Auto Express 1414

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news WITH the number of SUVs on the market expanding on a monthly basis, and sales rising in a spectacular fashion, you could be forgiven for being unaware of another class of car that’s also enjoying a relative boom period – the pick-up. According to figures from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the number registered last year – 33,302 – has risen 68 per cent in five years. The figure may be modest, but when I met Javier Piris, light commercial vehicle director of Nissan’s Barcelona Technical Centre Europe, last week, he was clear he expects the upward trajectory to continue. “We have made pick-ups easier to own,” he explained. “In the past they were trucks, and there were compromises…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy A PLUSHER, more upmarket Ford Fiesta is at the heart of radical plans to shake up the bottom half of the brand’s line-up over the next two years, and our exclusive main image shows how it’s set to look. Due on sale in the first half of 2017, the next Fiesta will be nudged up in price, quality, refinement and features to reflect more expensive tastes among supermini customers – and to allow room for a cheaper stablemate, the forthcoming Ka+, which will sit just below it in the range. The Fiesta stays on Ford’s Global B platform for what will be its seventh generation, so while spy shots have shown a car sporting a wider track, engineers are likely to have only millimetres to play with when…

Lawrence_Allan@dennis.co.uk @LobAllan “Design is heavily influenced by the larger GLE Coupé, with the same sloping roofline, narrow rear window and big tail-lights” MERCEDES has pulled the wraps off its new GLC Coupé at the New York Motor Show. The Range Rover Evoque and BMW X4-rivalling SUV goes on sale in the UK in June, with first deliveries in October. Unsurprisingly, the design is heavily influenced by the larger GLE Coupé, with the same sloping roofline, narrow rear window and big tail-lights. The front end is identical to the regular GLC on which it’s based. The Coupé is 80mm longer and 40mm wider than the regular GLC, and slightly longer than the X4. Optional kit to help the car stand out even further includes side running boards and 20-inch alloys. Inside,…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler ASTON MARTIN has confirmed that it’s working with Formula One giant Red Bull Racing and its chief technical officer Adrian Newey on a groundbreaking new hypercar, codenamed Project AM-RB 001 and set to be launched in 2018. Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said: “This is a no-excuses halo car – the most luxurious car in its class, but also the quickest and the fastest. This car will be able to lap Silverstone as quick as or quicker than an F1 or LMP1 car. But it’s a race car that’s capable of going on the road.” The two-seater could feature a version of Aston’s new V12 twin-turbo engine, boosted by an F1-style KERS hybrid system. Although the image above gives little away, it’s likely…

BENTLEY’S new design boss, Stefan Sielaff, has revealed his vision of how the firm’s cabins will look in future. The design study will influence upcoming models, including the Continental GT, an additional SUV and a production version of the EXP 10 Speed 6. German-born Sielaff has been with Bentley since July last year, but in his previous role as head of VW Group interior design, worked with Bentley on last year’s Speed 6 concept. Now the self-confessed Anglophile has full responsibility for the future of Bentley design. “We’re pushing Bentley into the future of luxury design,” Sielaff told us. “We’ve particularly looked at what makes Bentley British – it’s a cultural aspect and an ability to bring opposite parts together. It’s the fusion of extremes – in our case performance…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy “The manufacturer has committed to a rapid expansion of its SUV line-up” SEAT has confirmed that it will build a rival for the Nissan Juke, and put the car on sale next year. The company has committed to a rapid expansion of its SUV line-up, with both a larger and a smaller vehicle set to join the newly launched Ateca (driven on Page 28) in the range. At the brand’s annual press conference in Madrid last week, new SEAT boss Luca de Meo confirmed that the Ibizabased baby SUV will get the nod first, that it’ll be built at the company’s plant in Martorell near Barcelona and that it’ll go on sale in early 2017. It’s previewed here by our exclusive images, and a debut at next spring’s…