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Kia's K4 Hybrid pairs a 1.6 GDI with a six-speed dual-clutch for 154 hp, in hatchback and Sportswagon form, with production from 15 October 2026 and no price yet. It fills a gap the Dutch importer opened in April, when re-homologation pushed BPM on the 180 hp 1.6 T-GDI to €13,000-14,000 and Kia dropped it, leaving the K4 with one 115 hp engine.

Bugatti's first Programme Solitaire car, the W16 Brouillard, reached Michel Perridon at Chantilly Arts & Elegance on 13 September, thirteen months after its reveal at The Quail, and won Best of Show for one-offs the same day. Mate Rimac did the handover four days after buying out Porsche. The Bugatti museum Perridon has promised for Rotterdam, Dubai and now Molsheim still has no building.

Hamburg's governing SPD and Greens will vote on 16 September to push a Bundesrat initiative banning synthetic engine sound on electric cars above the 20 km/h AVAS zone. UN Regulation 138 warning tones stay. EU type approval means a German-only ban cannot reach a factory-fitted speaker, so the route runs through Brussels or Geneva, and the next Bundesrat sits on 25 September.

Kia has revealed the production PV7 at IAA Transportation in Hannover: a 5,350 mm electric van on an 800-volt version of the PV5's E-GMP.S platform, with 71.5 or 96.2 kWh batteries, 272 hp, 460 km WLTP for the Cargo Long Range and a 25-minute charge from 10 to 80 percent at 350 kW. Cargo and nine-seat Passenger versions reach Europe in the second half of 2027.

Volkswagen's Mission Efficiency prototype has set three records: a drag coefficient of 0.158, 6.48 kWh/100 km at a constant 68 km/h, and 6.89 kWh/100 km over 1,278 km from Wolfsburg to Vienna with a single charging stop. The drivetrain is the ID. Polo's 135 hp motor and battery. Volkswagen officially calls it a concept, but is studying a production version at around €50,000.

Nio's third-generation ES8 will pass 150,000 deliveries this week, twelve months after going on sale in China at 406,800 yuan, a 26.8 percent cut on the previous 100 kWh ES8. In August the ES8 and ES9 made up 82.5 percent of Nio-brand deliveries, leaving seven other models with 3,696 cars. Nio lost 528 million yuan in Q2 despite record volume, and Europe still sells the second-generation EL8 through distributors.

The 50th Suzuka 1000km went to the AO by Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R shared by Laurin Heinrich, Julien Andlauer and Belgium's Alessio Picariello, who won by 51 seconds and led a Porsche one-three. It is Porsche's first outright win at the historic Intercontinental GT Challenge round since 1994, ending a 32-year drought on AO Racing's series debut. Belgian fans had more to cheer, too, with Frédéric Vervisch second and Maxime Martin fifth.

Kimi Antonelli won the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid's new Madring circuit, leading home Max Verstappen and pole-sitter Lando Norris. It was strategy, not raw pace, that decided it: a Virtual Safety Car on lap 13 and the pit stops it forced handed Antonelli the win, and even he admitted Norris deserved better. His championship lead now stands at a commanding 81 points.

Leapmotor International will not bring the updated B10 that went on sale in China on 16 July to Europe, its Europe commercial head Danilo Annese said at the B03X launch in Spain. The Chinese car has an 800 V system, a 69.7 kWh battery and 16-minute charging. Europe's B10 stays at 400 V and 67.1 kWh from €29,900, and a C10 hardware update follows in early 2027.