Cars news

• Mazda's first bespoke EV spotted ahead of 2027 launch

  14-11-2025 18:01 via autocar.co.uk
  Mazda's previous EVs have been based on ICE platforms or other brands' models; now firm is going it aloneMazda has begun testing prototypes of its first bespoke electric car ahead of a planned launch in 2027 – and these first pictures reveal it could be an EV sibling to the CX-5.
  The Japanese firm is one of the largest independent car makers worldwide to not yet use a bespoke EV architecture for a production car.
  Its first EV, the MX-30 crossover, was based on the underpinnings of the
  
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• A car like the Bugatti Veyron may never happen again

  08-12-2025 14:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Record-breaking hypercar set the standard for all-out performance in the early 2000sTwo decades ago, Autocar drove the Bugatti Veyron for the first time – and it blew us away.
  “The noise – a peculiar cacophony that sounds a bit like two TVRs on full reheat plus an industrial-strength air hose – is accompanied by mind-bending, heart-stopping acceleration, the like of which has never been felt before in a road car,” gushed our tester.
  And yet they didn&rsquo
  
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• Lotus Eletre PHEV set for huge power output and 220-mile EV range

  08-12-2025 11:20 via autocar.co.uk
  PHEV will have a slightly more open grille than the EV, pictured
  Filing with Chinese officials suggests 'Hyper Hybrid' powertrain will be borrowed from the Zeekr 9XTechnical specifications for the new plug-in-hybrid Lotus Eletre have been revealed in a Chinese government filing.
  The electric SUV swaps its 108kWh battery for the smaller 70kWh unit from Geely sibling brand Zeekr’s 9X luxury SUV.
  This yields an electric-only range of up to 220 miles between charges – although this figur
  
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• Smart's First Sedan Is Also Its Biggest Car Ever

  08-12-2025 11:13 via motor1.com
  
  It's nearly as long as two original ForTwos.
  
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• Smart #6 unveiled as plug-in hybrid saloon to rival BMW 3 Series

  08-12-2025 10:57 via autocar.co.uk
  New model is Smart’s first ever saloon and only its second PHEV – and it could be offered in the UKSmart has unveiled the #6, a sleek new plug-in hybrid saloon that becomes its biggest model to date.
  The #6 is Smart’s first ever saloon and only its second model to offer a PHEV drivetrain after the #5 SUV launched in China earlier this year. A fully electric #6 will follow next year.
  The #6 PHEV - badged EHD for Electric Hybrid Drive – joins the existing #1, #3 and #5
  
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• Ciao, belter: why I'm selling my Lancia Delta Integrale after 24 years

  08-12-2025 10:00 via autocar.co.uk
  After 24 years of ownership, Richard Webber is parting ways with his Delta Integrale Evo
  Why we become so emotionally attached to our cars – and how to say goodbyeIn opening my garage for a recent visitor, he reacted with a frenzied wonder that suggested the electric door had risen to reveal a live tiger. What lay within was merely 10 cubic metres of metals, plastics, paints, fabrics and leather.
  But those materials were cast, stamped, welded, moulded, sprayed, crimped and stitched into th
  
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• Exclusive: Hyundai to resurrect petrol-powered i30 N

  08-12-2025 09:44 via autocar.co.uk
  Sporty model to return again with a petrol engine, potentially with a hybrid boostHyundai is preparing to resurrect the petrol-powered i30 N hot hatch, filling the gap left by the recent demise of the Ford Focus ST and Honda Civic Type R, a well-placed source has told Autocar.
  The original i30 N was launched in 2017 as the first model from Hyundai’s N performance brand. A close rival to the Volkswagen Golf GTI, it was based on the third-generation i30 but was a highly bespoke proposition u
  
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• 2026 Mercedes GLB Revealed: Seven Seats, Three Screens, Two Trunks

  08-12-2025 09:29 via motor1.com
  
  ...and plenty of stars.
  
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• New seven-seat Mercedes GLB brings ICE and 392-mile EV

  08-12-2025 00:01 via autocar.co.uk
  Priced from around £41k, new SUV shares its underpinnings with the CLA saloonMercedes has revealed the new, second-generation GLB as the chunky, seven-seat SUV sibling to the CLA.
  Familiar on the surface but all new underneath, the GLB is the second model to use Mercedes' new MMA architecture for compact cars, which accommodates both pure-electric and hybrid powertrains.
  The new GLB is also the largest MMA-based model, with the smaller GLA crossover set to slot in underneath it next year.
  
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• Can E-rallying in an Alpine live up to the Monte Carlo dream?

  07-12-2025 17:00 via autocar.co.uk
  e-Rally cars are production EVs
  E-Rally is gaining traction as a more relevant form of motorsportA British Isles crew kept up the best traditions of entente cordiale on the recent FIA e-Rallye Monte-Carlo as they twirled a pretty, French blue Alpine A290 GTS around some of the world's most famous rally stages.
  Richard Crozier and co-driver Craig Parry joined forces for the first time to dive into the oldest, most prestigious and best-established eco rally, and they emerged with tired smiles, a c
  
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• Zipcar’s demise means people such as me are back in the slow lane – and stuck needing their own costly car | Phineas Finn

  07-12-2025 13:00 via theguardian.com
  The impending collapse of UK carsharing is an embarrassment for a government attempting to curb the dominance of carsZipcar, the world’s largest carsharing club, is leaving the UK. The company, which operates about 3,000 shared vehicles in Britain, has announced plans to shutter its UK operations at the end of the month. The news comes as a bitter blow to the hundreds of thousands of Britons who regularly rely on carsharing, and is a major setback in efforts to reduce emissions and traffic
  
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• Younger enthusiasts needed to reverse classic market slowdown

  07-12-2025 13:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Historics market hits an all-time high but fears have been raised as momentum tails offThe historic vehicle market is worth more today than it was five years ago but growth is slowing dramatically and more must be done to increase the number of young enthusiasts if it is to survive in the future. 
  That's the warning from the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC), whose annual National Historic Vehicle Survey found that while the market is worth a record £7.3 billion tod
  
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• My £40k Humvee has a 6.5-litre diesel V8 - and it's a fine city car

  07-12-2025 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  "It's quite wide but nimble, and I can parallel park in one hit," says owner Samuel
  Big, brash and bold, Samuel's V8-powered military-spec Humvee is impossible to miss"I grew up playing with figures like Action Man and not video games, so to own a Humvee like the one he drove is a dream come true," says Samuel Ogunlana.
  Note, it's a Humvee, the US military vehicle – full name High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle that first saw action in 1989 in Operation Just Cause, when the US invad
  
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• Beware the green T: This new sticker signals a doubtful driver

  06-12-2025 16:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Unofficial plate is to let other road users know that a driver is unfamiliar with the areaI still don’t know howI feel about the T-plate. The brainchild of Scottish hotelier Robert Marshall, this is a sticker bearing a large green ‘T’ (and a smaller ‘Tourist’ postscript) that visitors can apply to the back of their car, just like learners do with a red L-plate and new drivers sometimes do with a green L- or P-plate.
  The short of it is that it’s meant to let ot
  
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• This tiny petrol engine is designed to fit in electric cars

  06-12-2025 12:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Horse's four-pot hybrid units fit in a BEV's front motor compartment
  Fifteen months after revealing its plans for 'off-the-shelf' range-extender and hybrid powertrains, Horse Powertrain unveiled its Future Hybrid Powertrain solution earlier this year.
  Available from 2027, the "all-in-one" powertrain is aimed at enabling a vehicle manufacturer to easily convert a BEV platform to a hybrid by replacing a front-mounted BEV drive motor and transmission with a hybrid unit.
  Two different versions are a
  
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• New Mercedes CLA vs Model 3 and MG: Can anyone topple Tesla?

  06-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Tesla and Merc are the better choices for driver rewards
  Glitzy new CLA aims to railroad updated Tesla and upmarket MGThe compact exec has always been the first choice of company car drivers looking to cut a dash, but the tax-slashing benefits of going electric mean that corporate tastes have changed.
  The Tesla Model 3 has become the user-chooser's first choice, its blend of tech, range, fast charging and rock-bottom tax bills making it a perennial sales chart fixture since it arrived
  
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• Listen: Peugeot CEO's plan to return to the GTi glory days

  06-12-2025 01:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Alain Favey explains how he will rekindle one of the best loved sporting sub brandsPeugeot CEO Alain Favey has a bold plan to put style and driving dynamics back at the heart of the brand.
  Join deputy editor Felix Page at Stellantis's UK headquarters to hear Favey outline why the UK market is so important to Peugeot's EV strategy, how he'll grow its market share in Europe - and how the brand is very literally reinventing the wheel for its next-generation cars.
  He also tells us how Peugeot will r
  
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• UK deliveries of Fiat Grande Panda delayed to March

  05-12-2025 14:35 via autocar.co.uk
  Manufacturer has given priority to left-hand-drive markets in which there is strong demand for the retro superminiUK customer deliveries of the Fiat Grande Panda have been delayed to March 2026, due to outsized demand for left-hand-drive cars in other markets.
  Autocar first drove the retro supermini in February 2025, at which point deliveries had been scheduled to begin in April. 
  That month, the closely related Citroën C3 arrived in UK showrooms (on time), but
  
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• Lotus Esprit Series 1 reimagined with 400bhp V8

  05-12-2025 14:00 via autocar.co.uk
  New £430k "remastering" from Chelmsford-based Encor improves on 1970s original "in almost every way"The Lotus Esprit Series 1 has been reimagined with a redesigned carbonfibre body and a new V8 powertrain by a start-up consisting of former Hethel staff, almost 40 years after the sports car went off sale.
  The new Series 1 has been created by Chelmsford-based Encor, which plans to make 50 examples priced from around £430,000.
  Chief engineer Will Ives said the brief was to “refine
  
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• Tesla launches cheaper version of Model 3 in Europe amid Musk sales backlash

  05-12-2025 11:55 via theguardian.com
  CEO Elon Musk says lower-cost electric car will reignite demand by appealing to broader range of buyersTesla has launched the lower-priced version of its Model 3 car in Europe in a push to revive sales after a backlash against Elon Musk’s work with Donald Trump and weakening demand for electric vehicles.Musk, the electric car maker’s chief executive, has argued that the cheaper option, launched in the US in October, will reinvigorate demand by appealing to a wider range of buyers. Co
  
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• Toyota's New GT3 Racer Skips the Road Car's Hybrid, Goes Pure V-8

  05-12-2025 09:43 via motor1.com
  
  Beyond the far more aggressive body, the race car also gets a side exhaust.
  
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• Kia previews its future with a wild four-door super-GT concept

  05-12-2025 09:19 via autocar.co.uk
  Vision Meta Turismo splits the difference between saloon and SUV, and previews Kia's next-gen designKia has revealed a rakish, driver-focused saloon car concept to celebrate its 80th anniversary and preview its future.
  The Vision Meta Turismo concept, previewed earlier this week and revealed overnight at an event in Korea, is an edgy, angular, four-seat GT that gives clues as to how the brand will evolve its Opposites United design language.
  It bears little relation to any current Kia model, and
  
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• Tesla Model Y gets £3k price cut as Standard confirmed for UK

  05-12-2025 09:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Entry-level SUV forgoes light bars, panoramic roof and more to bring the price downThe stripped-back Tesla Model Y Standard has been confirmed for the UK, cutting the car’s starting price by £3000 compared with the previous entry-level variant. 
  It starts at £41,990 (or £299 per month on a 36-month lease with a £3588 deposit), more closely aligning the American EV with European rivals such as the Skoda Enyaq (from £39,010). 
  Changes made to reduce th
  
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• Volkswagen ID Cross concept driven: first taste of crucial EV

  05-12-2025 08:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Production ID Cross will arrive next year as the second of VW's wave of affordable EVsThe Volkswagen ID Cross will arrive next year as the second of Wolfsburg’s new wave of affordable compact EVs – and we’ve got hands-on with an early version of the electric crossover.
  Unlike the ID 3, ID 4 and ID 5 EVs, which all share a very similar form language and silhouette, the ID Cross and its ID Polo sibling will get more distinct visual identities from both each other and other VW Gro
  
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• Kia's New Edgy Concept Is a Glimpse Into The Future

  05-12-2025 07:52 via motor1.com
  
  The angular Vision Meta Turismo may not be the Stinger revival we've been hoping for.
  
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• Toyota GR GT Revealed: Twin-Turbo V-8 Muscle Meets a Lightweight Aluminum Frame

  05-12-2025 03:00 via motor1.com
  
  With 640 horsepower on tap, Toyota calls the new GR GT a 'road-legal' race car.
  
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• The Lexus LFA Is Back

  05-12-2025 03:00 via motor1.com
  
  The LFA Concept previews a future Lexus supercar with a battery-electric powertrain. That’s right, it’s electric.
  
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• Official: Lexus LFA name confirmed for upcoming EV supercar

  05-12-2025 03:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Lexus LFA swaps howling atmo V10 for whip-crack EV powertrain in second generation
  Lexus is developing an EV version of Toyota's GR GT supercar, and it's got big, V10-powered shoes to fillLexus has reprised the name of the legendary LFA for an electric supercar based on Toyota's new V8-engined GR GT.
  Toyota's luxury brand revealed its vision of a future BEV super-GT last year at the Pebble Beach show in California and has now confirmed it will take its screaming V10 predecessor's hallowed n
  
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• New Toyota GR GT revealed as 641bhp V8 supercar for 2027

  05-12-2025 03:00 via autocar.co.uk
  Storming 200mph supercar finally heading to showrooms in the next two years to take on AMG GTToyota has finally revealed its new flagship V8 supercar – due on sale in around two years as a storming, 641bhp rival to the Mercedes-AMG GT and Aston Martin Vantage.
  The GR GT – named for Toyota's Gazoo Racing performance division – is described as having been conceived as a "road-legal race car". Indeed, the road-going and GT3-spec racing versions have been revealed simulta
  
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• New Toyota Trademarks Could Hint at Upcoming Sports Cars

  04-12-2025 23:18 via motor1.com
  
  Toyota has been hinting at the car’s return for years.
  
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