The AutoChat Podcast

This week, Alistair has driven the new electric Lexus RZ, which has a yoke instead of a steering wheel.Meanwhile, George has been working on his cars to varying degrees of success, and reports back from his first karting race of the 2023 season. His team, The Luton Birdwatchers, had good pace, but were let down by a loose helmet strap and a driver comms system mistakenly tuned to receive travel updates from the local radio station.They also chat about Formula One and what cars they'd buy with a £90,000 lottery win.

In this special episode Alistair and George head to Arjeplog in northern Sweden to experience the Jaguar Ice  Academy. There, they took part in an entire day of driving activities in the Jaguar F-Type, F-Pace and electric I-Pace, all on a frozen lake with world-class driving instructors.The next day, they went dog sledding and drove to the Arctic Circle in a V8 Range Rover Sport, which is actually less adventurous than it sounds.The Ice Academy takes place between January and March each year, and the 2024 season is available to book now https://www.jaguar.co.uk/experience-jaguar/ice-academy-sweden/index.html 

This week, Alistair drives the Ineos Grenadier in the Scottish Highlands and George's MG Maestro gets its YouTube debut with the HubNut channel.It's also part two of the lottery wins challenge, and with a budget of £24,000 there are plenty of options to considering, from V12 Aston Martins and BMW 7-Series, to a replica Lotus Cortina and, for some reason, a Hummer H2.Lastly, Alistair visits Dynisma, a company in Bristol that claims to have built the world's best driving simulator. He drives an F1 car around Spa – and a Golf over a cobbled road – to put it to the test.Show notes:Ineos Grenadier first drive https://www.t3.com/features/ineos-grenadier-review MG Maestro driven by HubNut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cul8Be24YAUDynisma https://www.dynisma.com/ 

This week, George's MG Maestro makes its YouTube debut on the HubNut channel, but things don't quite go to plan. On a similar theme, Alistair almost gets a Maserati stuck in a muddy field in Italy.This episode also sees Alistair and George try to find roadworthy cars for a disappointing Euromillions win of just £700, and it's far more difficult than they expected.Show notes:- HubNut's YouTube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/c/HubNut?app=desktop- Maserati Grecale GThttps://www.forbes.com/sites/alistaircharlton/2023/01/27/maserati-grecale-gt-first-drive-of-the-stylish-suv/- Classic Car Loan Projecthttp://classiccarloanproject.co.uk/ 

Alistair and George return for a second series of AutoChat. This week, George talks about 'Lucky!', the new Bernie Ecclestone documentary, and how he discovered Barbie Jeep Racing on YouTube.Meanwhile, Alistair saw a colour-changing BMW in Las Vegas, avoided an imaginary Elk in the Arctic Circle, and drove the Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988.Show notes:- Barbie Jeep Racing https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=barbie+car+racing- BMW i Vision Dee https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/news/general/2023/i-vision-dee.html- F-Pace SVR 1988 https://www.jaguar.co.uk/about-jaguar/special-vehicle-operations/jaguar-f-pace-svr-edition-1988.html- Polestar Snow Space https://www.forbes.com/sites/alistaircharlton/2023/01/21/welcome-to-the-snowroom-polestar-opens-frozen-ev-retail-space-in-finland/?sh=7c4855950212- Lucky! https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/show/lucky- Collecting Cars podcast with Manish Pandey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaETKDrDWcY 

We're back! After an impromptu break, Alistair and George are back for another season of the AutoChat podcast.In this episode, George talks about competing at the karting 24 hours of Le Mans, where he qualified in pole position, set the fastest lap of the race and led his team to finish 2nd in class.Meanwhile, Alistair shares his experience of visiting Bugatti HQ and driving a 276mph Chiron Super Sport with none other than 1988 Le Mans winner Andy Wallace in the passenger seat.

In this episode of the AutoChat podcast, Alistair drives the new Range Rover in California and George is told that, "for as long as there's a hole in his arse", he wouldn't have been able to fix his Volkswagen.They also discuss the 'Max Mosley: It's Complicated' documentary, the 2022 Formula One season and the new Lotus Eletre electric SUV, along with George's upcoming American RV road trip and Alistair's visit to the Cotswolds in a Bentley GT Speed convertible.

In this episode, Alistair and George chat about Gran Turismo 7, the upcoming Formula One season and the joys of driving in London.Also this week, they take a trip down memory lane with Pimp My Ride UK, discuss electrified classic cars, and Alistair drives a Rolls-Royce Ghost to Edinburgh.

In a special episode, Alistair and George sit down with Gavan Kershaw, director of vehicle attributes for Lotus.Gavan has worked at Lotus for over 30 years, and in that time has driven just about everything, including historic F1 cars. He is currently working on the 2,000-horsepower electric Evija hypercar and upcoming Emira sports car.As well as all things Lotus, Gavan chats about his own car collection, his role in designing the TopGear Test Track, and the time he beat Colin McRae in a drifting competition.

In this episode, Alistair and George reminisce about their first cars and driving as teenagers. They also cover this week's F1 2022 car reveals, tackle the ever-boring topic of buying new tyres, and wonder what happened to shady F1 team boss Flavio Briatore.

This week, Alistair goes to Los Angeles to drive the new Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid, George explains how a £40 bracket fixed the engine warning light on his Volkswagen, and Gordon Murray reveals another lightweight V12 supercar.This episode also features a trip to Bicester Heritage and the Bicester Scramble, the WhatCar? magazine awards and a top motorsport recommendation from Netflix. 

Happy new year! Alistair and George are back with another episode of the AutoChat podcast, and their first of 2022.This episode, Alistair reports back on his Christmas hire car, a slightly disappointing but frugal Volkswagen Golf, while George gets his Covid booster from a van in a car park, and gives the MG Maestro some TLC.They also get distracted by a record-breaking number of Nigels gathered in a pub, the most popular cars of 2021, the purchase of a Ford Transit Sport, and the upcoming Formula One season.

In this episode, Alistair and George discuss the thrilling and controversial finale to the 2021 Formula One season.They also chat about some unusual Christmas post – in the form of a concrete model of a motorway service station, naturally – buying old music tapes off eBay, and Alistair's weekend with the Bentley Continental GT Speed.

This week, Alistair, George and Sasha chat about Sasha's new job with Scuderia Fern racing, the Mexico Grand Prix, and a German dressage horse called Damon Hill.They also chat about car-spotting in Seville, nightmares in Cape Verde, e-scooters and 'The Mechanic' Marc 'Elvis' Priestley. 

In this episode, Alistair gets pulled over by the police driving the new Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge, and George declares all driving music terrible.Also, why drive-through staff think an old Rover with a faulty window is posh, attaining Hilton gold status while putting 5,000 miles on a Volvo, and a first-look at the all-new (but not that new) Range Rover.

This episode features a drive of the new C8 Corvette Stingray in Germany, addresses why the Morgan CX-T reminds George of a geography teacher on a school trip, the UK fuel crisis, and Tiff Needell's breakfast.Alistair also explains why he saw No Time To Die twice in the same day, and George fancies himself as an HGV driver.

This episode, Alistair, George and Sasha chat about Formula One and the Goodwood Revival.Meanwhile, Sasha visited Bicester Heritage with Girls On Track UK, Alistair attended a murder mystery dinner with Jaguar, and George reveals how he didn't see eye-to-eye with a karting simulator.Alistair and George also spent time with Le Mans winner Darren Turner this week, during a visit to his simulator company Base Performance, where they tried out F1 and Aston Martin simulators.

In this episode, George passes his plane-pushing qualification and Alistair vents his frustration at the UK's electric car charging network after taking a Fiat 500 on a road trip. This episode also features a hired Jaguar F-Type Heritage 60 Edition from The Out, and the 400-horsepower E-Type Unleashed restomod by E-Types UK.

In this episode of the AutoChat podcast, Alistair and George introduce their new presenter Sasha. The there chat about the Spa GP that never really happened, Sasha's car history, and George's dad's slightly ropey Rover 600.

This episode, Alistair and George talk about taking a Rolls-Royce Cullinan to a wedding. They also discuss the Polestar 2, the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Nascar film 'Blink of an Eye'.This episode also includes chat about some of the highlights from this year's Monterey Car Week, including the Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider, Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa J, a new Lamborghini Countach, and a $20.5m McLaren F1 making auction history.

This episode, due to not actually driving anything, Alistair and George set out to find the worst cars for sale with 'sport' in their name. Or 'sppporrrtahhh' if you're a Smith & Sniff listener. The results include a Nissan Micro 'Nismo Replica', a Jazz Sport that is nothing of the sort, and a Mazda 3 mistaken for a pair of pink fluffy slippers.This episode also includes a chat about strange airport vehicles (with a side helping of airport toilets), karting, and a new fragrance from Ford made to smell like petrol and horses.

After a few weeks off – sorry about the previous episode being corrupt – Alistair and George are back for another episode of AutoChat. In this installment, they discuss the Goodwood Festival of Speed, borrowing a Range Rover for a wedding, and the reveal of the Aston Martin Valhalla.They also chat about the British Grand Prix, the controversial first lap incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, an unintentional steak lolly with Jonny Smith, and George's surprisingly successful attempts at fixing his own car.

This week, Alistair and George interview 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button. We chat to Jenson about family life in Los Angeles, car culture in the United States, his classic car collection – including a Fiat 500 with Tesla power – and his work with Radford. We also talk with Jenson about karting, the early days of his career and, perhaps inevitably, the Austin Maestro.This episode also includes the Volvo XC40 Recharge, Alistair's first drive of the Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition at Silverstone's Stowe circuit, analysis of the French Grand Prix, and the pair look back at what cringeworthy vehicles they booked for their high school prom.

In this episode, Alistair drives an electric Bugatti Type 35 by The Little Car Company, an electric Porsche 911 by Everrati and the Aston Martin DBX. George took his much-loved MG Maestro to a classic car show and realises theme parks aren't quite what they used to be.They also talk about the Formula One from Baku, and look ahead to the French GP.

This episode, Alistair and George visit Caffeine & Machine with George's MG Maestro, and Alistair drives a Radical SR1 at Silverstone. They also discuss the Monaco Grand Prix, the Opel Manta GSE Elektromod and Max Mosley, who passed away this week at the age of 81.Episode 16 also features an exclusive interview with Gordon Murray, the legendary designer who penned F1 championship winning cars for Brabham and McLaren, as well as the Le Mans-winning McLaren F1. Murray is currently working on a successor to the F1, called the T.50, and has recently established a new business called Gordon Murray Electronics.In this interview extract, published exclusively by AutoChat, Murray talks about his plans for an electric SUV, why designing an electric sports car is so difficult,  the future of V12 supercars and the promise of synthetic petrol, known as eFuel.

In this episode, Alistair and George chat about George's new MG Maestro, Formula One, the return of the British Touring Car Championship and an 'eventful' trip to the pub.They also talk about driving the Zeno TSR-S hypercar from Denmark and Gordon Murray's electric car plans, and make a ham-fisted attempt at working on Alistair's MX-5.George also reveals how his life goals feature Ayrton Senna's brown loafers and, for some reason, a ploughman's lunch.

This week, Alistair and George chat about Formula One at Imola, Jean Alesi at the Monaco Historic, courier cars and Guenther Steiner as a future F1 pundit.Also this week, Alistair finally drives his MX-5 and tries out an Alfa Romeo Stelvio, while George bids farewell to his Vauxhall Victor, gets back on the kart track and regrets trying touch rugby.

This week, Alistair and George chat about driving the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster and Cupra Formentor, while George and his dad attempt some DIY car maintenance with questionable results.We also chat about Alistair's interview with Mate Rimac, the return of Formula One  and how Extreme E got lost in its own dust. We then get slightly sidetracked by the death of Prince Philip, who was actually quite the petrolhead.

This week, Alistair and George talk about the return of Formula One, the legacy of Sabine Schmitz and why TopGear is so much better than The Grand Tour.They also talk about Alistair's new car, what their dads drove in the 90s and 00s, and why George and his beloved dump have had to go their separate ways.

This week, having screwed up the first recording, Alistair and George have a second stab at episode 11. This episode features the new 2.0-litre Toyota Supra, Darren Turner's £70k Aston Martin gaming simulator, and a gifted rusty crowbar.They also chat about restomod Porsches, Land Rovers and green laning, entrepreneurial lawn mowing, tobacco sponsorship in Formula One, and the extraordinary career of Murray Walker.

In the 10th episode of AutoChat, Alistair and George talk about driving the Toyota GR Yaris, eating Volkswagen's own-brand sausages and swapping George's Vauxhall Victor for an MG Maestro.They also chat about Ferrari's return to the top tier of Le Mans with an entry into the new Hypercar class in 2023, the dull tedium of F1 car launches, and a much-needed face lift for one of the world's best-selling cars – the Little Tikes Cosy Coupe.

This episode, Alistair and George chat about driving the electric Ford Mustang Mach-E and Porsche Taycan, as well as taking delivery of the most talked about car of 2021 so far, the Toyota GR Yaris.They also talk about the proposed Saturday sprint races for Formula One, Polestar's charity food donation, and the benefits of winter tyres when taking elderly neighbours to get their Covid vaccine.

This week, Alistair and George chat about driving the new Jaguar XF, what the future holds for Lotus, and why the Bentley Flying Spur V8 isn't the ideal car for buying kitchen flooring from Wickes.They also discuss why George spends an inordinate amount of time at his local dump, the unfortunate and fiery demise of a passing Peugeot, how well the Audi A1 has aged, what Sebastian Vettel has in common with Prince William, and the cars of world leaders.

In this week's episode, Alistair and George talk about the reborn electric Renault 5, a discovery of tomato soup in the combustion chamber of a Vauxhall Victor, and the lineage of today's Formula One teams. They also discuss BMW's bizarre new advert, in which an old 7 Series picks a fight with the new electric iX and repeatedly calls it bulls**t.

In the first AutoChat episode of 2021, Alistair and George chat about the curiously named Ford Transit Nugget, a racing driver called Dick Seaman, and the haunted ice cream van vibes of the electric Fiat 500e.They also discuss funny car names, automotive cures for lockdown boredom, TV show Scrapheap Challenge and, in a bid to corner the potentially-lucrative relationship gossip corner of the F1 paddock, Max Verstappen's new girlfriend.

This week, Alistair and George talk about the curious cars of Netflix series Sex Education, Ian Callum's remastered Aston Martin Vanquish, and that time they hoped for Lewis Hamilton, but instead got Gillian Anderson.

This week, Alistair and George chat about the Formula One season finale, the joys of banger racing, The Little Car Company's electric Bugatti for children, and our earliest motoring memories. We also, regrettably,  delve into the dubious history of Max Power magazine. Sorry about that.

In this week's episode of The AutoChat Podcast, Alistair and George discuss the electric Mazda MX-30, Romain Grosjean's miraculous escape, George Russell replacing Lewis Hamilton, and what it's like to drive the Ferrari 250 SWB Revival by GTO Engineering. Plus a mud-covered McLaren 12C Spider goes for an MOT, and a brief stumble into a Heinz-Harald Frentze-shaped rabbit hole.

This week, Alistair and George discuss an action-packed weekend of Formula One, British Touring Cars and World Endurance Championship, the unfortunately-faced BMW 4-Series, and their childhood memories of cars in cartoons, then fall down a rabbit hole full of Fiat Unos.

In this pilot episode, Alistair and George talk about driving the Polestar 1 and Honda E. They also discuss what it's like to own and drive  family cars from the 1960s, how Alistair accidentally won a classic car show award in an old Skoda, and the curious case of the reborn Ledbury Maestro.