The ultimate versions of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class headline the September issue of evo India
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is often called the ‘best car in world’. But what happens when you want better than the best? Well, Mercedes has plenty within the three-pointed star fold. If you’re the kind that chases thrills, the Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe will give them to you in the bucket-loads. It has a twin-turbo V8 under that long hood, and it has a tendency to light up the rears. Fun. If you’re the kind that wants even more luxury than what the regular S offers, you can stretch out in the backseat of the Mercedes-Maybach S650. It offers more space, more toys and even more cylinders. Both these cars exist in the stratosphere costing in the region of Rs 2.5 crores. Unobtanium, in every sense of the word then. We brought these two variants of the S-Class — the epitome of performance and luxury — together to see what the best versions of the ‘best car in the world’ are like.
We’ve also got our hands on some very cool GT cars this month. At the top of the ladder, we pit two fire-breathing V12 behemoths — the the Ferrari 812 Superfast and the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera against each other. We’ve also got our hands on the gorgeous Lexus LC 500h that will be making it to India next year. That’s not all for this issue: we’ve driven the Mini Cooper S Convertible through the monsoons, pit BMW’s giants — the X5 and the R 1250 GS Adventure — against each other and got some track time on the Lamborghini Huracan Evo. We also give you the full low down on the Lotus Evija, Gordon Murray’s T.50 (check) and get behind the wheel of Colin McRae’s legendary Subaru Impreza WRC. On two wheels, we get our hands on the Yamaha MT15 on the road for the first time since we sampled it at the track and check out what’s new with the FZ S V3.0.
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Contents:
The Ultimate S-Class
Mercedes-Benz makes the S-Class and it is without a doubt, one of the best cars in the world. What happens when you want better? You can swing towards the Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe if sportiness is your cup of tea, or towards the Mercedes-Maybach S650 if you want to dial up the luxury. We bring together the epitome of the S-Class family and drive them (and lounge in them) like there’s no tomorrow.
BMW X5 and BMW R 1250 GS
BMW’s most off-road focussed machines on two wheels and four take each other on. The GS is an icon, creating an entire genre of motorcycling called the dual-sport bike. The X5 is no less, carving out a niche for the sporty SUV. Now with a wider range of abilities than ever before, both the X5 and the R 1250 GS head out on the road to see who is king.
Mini Cooper S Convertible
The monsoons aren’t a good time to be driving around in a convertible. Especially not one with the ground clearance of a Mini Cooper. We find out the hard way, as we take on roads that would spook Mars Rovers and get drenched by inconsiderate motorists.
Gordon Murray’s T.50
Gordon Murray, the legendary car designer who is credited with some of the most disruptive Formula 1 car designs, and also the man behind the McLaren F1 road car is back, and how. He was announced that he will be building another car — a spiritual successor to the F1 of sorts. It has got all the right ingredients — a mid-mounted naturally-aspirated V12 engine, a manual gearbox, ground effect aerodynamics and even a single seat up front, just like the F1 did. We catch up with Gordon Murray as he tells us more about this latest attempt at building the world’s greatest supercar.
Lexus LC 500h
Japan’s take on the grand tourer. It looks absolutely stunning in the flesh, and the insides match the outsides. The hybrid will be coming to India and that is what we sampled on our trip to Japan — it has a V6 engine coupled to a hybrid powertrain and a rather complicated gearbox set up that includes a torque converter and a CVT that results in 10 useable ratios. It’s complicated, it’s beautiful and it is expensive. What’s not to like?
Lotus Evija
Lotus has jumped on to the hypercard bandwagon with the Evija. An all-electric car that isn’t just a concept and will go in to production next year. It makes 2000bhp and will cost 2 million GBP. A departure from the Lotus as we know it that makes lightweight affordable sportscars, but maybe this is the future of the brand under Geely?
Lamborghini Huracan Evo
Lamborghini’s latest Huracan gets the engine from the Performante without the trick aerodynamics. It may be overkill for the MMRT in Chennai, but the V10 still entertains. Four laps behind Armaan Ebrahim in an Urus was all we had, but it was enough to give us a first impression of this raging bull.
Road Safety with Hyundai
We conducted a workshop with Hyundai Creta owners on defensive driving and safe driving. Called the #BeTheBetterGuy workshop, we used our collective driving experience to list out a few tips and tricks that will allow you to be safer on the roads. Following the workshop, we went out on a drive out of town with the owners to apply all that was shared in the real world.
Mercedes-AMG A45 and CLA45
The AMG range is ever expanding — it now has a whole new range of ’35’ series cars and even ’55’ series cars. Do cars like the A45 and the CLA45 make sense any more, especially when there are equally fun cars from within the AMG fold available at a more affordable price-point?
Ferrari 812 Superfast and Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
The battle of the V12s. These super-GTs follow the same formula — front-mid engined V12s, rear-wheel drive and supreme long distance abilities. However, they both turn out rather different from each other in character. Which one suits your style more?
Kwid to Velas
The Renaul Kwid heads out to another adventure in the countryside. This time around, we take it to the coastal village of Velas which is famous for being a turtle nesting site.
Colin McRae’s rally Impreza
We get our hands on the Impreza that Colin McRae actually drove! He took it to victory at the Safari rally and it still wears the livery it ran at the Argentina round of the WRC. A proper analogue rally car, Henry Catchpole gets behind the wheel to give you an idea of what it must have been like to rally those cars.
Harley-Davidson Livewire
This is an India-exclusive! We’ve got our hands on Harley-Davidson’s first electric motorcycle, the Livewire. This is arguably the most revolutionary motorcycle to come from a mainstream motorcycle company, and to think it came from one that doesn’t leave an opportunity to talk about its heritage and legacy. The Livewire is quick, it’s dynamic and it is nothing like you would imagine a Harley to be. And yet, it wears the badge.
Yamaha MT15
We brought you our first impressions of the Yamaha MT15 from the track, but had no clue what it was like on the road. It is a street fighter, it had to be ridden on the streets! This story tells you all you need to know about living with the MT on a day-to-day basis.
