Autocar

CONFIDENTI­AL

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SKODA’S ELECTRIC CAR developmen­t programme is making your fuel-burning model even more efficient. No, really it is. Design boss Oliver Stefani pointed out the rear spoiler of the facelifted Kodiaq to us and said: “Working on EVS and ICE cars at the same time means you learn a lot. We worked hard on the Enyaq’s aerodynami­cs to reduce drag and we put that to good use on the Kodiaq.”

IT’S AMAZING THAT Lamborghin­i’s designers got the reborn Countach past CEO Stephan Winkelmann, given his forward-looking approach. Not even the 2006 Miura reboot makes his eyes misty, as he told us: “I’m not in favour of redoing cars. I look at the Miura and think it’s great, but I think we really need to be focused on the future and we want to look back and say we were the ones who made new icons, not just copied old ones.” So, no Jarama EV?

MERCEDES WILL USE the impending Euro 7 emissions rules to have a good tidy-up of its engine line-up. Chief operating officer Markus Schäfer reckons it “will reduce the number of engine variants, going through Euro 7, by about 50%”.

THE 296 GTB promises to be one of the most controllab­le sports cars Ferrari has built. Technical boss Michael Leiters said: “If you are scared driving a car, it’s not fun, so the control is very important.” The wheelbase has been shortened by 50mm to reduce inertia and make the car easier to steer, and a new sensor measures movement in six directions to “estimate how close we are to the limit”, Leiters said.

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