Autocar February 12, 2020

IN THE WAKE of the government saying it wants to ban sales of new non-zero-emission cars by 2035 (p13), Andrew Frankel’s rundown of the 50 cars you should drive before you die (p39) has added prescience. Perhaps that should be ‘50 cars to drive before the combustion engine dies’. Not quite. The list is intended as a celebration of the car in many forms – including electric cars. It’s why we’re asking you to vote for the ultimate car to try before you die for our Readers’ Champion award this year. In fact, the government would do well to look at the list and reflect on the love people have for cars, regardless of powertrains. It reminded me that cars should be carrots and not sticks. If you want to make…

“In range-topping form, the new two-door model would benefit from a twin-motor set-up” Volkswagen is planning an advanced new electric sports car that is earmarked to act as a figurehead for a limited range of performance-based ID R road cars and is set to go into production by the middle of the decade. The new headlining Volkswagen model has been conceived as both a coupé and roadster, according to highly placed Volkswagen sources, and will be based on the German car maker’s skateboard-style MEB platform – the same integrated structure that also underpins the ID 3 hatchback. It has been suggested that the ID R could compete against the second-generation Tesla Roadster, if an internal ID sub-brand strategy paper calling for the proposed model to be assembled at the company’s Karmann offshoot…

IN THE WAKE of the government saying it wants to ban sales of new non-zero-emission cars by 2035 (p13), Andrew Frankel’s rundown of the 50 cars you should drive before you die (p39) has added prescience. Perhaps that should be ‘50 cars to drive before the combustion engine dies’. Not quite. The list is intended as a celebration of the car in many forms – including electric cars. It’s why we’re asking you to vote for the ultimate car to try before you die for our Readers’ Champion award this year. In fact, the government would do well to look at the list and reflect on the love people have for cars, regardless of powertrains. It reminded me that cars should be carrots and not sticks. If you want to…

While plans develop for hot new versions of Volkswagen’s electric-powered ID models (see p8), the company’s R division is expanding into a new niche for its combustion-engined cars. Having recently added the 296bhp T-Roc R to its ranks, Volkswagen’s performance car division has now turned its attention to the Arteon line-up. A new 325bhp range-topping Arteon R saloon will arrive during the final quarter of this year as part of the range’s mid-life facelift. Following the hot version of the Arteon saloon, Volkswagen R plans to unleash a similarly powered version of the upcoming Arteon Shooting Brake in the first half of 2021. The coupé-cum-estate, which will be launched in standard form first at the start of the year, has the distinction of being among the last all-new combustion-engined models developed by Volkswagen. In…

“In range-topping form, the new two-door model would benefit from a twin-motor set-up” Volkswagen is planning an advanced new electric sports car that is earmarked to act as a figurehead for a limited range of performance-based ID R road cars and is set to go into production by the middle of the decade. The new headlining Volkswagen model has been conceived as both a coupé and roadster, according to highly placed Volkswagen sources, and will be based on the German car maker’s skateboard-style MEB platform – the same integrated structure that also underpins the ID 3 hatchback. It has been suggested that the ID R could compete against the second-generation Tesla Roadster, if an internal ID sub-brand strategy paper calling for the proposed model to be assembled at the company’s…

Volkswagen Motorsport has confirmed that it is building a second-generation version of its record-breaking ID R prototype – and it is also aiming to eclipse a lap record held by a Formula 1 car. The 671bhp ID R was developed by VW’s motorsport arm in 2018 for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It set a new outright record and since then has broken the electric lap record at the Nürburgring and the outright hill record at Goodwood. It has also set a new record on Tianmen Mountain in China. VW Motorsport chief Sven Smeets said the improvements to create the new ID R Evo will focus on aerodynamics and the powertrain system. Talking about the powertrain, Smeets said: “We have several options for the future, and with e-mobility there is such…