 | |
 Issue 257 cover | |
| Editor | Stuart Gallagher |
|---|---|
| Categories | Automobile |
| Frequency | Monthly (United Kingdom & India) Bimonthly (Poland & France) |
| Total circulation (June 2016) | 43,119 [1] |
| First issue | November 1998 |
| Company | Autovia |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English, Polish, French |
| Website | evo.co.uk evomagazine.pl evoindia.com |
Evo is a British automobile magazine dedicated to performance cars, from hot hatches to supercars.
In 1995, then Harpenden-based farmer and property developer Harry Metcalfe had become involved in car tests for magazine publishers, after he purchased the first Maserati Ghibli Cup in 1994, through which he had made contacts into the motoring media. After EMAP decided to integrate specialist magazine Performance Car into Car magazine in 1998, Metcalfe and motoring journalist John Barker began forming plans to fill what they saw as a gap in the specialist motoring magazine market. [2]
Metcalfe formed the business and would run the business side, with Barker joined by writers including Richard Meaden, David Vivian and Peter Tomalin all holding a minority share. Metcalfe created a business plan based on potentially selling his family holiday home in Wales, and although turned down for a loan for the business, he initially financed the three month launch period through a £275,000 loan originally designated to fund a grain storage shed on his farm. Employing a research group, the original name was proposed by them to be Roadsport Magazine (also the name of a hill climbing journal). At a group brain storming session one day, after pointing out that there was a mobile phone company called Orange and a magazine called Red - neither of which included what they did in the title, but had an association with their market - whilst flicking through Autocar magazine Metcalfe suggested Evo based on seeing a Maserati Quattroporte Evoluzione in the future cars section. After proving successful in branding, the name stuck. [2]
The first issue of Evo was produced in November 1998, and after the publication of the third issue in January 1999 - the Car Of The Year edition - the business was cash flow positive, with a worldwide readership of 30,000. Later writers included Henry Catchpole, Jethro Bovingdon, Russell Bulgin and Chris Harris. Evo was aimed, created and edited to be a virtual maverick car club, with typical stunts including buying and driving an original Audi Quattro to the launch of the Audi TT in Italy, and the forming of a supercar pool including a Ferrari F40. [2]
Conscious that the business's success was bound to a single 13x a year publication, Metcalfe was approached by Future Publishing to sell the business. Conscious of the Evo-gang and approach that had been created, Metcalfe asked the Sales Director to approach his friend Felix Dennis about a counter bid. Dennis Publishing acquired the title in April 2001, with a readership of 40,000. [3]
Dennis Publishing enabled the magazine to reduce its costs in both printing, distribution as well as IT; as well as increasing subscriptions and distribution, especially overseas licensing. The online Evo Forum at the point of takeover was consuming over half of the IT infrastructure costs, but not producing any revenue. Unable to form a positive business plan, the Evo Forum was shut down. Metcalfe continued as Editorial Director of Evo in Dennis' growing Automotive division, which included Auto Express, then the later purchases of Octane magazine and Land Rover Monthly as well as the new launches Carbuyer and DrivingElectric. [2]
Dennis' automotive publishing division was spun-off as independent company called Autovia in 2021. [4]
Evo is now published 12 times a year, with Stuart Gallagher the current editor, with former editors including Peter Tomalin, John Barker and Richard Meaden. Owned by Dennis Publishing and going by the tag-line "The thrill of driving", Evo attempts to immerse the reader in the driving experience of any particular car, and all other aspects are considered secondary to this all emotive 'drive'. While hard data is accumulated in the form of lap-times (for which Evo regularly uses Bedford Autodrome), cornering speeds, and straight-line performance figures, the subjective nature of the driving experience is the paramount factor by which cars are graded by Evo.
Many prominent members of the automotive industry and celebrity automotive enthusiasts have made contributions to Evo, including Gordon Murray, Jeff Daniels, and occasionally Rowan Atkinson. Other contributors are John Simister, Ian Fraser, Martin Buckley, David Yu, Tony Bailey, Paul Bailey, Simon George and Richard Porter.
There are also international editions of Evo for France, Italy, Singapore, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Ukraine, India, Spain and the Middle East They are a little different from the original, and feature more localized content relevant to the respective countries. Editors & writers of the international editions are usually invited for test drives by many performance car companies, from major marques such as Porsche, to small supercar builders such as Pagani and Gumpert.
In addition to the names above, it is worth noting that Evo occasionally makes reference to the term 'friends of Evo'. Some of these individuals submit contributions to the magazine, in the form of submissions outlining their experience with their own motorcars. Current such vehicles include the Porsche Carrera GT, Pagani Zonda and Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. This is a slightly different take on the 'fleet' theme often adopted by motoring publications, as the vehicles featured are often press-demonstrators.
Evo is famous for their year-ending Car of the Year issue, inherited from Evo's predecessor publication Performance Car. Members of the Evo staff take the top performance cars, released to market for the year, to public locations suited to high-performance driving and evaluation. For most years there is also a circuit test. Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, and Portugal are some of the featured locations for the Evo Car of the Year.
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009 [5]
2010
2011
2012
2013 [6]
2014
2015
2016
2017 (Only year that EVO changed the format for "Car of the Year")
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Automobile was an American automobile magazine founded in 1986 by a group of former Car and Driver employees, led by David E. Davis with support from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, using the credo No Boring Cars. From 2014-202, Automobile had been absorbed by the Motor Trend Group.
Fifth Gear is a British motoring television magazine series which has been broadcast since 2002. Originally shown on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, it began as a continuation of the original version of the BBC show Top Gear, which ran from 1977 until being cancelled in 2001. It moved to the Discovery Channel in 2012, then in 2015 to History; since 2018 it has been broadcast on Quest. The show is currently presented by Vicki Butler-Henderson and Jason Plato, with Rory Reid, Grace Webb and Jimmy de Ville featuring in some episodes. Its former presenters include Quentin Willson, Adrian Simpson, Jonny Smith, former racing driver Tiff Needell and Car SOS host Tim Shaw.
The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, is one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs. It consists of two separate fairs, that subdivided in 1991. While the IAA Mobility displays passenger vehicles, motorcycles and bikes, the IAA Transportation specializes in commercial vehicles. Before the separation, the show was held solely at the Messe Frankfurt.
The Los Angeles Auto Show, also known as the LA Auto Show, is an auto show held annually at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is open to the public for ten days, filling 760,000 square feet (71,000 m2) of exhibit space. Since 2006 the event is held in November or December.
The Nürburgring 24 Hours is a 24-hour annual touring car and GT endurance racing event that takes place on a combination of the Nordschleife and the GP-Strecke circuits of the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Held since 1970, the over 25.3 km (15.7 mi) lap length allows more than 200 cars and over 700 drivers to participate.
The 2006 Paris Motor Show took place from 30 September to 15 October 2006, in Paris expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France.
sport auto is a German automobile magazine, established in 1969, published monthly by Motor Presse Stuttgart, based in Stuttgart.
Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Beijing Motor Show or Auto China is an auto show held biennially in Beijing, China since 1990. China is currently the largest auto market in the world.
The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT Masters ran their first season in 2007. Although the series is based in Germany, select events are run elsewhere in Europe.
Auto Shanghai, officially known as the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, is a biennial international automobile show that alternates with the Beijing Auto Show as China's yearly international automotive exhibition. First held in 1985, Auto Shanghai is the nation's oldest auto exhibition, and is considered as an important major international auto show.
Driven to Distraction is a non-fiction book, first published in 2009, written by English journalist and television presenter Jeremy Clarkson. The book is a collection of Clarkson's articles for the Sunday Times newspaper, all originally published in 2006 and 2007. The articles consist of car reviews combined with rants on current events.
François Hubert Marie Perrodo is a French billionaire businessman, racing driver, and car collector. He is the chairman of Perenco, an oil and gas company with operations in 14 countries, which was founded by his father. In October 2023, Forbes estimated his family to be worth US$10 billion.
This is a list of automobiles produced for the general public in the European market. They are listed in chronological order from when each model began its model year. If a model did not have continuous production, it is listed again on the model year production resumed. Concept cars and submodels are not listed unless they are themselves notable.
The 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the thirty-fifth season of the premier German motor racing championship and also the twenty-second season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000.
The Milano Monza Open-Air Motor Show (MIMO) is an annual auto show first held in June 2021 in Milan and Monza, Italy.
The 2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the thirty-sixth season of the premier German motor racing championship and also the twenty-third season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000. It was the second season of the DTM to be run under Group GT3 regulations.