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INTERESTING, as always, to talk to the top man in this year’s Brit List, our annual rundown of the top 50 UK-born executives in the global car industry. Stuart Rowley might confess that he’s a businessman rather than a car nut, but once again, here’s a Brit who’s right at the heart of some of the biggest decisions Ford has already made, and will make over the coming years. It’s probably just coincidence, in fact, but this week’s issue turned into a bit of an all-round celebration of British automotive talent – off road and on it. Our twin test features two vehicles at the sharp end of even the wealthiest budget, admittedly, but there’s little doubt that in the latest Range Rover and the current Bentley Bentayga, the UK has…

Alastair_crooks@autovia.co.uk ● Upcoming new MG roadster will be based on Cyberster concept ● Could share platform and tech with recently revealed Mulan BEST OF BRITISH ISSUE MG has built much of its reputation on small, simple roadsters that were fairly affordable, but aspirational. This is something that the Chinese-owned iteration of the brand hasn’t been shy to emulate. And now a new MG sports car takes a step closer, as fresh leaks all but confirm that the brand is returning to its roots, with a small, probably all-electric roadster. The car could hit the roads in 2024 to coincide with MG’s centenary, possibly with an MGC EV badge, following parent firm SAIC filing a trademark for the name. Direct rivals will be few and far between, but the new car could give buyers of internal…

INTERESTING, as always, to talk to the top man in this year’s Brit List, our annual rundown of the top 50 UK-born executives in the global car industry. Stuart Rowley might confess that he’s a businessman rather than a car nut, but once again, here’s a Brit who’s right at the heart of some of the biggest decisions Ford has already made, and will make over the coming years. It’s probably just coincidence, in fact, but this week’s issue turned into a bit of an all-round celebration of British automotive talent – off road and on it. Our twin test features two vehicles at the sharp end of even the wealthiest budget, admittedly, but there’s little doubt that in the latest Range Rover and the current Bentley Bentayga, the UK…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @jimmybrods ● Fresh bodystyle for M car ● 503bhp and 650Nm of torque “BMW claims 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds, just one tenth of a second slower than the M3 Competition saloon” FORMING a big part of BMW M division’s 50th anniversary celebrations is a new and arguably long-overdue member of the M3 line-up in the shape of the M3 Touring estate. While BMW did produce a one-off concept version of the E46 M3 Touring in 2000, this was a technical exercise for M engineers, rather than a serious exploration into a practical bodystyle for the then coupé and convertible-only performance icon. Since then, the M3 has become a saloon, while the coupé and convertible models have adopted the M4 badge. Now, the estate version is finally here, and it has the Audi RS 4 Avant firmly…

Alastair_crooks@autovia.co.uk ● Upcoming new MG roadster will be based on Cyberster concept ● Could share platform and tech with recently revealed Mulan BEST OF BRITISH ISSUE MG has built much of its reputation on small, simple roadsters that were fairly affordable, but aspirational. This is something that the Chinese-owned iteration of the brand hasn’t been shy to emulate. And now a new MG sports car takes a step closer, as fresh leaks all but confirm that the brand is returning to its roots, with a small, probably all-electric roadster. The car could hit the roads in 2024 to coincide with MG’s centenary, possibly with an MGC EV badge, following parent firm SAIC filing a trademark for the name. Direct rivals will be few and far between, but the new car…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Firm’s first EV arrives in 2025 ● F1 tech will be carried over ALMOST half of all Ferraris sold will be purely electric by the end of the decade, and four in five will be electrified in some way, the company has announced. Speaking at the Italian brand’s Capital Markets Day, Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna said that while the firm is committed to combustion engines – including the use of synthetic fuels – it will commence an EV rollout with Ferrari’s first electric car in 2025. “I believe combustion engines still have a lot to give,” Vigna said, “and we will develop solutions that will contribute meaningfully to decreased CO2 emissions.” Vigna said that Ferrari expects around five per cent of its sales to be EV by 2026, presumably with first-year sales of the…