It’s Christmas time and there are a few new models we’d like wrapped up and sent over pronto, including a sexy Zagato and a new Hyundai Kona, all in our latest news.
Kona extends your living space
The Hyundai Kona has been really popular, not only as a petrol model but also in hybrid and electric form. Now the next generation has been revealed and Hyundai says the design has been led by the EV. Expected own sale early in 2023, the new Kona is longer, wider and with a 60mm longer wheelbase to help create what the company calls a “living space” inside.
It will be available as petrol, hybrid, electric can sporty N Line versions, each of which will have a slightly different design, especially up front in order to differentiate them. Each will have an LED strip across the front but on the EV that will be pixelated, presumably so it can do Knight Rider style swooshes. Inside, it all looks more premium, with new materials, dual 12.3-inch displays and a few design elements that bring it into line with other Hyundai models.
A new model that is unlike anything else though is the new Alfa Romeo Giulia Zagato. Taking inspiration from classic Alfas including the 1990 SZ, it features a shorter wheelbase than other Giulia models and a unique exterior design that Alfa Romeo design vice president, Alejandro Mesonero was involved with, although Zagato insists this is mostly their own project. The powertrain comes from the Giulia GTAm and is linked to a six-speed manual gearbox. The interior has also received a few unique design touches and this one-off creation should already be in the garage of the Alfa collector in Germany that commissioned it. Now that’s a nice Christmas pressie.
If you want a new Audi for Christmas in 2026 then it’s likely to be electric because the German marque has announced it will only launch all-electric models from that year. It will keep making internal combustion engine cars until 2033 though. Currently only two of Audis production sites make electric models, but next year the Q6 E-tron will roll off the line in its home town of Ingolstadt and soon all its sites will be making at least one electric model.
There’s great news for fans of Britain’s oldest vehicle manufacturer, AC Cars, the company that brought has the famous Cobra in the 1960s. AC will reveal it first new model in decades early next year in the form of the AC Cobra GT Roadster, a car which obviously takes inspiration from the original and that has been in development for the past three years. We’re promised a grand tourer style of car, one that uses its 663hp V8 and six-speed manual 10-speed automatic to hit 60mph in around 3.6 seconds but which will also deliver dynamic handling and have many of the modern essentials you expect. These include the latest infotainment, electric windows and air-con, plus it will have a removable roof so you can travel longer distances in GT style. For now AC has only given us a teaser image, but it’s likely to be on a few Christmas lists for next year.
Still with electric, classic car conversion company, Everrati, has announced it is adding the classic Range Rover and Land Rover Defender to its line-up. They’ll be perfect for those seeking an electric version of these famous models, complete with some modern touches. You’ll need to supply the vehicles yourself though and hand over a whopping £185,000 for the Defender or £230,000 for the Range Rover, plus VAT. That might be a stretch even for Santa.
A more reasonably priced EV is the Vauxhall Mokka and now it has a new motor and battery. Vauxhall has made the Mokka available with a 54kWh battery which is said to increase range by 20% to 252 miles while the new e-motor jumps power to 156hp and 260Nm of torque. First deliveries are due to start in the Spring.
Now for something completely different and Citroen has partnered with the new Asterix and Obelix movie and created a chariot, yes, a real chariot. The design is inspired by the classic Citroen 2CV but there are some slightly unusual engineering solutions, including suspension made from a boar’s stomach and headlights that rely on fireflies. It’s unlikely these unique developments will make it into your next car.
Finally, ’tis the season for strapping a Christmas tree to the roof of your car and seeing how fast you can go. US tuner Hennessey stuck a tree on the top of its Venom 1000 Mustang GT500 and set off down the track at a proving grounds in Texas. Complete with a string of lights, the ‘Stang and its tree hit 192mph. The tree run has become something of an annual thing for Hennessey and but obviously we have to add the “don’t try this at home” thing because people can be a bit silly sometimes.
All that leaves us it to wish you a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. We’ll be back with the car.co.uk news round-ups in 2023 so have a wonderful time with friends and family and stay safe on the roads.
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