Autocar October 24, 2018

THE NEW PEUGEOT 508 has a quality that’s rarely found in new cars these days: it’s different. The subject of this week ’s road test (p42) is not another SUV, or some kind of crossover hatchback trying to imitate one, but a good old-fashioned saloon made better and more desirable. With so many marques pulling out of the saloon segment, Peugeot’s confidence to stay in it has been vindicated by the 508’s quality. It may never sell in great numbers in the UK, yet there will be those tempted by its charms who don’t want to jump into another bland crossover. The 508 is the latest in a string of ever-better Peugeots created over the past few years. The French firm’s comeback has been one of the most impressive industry…

“Porsche is working with Audi on an all-electric platform for a next generation of EVs” Porsche is planning to launch a battery-electric SUV, likely as a replacement for the current Macan, by 2022 as part of its investment in electrification. Porsche finance director Lutz Meschke revealed the plan for a full-electric SUV at an event in Germany last week. “You can expect an SUV BEV [battery-electric vehicle] by 2022 at the latest,” he said. Departed Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller – previously Porsche’s boss – committed every group brand to having an electrified version of every model by 2023. Porsche already has a number of plug-in hybrid variants (although some are currently off sale due to the new WLTP emission testing regulations) and the next model to be launched with…

“It marks a radical departure, albeit with a ‘traditional Porsche driving experience’” The countdown to the launch of the electric-powered Porsche Taycan has begun in earnest, with the new four-door saloon entering the second phase of prototype production at the company’s Zuffenhausen headquarters in Germany. The Taycan is the first in an extended line-up of electric-powered models in development for a programme that is budgeted to cost up to £5.3 billion through to the end of 2022. It marks a radical departure from Porsche’s traditional line-up, albeit with the promise of what lead engineer Stefan Weckbach describes as a “typical Porsche driving experience”. When it goes on sale following a public premiere at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2019, it will be positioned between the £55,965 Cayenne and the £67,898…

The Taycan represents more than just a radical new model in Porsche’s future – it’s also a lifeline for its Zuffenhausen HQ, its Stuttgart production home since the 1950s. Porsche has significantly remodelled the site, knocking down multiple buildings to create a new four-storey assembly hall and six others, including a body-in-white facility and paint shop. Due to the scattered nature of the Taycan assembly buildings, a 900m-long conveyor is needed to move bodyshells from one area to the next. To win approval from the Volkswagen board for this complex (and expensive) production plant, Porsche has put in place a unique ‘workers bond’ that has raised hundreds of millions of euros from the workforce to keep production at Zuffenhausen. Production is initially planned at 20,000 to 25,000 units a year…

Taycan drivers are expected to charge at home for eight-out-of-ten charges, so the EV will be available with an on-board AC charger rated at 3.6-7.2kW, but with the option of up to 22kW. For on-the-move charges, the Taycan battery has been designed for 350kW fast-charging, sufficient to deliver a major recharge in just 30 minutes through the 800V system. Porsche is a partner along with BMW, Ford, Mercedes and the Volkswagen Group in Ionity, which promises up to 400 fast-chargers operational in Europe by 2019. Porsche dealers will also be able to step in to deliver a charge thanks to their own DC-charged Power Box, also known as the ‘Turbo Charger’. Packed with lithium ion cells, similar to those in the Taycan, it will store enough energy to charge three…

Audi has revealed a series of mid-life updates for the R8 ahead of it going on sale in the UK early next year. The McLaren 570S rival benefits from exterior revisions, a power boost and tweaks to improve handling. Visual changes for the 2019-model-year update are subtle but include a redesigned grille with 3D optics for a honeycomb effect and the removal of the aluminium bar that crossed the grille of the old model. Darker headlights with black-trimmed surrounds have been added and a new spoiler wraps around the front of the car and continues into the deeper side skirts. The air intakes behind the doors have been enlarged for greater cooling potential and a new full-width honeycomb grille at the rear serves the same purpose, as well as adding…