Now, this wasn’t technically my first time driving a Bentley with this powertrain in; I had a quick blast in a Flying Spur a few years prior to this, but not enough to really get a feel for it.

The car in question was now nearly 10 years old, with around 40,000 miles on its odometer, and, I am not going to lie, you could start to tell inside. The outside still looked as fresh as it did the day it rolled out Crewe, but the infotainment system was starting to look very dated compared to similar cars of its class and the leather hadn’t held out that well either – my CL500 was a year older with nearly twice the miles on the clock and the perforated leather seats in that still looked like new, whereas the Continental’s started to show that shine that appears after thousands of hours of bottom shuffling over the years. In all fairness, though, it was still a beautiful car and inside was still a wonderful place to be. Big comfy cream leather armchairs surrounded by a blue and cream stitched leather cockpit and those famous Bentley veneers, and then that Breitling clock in the centre console. You knew from the second you sat down, you were in a Bentley…

One thing I have always loved about Bentleys is their kind of brutish edge, even the old Arnage made a lovely sound on start up as that great big V8 cranked over, and the GT was no different. A sound that I later learned only got better when you got onto a piece of open road.

Driving the Bentley around town and on short runs to the shops and back were characteristically pleasant, with it being roughly the same dimensions as my Mercedes, it didn’t feel oversized or difficult to manoeuvre around buses and the like, and the steering was nice a light at low speeds and of course, it was beautifully quiet inside. I also found it surprisingly easy to park, but that may have been because I am used to parking big 4x4s like the L322 Range Rover and other big barges, but either way, it wasn’t any more difficult. It also had a great presence as you cruised down a high street. People looked at it and admired it, unlike the Ferrari where people looked at it, and then called you a cock… I always assume that when people are looking at a Bentley pull up, they are expecting some well-presented gentleman to appear, like Daniel Craig or someone (so they must all have been very disappointed to see me getting out to grab some milk and a paper…)

This is all very well, and expected of a car with such a luxury and prestigious heritage, but what is it like when you finally get out and open the taps… Well, to put it simply, fantastic. There are a lot of things wrong with how it drives, like the fact that it weighs about the same as my Discovery, and the handling isn’t too dissimilar either, but I really don’t care. One thing I know is that 550bhp plus big comfy seats equals a very happy James. When you plant that right foot down, it just goes. It accelerates in a way a car this heavy really shouldn’t, and it sounds like thunder. There are a lot of cars out there with big engines that make a lot of noise when you pin them, but it is a very non-descript sound, and then there are sounds that let you identify that one car from a mile off. Some examples are the Porsche Flat 6 engine, the Ferrari N/A V8 and the Aston V8 in the Vantage. The Bentley is another one of these, in my opinion. It just has this unique deep bellow that just feels very British, and I can’t really explain why. It’s like being at Twickenham for a sold-out England game, it’s an incredibly unique sound that just makes you feel all warm and patriotic… It also just eats up the tarmac, and you feel like if you left your foot where it was, the needle would just keep going on and on and on. It gathers speed at such a rate, but you just don’t really feel it. I mean, there is obviously a bit of road noise from the awful run-flat tyres, and that exhaust note is also there, humming in your ear, but you feel like you’re on more of a cruise ship than a speedboat. The stoppers are good too, which brings this yacht to a standstill in a very reasonable time.

For the money and everything else, there are better choices out there, both with the used car game and the new car game, but in my free time I like to plan road trips, and if time money allows, go on them as well and I have driven over to the continent a few times and loved it, but now whenever I plan them, I always plan them with the GT in mind. To me, it is the perfect long road trip car. I know that I could load a suitcase in the boot, fill up the tank and drive all the way to Monaco (via a fuel petrol station) and get out without so much as a need to stretch… The only car I would choose over the GT coupe for a drive like this is the GTC – I am not normally one to go for a droptop over a coupe, but when you’re driving along that Riviera with that 30-degree sun, you want the top down.

I have toyed with the idea of just rolling the dice and buying one for a very long time, about 5 years now as they keep getting hit by the depreciation stick harder and harder but at this point in my life I need to at least pretend that I am being sensible, but who knows how I’ll feel in a few months when I have had the Disco for a bit longer.

A lot has changed in the Continental range since 2004, including the introduction of a new (and dare I say better) V8 and a lot of work has been done to modernise the interior and accompanying gadgets, but it still looks a few behind some of its competitors like the S63 AMG Coupe, but it will always have that one trump card up its sleeve, that name, Bentley.

*Originally written and published in Cambridge Magazine, 2018

There's been a lot of change over at Aston Martin in the last couple of years - and the biggest one has to be the new relationship with Mercedes-AMG and the use of the German engines in the new models like the DB11 and the new Vantage. So what does this mean for the cars themselves?

The old DB9 was a stunner of a car, which turned heads from day 1 right up to its retirement in 2016, but it was far from perfect. Over the years, I've played with a few and also spoken to many owners who all had pretty much the same to say about them. "Beautiful cars to look at, but a nightmare to maintain and run". This was mainly due to dodgy electrics in the now-aged interior and also the crazy running costs of that big, thirsty 6.0 V12 engine we've all grown to love.

In 2016, the new DB11 was launched, and it was well received with its new bold styling and up-to-date, German-produced gadgets. Originally offered with a new twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 powerplant producing 600hp and 516lb-ft of torque. 0-62mph took just 3.8 seconds, and it would go all the way to 200mph. It was beautiful to look at and brilliant to drive, and the new V12 kept the party going all the way up the revs. Unfortunately for the purists, Aston Martin decided to release the Volante in 2018 without this engine; instead, they opted for the smaller and lighter AMG-produced twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8. The same unit they introduced as an option for the coupe in the summer of 2017.

The smaller V8 may not be the choice of the old-school AM enthusiasts, but it suits the new DB11 perfectly. AMG may well have built the engine, but the people at Gaydon have worked their magic with the manifolds and exhaust to make sure it still sounds like a proper Aston. They have also done the tuning, meaning that even though there is a 97hp deficit, 0-62mph is only 0.3 seconds slower.

Looks-wise, I have always thought an Aston Martin looks its best with the roof removed, and this is no exception. Due to some clever new designs in the roof mechanism, it now stows away into a smaller compartment, meaning the overall silhouette of the car has not been compromised, and there is even a decent-sized boot. I love the large rear hips and the aggressive front grill, and the side profile is only improved when that soft top is stowed away.

Inside, it's very similar; you have these wonderfully comfortable hand-stitched seats with wood veneer backs, creating this perfect seated environment you expect from a GT car of this calibre. Despite the steering wheel being square, it sits in the perfect position, and big aluminium paddles make flicking through the gears of the 8-speed ZF box a smooth and simple task. One area I am still not 100% on is the centre console. While I welcome the addition of Mercedes-AMG's in-car technology and infotainment set-up, I do feel that they could have tried a bit harder to make it feel a bit more "Aston Martin". Unfortunately, it's still very Mercedes, and that's great if you have just bought a nice C or E Class, but with a starting price of £157,900, one would expect it to feel a bit more special. On the plus side, it all works and will keep working long after you've driven it off the forecourt, so I suppose that's something - we all have to compromise somewhere, I guess...

On the road, the DB11 is the perfect Grand Tourer, and it's only improved with that feeling of the warm wind in your hair in the Volante. Despite this being the big GT of the Aston range, it feels a lot lighter and more nimble than its predecessors. There has been a lot of development in the ride quality of the DB11, meaning the car has great handling and is very well balanced. Obviously, by chopping the roof off, there will always need to be alterations to the geometry of the car through extra strengthening, and that's the same story here. The weight distribution goes from 49%-51% (front to rear) to 47%-53% and even though that doesn't sound like much, it can make a huge difference to the way the car performs. Fortunately, the car still feels stiff and, due to the modifications made to the front shock tower structure, front-end rigidity is massively improved, and the steering feels even more direct than that of the coupe.

Power delivery from the Bi-turbo V8 is very linear, with the sheer torque of the car making up for slightly weak throttle response, and it still feels fast. Very fast, actually. With the Volante feeling lighter and more agile than Aston GT cars of the past, it almost doesn't feel like a GT car at all on those everyday drives, it boarders sportscar territory but has that ace up its sleeve that means you can thread it through twisty B-roads on Sunday and then blast down to the South Coast on Monday in pure comfort. All in all, I do think that the DB11 Volante is a great step forward for Aston Martin, and it really is a great drive, and if you want one, by all means, get one. However, I still feel that the interior needs work as the centre console is too Mercedes and there are also a few choice materials on some parts which would have passed a few years ago, but when you look at the interior of cars like the new Bentley Continental GT, the DB11 isn't quite there.

*Originally published in Cambridge News, 2017:

The BMW i8 is now 4 years old and later this year there will be a new convertible version of the mid-engine petrol-electric hybrid sports car, but is the i8 as relevant now as it was when it was launched… I spent a day with one to find out.

My previous experiences with electric and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles have been far from exciting, and it hadn’t really filled me with confidence and hope for the future of motoring. However, when I was offered the chance to take an i8 out for a 24-hour test drive, I told myself not to base my opinions on previous experiences with other cars. With an on-the-road price of a whopping £113,000, the benchmark for this was not other cleaner or greener vehicles; it was its closest competitor, the Porsche 911 Carrera S.

From the outside, the i8 really is a beauty to behold. Its futuristic and clean styling still stands out amongst the regular BMWs in the dealership car park, it just looks fabulous. I normally veer more towards the classically styled sports cars like Aston Martins and the 911, but there is something about the way the front end is so low and aggressive looking, with subtle nods to the classic M1, and let’s not forget those doors. You either love or hate silly doors on sports cars, and I can definitely say I am in the former camp. The way the dihedral doors go up and forwards creates such an event, and it makes the i8 that little bit more special to look at. Unfortunately, all sense of style and sophistication goes out the window as soon as you try and actually get in the car. With its high and wide carbon sills and low roofline, you need to be a Russian gymnast to be able to contort your body and post your body through the letterbox-sized gap, and don’t even get me started on getting back out again…

Inside, there is a strange mixture of standard BMW fittings and ultra-stylish LED strip lights in the signature “I blue” It feels a bit like a bowling alley on a Friday night when they dim the lights and everything is neon. It’s fun and cool, but it did become a bit of a distraction when driving in the dark. I must admit I was a bit underwhelmed by the interior to start with, for £113,000, you want it to feel special, but in the i8 it all feels a bit too 3-series. Having said that, after a few hours of driving I did start to develop a whole “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” view towards the setup and the more I compared it to the super-flash new dashboards in cars like the R8 I quickly remembered how much I hate the unnecessary touchscreens and gesture controls. Undoubtedly, these will all come to the i8 in time, so I’m just going to enjoy the simplicity while it lasts. The i8 is technically a 4-seater, but the rear seats are literally just padded cushions bolted onto the body. A bit like the rear seats in older 911s. Ideal if you have small children, or just want to put your mates through extreme discomfort as you drive them home from the pub.

One thing I do like about the interior that I am aware completely contradicts what I have just said about flashy screens is the main dial. It has a simple screen showing a speedometer on one side and either a rev counter or power gauge, depending on what drive mode you are using. The i8 also has all the usual onboard stats and so on, but it’s not cluttered with graphics and silly animations. The screen is grey and blue when driving in Comfort or EcoPro, and then it turns red when you switch into Sports mode. All very simple and very clean. It also has a head-up display that I used to hate in previous cars, but the more I experience them, the more I see the benefits.

Driving the car is, at first, a strange experience. Because you’re sat in a low-slung sports car, you have a particular idea in your mind of how it should sound and feel, however, this isn’t a regular sports car, so when you engage reverse and move out of your parking space, there is just the quiet rumbling sound of tyres on tarmac... Then, when you pull off, it’s the same. Complete engine silence. It’s all a bit weird, really. The i8 is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder engine pulled straight out of a Mini Cooper but tuned to push out around 229 bhp. This is mounted in the middle and powers the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic gearbox. It is also powered by a 2-speed electric motor at the front, feeding another 127 bhp straight to the front wheels, giving you a total power output of 356 bhp. This doesn't sound like a huge amount of grunt, given that there are family estate cars that can push out double this figure, but due to the car's lightweight blend of aluminium and carbon fibre, the actual performance is a very pleasant surprise.

The acceleration isn't ground-breaking, but also not slow at a claimed 4.4 seconds to 62 mph, but it feels a lot quicker somehow. I think it's the way you have that instant power to the front wheels pulling the car off the mark while the petrol engine at the back has time to catch up and then keep pushing the car to its limited 155 mph top speed. Surprisingly, the overall feel of the drive is very similar to that of its closest competitor, the Porsche 911 Carrera S, with regards to balance and delivery. You have a great driving position, nice a low, and everything is exactly where you need it to be, and the steering is nice and light when manoeuvring, but it also has good feedback when you need it at higher speeds. The i8 is by no means a lap time champion, the all-wheel-drive setup and skinny tyres mean you have a fair bit of understeer when turning, but overall the experience is a very pleasing and focused one. The added bonus of the car's lightweight build means that braking is as good as you would expect, and that little 3-cylinder engine sounds and feels like it's twice the size. One grey area with the car that has left the room quite divided is the amplification of the engine note - when the car is in Sport mode, the engine sound is pumped through the car's speaker system making it sound more impressive than it is, but to be completely honest I kind of like it. It grew on me the more I drove the car, as no one wants to feel like their £100k+ car doesn't sound impressive...

All in all, I was really surprised and impressed by the i8. The detail in the design is nothing short of beautiful, and the way they have made something look so futuristic without looking silly is a great achievement. The problem with comparing a car as cutting edge and as different as this to a car like the 911 is that if I were in the market for a 911, I'd buy a 911 - the only choice I would have to make would be which model and which spec. The i8 doesn't have a loyal or established audience yet, but if you want something fast, expensive and full of futuristic technology and also returns a claimed 140+ mpg, there is nothing else out there yet.

We are living in a changing world at the moment with more and more manufacturers stepping away from the larger capacity engines in exchange for smaller, more environmentally conscious powerplants and BMW have shown that you can make a great looking, great performing sports car with only 3 cylinders and some electric motors that only emit 49 grams of Co2 per kilometre... We still have a long way to go, but BMW really are ahead of the game, and for that reason, I think the i8 is more relevant now than it ever has been, and I am very excited about the arrival of the i8 Convertible later on in 2018.

All images are supplied by, and the property of, BMW UK.