The refresh job appears to be the flavour of the season, especially with manufacturers in Europe. In India, Mahindra is the latest to catch the bug. Note the Xylo, which now looks far more attractive than it ever has.

The front grille is completely redesigned and looks like a much better fit than the old one. The headlights stay the same but now get the blackout treatmen, giving the Xylo a more modem look that will appeal to a larger part of the market.

Mу backside is in roughly the spot that youd usually find a rear passengers shoes. Which means that from where Im sitting – head buried behind B – pillar – 1 cant see the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Merc idling rowdily beside me. Cant see anything much at all, in fact. Except skyscrapers. Hope the other drivers realise my visual predicament. And dont fully realise what theyre up against. Angry bursts of revs signal their readiness. I hold three fingers out of the window of Nissans diddiest SUV. I fold one in, then another…

The Juke – R is what happens when junior 4×4 and senior supercar get jiggy. Think of it as a cross – fertilisation programme in which GM crops and an agricultural laboratory have been substituted for non – GM cars and a professional racing outfits, uh, non – laboratory. The cut n shut is broadly horizontal, the Jukes top half plonked on the GT – Rs bottom. That sounds a straightforward operation, but, in reality, its anything but.

…especially if youre a chubby englishman with the streetwise nous of a spaniel

Believe me, you want to stay safe in Detroit. Motown was last year ranked as the most dangerous city in America, with a violent crime rate that makes Britains roughest urban areas look like the Cotswolds. Keep your head down, stay under the radar, dont make a scene. Trouble is, its tricky to stay under the radar when youre driving a bright – orange muscle car with a matt – black shaker hood, an exhaust with the acoustics of a pneumatic drill piped through a Marshall stack and a rear wing the size of an ice – hockey goal hooping high into the night sky.

What is this lump of orange and noise and wing thats advertising TopGcars presence like a 60 – foot neon sign flashing GET YOUR FREE CAMERA KIT HERE? The HPP Superbird, thats what, and chances are youve already formed a strong opinion about it. This will likely be either: “Hell yeah, give me one of them bad boys and a side order of ribs, boy” or “Goodness, what a vulgar machine.” Opinions on this car rarely hover in midfield.

Fuel injection is hardly a state – of – the – art technology, but it represents a paradigm shift for Americas favorite racing series.

WITH THE START OF the 2012 NASCAR season at Daytona, Sprint Cup cars are using electronic fuel injection for the first time since NASCAR was founded in 1948. Its the most revolutionary —and overdue —engine upgrade in stock – car history. Given NASCARs stodgy record, youd expect to see people lining up on the barricades to fight the change. Instead, most of the major players are leading the charge.

“When people talk about NASCAR engines, they talk about carburetors and pushrods, and this masks the fact that weve got technology that surpasses some of the greatest in the world,” says Doug Yates, CEO of Roush Yates Engines, which will supply Ford motors to more than a quarter of the Cup field. “Moving to fuel injection is a great first step to get us the recognition that we deserve and also to attract other technical partners to come into the sport.”

Scramble, scramble, scramble! Starter motors whirred, smoke coughed from the exhausts and then no fewer than 10 Spitfire Merlin engines burst into life before this flight of warbirds was charging flat out down the grassy runway, first lifting their tail wheels before swooping upwards into the blue skies, dotted with cotton wool balls of cloud. They swiftly massed into combat formation
and prowled the perimeter of Goodwood, nestled in the glorious West Sussex Downs, protecting the Boeing B1 7 Flying Fortress, Sally B, more Spits and a horde of other aircraft still down below. Thankfully, we werent under attack. This was just one of the many wonderful sights and sounds at this years Goodwood Revival, marking 75 years of this iconic Battle of Britain fighter which was stationed at Goodwood during the war.
Meanwhile, in the pre – race assembly area, a fabulous array of pre – 64 GT cars worth in excess of ?100 million were warming their engines and their famous racing drivers were togging up in fireproof balaclavas, helmets and gloves ready for a scramble of their own. Normally, the RAC TT grid would be littered with Jaguar E Types but this year, in celebration of the big cats 50th birthday, they had a race all of their own. Instead, it became a Cobra – fest, with six of the beasts plus a stunning original Shelby American Cobra Daytona Coupe driven by Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack and seven times Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.

The first muscle car that is? Thats one topic no one seems to agree on…
Within the muscle car hobby there is one question that absolutely overshadows every other aspect of high performance ownership and that is: “Who built the first muscle car?” This one question is as important to the devotees of Detroit as the Holy Grail is to the Christian religion – okay, perhaps not that significant, but nonetheless a question that merits closer examination.
First up on my candidates list is the earliest of the cars, the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. Oldsmobile engineer Gilbert Burrell pioneered the new breed of 90 – degree V8 engines, engines that would shape the automotive industry for decades to come. He developed the overhead – valve V8 that we all love to this day. So by Christmas 1948 and with GM board approval, the first production OHV V8 engines were being produced for installation in the 49 Olds 98 models. These were big old heavy cars and for the factory to get the best from the new engines, a lighter mid – size model would need to be found. Enter the Rocket 88 which went on sale in early February 1949.
Although the 88 shared a body shell platform with the Pontiac Streamline and the Chevy Fleetline, the latter two were cheaper to buy – yet the 88 left them for dead with the powerful OHV V8. Even with hydra – matic transmission the Rocket could accelerate to 60mph in less than 1 3 seconds and with a top speed just shy of 10Omph. Little wonder then the 88 cleaned up in the NASCAR. Nine Grand National races were held in 1949, of which Rocket 88s won six. The following year the Oldsmobiles won 10 out of 19 races and set a new speed record at Daytona. On the countrys drag strips, basically stock Olds 88s were the cars to beat.

Princes Risborough, Bucks September 24-25,2011
The Kop Hill Climb was a famous motor sporting venue between 1910 and 1925 that witnessed many great drivers of the day in action, drivers who included legends such as Malcolm Campbell, Raymond Mays, Henry Segrave and many others.
After the success of the Kop Hill Climb Revival in 2009 and the Centenary event in 2010, a five year plan has now been set in place to continue to develop the event and facilities, such has been the enthusiastic response from entrants, family and friends.
In the last few years the Kop Hill Climb has seen many American cars take to the hill, nowadays theres no competition, no timing involved, its merely for fun and to remember halcyon days gone by.
This year there was a splendid line – up of American cars in the entry list. Indeed, the earliest car in the Paddock was a 1901 Toledo
Steam Carriage, owned by David Furnell and Jim Gregory. The Toledo was designed by Frederick Billings who worked in the automobile department of the American Bicycle Company of Toledo, Ohio. This particular example was imported from the US around six years ago, and after much refurbishment work, has since taken part in two London to Brighton veteran car runs, and is due to be entered for the event in 2011. Its reckoned that there are possibly 14 to have survived and there are three in the UK with another under restoration.
Ronald Festorazzis 1909 Hupmobile 20 Roadster was another very early car to take to the hill. It was imported into the UK by a Scottish laird in the mid – Eighties and has recently emerged from the workshop after a back axle rebuild. The engine doesnt have a water pump, and unfortunately after a long delay at the start line, the car stopped just short of the top of the hill in clouds of steam.