Some drivers are very strange...

The Yarrow family has spent much of this sunny weekend at home, but running around doing errands. We used the ancient Jeep Wrangler soft-top which lives in the darkness of the garage on a trickle charger most of the year, and emerges, blinking in the sunlight, on such suitable occasions. It’s like the one in the picture, but older, tattier, plus it’s a lot less yellow and much more red. The Wrangler is a great way to get about, the kids love it, and we invented a great new game as we travelled – it’s called ‘Spot the Convertible with the Roof Still Up and Then Jeer at The People Inside for Being Fools’. I reckon for every cabrio we saw with the occupants enjoying that wind-in-the-hair thrill, there was another one with everyone locked inside. What is the point in spending extra to buy a convertible to keep the roof up on the hottest day of the year? These people need their heads looking at. And next time you’re out try our new game. It’s much more satisfying than watching football.

Driven - Alfa Giulietta

Been driving the all-new Alfa Giulietta (above), the replacement for the 147. What’s more, been doing it on the lovely roads around Goodwood, West Sussex, which is preparing for the annual Festival of Speed the weekend after next. Driving Alfas for a day is always fun, but I’ve always thought living with one would be less so. Practicality always comes way down the list of attributes, far behind style, design and dynamic performance. The Giulietta has those three in spades, but it’s probably the most convincing model yet in terms of its every day usability. As a five-door car I’d still like there to be more room for rear seat passengers, but it’s got a decent sized boot. There’s a flagship Cloverleaf model with 235bhp, but the 170bhp MultiAir actually offers the more rewarding drive. It’s plenty quick enough and makes a great noise when you push on. And at £20,000 is probably the best value, too.

MG designs itself a future

Admittedly it’s not the most dynamic of photographs, but the story behind it is worthy of note. The world’s newest automotive design centre has just opened in Birmingham, courtesy of performance brand MG. It’s part of a multi-million pound investment at the 69-acre MG Birmingham site – what used to be the sprawling Longbridge plant – and which also houses a technical and engineering base. Together they are developing new MG models, the first of which, the MG6, will launch in the UK later this year. Final details of the car and further development of the MG Zero concept – both of which have previously mentioned in this blog – will be carried out in this anonymous grey building. And despite Chinese ownership, the good news is the design team is headed up by a Brit, Tony Williams-Kenny. A couple of years ago the future didn’t look great for MG. Given this investment, it looks rosier now. Whatever you think of its plans, this can only be good news for British jobs. The issue is the long-term; how good will the cars be and will anyone want them.

White wheels and a top day out

A couple of little news nuggets for you today. Firstly, as you can see from the picture above, Ford is now officially offering the Focus RS with white wheels. Echoing the style of the World Rally Championship car, the alloys have been launched to mark the end of production for the popular hot-hatch. They’re only available in 19-inch rims and cost £500 for a set of four. Demand is expected to be high.

The second thing worthy of note is GTI International, the UK’s biggest event for enthusiasts of high performance vehicles from the Volkswagen Group – VW, Audi, SEAT and others. Now in its 23rd year, it’s taking place at the legendary Bruntingthorpe proving ground in Leicestershire on 26/27 June. Visitors can camp overnight, enter their pride and joy in a ‘Show & Shine’, take part in a quarter-mile sprint and visit a range of exhibition stands. It’s a great event even if you’re not an owner. Visit www.gtiinternational.co.uk for more details.

Mansory's outrageous Panamera

Last week was the Porsche Cayenne, today – purely by chance – is the same brand but an altogether different car (above). Swiss tuning firm Mansory has unveiled a 690bhp version of the German firm’s four-door Panamera Turbo. We saw sketches of this firebreathing monster at the back end of last year, but now it’s actually been built. The standard 4.8-litre engine has been reworked to feature larger turbochargers, a modified electronic engine controller and a revised exhaust system. Carbon fibre replaces metal in a variety of places to keep the weight down. Other changes include the central exhausts, outrageous body kit and 22-inch wheels. The result is a car that can hit 62mph in four seconds. And not your typical Porsche colour that, is it? What you can’t see in this pic are the bright red brake calipers which stick out like a sore thumb.

Driven: Porsche Cayenne MkII

Posting this early as I’m at a dealer conference tomorrow. So let’s talk about performance. A growling 4.8-litre V8 with twin turbos under the bonnet of a Porsche lapping the legendary Goodwood circuit, getting faster and faster. This car will hit 62mph in 4.7 seconds as it smoothly powers its way on to 172mph. But this isn’t a 911 or a Boxster, it’s a dirty great SUV that tips the scales at two tonnes. The all-new Cayenne is 4.8cm longer than before, gets a smart new exterior design and is available with hybrid technology for the first time. Not that many people will buy it; this sector remains staunchly diesel – yes, even with Porsche purists. The 2.3-mile West Sussex track is ideally suited to the Cayenne; it’s a fast circuit and there are no tight corners to slow you down. But having spent time a few years ago as a passenger in the British Touring Car Championship’s medical wagon on race day – a MkI Porsche Cayenne – I know the car handles bends like nothing else its size. There was a lot of controversy about the Cayenne when it was first launched seven years ago. It’s now the company’s most successful car ever. Can't argue with that.

Le Mans - the countdown begins

Next weekend is one of the most exciting in motorsport with the Le Mans 24 Hour Race, which runs from 3pm Saturday to…erm, 3pm on Sunday. This year as always there will be a massive migration of Brits heading across the Channel. It’s a sight to behold; every motorway service station car park between Calais and Le Mans is packed with UK-plated vehicles, and often with pretty high-end performance stuff. Porsche, TVR, Lotus – all are well represented. Once at the legendary La Sarthe track, it’s just one big party right through the night, the constant noise of the cars always in the background. Best times for me are dusk and dawn; the headlamps cutting through the half-light is just amazing. Who will win? Audi bosses say with the R15 (above) they are better prepared that last year, Peugeot will be tough to beat.

On another note, and talking of race tracks, I’ve got the chance to drive the revised Porsche Cayenne – including the just-launched hybrid version – later this week. What’s more, I’m doing it at Goodwood circuit which is somewhere I’ve never driven before. More on that next time.

The ultimate Skoda?

I wrote about the Skoda Fabia vRS a couple of weeks ago and already it’s been superceded – with the vRS+ (above). It got its debut at a massive tuning event called the GTI Wörthersee, which is staged by a lake in Austria every summer. The new car isn’t the work of some wacky Czech performance house, but Skoda itself. The company’s design department has come up with the look to showcase how far it could take the car should top brass allow it. Unique features include the black-backed headlamps and radiator grille, which give the car a sharp new look. The front and rear are fitted with black crosshatch spoilers and diffusers, and – for the first time ever on a Fabia – the bonnet gets visible air intakes. The interior gets sports seats and is finished in the same two-tone style. Very tasty. Shame it’s only a concept.