JACK RIX Editor-in-chief
Due to some spicy festive deadlines I’m actually writing this two weeks before Christmas in a fog of late nights and turkey lunches The ideal moment then to reflect on what’s been a year of change Change for us in the TopGear family as we adjust to the TV show being rested for the foreseeable but also in the auto industry as a whole Has there ever been a more exciting time to cover cars? I can’t think of one but then again my brain is clogged with cranberry sauce
The themes are broadly what we’ve been witnessing for a while but in somebody somewhere pinned it because shifts are happening at an unprecedented rate We know the Chinese are coming to steal everyone else’s lunch but in ’ they actually arrived with a wave of affordable high tech EVs making landfall in Europe For car fans like you and I the lack of brand awareness and design heritage makes its hard to decipher between them but do the general public more motivated by price and range really care? We’ll keep you posted
More icons their legends forged on fruity combustion engines are being reimagined for the EV age Range Rover Porsche Boxster Nissan GTR Lexus LFA all have electric replacements coming but the ripple effect of that is a celebratory onelastblast feeling around the petrol engine In we drove the glorious GMA T Aston Valkyrie and countless Porsche GT department specials in we’ll see a Bugatti Chiron replacement a Lambo Huracán successor a Red Bull hypercar from Adrian Newey and presumably countless more Porsche GT department specials
I’m aware electric cars aren’t everyone’s cup of tea that there’s a PR job to be done by the makers but the signs that our battery fuelled future won’t be completely dull are good The Hyundai Ioniq N has shown proper fun can be programmed in and retroinfused remakes designed to tickle all our soft spots for the past see new Renault are set to clean up so long as the concept’s design isn’t too watered down and the price is right
Our mission at TopGear has always been to celebrate it all to find the joy in cars whatever shape or propulsion they favour and to offer information and escapism on every page We’re working on a total rehaul of the magazine for to bring the world’s most beautiful and creative car mag up to date and our burgeoning digital channels to work more harmoniously alongside it It’s going to be another wild ride here’s to a happy and prosperous
Enjoy the issue
“OUR MISSION IS TO FIND THE JOY IN CARS WHATEVER THE SHAPE OR PROPULSION”