New purist Porsche 911 Carrera T goes back to basics November 18, 2024 Want the purest Porsche 911 experience? The new 2025 Carrera T does without all-wheel drive or a towering rear spoiler. Instead, Porsche has gone back to basics, with an ‘emphasis on driving fun’. Most significantly, the PDK dual-clutch automatic gearbox is not available on the Carrera T – even as an option. Every car will [...]
Aston Martin Vanquish 2024 review: Veni, vidi, Vanquish November 15, 2024 Remember when Daniel Craig replaced Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond? Britain’s least secret agent was as sharp and urbane as ever, but a newly powerful physique lurked beneath his Savile Row suit. If Brosnan is the Aston Martin DB12, Craig is the new Vanquish. Positioned above the DB12 and replacing the DBS [...]
Audi RS E-Tron GT Performance review: With great power… November 14, 2024 My knuckles wrap white around the roll cage as the car slews violently sideways then slingshots onto the main straight. A mechanical war cry bursts forth as the driver rams the graunchy manual lever into third gear, then fourth, then back to third, each shift punctuated by the giddy chirrup of a dump valve. I’m [...]
Trump Turnberry on its incredible festive packages November 14, 2024 Nic Oldham, is general manager at Trump Turnberry, the only resort in the UK to receive the Five Star Rating from Forbes Travel Guide, and one of only two hotels in Scotland this year to be rated Five Star in the guide. We chatted to him about the special festive packages on offer and what [...]
Land Rover Defender by Onyx Vans review: Passport to adventure November 12, 2024 While driving behind a caravan being towed along a narrow country road, it struck me what makes this Defender, converted by Onyx Vans, a unique vehicle. Unlike the grey SUVs also headed to our campsite, each one dragging what looked like an oversized fridge through the hedgerows, I was aboard an icon without any white [...]
Porsche Panamera GTS 2024 review: A sports car for all the family November 11, 2024 Stonking V8 engines without electrical assistance have suddenly become an endangered species. Not long ago, all of Germany’s super saloons followed this recipe; now the BMW M5 has become a plug-in hybrid, while the Mercedes-AMG E63 has thundered off into the sunset, replaced by the E53 and its hybridised straight-six. Aside from the (largely forgotten) [...]
This will change how you think of Morocco October 22, 2024 THE LOCATION When the Portuguese landed on the stony face of the Atlantic coast in the early 16th century, they stopped at El Jadida, a Moroccan port just an hour south of Casablanca. To protect trade routes between Europe and Asia during their two-and-a-half-century occupation, they built a stronghold known as Mazagan. The centrepiece of [...]
This trip to Languedoc turned me into a wine snob October 17, 2024 I’m not a wine guy. The oenophile subjects alcohol to a level of scrutiny that, to me, feels antithetical to the loosening joys of boozing. I enjoy wine. I prefer wine that tastes nice. But to theorise about it, to intellectualise it, to hold it to the light and inspect its colour, to soliliquise about [...]
The Dorchester Hotel owner struggles with rising costs and fewer guests October 14, 2024 The group that includes The Dorchester Hotel in London fell into the red in 2023 as it struggled with rising costs and fewer guests. The Dorchester Group has reported a pre-tax loss of £5.2m for its latest financial year, having made a pre-tax profit of £17m in 2022. Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show [...]
Mulberry to ponder bid from Mike Ashley’s Frasers despite lack of interest from majority shareholder October 14, 2024 British retailer Mulberry has announced that it is evaluating Frasers’ second bid for the firm, despite a lack of interest from its majority shareholder, Challice. In light of Frasers’ £111m bid, the luxury brand is “working with advisers to consider the company’s position,” it said, despite Challice’s public snub of the deal. Challice, which is [...]