The Gassing Station

You’ll know him as the man who walked away from a crash that left him lying unconscious on the tarmac during the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, but there’s more to Martin Donnelly’s astonishing career than that fateful day at Jerez. Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Donnelly was taken under the wing of Eddie Jordan early in his career, rising up the ranks through Formula 3 and Formula 3000 b...

It may not look all that different to the old car, but the last combustion-only Mercedes C-Class has been heavily updated for 2027. But is it enough to take on the BMW’s overhauled 3 Series? Both combustion versions start on an even footing, as they’re actually based on their predecessor’s platforms while the EV alternatives get their very own architecture. But that’s where the similarities end, a...

Both production versions are now out, and the public reaction could not be more different. Which ultra-controversial luxury EV did it best? You’d think if anyone could pull off an EV, it’d be Ferrari. A company that has been knocking out hit after hit for decades, and enlisted the help of Sir Jony Ive, designer of the iPhone and many other earth-shattering Apple products, to pen the looks. But aft...

You can’t blame Renault for doing a good job with the R5, nor can you blame them for following it up with the R4, the Turbo 3E and rebooted Twingo. But now everyone wants a piece of the action, and it’s getting a bit much… For instance, this year’s Paris Motor Show, Peugeot unveiled an electric e-T16 to preview the next e-208 and, presumably, go up against the aforementioned Turbo 3E, alongside a...

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the lightweight British sports car had gone the way of the dinosaurs, but there are still plenty of brands keeping the dream alive. Among them is Zenos. Formed by a group of former Lotus and Caterham engineers, the company released its skeletal E10 around a decade ago to take on the mighty Elise and Seven. Despite critical acclaim, the E10 didn't sell en...

The Bentley Torcal may not be the world’s first luxury EV, but it could open the floodgates for others to follow. You can argue all day about who came up with the first, though it’d be hard to argue against the Rolls-Royce Spectre. The company was once famous for its buttery-smooth V12s now selling battery-powered coupes in droves, so it’s little wonder why Bentley has followed suite. Of course, t...

It’s been many, many decades, but the Jensen Interceptor name is back. Only this time, it’s a humungous, track-only V8 luxury barge. Confused? You should be, because track-only specials are typically based on light, mid-engined supercars rather than four-door coupes the size of a canal boat. But it ticks a lot of boxes, like a 973hp supercharged V8, Nitron dampers and a wing that put a Pikes Peak...

We’ve been expecting a V8-engined CLE for some time now, but we weren’t expecting it to look like this.  Probably because the 646 Spezialanfertigung is the next in Merc’s Mythos ultra-limited range, with production capped at just 30 units. It’s a radical looking thing that looks almost like AMG’s take on the Ford Mustang GTD. Up front is the new and improved M117 Evo V8, now with a flat-plane cran...

New Chinese electric performance cars are coming thick and fast, but they’ve yet register on the enthusiasts radar. Just what do they need to do to win petrolheads over? That’s easier said than done, especially when a) the cars themselves are almost exclusively battery powered and b) the enthusiast market pales in comparison to the sheer volume of buyers in China wanting hi-tech EVs. So we take a...

Top Gear, Fifth Gear over overall car TV legend Vicki Butler-Henderson takes to the live stage at the 2026 PistonHeads Annual Service. Celebrating 30 years of the Elise, VBH tells us about how she became a motoring journalist, her move to TV and just how game-changing Hethel’s little sports was when it arrived on the scene in 1996. She also talks about her most bizarre moments on TV, the rise of c...

We're still working our way through the many, many announcements from Monterey Car Week. Some were good, some were bad, and handful were downright meh, so we've picked out the cars that caught our for all the right and wrong reasons.  On top of that, this week's buying challenge comes from a PHer looking to replace their Maserati GranSport with a slightly less temperamental sports car for £60,000....

Straight from our live stage at this year’s PistonHeads Annual Service, three-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner and victor at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, Johnny Herbert, gives us a glimpse in the development of the Lola T70S and what’s in store for the upcoming T70GT road car. Herbert also talks about this year’s highly controversial Formula 1 regulations, the emergence of Kimi Antonelli, Lewis H...

The Maserati GranTurismo has always been a left-field choice. Can the new Trofeo finally take the fight to the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT? A 590hp V6, sharper looks and tweaks to the chassis certainly help, but has Maserati done enough to justify the Trofeo's £151,650 price tag? Meanwhile, one PHer is looking to sell their Mk3 Ford Focus RS to buy a cheaper, daily performance car...

You won’t find many admirers of the four-cylinder Emira. Can Lotus right the wrongs of the AMG-plucked powertrain with the 420 Sport? Well, we sent Sam Sheehan to the firm’s HQ in Hethel for a spin around its legendary test circuit. Spoiler alert: it’s definitely an improvement over the launch car, but is it enough to make you overlook a used Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, Alpine A110R or even a V6 Emira...

Rehashed 964 Porsche 911s aren't the only restomods available these days. From rallied-up Mk2 Escorts to plush Land Rovers, Cam and Sam check out the restomod roster on the PistonHeads Auctions and Classifieds.  With so many cars featuring on their shortlist, there's just enough time to squeeze in a buying challenge. This week, the two try to find a GT that can both cruise down to the Sout...

It may not have an actual turbo, but Renault’s new ‘supercar’ slips and slides just like its predecessors. But is it just as fun without an engine? From new cars that look old to old cars that look new, Sam takes the Gunther Werks F-26 for a spin around Goodwood, before wrapping up with a £20,000 fast estate buying challenge.  Chapters: 0:00 Intro 2:13 Co-driving in a Toyota Rally1 car with Jari-M...

Fresh from Goodwood Festival of Speed, we round up the biggest stories from one of the most important events on the automotive calendar.  From the future of the Alpine A110 and the exciting new Toyota GR GT, to ultra-fast EV charging, a forgotten McLaren F1 test car powered by a Lamborghini V12, the new McLaren 788 HS and our dream picks from the Cartier lawn, we unpack everything we discovered at...

It’s been two years in the making, but we’re the first in the UK to get our hands on one of only 200 examples built worldwide. Are pair of special diff settings and a carbon wing enough to justifying spending £80k for one on the used market?  Also in this episode of The Gassing Station, Sam drives the new Porsche Taycan e-shift, hot hatches, sports saloons and fast coupes go against each other in...

BMW's new M Concept Neue Klasse isn't just a glimpse into the next M3 - it's practically the finished article. In this episode, Cam and Sam break down everything they learned from the M Concept's world premiere at Le Mans, detailing the massive differences between the upcoming electric and combustion versions. Then the two dive into a classic £1,500 cheap car challenge before wrapp...

What happens when you're let loose inside Girardo & Co with an unlimited budget to build the ultimate two-car garage?  As you may now, Girardo & Co is one of the most prestigious car sellers in existence, with a showroom packed full of unobtainium that only a handful of the world's wealthiest individuals can afford. Fortunately, they invited PistonHeads along for an evening of stor...

What if BMW put the E46 M3 Touring into production? Cam and Sam explore the ultimate automotive what-ifs, starting with Petroyle's incredible restomod before exploring the greatest concept cars that never made production.  Then it's on to a £60,000 premium seven-seater challenge, pitting Sam’s plush Bentley Bentayga against Cam’s sensible diesel BMW X7. Finally, they hit the forums to look...

The biggest car story of the year? Quite possibly. Cam and Sam take a closer look at the new Ferrari Luce, the company’s first-ever EV, and dissect everything from its controversial styling and radical interior to the reaction from the PH community. Then it's onto a £30k sports car buying challenge, replacing a 981 Porsche Cayman and Honda S2000 with a single car, before debating the car featu...

We drive two of the wildest hypercars ever built: the original Gumpert Apollo and the outrageous Apollo Intensa Emozione. From GT1-inspired aero and twin-turbo V8 power to a naturally aspirated Ferrari-derived V12, we compare two very different takes on the Apollo name — and ask what other hypercars £3 million could buy. We also discuss life with the new Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake EV, tackle a pr...

There are loads of new cars to get through on today's episode of The Gassing Station podcast. The first Alpina designed under BMW ownership, VW's new all-electric ID Polo GTI, complete with proper buttons and 226hp, plus the Lamborghini Fenomeno Roadster and what boss Stephan Winkelmann had to say about the company’s future. Elsewhere: a £60k–£80k sports car buying challenge featuring the...

The Bugatti Veyron changed the supercar world forever — and now one of just five World Record Editions is up for sale, finished in the same spec as the 267mph record car and with a £3.5m asking price to match. That got us thinking: what other record-breaking cars can you buy for rather less? From the Honda Civic Type R to the Jaguar XJ220 and some properly oddball entries, we pick our favourites....