Currently reading: Autocar magazine 17 September preview
BMW i8 road test; Porsche Cayman GTS vs Jaguar F-type; Renault Twingo vs Volkswagen Up; Audi's A9 plan revealed

This week's issue of Autocar magazine, dated 17 September 2014, lifts the lid on Audi's plans for a new flagship A9 model.

The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer is set to showcase an advanced four-door concept that reveals the new design language to be adopted by all of its future models.

The new Audi concept will be unveiled at the Los Angeles motor show in November and will also preview a new aluminium-intensive flagship, the long-mooted A9.

Our road test team assesses one of the most interesting and radical new cars of the year, the BMW i8. Does all of that technological sophistication deliver the type of drive that no class-leading sports car can be without? Or are there limitations to all of this cutting-edge complexity?

In the first of two comparison tests in this week's issue, we pitch the Porsche Cayman GTS against the Jaguar F-Type. Few £60k cars can live with a F-type in V6 S coupé guise, but is the Porsche Cayman GTS one of them? Steve Sutcliffe judges the contest.

In a slightly less potent (but no less fun) comparison test, we line the new Renault Twingo up against the class-leading Volkswagen Up. It's Gallic flair in the shape of the innovative new Twingo versus the sophistication of the German manufacturer's city car.

We have our first taste of the new five-door Mini. It's the first time the car has been offered as a family-friendly, five-door hatch for the first time, but has it lost pizzazz in the process? Matt Prior finds out.

Fancy a used Audi S3 for £2000? Then you'll want to read this week's Used Buying Guide, which offers plenty of hints and tips for bagging a bargain turbocharged four-wheel-drive hatchback hatch.    

Our long-term test fleet features an update on the Alpina D3 Biturbo. We’re settling into life with Alpina’s alternative, diesel-powered take on a BMW M3, and it’s (nearly) all plain sailing so far.

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