Electric Hypercar Concept

f you haven't heard of Singapore's Vanda Electrics yet, don't blame yourself. I'm only their seventh subscriber on YouTube. So far, the company has come up up with an electric truck with a range of approximately 62 miles and a top speed of 24 mph, and an urban scooter called the MotoChimp. Both that and the Ant Truck are still in the prototype stage.

Sounds bumpy? No matter! Instead of worrying about their sales prospects, Vanda is now taking about a hundred and fifty steps forward, teaming up with Williams Advanced Engineering to create an electric hypercar concept for the Geneva Motor Show in March. And if the Dendrobium concept somewhat reminds you of the already-sold-out Red Bull-Aston Martin hypercar designed by Adrian Newey, it's because both cars use F1 aerodynamics, something Williams knows all about.

The English engineering powerhouse is also one of the leading experts in composite, drivetrain and battery technologies, and most importantly, the firm that built the Jaguar C-X75 concept, constructing ten working prototypes.

Now, the stage is set for them to turn an even more ambitious plan into something lightning quick, since Vanda wants to put this halo car into limited production by 2018.

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Everything We Think We Know About the Upcoming Ford Bronco and Ranger

Technically the Ford Ranger isn't dead at all. The current-generation Ford Ranger is built in Thailand, South Africa, and Argentina, and sold in nearly every market around the world besides North America. But as Johnson confirmed, Ford plans to build a new Ranger in its Michigan Assembly Plant and sell it here again.

In a recent Reddit thread, an anonymous poster claiming to be a Ford designer (and verified by the moderators of the Ranger subreddit) claimed the new Ranger will be a facelifted version of the foreign-market Ranger. Our Ranger will reportedly get new headlights, a new grille, and a new front fascia, but the rest of the truck will look about the same. The interior, though, will get a complete overhaul for the U.S. market.

That means the new Ranger to be a direct competitor for large-midsize trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado, Honda Ridgeline, and Toyota Tacoma—pickups that share dimensions with the full-size trucks of 15 years ago. For fans of smaller trucks, that has to be disappointing news. But as the alleged Ford designer points out, by 2011, the market for small pickups had eroded to the point that Ranger sales were almost entirely propped up by fleet sales. The market for a legitimately small pickup truck just doesn't exist anymore.

We wouldn't be surprised if Ford's new Bronco shares engine and transmission offerings with the Ranger since they'll share a platform. The alleged Ford designer did say, though, that the Bronco will get an off-road version to slot under the Raptor and take on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. That fits with Nair's assertion that the Wrangler will be the Bronco's chief competitor.

Unfortunately, there's no telling whether or not Ford actually plans to bring back the two-door Bronco. We'd like to think it will, but the market for two-door SUVs is pretty limited. We do know, though, that it will get a removable roof. So that's encouraging.

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(Update: No We Won't) We'll See the Production Volvo XC40 in China in April

We're big fans of Volvo's new 90-series cars–the XC90 SUV and S90 sedan are among the best in their classes, and bode well for more great things to come from the Swedish automaker. The XC90 is about to get a compact companion in the XC40, which was previewed last year as the Concept 40.1 (pictured above) and is nearly ready to make its car show debut.

Update (1/19 9:32 a.m. ET): A Volvo spokesperson informs us that the production XC40 won't be revealed in Shanghai, contradicting the Autoguide report we cited below. We regret the error.

Autoguide reports that the production version of the XC40 will premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, expected to arrive on the US market later this year or early in 2018. The XC40 will ride on Volvo's new CMA platform, which will also underpin Geely Automotive's upcoming Lynk & Co 01. Both cars are expected to be build alongside one another in a shared assembly plant in China.

When Volvo first showed the Concept 40.1 last year, the company promised the production model would offer the option of either conventional or hybrid drivetrains. Autoguide expects that Volvo will initially offer the XC40 with either a 1.5-liter three-cylinder, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, or a variant of Volvo's plug-in hybrid setup. Like the XC90, the base XC40 will be front-wheel-drive, but can be made all-wheel-drive with either a traditional driveshaft, or an electric motor on the rear axle.

The XC40 will compete with the Audi Q3, BMW X1, and Mercedes-Benz GLA in the increasingly-popular tiny luxury SUV segment. Volvo will also bring an S40 sedan to market, and hopefully, a V40 hatchback too.

The XC90 is a big hit for Volvo–it's selling well and critics really like it. It will be interesting to see if the XC90's success can translate to a smaller crossover.

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Every New Car You Can Expect From Lotus In the Next Five Years

The current Lotus Elise (pictured above) may have received a refresh for 2010, but it hasn't gotten a full redesign since 2001. And it hasn't been available here in the US since 2011. Thankfully, Lotus is working on a new Elise for 2020 that it claims will meet US safety regulations with almost no weight gain over the European model. And by 2022, the entire Lotus lineup will be brand new.

In a recent interview with Autocar, Lotus CEO Jean Marc Gales again promised that the new Elise will be ready by 2020 and will weigh less than 2200 lbs. And once the Elise launches, a new Exige won't be far behind. Gales also said both cars will only gain negligible weight to make sure their crash structures meets U.S. regulations.

"We will make the Elise and Exige US-compliant, as we did for the Evora," Gales told Autocar. "The Evora has an 8kg [18 lb.] weight penalty for the US. With the Elise and Exige, the target is the same again. Crash tests are very important."

A new Evora will then join the lineup a few years later, most likely by 2022. And we may even see a new addition—a Lotus-branded SUV.

When the new cars do launch, they'll most likely be built on a shared modular platform to reduce costs. "Using big modules that are the same on all cars, such as the harnesses, lighting, infotainment and HVAC, would be a big step forward," Gales told Autocar. "We don't do that at present. In the future, we will do that across all three sports car lines."

But because Lotus sells so many different versions of its sports cars, a new platform has to be able to handle a wide range of power outputs. "The platform on which the future products are based will need to span 140-150 horsepower to 450 horsepower, so it needs to be a very good and solid platform and we know it," said Gales. It's likely that Lotus will continue to use Toyota-derived engines across its lineup, though the current 3.5-liter supercharged V6 could shrink to 3.0-liters and swap its blower for a turbocharger.

A 450-horsepower Lotus that's legal in the U.S.? Sounds just about perfect to us. Until then, we'll gladly settle for the brilliant Evora 410.

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Yep, There's a New 2018 Ford Mustang Convertible Now

Ford showed off the lightly-restyled 2018 Mustang hardtop last week, but something was missing. Something roofless. Fear not: The 2018 Mustang convertible is here to fulfill all of your fantasies of rock-and-rollin' down the highway with the wind in your hair.

Ford only released two images of the new drop-top Mustang, which, truth be told, looks a whole hell of a lot like the hardtop shown last week. Just, y'know, with a disappearing roof-thing. The only major styling updates to both coupe and convertible come in the form of a slightly lower hood, reshaped headlights, a pointier prow, and some very minor rear fascia changes. Here's a spotter's guide to help you recognize a 2018 Mustang from its 2015, 2016, and 2017 siblings.

Like the hardtop, the convertible 'Stang gets some important updates under the skin. Gone is the V6 engine, leaving either the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder or the 5.0-liter V8 as your only drivetrain options. Both engines get an as-yet-unspecified boost in power for 2018. Either engine can be had with a six-speed manual or the new 10-speed automatic transmission found in the Ford Raptor and the Chevy Camaro ZL1.

More importantly, for 2018 Ford is blessing Performance Package Mustangs with MagneRide, an available magnetorheological adaptive damping system. This technology was previously only available on the Mustang Shelby GT350 and GT350R, and we can't wait to see what it does to the garden-variety Mustangs. The Performance Package is now available on both hardtop and convertible 'Stangs with either the stick shift or automatic transmission.

Other small updates, like a new fully-digital instrument panel and some additional collision avoidance technology, round out the Mustang's mid-cycle refresh. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced, but we expect the 2018 Mustang to hit dealerships toward the end of this year.

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President Trump Will Use Obama's Old Limo For the Next Few Months

Previously, we'd heard that a new Presidential limousine would make its official debut at today's inauguration. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican (or somewhere in between), you can't deny that limousines are fascinating, especially heavily armored ones capable of withstanding everything from machine gun fire to a chemical attack. But as it turned out, the limousine that carried President Trump on his inaugural parade was the same model that's ferried President Obama around for the past few years.

Instead of riding off in an all-new limousine, Trump had to use the old Cadillac-branded, GM truck-based "Beast" that's been in service since 2009. According to Jalopnik, "an industry source with knowledge of the situation" revealed that Trump's new limo is "supposed to come later this year." Shucks.

The new Cadillac hasn't, however, been delayed. The way Jalopnik's source tells it, the plan was never to debut the new limousine at the inauguration. It's reportedly still on schedule, just not coming as quickly as many of us would have expected it to.

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The Next BMW M5 Is Rumored to Do 0-62 MPH in 3.5 Seconds

BMW's upcoming M550i xDrive is silly quick–promising a sub-four-second 0-60 mph time. That means the top-dog M5 should be a sport sedan rocket. We're still a few months away from seeing the new M5, but a new rumor from BMWBlog suggests it'll run from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in around 3.5 seconds. Dang.

BMWBlog says the upcoming M5's quick acceleration will come courtesy of a 600-horse twin-turbo V8 mated to a dual-clutch transmission. Like its main rival, the Mercedes-AMG E63, the next M5 will use an all-wheel-drive system with a mode that disengages the front axle for rear-drive operation. Yep, burnouts and drifting aplenty, at the push of a button.

For reference, BMW quotes the outgoing M5 as running from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds. Mercedes-AMG says that its E63 S does the sprint in 3.3 seconds, while Cadillac says the CTS-V does it in 3.7 seconds.

It's no surprise that the next M5 will be wickedly quick, but this particular rumor seems especially believable. We'll know for sure when the M5 debuts later this year.

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Here's Our First Look at the Alfa Romeo Stelvio in Non-Quadrifoglio Form

Alfa Romeo's new Stelvio crossover won't arrive in the United States for a few more months, but Europeans are getting the jump on us with a First Edition version that's open for ordering right now. Although we won't get the First Edition in America, this model marks the first time we've seen the Stelvio in its standard form, as Alfa only revealed the high-performance Quadrifoglio model upon its debut last fall.

Shorn of the QV model's body kit, aggressive wheels and tires, and quad exhaust tips, the standard Stelvio presents a cleaner, uncluttered profile that's attractive to our eye—dare we say that its overall proportions may be even better-looking than those of the Giulia sedan? The First Edition model wears 20-inch wheels, colored brake calipers, and some extra chrome, while its interior equipment includes paddle shifters, heated front seats, wood trim, and an 8.8-inch central display screen with navigation.

Like the Giulia sedan on which it's based, the Stelvio's base engine is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder; in the U.S., this engine's 280 horsepower and 306 lb-ft of torque will be routed through all four wheels as standard, with the only transmission choice being an eight-speed automatic.

The Stelvio First Edition is only for Europe and a few other non-U.S. markets, so we won't see this exact model in American showrooms. But Alfa Romeo does say that the Stelvio is set to arrive in U.S. dealerships during the second quarter of this year, and that it will be offered in base and Ti trims with the same 2.0-liter turbo four, along with the fire-breathing Quadrifoglio that uses the same 505-hp, 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 as the Giulia Quadrifoglio.

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A Porsche Panamera Wagon Will Go on Sale Later This Year

Back in 2012, Porsche showed off a Panamera station wagon concept, called the Panamera Sport Turismo (pictured above), at the Paris Motor Show. But while it didn't head to production for that generation, Porsche promised the new Panamera would get a wagon variant. And we'll get to see it in March.

The UK's CAR magazine recently spoke with Dr. Stefan Utsch, Porsche's head of sales and marketing for the Panamera, who said a five-door version of the Panamera will debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. According to CAR, the production Panamera wagon will look a lot like the 2012 concept. Even better, it will go on sale later this year.

One thing Utsch didn't say, however, is when the new Panamera wagon will arrive in the States. We found out last May that it's definitely coming to the U.S., but at the time, Porsche CEO Klaus Zellmer said "we have to have some patience for [the wagon] to arrive in the U.S."

Hopefully, that means only a slight delay. As great as the new Panamera is to drive, we think a five-door would be even cooler.

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Here's Why We Think the 2018 Mustang GT Could Make 455 Horsepower

When we first saw the 2018 Ford Mustang last week, Ford was being coy about exact specifications. Both the GT and the EcoBoost will get horsepower and torque increases Ford said, though the automaker didn't reveal big those increase will be. But we have a theory, based on what seems like a sneaky hint from Ford

Autoguide first noticed a tweet from a Ford communications rep, pointing out easter eggs in an image of the 2018 Mustang's new digital gauge cluster. Note the odometer, 1964.5 miles, a reference to the Mustang's first model year, and 289 miles of fuel range, a nod to the displacement of the biggest V8 in the first Mustang.

But look at those bigger numbers. A big four and a big 55. What could that mean?

Autoguide thinks this is a hint that the 2018 Mustang GT will have 455 horsepower. We're inclined to agree. Automakers tease information like this in product pictures from time to time. For example, Dodge hinted at the Hellcat's 707-hp figure by showing the radio tuned to SiriusXM's 70's on 7 channel.

Currently, the 5.0-liter V8 in the Mustang GT produces 435 horsepower. For 2018, the 5.0 gets both direct- and port-fuel-injection, and a higher compression ratio, so a 20-horsepower increase seems plausible. Ford Performance also sells an aftermarket calibration pack for the current Mustang GT that uses a combination of software tuning and GT350 hardware to boost horsepower from 435 to 472.

We asked Ford spokesman Mike Levine, who tweeted the gauge image, whether this was the case. He sent us a picture of a gauge cluster with a big seven and a big 55, adding "we'll share more details about the new Mustang closer to launch."

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