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Do you remember the Citroen Berlingo Coupe de Plage? At the 1996 Paris Salon, Citroen showed three concept versions of its new Berlingo, and Bertone built this one as a joyful two-seat beach car. It had an open pickup bed, fold-out reclining beach chairs on reinforced pillars, a surfboard roof rack, folding shelves for a cooler and external speakers for the radio, all powered by a 103 hp 1.8-litre Xantia engine. It never reached production, but it remains one of the most charming what-ifs of the decade.

Bugatti has inaugurated La Manufacture, a purpose-built facility in Molsheim, Alsace, dedicated to the Bugatti Tourbillon. Opened on 2 July 2026 and built in less than a year, the 3,245-square-metre hall handles pre-assembly, quality control, polishing and painting, with capacity for up to 200 cars a year. CEO Mate Rimac called Molsheim the brand's center of gravity, underlining that the Rimac era is investing heavily in Bugatti's historic home.

Stellantis delivered around 1.6 million vehicles in the second quarter of 2026, a 10 percent rise year on year, after a long slump. Growth was led by a 38 percent jump in North America, helped by the return of the Ram 1500 Hemi V8, while Europe rose about 5 percent and other regions lost ground. Despite the rebound, Stellantis shares have fallen more than 25 percent since CEO Antonio Filosa's May recovery plan, with analysts wary of rising US inventory.

The first Ferrari Luce, listed as Chassis 0, is heading to the RM Sotheby's Monterey auction, offered without reserve with an estimate above $1.1 million. Ferrari will donate all proceeds to The Ferrari Foundation to support educational initiatives. The Tailor Made car wears an exclusive Madreperla semi-gloss finish over Le Mans metallic Perla leather, though Ferrari has not disclosed its engine or base model.

Electric cars took the two fastest times at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed timed shootout. Romain Dumas won for the third year in a row in the Ford Super Mustang Mach-E with a 41.98-second run, ahead of Dan Ticktum's Formula E Gen4 on 42.46 seconds and Alex Summers' 1974 Shadow-Chevrolet DN4 on 46.31 seconds. It was the fastest time of the weekend, though still short of Max Chilton's outright hill record of 39.08 seconds set in the McMurtry Speirling in 2022.

Overfinch used the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed to reveal a one-of-one Range Rover built with British gunmaker Holland & Holland. It reworks the pair's celebrated Holland & Holland Edition into a more formal, tailored design, trading the traditional green and tan for a deep black exterior with gold accents over a warm ivory and black leather interior, complete with handcrafted moorland marquetry and bespoke bird embroidery. Overfinch has not disclosed the base model, mechanical details or price.

Sixteen years after Joris died of cancer at 27, his parents have restored the 1970 BMW 1602 he always dreamed of rebuilding. The car is now the prize in a charity raffle for Kom op tegen Kanker, run with the cycling programme Vive le Vélo. Anyone can take part by texting Vive Joris to 4342 for one euro, with all proceeds going to the charity, until Sunday 26 July 2026.

Hyundai has become the first major South Korean company to use stablecoins for internal money transfers. Its Hyundai Card division moved $20,000 from Hyundai Motor America to Hyundai Motor Mexico using Tether on the Avalanche blockchain, settling in about seven minutes instead of the usual three to four hours. A second pilot for European subsidiaries, using Circle's USDC and Visa, is planned for later in July 2026.

Some used EVs are a gamble. This one is close to a sure thing. Our AutoNext Car of the Week is a 2025 Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor, finished in Magnesium Grey metallic and available at Vamauto BV in Sint-Eloois-Winkel with just 21,800 km from one owner. Fully loaded with the Pilot and Plus packs and Bowers & Wilkins sound, its battery still tests at 97.3 percent, and at €61,950 with VAT deductible it is around €40,000 less than new.