CAR SPECS

The arrival of four new sports cars within 12 months of each other is about to create a sales surge in a market segment that has been in free fall for five years. The new Nissan Z Coupe, the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 twins – and the next-generation Ford Mustang – are poised to create their own momentum and deliver a boost to the struggling sports car category which has been in decline for more than half a decade. Sales of sports cars tend to taper soon after their arrival because enthusiast buyers embrace new models, but then quickly lose interest.  Sports cars have previously been described as having “a half life”, whereas most vehicle categories tend to sell more consistently over a longer period of time. Figures show sales of sports cars in Australia are down by 29 per cent so far this year alone, in an overall market that has declined by 4.5 per cent over the same period. After a sales surge driven by the arrival of the Ford Mustang in late 2015, sports car del...

Prices of the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator have risen by between $3000 and $12,100 depending on model – with no changes to standard equipment. US car giant Jeep has introduced unprecedented price rises in Australia – despite making little or no changes to vehicles – and has been accused by its own dealer network of profiteering from short supply, amid concerns the brand is pricing itself out of reach of mainstream buyers. The cheapest four-door Jeep Wrangler now costs 50 per cent more than it did three years ago, following new price rises for Wrangler and its ute sibling, the Jeep Gladiator . Jeep dealers have been advised via confidential bulletins about two price hikes for the Wrangler – and one for the Gladiator – rolled out over the past two months, which have pushed prices up by between $2900 and $12,000 across all model grades. Customers with orders placed – and contracts signed – before each price rise took effect will be protected from the increases. However...

The BMW Z4 M40i’s run as an auto-only model could be coming to an end, with plans for a manual variant of the performance convertible reported online. The BMW Z4 M40i looks set to be offered with a manual transmission from 2024, according to an insider from the German car maker. Since its global launch in 2018, BMW’s flagship Z4 M40i variant has been sold exclusively with an eight-speed automatic transmission – shared with its Toyota Supra twin. However, as reported by BMW Blog , an information page for the BMW Z4 M40i on the company’s Dutch website now lists the option of a manual transmission. It follows a report from respected BMW insider and BimmerPost forum user ‘ynguldyn’, who claims production of the manual BMW Z4 is due to begin in March 2024 – roughly 18 months from now. A spokesperson for BMW Australia told Drive it has no plans to announce a Z4 M40i manual. This could mean a manual may be available for the BMW Z4 globally and not coming to Australia, or ...

An engineer from electric hypercar maker Rimac claims its world record zero-to-100km/h time of 2.1 seconds could be halved in the future – providing it can build a car capable of the task. Croatian electric hypercar specialist Rimac claims a 0-100km/h time of less than one second is possible in the future – enabling such a vehicle to accelerate to the speed limit in less than half the time as a Formula One car (which takes about 2.6 seconds to hit 100km/h). When US publication The Drive asked Rimac’s chief engineer, Matija Renić, what acceleration times could be achieved, the response was quick. “Below one second,” said Renić. To put this in perspective, the world’s fastest-accelerating production car – the Rimac Nevera – is capable of achieving 100km/h from a standstill in just 2.1 seconds. A Formula One car takes closer to 2.6 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100km/h. A Volkswagen Golf GTI can complete the sprint in 6.3 seconds. Should Rimac be capable of produci...

The world’s biggest carmaker is spending billions to ensure it can supply the batteries it needs in the future. Toyota has announced it will invest ¥730 billion ($AU7.7 billion) towards electric vehicle battery manufacturing in the US and Japan. Breaking ground in 2024, Toyota says it seeks to increase battery production to 40GWh (gigawatt-hours) in both countries, ensuring crucial supply as the company continues the roll out of its electric-only models in global markets. That’s equivalent to about 560,000 batteries for Toyota’s first mass-produced global electric car, the BZ4X medium SUV. “Toyota intends to continue its efforts to build a supply system that can steadily meet the growing demand for BEVs in various regions, including the supply of automotive batteries from its partners,” the company said in a statement. This week, images of the Japanese car giant’s second dedicated electric vehicle – the BZ3 sedan – emerged online, expected to follow the release of...

A manufacturing defect may result in an electrical short circuit, according to the recall notice. BMW Australia has recalled five examples of its  2021-2022 BMW iX and i4 electric cars, citing a manufacturing defect which could lead to an electrical short circuit. According to BMW , three examples of the 2022 iX electric SUV and two examples of the 2021-2022 i4 electric sedan are affected. The recall notice , lodged with the Department of Infrastructure, says: “Due to a manufacturing defect, the high voltage battery does not meet specifications and may result in an electrical short circuit. If this occurs it may result in a vehicle fire. “A vehicle fire may increase the risk of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users and bystanders, and/or damage to property.” Date of recall notice 23 August 2022 Make BMW Model iX, i4 Year 2021-2022 Vehicles affected Five VIN list Click here to download the list of affec...

Skoda’s new electric-car concept is due for launch by 2026 as the company’s flagship SUV, with a driving range of more than 600km. The Skoda Vision 7S concept has been revealed overnight, previewing the company’s future flagship electric SUV. Owned by German car giant Volkswagen , Czech company Skoda is aiming to differentiate itself from other companies within the VW Group with a new design language previewed by the Vision 7S electric SUV. Due to be released before 2026, the Czech company says the production version of the Skoda Vision 7S concept could offer more than 600km of claimed driving range from an 89kWh battery pack. It could serve as an electric successor to today’s Skoda Kodiaq large SUV, which was launched in 2016 – and based on normal model cycles, is due for replacement by a brand-new model in 2023 or 2024. According to Skoda, the Vision 7S will be one of the company’s last models to be based on Volkswagen’s MEB electric platform – currently used by the Sko...