BMW has rounded out its new 8 Series line-up with the Gran Coupé. The new four-door 8 Series will go on sale in September after its Frankfurt motor show debut, priced from £69,340. The Gran Coupé joins the 8 Series Coupé and Convertible with a line-up that will comprise six-cylinder and V8 models, including the rapid new 516bhp M850i xDrive Gran Coupé. The 8 Series Gran Coupé replaces the discontinued 6 Series Gran Coupé in a growing market segment that will place it up against high-end versions of the Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS, as well as the Porsche Panamera. At 5082mm long, 1932mm wide and 1407mm tall, the 8 Series Gran Coupé is 239mm longer, 30mm wider and 66mm taller that its coupé sibling. This added length is partly the result of a 201mm-longer wheelbase than that of the 8 Series Coupé and Convertible, at 3023mm. It allows for two extra frameless doors and rear seat space that’s on a par with its predecessor’s. The 8 Series Gran Coupé has a traditional boot at the rear, with a 440-litre capacity. The load length can be extended when the 40/20/40-configured rear seat is folded down. The engine choices for the 8 Series Gran Coupé mirror those of its siblings. The entry point to the new line-up is the 840i turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol unit, which develops 335bhp and 369lb ft of torque. It can be had in rear- or four-wheel drive and the 0-62mph times are 5.2sec and 4.9sec respectively. Fuel consumption is 39.2mpg combined. Also available is the diesel 840d, with a 3.0-litre inline six making 316bhp and 501lb ft. The 0-62mph sprint is dispatched in 5.1sec and claimed economy is 47.9mpg. Crowning the initial 8 Series Gran Coupé range is the M850i xDrive, which has a 523bhp turbocharged 4.4-litre V8. With a kerb weight of 1995kg, it is claimed to hit 62mph from rest in 3.9sec and return 28.8mpg combined economy. All engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, with the 840i and M850i xDrive both featuring an M Sport rear differential. Rearwheel steering is standard on four-wheel-drive cars and optional on rear-driven models. Later this year, BMW’s M division will launch even more powerful M8 and M8 Competition variants of the new four-door featuring a twinturbo 4.4-litre petrol V8 with 592bhp for the M8 and 616bhp for the M8
Origin: New BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé makes first public appearance
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New Ford Puma makes first UK appearance at Goodwood
The body’s flowing surfaces have been developed under what designer George Saridakis labels an “anti-wedge” policy. What he calls “separated” headlights and tail-lights are also a move against the current trends for “joining everything up”, Saridakis citing the industry fashion for full-width light bars across a vehicle’s tail. The new Puma is based on Ford’s existing B global small car architecture, the same as the Fiesta, but the platform’s inherent flexibility has allowed the Puma to be sized very specifically. It is just 30mm higher than the new Fiesta and the front seating position is raised by the same amount. This is still a compact vehicle, but it is usefully longer than the Fiesta as well as wider, with a wider track. And it squeezes a surprising amount of interior space out of a vehicle that’s smaller than the Focus. Saridakis says he and the project’s chief engineer, Norbert Steffens, worked in the styling studio with “cardboard and tape” trying to extract the maximum luggage space from the Puma structure. This crossover has a claimed 456 litres of boot space, whereas the Focus has just 370 litres. They achieved this by way of what Ford calls a “lower load box”. Cut through the boot floor, the box is a useful 80 litres in capacity and even has a removable plug in the bottom to allow it to be washed out. The Puma’s rigid boot floor can also be fitted in three different ways: low, on top of the load box; at a mid-height, which gives generous hidden storage; and clipped out of the way, by being attached to the backs of the rear seats. Steffens demonstrated that, with the boot floor clipped out of the way, it is possible to load items such as a golf club bag vertically in the back of the Puma thanks to the extra load height offered by the box. Even the parcel shelf has been rethought as a lightweight fabric cover attached to the tailgate itself, which avoids the need to stow an awkward load cover. From an engineering point of view, it’s the Puma’s new 48V mild-hybrid drivetrain that stands out. This is based around an updated version of Ford’s 1.0-litre Ecoboost petrol unit and replaces the conventional alternator with an 11.5kW integrated starter/ generator (called a BISG). It will come in 123bhp and 153bhp guises, with the more powerful version using a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The BISG is connected to the engine via a belt and works in two directions: it can be used when braking and coasting to recover energy (which is stored in a small lithium ion battery) and it can also assist the engine during acceleration. Ford says the hybrid assistance has allowed the engine’s compression ratio to be lowered and a larger turbocharger to be fitted, as the BISG can mitigate turbo lag and keep the engine turning faster. Performance at lower speeds is especially enhanced, says Steffens, with as much as 50% more torque on offer. That improves fuel economy by around 9% on the WLTP economy test. This three-cylinder engine can also switch to two-cylinder running to save fuel and, in stop/start mode, the BISG can restart the engine in 300 milliseconds. Ford says the 48V model’s overall WLTP economy will be 124g/km. A 1.5-litre diesel with a six-speed manual gearbox will also be offered and is expected to be rated at 123g/km. On the handling side, Steffens says the Puma gets a new setting for the electronic power steering, a stiffer attachment for the beam axle and five-stud hubs for a more rigid fixing of the wheels compared with the Fiesta on which it is based. Ford’s hopes for the Puma are also reflected in the list of upmarket options. It will be one of the first Ford models to take local hazard information from the HERE data network, receiving live updates of congestion, crashes, ice and pothole warnings, for example. Adaptive cruise control, blindspot information, pre-collision assist and even lumbar massage front seats show how Ford wants to combine the potential of an executive-level spec in a town-friendly package. Why has you decided to offer diesel engines again, alongside the new 48v Mild hybrid petrol engine? Norbert Steffens, chief engineer Ford Puma: “The 1.5-litre diesel engine is still very slightly more economical than the new hybrid petrol under WLTP testing conditions. We absolute believe that the latest diesel engines are now completely clean (in pollution terms), as clean as petrol. The diesel Puma has a 12-litre Urea tank which will need re-filling between every 2500 and 6000 kilometres. Winter conditions and lots of short journeys are mean much more regular Adblue fill-ups, but that is how we ensure the lowest
Origin: New Ford Puma makes first UK appearance at Goodwood
Aston Martin V8 Vantage to make appearance in Bond 25
A video posted by MI6-HQ.com, a behind-the-scenes James Bond channel, shows a lesser-known 007 vehicle being used for the next film. An Aston Martin V8 Vantage is shown driving alongside a lake in Norway, which looks to be a similar location to where The Spy Who Loved Me was filmed, but we don’t expect the Aston to sprout fins and turn into a submarine. We’ll leave that to Lotus. The vehicle obviously bears a striking resemblance to the one used by Timothy Dalton in the 1987 film The Living Daylights — even the license (to kill) plates bear the same B549 WUU designation. The V8 Vantage was the first Aston Martin that 007 had driven since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The original car had lasers that fired from the wheel centre caps, as well as a pair of skis that came out of the rocker panels, and of course, rocket launchers of course. This time, though, Daniel Craig’s Bond will likely save the gadgets for his other car, reportedly an Aston Martin Rapid E. Bond 25, as it’s tentatively known, has been put through the wringer when it comes to production: The original director was replaced due to scripting issues, multiple accidents have occurred on set, and even an explosion seriously damaged EON Productions’ studios. Even the picturesque location in Norway, where this video was shot, had problems — tire tracks were left behind on the road by BMW owners during a large event. The movie will be Daniel Craig’s final run as the explosive secret agent.
Origin: Aston Martin V8 Vantage to make appearance in Bond 25
New Honda e to make first UK appearance at Goodwood
Honda has confirmed that its new electric city car, the Honda e, will make its first UK appearance at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The new machine, which is now available to order before deliveries commence in 2020, will take to the event’s hillclimb course, with another on display on the Honda stand. Honda says the e that will appear at Goodwood will be “95% true” to the production version. The latest version of the NSX hybrid supercar will also appear on the Japanese firm’s Goodwood stand. The e is the production version of the Urban EV concept, which was revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, and Honda has confirmed that many of that car’s features will reach the final model as standard. These will include the camera wing mirror system, which Honda claims reduces aerodynamic drag by around 90%. That is said to improve the efficicency of the entire vehicle by 3.8%, playing a significant role in maximising range. The camera system will feature two modes: a normal mode and a wide mode with an extended field of view, and Honda claims they reduce blindspots by at least 10% compared to mirrors. A special water-repellent coating will be used to stop water obscuring the driver’s vision. Honda recently began taking orders for the e, ahead of first deliveries beginning in spring 2020. Mirroring the process of rivals such as Tesla and Peugeot with the e-208, potential customers are invited to cough up a reservation fee of £800 to get “priority status” on the order books. Those customers will be invited to place a full order later this year. The e’s pricing is still yet to be announced, but as with most reservations, the fee is refundable if buyers change their mind. A near-production version of the e was shown at this year’s Geneva motor show, dubbed the e Prototype. Honda has confirmed the ‘e’ name will stay for the production version and revealed a selection of available paint options for customers at launch. The firm believes the car’s retro design will give it an Apple-style appeal to customers. It maintains the styling of the Urban EV, albeit with the addition of an extra set of doors. While Honda has yet to reveal full technical details of the car, its designers told Autocar at the Geneva show that it would offer “more than” 98bhp and 221lb ft of torque. Honda has said there are more than 6500 people in the UK who have expressed interest in the e so far. Pricing has yet to be set, but Autocar understands a ballpark figure is £35,000. Project manager Kohei Hitomi said the machine had been the subject of an internal “battle” over whether to put it into production, with the positive reaction to the concept being a key factor in it gaining approval. The car is slightly shorter than the Jazz and around 100mm taller than the Mini hatchback. Honda has said it will likely have an official range of around 125 miles, with fast-charging capacity to reach 80% in 30 minutes. The e is built on a new platform designed for A and B-segment electric cars, with underfloor batteries produced by Panasonic that are similar to those used in the US-market Accord plug-in hybrid. The rear-mounted electric motor drives the rear wheels, which employ torque vectoring to give a smoother response and improved handling in tight corners. Although the range is substantially lower than that offered by rival EVs such as the 282-mile Kia e-Niro and 193-mile BMW i3, Hitomi said it was necessary to keep the batteries small to fulfil its city car role. “We believe the range is sufficient for this segment of car,” said Hitomi. “Some potential customers might not be satisfied, but when you think about bigger range and a bigger battery, it has drawbacks in terms of packaging. It’s a balance.” As well as featuring cameras instead of rear-view mirrors, there are also flush door handles to further boost aerodynamic efficiency, while the charging port is mounted centrally in the bonnet. The cockpit of the e prototype is dominated by two 12in touchscreens, built into a dashboard finished with a wood-effect trim. The seats – including a two-seat bench in the rear – are covered in polyester, which, as with the wood effect, is designed to make the interior feel like a living room. The e will be built in Japan and go on sale in selected European markets in late 2019, with others following in 2020. It will also be sold in Japan. Hitomi said it is “important” the car is affordable but he added: “A low price is not always a guarantee of success. When you look at Apple products, they are not cheap, but everyone wants to have them because of their added value. We believe it is the same for the electric
Origin: New Honda e to make first UK appearance at Goodwood
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