Autocar January 6, 2021

BACK IN JULY 2019, Jaguar Land Rover outlined a transformation at its Castle Bromwich factory that was to be “the most significant in the plant’s history”. A huge investment converting it to build electric cars was backed up by a £500 million government loan guarantee. First up from the new-look Castle Bromwich was to be the all-new Jaguar XJ in 2020. Then Covid hit, causing a pause on all non-essential spending. The XJ was one of the models affected. Jaguar has said nothing officially since it released a preview image of the XJ in September 2019. The longer the silence on the XJ and Castle Bromwich goes on, the more deafening it becomes. We understand the project remains ongoing, but the number of test mules of the next Range Rover running around…

Honda’s plan to electrify its line-up by 2022 won’t extend to the next Civic Type R, which will retain a high-output turbo petrol engine, Autocar has learned. In late 2019, Honda brought forward its plan to offer hybrid or fully electric variants of every mainstream model from 2025 to 2022 due to “the pace of change in regulation, the market and consumer behaviour in Europe”, said Honda Europe’s senior vice-president, Tom Gardner. But that plan will exclude the upcoming Type R version of the 11th-generation Civic, which, when it arrives in 2022, will be one of the last purely petrol-powered Hondas on sale. An “ultimate high-performance” Type R will return once again, Honda confirmed during the unveiling of the next Civic in prototype, US-focused saloon form. The standard car will be launched globally…

Another Japanese maker bucking the electrification trend is Toyota, under its Gazoo Racing banner. Alongside the straight-six petrol GR Supra, it last year introduced the rally homologation special GR Yaris to critical acclaim. It is expected to follow up that car with a hot hatch big brother, the GR Corolla. Although it has yet to be confirmed and is unlikely to be launched until 2023, Toyota filed a trademark for the GR Corolla name last year. Insiders have told Autocar that such a car will “inevitably” be offered. A hot Corolla would also allow Toyota to leverage its substantial investment in the bespoke chassis and powertrain used in the GR Yaris, which makes use of some platform elements from the Corolla. If that is the intention, expect the 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo unit…

Bentley will continue to evaluate motorsport opportunities, despite having ended its GT3 programme after 2020. “For us to never race again would be hard to imagine,” said boss Adrian Hallmark. “We will be constantly scanning the racing environment for opportunities. We only really want to do it if it’s using renewable tech that’s applicable to the road, as the learnings have to be connected, but we’ll see what’s out there. Watch this space.” Citing Bentley’s plan to have an electrified line-up by 2030, Hallmark said: “A 24-hour race for electric cars feels some way off, but relevant technology will always be appraised.”…

Subaru’s first electric car will be an SUV built on a new EV platform shared with Toyota, and it will come to Europe after being unveiled this year. Rumoured to be named the Evoltis, it will share its e-TNGA basis with Toyota’s first BEV, a RAV4-sized SUV that will be launched this year. Subaru’s EV will be similar in size to its existing petrol-powered Forester. Although slow to the EV scene, the company wants at least 40% of its global car sales to be hybrid or electric by 2030.…

Bentley’s first electric car is likely to be assembled and finished at its Crewe base, but the firm must earn the right to do this ahead of its Volkswagen Group peers, chairman and CEO Adrian Hallmark has revealed. The luxury EV is expected to be a high-riding saloon based on a bespoke Volkswagen Group architecture codenamed Project Artemis, an Audi-led initiative to develop an advanced EV platform. As such, it is anticipated that the as-yet-unnamed Bentley’s bodyshell would be cast at an Audi facility before being sent to the UK for overall assembly. “We started building in Crewe in 1936 and we’ve invested hundreds of millions in infrastructure and certification for electrification, so we have the capability to do it,” said Hallmark. “But the important thing to note is that we still have…