Coming soon: the greatest cars from the UK’S finest
Although car manufacturing is a global industry, Britain still makes many of the best in the world. Here are some to look forward to
Is there such a thing as a “British” car any more? With Jaguar and Land Rover owned by the Indians, Aston Martin owned by the Kuwaitis, Bentley and Rolls-royce owned by the Germans and even plucky little Morgan owned by an investment group headquartered in Luxembourg, it’s difficult to pinpoint any car being made today that can be considered truly “British”. And that’s no bad thing, because the current crop of not-really-british cars being launched in 2020 are some of the finest that this country has sort-of produced.
We have the Aston Martin DBX, built in Wales, but with a twin-turbocharged V8 German heart beating beneath its bonnet. It’s good for 180mph with space for the children and their luggage and it is – we reckon – one of the first truly attractive SUVS on the market. Its main rival? The Bentley Bentayga, another of Britain’s finest designs.
Then there’s the Land Rover Defender, one of the year’s most eagerly anticipated models, following in the tyre tracks of one of the world’s most famous designs.
The Mclaren Elva comes out soon, with 249 squillionaires buying into the company’s “Ultimate” range of ultraexclusive hypercars. A new Mini Countryman is coming out, too, and the new Rolls-royce Ghost is undergoing final testing, soon to redefine luxury within its already rarefied segment.
All these cars join an impressive array of already pretty notable machinery from smaller manufacturers such as Morgan and Lotus, and the wildly popular models such as the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport.
Plus, there are all the cars that are merely built in Britain without actually being British, such as the bestselling Nissan Qashqai and the Toyota Avensis.
There might be no such thing as a truly British car any more. But despite this, Britain still makes a lot of great cars.
LAND ROVER DEFENDER, FROM £38,000
The old Defender was a pretty bad car by the time it went out of production four years ago. Slow, expensive, inefficient and uncomfortable, by the end of its formidable lifespan it was driven almost exclusively by utility companies and hipsters. Its retirement in 2016 was long overdue, though acolytes still get mistyeyed when they reminisce about this awful but lovable piece of British engineering. Which is why there’s so much excitement around this new SUV. Like the old Defender, it’s now available as a “90” or a “110” (though these names no longer reflect the length of the wheelbase in inches) and several engines, from a 197bhp diesel to a 395bhp straight-six. Its clever adaptive four-wheel-drive system and suspension means it can adjust to suit all types of terrain, including tarmac, where the old car was never altogether comfortable. And while it’s no sports car, it can at least keep up with traffic – even the cheapest, slowest diesel will reach 62mph in ( just) under 10 seconds.
JAGUAR F-TYPE, FROM £55,000
This is one of Britain’s most underappreciated models, and arguably one of the best all-round sports cars you can buy. This year it gets a significant update in the form of upgraded chassis dynamics, sharper styling and a rangetopping four-wheel-drive version that now produces 567bhp and will reach 62mph in just 3.7 seconds. That sort of performance is approaching supercar territory, and means that the F-type will be more able to hold its own against the kind of Porsches and Audis that it competes with. The range as a whole is likely to remain somewhat overlooked, and therefore rather rare, making the new F-type a real British underdog.
ASTON MARTIN DBX, FROM £158,000
Aston Martin’s first SUV needs to be good. Or rather, it needs to be popular – we already know it’s good. Eighteen years after Porsche launched its Cayenne SUV, a beleaguered Aston Martin is only now making its debut in this bizarre but highly profitable segment. We love the DBX, and can wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody who wants an extremely fast, luxurious and dynamically sorted five-seater that can also tow a horsebox – though it isn’t immediately clear how big this demographic is. Available at launch with a 4.0-litre V8, the DBX produces 542bhp and will reach 62mph in around 4.5 seconds.
PROJEKT GRENADIER £TBC
Backed by petrochemical billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Projekt Grenadier is the name given to an audacious automotive project that will, supposedly, replace the original Land Rover Defender and its Series ancestors more authentically than JLR’S recent efforts. The Ineos Grenadier (named after a pub in central London) is an “uncompromising”, “no-nonsense” and “rugged” 4x4 designed to function a lot like the older Land Rovers in terms of off-road ability. It’s expected to go on sale in 2022, which is a long time to wait if you need a car now, but not long at all to build a car essentially from scratch.