BBC Top Gear Magazine April 2020

Editor-in-chief @TopGearEditor editor@bbctopgearmagazine.com Defender: a word that encapsulates a million stories. The hyperbole tends to get turned up a notch when writing about the icon that is Land Rover’s most legendary product, but few cars command such affection, or have been part of so many people’s stories. Its position in the nation’s psyche brings an unimaginable pressure and the weight of expectation for the replacement is huge. Some products occupy such a deep-rooted place in the fabric of society that it could be argued they should be left alone to age gracefully, for fear that any replacement could never deliver. Imagine, then, the pressure felt by Nick Rogers (executive director, project engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, or, more prosaically, the man responsible for delivering against that tidal wave of expectation) as…

Philipp Rupprecht “Being sent to photograph a cancelled motor show is a new one for me. Seeing it being torn down was fascinating, the amount of waste was troubling” Jack Rix “Caking the car for the cover involved tailgating another Defender down a muddy riverbed at 50mph. Probably should have told them what I was up to…” Rowan Horncastle “Jack went to arid Africa… I went to sodden Berkshire. What he didn’t get to see on safari was Paul Horrell wrestle a sheep. That’s worth staying in the UK for”…

Boring though it is to start every electric-car story with a mention of the Tesla Model 3, it’d be neglectful to do otherwise in this case. Because, like the massive-selling Tesla, this BMW is a compact saloon with superb range and gutspinning acceleration. OK, this exact BMW won’t be selling, massively or otherwise. It’s a show car. Specifically, it’s the BMW Concept i4. The concept version of next year’s production BMW i4. And BMW is being unusually frank about that fact. Vital stats then: there’s 523bhp in full performance mode, from a single rear motor, for 0–62mph in “approx four seconds”. The WLTP range is about 600km, or just over 370 miles. The battery has a capacity of 80kWh. To get that sort of range-versus-capacity, the i4 depends on efficient…

What we’re watching/listening/doing, while we should be working Sunderland Till I Die Season 2, Netflix Our resident Mackem Stephen has considered the investment in the second series to be a key money-stream that will strengthen the Black Cats squad come 2021 Andy Warhol exhibition The Tate Modern’s first Warhol retrospective in 20 years. Expect to see all your faves under one roof, just like Toys’R’Us. Kicks off 12 March, runs until September Baxter Dury, The Night Chancers Baxter’s sixth album is “about being caught out in your attempt at being free”. Tipping this album for great things Formula One is back March sees the return of F1. I’ve got a tenner on Latifi to stop Lewis equaling Schuey’s title record. Easy money, right? Ready Steady Cook, BBC One Stuck at…

James Hunt is the YNBACA apogee. Even at your maximal cool, you’ll never be as cool as James Hunt tackling even the most menial of activities. Clearing the fluff from his tumble drier. Treating a nasty bout of athlete’s foot. Re-grouting his bathroom tiling. So, sure, obviously James Hunt was always going to look cool riding a bike. Even while wearing kneesocks apparently borrowed from a Victorian schoolchild, and a helmet offering slightly less cranial protection than an empty crisp packet. But even ignoring Mr Hunt, there’s no denying that the rest of the 1977 F1 grid are smashing this scene – a bike race around Brazil’s Interlagos circuit, literally no idea why – with way more style than it deserves. You might assume ordering a bunch of F1 drivers…

Typical. You wait years for a new, fast Golf, then three come along all at once. Spoiler alert: none is revolutionary nor the teensiest bit surprising, but we’re glad they’re back all the same. Star of the trio is undoubtedly the Golf GTI. After all, the other two probably wouldn’t exist without it. Like its predecessor, you get a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine making 242bhp and 273lb ft – expect 0–62mph in the low sixes, and a top speed north of 150mph. Drive is sent only to the front axle (wait for the 300+bhp Golf R for all-wheel drive) via either a six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed DSG. The GTD and GTE’s powertrains are more interesting on a technical level. The former has one of the cleanest diesel engines in…