News

Porsche CEO Michael Leiters has confirmed there will be no fully electric 911, stating plainly: "there will be no fully electric 911." The icon will continue with combustion and hybrid power, with Leiters calling the performance hybrid "a sort of elixir of life for the future." The decision is part of a wider plan to simplify Porsche's overcomplicated line-up and refocus on its sports car DNA, with the Cayenne Electric leading its electric charge instead.

The 1,250 hp Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X has set a new production car record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with IndyCar veteran JR Hildebrand climbing the 14,115-foot Colorado mountain in 9 minutes and 30.104 seconds. That beats the previous best, a 9:53.541 set by a Porsche 911 Turbo S, by more than 23 seconds. The hybrid, all-wheel-drive ZR1X ran on near-stock hardware with only mandatory safety equipment added.

Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera has revealed the Veloce12 Aperta, an open-top, carbon-bodied restomod based on the Ferrari 550 Maranello. It keeps the 550's manual 5.5-litre V12 of around 500 hp, adds a targa-style removable roof and an analogue cabin, and is built to order. The Veloce12 line is limited to roughly 30 cars across body styles, priced at around €690,000 on top of a donor Ferrari 550.

Formula E has revealed its biggest calendar yet for the 2027 season: a record 21 races across 13 cities. The London E-Prix moves to the legendary Brands Hatch on 29-30 May, and a brand-new round joins at Zandvoort in the Netherlands in June. The season also welcomes Circuit of The Americas, the new Gen4 cars with 815 hp and all-wheel drive, a new sprint-style E-Prix Unleashed format, and Opel as a manufacturer.

Some electric cars are appliances. This one is an event. This week's AutoNext Car of the Week is a 2022 Audi e-tron GT quattro, finished in silver with a black leather interior and available at MIG Motors in Aalter with 52,479 km on the clock. It shares its bones with the Porsche Taycan, costs far less than one second hand, and to our eyes it is the better looking car.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume is reportedly aiming to cut up to 100,000 jobs over the coming years, according to Manager Magazin. The figure combines 50,000 previously planned losses with around 50,000 further redundancies, and possible closures of plants in Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and Audi's Neckarsulm site are said to be on the table. The pressure comes from Chinese rivals and lost profits in China. Blume reportedly told shareholders: "Never before was the risk so great."

Renault has confirmed that the Renault 4 and Renault 5 will receive updated Gen 2 Evo electric motors before the end of 2026, or in early 2027 at the latest. The upgrade targets the inverter and reducers for improved efficiency and power output, following the same technology already debuting in the new Twingo. It arrives just as rivals including the Volkswagen ID Polo and Skoda Epiq enter the small EV segment with competitive range figures.

Hyundai has revealed the eighth-generation Avante, the compact sedan sold in North America as the Elantra. It adopts the brand's Art of Steel design language with styling cues drawn from the flagship Grandeur, grows in every dimension and gains a high-tech cabin. Engines include a 147 hp 2.0-litre petrol and a 155 hp hybrid. It launches in South Korea later in 2026 and reaches the US as the 2027 Elantra.

McMurtry will fully reveal the production form of its Speirling PURE next week, the electric, fan-powered hyper track car that has set records at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Top Gear test track. The production car uses 95 percent new components versus the prototypes, with a focus on usability and ease of ownership. Built in the Cotswolds, it is capped at 100 examples, with first customer deliveries beginning later in 2026.