There was a bit of a lull for British car launches last year, some manufacturers had to push back the cars they had dreamed of launching due to the events of 2020 (like Rolls-Royce). But that just makes 2021 seem even more enticing. We've picked our favourite cars for the UK you can buy in 2021.
Updates 7th January 2021.
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Here is one car which definitely lives up to its name; the McLaren Speedtail is 5.1-metres long, that’s nearly a metre longer than the McLaren F1 from which it takes inspiration, particularly its three-seater layout with central driving position. The Speedtail is in fact just as single-minded, and its engineering as obsessive, as its famous forebear but the emphasis has shifted from track performance to grand touring luxury. So there are larger than usual carbon-fibre panels to reduce the number of panel gaps, huge panes of glass in the doors which form part of the roof, cameras replacing side mirrors and carbon-fibre wheel covers to smooth airflow (which with a total of 1,050PS helps with a 250mph top speed). The result is perhaps one of the purest and most elegant hypercars ever.
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We recently reviewed the Morgan Plus Six and found it to be an occasionally brutal package, not that we didn’t love it, but we are perhaps even more excited by the Plus Four. The Plus Four shares its big brother’s incredibly lightweight underpinnings but switches motive power from the sonorous straight-six to a BMW TwinPower 2.0-litre four-cylinder with 258PS and 400Nm (295lb ft) of torque. Plus, and this is a big plus as far as we’re concerned, it can be had with a manual gearbox.
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Speaking of manual transmissions, the updated Jaguar F-Type we drove sadly no longer offers a three-pedal option which is perhaps unsurprising, although the supercharged V6 with a six-speed manual was always our pick of the first generation. Thankfully the F-Type does remain delightfully old school in one respect by offering a vocal V8 driving just the rear wheels, although it does mean settling for a mere 450PS rather than the 575PS offered in the all-wheel-drive F-Type R. The restyle is perhaps a bit less characterful around the front end but the rear is as attractive as ever and it is still capable of leaving many other drivers with that view receding into the distance.
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It took its time coming in 2020, the initial launch was delayed for many months from early in the year to pretty much Revival time, but it was totally worth the wait. Finally moving away from the "just a 7 Series" the smaller Roller is now a great choice of its own, with some fresh looks and the usual brilliant Rolls-Royce touches. You can read our full review here.
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The latest drop-top from Gaydon however is not meant solely for dreamy drives along the Côte d'Azur; there is no ‘cruise’ option among its drive modes of Sport, Sport+ and Track with which to enjoy the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. Unfortunately the seven-speed manual gearbox is only available with the tintop. The speed of roof operation has also become a vital statistic for convertibles recently so you’ll be interested to hear that the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster can get topless in 6.8 seconds, a little less than twice its 3.7 second 0-62mph time, just in case it rains on the Riviera.
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Has there been a more eagerly anticipated and also argued over launch in recent times? Not even the new Toyota Supra had as many people rage-quitting owners’ club forums. Well, if you want an old car, go and buy one as the new Defender is thankfully night and day in terms of dynamics, performance, comfort and safety compared to its venerable forebear. Looks are of course subjective but thankfully the new car more than matches the off (and weirdly on) road prowess of its predecessor, as we found out recently.
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And now, knocking the Speedtail’s power output sideways is the Lotus Evija which its maker claims is good for 2,000PS. That is provided to four wheel-mounted electric motors by a lightweight, energy dense battery pack designed by Williams Advanced Engineering. Claimed to be the most advanced in the world and capable of charging in nine minutes, it means the Evija weighs a comparatively lightweight – for an electric hypercar – 1,680kg and has a 250-mile range. The design, aerodynamics and one-piece carbon-fibre monocoque were all inspired by Le Mans racers. Customers can configure theirs now.
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The new Bentayga has a lot of work to do. There's no Mulsanne any more, so if you want a massive car with a big B on the front, this is the only real choice, it also now lives in a much more crowded world than when it launched as the only real luxury SUV. Thankfully it does, it managed to be more refined and look and feel significantly better than the old car, despite not stepping too far from the old comfort zone.
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