Cars news

• Abarth considering return to petrol hot hatches

  26-11-2025 08:08 via autocar.co.uk
  Petrol-powered Abarth 595 was discontinued in August 2024
  Customer feedback and drastically reduced sales have prompted a rethink for the sporting brandAbarth is mulling a return to petrol power with a hot hatch based on the new Fiat 500 Hybrid, the boss of the brand's European arm has told Autocar.
  Abarth currently sells electric cars only, having discontinued the petrol-powered 595 and 695 in August 2024 – when the previous-generation Fiat 500 that they were base
  
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• Battery electric cars will overtake diesels in Great Britain by 2030, analysis suggests

  04-01-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  London predicted to be the first UK city to go diesel-free, largely because of the ultra-low emission zoneBattery electric cars are poised to overtake diesels on Great Britain’s roads by 2030, according to analysis that suggests London will be the first UK city to go diesel-free.The number of diesel cars on Great Britain’s roads in June had fallen to 9.9m in June last year, 21% below its peak of 12.4m vehicles, according to analysis by New AutoMotive, a thinktank focused on the trans
  
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• The electric vehicle revolution is still on course – don’t let your loathing of Elon Musk stop you joining up | Zoe Williams

  04-01-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Other firms are taking advantage of Tesla’s sales slump, while technological advances mean that glitches are being left in the rear-view mirrorIn another era, before Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed its name to X to mark the spot of its descent into barbarism, honed Grok, a generator of far-right propaganda, swung behind Donald Trump and made what appeared to be a Nazi salute, I already knew he was a wrong ’un. The year was 2019, and I was test-driving a Tesla; while I was ambling o
  
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• Inside McLaren's ultra-exclusive VIP service

  04-01-2026 10:34 via autocar.co.uk
  Pure McLaren events take a track-day to the next level
  We were handed the keys to a 690bhp Artura and given one-to-one tuition at one of the world's best race tracksYou dream about the chance to live out your racing driver fantasies, and mine is about to be realised. The venue for my debut track experience: Silverstone. This is like kicking a football for the first time at Wembley.
  McLaren is hosting one of its exclusive Pure owners' experience days, and I've been invited. To prepare, I spent th
  
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• BMW takes full control of Alpina performance brand

  04-01-2026 10:17 via autocar.co.uk
  BMW Alpina logo
  Future BMW Alpina models to focus on 'performance and driving comfort'BMW has officially taken full control of Alpina and given first hints of its plans for the long-running performance firm – claiming future models will focus on a “unique balance of maximum performance and superior driving comfort.”
  The Munich manufacturer acquired the 60-year-old Alpina firm, famed for its extensively modified versions of BMW models in 2022. Due to an agreement with Alpin
  
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• Why the fuel gauge arrow is one of motoring's greatest inventions

  04-01-2026 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Ford managed to do this back in 1989 for petrol-powered cars...The history of the motor car is one of continuous innovation, with incredibly clever people relentlessly inventing new technologies to make cars safer, perhaps faster and generally better.
  We're talking inventions such as seatbelts, fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, airbags and power steering - and the little arrow on your fuel gauge that tells you which side of the car the filler is on.
  Okay, that last innovation isn't quite like th
  
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• The BMW M2 CS truly lives up to its ancestors

  04-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Could this be the best driver's car for less than £100,000?BMW has been extending its M brand for an awfully long time, adding fast SUVs, luxury convertibles and even the fully bespoke XM.
  Yet when you imagine an M car, it's a compact, rear-wheel-drive coupé. 'E30' M3, 'E9' CSL 'Batmobile', 2002 Turbo: these are cars with a stature that demands a modern inheritor. And the M2 CS feels fully up to the job.
  It's a car defined by the little details, which come together to amount to some
  
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• Buttons are back: First look inside £22k Volkswagen ID Polo

  03-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  VW's Renault 5 rival majors on physical controls, ditches the touch slider and has a Mk1 Golf's speedoVolkswagen has unveiled the interior of the new ID Polo ahead of the electric supermini's launch later this year, showcasing the increased provision of physical buttons for key functions.
  The supermini is the firm's vital new offering in the sub-£22,000 electric car category. It is also the first model to encompass the brand's new design language under the leadership of Andreas M
  
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• 120's plenty: 'Baby' BMW was all the car I needed in 2025

  03-01-2026 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Sometimes the old school ways of a family hatchback just can't be beatenI evaluated many newcomers this year, virtually all of which were a whacking great SUV, a life-complicating EV or a combination of both.
  Consequently the car that I enjoyed far above all others in 2025 wasn’t at all innovative or even new: it was a small, modestly sporty, petrol-powered hatchback of a variety that has been familiar for two decades now.
  The BMW 1 Series has accrued an unfortunate reputation or three in
  
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• Why we still fly around the world just to drive in circles

  03-01-2026 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Convening many cars and people in one place is about as efficient as launches getWhen The Beautiful South wrote their song Rotterdam (Or Anywhere), they could have been writing about the itinerant life of a road tester.
  Motoring hacks travel to locations that serve a particular purpose: to drive around in big circles. And then we go home. To the outsider looking in, I can well appreciate that you might wonder why it’s done quite so.
  The motoring press calls these events launches, although
  
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• Anglesey to Amalfi: 3000 miles in a plug-in hybrid Volvo XC90

  03-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  We put the XC90's touring credentials to the test with a road trip to Italy via WalesSometimes the job calls for a soft, spacious machine that makes an art of being undemanding. In other words, a wafter.
  A certain elegance to the design is always nice to have – a 5.0-litre Jag XJ will look rather better on your driveway than an ID7 – but ultimately the calibre of any wafter boils down to effortless cruising and high levels of isolation.
  I needed a wafter not long ago. There were seve
  
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• Driven: Ford's epic £2m Dakar Rally monster

  03-01-2026 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Ford is hoping to score its first Dakar Rally victory with M-Sport’s Raptor monster truckSome opportunities don't come along that often - and aren't the sort of thing you say no to. Such as the chance to drive a £2 million Dakar Rally challenger in a private forest. How exclusive was this opportunity?
  Well, at the time I climbed behind the wheel, only three people outside of rally outfit M-Sport had been trusted with this toughest of all 'Built Tough' Ford trucks: F1 star Carlos Sain
  
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• The Red Bull RB17 Hypercar's Final Design Looks Bonkers

  02-01-2026 23:11 via motor1.com
  
  We'd expect nothing less from Red Bull's 1,200-horsepower, track-only hypercar.
  
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• Bugatti's Next One-Off Hypercar May Honor the Veyron

  02-01-2026 20:30 via motor1.com
  
  The new hypercar will allegedly pay homage to the original Veyron 16.4 chassis no. 001.
  
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• Alpina Is Now BMW Alpina. Here's What That Means

  02-01-2026 18:30 via motor1.com
  
  As of 2026, Alpina is now BMW Alpina. But what exactly does that mean for the brand?
  
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• Is Mitsubishi Teasing a New Montero?

  02-01-2026 17:00 via motor1.com
  
  The new SUV could result in a reborn Montero for the United States.
  
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• China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s biggest electric car seller

  02-01-2026 16:09 via theguardian.com
  Sales at Elon Musk’s company slump after Donald Trump’s withdrawal of EV subsidiesChina’s BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s largest electric carmaker in 2025, after the US company run by Elon Musk reported a slump in deliveries at the end of the year.BYD sold 2.26m battery electric cars during the year, easily outstripping the 1.63m deliveries reported on Friday by Tesla for the same period. Continue reading...
  
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• Another Special Ferrari Might Be On the Way

  02-01-2026 16:00 via motor1.com
  
  The Ferrari HC25 could be a one-off car for a specific customer.  
  
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• My star car of 2025? It's a van, actually - and it's made by Kia

  02-01-2026 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Can a van really be fun and likeable? Yes. Especially when it's as practical as most family homesThe Kia PV5 was developed with a laser focus on usability, versatility, load capacity and economics.
  That's because the sort of people who will buy an electric van will base their decision on spreadsheet calculations and other wholly unemotional factors.
  Yet despite that, this bold new entrant into the commercial vehicle sector is somehow utterly beguiling and likeable.
  It's charming in the way of th
  
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• Christmas presents don't get much better than a Megane R26.R

  02-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  “I never saw the car and never drove it but I negotiated a price and bought it”
  Dan Baines always wanted a Megane R26.R and the perfect example landed two years agoChristmas Day 2023 is one that Dan Baines will never forget. "Ever since seeing one at Silverstone years ago, I'd always wanted a Mégane R26.R," he says.
  "Last December, I found a 2009-reg with 44,000 miles for sale. It was being offered by a friend in the trade. I trusted him. I never saw the car and never drove it
  
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• Mario Andretti on his favourite cars, circuits, races and rivals

  02-01-2026 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  America's best-known racing driver is still flat out at 85 - we catch up with him to reflect on his astonishing lifeAmerica's greatest racing driver? It's subjective and depends entirely on your perspective.
  But what we can state for certain is, in terms of worldwide fame, stature, personality, longevity of career and relentless achievement, they don't come much bigger than Mario Andretti. Just that name alone... he's a sporting colossus.
  Andretti won in pretty much everything he drove across fo
  
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• 2027 Ram TRX Revealed: Now With 777 Horsepower

  01-01-2026 16:00 via motor1.com
  
  Ram revives the TRX with a supercharged V-8 and 777 horsepower.
  
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• 2027 Ram Power Wagon Revealed: Finally, A Diesel

  01-01-2026 16:00 via motor1.com
  
  Ram adds a High-Output diesel engine option to the Power Wagon, complete with 1,075 pound-feet of torque.
  
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• I didn't think the MX-5 could get better - then they put a Jag V6 in it

  01-01-2026 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Sometimes there really is no replacement for displacementMy favourite driver's cars tend to be small, light and rear-driven, with a charismatic engine and a manual gearbox.
  With its blueprinted quad-cam V6 and lightly breathed on suspension, Rocketeer's Mk1 MX-5 was well up my street on paper, but I did have a slight sense of trepidation before driving it.
  It's fundamentally a 30-year-old Mazda convertible. Was I going to fit? Would it feel quite floppy? Would the suspension be up to it?
  It turn
  
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• Why the fastest version of a car isn't always the best

  01-01-2026 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Range-toppers aren't always the best choiceThe M5 has long been the pinnacle of the BMW 5 Series range, and it has always been very good, but it has lost all of its subtle Q-car status in recent generations, it has become far more difficult to deploy on public roads and the current one costs £111k.
  All of which serves to enhance the appeal of what you might call the ‘lesser’ variants.
  Case in point: I spotted what I thought was a very tidy E61-generation BMW 520d in a car park
  
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• Gucci car, anyone? Autocar's 'alternative' predictions for 2026

  01-01-2026 06:00 via autocar.co.uk
  The future is an uncertain place without the annual Autocar Almanac. We guarantee all this will happen...
  The start of the year is traditionally a time to make predictions about what will happen in the coming months. 
  But making predictions is hard, especially in an industry as unpredictable as the automotive sector. Still, we're experts on the car world, so of course we can predict with unerring accuracy every key event that wil define 2026.
  Well, possibly. Will anything below actually hap
  
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• Honda's New Hybrids Will Sound Better Because Americans Like Loud Cars

  31-12-2025 21:03 via motor1.com
  
  Americans love exhaust notes, and Honda will happily oblige with its new hybrids.
  
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• Tesla publishes analyst forecasts suggesting sales set to fall

  31-12-2025 17:24 via theguardian.com
  Tesla endured tough year in part thanks to some consumers’ distaste for Elon Musk’s embrace of rightwing politicsTesla has taken the unusual step of publishing sales forecasts that suggest 2025 deliveries will be lower than expected and future years’ sales will be well below targets set by its chief executive, Elon Musk.The US electric vehicle maker published figures from analysts suggesting it will announce 423,000 deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2025, in a new “
  
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• Dead: Karma Revero  

  31-12-2025 17:00 via motor1.com
  
  Production for the 536-horsepower extended-range electric vehicle ends after eight years.
  
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• Tesla makes surprise announcement of lower than expected sales for 2025

  31-12-2025 16:58 via theguardian.com
  Electric vehicle maker also predicts future sales will miss Elon Musk’s ambitious targetsTesla has taken the unusual step of publishing sales forecasts that suggest that 2025 deliveries will be lower than expected and future years’ sales will be well below targets set by its chief executive, Elon Musk.The US electric vehicle maker published figures from analysts suggesting it will announce 423,000 deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2025, in a new “consensus” section
  
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