The September issue of TopGear magazine is out now, and it’s the one we snappily call the Massive Supercar Megatest Summer Spectacular.
Because we are selfless like that, we corralled together the five greatest supercars of the year – the Ferrari 458, Merc SLS, Lexus LFA, Lambo Gallardo Superleggera and Porsche GT3 RS – and thrashed them from one side of Britain to the other, ending up at the TopGear test track.
But since we couldn’t agree on a winner, we handed our quintet of supercars over to our trio of erudite presenters to pick their favourites. Read why Jeremy loves the SLS more than his own dog and witness a big old fight between James and Richard on that knotty old Porsche-versus-Ferrari debate. Clearly the boys were never going to reach a unified verdict, so there was only one thing for it hand all five cars over to the mysterious man in white for a thorough Stigging. Sideways, smoky and smelling slightly of veal – it’s the only way our tame racing driver knows how.
It’s not just fast cars in this issue of TopGear magazine, though. Oh no. We’ve got a very fast bike and a very fast bikist too. That’s John McGuinness – 15-time Isle of Man TT champion, the quickest man ever to lap the terrifying street circuit and all-round fearless loon – and, clinging terrifiedly round his waist, our man Piers Ward, a journalist who’s as familiar with superbikes as Deborah Meaden is with bonhomie and good cheer. Watch the video of Piers’s sphincter-narrowing lap here.
Kicking off our smorgasbord of road tests this month is the 911 GT2 RS, the fastest and most powerful Porsche in history. With 613 turbocharged horses coursing through the rear wheels, it’s every bit as deranged as you’d imagine.
We’ve also reviewed the Renault Wind, Hennessey Camaro, Fiat 500 Twin, Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, Mercedes C63 DR520 and, oh, loads of other stuff.
How do you upstage the billionaires who cruise round Knightsbridge in their Veyrons and Enzos? With a fantasycar, that’s how. We ‘borrow’ Citroen’s astonishing GT concept and head to Harrods to wind up some oligarchs and oil barons. Things get a bit messy.
And, talking of messy, that’s our new Jaguar XJ. In the depths of Morocco. Getting all dusty and broken. Find out if the lovely big Jag conquered the Atlas Mountains – and see Tom Ford with a snake on his face!
Because we occasionally dabble in sensible grown-up car journalism, we’ve got a head-to-head test between the Mini Countryman and Nissan Juke, in which we discuss sensible grown-up things like boot space and economy and ergonomics and, er, skateboards.
We’ve also got the scandalous behind-the-scenes story of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz’s Hollywoodtastic visit to the TopGear telly studio. Think of us as Hello but with more toppling Korean hatchbacks.
All this, and more, in the September issue of TopGear magazine, on sale today. Go, hurry, and buy a packet of retro crisps while you’re at it!
Top Gear UK 