BMW M140i

Refresh my memory, if you would. Well, iDrive’s had a refresh with sharper graphics a la 7 Series. Only kidding, let’s talk about whirring bits of metal.  Power is up by 14bhp to 355bhp, while a hefty 396lb ft (a 37lb ft leap) matches the M2’s output. This is courtesy of a new 3.0-litre straight-six turbo motor that revs cleanly and crisply to 7,000rpm, sounds sweeter than anything else in the class (if you pigeonhole...

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Seat Leon Cupra 300

Another new Seat Leon Cupra? Unbelievably, yes. Since it first arrived in 2013 with a choice of either 265bhp or 280bhp, Seat killed off the 265bhp version, then boosted it to 290bhp, and sometime after having had a crack at the Nürburgring lap record, messed around with the bumpers, ruined the infotainment and gave us this: the Leon Cupra 300. Go on, guess how much power it’s got? Is it fast? Efficiently and effortlessly...

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Audi S1

How much? For a supermini, rather a lot. The three-door is £24,905, the five-door Sportback an even saltier £25,635. But then, you do get 231bhp, four-wheel drive and 0-62 in 5.8sec (or 5.9 for the heavier five-door) Better be good then… It is. We drove the S1 in very wintry Scandinavia a few months back. It felt terrific, but it was running on studded tyres. We didn’t want to blurt to premature conclusions about...

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Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S

Wait, another fast Golf GTI? Yes, as the hot hatch arms race has intensified with seemingly never-ending one-upmanship to be the King of the Nürburgring, there have been more and more variants of the humble Golf GTI brought into the world. So what’s this one then? The Clubsport S, the most powerful production Golf ever. And the fastest ever front-wheel-drive production car to lap the Nürburgring. It’s a...

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Mclaren 570S Spider

McLaren continues to produce high-quality, properly sorted and fun to drive cars that look like spaceships. Good stuff. For:  Friendly but comfortingly fast, doesn’t lose anything for having a disposable roof. Feels more special than a Porsche 911 Turbo or Audi R8 V10, less intimidating than a Huracan/488. Against:  Go mad with the options and it puts it in the firing line of bigger, badder competitio...

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