Toyota has exposed a new idea SUV at the new York motor show called the FT-4X – standing for “Future-Toyota-Four-Wheel Drive Crossover”. It’s a boxy looking crossover idea developed with young, metropolitan motorists in mind, while its aesthetics hint any type of production version being a prospective successor to the now retired FJ Cruiser – a cool Toyota SUV we never got officially in Britain.
Advertisement – short article continues below
The idea was produced by Toyota’s Calty style research study team in California as well as Toyota is extremely keen to tension the FT-4X’s street cred as much more of an metropolitan run-around than a few of its much more tough off-roaders like the Land Cruiser. Toyota believes it has produced a crossover in tune with the millennial generation, putting emphasis on the easy-going character it envisions within the FT-4X.
• Best SUVs on sale 2017
Some of the style highlights packed into the boxy shape include a GoPro video camera developed into the side of the drivers’ wing mirror, while the hatch at the rear can open two ways. Called Mutli-Hatch, it can slide horizontally like a van side door for packing in metropolitan environments, while it’s likewise hinged from the top, which Toyota states produces an “impromptu shelter from the elements”. elements of the bodywork itself are produced from changeable panels too.
3
Based on Toyota’s worldwide C-Platform as well as boasting four-wheel-drive, the FT-4X is similar to the variety Rover Evoque in terms of size, being a bit shorter, at 4,249mm long, as well as 1,623mm tall. though the idea is engineless, Toyota hints that a small-displacement four-cylinder engine wouldn’t look out of location under the bonnet. hybrid innovation isn’t mentioned, however Toyota’s existence in the hybrid market as well as the FT-4X’s metropolitan picture implies it’s not difficult to envision a part-electrified drivetrain either.
Should the FT-4X equate into a production car to replace the FJ Cruiser, a market release in the UK seems unlikely.
What do you make of the Toyota FT-4X concept? let us understand in the comments!
The Jaguar XKR-S GT has been unveiled on the eve of the new York motor Show. currently restricted to just 30 cars for the North American market (although a right-hand drive version might be made if demand in the UK is sufficient), the XKR-S GT has been designed as the ultimate road-going version of the XK Coupe.
Advertisement – article continues below
Taking the XKR-S as a base, the present 542bhp 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine as well as six-speed automatic gearbox are carried over unchanged. However, Jaguar has added a especially striking bodykit to set the XKR-S GT apart.
There’s a carbon fibre front splitter than juts out 60mm in front of the uprated front bumper, plus little carbon fibre winglets as well as wheelarch extensions designed to enhance the effectiveness of the flow of air around the car, as well as into the engine as well as brakes for additional cooling.
There are likewise additional vents in the bonnet, a carbon fibre rear diffuser as well as a significant rear wing, which Jaguar claims produces 145kg of downforce when the cars and truck is travelling at its 186mph restricted top speed. The top speed is the exact same as the routine XKR-S, however the 0-60mph time drops from 4.2 to 3.9 seconds. Jaguar claims its capable of a sub 7 minutes 40 seconds lap of the Nurburgring aing as well as might hit over 200mph with the limiter removed.
together with its new Citroen DS3 Cabriolet as well as facelifted C3 Picasso, Citroen will show off an all-electric version of its DS3 at the Paris motor Show.
Called the Citroen DS3 Electrum, Citroen declares that the electric vehicle “ensures performance consistent with the present DS3 together with zero emissions.”
The electric DS3 is driven by two 87bhp electric motors, which power the front wheels. A 17.5kWh lithium-ion battery provides a variety of as much as 75 miles.
Advertisement – short article continues below
The DS3 Electrum’s battery can be recharged from empty to 80 per cent full in 30 minutes, when plugged into a quick charging station.
Citroen declares that the electric DS3’s drivetrain is compact sufficient not to jeopardize the DS3’s cabin or boot space. This advancement enables the firm to offer electric-powered versions of other existing designs in the future.
It has been six months because this concerned resident formally provided his hand-crafted parchment to the UK government at the greatest (Cabinet) level. Respectfully, I reminded the young boys as well as women (allegedly) in fee of a few pro-car facts they didn’t know, had really forgotten about, or selected to disregard thanks to their new ‘bash the motorist/bludgeon the conventional household motor’ rhetoric.
Advertisement – short article continues below
By far the most important, potentially life-saving reality I passed on to our elected leaders last may went like this: when travelling in a pandemic-ravaged UK, the best, many accountable method for people to socially distance and, in turn, battle the risk of Covid-19 is to utilize private, simple-to-sanitise household cars, which the large majority of adults already own or lease.
‘Cars as well as their chauffeurs are being disgracefully discriminated against’
But another, similarly important, potentially life-taking reality I reminded the government of was this: when people are required to capture in to, then sit or stand aboard undoubtedly cramped, relatively unclean public transport, the danger of infection is far greater. put one more way, those happy, distanced souls in their locked, sealed, personal cars and trucks capable of travelling door to door are far less likely to ended up being Covid-19 victims than the bad sods at stations as well as on trains, at airports as well as in planes, at terminals as well as in coaches, at bus stops as well as having a hard time with buses.
just £12million of the £300m set aside by the government for electric vehicle grants has been utilized since the plan came
into impact in January 2011.
A overall of 2,311 declares have been produced electric vehicles – according to latest department for transfer (DfT) stats – as well as 140 declares for vans.
This works out at £11.5m in grants for vehicles – for which purchasers get a 25 per cent discount rate as much as £5,000 – as well as £1.27m for vans, which draw in a saving of £8,000.
Advertisement – article continues below
But even though £287m of money is lying unused, transfer priest Norman Baker stays optimistic about the grant. “A quarter of all vehicles benefiting from the plug in vehicle grant were ordered in the last three months, as well as new designs are being added to the listing of eligible vehicles,” he said.
He likewise declared he’s “relaxed” about the present uptake, adding that it was in line with what was expected for new technology.
A Nissan spokesperson declared the grant plan is generous enough, however had concerns about its future. “People requirement to understand exactly how long it’ll be offered for. We understood it would be a sluggish burner, so taking it away as people get utilized to it will strangle it,” he warned.
When the reward launched, the government stated it would be offered up until 2015. There’s been no word on this being extended.
The preliminary £300m was sufficient to fund 15,000 electric vehicle sales a year – a far cry from the 2,400 really registered since January 2011 (although not all have utilized the grant).
Nissan’s concerns were echoed by the society of motor manufacturers as well as Traders, with a spokesperson arguing the grant should “deliver stability as well as certainty to motorists by committing to incentivise plug-in vehicles
well beyond 2015”.
The DfT
confirmed the discount rate would run up until the end of the present Parliament, however refused to
say whether it would
continue after this.
The 10 finalists for the world cars and truck of the Year 2013 award have been announced.
An worldwide jury of 66 motoring journalists, including car reveal editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler, as well as special contributor, Mike Rutherford, chosen the 10 finalists.
The 2013 world cars and truck of the Year finalists are:
Audi A3 Range Rover Mazda 6 Mazda CX-5 Mercedes A-Class Peugeot 208 Porsche Boxster/Cayman Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86 Volkswagen Golf Volvo V40
Advertisement – short article continues below
In addition to the world cars and truck of the Year list, the jurors have likewise voted on their preferred performance cars and trucks for the 2013 world performance cars and truck Award.
The 2013 world performance cars and truck of the Year finalists are:
Aston Martin Vanquish Audi RS5 BMW M6 Coupe/Convertible BMW M135i Ferrari F12 Berlinetta Mercedes SL63 AMG Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster Porsche Boxster/Cayman Renaultsport Clio 200 EDC Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86
Each juror will now test each cars and truck again, ahead of a even more round of voting in February. The results of this vote will be totted up by KPMG as well as the top three cars and trucks in each classification will be revealed at the Geneva motor Show, with the winners revealed at a press seminar at the new York motor show on 28 March.
The world cars and truck of the Year award is now in its ninth year. The last three WCotY winners were the Volkswagen Up! in 2012, the Nissan Leaf in 2011, as well as the Volkswagen Polo in 2010.
In addition to the world cars and truck of the Year as well as performance cars and truck of the Year, there is likewise a five-car shortlist for the 2013 world eco-friendly Car, which has been created by five market experts.
2013 world eco-friendly cars and truck award finalists:
Renault Zoe Smart electric Drive Tesla design S Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid
Finally, a six-car listing of finalists for the 2013 world cars and truck style of the Year award has been announced. It was likewise created by cars and truck style specialists.
2013 world cars and truck style of the Year award finalists:
Aston Martin Vanquish Renault Clio Jaguar F-Type Range Rover Mazda 6 Volkswagen Golf
Aston Martin has issued its monetary statement for the very first half of 2020, with the British supercar brand publishing a £230 million loss for the period, some 67 per cent down on June of last year.
The business primarily characteristics its monetary downturn to the market difficulties triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Aston Martin’s sales were down 41 per cent as a direct result of the pandemic as well as lockdown, because of the extensive closure of its dealerships as well as factories.
New Aston Martin DBX prototype review
In response, Aston Martin has organized a series of cuts, decreasing its operating costs as well as streamlining manufacturing, which ought to curb the company’s costs by 2021 – saving an estimated £28 million.
Advertisement – short article continues below
Slow sales implies a surplus of existing cars. So, Aston Martin will work to decrease its dealership stock by 869 units between now as well as 2021. The stock reduction represents the three months-worth of sales the brand lost during the lockdown as well as closure of dealers.
Elsewhere, Aston has seen the begin of a healing in its Chinese business, with sales climbing 11 per cent over June 2019.
Following the visit of Lawrence stroll as the new Aston Martin CEO, the firm increased £688 million as part of a new rights issue. The relocation has offered the business with sufficient funding to push the DBX SUV with into production.
Stroll said: “Obviously, it has been a difficult period with our dealers as well as factories closed because of Covid-19. We have been completely participated in executing the preliminary reset in purchase to accomplish our ambition to develop Aston Martin into one of the fantastic worldwide high-end vehicle brands.
“The new DBX is crucial to our successful future as well as I am pleased that, after much more than a month of closure, production restarted as well as preliminary deliveries have now been made. likewise crucial to our future is the capability to market as well as engage with our customers.
“From next year, we will have the fantastic benefit of a extremely competitive Aston Martin branded formula One team providing us a considerable worldwide advertising platform to even more enhance our brand as well as engage with our clients as well as partners across the world.”
Hungry for much more Aston Martin news? now checked out all the most recent on the DBX SUV…
The Volkswagen group has been with the mill over the past two years, however as it reported at its annual press seminar last week, record sales of 10.3 million vehicles in 2016 suggest that it is bouncing back after Dieselgate.
I was in the audience as the VW board congratulated itself on the firm’s spectacular healing – although the truth that the expense for the detraction has now reached practically 20 million euros (and counting) should still sting a little.
Advertisement – short article continues below
When the guy in fits opened the floor to questions, I asked VW group manager Matthias Müller if he felt the company’s brands ought to be complying with PSA Peugeot Citroen’s lead in publishing real-world fuel economic climate figures for their cars.
• VW emissions detraction latest
VW’s French rival issued much more sensible data on around 1,000 vehicles a couple of weeks back, with figures created utilizing a test called the genuine Driving Emissions standard.
The new RDE test isn’t rather as exact as the lab work that figures out the official fuel economic climate as well as CO2 emissions. however it’s a helpful guide to exactly how much NOx vehicles are emitting on genuine roads, as well as exactly how numerous miles they’re truly doing to the gallon.
• VW thinking about publishing real-world economic climate figures
Surprisingly, Müller replied in the affirmative. Well, almost: “What PSA did, we are currently likewise believing about,” he revealed. That’s encouraging, however we’re not completely sure what bit of the process needs deep consideration.
As VW’s own administration admitted last week, the business has “a great method to go in regaining the count on of clients as well as the public”. providing us fuel economic climate figures that we have a faint possibility of believing would be a great location to start, surely.
Would you like to see VW publish real-world fuel economic climate figures? let us understand below…
Audi has confirmed details for a new plug-in hybrid variant of the A3 Sportback. Orders for the new model open this week, with prices starting from £33,060.
The new Audi A3 40 TFSI e shares its powertrain with plug-in hybrid versions of the new Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Superb; the 1.4-litre petrol engine works alongside an electric motor to produce a total output of 201bhp which, S3 aside, makes it the most powerful powertrain option in the current A3 line-up.
Best plug-in hybrids 2022
The petrol and electric units produce maximum torque figures of 250Nm and 330Nm respectively, though both produce their peaks at different points, resulting in a total combined output of 350Nm. Power is sent to the front wheels by means of a six-speed dual hold automatic gearbox.
Advertisement – post continues below
The A3 40 TFSI e accelerates from 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds – 0.8 seconds quicker than the 148bhp A3 35 TFSI petrol auto.
10
A 13kWh battery pack promises a range of around 41 miles between charges. CO2 emissions are rated at 31g/km, while it achieves 282.5mpg on the WLTP testing cycle – though this will vary based on the type of journeys undertaken.
The automobile starts in electric mode by default, and the motorist can choose to run in an electric-only mode, at which point the 107bhp motor can take the A3 up to a zero emission 87mph top speed. A regular hybrid mode allows the automobile to figure out what it deems to be the most efficient use of petrol and electric energy, while a hold function keeps a certain level of charge in the battery – optimal for saving some battery life for a low emission zone later in the journey.
Rolls-Royce has revealed some of the cars set to feature in a nine car run of bespoke Wrath coupes, collaborating with legendary British musicians to commission nine Wraith ‘Inspired by British Music’ one-off collectors models.
Each car is based on the Wraith ‘Inspired by Music’ revealed in 2015 and features bespoke design touches celebrating the musical careers of the artists involved in the project, who have worked alongside Rolls-Royce’s bespoke design experts to create the vehicles. The cars will be sold later in 2017, with a sum of the sales figure of each car going to a charity of the artist’s choice.
22
Two of the cars have been commissioned by The who lead singer and frontman Roger Daltrey – one being a tribute to the band boasting plenty of The who iconography, and the other inspired by their 1969 album ‘Tommy’.
Advertisement – short article continues below
The ‘Tommy’ car features a bonnet hand painted to imitate the 1969 album’s vinyl sleeve cover, while other elements of the album artwork are found throughout the car – such as the blue trainer line and birds. much more design motifs are found on the headrests, and the song ‘Pinball Wizard’ has inspired the embroidery work on the leather divider separating the two rear seats.
• best luxury cars
Alongside Roger Daltrey’s two cars, Sir Ray Davies – former frontman of The Kinks – has contributed to the collection. lyrics from ‘Drivin’’ and ‘Shangri-la’ feature on the door-flights, while the umbrellas in the doors themselves are engraved with altered lyrics from ‘Sunny Afternoon’.
22
Songwriter and producer Giles Martin’s Wraith is a tribute to his dad Sir George Martin, dubbed ‘the fifth Beatle’ by some for his involvement on numerous of the Beatles’ early hits. The names of 30 top singles are stitched into the rear seat leather waterfall, while Sir George’s signature features on the headrests.
A handful of forthcoming collaborations have been previewed too. Dame Shirley Bassey’s Wraith ‘Inspired by British Music’ includes nods to the three ‘007’ title songs recorded by the Welsh artist – diamonds are Forever, Moonraker and Goldfinger.
Two lead guitarists – Francis Rossi of status Quo and Ronnie wood of The Rolling stones – will also add to the collection with their bespoke Wraiths.
How would you design your bespoke Roller? Leave us a comment below…