A driver line-up that endures The final crucial element of any potentially race-winning package is the driver. In its Dakar Rally line-up, Audi boasts three of the best. Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel is known as ‘Mr Dakar’, thanks to his six wins on a motorcycle and eight wins in a car. Carlos Sainz is a three-times… Continue reading How the Audi RS Q e-tron will electrify the Dakar Rally
Author: Autocar Magazine UK
Opinion: Why grant cuts won’t help drive EV take-up
For the third time in less than two years, the government has cut the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) available to buyers of electric cars. And for the third time in less than two years, we’re left scratching our heads trying to work out why. At the start of 2020, anyone buying an electric car would… Continue reading Opinion: Why grant cuts won’t help drive EV take-up
2022 Toyota bZ4X: pricing and specifications revealed
In place of a conventional grille, a narrow black strip houses sensors for autonomous driving features, while sharply styled headlights and sculpted air channels are part of Toyota’s new “hammerhead” look, which aims to generate “a new attitude and road presence”. The cabin has been designed primarily to give the driver “a sense of direct connection… Continue reading 2022 Toyota bZ4X: pricing and specifications revealed
Peugeot reveals e-Expert Hydrogen as first fuel-cell vehicle
The new Peugeot e-Expert Hydrogen van is the French brand’s first hydrogen production vehicle, a sibling van to the Citroën ë-Dispatch Hydrogen and the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro-e Hydrogen, which have been revealed in the past week. The Vivaro-e Hydrogen is currently the only model of the three confirmed to be sold in the UK, with right-hand-drive examples set to arrive in… Continue reading Peugeot reveals e-Expert Hydrogen as first fuel-cell vehicle
New 2022 Skoda Enyaq iV Coupe to be revealed on 31 January
Skoda will reveal the long-promised coupé version of its Enyaq iV electric SUV on 31 January. The Enyaq Coupé iV is effectively Skoda’s version of the Volkswagen ID 5, which is itself a rakish-roofed variant of the Volkswagen ID 4. Skoda claims a drag coefficient of 0.234 for its new coupé-SUV, which is said to… Continue reading New 2022 Skoda Enyaq iV Coupe to be revealed on 31 January
Toyota and Lexus shock with reveal of 15 new electric cars
Toyota president Akio Toyoda has unwrapped no less than 15 wildly diverse concepts for upcoming Toyota and Lexus electric cars, as he detailed plans for the two firms to launch a total of 30 battery EVs by 2030. The machines – shown alongside Toyota’s first bespoke EV, the bZ4X – include a range of new SUVs, commercial vehicles,… Continue reading Toyota and Lexus shock with reveal of 15 new electric cars
James Ruppert: Aim for cheap, but not too cheap when buying second-hand
The demand for cheap cars never goes away. Sometimes they are stop gaps between a replacement, but quite often it is a motorist spending all they afford. I’ve been reading back over interviews I did more than 25 years ago with proper banger dealers, ones who sold sub-gorillas (under £1000) and had a lot between… Continue reading James Ruppert: Aim for cheap, but not too cheap when buying second-hand
Opinion: How prescient was the Rolls-Royce 102EX?
When Rolls-Royce built the Phantom-based 102EX in 2011, it seemed a very curious project. No buyer had asked for such a car and no production model was planned. Though we wouldn’t know it for another decade, the dual-motor layout would go on to become widely adopted by rivals, and its 71kWh battery would be surprisingly… Continue reading Opinion: How prescient was the Rolls-Royce 102EX?
Under the skin: why cooling fluids are key to improving EVs
Electric vehicles have turned the world upside down in more ways than one: technology has changed, as have production methods, driving styles, refuelling, tyre design and pretty well anything else you can think of. Deeper beneath the surface, more changes are on the way, and one of those is the design of the fluids that… Continue reading Under the skin: why cooling fluids are key to improving EVs
Spectre coupe signals Rolls-Royce shift to EVs
Rolls-Royce will soon begin on-road testing of its first all-electric production car, the Spectre, ahead of a market launch in the fourth quarter of 2023. By then, prototypes will have covered 150 million miles in a range of conditions, which Rolls-Royce equates to a simulated 400 years of use. The Goodwood firm’s CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös,… Continue reading Spectre coupe signals Rolls-Royce shift to EVs