Hyundai Motor Group dominated the World Car Awards 2023 with its electric Ioniq 6 taking the World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year trophies. The group’s Kia EV6 GT also took the World Performance Car of the Year title. The Lucid Air which isn’t currently on sale in the UK beat the new BMW 7 Series and Genesis G90 to take the World Luxury Car accolade and the new Citroen C3 took the World Urban Car title.

Genesis gets emotional

Still with the Hyundai Group and Genesis has revealed its GV80 SUV coupe concept that showcases its performance ambitions and aims to take on rivals like the Audi Q8, BMW X6 and Porsche Cayenne Coupe. The premium brand promises that the GV80 will combine the practicality of an SUV with the dynamics of a sports car and its chief creative officer, Luc Donckerwolke, says it’s part of a plan to push the envelope with more emotional cars. It certainly looks that way with the concept in a dramatic orange with contrasting black and plenty of aerodynamic appendages. Inside there are sporty bucket seats for four with lots of carbon fibre and Alcantara as well as a strut brace behind the rear seats to add to the sporty look and feel. Genesis hasn’t provided any details on the powertrain except to say it will be rear-wheel drive and it’s likely to go on sale early in 2024.

Electric delivery for Ford Transit Courier

Ford is in the early stages of a massive $50 billion investment in electric vehicles and while we haven’t seen many new passenger EVs yet, there have been quite a few commercial vehicles. These include the F-150 Lightning pick-up in the US and in the UK and Europe, the E-Transit and E-Transit Custom. It has now added to these with the reveal of the E-Transit Courier, a compact van sitting on the same platform as the Fiesta and Puma. It 

Fully battery-electric it has a 136hp electric motor that can pull a payload of up to 700kg. There’s space in the back for two Euro pallets while up front it has the latest tech including a digital instrument cluster, a 12-inch touchscreen and Ford’s Sync 4 system. There’s the option of an Office Pack with a foldaway work surface and lighting and the new model can be integrated with Ford Pro or other fleet management services. 

While petrol and diesel versions of the new Transit Courier will be available this year, those wanting to go all-electric will have to go all-electric will have to wait until late in 2024, although you can have a look at it if you are going to the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC from 18-20 April.

SsangYong stretches the load

Still with load luggers and SsangYong has bolstered its Musso pick-up range by adding an additional 12 inches to the load bed length to create the Musso Saracen+. As well as the extra load space and upgraded suspension, the model gets a few styling tweaks including new 18-inch alloy wheels and black finished trim components on the mirrors and tailgate. 

Now for some supercars

We’ve seen a number of new supercars make their debut including the Lamborghini Revuelto. It’s the first of what Lambo is calling a High Performance Electrified Vehicle, combining a new V12 with three electric motors to generate over 1,000hp. Two of those motors are on each of the front wheels with the third motor above the eight-speed gearbox for the rear wheels. There are 13 drive modes, all-wheel drive and an eight-speed transmission, with a claimed 0-62mph time of just 2.5 seconds.

There’s familiarity in the design, continuing a number of themes going back to the Countach and more recently the Aventador. Inside, the focus is very much on the driver, but there’s an infotainment screen for the passenger and new layout to all the controls. 

Gordon Murray Automotive has opened the lid on its new T.33 Spider, which features a removable carbon fibre roof. Powered by the same 617hp Cosworth V12 as coupe version, the Spider weighs just 18kg more than the hard-top and only 100 will be hand-built at the GMA facility in Surrey.

Shanghai Auto Show News

Not so much a car as the reveal of a new dashboard. The debut of the next generation Porsche Cayenne will take place at the Shanghai auto show on April 18 and now the company has shown us the interior with a dash that has its design ancestry in the original 911. The gearstick is now just a selector next to the steering wheel on the dash, freeing up space in the centre console. There’s a digital instrument cluster, central infotainment screen and a third screen for the passenger. Button fans will be pleased to see there are still some physical switches for the volume and climate control though. It all looks premium with a touch of minimalism although the ends of the dash look rather clumsy as though they haven’t been integrated with the design properly. This is not something most Cayenne owners will care about of course and whether you are a fan of screens or not, the overall look is good.

Mini will be presenting its very expensive new electric convertible at the Shanghai motor show later this month, alongside the concept of its new electric crossover, the Aceman. The star though will be its new personal assistant, Spike. Based on a British bulldog, Spike will be a new connection between people and the vehicle and BMW is promising lots of marketing experiences with Spike outside the car too. 

Lexus will also use Shanghai to reveal its new LM and Polestar will show its next car, the Polestar 4. There’s local news from the Swedish EV maker too with it opening its fifth Polestar Space retail showroom in the Mall at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol. 

Coming soon

Suzuki is launching its updated Swace this week, the rebadged version of the Toyota Corolla Tourer. Renault is all set to unveil its new Clio on 18 April and is promising a significant change in design along with electrification options for its popular hatchback.

Mercedes-Benz will reveal the new E-Class on 25 April and we have news on Hyundai’s first performance EV, the Ioniq 5 N which will debut in July. It’s just completed winter testing in Sweden and Hyundai says its N performance division engineers have given it real fun-to-drive characteristics. The Ioniq 5 N will have all-wheel drive, an electronic limited slip differential and even a drifting mode, although that’s more for the ice of Sweden than the car park at Tescos.

Written by Mark Smyth