CARS

THE UK’S MOTOR INDUSTRY MAY BE TEETERING ON THE BRINK BUT, WRITES JON WALL, IT CLEARLY HASN’T LOST THE PLOT ENTIRELY IF THESE FOUR BRILLIANT NEWCOMERS ARE ANYTHING TO GO BY

Best of British

BENTLEY MULLINER BACALAR

We featured Bentley’s new hand-built Mulliner Bacalar last month, but frankly the limited-edition open-top is so gorgeous that we had to give you a second look. Nor does the fact that it’s built on the platform of the Continental GT (which is also shared with Porsche’s secondgeneration Panamera) make the Bacalar any less exotic – or have these relatively unbespoke underpinnings prevented a dozen ultrahigh-net-worth individuals from shelling out the roughly US$1.9 million sticker (that’s before tax) that Bentley’s slapped on each car.

Unlike the electric-powered EXP 100 GT concept, which the company re^ealed last year and Pas clearly inAE]enced tPe two seat barchetta’s styling, the Bacalar is relatively conventional beneath its dramatic skin, which begins with an aggressive profusion of grills and slats and AEows into an eleOantly elonOated *entley J]stle 1n Nact its twin-turbocharged six-litre W12 has been around for more than a decade-and-a-half – though as it’s good for 650bhp and 333km/h, its occupants are certainly likely to feel the wind in their hair. And as there’s no roof whatsoever, that’s one reason why we can’t imagine spotting a single one of these ultra-exclusive automobiles perambulating along England’s rainy roads any time soon.

LAND ROVER DEFENDER

We’ve been waiting more than four years for a replacement for the original and much-loved Defender, itself an evolution of a vehicle that first saw tPe liOPt oN day in ! +learly tPe old 4andy co]ldn¼t Pa^e gone on for ever, but as the months mounted up so did the fears that the new Defender couldn’t possibly live up to its predecessor’s reputation as the go-anywhere workhorse par excellence.

Fortunately – and in spite of being an entirely new design from the wPeels ]p – tPis new 4and :o^er is in e^ery way a wortPy s]ccessor to the original. Tough, boxy and functional, it ticks all the desired styling boxes, and though rugged enough to conquer the most challenging conditions and terrain, the second-generation Defender is properly 21st-century in conception, being pleasant to drive and surprisingly comfortable (neither of which attributes even the old car’s most fervent fans could ever sanely have claimed).

Currently only the long-wheelbase 110 version is available (the

SWB comes later), with engines ranging upwards from a 2-litre turbodiesel four. Standard cars ride on coil springs with air suspension an option, while permanent four-wheel drive ensures the new Defender will be as at home on mountainsides as motorways – not to mention the posh environs frequented by intrepid urban explorers.

MCLAREN 765LT

Those who, after being fortunate enough to drive the superlative

720S, were wondering what more could they reasonably expect from a s]percar clearly don¼t incl]de tPe denibens oN tPe : , and desiOn departments at 5c4aren¼s space aOe Nactory in ;]rrey *eca]se tPree years aNter tPe first appeared 5c4aren Pas ca]OPt e^eryone o ٺ O]ard Jy droppinO tPe JPp enOine oN tPe ;enna Pypercar into its cPassis sPa^inO some SO Nrom its weiOPt addinO some insane carJon fiJre aero aids to its already slippery and Orippy JodyworS and come ]p witP tPe new 4< a car tPat¼s e^en more sensationally Nast than the one on which it’s based.

With a production run of – you guessed it – 765 examples (though on previous form, in due course we can also expect a similar number oN con^ertiJle ;piders tPe 4< sPo]ld also Je rare eno]OP to Je almost a collector¼s item 1t will oN co]rse Je monstro]sly Y]icS witP a maximum of around 330km/h and 0-100 acceleration in the blink-and-you-missed-it zone And with an additional 25 percent downforce from all those winglets and an even larger and longer rear wing, it should corner as if it were painted on the tarmac. As for the quartet of titanium exhausts that poke out from the tail, take care not to stand too close when the engine’s revving, otherwise you may have a pants on fire moment tPat yo] Padn¼t e`actly JarOained Nor

ASTON MARTIN V12 ZAGATO

To be strictly accurate, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato isn’t new at all. It’s a continuation of the rare and beautiful 2013 limited-edition supercar coupe that the British company created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Italian coachbuilder Zagato. Nor is it entirely an Aston – production of the 19 coupes and a similar number of convertibles (which are new) will be handled at the Warwick, UK facility of the Swiss-owned R-Reforged operation. And to make matters only slightly more confusing, these “new” Zagato Astons will only be available as 19 pairs of “Heritage Twins” – one tin-top and one ragtop – priced in excess of US$2 million for the two of them.

)ltPo]OP little Pas cPanOed in tPe desiOn and carJon fiJre bodywork of the coupe, which of course features the “double-bubble” roof typical of all Zagato designs (including its legendary variant of Aston’s DB4 GT, now worth millions), the convertible gets a speedsterstyle tail that also gets active aero – as, indeed, does the coupe. Beneath the bonnet lies an uprated version of the Vantage V12 enOine wPicP now Jenefits Nrom a JPp power Joost