evo UK – September 2019

FUTUREICONS

Audi

A1quattro

EngineIn-line 4-cyl, 1984cc, turboPower253bhp @

6000rpmTorque258lb ft @ 2500-4500rpmWeight

1420kgPower-to-weight181bhp/ton0-62mph5.7sec

Top speed152mphPrice whennew£41,020 (2013)

Valuetodayc£34,000

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BMW

M2Competition

EngineIn-line 6-cyl, 2979cc, twin-turbo

Power404bhp @ 5250-7000rpmTorque406lb ft @

2350-5200rpmWeight1550kgPower-to-weight

265bhp/ton0-62mph4.4secTop speed155mph

(limited)Basicprice£51,150

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Mercedes-Benz

SLS AMGBlackSeries

EngineV8, 6208ccPower622bhp @ 7400rpm

Torque468lb ft @ 5500rpmWeight1550kg

Power-to-weight408bhp/ton0-62mph3.6sec

Top speed196mphPrice whennew£229,985 (2013)

Valuetoday£420,000-620,000

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character of subsequentmodels, answering the perhaps justified

call for a little morerazzle-dazzle and sonic stimulation. I’m

familiar withthose cars, soitwillbedoubly fascinating to

samplethe first fruit ofthe originalblueprint, the car charged

withrealising McLaren’s pure, unadulterated vision.

Officially,thiswas soldasanunprecedentedtransferof

F1construction, technology andcomputersimulation-aided

development fromtrack toroad.But Ferrari usedthatline too.

What it boileddowntowas you don’t needa big, noisy engineto

gofast and you don’t havetoput upwitha hardrideif you want

tocornerlikecrazy.

The 12C (Cfor CarbonMonoCell) was thuspoweredbyan

all-new, purpose-built 3.8-litre,dry-sumped, twin-turboV8

developing616bhp(595bhpinitially)and 442lb ftoftorque.

Slung lowin the chassis it revved to a Ferrari-matching 85 00 rpm

and poweredthe rearwheelsvia a seven-speed dual-clutch

transmission. Suspension?Classic racing practice–double

wishbones and coils allround,but withdampers hydraulically

interconnectedtoprovide threelevelsofroll control, thereby

makinganti-roll barsredundantand adjusting rollstiffness

inreal time.

The upshotisa dynamic paradigmthatwas uniqueeight

years ago and isuniquenow,deliveringanalmost magical

separationofrideand roll stiffnessand therefore comfort and

cornering power. Broken, lumpy surfacesare dismissed with

the pliantpanache ofanold-schoolPeugeot, but tearintothe

twistystuff and the McLarenchanges directionand gripswith

the low-inertiaalacrityand sticky-tyredtenacityofa single-

seater. This is rare, toweringtalentand utterly absorbing. Time

and againthe Macca flipsbetween ‘states’, onemomentalmost

sleepy, the seven-speeddouble-clutchtransmissionextreme

short-shiftingtothe resonantdrone ofthe exhaust. Then, ina

heartbeat, the inductionhowlfromhell (weirdly, allinduction

withnomechanicalcontent), sequenced pulsesofthrust asthe

DCT ripsthrough its ratios, and a chilledchassis withsinewsof

steel. It’s beena long wait, but I likethe McLarenMP4-12C a lot.

McQueen-gradeunderstated potency is brilliantly served.

One more to go. The last timeI saw a Mercedes SLS Black Series