Toyota will renew its ageing Yaris next year to bring the supermini into line with the rest of its range, and new Nürburgring spy shots give a revealing glimpse of the final design. Sporting a similar attention-drawing ‘disguise’ as the recently launched Supra, the 2020 Yaris can be seen to adopt the wider, squatter stance of the latest Corolla. Swollen wheel arches seem to give it much more visual aggression than the eight-year-old outgoing car, and the profile looks to be less top-heavy, too. That’s a clear indication of the car’s TNGA platform architecture – modular underpinnings that are also shared with the Corolla, Camry and C-HR. Another prototype with a different camo and wheel design was spotted at the ‘Ring at the same time, suggesting the Japanese firm is trialling two different chassis set-ups. It is likely that the one in the red camo is a GR Sport variant, Toyota’s new trim designation for models with a sportier tune to bridge the gap between mainstream variants and the full-fat GRMN flagship. Also on test was a hybrid variant, determined because of the legally mandated yellow sticker that must be installed on all electrified test vehicles. Toyota’s UK sales are overwhelmingly biased towards hybrid models, so a petrol-electric variant should continue to be the volume seller. It’s possible that the 2020 Yaris will also come with a straight petrol version, however, more suited to sporting variants. If the brand’s latest range additions are anything to go by, expect significant dynamic improvements afforded by the TNGA platform, plus a big improvement in interior quality and technology. Reports suggest this year’s Tokyo motor show in October will be the location for a new Yaris’s unveiling, although the Japanese domestic market version is expected to be different. The full European debut should be in early 2020, with sales to follow soon
Origin: New 2020 Toyota Yaris seen testing with mini-Corolla design
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New 2021 Range Rover: first prototypes seen testing
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} The next generation of Land Rover’s flagship Range Rover isn’t due for another two years, but we’re already seeing prototypes of the new car on British roads. Despite wearing bodywork of the existing model, which has been on sale since 2012, we can clearly see that the body has been adapted to fit over a modified platform with different suspension and exhaust components visible. Alongside this, we can see stretched rear arches and a cutout in the rear bumper, necessary to accommodate the slightly longer wheelbase of the new underpinnings. This prototype is registered as a petrol model, but there’s no indication of what capacity the unit powering it is. It’s safe to assume that Jaguar Land Rover’s all-new Ingenium straight-six will feature in the range, alongside a V8 rumoured to be adapted from BMW’s 4.4-litre unit as production of the outgoing ‘AJ’ 5.0-litre supercharged motor winds down at Ford’s Bridgend factory, closing next year. With competition from the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan as well as upcoming, more mainstream models such as the BMW X8 , Land Rover’s task with the fifth-generation Range Rover is to create a vehicle that surpasses all of these rivals. It will attempt do so using not only its unique heritage but also technological advancements in powertrains, autonomous driving systems and infotainment. Last year the firm revealed that the upcoming Range Rover, alongside the next Range Rover Sport, will use an all-new aluminium-intensive architecture. To prepare for these models, its Solihull plant has gone through a major refit to accommodate the advanced technology that will be used in future Range Rovers. As a result, production of the Discovery has moved from Solihull to Jaguar Land Rover’s new plant in Nitra, Slovakia, also freeing up room for the potential production of the first electric Range Rovers. The new Range Rover platform will be significantly lighter than the current model’s D7u architecture, and the lightest of all Jaguar Land Rover platforms. Called Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA), the aluminium platform will be used on all future Jaguar Land Rover models ranging in size from the Jaguar XE to the Range Rover. By the middle of the next decade, next-generation versions of Jaguar Land Rover’s transverse-engined models are even expected to be switched to MLA too. MLA’s weight saving is crucial to allow for the extra heft of battery packs for electric and hybrid models, plus the technology and drivetrains that MLA has been designed to accommodate. It is understood the next Range Rover, codenamed L460, will closely the size of the current car, which is 4999mm long, 1983mm wide and 1920mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2922mm. That is slightly smaller than the Bentayga except in terms of height, where the Bentley SUV sits lower. The exterior design will be evolutionary, given the Range Rover’s iconic look and the company’s keenness to capitalise on this. The current generation is softer and less angular than the third-generation model, and this pattern is set to continue. Luxury rivals such as Rolls-Royce and Lagonda, Aston Martin’s revived marque, are readying electric models for launch, perceiving a perfect synergy between peaceful electric powertrains and luxury motoring. However, even though MLA can accommodate a fully electric drivetrain, as well as petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid variants, it is understood that the next Range Rover will not initially be offered with one. Instead, Land Rover wants the first electric Range Rover to be a stand-alone model. This will be a tall estate with more car-like qualities than other models in the line-up, and more limited off-road prowes. Electric variants of other Range Rovers will ubsequently be offered as part of normal model line-ups, including a version of the full-size Range Rover set for launch before 2022 and aimed chiefly at Asian megacities. While Land Rover readies an electric Range Rover, the new model will continue with plug-in hybrid technology recently introduced in an update to the existing Range Rover. The MLA’s plug-in hybrid set-up is understood to include an electrified back axle alongside a four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine, with the electric-only range increased above the 31 miles of the current P400e. There will also be changes to the pure-combustion-engined line-up. Currently, there are 3.0-litre V6 and 4.4-litre V8 diesels and supercharged 5.0-litre V8 and 3.0-litre V6 petrols – all sourced externally and all to be axed. The new straight-six Ingenium petrol and diesel units are being built at its engine plant in Wolverhampton. In the Range Rover, these will be mixed with 48V mild hybrid technology in most versions to improve performance and economy. Real-world testing of the straight-six diesels has shown NOx emissions to be no higher than 80mg/km – well under the limits of new regulations. Even
Origin: New 2021 Range Rover: first prototypes seen testing
These are the best vanity plates we’ve seen in Quebec
Meanwhile, others prefer heavier stuff, in a nice way to bypass the seven-caracter rule.Montreal Vanity Plate Spotting / Facebook Let’s remind ourselves of what happened Friday, June 27, 2018 — the day SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) launched its new vanity plates and online ordering service: In less time you needed to shout Finally!, the website crashed. That’s how eagerly Quebec drivers were waiting for personalized plates. Once the website was back online the following Monday, no less than 12,000 vanity plates were ordered in just 48 hours for $250 each, plus an annual renewal fee of $35. You think that’s cheap, versus the $310 personalized plates cost in Ontario? Remember that in Quebec, there’s only one plate showing off on our vehicles. After nine months, the rhythm is a lot slower. From August 2018 to this past April, a total of 26,661 personalized plates have been granted by the SAAQ. Our arithmetic shows after the initial boom, more or less 1,500 vanity plates are ordered every monthin Quebec — 82 per cent by men, confirms the SAAQ. Still, since the beginning, it means $7.5 million of revenue for Quebec. And this income would have hit $8 million, if five per ceont of the requests haven’t been refused. Indeed, some 1,381 demands were rejected since the seven characters allowed on Quebec’s plates: Can’t be obscene, scandalous, abusive or offensive, so you won’t see any variant of the F-word, or in French, SALAUD Can’t express sexual ideas, disregards for road safety, or promoting a criminal offence. Forget about ISPEED, 2FAST, FASTER and SNIPER Nor they can’t be a trademark or a “distinctive” name Or can they? Let’s see what we found on the Montreal Vanity Plates Spotting group on Facebook.
Origin: These are the best vanity plates we’ve seen in Quebec
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