Aston Martin & Partner, Williams Engineering ready the all electric RapidE for 2019.

• Aston Martin confirms production of RapidE - the brand’s first all-electric model
• Williams Advanced Engineering confirmed as lead engineering partner
• RapidE will be based on the Rapide AMR
• Limited build run of 155 cars with production set for 2019

Less than two years after being unveiled as a concept, Aston Martin is today confirming that the all-electric RapidE will enter production in 2019.

Set for a limited production run of 155 cars, RapidE is Aston Martin’s first all-electric model. As such it spearheads development of the brand’s low- and zero-emission vehicle strategy laid out by Aston Martin’s President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, in the company’s Second Century Plan.

RapidE sees a continuation of the collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering who worked on the original RapidE Concept. Based in Grove, Oxfordshire, Williams Advanced Engineering will assist Aston Martin with the complex task of engineering integration.

Based upon the forthcoming Rapide AMR concept, RapidE will deliver four-door sports car looks and dynamics of the Rapide S powered by an all-electric powertrain replacing the six-litre V12 engine. More information will be revealed about the RapidE’s all-electric powertrain in due course. 

The instantaneous delivery characteristics of electric motors means the RapidE will offer a unique driving experience of a kind not experienced before in an Aston Martin.

Aston Martin President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, said of the RapidE: “Having unveiled the RapidE Concept back in October 2015 we reach another milestone with the confirmation that we are now putting the first all-electric Aston Martin into production. RapidE represents a sustainable future in which Aston Martin’s values of seductive style and supreme performance don’t merely co-exist alongside a new zero-emission powertrain, but are enhanced by it. 

The internal combustion engine has been at the heart of Aston Martin for more than a century, and will continue to be for years to come. RapidE will showcase Aston Martin’s vision, desire and capability to successfully embrace radical change, delivering a new breed of car that stays true to our ethos and delights our customers.”

Paul McNamara, Technical Director at Williams Advanced Engineering said: “Williams Advanced Engineering has always endeavoured to work collaboratively with its customers to meet their sustainability challenges and find energy efficient solutions. 

For today’s car manufacturers, this is particularly important as legislation demands more energy efficient vehicles. This project with Aston Martin will draw on the extensive battery and EV experience we have accumulated and we are extremely pleased to be supporting this prestigious British company with their future electrification strategy.”

Ferrari opens a new wing to the Maranello Ferrari Museum and starts with two new exhibitions.

The Ferrari Museum of Maranello today opens its new exhibition spaces and two exhibitions - "Under the Skin" and "Infinite Red" - in the presence of President and CEO of Ferrari Sergio Marchionne, Vice President Piero Ferrari, Director of the London Design Museum Deyan Sudjic and Mayor of Maranello Massimiliano Morini.

The Ferrari Museums enjoyed a record year in 2016 with more than 478,000 visitors, of whom 344,000 came to Maranello. 

So also in order to cope with a growing public, the Museum's spaces have been extended by more than 600 square metres to a total of 4,100 square metres, creating a new wing that connects to the existing structure by means of a great continuous glass facade, and a new museum itinerary. 

In addition, a multifunctional space of about 300 square metres has been built, which can host up to 250 people for events, conventions and educational activities. The refreshments area and the Ferrari Store are also completely new.

Two new exhibitions, "Under the Skin" and "Infinite Red", celebrate Ferrari on its 70th anniversary. The former recalls the founder and the evolution of the company's innovation and style, while the latter covers the company's history through its models.

"Under the Skin"

The "Under the Skin" exhibition, created in partnership with the London Design Museum, recounts the creative and engineering development of Ferrari down the years through a series of exceptional cars beginning with the 125 S, the marque's first car. 

Some technical drawings from the historical archive of the Prancing Horse and the engines on display reveal the design process of cars of all eras, casting an unprecedented eye over the engineering work hidden behind their exterior beauty. 

Design models and the Wind Gallery also show the evolution of styles and technologies down the years, recalling how Enzo Ferrari was at the forefront of experimenting with new scientific techniques. 

A parallel exhibition itinerary strongly linked to the first one reminds us of the main biographical stages, the work and the competitive spirit that has made Ferrari famous worldwide. The exhibition will move to the London Design Museum from November.

"Infinite Red"

This exhibition celebrates the 70-year history of the Prancing Horse with some of Maranello's most exclusive creations for track and road. 

The Formula One cars on display have a long series of victories to their name: from the 500 F2, with which Alberto Ascari won for Ferrari the first world drivers' title in 1952, to the F2004, the Ferrari that won the most GPs in history (15, like the F2002) and concluded Michael Schumacher's epic run of world titles, and finally the F2008, which won the World Constructors' Championship. 

Among the GT cars, visitors can admire various models from the 250 family, such as the 250 GT Berlinetta "Tdf", which dominated races in the second half of the 1950s, its evolution the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB and the 250 GTO, a collectors' favourite. 

Then down to the present, the exhibition features a number of limited special series such as the F50, the Enzo and the latest, the LaFerrari, also present in the non-homologated FXX K version for exclusive use on track.

The exhibition "Under the Skin" will remain at Maranello until November 2017, while "Infinite Red" is open until the end of the year. The Ferrari Museum is open every day from 9:30 am to 7 pm (from November to March it closes at 6 pm).

Credits

The “Under the Skin” exhibition is in collaboration with Design Museum of London.

Exhibition Curators: Gemma Curtin, Andrew Nahum

Exhibition Design: Studio Urquiola

Graphic Design: Pentagram

A special thanks to Giovanni Perfetti, Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Ronald Stern.

The "Infinite Red" exhibition is curated by Ferrari.

Installation, graphics and multimedia: Benedetto Camerana (Camerana &

Partners), CWS Digital Solutions, Instant Creativity.

Aston Martin has officially started customer production of the All-New DB11 Supercar at it's HQ in Gaydon.

Aston Martin has commenced production of the highly anticipated DB11 for UK customers, the first core car launched under the luxury carmaker’s six year ‘Second Century Plan’.  With the first DB11 coming off the Gaydon production line today, first deliveries to customers will take place during October.

Aston Martin President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, who will personally assure the quality by inspecting the first 1,000 cars, said: “It’s an exciting moment for the entire company when the first car of a new model goes into production. 

The DB11 is a special car and it heralds the start of a new and exciting era for Aston Martin.”

The new DB11 is the first in a line of seven new models to be launched over the next seven years, in line with the company’s ‘Second Century Plan’, which takes the 103-year-old company into its next century of operation. 

The DB11 is the latest model from the illustrious ‘DB’ bloodline for which Aston Martin is so famous. The Aston Martin DB11 has received rave reviews since its launch at the Geneva Motor Show in March.  

To date, over 3,000 orders for the new DB11 have been received and they will all be hand-built at the company’s sports car production plant and headquarters, in Gaydon, Warwickshire. 

Earlier this year, Aston Martin announced the company’s second UK manufacturing facility will open in St Athan in Wales where the new crossover will be built.

Volvo Cars and Uber are joining forces to develop the next generation of autonomous cars.

Volvo Cars, the Swedish premium car maker, and Uber, the world’s leading ride-sharing company, are to join forces to develop next-generation autonomous driving cars.

The two companies have signed an agreement to establish a joint project that will develop new base vehicles that will be able to incorporate the latest developments in AD technologies, up to and including fully autonomous driverless cars. The base vehicles will be manufactured by Volvo Cars and then purchased from Volvo by Uber. Volvo Cars and Uber are contributing a combined USD300m to the project.

Both Uber and Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of their own autonomous car strategies. This will involve Uber adding its own self-developed autonomous driving systems to the Volvo base vehicle. Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of its own autonomous car strategy, which will involve fully autonomous driving.

The Volvo-Uber project marks a significant step in the automotive business, with a car manufacturer joining forces with a new Silicon Valley-based entrant to the car industry, underlining the way in which the global automotive industry is evolving in response to the advent of new technologies. 

The alliance marks the beginning of what both companies view as a longer-term industrial partnership.

Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said: “Volvo is one of the most progressive and contemporary car makers in the world. 

It is a world leader in the development of active safety and autonomous drive technology, and possesses an unrivalled safety credibility. We are very proud to be the partner of choice for Uber, one of the world’s leading technology companies. This alliance places Volvo at the heart of the current technological revolution in the automotive industry.”

The new base vehicle will be developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). SPA is one of the most advanced car architectures in the world and is currently used on Volvo Cars’ top-of-the-line multiple-award-winning XC90 SUV, as well as the S90 premium saloon and V90 premium estate.

SPA has been developed as part of Volvo Cars’ USD11bn global industrial transformation programme, which started in 2010, and has been prepared from the outset for the latest autonomous drive technologies as well as next-generation electrification and connectivity developments. It is these capabilities that attracted Uber to Volvo.

The development work will be conducted by Volvo Cars engineers and Uber engineers in close collaboration. This project will further add to the scalability of the SPA platform to include all needed safety, redundancy and new features required to have autonomous vehicles on the road.

Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, said: “Over one million people die in car accidents every year. These are tragedies that self-driving technology can help solve, but we can’t do this alone. That’s why our partnership with a great manufacturer like Volvo is so important. Volvo is a leader in vehicle development and best-in-class when it comes to safety. By combining the capabilities of Uber and Volvo we will get to the future faster, together.”

HONEST JOHN AWARDS - The Hyundai i10 wins again, the third time it has taken the title.

• Hyundai Motor wins Most Popular City car for the i10 at 2016 Honest John Awards for third year running
•  i10 praised by users of honestjohn.co.uk for its handling, refinement and its five-year warranty

Hyundai Motor UK has added a new award to its trophy cabinet after last night’s Honest John Awards. The brand’s second best-selling vehicle, the i10 was crowned ‘Most Popular City Car’ for the third year running by HonestJohn.co.uk users.

On the i10’s success, Dan Harrison, Editor, HonestJohn.co.uk, commented:

“The Hyundai i10 has won our Most Popular City Car award for the third year running, cementing itself as a consistently popular choice with our users. And it's easy to see why. The i10 is the perfect small car with great handling and impressive refinement - plus of course it comes with Hyundai's five-year warranty. There is plenty of competition among city cars, but honestjohn.co.uk users have once again shown that the well-built Hyundai 10 is their number one choice".

Tony Whitehorn, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor UK, commented on the company’s latest accolades: “We are delighted that the i10 has scored a hat trick of awards from honestjohn.co.uk. The i10 is a car that continues to prove a hit in the market and receiving this award for the third year running from the users of honestjohn.co.uk means that our customers really value the stylish and refined package that i10 offers in this highly competitive segment.”

Now in its sixth consecutive year, the Honest John Awards don’t follow the traditional awards format, instead the winners are chosen by the best experts of all: the website users. The awards recognise and reward the cars that HonestJohn.co.uk users search for most on the site. The reviews which create the most interest among HonestJohn.co.uk users are the winners.

UK SALES FEBRUARY - Kia enters the top ten with the All-New Sportage Sports Utility Vehicle.

• Kia records sales of 2,889 new cars
• Sportage sells 1,521 to enter Top Ten
• Just-launched SUV in big demand for March

Kia has seen the Sportage enter the Top Ten UK best-sellers as the all-new model enjoyed its first month on sale. With 2,889 new cars delivered to customers in February, Kia saw its market share reach 3.46 per cent and for the first two months of 2016 the brand recorded a sales figure of 7,955 – a 3.14 per cent market share.

Astonishingly, in its first month on sale Sportage contributed to a stunning performance with 1,521 vehicles delivered to customers and dealers report huge demand for March deliveries. More than 5,000 customer orders have been placed since the latest generation of Kia’s stand-out compact SUV hit showrooms on 5 February.

Kia’s February sales total was up almost 25 per cent on last year’s figure of 2,334 and in the first two months of the year Kia outperformed the 2015 figure of 7,248 by almost 10 per cent to reach 7,955 vehicles delivered to customers.

Paul Philpott, President and Chief Executive of Kia Motors (UK) Limited commented: ”We have been delighted at the customer response to the all-new Sportage. We knew it was a handsome, modern and high-quality product and clearly both existing Sportage-owners and customers new to the brand agree with us.

“Our dealers have been swamped by demand for the car with the high-specification trim versions being particularly popular. It is remarkable that Sportage has entered the UK’s Top Ten as the new car has enjoyed its first month on sale and I am confident that we shall see its performance maintained throughout 2016,” he added.

The all-new Sportage range features 18 variants with four engines and three transmissions. Prices range from £17,995 to £31,645.

USA SALES FEBRUARY - Volvo grows again making eight straight months of double digit growth.

• Posts Eighth Month of Double Digit Sales Growth

Volvo Car USA, LLC, (VCUSA) reported U.S. sales of 5,260 vehicles, a 33.1 percent increase versus February 2015. The top seller for the month was the award winning XC90 luxury SUV with 2,472 vehicles sold, a four percent increase versus January 2016. Year-to-date sales are up 21.8 percent.

“The XC90 continues to contribute to our sales momentum, and we have yet to reach its full potential,” said Lex Kerssemakers, President and CEO of Volvo Car USA. “Over the next few months it will be joined by the S90 luxury sedan and the top-of-the-line four seat XC90 Excellence, with the newly-unveiled V90 following later.”

Volvo is implementing a sweeping $11 billion transformation plan that has involved the development of its own modular vehicle architecture, a new engine range, global manufacturing capability, a completely renewed product range and world leading developments in safety, autonomous driving and connectivity.