Power slidingvehicles will always makethe headlines

Elsewhere, Audi unveiled its latest RS model, the TT RS Plus – with a 330 bhp 2.5 litre turbo-charged five cylinder engine under the bonnet, a lightweight aluminium body, and the same torque as an Aston Martin; I like to think of it as Audi’s ‘self-harm’ model, as what they’ve done is shot themselves in the foot by creating an R8 rival for £40,000 less.

And in Munich, those amusing German fellows airlifted a Bentley Continental GT V8 to a special VIP drinks event at the top of a skyscraper, so if you were in Munich and happened to be looking up you would have seen what looked like a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang being filmed in the skies above.

Perhaps most amusing, though, were the exploits of Evo magazine’s editorial director Harry Metcalfe as he took to a snowy tundra to drift a Range Rover Vogue.

You might think that a big, 3,000 kilo 4x4 couldn’t possibly drift – if it’s as tall as a mountain and heavy as a castle, it would surely topple over when thrown into hairpin bends at 60 mph on snow and ice. But you’d be wrong.

It did, in fact, make for one of the most entertaining automotive videos this year, although we are only in February so there could still be wondrous things to come.

Hurling it this way and that, sliding, balancing the throttle, correcting the steering, and all in a humongous Vogue – a wonderful achievement.

Which leads me on to ponder the existence of the motoring writer, a subject that I will undoubtedly explore at some other point in the future.

If you read motoring magazines, you’ll know which ones do what: Evo does news and features that are both interesting and informative, Autocar does news and features which are just informative, and Top Gear does news and features which are just interesting, and appeal to the younger car fans; they all do their bit but in very different ways.

So, depending on which automotive publication you work for, your role will vary from giving sensible advice to off-roading in a Land Rover, something which I’m due to do later on in the month (big grin).

But what is it we really want to see if we’re into cars? Sensible advice? No, not really, which is probably why Top Gear has done so well.

Rip roaring, loud, insane drifting supercars is what we’d like to see, and hopefully we’ll continue to do so for years to come. Well, until I retire.

Seán Ward

Editor,