+++ Doubt the power of design? Look no further than the Ferrari Luce kerfuffle, the AMG GT 4-Door uproar, or the Jaguar Type 00 disgrace. Given the fierce and sometimes dysfunctional relationship between storied brands and their most loyal fans, it’s no wonder these high-profile design outliers were considered betrayals of trust. Mess with an icon, risk the future credibility of your beloved brand. It’s been 4 quiet years since BMW’s acquisition of ALPINA in 2022, so it’s no wonder Bimmer loyalists breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Vision BMW Alpina concept finally broke cover at the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza. Sleek and gracefully proportioned, the one-off effortlessly pulled off numerous romanticized BMW design signatures: shark nose, kidney grille, Hofmeister kink and cab-rear bias for starters. Instead of exaggerated caricatures or distorted interpretations of these hallmarks, this Alpina exudes a calm modernity that works both as a concept car on the shores of Lake Como and as something you could imagine in your suburban garage. Unlike a certain astronomically priced prancing horse electric car, there is a rational white space between the 7 Series and the Group’s next-priciest offering, the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Bigger picture, there is also room for competition amidst players in that space like Bentley and Maybach. BMW Alpina CEO Oliver Viellechner suggests the market is ripe within the nascent segment. “The growth of wealth globally is still very robust”, he says, citing a BCG (Boston Consulting Group) study that projects a 9 percent increase per year in ultra-high net worth individuals. Viellechner suggests that particular demographic is not only growing, it’s evolving. “Those individuals really tend to change their spending behaviors. There’s a trend toward more subtle, more understated, more experience-driven consumption beyond just products and massive expressive luxury”. When it comes to product planning, head of BMW Group Design Adrian van Hooydonk says that Alpina’s positioning was carefully considered. “I was there when we acquired Mini and Rolls-Royce, so I know how BMW goes about bringing a new brand into the fold. We studied history long and hard and tried to keep what we think is important and develop it further. And that’s how we went about with BMW Alpina”. Van Hooydonk says he had several dinners with Alpina clients to put a finer point on what makes the nameplate appealing; those little snippets helped refine the brand’s brand elements. “We showed them bits and pieces of what we’re going to do. Sometimes just the wheel, some colors, upholstery, a new logo”. ‘We studied Alpina history long and hard and tried to keep what we think is important and develop it further’. But Alpina’s new direction was neither taken lightly nor chosen by committee, Viellechner says. “Alpina has a very loyal and emotional group of fans, and we are absolutely aware of the responsibility that comes from that. We had a lot of very heated discussions in that process, both in the design department as well as in the wider organization. But we agreed on one baseline: that we want to nurture the character and honor the brand’s heritage and take that forward”. While Alpina’s history can be dissected ad nauseam, building a future that’s sustainable, credible and profitable requires careful consideration of a universe of variables. Think: 3D chess, not gut instinct. Anything can happen; there’s the existing fanbase and the possibility of its contraction, the potential cannibalization of the donor cars Alpinas will be based on, and how to manage existing Alpina hallmarks that have been carefully developed, curated, and grown since the nameplate was founded in 1965 by Burkard Bovensiepen. Van Hooydonk describes the microcosm of cars within the BMW Group for context: “What we try to do in our line-up is design distinct characters. The XM, the M3, a Mini or, for that matter, a Rolls-Royce are very different characters. And I think BMW Group has been very good at distinguishing the brands from one another, even when you touch the steering wheel. Each has distinct character traits like human beings in a family”. ‘Alpina has a very loyal and emotional group of fans, and we are absolutely aware of the responsibility that comes from that’. So what makes Alpina special, and how to embrace its uniqueness? Van Hooydonk explains it eloquently: “Alpina is for connoisseurs, meaning people who love driving… like driving fast but don’t want to communicate to the outside world that they bought a race car… that would be an M customer”. But that’s not to say they don’t appreciate speed, he adds. VP of Design Maximilian Missoni says, “Alpina and M both have their DNA rooted in performance… You will always want to be at the edge with an M. But in my opinion, Alpina is all about comfort, luxury and confidence”. Alpina’s style of performance has been described by the phrase ‘Speed, not sport’ and the 300 km/h top speed figure was repeatedly mentioned as a benchmark for the brand. “Alpinas have always been faster than BMWs”, van Hooydonk says. “Alpina customers want to travel fast and far in great comfort. That’s what we’re going to set these cars up to do, and our engineers are working on this as we speak”. Missoni adds that Alpina’s driving characteristics will stand apart from BMW or M cars. “The engineers are working on a very unique Alpina behaviour, Alpina character, and that’s what you can expect”. While the Vision BMW Alpina Concept is based on the soon-to-be-discontinued 8 Series platform, expect the new brand’s first production car to be based on a 7 Series sedan when it bows in 2027. And while the concept is powered by a twin-turbo V8, future products will not necessarily be limited to pure internal combustion. “Customers will have a choice from the portfolio of powertrains from the respective BMW vehicles”, Missoni says, and that the first Alpina is … deliberately positioned at the top end of the line-up”. That said, we’re not banking on BMW Alpina’s first model as being as drop-dead striking as the concept that bowed at Villa d’Este. Van Hooydonk reveals, “We feel we don’t need to show off a lot of difference in the exterior. It will be rather subtle”. However, he did hint that interior color and trim options will offer more room for individualization. “In the interior, though, you can have whatever you want”, he added. “There are going to be a lot of offerings in terms of personalization for Alpina customers”. +++
+++ The BMW M2 is now available with the option of four-wheel drive for the first time, meaning every M car can now be had with 2 driven axles. The M2 xDrive has been revealed ahead of it going on sale in late summer, priced from €142.172 in The Netherlands; almost €14.000 more than the standard rear-driven M2. That’s also around €26.000 more than its closest comparable rival, the 5-cylinder, Audi RS3 Quattro. The M2 is now the only mainstream 2-door sports coupé on the market, having outlived the Porsche 718 Cayman, the Toyota GR Supra, the Alpine A110, the Jaguar F-Type and the Audi TT RS.
It’s powered by the same 3.0-litre turbocharged ‘S58′ straight-6 as the existing M2 but gains a new pre-chamber combustion process, dubbed M Ignite, which will be rolled out to all M cars from mid-2026 to make them compliant with the new Euro 7 emissions rules. BMW said this new technology, developed in racing, “significantly reduces fuel consumption under high loads” while maintaining the performance characteristics of the S58: “instantaneous response and linear power development into the higher reaches of the rev range”. It also still offers an “emotionally stirring soundtrack”, according to BMW. As with the xDrive versions of its bigger M3 and M4 brothers, the all-paw M2 trims the 0-100 kph sprint time slightly, from 4.0 seconds to 3.7 seconds, and comes equipped with the Active M differential which varies power across the rear axle to improve grip and poise. BMW said this means it “offers drivers the inimitable M feeling through all 4 seasons of the year, in almost any road conditions and in all weathers, without any trade-off in performance”. In normal driving, the M2 xDrive still drives its rear wheels exclusively, with the fronts called upon when they can’t send any more power to the road. It can also be locked in 2-wheel-drive mode, with the DSC deactivated, which “unlocks a driving experience of remarkable purity”. Whereas the rear-driven M2 can be optioned with a manual gearbox, the M2 xDrive is automatic-only. +++
+++ CHRYSLER does not have a strong lineup right now, but Stellantis plans to add 3 new models to the brand’s lineup. There will be a pair of new compact crossovers alongside a larger one called the Airflow, and Stellantis might have just leaked its design in a video highlighting its multi-energy strategy. The video shows 5 vehicles: 2 Jeeps, a Peugeot, a DS and a mystery Chrysler, all the way on the left, which we suspect is the new Airflow. This would be our first look at the crossover, and it features the brand’s new corporate front end introduced on the updated Pacifica. The Chrysler features what appear to be the same vertical LED headlamps, illuminated grille and wing logo, and “piano keys” lighting signature as the minivan, just plastered on the upright front end of a new crossover. A side view of the car reveals vertical taillights on the corners and a rear spoiler. The view also captures the door handles, which look strikingly similar to those on the new Jeep Cherokee, as does the Airflow’s daylight opening. The video reveals the Chrysler’s powertrain, and it looks like the turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder that powers the Cherokee, but without the hybrid system. The engine alone makes 177 horsepower. Another possible powertrain the Airflow could feature is the new Hurricane 4 that powers the Grand Cherokee. It’s a turbo 2.0-liter that makes 325 hp, which might be a bit much for the entry-level model, but it could be optional on a higher trim. +++
+++ Last week, FERRARI unveiled the Luce, its first electric car and it has been quite controversial. A former Ferrari boss said the vehicle risked “destroying a legend”, while current CEO Benedetto Vigna has had to defend the model. Now, he’s reassuring Ferrari fans that the automaker will continue to make combustion-powered vehicles. In an interview, Vigna confirmed Ferrari will offer 3 powertrain types across its portfolio. He said: ‘We have IC [internal combustion], we have the hybrid and we have the electric. Full stop. Then the client can pick up whatever they want’. Vigna added that it has potential clients informing Ferrari that they would become customers only if the automaker offered an electric vehicle, and it has obliged. He said, “If you wait for the client to ask for that, it’s too late”. The Luce has 4 electric motors producing up to 1.050 horsepower. The car can hit 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and reach 200 km/h in just 6.8 seconds. The top speed is 307 km/h and in that regard, this performs like a Ferrari should. It just doesn’t look like one. +++
+++ FIAT has pulled the wraps off its new Grizzly: a larger version of the Grande Panda aimed to give it a footing in Europe’s crucial C-segment, after first showing it in parent company Stellantis’ recent strategy update. It will go on sale later this year with 2 bodystyles: a straight-edged SUV and a more rakish Fastback. It’s an affordable family crossover “designed for the 3 regions” Fiat sells in, according to CEO Olivier François: Europe, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa. It “completes the Panda and Grande Panda families”, he said, “but it’s a different animal” that is intended to bolster Fiat’s “revenue, margins and brand”.
As a bigger sibling to the Grande Panda, it will be built on Stellantis’s value-oriented Smart Car platform, which also underpins the similarly positioned Citroën C3 Aircross and Opel Frontera. The Grizzly is believed to be slightly larger than its siblings, however: Fiat said it’s “under 4.5 meter” long, while the C3 Aircross and Frontera are just under 4.4 meter long. It will be offered with the same choice of petrol, hybrid and electric powertrains as the Grande Panda. The Grizzly forms part of a wave of new Fiat products aimed at bolstering the Italian brand’s coverage of the affordable car market and attracting new buyers.
Also on the way is a new 4-seat microcar to sit above the Citroën Ami-based Topolino and a new electric city car inspired by the original 1980s Panda. This new €15.000 entry EV will be produced at Stellantis’s Pomigliano plant in Italy alongside a reborn Citroën 2CV, which takes heavy design influence from its 1940s forebear. Unlike Citroën, Fiat didn’t go so far as to preview the design of its new entry EV, but François promised that “the real design is not the revival of an icon, it is literally the next icon”. +++
+++ KIA has revealed an updated 2027 version of its PV5 electric van, finally launching the long-awaited 7-seat version alongside and a new range-topping trim level. 7-seat PV5 models are available exclusively with a 71.2 kWh battery pack and a heat pump included as standard. Kia says they should achieve “more than 386 km” on a charge. Exact specifications have yet to be announced on the 7-seaters, but aside from a little extra weight, they won’t stray far from the existing 5-seat model which is capable of up to 410 km.
Charging capabilities are identical between the models, with 150 kW DC fast charging capable of topping the battery up from 10 to 80 pe cent in around 30 minutes. That battery feeds power to a single 163 hp electric motor on the front axle and all PV5s are capable of vehicle-to-load functionality.
All PV5 passenger models also pick up some small changes for the 2027 model year, including a new flat antenna that’ll keep the overall height to under 1,9 meter (handy for multi-story car parks) and a redesigned armrest that’s now height adjustable. There’s also a new top-spec trim available on both 5- and 7-seat models that adds more features. Highlights include electric sliding doors, dual-tone faux-leather across all 3 rows, plus ventilation on the front 2 seats. The impressive infotainment software is generally the same, but it now includes an upgraded camera system with Surround View, side parking sensors and standard premium paint. +++
+++ A survey by XPeng has shown that Europe has some catching up to do when it comes to automotive AI acceptance; apparently just 13 percent of Europeans would get in a SELF-DRIVING CAR , compared with 70 percent of those in China. As many as 82 percent of Europeans say they understand AI, only 13 percent would trust an autonomous car enough to take a trip without a driver at the wheel. A total of 53 percent expressed “little or no trust in AI” when given the scenario of it “taking over driving or making emergency decisions”. The survey of more than 5.000 respondents across 6 European countries suggested up to 53 percent of drivers feel comfortable with features such as adaptive cruise control, traffic-sign recognition and lane-keep assist, many of which are powered, to a lesser or greater extent, by AI. There were regional variations, however. Spain is apparently more trusting (63 percent would travel in an autonomous car) than the United Kingdom (34 percent). As a whole, 61 percent cite a loss of human control as a leading fear of AI. Brian Gu, XPeng’s vice chairman and president said: “Europe isn’t waiting for more features, it’s waiting for more exposure. This study shows that human command, clear guardrails and verified sustainability gains are what move European opinion. If AI mobility can earn consent in Europe, where expectations on privacy, safety, sustainability and accountability are among the highest in the world, it can set a stronger global benchmark”, Gu said. “XPeng’s approach is simple: make AI visible, make it explainable, and keep the driver in charge while we earn the right to automate more”. +++