+++ ASTON MARTIN is considering a rugged, high-powered super-4×4 to rival the Mercedes G-Class. Design proposals for the shock new model are being evaluated internally, but no decision has been made yet on whether to go ahead with what would be Aston’s second SUV. Tellingly, the Gaydon firm’s 4×4 concept is said to be dubbed ‘Project Rambo’ internally, a moniker that echoes the nickname of Lamborghini’s seminal LM002: a radical, go-anywhere 4×4 pick-up with a V12 lifted from the Countach supercar. Like the Lamborghini, Aston Martin’s 4×4 is expected to match supreme off-road ability with supercar levels of performance and luxury credentials that befit a lofty price, should the car make production. Chairman Lawrence Stroll will not give the project the green light unless it has a solid business case, but the firm has no doubt been inspired by not just the success of its own DBX (which is now comfortably its best-selling model line) but also the continued prosperity of the long-running G-Class. Mercedes’ off-roader remains highly popular and profitable in its fifth decade on sale and has just been heavily updated for 2024, with an EV option for the first time. A build run capped at 2.500 units is possible for the Aston Martin 4×4, in a bid to preserve exclusivity. It is not yet known where it could be build, but the DBX factory in St Athan would be an obvious choice given the likelihood of both SUVs using the same architecture. A source at the company suggested that such a niche model would not have its own platform. That means it would be likely to be closely related to the DBX, which already has 2 driven axles and substantial power reserves courtesy of a Mercedes-supplied V8. Notably, that engine (a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre) is already deployed in the AMG version of the G-Class, where it makes 585 hp and 850 Nm to facilitate a rapid 4.5 seconds 0-100 kph time, figures surely befitting any Aston-badged luxurious dune-basher. Launching a new V8 SUV would tie in with Aston Martin’s renewed push on combustion cars. The Gaydon firm has recently delayed its debut EV by a year in light of sustained demand for ICE power. Stroll said recently that consumer demand for electric cars “is not what we thought it was 2 years ago” and, as a result, will use hybrid powertrains as a “bridging” technology on the path to full electrification between 2025 and 2030. He said: “What we are feeling is that there are people who still want some electrification to drive around in the city for 15, 20 or 25 kilometres on electric power but still have the sports car smell, feel and noise when you get out onto the autoroute”. Conveniently, Mercedes-AMG has already paired its V8 with an electric motor on the rear axle in plug-in hybrid versions of the GT, SL and S-Class, with power lifted to as much as 830 hp and, perhaps more pertinently in the case of a super-4×4, torque boosted to more than 1000lb ft. Whether or not Aston could use this exact set-up remains to be seen, but it does not currently offer a PHEV version of the DBX and recently took the China-only mild hybrid off sale due to a lack of demand. As Aston Martin mulls the viability of potential new model lines, it is about to complete a wide-reaching overhaul of its sports car line-up with the introduction of the new V12-engined Vanquish in the coming months, joining the V8-powered DB12 and Vantage. It will also launch the mid-engined Valhalla supercar, its first plug-in hybrid, later this year. The wraps are expected to come off Aston’s maiden EV (a high-riding, 4-seat GT) in 2025 and the firm says it has designed three more to follow over the coming years. Each is based on a variation of the same modular platform and equipped with drivetrain hardware supplied by Lucid. +++
+++ In 2015, the CITROEN C4 Cactus was one of the pioneers of the modern split-headlight trend, but it looks like the C4 and C4 X that followed, are planning to take the look in a new direction. Like the original Cactus, the crossover-ish C4 hatchback and its C4 X sedan brother both currently feature super-slim DRLs on the top of their fenders where Citroen’s designers hope they’ll catch our eye, and the bulky main headlights mounted below, where it hopes they won’t. But spy shots of the electric version of the C4 X, the ë-C4 X, seem to show a new set of bigger lights where the DRLs are. Is Citroen simply making the DRLs bigger to make the face more recognizable, or has it crammed in some tiny projector LED headlights where the DRLs used to sit? The area where the main headlights are located on the existing car is entirely covered apart from a narrow opening. It doesn’t look like Citroen has a ton of other visual changes planned, though we can obviously expect a new front bumper, perhaps some tweaks to the lower door area, judging by the camo wrap there, and modifications to the rear lights. The lack of disguise on the rear bumper suggests that it might not be refreshed at all. And you might wonder why Citroen would bother tweaking anything on the C4 X considering it was only launched in 2022. But its C4 hatch brother debuted in 2020, making it ripe for revision, and we imagine the automaker will update both cars around the same time, in the second half of this year. Exactly a year ago, higher grades of the ë-C4 X were treated to a 156 hp electric motor, giving them a 20 hp boost compared to the motor found in the entry-level trims. They also gained a bigger 54 kWh battery pack (up from 50 kWh), extending the driving range by around 17 percent and allowing journeys of up to 420 km before needing a charger, according to the WLTP cycle. Stellantis has also fitted combustion versions of the C4 and C4 X with its new 1.2-liter, 136 hp mild-hybrid engine this February. +++
+++ The transition to electric vehicles has been anything but smooth, and companies like FORD have struggled as consumer interest in the technology has cooled. That has prompted the American automaker to cut battery orders from its suppliers. Although sales of EVs grew by 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2024, the market attracted fewer new buyers than it has in the first quarters of 2023 or 2022. Like other automakers, that prompted Ford to reconsidered how quickly it wanted to jump into the EV market. That will mean that Ford reduces the number of batteries it orders from its partners, SK On, LG Energy Solutions and China’s CATL. However, the automaker will maintain its contracts with all 3 companies. Ford is wrestling the high price of developing new electric vehicles just as wider market forces slow sales of new vehicles, causing EV losses to mount. One source told that in the first quarter, Ford lost more than $100,000 per electric vehicle it sold. However, David Fickling described the number as misleading: “The figure is bogus, dependent on a quirk of US accounting rules that mean the one-time expense of rethinking the automotive power train for the first time in a century is being treated as an ongoing annual expense, and then divided by 2024’s lackluster EV sales”, wrote Fickling. “That’s absurd, acting as if this burst of research and development spending won’t provide any benefit to the tens of millions of electric cars that will be sold over the decades yet to come”. It’s also worth remembering that although sales of EVs grew slowly in the first quarter industry-wide, at Ford, sales of electric vehicles nearly doubled. The automaker is also still investing in EVs, developing a pair of new platforms for large and small vehicles that it believes will help make its electric department profitable. However, it remains important for automakers to listen to consumer feedback, and create EVs that promote faster market growth. As Ford’s CFO John Lawler said recently: “Model e has to stand on its own” and has to provide a return on the amount the company is investing. +++
+++ We are less than a year away until JAGUAR ’s new life begins, marked by the presentation of the brand’s first electric GT. It is a model called upon to give a new impetus to the British manufacturer after a period marked by few innovations. No particular teasers have been released, nor technical or other details. The big news today is the words of Adrian Mardell, Jaguar CEO, announcing the presentation in the United States of a concept that will preview the first electric Jaguar of the new era. However, we still don’t know where or exactly when the debut will take place. I do know, however, that the production version will move Jaguar’s image upwards, no longer competing with premium German cars from Audi, BMW and Mercedes, but putting it in the same segment as Bentley. Luxury to the nth degree, carried around by a 100 per cent electric powertrain within GT-like forms. A battery-powered grand tourer that, given its target clientele, could make its debut in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance or, if it prefers to show itself to an even wider audience, at the Los Angeles Motor Show. This was the adjective chosen by Mardell to describe the design of Jaguar’s new GT, based on a dedicated platform and no longer shared with Land Rover. A special car for a “reinvented” brand (to quote Mardell once again) inspired by some iconic models of the past (primarily the Jaguar E-Type) but “similar to nothing”. It will be all-new, from the mechanics to the contours, with a “stunning” styling. The range should be around 435 miles with different powertrains and various power levels. +++
+++ The LAMBORGHINI Huracan’s life spanned 10 years with the final Huracan STJ version revealed in April. The Italian firm’s next-generation junior supercar, which we believe will be called Lamborghini Temerario, isn’t too far behind. With Audi not planning on creating a next-generation R8 on the same platform, Lamborghini will have more freedom with the new supercar. The Temerario will have similar proportions to the Huracan and some design influences from Lamborghini’s new range-topping Revuelto, however. The front lights are ultra-slim and sit in a similar position to the old Huracan’s, with 2 circular projectors per headlight. At the rear, there’s a wide hexagonal shape with a set of LEDs within. A radiator is visible in the middle of the front bumper with further cooling vents to the side (behind of large fog lights). Up top there will be a ‘double-bubble’ roof design and a side profile shot gives us a good view of the Temerario’s proportions, showing a longer front overhang compared to a stubbier rear. A set of huge air intakes appear just behind the door, but there’s also an intake on the rear haunch and another one behind the rear three-quarter window. The wide stance of the car is accentuated by the huge amount of tyre on show at the rear; another design trait the Revuelto employs. A giant rear diffuser and single-exit exhaust placed high up on the rear should help give it some added presence. The rear spoiler will most likely feature some active aerodynamic ability. I expect the plug-in hybrid system to be mated to a twin-turbocharged V8; potentially the same unit planned for the Urus PHEV. Lamborghini’s Chief Technical Officer Rouven Mohr previously told the new car will use an engine of “more than 6 and less than 12 cylinders. It’s not a range-oriented hybrid and there will be no kind of downsizing”, he said. With that in mind we expect the hybrid system to be very much performance-focused just like the one in the flagship Lamborghini Revuelto. The new Lamborghini supercar has huge boots to fill in following the Huracan, which was Lamborghini’s best-seller until the Urus came around. Despite the loss of the V10 engine I expect the new model to produce even more power than the most potent 640 hp Performante version of the Huracan. Lamborghini has submitted a trademark application to the European Union Intellectual Property Office for the name and a name badge in its familiar font with bullhorns on either side. The company hasn’t confirmed whether the Temerario name is for the Huracan’s successor, but given the timings it’s likely to be the lucky recipient. Lamborghini’s naming convention tells us Temerario was probably the name of a Spanish fighting bull, but the word also means fearless or bold in Italian. It also means daredevil and reckless in certain translations, which would suggest this new model will get all the personality of its predecessors. +++
+++ POLESTAR ’s time as a one-car company is at an end with the ‘2’ being joined by the new ‘4’ coupe-SUV and the larger ‘3’ SUV. The Polestar 3 is pitched against the likes of the BMW iX, Audi Q8 e-tron and Mercedes EQE, more recently joined by the Volvo EX90 and Lotus Eletre in the high-end electric SUV market. We’ve previously had details on the dual-motor Polestar 3, but a single-motor ‘Long range’ model has now been announced, too. Polestar says the rear-wheel drive, single-motor car will launch in late 2024 and we expect it’ll undercut the current car’s starting price tag. Orders for the Polestar 3 have already opened for the Dual Motor version, although Polestar says its latest car is sold out until 2025. Sharing its SPA2 platform with the new Volvo EX90, the Polestar 3 has a slightly smaller footprint than the BMW iX. It has a dual-motor, electric powertrain producing 490 hp and 841 Nm in standard form for a 0-100 kph time of 4.9 seconds. The more potent Performance Pack model ups the ante to 520 hp and 910 Nm, trimming the 0-100 kph time to an estimated 4.6 seconds. Both versions top out at 210 kph. All Polestar 3 models come equipped with a 107 kWh (usable) battery pack. That’s good for a claimed range of 625 km, although the Performance Pack drops that figure to 560 km. The single-motor version is likely to offer even more range thanks to an expected drop in weight with one less electric motor. The Polestar 3’s battery can be topped up from 10 to 80 percent in 30 minutes thanks to the car’s 250kW charging capability, and there’s bi-directional charging that can feed power back into the grid. Despite the 3’s 2.584 kg kerb weight, Polestar has utilised an array of advanced chassis technologies to inject the car with some degree of athleticism. For example, the rear electric motor is a torque vectoring dual-clutch unit, and adaptive dampers have been fitted as standard. Dual-chamber air suspension also features, with Performance Pack models receiving a bespoke suspension calibration and 22-inch forged alloys for sharper dynamics. The Polestar 3 exterior design is recognisably Polestar. The firm has taken inspiration from the Precept concept car that will directly spawn the 4-door ‘5’ GT-coupe in 2025 to deliver a sharply styled package with an emphasis on aerodynamics. While the ‘2’ and forthcoming ‘4’ tread a design line between SUVs and conventional cars, the Polestar 3 is very much an SUV in its look and dimensions. The front features a slim aero bridge that feeds air over the bonnet bookended by Polestar’s familiar T-shaped headlights. Black lower panels on the bumpers and sills provide protection and accentuate its SUV style. The side profile shows the shoulder line rising on the rear pillar which is influenced by the tail of an aeroplane according to the 3’s designer, Nahum Escobedo. The roofline tapers into a neat rear spoiler (again, for improved efficiency) there’s a slim rear light bar that doubles back on itself at each side and “aero blades” at the outer edges of the bumper. With vortex edges on the underside, the rear spoiler works in conjunction with the aero blade on the bonnet for extra downforce. Polestar says the optional Lidar system that bulges out of the roof won’t adversely affect airflow. The ‘3’ uses a development of the Android Automotive infotainment system from the Polestar 2. A high resolution 14.5-inch portrait touchscreen sits in the centre of the dashboard, and over-the-air updates are designed to enable software improvements throughout the car’s lifecycle. Initially, all Polestar 3 models will receive the Plus Pack as standard, which brings a host of extra equipment such as soft-closing doors, cabin air filtration, heated rear seats and a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins stereo. With a 484 litre boot, the Polestar trails the BMW iX by 16 litres, but it does offer a 32-litre front storage area, unlike its German rival. A 9,0 inch instrument panel sits behind the steering wheel, and the cabin is finished using a blend of sustainable materials that include MicroTech fabrics, fully-traceable wool and animal welfare-certified leather. The Performance Pack adds flashes of gold inside, and all Polestar 3’s will arrive with a panoramic glass roof, ambient lighting, a 360-degree parking camera and a vast suite of driver assistance features. Polestar says there were discussions about integrating digital wing mirror cameras and while these aren’t offered yet, there’s scope to add this system to the ‘3’ during its lifespan. These include a radar system which can scan for children or pets inside the car and adjust the climate settings accordingly, and an eye-monitoring camera to detect driver fatigue. A Pilot Pack will also be fitted to launch cars, which adds a parking assist function, adaptive cruise control and a head-up display. In total, there are five radar modules on the Polestar 3, together with 5 external cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors to facilitate the operation of the safety systems. From 2025 these will be expanded with the optional Pilot Pack with Lidar that includes 3 extra cameras and four additional ultrasonic sensors to scan the environment in real time. The plan is for Lidar to support the possibility of autonomous driving further down the line, and Polestar has indicated that it may offer some autonomous features via a subscription service. +++
+++ The year 2024 marks 50 years of the iconic VOLKSWAGEN GOLF , so to celebrate VW’s preparing the release of a new high performance GTI variant. While few official details have been confirmed, the new GTI derivative will be revealed at the Nurburgring in a few weeks time and will hopefully live up to some of the sensational limited-edition Golf GTIs of the past. One that instantly springs to mind is the iconic Golf GTI Clubsport S that was based on the 7th generation. This car was originally revealed as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations, and was successful in its task of breaking the front-wheel drive production car lap record around the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit. Unfortunately, while a new generation Clubsport S would be wonderful, we’re instead likely looking at a standard Clubsport. Regardless of whether the new Golf GTI is the S or not, expect a serious set of technical upgrades on the existing Mk8.5 generation Golf GTI including an uplift in power from its turbocharged 2-litre 4-cylinder engine. This will likely continue to creep up on the Clubsport S’s 333 hp figure, which is still the highest ever offered on a front-wheel drive Golf. The power will run through a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox to the front wheels. With so much power potentially arriving at the front axle, we also expect an update on the existing Clubsport’s limited slip differential. However, the Clubsport S’s magic wasn’t just due to more power, but also to a comprehensive weight shedding program that included the removal of the second row seats and lots of sound deadening. Such dedication to lightweighting is unlikely to be on the cards this time around, not least due to the 5-door-only Golf Mk8.5 body. The interior and exterior styling will also see some changes compared to the recently revealed Mk8.5 GTI: we can expect a new front bumper and a white paint finish. We’ll find out more when the new limited-run model is revealed in full on May 30, when the road car, plus potentially the new Mk8.5 TCR racer, will both make their debuts. +++
+++ The XIAOMI SU7 might be selling like hotcakes in China, but numerous owners have experienced issues shortly after taking delivery of the compelling new EV. Just this week, the owner of a bright blue SU7 was reportedly left stranded after just 39 km and told the car will have to be sent back to the factory for analysis and see if it can be repaired. The electric sedan, owned by a man known as Mr. Wen, was being driven along a highway on May 5, just the day after it was collected from a Xiaomi delivery center in Fujian Province. Suddenly, the EV shut down, forcing the owner to pull over. A message on the digital instrument cluster of the SU7 provided a warning the car was about to stop, telling the driver to pull over and contact the firm’s online service center. A second message then appeared, stating the drive system was faulty and the car couldn’t shift between drive and reverse. Left stranded on the side of the road, Mr. Wen had to call for a tow truck to return the car to the delivery center. According to sources from China, the dealer center was unable to diagnose the problem and informed the owner that it needs to be sent back to the factory to find out what’s wrong. The owner doesn’t want the car repaired. Instead, he has requested a brand new SU7. However, this is said to be impossible because all models currently being assembled already have allocated owners, meaning he would have to place a new order. Xiaomi is reportedly collaborating with the individual to arrange a full refund for the defective vehicle and compensate for any incurred expenses. Xiaomi is estimated to have manufactured just over 10.000 SU7s since the vehicle’s launch a few months ago. Additional owners have reported various issues with the EV, such as paint problems, while some have raised doubts about the efficacy of the car’s traction control system. Recently, Xiaomi was compelled to acknowledge that the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system ceases to function beyond 135 km/h and will remain inactive until an over-the-air update is deployed. +++