Ferrari’s drop-dead-gorgeous Daytona SP3 headlines the December 2022 issue of evo India
We’re ending 2022 seeing red — the stunning Ferrari Daytona SP3 headlines the December issue of the magazine. If there’s any brand that has a rich legacy to leverage, it is Ferrari. Born to race, its road cars have always been an extension of the race programme and never the other way around — an attempt to fund their racing activities. The SP3 draws its legacy from Ferrari’s most tumultuous time in endurance racing, the 1960s. Having dominated the early bit of the decade, Ferrari faced the challenge from Ford and we know how that ended. The super exclusive SP3 tries to encapsulate the ethos of those race cars — the P3, the P4 — in a cutting edge, modern package. We have a go at it on road and track.
Picking up from there, we also look in to Ferrari’s highs and lows in racing through the ’60s and also drive the 296 GTB to Le Mans and understand more about its endurance racing aspirations. We’ve reviewed a slew of new SUVs this month — the Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLB and EQB, BMW X7 facelift, BYD Atto 3 and Jeep Grand Cherokee, not to mention the much awaited Toyota Innova HyCross. We head out on an epic road trip in the Hyundai Tucson to the Himalayas, have a go in Audi’s Dakar challenger, drive Hyundai’s concept EVs, and take to the track with Audi’s RS cars.
On two wheels, we attend the two biggest festivals of the year — India Bike Week and Rider Mania, get astride TVS Racing’s most advanced race bike yet and review a couple of new electric scoots.
All this and so much more in the year-end issue of evo India magazine!
Toyota Innova HyCross
The Toyota Innova HyCross is a radical step up from the older Crysta — it gets a new monocoque platform, bringing with it the switch from RWD to FWD. There’s also a hybrid drivetrain and a nat-asp petrol engine, but no diesel on offer. There are obvious changes to the styling, and the interiors are a class above the Crysta’s. Does it have the potential to capture the imagination of the market like its predecessor has? Find out in our story!
Audi Q3
The new generation Audi Q3 is finally here! Launched internationally in 2018, it has been a long time coming but now that it is here, it promises to shake things up in the segment. It has grown in size and gets a new platform, new engines, completely fresh styling and interiors, along with more space. The Q3 has traditionally been a strong product for Audi in India — can the new Q3 replicate its predecessor’s success?
Mercedes-Benz GLB and EQB
Move over the B-Class. The Mercedes-Benz GLB (and its electric counterpart, the EQB) are the entry-level 7-seater offerings from Mercedes-Benz now, with a clear shift away from MPV styling to more traditional SUV styling. Looks have obviously been inspired by the GLS, but the interiors are more reminiscent of the GLA. The GLB and EQB sit in an interesting space with no real direct competitors — can the capitalise on the ever-growing wave of popularity of the SUV?
BMW X7 facelift
BMW’s biggest, baddest SUV gets an update — the most obvious of which is that new face. But face aside, there are changes to the interiors that make it feel more modern, the drivetrain now gets a mild hybrid system and there are tweaks to the chassis to make it handle better. We went to sunny California to soak in the changes and get behind the wheel.
BYD Atto 3
The BYD Atto 3 is an electric car that sits in an interesting space. Priced at Rs 34 lakh, it has no real direct rival at that price point. With a spacious cabin, fun interiors and a drivetrain that boast impressive specs for the price, this might just be an EV that you need to look out for!
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The big Jeep is finally back on sale in India in its fifth generation avatar, and while some things stay the same, some have changed. It remains a large American SUV with mega presence, but the interiors have taken a significant step up on the luxury front. It is also powered by a four-cylinder petrol engine, but gets serious off-road kit keeping in with the Jeep nameplate. Is it a great alternative to the now mainstream German luxury SUVs?
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 e-performance
Here’s a hint of what customer racing in the age of the EV will look like as we ride shotgun on Porsche’s latest pet project — the Cayman GT4 e-performance. With a fully electric drivetrain that be dialled up to 1000bhp, slotted in to the Cayman GT4 Clubsport chassis, this car is clear evidence that EVs need not be boring. Or even be one trick ponies. The GT4 e-performance proves that EVs can, and if Porsche has a hand in them, be fun.
Ferrari SP3
Ferrari expands its Icona series with the Daytona SP3 — a modern work of automotive art inspired by the endurance racers of the ‘60s. The Daytona draws its design inspiration from the iconic Ferrari P4, and comes packing some serious firepower. It is based on the LaFerrari Aperta’s chassis and gets a mid-mounted V12 that powers only the rear wheels. A proper homage the golden era of closed wheel racing, this.
Laps of the gods
The Daytona SP3 takes its inspiration from the great sports cars of the 1960s. We look back at that unforgettable era which saw some of Ferrari’s greatest triumphs but also its darkest days. After all, Ferrari did win Le Mans seven times between 1958 and 1965, only to be dethroned by Ford — a story we’re all very familiar with. Those cars, the ones that won, lost and won again are the very DNA that the SP3 is attempting to carry forward.
French connection
In the recent past, Ferrari has not been a part of the top flight of endurance motorsport, something that is about to change with the upcoming hypercar. What it has been doing is pushing the boundaries of the 488 Evo in the GTE class. Come 2023 though, and a 296 GTB-based racer will replace the 488 and usher in a new age of racing for Ferrari. We drive the road-going 296 to Le Mans to find out more
Hyundai Great India Drive - Part 1
This year, we take the Hyundai Tucson and attempt to drive to the top of the world! Part one of the story takes us across the fearsome Zoji La pass. ‘Zoji La’ literally means the pass of blizzards, and it is unforgiving at this time of the year. Snow falls incessantly and, yet, the army attempts to keep the road clear as it is the only link in to Ladakh in the winters. Can the Tucson, with its AWD system and terrain modes, conquer the Himalayas?
Audi RS Q e-tron driven
Audi’s RS Q e-tron is revolutionary — it was the first electric car to take on the Dakar and it packs some serious tech. There are motors from Audi’s Formula E programme, along with a range extender engine that has been taken from their DTM car. It didn’t win last year, but it showed glimmers of a possible success by winning a few stages. On the cusp of Dakar 2023, we get behind the wheel of this behemoth to see what its all about.
Volkswagen Virtus: Design
The Volkswagen Virtus is a good looking car, and it stands out from many recent launches with one fundamental difference. It is a sedan, not an SUV. In this story, we speak to ace designer and founder of IndiDesign Sudhir Sharma about the draw of the sedan — about what makes that shape so desirable, so stately, and why the sedan is a sign of having arrived in life!
Hyundai Vision ON
Earlier this year, Hyundai broke new ground with its electric concepts — N Vision 74 and the RN22e. Both EVs, they not only pack a punch but they look spectacular as well. We head to the Bilster Berg circuit in Germany to sample both from the driver’s seat.
Audi Performance Weekend
Fast Audis and a racetrack? Count us in! We head to the Buddh International Circuit for an incredible weekend of fun behind the wheel. Driving the likes of the full blown RS 5 Sportback and the RS Q8, Audi’s performance cars are the ideal tools to attack a world-class racing facility.
India Bike Week
This edition of the annual motorcycling festival returns to Goa for the first time since 2019 and we bring you all of the action. From unveils, motorsport icons, modified motorcycles, gear, racing, rider training programmes, films and so much more — IBW is the one stop shop for all things motorcycling and the community showed up in numbers to make it so.
TVS Racing diaries
This month, we get astride the one make motorcycle that TVS Racing has built to compete on the international stage. These bikes are heavily modded compared to the one-make race bikes and even the pro-stock bikes in India. With engine internals changed to put out over 50bhp and stripped out to weigh less than 110kg, these pocket rockets were a blast around the Chang International Circuit.
