5–1 TOP 50 CARS
2 1 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 51
rival that of driving some of the finest
supercars, and that clearly can’t be
r i g ht; not w it h t he r u n n i n g ge a r of a
Renault Mégane it can’t. Can it?
Believe it. The extraordinary thing
a b out r e t u r n i n g t o a n A 110 i s t h at it
is actually and always even better
than your memory recalls. You’ll
hear the fizzy rasp of the engine as
you open it up for the first time, the
always surprising shove in the back
to remind you how light this car
really is, and then you’ll swoop down
i nt o a n a r c i n g c u r v e , fe e l t he s ubl i me
de f t ne s s of t h at c h a s si s a nd , i f y ou
have blood in your arteries, you will
start to giggle. Make no mistake: this
car is a landmark.
Which, frankly, the 911 Carrera S
i s not. We r e y ou t o m a k e l a nd m a rk s
of all the 911s that appear to have
qualified over the years, you’d end upwith the automotive equivalent of the
Dubai skyline, unable to identify one
peak from the next. Besides, while
the Alpine was a bolt from the blue,
Porsche’s guiding principle of steady
evolution has ensured this new 992
generation of the 911 is the same as
the 991 it succeeds. Only better.
Unlike the Alpine and McLaren,
and quite like the Fiesta and 320d,
the 911 is a car that invites you to take
it for g r a nt e d. T h i s i s not a c a r for
the theatrical raising of the garage
doors to reveal the slumbering beast
beyond. It’s a car for leaving outside
in the rain, covered in road grime,
and really not thinking much about
most of the time. For being taken
for granted is always what 911s havedone best, and there’s none better
than this. Like a favourite piece of
furniture, it moulds itself to you, fits
instantly and perfectly into your life.
For a while, you can’t think what life
w a s l i k e b e for e it t u r ne d up. T he n ,
shortly thereafter, you stop thinking
of it at a l l. Unt i l , t h at i s , s ome one
takes it away and you see the gaping
v oid it h a s le f t b e h i nd.
The 992 is the most brilliantly
realised example of this art to date:
a superlative long-distance tourer,
capable commuter, awesomely
rapid, utterly engaging and always
reassuring sports car, all wrapped up
in one inimitable shape.
W h ic h br i n gs u s t o t he Mc L a r e n6 0 0LT. D r i v i n g t h i s c a r f a s t on
Welsh mountain roads is not just a
completely different experience from
doing the same in the others, but it’s
a completely different discipline, too.
You absolutely, positively cannot just
let rip. You have to hold back, pick
your moments very carefully and
exercise saintly restraint the rest of
the time. It can be frustrating.
But those moments make up ◊
911’s driving environment and sense of quality are first rate Fiesta is fitted out like the range-topping hot hatchback it is
A110’s c a b i n p r ov i d es cl u es th at th i s c a r we i g h s j u st 1123 kg You get an upmarket, business-like set-up in the 3 Series
The 911 is a polished,
engaging, do-it-all
everyday sports car
Frankel finds driver
nirvana in the
immersive 600LT