+++ The ALPINE A110 arrived on the scene back in 2018, shaking up the sports car segment with its focus on lightweight, driver-focused fun. Since then we’ve had gradually more potent iterations with the A110 S and more recently the A110 R, but now Alpine is testing an even more hardcore variant. Spy shots show the car is clearly based on the A110 R, with a similarly aggressive bodykit. Along with the vented bonnet, front splitter, side skirt extensions, rear diffuser and engine cowling, it also features a larger adjustable wing, canards on the front bumper and a new set of forged alloy wheels rather than the carbon rims of the R. There’s a possibility it could be a special edition R, like the R ‘Fernando Alonso’ or the Le Mans edition that was released earlier this summer. The engine is likely to remain unchanged though, with a 1.8-litre 4 cylinder petrol turbo pumping out 300 hp and 340 Nm of torque, which is enough to propel the standard A110 R from 0-100 kph in 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 285 kph. We may see that top speed sacrificed for improved downforce thanks to that larger wing though. I expect the same racy interior as the R with carbon fibre bucket seats, microfibre upholstery on the dash, door cards and steering wheel and a telemetry system to provide data for track sessions. Despite the R costing a lofty amount of money, I expect the new model to command an even greater price tag. +++
+++ ASTON MARTIN has announced plans to stage the “world-first debut of a new model” at Monterey Car Week. The mystery model will be unveiled on August 18, but the automaker didn’t drop any hints or teasers. That makes it hard to know what to expect, but we have a good guess as the most likely candidate is the DB12 Volante. Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll has previously said the convertible will be their next ‘mainstream’ model with the Vantage following “shortly after”. Only time will tell what Aston Martin has planned, but the DB12 Volante will follow in the footsteps of the coupe and feature an evolutionary design as well as a soft top. Despite the design déjà vu, the cabin will be all-new and feature a 3-spoke steering wheel, a digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Power will be provided by a Mercedes-sourced twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 that produces 680 hp and 800 Nm of torque. It will be connected to an 8-speed automatic transmission and this setup enables the coupe to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 325 km/h. We’ll learn more next week, but Aston Martin will also celebrate the North American debut of the (already sold-out) Valour. It will be joined by the DB12 Coupe, DBX707 and AMR23 F1 car. Visitors will also find a Q by Aston Martin studio, which immerses them in the “world of bespoke”. The company will also have a new Valhalla VR Experience, which enables customers to wear wireless VR headsets and “choose the exact specification of the interior of their vehicle whilst virtually sitting inside it”. +++
+++ BMW introduced the redesigned M2 last fall, but the company is already working on a more extreme CS variant. While the car doesn’t look terribly special at first glance, a closer inspection reveals a handful of upgrades including a new front splitter and a prominent rear spoiler. The spy photographer also said the model rides a little lower than the stock M2 and features slightly wider wheels. While the upgrades appear minor, additional changes could be hiding beneath the camouflage. That remains to be seen, but the previous M2 CS was equipped with a unique exhaust and a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) hood that weighed half as much as a steel one. The model also featured a sportier suspension and an assortment of other CFRP components including a lightweight roof. Spy photographers haven’t gotten a look inside, but we can expect a familiar cabin that embraces weight saving measures. If its predecessor is any indication, there could be Alcantara upholstery, CFRP components and plenty of CS badging. We can also expect a 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.9 inch infotainment system. While the current M2 has a twin-turbo 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine with 460 hp, rumors have suggested the output will soon be increased to 475 hp or 482 hp. This could mean the M2 CS might be packing around 527 hp, although everything should be taken with a grain of salt at this point. That being said, there’s little doubt the upcoming M2 CS will be a pricey limited edition. +++
+++ Everyone knows that CALIFORNIA is the go-to place for EVs and FCEVs, so it doesn’t take us by surprise that the U.S. state made headlines for this reason. In the second quarter of 2023, zero-emission vehicles accounted for 25.4% of new car sales in the golden state, paving the road to the targeted 100% share by 2035. According to data from the California Energy Commission made public by Governor’s Gavin Newsom Office, ZEV sales in the second quarter of the year reached 125.939 units. This number increases the grand total of ZEV sales in California to 1.623.211 units, surpassing the 1.5 million milestone 2 years ahead of schedule. Electric vehicles alone accounted for 103.516 sales in the second quarter, representing the majority among ZEVs. As reported by California Globe, the EV share in the Golden State went from 12% in 2021, to 18% in 2022, and is expected to grow to over 20% in 2023. Predictably, FCEVs accounted for a small percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales. Still, the 1.076 new FCEVs sold in the second quarter, according to data from the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, is the highest number recorded in history and represents a 34% increase compared to the same period last year. The Toyota Mirai took the lion’s share with 1.054 sales, while the Hyundai Nexo accounted for 40 of the remaining units. Those are the only FCEVs currently available in California, which is the only place in the U.S. offering vehicles with this type of powertrain. Veloz’s EV Market Report suggests that an impressive 34% of the new ZEV sales in the U.S. occur in California, where locals take advantage of the generous incentives and the available infrastructure. Still, there are many critics suggesting we should be cautious about the hidden carbon emissions taking place during the production of such vehicles. +++
+++ Earlier this year at the Shanghai Auto Show we got a glimpse of KIA ’s next EV thanks to the Concept EV5. The production version is set to be unveiled at the end of this month at another Chinese event: the Chengdu Motor Show. There’s still no word on if the EV5 will come to Europe, but first deliveries are expected in the Chinese market before the end of the year, so if Kia does indeed decide to sell it here, we should expect it to arrive in early 2024. Like the Concept EV9, the Concept EV5 should pave the way for a similarly-styled EV5. We’re still waiting for fully technical details and dimensions for the Concept EV5, but the size of the newly revealed Kia EV9 (the flagship model in the firm’s next-generation EV line-up) as well as the numerical positioning of this model’s name do suggest a medium-sized SUV. It is, in effect, an electric version of the Sportage, so it has a major role to play in Kia’s future range. In terms of shape, the EV5 takes after the larger EV9: a traditional two-box SUV. The production version will effectively offer up a more practical experience than the lower-slung and sleeker EV6, with which it will probably share a similar footprint. However, with the concept EV5, Kia is keen to highlight how it plans to evolve its ‘Opposites United’ design language, and some of the details found on the concept are a departure from previous Kia EV tropes. “The Kia Concept EV5 takes influence from the contrast and complementarity of natural landscapes and man-made architecture”, claims Kia design boss Karim Habib. Headlining this evolved design language is a new version of the brand’s trademark ‘Digital Tiger Face’, incorporating a new lighting signature that Kia says is inspired by constellations of stars. This lighting signature bends around the car’s front apron and meets the squared-off wheel arches, before continuing on the slim rear-view cameras. The boxy, robust design theme of the EV9 repeats down the flanks of this concept vehicle, but the rear end features a lighting signature wrapping from the lower corners of the car, around the back of the tailgate. It’s a similar, but more squared-off, treatment to the rear lighting of the EV6. The concept rides on large 21 inch wheels, while the paintwork finish is called Iceberg matte green, and is said to be a nod to hues found in nature. This concept has an interior, too. Key influences from the EV9 are found in the integration of the widescreen infotainment display and digital instrument panel, on top of a floating dashboard. There’s a completely flat floor inside, maximising the interior space on offer. Swivel seats, like those in the production EV9, have made the cut. They allow occupants who enjoy the great outdoors to pull up, open the doors and take in the view uninterrupted, given that there’s no B-pillar getting in the way. Similarly, the large glass panoramic roof with integrated solar panels is there to allow stargazing at night. As we said, no technical details on the EV5 concept are out yet, but we can safely assume that the car will be underpinned by the 800 volt electrified E-GMP platform used under a growing number of bespoke, all-electric cars from Kia and Hyundai. A maximum battery size of 77 kWh would give the production model a range in excess of 480 km. More details regarding the Kia Concept EV5, the production version, and European availability should be confirmed later in 2023. +++
+++ The first fully electric LAMBORGHINI will be an all-new, radically styled 2+2 crossover arriving in 2028, and the Sant’Agata firm has revealed that it will preview the EV with a concept at Monterey Car Week next week. This new concept will be the latest in a long line of future-looking show cars revealed by Lamborghini over the past 60 years. It said: “Ever since its foundation in 1963, Automobili Lamborghini has made one-off models that signal the technical and stylistic direction the company will take in the immediate future. These are design or technical prototypes or experimentation with new concepts to help develop the Lamborghinis to come. In the 1960s, these one-offs were very often show cars bound for motor show parades. In more recent years, the designation changed from ‘one-off’ to a category created specially by Lamborghini: ‘few-offs’, essentially a limited run of cars for the most loyal customers that pre-empt or enhance the most advanced technical solutions that will be used on production cars in later years. The same formula will be repeated in just a few days at Monterey Car Week in California, where Automobili Lamborghini will present the prototype of its first 100% electric car”. Lamborghini gave no further details of what to expect from the concept but, as already reported by Autointernationaal.nl , the company’s long-awaited fourth model line will take the firm of a high-riding, 4-seat super-GT. It will be followed in 2029 by an electric successor to the Urus to give Lamborghini a 4-strong line-up of electrified sports cars by the end of the decade; the Aventador-replacing Revuelto PHEV has now entered production in Sant’Agata, and the hybrid successor to the Huracán will be launched towards the end of next year. The new 2+2 crossover is expected to draw light inspiration from the Lamborghini Estoque saloon concept, which was revealed in 2008 but never made production. Lamborghini insiders suggested at the time that there was significant customer support for the car but that the cost of its development versus projected sales meant it didn’t make it from the Volkswagen Group’s prioritisation list to production. Funds were instead focused on a rapid development of its SUV offerings, including the ultra-successful Urus, of which 5.367 examples were sold last year. However, instead of being designed around a 4-door saloon silhouette, the EV will sit higher, as a result of its floor-mounted battery pack, and to have significantly more dramatic styling to highlight that its powertrain differentiates it from other Lamborghinis. While it is loosely being described as a crossover, CEO Stefan Winkelmann highlighted that the different packaging requirements of an EV “open up interesting avenues” in terms of its eventual design. +++
+++ Pricing and specification for the full MG 4 lineup has now been revealed thanks to the launch of the range-topping Extended Range version, which joins the SE Standard Range, SE Long Range, Trophy Long Range and the sporty XPower. The MG 4 is praised its keen pricing, driving dynamics, equipment levels and impressive powertrain. The key to much of the 4’s success is MG’s new MSP (Modular Scalable Platform) architecture. Underlining the 4’s status as a key player in MG’s continued all-electric assault on the European market, the new platform will form the backbone of the next generation of electric MG models. For the same money as the XPower version (±43.995 euro in the Netherlands), you can get the Extended Range. As the name suggests it gets more range: up to 528 km. That’s down to the larger 77 kWh battery, while a 245 hp motor delivers a 0-100 kph time of 6.5 seconds. Recharging the Extended range from 10-80 percent takes 39 minutes. The Extended Range also gets 18 inch alloy wheels and a black 2-tone roof. +++
+++ The facelifted TESLA MODEL 3 , also known as Project Highland, has reportedly entered trial production at the American EV maker’s Chinese Gigafactory in Shanghai. Mass production is expected to begin next month, while deliveries could start in October. “It is reported that Tesla’s facelifted Model 3 has already started trial production and it is expected to start mass production in September and start deliveries in October. Compared with previous expectations, this progress has been advanced. It will use the 66 kWh M3P battery provided by Ningde Times. It is understood that the M3P battery may be mainly used purely with lithium manganese iron phosphate. With the early trial production of the Model 3, lithium manganese iron phosphate is expected to accelerate the release of capacity”, an insider said. According to a renewed agreement from 2021, Ningde Times (which owns CATL) will supply Tesla with lithium-ion batteries until the end of 2025. As previously reported, the EV marque’s website now estimates that new Model 3 orders will be fulfilled between October and November at the earliest for rear-wheel drive and long-range variants, while new Performance builds are scheduled for delivery between November 2023 and January 2024. Project Highland has been under development since the second quarter of 2022 and judging by the multiple spy shots posted online in the last few months, it appears that the refreshed Model 3 will come with a redesigned face, new tail lights, the company’s new Hardware 4.0 Autopilot computer and a restyled interior. +++
