RUMOUR HAS IT...
Rumours have been circulating for some time now that Porsche is working on a coupe-like SUV based on the Cayenne.
As yet we have been unable to get anyone to go on the record to confirm that the model is in development but given the launch of the Lamborghini Urus and the reveal of the Audi Q8, a coupe based on the Cayenne seems more likely than not. In fact it seems so likely that our artist has even produced a rendering of what it could look like.
Pay close attention because we are keen to see how accurate it is if (probably when) Porsche reveals it officially. If you want a new model to be seen before it is launched, then where better to take it than the annual SA Car of the Year awards evening, which is exactly where the new Renault Koleos was spotted.
We checked with Renault SA who told us that it was a homologation unit currently being evaluated for SA. However, a spokesperson said that it is “doubtful” the company’s flagship SUV will launch in SA this year. Uber has had to stop trials of its self-driving vehicles in the US after what is believed to be the first fatality involving a fullyautonomous car. According to a statement from the Tempe Police in Arizona, the selfdriving Uber vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian at the weekend. The statement confirmed there was a human behind the wheel of the car but the car was in full autonomous mode at the time of the incident. Remember the joint Airbus and Italdesign Pop Up collaboration? The two companies revealed a concept for an autonomous vehicle that can run on the ground and in the air through a series of pods that can attache to either a road-going or airborne platform.
Well, now Audi has joined the party in announcing the Pop Up Next, a slightly altered version of the original concept. The modular concept could, in the distant future, transport people in cities on the road and in the air, while at the same time solving traffic problems.
The ultra-light, two-seater passenger cabin can be attached either to a car module or to a flight module. Audi is supporting the project with know-how on battery technology and automation. The Pikes Peak hillclimb classic’s quietest contender has been unveiled, with Volkswagen showing its I.D. R Pikes Peak all-electric racecar.
VW is a bit coy on the details of the battery size and type and the nature of its asynchronous electric motors, but it has admitted the racer will be all-wheel drive.
Built as a sports halo for the I.D. brand, the I.D. R Pikes Peak will hit the famous Colorado hillclimb in June, aiming to beat the 2016 record of New Zealander Rhys Millen. The hillclimb starts at 2,800m and climbs to a summit of 4,300m. Volkswagen last competed there officially with a twinengined Golf in 1987, but did not finish the race.
“We want to be at the forefront of electromobility with Volkswagen and the I.D. family,” Volkswagen brand board member for development, Frank Welsch, insists. “Competing in the most famous hill climb in the world with the I.D. R Pikes Peak not only has symbolic meaning, but is also a valuable test for the general development of electric cars.”
That last part might read nicely, but it’s not remotely true, given the millions of test kilometres the four-model I.D. production range has already gone through. The I.D. range will go on sale via the I.D. hatch, with a Golf exterior footprint and a Passat interior size, late next year although it is not currently planned for SA.
VW plans more than 20 fully electric cars by 2025, while its Pikes Peak assault will be run by Volkswagen’s Motorsport brand, which delivered four straight World Rally Championships, and driven by Le Mans winner Romain Dumas.