Browsing: Automobiles

Designworks has a way of quietly shaping some of BMW’s biggest victories. Time and again, the California studio has influenced cars that went on to redefine entire segments. While the Designworks-BMW X5 history is arguably most well-known, the studio’s most astonishing win may have come from an even higher perch. Before the reborn Rolls-Royce Phantom stunned the luxury world, design commenced in a small California studio — not, as you might imagine, in rainy Goodwood or Munich. There, a designer named Marek Djordjevic sketched the foundation for the most important Rolls-Royce of the modern era.Designworks, Where Good Design is a…

RennSport fans rejoice. You may soon have another high-performance Audi option for sale at your local dealer. Spy photographers continue to nab evidence of a new super sporty sedan. Audi appears eager to add an M5 four-door fighter to its ranks, which means we could soon see the return of the RS6 in super sedan guise. Spy photos of the upcoming four-door show that Audi is nearly ready to bring the RS6 sedan back to the market. The Drive recently caught an example in action. The prototype in question wears the familiar signs of RS6 styling, from the wheels out…

The 2026 Porsche Cayenne Electric is set to arrive in Australia during the first half of next year with prices starting from $167,800 before on-road costs, while the rapid 850kW Cayenne Electric Turbo flagship will set you back $259,900 plus on-roads. Having already carved out a place as Porsche’s most versatile model, the Cayenne is now going electric, initially in two varieties: the Cayenne Electric and the higher-performance Cayenne Turbo Electric, both of which were revealed online overnight. In time, that lineup is set to expand with the introduction of a sleeker Cayenne Coupe Electric and potentially even more driver-focused variants. The…

Day 2 of BMW Responsibility Days 2025 shifted from strategic presentations to the operational reality behind the company’s next phase of electrification. The tour took us from Munich to Straßkirchen and Irlbach—two small communities in Lower Bavaria where BMW is building one of its most important facilities—before continuing to Landshut to talk about supplier readiness, AI integration, and more.A High-Voltage Battery Plant in Rural BavariaThe new Irlbach–Straßkirchen plant is situated in the middle of flat Gäuboden farmland, directly adjacent to a village of only a few thousand residents. Despite the rural setting, the scale is unmistakably industrial: a 500-meter-long, 300-meter-wide…

The 2026 Jeep Recon is finally here. The automaker first announced the electric off-road SUV in 2022, but with production starting sometime early next year, Jeep is ready to release the details on the new Recon, which will launch in its Moab trim first.   The Recon has two electric motors that make a combined 650 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque, propelling the SUV to 60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds. It has four-wheel drive and comes with the coveted Trail Rated badge.   The rear electric motor has a 15:1 final drive ratio for improved power delivery and an electric locking differential, while the front…

Chery’s smallest SUV also offers Australia’s cheapest full hybrid powertrain.The Chery Tiggo 4 (formerly Tiggo 4 Pro) has really made a splash Down Under, quickly rising up the sales charts to become a top-three contender in the small SUV segment in just its first full year on sale.Following the successful launch of the turbocharged petrol version, Chery quickly pivoted to offering Tiggo 4 Hybrid (or HEV) variants in an effort to capitalise on increasing demand for hybrid models.More than one in every 10 new cars sold in Australia this year feature a plugless hybrid powertrain, with 161,426 out of this…

Automakers appear to be in a race to one-up each other in terms of screens. After putting a 31.3-inch display in the back of the 7 Series and in China’s long-wheelbase 5 Series, BMW has launched the new iX3 with iDrive X featuring a 17.9-inch touchscreen in the front. Additionally, a pillar-to-pillar windscreen projection called Panoramic Vision is heading to virtually all models.Arch-rivals Audi and Mercedes have taken a step forward by incorporating an additional display specifically for the front passenger. BMW has yet to firmly commit to going down this road, only saying there’s “huge demand” for passenger screens.…

Porsche has come to grips with the reality that EV uptake isn’t progressing as rapidly as anticipated a few years ago. In early 2022, outgoing CEO Oliver Blume projected that as many as 80 percent of new car sales would be fully electric. That ambitious target is no longer in place, and the new plan is simple yet effective: giving people what they want. Australia’s Drive magazine spoke with Porsche’s local Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, who revealed the updated strategy is to cater to both sides. Daniel Schmollinger said the intent is to provide “freedom of choice for…

The hardcore Hyundai Crater concept has been teased in sketch form ahead of its world debut at AutoMobility LA 2025 in Los Angeles this Thursday (4:45am AEDT on November 21).Described as an “extreme off-road show vehicle”, the South Korean brand says the Crater “is a compact off-road SUV show vehicle that embodies capability and toughness” and a “design exploration that captures the spirit of adventure”.“Inspired by extreme environments, the Crater Concept was conceived at Hyundai America Technical Centre (HATCI) in Irvine, California and has been crafted to amplify the same spirit and robustness found in Hyundai’s XRT production vehicles.”Hyundai’s XRT…

BMW has cleared an important hurdle on the way to its next generation of assisted driving. The company is now the first carmaker in Germany to receive international approval under UN Regulation No. 171 (DCAS – Driver Control Assistance Systems), and the first model to benefit is the new BMW iX3, the opening act of the Neue Klasse lineup. On paper, that sounds like another regulatory box ticked. In practice, it unlocks a new level of Hands-Off Level 2 assistance on motorways and a much more natural relationship between driver and technology – what BMW is now calling BMW Symbiotic Drive.During…