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  New Peugeot Peugeot 2008 and Peugeot e-2008 UK-specific pricing and spec informationhas been released, with Peugeot taking orders now for both models.  The crossover is priced from £20,150 in base Active form with the 99bhp 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine, with the cheapest automatic (a 128bhp variant) priced from £22,900.  The all-electric e-2008 can also be had with the same trim walk-up, priced from £28,150 in Active spec and rising to £34,275 in GT spec.  The new car is 140mm longer than its Peugeot 2008 2013-2019 predecessor and 20mm lower. At 4.3m, the new 2008 is now only 150mm shorter than the larger Peugeot 3008 SUV. A 60mm longer wheelbase helps boost boot space by 10 litres up to 434 litres across all versions including the electric e-2008, while also increasing rear passenger legroom over the outgoing model. Sitting on Peugeot’s CMP (Common Modular Platform) architecture, which also underpins the...

  A regular   Ford Mustang   is a relaxed, amiable, gently burbling companion, even in 5.0-litre V8 form. This CS800, from British importer and tuner Sutton Bespoke, takes such a regular Mustang and introduces the noise and aggression of a slasher movie to it. We’ve driven Sutton’s Mustangs before, but this one builds on the latest-generation Mustang that was recently facelifted. You can pick and choose from the bits you like and, cleverly, Sutton even offers a configurator to make life as easy as when choosing any other new car. Our test car had a lot of options fitted to it. The most important is a large Whipple supercharger that's mounted high in the engine’s vee and necessitates a taller bonnet; combined with throttle bodies and high flow injectors, the headline number is ‘up to 825hp’, which we’ll call a round 800bhp for these purposes to match the CS800 name. A few here and there won’t matter. There is a full active exhaust with Bluetooth control...

   American racer   Ken Block   has shown off the Hoonipigasus, an outlandish 1400bhp  Porsche -based creation that he will race at the Pikes Peak hillclimb in June. It started out in life as a four-cylinder Porsche 912 (a 1960s budget version of the Porsche 911) but has been radically modified for the event by Block’s Hoonigan Racing outfit and Porsche specialist BBi Autosport, which has taken several class wins at the event over the years. Almost a decade in the making, the car has been completely redesigned, with a huge splitter and towering rear wing helping to keep it glued to the road. The rear wheels have been moved out and further back to help improve handling, while the lack of a rear bumper shows off the inner workings. The Hoonipigasus has been fitted with a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre flat six producing around 1380bhp. Despite this new engine and a four-wheel-drive powertrain, the car weighs just 10...

    Lotus is ramping up development of the all-new, pure-electric sports cars that will take the place of the now-retired   Lotus Elise ,   Lotus Exige   and   Lotus Evora   at its UK HQ in Hethel from 2026. As the company prepares to put the 130-run Evija hypercar into production and get the Emira, its final combustion-engined car, into dealerships in the coming months, it has revealed the first details of the E-Sports architecture that underpins its bold plan to electrify all future sports cars. More ‘lifestyle’-oriented EVs, including the Type 132 SUV, Type 133 four-door coupé and Type 134 crossover, will be built at the Lotus Technology HQ in Wuhan, China, from next year. The E-Sports platform has yet to be revealed in its entirety but will be based around a lightweight rear subframe housing batteries and motors, developed by the dedicated Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture) programme. Sa...

  Aren’t electric cars boring to look at? Despite the free rein many firms have to package these futuristic machines, it’s a shame that most turn out decidedly dull. Not the BMW i3, though. And not only does it look cool, but there’s real innovation behind it, too, with the BMW being constructed predominantly from carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, helping to offset the 230kg heft of its lithium ion battery pack. The i3 has a high price and only a modest range, so it has been overtaken by many cheaper models that may not look interesting but can go further on each charge and are more practical. However, as a used buy, the i3 now stacks up as a reasonable route into EV ownership. Careful which version you go for, mind. The original 2013-2017 BMW i3, known as the 60Ah, has a 22.6kWh battery pack, from which you should expect to extract only around 80 miles. In late 2016, the 94Ah arrived with a 33kWh battery and realistic range of about 120 miles – a useful hike that...

  Skoda has previewed its upcoming  Modern Solid design language  with a sketch showing the interior of a new electric concept car, the Vision 7S.  The image shows a spacious interior with a wraparound design and room for up to six adults. An integrated child seat has also uniquely been positioned on the centre console, which Skoda says is the safest place in a vehicle.  The Czech manufacturer has placed an emphasis on haptic controls, which appear on the steering wheel and the door panels. Ambient lighting also features, activating when people are getting in and out of the car. It’s also used to indicate the EV's charging status.  Meanwhile, the backrests of the seats in the second and third rows feature mounts for multimedia devices and benefit from integrated backpacks.  The concept’s interior offers two different configurations. The driving configuration is said to emphasise the most ideal driving position available with de...

  Both cars are equipped with an AMG aerodynamics package as standard, which the firm says improves driving dynamics and performance. It includes a new front apron, an enlarged front splitter and a large rear wing. Side spoiler lips add further to the sporty look of the hatchback and four-door coupé. The two cars are also fitted with the top-rung Night Package, which adds gloss black trim to the front splitter, trim elements, exterior mirrors, outer air intakes and window sills.  The tailpipes are also finished in black, as are the wings, bootlid, front grille and model badges. Each car gains its own unique '55th anniversary' plaque on the steering wheel.  Under the skin, both models are unchanged, using a  turbocharged  2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 302bhp and 295lb ft.  Two paint colours are available – Cosmos Black Metallic and Digital White Metallic – and both special editions sit o...

  The new   Lexus   RZ 450e is the Japanese marque’s first bespoke electric car, serving as the spearhead for the firm’s new range of premium and dynamically oriented EVs.  Due in the UK at the end of 2022, it is a similar size to the best-selling  Lexus NX , but bosses are keen to emphasise that it is not intended as an electric successor to – or replacement for – that car, which only recently entered its second generation and gained a plug-in hybrid option. It is based on the same e-TNGA EV architecture as the new  Toyota bZ4X  SUV and the closely related  Subaru Solterra  but places a more overt emphasis on premium appeal and performance – giving clues as to how Lexus EVs will be marked out from other vehicles that share their architecture. The overall look of the new SUV also gives a strong indication of Lexus's design vision for an all-electric future. Links to its current models are evident in its silhouette and defining ...

  The seventh incarnation of the   BMW 7 Series , set to go on sale in November, has been comprehensively re-engineered as part of efforts to position it more upmarket than it has ever been. It is now significantly larger, more luxurious and more spacious than at any time in its 45-year history - and is   now available with a fully electric powertrain .  To give it the visual impact to go with its elevated positioning,  BMW  has provided its  Mercedes S-Class  rival with a bold new exterior design. The new look, driven largely by customer feedback in markets such as China and the US, instantly differentiates the new 7 Series from the sixth-generation model, launched in 2015. Up front, the large grille, consisting of two elements as on all recent BMW models, is even larger than before and comes with BMW’s ‘Iconic Lighting’ treatment, as first brought to the facelifted  BMW 8 Series . The separation of the headlamp...

  Now for those of us who like to have the latest gadgets and the best in performance, the Samedi 28.7 is here for a little indulging. Let's start with the biggest upgrade – the motor. As with all Samedi 28s, Bosch is the manufacturer of choice for their motor and battery systems.  The 28.7 features the Performance Line mid-drive motor, which produces a maximum of 65N m of torque. I found it to be excellent and worked well with the overall balance of the bike. The low centre of gravity helps to keep the bike planted in corners and provides a stable ride on the road. There are five assist modes, Off, Eco, Tour, Sport, and my favourite – Turbo. There is also a handy walk-assist mode which can help if you're walking the bike up a hill, for example.  A PowerTube 625 Wh adorns the Samedi 28.7, offering plenty of range, but the real show starts with the Bosch Nyon display. My test bike came with the Bosch Kion display, which is equally as good but uses a control pad. However, n...

  When the   BMW 1 Series   went front-wheel drive in 2019, it had something to prove, and with the   Volkswagen Golf R -baiting, four-wheel-drive   BMW  M135 xDrive, it demonstrated it could build an effective hot hatch, while also retaining the expensive ‘premium’ feel of a   BMW . And now it’s received an update. This isn’t the proper facelift – that’s not due until 2024 – and apart from some new paint options like the retina-searing Sao Paulo Yellow in the photos, the changes are purely mechanical. The aim, say the engineers, was to create a wider broadband for the M135i as a model range by focusing the standard M Sport suspension as the driving enthusiast’s choice, while preserving the adaptively suspended car’s capabilities as an all-rounder. To that end, all versions get more sound piped in through the speakers, more alert torque vectoring by braking, retuned xDrive and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, but cars with M Sport suspension get new sprin...

  DeLorean Motor Company will unveil the model on Tuesday 31 May. The revived car will take a completely different design approach from the 1980s sports coupé from which it takes its name. Called the DeLorean EVolved, the model will be a highly modern proposition, with what look to be only subtle nods to its famous namesake. It was originally confirmed for an unveiling on 18 August ahead of a Pebble Beach debut just three days later. Now, interested drivers can sign up for a chance to see the car 24 hours before the general public. The first detailed preview image was revealed earlier this year. It shows off a rear end clearly designed with a focus on aerodynamic efficiency: the rear deck is tapered and houses louvres for directing airflow, the rear arches extend dramatically from the side of the car and there looks to be an extendable rear wing housed above the futuristic rear light bar. Beyond that, the DeLorean Motor Company has not given any more clues as to the design of its f...

  In the last four years, Toyota has unveiled three new models that have set fresh benchmarks for affordable and desirable performance. The powerful head-turning Toyota GR  Toyota Supra , the  advanced 5-star review-scoring Toyota GR Yaris hot hatch  and the  incoming Toyota GR86 sportscar  each sit at the apex of their class. And apex is perhaps the perfect word, as all three come from a performance division that  truly epitomises a race-bred track-to-road philosophy : Toyota GAZOO Racing. Toyota GAZOO Racing was born in 2007 to build on Toyota’s 60 years of motorsport engineering experience, and put it back at the heart of the performance car segment. In the decades since Toyota first entered its iconic Toyota GT2000 in Japanese sportscar events, Toyota’s race teams have built an impressive array of success in Formula 1, 24-hour sportscar racing, US oval racing and rallying. As Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda said: “To test the durability and performa...

  Next-step Sport models gain a four-wheel drive thanks to the addition of a 99bhp electric motor to the front axle. Total power stands at 314bhp.  The range-topping Sport Plus is the performance model of the line-up. It’s driven by a 482bhp powertrain with four-wheel drive.  Genesis says all three models are equipped with the same 73kWh battery pack as standard, which can be charged using a 350kW rapid charge from 10-80% in just 18 minutes. The Sport model is capable of 292 miles on a single charge, while top-rung Sport Plus versions offer 289 miles. Both deliver up to 446lb ft of torque.  The GV60 will be offered with several optional extras, including comfort seats, nappa leather, a premium Bang & Olufsen audio system and an outdoor pack, which enables vehicle-to-load charging.  Other extras include digital side-view mirrors and a panoramic sunroof, along with a choice of 14 exterior colours. Customers can pre-order the model now and place ...

  I am not sure there’s a bigger automotive cliché than the hackneyed ‘you’re not a true petrolhead until you’ve owned an   Alfa Romeo ’ line. Nor a less accurate one. Perhaps I was simply born into the wrong era, taking my first breath just at the point when the Latin giant’s last truly great cars were drawing their last, and the modern era of front-wheel drive, poor steel and unreliability was getting under way. As I grew up, the name made great by the likes of the Le Mans-winning 8C, the groundbreaking Giulietta and the jewel-like Giulia was hitting rock bottom with a badge-engineered Datsun Cherry, so it’s maybe not surprising that I’ve never felt the need to justify my passion for cars by rehoming a posh Fiat. Until now, that is. Because Alfa Romeo is going through a renaissance. Spearheaded by the fabulous Giulia saloon and its Stelvio SUV wingman, it will soon be reinforced by the compact hybrid Tonale, the firm's first full EV and more. The  Alfa Romeo Giulia ...

  Impressive acceleration was accompanied by an enjoyable soundtrack. Turbo lag hampered thrust below 3300rpm, but keeping the engine between 5000 and 7000rpm via the slick five-speed manual ’box was the solution. The brakes were powerful and free of fade. The GT-R’s blend of tactile handling and otherworldly stability startled us, especially over wet, challenging roads. Grip and body control were first class, stifling criticism of the occasionally crashy ride. The interior majored on driving position, instrumentation and rear leg room, and the boot was reasonable. Materials and aesthetic appeal were no better than Primera grade, though, and the fuel tank was small. Two years later, the R33 GT-R was replaced by the shorter but mechanically similar R34. Claimed output stayed at 277bhp to satisfy Japanese regulations, but over 300bhp was possible. The R34 was canned in 2002, but an all-new Nissan GT-R appeared in 2007 and continued slaying supercars in Europe until it was finally wit...

  A year ago, we road-tested the new   Citroën C4   – the French brand’s family hatchback, now with a strong but not overwhelming hint of crossover to it – and awarded it a bang-average three stars. That car was in fancy Puretech 130 Shine Plus auto specification, meaning it had a 129bhp turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, an eight-speed torque-converter gearbox and the fanciest of the four trim levels (Sense, Sense Plus, Shine and Shine Plus). What are the differences between 130 and 155? Well, apart from the obvious, you will get from 0-62mph a tad quicker (8.5sec, compared with 9.4sec), do 1.5 miles fewer to the gallon (according to the official WLTP tests) and pay your Citroën dealer £1000 more up front. Its residual value after three years is predicted to be about £500 better too. If you’re getting it on a PCP finance deal, it will cost you an extra £19.40 per month over 48 months.  Is it worth that? Perhaps, if performance really is your utmost...