...expialidocious. We have no idea if Mary Poppins would approve of supersaloons, but why not? They’re the supercars built to handle family life
The Lotus Carlton arrived in 1990. TopGear magazine arrived in 1993. Therefore, the car that rewrote, publicised and defined the supersaloon class during TG’s formative years is ineligible for inclusion here. But 377bhp, what’s that these days? Just a bit more than BMW’s entry-level M car, the M2, less than Merc’s second-tier fast E, the 396bhp E43. The hottest E, the 63S, makes well over 200bhp more than the Vauxhall/Lotus effort, an increase of over 50 per cent in 25 years.
But no one’s asked questions in Parliament about the E63S, no public action committees have demanded it be banned. One hundred and seventy-seven miles per hour? There are hot hatches capable of getting into that ballpark now. But there weren’t back then. Issue 1 of TopGear shows the supersaloon is yet to make an impact. There’s an Audi V8 listed with 280bhp, a 240bhp Merc E500, but the only car we’d actually recognise is the BMW M5, which had 340bhp.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of Top Gear.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2017 edition of Top Gear.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO SAAB
From greatest hits to lowest moments, everything you ever wanted to know... and a fair bit you didn’t
BEHIND CLOSED JOORS
A new book gets unfiltered access to BMW Design’s cutting room floor. These are the projects that could have been...
THE LAST OF US
The Audi R8 is no more. TG was there to witness the final build, and we couldn't help but get involved...
GRAND DESIGNS
CEO RJ Scaringe is ready to take Rivian from plucky EV startup to global powerhouse... we meet the man and the new models his master plan relies on
SOUND OF THE UNDER GROUND
Stig's secret subterranean lair is the perfect place to make a lot of noise. And that's exactly what we've done. Welcome to TopGear Tunnel Run
The big test: small electric SUVs
Things are looking bright with the arrival of the latest electric Volvo but the existing crop of electric crossovers has something to say too
FUTURE PROOF
The Chinese auto industry is moving at pace. And it means business
HOW TO WIN THE ICONIC DAKAR RALLY
Three years ago, Audi set itself the seemingly impossible challenge of winning the world’s toughest desert race. Here’s how the famous four rings made motorsport history
PURE KLASSE
Last year saw the saloon version of BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse, now here comes the SUV...
INFINITI EX VETTEL EDITION
The list of special edition road cars bearing the name of F1 world champions is short, but not short enough.