Auto Express 1664

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news I’LL admit that I haven’t been especially positive about car dealers in this column over the years. They’ve been stuck in the dark ages for far too long, selling cars as they’ve been sold for decades and not embracing the digital world or how we want to shop. But credit where credit is due, I’ve seen a sea change in how dealers have finally embraced the digital age and are selling cars online. Sadly, it’s taken a pandemic and three lockdowns to get them there, but nonetheless… Looking at the latest new car registration figures gives a clear indication of the good work that’s been done to keep businesses alive. While the focus has been on a 40 per cent drop…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates • Flagship grand tourer revealed in standard and RS guises • Up to 637bhp on offer and a range of nearly 300 miles AUDI has revealed its answer to the recently updated Tesla Model S, the e-tron GT. The new model uses the technology and platform that also underpin the Porsche Taycan, and it’s due to go on sale in the UK in May, with prices expected to start from around £100,000. Company boss Markus Duesmann describes the pure-electric saloon as “the most important vehicle for Audi”, occupying halo status in the brand’s line-up. To mark its range-topping credentials, the e-tron GT will be built at Audi’s Böllinger Höfe facility in Neckarsulm – the same factory that produces the R8 supercar.…

Q What does the e-tron GT do better than the Taycan? A “We offer a different character – it’s more of a gran turismo car, so not as sporty as the Porsche, which is intentional – it fits the Audi customer better. You can decide which design you like more – it’s very subjective.” Q How is Audi changing? A “Design is still very important for our customers, but we have decided to bring Audi technology-wise into the lead – that’s our decision. That’s why we push so hard on new technologies and why we’ve set up Artemis [Audi’s hi-tech flagship EV project]. We are strong in hardware, but on software we have to catch up, and we will.” Q What can we expect from Artemis? A “Artemis will be…

LAST year, our short time in an RS e-tron GT prototype suggested that Audi’s flagship EV feels like a more long-legged and relaxed cruiser than the Porsche Taycan. The differences are small but noticeable, with the Audi displaying a greater sense of fluidity over a mixture of roads. The suspension and dampers feel soft for an RS model, absorbing and rounding off bumps well, while the steering is light but still very direct. It means the e-tron GT is no harder to drive than a family hatchback at low speeds. In Comfort mode – one of four settings, alongside Efficiency, Dynamic and Individual – the RS e-tron GT defaults to the second of its two gears for greater refinement. In Dynamic mode it starts in first for maximum acceleration (there’s…

AUDI has confirmed that it plans to cull some of its internal combustion-engined models to make way for more all-electric e-tron models. First to go is likely to be the smallest Audi, the A1 (above), with Audi CEO Markus Duesmann telling Auto Express: “We do discuss what we do with the small segments. In the A1 segment we have several brands that are very successful, so we do question the A1 at the moment. “We will certainly offer the Q2 – that might be the new entry-level for us, we might not do a successor to the A1. “We have to cut back,” said Duesmann. “We don’t want to add the same portfolio electrically, and we do make purpose-built electric cars because we can offer more functionality. So that means…

• First taste of all-new C-Class • Sportier chassis for big seller MERCEDES is readying a new version of one of its most important cars – the C-Class – and the official countdown to its unveiling has begun. The outgoing model has been a big success since it was launched in 2015. Mercedes says it has sold 2.5 million of them, but the winning recipe is being changed for 2021. The C-Class will undergo a slight identity change, with a new, sportier emphasis being prioritised. For now we’re only in the passenger seat, but we can still take in some of the major interior changes. There’s a brand-new steering wheel, and the C-Class now comes with serious S-Class inspiration; the dashboard layout is a downscaled version of the one found…