Autocar August 3, 2022

ELECTRIC CARS ARE changing so much of the motoring world, not least perceptions of the brands making them. Take Kia, the incumbent Car of the Year holder with the EV6, an award that’s traditionally rooted in more mainstream models. Now, Kia has even greater aspirations and bigger scalps in mind for the EV6: it has turned up the wick on it to create the EV6 GT, a sports crossover we find on first impression (p30) to be good enough to be cross-shopped by prospective buyers of the likes of the Porsche Taycan. Yes, it’s that good. Much like with SUVs, electric cars seem brand agnostic: badge snobbery is thankfully left behind and cars can be celebrated for simply how good they are. That the EV6 GT wears its £62k price so comfortably…

ELECTRIC CARS ARE changing so much of the motoring world, not least perceptions of the brands making them. Take Kia, the incumbent Car of the Year holder with the EV6, an award that’s traditionally rooted in more mainstream models. Now, Kia has even greater aspirations and bigger scalps in mind for the EV6: it has turned up the wick on it to create the EV6 GT, a sports crossover we find on first impression (p30) to be good enough to be cross-shopped by prospective buyers of the likes of the Porsche Taycan. Yes, it’s that good. Much like with SUVs, electric cars seem brand agnostic: badge snobbery is thankfully left behind and cars can be celebrated for simply how good they are. That the EV6 GT wears its £62k price…

“They will be so groundbreaking that you will say: ‘This is crazy. I didn’t see that coming’” BMW’s M performance division is preparing to launch its final purecombustion sports car in its 50th year, before embarking on a rapid-fire electrification programme that will bring the most powerful M5 yet, a Lamborghini Urusbaiting SUV and, ultimately, an electric successor to the M3. It has been a busy year so far for BMW’s performance arm, which has already revealed the stripped-back M4 CSL, the M3 Touring estate and its first endurance racer in 23 years, the V8 Hybrid LMDh. But still to come is the production version of the 740bhp XM hybrid SUV and long-awaited second-generation M2 Coupé. The upcoming M2 Coupé will be the final ‘full-fat’ M car to go without electric assistance, driven…

Every mainstream sporting brand is electrifying, but BMW M’s transition seems especially poignant given the hallowed status of not just its historic and current cars but also the specific engines that power them. Whichever way you cut it, the future of the purecombustion straight six is a short one. Emissions regulations and EV mandates will see to that, the same way they will for Lamborghini’s V12, Alfa Romeo’s V6 and even newer cult heroes like Ford’s threepot Ecoboost. So the M3, as we have fundamentally known it for 30 years, will one day soon undergo its biggest transformation yet – but M boss Frank van Meel isn’t overly worried about soiling its legacy. “At some stage, we always have to say goodbye to an engine we really love,” he said. “That’s the…

“They will be so groundbreaking that you will say: ‘This is crazy. I didn’t see that coming’” BMW’s M performance division is preparing to launch its final purecombustion sports car in its 50th year, before embarking on a rapid-fire electrification programme that will bring the most powerful M5 yet, a Lamborghini Urusbaiting SUV and, ultimately, an electric successor to the M3. It has been a busy year so far for BMW’s performance arm, which has already revealed the stripped-back M4 CSL, the M3 Touring estate and its first endurance racer in 23 years, the V8 Hybrid LMDh. But still to come is the production version of the 740bhp XM hybrid SUV and long-awaited second-generation M2 Coupé. The upcoming M2 Coupé will be the final ‘full-fat’ M car to go without…

IN 2019, BMW showed off the outlandish Vision M hybrid supercar concept as an indication of what to expect from its electrified sports cars – and at the time, it was tipped to enter production as a spiritual successor to the first bespoke M car, the M1. Shortly after, reports began to circulate that the project had been cancelled over concerns about R&D costs and low sales potential. The division later revealed the Concept XM SUV as a preview of its actual next stand-alone M car. However, BMW bosses remain receptive to the prospect of more bespoke M models, which potentially opens the door for revisiting the supercar concept. Frank van Meel said: “It’s always something we can look at. As car guys, we are always dreaming of making such cars. It doesn’t…