2019-10-01_CAR_UK

OCTOBER 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 7

We l c o m e

‘Your car will

be free: free

to commit to

the pursuit of

hedonism’

Everywhere you turn, the car as we know and

love it looks to be on borrowed time. In The

Economist, a story on the post-car European

city raises the very valid point that, by virtue

of pre-dating the automobile, the European

city was never going to get on well with the

car: streets too narrow and labyrinthine,

little spare space... Just as it was a nicer, more

humane place before the advent of widespread

car ownership, the European city will be better

off after it, and not just in the obvious ways. Yes

pollution, both air and noise, will be reduced,

but the democratisation of green, quiet and

open spaces within the urban environment is

undoubtedly also A Nice Thing.

For a long time the cleanliness and tranquil-

lity of your urban address has been inextricably

linked to your wealth. As roads, streets and car

parks are reclaimed for bicycles and scooters,

that may no longer be the case.

And then there’s the self-driving, Uber-style

vision of future mobility. Many are sceptical,

pointing at the huge swathes of the population

still living well outside any urban centre –

people for whom the idea of parting with their

car is about as attractive as heading back into

the woods for a pre-Neolithic, hunter-gatherer

existence. Hypothermic half the year, with

nothing to eat but pine cones and squirrel

sushi? Nein danke.

So, it’s not looking good. At least, it appears

to be not looking good. But perhaps it’s all in

the perspective, and we just need to get a bit

more Renault about it. Yep, Renault.

Back when the French marque was

Ben

Miller

Editor

Star

contributors

CHINA SPAIN INDIA I TA LY TURKEY GREECE

WE’RE ALSO PUBLISHED IN:

bombarding motor shows with self-driving,

app-hailed concepts of every shape, size and

conceivable purpose, its director of concept

car design, Stéphane Janin, told me to think of

his creations not as the harbinger of the car’s

demise but as the end of the boring car.

‘Cities will be very clean and quiet, because

the cars – if are there any – will all be electric.

But when you want to escape, you’ll take a

sports car – and a real one, not a compromise,’

Janin told me, clearly excited at the prospect.

By compromise he meant the kind of thing

most of us own, or at least aspire to own:

Volkswagen Golf R, 330d BMW, maybe an

Alfa Romeo Giulia. Fine driving machines all

of them, but inevitably compromised by rear

seats, sound insulation material, usable boots

and suspension that, while at the keen end

of the spectrum, still has the bandwidth to

smooth the morning drive to work.

Follow Janin’s thinking and the cars we

choose to own won’t need any of this stuff,

because they’ll be purely for pleasure use. The

kids will cycle to school, or go via self-driving

pod. Anything you buy will make its way to

your place in either a driverless van (with

bespoke, ultra-aggressive mapping in line

with DPD’s brand values...) or slung beneath a

drone, like a Vietnam Huey supply drop with

less small-arms fire.

And so your car will be free. Free to commit

itself exclusively to the uncompromised pursuit

of hedonism. Free to be an Ariel Nomad, in

fact. Mine’s just arrived (page 126). I couldn’t

wait for the purge of the car from European

cities or Level 5 autonomy.

Enjoy the issue.

Everyone’s first reaction upon seeing John

Wycherley’s photos of the new Defender:

‘Oh, now I get it.’ His images (p66) get right

to the heart of this reborn British icon.

Months of planning – and then it’s all over in

two days. This year’s Sports Car Giant Test

(p82), organised chiefly by James Taylor

and Ben Pulman, is one of the best ever.

Abandoned factory? Supercars old and

new? A talkative boss? Yes, Chris Chilton’s

genie came up with the goods. See p104.