Autocar Awards – the 2016 winners

Call for for the eye-grabbing Renault Captur, Renault’s B-segment crossover, displays in microcosm the impact that Renault’s design good fortune is having on gross sales.

“In this day and age, we frequently pay attention from individuals who know they would like a Captur, even supposing they’ve by no means thought to be a Renault prior to,” says one outer London Renault broker. “They only love how it seems. They’re satisfied to take the mechanical design or even the cost on accept as true with, so long as now we have a good tale to inform about colors and supply dates.”

Van den Acker’s most up-to-date good fortune has been adapting his design taste to the not too long ago introduced Mégane, a vehicle whose fortunes have fluctuated wildly because of oddball iterations up to now. With a classy take a look at remaining, the Mégane has in spite of everything rejoined the circle of relatives.

The van den Acker revolution started in 2009, when the fashion designer was once persuaded to sign up for Renault from Mazda, the place he were leader fashion designer. A 12 months later, on the Paris motor display, he introduced the DeZir electrical coupé idea, which he stated on the time can be very influential on long term Renaults. Six years on, the auto nonetheless seems very trendy. Which, says van den Acker, is the entire level.

MOTORSPORT HERO

NICK TANDY

Le Mans winner with Porsche in 2015

Meet motorsport’s resolution to Leicester Town FC’s Jamie Vardy. The prolific striker honed his predatory goal-scoring instincts in non-league soccer prior to reaching scarcely plausible heights within the Premier League. Tandy discovered his racecraft within the frenetic international of grassroots brief oval racing and now has a Le Mans 24 Hours winner’s trophy resting on his mantelpiece.

Tandy’s win at Los angeles Sarthe along Nico Hülkenberg and Earl Bamber within the Porsche 919 Hybrid was once some of the feelgood tales of the 2015 racing season and the rationale he has received our inaugural Motorsport Hero award.

He’s an instance of what can also be completed with laborious graft and an iron will. After chasing the single-seater dream so far as F3, he switched to sportscar racing and mightily inspired Porsche within the Carrera Cup, incomes works outings that culminated in that prototype power – and the fairytale end result – on the most renowned staying power race of all of them.