Autocar 6/6/2018

JAGUAR HAS DONE it: the electric I-Pace (p26), the most radical and revolutionary car to come out of Britain in a generation, is as brilliant to drive as it is in its execution. Yet the I-Pace also now highlights a disconnect in Jaguar’s range. Not only is it Jaguar’s first electric car, it is also its first electrified one. The company still does not o.er a single hybrid. Many keen on an I-Pace but unwilling or unable to take the leap to an EV would relish a hybrid as that first step, and Jaguar has had ample opportunity to match rivals’ hybrid offerings with new model launches. The speed with which Jaguar has rolled out new models over the past three years has been impressive; the order in which it has done so,…

“Audi has followed the trend for more extravagant styling established by the BMW X6” The new Audi Q8 will give the Range Rover Sport its sternest challenge yet as the battle for sales of style-led premium SUVs hits new levels of intensity amid unprecedented — and still growing — global demand. Priced from an estimated £65,000 and powered by a choice of 3.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, the Q8 is also set to go head to head with German premium rivals including the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé. Last year Mercedes was the world’s largest seller of premium SUVs, closely followed by Audi and BMW. Land Rover was a distant fourth with sales volumes around two-thirds the size of those of its rivals. Although the Range Rover Sport is regarded as the most…

You’ll note that the Q8 is larger in just about every dimension than its rivals: the Range Rover Sport, BMW X6, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé, Maserati Levante, Porsche Cayenne and even the Tesla Model X. For now that’s a great selling point, but as Felipe Munoz, global automotive analyst for JATO, points out, it is likely to be an advantage that the Q8 won’t enjoy for long: “I would expect the coming new generations of X6 and GLE Coupé to be bigger. I’d also expect the next Range Rover Sport to grow, so close is it to the Velar in size.” Munoz also highlights another future trend that is fast emerging but which Audi and others have yet to address: hybridisation. “Global sales of the six main rivals to the Q8 totalled 250,000 units…

If you want to know why there are so many new SUVs coming on the market, consider that last year 34% of all cars registered globally were SUVs. That’s up from 22.4% in 2014, the year that the SUV boom really gathered momentum, according to JATO data. That figure represents 27.85 millions registrations, led by China (10.73m registrations, up 13.2% year-on-year), North America (8.21m, up 6.2%) and Europe (5.51m, up 19.2%). Crucially, China’s boom shows no sign of abating. Last year 41.6% of car registrations in China were SUVs, indicating the surge in popularity of the bodystyle in a market that until recently was ruled by saloons. However, the Q8 has a key role to play in China beyond pure sales: as Audi’s range-topper, it sets the aspirational tone for the whole brand.…

Audi Q1 Rumoured for a 2020 reveal if the SUV sales surge continues, the A1-based Q1 SUV would be a heavily road-biased model. Audi Q2 Audi’s global SUV sales rose 11% last year, driven to a significant extent by the popular Q2’s first set of full-year sales figures. Audi Q3 The Q3 has been squeezed by the arrival of the funkier Q2, but the all-new model due this summer is set to reinvigorate its appeal. Audi Q4 Confirmed for production next year as a sleek, coupé-styled five-seat SUV to rival the likes of the BMW X2 and Range Rover Evoque. Audi Q5 The second-generation car was launched in 2016. The Q5 is firmly established as a staple of the market. Last year’s sales matched those of the year before. Audi Q6 Now Audi’s electric SUV has dropped the ‘Q6’ name to…

A 700bhp-plus mid-engined supercar, a new GTV coupé with more than 600bhp – Alfa Romeo is certainly cementing its return to the high-performance market. These new cars build on the impressive Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglios, but with the difference that they have the dramatic, sporting designs expected of Alfa. The 8C resurrects a model name last used for the front-engined Competizione V8 coupé and convertible. The new carbonfibre 8C will use the Giulia Quadrifoglio’s twin-turbo V6 in combination with an electric front axle, underlining Alfa’s future technical direction while referencing its past. The teaser image reveals a car clearly inspired by the beautiful 1967 33 Stradale (above right), of which only 18 were made. The Stradale was the first production car to offer dihedral doors, and it’s possible that the new 8C will…