The week that was: Le Mans hybrids, flying taxis and crazy Texans

I’m writing this perched over the pitlane at the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race in France, and it’s early something o’clock, that’s for sure.

We don’t do a lot of motorsport here at WhichCar, but being here reminds me that our industry still does, in fact, spend a lot of time, energy and resources on racing – and Toyota’s mighty petrol/electric hybrid Le Mans machine is a great example of the racing world and the real world coming together.

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It’s been another big week at WhichCar HQ, with news emerging from the UK that the government there is considering adding noise ‘cameras’ to speed cameras to target loud exhausts.

Noise cameras are not new – they are used in NSW, for example, to keep trucks from overusing exhaust braking systems – but surely everyone actually buttons off the gas when they see a camera anyway?

One car that won’t fall foul of the rule is our long-term Porsche Cayenne hybrid. We’ve built a host of fantastic video content around the car now, which is really worth checking out.

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Also worth checking out is our deep dive into the world of selective LED headlights, which can actually darken a small section of your headlight to prevent dazzling oncoming traffic.

One of the more unusual stories to cross the desk this week comes from WhichCar’s home town of Melbourne, where Uber will – it says – debut flying taxis in 2020. Watch this space… it’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out in one of busiest air spaces in the country.

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The team at Wheels has also nominated its 2019 Gold Star Award winners, which nominate the very best value cars on sale in Australia today. It’s a wide-ranging and comprehensive snapshot of the market today, and well worth a dig through.

Of course, it’s also EOFY time and everyone is looking for a new car bargain. We’ve grabbed the latest deals from Australia’s biggest car sellers to make the task a bit easier for people looking for a new car.

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If you are, however, looking for something a little off the beaten track, then perhaps one of these quirky-cool cars might take your fancy.

On the technical side, we examine the insanely powerful new four-cylinder engine from Mercedes-Benz, as well as ask why there is only one diesel engine in the Jeep Wrangler range.

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There’s a pretty amazing video story filmed at Continental’s huge proving ground in Texas, too, where a BMW M3 is chased by a helicopter – and yes, it’s as cool as it sounds.

We also pedal the automatic version of Suzuki’s terrific Swift Sports, Holden’s updated Colorado ute, the new McLaren 600 LT Spider, check out ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett’s incredible new Lamborghini Huracan, examine the ‘new’ Ford Territory and farewell season one of WhichCar TV in style.