CONFIDENTIAL

BENTLEY HAS NO interest in creating a Porsche 911 rival, company boss Wolfgang Dürheimer has stated. Although Bentley’s Continental GT3 competes against the 911 GT3 R in race series such as the Blancpain GT Series to “underline that we do performance”, Dürheimer added that its model focus is elsewhere: “We don’t see any reason to create a 911 fighter. That would not be a good move for us.”

NISSAN DESIGN BOSS Alfonso Albaisa is all for a new Z car in the brand’s line-up to replace the 370Z. He admitted the sports car market was a challenging one, but said he was “personally advocating” a new Z car. “We haven’t given up on it,” he added. MAZDA IS WORKING with the Tokyo Institute of Technology to develop a renewable liquid fuel made out of micro-algae, which could provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly fuel course. Kiyoshi Fujiwara, Mazda’s research boss, said they hoped to have a working fuel by around 2035-40. “Especially for the UK government,” he added.

SKODA IS TARGETING younger customers who have little interest in actually owning a car with different user schemes, according to Jarmila Plachá, head of the Czech brand’s digital innovation facility. “Many youngsters do not even want to own a car – we want to make their lives easier and more friendly,” she said. Ride sharing and car-sharing schemes are seen as possible solutions to young customers less focused on ownership.