Cars

Global Car Culture Since 2008

As the UK automotive season winds down with the arrival of winter, the first event you plan to attend in the new season feels like a beacon of hope. This was especially true for many enthusiasts in England looking forward to January 2025’s Bicester Scramble. However, just the day before the event, weather warnings were […]

The post Bicester Scramble In The Snow appeared first on Speedhunters.

Yet there it was: Daniel Arsham’s Blue Calcite Eroded Porsche 911 sculpture. Known for his ‘future relics’, the New York-based artist had created a vision of time and decay, cast in fibreglass, steel, and minerals. At first glance, the 1980 Porsche 911 SCs unmistakable lines are all there. But then, you notice Arsham’s signature touches. Sections of […]

The post Daniel Arsham’s Eroded Porsche 911: A Petrolhead’s Encounter With Art appeared first on Speedhunters.

My dream collection wouldn’t be complete without a Lamborghini Miura SV, a Mercedes-Benz SL70 AMG and an Alpina B12 Coupé. I’d also have a Mercedes-AMG S65 as a daily and a Ferrari Enzo to abuse on track. Though I think the most achievable ‘dream’ V12 of mine is an older Aston Martin DBS, in black, […]

The post 5+7 = V12: A Custom BMW Super Saloon appeared first on Speedhunters.

It’s mind-boggling to me that 24 months have already passed. However, the fact that my youngest is approaching three and constantly tries to have full-blown conversations with me confirms it. So, what about Rough, the ER34 Nissan Skyline GT-T? Is the project still a project? Do I still even have it? The latter question doesn’t need to be addressed […]

The post Project Rough: The Mega Update appeared first on Speedhunters.

Probably the most famous – or most documented, at least – is Takeshi Moroi’s Porsche 962C featured by Dino back in 2012. Decades earlier, this would’ve been thundering down the Mulsanne Straight at over 200mph. However, seeing it parked in front of a Tokyo Family Mart is somehow even more impressive. If you prefer your […]

The post Cruisin’ Tokyo In The World’s Only Road-Legal Diablo GT2 appeared first on Speedhunters.

Spare time has been a limiting factor, but being able to use one car while work continued with the other was a priority. My Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C hasn’t had much in the way of fixes and upgrades, and this was intentional; I didn’t need two car-sized paperweights. Keeping the car mobile and […]

The post Projects Levin & Spec C: Teamwork Makes The Dream Work appeared first on Speedhunters.

Not just Germany but the whole world, for that matter. I don’t think that’s up for debate either, no matter how many cubic inches you like under the hood or how many waifu pillows you have in your bed. It’s an opinion I’ve maintained for years, but it was really cemented during my visit to the […]

The post Exploring The Engineering Might Of Mercedes-Benz appeared first on Speedhunters.

There’s so much to love about hot rodders. The can-do-will-do, belt-it-until-it-breaks attitude they have towards building and racing cars, the sense of community that encourages the wild and ingenious, and of course, the badass names they give their creations. I recently met up with lifelong ‘rodder Kaoru Koshimizu to check out his Evolution Ray, a C1 Chevrolet […]

The post Evolution Ray: Kaoru Koshimizu’s Reimagined C1 Corvette appeared first on Speedhunters.

The Toyota AE86 is a perfect example of this; it’s many things to many people and, with the right changes, can become an incredibly capable machine despite its inherent shortcomings. While some owners stay true to the purist approach, preserving the original 4A-GE engine and associated running gear (guilty again), what if you never had […]

The post Start Where You Are: A Purpose-Built AE86 appeared first on Speedhunters.

The 1980s were an era of excess, where extravagant lifestyles led to equally outrageous cars. The race for the title of ‘world’s fastest car’ pushed the limits of engineering as the supercar market boomed. Porsche’s 959 and Ferrari’s F40 broke the 200mph barrier, while aftermarket beasts like RUF’s CTR Yellowbird and the Callaway Sledgehammer hit […]

The post BMW M8: The Ultimate Driving Machine That Never Was appeared first on Speedhunters.

Latest BMW News, Reviews and New Models

The old 2 Series Gran Coupe was far from being one of the most exciting BMWs in the lineup. The “F74” picks up where the “F44” left off since it probably won’t wow you either....

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The old 2 Series Gran Coupe was far from being one of the most exciting BMWs in the lineup. The “F74” picks up where the “F44” left off since it probably won’t wow you either. However, that’s to be expected from a compact car serving as the entry point into Bavaria’s vast portfolio. Its role is to generate volume and help BMW maintain its status as the best-selling luxury automaker. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we reckon the exterior design has been greatly improved. New images show an attractive build in Fire Red with the M Sport Package. It’s not the range-topping M Performance model. Instead of the M235 we’ve typically seen in official images, it’s a lesser 220 with a three-cylinder engine. But this is not the base 2 Series Gran Coupe, either. That role goes to the 216 with a detuned iteration of the same “B38.” The 1.5-liter unit makes 168 horsepower in the car featured here and only 121 hp in the basic version. Although it starts off as one of the cheapest F74 versions, this car, which was photographed by BMW, does not skimp on options. It rides on 18-inch, two-tone wheels and has a contrasting black roof and optional adaptive LED headlights. Inside, it gets several goodies, such as the sports seats and an anthracite headliner. The 2 Series Gran Coupe has been configured with everything from a heated steering wheel to a head-up display. You’d be surprised by how much money one could spend on options, even for BMW’s smallest sedan. However, there are certain features that you sadly won’t find in the configurator. The physical controls for the climate settings are gone, and so is the traditional iDrive rotary dial. Echoing its 1 Series hatchback sibling, the 2 Series Gran Coupe adopts a simplified interior layout by emphasizing the curved display. The problem with cheaper luxury cars is that the more options you add, the more you’ll step into the pricing territory of the model from a segment above. In this case, that would have to be the 3 Series, which turns 50 this year. Looking at it from another angle, if you’re set on getting a 2 Series Gran Coupe, it can be configured to look as nice as this 220. But don’t say we didn’t warn you – a fully loaded M235 can cost as much as €75,000 in Germany if you go crazy with the configurator. Speaking of which, configurators have been up and running for many weeks. However, the car’s market launch isn’t happening until March. BMW started production of the 2 Series Gran Coupe at the Leipzig plant in Germany in November 2024. Photos: BMW First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The iX is considered the ugly duckling of BMW’s ever-growing SUV lineup. We genuinely think some people will have a change of heart now that the Life Cycle Impulse is officially out. The recently launched...

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The iX is considered the ugly duckling of BMW’s ever-growing SUV lineup. We genuinely think some people will have a change of heart now that the Life Cycle Impulse is officially out. The recently launched LCI doesn’t bring the drastic changes we’ve seen on the facelifted X7. There are no unusual split headlights here, but the lights are all-new and look modern. New images show the iX xDrive60, a replacement for the old xDrive50 sold during the model’s pre-facelift years. Since the photos come straight from BMW, it’s no surprise we’re dealing with a high-end build. The most noticeable upgrades are outside, where the body wears the M Sport Package Pro and a matte Individual paint. The Frozen Pure Grey metallic finish and the sportier-looking body are new on the iX. Speaking of options the pre-LCI model didn’t have, the iX xDrive60 shown here has stately 23-inch wheels. We’re generally against supersized alloys, but having such large wheels makes sense aesthetically when the vehicle is this large. However, you’re sacrificing some of the ride comfort and efficiency, not to mention having to pay extra. The aerodynamically optimized “1028” Individual set costs a steep €2,200 in Germany, where that swanky paint adds €3,750 to the final bill. The iX was one of the last BMWs without an illuminated grille option. BMW is making things right by introducing the pompously called Iconic Glow option. Since this iX xDrive60 has the M Sport Package Pro rather than the non-Pro version, the jumbo-sized kidneys are darker here. Both packages borrow the front and rear bumper designs from the flagship M70. Hopping inside, there’s a lot to talk about. BMW built this iX xDrive60 with M Sport Black/Atlas Grey artificial leather. Look closer, and you’ll notice the German luxury brand sneaked in an M logo on the passenger side of the dashboard. BMW fitted its largest zero-emission SUV with a panoramic glass roof and the new M Multifunction front seats. It even has soft-close doors and four-zone automatic climate control. This iX xDrive60 has all the fixings, from adaptive two-axle air suspension to rear-wheel steering. The interior still looks as modern as it did four years ago when the vehicle debuted, and the LCI builds on an established recipe. Beyond the extra customizations, the new seats are the real upgrade. BMW has, therefore, addressed one of the main complaints people had about the old model. Of course, the hardware improvements brought by the mid-cycle facelift represent the most significant advantage versus the old iX. Photos: BMW First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

Racing for BMW M Motorsport certainly has its perks. Before Valentino Rossi picks up his shiny new M4 CS, the bespoke coupe is publicly displayed at the BMW Welt in Munich. The car stands out...

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

Racing for BMW M Motorsport certainly has its perks. Before Valentino Rossi picks up his shiny new M4 CS, the bespoke coupe is publicly displayed at the BMW Welt in Munich. The car stands out for a couple of reasons. For starters, it doesn’t have one of the four regular paint finishes available for the customer cars that BMW is making. Rather than Frozen Isle of Man Green, Riviera Blue, Sapphire Black, or M Brooklyn Grey, the one-off is painted in Frozen Tanzanite Blue. This week, Valentino Rossi turned 46, which just so happens to be his iconic racing number. The instantly recognizable “VR46” motif adorns the carbon fiber roof and the trunk lid. The Doctor’s signature color, fluorescent yellow (neon yellow), surrounds the kidney grille. The vibrant shade also forms a “V” on the otherwise black wheels. A huge “46” in a lighter shade of blue adorns the profile. Interestingly, this M4 CS is missing the yellow daytime running lights, as BMW went instead with the usual white LEDs. The typical red body accents reserved for Competition Sport model have been deleted for Valentino Rossi’s one-of-a-kind car. Elsewhere, the brake calipers are sprayed in the eye-catching fluorescent yellow. All the exposed carbon fiber body parts and the laser taillights are still there. BMW is only making 1,700 M4 CS for customers. Nothing is official, but we reckon Valentino Rossi’s car doesn’t count in the regular production run. If you want essentially the same package in a far more practical vehicle, there’s now an M3 CS Touring. Although the M division hasn’t said how many it’s making, expect fewer than 2,000 units. The CS lineup will grow even more later this year when the M2 CS will break cover. Hopefully, BMW will also give enthusiasts another M5 CS Sedan in the G90’s life cycle. If that happens, logic tells us there will also be an M5 CS Touring. First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

BMWBLOG is attending a press event in Barcelona, where BMW invited us to discover the new iX. Well, the electric SUV is relatively new since it has only received a Life Cycle Impulse rather than...

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

BMWBLOG is attending a press event in Barcelona, where BMW invited us to discover the new iX. Well, the electric SUV is relatively new since it has only received a Life Cycle Impulse rather than a second generation. After discovering the M70 yesterday, it seems fair to check out a more affordable version. It’s the base model, but don’t call it the iX xDrive40. Instead, the entry point into the lineup has moved on to the xDrive45 designation. Come to think of it, this is not really a base model since BMW configured the car with a few options. By far the most noticeable is the M Sport Package – a first for the iX. Even this lesser flavor of the big electric SUV gets the more aggressive bumpers of the hot M70. However, it lacks the M Performance model’s distinctive kidney grille pattern with horizontal slats and the M logo. This Arctic Race Blue metallic paint debuts with the LCI and costs an additional €1,070 in Germany, where the configurator has already been up for a few weeks. The wheels are also new, and they’re the largest ever installed by BMW on the iX. The stately 23-inch Individual aerodynamic alloys (1028 style) are available for a hefty €2,200 premium. We’re still not done talking about the exterior add-ons. This iX xDrive45 also happens to have Titan Bronze accents. It’s an Individual upgrade available for those willing to splurge another €760 on the electric SUV. The kidney grille’s illuminated contour isn’t standard, so prepare to pony up €500 for the so-called Iconic Glow. Inside, BMW opted to build the vehicle with real leather upholstery (Castanea), which will set you back an additional €2,750. The crystal controls raise the final bill by another €825 but they do class up the interior. We’re also noticing one of the most expensive options available for the iX LCI. It’s the Bowers & Wilkins sound system, at €4,700. BMW crams 30 speakers throughout the interior, eight of which are built into the headrests. The iX is widely believed to be a one-and-done affair without a second generation planned. Instead, BMW reportedly intends to develop a fully electric X5 based on the upcoming “G65.” It will likely be called the iX5 and could spawn a swoopy iX6 sibling. A bigger iX7 is allegedly in the works as well. First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

BMW unveiled the iX facelift in late January and has already invited journalists to check it out. We’re in Barcelona to spend quality time with the electric SUV and discover its updates, inside and out....

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

BMW unveiled the iX facelift in late January and has already invited journalists to check it out. We’re in Barcelona to spend quality time with the electric SUV and discover its updates, inside and out. As you can probably tell, our exclusive images highlight the configuration featured in the official press images. It’s the spicy M70 finished in Frozen Deep Grey, a matte finish from the Individual catalog. The updated M Performance model sits on 22-inch wheels (1026 M), but you can go a size lower or higher. Yes, the iX joins the XM and X7 in offering 23-inch wheels straight from the factory. They’re not the biggest alloys sold with a new car since some General Motors products can be had with a 24-inch set. Typically, the bigger you go, the harsher the ride, and in the case of an EV, it tends to negatively impact range. Additionally, bigger wheels also cost more. BMW wants an extra €1,100 for the 23-inch set (1028) in Germany. The regular iX flavors can look nearly as aggressive by opting for the new M Sport Package. However, only the M70 has a meaner grille with horizontal slats and an M logo. The mighty kidneys with an illuminated contour are now flanked by redesigned headlights that keep BMW’s biggest electric SUV fresh. Since it’s only an LCI, the profile remains unchanged. The rear is also largely carried over, save for resculpted bumpers, depending on whether the M Sport Package is added. Inside, the old iX still looked modern despite being on the market for about four years. However, BMW did address one of the main complaints people had about the pre-LCI model. The new seats are proving far more comfortable by offering greater lateral support. As standard, the seats come wrapped in perforated microfiber/Sensatec, but you can opt for real leather. With the M Sport Package, the cabin hosts an M-branded leather steering wheel and a two-tone instrument panel. You also get an anthracite headliner, dark silver accents, and even M pedals. Naturally, all the M goodies are included from the get-go if you step up to the iX M70. Don’t hold your breath for a proper M version since it won’t happen. We will be able to test the updated BMW iX in several flavors to discover how the hardware upgrades have positively impacted the driving experience. Stay tuned for the review! First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

Rolls-Royce’s first EV has only been around for a couple of years, but it’s already getting the Black Badge treatment. The hotter iteration eclipses all the gasoline-fueled models before it, packing more punch than the...

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

Rolls-Royce’s first EV has only been around for a couple of years, but it’s already getting the Black Badge treatment. The hotter iteration eclipses all the gasoline-fueled models before it, packing more punch than the mighty twin-turbo, 6.75-liter V12 engine. With 659 hp and 792 lb-ft (1,075 Nm), it plays in the same league as BMW’s iX M70 or i7 M70. It’s still a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive affair, but now the Spectre is much quicker. The upgraded hardware enables the electric super coupe to hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds—a 0.3s improvement. The full horsepower is attainable by turning on the Infinity Mode, while the maximum torque is unlocked via the Spirited Mode. The latter is essentially a launch control function, but the mountain-moving torque is available only temporarily. Turning on Infinity Mode is done by pressing a button on the steering wheel. When it’s on, the EV’s throttle response is sharpened. In addition, the instrument cluster dials switch to a more aggressive look. To activate Spirited mode, the driver must fully depress the brake and throttle at the same time before releasing the brake. Launch control only works when the car sends haptic and visual alerts before letting go of the brake pedal. Additional hardware changes have reduced body roll and squatting during acceleration and deceleration by optimizing the roll stabilization system and dampers. The steering weight is increased in the Black Badge Spectre, which also gets new 22- and 23-inch wheels. It’s still a Rolls-Royce, first and foremost, so the silky smooth “Magic Carpet Ride” hasn’t been impacted. Styling-wise, not much has changed. The typical dark accents found on Black Badge models have been added, along with a lower coachline. RR’s imposing Pantheon Grille can light up in several colors thanks to a colored canvas located behind it. The extra piece is finished here in Tailored Purple to match the fresh Vapor Violet body, but other shades are available. Also new is the Iced Black hood option, which can be combined with one of the 44,000 colors available in the catalog. The interior is a mélange of high-quality metal, carbon fiber, and a touch of wood. As for the dashboard, known as the Illuminated Fascia in RR terminology, it adopts a glossy black look. Aside from having 5,500 stars that light up, it also boasts an illuminated infinity symbol. The motif is found elsewhere, including between the rear seats, where it’s been stitched into the leather. Although range isn’t that important among Rolls-Royce buyers, the Black Badge Spectre does 266 miles per EPA. However, the number applies only if you stick to the standard 22-inch wheels. Opting for the larger set reduces the range to 251 miles. Predictably, both numbers are slightly lower compared to a standard Spectre. Math starts at $490,000 before options, or $10,000 less than the average Rolls-Royce sold in the United States last year. First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

If you want to spend around $100,000 on a fast two-door BMW, you are faced with a dilemma: do you get the full-fat M4 in base trim, or do you instead opt for the more...

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

If you want to spend around $100,000 on a fast two-door BMW, you are faced with a dilemma: do you get the full-fat M4 in base trim, or do you instead opt for the more tame 2025 BMW M440i and go crazy with the options list? Yes, the M440i is about $30,000 cheaper, allowing you to add that much in options to reach the $100,000 mark. But you can also pocket the difference and still get an excellent handling BMW two-door that embodies the brand’s best qualities. The M440i isn’t as thrilling or extroverted as the M4, but after driving it for a few days, I’ve concluded it’s a superb daily driver and, in this role, a better choice than the M4. Let me explain. A Lot More Expensive in Europe The 2025 BMW M440i starts at €73,300 here in Romania, while an M4 coupe starts at €91,100 or €97,300 if you want the more powerful Competition model with an automatic gearbox. Adding xDrive, to give it a similar configuration to the M440i (which you can only get as an automatic with all-wheel drive in Europe), pushes the M4 coupe’s price to over €102,000. 2025 BMW M440i Good Balanced Performance & Daily Usability Great Value Compared to the M4 Luxury & Tech Features Bad Lacks the Raw Thrill of an M4 Steering Feel Isn’t as Engaging Infotainment & Climate Controls Are All Screen-Based My M440i tester was lent to me by BMW Romania. Being part of the press fleet, it was well-equipped and had a price tag of €91,600. The options don’t define the experience, though; you can enjoy the base M440i just as much. It’s not like the base car doesn’t come with bells and whistles; it gets the M pack as standard, the large curved screens, heated sport seats, an M steering wheel, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and uprated brakes. What brought my tester’s price up were the adaptive dampers, the M Sport Pro pack (which turns the calipers red or blue and also gives the seatbelts the tricolor M stripes), a panoramic glass roof that opens, the Harman Kardon sound system (which is a must-have option in any new BMW), the Innovation pack and the Comfort pack. All the options add up to around €17,000, VAT included. Perfectly at Home Around a Twisty Road The first thing I did was take it to a nearby twisty forest road. I wanted to see just how lively, playful and controllable the car was at the limit, and it did not disappoint. Even with xDrive, the car doesn’t feel like it’s sending power to the front axle. It eagerly swings its tail out, allowing for some oversteer fun. Sure, you miss the control that a true M car gives you with its M Dynamic Mode (MDM), which allows you to dial in exactly how much you want the back to step out. But disabling traction control and not the entire stability control system gives you an intermediate setting in the BMW M440i, which allows you some sideways slip in the back but also keeps things in check, and you can easily recover from any slide. You can definitely feel the electronically controlled limited-slip differential, making rear-end slides both fun and predictable. Once you get comfortable with the car, which didn’t take long in my case, it inspires a lot of confidence to not only push into corners but also swing the tail out by applying more power than needed on corner exit. Like any current BMW model, the steering is sharp and direct but lacks feel. It has a variable ratio in the M440i, so while it allows you to place the car with absolute precision, it feels a bit artificial. It’s also a bit too light for my taste, even in Sport mode when it firms up. But it never feels as good as the steering in older BMWs, which required more arm twirling to apply more lock, but it was somehow more rewarding. BMW seems to be tailoring the steering in its newer cars for everyday driving rather than pleasing enthusiasts on a mountain road blast. This also applies to the M4 convertible that I drove recently. The Interior Is A Mix of Old and New We’ve covered what’s new in the G22 LCI on many occasions, so I’m not going to do it here. However, getting rid of all physical climate controls and relocating them to the touchscreen makes the user experience worse. As good as iDrive 8.5 may be (and it’s definitely a big improvement over version 8), it’s never going to be superior to having buttons to press and dials to turn to adjust the temperature to your liking. I’m happy that this car still has the older style buttons around the transmission selector. Having a “My Modes” button, which you press and then you have to tap on the touchscreen to select your desired driving mode, like you have to do in most new BMWs, is not great. The G22 LCI still has dedicated physical buttons for its driving modes, and it’s undeniably a better solution. BMW seems to be on a mission to eliminate the extensive ambient lighting that we’ve become accustomed to in the last decade. This is evident in the M440i that I drove, which doesn’t have LED strips on the dashboard, and you only get some diffuse illumination in the new central air vents. It looks a bit less fancy than before, and it’s a sign of things to come at BMW. After driving the M4, most recently without the carbon bucket seats that go even lower than the standard seats, the seating position in the M440i felt noticeably higher. It’s still low by industry standards, but it’s not quite as low as in an M4, and if you’ve driven one before, you will notice the difference. The revised M steering wheel, which now has a flat bottom and a red center marking, is fantastic, though. It still feels thick and chunky when you hold it, but you can grip it better than the previous helm, and it improves the driving experience. The B58 Is as Great as Ever BMW M440i xDrive Gran Coupe Aventurinrot BMW has tweaked the B58 turbocharged straight-six engine under the M440i’s hood compared to the pre-LCI model. It’s still a mild hybrid, and its specs on paper are unchanged, but to me it felt more muscular and eager to pull than before, with more perceived oomph than the claimed 374 hp and 368 lb-ft (500 Nm) output would have you expect. The facelift has certainly improved the design, particularly at the front, where my tester’s blacked-out grille is now more subtle. Part of that effect comes through the use of horizontal rather than vertical bars, a design element that it borrowed from actual M models. My tester also had the optional laser rear lights, which look really good from some angles, but from a distance all you see is the larger part that lights up and not the delicate laser-lit strands that should be the focal point. The redesigned grille signals a change in how BMW positions its sub-M performance models. They used to fall into the M Performance category, but BMW has done away with that, and it now designates cars like the M440i as M models. BMW now refers to cars like the M4 as “M high-performance” models. This is why you see an M logo on the grille in the M440i, which wasn’t there on the pre-refresh model. The M440i LCI is unquestionably an accomplished performance six-cylinder coupe, which has a great long-legged character that gives you the impression it could cross a continent with ease. It’s great to drive, its interior oozes quality and luxury and to enforce its continent-crossing character, it’s good on fuel too. Cruise at 56 mph (90 km/h), and it will use under 33 mpg (7 l/100 km), which is fantastic for a car that’s this powerful and has permanent all-wheel drive. Is The M4 The Better Buy? I’d still pick the M4 for its more hardcore character. The M4 also comes with a manual gearbox, which may make it a bit slower, but it elevates the level of engagement to heights that the M440i simply can’t match. The eight-speed automatic transmission is just as great as ever in both vehicles, though, and it fits the M440i’s muscular cruiser character better. While I haven’t driven the 2025 BMW M440i without xDrive (since it’s only available with all-wheel drive in Europe), I would say it’s the setup to have on this car. When driving spiritedly with the nannies turned down or disabled, the M440i still feels like an oversteery BMW. However, it also accelerates with remarkable gusto even in lower grip conditions. The addition of xDrive enhances the car’s usability year-round, particularly if you plan to take it to the Alps in winter for skiing. First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The first-ever BMW M3 electric is still two years away, but in the meantime, BMW is pushing forward with their testing processes. Prototypes of the ZA0 M3 EV can now be seen on the road...

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The first-ever BMW M3 electric is still two years away, but in the meantime, BMW is pushing forward with their testing processes. Prototypes of the ZA0 M3 EV can now be seen on the road in Germany and Sweden, so that gives us an opportunity to render its design. Granted, the test mules still wear heavy camouflage, including some plastic cladding that usually hides the fine details and shapes. So the accuracy of the renders is limited to what can be observed with the naked eye. Phygital Design At first glance, one word that describes this electric rocket is “brutal.” Following the design cues from the Vision Neue Klasse concept and the G50 3 Series we rendered some time ago, the ZA0 M3 combines minimalist styling with the track-focused DNA from BMW M. The front end is characterized by the glass-encased horizontal kidney grille, with the vertical dual-light signature and Iconic Glow frame subtly housing the headlights and sensors. Given BMW’s sustainability focus on reducing chrome trims, the new kidneys now reflect the grille’s mesh in a “phygital” style, creating a futuristic 3D light effect. This includes the M3 badge, which may also be part of the light show. The lower section echoes the new G90 M5’s styling, with its large trapezoidal intake and the characteristic central bisecting piece. On the intake’s sides, the M3 integrates the triangular panels first seen on the Neue Klasse concept, alongside a carbon fiber splitter. Rather than adding vents to its sides, the front fascia’s corners mold seamlessly to accommodate the dramatically bulging fenders. Minimalistic Design Lines Sticking to the minimalist recipe, the new side profile removes all of the G20’s door creases, handles, and complicated character lines. The result is clean, streamlined surfaces that, in combination with the flared fenders, create a distinctive look in line with recent M Division designs. Aside from the chamfered line surrounding the lower window frame, a single character line flows gracefully along the lower section, inspired by the original E30, while glossy black rocker panels maintain a grounded appearance. The Hofmeister kink stretches past the C-pillar and displays an embossed M logo, mirroring the recent M5 for a cohesive family look. A Bold and Aggressive Rear-End The rear design doesn’t go unnoticed. Departing from the typical L-shaped graphic, new slim horizontal taillights display dual vertical LED motifs, tying into the duality theme established by the headlights. The combination of the black spoiler, sleek trunk lines, and waterfall-like creases further refines the look, all inspired by elements observed on recent camouflaged prototypes. Finally, the lower section is where this render showcases its most radical element. The absence of exhaust pipes makes way for a monstrous diffuser that will surely turn heads. Thanks to the central bisecting piece, the diffuser echoes the duality theme seen throughout the design, creating an overall cohesive look. Let us know in the comments below what you think of these BMW M3 electric renders! First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

Neue Klasse ushers in a completely fresh design language for BMW. We’ve seen the two Vision concepts, which preview the iX3 due later this year and the i3 in 2026, respectively. Before the sedan arrives...

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Neue Klasse ushers in a completely fresh design language for BMW. We’ve seen the two Vision concepts, which preview the iX3 due later this year and the i3 in 2026, respectively. Before the sedan arrives in production guise, the concept makes an unexpected comeback as the Vision Driving Experience. Actually, it’s more than just a static concept. The electric sedan has evolved into a “rolling test rig.” We’ve already detailed the monstrous quad-motor powertrain, so we’re highlighting something different here. BMWBLOG got close with the VDX to discover one subtle change compared to the 2023 Vision Neue Klasse concept. The initial concept didn’t have conventional door handles since BMW integrated sensors into the doors. Upon detection, the doors opened electrically. This allowed the designers to draw a clean and smooth profile, uninterrupted by pesky door handles. For the subsequent VDX, the German luxury brand did things differently. Opening the front doors is done by using the winglet mounted on the beltline, echoing the Vision Neue Klasse X pictured above. But while the crossover concept also had that unusual door attachment at the back, the VDX integrates the rear door handle in the Hofmeister kink. “Hidden” rear door handles are far from a novelty; the Alfa Romeo 156 had them nearly 30 years ago. The difference is that you can’t see the door handle because the beltline hides it. As much as we like this neat idea, chances are that the new electric 3 Series Sedan won’t have it. There are already spy shots of the Neue Klasse sedan with the usual pop-out door handles. BMW also left the Vision Neue Klasse X’s winglets on the cutting room floor. We’ve seen prototypes of the 2026 iX3 with flush door handles instead. Nevertheless, rethinking door handles goes to show BMW is still keen on experimenting with styling. But fans of the Bavarian brand have complained about other parts of the design, and Neue Klasse does give the impression of a revolution rather than an evolution. Whether that’s good or bad, we’ll have to wait for the first production models. The Munich-based automaker has already clarified the NK styling will rub off onto gas cars as well. In fact, we’ve recently learned people will have a hard time telling apart which car is ICE and which is an EV. First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The M1 needs no introduction. BMW’s sole supercar still captivates over 40 years after the last mid-engine coupe was assembled. Giorgetto Giugiaro’s stunning wedge-shaped machine is an exceptionally rare sight, with fewer than 500 vehicles...

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The M1 needs no introduction. BMW’s sole supercar still captivates over 40 years after the last mid-engine coupe was assembled. Giorgetto Giugiaro’s stunning wedge-shaped machine is an exceptionally rare sight, with fewer than 500 vehicles ever made. One has lived a rough life, having crashed 12 years ago. But do not worry–BMW Classic is here to save the day. This M1 was involved in an accident during a “scenic drive” at the 2013 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. BMW Classic is repairing the car and meticulously restoring the “E26” to its former glory. According to the BMW M1 Club, white is the most common color of all BMW shades, with 163 cars receiving this finish. As you can easily tell, it’s a road-legal version rather than the rarer track-only Procar race car. Even so, that doesn’t make this M1 any less special. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BMW Classic (@bmwclassic) The damage to the M1’s precious fiberglass body could’ve been a lot worse, but seeing the car in such a rough shape still hurts. It would be great for BMW Classic to document the repair and restoration process through a video series like some YouTubers do, but until that happens, these “before” images will have to suffice. Knowing BMW’s modus operandi, the M1 will look as good as new, much like the 507 roadster of Elvis Presley fame. BMW actually has recent experience with reviving M1s. Ronnie Fieg bought a 1981 M1 some time ago and shipped it to BMW Classic for a complete makeover. The KITH founder had his prized possession rebuilt with original parts as much as possible and repainted in Techno Violet. Inside, it has Individual Grey Merino leather and the usual KITH branding. BMW Classic needed a whole year to revive Ronnie Fieg’s M1, and we’re certain the team will also go the extra mile to resurrect this damaged car. Photos: BMW Classic / Instagram First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

If you’re ingrained in the latest BMW developments, you may recall hearing about the “Heart of Joy,” BMW’s latest step forward in vehicle computing power. We’ve talked about what BMW’s Heart of Joy sets out...

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If you’re ingrained in the latest BMW developments, you may recall hearing about the “Heart of Joy,” BMW’s latest step forward in vehicle computing power. We’ve talked about what BMW’s Heart of Joy sets out to accomplish before, but now we have real insight into how – and what – exactly the mysterious black box does. We chat with Christian Thalmeier, a driving experience development expert with BMW, to get a better scope. Inside the Heart of Joy – BMW Dynamic Performance Control Heart of Joy is BMW’s attempt to capture the true potential electric powertrains can offer. Christian starts by explaining the benefits – and challenges – electrification brings. “You need new approaches to control this power. And with this power, you can control of influence the driving dynamics,” he rightly says. Electric motors can also brake and recuperate energy – something ICE obviously can’t do – and offer exponentially quicker response. With electrification also comes the possibility for more than one power source. The presence of two – or even three or four – power sources offers a substantially greater ability to manipulate vehicle dynamics. BMW needed a system smart and capable enough to bring all these benefits to the forefront of their cars and solidify their legacy as the Ultimate Driving Machine into the electric age. Enter Heart of Joy, powered by BMW Dynamic Performance Control software, a completely bespoke vehicle dynamics control system. Thalmeier says it’s a first in the automotive industry; the first control system entirely developed in-house and 100 percent owned by the OEM. It took three years to develop, but the result is cars that “drive better than today,” according to Thalmeier. Heart of Joy advantages; bad news for brake makers Conventional architecture relies on two different units – one each tasked with powertrain and dynamics. Dynamic Performance Control eliminates latency between having two systems in favor of one, integrated unit that handles all the heavy lifting. BMW says latency is estimated to be less than one millisecond. That translates to quicker response everywhere in the drive – braking (recuperative or regular) and accelerating. “From parking maneuvering situations up to the motorway,” Thalmeier says customers will benefit from Heart of Joy. The Heart of Joy works ten times faster than BMW’s old systems, and it’s got quite the bag of tricks. It can bring a vehicle to a full, smooth stop without any brake disc intervention. BMW says Heart of Joy will be able to deliver up to 60 percent more recuperation than the 2021 generation of EVs. In fact, almost all decelerations can occur only through recuperation – BMW says that in “normal driving scenarios,” regen can do 100 percent of the work. Bad news for brake manufacturers. BMW says the system’s smarts increase range by up to 15 kilometers (9 miles) during cross-country travel. Torque can be split from one axle to another, allowing the car to make on-the-fly compensation for oversteer and understeer. Situational stopping In regular driving, Heart of Joy starts recuperation begins from the rear axle when the driver lifts off the throttle. It’s more efficient, Thalmeier says, to start from the rear axle, before applying pressure to the front axle. But in different scenarios, the system will adapt. In a turn, for example, the power can be put to the front or rear axle as needed to ensure a balance between over and understeer. Whereas traditional vehicles – and many current BMW EVs even – rely on different drive modes and braking settings to stop, Neue Klasse and Heart of Joy use the best stopping tool for the situation. That translates to almost all stopping events being handled by regen, while the brake discs are reserved for only very strong deceleration. The Heart of Joy supercomputer will be at the heart – pun intended – of all future Neue Klasse BMWs, whether it will be a single, dual, tri or quad motor. We expect to learn more about how the new tech works in real life later this year when we get to drive the BMW iX3 (NA5). First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

This may look like an M version of the Vision Neue Klasse concept, but it’s much more than that. Dubbed the BMW Vision Driving Experience (VDX), the prototype represents the first application of what the...

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This may look like an M version of the Vision Neue Klasse concept, but it’s much more than that. Dubbed the BMW Vision Driving Experience (VDX), the prototype represents the first application of what the company calls the “Heart of Joy” software stack. The marketing lingo refers to four integrated control devices (aka “superbrains”) that react much quicker than anything found in current production models. The drivetrain, brakes, and energy recuperation are all controlled simultaneously “with a new level of speed and precision.” Additionally, the engine and chassis control form a single unit that reacts with a latency of less than one millisecond. That’s 10 times faster than existing models. BMW touts unprecedented handling, stability, traction, and speed delivered by the VDX. The “Heart of Joy” Software Stack Developed entirely in-house, the BMW Dynamic Performance Control integrates all these functions. It’s not all about performance and making the car more fun to drive; efficiency also receives a boost. Compared to an existing EV, the maximum recuperation level jumps by 9 miles (15 kilometers) during “dynamic overland travel.” BMW claims the regenerative braking system is as much as 25% more efficient, enabling one-pedal operation in most driving conditions. Without going into too much detail, BMW claims the VDX has all-wheel drive. That means it has at least one electric motor at the back and another at the front. But since it’s the company’s most potent prototype ever, it likely employs a quad-motor setup. The fully electric M2 F87 we discussed recently already had over 1,000 horsepower. Moreover, we’ve been told a quad-motor M EV can push out one megawatt or 1,341 hp. The Most Potent BMW Prototype Ever The exact horsepower figure remains undisclosed, but we learned that the prototype we experienced produced anywhere from 1,300 to 1,700 horsepower. Essentially, BMW can adjust the power output of this Neue Klasse model as needed. What we do know for sure it’s that the VDX has a whopping 13,269 lb-ft (17,990 Nm). The engineers are curious to see whether the sophisticated control system can manage the massive torque, which kicks in virtually instantly. It’s hard to imagine a production car with this much torque, but BMW is aiming high. There are no plans to put the VDX into production. However, lessons learned during development will be applied to all Neue Klasse cars. Future EVs will be smoother when driving at lower speeds and during full-throttle acceleration. Whether it’s a regular iX3 or the already confirmed electric M3, the entire NK portfolio will take advantage of the new developments. Future Design Elements of the ZA0 M3 Electric? As for the VDX’s design, it does look like the 2023 Vision Neue Klasse has gone through an M makeover. It sits significantly lower than the standard concept and adopts much more aggressive front and rear ends. Traditional side mirrors have replaced the cameras. BMW chose to drape the car in camouflage, so there could be some aero tricks the Bavarians are unwilling to reveal just yet. The light-up centerlock wheels are probably just for show, but we’re hoping the bulging fenders make it to production on the electric M3. A Lot of Downforce Although you can’t see them, we know the engineers integrated five impellers that create fan downforce. These partially contribute to a total downforce of 1.8 tons even when the prototype stands still. BMW made additional changes to keep the car glued to the road to cope with the four-digit horsepower. It’s an impressive feat, considering the VDX has no large wing at the back. Inside, there’s carbon fiber galore and a pair of Recaro front bucket seats with a Schroth racing harness. A fire extinguisher is in the passenger’s footwell in case something goes awry, along with extra switchgear typically found in prototypes. BMW deleted the roundel from the steering wheel, which has switched from white to black. The central touchscreen and Panoramic Vision pillar-to-pillar projection have been carried over. Interestingly, the stalks behind the steering wheel were not present in the concept. Even though a production vehicle is not coming, the Vision Driving Experience gives us hope for more engaging and efficient BMWs. The iX3 will inaugurate the Neue Klasse lineup when it debuts this year, followed by an i3 sedan in 2026. At least four other EVs will follow by 2028. First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

BMW is hours away from unveiling the Vision Driving Experience prototype, but the proverbial cat is already out of the bag. Official images of the VDX have emerged on social media, showing the electric sports...

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BMW is hours away from unveiling the Vision Driving Experience prototype, but the proverbial cat is already out of the bag. Official images of the VDX have emerged on social media, showing the electric sports sedan in all of its camouflaged glory. Details about the prototype are not available yet, but the EV is clearly based on the 2023 Vision Neue Klasse concept. Update: Here us the full details and images of the BMW Vision Driving Experience. It appears to feature a more aggressive front bumper with large air intakes, which the concept car did not have. Instead, the initial version of the electric sedan had a smooth front fascia without any visible air intakes. The same can be said about the rear, which is far more dramatic on the VDX. The gaping holes give it an interesting look, and we’re certain there’s a good reason they’re so large. View this post on Instagram A post shared by CocheSpias (@cochespias1) From the sides, the VDX seemingly has centerlock wheels with aero covers and LED light bars. It appears to have fender flares and regular side mirrors instead of the concept’s tiny cameras. The Vision Driving Experience also sits lower to the ground and has beefier body-colored side skirts. Above the wheels, there seems to be a slat where the front hood/trunk meets the fender. It’s likely there for aerodynamic reasons. Whatever the case, the 2023 concept car did not have it. The leaked images allow us to hop inside the cabin, where many things have changed. For example, there are body-hugging front seats and abundant carbon fiber. The predominantly black interior also features extra switchgear between the seats, typically found on test cars. We’re noticing the BMW roundel is missing from the steering wheel. On the passenger side, the footwell accommodates a fire extinguisher. Unlike the concept car, the prototype has the usual stalks behind the steering wheel. BMW is unlikely to sell this car, but the electric M3 coming in 2027/ 2028 will likely benefit from the developments ushered in by the VDX. Before the prototype breaks cover later today, you can spot the differences by comparing it to the Vision Neue Klasse pictured below. Source: cochespias1 / Instagram First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The sinister-looking M70 isn’t the only flavor of the new iX displayed in Munich at the BMW Welt. This xDrive60 also shows several goodies the old xDrive50 didn’t have. For example, the electric luxobarge is...

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The sinister-looking M70 isn’t the only flavor of the new iX displayed in Munich at the BMW Welt. This xDrive60 also shows several goodies the old xDrive50 didn’t have. For example, the electric luxobarge is now offered with massive 23-inch wheels. Prepare to pony up serious money for the two-tone “1028” Individual set, which costs an extra €2,200 in Germany. The Arctic Race Blue paint job is another novelty the Life Cycle Impulse brought. The updated iX in this metallic color will set you back another €1,070. For the first time, BMW sells the polarizing SUV with an optional M Sport Package. It resembles the M70 without the M Performance model’s distinctive kidney grille design. BMW iX xDrive60 / Bimmer Today Circling back to the large wheels, BMW installs meaty 275/35 R23 tires with built-in foam absorbers to improve sound insulation. The iX isn’t the company’s only model to offer 23-inch alloys since the XM and X7 are also available with such big wheels. The range is less of a problem on those fullsize gasoline-fueled SUVs, but on the iX, having such large wheels will hurt efficiency. The iX xDrive60 is rated at up to 701 kilometers (436 miles) but with the standard 20-inch wheels. The 23-inch alloys look nice and make the iX even more imposing, although we are not sure we’d sacrifice efficiency for aesthetics. The extra cost is also an issue, although, in Germany, the new iX xDrive60 is surprisingly €8,000 cheaper than the xDrive50 it replaces. It starts at €99,900, which is still a lot of money but not as bad as before. It’s a different story in the United States, where you pay an extra $1,250 over its predecessor. Even so, at $89,675, it’s still a much better deal than its German counterpart. The updated BMW iX, available as a 2025MY in Europe and as a 2026MY in the US, enters production next month. Deliveries to customers start in the second quarter. The electric SUV codenamed “I20” will reportedly be discontinued in mid-2028. Its place in the lineup will likely be taken by an electric iX5 based on the next-generation X5 “G65.” Photos: Bimmer Today First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The BMW Welt reopened its doors a few days ago, following a five-week hiatus for renovation work. One of the first car handovers involved a model facing retirement. The X4 M and the regular X4...

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The BMW Welt reopened its doors a few days ago, following a five-week hiatus for renovation work. One of the first car handovers involved a model facing retirement. The X4 M and the regular X4 will bow out before the end of the year. Before the German luxury brand sunsets the crossover-coupe mashup, you can still order one, but time is running out. This is no ordinary “G02” since the customer splurged on the high-performance “F98” in an Individual color. Anglesey Green Metallic suits the X4 M nicely, while the Sakhir Orange/Black interior provides a contrasting effect. In the niche of crossovers beaten with the coupe stick, the X4 is one of the better-looking models, especially when it has such a special configuration. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BMW Welt I Museum (@bmwwelt) But the X4 is not long for this world. BMW has already announced a direct successor is not planned. The company thinks that since the X2 has gone through a growth spurt, there’s no need for another X4. However, we have it on good authority that a fully electric iX4 will be on the Neue Klasse platform. It reportedly carries the “NA7” and could debut next year or in 2027. A full-fat M version is likely in the pipeline as the “ZA7.” A third-gen X4 with combustion engines is not happening, so now’s the time to pick one up should you desire gasoline/diesel power. Since BMW has already ruled out doing another X3 M, the X4 M remains the only fully fledged M crossover in the segment. Once it’s gone, the X3 M50 will be the range-topping version. There’s also a six-cylinder diesel, but it’s not labeled as an M Performance model since it doesn’t supersede the old X3 M40d. Instead, it’s called the X3 40d xDrive. Will people miss the X4 once it’s gone? Honestly, it seems unlikely. It has always been a niche model since the “F26” was launched in 2014. The X4 is one of several BMWs facing retirement. The Z4 and 8 Series will be discontinued in 2026 without replacements in sight. The recently facelifted iX will also die later this decade, but its place in the lineup will be taken by an iX5. Source: BMW Welt / Instagram First published by https://www.bmwblog.com

The company, which once enjoyed a surging stock price, struggled to turn its plans for electric and hydrogen trucks into a viable business.

Chinese drivers are buying affordable electric vehicles loaded with new technology, a trend that is redefining high-end vehicles and hurting German automakers.

The president did not specify how much the tariffs would be or which nations could be targeted.

Vehicles made by Elon Musk’s company were on a purchase list issued before Donald Trump was inaugurated and before Mr. Musk became one of the president’s top advisers.

The executive, Jim Farley, said President Trump’s tariff and auto policies would raise costs and could force the automaker to cut jobs.

The company’s board pledged to investors that it would pay closer attention to how the company managed workers.

The U.S. electric car company’s sales are sliding across Europe, amid what many see as interference in local affairs by Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk.

German cars are popular in the United States, but U.S. cars are not as prevalent on German roads. One reason: tiny European streets and parking spots.

A pause in tariffs on Mexico at least temporarily averted disruptions to supply chains that would have forced carmakers to raise prices on som

European carmakers are urging Brussels to ease regulations to help them avoid buying carbon credits from rivals in increasingly large amounts.

The electric car company run by Elon Musk is facing increasing competition, but investors have focused mostly on the prospects for Tesla’s self-driving technology.

General Motors, the largest producer of cars in Mexico, won’t provide details on how it would react if President Trump imposes 25 percent tariffs from the two countries.

The United Automobile Workers union has been pressing the automaker, which owns Chrysler and Jeep, to revive the plant in Belvidere, Ill.

Automakers and even some Republicans may fight to preserve funds, and environmental activists will likely sue, but some experts said that some changes may not survive legal challenges.

General Motors and a few other companies make as much as 40 percent of their North American cars and trucks in Canada and Mexico, leaving them vulnerable to tariffs.

States are using higher registration fees for electric cars to make up for declining fuel taxes, but some are punitive, environmentalists say. A federal tax could be coming.

The team had success with the brand before moving to Acura for 2021. Now it’s back.

No other car manufacturer has as many victories there. Not even close.

Kevin Magnussen, a longtime driver for Haas, was grabbed by BMW and will be competing at Daytona.

North American car companies have operated across borders for three decades. Tariffs would raise prices and cost jobs in the short run, analysts say.

Welcome to nirvana for car enthusiasts. You have just entered the online home of the world's oldest car magazine, and the only place on the internet where you can find Autocar's unique mix of up-to-the-minute news, red hot car reviews, conclusive road test verdicts, and a lot more besides.

PV5 is targeting a relatively low starting price of €35k (equivalent to £29k)

First in a line of 'Platform Beyond Vehicles' gets futuristic looks and MPV variant; more derivatives to come

The Kia PV5 has been unveiled as the brand’s first van, conceived as a futuristic rival to the Volkswagen ID Buzz.

The first in a new line of models dubbed Platform Beyond Vehicles (PBVs), it will be followed by a larger PV7 due in two years, aimed squarely at the venerable Ford Transit and Geely-owned brand Farizon's SV.

It has been developed from the ground-up as an electric van rather than using an adapted combustion-engine platform, as is the case with the Ford E-Transit Custom.

Technical details have yet to be confirmed, but the PV5 concept shown in 2024 used a modified version of the E-GMP platform that underpins a number of the brand’s electric SUVs. It mirrors the entry-level Kia EV3 in featuring a single front-mounted electric motor and electricals running at 400V, rather than the higher 800V used by the upmarket EV6 and EV9.

It’s therefore expected to offer the same 201bhp and 209lb ft motor as the EV3, which allows the crossover to dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in 7.6sec. Performance will undoubtedly differ in the van, however, especially once fully laden.

The EV3 is also offered with batteries measuring 58.3kWh and 81.4kWh, yielding 270 or 375 miles of range, respectively; this, also, would be limited in a larger and heavier van.

Although the PV5 has been unveiled in passenger and cargo van forms, Kia said that it will show yet more variants at its upcoming EV Day (on 27 February) event. The nature of the van’s skateboard-style EV platform means that it can effectively wear any ‘hat’ that Kia desires, and the concept was previously shown in both pick-up and rugged Volkswagen California-style camper van forms.

What should remain consistent between each variant is the front end, which remains true to the concept. Angular LED daytime running lights are positioned high on its rakish nose, while the main-beam headlights are set into the lower bumper.

The interior’s design has yet to be shown in full, but the exterior images released by Kia reveal split instrument and infotainment display screens – a key difference from the brand’s cars, which typically use a combined fascia.

The cargo area, meanwhile, is set to feature a novel rail system on its floor and ceiling to allow for items such as cabinets and seats to be added or removed with greater ease. 

Kia has yet to announce how many people the PV5 will seat, but the similarly proportioned ID Buzz is offered in five-, six- and seven-seat configurations.

Such accessories will be offered as part of a wider PBV ecosystem, which will also comprise software solutions for jobs such as fleet management.

Kia previously said the PV5 would target a starting price of just €35,000 (£29,000) in Europe, suggesting it will open in the low-to-mid £30,000s in the UK.

The production van will make its debut here at the Commercial Vehicle show in Birmingham, which opens on 29 April. Deliveries are expected to begin around October.

Launch of more hardcore T50S clears the way for new bespoke commissions

New division will focus on one-off models, plus highly-customised examples of the T50 and T33

The Gordon Murray Group has launched a new Special Vehicles division to accommodate demand for bespoke models.

The company said the new division will operate independently of Gordon Murray Automotive, with its own engineering staff.

Its cars will range from limited-edition variations of the T50 and T33 supercars to one-off productions built on a new platform.

It will also run a heritage operation whose remit will include building new examples of classic Murray-built models (presumably including the Light Car Company Rocket) to their original specifications.

In addition, it will build “reimagined” classics with modern specifications, implying a similar approach to Boreham Motor Works’ new Ford Escort RS.

Gordon Murray said his company has been inundated with demand for one-off versions of the T50 but “always resisted these requests” to focus on the launch of it and then the T33.

“Now, as we have grown the business and team, we have established separate design and engineering departments for [Gordon Murray Special Vehicles]," he continued. "It’s the perfect time to extend our offering to special vehicles.”

Murray added that the Special Vehicles division’s work exists "outside of the current GMA product and platform plan”.

Its first bespoke car is earmarked to be revealed this year.

The new division adds an important string to the group's bow as it looks to scale up production and establish itself as a luxury brand in the same breath as marques such as Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Bespoke operations have been crucial profit-spinners for such brands in recent years. Indeed, Rolls-Royce recently announced that 2024 had been a record year for its customisation offering, claiming that the value of bespoke content in its cars increased by 10%. It has in turn invested £300 million in its Goodwood factory, of which a significant portion is devoted to improving its capacity for bespoke cars and coachbuilding.

New stack (pictured) will improve on the 128kW output of that in the current Toyota Mirai FCEV

New system, which will also be cheaper and more durable, is being readied for production from 2027

Toyota is working on a third-generation hydrogen fuel cell system that's claimed to bring double the power and 20% greater efficiency without any increase in size.

For reference, the stack used in the current Toyota Mirai FCEV puts out 128kW.

Toyota said the new system will be ready for launch in 2027 at the earliest. 

It's primarily aimed at Japan’s heavy-duty commercial vehicle class, comprising machines such as diggers, but will also feature in passenger vehicles, suggesting that Toyota is readying a thirzd-generation Mirai for around the same time.

The company has sold around 28,000 examples of the hydrogen-fuelled saloon since the original model's introduction 11 years ago. 

Toyota added that the new fuel cell system will be twice as durable as the current one, aiming for it to be on a par with its diesel combustion engines.

The fuel cell is also said to cost significantly less to produce, although Toyota has yet to detail exactly how that compares with that used in the existing Mirai.

Toyota has been the car industry’s most vocal proponent of hydrogen power in recent years, emphasising its lower weight compared with battery electrification – crucial for commercial vehicles – and the potential to offer longer range for operation in remote areas.

However, it told Autocar in 2023 that the Mirai had “not been successful”, citing the limitations imposed by the rarity of hydrogen filling stations. It said it was adjusting its hydrogen focus to commercial vehicles but ultimately remained committed to the fuel.

Thiebault Paquet, Toyota’s hydrogen boss in Europe, told Autocar last year that he believes the company “can rebuild the story” of the fuel by focusing on heavy-duty models. “Hydrogen will come; this is something we’re convinced about,” he said.

Toyota isn't alone in backing the alternative fuel, though. Hyundai, for instance, is working on a second iteration of its Nexo FCEV.

Speaking at Hyundai's investor day last year, president and CEO Jaehoon Chang described it as a “chicken-and-egg issue”, comparing the industry’s mood to that around early battery electric cars.

“The market requires investment,” Chang said. “Thirty years ago, when BEVs were launched, the same issues were mentioned: cost, where to charge and [whether it makes sense].”

Similarly, BMW plans to launch a range of hydrogen FCEVs, starting with a next-generation X5. These will use Toyota fuel cells rather than the company’s own designs, however.

New liveries were presented on demo cars

Brash new event wasn't to traditionalist tastes but you have to admire the ongoing growth and diversification of F1

Formula 1’s inaugural season launch event last night was, perhaps unexpectedly, a resounding success. 

In the past, we’ve had weeks of unremarkable individual team launches or even new cars simply being rolled out of the garage at the first pre-season test. But here, all 10 teams and 20 drivers were presented in loud-and-proud style to 15,000 fans and suits (probably more of the latter, to be honest) at the O2 Arena in London.

It was all high-value, modern, concert-style stage production: bright lights, deafening music, giant screens, even pyrotechnics. Very impressive too, with a giant central video-screen ‘box’ rising and falling to reveal and conceal each car in turn. Each team was given free rein within a seven-minute slot to present their new livery – not car, note, but livery – and drivers in whichever way they liked.

Some did a great job of it. Williams and Ferrari went heavy on their heritage, and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls hired comedian Munya Chawawa to poke fun at their ever-changing name (although could they not just use one of their good old names instead?). Others were just a bit odd: Sauber’s ‘HUSTLE HARDER’ video would have been extremely cringeworthy even if they hadn’t been the slowest team last year, and Alpine wasted way too much time by getting F1’s title-theme composer to pretend to DJ dubstep while wearing a puffer jacket. 

Red Bull’s admirable attempt to celebrate car culture, meanwhile, was overshadowed a bit by the crowd loudly booing Max Verstappen and Christian Horner – pretty excruciating to witness. Interestingly, they were two of only three boo victims on the night, the other being the FIA. Clearly, fans aren’t on board with the governing body’s heavy-handed swearing ban.

Comedian Jack Whitehall was the host – a masterstroke choice, embodying F1’s modern, fun and ‘chronically online’ image with his continuous fun-poking. Whitehall clearly is actually an F1 fan, or at the very least super-hot on his research, all of his jokes tapping into ‘the culture’. Some were pretty close to the line too, pleasingly: it’s not all stiflingly corporate. I do wonder how much super-serious Williams team principal James Vowles felt about being referred to as ‘Jimmy V the rizz master’, but the fans evidently loved it.

Many fans have criticised F1’s transformation over the past decade or so, from Bernie Ecclestone’s closed shop to an American-style sports-entertainment franchise. I have absolutely been one of them, having become interested in the sport in the days when even uploading highlights to YouTube was scorned by the bosses and nobody even knew what a meme was.

The ‘new F1’, or the ‘Netflix F1’, if you like, still sits uncomfortably with me – basically because I love watching non-league football and find the presentation of the Super Bowl sickeningly tacky. I struggle to watch the Miami and Las Vegas grands prix and worry for the future of hallowed places like Spa and Monza. But even I can’t help but admire the growth and diversification that F1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media has achieved, and this 2025 season launch event was a perfect example of that.

Any fast Renault is "gonna be a yellow car", de Meo said

Performance-focused sub-brand was "put in the fridge" to make way for Alpine

The Renaultsport sub-brand could be revived, despite the Renault Group’s focus on Alpine for performance machinery, CEO Luca de Meo has said.

“Officially, the Renaultsport badge we put in the fridge, and everything sporty would be building on Alpine, but it doesn't mean that sometimes this thing wouldn’t be revived,” he told Autocar at the 2025 Formula 1 season launch in London last night. 

“I’ve been asked why the new 3E Turbo is not an Alpine, and I said ‘sorry, because the 5 Turbo was never an Alpine, it was a Renault, and if you want to do something authentic, you gotta respect the history of the thing, so it’s gonna be a yellow car’. Of course, you can customise the product, but this is the thing. So I don't limit necessarily to Alpine.”

There hasn’t been a Renaultsport model since the fourth-generation Mégane RS went off sale in 2023.

What’s more, the former Renaultsport base at Dieppe was returned to Alpine ownership when the brand was relaunched with the A110 sports car in 2017. 

Indeed, there is a great deal of continuity between the two divisions. For instance, Jean-Pascal Dauce, the project lead for the recently launched A110 R Ultime hardcore special, was the chief engineer of the iconic Mégane R26.R from 2008. 

Meanwhile, Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive previously told Autocar that while “speaking about Renaultsport without any products is not essential”, his team will “see what we can do” if the electric hot hatch is a success, adding: “Let’s build our ‘sportivity’ step by step.”

Interestingly, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E is listed on the sponsors roster of the Alpine Formula 1 team, with branding set to appear on the wing mirrors of the 2025 race car.

Intrigued by a Chinese car? These are the best on the market right now

The rate at which Chinese cars are improving is unprecedented.

Twenty-five years ago, China was knocking out models like the Lubao CA6410 – essentially the front end of an Austin Montego mated with the rear end of an Austin Maestro and a Toyota engine.

But today, via decades of economic growth, a few copycat creations and concentrating firmly on electric cars, Chinese models are up there with the best in the business.

They tend to be among the cheapest cars on the market - but don't don’t think it’s all price-driven pragmatism. They’re catching up with European, Japanese and Korean efforts in terms of interior quality and driving fun too.

We currently peg the Xpeng G6 as the best Chinese car on sale in the UK. It really is a credible Tesla Model Y rival, with an upmarket interior, decent ride quality and a price advantage over the American EV.

Below you will find our favourite cars from Chinese companies.

The P38 Range Rover and Mk1 Freelander are worthy of more respect - reliability issues aside

I’m quite a patriotic person, the type who will watch any sporting engagement whatsoever with an English representative.

That also translates into the automotive sphere, which is why I have such a deep-seated affinity for Land Rover.

I especially appreciate the earliest examples for their unassuming badassery. Take the Series 1: it may look rudimentary by today’s standards, but its compact proportions and innovative four-wheel drive system mean it can tackle unforgiving terrain as capably as a new hatchback handles the M25.

Plus, there’s undeniably a certain beauty in its raw, function-over-form design. And yes, it’s objectively terrible to drive, and the cabin has all the suppleness of a park bench, but you can’t have it all.

This boxy aluminium workhorse was the genesis for everything that Land Rover has put its name to over the past 77 years, including the Range Rover, the Discovery and the mega-popular modern Defender to which it serves as an indirect forefather.

Most poignantly to me, though (and perhaps uniquely), the expansion of the Land Rover family would ultimately lead us to the oft-overlooked Freelander.

I first fell for Landies when I was around 10 years old. My mum had this beautiful dark green Mk1 Freelander as our family runaround. I couldn’t tell you the engine or the spec, but I remember just being completely and utterly in love with it.

This was back when do-it-all family crossovers could still exude real kerb appeal and genuine charisma, and to a car-mad kid, its chunky, purposeful proportions were bang on. The side-hinged boot with its lowering rear window still feels novel and fun even two decades later, too.

Sadly, it went after a few years, replaced by a comparatively humdrum Chrysler Voyager after one too many wallet-busting repair jobs.

At the time, I didn’t understand the decision: why swap from a lovely British 4x4 to a drab, amorphous American people carrier? The Freelander’s well-documented reliability issues didn’t really register on my juvenile radar.

But that wasn’t the end of my family’s Land Rover story: fast forward just a few years and I was waiting for a lift after school when around the corner hummed a P38A-generation Range Rover, and behind the wheel of this regal runaround, much to my surprise, was my dad, looking a bit miffed.

He had been forced to buy it after my mum discovered eBay and wanted something with a towbar.

I couldn’t understand how a man so cosily enveloped in such a sumptuous, full-brown leather interior could look so miserable. Until I clocked that it was leaning quite obviously to one side and was powered by the notorious 4.0-litre petrol V8. Poor man.

But the Rangie’s quirks – even its failed air suspension (which never got fixed) and low-double-digit MPG figures – just made me love it even more.

Even though it shared space with an MGF, that 4x4 was the best thing we ever had on the driveway.

This week Steve Cropley drives the new Subaru Forester and Matt Prior a parking victory

On this week's My Week In Cars podcast Steve Cropley and Matt Prior talk about the new Subaru Forester and a reader's 2001 Fiat Bravo on a road trip in New Zealand.

Plus, Prior overturns a parking fine, and the pair talk about why the Polestar network needs to be expanded, and much more, including your correspondence.

Make sure you never miss an Autocar podcast. Subscribe to our podcasts via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts or via your preferred podcast platform. And if you subscribe and rate and review the pod, we'd really appreciate that too.

Arch rival for the Dacia Spring takes on a more mature, equipment-laden approach Amid an unremitting sea of new, anonymously styled Chinese electric cars with equally anonymous names, the Leapmotor T03 is one with a difference.Put simply, it's one of the cheapest electric cars on sale and is considerably less money than a Citroën ë-C3, Hyundai Inster or Fiat 500 electric, and it's only about £1000 more than a Dacia Spring.But before we consider how much - or indeed how little - car you get for the money, let's briefly consider where Leapmotor comes from and what it plans to do.Leapmotor cars sold outside of China are put in showrooms by Leapmotor International, a joint venture owned 49:51 by the nascent Chinese company and Stellantis. Leapmotor has achieved such a competitive price for the T03 by making the majority of its parts in-house, avoiding designed-in superfluities and harnessing the economies of scale available from Stellantis.It's also made on the old Fiat 500 line in Poland, not in China, and therefore avoids both shipping costs and a 20% EU import tariff.The benefit of this, Leapmotor International CEO Tianshu Xin told us, is twofold: the brand can bypass the expensive set-up phase by simply adding its range to existing Stellantis showrooms across the nation; and potential customers will be reassured by familiarity and “360deg of support during the entire experience, from the selection of the vehicle to financing solutions and post-sales assistance services”. The company has defined its key brand values as affordability (it claims the T03 is the car that finally gives A- and B-segment buyers access to electric power, although the Dacia Spring will have something to say about that) and cutting-edge technology that takes the hassle out of your daily life. Let's find out if either of those rings true.The Leapmotor T03 range at a glanceThis is pretty simple because there's only one, fully loaded trim level. Alloy wheels (15in) are standard, as are LED tail-lights and daytime-running lights, but not LED headlights. Whatever: what we’re really sad to be missing out on is the baby pink paint option available in other markets.All cars come with a 37.3kWh battery mated to a front-mounted electric motor. The battery is good for a range of 165 miles, while the motor produces 94bhp and 117lb ft. The top speed is 81mph and 0-62mph takes 12.7sec, both of which are competitive for the class.Inside, the T03 gets an 8.0in digital instrument display as standard, together with a multifunction steering wheel and a 10in infotainment touchscreen with sat-nav and a DAB radio (but neither Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto is currently available). Leather upholstery isn't available, either: it's cloth or nothing.     View this post on Instagram           A post shared by Autocar (@autocar_official) 

Luxury model is first EV to get Black Badge treatment which boosts output to 650bhp

The new Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre is the most powerful model in the West Sussex car maker’s history, packing up to 650bhp and 793lb ft. 

Its arrival also takes the Black Badge moniker into the electric age for the first time. Launched in 2016, Black Badge branding is intended to denote powerful and more individualistic versions of its most luxurious cars and is targeted at younger buyers. 

Arriving just over a year after the Spectre went on sale as the brand’s first electric car, the Black Badge model is pitched as a more aggressive proposition than the standard EV. 

While the dual-motor Rolls-Royce Black Badge Spectre offers the same 577bhp as the standard car in normal running, a new Infinity mode unlocks a further 73bhp and quickens throttle response. 

This performance-enhancing feature is said to be inspired by the Rolls Royce Merlin engine that powered aircraft such as the Supermarine Spitfire during the Second World War. It allowed pilots to call on an extra burst of power to escape dog fights.

As well as the Infinity mode (the symbol of Black Badge), Rolls-Royce has added a launch control setting called Spirited mode, which boosts torque from 660lb ft to 793lb ft and primes the car for a 0-62mph time of 4.1sec. 

In all, the potent new Spectre model surpasses the output of the 2016 Wraith Black Badge, which made 623bhp and 642lb ft from its twin-turbocharged V12. 

In sync with the extra reserves of the Black Badge Spectre, engineers have fitted new dampers to reduce the effects of the three-tonne EV squatting under acceleration and diving under braking. They also increase the roll stabilisation for flatter cornering. The car gets heavier steering too. 

Rolls-Royce has introduced new levels of customisation with the Black Badge Spectre. One option enables buyers to fit the illuminated grille with a backplate that lights up in one of five colours. 

This theme continues inside, where the treadplate can also be illuminated, this time in 10 different colourways. The cabin houses the same luxuries as the standard car, which combines an array of high-end materials with digital screens and physical buttons. 

The Black Badge is also available with a new colour: Vapour Violet. This is said to be inspired by the “neon ambience of 1980s and 1990s club culture”. The new colour can be paired with a white bonnet for a “bold contrast”. Special new 23in fi ve-spoke alloy wheels are fitted and shod with Rolls-Royce’s noise-cancelling run-flat tyres. 

“Black Badge Spectre is one of the clearest statements of power and purpose we have ever made,” said Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge. “Our engineers crafted an intense and uncompromising character and the most powerful Rolls-Royce in history.” 

The company has not disclosed pricing, but with the standard car costing from £332,055 before options, it is likely that transaction prices for the Black Badge Spectre will creep well beyond the £500,000 mark once cars are equipped to customers’ specifications.

New grille mirrors that fitted to the XC90

Brand’s best-selling SUV gets a further update ahead of the arrival of its electric sibling, the EX60

The Volvo XC60 has been updated with a new look and upgraded interior in a bid to maintain the appeal of the brand's best-selling model.

Visual changes include a new grille similar to that fitted to the new XC90, as well as darker rear lights. There will also be new wheel designs, although UK specifications have yet to be confirmed.

Inside, the car gets a larger, 11.2in infotainment touchscreen that is now elevated above the dashboard’s surface.

It runs via a more powerful chip from American firm Qualcomm, which is said to make the system twice as quick to respond to inputs as before. It also brings crisper graphics, according to Volvo.

The new XC60 is said to get more luxurious materials inside, with upholstery options including a combination of Nordico synthetic leather and herringbone-pattern fabric. Cabin refinement is said to be improved too.

Powertrains are unchanged, meaning there is a choice of a 248bhp mild hybrid or two plug-in hybrids with outputs of 345bhp and 449bhp.

Cars with coil-sprung suspension will receive new dampers intended to soften their ride, although the air suspension set-up remains unchanged.

Prices are set to be confirmed next month but are expected to rise slightly compared with the outgoing version of the XC60, which is priced from £46,115. Deliveries will begin in the third quarter, between July and the end of September.

That the petrol-powered XC60 has received an update so close to the release of its electric counterpart, the EX60 (due next year), suggests it will remain on sale for the foreseeable future.

Indeed, Volvo boss Jim Rowan has previously suggested that the larger XC90 could remain on sale into the next decade, depending on demand for the model relative to its EX90 sibling.

“We will be ready to go fully electric this decade, but if the market infrastructure and customer acceptance is not quite there, we can allow that to take a few more years,” he said. “The transition to electrification will not be linear. Customers and markets are moving at different speeds, and therefore we will continue to invest in our hybrids so that wherever you are in your journey to electric driving, you can have a Volvo to suit your needs and your situations.” 

Continental's new display is intended to visually enhance the vehicle interior and enable personalisation

The 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas flagged up how radical car interiors might become – and sooner rather than later.

Continental showed its Emotional Cockpit concept, which combines high-tech electronics with displays framed by Swarovski crystal, a high-quality cut glass from Austrian firm Swarovski Mobility. 

A floating 12.3 TFT display beneath the centre of the dash is set beneath a transparent crystal surface and forms the control element for both driver and front passenger.

The TFT technology has full-array local dimming technology (FALD), which controls the backlighting. FALD is used in LED TVs and divides the LED backlights into zones that can be dimmed in certain areas (hence ‘local’).

LEDs in the brighter areas can be turned up and those in darker areas turned down to create a more vivid image.

In the dashboard itself, there’s a small ‘Widget Crystal’, described as an interaction surface for an AI assistant and interactive widgets that give information on things like weather and location.

The 3.5in Widget Crystal is powered by advanced micro-LED technology, which is super-intense but has yet to find its way into mainstream domestic TVs because of the huge cost.

The crystal casings of the displays are designed to create the impression of an image floating inside them and Continental believes there’s a strong business case for this.

According to its user experience team, end users and car makers are both placing greater importance on the emotional attachment owners have to a car.

With that theme in mind, Continental has also revealed its E Ink display, which substitutes ePaper technology for backlit LED displays. Essentially, ePaper is the kind of thing used by Kindle and other tablet readers to get closer to the look of a printed page.

In this case, the technology has been developed by specialist firm E Ink. Here, it is used for a 1.3m-wide, 4cm-tall E Ink prism display that spans the width of the dashboard. Initial prototypes are black and white but the plan is to introduce full colour.

The display is intended to visually enhance the vehicle interior, enable personalisation and provide essential information for driving the car.

The display shown at CES consumes small amounts of power only when switching from one image to the next.

Like its e-reader counterparts, the display doesn’t rely on backlighting like LED screens but instead reflects light like paper.

Because of that, it can display images, graphics and text permanently without consuming any power, although that suggests in low light or darkness some illumination will be needed.

Removable disc in the battery casing allows water to reach the cells in the event of a fire

Fireman Access device is said to allow an EV fire to be extinguished in the same time as an ICE vehicle

The Renault Group has developed a fire suppression system for electric cars that promises to drastically reduce the time and water needed to extinguish blazes – and it is now opening it up to other vehicle manufacturers. 

The Fireman Access system – fitted to all electric and plug-in hybrid Renault Group models – is said to allow electric vehicle fires to be extinguished "in roughly the same time as on a combustion vehicle". 

It takes the form of an adhesive disc that is placed over an opening in the vehicle's battery and is designed to dislodge under the pressure of a fire hose, which allows water to quickly spread to all the cells inside - "the only fast and effective way of stopping thermal runaway", according to Renault.

The company says this allows an electric vehicle battery fire to be extinguished in a matter of minutes, compared with several hours using current methods. It also uses 10 times less water.

Having rolled out the Fireman Access system to its current electric and PHEV models, the Renault Group is making the patents freely available via free licence to the wider automotive industry so other companies can use it themselves.

Electric vehicles are less likely to catch fire than combustion vehicles, but the fires are much more difficult to put out because a chemical blaze does not require oxygen, making suffocation ineffective and greatly increasing the amount of water needed to extinguish the flames.

A battery fire also releases toxic gases and can reignite without warning even after it has been extinguished – meaning burned-out EVs must be stored far away from other vehicles and buildings.  

Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo said: “Innovating to improve road safety is part of who we are at Renault. We're particularly proud of the partnership developed with the fire services in recent years. Fireman Access is a practical demonstration of what can be achieved by combining our expertise as a manufacturer with the skills of the men and women who keep us safe every day. 

"Today, I'm delighted to be making this innovation freely available, because when it comes to a subject like safety, we need to break down all the barriers. This move is also in keeping with the commitment made alongside the United Nations to make mobility safer, all over the world."

Court of Appeal's ruling effectively bans dealers from profiting from finance deals unless the buyer gives consent

The Supreme Court has blocked chancellor Rachel Reeves from intervening in the landmark car finance case that is thought to have affected millions of buyers.

The case is set to be heard by the UK's highest court in April and is centred around non-discretionary lender-paid dealer commissions that were tacked on to car finance deals without the knowledge of buyers.

In some instances, it has been judged that salespeople acting as brokers were incentivised to charge higher interest rates so they could bank an increased commission. 

The Supreme Court is hearing the case after the Court of Appeal ruled compensation should be paid by lenders where buyers were not informed about the commission.

The government last month said that while it wanted customers to get any compensation they were owed, the size of any redress bill was concerning, especially as it could heavily impact UK banks.

However, the chancellor’s attempt to intervene in the case has been blocked by the court.

A spokesperson for the Treasury told the BBC: "We respect the court's decision to not grant our application to intervene... and will monitor it closely".

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

The ruling by the Court of Appeal was announced as part of a case brought against Close Brothers and Firstrand Bank by three customers who claimed they were mis-sold finance deals. The trio had previously had their cases thrown out by lower courts.

Judges unanimously ruled to uphold their appeals, stating that “a broker could not lawfully receive a commission from a lender without obtaining the customer’s fully informed consent to the payment”.

This effectively bans dealers from profiting on finance deals unless the buyer gives their consent. The decision threw banks and dealers into a state of disarray and the situation has been called the biggest finance scandal since PPI in the middle of the last decade 

The case is now being heard by the Supreme Court after lenders appealed the decision.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The ruling effectively threatens the long-established agreement that dealers receive commissions from banks or lenders for acting as a middleman in selling finance agreements on vehicles. 

Since the ruling, many car makers have already begun to disclose commission rates to customers in order to continue business as normal.

Among those gearing up for the worst is Lloyds Bank, as the owner of Black Horse, a leading lender of car finance. In February, it revealed it had set aside £450 million to cover legal expenses and compensation payouts.

It follows an investigation earlier in 2024 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) concerning discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) sold between 2007 and 2020, after more than 10,000 complaints were made.

DCAs allowed dealers and brokers to adjust lenders’ interest rates to reward themselves with commission payments on hire purchase (HP) and personal contract purchase (PCP) deals.

In one complaint, the FCA stated, Black Horse was found to have allowed a dealer to set an interest rate of between 2.49% and 5.5%, with anything over 2.49% being paid to the dealer as commission. The dealer charged the highest rate of 5.5%, amounting to half of the customer’s total interest bill on the loan. In addition, the dealer didn't tell the customer it had set the interest rate or how much commission it had earned.

Polestar gets into proper luxury SUV territory while trying to stay sporty There’s an interesting circularity to the way premium car makers are now revisiting and reinventing their electric luxury SUVs. It’s six or seven years – or about a full model cycle – since the Jaguar I-Pace, Audi E-tron and Mercedes EQC first gave buyers premium-branded electric options for their next family-sized SUV. The fresh meat those same buyers are being offered today – the Porsche Macan Electric, the Audi Q6 E-tron, the refreshed BMW iX and the subject of this test – represent the way EV technology has matured over that period as much by their variety as by their generational leaps on performance, efficiency, range and charging speed.The all-new Polestar 3 illustrates how very adeptly. Based on a model platform shared with the much larger and taller Volvo EX90, it shows that common underpinnings can spawn very different products. This five-seater luxury SUV also occupies a notional Rubicon for Polestar because it’s the largest passenger car its maker will offer for the foreseeable future.If the firm can successfully demonstrate the sort of progressive driver appeal here that it claims as a defining characteristic of its brand, then, we can probably believe it when it says its cars will never be dull to drive.

Larger SUV, fastback and possible new Punto on the way in next stage of brand's reinvention

Fiat will launch all-new versions of the 500 and Panda as the foundations for a dramatically expanded range that will enable the Italian brand to break out from its recent history as a small car specialist and into larger vehicles over the next five years.

After spending much of the past decade in the doldrums as safety legislation gradually eroded its ageing model range in Europe, Fiat now has a whole host of new models in the works.

The company now has the architectures on which to build new models thanks to the scale offered by being part of the Stellantis group.

In addition, two larger C-segment models, previewed by 2024 concept cars, will join the all-new electric and hybrid versions of the 500 and Panda as well as the recent range additions of the 600 and the Grande Panda. All of these new models have been confirmed for production.

All-new Panda and 500

The Panda and 500 have done the bulk of the heavy lifting for Fiat over most of this century in Europe. But both cars have been allowed to grow old on ageing architectures.

Last year, time was finally called on the 500 Hybrid – as it became known, to differentiate it from the all-electric, mechanically unrelated 500e that was launched in 2020.

The current Panda, now nicknamed ‘Pandina’ by Fiat internally, lives on in some markets and will continue to do so until 2030 courtesy of ongoing updates that will keep it as fresh as possible.

However, replacements for both cars are confirmed and they will each be launched in mild-hybrid and all-electric forms on what is now known as Stellantis’s STLA City architecture.

This was originally launched on the 500e as an EV-only architecture but it is now being reworked to accommodate mild-hybrid drivetrains as well. The 500 Hybrid will return at the end of this year underpinned by this architecture and built alongside the electric model at Fiat’s Mirafiori plant in Italy.

Both electric and hybrid versions of the 500 will be replaced in 2029 and again built in Mirafiori. In 2030, a replacement for the Panda will follow, also with both powertrain options but built at the Pomigliano plant in Italy. STLA City will therefore underpin two Fiat models, each with two different powertrain options, across two factories.

The design of the new 500 will be evolutionary but there will be a bigger change for the Panda, Fiat CEO Olivier François confirmed to Autocar.

“I expect the design of the replacement [Panda] to be a bit closer to the original Panda of the ’80s,” he said. This would also link it more closely with the new Grande Panda. “When you see them next to each other, you will see mama bear and baby bear. It will be really cute. It won’t just be a smaller version of the Grande Panda but it will have visual links, the same roots and the iconic silhouette,” he added. 

They will be the last models launched at the end of a product offensive that follows the demise of much of Fiat’s existing range. François said it was “painful” to “have to stop big names” with the likes of the 500X, Tipo and 500 Hybrid retiring due to GSR2 safety regulations that came into force last summer.

“Things were tough but we have come through,” said François.

Fiat goes big

On the eve of the Geneva motor show in February last year, Fiat revealed five new concept cars that preview the expansion of its model range.

Of the five, the City Car concept has become the Grande Panda, while the Pick-up concept previews a replacement for its bestselling global pick-up truck, the Strada. A camper van was also shown.

Of most relevance to Fiat in Europe are the SUV and Fastback concepts, both of which preview new models that are due to be launched by 2027. They are fashioned in the same style as the Grande Panda and are considered part of an extended Panda family. However, they they won’t use the Panda name in production and won’t simply be scaled-up versions of the Grande Panda.

The two new models will be built on the same Smart Car platform as the Grande Panda to facilitate significant cost advantages over rivals. Both hybrid and electric versions are expected to be offered.

The SUV will be a direct rival to the Dacia Bigster and has the best potential for success in Europe.

The production Fastback is an indirect successor to the Tipo as a raised Volkswagen Golf-sized hatchback and is expected by Fiat to do well in global markets - but Europe will still be a focus for the car, given its huge lift in visual appeal over the Tipo.

François said no Fiat will be longer than 4.5m as a “self-limiting” rule imposed by the brand to avoid overlapping with other Stellantis marques, most notably Citroën. “When we go into the C-segment, we will have a totally different attitude that sits right: not better, not worse, but our Italian smile and with our colours on,” he said.

Within Stellantis, François said that even at a global executive level it is asked “if we need all these brands, and all these models for all these brands”. But “we need things to complement each other and we need to complete the puzzle and occupy every space”.

He said that Fiat’s planned move into the lower end of the C-segment is complementary, but were it to go larger and make a car the size of the Citroën C5 Aircross, that would give Stellantis “good synergies” with shared architectures but “poor complements” because the cars would rival each other. 

Punto in the wings

François said one of the first things he did when he took over as Fiat CEO in 2011 was to cancel a planned successor to the Punto. “It was okay-looking but not super-iconic,” he said, adding that it only really had a chance of success in Europe, not in Fiat’s other global markets such as South America and Africa.

Instead, he wanted a “car that could be global” and do “huge volumes” and it was utility vehicles and not superminis that had global appeal. Hence the creation of the Grande Panda, a type of raised hatchback/shrunken SUV that had been in François’s head since he cancelled the Punto. But it took the arrival of François Leboine from Renault/Dacia in 2021 to realise the design.

That car became the Grande Panda but François has left the door ajar for a future model more akin to the Punto, should the push for greater efficiency in EVs result in the SUV trend giving way to one where lower hatchbacks thrive again due to their better aerodynamic performance.

François said: “If Punto was very sleek and sporty, it would be hugely linked to the future of electrification.”

Such a car is not planned by Fiat at the moment, but François is ready to respond to any market shift.

Axing model after model stunted the brand, but chief Olivier François believes it's back for better

Felicita. The Italian word for happiness was plastered all over the launch event for the new Fiat Grande Panda, and it was certainly emanating from CEO Olivier François, who, after years of axing ageing models and not launching new ones, has a plan we can all get behind.

“Happiness is a byproduct of having purpose,” he said. “The auto world is complicated but can we not face the future with a smile?”

Even as Fiat shrank to become effectively the 500 car company in Europe, it has remained Stellantis’s largest brand globally. It is big in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa and has retained a large global manufacturing footprint.

“Being global is the only way to be strong and resilient,” said François. So while Fiat has seen its model range gutted in Europe by GSR2 regulations, Latin America in particular has “kept Fiat alive” by never “having platforms jeopardised by regulations”.

François said Fiat “does not have a brand problem but an offer problem” with its cars. Not being in the B-segment “has crippled” Fiat in Europe.

Despite having no new cars to talk about, the way Fiat has continued to present itself is as impressive as any car maker in any segment. “The 500 Hybrid that died [in 2024] was a 17-year-old car,” said François, but “no one noticed”, due to the quality of Fiat’s marketing and ability to keep the 500 fresh.

Perhaps that’s no surprise as François is a marketer and has another day job as Stellantis’s global chief marketing officer. A resident of Miami with a pop star wife, François delivered Bruce Springsteen for a Jeep Super Bowl commercial in 2021 and called up his old mate Shaggy to do the ad for the new Grande Panda.

Yet the products needed to change and the way out of Fiat’s malaise is with Stellantis’s Smart Car platform, a global low-cost modular architecture inspired by Dacia. It can yield cars that appeal to all of Fiat’s global markets and can be built everywhere too. 

The platform was the baby of ex-Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, yet he had “a lot of pushback in the company”, according to François, as no brand “desperately needed it”, given Stellantis had more sophisticated modular architectures and no need to make and sell truly low-cost cars in far-flung places.

Enter Fiat. “We were starving for love. We’d take anything,” said François. “Carlos loved our love for his platform, but his vision was to take a Citroën [C3] and make a Fiat. We needed it to be a blockbuster for our company. We introduced some diversity and complexity, but promised something special. He bought it. I told him we would do much more with the Smart Car.”

The Grande Panda is the first Smart Car Fiat and there are plenty more to come. Ultimately, François said that however painful it’s been to axe model after model, it has done the company “the power of good” to reset itself and come back stronger.

Can this hybrid compete with the best superminis? Here’s our verdict

What am I, Autocar's supermini correspondent? I'd be quite happy with that, actually, having previously run a generally fabulous Renault Clio E-Tech hybrid and then an endearingly honest petrol Dacia Sandero on our test fleet.

Now I'm trying the new MG 3 - a car on which I delivered Autocar's first verdict back in May, and a very positive verdict at that. Well, MG did promise "everything about it was designed to put a smile on your face".

The old 3 seemed a generation behind the competition even when I last drove it some six years ago, the justification being that it was one of the cheapest cars on sale. This new 3 is a wholly different proposition:

MG says it effectively skipped a generation, which checks out, and it's now priced £4000 higher, putting it into Clio territory. And in terms of how it behaved on the road, my initial feeling was that it wasn't notably inferior to the class leader.

Of course, though, living with a car every day can reveal hidden talents and flaws, which is why I will now be evaluating the 3 over an extended period.

Like that initial test car, my 3 is in Trophy trim, which adds extra advanced driver assistance systems (as required by regulators, unfortunately), LED headlights, a combination of faux-leather and fabric upholstery, heated front seats (yes then!), a heated steering wheel (oh, get in!), a 360deg camera, keyless ignition and automatic windscreen wipers.

That's all on top of SE trim's generous standard kit count, which includes a 10.3in touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and sat-nav, a 7.0in digital instrument display, a six-way adjustable driver's seat, rear parking sensors, electrically adjustable door mirrors and 16in alloy wheels.

It's an almost identical spec to the entry-level Clio hybrid yet for £3500 less (although they are almost identical on a 48-month PCP finance deal at present, costing around £200 per month).

 

It really is amazing how much you get on affordable cars nowadays (and I would argue that an £18,495 starting price definitely still qualifies the 3 as such).

The extra-cost item on our car is the rather smart metallic silver paint, because MG simply doesn’t do options: you just pick a powertrain, one of two trim levels and a colour. Actually, in the 3’s case, you don’t even pick a powertrain, because it only comes as a hybrid (for now, at least; a cheaper pure-petrol model is apparently on the way).

This combines a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-pot petrol engine, a three-speed automatic gearbox, an electric motor and a small (0.92kWh usable capacity) battery. Combined outputs are put at 192bhp and 313lb ft, or in electric-only running there’s 134bhp and 184lb ft – significantly more than some perfectly usable EVs have.

I’m still unconvinced about the accuracy of that combined torque claim, even though the 3 can kick me up the backside with what is for a supermini hilarious strength.

It’s something I need to look into in greater detail. Certainly, the gearbox, while simpler than the mind-boggling multimodal unit in the Clio, isn’t what you would usually find, having so few speeds. It provides distinct waves of power delivery (one of them coming, confusingly and unhelpfully, at around 70mph), so perhaps the answer is somewhere therein.

In these tough economic times, the outstanding efficiency of the Clio was one of my favourite things about it, as it averaged 53.5mpg during our time together, against an official 65.7mpg. Given that the 3’s WLTP figure is a similar 64.2mpg, I’m relishing the prospect of still having some extra money left at the end of each month.

Everybody who has had a poke around this Trophy-spec interior has been impressed by the classy look and decent-quality feel – especially those with experience of the old 3.

I particularly like that, unlike in most Chinese cars (and, to be fair, many of the latest from other parts of the world), the touchscreen hasn’t absorbed all of the physical controls. In fact, it’s much more understated than most, including the Clio’s. Beneath said screen is a row of buttons for air-con functions, the infotainment system’s home page and the audio volume.

It’s just a shame that none of them is for adjusting the fan speed or internal heat, or indeed turning the heated surfaces on or off, and that you have to press the home button before the air-con button when Apple CarPlay is active (which itself irritates by requiring a wired connection), otherwise nothing happens. Oh well: you have to take what you can get these days.

A bigger disappointment is that the passenger’s seat doesn’t adjust for base height, only for angle and leg room, because it means either a 5ft-nothing or a 6ft-something passenger will always be in a suboptimal position (which wasn’t a problem in my high-spec Clio).

Similarly, it’s a shame that the 3’s rear bench doesn’t split in any way for folding – something I’ve always taken for granted – in order that I can take more than one person with me to Ikea.

Nevertheless, I’m still finding more positives than negatives about this car at the moment. I’m just puzzled why I haven’t seen another one on the road yet, six months after launch, especially given that there’s a big MG dealership in town.

Update 2

Oh no, oh no: I’ve only just got this car and already something has gone horribly wrong with it – and in rush hour on the M25, of all times and places.

I’m cruising in the MG 3 when it emits a beeping noise so loud that I jolt with shock. There’s no way any ADAS bong could be so loud, I think in a fluster – this has to be something far more serious than straying too close to a line. It literally sounds like a fire alarm. Yet when checking the instrument display, I see no warning.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Okay, I need to pull over. Stationary on the hard shoulder, I check the screens more closely for anything amiss, but still there’s nothing.

Tentatively I dive back into the torrent of fellow commuters, but sure enough, shortly afterwards I’m subjected to that same noise. I pull over at Cobham services to check the manual, and even Google, but to no avail.

Time to take drastic measures, I contemplate, and grab the noise-cancelling headphones from my work bag (vital equipment in a busy office).

Here I must point out that I’m neither melodramatic nor unusually averse to loud noises. In fact, I’m more often blasting rock music than listening to Radio 4. No exaggeration, this alarm was uncomfortably, distractingly loud.

Naturally, I email MG the next day. Imminent mechanical crisis? No, they say: it’s the speed camera warning. Seriously. Unbelievable.

A week later, I again have trouble on this same stretch of motorway – ironically, due to a lack of an alarm noise. In lane four when the speed limit jumps from 40 to 70, I plant my right foot and nothing happens.

****! People are flashing, tailgating, undertaking... Miraculously I dodge and glide over to the hard shoulder, where I find I’ve run out of fuel.

Yes, ultimately my own stupid fault – but my previous Dacia Sandero would bing when illuminating its low-fuel light, which was itself prominent within the dial cluster, and neither of those things was true of the 3.

Once over the guard rail, I was dismayed to discover that the stairs up the embankment to a safer spot clearly hadn't been maintained in many years. I wouldn’t fancy climbing over and through big thorn bushes if I were disabled or elderly or had kids with me.

Then, after a very embarrassing rescue by the AA (the patrolman sold me a couple of cans of petrol via a contactless card machine), rejoining the traffic was extremely fraught, as I had reached the hard shoulder just a few hundred yards before it vanished and the 3’s hybrid powertrain had hugely limited its performance (while warning me of an ‘engine emissions fault’).

Probably the least auspicious start to something since Jaguar put in a bulk order for pink paint.

Update 3 

It seems that no two hybrid powertrains are the same anymore. There’s a real proliferation of ideas, and the Hybrid+ system that MG has introduced with its new 3 is one of the more interesting ones, having a gearbox of a kind unheard of since the 1990s and no fewer than four operating modes.

One, it can run purely on its 192bhp electric motor, up to around 35mph – and it can do this for longer than many other ‘self-charging’ hybrids, because its battery is considerably larger than its rivals’, at 1.8kWh, hence why it’s located between the rear wheels rather than under the passenger seat.

Two, it can run as a series hybrid, up to around 59mph – meaning the motor still does all of the driving but the 1.5-litre four-cylinder atmo petrol engine fires up to work as a generator for charging the battery.

Three, under strong acceleration, it can run as a parallel hybrid – meaning the motor and engine are both working to rotate the wheels.

And four, when you’re cruising at a steady speed, the engine can simultaneously do the driving and charge up the battery.

I’ve previously cast doubt over MG’s claimed combined torque figure of 313lb ft, because while the 3 is surprisingly fast, it doesn’t feel as torquey as a Volkswagen Golf R.

To my disappointment, MG hasn’t been able to provide a graph showing the car’s power and torque curves – although that’s perhaps understandable given how complex the powertrain’s operation is.

The amazing thing is that you can’t really sense which mode the powertrain’s computer brain has chosen: it just does its thing while you do yours.

Well, unless there’s no combustion noise, of course – and it isn’t a pleasant-sounding engine, especially when it’s firing up from cold. I wonder if it will sound better when not running on the hybrid-specialised Atkinson cycle in the promised pure-petrol manual 3.

I’m not convinced by MG’s choice of gearbox, though. Whereby I rate Toyota Yaris’s CVT and the Renault Clio’s clutchless multimodal ’box deliver power in a smooth, linear way, the 3 meets it out in distinct waves.

The third of these comes at around 70mph, which seems a bizarre point for MG to have chosen, as only Germans could ever (legally) benefit from that.

More pressingly, and something my passengers have really noticed, is the braking. Usually with a new car, your braking is jerky only for that first little while as you retrain your right-leg muscle memory, but with the 3 I still really struggle to decelerate smoothly. I suppose this must be an effect of its blending of friction and regen braking.

All this just adds credence to something a few colleagues have posited: MG’s ICE cars, while much better than they were a few years back, are a step behind its EVs in terms of operational sophistication.

Final update 

Rarely if ever have I been left with such mixed feelings about a long-term test car – and likewise, rarely have there been so many opinions expressed by colleagues and readers.

I was mightily impressed on our first drive of the second generation MG 3 supermini in April last year, awarding the car four stars on the basis that it “offers comfort, practicality, lots of technology and hybrid propulsion for several grand less than rivals” – and I still stand by that.

A couple of months later, though, our road testers knocked off half a star, declaring: “It still lacks the sophistication of some rivals and loses stars for its design compromises, poor tech and fuel economy that doesn’t quite live up to the promises” – and certainly some weaknesses in the car’s make-up became apparent to me during this extended time together. I don’t like unpleasant endings, so I will address the criticisms first.

Most of them were made clearer by this MG replacing a class-leading Renault Clio E-Tech hybrid in my parking spot. That “lacking sophistication”, then.

No, the 3 certainly isn’t as impressive to drive as the Clio. Its unorthodox Hybrid+ powertrain, with its three-speed automatic gearbox and four modes of operation, gave it an odd kind of performance, much more muscular at some speeds than others and with distinct waves of power, unlike the smooth and linear delivery that I had become used to (and that in my view is making purely combustion-engined models, even fancier ones, feel clunky to drive by comparison).

And although the softer springing and squidgier tyres of the 3 gave it a comfier ride than the firm and taut (at least in Esprit Alpine trim) Clio, I would still place more value on the much more spirited dynamics of the French car were my money at stake.

“Poor technology” seems a bit harsh, based on my experience. MG’s modestly sized touchscreen infotainment system and digital instrument cluster, while far from the most intuitive to operate, gave me everything I want from a car: Apple CarPlay (although only through a wire, annoyingly, and not perfectly integrated), DAB radio, sat-nav and a fuel economy readout.

And while the (now mandatory) ADAS features caused me some consternation, I’ve yet to drive a car in which they haven’t. I also didn’t recognise colleagues’ criticisms of the interior looking dull and feeling overtly cheap. For the money, I think MG did a good job on both fronts, if more the former than the latter.

What bothered me more was the evident cheapness of construction. I can’t recall testing a hatchback in which the rear seats didn’t split to fold down, and I was alarmed by how easy it was to detach the backrests out of their pivots when I automatically pushed them forward while holding only one of the two latches.

And the phone shelf (note: not an enclosed cubby) and cup-rest divider came free of their mounts more than once, leading colleagues to nervously (but thankfully incorrectly) tell me they had broken my car. Fuel economy was disappointing, too.

The WLTP lab boffins promised me 64.2mpg, but the 3 didn’t even manage 50mpg overall (aside from some shorter journeys). Admittedly my colleagues and I spent most of our time in the 3 haring up and down motorways, which is not what the average customer is going to be doing, but that was also true of the Clio, which managed 53.5mpg.

But, but, but. At a time when cars are all becoming fatter, higher-riding, more expensive and increasingly electric, the 3 must be celebrated as a traditional hatchback that is at once compact yet practical, spiritedly quick yet fairly efficient, diminutive yet comfortable and cheap yet not nasty.

I racked up long motorway journeys and never felt at the mercy of those outside-lane bullies, having all that petrol-electric power and torque under my right foot. I ran errands in town and was never made desperately uncomfortable over the endless deep potholes.

Four adults were happy to accept a li from me, and they didn’t even have to leave their luggage at home. So I’m convinced that for someone who buys their cars privately for local journeys and can’t charge an EV at home, the 3 could prove ideal.

Would I recommend the Clio instead? Absolutely. But would I talk you out of accepting a great deal offered by a local MG dealer? So long as you had your eyes wide open, I don’t think I would.

MG 3 Hybrid+ Trophy specification

Prices: List price new £20,275 List price now £20,495 Price as tested £20,820 

Options: Monument Silver metallic paint £545

Fuel consumption and range: Claimed economy 64.2mpg Fuel tank 36 litres Test average 47.0mpg Test best 51.0mpg Test worst 41.3mpg Real-world range 372 miles

Tech highlights: 0-62mph 8.0sec Top speed 106mph Engine 4 cyls in line, 1498cc, petrol, plus electric motor Max power 192bhp Max torque 313lb ft Transmission 3-spd automatic, FWD Boot capacity 241-983 litres Wheels 6.5Jx16in, alloy Tyres 195/55 R16, Kumho Solus Kerb weight 1308kg

Service and running costs: Contract hire rate £273pcm CO2 100g/km Service costs None Other costs None Fuel costs £663.07 Running costs inc fuel £663.07 Cost per mile 13 pence Faults Touchscreen aircon glitch

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The government will only allow new zero-emission cars to be sold from 2035 onwards

Our response to the UK government consultation on plans to ban the sale of new non-zero emission cars and vans

The chance to have your say on the future of motoring in the UK ends tomorrow (18 February), when the government closes responses for the consultation on the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.

Ever since 2020, when then prime minister Boris Johnson first outlined plans to ban the sale of new non-zero emission cars from 2030 onwards, there has been more confusion than clarity.

Under various subsequent UK governments, the date has moved from 2030 to 2035 and back, and all the while there has been a plan to allow the sale of certain hybrids – although nobody has yet specified exactly which sort. For car firms used to planning years in advance, it has been hugely problematic. For car buyers, this huge dollop of uncertainty has left many unsure what they should buy, or when.

But the current government has promised certainty, with a pledge to reinstate that 2030 date – and while some hybrids will be allowed on sale until 2035, there’s now finally a promise to specify details.

At the same time, the government is looking at refining some aspects of the ZEV mandate, which requires firms to sell an increasing percentage of EVs to avoid punitive fines. With the targets running ahead of consumer demand, it warped the market in 2024.

The first step to clarity is an ongoing government consultation, which seeks feedback on various aspects of the ICE phaseout and ZEV mandate. As we did with the original 2020 consultation (1 July 2020) Autocar feels it is vital to make our voice heard and we have submitted our own response.

We only answered the questions that only related to vans and commercial vehicles, or on other areas where we have no direct expertise. But here is our full response to all the questions that we addressed.  

We've outlined how you can have your day at the bottom of this piece.

Part 1: 2030 phase out of new ICE cars, and CO2 requirements for vans

Question 1: Do you agree with the Government’s view that full hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies only should be considered? Please explain your answer.

Autocar supports the electrification of the UK car parc, both as a way of cutting emissions in our towns and cities and eliminating the CO2 output of cars and vans on UK roads. It is clear to us, and the wider car industry, that these are desirable outcomes. However, there are technologies other than HEV and PHEV that are also low or zero-emission capable at the tailpipe – such as hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen combustion and synthetic e-fuels. While there are questions about the viability of such technologies, we would support a solution that encourages innovation in different energy sources that might prove viable long-term.

Question 2: Do you prefer a technological definition that permits both HEVs and PHEVs, or a technological definition that permits PHEVs only? Please explain your answer.

We would prefer a definition that sets standards, rather than enforcing specific solutions. For example, as the legislation is written at the moment range-extender electric vehicle technology that is rapidly taking off in China, a kind of halfway house between plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles, is effectively banned in the UK before it even has a chance to launch. It should not be down to legislators to prescribe the solution to the problem, as has happened with a legislative path now that only leads to battery electric vehicles. While the goal may ultimately be zero emissions, to facilitate that the focus should be on reducing CO2 emissions and the more technologies that can contribute to that the better.

Question 3: Do you support no further CO2 requirements, a vehicle level CO2 cap, or a fleetwide CO2 requirement? Please explain your answer.

We would favour a fleetwide CO2 scheme, because it allows some flexibility for firms to offer a more diverse line-up of vehicles to meet consumer demand. This must also include vans. The climate does not discriminate about emissions and where they have come from, so it is nonsensical to treat a manufacturer’s van emissions as a separate entity to its car ones. 

Question 4: Should a minimum range be required for new PHEVs and, if so, at what level should it be set? Please explain your answer.

We do not believe a minimum range should be set for PHEVs because we do not believe that figure is truly meaningful. While a PHEV vehicle might be capable of extending zero-emission running and manufacturers should be encouraged to increase this where possible, if it is not charged regularly and used correctly that figure is essentially meaningless. 

Question 8: What are your views on current measures to support demand for zero emission vehicles? What additional measures could further support the transition?

While the current tax benefits for fleet and business buyers of zero-emission vehicles have proven effective, at present, there is no support to drive demand for zero-emission vehicles for private buyers. That has created an unbalanced car market with business buyers accounting for the vast majority of EV sales. That needs to be addressed with increased support from private buyers, either through incentives or tax benefits - particularly for more affordable EVs that are now arriving on the market. Even a small incentive can serve as a strong push to consumers and help address the price gap that remains between ICE vehicles and EVs.

This must too be joined up with the wider policy to road transport taxation. In the most recent budget, VED rates were raised on new internal combustion engined cars while fuel duty was frozen. Throw in the lack of incentives to buy electric cars, and together these three things simply encourage people to stay in their existing cars for longer and opportunities are missed to lower CO2 and increase the amount of zero emissions vehicles on the road.

Question 9: What are your views on whether small volume manufacturers (between 1,000 and 2,499 registrations) should be subject to the 2030 requirements for cars and/or vans?

Question 10: What are your views on whether micro-volume manufacturers (fewer than 1,000 annual registrations) should be subject to the 2030 requirements for cars and/or vans?

Question 12: What is your opinion on exemptions for kit cars from the 2030 requirements for cars and vans?

We have grouped these questions together because we have the same answer for each of them. Autocar strongly believes that small, micro-volume and kit car manufacturers should be exempt from the 2030 requirements. Such firms are a key part of the wider British manufacturing industry, helping to drive technical innovation and employee skills development that benefit the wider economy.

Due to their low volume and the use case of most vehicles they produce, their overall impact on the UK’s CO2 emissions is negligible, while subjecting them to cost-prohibitive electrification requirements could prove insurmountable for many. Most of these vehicles will stay on the roads for decades and do minimal mileage each year. We do recognise that many of these firms are already looking at electrification solutions, so we would welcome incentives and support for them to pursue innovative and cost-effective emission-reduction technology that could ultimately benefit the wider industry.

Question 11: What is your opinion on exemptions for Special Purpose Vehicles from the 2030 requirements for cars and vans? 

Current electrification technology is both costly and has limitations in certain use cases. Therefore, we feel it is important that any requirements for Special Purpose Vehicles are carefully crafted to ensure that there is no impact on the effectiveness of such machines in their intended usage.

It is worth noting that road transport of all kinds is on a trajectory of lowering emissions. Many of these vehicles will be sourced from or based on major OEM vehicles and technologies that have lower emissions regardless. 

Part 2: Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (VETS) Updates

Question 14: What are your views on the proposal to implement a van-car transfer in VETS? Please explain your answer.

Answer. We would welcome any flexibility here for reasons outlined in question three: the climate does not discriminate about emissions and where they have come from, so it is nonsensical to treat a manufacturer’s van emissions as a separate entity to its car ones. 

Question 15: Are there other flexibilities that should be considered within VETS for cars and vans?

Answer. We think it is unfair that CO2 trading is currently frozen at 2021 levels. This gives a car manufacturer no incentive to lower CO2 emissions across its whole fleet, only to sell a set number of EVs. The goal must be to reduce CO2 emissions on the way to zero emissions, and the way VETS is written at the moment doesn’t offer much encouragement for a car manufacturer to do so.

Indeed, a legitimate way to comply is simply throttling back non-zero emissions vehicle sales to artificially boost your proportional sale of zero emissions vehicles. This is surely not the intention of the scheme, and again misses out the chance to lower CO2 emissions by someone switching to a new, surely lower-CO2 emissions vehicle than the one they’re coming out of. 

Have your say

The current consultation runs until Tuesday 18 February.

The form can be found here and submissions must be emailed to zevmandate@dft.gov.uk or sent to ZEV regulations team, Department for Transport, 3rd Floor Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR.

We would love to see your responses, so please email them to us at autocar@haymarket.com.

From large SUVs to practical hatchbacks, family cars aren't tied to any particular segment. We reveal the very best

What’s the best family car? Answering that definitively is almost impossible, even for a title that has been steeped in all things automotive for almost 130 years. 

Why? because ‘family’ means so many things for different people, yet being able to cope with the rigours of 2.4 children is at the heart of many a car design’s brief. 

That being said, a good family car has to get the basics of comfort, space and practicality just right while also being a competent all-rounded that can handle longer schleps up the motorway and quick jaunts around town. 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re nurturing your first newborn while balancing work or you’ve got a car full of offspring and all the clobber that comes with them: there are a great number of cars that can fill the role of ‘family wagon’.

Offering a broad range of capabilities and successfully hitting the family car brief, the BMW 3 Series Touring estate is our top pick for its practicality, pleasing driving dynamics and impressive plug-in hybrid option. 

Stay with us as we reveal the best family cars on sale in the UK, no matter how you define ‘family’. 

2 Hybrid (middle) is confirmed as the direct replacement for the older model

Pure-petrol and mild-hybrid hatchback is dropped in favour of newer, Toyota Yaris-based 2 Hybrid

The Mazda 2 has been axed in the UK following its effective replacement by the Mazda 2 Hybrid, a rebadged Toyota Yaris.

The petrol supermini can no longer be ordered brand new, and a spokesperson for Mazda confirmed to Autocar that just a “few hundred” examples remain in showrooms across the nation.

It brings to an end a near-decade-long run for the supermini. It arrived in the UK in April 2015 and earned praise for being fun to drive, with decent turn of pace and a smart cabin. It was facelifted in 2019 and then again in 2023, each update adding extra tech.

Mazda didn't elaborate on why the 2 was cancelled, but the spokesperson told Autocar: “As we move towards increased electrification of our cars, the Mazda 2 Hybrid meets consumer demand in the B-segment and is a step in our journey to ensure all our cars have some form of electrification by 2030.”

The 2's age alone meant that it was due for replacement, but it's possible that Mazda was also encouraged to axe it by the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate – the government’s official timetable forcing car makers to gradually ramp EV sales up to 80% in 2030 and 100% by 2035.

Under current legislation, each mainstream manufacturer in the UK is assigned a total carbon ‘credit’ allowance annually. This is based on its total sales in the previous year, as well as the average CO2 emissions of the petrol, diesel and hybrid cars that it sold in 2021.

If a manufacturer cuts its CO2 emissions to below this allowance, it can convert its spare carbon credits into de-facto sales that count towards its ZEV sales target. This exchange takes place at a rate of 167 carbon credits to one ZEV ‘sale’.

In simple terms, for every 167g/km that a manufacturer cuts from the total CO2 emissions of the petrol, diesel and hybrid cars it sells in any given year, it has to sell one fewer electric car to hit its ZEV target.

Autocar understands that Mazda sold around 4400 examples of the 2 last year, split between roughly 1700 pure-petrol cars and 2700 mild-hybrids.

The pure-petrol emits 109g/km while the mild-hybrid emits 107g/km. This gives a tally of around 474,000g/km last year.

Had those 4400 cars been 2 Hybrids instead, Mazda would have saved around 90,000g of CO2, because it emits a much lower 87g/km.

This would have allowed Mazda to sell roughly 500 extra ICE cars – 2% of its total registration last year – without facing fines for doing so.

This is particularly pertinent to Mazda, which will only offer one EV (the electric MX-30 crossover) in the UK until the arrival of the new 6e saloon next year.

Autocar understands the electric MX-30 comprised around 5% of the brand’s UK sales in 2024, far short of the ZEV mandate’s target of 22%.

It should be noted that, according to the Department for Transport, no company was fined for breaching the ZEV mandates last year.

But with the targets set to ramp up harshly after this year, manufacturers will be placed under even greater pressure – and marginal gains will become an absolute priority. 

Big-selling (and relatively high-polluting) petrol superminis in the vein of the 2 are likely to become the first casualties of this race to slash emissions and win de-facto EV sales.

Manufacturers may instead look to flog increasing numbers of hybrids and plug-in hybrids to slash their CO2 tallies, generating additional credits to cover slower-than-expected growth in sales of electric cars.

Latest entrant to Kia's range of bespoke EVs fills the gap between the EV3 hatchback and EV5 crossover

Kia has revealed the production design for its Volkswagen ID 3-rivalling EV4 ahead of a launch later this year.

Little changed from the concept shown in 2023, the EV4 arrives to fill the gap between the EV3 hatchback and the EV5 SUV that's due to launch in Europe soon.

It will be sold primarily as a five-door hatch in Europe, where it will be a natural rival to the ID 3 as well as the Hyundai Kona Electric, Renault Mégane E-Tech and the Mini Aceman.

The four-door fastback version, designed mainly for other global markets, looks to keep the same wheelbase but add a more rakish rear end and with it some extra boot capacity.

Kia hasn't given any specifications for the EV4 yet, but it will share its E-GMP platform with the Korean brand's other bespoke EVs and thus be offered with a choice of either a 58kWh or 81kWh battery and either front- or four-wheel drive.

It should tout a maximum range of more than 350 miles but is likely to stick with 400V electricals (rather than 800V) for charging speeds of up to 128kW, as with the EV3 and EV5. 

All Kia EVs are destined to receive hot GT versions, so a 4WD range-topper with power and pace to match the Tesla Model 3 Performance is expected down the line.

Details of the interior remain under wraps, but the EV4 concept revealed in 2023 gives a good idea of what to expect, with a sleek, minimalist dashboard topped by a wraparound digital display, a step-through front cabin and a focus on upmarket textiles throughout.

The EV4 will be fully detailed on 27 February at Kia's annual EV Day showcase, where it will also reveal a concept previewing the EV2, a sub-4m hatch that will take on the Renault 5 from next year, with a starting price of around £25,000.

Vision Driving Experience is test mule for Neue Klasse models

The Vision Driving Experience is a test mule for the brand's next-gen vehicle dynamics technology

BMW has revealed the radical Vision Driving Experience, a quad-motor high-performance text vehicle fitted with five fans designed to suck it to the ground that is being used to hone the advanced technology that will power its next-generation of Neue Klasse electric vehicles – including the forthcoming M3 EV.

While the powertrain layout, featuring four high-power motors mounted on each axle of the vehicle, has clear parallels to plans for the next-generation M3, BMW insists the Vision Driving Experience serves a wider purpose as a rolling test rig – and the lack of sporty bodywork elements marks it out from spy shots of the first electric car from the Munich firm’s performance division. Because the focus is on vehicle development, BMW has not given a power output for the machine.

The focus of the Vision Driving Experience is to be a high-performance machine that can be used to push development of the ‘Heart of Joy’, the new black box computer system that will combine the drivetrain and driving dynamics systems in all future Neue Klasse EV models. That system will first be seen in the next-generation iX3 that is set to be revealed later this year, and on the next-gen 3 Series saloon that will follow soon afterwards.

Frank Weber, BMW’s development boss, said that the Heart of Joy system “enables us to take driving pleasure not just to the next level, but another one beyond that,” adding that the system would offer “efficient dynamics squared”.

Autocar was given access to the Vision Driving Experience for a ride in the car, and to talk to the engineers who have developed it.

First ride: inside the BMW Vision Driving Experience, and how it will develop a computer chip

"The engineers won’t even tell me how much power this has,” says development driver Jens Klingmann, as he casually hurls the BMW Vision Driving Experience into a corner fast enough for the tyres to howl in protest.

“But it’s a lot.” Given that my insides are still churning from the hit of acceleration at the start, he didn’t really need to say that last bit.

The Vision Driving Experience is, indeed, a lot. It’s a lot of car, with a lot of motors, a lot of fans (we will get to those) and a lot of performance.

And it has a lot of significance for the ongoing development of BMW’s next-generation Neue Klasse EVs, which will start to arrive this year. This isn’t just your average prototype, then.

But at heart that’s basically what it is: a quad-motor, high-power EV test mule styled on the next-gen 3 Series saloon, which has been pounding around various test facilities during recent months.

Four motors and a ridiculous power output? That sounds quite a lot like the forthcoming first electric M3, doesn’t it? Except BMW insists the Vision Driving Experience (let’s call it the VDE for short) isn’t a test mule for the next M3.

Instead, the firm describes it as a one-off test rig on wheels, a moving laboratory used to hone technology being developed for all future Neue Klasse models in an extreme environment.

The development work being done with it is as relevant to the next single-motor, entry-level iX3 SUV as it will be to whatever M division’s engineers concoct for their electric offerings.

Perhaps because of the development work for which it has been created, until now the VDE has been cloaked in secrecy – and we’re not just talking about its camouflage wrap.

But the fact that BMW recently strapped me (thankfully tightly) into the passenger seat for a short – but very fast – ride shows that Munich now wants to showcase exactly why it has been created. Although Klingmann’s inability (or perhaps refusal) to share its power output indicates that the veil of secrecy isn’t fully lifted.

What BMW has confirmed is that the VDE is powered by four electric motors – one for each wheel – and can produce peak torque of 13,269lb ft.

And no, that’s not a typo. There isn’t an ofofficial power output, but given its ridiculous torque output, you can probably guess it’s pretty high. BMW hasn’t given any performance stats, either, but after my ride in it, I would say the 0-62mph time can be described as ‘brisk’.

Beyond the four motors, the other thing we have been told about are those fans. Five of them, in fact. BMW calls them impellers, and they serve to literally suck the car to the ground.

Each fan requires 50kW of energy to run, but combined they add around 1000kg of downforce without creating any drag, in turn allowing Klingmann to push even harder in corners.

All of that torque and downforce is really there to develop one small but very significant black box full of computer chips and loaded with software.

That would be BMW’s new Heart of Joy, the unusually named hardware and software stack that will unify the computer systems that run the powertrain and driving dynamics systems on future EVs into a single unit.

It’s the first time BMW has unified those systems, and the firm claims the system has been developed entirely in-house.

“The Heart of Joy will run all the key driving functions of the car,” says BMW driving dynamics expert Christian Thalmeier. “But to develop those, we need to push the technology.

Even production cars with only one electric motor will gain advantages from the work we’re doing on a car with four motors.”

It might seem like overkill to build a superpowerful, fan-laden development hack just to test a computer processing unit, but the idea is that if the Heart of Joy can handle anything the VDE can throw at it in the real world, it can handle pretty much anything.

So how does it work? Traditionally, the powertrain and driving dynamics systems have been separate units.

The powertrain system takes the inputs from your foot on the accelerator and sends that as a request to the powertrain, whether a combustion engine or a single or pair of electric motors.

Meanwhile, a separate driving dynamics unit receives inputs from the steering wheel and brakes, along with any other data the car’s sensors might get from the external environment.

Those two systems run in parallel, so there’s a small but potentially significant lag when they need to send data to each other, and there are limitations on how closely they can operate together.

The Heart of Joy unites those systems into a single unit that receives all those inputs in the same place, processes them simultaneously and then sends the information to up to four motors along with the brakes, steering and so on. BMW says it allows for communication that’s up to 10 times faster than that used on cars that were on sale in 2021.

That’s a big boost when trying to precisely modulate power and braking to best fit the conditions. But there are other benefits too. On most current EVs, friction braking is controlled by the driving dynamics unit while regeneration through the motors is the responsibility of the powertrain system.

That’s why you can sometimes feel an imbalance if you’re slowing using the regen and then need to apply the brakes.

“When recuperation is only done by the powertrain, you can’t use the whole potential of it,” says Thalmeier. “You need the driving dynamics system to work out how to enlarge the recuperation.”

He cites the example of a rearbiased car – yes, future BMW EVs will still be rear-driven or rear-biased – cornering at speed. “

When there’s a load change, you can only put a certain amount of longitudinal force on the tyres before the car becomes unstable,” he says.

“So to keep the car balanced, you have to take away either lateral or longitudinal force. Because you’re cornering and you can’t remove the lateral force, you have to reduce the recuperation to keep the car stable. But that’s not what we want: we want to add stability by recuperation.

“Now, though, we’re so quick at taking data from the sensors on the car about yaw rate, lateral and longitudinal acceleration and how stable the car is that we can change things. If it’s still stable, we can do a bit of recuperation, and when it gets unstable, it will be quickly reduced.”

There’s another benefit: the Heart of Joy can take your braking inputs and work out the most efficient way of stopping the car, which in most cases will be via the motor.

That increases the use of regen, which BMW claims makes the car up to 25% more efficient. Not a huge amount but a useful gain, given that the aim is for most drivers to not know whether it’s the brakes or the motor slowing their machine.

The Heart of Joy won’t just help when you’re slowing down your BMW, though: it will help you go faster.

Again, a combustion car has a single power source, so systems such as variable four-wheel drive or torque vectoring have to go through various mechanical systems to divide up that power.

But the new system can take power from one, two, three or four motors and continuously adjust where it’s sent to, keeping the car better balanced and more stable. Besides simply adding raw power, Thalmeier says adding motors will make a big difference to future Neue Klasse models.

“We’re influencing the driving dynamics,” he adds. “If you think of three electric motors with one on the front axle and two on the rear, you can help steer with the rear axle by making one wheel faster and the other slower.

"So you can make the car agile purely through running the electric motors at different speeds. Any existing actuator or rear-wheel steering system isn’t as quick as our new electric motors will be.”

Which brings us back to the passenger seat of the VDE, with Klingmann laughing as he jams the throttle and sends the machine down the straight of the BMW Spartanburg Performance Centre test track at something approaching warp speed.

It’s actually surprisingly comfortable inside, with comfy sports seats and a working version of BMW’s new iDrive system on the dashboard. Even in its test hacks, Munich does premium well.

But can you feel the Heart of Joy at work? Being honest, no, not really, but that’s in part because on a cold day in South Carolina tyre grip is limited and Klingmann confesses the road-legal rubber is the limiting factor.

But as my innards slowly settle once I’ve escaped the passenger seat, the performance of the Vision Driving Experience – and the systems underpinning it – is clear.

The closest comparison I can make is with a passenger ride in an electric rallycross supercar. Impressive, then. And it certainly whets the appetite for the potential of a quad-motor electric M3.

Why five impeller fans are needed to make the car suck

The BMW Vision Driving Experience’s five impeller fans are the car’s undoubted party piece, as demonstrated when its engineers fired them up for a demonstration when it was back in the garage.

For a comparison of how loud they are, imagine standing underneath the wing of an Airbus A380 when the pilot presses the start button. Essentially, they serve to stick the car to the ground, adding grip without creating aerodynamic downforce. But could they ever reach production?

“You won’t see anything like this in a production car,” says Thalmeier. “It’s just too expensive. They are just for the system on this car. If you have a lot of downforce and then you add a lot of torque, it makes it very hard to accelerate. What we’re interested in with this car is how to deal with the acceleration in the software.

“It’s purely a development tool. It’s not even a driving dynamics tool; it’s just another thing that makes it faster for us to develop functions.”

Subaru MV pick-up was a competent farmhand

In 1982, Autocar gathered the six most significant imports on a farm in rural Kent to see what was what

When we write about off-road vehicles, it usually involves larking about in a quarry. But 4x4s aren’t just toys for motoring enthusiasts; for many people, they’re an absolute necessity for daily life and/or work.

Chief among those people are, of course, farmers. British farms were rapidly mechanised during World War II, and it was the native Land Rover that became the agricultural vehicle of choice as peace returned – and then dominated for decades.

In the late 1970s, though, it came under pressure from multifarious 4x4s arriving from abroad. So, in 1982, Autocar gathered the six most significant imports on a farm in rural Kent to see what was what.

Static tests were loading sheep, calves, hay bales and fertiliser bags; dynamic tests were towing a laden livestock trailer, crossing a sodden, snowy ploughed field and negotiating a steep and tortuous Downland route.

There was meant to be another – climbing a steep, muddy hill – but none of our 4x4s could actually get to the base, such was the slime at the gate. Our farmer judges were sure that a Landie would also have failed there, mind you.

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Predictably, Suzuki’s tiny LJ80 (or Jimny), with its mere 225kg payload, could hold the least: just three calves, two sheep or four bales (after a fight with the tailgate).

However, it “could be ideal as an economical, low-cost means of achieving quick access to all points of a large farm or estate, with its very real off-road capabilities. Its 797cc [four-pot] has only 41bhp – quite adequate for nippy runabout work but a little restrictive in harder-working applications.”

Modest fuel economy was on the upside, along with the price of just £3799 (£13,290 in modern money).

The Daihatsu F20 (or Taft) wasn’t much larger but could hold a fair bit more, with its 385kg payload, although it was “nothing like as refined, being less of a ‘fun’ vehicle”, and “more agricultural inside” – despite costing a much more substantial £5721 (£20,015).

“Nothing to get excited about if you want a vehicle to transport sheep or hay bales but more than adequate for a vehicle that might be called on to rescue a sheep from a snowy hilltop,” we concluded.

The Jeep Laredo (CJ-7) was a mixed bag: “It coped well with conditions on the farm, traversing our test field with scornful ease and leaping playfully up ridiculous inclines.

It proved one of the better towing vehicles and with automatic transmission was without doubt the easiest to drive.

It let us down only when required to start in thick, greasy mud at the foot of a steep ascent. However, it loses out on the farm due to its relatively small load area.” 

We also had to remove its rear-mounted spare wheel in order to access its towbar.

Still, at £8499 (£29,735), “it deserves consideration for anyone wanting something prettier than a Land Rover but not quite as big and upmarket as a Range Rover [at £14,260]”.

For a few quid less, you could buy a Portaro Pampas, a Portuguese version of Romania’s ARO 24 (which incidentally had also spawned the original Dacia Duster of 1980).

We expected its steel bodywork to preclude that – indeed, our test car was already rusty – but the farmers didn’t care, noting that fertiliser would corrode aluminium anyway.

Its seats and ride were comfier than the Landie’s, its Daihatsu diesel four was impressively torquey and we barely even needed to engage 4WD when off-roading it.

All this plus its large load space – seven calves, eight sheep or nine bales – made it the farmers’ pick.

We preferred the £4485 (£15,690) Subaru MV (or Brat) pick-up, it being derived from an actual car. No leaf springs for us.

“This is the [4x4] that the farmer’s wife will love to drive into town,” we said, and despite its low ground clearance and fairly normal-looking tyres, “it simply flew through the glutinous mud”, thanks to its “light weight and high power” – of 79bhp…

Finally, and by far the best for carrying (no fewer than 22 bales), we had Toyota’s Mk3 Hilux, at £5560 (£19,455): “It’s rather like the MV but is more of a chore to drive over long distances. It will never get hung up on the deepest of rutted tracks, and the towing was a walkover.”

Was any better than the Landie, though? There was no mention of it – which perhaps speaks for itself.

Seminal T50 is a modern day McLaren F1

GMA's grand new HQ is now nearing completion, with T50 production already in full swing. We drop by

The day’s second big surprise comes when Gordon Murray strolls in. Although his name is on the building, Murray isn’t the person we’ve been expecting.

We’re relaxing in The Engine Room – a spacious waiting room adorned with V12 murals and displays off the reception area of the magnificent new Gordon Murray Group (GMG) headquarters, near Windlesham in Surrey – soon to begin interviews with CEO Phillip Lee and chief test driver Dario Franchitti.

The initial big surprise had been the first sight of the building itself: large, modern, glassy and extremely imposing.

Unlike most visitors, we saw the full frontal aspect by cheekily following ‘VIP parking’ signs and thus alighting on a wide apron right out front, eyeballing through the glass a pair of Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) supercars, a T50 and a T33, parked right beside the reception desk.

We haven’t expected to see Murray, whom the car world is quietly aware has been facing some medical challenges. Turns out he’s now recovering well, and the proof is his presence here today, wearing a wide smile above a statement shirt that’s his usual choice when feeling good.

We’re among the earliest visitors here (work isn’t quite finished), so Murray has decided he will be the one to show us around. 

I’ve heard him say before that he gets as much of a buzz out of designing buildings as cars. And as we begin to walk and look, we’re immediately aware of the love of design and quality materials, plus the gimlet eye for detail, that goes with everything Murray does.

First, the HQ. Highams Park is a 58-acre site previously occupied by failed technology firm Kamcorp (owner, for a time, of the Frazer-Nash and Bristol Cars businesses) and by the British Oxygen Company before that.

There’s still a dilapidated, decades-old building on the site that, in plan view, takes the outline of an oxygen molecule. This was a lot of trouble to go to, Murray observes drily, given that no one ever saw the place from above.

GMG is in the throes of moving all operations here from nearby Shalford and Dunsfold, having recently sold off its electric vehicle business, Gordon Murray Technologies, to concentrate on supercar manufacturing.

The mighty new building already handles GMG’s commercial and management functions, welcomes visitors, helps them specify cars, builds cars to order in a huge hand-assembly hall to the rear (it looks like two or three Formula 1 assembly shops rolled into one) and will soon have its own paint shop. There’s also a special car collection showroom.

Next to the assembly hall is a busy service centre that already contains a sample of the 50 or so T50s already in service. Murray is proud that a decent number of owners seem to be using the cars on the road, rather than keeping them as ornaments.

We walk through it all, admiring the simplicity, logic, quality and modernity with which he attacks all things.

Soon this building will be joined by a nearby design studio and R&D centre, flanking a short shakedown test track. It’s not for speed, Murray assures us; the (so far very co-operative) local council wouldn’t like that.

There will always be space also for his own eclectic car collection, a fascinating array of cars he built himself early on and cars that he loves unconditionally and feels have influenced him in his career.

A 60-year commemorative event is just around the corner, and once Highams Park is finished (Murray is a stickler for completing what he starts), there’s a plan to open it to visitors.

The final flourish, typical of someone who has brought so much science and innovation to the car business, will be the opening of an educational institute on the site, aiming to bring capable young talent to the car business.

This is a few years away and specifics of the qualifications to be offered are still being decided, but Murray won’t care if his 30-odd proteges at a time go to other car companies.

The only aim is to attract talented people to a business he knows, better than most, can provide lifelong fulfilment.

The motorsport hero helping to modernise Murray’s McLaren F1

It is by no means a given that a racing driver will be into road cars. Some aren’t interested, because driving incredibly fast around circuits gives them a thrill that they can never replicate on the road in something slower and more boring. Going fast for them is everything.

Dario Franchitti, four-time Indycar Series champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, is not that kind of racing driver. “I love my road cars,” says the Scot as we walk towards a GMA T50 supercar, in which he will be driving me around some of Surrey’s most pockmarked and flooded roads. “Some would say I’m obsessed with road cars. I love everything about the automobile. I’ve been that way since I was five years old.”

As a bloke who knocks about in a Lancia Delta Integrale, has owned a Ferrari F40 for 25 years (and drives it as often as possible) and runs a Porsche Carrera GT, a Ferrari 355 and a 1984 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, it’s fair to say that Franchitti is one of us.

This is what has made him the ideal fit for GMA, where according to the business card he is director of brand, performance and product. Less formally, he’s a conduit between the development engineers and Murray in making GMA’s cars feel as the boss would like them.

This isn’t a casual dalliance, either: Franchitti is not merely an ambassador, rolled out to glad-hand customers. A day after this interview, he will fly to Spain for a week of proving ground testing. This is now his career. (His younger brother Marino performs a similar role for Singer, the Porsche 911 restomodder.)

Not all drivers could make the leap from a career in which success is delivered via minute levels of data into one that involves almost a wilful abandonment of numbers. Murray says he “doesn’t care” about measurables like performance figures.

The T50, despite its doubtless prodigious speed, has been designed, like the McLaren F1 was, to engage, not simply to go fast. Franchitti’s interview is peppered with words like ‘feel’ and ‘response’. Although one number of which the GMA team is proud is the kerb weight, which starts with a nine.

This is my first time inside a T50, as Franchitti pulls out of a junction from walking pace in third gear to demonstrate the flexibility of the engine, plus the fact that the Cosworth-developed, naturally aspirated V12 has precious few kilograms to accelerate.

“You will feel it when you get to drive it,” he says. “You will feel the lack of weight and quickness of response.”

I won’t be driving today, but there are things you can tell from one of the side seats. One is the compliance of the ride, plus what seems like a generous ground clearance by the standards of supercars.

“It’s unbelievably useful,” says Franchitti. “Any speed bumps it just goes over. It’s nuts. I’ve tried really hard, but I’ve never bottomed out this car, going through car parks, crazy California inclines, even at [the test track] Nardò.”

The compliance aids traction, too, although on a road like this and with 664bhp, such things are relative. But “it’s got really good traction”, Franchitti tells me. “Gordon hates rear anti-roll bars, so there’s no rear bar.”

The tyres are very much road-focused, Michelin Pilot 4Ss. “And they’re off the shelf,” says Franchitti, which makes them easier for customers to source down the line. For a car of this performance, they’re relatively modestly sized, too: only 295-section at the rear.

“One of our biggest challenges was to get them to talk to your hands,” says Franchitti. “When we nailed it, it was a eureka moment. 

The more grip a tyre produces, the quicker the moment when it lets go.” The T50 has power-assisted steering only below 6mph to ease manoeuvring; beyond that, it’s au naturel.

“It doesn’t have to have a quick steering rack in it to trick people into thinking it’s responsive,” says Franchitti, “which I hate in some modern cars. You know which ones I’m talking about.” I think I do.

Some of them, though, have very nice engines. As does the T50. It would be remiss of me not to mention the bespoke 4.0-litre V12, because it sounds so very, very good.

“The carbonfibre airbox is basically tuned to give a resonance based on throttle angle, and the noise that we experience is all linked to throttle angle,” says Franchitti.

“That’s one of the things Gordon learned from the McLaren F1, whose induction noise is second to none. It’s more difficult with a smaller displacement engine [the F1’s BMW-sourced V12 displaced 6.1 litres], but we all knew when we had got it.”

Other than the compliance, sound and low inertia, what strikes me about the T50 is how Franchitti can pick a line, even on these roads, owing to the car’s relatively modest width of 1850mm. The F1’s footprint is similar, and I wonder aloud if a driver teleported from one to the other, knowing nothing of the lineage, would notice that the two had come from the same hand.

“I think in seating position and in ethos, yes, but it drives completely differently. It’s not a subtle difference,” answers Franchitti. “One of the memories I think I will keep for the rest of my life is that Gordon was in this very car and I was in an F1, and I was chasing him down a mountainside. I was going as hard as I could in an F1 to keep up with him, and I was relieved to get out of it at the end. You realise how things have moved on in 30 years.”

That drive was part of what sealed it for Franchitti as a serial special car owner and driver: he had to have a T50. Except that, by that time, they were all spoken for.“I’ve had to persuade the big man to sell me a prototype,” he says.

Delaying the order is not a mistake he has repeated with the upcoming T33.

A car fan looking beyond the fan car

GMG CEO Phillip Lee belongs to an extremely rare group of people in the car creation chain: he’s a bean-counter who loves cars. Lee trained as an accountant and joined a global accountancy group early on but soon transferred to cars and worked at restructuring and improving businesses in China, Europe, the US and South America.

About a decade ago, he returned to the UK to join Chinese giant Geely, first at taxi maker LEVC and then Lotus, before landing happily at GMG about five years ago, following an introduction by company director Carl-Peter Forster.

“I was also very keen to do whatever I could to progress the true British sports car, and it seemed to me that Gordon and his operation were the embodiment of that,” says Lee.

He first joined the management, then became CEO of the whole operation three years ago, when Murray became chairman. Right now, Lee is extremely busy getting cars built, but he’s also in the enviable position of being “sold out” until 2028.

GMA has four distinct supercar models to build, and there’s already a buyer’s name against every car. The company is currently about halfway through building its 100 T50 three-seat ‘fan cars’, expecting to finish with 40-odd US customer cars by mid-2025.

Then there will be 25 special track-only T50S Niki Lauda cars to make later in the year, before attention turns to the two-seat T33 for delivery in 2026. After that there’s a T33 Spider and beyond that, potentially, an extra-performance T33.

Starting T33 production next year will be a deceptively big job, says Lee, even though this supercar is simpler in specification than the T50.

It’s because the T33 carries global type approval, whereas the T50 – very much a halo car, with exotic features like the fan system and legislative challenges resulting from the three-seat layout – carries only small-series approvals in the markets where it’s sold.

When everything you make sells instantly, I ask Lee, why not just make bigger batches? Surely you could save a bundle on development costs?

With his brand-image hat in place, he firmly bats this away. “We’re building a business here,” replies Lee, “and as well as our endemic values, like driving perfection, we offer exclusivity. If you say you will build 100 cars, that’s what you have to do. We’re not a one-hit wonder; we’re a business. We do what we say.”

About 50 cars were built during 2024 and the aim for 2025 is 120, heading for an ideal output of 150.

By then, GMG will have added 50 people to its present 350-strong workforce. In time past, Murray suggested that there were new V12-engined cars coming beyond the T33 line-up, but Lee is mysterious about the form they might take – except to say that they will be “something Gordon has always wanted to build” and “something you might not expect”.

Further details will come soon, he adds. In the meantime, there is a model cycle plan to 2040, with the platforms and powerplants already decided.

But how many will be V12s? Lee is evasive, insisting that the company is already engaged in hybrid and hydrogen powertrain research – and pointing out that even the existing V12 has an integrated starter-generator on the end of its crankshaft.

“It’s all a moving target,” he says. “Big cities are framing regulations of their own, and the situation is even more fragmented in the US. But we’re ready for the future.

“What helps is that every one of our cars is an individual. We don’t just design a system and put a car around it. That’s also the principle we will use in the future. We’re ready.” 

Emissions regs pose a real challenge for car makers like Caterham

The latest government consultation on how quickly the UK car market should migrate to fully electric vehicles concerns what will happen between 2030 and 2035.

But it has made it 100% clear where the entire industry, even small- and micro-scale manufacturers, will stand after that.

All new cars, no matter who makes them, must be fully zero-emissions after 1 January 2035. No engines. No exemptions. Nobody, as was the case previously and which remains the case in the EU, is ‘out of scope’ of the regulations.

Are you a car maker that produces five newly registered cars a year by hand? From 2035, you will be in the same boat as Ford.

It’s worth reiterating how clear this is. The latest consultation, launched on Christmas Eve and running to 18 February, asks questions and puts forward proposals that include whether small-scale car makers should be included in the 2030 changes.

They’re the reason why Lister boss Lawrence Whittaker was on the news last week seeking urgent clarification, having stopped all of the firm’s future development plans.

The government has acknowledged that “there is a precedent for treating small manufacturers differently” and stated: “Kit cars represent a very small overall segment of the market.

It is proposed that applying the requirements to kit cars would therefore not be proportionate.”

Beyond that, though, there’s no doubt, no hidden meaning, no ambiguity, as paragraph 62 of the consultation reads: “It is clear that all manufacturers must decarbonise according to the ambitious timetable for all new cars and vans to be ZEV by 2035, including those made by low-volume manufacturers.”

Paragraph 64: “For all manufacturers of all sizes, new cars and vans must be 100% zero-emission by 2035.”The short of it is: if you want a combustion- engined Caterham, you have 10 years left.

This is despite the acknowledgement that “smaller-volume manufacturers account for a very small proportion of overall UK vehicle sales and limited amounts of CO2” and that “they play a vital role in supporting jobs, investment, skills and expertise within the UK automotive industry”.

It’s hoped that in future they “will play an important role in the transition to ZEVs” (all from paragraph 61), whether they and their customers want to or not.

It doesn’t matter that, as it stands, it requires considerably more CO2 emissions to make a zero-emissions car than it does a pure-ICE one, nor that micro-volume cars are typically driven such small distances annually that it could take decades, if ever, for one to reach the point where a BEV would have been better for the planet.

This will especially be the case once non-fossil-based, renewable ICE fuels – which will be so essential for construction, aerospace and agriculture – come on-stream.

Concessions for these are being considered within the EU.It doesn’t matter that Ariel’s annual output wouldn’t keep Toyota in business for nine minutes. It doesn’t matter that these small companies win awards for exports.

It doesn’t matter that most UK race circuits don’t have and may not get the electrical capacity to quickly charge EVs’ batteries. It’s as simple as this: if it has four wheels, to be sold new in 10 years, it must have no tailpipe.Perhaps you think this is fine.

These are agile companies employing clever people. Previously Ariel has said an electric future doesn’t faze it, while Caterham has dabbled with a prototype Seven EV – although it couldn’t get it to work or, more pertinently, find many interested customers. 

And it may be that promised new battery technology of the sort that is dissuading some current ICE car owners from making the EV switch (the solid-state batteries promised by Nissan in 2028, Stellantis’s lithium-sulphur batteries for 2030) will make an electric niche car better, lighter and more fun than it is today.

If that is the case (and this is true to an extent of the wider car industry), the regulations won’t be necessary.

We didn’t mandate cassettes, CDs, minidiscs or MP3 players into existence because of a dislike of vinyl; new tech was just preferable, so we chose it and left the hobbyists alone.

The same path would easily suit niche car makers: if we want to buy it, they will want to make it, and those who don’t will be so few that it will make no difference to the world.

In the meantime, I’m not a natural fan of whataboutery or ‘they hate you’ conspiracies, but I find myself being tested.

Nothing will top this hot hatchback before the ICE age is over, so buy one while you can Of all the exotica launched in 2020, it was Toyota’s GR Yaris that attracted the greatest interest, for it was an all-new, rally-inspired hot hatch that could thrill like a pure-bred sports car at half the price.This lovable rogue was originally conceived to be a homologation special for Toyota Gazoo Racing’s 2021 World Rally Championship contender (it had little in common with the regular Yaris), but Covid complications meant it would never actually hit the gravel.Toyota could have stuck a GR Yaris prototype in a museum and left it at that, then, but petrolhead boss Akio Toyoda made sure that it reached production – and everyone was extremely grateful that he did.Four years on, the GR Yaris is still riding a wave of success, with more than 32,000 examples having been sold – and now you can buy an early one for less than £25,000.WRC heroes Tommi Mäkinen, Jari-Matti Latvala, Ott Tänak and Kris Meeke helped to tune the GR Yaris into a B-road warrior of unparalleled ability, with its adjustable four-wheel drive system, 257bhp 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo engine and light, diminutive chassis combining to take it to the top of the hot hatch class.“It’s just hugely impressive, all the time, and interactive and engaging enough with it that even though more near- or on-limit adjustability wouldn’t hurt, it’s still a handling hero of our time,” is how we described the GR Yaris when we road tested it back in 2021.The Japanese three-door was so light on its feet that it could be fired into a corner with laser-guided precision and shoot you out the other side with minimal inertia, thanks to its short wheelbase, wide track and light weight.Not only did it score top marks in our road test, it also won our Britain’s Best Affordable Driver’s Car contest ahead of the VW Golf GTI and Honda Civic Type R.The GR Yaris represented a high-water mark for fast road cars, offering exceptional levels of grip in both wet and dry conditions, thanks in part to that 4WD system.As standard, the front-to-rear torque distribution was 60:40, but if you wanted more traction, you could flick it to Track mode for a 50:50 split. Sport mode, meanwhile, tapped into the car’s playful side with a 30:70 configuration.And while the original GR Yaris felt like a new-age Subaru Impreza WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Toyota ensured that it came with all the trimmings – although that was determined by which specification the buyer chose.The Convenience Pack included 18in wheels, softer suspension and mod cons like a JBL sound system, while the Circuit Pack gave the car an extra layer of B-road swagger through stiffer front springs, stiffer anti-roll bars, uber-cool lightweight 18in BBS alloys and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance tyres.That would be our preference, of course. Past that point, it’s just a case of choosing between black, white or red paint.Superb to drive it may be, but the GR Yaris isn’t faultless. Visibility all round is pretty poor, especially out the back, and while it does have two rear seats, they are rather cramped, irrespective of your passengers’ height. Cabin isolation isn’t the best, either, and you will do well to get any more than 27mpg in mixed driving conditions.But do these niggles mean you should consider an alternative? Certainly not. The GR Yaris was a triumph and destined for greatness from the moment it first turned a wheel.And now that the updated GR Yaris has gone on sale at a whopping price of £44,250, the original is effectively a bargain.So if you want a fun, balanced, sweet-handling hot hatch for £25,000, you know where to look – and can thank us later.

Left-field supercar gets more power, more focused suspension and lots of aero for this big money special edition The race championship that has inspired this Maserati MC20 GT2 Stradale supercar is called the GT2 European Series, which sounds very, very fast – but that’s somewhat misleading.The cars in this mostly amateur endeavour sit somewhere between GT3 and GT4 machinery in terms of their performance, suiting mildly uprated road cars. Those homologated include the Porsche 911, KTM X-Bow and Mercedes-AMG GT.The Maserati MC20 was made racy in 2023 and has since won quite a few times.Now Maserati has created a limited-edition roadgoing variant to mark the brand’s return to the race track. And while the European GT2 series isn’t super professional international GT racing, there is at least an identifiable link between the race and road cars.The new MC20 GT2 Stradale, limited to 914 units and coming in £46,000 more expensive than standard, at £273,510, gets the kind of changes that make it a more capable but also more dependable track car. 

Hot hatch would likely be a performance-tuned variant of the e-208, suggests Alain Favey

Peugeot is considering reviving the Peugeot 208 GTi as a hot EV, new boss Alain Favey has said.

Favey said bringing the GTi moniker back was “a question I’ve been asking myself very much” since taking over the role of Peugeot CEO from Linda Jackson as part of a wide-reaching Stellantis management shake-up just 10 days ago, 

The GTi badge has not appeared on a 208 since the second-generation car arrived in 2019 and it has not adorned a Peugeot car since the 308 GTi went off sale in 2021.

The Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE) sub-brand was originally expected to fill the GTi gap in Peugeot’s line-up, but it was only ever attached to a variant of the 508 and was effectively killed off in the UK in December following the culling of that model.

But when asked during the brand’s E-Lion Day if there were any plans for an e-208 GTi, Favey said: “I am very eager to connect the Peugeot brand with what it stands for to its past, to its heritage in every sense. 

“So we will look back at what the heritage of the brand is and we will see to what extent this can be adapted to the modern world – and there is nothing excluded in our review of this and certainly not the GTi badge, for sure.”

It would make sense for any hot models to use the same set up as Lancia Ypsilon HF hatch and Abarth’s 600e crossover, with which the e-208 shares its e-CMP platform. Both send 237bhp through their front wheels and use a Torsen limited-slip differential. 

The Abarth 600e is also offered with a 278bhp motor, but this is unlikely to be offered on the smaller e-208, given its positioning.

Giving the green light to an e-208 GTi would also be likely to result in a hot version of the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, given the two models are twinned. 

It remains to be seen whether Peugeot or Vauxhall deems an electric hot hatch to be commercially viable, especially as the Corsa and 208 are expected to be replaced next year by new-generation models based on Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform. 

But given the Abarth 600e proves that the e-CMP platform can comfortably accommodate a more potent front motor and a performance-targeted chassis makeover, hot versions of the 208 and Corsa could be launched as performance swangsongs for the outgoing generation.

Sacrificing third row expands capacity to 994 litres; EV has also gained 321bhp dual-motor powertrain option

Peugeot has launched five-seat versions of its 5008 and e-5008, trading the third row of seats for one of the biggest boots offered in the segment.

The SUVs now offer 994 litres of cargo room behind the second row of seats, which is 78 litres more than in a seven-seat 5008 with the third row folded down.

While the seven-seat 5008 already offered more room than rivals with the rear bench folded, such as the Kia Sorento (813 litres), the five-seater moves it to just 100 litres behind the mammoth Land Rover Defender 130. 

This setup will be available on all versions of the combustion-engined 5008 and electric e-5008 but not in all markets, said Peugeot. 

This is expected to include - although not yet confirmed - the new dual-motor e-5008. Revealed today, this boasts 321bhp, combining the standard front-wheel-drive car’s 211bhp motor with a 110bhp motor on the rear axle. The four-wheel-drive powertrain yields 311 miles between charges. This setup is also being introduced on the e-3008.

The new dual-motor e-5008 will sit alongside the standard single-motor, front-wheel-drive model, which offers a range of up to 414 miles.

The five-seat 5008 is expected to slightly undercut the seven-seat 5008, which starts at £38,095 in mild-hybrid form and £48,595 as an EV.

Deliveries will begin by June.

 

Major revisions give the popular supermini a stylish new look and refreshed hardware, but to what effect? At what stage might the enduring popularity of the Vauxhall Corsa become a problem for its maker, do you think?The Corsa, just in receipt of a facelift for the 2024-model-year, remains the biggest-selling traditional supermini in the UK and, at present, Vauxhall is still selling between three and four petrol-engined ones for every Vauxhall Corsa Electric registered.But, as the ZEV mandate legislation that all big car makers face from January 2024 ramps up over the coming years, and potential penalties mount for selling too many ICE cars, having the country’s biggest-selling supermini might well begin to seem like a less and less brilliant idea.So, if you were Vauxhall, what would you do? Ramp up equipment levels, and prices to suit, in the hope of making more money from fewer sales, perhaps? Where small combustion-engined cars are concerned, we can imagine that might be a common theme as we approach 2030 – and there are indeed hints of it here. But, for the time being, this car maker seems mostly happy to continue playing the big-volume game, and to keep faith with internal combustion.The sixth-generation Corsa (although only the fifth to bear the model name in the UK, after the original Nova) was the car that was all but ready for market in 2017, on a General Motors platform, when the then-PSA Group – French manufacturing giant and owner of Peugeot, Citroën and the reborn DS – bought Opel-Vauxhall from GM for £1.2 billion. The decision was made to ditch the Vauxhall Astra-platformed model, which had already been more or less signed off, and instead build a new Corsa on the CMP platform due to underpin the Peugeot 208, Citroën C3 and DS 3. The finished pre-facelift car then, appearing in 2019, was developed from the ground up in less than two years. Getting it to market in such a compressed timeline was some achievement. But where does it rank in the slowly shrinking class of combustion-engined superminis today?The Vauxhall Corsa range at a glanceThough it may seem counter-intuitive under the circumstances, Vauxhall’s actually adding what some in the industry call a ‘thermal’ powertrain (a bit like an octaganarian’s underwear) to the Corsa range for 2024: Stellantis’s new 48V, 134bhp, 1.2-litre petrol-electric hybrid engine. Elsewhere, both normally aspirated and turbocharged 1.2-litre Puretech three-cylinder petrol engines continue, so you can have anything from 74bhp to 128bhp and either manual or automatic gearboxes, with prices starting just under £20,000.Those options are in addition to the Vauxhall Corsa Electric models. The EV is now available in regular (222 miles WLTP) and Long Range (246 miles) form, and with either 134bhp or 154bhp.Trim levels have been simplified and now run from base-level Design, through mid-level GS, to top-line Ultimate.

Spacious, versatile and dripping in upmarket appeal, luxury SUVs have all the bases covered. Here are 10 of the best

It’s a sign of our embattled and topsy-turvy times that sales of the best luxury SUVs are the healthiest they've ever been, despite the ongoing cost of living crisis and ever-pressing climate concerns. 

Luxury SUVs are some of the most lavishly appointed machines on the market, melding the cosseting comfort of an executive saloon with refined and mature road manners. 

Many of these machines can also squeeze in seven occupants and still have space to spare, and despite what you think about their conspicuous consumption, there’s no doubting their versatility or the depth of engineering on display.

Don't forget that many of these models can head further off the beaten track than you’d ever thought possible – although whether you want to pitch diamond-cut 21in alloys and special-order matt paintwork against mud, rocks and hawthorn hedges is another matter.

And despite their bluff appearance and gas-guzzling reputation, many of our contenders in this list feature plug-in hybrid powertrains that could save a fair chunk in fuel costs and deliver some healthy tax savings for company car drivers.

We’ve picked out 10 of the best for you, but our list is topped by the Range Rover Sport - read on to see why it beats rivals from Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo and more.

Configurators outside the UK offer far greater customisation, allowing you to create some super-cool cars

Recently, we featured a road test of the new Audi S5, and the process of writing it gave me an excuse to engage in an underrated pastime: playing with car configurators.

All in the name of research, you understand. Not time-wasting. Not at all.

The thing with cars like the S5 is that you don’t just have to restrict yourself to the pedestrian UK version; you can indulge in the much fuller-featured German one.

Who needs Duolingo when audi.de can teach you useful words like ‘Außengeräuschdämmung’ and ‘Kopfstützenlautsprecher’? Once you can make sense of the endless compound words, what’s striking is how much more choice of options and customisation buyers get on the mainland.

Mercedes-Benz is probably an even better example of this than Audi. Take the C-Class. Over here, you get a handful of trim levels (mostly AMG Lines of some description), you can choose a paint colour and an interior colour and that’s it.

In Germany, if you want a C180 that looks like poverty spec on the outside but has every conceivable option inside, with brown nappa leather and adaptive dampers? Good luck trying to resell it later, but it’s your depreciation: go for it.

It’s the same at BMW, which won’t sell you a diesel 5 Series at all in the UK but still offers a 540d (with a straight six) in Germany. This isn’t a new development. Choice has been restricted in the UK for years.

I’ve been told this is largely due to the UK market being driven very strongly by monthly rates and therefore residual values. As such, it’s easier to determine (and maximise) the values for a couple of select trim levels and a handful of option packs rather than a million different individual configurations.

Although there may be some chicken or egg going on here, British buyers generally seem to be more cautious and fashion-driven than European buyers, gravitating towards restrained interior colours but big wheels and some sort of sporty exterior styling.

Complain all you want that cars are getting too expensive: posh trims are what people are buying, even on Dacias.

There’s also clearly more of a trend to buy cars from stock here rather than custom order, which shows in the size of dealerships: they tend to be a lot bigger.

Meanwhile, the product planners have got wise to the fact that they simply don’t need to offer so many variations: it makes things easier for them and means more profit.

I’ve always found it odd that there’s evidently not more demand for individual specifications here, because when I’m spending my imaginary lottery win, it’s so much more satisfying to build the car exactly how I want it, rather than go with the spec that some UK product planner reckoned would be ideal.

Surely that’s one of the big appeals of buying new? I imagine it’s the same when you’re spending real money. But apparently not: although Porsche customers get a little more creative with the brand’s famously extensive configurator, there are still an awful lot of silver 911s with a black interior around.

In the end, it’s a matter of use it or lose it. When we road tested the current E-Class, Mercedes UK said it wouldn’t offer air suspension (which was available abroad) because it didn’t expect there to be much demand for it.

But earlier this year, the Refinement Package appeared in the configurator, which includes air suspension and rear-wheel steering. Evidently, people must have badgered their dealers because they wanted their luxury car to ride properly.

If you’re in the market for a new car, demand the Multikontursitze mit Sitzklimatisierung and say no to the Tiefergelegtes Fahrwerk. Do it for the dreamers – and your spine.

Volkswagen's smallest electric SUV will look nothing like the ID 4 and ID 5

Electric T-Cross replacement will be launched in 2026 with bold styling and up to 280 miles of range

Volkswagen will reveal a chunky, supermini-sized electric crossover called the ID 2X at the Munich motor show in September.

Previewed last year, the ID 2X is a higher-riding sibling to the Volkswagen Polo-sized ID 2, which is due to be launched later this year, and will effectively serve as an EV alternative to the T-Cross.

It will be based on the same shortened version of the MEB platform as the ID 2. The crossover is set to be offered exclusively with a single motor on the front axle, giving 223bhp, and a choice of 38kWh and 56kWh batteries - the latter providing a range of around 280 miles.

Volkswagen has previously said the larger battery will be capable of topping up at 125kW to take its state of charge from 10-80% in just 20 minutes. 

The smaller-battery car is set to be one of the cheapest electric SUVs on the market when it lands, in line with Volkswagen's ambitious strategy to reduce the production and list price of its EVs.

The ID 2 supermini is planned to be available from £22,000, only slightly more than today's Polo, so the equivalent SUV should go on sale at the £25,000 mark. 

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer confirmed the new baby SUV's name in a post on LinkedIn, where he also revealed that it will make its debut at Munich.

It is the fourth and final entrant in the Volkswagen Group's upcoming range of entry-level electric cars – joining the ID 2, Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq – and will be built alongside those three cars at a new plant near Barcelona in Spain.

Volkswagen head of design Andreas Mindt has described the ID 2X as a "safe, confident, bold" design that is "simple, like the ID 2 All" - referencing how that concept apes the clean, simplistic cues of previous Golf and Polo models. 

Indeed, the resemblance to the supermini is obvious in the preview image, though the higher-riding SUV will have a more upright silhouette with bulkier wheel arches, a distinctive vent-style motif on the C-pillar (which could be glass on the production car) and a chunky rear spoiler. There will be no obvious visual links between this new SUV and today's ID 4 and ID 5, as Mindt looks to usher in a whole new brand image. 

It will measure around 4.1m long, have a wheelbase of 2600mm and offer more than the ID 2's 490 litres of boot space - no doubt with the same 50-litre lockable box under the boot floor for charging cables and valuables. 

Inside, it is expected to be all but identical to the ID 2, with a 12.9in infotainment screen and 10.9in digital driver display - while adopting physical switches for the audio and climate controls. Volkswagen is aiming to eradicate all glue and hard plastics from its next-generation interiors, in line with a pledge to boost material quality while reducing its cars' environmental impact. 

The rollout of the VW Group's new Electric Urban Car Family, as Schäfer calls it, is central to stabilising the VW Group following a turbulent period in which its profits and volumes have dipped significantly, prompting plans for factory closures and swingeing job cuts across Europe.

The group as a whole delivered 2.3% fewer vehicles worldwide in 2024, year on year, chiefly as a result of a drop in global demand for premium vehicles and a challenging retail environment in China.

The decline was felt most harshly at Audi, Bentley and Porsche. Conversely, the more volume-oriented Seat-Cupra brand posted a 7.5% sales uptick and Skoda grew 6.9% - highlighting the rising importance of affordable cars.

Schäfer said that with the launch of the four new electric superminis, "the Brand Group Core is truly bringing its power to the road. We’re on the right track – and now we’re stepping it up a gear". 

Meanwhile, in early March, Volkswagen will reveal a concept for a smaller electric city car to replace the Up. Dubbed the ID Every1 and expected to be called the ID 1 in production, the boldly styled Fiat Grande Panda rival will be launched in 2027 with a base price of around £17,000. 

Show highlight was this DS 19 suspended on balloons, recreating a '50s ad campaign

Gallic machines have this intangible allure about them – we head to Rétromobile to find out where the magic lies

There’s something fascinating about French cars – this intangible quality that’s able to turn a humdrum machine into something rather compelling. 

It’s a tricky one to pin down, but if one is to tap the source of that famed va-va-voom anywhere, it’s surely Rétromobile. Held on the outskirts of Paris, down the road from Parc André Citroën, it’s a huge classic car bash that attracts the backing of major retailers, owners’ clubs and manufacturers. You will see a real variety of stuff here, from a humble Peugeot 205 to the new Porsche 911 GT3 – even an ex-Michael Schumacher Formula 1 car.

One of the big draws this year is Renault’s stand, where its new electric streamliner, the Filante, is making its first public outing. It’s meant to set a new record for EV efficiency, but there’s more to it than rigorous engineering alone, for it’s rather handsome to boot.

“Everything is simpler, more sleek,” Renault design boss Gilles Vidal explains, suggesting the one-off creation not only had to meet a lofty technical goal but also look good while doing it. 

It’s this ethos – the intersection of world-beating engineering and jaw-dropping design – that defines many of the French icons on show.

Take the original Citroën DS as an example. Its famed hydropneumatic suspension played a big role in ensuring that it could challenge the likes of Mercedes-Benz in the luxury saloon market, but it was that unconventional design that captured hearts. So stunning were its proportions – our correspondent in October 1956 wrote that its rear wheels “could hardly be further aft, nor could the seating be more ‘within the wheelbase’” – that it transcended motoring. 

Its transition into an art piece was completed in 1959 when Citroën ad man Claude Puech proposed rigging one up with giant balloons in place of wheels to illustrate the DS’s famed ride quality. It’s one of the enduring images of the model and, having been faithfully recreated as Rétromobile’s centrepiece, it draws a big crowd.

The artful touch isn’t restricted to the nation’s road-going machines. Around the corner from the DS is a Matra MS120D grand prix car from 1972, and it’s a stunning work of sculpture. There’s a sense of fluidity from its frontal intake all the way back to its rear spoiler, as if you could trace the flow of air over it by hand. 

Down the way is a British-built BRM P160B from the same year – a more competitive racer but nowhere near as pretty, with odd angles and strange protrusions all over the shop. 

The rally cars aren’t half bad either: one of Jean Ragnotti’s 1980s Renault 5 Maxi Turbos is tucked away in a back corner, resplendent with not one, not two, but six foglights. It’s unlikely that monsieur really needed that much visibility, so maybe the two snout-like pods on the bonnet’s leading edge were purely an expression of excess, hinting at the Turbo’s stonking performance.

On the subject of France’s beloved Cinq, there’s a furore brewing on the Renault stand. People are swarming the brand new electric model, cooing. “C’est magnifique,” one man says to his family, and his children concur: “C’est magnifique!”

It seems we’re on the verge of a new era of design flair. If it just so happens to draw on the finest and indeed weirdest French machines like those seen at Rétromobile, bring it on.

The companies have decided to carry on working together on products and technology

Is it okay to be pleased that Honda and Nissan have decided not to merge after all?

The two Japanese companies last week decided not to follow through on a proposed deal that was met with a fair degree of surprise when they first announced they were considering it at the end of last year. 

Now, after more serious talks, the merger has been officially canned after it turned out that it might not have been quite such a ‘merger of equals’ as Nissan originally thought. 

Like a football manager leaving a club ‘by mutual consent’, things would have been a bit more mutual on one side than the other. Nissan, in a weaker place than Honda (having a market capitalisation of £8 billion, compared with £31bn), risked effectively being a Honda subsidiary – a position it couldn’t countenance. 

Instead, the two companies have decided to carry on working together on products and technology but remain separate entities. 

From a business perspective, I don’t know whether this is a good thing or not. Honestly, I’ve no idea. Would it save loads of money if they shared the same offices and accountants and window cleaners and sandwich providers and so on? 

Shrug of shoulders. Will they survive independently in a world increasingly dominated by state-underwritten Chinese EV makers? 

Hit me up if you know either way. But what I do know is that I’ve always liked Honda because of the kind of independent thinking that brought us the NSX and a business jet with engines on top of the wings and which won it the Isle of Man TT a gazillion times. 

And there’s something quite cool about Nissan’s commitment to its Z cars, plus the 17-year production run of the R35 GT-R (even if you can no longer buy it in most countries and production will have to stop this summer). 

We’ve heard plenty of stories about enthusiastic engineering managers persuading their bigger bosses to give a little money here and there so that Nissan sports cars can still make it into production. 

In that vein, the GT-R will be back, we’re told, but it might take a moment while Nissan decides whether it should have a combustion engine, electric motors or a combination of the two. 

In other words, both companies still have soul and a serious independent spirit about them. And while they are undoubtedly rivals, making cars that compete directly with each other, when they turn their skills to making interesting cars (I grant you that this happens less often than it did), each is wilfully different from the other’s. 

Nissan brought us the Qashqai when nobody expected it, and everyone bought one. Honda gave us the E when nobody expected it, and although nobody bought it, it’s got a virtual aquarium inside it and the most wonderful surface finishes. 

Imagine trying to pull that off with yet another committee overseeing it. One of the characteristics of being in a big conglomerate – as we see in the Volkswagen Group and Stellantis – is that competing brands end up with cars that underneath are the same as each other’s, and that inevitably means they feel a bit like it on the surface too. 

I suppose that’s good for business, allowing a company to make bigger and safer investments, with spending spread across larger sales volumes. Triffic, I’m sure, but I don’t know that, as an enthusiast, I therefore love it that much. 

And remaining solo can be dandy too. I’m reminded of the time Suzuki pulled out of an alliance with Volkswagen because it felt its independence was threatened. That was 14 years ago (minus a bit for some legal wranglings), and Suzuki still seems to be doing just fine – and is still making some cool cars that unmistakably are low-cost, low-weight Suzukis, not something else with Suzuki badging. 

I like it when a proud independent company thinks ‘stuff it, we’ll do it our way’ and keeps on keeping on with its own ideas and values. 

Japanese companies seem to particularly embody it and, for good or ill, I think we’re better off with more rather than less of them. I hope it actually turns out to be better for both.

Next Corsa will get bold 'Vizor' grille and 'Compass' lighting motif

Next-gen supermini will usher in new-era design and tech as Vauxhall eyes Mini

Vauxhall’s next-generation Corsa Electric will land in 2026 with a bold new look, dramatically longer range and more upmarket billing.

The new model is due to be one of the first cars to ride on parent company Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform – a replacement for the CMP architecture that underpins today’s car, as well as a host of technically related siblings from brands such as Peugeot and Jeep.

Able to accommodate hybrid powertrains but designed primarily for EVs, this new skateboard architecture has been engineered to underpin cars that range from the A segment to the C-segment, with a primary focus on Europe.

Swapping to this new platform, the seventh-generation Corsa is around 10% larger overall than the car it replaces, according to a source familiar with the new model, and is capable in electric form of travelling much farther on a charge, with a maximum range of 340 miles, up from 246 miles today.

Autocar understands the next Corsa will also be positioned with more of a premium focus while keeping its price range – between £29,000 and £36,000 – broadly in line with today’s car. This is part of a bid to steal sales from rivals such as the Renault 5 and Mini Cooper E, as well as the upcoming Volkswagen ID 2 and Cupra Raval.

The new Corsa will take heavy inspiration from Vauxhall’s radical Experimental coupé concept from 2023, chiefly at the front end, where it will completely forego vents and intakes in favour of a minimalist, smooth treatment that signals its all-electric innards.

In place of a conventional grille, the electric Corsa will feature a slick new interpretation of Vauxhall’s ‘Vizor’ motif. Ultra-slim LED headlights will be joined by a wraparound transparent panel that houses an illuminated badge and the sensors for the supermini’s suite of ADAS functions.

Like the 2023 concept car, the new Corsa will have a prominent vertical crease running along its bonnet and down its visage, forming a cross-shaped ‘compass’ design with the headlights. This motif will be emulated at the rear and is set to become a defining signature of new-era Vauxhall models.

It is understood the British car maker is also looking to tone down its branding for its next generation of cars so the badging is expected to be kept to a minimum.

Meanwhile, flush-fitting door handles will contribute to the more minimalist aesthetic and aid aerodynamic efficiency, while new wheels – to be offered no smaller than 19in – will be designed to channel air as effectively as possible under the car.

The reinvention will be even more eye-catching in the Corsa’s cabin, which, Autocar understands, will be totally overhauled in line with the brand’s repositioning of its smallest model.

The primary objective is to offer functionality and material appeal that cement its new premium billing. Plush recycled textiles will be used extensively throughout the cockpit, it will feature new standard equipment including a panoramic roof and ambient lighting, and there will be a slick new ‘floating’ centre console that frees up space where a transmission tunnel would have been – a benefit of the EV-first STLA platform.

Notably, there will be no conventional driver display. It will be replaced by a standard-fit head-up display interface, as with the latest Mini Cooper.

The Corsa will follow its newer SUV stablemates in adopting a heavily reduced suite of physical buttons and switches. The primary control panel will be that new floating central touchscreen, angled towards the driver for easy on-the-move access in an evolution of the brand’s ‘Pure Panel’ dashboard arrangement.

More details of the next Corsa’s technical make-up will arrive around the start of next year, when Stellantis gives a full debrief about the STLA Small platform. But it has already been confirmed to house batteries of up to 82kWh in capacity and that would seem a likely option for the Corsa, given its top-end 340-mile range.

STLA Small retains 400V charging hardware, like CMP, and that will restrict charging speeds compared with more expensive 800V-equipped cars, but the new Corsa is expected to be able to top up more quickly than today’s car, which maxes out at 100kW.

What remains unclear is whether Vauxhall will keep today’s combustion Corsa on sale in its current form alongside the all-new EV or offer an ICE-powered version of the new-generation car.

While STLA Small can house hybrid systems, the company is unlikely to invest heavily in a new generation of ICE models when UK and EU legislation will force its retirement in a few years, so a heavy visual update of the current Corsa hybrid would seem the more viable option.

Audi’s line of ICE-powered performance estates goes out with a bang If you had stepped out onto the spotlessly clean floor of Audi’s Bollinger Hofe production facility five years ago, the place would have been littered with Audi R8 supercars in various stages of construction. Had you done the same thing three years later, you’d have seen a blend of R8s and Audi’s then new electric supersaloon, the Audi E-tron GT. And today? Well, today the plant no longer rings to the wail of V10 engines firing up for the first time, because with the R8 now having retired, Audi’s most hand-labour-intensive production line is entirely for the E-tron GT, which rolls into life near-silently.However, for a short period in recent times, the E-tron GT was joined by another car at this small facility, which has always been reserved for Audi’s most revered creations. It’s a car that, like the R8, carries an enormous petrol engine, albeit one wooflier in nature than the supercar’s V10. We’re talking about the Audi RS6 Avant GT, which is limited to 660 examples worldwide and whose hand-finishing at the Bollinger Hofe plant is justified by its unique bodywork, requiring a level of finishing that the regular RS6 line can’t easily manage. This is also the most powerful combustion-engined production Audi there has ever been, shading even the last-gasp R8 GT. This car is, in many ways, a farewell to the fast, all-conquering Audi wagon with four-wheel drive and at least eight cylinders (there have been as many as V10s in the past). The RS6 GT is therefore both a statement piece and a lovingly wrought valedictory special that references one of Audi’s best-loved racing cars.What we will now discover is just how fast this rip-roaring family car really is, and how lucky those 660 owners should count themselves.

Thornley Kelham's 911 restomod is a hand-built masterpiece

Bespoke restomod projects are all the rage today, and this is no great surprise.

Over-familiarity will have led to a weary cynicism in many of us, but equally who among us, given the time and means, wouldn’t love to have a crack at creating our dream car?

To set out with no commercial imperative and draft a grand vision, then obsess over the details such that the end result fitted our wants and needs like a glove? It’s fantasy stuff.

What I hadn’t appreciated until recently was the kind of person you need to be to pull it off to convincing effect, even before you’ve pinned down a team of the calibre required for expert engineering and fabrication – the people who will slowly bring your vision to life.

Most of us would be better served keeping the dream confined to a beer mat and chasing after ready-to-wear options from Ariel or Ferrari.

It makes the 0.0001% of wonder-machines that do become a reality as world-class, from-the-ground-up commissions all the more tantalising. Projects like Thornley Kelham’s recent European RS.

“Hal could walk into the prep shop, look at his car from a distance of 10 feet and tell you the sill line is two millimetres out,” says Simon Thornley, co-founder of what is certainly an elite but under-the-radar British restoration company. “And he’d be right. That was the scary thing.”

Hal Walter is a retired Australian architect who spends half his time in the Alps. This partly explains why his commission took the form of a 911 restomod blending the spirit of a 1973 2.7-litre RS and the more recent 997-generation GT3 RS 4.0, which he also owns (of course he does).

It was an ambitious concept, but Walter is a man for details – every last one of them.

Shortly after Thornley Kelham agreed to take on the project, a near-40-page document arrived: the instruction manual.

When we visited the firm’s premises last year to see and drive the 95%-finished European RS, Thornley produced a printout and dropped it onto a table. It landed with a pronounced slap. “This is about the fourth version,” he said. “We’re now on version 23.”

The level of detail in this tome was exquisite, inspiring, just a little unnerving and perhaps understandable for a man with an architect’s mind and many, many hundreds of thousands of pounds on the line.

Part prescriptive (one can’t help but admire the inclusion of gear ratios), it took more of a manifesto form elsewhere.

The intake needs to wail like this, the chassis balance should feel like that and so on.

The car will weigh such and such in full running order (start with an original 911 T chassis, please, rather than a commonly used 964 one, as it will save us 300kg). There was also the design, both inside and out.

The showstopping aesthetics of the European RS, down to the split-level ducktail, are mostly Walter’s handiwork. It’s hard not to be impressed.

“The guy is a bloody perfectionist. We were painting things to concours standard that you will never see,” said Thornley, who himself had a 2.7-litre RS for decades. He jokes about the hardest part of this mesmerising project being ‘the owner’ and is vindicated when his phone starts buzzing away during our chat. Guess who.

But the truth is that he and business partner Wayne Kelham are as mad about the details as Walter, and this really is a multi-disciplinary business.

It isn’t solely turning out modified old 911s, as shown by the magnificent, fully restored Lamborghini Miura in one of the workshops.

Adjacent to it was a Bugatti Type 40, and an engine-building facility sits across the road where, among other jewels, fettled 300bhp Virgilio V6s are prepped before being dropped into Thornley Kelham’s hot-rod take on Lancia’s B20 GT Aurelia.

The presence of English wheels warms the heart, so too the shell of a Citroën SM. The place is a toy box – one in which any project, no matter how whimsical, can fully materialise.

It was thus well placed to deliver something on the level of the European RS. But listening to Thornley, I still couldn’t help wondering if the reality could live up to the expectation – to the painstaking planning in Walter’s paperwork and his huge emotional investment in the project.

As it happens, when you’re this committed and enlist just the right people, magic unfolds.

The car is a hand-built masterpiece, its delivery of 380bhp from 3.7 litres of flat six feeling utterly open-ended and the integration of 997 GT3-style linkages into a feather-light chassis giving the handling adjustability reminiscent of today’s 992 GT3, only dialled up.

And the details. Good grief, they’re fabulous. I’d love to think I could’ve masterminded such a car, but in truth? Hmm.

Sketch reveals chunky, upright proportions and bold styling

New sketch reveals bold look for Volkswagen's long-awaited 'ID 1', due in showrooms in 2027

Volkswagen has revealed the styling of the ID Every 1 concept that it will show in full next month, previewing a £17k electric car to succeed the Up.

The new entry-level model, expected to take the ID 1 name in production form, is due to arrive in 2027 with a base price of "about €20,000", said Volkswagen, making it "attractive for a wide variety of user groups".

It is expected to share its underpinnings with the Volkswagen Polo-sized ID 2 (a shortened 'Entry' version of the Volkswagen Group's modular MEB platform), but no technical details have yet been confirmed.

The new sketch released by the company shows the city car will have chunky, upright proportions and a distinctive new visage incorporating Volkswagen's new-look LED lighting signatures. 

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer celebrated the new car's unveiling as a pivotal moment for the company: "An affordable, high-quality and profitable electric Volkswagen from Europe for Europe: that's the Champions League of automotive engineering!”

It isn't yet confirmed whether the ID 1 will be built in Spain by the Volkswagen Group, alongside the ID 2 and its 'ID 2 X' crossover sibling, the Skoda Epiq compact SUV and the more sporting Cupra Raval. 

Volkswagen technical development boss Kai Grünitz has previously suggested the new entry model will be an obvious successor to the successful Up city car in its conception, and will share some design elements and attributes. 

“The 'ID 1' will be close to the Up regarding the usage of that car," he said. "There aren't so many possibilities to design a small vehicle for cities in terms of what it looks like. It will be a car that fits into the Volkswagen brand design DNA and functionality DNA but at a lower price.”

Grünitz stopped short of categorically confirming the return of the Up badge, but Volkswagen places great value on its longest-running and most successful names. Golf, Passat and Tiguan are all due to be retained in the EV era, with the suggestion that the brand’s numerical naming strategy for its ID EVs could be retired. 

Grünitz outlined the importance of bringing such a car to market: “You need a smaller car that’s affordable for the broader customer base. That’s why we’re going for €25,000 for the ID 2all and we're invested in the development phase for a vehicle below €20,000. That’s Volkswagen. 

“We have to go in that direction to convince our customers that EV is the right way.

“You need a car that really fits the customer demands in that price class. You don’t need high-end technology within these cars.”

“Maybe you could bring your own device into this car instead of having a huge infotainment system, or something like that,” he added, hinting at the possibility for it to feature a smartphone cradle in place of a touchscreen, like the Up did. 

“It has to be tailored to the customer group,” he said, adding that the focus will instead be on making it “bigger inside than outside”, with effective use of space and a range of innovative storage solutions.

Neither will the final car be equipped with 200kW fast-charging capacity or a battery that allows it to travel long distances, because it's envisioned as a pure city car, “not a car for driving thousands of kilometres on the highway”.

The Volkswagen e-Up, retired in 2023 along with the petrol Up as production came to a close in Slovakia, had a claimed range of 161 miles and could charge at a maximum speed of 37kWh. 

Asked by Autocar whether the Up’s replacement can be produced profitably, Grünitz suggested that it might not need to generate huge margins in its own right but could rather serve as a ‘loss leader’ by introducing younger users to the Volkswagen EV line-up.

“Should it be a vehicle that is profitable on its own, or should we look for a vehicle that might be for first users? I started with a Polo when I was 18 years old. I got in touch with the VW family, jumped into a Golf and never left the Volkswagen family. It’s really important to have a vehicle for first-car users," said Grünitz.

“There's also the possibility to earn money with more expensive cars,” he said, suggesting that margins from larger cars could be sufficient to support production of a less profitable model.

The #6 will be Smart's slipperiest model yet, offering range figures north of 400 miles

New rakish four-door saloon will be the brand's quickest model ever

Smart’s sleek #6 flagship will be unveiled later this year as the brand’s quickest and most advanced model to date, packing reserves of more than 630bhp in its most potent form.

The rakish four-door saloon will be positioned as a rival to the Tesla Model 3, a car it will have a similar footprint to. It has been designed with a focus on range so will feature the slipperiest body of any Smart model to date.

Autocar has been told this will allow it to offer “well over 800km” (497 miles) of range in its most efficient form, although that figure is based on the generous Chinese CLTC test cycle. On the WLTP cycle used in Europe, it is expected to return a figure close to the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive’s 436 miles.

The saloon, which is twinned with the Zeekr 007, will be shown for the first time in the second half of 2025 before reaching UK showrooms in early 2026.

While predominantly developed as an electric car, the #6 will also be offered with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain as part of a move to fill sales gaps in markets where EVs have yet to take off. 

Secrecy still surrounds the styling of the new saloon, which like all of Smart’s current models has been designed by a team at Mercedes-Benz headed by Smart design boss Kai Sieber. 

However, Autocar understands that it will adopt a distinctive raked roofline together with detailing and surfacing treatment similar to the #1, #3 and #5. Like those cars, the #6 will also feature frameless doors and wheels that range from 19in to 21in.

Smart’s maiden saloon is based on the Geely-developed PMA2+ platform – a structure derived from the Chinese car maker’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) for EVs that underpins models such as the Polestar 4.

PMA2+ can use 400V and 800V electric architectures – the latter of which is set to provide the #6 with a charging capability of up to 400kW. As with the #1, #3 and #5, it also forms the basis for both single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor four-wheel-drive powertrains.

Insiders at Smart’s HQ in China suggest power outputs will be largely in line with those of the #5, with rear-wheel-drive models offering up to 335bhp and four-wheel-drive models boosted to 597bhp. 

Heading the #6 range will be a hot Brabus model to challenge the Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Packing four-wheel drive and up to 638bhp, it is expected to deliver 0-62mph in less than 3.5sec and a governed top speed of 124mph.

A choice of batteries will be offered: a 75kWh LFP unit for 400V rear-drive models or a 100kWh NMC pack for 800V rear- and four-wheel-drive models.

Latest and most tech-rich Mustang to date remains one of the cheapest ways to get a V8 coupé How many sub-£100,000 cars can you name with more than four cylinders and a manual gearbox? It’s slim pickings. There’s the BMW Z4, BMW M2 and Lotus Emira. A last-of-the-line Porsche 718 GTS 4.0 or Toyota GR Supra, maybe? Good news: there is one more option, which has, instead of a piffling six cylinders, a full eight of them, and neither a supercharger nor a turbocharger. It is, of course, the good old (new) Ford Mustang.

The world's most exciting custom motorcycles, from cafe racers to bobbers to scramblers and street trackers.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 15 years since the first One Motorcycle Show was held back in 2010, and 2025 holds a special significance. This year, One combined forces with the AIMExpo to hold an additional event in Las Vegas alongside AIM, providing a unique opportunity to see two completely different sides of the industry.

Started by the one-and-only Thor Drake, The One Show has always been unique in its quest to celebrate weird, rare, custom, classic and unconventional bikes, and we wondered if the event would hit as hard outside the context of Portland. With a list of 43 confirmed builders and countless additional motorcycles on hand, our concerns were quelled and the event expected to draw more than 9,000 attendees daily.…

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 15 years since the first One Motorcycle Show was held back in 2010, and 2025 holds a special significance. This year, One combined forces with the AIMExpo to hold an additional event in Las Vegas alongside AIM, providing a unique opportunity to see two completely different sides of the industry. Started by the one-and-only Thor Drake, The One Show has always been unique in its quest to celebrate weird, rare, custom, classic and unconventional bikes, and we wondered if the event would hit as hard outside the context of Portland. With a list of 43 confirmed builders and countless additional motorcycles on hand, our concerns were quelled and the event expected to draw more than 9,000 attendees daily. Bouncing between shows, we were able to dig deep into a few of the motorcycles on display, and these are just a few of our favorites. John Panem’s 2014 Honda Ruckus We’re unashamed scooter guys, and John Panem’s 2014 Honda Ruckus was one of several that had our attention at the 2025 One Motorcycle Show. Panem’s Honda is loaded with handmade carbon fiber components and perfectly exemplifies the tuner style that makes the Ruckus scene great. Panem’s Ruckus gets a bunch of its attitude from a PCX swap with parts from Chimera Engineering. Suspension components from RRGS and some killer aluminum mags set the stance, and Panem added a steering stabilizer to the front end that’s routed right through the bodywork. Speaking of bodywork, John’s Honda Ruckus probably had the most righteous application of carbon fiber of the entire One Show. The front fender, fuel tank and footboards are finished in a perfect carbon weave, but his seat really stole the show. At the front, you’ll find a hole with a cheeky bit of text, but it’s actually an integrated intake velocity stack. Excellent fit and finish extends to every corner of Panem’s Ruckus, down to nuts and bolts, and there’s no denying that this little Honda was certainly a fan favorite. Jack Huisinga’s Ducati Desmo 450 Customs and creativity are cornerstones of The One Motorcycle Show, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a few restored classics in the crowd. Jack Huisinga’s Ducati Desmo 450 was probably our favorite, looking fresh off the showroom floor for 1974. That’s impressive, considering Huisinga started with only a frame and an engine. Huisinga’s Ducati comes from a long line of hot Ducati singles, and the 1974 450 Desmo is arguably the pinnacle of Ducati’s single-cylinder technology. The factory had been sprinkling GP race tech down to its 250, 350 and 450 roadsters, and by 1971, that included Fabio Taglioni’s coveted desmodromic valve actuation. The rest of the chassis was similarly upgraded, with a five-speed transmission, 35 mm Marzocchi forks and a twin-sided front Grimeca brake—making the 300-pound Desmo a lightweight thrill for experienced riders. While the model had some early teething issues, it was well sorted by 1974 with a stronger bottom end and a steel fuel tank to comply with U.S. import regulations. While Ducati soon shifted resources to its 90-degree twins, the Desmo 450 is still regarded as one of the best sporting singles of all time. Andy Dibrino’s CFMOTO Flat Tracker CFMOTO isn’t a name you’d expect to find around the American Flat Track ranks, but that could all be about to change. Rider Andy Dibrino is a jack of all trades on two wheels, and he brought a tracker to The One Show that he’s been developing with CFMOTO and Savage Custom Fabrication. The ‘aha’ moment sets in when Dibrino reveals the mechanical underpinnings of the project—the CFMOTO 800NK—which astute readers will immediately identify as the KTM 790 Duke in different clothes. While it’s a little softer and cheaper than an orange Austrian version, the 800NK has been the subject of plenty of good press, and Dibrino’s tracker looks right as rain. With a full carbon fiber body and extensive modifications to the frame, Dibrino’s tracker clearly retains little stock hardware. Textbook modifications to the rake and trail come courtesy of a custom swingarm with a K-Tech coilover and 43 mm billet triple clamps from Lowery Racing—the hot-pink accented wheels are their work as well. Dibrino credits Savage Custom Fabrication with the heavy lifting on the project, and while it’s far from finished, we’re looking forward to seeing another hat in the ring for flat-track racing soon. 1962 BSA Bobber ‘Super Fly’ The Harley-Davidson name is synonymous with America’s 1960s custom bike scene. When we think about choppers and bobbers of the day, we think of V-twins, but if you watch any of the crappy old biker films, you’ll find scores of chopped-up old British twins. Appropriately named ‘Super Fly,’ this BSA bobber expertly epitomizes an underrepresented group of the ’60s custom scene. The basis for the project was a 1962 BSA Super Rocket, equipped with a pre-unit 646 cc twin and a single Amal carburetor—good for 46 hp. If it’s not a survivor, it could certainly pass for an old show bike of the day, because this thing just oozes 1960s flavor. Aside from the scalloped paintwork on the tank and oil bag, every piece of the BSA is plated or polished, right down to the frame and Monobloc carburetor. Cocktail shaker mufflers, Bates lighting and the narrow ape bars match the motif, as does a sassy set of polished 21F/19R wheels. It’s hard to find a single item out of place, and it’s clear this BSA was built with expert discretion. Credited on its plaque as the work of ‘Neto & Jon,’ we don’t have many details for you beyond what the eye can see, but I suspect more could be found on the Gram @reppohccyco. Mike Rabideau’s Harley-Davidson Shovelhead The madman behind Majik Mike’s Designs, Mike Rabideau has been building custom motorcycles since 2003. Back then, he lived near Harley’s backyard in Racine, Wisconsin, but he’s since moved to Vegas where he opened his shop and did a stint as a fabricator on Counting Cars. It’s Mike’s goal that every bike he builds should look like it’s moving, even standing still, and that’s certainly true of this Shovelhead he recently completed for a customer. Mike’s client had a style and a few colors in mind, but the majority of this build is textbook Majik Mike. He got started with a ’79 Harley Shovelhead engine, which he rebuilt before applying a thick coat of black paint and adding brass accents throughout. What looks like an aftermarket frame, is actually a highly modified ’81 Harley frame that Mike hard-tailed, extended the neck, added rake and dropped the seat. The wheel combo was picked specifically by the customer, consisting of a 19-inch spool wheel and a modified 16-incher from a Harley Fat Boy. Forks are a set of shortened 39 mm tubes from a Sportster. While the client specified a black and gold color scheme, Mike stressed that a third color was needed and the detailed paintwork was applied by Ryan Evans. Gold leaf in the paint is paired with various brass accents throughout the motorcycle, including the grips, headlight bezel, pegs jockey shift knob and more. The One Motorcycle Show | Instagram | Photos by Tom Gosselin

The American International Motorcycle Expo might not be the first place you’d expect to find us, as the event has a whole lot more to do with what’s on dealer floors than the custom scene. That’s not the whole story though, because besides rubbing elbows with industry partners and parts manufacturers, we also had a host of factory concept bikes and customs to hunt down.

See, the big OEs are well aware that modified bikes bring big attention, and partnerships with reputable builders are one of the most effective ways to drum up excitement for their current offerings. And when you have the backing of corporate bucks, big things are possible.

The AIMExpo isn’t open to the public, just industry members and press, so we flashed our credentials and got to hiking around the Las Vegas Convention Center.…

The American International Motorcycle Expo might not be the first place you’d expect to find us, as the event has a whole lot more to do with what’s on dealer floors than the custom scene. That’s not the whole story though, because besides rubbing elbows with industry partners and parts manufacturers, we also had a host of factory concept bikes and customs to hunt down. See, the big OEs are well aware that modified bikes bring big attention, and partnerships with reputable builders are one of the most effective ways to drum up excitement for their current offerings. And when you have the backing of corporate bucks, big things are possible. The AIMExpo isn’t open to the public, just industry members and press, so we flashed our credentials and got to hiking around the Las Vegas Convention Center. Wading through the seas of stock bikes and less inspired forms of power sports equipment, these are the five custom motorcycles from the 2025 AIMExpo that commanded our attention. Seiemmezzo SCR 650 Scrambler by Moto Morini Factory scramblers are some of the most enjoyable bikes to customize and Moto Morini wanted to prove you don’t need to break the bank to get big results. Morini’s After-Sales Manager Cody Spakes’ goal was to show Expo-goers a brutish new side of Seiemmezzo SCR 650, and the result is a real getaway machine. Spakes started by trimming away at the SCR’s road-compliance bits, like the stock license plate bracket, passenger pegs and fenders. While it looks like a much racier piece, most of the stock tail section remains and still accommodates the original scrambler seat. Spakes then dug into the parts bin at Moto Morini for a 17-inch rear wheel from the X-Cape ADV and wrapped both wires with beefy Kenda Big Block tires. Crash bars and a monster skid plate up the SCR’s off-road cred and Spakes laughingly reports that the rad guard and headlight grille are inexpensive bits straight off the web. On the contrary, the polished stainless steel exhaust system was neither cheap nor easy to create. Spakes started with raw tubing and pie cuts and fabricated the 2-into-1 system by hand to match the SCR’s curves. Just the amount of racy bling, we’re sure it emits an aggressive tone from Moto Morini’s 649 cc parallel twin. Finishing touches on the SCR include motocross-style bars and an urban camo wrap that could pass for forged carbon fiber from a distance. On the thorough usage of orange on the bike, Spakes replies, “Orange can be used by any motorcycle brand.” We hear you loud and clear. Hooligan Series Harley-Davidson Pan America From the old-school Battle of the Twins to the modern King of the Baggers series, there’s just something we Americans cannot resist about an unlikely V-twin hero. Building off the public interest and innovation bred by the KOTB series, the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship has spawned some equally impressive V-twin racers. Take this track-prepped Pan America for instance. The Super Hooligan series started as a collaborative effort between MotoAmerica and (arguably) the king of V-twin performance—Roland Sands. Rules stipulate that the frames are stock, street bodywork is shed and engines are limited to 125 hp to keep things at a reasonable level. Prepping the Pan America for the track starts with a serious diet to get the 569-pound bike down to the minimum allowable weight of 420 pounds. As you’d expect, that includes a liberal application of carbon fiber, including the complete tail section, front fender and other bits. The bars remain above the top clamp per the rules, but custom rear-set pegs and controls (along with Dunlop race rubber) bring the Pan Am’s lean angle to a level HD never imagined. The Harley’s wheelbase would need to be shortened to make it handle, and a lot of that magic happens in the swingarm. It looks a whole lot like the stock piece with the front third axed off, but the details likely include some serious arithmetic. A custom 2-into-1 stainless exhaust sheds more pounds off the Pan Am’s rear and makes the most of its 150 hp output. While the bike wasn’t accompanied in the booth, it looks to be the mount of Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson rider Cory West—a frontrunner in the 2024 season. Royal Enfield 850 Rally by Death Spray Custom When will Royal Enfield make the jump into the large displacement ADV scene? It’s a question that’s been on our mind for years, as both Himalayan models displace less than 500 cc. So imagine the shock of seeing this f-ing awesome retro Dakar rally machine at the AIMExpo, powered by an 850 cc air-cooled twin. So what’s the scoop? Dubbed ‘Wildfire,’ the bike results from a three-year collaboration with David Gwyther of Death Spray Custom, whose eye-popping liveries have been made famous in Ken Block’s Gymkhana series, partnerships with Bell helmets and more. Gwyther took inspiration from the 1990s Paris-Dakar Rally machines he grew up watching and envisioned a similarly capable machine based on modern running gear. Wildfire runs an 850 cc version of Royal’s 650 used in the Bear and INT models. Big bore kits are widely available for these engines, bringing output up from 47 hp to 75 hp (if you opt for the 865 cc displacement). What we can see of the chassis looks to be derived from 650 INT, but the suspension has been upgraded in a big way with a Showa USD fork and a Harris Performance swingarm. For all its mechanical savviness, it’s impossible to overlook the retro rally bodywork. It was a complete custom job from tip to tail, which perfectly captures the vibe of Dakar in the ’90s, but was also executed in a trail-side serviceable manner. The colorway is nearly as cool now as it would have been back in the day, and even makes use of era-correct sponsorship decals. For now, Royal Enfield isn’t touting Wildfire as anything more than a custom concept but admits that a larger displacement ADV is their most frequently requested offering. So it’s at least on their radar, and when it does materialize, let’s hope it’s at least half this rad. Russell Hacker’s 2010 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Turn 14 Distribution may not be a household name, but if you’re any bit invested in the motorcycle, automotive or 4×4 scene, odds are they back a bunch of your favorite brands. Beyond that, they back their employees as well, boasting that 90% of their staff are enthusiasts in the industries they support. That makes things easier when you need a couple of bikes to fill your booth at the AIMExpo, and Turn 14 Sales Specialist Russell Hacker stepped up to the plate with this 2010 Harley Heritage Classic. Hacker’s Twin Cam is loaded with custom HD styling cues and made quite a statement on the show floor, but the long list of go-fast goodies reveals he has more than display in mind. The Softail was torn down to the bare chassis, which was shaved and boxed for all the wiring to be run internally. The rear was dropped 2” with parts from Progressive Suspension and the HD springer runs a Burly fork lowering kit. Performance Machine supplied the high-impact Heathen wheels, sized 21” front and 18” rear, and they’re shod in Dunlop Elite 3 Tires. With the handmade fuel tank, headlight and oil bag handling cosmetics, the Softail relies on a suite of hop-up parts (predominantly from the companies Turn 14 represents) to make sure the bite matches its bark. New pistons were sourced from CP, along with a chain-drive camshaft kit from S&S. Performance Machine supplied the velocity stack intake and a Vance & Hines FP3 fuel tuner keeps the gasoline flowing. As tricked out of a Softail as you’ll find, details like the custom paint, brass oil lines and solid brass grips are lost in the whole, not to mention the custom suede saddle with oil-valved seat shocks. Hacker reports that the bike is awesome to ride, and we couldn’t imagine a more fitting piece for Turn 14’s booth. Royal Enfield 650 by Sosa Metalworks Royal Enfield probably has one of the best custom builder programs in the biz right now, as the latest models regularly get worked over by some of the best names in the industry and shown worldwide. For a modern mill, Royal’s 650 has loads of classic charm, but still, I’m sure no one could have predicted how far Christian Sosa would take it. Sosa’s name became synonymous with high-end metal fab more than a decade ago during his time as lead fabricator on the Discovery Channel’s Counting Cars series. He opened Sosa Metalworks in 2012, specializing in vintage cars and motorcycles, but it’s imaginative classic bikes like this Enfield that define his style. If anyone was looking for spares, the cast-offs from Sosa’s build would have been a one-stop shop, as the engine and induction system looks to be the only OE equipment remaining. Used in the INT and Bear 650 models, the air/oil-cooled parallel twin produces 47 hp stock, and Sosa has proven just how rideable the bike is on screen several times. It’s easier to list the pieces of Sosa’s bike that aren’t hand fabricated than the ones that are, as the frame sections, fuel tank and girder front end were all TIG welded and metal finished—with the level of talent that went into each piece on full display. The bike rides on a pair of 21 wheels with Firestone tires with a single BYBRE disc brake in the rear for practicality. Manufactured in India for Brembo, the caliper and disc look to be the stock setup off the front of the 650 INT. How convenient. AIMExpo | Photos by Tom Gosselin

Motorcycling can be a selfish endeavor—and yet, motorcyclists can be some of the most charitable people around. If you’re one of those motorcyclists, CROIG and Yamaha have a treat for you. This wild Yamaha XSR900 is being given away to raise funds for Waves for Water, a nonprofit that provides clean water to communities that need it.

This is the second time the two parties have teamed up for charity. The project, dubbed ‘Yard Built for Good,’ is the brainchild of David Chang—founder of the immensely popular CROIG (Café Racers of Instagram)—and is supported by Yamaha’s Yard Built custom initiative. The idea is simple; build a killer custom bike, and give it away to one lucky Waves for Water donor.

For this round of Yard Built for Good, the crew took a 2022-model Yamaha XSR900 and turned it into a fully-faired racer.…

Motorcycling can be a selfish endeavor—and yet, motorcyclists can be some of the most charitable people around. If you’re one of those motorcyclists, CROIG and Yamaha have a treat for you. This wild Yamaha XSR900 is being given away to raise funds for Waves for Water, a nonprofit that provides clean water to communities that need it. This is the second time the two parties have teamed up for charity. The project, dubbed ‘Yard Built for Good,’ is the brainchild of David Chang—founder of the immensely popular CROIG (Café Racers of Instagram)—and is supported by Yamaha’s Yard Built custom initiative. The idea is simple; build a killer custom bike, and give it away to one lucky Waves for Water donor. For this round of Yard Built for Good, the crew took a 2022-model Yamaha XSR900 and turned it into a fully-faired racer. Inspiration for the build came from the iconic Tech21 Yamaha FZR750 that King Kenny Roberts rode in the 1985 Suzuka 8 Hours. The guys turned to Los Angeles-based custom shop Strange Industries to do the heavy lifting. Their first step was to tear the XSR900 down to its frame, unbolt its factory subframe, and shape new bodywork out of foam. The design was then taken into the digital realm, refined, and used to create 3D-printed molds. Those molds were in turn used to shape the final parts out of AmpliTex—a high-performance fabric that offers a sustainable alternative to carbon fiber. Despite the radical design, the base bike remains unmolested. The bodywork attaches to it via a set of bespoke brackets, the OEM fuel cell hides under the tank cover, and the original subframe has been unbolted to make way for a custom unit. The heavily sculpted bodywork is sprinkled with neat details. Up front, an aero wing (inspired by modern MotoGP bikes) is complemented by a pair of razor-sharp Rizoma mirrors. A removable cover sits in front of the stock headlight, while an LED taillight sits inside a slotted housing out back. David didn’t want to compromise the XSR900’s reliability or usability, so the remaining mods were chosen to enhance performance. They include a custom air intake that’s integrated with the bike’s Deltabox frame, and a full exhaust system from Akrapovič. The team also fitted Öhlins suspension at both ends, plus stunning carbon fiber wheels from Rotobox and Bridgestone Battlax tires. The clip-ons and rear-set pegs are Gilles Tooling parts. Tying everything together is a kinetic livery that plays on traditional Yamaha and Tech21 color palettes, designed by Ryan Quickfall. The whole thing is pitch-perfect, and would sit nicely in Yamaha’s line-up alongside the XSR900 GP as a tribute to a different era of racing. If the Yard Built for Good Yamaha XSR900 floats your boat, donate at least $10 to Waves for Water. All proceeds will go directly towards clean water initiatives all over the world—and you might end up with a slick new addition to your garage. Enter here | CROIG | Strange Industries | Images by Kevin Pak and Brandon LaJoie

Deus ex Machina finesses the Vespa GTS 300, Untitled Motorcycles rescues a beat-up Zero FXS, and Brooklyn’s The Lurkshop goes buck wild on the Suzuki DR650. In motorcycle news, Ducati updates the XDiavel with their V4 Granturismo engine to turn it into a 168-horsepower super cruiser.

Vespa GTS 300 by Deus ex Machina If you haven’t sampled the Vespa GTS 300 yet, you’re missing out. It’s nippy, handles surprisingly well for a scooter with 12” wheels, and looks killer. It doesn’t exactly beg to be customized—but that didn’t stop Deus ex Machina Australia’s Jeremy Tagand from taking a crack at it.

To the uninitiated, Jeremy’s Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport could be mistaken for a factory bike. But that’s its charm.…

Deus ex Machina finesses the Vespa GTS 300, Untitled Motorcycles rescues a beat-up Zero FXS, and Brooklyn’s The Lurkshop goes buck wild on the Suzuki DR650. In motorcycle news, Ducati updates the XDiavel with their V4 Granturismo engine to turn it into a 168-horsepower super cruiser. Vespa GTS 300 by Deus ex Machina If you haven’t sampled the Vespa GTS 300 yet, you’re missing out. It’s nippy, handles surprisingly well for a scooter with 12” wheels, and looks killer. It doesn’t exactly beg to be customized—but that didn’t stop Deus ex Machina Australia’s Jeremy Tagand from taking a crack at it. To the uninitiated, Jeremy’s Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport could be mistaken for a factory bike. But that’s its charm. Instead of making radical changes, the French wrench nipped and tucked the Vespa in tasteful ways, creating a stylish runner that’s a cut above your garden variety Vespa. The biggest job was ditching the scoot’s bulky taillight and turn signals, which involved filling in and smoothing out the indented housings that they lived in. Jeremy trimmed the rear fender too, then installed a pair of Kellerman LEDs that do double duty as taillights and rear signals. The front end received the same treatment, with tiny Kellerman units sitting atop the original mirror mounts. Jeremy also removed the Vespa’s front fender ‘fin,’ leaving the bodywork super sano from front to back. The cockpit was treated to a drop-in digital dash from SIP Scootershop, plus Motogadget grips, switches, and bar-end mirrors. A smoked LED headlight completes the set. Nicknaming the scooter ‘Don’t Panic,’ Jeremy settled on a black-on-black livery for his creation. Colourfuel stepped up to the plate, hitting the Vespa with touches of satin and gloss black. The seat uses a mix of plain and perforated Alcantara and leather sections, and all of the previously chromed bits have been powder-coated black. YSS Suspension, Michelin tires, and a barking Akrapovič exhaust add a smidgen of performance. Jeremy sums Deus’ Vespa GTS 300 up as “not loud, not showy—just effortlessly confident.” We concur. [Deus Ex Machina] Zero FXS by Untitled Motorcycles The simplicity and tightly packaged design of most electric drivetrains make electric bikes more modular than their petrol-powered prototypes. So it’s curious that we don’t see more bolt-on custom kits for them. This modified Zero FXS from Untitled Motorcycles makes a strong case for that approach. In stock form, the FXS is a zippy supermoto with 106 Nm of maximum torque and 46 hp on hand, in a package weighing just 133 kilos [293 pounds]. Although the Zero FXS looks good enough out of this box, this particular one was in dire need of a makeover. It had been stolen—and then recovered, thanks to its built-in GPS-based anti-theft tracker. But the thieves had been less than kind to the bike, leaving the bodywork mangled. Adam Kay at Untitled’s UK workshop yanked the damaged parts off, before handing the bike over to Jack Lennie to 3D scan the whole thing. Next, he designed three new parts—a headlight shroud, a ‘tank’ cover, and a tailpiece. The idea was to laser cut and fold each part—but before Adam created the final metal pieces, he prototyped them out of foldable plastic. “It looked cool right away, especially in its bright blue test color,” he tells us. “The customer loved the shade, and just like that, the final color was locked in.” Once the design was translated into metal, Adam welded each edge to give each section a seamless finish. Glenn Moger added the seat pad, while Arni at Pro Kustoms handled the stunning satin blue paint job. Adam’s go-to electrical guy, Paul, wired in a new headlight, taillight, and Motogadget turn signals. The design is minimalistic, but it’s not devoid of details. There’s a UMC logo cut into the headlight ‘grill,’ plus slots at key points to make wiring work easy. And because the kit uses just three pieces, it can be fitted in minutes—provided you’re happy to drill and tap a few new holes to mount it to. Adam’s just produced one kit for now but he’s keen to do more… if there’s interest. [Source] Suzuki DR650 by The Lurkshop “Our thing is sleepers,” explains Ross Miller—founder of The Lurkshop in Brooklyn, New York. “We love a bike that works better more than just looks better.” This Suzuki DR650 encapsulates this philosophy in stylish retro fashion. The 1991-model DR650S was brought in by a customer who was happy to let Ross run wild with it. So he and his crew cranked the late 80s / early 90s vibes up to eleven, and packed the venerable dual-sport with scores of hidden upgrades. For starters, the DR650’s engine was bumped up to 670 cc with a high-compression piston, an upgraded cam, a ported head, reworked valves, and a programmable ignition. With a Yoshimura flatslide carb and GPR exhaust in the mix, it now makes a stonking 54 hp at the rear wheel. The forks are off a Suzuki DR-Z400, but they’ve been rebuilt and re-valved to suit The Lurkshop’s customer, while a Hagon shock sits at the back. The wheels are 17” supermoto items from Gale Speed, wrapped in Dunlop Q5S tires. Custom details include the steering stem, some machine work to make the back wheel fit the Suzuki swingarm, a rebuilt rear linkage, and Beringer brake components. Visually, the DR650 is a neon dream with fresh graphics, a freshly powder-coated frame, and color-matched finishes on everything from the dashboard to the brake calipers. A custom seat from Volcano Industry complements the paint job, and, according to Ross, there’s also a “music box that plays all your favorite anime themes when the ignition is turned on.” Sure to turn heads, The Lurkshop’s Suzuki DR650 reportedly has the go to match the show. “Cause of the cam, it just keeps pulling,” Ross testifies. “Rips the front wheel off the ground rolling off and on in third and handles like a demon. Stops hard with one finger.” “Looks like a DR650, handles like a 125 supermoto. Everything is tight and fast.” [Source] 2025 Ducati XDiavel V4 If the Ducati XDiavel has never made much sense to you, look away now. But if you’re gaga for Ducati’s monstrous ‘sport cruiser,’ we’ve got good news—it’s now more bonkers than ever. The Borgo Panigale firm has upgraded the XDiavel V4 with their V4 Granturismo engine, matching cruiser ergonomics to MotoGP-derived performance. The 1,158 cc motor delivers 168 hp and 125.5 Nm of torque, features a counter-rotating crankshaft, and helps bring the XDiavel’s overall dry weight to just 229 kg [505 lbs]. The redesign goes beyond just an engine swap. The XDiavel V4 sports a relaxed riding position with better seats for both the rider and passenger. It comes in ‘Black Lava’ and ‘Burning Red,’ with the same muscular aesthetic that we’ve come to expect from the Diavel series. Design highlights include front turn signals that are integrated into the side panels, full LED lighting, and a contrasting finish on the wheels that looks particularly swanky against the single-sided swingarm. Think of it as a two-wheeled American muscle car with Italian flair. The XDiavel V4 also gets upside-down forks, Brembo Stylema brakes, and a comprehensive electronic rider aids package. Cruise control and a quick-shifter are standard equipment, as is launch control. Aftermarket accessories include a kit to move the foot pegs further back, a tail cowl that turns the bike into a single-seater, a ‘comfort’ seat, panniers, a passenger backrest, and a whole lot more. As if the Ducati XDiavel V4 isn’t unapologetic enough, Ducati has given it a quad-muffler exhaust system to make its intentions clear. Is it overkill? Perhaps—but we love it. [Source]

Westbound I remember when we pulled in for breakfast in Port Allegany and she came over to greet us. There was an immediate shift in energy. To this point, we were all silently asking ourselves what we’d gotten ourselves into. It had been two days and when we took our helmets off, I could see it on Greg’s face and in Mike’s blank stare. I could hear it in my team’s whispering of doubts back in NH. Here’s what I learned most from traveling 10,000 miles into the American West over 37 days: I didn’t really know what I was doing.

After packing away our sleeping bags, we rolled through an unfamiliar town and found just the spot to shape what I would come to know most about this trip.…

Westbound I remember when we pulled in for breakfast in Port Allegany and she came over to greet us. There was an immediate shift in energy. To this point, we were all silently asking ourselves what we’d gotten ourselves into. It had been two days and when we took our helmets off, I could see it on Greg’s face and in Mike’s blank stare. I could hear it in my team’s whispering of doubts back in NH. Here’s what I learned most from traveling 10,000 miles into the American West over 37 days: I didn’t really know what I was doing. After packing away our sleeping bags, we rolled through an unfamiliar town and found just the spot to shape what I would come to know most about this trip. It started in a small diner with a late twenty-something single mom who brought an energy to her small-town life that I completely fell for. She owned a mule, had just bought herself a ’74 Yamaha enduro, and she bragged wholeheartedly about her town, her work, and her son. She looked to me the way you describe happy. It was refreshing to start the day over breakfast following her around while she got everyone’s mood up, running around like Bambi refilling hearts and mugs. We cleaned our plates and finished our coffee quietly and got back on the road. In the solitude of my helmet, I fantasized about selling off my belongings, packing my bags, finding simple work, and living out my days with her, her mule, her son, and her disposition. I asked myself: what makes a life? A road trip will give you all sorts of answers. For me, it happened riding through everything America could throw at us in just over a month’s time. When I’d left, I was eager to witness the enormous landscapes of the West and mostly what I found was the enormous diversity in how you can go about answering that question. It seems to me that when you free yourself from a single idea of what makes a life, you open up possibilities. And when you embrace the life you have, you open up to happiness. I left my driveway with two of my best friends and the life I had carved out, not really knowing what I was doing or what I might find. As we rolled back home on day thirty-seven, I believe each of us saw the uniqueness of the lives we made for ourselves with fresh eyes. It’s been said that the best journeys answer questions that, in the beginning, you didn’t even think to ask. Preparing for Battle “You’re doing what?” I asked Brett. Again, he told me they wanted to fully outfit two side-car motorcycles as adventure bikes and take them on an extended trip west—10,000 miles to be exact—and that we needed to get moving on some customizations quick. To boot, they also had a truncated timetable (or what Brett often refers to as “an opportunity to push yourself ”). I’m no stranger to Ural motorcycles, the Russian sidecar manufacturer. In fact, the boys at Iron & Air weren’t either. They’ve had some twisted love affair going on with Ural since we pushed one through rain, snow and ice from Portland, OR to LA two years ago. This time, the plan was to simply equip two Urals (a CT and a 2WD Gear-Up) with all that the crew would need to embark upon a 10,000-mile journey. I was game. Out of the crate, the Ural is fairly capable. Listening to the guys describe the intended terrain, I knew we wouldn’t have to do anything drastic to them. Urals are much like little tractors (and need to be treated as such, I’ll add)—they shift clunky and they’re not quick, but as long as you respect them, they’ll take you virtually anywhere you want to go. And, that’s what Brett and the crew wanted to demonstrate—that the Urals could take them anywhere. Starting at the front, we swapped out the stock bars in favor of a set of heavy-duty Biltwell Moto bars and grips. This changed the rider position to make for a much more comfortable and controllable experience. Besides, who else puts Biltwell gear on a Ural? We made custom seats (for both rider and sidecar) with more comfortable foam and gave each a custom covering. Then we fabricated a myriad of racks, guards, and tie-down points, ensuring maximum gear storage and anchor points for all the Nemo camping equipment they’d take on the journey. We also built custom 2-into-1 exhaust systems using tubing and mufflers from Cone Engineering, and with the help of Ural New England, remapped the bikes, squeezing as much torque and performance possible out of the cold-blooded boxer twin. We could actually sustain 75 mph on them after the modifications. Pretty impressive, if you’ve ever piloted a Ural. To top it off, we added almost every OEM accessory available. Jerry can holders, push bars, auxiliary lighting—you name it. We also integrated a solar charging system by Goal Zero that allowed the boys to keep their digital devices topped off for the duration of the five-week trip. We spent 72 hours (with virtually no sleep) in Florida with the 2WD bike—building and prepping all the custom parts—then drove non-stop without sleep to Iron & Air HQ in New Hampshire. Once there, we immediately started outfitting all of the bikes (surviving solely on French press coffee, pizza and arm-wrestling), then proceeded to take the Urals on a 1,000-plus-mile break-in and shake-down run through the White Mountains of NH. Yes, an opportunity to push yourself, indeed. The Ural is a fascinating oddball of a motorcycle. Once you ride one, you can’t help but fall for it. Despite its quirks and idiosyncrasies, it’s part carnival and part tank that provides plenty of smiles while taking you almost anywhere you want to go. The boys were setting out to prove it. Though the time frame, odds, and variables were less than convenient, we accomplished our goal—getting the bikes finished and the guys on the road. In the end, that’s all that really matters. Getting on the road, allowing ourselves to be stolen away by the world, its hidden treasures, and all the adventure that awaits. G. K. Chesterton said, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” After experiencing this, I couldn’t agree more. Spending a shotgun weekend with Standard Motorcycle Co. cutting, drilling, re-mapping, and assembling the bikes we planned on riding into the Great American West proved to be a wise move. It familiarized us with the intricacies of the bikes in a way that only frantically disassembling something can. Also, we just can’t leave good enough alone. SMC built them to chew through miles and miles of whatever terrain might end up in our path. Good thing too, because we didn’t plan on sticking to the freeway. 2015 2WD Ural Gear-Up | 2014 Ural cT Specs: Engine: 749 cc OHV Air-cooled 2-cylinder 4-stroke Max Output: 41 hp @ 5500 rpm Max Torque: 42 ft. – lbs @ 4300 rpm Dry Weight: 730 lbs (Gear-Up), 700 lbs (cT) Custom Parts/Accessories: Biltwell Moto-bars and Recoil grips | Custom 2-into-1 exhaust systems by SMC | Cone Engineering tubing and mufflers Custom luggage and rack systems by SMC | Custom two-up and sidecar seats (Gear-Up) | Auxiliary charging system | Jerry can mounts Off-road lighting system | Custom tail light grille by SMC | Brooks waterproof bags While we decided to demonstrate a machine of a different kind as an adventure vehicle (the Ural), we knew we needed something of the two-wheeled variety to join us. A custom 2015 Triumph Scrambler would do the trick. It was equipped with dual-sport tires, upgraded suspension, and a new exhaust (among other things) to eat up miles of pavement and whatever backcountry our trip would throw at us. 2015 Triumph Scrambler Specs: Engine: 865 cc DOHC Air-cooled parallel-twin Max Output: 59 hp @ 6800 rpm Max Torque: 68 ft. – lbs @ 4750 rpm Dry Weight: 471 lbs Custom Parts/Accessories: Biltwell Moto-bars and Recoil Grips | Arrow exhaust system Skid plate | Custom rack and bag system by SMC | Engine tune by Triumph Twin Power UK | Metzeler Karoo 3 Tires This article first appeared in issue 22 of Iron & Air Magazine, and is reproduced here under license | With selections by Brett Houle and Jason Paul Michaels Selected photography may include works by Brett Houle, Gregory George Moore, Michael Hilton, Daniela Maria, Jenny Linquist, Becca Skinner, Kevin Bennett, David Mucci

Whether they’re designing luggage or planning picturesque rallies through the European Alps, motorcycles are core to everything that Malle London does. But so is style. So it stands to reason that the vehicles Malle picks for their endeavors are as tasteful as the gear they create.

These two Royal Enfield Continental GT 650s were built as the official support vehicles for the fourth running of the Great Malle Mountain Rally. Ridden by the rally’s support engineers—Malle co-founder Robert Nightingale and deBolex Engineering’s Calum Pryce-Tidd—the bikes were designed to be the last out and last in on the six-day regulation rally.

Starting in Austria and finishing in Monaco, the Great Malle Mountain Rally crosses six countries over 2,000 km [1,243 miles], rising thousands of meters above sea level with more turns and switchbacks than you can count.…

Whether they’re designing luggage or planning picturesque rallies through the European Alps, motorcycles are core to everything that Malle London does. But so is style. So it stands to reason that the vehicles Malle picks for their endeavors are as tasteful as the gear they create. These two Royal Enfield Continental GT 650s were built as the official support vehicles for the fourth running of the Great Malle Mountain Rally. Ridden by the rally’s support engineers—Malle co-founder Robert Nightingale and deBolex Engineering’s Calum Pryce-Tidd—the bikes were designed to be the last out and last in on the six-day regulation rally. Starting in Austria and finishing in Monaco, the Great Malle Mountain Rally crosses six countries over 2,000 km [1,243 miles], rising thousands of meters above sea level with more turns and switchbacks than you can count. Malle’s long-standing partnership with Royal Enfield meant that the team had two brand-new Continental GT 650 donor bikes at their disposal. Between the bike’s ‘Grand Touring’ designation, and the majestic regions that the Rally passes through, Malle’s thoughts immediately drifted to the endurance racing motorcycles of the 1970s. The bikes would need fairings that would help Robert and Callum cut through inclement weather, good lighting, and enough storage space for tools, medic kits, and extra fuel. They also needed to be instantly recognizable as support vehicles. Malle started by outfitting each Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 with a modified aftermarket fairing. Twin spotlights were added to provide sufficient lighting—and to nail the classic endurance racer aesthetic. The Continental GT has a beautifully sculpted fuel tank out of the box, so Malle left that alone. New saddles and tail cowls were added, along with trimmed rear fenders that host Motone taillights and license plate brackets. Tiny Kellermann LED turn signals were fitted to keep things tidy. Malle didn’t want to fiddle with the Continental GT’s geometry too much. They just swapped the stock controls out for adjustable clip-ons and rear-sets from Harris Performance, giving them room to fine-tune each support rider’s bike. Prioritizing reliability over speed, the twin-cylinder Royal Enfield engines were left stock. Malle simply fitted shorter exhaust mufflers, plus K-Tech suspension upgrades and Bridgestone BT46 tires to improve handling. Finally, each support bike was kitted with luggage racks, featuring a number board on one side and a Malle Expedition pannier on the other, housing all the bits and pieces needed to handle roadside emergencies. The bikes were then painted in matching split liveries, inspired by the flags of the countries covered during the rally; Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein, and Monaco. So how did the bikes perform? Robert fills us in on his longest day on the Rally: “As we departed the Rally camp in France on the morning of stage four, we set out in balmy, blue-sky, 29-degree [Celcius] temperatures. All intel informed us that the Col de L’iseran pass was open, but snow was a possibility. A backup Rally route was laid out in case of closures and the Rally teams departed, given the option to take the official rally route over the pass or a lower (and much warmer) route through the valley.” “As expected, all Rally teams chose to take the highest pass, and the first teams through reported back of very cold and windy temperatures, but no snow. Things were looking good. But hours later, after a few Rally teams had mechanical issues to support with, we only started the ascent much later in the day than planned.” “Snow was now 100% on the forecast. By the time we reached the very top of the mountain pass, we were the final sweeper team of three, with Rally photographer Max Howard and the two bikes. A light dusting of snow soon turned into a snowstorm, with strong winds sending snow drifts across the road.” We stopped for a few minutes to catch a few shots at the highest point of the Rally. Minutes later the road below was gone; just a white blanket of snow across the Alps beneath us.” “That was some of the slowest riding we’ve ever done in the Alps, slowly making our way through the snow, engine braking only, through ice-compacted tunnels, with strong gusts, snow being blown up under the visor, sending chills down your spine. Focusing on the road ahead, one kilometer at a time, trying not to look at the barrier-less roadside and the huge drops into the ravines below us. Cold, white-out, unnerving, but then suddenly quiet.” “The three of us stopped for a minute. We cut the engines—the strong winds had stopped and the view was majestic, the storm had passed and we had the mountain to ourselves. No one else was obviously crazy enough to be up here and we’d all gotten over the pass just in time, leaving a now snow-closed mountain pass behind us.” “No sooner had we been riding up into the snow, than we were then back off the mountain, in a tiny Italian village, warming ice cold hands on strong Italian coffee and buzzing from the wild ride behind us.” “As we reached the Rally Camp that night in darkness, we gently pushed open the huge oak doors, half expecting to receive disapproving looks from cold Rally riders that had been sent out to ride in snowy conditions in the middle of an Alpine ‘summer.’ The first rider greeted us with a huge high five; ‘Best day ever, man!’” Malle London | Facebook | Instagram | Photography by Max Howard

You can often tell when a custom motorcycle has been built merely to gawk at, and when it’s been built to be ridden. This rowdy Harley Sportster flat tracker leaves little room for doubt. Inspired by the iconic Harley XR750, it hits all the right aesthetic notes, with a build spec tailored to daily abuse.

It belongs to Romain Leclerc—a filmmaker based near Toulon on the French Riviera. As a teen, Romain rode BMX with a group of friends who called themselves ‘Les Pirates.’ Years later, the guys graduated from bicycles to motorcycles, riding and customizing them with the same irreverent energy that marked their BMX days.

This Sportster is Romain’s second custom build, not counting the bikes that he uses for racing and track days.…

You can often tell when a custom motorcycle has been built merely to gawk at, and when it’s been built to be ridden. This rowdy Harley Sportster flat tracker leaves little room for doubt. Inspired by the iconic Harley XR750, it hits all the right aesthetic notes, with a build spec tailored to daily abuse. It belongs to Romain Leclerc—a filmmaker based near Toulon on the French Riviera. As a teen, Romain rode BMX with a group of friends who called themselves ‘Les Pirates.’ Years later, the guys graduated from bicycles to motorcycles, riding and customizing them with the same irreverent energy that marked their BMX days. This Sportster is Romain’s second custom build, not counting the bikes that he uses for racing and track days. His goal was to build a daily runner with flat track style, and then he stumbled upon a rather unique donor bike—a 1997 Harley-Davidson XL1200S Sportster Sport, with a modified engine featuring two Buell front cylinder heads. The setup included two carbs on the right and twin pipes on the left, just like the XR750, which appealed to Romain. But the project was unfinished, and the bike wasn’t running. “There was a lot of work needed to untangle a very messy engine build that had been attempted in the 2000s,” he tells us. The Sportster’s engine went to Christophe Clergeat at Atelier C&C to finish the job properly. Some of the previous mods could be carried over—but he still had his work cut out from him. The rocker box covers needed machining, the oil circuit had to be reworked, and the bike needed bespoke cams. Christophe also installed a Dyna 2000i ignition and machined a pair of one-off intake manifolds to mount the carbs. The Sportster was treated to new exhausts too, built using SuperTrapp internals. “That’s just part of what he did,” says Romain, wryly. Meanwhile, Romain made a host of changes to the Sportster’s chassis and bodywork. 19-inch rims were laced to the OEM Harley hubs and the belt drive was swapped for a chain and sprockets. A Brembo brake up front improves stopping power, while the original H-D caliper still does duty out back. Suspension upgrades include a set of inverted Paioli forks from a Moto Guzzi, and 15-inch-long shocks, custom-built by YSS. “The bike is tuned more for reliability than for maximum performance, as I use it for daily riding,” says Romain. “It’s fun to ride, full of character, handles perfectly, and stops well.” The Sportster’s pick-and-mix bodywork came about by chance. Romain had sourced a fiberglass flat track tank and tail section, but the former had started disintegrating inside. So he popped an aftermarket Sportster tank on the bike while having the tail section painted in a suitable orange hue. “I ended up loving the mismatched look,” he says. “The bike is a Frankenstein’s monster anyway, and the disparate tank added to the character. So I painted visuals over the raw metal, treated the inside, and gave it a finish.” The only other bit of bodywork is the front number plate, which Romain made by hand. A small rectangular light sits just below it, with an off-the-shelf taillight tucked under the tail section’s lip. The cockpit wears Biltwell Inc. bars and grips, and push-button switches with internal wiring. A tiny Motogadget speedo, mounted in a housing with integrated warning lights, sits just below the bars. Romain’s ‘XR1200’ might look rough-hewn from afar, but it’s hard to deny the amount of consideration spent on getting every detail just right. And the fact that it tears up asphalt on the daily makes it that much sweeter. Syndicat Pirate | Images by Romain Leclerc | Film by Gustav Gentieu and Romain Leclerc

Before Harley-Davidson unceremoniously shuttered Buell, the all-American marque produced some of the most interesting motorcycles on the market. The late-2000s Buell XB series is a prime example. Combining aggressive streetfighter styling with bold engineering, it featured a Sportster engine with a downdraught intake, a sculpted fuel-in-frame chassis, and perimeter disc brakes.

David Shrader is a bigger Buell fan than most. An aircraft technician by trade, he bought his first Buell (an M2 Cyclone) new in 1999 and has been enamored with the brand since. For the past decade, he’s also run Revision Moto out of Boynton Beach, Florida, specializing in Buell tuning via a wireless interface he calls ‘Buelltooth.’

Now he’s upping the ante by offering a made-to-order Buell custom, dubbed ‘V-Speed.’…

Before Harley-Davidson unceremoniously shuttered Buell, the all-American marque produced some of the most interesting motorcycles on the market. The late-2000s Buell XB series is a prime example. Combining aggressive streetfighter styling with bold engineering, it featured a Sportster engine with a downdraught intake, a sculpted fuel-in-frame chassis, and perimeter disc brakes. David Shrader is a bigger Buell fan than most. An aircraft technician by trade, he bought his first Buell (an M2 Cyclone) new in 1999 and has been enamored with the brand since. For the past decade, he’s also run Revision Moto out of Boynton Beach, Florida, specializing in Buell tuning via a wireless interface he calls ‘Buelltooth.’ Now he’s upping the ante by offering a made-to-order Buell custom, dubbed ‘V-Speed.’ This is the prototype, which was built on the bones of a 2007-model Buell XB12S Lightning. Sitting somewhere between a café racer and a street tracker, it features a minimalistic silhouette—but there’s a lot going on under the hood. The project started several years ago when David purchased a Buell XB-specific café racer frame and kit. Built by Ludwigson Motor Co. in North Carolina, the kit is designed for carbureted Buells and uses a Honda CX500 Custom fuel tank. David wanted to add fuel injection though, and that presented some challenges. “The CX500 tank doesn’t have much space [for the fuel pump] due to the wide tunnel required for the 2” backbone frame,” he explains. “Also, a Buell XB throttle body can’t be used, because those are downdraft. My solutions involved turning the frame into an additional fuel cell that houses the fuel pump, and using a modified Sportster throttle body still controlled by a Buell ECM with the necessary settings changes.” David made a few more changes to the Ludwigson design, adding a café racer-style seat and rewiring the bike around a set of Motogadget goodies. Happy with the result, he decided to develop the concept further and offer it to others—but he soon realized that more work was required. “The seat height was a bit high, and cramming a fuel system into a frame that wasn’t meant to have one was not viable from a production standpoint,” he adds. Work commitments in the aircraft industry kept David occupied for the next couple of years, leaving the Buell project shelved. Then he connected with Dave Cutler—a professional stunt man and fabricator who had built a Buell XB stunt bike. “I brought my bike to his home near Atlanta to see if he could build something that solved the problems,” David tells us. “We did some brainstorming, and I ended up leaving it there and giving him creative license. In a few months, he built the first version of the frame design used today, while I went to work modifying a Honda CX500 fuel tank, which was used to make molds for a carbon fiber version.” Hammer Performance supplied a full performance package, including reworked heads, 1,275 cc cylinders and pistons, upgraded cams, and more, while R&D Motorsports rebuilt the transmission. The bike was performing well, but it would take another five years before Revision Moto would be ready to offer it to the public. The final prototype uses a refined version of the Cutler frame that borrows some elements from the original Ludwigson design, but with an utterly unique result. The chunky cross brace at the center of the chassis houses the fuel pump, while the triple-tubed backbone shares fuel-carrying duties with the carbon kevlar fuel tank. Other carbon details include the front fender and the seat pan, which supports a bespoke saddle from Tuffside. The engine breathes easy thanks to a K&N filter, a Revision Moto large-bore intake manifold and throttle body, and a two-into-one exhaust with a classic reverse-cone muffler. There are custom details galore—from the front belt cover and rear-set controls to the machined subframe braces. As a nod to the bike’s originals, the V-Speed still wears its OEM forks, wheels, and a Buell ZTL2 front brake caliper. The latter’s been upgraded with a cooling duct, and the rear shock’s been swapped out for an updated unit from K-Tech. A super-sano cockpit rounds out the package, built around a Revision Moto headlight bucket featuring an integrated Motogadget speedo. The switches, bar-end turn signals, and mirrors are also Motogadget bits, and David’s revised Motogadget-centric wiring loom still lurks beneath the surface. Now that it’s finally done, Revision Moto is ready to offer the V-Speed as a built-to-order custom bike (or as a conversion kit), complete with a manufacturer’s certificate of origin for the frame and a range of engine performance options. Are you as tempted as we are? Revision Moto | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Minnerly Media

Ever heard the expression “A builder’s house is never finished?” It counts for custom motorcycle builders, too. Even though customization is their bread and butter, many of them ride bikes that are stock—or just partially modified.

That was the status of Nicko Eigert’s 2012-model Moto Guzzi V7 up until recently. The founder of Indonesia’s Smoked Garage bought the V7 about a year ago as his personal daily runner, but it soon became the shop’s workhorse. And even though he had a million ideas of what he wanted to do to it, a steady stream of customer projects kept it on the back burner.

Things changed when the Moto Guzzi, which had been super dependable until then, broke down. With parts on order from Italy and the V7 patiently waiting on the bench, Nicko and his team couldn’t resist making a few tweaks.…

Ever heard the expression “A builder’s house is never finished?” It counts for custom motorcycle builders, too. Even though customization is their bread and butter, many of them ride bikes that are stock—or just partially modified. That was the status of Nicko Eigert’s 2012-model Moto Guzzi V7 up until recently. The founder of Indonesia’s Smoked Garage bought the V7 about a year ago as his personal daily runner, but it soon became the shop’s workhorse. And even though he had a million ideas of what he wanted to do to it, a steady stream of customer projects kept it on the back burner. Things changed when the Moto Guzzi, which had been super dependable until then, broke down. With parts on order from Italy and the V7 patiently waiting on the bench, Nicko and his team couldn’t resist making a few tweaks. Before long, plans to build a full-on custom build had taken shape. “The concept that we went for was a futuristic scrambler with a touch of vintage,” says Nicko. “We wanted the bike to be super nimble and wild, so that when you corner it just wants to slide. We also wanted to ensure it could split lanes through traffic easily.” Visual inspiration came from a Royal Enfield Himalayan that Smoked had built a few years back. The idea was to keep things in the same aesthetic ballpark, but amplify the styling to match the bigger Moto Guzzi. Taking cues from the Himalayan, Smoked ditched the OEM bodywork and fabricated a monocoque tank and tail unit out of aluminum. As impressive as the monocoque is, it hides some of Smoked’s trickier work. Most of the V7’s frame is bespoke, as is its swingarm and rear mono-shock suspension setup. A channel through the center of the body reveals the bike’s centrally-mounted Öhlins shock. “We wanted to change the character of the motorcycle to be much more responsive in urban environments,” Nicko explains. “To do so, we had to go with a mono-shock. We also wanted to have the center of gravity closer to the engine—so we placed the shock ‘in’ the tank, with a custom triple-linkage to have it all working like a Swiss clock.” Smoked retained the Moto Guzzi’s front forks, but upgraded them with Öhlins internals. The stock hubs were laced to matching 18” aluminum rims, and the brake calipers were swapped out for Brembo items. The front end sports a handmade aluminum headlight shroud, fitted with a powerful LED projector. In a delightful display of overkill, Smoked added four more spotlights further down, mounted in custom-made fork protectors. Completing the lighting is an acrylic LED-equipped taillight; a Smoked Garage signature. Closer inspection reveals a tiny camera mounted at each end of the bike. Both are integrated with an aftermarket dash mounted to the bars, recording each ride automatically and eliminating the need for rear-view mirrors. The cockpit also features MX-style handlebars, fitted with Motogadget switches, grips, and bar-end turn signals. The V7 is finished in a striking green and copper color scheme, with dollops of carbon fiber to tie everything together. Minimalistic graphics include the Latin word for copper on the tank, and the bike’s nickname on the headlight nacelle; ‘Grumpy.’ The seat features two layers of fabric, with a laser-cut pattern on the top layer revealing the contrasting color beneath it. Finer details include a neatly hidden RFID ignition, and a smattering of CNC-machined parts. A two-into-two stainless steel exhaust system adds an appropriately rowdy soundtrack. Smoked’s Moto Guzzi V7 not only looks more compact now, but it weighs less too. Nicko’s managed to shave 22 kilos [48.5 pounds] off of the chunky V-twin, making it even more fun to hoon around on. “Overall, it’s exactly what I envisioned how my personal motorcycle would look and feel,” he adds. “Very pleasing to the eye—but wild to ride.” Smoked Garage | Facebook | Instagram

We open this weekend’s proceedings with a neo-retro kit for the Yamaha Ténéré 700, before changing gears and profiling a bulked-up Honda Monkey from Indonesia. The second half of this week’s Speed Read focuses on boutique concept bikes; the all-electric Ichiban, and the turbocharged Langen LS12 Turbo.

Yamaha Ténéré 700 kit by Holy Moly Motorcycles As adventure bikes go, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 isn’t the prettiest—but it’s not the ugliest either. Looks aside, the proper 21-inch front wheel, long-travel suspension, and delightful Yamaha cross-plane twin-cylinder engine will have anyone grinning like a lunatic.

One such beaming beau is Gareth Charlton, a name you might recognize as a London Bike Shed original and Bike EXIF contributor. Gareth keeps a close eye on the custom world—and that eye was recently drawn to a custom Yamaha Ténéré 700 modified by Holy Moly Motorcycles.…

We open this weekend’s proceedings with a neo-retro kit for the Yamaha Ténéré 700, before changing gears and profiling a bulked-up Honda Monkey from Indonesia. The second half of this week’s Speed Read focuses on boutique concept bikes; the all-electric Ichiban, and the turbocharged Langen LS12 Turbo. Yamaha Ténéré 700 kit by Holy Moly Motorcycles As adventure bikes go, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 isn’t the prettiest—but it’s not the ugliest either. Looks aside, the proper 21-inch front wheel, long-travel suspension, and delightful Yamaha cross-plane twin-cylinder engine will have anyone grinning like a lunatic. One such beaming beau is Gareth Charlton, a name you might recognize as a London Bike Shed original and Bike EXIF contributor. Gareth keeps a close eye on the custom world—and that eye was recently drawn to a custom Yamaha Ténéré 700 modified by Holy Moly Motorcycles. Francisco, the big boss at Holy Moly, had recently injected some retro style into his own Ténéré 700 and developed a kit. Gareth was immediately smitten. A few Instagram exchanges later, Francisco and a friend hopped on a plane from Portugal to London with a full Holy Moly Ténéré kit tucked safely in the hold. The kit consists of a few choice aftermarket parts and some 3D-printed goodies. Starting up front is a high-mount fender, paired with an extension to cover the lower half of the front wheel. A classic Acerbis Elba headlight kit, converted to LED, is clamped onto the front forks, with a 3D-printed mount relocating the factory dashboard to the handlebars. The radiator guard, tiny LED turn signals, and turn signal brackets are also supplied by Holy Moly. Beyond the kit, Gareth’s T7 sports R-Tech rear and side panels, a tail tidy, and a Camel ADV Rally exhaust. The crash bars and bash plate are from Outback Motortek and the handguards are from Barkbusters. An OEM Yamaha rally seat replaces the original, and a set of Michelin Anakee Wild tires wrap around the hoops. [Holy Moly Motorcycles] A Holy Moly decal kit from King Stickers gets this neo-retro dual-sport over the finish line. The Yamaha Ténéré 700 is not only visually lighter now, but physically lighter too, since over 10 kilos [22 pounds] of stuff was removed. Not bad for an afternoon’s work with a few mates and some hand tools. Honda Monkey 125 by Treasure Garage Led by Imanuel ‘Nuel’ Prokoso, Indonesia’s Treasure Garage is one of the best custom shops the country has to offer. The Balinese workshop pumps out a steady stream of custom bikes year-round, which owners and onlookers can enjoy forever. For their latest project, the team decided to transform a Honda Monkey into a metaphorical giant. As with all Treasure Garage builds, the process started with an über-refined 3D render of the bike. From there, the project began in earnest. After tracking down a suitable donor bike, the factory bodywork was shaved off and custom aluminum body parts were made from scratch. The front fender was modeled off a full-size sportbike and replicated in Monkey Scale. A pair of wheel covers lend a sense of weight at each end of the bike, as does the custom headlight grille. The black intake covers (under the tank) are artfully designed, and house custom turn signals on their leading edges. The belly pan is another custom item and we love the oversized cooling inlet behind the front wheel. The subframe was chopped, kicked up, and looped to accept the custom black leather seat, and new side covers were fashioned in the same style as the belly pan. The stunning rear wheel hugger is a standout part; the integrated LED turn signals match those on the intake cover, while the mounting brackets add a touch of elegance. While the belly pan hides most of the custom exhaust, it can’t muffle the sound of the twin slash-cut tips. But even without a raucous soundtrack to announce its arrival, this Honda Monkey is hard to miss. [Source] The Langen LS12 Turbo In 2021, Langen Motorcycles released something we hadn’t seen in a few decades—a brand-new, road-going, two-stroke motorcycle. Limited to just 100 units, the Langen Two Stroke is made by hand in the company’s Ashton-in-Makerfield workshop, just outside of Manchester in the UK. Following on from their bonkers smoker, Langen Motorcycles is back with another concept. Langen aims to bring iconic designs and engineering from the past and mix them with the latest technology, materials, and manufacturing processes. So the next logical step for them is forced induction. Meet the turbocharged Langen LS12 Turbo. The LS in the name stands for Lightspeed, which is a new four-stroke powerplant from Langen that will soon be going into production. The 1,190 cc V-twin pumps out an already-respectable 185 hp and has been designed with turbo-charging in mind. 90% of the LS12 Lightspeed’s construction is being used for the LS12 Turbo. After the big snail is slapped onto the LS12, power figures will rise to over 300 hp. And yes—this is Langen’s attempt to claim the title of ‘world’s fastest production motorcycle.’ The high-tech twin is encased in a trellis frame and is suspended by a gorgeous swingarm and an Öhlins front end. The twin rear shocks are also from Öhlins, and there is a smattering of top-shelf components at every corner of the bike. The curvaceous bodywork is paired with LED lighting which is contained in milled aluminum housings that look more like jewelry than motorcycle parts. There is no word on price, but seeing as the Lightspeed starts at over $46,000 (£37,000), expect the LS12 Turbo to eclipse that figure. If any of this sounds appealing, reach out to Langen Motorcycles sooner rather than later—LS12 Lightspeed numbers are limited to just 185 units, and the LS12 Turbo will be even more exclusive. [Source] Ichiban electric motorcycle concept by Ivan Zhurba What do you get when you task an award-winning industrial designer with a love for 80s anime with designing a motorcycle? The short answer is this—the Ichiban electric motorcycle concept by Ivan Zhurba. The design is Zhurba’s modern interpretation of the famous red motorcycle ridden by Shotaro Kaneda in the 1980s anime Akira. You might have to squint to see the resemblance, but at least the color, headlight, and wheel covers are familiar. The Ichiban is a pure EV, so most of the construction is hidden beneath the futuristic bodywork. What we can see is a set of upside-down forks and a solid handlebar with a 1960s Honda Dream vibe. The cantilevered seat and ‘tank’ section seem to be suspended above the large battery box, so we assume the motor is housed somewhere in the black swingarm. As for figures, the Ichiban promises to deliver. Powered by a 45 kW dual-motor system, it will theoretically propel riders to 100 km/h [62 mph] in just 3.5 seconds. It has a claimed range of around 250 km [155 miles] and will apparently be able to achieve a 70% charge in just 30 minutes. Standout features include the turbofan wheels, the single rectangular LED projector headlight, and the sneaky front turn signals, integrated into the front section of the bodywork. The designers are also working on delivering a ‘Godzilla’ mode, where maximum torque and power will be channeled through the motors for ten full seconds. Electric motors have gobs of torque, so the bike will have traction control (and ABS) to help riders not spin out. The Ichiban has been in development for a few years now, so we hope Zhurba can get it over the line and into production. Sure, the design won’t appeal to everyone, but we reckon it’ll find its niche. [Source | Via]

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A group named Cybertruck Hunters are using the EVs as rolling billboards to display messages against Musk and Tesla

TikTok protestors are targeting Cybertrucks with messages aimed directly at Elon Musk. The messages include clippings of Musk’s controversial hand gesture at Trump’s inauguration. Many users are also critical of the CEO’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. From the moment Elon Musk started to dip his toes into politics and public affairs, there’s been a growing trend of anti-Tesla sentiment among those who oppose him and his views. Of course, there are also plenty who support him, and many of them are quite vocal, but a recent study out of the UK indicated that some shoppers are being turned away by his antics. At the same time Musk has courted a growing amount of controversy, some are also growing tired of the much-hyped Tesla Cybertruck. Bring a distaste for Musk and the Cybertruck together and you get the Cybertruck Hunters, a TikTok page doing their best to poke the bear that is the world’s richest man. Read: Activists Project ‘Heil Tesla’ Onto Musk’s Own German Gigafactory The TikTok page in question was only started a few days ago, but its mission is clear: the TikTokers drive around at night looking for Cybertrucks to target. When they find one, they pull up behind it and shine a projector onto the EV’s stainless steel tailgate. They then proceed to display images and statements critical of Musk and the Cybertruck. It’s pretty clever and is similar to what recent Tesla protestors did in Germany, projecting Musk’s infamous Nazi-esque salute on the carmaker’s German factory. @cybertruck_hunters ♬ original sound – cybertruck hunters Musk Hate All kinds of different messages are being displayed on the back of Cybertrucks. One reads, ‘I wonder if everyone who’s passing me think I am a Nazi?,’ before cutting to a clip of Musk making his controversial hand gesture at President Trump’s inauguration. It then reads, ‘Or do they think I am just an arrogant prick?’ Another message reads ‘Tesla Cybertruck, The Most Recalled Truck In 2024.’ Others are even more critical, with one showing an image of Musk and then stating ‘Figures the guy who made a truck shaped like a coffin… Gets pleasure out of killing 3.2 million Sudanese children.’ This appears to be in reference to Musk’s Starlink shutting its internet service in Sudan last year amid a huge humanitarian crisis. @cybertruck_hunters ♬ Solitude (Felsmann + Tiley Reinterpretation) – M83 & Felsmann + Tiley There are some more political messages being displayed too. One states that ‘Musk has called DEI ‘another word for racism’ and has criticized it as immoral and illegal, which might explain why he designed the Cybertruck for white pricks.’ One of the funnier messages says, ‘Don’t think of this as a truck… think of it as a small (explicit) enlarger.’ We’ve reached out to the TikTok account seeking additional information about their goals and what has triggered their disdain for Musk and the Cybertruck – although, judging from their context, the latter is probably clear… @cybertruck_hunters ♬ this is Elon musk – العربي موراتا @cybertruck_hunters ♬ original sound – Cindy Noir✨

Tedson Motors has equipped the V10 supercar with suspension components from the Gallardo Super Trofeo racer

The overhauled Italian supercar has a built 5.0-liter V10 delivering 600 hp and revving to 10,000 rpm. Tedson Motors has crafted the Gallardo’s sultry bodywork from lightweight carbon fiber. Photos of the car’s interior have yet to be released, nor do we know how many units will be built. Does the world need more sports cars and supercar restomods? Probably not, but in the case of the Etna from Tedson Motors, we’re willing to make an exception as it takes the original Lamborghini Gallardo and makes it look even better. Sure, it may cost $787,000 (plus the cost of the donor car), and it comes from a Croatian firm you’ve probably never heard of, but it’s nice to see a car other than the Porsche 911 getting modernized. To create the Etna, Tedson Motors starts with a regular first-generation Gallardo and adorns it with an all-new carbon fiber body. Changes start at the front, where there’s a unique bumper and hood, as well as updated versions of the car’s original headlights, now complete with LED daytime running lights. The side profile of the Etna is particularly gorgeous. Read: Caterham Designer Puts A $900,000 Twist On A 2000s Ferrari The Lambo sits on a set of custom wheels and features new rocker panels, door skins, and new side air intakes. It then rocks a trio of louvers on the hind quarters. Then there’s the rear. Arguably looking more cohesive than the new Lamborghini Temerario, the Etna has a unique engine cover, additional air vents, a large ducktail spoiler, and fancy LED taillights, similar to those found on the Revuelto. The Gallardo’s exhausts have also been shifted to the center and there’s a new bumper and diffuser package. Performance Upgrades and Weight Reduction Tedson Motors didn’t just focus on looks. Thanks to the new carbon fiber panels, the Etna sheds 200 kg (440 lbs) from the Gallardo’s original curb weight. To complement this significant weight reduction, Tedson also borrowed suspension components from the Gallardo Super Trofeo racer, ensuring that the car drives as fiercely as it looks. Under the hood,the Gallardo’s 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V10 has been extensively reworked with new internals, boosting its output by 80 hp to a total of 600 hp. Perhaps more impressive than that peak power figure is the fact the V10 now screams all the way to over 10,000 rpm. All Etna models from Tedson will feature an upgraded version of the original six-speed e-Gear automated manual, as it doesn’t want to mess with any of the rare six-speed manual cars out there. Each Etna is built to order, giving customers the freedom to choose from a nearly endless palette of paint colors and naked carbon fiber finishes.

The desert-themed models starts at $99,900 and are available to order today

Rivian has introduced the new R1T and R1S California Dune Editions. They have a unique paint job, special wheels, and a two-tone interior. The EVs have a tri-motor powertrain with 850 hp and 329 miles of range. Following last week’s sandy teaser, Rivian has introduced California Dune Editions of the R1T and R1S. They’re based on the tri-motor variants and are “inspired by the mesmerizing landscapes” of the deserts in the Golden State. The special editions have a unique California Dune exterior that pops with black accents. They’re joined by special 20-inch wheels that can be had in a matching California Dune finish or a contrasting Satin Graphite hue. More: 2025 Rivian R1S And R1T Combine Tired Looks With New Tech And More Power Buyers will also find an All-Terrain Package, which includes an air compressor as well as underbody protection. Up top, there are roof-mounted crossbars that hold Maxtrax recovery boards. Rounding out the highlights are a spare tire and a unique power tonneau cover on the R1T. The styling changes continue inside with an Adventure interior that combines Sandstone and Black Mountain upholstery. They’re joined by dark ash wood trim and stylish Chilewich floor mats. Motivation is provided by a tri-motor powertrain that combines a front-mounted electric motor with two more out back. This gives the models all-wheel drive as well as an output of 850 hp (634 kW / 862 PS) and 1,103 lb-ft (1,494 Nm) of torque. Thanks to those healthy numbers and a Max battery, the California Dune Editions can accelerate from 0–60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 2.9 seconds and travel an EPA-estimated 329 miles (529 km) between charges. Pricing starts at $99,900 for the R1T California Dune Edition, while the R1S will set you back $105,900. Both have delivery estimates of 1-6 weeks and they’re available to order today.

Pricing details for the Kia PV5 will be announced closer to its market arrival

The South Korean brand has yet to announce the technical specifications of the EV. Several different configurations will be offered to suit different customer needs. All PV5 models should offer Vehicle-to-Load and Vehicle-to-Grid features. It’s been over a year since Kia unveiled its PV5 Concept at CES, and now, it has showcased the all-electric van in production guise before its global premiere on February 27. Like so many other new Kia models introduced in recent years, the road-going version looks almost identical to the striking concept that previewed it. Both passenger and cargo versions of the PV5 will be built and sold by Kia. They have mostly similar designs, but there are some differences between them. Characterizing both models are bold front fascias with sharp LED daytime running lights flowing down from the base of the windshield. There is no traditional grille in sight and instead, a charging flap slap bang in the center of the PV5’s nose. The main headlamps are positioned on either side of this charging port. Read: Kia PV5 EV Spotted In Minivan Form Ahead Of 2025 Debut Kind of like the Hyundai Staria, the windows of both the passenger and cargo versions of the PV5 are absolutely huge, and should give the van’s cabin a very airy and spacious feeling. Chunky door handles not present on the original concept have been added to the production model. Obviously, the cargo model ditches the rear side windows and also adopts twin side-opening tailgate doors to allow for easy loading and unloading. For as unconventional as the front of the Kia PV5 is, the rear is mostly typical of a normal van with vertical LED taillights and large doors. Kia says that the PV5 will be sold in several different configurations and that additional versions, in addition to the passenger and cargo models, are in the works. There will also be specialized conversion options available, ensuring customers can spec out their PV5 to suit their specific needs. Unfortunately, Kia has yet to showcase the finished cabin of the PV5, nor has it offered any details about the all-electric powertrain. We suspect it will be offered in single and dual-motor configurations and should offer Vehicle-to-Load and Vehicle-to-Grid compatibility. All versions will be underpinned by Kia’s Electric Complete Chassis Platform Module (e-CCPM) platform.

The Cybertruck earned a five-star safety rating from NHTSA, excelling in multiple tests

The Tesla Cybertruck has received a five-star safety rating as it aced nearly every category. This isn’t the first electric truck to receive the honor as the F-150 Lightning also got five stars. NHTSA tests were conducted using a $99,990 Cyberbeast, Tesla’s top-tier Cybertruck model. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given the Tesla Cybertruck an overall safety rating of five stars. While the electric truck didn’t ace every test, the only ones where it received a four-star rating were for rollover resistance and a passenger frontal barrier test, which simulated a head-on collision between two similar vehicles at 35 mph (56 km/h). The tests were conducted using a 2024 Cybertruck Cyberbeast and were performed last December by California’s Applus IDIADA KARCO Engineering. While the findings span dozens of pages, the frontal barrier impact test showed there was “100 percent windshield retention and no intrusion into the protected zone of the windshield.” It went on to note both driver and passenger side doors remained closed during the impact, and were operable after the collision. More: Tesla Cybertruck Crash Leaves Three Dead After Catching Fire While the driver and passenger knee air bags did not deploy, Tesla said this was “by design for this specific test configuration.” However, the front air bags did deploy to protect the driver and passenger dummies. The rigid pole side impact test didn’t reveal much of note, but the side air bags deployed as expected. The moving deformable barrier side impact test also seems pretty unremarkable. Tesla is undoubtedly happy with the results, but it’s worth noting the Cybertruck isn’t the only five-star electric pickup as the Ford F-150 Lightning also carries the highest safety rating. Unfortunately, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Rivian R1T haven’t been rated. While the Cybertruck is safe, it isn’t cheap as the model starts at $79,990 and climbs to $99,990 for the range-topping Cyberbeast.

The world needs more affordable cars, and a retro-themed Yugo could fit that role very well

An all-electric version of the retro-themed Yugo could launch at a later date. The project is being led by a German university professor and a Serbian designer. Underpinning the new Yugo will be a platform from an undisclosed partner. The Yugo is one of Europe’s most notorious small hatchbacks, remembered less for its performance and more for its bargain-basement price and quirky reputation. While it’s been gone for the better part of two decades, it may soon make a comeback. Yep, the cheap and cheerful hatch could spawn a successor to hit the road in the next few years. While it will be a bit different from the original, it should remain affordable and could be one of the last cars of its kind sold with an internal combustion engine. The original Yugo was produced by Serbian manufacturer Zastava Automobiles, which went out of business decades ago. Now, the revived Yugo project is being spearheaded by Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Bjelić from Germany, a marketing veteran with decades of experience. Bjelić has secured the trademark rights to the Yugo name and teamed up with Serbian designer Darko Marčeta to give the car a fresh look while staying true to its roots. The aim is to create a vehicle that captures the spirit of the original while meeting today’s standards. Read: Yugo Rebirth Envisioned With An Entire Family Of EVs By Independent Designer Early sketches of the car show it will stick to a two-door design, much like its predecessor, blending modern and retro elements. It maintains a similar overall shape to the Yugo we all know, but adds updated features like LED headlights, larger wheels, and redesigned taillights. Given that safety standards are far stricter today than they were during the original Yugo’s production, the pillars of this new model are notably thicker. Yugo Brand According to The Autopian, Bjelić has agreed to source the car’s platform from an undisclosed partner, meaning the revived brand won’t need to develop an architecture from the ground up. For what it’s worth, the original Yugo was based on the Fiat 128. The initial version is expected to be powered by inexpensive combustion engines to keep costs down and appeal to budget-conscious drivers. However, an electric variant could be introduced down the line, signaling a forward-thinking approach while maintaining affordability. However, there’s a big difference between designing a new car and actually bringing it to life. Plenty of automotive startups have failed when trying to commercialize new vehicles, and any future Yugo would need to sell well for the brand to survive.

The crossover-inspired van has rugged skid plates, meaty tires, and a height-adjustable suspension

Chery has introduced a new adventure van, known as the Journeo concept. It’s slightly larger than the Chrysler Pacifica and sports a number of crossover-inspired cues. The interior has a stylish rear bench that can easily transform into a bed. Chery has become the latest automaker to reimagine the minivan as they’ve unveiled the new Journeo concept. It’s a futuristic, crossover-inspired MPV that was created by the company’s design and development center in Raunheim, Germany. Looking like a hardcore version of Honda’s Space-Hub concept, the Journeo is billed as an “adventure van” and that certainly appears to be the case as it features a height-adjustable air suspension as well as meaty airless tires. We can also see silver skid plates, carbon-like cladding, and digital side mirrors. They’re joined by flowing bodywork and a slick greenhouse that includes a glass tailgate. More: Chery Hunting Wild Concept Previews New Wagon With Solid-State Batteries The concept measures 204.7 inches (5,200 mm) long and this makes it slightly larger than the Chrysler Pacifica. However, unlike that model, the Journeo has a modular front trunk that houses seats, a mobile kitchen, and a grill. The roof rack also sports solar panels and a retractable awning. While the exterior is certainly cool, the interior is the star of the show thanks to its lounge-like setup. The front seats can rotate 180 degrees to face rear passengers, while the rear bench looks like a high-end sofa. The latter can transform into a bed as the backrests swing out of the way to provide an uninterrupted view out the rear window. Rounding out the highlights are a panoramic glass roof and a suede-covered floor. The concept also has retractable side steps to improve entry and egress. Another interesting touch is the removable door panels, which can be used as cushions. Chery was coy on powertrain details, but said the concept has a hybrid powertrain that consists of a 2.0-liter gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a three-speed transmission. The automaker also mentioned a driver assistance system that scans your surroundings to aid in parking as well as support “navigation at high speeds.”

Perhaps surprisingly, truck owners support Musk more than any other segment of car owners

Elon Musk is the subject of a new study that examined how popular he is among consumers. Unsurprisingly, Musk splits opinions sharply along political party lines in the United States. The survey reveals that internal combustion drivers, men, and truck drivers favor Musk most. A new study from Hill Research and the EV Politics Project has officially confirmed what most of us already suspected: Elon Musk is a polarizing figure like few others before him. But what’s particularly revealing is just how sharply opinions split along political lines and automotive preferences. This 600-person survey offers some intriguing insights into where Musk stands in the eyes of voters and car owners. Respondents are all voters with family incomes of $50,000 or more and they received the survey in November of 2024. According to the results, Musk enjoys a 42 percent favorability rating from gasoline vehicle owners. Among EV owners, only 35 percent view him in the same light. More: “I Got Punched In The Face Because I Have A Cybertruck”, Says Owner Who Responds By Handing Out Free Cash When it comes to political party lines, Musk is even more polarizing, with 76 percent of Democratic voters had an unfavorable opinion of him. On the flip side, 74 percent of Republican voters viewed him favorably. That could prove to be a serious concern for Tesla itself since Democratic voters are almost twice as likely (27 percent versus 15 percent) more likely to be “seriously interested in buying an EV” compared to Republicans. Source EV Politics Now, stack on top of these results from the EV Politics Project the fact that since November, Musk hasn’t exactly warmed up to Democrats as well as center- and left-leaning voters, and it’s easy to see why Tesla itself is facing lower sales and protests in one part of the world after another. Unfortunately, it’s not just Tesla itself that’s facing backlash, as private owners are bearing the brunt of vandals too. Finally, it’s important to note that EV Politics Project is the product of Mike Murphy, a Republican media consultant. While the data from the survey appears legit, the source of the study and its relatively small sample size are worth keeping in mind. Whether or not Musk or Tesla can manage to regain a positive reputation with EV owners or the left-leaning public as a whole is something that only time will tell us. Lead image Whitehouse YouTube Source EV Politics

The $64,290 special edition sports a number of upgrades including 32-inch all-terrain tires

Jeep has introduced the 2025 Wrangler 4xe Backcountry special edition. It’s based on the Sahara trim and features steel bumpers, rock rails, and 32-inch tires. Buyers will also find auxiliary switches, an Alpine audio system, and a Jeep Power Box. The Jeep Wrangler has lost some of its luster and the Ford Bronco appears to be eating into its sales as the American icon was down 3% last year, while its Dearborn rival climbed 3.3%. However, the company isn’t going down without a fight as they’ve introduced a new special edition. Known as the Wrangler 4xe Backcountry, the model is based on the Sahara trim and combines premium features with off-road upgrades. The latter are pretty prominent as the four-door SUV has been equipped with steel bumpers, rock rails, and a Mopar grille guard. The special edition also rides on unique 20-inch wheels that are wrapped in 32-inch General Grabber A/T tires. More: 2025 Wrangler 4xe Willys ’41 Celebrates The OG Jeep The styling changes don’t end there as the Jeep wears a body-color hardtop and can be equipped with an available body-color power roof. Elsewhere, there are Backcountry graphics on the hood, fenders, and rear swing gate. Interior changes are more modest as the Backcountry sports auxiliary switches, Mopar slush mats, and a nine-speaker Alpine audio system. The model also has a 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 infotainment system with GPS navigation as well as off-road trail guides. Rounding out the highlights are the Trailer Tow package, a front TrailCam, and a Jeep Power Box. The latter plugs into the Wrangler’s charging port and turns the model into a massive power bank that features two 120-volt outlets. Like the standard Wrangler 4xe, the special edition has a plug-in hybrid powertrain that consists of a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, a 17.3 kWh battery pack, and an eight-speed automatic transmission with an integrated electric motor. This setup enables the model to produce 375 hp (280 kW / 380 PS) and 470 lb-ft (637 Nm) of torque. Customers can also expect an electric-only range of around 22 miles (35 km). Production will be limited to 5,800 units for North America and U.S. pricing starts at $64,290. The model will also be available in Canada, where it retails for $73,895 CAD.

Authorities had to shutdown the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Malibu because of heavy rain

Fortunately, the driver of the white SUV was able to free himself without any serious injuries. The Malibu area was hit with almost 6.5 inches of rain, prompting road and school closures. LAFD Captain Erik Scott says the driver was transported to a local hospital to get checked out. Not long after huge wildfires tore through much of Los Angeles, the city was hit with huge rain storms which triggered an abrupt mudslide on the Pacific Coast Highway over the weekend. The mudslide took with it a vehicle from the Los Angeles Fire Department, sweeping it off the road near Malibu and straight into the Pacific Ocean. Dramatic footage from the scene captured the aftermath of the accident, showing a white Chevrolet sitting in the surf after tumbling down a steep dirt embankment on the side of the road. The fire department official was driving along the road when his vehicle was hit. Thankfully, he was able to extricate himself from the wrecked SUV, but suffered some minor abrasions after the airbags went off. Watch: Firefighters Bulldoze Abandoned Cars To Clear Roads In Palisades Fire According to AOL, there was almost 6.5 inches of rain in the area. It hit a hillside next to the highway that was charred in January’s devastating fires and the shape of the slope acted as a funnel, according to LAFD Captain Erik Scott, directing a strong flow of water and mud across the road. NBC was able to get its hands on dashcam footage from another patrol car that captured the moment the torrent of water hit the side of the Chevy, pushing it over the edge and towards the ocean. The Chevy was covered in a thick layer of dirty water as it fell over the cliff, but fortunately, it doesn’t appear to have rolled. Local news crews filmed the moment the driver managed to free himself as the torrent of water continued to rush past him. He was later transported to a local hospital to get checked out. Local authorities urged motorists to avoid the areas hit by the mudslides, and schools in Malibu were closed on Thursday and Friday.

The teasers were shown during a press conference in Thailand, where Mazda announced a $150M investment

A mysterious Mazda has appeared in official sketches, resembling a subcompact crossover. The automaker will invest $150 million in Thailand for the production of electrified SUVs. Mazda’s CEO promises five new products by 2028, including hybrids and electric models. Mazda may have quietly revealed a future SUV in official sketches that almost flew under the radar. The yet-unnamed model appears to have a compact footprint and features dual tailpipes, suggesting it’s not fully electric, though it could be a hybrid. The sketches surfaced during an official event in Thailand, where Mazda announced a 5 billion baht ($150 million) investment in manufacturing electrified SUVs. Despite the significance of the reveal, the automaker didn’t include the teasers in its press release. Instead, they were spotted in a single photo shared by the Thailand Board of Investment, which shows Mazda President and CEO Masahiro Moro holding the illustrations alongside Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. More: Everything We Know About The 2026 Mazda CX-5 Hybrid After zooming in and digitally enhancing the photo, it is clear that the pictured SUV is not a member of the current lineup. The lime green model adopts the latest evolution of Mazda’s styling language and has a sporty stance. However, design sketches are often exaggerated, featuring oversized wheels and dramatic proportions that rarely make it to production, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly what model is shown. From the front, the SUV bears similarities to the next-gen Mazda CX-5, which has been spotted testing ahead of its expected debut later this year. However, the rest of the vehicle tells a different story, as the coupe-like roofline and smaller circular taillights suggest a departure from Mazda’s usual SUV styling. There’s speculation that this could be a successor to the aging CX-3 or the slightly larger CX-30. Meanwhile, Japanese website Creative Trend has floated the idea of an even smaller Mazda CX-20, though no official confirmation exists for such a project. More: Mazda Inline-Six Rumor For New GR Supra And RX-7 Sounds Too Wild To Be True Mazda’s CEO reinforced the possibility of a new small SUV, stating, “We will introduce electrified products that are unique to Mazda to meet the requests of Thai customers as electrification progresses, and we will strengthen our role as an export base for small cars, mainly for the Japanese and ASEAN markets.” BEV, PHEV, and Hybrid SUVs For Thailand Our colleagues from Thai website Autolife were invited in the press conference on February 14, giving us more details about Mazda’s future plans in the region. During the event, the Mazda CEO announced the launch of five new products in Thailand over the next three years, with their silhouettes appearing in the background. The first one is the fully electric Mazda 6e sedan that will hit the Thai market in 2025. Next year, Mazda will introduce a new fully electric SUV – likely the Changan-based Mazda CX-6e – together with a larger plug-in hybrid SUV that looks like the CX-80. These will be followed by two additional SUVs with self-charging hybrid setups, scheduled for release in 2027 and 2028 respectively. It’s worth noting that the launch dates refer to the Thai market, so one of the hybrids could be the upcoming CX-5 that will be unveiled in Japan in late 2025. Mazda’s investment in Thailand will enable the production of up to 100,000 vehicles per year, intended for both domestic sales and export markets. With an expanding electrified lineup and a new strategy for the region, Mazda’s presence in the ASEAN market is set to grow significantly Photos: Thailand Board of Investment

Electric truck firm’s stock sank 95 percent in the year to January and no one stepped in to save it

Startup Nikola has filed for Chapter 11 after failing to find financial help. The electric truck company was valued at $27 billion in 2020, making it more valuable than Ford. Founder Trevor Milton was hit with a four-year prison sentence in 2023 over fraud charges. Nikola this week joined Fisker, Proterra, and Lordstown Motors in a rogues’ gallery of EV startups that have bitten the dust. The electric truck maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after running out of cash and failing to find a rescuer. The Phoenix-based company has been on the skids for some time, struggling with weak demand, falling share prices, and the fallout of a scandal that resulted in its founder receiving a four-year jail term for fraud. Related: Nikola Is In Trouble As EV Maker’s Stocks Tumble 95% Nikola said it is looking to sell its assets, which it values at between $500 million and $1 billion. But court documents list its liabilities at $1-10 billion, Reuters reports. “Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate,” Nikola CEO Steve Girsky said in a statement. “Unfortunately, our very best efforts have not been enough to overcome these significant challenges, and the Board has determined that Chapter 11 represents the best possible path forward under the circumstances for the Company and its stakeholders.” It’s hard to believe that five years ago at the height of the crazy EV startup boom, this same company was more valuable than Ford. Nikola had a market capitalization of $27 billion in 2020 despite it never having sold a single vehicle and signed a multi-billion dollar deal with GM that was supposed to see the Detroit company taking an 11 percent stake, supply Nikola with battery and hydrogen tech, and build the startup’s Badger electric pickup. Founder Trevor Milton was found guilty of fraud The Badger should have had 906 hp (919 PS) and a range of 600 miles (966 km) in fuel-cell form (a straight EV was also planned) but it never made it to production. Nikola did get its large trucks out onto America’s roads, however, but not without a struggle. It produced its first electric rig in 2021 but soon encountered setbacks including vehicle fires that forced the company to announce a safety recall. Nikola was also engulfed in scandal when founder Trevor Milton was found guilty of fraud for faking a video of one of the brand’s trucks driving under its own steam when it was really rolling down a hill. Milton additionally made fraudulent claims leading investors to believe the company was closer to production than was true.

Details on the newly announced tariffs have not been made public but now include semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals

A proposed 25% auto tariff could reshape global trade, impacting supply chains and costs. The policy intends to encourage the production of these goods within US borders. Further details on tariffs will be announced on April 2, outlining affected products and nations. In another move that some auto CEOs, like Ford’s Jim Farley, might describe as chaotic, President Donald Trump has proposed setting a 25% tariff on goods, including imported cars, set to take effect on April 2. While he didn’t specify which countries would be affected, he broadened the potential scope to include semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals—both of which, he hinted, could face even steeper tariffs than automobiles. Trump says further details will be announced on April 2, suggesting that the gap between now and then is an opportunity for companies to shift production to US soil. “When they come into the United States and they have their plant or factory here, there is no tariff. So we want to give them a little bit of a chance,” he said. Read: Trump’s New EPA Boss Starts Review That Could Overturn California’s ICE Ban Over the past few weeks, the US President has repeatedly threatened other nations with new tariffs. He already imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese-made goods. China retaliated with a 10 percent tariff on American-made cars. He also threatened Canada and China with 50-100 percent tariffs on cars. Perhaps in that light, 25 percent doesn’t seem so bad. His impetus he says is due to the unfair nature of deals between the US and its trading partners. For example, the EU collects a 10 percent tariff on all vehicle imports. The U.S. collects just 2.5 percent on passenger cars. The famous ‘chicken tax’ goes the other direction though and puts a 25 percent tariff on all pickup trucks from nations outside of the USA. Trump recently threatened the EU with a similar 10 percent tariff to match its own. To be clear, the Trump administration didn’t clarify which country or countries will be facing this new 25 percent tariff. It’s plausible that he could impose it on the EU, Canada, and Mexico or be more selective than that. This isn’t where the story ends though because Trump also mentioned new chip tariffs. Only a few years ago, an international chip shortage caused all sorts of chaos in the automotive industry. Cars would sit for weeks or longer in an almost deliverable state while just waiting on a few tiny components including chips. If semiconductor tariffs disrupt supply chains again, automakers could find themselves in a familiar predicament, and this time, with a self-inflicted twist. Image Credit: Whitehouse / YouTube

The first of Waymo's 30 robotaxis was the subject of 3 separate recalls as it was found not eligible with major safety standards

The Chinese brand has announced three recalls for a single RT robotaxi shipped to the US. Zeekr built 30 RT robotaxis in December and January, but most remain in China. The RT is thought to be underpinned by an advanced 800-volt electrical architecture. Zeekr doesn’t sell any of its electric vehicles in the United States and for as long as President Donald Trump remains in power, it’s unlikely it will anytime soon. However, Zeekr is behind the latest robotaxi being tested by Waymo in the US, and early this month, the Chinese company issued not one, not two, but three recalls for it on the same day. The Waymo robotaxi is known as the RT, of which 30 examples were built in China between December 16, 2024, and January 8, 2025, with plans to bring them into the States. One of these models landed on US shores on January 27, 2025, but upon examination, it failed to meet several Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Read: USA’s New Tariffs Could Hit Waymo’s Chinese-Built Robotaxis The first recall relates to safety concerns about the inflatable curtain and passenger airbags. During front impact testing at 40 km/h (25 mph) on a 30-degree angle when occupants were unbelted, Zeekr found that the crash test dummy shifted towards the right A-pillar, and while the airbags stopped the dummy’s head, they failed to provide enough protection. To resolve this issue, Zeekr will fit a physical stop in the passenger seat rail, reducing movement from 300 mm (11.8 inches) to 50 mm (1.9 inches). Other Recalls Then there’s the second recall. In this case, an issue with the Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) can cause the airbag control module to disable the passenger airbag. The system may also be unable to correctly determine the weight of a passenger to decide whether to activate or disable the airbag. Zeekr says it will update the software of the single vehicle shipped to the US to fix the fault. Zeekr also needs to rectify a second airbag-related issue, which was the subject of the third recall. Side-impact tests have shown the inflatable curtain airbag can get stuck on the A-pillar trim during deployment, meaning it may not completely cover the rear side window. New C-pillar chutes will be installed to rectify the fault. The remaining 29 Zeekr RT models will be fixed at the factory before being shipped over to the US.

The third and final "Le Mansory" is inspired by Stephan Curry's new signature sneaker

This one-off yellow and carbon fiber GT was built in partnership with Under Armour. Unveiled at the NBA All-Star Game, it draws inspiration from a newly released sneaker. Performance upgrades boost its twin-turbo V6 to 700 horses and 619 lb-ft of torque. Mansory has a habit of taking already extreme supercars and making them even more outrageous – sometimes for the better, but more often for the worse. Back in mid-2020, the tuner shocked the world with a wild body kit for the Ford GT, transforming it into something that looked like it had slithered up from the depths of the Earth. Fast forward to 2025, and that same controversial creation has now made its way to the US, thanks to a collaboration with Under Armour. This bespoke Mansory Ford GT, dubbed the Le Mansory, draws inspiration from NBA legend Stephen Curry. It sports the same yellow-and-black color scheme as the new Echo sneaker, which Under Armour and Curry unveiled at the NBA All-Star Game. According to Mansory, the display car is part of a nationwide campaign, so expect it to make more appearances at upcoming events. Read: Mansory Tunes The Ford GT To 700 HP And Gives It A Unique Look The one-off is about as crazy as a Mansory-touched supercar can get. Every single panel of the Ford GT has been modified or replaced, so much so that it actually shares very little with its former self, other than the taillights. Carbon fiber elements with a checkered finish, new headlights, and simple horizontal DRLs dominate the front end, alongside a new hood crafted by Mansory’s Atelier division. The rear half of the car is also especially wild, featuring custom carbon fiber rocker panels and skirts, new wing mirror caps, and two large roof scoops (it’s anyone’s guess if they’re actually functional). Mansory has also fitted a new engine cover, carbon fiber flying buttresses, a massive rear wing, a new diffuser, and three tailpipes. The modifications continue under the skin and include a bright yellow engine cover to match the rest of the exterior. The cabin has also been clad in yellow and black leather and Alcantara and is filled with Mansory and Under Armour branding. The 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine has received its fair share of upgrades, allowing it to pump out 700 hp and 619 lb-ft (840 Nm) of torque. Just three examples of the Le Mansory have been built, and this is the third and final one. Probably for the best. Photos Mansory

According to the tuner, the modifications allow the compact SUV to tackle sand, snow, and dirt

Delta4x4 has launched a beefed-up Mini Countryman in collaboration with X-raid. The SUV rides on a new set of wheels shod in all-terrain tires, combined with a lift kit. The model is a follow-up to the previous Mini Countryman Powered by X-Raid. Mini is reportedly working on a rugged version of the Countryman but, until we see it in the flesh, there is an alternative option by Delta4x4, which brought out a more adventurous character from the compact SUV. The new model is a follow-up to the previous Mini Countryman Powered by X-Raid, which was launched in 2020 with similar visual and chassis upgrades. More: Jeep Grand Cherokee Gets The Tonka-Toy Treatment From Arctic Trucks The tuning package was developed by off-road specialist Delta4x4 in collaboration with six-time Dakar-winning team X-Raid. The German company is no stranger to Mini, as they have been competing in cross-country events with the Mini All4 Racing, John Cooper Works Rally, and John Cooper Works Buggy rally cars. The new Mini Countryman X-Raid rides on a new set of 18-inch Klassik-B Rugged wheels, shod in beefier all-terrain tires by Loder. These are combined with an SDK lift kit, adding 20 mm (0.8 inches) of extra ground clearance. Overall, the upgraded Countryman sits almost 40 mm (1.6 inches) higher than the stock model. Delta4x4 / Facebook, YouTube According to Delta4x4, the modifications allow the Countryman to tackle snow, sand, and dirt. As a finishing touch, the bodywork has been dressed with orange decals by X-raid, making the necessary motorsport connection. While Delta4x4 didn’t add any extra LEDs, a bull bar, or a roof rack on the Mini, we’re sure that interested parties will find many options in its catalog. More: Ferrari Purosangue Reimagined As An Off-Roader – And It Could Actually Happen While the company didn’t get into specifics, the kit is most likely compatible with all ICE-powered and EV versions of the third-generation Mini Countryman. However, those fitted with the mild-hybrid turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine and AWD are more fitting for the upgrade. Delta4x4 hasn’t revealed pricing for the upgrades. However, the SDK lift kit for the previous generation Mini Countryman is listed for €666.40 ($700), and the wheels should cost around €3,000 ($3,100). View this post on Instagram A post shared by delta4x4 (@delta4x4)

Asbury Automotive Group is paying $750 million for the Chambers brand and $590 million for the real estate

The sale includes 33 dealerships, 52 franchises, and three collision centers in two states. Herb Chambers employs more than 2,200 people through his expansive dealer network. The value of existing inventory, parts, and supplies will be determined at a later date. A mega group of auto dealerships across Massachusetts and Rhode Island have been sold in a massive deal worth $1.34 billion. This week, Asbury Automotive Group said it will purchase dozens of dealerships owned by The Herb Chambers Companies across the region, as one of Boston’s best-known businessmen relinquishes the reigns to his eponymous business. For four decades, Herb Chambers has been one of the most prominent names in the automotive sector across New England. His company is one of the largest private auto dealership groups in the United States and currently employs more than 2,200 people. Through his deal with the publicly traded Asbury Automotive Group, Chambers will part ways with 33 dealerships, 52 franchises, and three collision centers. Watch: Furious Customer Finds Racial Slur On Her Car’s Oil Change Sticker At GM Dealer Asbury is funding the sale with cash, mortgage proceeds, and credit facility capacity. The deal consists of $750 million for the value of the Chambers brand and $590 million for the real estate. When the deal closes in the summer, Asbury will also pay a yet-to-be-determined amount for other important assets of the dealer group, including parts, supplies, and its expansive vehicle fleet. Chambers’ expansive auto empire reported $2.9 billion in revenue last year. He will retain ownership of a single Mercedes-Benz dealership in Somerville. When the deal with Asbury closes, Chambers will be appointed as a Special Adviser. Speaking with Boston Globe, Chambers said Asbury first approached him about a potential sale a year ago. “As I look back on the last 40 years in business, I do so with immense pride, and as I look forward, I will do so with great satisfaction knowing what we built together will be in trusted hands,” he said after the deal was announced. “David Hult and the Asbury Automotive Group share our customer-focused philosophy which will remain as the foundation from which they move our great company into the future.” Herb Chambers (center)

The plaintiff in Germany seeks compensation or a new Tesla without safety defects

The owner of a Model 3 sued the car manufacturer after several phantom braking events. The court arranged an expert to test the Model 3, and he also experienced phantom braking. Tesla has been ordered to fix the Model 3 owned by Christoph Lindner. A court in Germany has ruled that the Autopilot system used by the Tesla Model 3 is ‘defective,’ and is not ‘suitable for normal use’ because of phantom braking issues. This appears to be the first time that a court has described Tesla’s driver-assistance system in such terms and comes after years of complaints from many Tesla owners in markets around the world. The case first came to the attention of German courts after Model 3 owner Christoph Lindner filed a lawsuit against the car manufacturer after experiencing several worrying instances of phantom braking. He claims the car has randomly hit the brakes when entering and exiting tunnels, after changing road surfaces, and even when his car is simply in the presence of a larger vehicle. Read: Judge Rules Tesla Phantom Braking Lawsuit Can Proceed As the matter progressed in court, Handelsblatt reports the judges ordered an expert engineer to drive the plaintiff’s Model 3 to verify if it did indeed suffer from phantom braking issues. The engineer drove the EV for more than 700 km (435 miles), a majority of which was done on highways, and documented the trip with two interior cameras. After encountering several cases of phantom braking, the expert stopped the tests as it was “no longer feasible for safety reasons,” to continue driving on public roads. The engineer also ended the experiment “so as not to put himself in any further danger.” In one instance, the engineer was piloting the Model 3 in the left lane of a three-lane motorway at 140 km/h (87 mph) when it suddenly braked and slowed to 96 km/h (60 mph) for no apparent reason. This forced traffic behind the Tesla to swerve and brake. The Traunstein Regional Court’s ruling made in mid-January said the Autopilot system does not provide the functionality “that a consumer of a vehicle in this price range can expect.” Tesla has previously defended its Autopilot system claiming the system functions as designed, and has been ordered to repair the plaintiff’s defective car. The Higher Regional Court in Munich is now handling the case. Lindner does not believe a simple repair is adequate and wants to be able to withdraw from his original purchase contract or be entitled to a new vehicle without defects.

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Hey r/formula1, It has been a very long time, almost 4 years, since our last round of moderator recruitment. Back then we were only at 1.5 million members. Since then not only has the subreddit tripled in size, but after the 2023 Reddit Blackout multiple members of the mod team had left and since then the rest of us had also come close to being burnt out. So with all that and with an exciting 2025 season on the horizon it's time for a new round of moderator recruitment. The qualifications to become a moderator are very simple: be a motorsports fan use reddit The expectations for the new moderators are to be transparent, to be communicative and to be reasonably active. We have a guideline of 300 mod actions per month, but don't let this stop you from applying. Real life always comes before Reddit and just let the rest of the team know if you need a break. After the form is closed we will evaluate the applications, compile a shortlist and invite those candidates to an interview. The interview will be conducted as an audio or video call. After the interview we will make the final selection of moderators and we hope to be able to onboard them by the Japanese GP at the start of April. The applications will close on the 22nd of February at 23:00 UTC Link to the application form If you have any questions or doubts feel free to ask in the comments. FAQ What timezones are you looking for mods from? We're looking for mods from all timezones What do you use for communication between the team? Slack Should I apply if I applied in previous rounds? Yes. It has been 4 years! Do you need to have moderation experience? No, it's not an issue if you don't have moderator experience yet. What are the tasks of a moderator exactly? Obviously the primary task is going through the modqueue and removing comments and posts that go against the subreddit rules. But there are other aspects like configuring automoderator, working on graphics and flairs, maintaining source ratings, external relations (Teams & Journalists for AMAs, etc), social media and so on. Is there any compensation for moderation? Absolutely none. This is a volunteer role submitted by /u/overspeeed [link] [comments]

Welcome to the r/formula1 Daily Discussion / Q&A thread. This thread is a hub for general discussion and questions about Formula 1, that don't need threads of their own. Are you new to Formula 1? This is the place for you. Ever wondered why it's called a lollipop man? Why the cars don't refuel during pitstops? Or when Mika will be back from his sabbatical? Ask any question you might have here, and the community will answer. Also make sure you check out our guide for new fans, and our FAQ for new fans. Are you a veteran fan, longing for the days of lollipop men, refueling during pitstops, and Mika Häkkinen? This is the place to introduce new fans to your passion and knowledge of the sport. Remember to keep it civil and welcoming! Gatekeeping within the Daily Discussion will subject users to disciplinary action. Have a meta question about the subreddit? Please direct these to the moderators instead. submitted by /u/F1-Bot [link] [comments]

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Lemme go to work pls T_T submitted by /u/a_boring_penguin [link] [comments]

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Prior to the launch event, the emoji was covered up with a black sheet over the car (see pic #2). I was expecting the new emoji to resemble the new Mercedes design, but it is the same as it was before. Slightly disappointed but it was still fun marketing. submitted by /u/Absolute_Animal [link] [comments]

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He looks so good in that Ferrari red submitted by /u/fernvndorvmos [link] [comments]

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I mean its advertising right, the sponsor wants to make sure that you see HP no matter what. They've done a good job at that. And blue, yellow and red works totally fine by my eyes. Capciche? submitted by /u/DueExchange1984 [link] [comments]