Auto Express 1594

ONLY a few weeks ago, Richard Ingram was celebrating MINI’s 60th birthday in the pages of Auto Express (Issue 1,591). This week, we look forward to the next 60 years, with James Brodie’s exclusive preview of the next generation of MINI hatch, while the latest version of the Clubman is driven on Page 30. MINI is a brand I’ve always admired, from the original Mini (still, in my view, the cleverest car ever made) to the current line-up and how the brand has been managed by parent company BMW. You won’t be surprised to hear that there’s a MINI in the Fowler household and, if my wife had her way, there’d be another – the MINI electric is on her wish list. She might have to wait a while, though.…

Richard_Ingram@dennis.co.uk ● New Taycan aims to redefine the electric car class ● Luxury and performance in a convincing package “With 751bhp and 1,050Nm of torque on offer, there is no scenario where you could wish for more power” EVERY time a new electric car launches, the clichéd ‘Tesla killer’ catchphrase rears its head. The US tech giant is the benchmark against which all new EVs are measured – and never has this been more true than with Porsche’s inaugural electric sports saloon: the Taycan. Despite the fact it was only revealed at this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, we’re already behind the wheel of Porsche’s first EV. It’s based on a completely new platform, which will later underpin cars like Audi’s sleek e-tron GT. On paper, the Porsche has more than…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk ● Next-generation MINI could be electric from the start ● Reduction in size will see it match BMW’s 2001 original “Cute proportions mean the new MINI would join a growing pool of small, smart, design-focused EVs” THE future of the ever-popular MINI is being shaped behind closed doors right now, and brand boss Bernd Koerber has admitted that he has some very key goals in mind. He wants to shrink the car and turn it all-electric, and he wants to do it in time for the next-generation model, which will arrive early next decade. Parent company BMW has been here before. In 2011 it revealed the Rocketman concept at the Geneva Motor Show, hinting at a future MINI city car powered by a range of three-cylinder engines. However, Koerber,…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk ● BMW engines for F-Type, facelifts for F-Pace and XF ● Substantial revisions for E-Pace, plus all-electric XJ FIVE new Jaguars are on the way in 2020, with Tata-owned JLR due to turn its attention away from Land Rover. While Jaguar has focused on shaping an SUV line-up in recent years, one of the big newcomers ties into the brand’s heritage. The F-Type sports car is due for replacement, with a radical development of the current car set for showrooms next year. It’s been spied numerous times on the Nürburgring, and our exclusive main images preview how it will look, with a more chiseled front end the main change on the outside. Underneath the subtly reworked metal will be the current F-Type’s aluminium-intensive chassis, albeit with the tweaks necessary…

ASTON Martin has revealed more about the upcoming DBX – the firm’s first SUV in its 106-year history, and a prospective rival to the Bentley Bentayga. Under the bonnet, the DBX will get a Mercedes-sourced, 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, which is the same engine found in the Vantage and DB11 V8. In the DBX, the engine will produce 542bhp and 700Nm of torque. The car’s final performance figures haven’t been revealed, but Aston Martin promises a top speed in excess of 180mph. It also claims to have lapped the Nürburgring in less than eight minutes in the SUV. Aston Martin’s engineers have entered the closing stages of the DBX’s development cycle, with high-performance track evaluation at Silverstone and in Germany among the final hurdles before the car is signed off. While…

INEOS Automotive has confirmed that its spiritual successor to the previous-generation Land Rover Defender will be called the Ineos Grenadier. The brand – led by British billionaire chemical engineer Sir Jim Ratcliffe – has also announced that the upcoming 4x4 will be assembled at a brand-new production facility in Bridgend, Wales. This will create up to 500 jobs in the region in the long term. The Ineos Grenadier will reach the global market in 2021. Its maker says that, at its projected peak in 2024, the new Bridgend plant will support an annual production volume of 25,000 vehicles. A second facility will be opened in Portugal, and this will produce the Grenadier’s body and chassis components.…