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Chris Harris brings together the 918 Spyder, LaFerrari, and P1

The Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 show that a hybrid powertrain can make for blistering performance despite its electric assist. This trio doesn't arrive on track together very often, but Chris Harris assembled these three stars at the Portimao circuit for a nearly hour-long demonstration of their amazing capabilities. So, which one is quickest around the track? Harris provides an answer with in-car video of all three contenders. His team also goes out of its way to even the playing field by sourcing tires independently from Pirelli for the P1 and LaFerrari. With the technical part out of the way, Harris can start having fun by doing his usual slides during the driving comparison. Tiff Needell and Marino Franchitti also eventually show up to provide the perfect recipe for a track battle in these hypercars. If you don't have the time, skip about 14:25 into the clip just to see the lap times. However, those numbers only tell a tiny part of the story. The whole video is definitely worth a watch.

Seat shows Leon SC three-door ahead of Geneva

Seat has just unwrapped the Leon SC three-door hatchback ahead of its official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Unlike some transformations from five- to three-door hatches, the Seat Leon underwent some meaningful surgery in the changeover, losing nearly an inch and a half of its wheelbase while still retaining the same amount of cargo capacity behind the rear seats.
The SC, which stands for Sports Coupé, is said to be more nimble than its larger counterpart, and therefore more fun to drive. A range of turbocharged and direct injected gasoline and diesel engines will be available in Europe ranging from 1.2 to 2.0 liters and with up to 184 horsepower. Manual transmissions with five or six gears will be offered, depending on the engine chosen, as will a six-speed DSG automatic.
Seat also says that the new Leon boasts more expressive styling than the five-door, and we can see where they are coming from. Of particular note, says the automaker, are the size and shapes of the glass areas and the sweep of the tailgate toward the ground. Take a good look at the new three-door Leon in the image gallery above, and feel free to read all the details in the full press blast below.

2015 McLaren P1 [w/video]

We have already raved about the Porsche 918 Spyder, and all indications suggest we'll be moved to dispense flowery Italian prose about the upcoming Ferrari LaFerrari (even if the name does sound like a skip on a 45-rpm record). In between these two hypercars comes this British mind-boggle better known as the McLaren P1. As a pure driver's exoticar, the P1 outshines the Porsche in dynamics and nimbleness, while the 918 engineers the miracle of potentially exceptional mileage combined with face-flattening speed that equals the Big Mac. Both cost around $1 million ($845,000 for the 918, $1.15 million for the P1 – at this level, what's a few hundred-thousand dollars among friends?), and both get most normal humans as close to experiencing Formula One for the street without driving something that looks like a single-seat, open-wheel car. You can imagine my excitement as I was ushered over to Dunsfold Airfield south of London to have my cherished laps in McLaren P1 validation prototype No. 5. I have never experienced good weather here, but I was thankfully blessed with tepid air and brilliant late winter sunshine for this drive. This means that there wasn't the usual standing rainwater on the scrappy Top Gear test track. As I arrived at the McLaren bunker alongside the makeshift circuit, the mellow, flame-yellow P1 I was to drive was already going through motions in a client's hands. This client and his charming wife were just finishing up several laps of their own, including some absolutely scorching rounds with McLaren chief test pilot Chris Goodwin, as well as with McLaren GT3 driver Duncan Tappy. The couple was as giddy as teenagers when I talked with them, smiling from ear to ear. And they were not from Dubai, not from Moscow, not from Singapore, and not from Beverly Hills. They were from Ohio, so leave your rich people stereotypes at the door. I should get on with the drive experience, but a primer about what this McLaren proposes to the driver is needed. Like the MP4-12C, the P1's "petrol-electric" plug-in hybrid sits on the same aluminum-carbon composite architecture and uses the company's M838T 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 built by Ricardo. From there, it's all changes and intelligently pumped-up performance numbers. In E-mode, the electric motor can run things alone over a maximum of approximately 7.5 miles. A dry P1 sitting empty weighs a stated 3,075 pounds, which is not far off the weight of a 570-horsepower Ferrari 458 Italia.