The best photos of 2022 shot by Autocar snappers
We celebrate those and their photos that give colour to our pages of text. Check out the highlights
We report on some amazing things in Autocar, but in truth our words can never do justice to the entire… well, picture.
We need Luc Lacey, Max Edleston, John Bradshaw and Will Williams to, quite literally, add colour to our black-and-white text.
So look, stare and enjoy these pictures over the next four minutes.
Here, Max timed his newly found location in the North Pennines to perfection to capture the cars in the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS group test in the best light. Also featuring the BMW M3 CS and Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series, Max took his time to make sure the cars stood out against their background.
Luc’s disused quarry shot marked a good day: “This job was right up my street. As a keen climber, getting to spend the day learning what the volunteers at Central Beacons Mountain Rescue do was fascinating – and reassuring.”
This shot of the Ferrari Daytona SP2 is also courtesy of Luc. With very little setup time allocated, some colour coordination and curvy shapes give this one a very graphical look.
There are few images quite as dramatic as this one from Max. He said: "Is there anything better than powerful Audis drifting sideways in the vast expanse of the Swedish frozen lakes."
Luc can’t let his shot of the Bentley Bentayga and Range Rover go without a shout-out to “street artists Gent 48 and Justin Sola for adding some attitude with their portraits”. We think these posh SUVs rather suit this somewhat industrial background.
On his image of a Glickenhaus SCG 007, Max said: "I’m a huge motor racing fan so to even be at this year's 24 hours of Le Mans was amazing. But to also have full pit access during the live race felt so surreal - something my 15 year-old self would lose his mind about if he knew."
Max was also really pleased with his shot of Yasa boss Tim Woolmer: “I love this image as it was such a spur-of-the-moment idea when needing a portrait. The graphics work perfectly to add texture and symbolism.”
Luc “loved using the plaid grandad’s armchair-like seats of the Quattro to contrast with the hyper-modern Audi E-tron GT”, enjoying how nicely it framed in the older car's window.
On this Citroen Ami shoot, Max said it was "easily the strangest and slowest thing I’ve both driven and shot this year but somehow, oddly charming."
The David Richards shot took a lot of prep time, with Max “even borrowing members of the garage staff to model for me so that all was ready to go when DR stepped in”. Well worth the effort, given the end result.
One bonus of lockdown was that Max added a drone to his arsenal of photography kit, allowing him to get this shot of our Kia EV6 on a stunning Norwegian coastal road with the early morning clouds still loitering around.
Will’s Tiny Volkswagen ID Buzz shoot came hot on the heels of the Lionesses’ Euros success in the summer. “I wanted to get loads of blur while seeing MK Dons’ Mollie Coupar in the frame,” he says. “I liked the saturated colours of the Astroturf, blue skies – remember them? – and pride-liveried RC car.”
*Our best renderings of 2022*
Our rendering magician is Ben Summerell-Youde, who provides images for all of our news scoops.
His first favourite of 2022 was an easy pick. “When some briefs land, I can’t help dropping everything to get started. I had waited years to recreate this 33 Stradale-inspired Alfa Romeo, ever since I felt underwhelmed by the curiously proportioned 4C.”
The trick with the new Bugatti hypercar was to “rein in any overstyling, keeping the ageless Veyron in mind”, he said, adding: "Bugattis of late have all looked radically different from one another but also immediately recognisable and that's what I wanted to achieve here.
A nervous Ben for this one. "This kept me up at night knowing that the Adrian Newey will likely see this. In the end I tried my own take on the Red Bull X2019, as it's hard to go in any other direction when you think of track-only aerodynamics."
*Our favourite concepts of 2022*
"Finally, an electric Audi that’s not an SUV," says Ben. "I really like the bold roof detailing, brightwork and D-pillar treatment, and I think it could make a worthy successor to the Audi RS6 Avant."
The Hyundai N Vision 74 floated Ben's boat. He said: "This has translated extremely well from the initial sketches, with some really clever work bringing the retro angles up to date."
Ben is a big fan of the front end and lower details of the Renault 5 Turbo 3E, saying it achieves this design "all the while retaining the Group B vibes of the original 5 Maxi Turbo. It’s quite unique in the restomod field by updating the lights and trim altogether – often a giveaway of a car’s age."