2027 Dacia New Spring Trades Cheap-and-Cheerful Roots for a European Future

The Dacia Spring has always been an automotive outlier. It wasn’t particularly fast, sophisticated, or refined, but that was never the point. What made it remarkable was its price tag. For years, it stood as one of Europe’s cheapest electric vehicles, offering a no-frills route into EV ownership. Now, Dacia is preparing to rewrite the formula.

Meet the New Spring.

Yes, that’s officially the name. Dacia has confirmed that its upcoming electric city car will retain the Spring badge but add a “New” prefix to distinguish it from the existing model that will continue to be sold alongside it. The naming strategy may be confusing, but the car itself represents a much bigger shift than a simple facelift or model-year update.

Most importantly, the New Spring abandons its Chinese origins.

The original Spring arrived in 2021 as a heavily reworked version of the Renault Kwid EV, built in China and riding on the aging CMFA-EV platform. While Dacia refreshed the car substantially in 2024 and boosted performance with updated powertrains and batteries in 2025, the underlying architecture remained unchanged.

The New Spring changes all of that.

Instead of being sourced from China, the newcomer will be built in Europe and will ride on Renault Group’s modern AmpR Small platform. That’s the same architecture underpinning the upcoming Renault Twingo E-Tech, giving Dacia access to a far more advanced foundation than the outgoing model ever had.

A recently released teaser image reveals only the rear of the vehicle, but it already suggests a more mature design direction. The tailgate appears upright and practical, while square-shaped LED taillights and clean body surfacing emphasize functionality over fashion. It remains unmistakably a city car, but one that looks considerably more substantial than its predecessor.

Dacia hasn’t revealed the cabin yet, although the company promises “four real seats and a real trunk”—a subtle acknowledgment that space and practicality remain central to the Spring’s mission. Expect a minimalist interior focused on durability and usability rather than luxury. The brand’s increasingly popular YouClip accessory system will likely make an appearance, allowing owners to customize storage solutions and interior accessories.

The real story, however, lies beneath the sheetmetal.

Technical specifications remain under wraps, but industry expectations point toward a setup borrowed largely from the Renault Twingo E-Tech. That would mean an electric motor producing around 80 horsepower paired with a 27.5-kWh battery pack. Those figures may not sound impressive, but they represent a meaningful improvement over the entry-level Spring’s modest output and should provide more than enough performance for urban environments.

Dacia’s gamble appears well-founded. Since its launch, the Spring has found nearly 210,000 buyers across Europe, proving that affordability can outweigh concerns about range, performance, or prestige. For many consumers, it wasn’t the best EV—it was simply the one they could actually afford.

That affordability equation is changing, however.

Dacia says the New Spring will start below €18,000. While that would still make it one of Europe’s least expensive electric cars, it represents a significant increase over the outgoing Spring, which was available in Germany earlier this year for roughly €11,900.

The higher price should bring meaningful gains in technology, safety, performance, and overall refinement. In other words, Dacia appears ready to move the Spring from bargain-basement transportation to something approaching a genuinely modern EV.

What won’t change is the basic formula. The New Spring will retain compact dimensions, five doors, and city-friendly proportions, as confirmed by previous design sketches. It’s still designed for crowded urban streets, tight parking spaces, and buyers who prioritize practicality over prestige.

Only now, it seems, Dacia wants those buyers to have a little more car for their money.

And for the first time, the Spring may be more than just the cheapest EV in Europe—it might actually be one of the most compelling.

Source: Dacia

Porsche’s £252K GT3 Touring Is a Love Letter to Britain

Seventy-five years after Porsche first planted its flag on British soil, the company is celebrating in a way that feels perfectly on-brand: by building an outrageously expensive, obsessively detailed special-edition 911 that most people will never see in person.

Meet the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring Earls Court 51 Edition—a 51-car tribute to the first Porsche models imported into the UK in 1951 and displayed at London’s famous Earls Court Motor Show. And while commemorative editions often amount to little more than a unique paint color and a plaque, this one doubles as a rolling showcase for Porsche’s increasingly ambitious Sonderwunsch personalization division.

At first glance, the choice of the wingless GT3 Touring as a starting point makes perfect sense. The absence of the GT3’s towering rear wing lends the car a cleaner, more understated profile, one that subtly echoes the elegance of those early 356s that introduced Britain to the Porsche name.

The centerpiece is a bespoke shade called Earls Court Green Metallic, created specifically through Porsche’s Paint to Sample Plus program. It’s paired with silver mirror caps, silver door handles, and a silver bonnet stripe, giving the car a distinctly vintage-inspired appearance without descending into retro caricature. Special Earls Court graphics are scattered throughout the exterior, while the diamond-cut center-lock wheels feature matching green inserts that tie the entire design together.

The cabin is where Sonderwunsch really gets to flex.

The upper dashboard and door panels are wrapped in rich Paldao Green leather, contrasted by Chalk Beige upholstery. The sports seats receive custom corduroy inserts—a material that’s enjoying a surprising resurgence among high-end performance cars—and feature green leather and wood-finished backs. Even the sun visors get special treatment, embossed with Union Jack motifs that serve as a reminder of the occasion being celebrated.

Underneath all that craftsmanship, however, remains one of the greatest driver’s cars currently on sale.

There’s no increase in power, no chassis revision, and no secret performance upgrade lurking beneath the skin. The Earls Court 51 Edition retains the GT3’s glorious 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six, producing 503 horsepower at a spine-tingling 8500 rpm and 332 lb-ft of torque. Buyers can still choose between Porsche’s razor-sharp seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission or the increasingly rare six-speed manual gearbox—the latter arguably being the choice that best suits the car’s nostalgic mission.

The result is a machine that combines old-world craftsmanship with one of the last great naturally aspirated engines available in a modern sports car.

More importantly, the Earls Court 51 Edition highlights just how far Porsche’s Sonderwunsch operation has evolved. Originally established in the 1970s as a special-order department, the division has become a full-scale customization powerhouse since its relaunch in 2021. Today, customers can commission everything from unique color and trim combinations to factory-restored classics and one-off creations built to their exact specifications.

The department’s capabilities have become so extensive that Porsche can even perform complete factory recommissioning projects on older vehicles, stripping them down and rebuilding them to as-new condition.

Of course, exclusivity comes at a price.

The Earls Court 51 Edition starts at £251,951, placing it more than £20,000 above the already eye-wateringly expensive 911 S/T. That figure alone ensures the car’s rarity, even before considering its strict 51-unit production run.

Still, pricing almost feels beside the point. Cars like this aren’t designed to offer value. They’re designed to tell a story.

And in this case, Porsche’s story stretches back to a London motor show in 1951, when a handful of curious British buyers first encountered a little German sports car called the 356. Seventy-five years later, the company is celebrating that moment with a GT3 that’s less about lap times and more about heritage.

Not that anyone will complain about getting 503 horsepower in the process.

Source: Porsche

Bentley’s 100-Car Masterpiece

Limited to 100 cars, Bentley’s latest Mulliner collection treats the Continental GT S like a luxury fashion statement.

Bentley has spent years reminding customers that personalization is one of its greatest strengths. Now it’s turning that philosophy into an annual event.

The British luxury marque has unveiled the first chapter of what it calls “The Bespoke Series,” a new Mulliner-led program that will deliver highly curated, limited-production vehicles each year. Think of it as the automotive equivalent of a seasonal runway collection—except instead of handbags and tailored jackets, the stars are hand-finished Continental GTs wearing some of the most elaborate paintwork Bentley has ever offered.

The inaugural collection arrives with all the exclusivity expected from a modern luxury flagship. Production is capped at just 100 examples worldwide, split between the Continental GT S Coupe and Continental GT S Convertible. Underneath, they’re familiar grand tourers. What buyers are really paying for here is craftsmanship, color, and scarcity.

Fashion-Inspired, Coachbuilt Execution

According to Bentley, every Bespoke Series collection will begin inside Mulliner’s Design Studio, where designers study emerging trends in color, materials, and luxury goods before translating those influences into automotive form. The idea is to create annual releases with the anticipation and desirability of a luxury fashion house’s seasonal collection.

It may sound like marketing speak, but there’s a tangible result. This first Bespoke Series celebrates Bentley’s expanded paint capabilities and the craftsmanship available at its Crewe factory, pairing six newly developed exterior finishes with matching interior themes and exclusive detailing.

Every car receives a hand-painted Beluga and pearl-effect center stripe stretching the length of the body, while black-painted 22-inch wheels, gloss-black mirror caps, and the GT S model’s Blackline trim package create a dramatic contrast against the vibrant paintwork.

Six Colors, Six Personalities

The centerpiece of the collection is undoubtedly its palette.

Salerno Blue delivers a deep metallic finish that continues into the cabin through matching accents on the seats, steering wheel, and embroidered Bentley emblems. Snow Quartz offers a cleaner, more contemporary aesthetic, contrasted by Arctic White interior highlights.

For buyers seeking something darker, Midnight Prism Pearlescent combines blue-black bodywork with Peacock blue interior detailing, creating perhaps the most understated specification in the lineup.

Bentley’s historic connection to British racing green receives a modern interpretation through Spectral Verdant, while Manuka Orange abandons subtlety altogether with an extroverted finish that seems purpose-built for making an entrance.

Rounding out the collection is Bright Ruby Red, a rich, jewel-like shade developed in-house by Bentley’s design team and carried throughout the cabin as a contrasting accent.

In every configuration, the chosen exterior color reappears inside through upholstery accents, steering-wheel markers, gear selectors, and bespoke dual-finish veneers separated by dark chrome pinstriping.

More Than Just Paint

The Bespoke Series goes beyond exclusive colors. Every example includes a substantial equipment list as standard, featuring Bentley’s rotating display, mood lighting, comfort seats, dark-tinted chrome trim, and a unique perforation pattern across the seats and cabin panels.

Owners will also find individually numbered plaques, Mulliner seat tags, special treadplates, and an unusual color-swatch display embedded within the center console that showcases all six Bespoke Series paint finishes.

Even the welcome sequence gets special treatment, with animated puddle lamps projecting a unique graphic onto the ground when the doors are opened.

Each car is delivered with a fitted indoor cover tailored specifically to the selected colorway, mirroring the appearance of the vehicle underneath.

Luxury Through Limitation

In an era when virtually every premium manufacturer offers extensive customization, exclusivity increasingly comes down to limitation rather than possibility. Bentley appears to understand that reality.

The Bespoke Series doesn’t introduce more power, sharper handling, or groundbreaking technology. Instead, it elevates something that has become increasingly valuable at the upper reaches of the luxury market: distinction.

With only 100 examples planned and Mulliner’s reputation continuing to grow among collectors, Bentley’s latest exercise in automotive couture is likely to find buyers long before production concludes. After all, when a Continental GT already represents one of the world’s finest grand tourers, making it rarer may be the most effective upgrade of all.

Source: Bentley

Cars and catalogues