CAR UK January 2021

‘I’m happy to call time on combustion engine R&D’ ‘Yeah, we’ve stopped working on this year’s car to concentrate on next year,’ announces the Mercedes-AMG FI team each summer. How smug can you get? It reminds me of exams. You’d be about 45 minutes into an А-level history paper and the Simon Schama of the class would, with undisguised glee, stick his hand (yep, all boys – what a waste) in the air and ask the nearest invigilator for more paper, so that he might be able to fully commit to paper the considerable genius currently stuck infuriatingly – for him and for mankind generally – somewhere between brain and Biro. When you’ve all but won both titles, driver and constructor, before most people have had their summer holiday, there is of course…

‘I’m happy to call time on combustion engine R&D’ ‘Yeah, we’ve stopped working on this year’s car to concentrate on next year,’ announces the Mercedes-AMG FI team each summer. How smug can you get? It reminds me of exams. You’d be about 45 minutes into an А-level history paper and the Simon Schama of the class would, with undisguised glee, stick his hand (yep, all boys – what a waste) in the air and ask the nearest invigilator for more paper, so that he might be able to fully commit to paper the considerable genius currently stuck infuriatingly – for him and for mankind generally – somewhere between brain and Biro. When you’ve all but won both titles, driver and constructor, before most people have had their summer holiday, there…

If you’re going to be late to the party, you’d better bring the fireworks. Five years after Tesla kicked off the premium, all-electric crossover thing with the Model X, and three years after Jaguar upped the stakes with the i-Pace, BMW finally has a contender: the iX, which showcases BMW’s latest electric-drive hardware and promises revolution inside. It’s set to come on stream in late 2021. But first, that name. It was previewed as the iNext, but we expected the production version to wear an ÍX5 badge, in line with the very conventional iX3. We were wrong. It’s done! No new name,’ says BMW development chief Frank Weber. ‘This is the iX, and it’s not going to change.’ That signals BMW’s intent to make this a standalone EV flagship, one step removed…

If you’re going to be late to the party, you’d better bring the fireworks. Five years after Tesla kicked off the premium, all-electric crossover thing with the Model X, and three years after Jaguar upped the stakes with the i-Pace, BMW finally has a contender: the iX, which showcases BMW’s latest electric-drive hardware and promises revolution inside. It’s set to come on stream in late 2021. But first, that name. It was previewed as the iNext, but we expected the production version to wear an ÍX5 badge, in line with the very conventional iX3. We were wrong. It’s done! No new name,’ says BMW development chief Frank Weber. ‘This is the iX, and it’s not going to change.’ That signals BMW’s intent to make this a standalone EV flagship, one…

i4 Like the iX, BMW’s electric four-door Gran Coupe will enter production in 2021 with up to 522bhp (more than an M4 Comp) and a 375-mile range i7 Developed in tandem with the next 7-series (due 2022), the i7 arrives a year later and is expected to usher in a new design language M5 and ¡7 illustrations: Avanzarii ELECTRIC M5 BMW’s quietly confirmed an F90 M5 CS coming in 2022 with 626bhp. But the next-gen hot 5-series will come as a ‘Power PHEV’ and a 1000bhp BEV…

Mini will kick off a massive product revitalisation plan from 2023, using some tried-and-tested platforms but electrifying its core models either partially or fully. The first model lined up for rebirth is the perennial three-door hatch, with its five-door running mate to follow shortly after – both using the UKL1 platform already in service in its predecessors. That part is simple, but what comes next requires some asterisks. All eyes are on Mini’s wild Urbanaut concept right now (below). While it’s arguably just a space-efficient design exercise described by insiders as Mini’s answer to the VW ID Buzz, something resembling a production version of the Urbanaut is a front-runner among the ideas being considered for a new larger family car within the range expected in 2024. Battling for the same slot…