Auto Express 1693

THERE’s got to be a tinge of excitement for any car fan when Mercedes-AMG announces its most powerful production car ever, hasn’t there? The new AMG GT 4-Door 63 S with 831bhp from its combination of petrol V8 engine and plug-in powered electric motor is worthy of a round of applause for the engineering achievement alone. But do we really need that much power? Or more to the point, how much power is enough? This was an interesting debate I had with colleague Adam Towler, deputy editor of Auto Express’s sister title evo. Core to what evo does sits around the mantra ‘the thrill of driving’ and fewer people are better positioned to judge what that is than Adam. His view? On track many of these mega-bhp machines struggle to…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk • Kia develops Sportage specifically for European market • Plug-in, hybrid and mild-hybrid technology on offer KIA has unveiled its all-new Euro-spec fifth-generation Sportage family SUV, with plug-in hybrid and hybrid powertrains confirmed for the Korean brand’s rival to the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Qashqai. It’s the first time Kia has built a Sportage specifically for the European market, with this new car featuring a 75mm-shorter wheelbase than the global Sportage. The new car has been developed with three key pillars in mind, according to Kia. The first focuses on innovative design, the second on advanced technology and the third on making the car more fun to drive. As a result of the shorter wheelbase, the European car’s styling features a few tweaks compared with the global car’s. These…

KIA Europe’s Sportage specialist tells us why this new fifth-generation car is a huge step for the Korean brand. Q Why did you choose to develop a Sportage specifically for Europe? A “Europe’s requirements are different. Towns and cities are more compact, which suits a shorter wheelbase. Doing two versions meant fewer compromises for each car, and more freedom for European tuning here, including for the electronic adaptive dampers that will be available.” Q Will we see an all-electric Sportage in the future as full EVs become more important? A “There’s currently no plan to offer the Sportage with a full-EV powertrain but we’ll continue to monitor market trends and our customers’ requirements. But full EV is huge for us, with cars such as EV6 and e-Niro.” Q How does…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @jimmybrods • 831bhp from PHEV drivetrain • Built for speed, not range MERCEDES-AMG has revealed this new AMG GT 4-Door 63 S E-Performance, its first plug-in hybrid, which is aimed directly at the mega-powerful Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. It’s the most potent production car that Mercedes has ever made, and yet it can run on electric power alone. At the heart of the new AMG GT variant is the turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine that is used across many of AMG’s products. The nine-speed automatic gearbox and 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system of the AMG GT 4-Door 63 S are also carried over. They are now joined by a battery and electric motor, which power the rear axle through their own two-speed transmission, and is integrated with an electronically controlled limited-slip…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy • Top-selling Skoda will be first core VW Group car to be pure EV • Boss confirms new model will arrive in second half of decade THE current Skoda Octavia is likely to get a pure-electric successor in the second half of this decade, the company’s boss has suggested, providing one of the first examples of a current core VW Group model that will evolve to full electrification. The Czech manufacturer has already committed to a smaller pure-electric model that will arrive by 2025 and sit beneath the Enyaq iV in its line-up. It’s all but certain to be another SUV, and the same will apply to a more affordable EV that’s due around a year later, using the VW Group’s forthcoming MEB Entry architecture. VW Group brands…

SKODA has revealed a new range-topping version of its Enyaq iV, the 80x SportLine. The new arrival gets a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrain producing 261bhp and 425Nm, enough for a 0-62mph time of 6.9 seconds. The car has a 77kWh usable battery, delivering a range of 303 miles, while standard kit includes LED Matrix headlights, leather upholstery, carbon-fibre-effect trim in the cabin, and a more focused chassis, with a ride height lowered by 15mm at the front and 10mm at the rear. It’s on sale now, priced from £46,610.…