Sidecar Blog

Hyundai's 2015 Santa Cruz bakkie concept is finally on its way to becoming a production vehicle. The bakkie to be unveiled in 2020 with production potentially taking place in 2021 is reportedly also getting Hyundai's N division treatment. This will turn it into a performance bakkie to take on the likes of Ford's Ranger Raptor, Toyota's Hilux GR Sport and Isuzu's D-Max Arctic 35. Reports have shown that Hyundai could be using the 2.0l petrol from the i30N and uprating the power to 225kw, however this is only speculation for now. To fully rival the competition Hyundai needs to do more than upgrade the power, they would have to look towards bettering the offroading capabilities as well with long travel suspension good differentials and skid plates. Hyundai will be working alongside Kia for the build of the bakkies with Kia getting their own variant. The bakkie will reportedly be built on a ladder-frame chassis with 4x2 and 4x4 variants as well as different ca

Toyota and Subaru have both said that they will work together to develop a second generation 86/BRZ. The new deal between the Japanese brands involves them working together to develop new models with all-wheel-drive models and allowing Subaru to expand its use of Toyota's hybrid technology. This new deal will also focus on the companies collaborating on autonomous driving and connected cars. Toyota will also be increasing their share capital in Subaru from 16.83% to a minimum of 20% and Subaru will in return purchase shares in Toyota worth up to 741 million USD allowing Subaru to become affiliated to Toyota. There have been no details about the next 86/BRZ, however Toyota's chief engineer has recently said that the second generation 86 will be better to drive than the Supra. The recent rumors around the second gen 89/BRZ suggest that the car could shift its platform from the Impreza to Toyota's TNGA. This is the same platform that is currently used by the by the Lex

The SL and SLS are being sold through Mercedes All Times Stars division which helps its customers to by classic Mercedes. The SLS AMG GT up for sale is one of the final 350 units for the SLS. It comes with a V8 that develpos 583hp and 479lb-ft of torque along with a price tag of EUR444,890. The SL Mille Miglia is named after an open road endurance race based in Italy. This race started in 1927 and was closed down in 1957. In 1977 the Mille Miglia was reborn as a classic rally which only allows cars built pre 1957 that raced in the Mille Miglia to participate. Merceds built 12 special edition SLs to support their racers. The SL Mille Miglia is going for sale for EUR66,890.

Koenigsegg has broken its own record, this time in the Regera. The Regera completed the run in 31.49 seconds nearly 2 seconds faster than their previous record. At the end of the video Christian von Koenigsegg says that the Regera actually broke a few world records, along with mentioning that the Regera has achieved "faster top speed scores". Could the hold my beer moment be hinting at the Regera going after the Bugatti Super Sport or will Koenigsegg leave that job for the Jesko.

 McLaren has decided to honor their rich racing history by creating 15 McLaren 720s' that pay homage to one of 5 racetracks in Europe where McLaren has achieved racing success. These McLarens will be aesthetically enhanced with the main enhancement being carbon fiber side sills in the doorjambs with the name of the name of one of the 5 racetracks and the fastest cornering speed achieved by a McLaren on that particular racetrack. This cornering speed will be taken from the apex of the corner hence the name "Apex Collection". The cars will also come with a special interior badge depicting the production numbers and what number each car is. Each of the 5 racetracks will get three cars assigned to it, these racetracks are; Silverstone at 110mph, Hockenheimring at 85mph, Circuit Paul Richard at 104mph, Spa at 103mph and Monza at 90mph. All the cars will only be sold in Europe as they only feature European tracks, with pricing starting at £288,813. This price also i

Maserati has recently revealed a product plan detailing the new line up and which current cars will receive the electric and hybrid treatment. The first car to gain a plug-in hybrid powertrain is the, said to be heavily updated, Ghibli. it will also get  level 2 autonomous driving with the brand aiming to get to level 3 in the close future. The brand will also make a new car called the Alfieri, this will potentially be based on the concept car of the same name (pictured below). This will be offered in both electric and petrol variants. The next new car that Maserati is planning to make is a SUV that will sit just below the Levante. The Italian brand is also planning to refresh the Grandturismo and Gandcabario in 2021 for a second generation production run. It is understood that these will be available in both electric and petrol options.

The Audi RS Q3 and RS Q3 sportback (arriving in 2020) will come with an updated 2.5l 5 cylinder pushing out 394hp and 480nm of torque. This allows the Audi to get to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 250km/h. Audi updated the engine to have an aluminum crankcase and a hollow drilled crankshaft cutting down the weight by 19kg. The RS model get lowered by 10mm from the standard Q3 as well as a more aggressive looking front end to distinguish it from the standard model.

A recent press release regarding the DBX (debuting in December) has told us that the DBX will come with a 404kw and 700nm 4.0l V8. It is also believed that there is a V12 version in the works. Aston Martin has claimed that the DBX can attack corners with the same speed as the vantage and that it can also out-brake the DBS Superleggra. This would explain how it is able to lap the   Nürburgring in under 8 minutes. Aston Martin Chief Engineer Matt Becker said that they have balanced the engine so deliver everyday usability and refinement and matched it with driving dynamics that are "inherent in every Aston Martin".

Mercedes has announced that they are going to have 10 electric cars in their range by 2022, with the first being the EQC. Mercedes has stated that they won't have the same astonishing range of the Tesla's but instead go down the same route as Audi and strive for durability. For Tesla to reach the range that they have they have to drain the battery to a point where it reduces the life of the battery. The EQC is estimated to have a range of 400km which is a 120km less than the top Tesla model X but 70km more than the Audi E-Tron. Audi has stated that their range is more than sufficient as a consumer study showed that most of their audience were able to charge their car up nightly and rarely drove over more than 320km everyday. With keeping this in mind it would make more sense to go for a more durable electric vehicle rather than one that can provide more range however we will have to see what the consumer consensus will be.

 Our dreams of seeing the Jaguar C-X75 being brought to life maybe closer than we think. Jaguars designers and engineers are are seemingly interested in turning the F-Type Jag into a mid-engined hybrid or even fully electric 911 killer. It has been hinted that the C-X75 will serve as styling inspiration as former Jaguar design director Ian Callum told auto car "  We could get quite close [to the C-X75],"