Hot on the trails of the Ford Focus RS and the VW Golf GTI, comes the 2018 Renault Megane RS. The French carmaker finally lifted the covers off their highly anticipated model at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show after countless spy photos and leaks. The 2018 Megane RS comes with an engine from the recently revealed Alpine A110 Sports car. A more powerful Trophy version is expected to follow it soon.
Adding to the crowded crossover market, Mazda revealed their 4th crossover offering, the Mazda CX-8 for the global markets, but it comes only with a diesel motor under its hood. The seven-seater CX-8 aims to be an oil burner alternative to the petrol-only CX-9 model.
Polestar is Volvo’s performance division, starting off as an independent company and being bought out to now be more or less similar to what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz. After many years of fiddling around with sedate Volvo cars to produce fire-breathing performance machines, Polestar gets its own podium with the release of the Polestar 1, an electric hybrid coupe to rival products from brands like Tesla. As Volvo promised that it will only be selling hybrid or electric vehicles from 2019, the time is ripe for a hybrid Coupe from the brand.
At the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, it was not just the Portofino that graced the Ferrari stand. There was another car which had a name that was arguably catchier than the actual car — the Ferrari 488 Spider Heartthrob. This tailor-made supercar was built as a part of Ferrari’s 70th Anniversary special edition series. This edition was first announced at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.
The VW Group has taken the covers off their all-new 2018 Audi A7 Sportback. It comes with a new-yet-familiar look, a mild hybrid setup under the hood, and semi-autonomous driving capabilities.
It isn’t that rare in the automotive world for a car to go on sale for a very long period of time. The Land Rover Defender remained on sale, unchanged, for 67 years before the plug was pulled on it in 2016. The Toyota Century is a car more or less like the Defender. The second-generation one that ended production in early 2017 still flaunted the same classic design language that it debuted with in 1967. And now, there is a new one. But unlike the Defender, the new Toyota Century is equipped with modern age creature comforts that help it compete against other modern offerings.
The Volkswagen Scirocco was launched in 2008 as a fashionable alternative to the VW Golf. Though it received many good reviews for its design, the “hatchback-coupe” was always a niche product. VW has now pulled the plug on the Scirocco, with no direct replacement in sight.
Many months after revealing the new generation Suzuki Swift hatchback and sedan, Suzuki took the covers off their hot-hatch offering, the 2018 Suzuki Swift Sport, at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. The 2018 Suzuki Swift Sport gets an aggressive yet sporty styling which not only looks good but also helps in improving aerodynamics. The front bumper gets a new lip and a new design for the honeycomb grille.
A few days ago, JLR revealed the refreshed 2018 Range Rover Sport. The Sport portfolio has been widened with the addition of two models, namely the Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrid and the updated SVR. With the new Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrid, Range Rover becomes the latest manufacturer to jump on the electric-hybrid bandwagon.
Volvo aims to take a big bite off the highly profitable crossover pie by revealing the new Volvo XC40. The new sub-compact crossover will act as the Swedish brand’s entry-level SUV, with the bigger XC60 and XC90 above it.