Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut rewrites the production car record books

Cyril Blais, team principal of the Citroen Racing Formula E Team, has died aged 46, days before the Tokyo E-Prix. One of the most respected engineers in the paddock, he worked his way from Formula 3 race engineer to team principal, and contributed to Formula E's Gen4 development. Tributes have come from Citroen and the FIA. No cause of death has been given, and the family has asked for privacy.

Tesla plans to raise output at its Gruenheide plant near Berlin to up to 7,500 cars a week, around 375,000 a year, during the 2026 financial year, citing recovering demand and improving profits. The site, which builds the Model Y exclusively and supplies more than 30 markets, made about 202,000 cars in 2025. Tesla wants to add 3,500 jobs to the roughly 11,000 already there and integrate the full value chain, from battery cells to finished cars.

The Flemish and federal governments have agreed a package worth up to 119 million euro to secure the future of Volvo Car Gent, covering training, green transition and research support. The money is conditional and only paid once Volvo delivers its promised investments. Volvo has signalled the plant could also assemble other Geely brands such as Polestar, Lynk & Co and Zeekr. Around 6,500 people work at the site.

BYD has revealed the 8 Series Tang, a large electric SUV claiming more than 800 km of range. A permanent-magnet motor peaks at 402 hp, with a 250 km/h top speed and a second-generation Blade LFP battery. It measures 5,045 mm long on a 2,950 mm wheelbase, with five and seven-seat versions filed, and launches in China in the second half of 2026. Pricing is not announced and Europe is not confirmed.

Ford Racing has launched the FP800S Bronze Package, an official upgrade kit that takes the 2024 to 2026 Mustang GT to 810 hp and around 834 Nm using a Gen 6 3.0-litre Whipple supercharger. The kit costs 18,500 dollars, with dealer fitting adding roughly 5,000 dollars, and it keeps a three-year Ford Racing warranty when installed by an approved technician. It is sold through the US Ford Performance network.

BYD's premium Denza brand has revealed the Z9S, an all-electric fastback sedan joining the Z9 and Z9 GT. A tri-motor version makes 1,194 hp with 780 km of CLTC range, while single-motor rear-drive versions of around 429 hp and 496 hp stretch to 920 km from a 102.3 kWh Blade battery. It is 5,090 mm long and packs LiDAR-based driver assistance and air suspension. Chinese pricing is not announced, and Europe is not confirmed.

Broad Arrow is offering 40 Mercedes-Benz youngtimers from The Patina Collective in the first North American edition of its Global Icons online series, running 10 to 21 August 2026, with every car sold without reserve. Highlights include a 1993 500 E AMG 6.0 estimated at 150,000 to 180,000 dollars and a 1993 500 E Limited prototype built for the Frankfurt show. Some cars wear genuine patina and will need recommissioning.

Mercedes-AMG's customer racing programme has taken its 1,000th victory, claimed by Team KRT's Vincent Iogna from pole in an AMG GT3 Evo at the Ultimate GT Sprint Cup at Mugello on 11 July 2026. Launched in 2010, the programme now spans 34 countries, six continents, more than 100 teams and over 400 drivers, with the AMG GT3 alone accounting for 612 wins.

Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason is selling his 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, chassis 10R, at RM Sotheby's Monterey sale with an estimate above 35 million dollars, which would make it the most expensive McLaren ever sold. It is the first F1 GTR built to 1996 specification, one of only two short-tail prototypes, and the only one wearing a factory pop-art livery. Mason has owned it since 1999, when McLaren converted it for the road.

Mercedes-Benz has opened its expanded Kecskemet plant in Hungary and started production of the new electric C-Class. Around 1 billion euro grew the site from 200 to 440 hectares, making it Hungary's largest car factory with over 5,000 workers, building the electric C-Class, electric GLB and the compact G-Class exclusively. It arrives as Mercedes asks German staff to move from a 35 to a 40-hour week without matching pay, with German labour costing roughly three times more than Hungarian.

BYD Group has become the Official Automotive Partner of Paris Saint-Germain in a three-year global deal running from 16 July 2026 through June 2029. It covers both the BYD and DENZA brands, with a vehicle fleet supporting the club's daily operations, branding at the Parc des Princes, and worldwide campaigns featuring the men's and women's teams. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Opel has opened orders for the Mokka YES, a special edition sold exclusively in the Netherlands. It comes in Koral Orange with orange interior accents, a black roof and black 17-inch wheels, and is offered with a 136 hp petrol, a 145 hp hybrid or a 156 hp electric powertrain with a 54 kWh battery. Prices start at 35,999 euro including VAT and registration tax.

Geely has unveiled Thunder, a new 16-in-1 electric drive unit built by InfiMotion, claiming 93.8% efficiency and two Guinness World Records. The real story is what it eliminated: over 180 components folded into a single 75 kilogram unit. The Geely Galaxy TT showed it first, but the updated Lynk & Co 02 will be the first car to actually reach customers with it, in the third quarter of 2026.

BYD will send the Yangwang U9 Xtreme after the 500 km/h barrier in November 2026, returning to Germany's Automotive Testing Papenburg where the car set a 496.22 km/h production car record last year. BYD vice president Stella Li made the announcement at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, revealing that the car still had usable throttle left when the first run ended.

The 1970 Porsche Tapiro was Giorgetto Giugiaro's fourth prototype for Italdesign, unveiled at the Turin Motor Show. Built on a Porsche 914/6 with a mid-mounted 2.4-litre flat-six of around 220 hp, it was one of the first true wedge designs, with four gullwing doors and razor-sharp styling that helped define 1970s supercars. Sadly, the one-off was privately owned and found completely burned out after an accident in the 1980s.

Spain has overtaken Luxembourg as the cheapest country in Europe to refuel this summer, according to figures reported by our partner Gocar.be. On Spanish motorways petrol averages 1.64 euro per litre and diesel 1.62 euro, dropping to around 1.46 euro off the motorway, just ahead of Luxembourg. The Netherlands remains the most expensive for motorway petrol at 2.43 euro, and Switzerland the priciest for diesel at 2.49 euro. Belgian petrol beats Germany and France but stays dearer than Luxembourg.

RM Sotheby's will auction the roughly 38 million euro car collection of Vince Zampella, co-creator of Call of Duty, who died in a Ferrari 296 crash in December 2025, at Monterey Car Week. The 17-car collection is heavily McLaren-focused, from the Solus GT to the road-legal P1 GT, Senna, Senna GTR and Elva, alongside a Ferrari Daytona SP3, a Bugatti W16 Mistral, the sole manual Pagani Huayra Roadster and an Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider. Most cars show barely any mileage.

Max Verstappen's management company, Verstappen Racing, has signed 15-year-old Belgian talent Dries Van Langendonck, with Formula 1 as the clear goal. A European and World karting champion, he joined McLaren's driver programme in 2024, became the youngest F4 race winner ever in 2025, dominated the Formula Winter Series and now leads British F4. He keeps his McLaren links while gaining Verstappen Racing's support. Verstappen says Dries has all the potential to become a future great driver.

Novitec has revealed its tuning programme for the Lamborghini Temerario, and it targets the twin-turbo V8 hybrid's most criticised trait: its sound. The headline is a range of exhausts, RACE systems and a power-optimised flagship, offered in stainless steel, Inconel or gold-plated Inconel, plus a Switchtronic cockpit flap remote. There are also three forged wheel designs and a sport-spring set. Power figures and prices have not yet been disclosed.

German owner Peter Kirchoff has driven one million kilometres in a single MINI Cooper D, a three-door diesel nicknamed Nemo, reaching the milestone on 20 June 2026. Over 12 years and 25 countries the car ran on its original engine with no major repairs and no accidents, averaging just 2.56 l/100 km. He celebrated with a drive to MINI Plant Oxford, and is now starting a new One Million Miles Project.

BMW has launched its vehicle configurator as a dialogue-based plugin inside OpenAI's ChatGPT. Instead of clicking through menus, users describe what they want in plain language and the plugin taps BMW's database to recommend current models, which can be refined, compared and opened in the full configurator or linked to stock cars. It is accessed via the Plugins menu on chatgpt.com or mobile. BMW calls it a new digital channel for engaging with the brand.

Aston Martin has revealed the Dreadnought, a digital-only military-spec V12 super-SUV created exclusively for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The tactical all-wheel-drive machine mixes armour plating, weapons storage and combat systems with Aston luxury like herringbone carbon fibre, Oxford Tan leather and a gold gear lever. Made with Infinity Ward and Activision, it appears in Warzone and DMZ modes when the game launches on 23 October 2026. It is not a real production car.

The Jensen name is returning with the Interceptor GTX, its first all-new car in decades, timed for the original Interceptor's 60th anniversary. Built by brand owner Jensen International Automotive with Jeff Qvale as a key partner, it pairs a hand-built aluminium body and chassis with a supercharged V8, reportedly around 650 hp with a manual. It launches as a track-only special first, with road-going Interceptors to follow. Price and numbers are still to be announced.

ABT Sportsline has expanded its tuning portfolio to Audi's plug-in hybrids. The A5 Avant and Q5 2.0 TFSI e climb from 299 to 360 hp, or 367 to 428 hp depending on base spec, while the Q8 3.0 TFSI e gets two stages topping out at 557 hp and 750 Nm. Each package adds aero parts and large ABT wheels, with prices from 13,500 to 23,770 euro plus fitting, and a five-year warranty on the modifications.

Bugatti has completed the final W16 Mistral in its Molsheim Atelier, the last of 99, ending series production of the 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 that powered the Veyron, Chiron and Mistral for two decades. The final car wears a Pearl and Sparkle livery with a plate reading The last of its kind. The Mistral bows out as the world's fastest open-top production car at 453.91 km/h. Only two W16 one-offs remain to be delivered before the V16 hybrid Tourbillon takes over.