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Mercedes prepares electric equivalent to its S-Class luxury sedan
Mercedes-Benz is joining the ranks of car manufacturers working on hyper-luxurious EVs. In a chat with Autocar, the company's large car division leader Michael Kelz promised an electric car "at the level" of the high-end S-Class sedan. The exec unsurprisingly isn't providing many details, but confirmed its EQ S name (the company had trademarked the badging earlier) and noted that it wouldn't share the S-Class' underpinnings -- the conventional car just can't accommodate a pure electric design. We'd expect the EQ design language to find its way into this model as well.
Tesla hopes to deliver all-wheel drive Model 3 in July
Every Tesla Model 3 rolling off the line has so far been a single motor, rear-wheel drive variant. That's been more than a little frustrating if you've had your heart set on the surefootedness of the dual motor all-wheel drive model. However, you now have a better idea of when you can expect it... and you might not be entirely happy. Elon Musk has informed a pre-order customer that AWD Model 3 production will "probably" start in July. Simply put, he wants manufacturing levels to climb high enough that Tesla can afford to introduce features that "inhibit production ramp" -- and while the company is improving, there's still a way to go.
Tesla Model X driver dies in Mountain View crash
A Tesla vehicle is at the center of another tragic crash, and the company is coming under renewed scrutiny over safety concerns as a result. The driver of a Model X has died after his electric SUV collided with a median barrier on Highway 101 in Mountain View and was subsequently struck by two other vehicles. The incident destroyed the front half of the vehicle and sparked a fire that involved the battery, leading to Tesla sending an employee to investigate. Witnesses reported seeing a fireball during the crash.
Pininfarina will go from designer to automaker with all-EV lineup
For decades, Pininfarina has largely been a design house -- it shaped and built cars, but usually under someone else's name (such as the Ferrari F40). It's apparently ready to become a full-fledged manufacturer, however, and a thoroughly 21st century one at that. Autocar sources have heard that Pininfarina is launching an all-electric car lineup headlined by a hypercar, nicknamed PF-Zero, that would aim squarely at the Bugatti Chiron with a 2020 launch. It would have power comparable to the 1,479HP of the Chiron, and would be based on a modular platform jointly developed by its parent company Mahindra (a Formula E competitor) and Rimac. There would also be more accessible models... relatively speaking.
VW unveils electric race car built to tackle Pikes Peak
Volkswagen is delivering on its promise of an electric car powerful enough to conquer the Pikes Peak hill climb. It has formally unveiled the I.D. R Pikes Peak, and the design is very clearly tailor-made for the job -- it looks more like a Le Mans machine than the relatively pedestrian I.D. models you've seen before. The company still isn't offering specs beyond four wheel drive. However, it's still determined to break the existing Pikes Peak electric vehicle record of 8 minutes and 57 seconds, which suggests it will have a monstrous amount of power. The current holder, a Drive eO PP100 driven by Rhys Millen, mustered 1,596HP.
Nissan's electric SUV concept will enter production
Nissan's current electric car lineup revolves almost exclusively around the Leaf, but it's ready to diversify its selection. The company's European design chief Mamoru Aoki has revealed to Autocar that a production version of the IMx concept SUV (above) will arrive sometime in "a few years." It's not certain how much the crossover EV would change, but it's reasonable to presume that Nissan would want to keep the IMx's performance. The concept promised 435HP and a 380-mile range, giving Tesla's Model X a run for its money in some cases.
Audi Sport's e-tron GT will be based on Porsche's Mission E
Audi's performance Sport division announced that will introduce a four-door high-performance EV as part of Audi and VW's grand electrification plans. The E-Tron GT will be based on the Porsche Mission E platform and built alongside the E-Tron Quattro crossover we saw recently at the Geneva Motor Show. "We will lead our high-performance brand Audi Sport into the electric future with models like this," said Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler. "It proves that electric drive can also deliver high performance."
Here's what you missed at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
This year's Geneva Motor Show seemed to be all about going fast without stopping at the gas pump. Gas-powered vehicles continue to dominate the market, but automakers took the opportunity to showcase their electrified roadmap as they transition from oil to electrons.
Honda's Urban EV pre-orders start in early 2019
Honda said it wanted to sell its Urban EV Concept sometime in 2019, and now it's official. The automaker has announced that it will start taking orders for a production version of the tiny retro electric car in early 2019, with a European launch in late 2019. There's no mention of launches in other areas, or an official version of the Sports EV Concept.
Jaguar’s all-electric SUV will start at $69,500 in the US
Pre-orders for the Jaguar I-PACE may have been available starting March 1st, but there was a problem: We didn't actually know how much the electric crossover SUV would actually cost in the US. Jaguar released that information today at the Geneva Motor Show, and it will start at $69,500.
VW's Seat unveils the first fully electric touring-class race car
You've seen electric Formula cars, Le Mans racers and even a Pikes Peak machine, but there's still room for more firsts in EV racing. VW's Seat brand has unveiled the Cupra e-Racer, which it says is the first completely electric touring-class race car. It's built on the existing Cupra Leon TCR design and promises the kind of performance you'd expect in this category: it can muster 402HP of continuous power, and 670HP at peak.
Porsche claims Mission E won't have Tesla's performance limits
Porsche knows you're probably going to compare the Mission E to Tesla's cars, and it's determined to prove that it its electric performance car is the one to beat. Company EV head Stefan Weckbach has promised that the Mission E has "reproducible" performance Tesla (and particularly the Model S) can't match. The Model S can only hit its claimed 0-60MPH time "twice" in short succession, Weckbach claimed, and can't run at at full speed for significant stretches either. The Mission E can maintain its full speed for "long periods," Weckbach said.
Hyundai's Kona Electric SUV boasts a 292-mile range
Hyundai's newly bolstered EV strategy might be off to a good start. It just unveiled the Kona Electric, an adaptation of its crossover SUV that promises to combine both ample space with meaningful performance. The base edition's 186-mile range and 9.3-second 0-62MPH time won't raise eyebrows, but a long-range version can muster a 292-mile range and reach 62MPH in 7.6 seconds. That's about as much range as a top-spec Tesla Model X -- if you don't need blistering acceleration or gobs of seating, you can get a very capable electric people hauler.
Water purification could be the key to more electric cars
Humanity is going to need a lot of lithium batteries if electric cars are going to take over, and that's a problem when there's only so much lithium available from conventional mines. There may be an oddball solution for that, however: turn the world's oceans into eco-friendly mines. Scientists have outlined a desalination technique that would use metal-organic frameworks (sponge-like structures with very high surface areas) with sub-nanometer pores to catch lithium ions while purifying ocean water. The approach mimics the tendency of cell membranes to selectively dehydrate and carry ions, leaving the lithium behind while producing water you can drink.
Website follows journey of Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster through space
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster may have slipped the surly bonds of Earth, but you can still follow its path through the Solar System. Satellite guru Ben Pearson's unofficial Whereisroadster.com website is tracking the EV based on NASA data and his own flight modeling (which, it turns out, is more accurate than Musk's). The site not only gives you an idea of the relative position and speed, but offers fun tidbits such as the number of times the car has voided its 36,000 mile warranty and its equivalent fuel economy if it had traveled under its own power.
Dyson's debut EV might not showcase its next-gen battery tech
Though it had been rumored for some time prior, it was still somewhat surprising when Dyson formally revealed it was getting into the EV game. Even for a company that takes research and development to an excessive level to make some of the best vacuum cleaners (and more recently, hairdryers) around, a car is a different league of machine. The Financial Times has learned a little more about Dyson's progress from several anonymous sources -- namely that the current roadmap consists of not one, but three cars. Crucially, little birdies also said the company was considering using a lithium-ion battery to power its first EV, the same tech every automaker uses in their electric cars now. In other words, not particularly innovative for an EV set to hit the road several years from now.
Faraday Future may have received a $1.5 billion lifeline
To say Faraday Future has had a rough time would be an understatement between its financial crisis, executive exodus and CEO troubles. However, things might be looking up for the electric car maker. A Business Insider source has claimed that an unnamed Hong Kong backer has promised a $1.5 billion investment, $550 million of which is "already in the bank." That only goes so far with an automaker, but it's reportedly enough to speed up development of the FF91 and get it on the market by the end of 2018.
Porsche and Audi will share an electric car platform
Porsche and Audi are no stranger to sharing car innards (the Cayenne and Macan use the same basic chassis as the Q7 and Q5, for instance), and that's holding true in the electric era. Porsche's Oliver Blume and Audi's Rupert Stadler told Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview that the two Volkswagen-owned brands will jointly develop a common EV platform that will find its way into several models from 2021 and beyond. Audi is already expecting two sedans and two SUVs, while Porsche could build its first vehicle on the platform at the same factory as the Macan. This doesn't mean you'll see an electric Macan, but that suggests it isn't an electrified coupe.
Faraday Future lawsuit claims former exec stole trade secrets
Faraday Future's executive exodus last fall was bad enough, but the departure of one exec may have been particularly troublesome. The electric car startup has filed a lawsuit alleging that former CFO Stefan Krause stole trade secrets and poached staff as he left to form a startup, Evelozcity. Reportedly, Krause was quietly working at both Faraday and Evelozcity for weeks before he was formally let go, and encouraged staff to not only leave, but take secret info on the way out. Faraday had announced Krause's exit in November over "possible violations of law," and now it's clear what those might be.
Rimac gives a shadowy tease of its next electric hypercar
If you're in the rare crossover group of folks who are rich, environmentally conscious and want to drive dangerously fast, Rimac is building your car. The company teased its next-generation Rimac Hypercar and promised to fully unveil it at the Geneva Motor Show on March 6th. It didn't say much else about the EV, but if it's like the original Concept 1, expect to see endless power and torque, a very limited production run and a crazy price tag.
