Handling handling handling. Think of any great Peugeot, and an ability to dance on tippy toes will be what defines it. Brittle interiors, moody electrics and Rizla-thin panels are all forgiven if the Pug can cock a wheel and shimmy a tail. All memorable Peugeots handle better than they look.

Which puts a massive weight of pressure on the brand new RC Z – because it looks amazing. The double bubble roof, an Olympic swimmer’s shoulders and the peachy rear of a keen female jockey manage to distract the eye from the genetically flawed Lesley Ash gob. And that’s not the only pressure. Seeing as the top spec RC Z (the only one you need care about) is a 200bhp turbocharged coupe costing about £25k, it’s heading for a flouncy cuffed fist fight with the VW Scirocco and Audi TT. So, that handling we were on about…

70mph, spread eagled over both lanes of a Spanish A-Road with a clean line of sight for at least half a mile… 10 corners of handling indulgence. Gingerly into the first left-hander, not braking but lifting, touching the apex and easing away. Already there’s a sense of weight, an impression of width to the RC Z that builds your trust. Accelerate back to a right that’s a mirror of the first left. Don’t lift this time. Steering develops more weight… a few nudges as it kicks back over ridges. Hydraulically assisted, consistent and linear – not overly chatty but the tyres aren’t loaded up yet. There’s still time for it to shine.

Approaching a downhill corkscrew. Taking the first right-hander on the brakes to shed speed before the tighter left that follows. Car’s led by the front, with understeer at the limit – but the back will shimmy under braking. Not what you’d call oversteer, not something you’d deliberately provoke but satisfying to feel all four tyres doing some work, even if the rears seem like passengers.

Right, left, right all dispatched in 2nd, barping off the limiter with the final corner left behind. Not overly sharp or too quick and fidgety – just agile but easy, accurate but flattering. Three corners to go. Sounds awesome. Crunch time.

Massively egged on by the meaty noise now. 3rd gear into a right hooker that’s sensibly 4th, just for the rort. Outside wheels loaded up as the RC Z leans on its springs, front tyres starting to have their sidewalls nibbled away as they succumb to understeer… but it won’t be thrown off line. Hanging on, riding the humps, keeping its feet on the ground, lift as the bend straightens out for the left that follows. Turn in, carrying too much speed, ABS rattles the front wheels on a damp patch and tightens their line – good steering feel now, rubbery, grippy, connected. Blast out of the bend, still in third, into 4th for the final sweeper… car banks in, sits on its springs, holds its line and is away. Still holding onto each gear to make the most of the noise, only easing off to spare being hexed by the approaching villagers.

That was fun – not electrifying, but fun. The RC Z is no dynamic scalpel, no overly focussed track addict. But it’s balanced, fluid, softer than you’d expect and satisfyingly physical to chuck about. Perhaps not as tight, tactile or adjustable as a Scirocco, but definitely more fun than an Audi TT. Easily the best handling Peugeot since the 106 GTI disappeared in 2002.

But, somehow, it’s not the way it corners that defines the Peugeot. There’s more to it than that.

The ride is better than a Scirocco or TT – still firm, but not crashy. The interior, while very clearly related to the 308, feels special. You’ll need a GT spec car to get the leather-trimmed seats and dash but it makes it feel a cut above. Also, despite the roofline, the RC Z has also got a decent boot – long and flat as opposed to short and upright like a Scirocco’s. The back seats are as useless as you’d expect, but if you need better you should be buying a 3008 anyway. And while the 200bhp version’s 0-62mph of 7.5 seconds might not sounds amazing, it never feels underpowered and should do nearly 40mpg. Go for the 156bhp version of the same engine or the 163bhp 2.0HDI diesel and you can bump that up to 40.9 or 52.3mpg. It’s all incredibly convincing.

Compromise is usually a dirty word. It makes cars comfortable instead of fun, frugal instead of fast, practical instead of stylish – but the compromises in the Peugeot RC Z are actually what make it so easy to like. A Scirocco might be a better handler, but it’s not as pretty, satisfying, economical or enjoyable. Instead of sacrificing any aspect for another, Peugeot have given the RC Z a perfect blend of them all. It’s a Peugeot that’s memorable not just for handling, but for everything else as well.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Saab revealed the 9-5 will cost from a chunky £26,495 when it arrives in the UK this summer. Mercedes released pics of their horny new SLS GT3 racer. And The Budget happened, with Alistair Darling announcing a 3p per litre increase in fuel tax over the next year, as well as promising £100m to fix potholes and £285m to improve motorways.

We don’t often lazily regurgitate content from other sites, but having just stumbled across this video from little known American car fanzine Jalopnik, we’re going to make an exception. Because you’d be doing your ears a disservice if you didn’t play it to them. It’s a montage of a Lancia Stratos barping, drifting and generally being proper filthy cool. Apparently, this is what Sandro Munari sounds like when he snores. What a guy.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

BMW confused (and possibly lightly offended) the world by claiming that 80% of its 1-Series customers think their car is front wheel drive. They obviously didn’t drive in the snow. Mitsubishi looked uncomfortable as it announced the electric i-MiEV will cost £38k, or £33k after the Government’s £5k electro-subsidy. And Chrysler promised to develop an electric Fiat 500 for America.

Hot on the heels of Renault’s use of obnoxious brand ambassadors is Maserati. Just to make sure the world is aware of their beautiful-but-inevitably-dynamically-flawed Gran Cabrio, they’ve given one to Alonso and told him to look happy about it. He did his best.

The above picture obviously took all of his effort though – he just couldn’t grit his teeth hard enough to manage a second smile. Below is the face of a man who’s thinking ‘you told me I could have a sodding 458 Italia you bastards. This is nearly as bad as the shitting Renault Megane I had last year. I wish I was in fucking N-Dubz.’

You’ve no doubt heard about the precocious urban kids of N-Dubz using a Renault Megane Coupe Concept in their latest video. But have you seen the video? Possibly, yes… but not definitely. Have a look here – probably best to skip to 1:20 to avoid a nasty blood/ear situation.

Apparently, if you play it backwards, you can hear Dippy and Freddy spitting shit about Renault’s new, more fluid design direction.

Come on Renault, your RenaultSport cars are better than they’ve ever been – there’s no need to look desperate. Still, at least this one didn’t have OMG and LOL as standard. FFS.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

The first car in Saab’s Spyker era trundled out of the factory in Trollhättan – it was a 9-5 being built for testing. Audi announced their twinkly A1 will cost from £13,145 when it goes on sale in October. And Renault proudly announced that their Megane Coupe Concept features in the latest N-Dubz video, featuring everyone’s favourite hat-wearing textual abuser, Dappy.

Behind the impeccably clean glass of the McLaren Technology Centre, Ron Dennis and his band of obsessive men today unveiled a new supercar, a whole new supercar company and a very compelling reason not to buy a Ferrari 458 Italia or Mercedes SLS AMG. Not bad for a day’s work. The first of three models they will eventually put into production, the sparklingly orange MP4-12C was the centre of attention, being shown off in the flesh for the first time. The stats are stunning.

Geek Table:

Price – £175k target
Power – 592bhp @ 7,000rpm
Maximum Engine Speed – 8,500rpm
Torque – 443lb ft @ 3,000rpm. 80% peak from 2,000rpm to 6,500rpm
Weight – 1300kg dry. Estimate less than 1400kg kerb
CO2 – less than 300g/km
Top Speed – more than 200mph
0-62mph – around 3.4 secs
0-124mph – less than 10 secs
1/4 mile – around 11 secs
100mph – 0mph – 30 metres. Honestly. You’ll be sick out your eye holes.

Other highlights are the 7 speed ‘Seamless Shift’ double clutch transmission, one-piece carbon fibre ‘Monocell’ chassis, a 7” portrait touch screen that controls the 1.6Ghz on board computer with sat nav, wi-fi, Bluetooth and Meridien stereo, and a beautifully ergonomic interior.

As amazing as all the headline facts are, the really impressive nuggets of information on the MP4-12C come from deeper beneath the surface. The little insights that demonstrate how and why the McLaren really is lighter, faster, greener and more powerful than normal humans would think possible to achieve.

Lightweight Wiring and Lithium-ion Battery

Instead of using plain old round copper, the McLaren uses hexagonal shaped wiring that’s part aluminium, saving almost 4kg. Being hexagonal, the wires can also nestle more closely together, saving space in the interior. The battery’s no standard lead-acid brick either – it’s a lithium-ion unit, saving another 10kg.

Crash Test Repetition

Usually, manufacturers build prototypes for the sole purpose of being crashed. Once the smash has taken place, telemetry been read and results recorded the prototype is done with. But the McLaren MP4-12C has proved to be a bit different. A prototype was subjected to a standard 56kph smash, but no damage was inflicted on the carbon fibre chassis – just the deformable aluminium structure at the front. So they put it into another test. Still no damage to the chassis; not even a cracked windscreen. The same chassis was eventually subjected to three identical crash tests… it’s clearly pretty strong.

Four Hour Chassis Build

The chassis isn’t just rigid and light – it’s also incredibly quick to put together, taking just four hours. For comparison, the McLaren F1’s carbon tub took 3,000 hours. The one-piece, 80kg mould is also 25% stronger and 25% lighter than an equivalent aluminium chassis. Cripes.

Embossed Magnesium Dashboard Badge

While it’s clearly a very nice tale to brag about at a press conference, the dashboard badge story is a good one. Obviously, McLaren wanted their logo on the dashboard – but didn’t want to go to the effort and weight of putting on a badge. So instead of sticking on a little McLaren decal, they decided to emboss their emblem into the one-piece magnesium structure that makes up the dash. Which saved them a handy 2.4g… and you can’t even see it.

Perfect Driving Position & Skinny Steering Wheel

From the offset, the car has been built around the driver. It might not have an F1-style centre seat, but the pedals, steering wheel and driving chair have all been plumbed in to be perfectly aligned. Even sitting in a prototype that can’t move feels spot on – right down to the thin rimmed, perfectly sized steering wheel that tingles your hands without even a wheel being turned.

Two Handy Test Drivers

Both Lewis and Jenson have driven the car around Goodwood, and while you wouldn’t expect them to say it felt like a bag of bolts, both of them sounded genuinely enthusiastic. Lewis was very pleased, for example, that the gearchange paddles were very similar to his F1 car – they pivot at the wheel, so you can change by either pulling left and right to change down or up, or by pushing or pulling either to do the same thing.

Yeah yeah, so all this sounds a bit sycophantic – but the glee comes from facts. Hearing Chairman Ron Dennis and MD Anthony Sheriff explain the details, talk about the ruthless perfectionism, bespoke design of absolutely everything and the plain and simple statistics, it’s hard not to get carried away. And having sat in it, looked at it, seen it being made and spoken to some of the people that craft it, the MP4-12C is much more than just statistical boasting. It’s a car in which you can feel passion and perfection running through the core. A machine to respect and get all sweatily lusty for. Haven’t wanted a car this badly since turning 17.

As you already know, McLaren today unveiled their new McLaren MP4-12C supercar. As part of the super-fantastic PR reveal bonanza, they showed this video of Lewis and Jenson having a lovely time driving around Goodwood.  Watch it, then read our coverage of the car launch here.

At 10:30am on Thursday 18th March (which is, to most of you, today), the motoring alchemists of McLaren are going to unveil their MP4-12C supercar. Just like every other car-loving website in the world, we’ve been kind enough to link  live stream of the event – so you can watch it as it happens.

We tried to embed it, but couldn’t work out how. So click HERE to watch it, or follow the event on our Twitter

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Hennessey released a teaser picture of their 1000bhp, 262mph, V8 powered, Elise based Venom GT ahead of its official unveiling at the end of the month. Aston failed to persuade the world that the Cygnet is a good idea, by announcing it’ll be available in any colour its misguided customers desire. And BMW confirmed that they’re developing a FWD chassis.

So, you’re minted. More money than Monaco minted. More oil than BP. More gold than… Elizabeth Duke. But you’ve sprouted some kids and need a car to get them to boarding school. They won’t fit in the Veyron, so what do you get? Porsche Panamera? Too ugly. Aston Martin Rapide? Too slow. Maserati Quattroporte? Too old. Bentley Flying Spur? Too common. All four? Too cheap.

If those are your answers, meet your new favourite car – the £900,000 Bugatti Galibier. Eight exhausts indeed.

It was actually at Geneva a few weeks ago, but the world’s press (and us) were too busy talking about hybrid supercars and Aston Martin iQs to pay much attention. So Bugatti have released some more pictures… just to ram home quite how ostentatious their new four-door car is.

While production isn’t confirmed, the Galibier has appeared too often and looks too finished to be a pointless show car, so expect it to go on sale in a couple of years. Up front is a twin-supercharged, 800bhp version of the Veyron’s W16 engine that they claim will shove the Galibier to 217mph.

The Veyron’s 7 speed DSG gearbox is thought to have been swapped with an 8 speed standard auto, while four wheel drive will do its best to put the power down and ceramic brakes will be tasked with shedding speed in the event of stray camels. 16 cylinders draped over the front wheels? The Galibier has the potential to completely redefine understeer.

But understeer or not, you’re now convinced. Kids in the back of a Veyron. Done. In fact, there’s only one question… does it come in white with bullet proof glass and a humidor?

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Volkswagen announced a new in-house performance brigade, Volkswagen R GmbH, who’ll make their quick cars. Vauxhall introduced new threadbare ‘Expression’ and ‘ES’ spec levels to its range, dropping starting prices by up to £3,675. Honda announced the recall of 412,000 cars in America because of ‘soft brakes’. And there were more suggestions that the drink-drive limit could be lowered.

It might still look like it went to the opticians without taking a friend for style advice, but that shouldn’t distract from the facts – the new Bentley Mulsanne is a Bentley. It’s still crafted, in parts, by real humans. It’ll smell amazing. Thanks to a twin-turbo 505bhp V8, it’ll shift. It’s got a a 2,220W Naim Audio stereo. Inside it’s got 24 leather hides and 9 wood veneers.

And, according to this video, it’ll also have bloody shiny paint. If you like programmes along the lines of ‘How It’s Made’ as well as posh cars, you’ll enjoy this. Basically, if you’re someone’s dad, this is your kind of thing.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

BMW announced their subtle new 5 Series Touring will go on sale in September, from £30,380. Fiat revealed their saccharine 500C Pink, which will set exhibitionists back £13,500. Nissan slipped a 187bhp, 2.5 litre turbocharged diesel into their quietly desirable Murano crossover. And Kia released more pictures of their handsomely tiger-faced, Mondeo-rivalling Magentis, which comes to the UK in 2011.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Rumours that Porsche are planning to build a Panamera Convertible returned with reasonable roots in reality, as some patent drawings were leaked onto the interweb. Mitsubishi announced that they’re closing their motorsport rally tuning nutbag department Ralliart, endangering the Evo’s future. And Ford announced they’re adding a Sport+ model to the Fiesta range, with jazzified styling but no extra poke.

For the first 120 miles of our time in Volvo’s economy leaning V50 1.6D DRIVe, we were slumped back in the passenger seat with our eyes tightly shut. It was daft o’clock in the morning, the birds’ paperboys hadn’t even been yet and because we were heading to Geneva, we still had 622 miles to go.  At that point in time, it was the best car in the world. Because we could sleep in it.

Compared to a normal V50 diesel, the DRIVe’s got longer 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th gears, slippier gearbox oil, carrot slicer alloys, low resistance tyres, a blanked off upper grill and a few other aero tweaks that let it slide through the air like a vet’s arm through cattle. It’s all designed to make the V50 as aerodynamically and mechanically slippy as possible. It also makes it incredibly quiet.

Starting in Birmingham, England blurred by without a fanfare. Into Eurotunnel, out of Eurotunnel, into petrol station, into toilet, out of toilet, out of petrol station, into driver’s seat. Time to drive. The trick to making economy derivatives of normal cars is to make the driver feel as if they’re making a few dynamic sacrifices for the planet, without making them feel like a martyr. They should feel different from normal models, but they shouldn’t feel broken. One overly long gear ratio and the car’s undriveable – which doesn’t help anyone.

With 3 humans and some luggage on board, the Volvo’s 108bhp and 177lb ft of torque is deployed with great expectations… and it does a passable job of not making the car feel broken. Pulling out into angry French traffic with a full tank and reset trip isn’t a lesson in slip road melting pace, but it’s safe, quiet and untroubling. If we’d have ditched the cargo, 0-62mph could been achieved in 11.5 seconds – a figure that the word ‘adequate’ seems designed for.

Once coaxed up to French overtaking speeds, the V50 starts showing a wider variety of traits – which for the first 100 miles, are entirely positive. At any speed you choose right up to the 118mph max, it feels unruffled, relaxed and refined. Smooth ride, good stereo, smart interior, great seats. It’s only when you ask it to more than cruise that the V50 trips up.

Motorway bends show the steering to be light and vague around the dead ahead position, just when you expect some weight and precision. And then comes a toll. Gas off, brakes on and… eugh – a brake pedal with a long travel and precious little feel. It’s like treading on a loaf of Hovis. None of this is the DRIVe’s fault though, as the standard car has a wooliness about it already. The economy twiddling hasn’t made it any worse.

As the V50 nudges onto its 400^th mile of relentless French motorway, at least 50% of which has been with the toe firmly in, there’s still over a quarter of a tank left and the mind turns to economy. This £20,545 stop/start version of the DRIVe has got a combined mpg to make a camel look like Oliver Reid – 72.4mpg. Even the more realistic urban figure of 57.7mpg is impressive.

Understandably, with three on board, a stiff right ankle and a boot of luggage that’s impossible to achieve; this is the real world, not an EU econo-testing lab. As we tickle the boundary of Switzerland, the range display falls to 50 miles and we peel off to fill up. 487 on the trip meter and 50 miles still in the car,  all with a 52 litre tank. A quick iPhone calculator job by our passenger makes that’s about 47mpg – quite a real world achievement.

So, all the way through France without stopping. All the way through a whole tank of diesel without stopping. And all in refined comfort, without feeling like environmental martyrs. It might be a little numb, a bit woolly in the core – but the V50 is one of the most discreet, efficient ways of doffing a cap towards green motoring there is. And with that sorted out, we swap drivers and go back to sleep with a clear conscience.

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

The sale of Volvo to Chinese company Geely nudged towards completion, with Geely securing the £1.4bn loan it needs to pay Ford. Porsche boss Michael Macht told Autocar that they’re fully committed to producing the 718bhp, twin electric motored and V8 engined 918 Spyder, which is good. And Nissan said that producing the Juke at Sunderland will save 1,000 jobs.

Sweaty Palms

Digesting the news… then spewing it out in 60 words

Lexus facelifted the IS, adding an F-Sport model with IS-F cosmetics, dropping the CO2 and fuel consumption and improving the sat-nav and stereo. The average CO2 emissions of cars sold in Britain dropped to 149.5g/km. Brabus shoved a 789bhp, twin turbo V12 into the E-Class coupe. And Skoda announced their tweaked Fabia and Roomsters will cost from £9,330 and £11,260.