Amazon Prime show The Grand Tour, featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, the trio formerly associated with BBC's TopGear, has completed the run of its first five episodes. In the latest instalment titled Moroccan Roll, the three argue about the best lightweight sports car. To find the answer, the presenters go to Marrakech, Morocco. Clarkson chooses Alfa Romeo 4C Spider as his favourite while Hammond goes for Mazda MX-5. May's choice is Zenos E10S. Here are the details of the cars featured in the fifth episode of The Grand Tour.
Alfa Romeo 4C Spider
Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo unveiled the pre-production prototype of the spider version of the 4C at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Sharing its engine with the Coupe version, the 4C Spider is a small, lightweight, rear wheel drive sports car. It uses a carbon fiber tub, front and rear crash box, and hybrid rear frame mainly of aluminium to keep its weight at 940 kilogram.
The 4C Spider is powered by a new all-aluminium inline 4 cylinder turbocharged 1.75-litre engine that develops 241bhp at 6,000rpm and 350Nm of torque at 1,700rpm mated to six-speed Alfa TCT dual dry clutch transmission. The 4C Spider's top speed is quoted to be 257 kmph and it needs 4.5 seconds to reach 100kmph from stationary position. The 4C range has an option of yellow colour for Spider. It is priced at £59,500 (approximately Rs 50 lakh).
Mazda MX-5
The new Mazda MX-5 was presented at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The fourth generation MX-5 is 105mm shorter and 100kg lighter than its predecessor, putting the vehicle's kerb weight at around 1,000kg. The MX-5 is powered by 1.5-litre direct-injection petrol engine that develops 129bhp at 7,000rpm and 150Nm of torque at 4,800rpm mated to six-speed manual shift transmission. The MX-5 sprints to 100kmph in 8.3 seconds before reaching its maximum attainable speed of 204kmph. The Mazda car has been priced at £18,495 (approximately Rs 15.6 lakh).
Zenos E10S
The E10S is a lightweight sports car from Zenos Cars, the company that builds cars for driving pleasure and fun. The E10S is powered by turbocharged 2.0-litre Ford EcoBoost engine that churns out 250bhp at 7,000rpm and 400Nm of torque at 2,500 rpm. With just 725 kg weight, the E10S sprints to 100kmph in 4.0 seconds and has a top speed of 217kmph. Prices for the E10S start at £32,995(approximately Rs 27.9 lakh).
At the end of the show, it's Hammond's Mazda MX-5 that wins the title of the best lightweight sports car.
