Autocar March 8, 2023

‘ASTON AND NEWEY plot hypercar’, read the lead news story headline in our 15 July 2015 issue when we exclusively broke the news of the car that would become the Valkyrie. At last, almost eight years later, we have driven it (p24). Such a long gestation shows just how difficult it has been to deliver a radical, Le Mans-style road-legal car. That Aston Martin has reached this point at all is remarkable, however long it has taken. The hypercar world into which the Valkyrie arrives is very different from the way things were when it was announced. Back then, it was the encore to the LaFerrari/McLaren P1/Porsche 918 Spyder era, but since 2015 the hypercar world has gone electric. Suddenly, big power doesn’t necessarily mean big excitement. This glimpse of…

‘ASTON AND NEWEY plot hypercar’, read the lead news story headline in our 15 July 2015 issue when we exclusively broke the news of the car that would become the Valkyrie. At last, almost eight years later, we have driven it (p24). Such a long gestation shows just how difficult it has been to deliver a radical, Le Mans-style road-legal car. That Aston Martin has reached this point at all is remarkable, however long it has taken. The hypercar world into which the Valkyrie arrives is very different from the way things were when it was announced. Back then, it was the encore to the LaFerrari/McLaren P1/Porsche 918 Spyder era, but since 2015 the hypercar world has gone electric. Suddenly, big power doesn’t necessarily mean big excitement. This glimpse of the future makes…

The reimagined Mini Cooper hatchback will provide the foundation for a “revolution” of the BMW-owned brand’s wider line-up as it pushes towards full electrification by the end of the decade. Along with the Aceman crossover – Mini’s first electric-only car, positioned to take on the upcoming Jeep Avenger – and the larger new Countryman SUV, the freshened three-car range is a statement of intent for new Mini boss Stefanie Wurst, who took over from Bernd Körber in February 2022. “It is the beginning of a new era. Mini’s 100% electric range has to start somewhere. This is a bridge for us to go fully electric,” Wurst told Autocar at a recent preview event, where the trio was shown under heavy camouflage ahead of a succession of reveals over the next…

The reimagined Mini Cooper hatchback will provide the foundation for a “revolution” of the BMW-owned brand’s wider line-up as it pushes towards full electrification by the end of the decade. Along with the Aceman crossover – Mini’s first electric-only car, positioned to take on the upcoming Jeep Avenger – and the larger new Countryman SUV, the freshened three-car range is a statement of intent for new Mini boss Stefanie Wurst, who took over from Bernd Körber in February 2022. “It is the beginning of a new era. Mini’s 100% electric range has to start somewhere. This is a bridge for us to go fully electric,” Wurst told Autocar at a recent preview event, where the trio was shown under heavy camouflage ahead of a succession of reveals over the next 12 months. Once…

Mini’s heartland supermini has been taken “back to its roots”, said boss Stefanie Wurst, with a fresh look and ‘new’ name, being now officially called the Cooper, rather than the Hatch. A wider track, shorter front overhang, larger wheels and longer wheelbase give it a more purposeful stance than the current Mini Hatch, while still matching its 3.8m bumper-to-bumper length. New disc-shaped daytimerunning lights – shared with the larger Aceman – surround bulbous headlights to give the smallest Mini a fresh face that’s more recognisably descended from BMW’s first Mini, launched in 2000. The car maker will again offer the Cooper with both electric and combustion powertrains, told apart only by the exhaust pipes or lack thereof, but only in petrolpowered form will it be sold with five doors or…

Mini’s heartland supermini has been taken “back to its roots”, said boss Stefanie Wurst, with a fresh look and ‘new’ name, being now officially called the Cooper, rather than the Hatch. A wider track, shorter front overhang, larger wheels and longer wheelbase give it a more purposeful stance than the current Mini Hatch, while still matching its 3.8m bumper-to-bumper length. New disc-shaped daytimerunning lights – shared with the larger Aceman – surround bulbous headlights to give the smallest Mini a fresh face that’s more recognisably descended from BMW’s first Mini, launched in 2000. The car maker will again offer the Cooper with both electric and combustion powertrains, told apart only by the exhaust pipes or lack thereof, but only in petrolpowered form will it be sold with five doors or as a droptop…