Auto Express 1651

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news IT’S been a turbulent year for Aston Martin, and it ain’t over yet. Last week’s announcement about further investment, closer ties with Mercedes-Benz and a new product strategy was supposed to calm fears among the company’s shareholders and excite customers. So why do I feel so uneasy about it all? The ever-closer ties with Mercedes-Benz may seem like a good thing on the face of it – nobody, least of all Aston Martin, can go it alone in the 21st century – but I’m not sure what this latest announcement gives the British company over and above the deal that was struck in 2013. Back then it was about engines and “the use of certain components of electric/electronic architecture” in return…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates • Third in series of i cars from BMW is SUV based on current X3 • On sale now, from £58,850; first deliveries due in summer 2021 BMW’s trailblazing i3 and i8 set out a bold and exciting statement for what the German manufacturer’s electrified future was going to look like. Given their sci-fi looks and space-age tech, anyone with an ounce of uncertainty about what the cars of tomorrow were going to be like only needed to glance in the direction of a BMW showroom to find out and get excited. What we have here then, the all-new BMW iX3, perhaps isn’t the third instalment of BMW’s i line-up you might have been expecting. It all looks a little bit,…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods • Six new BMW EVs on the way • All-new cars, plus derivatives “New i4 won’t challenge Model 3 directly, but it will be a more style-conscious alternative to the Tesla” THE arrival of the new iX3 (Page 8) sees BMW tap into a potentially lucrative, but ultimately safe sector of the electric car market, with battery-powered SUVs growing in popularity. However, the firm’s next steps to expand its EV line-up will be far more adventurous, because we know that six new electric BMWs are on the horizon. These will include all-new models and electric versions of firm favourites, part of BMW’s promise to have 12 new EVs on sale by 2025. Forming a key element of the new-look BMW i line-up from 2021 will be a four-door…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods • Larger Merc stake will allow Aston access to Merc tech • Sports car line-up to be refreshed, SUV range will grow MERCEDES looks set to acquire up to 20 per cent of Aston Martin and a place on Aston’s board by 2023 as part of a new deal that will see the British firm given Merc’s next-generation all-electric and plug-in hybrid drivetrain technology in return. Aston – which is now led by executive chairman Lawrence Stroll and former AMG boss Tobias Moers – says this deal will allow the company to reduce “the costs and risks of developing” its own next-generation all-electric and hybrid tech, so the brand can “focus its investments in other areas and expand its product portfolio.” Mercedes’ parent company Daimler has maintained a…

AS part of a mid-life update for the Fiat Tipo, the Italian manufacturer has also launched a more rugged version of the Ford Focus rival, called the Tipo Cross. The standard line-up has been updated with a subtle new look, with the facelift focusing on changes to the front. New full-LED headlights appear, while the bumper has been updated with new chromework. The grille has been redesigned, while the nose features the latest version of the company’s badge – the Tipo becoming the second model to use the updated logo following the new all-electric 500. Inside, updates are more limited in comparison with the exterior redesign, comprising a new steering wheel and new trim for the climate control panel. However, an important technology update arrives in the form of a…

MEET the all-new VW Golf R, the most powerful production version of the hatchback there has ever been. It goes on sale later this month, when it should cost from around £37,000. Like its predecessor, the new Golf R is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, but with an extra 20bhp and 20Nm of torque, taking total output to 316bhp and 420Nm. The engine sends power to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox; VW claims 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. New tech includes a two-stage electronic stability programme, a sophisticated traction control system and a new torque vectoring system that can distribute the power not only between the front and rear axles, but also between the two rear wheels. To the…