Auto Express December 2, 2015

IT’S always worthwhile catching up with Ian Robertson – BMW’s sales and marketing boss and the only Brit to sit on the company’s board in Munich. For the record, he’s also a former number one in the Auto Express Brit List and member of the Auto Express Hall of Fame. Robertson is something of a trailblazer and hugely influential among his German colleagues. He played a massive part in the development and launch of BMW’s ‘i’ brand and talks enthusiastically about the development of autonomous driving tech: “I use it every day in my 7 Series,” he told me. “At the moment we’re feet off with active cruise control and briefly hands off with lane-keeping assist. Next we’ll be eyes off and, finally, brain off!” Robertson is massively excited about…

THE DS brand revolution continues, and with the push upmarket will come a range of new products. The existing DS 3, DS 4 and DS 5 have all been revamped for 2015, but next on the agenda for PSA’s newly formed luxury brand is a DS 3 SUV. Our exclusive images show how it may look. Citroen confirmed DS would become its own premium brand last year, with ambitions similar to those Toyota had with Lexus back in the late eighties. But there’s been no all-new products launched as yet, bar the DS 4 Crossback – which is essentially a jacked-up version of the revised DS 4. However, with the demand for SUVs in China and Europe seemingly insatiable, DS is prioritising a more conventional move into that sector. And…

DS’S range boom won’t just stop with the DS 3 SUV. As part of plans to have six new models on sale by 2020, it’s been confirmed that the brand will launch a full-size executive car as an indirect replacement for the quirky Citroen C6. A spokesperson told Auto Express the flagship model will sit above the DS 5 as a “proper E-segment car” to take on the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6. The new executive car will join the DS 3 SUV and also a large SUV as the brand priorities the global saloon and SUV markets. Future DS models will be crammed with tech to make them stand apart from German competitiors. DS boss Yves Bonnefort told Auto Express earlier this year: “DS is an alliance of…

EARLIER this year we discovered the entire Porsche 911 range would switch over to turbo power. The changes kicked off on the standard Carrera and Carrera S, and will follow with the Carrera 4 and Targa shortly. Now, however, Porsche has revealed the entirely unsurprising news that the 911 Turbo and Turbo S will keep their powerful forced-induction engines, while benefiting from a similar mid-life nip and tuck. The facelifted 911 Turbo gets a handful of changes, including a 20bhp power hike for the 3.8-litre flat six. That means the Turbo model now boasts 533bhp and the S gets 572bhp. Both versions have a new dynamic boost function, allowing drivers to get back on the power more quickly after lifting off. Extra power means extra performance, with the new models…

THE 2016 small premium coupé race is on. We’ve just driven the new Mercedes C-Class Coupé (Issue 1,396), while Audi’s next A5 is on the way and Lexus will launch its RC Coupé range, too. But Infiniti is also getting in on the act with the Q60, which we’ve spotted for the first time undisguised. Nissan’s premium division previewed the sleek two-door with the Q60 concept at the 2015 Detroit Motor Show. Now a source has told us it’s “highly likely” next month’s event will showcase the finished article. Although the production car is slightly toned down from the concept, the overall shape remains the same. The nose is reminiscent of the Q50 saloon’s, but from the windscreen back the coupé’s low roofline and rising shoulders give a more athletic…

BMW’S all-electric i3 is now set to take owners further on a charge, thanks to battery tweaks to increase driving range. Although the company has confirmed full details will be announced “by the end of the year”, Auto Express understands the range will increase to around 130 miles thanks to an upgraded lithium-ion battery pack. That’s around 30 miles further than the current i3 with its 22kWh battery pack. The update will apply to both the i3 Range Extender and pure electric models, but BMW refused to reveal whether the tweaks will change the amount of time it takes to charge the cars, or indeed bring a price increase. We can expect the company to retain the option of an 80 per cent fast charge on the i3, though, allowing…