All posts by Francis Mitterrand

NEW CARS

Kia K4 Sportswagon

The compact wagon may be an endangered species in Europe, but Kia clearly didn’t get the memo. Enter the new Kia K4 Sportswagon, a long-roof replacement for the aging Ceed Sportswagon that arrives with sharper styling, electrified powertrains, and the sort of practical sensibility that still makes station wagons the default choice for families who’d rather not drive another crossover.

Unveiled earlier this year and now officially appearing on price lists across Europe, the K4 Sportswagon is Kia doubling down on the shrinking but still fiercely contested C-segment wagon market. Its target list reads like a greatest-hits compilation of sensible European family haulers: the Škoda Octavia Combi, Seat Leon Sportstourer, and Peugeot 308 SW all sit squarely in the K4’s crosshairs.

At first glance, the formula sounds familiar. Front-wheel drive? Check. Turbocharged four-cylinder alternatives? Naturally. A mild-hybrid setup aimed at squeezing every last kilometer out of a tank of fuel? Of course. But Kia’s trick here is making the practical choice feel just a little less boring.

The entry-level engine is a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, producing 115 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. Buyers can choose between a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, a rarity in a market increasingly allergic to clutch pedals. For drivers wanting a bit more punch, Kia also offers a 150-hp 1.6-liter T-GDI, available exclusively with the seven-speed DCT automatic and priced roughly €1300 above the base model.

No one’s going to confuse the K4 Sportswagon with a hot hatch, but the numbers suggest a car engineered with European commuting reality in mind rather than Nürburgring lap times. Kia claims combined WLTP fuel consumption of just 5.7 liters per 100 kilometers, while CO2 emissions land at 129 g/km. More importantly for buyers navigating increasingly restrictive urban regulations, the mild-hybrid setup earns the K4 an ECO label in several EU markets, unlocking tax breaks and traffic-zone privileges that are becoming almost as valuable as horsepower.

Kia will offer the wagon in Drive and Tech trims, though even the base configuration appears designed to avoid the stripped-out fleet-car vibe that once defined compact estates. That matters, because buyers in this segment expect utility without sacrificing comfort—or technology.

Perhaps the most compelling part of the K4 Sportswagon story is the pricing. In Germany, the wagon starts at €29,990, only €1000 more than an equivalent hatchback. In exchange, buyers get the added cargo space, increased practicality, and the subtle satisfaction of driving something more distinctive than the endless parade of compact SUVs clogging European streets.

And that may be the K4 Sportswagon’s greatest strength. While much of the industry continues chasing taller, heavier crossovers, Kia is still willing to build a proper wagon for people who prioritize efficiency, space, and road manners over faux-off-road styling. In 2026, that almost feels rebellious.

Source: KIA

Restomod

This Twin-Turbo Porsche 964 Restomod Packs Supercar Punch

Few names in the Porsche restomod universe carry the mythic weight of Singer Vehicle Design. But from a discreet workshop in Friedrichshafen, Germany, another outfit is building a compelling argument that the air-cooled 911 aftermarket has room for more than one king.

Meet the PR964, a carbon-bodied, twin-turbocharged reinterpretation of the Porsche 964 from Pogea Racing and its boutique heritage division, Pogea.classics. And while Singer leans heavily into California-cool nostalgia, the Germans approach the same formula with the precision—and occasional excess—of a high-end engineering exercise.

At its core, the PR964 starts life as a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 from the 964 generation, though “starts life” might be generous considering how little of the original car survives untouched. Pogea strips the donor chassis to its final bolt before rebuilding it with reinforced structure, modern corrosion protection, and a level of finish likely superior to what rolled out of Stuttgart in the early 1990s.

Then comes the transformation.

The redesigned body panels are handcrafted entirely from carbon fiber, giving the 964 a sharper, more muscular stance without turning it into caricature. The widened rear decklid borrows visual cues from the original 930 Turbo and even the legendary Porsche 959, creating a silhouette that feels familiar until you notice how tightly everything has been modernized.

Underneath that retro-futuristic skin sits a trio of powertrain options, all derived from Porsche’s air-cooled 3.6-liter M64 flat-six. Purists can choose a naturally aspirated version with improved throttle response and a thoroughly refreshed internals package. But restraint clearly wasn’t the primary goal here.

Step up to the single-turbo setup and output jumps from the original 250 horsepower to roughly 400 hp. And for buyers who think subtlety is overrated, Pogea offers a 4.0-liter twin-turbo configuration producing more than 500 horsepower and over 600 Nm of torque, all routed to all four wheels through a manual gearbox.

In other words, this thing likely accelerates with the kind of violence the original 964 engineers never intended.

The hardware supporting those numbers is equally serious. Every PR964 receives adjustable KW Clubsport suspension, revised stabilizers, and a massive carbon-ceramic brake package featuring 400-mm front discs paired with aluminum-titanium calipers. The original 964 already felt compact and communicative by modern standards; with less weight and substantially more power, the Pogea creation sounds like it operates somewhere between vintage sports car and barely civilized race machine.

Inside, Pogea avoids the temptation to over-style the cabin. Leather, Alcantara, and exposed carbon fiber dominate the interior, while deeply bolstered Recaro seats and a classic Momo Prototipo steering wheel deliver the expected restomod visual cues. There’s even a subwoofer mounted behind the seats—a reminder that despite the obsessive engineering, this is still intended to be driven, loudly and often.

Like Singer, Pogea.classics insists no two builds are identical. Buyers can personalize nearly every surface, material, and finish, including the multilayer matte-gray paint developed with Glasurit. That level of customization—and the labor-intensive process behind it—means pricing lands firmly in the territory occupied by exotic supercars and limited-production hypercars.

Which is precisely the point.

The PR964 isn’t merely a restored Porsche. It’s a statement aimed directly at the established hierarchy of the restomod world: proof that Germany has no intention of letting California monopolize the art of reinventing the air-cooled 911.

Source: Pogea.classics

NEW CARS

Jaguar Type 01 Spotted Testing

Jaguar has spent the better part of a century building cars that growled, snarled, and occasionally leaked on expensive driveways. Now it’s trying something far riskier: convincing the ultra-luxury crowd that silence is the future.

And somewhere along the sun-drenched streets of Monte Carlo, wrapped in bright red camouflage foil, the first real glimpse of that future just rolled into view.

Officially named the Type 01, Jaguar’s upcoming electric flagship represents the most radical reset in the company’s modern history. Forget evolutionary redesigns or cautious electrification strategies. This is Jaguar tearing up the old playbook and setting fire to the remains.

The latest prototype photos reveal a car that’s dramatically more realistic than the theatrical concept Jaguar previously showed the world. Gone is the exaggerated two-door fantasy-car layout. In its place sits a sleek four-door grand tourer with proportions that still scream drama, even if the packaging finally acknowledges the existence of rear passengers.

And make no mistake: this thing is enormous.

At 5.2 meters long with a wheelbase stretching 3.2 meters, the Type 01 occupies the same rarefied air as cars from Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Massive 23-inch wheels fill out the arches, while the endless hood delivers classic Jaguar theater—even if there’s no V-8 hiding underneath it.

That hood, Jaguar insists, contains nothing more exciting than storage space.

The company has publicly denied rumors suggesting the Type 01 would use a gasoline-powered range extender tucked beneath the nose. Instead, the front compartment will serve as a trunk, compensating for limited cargo space in the rear. Charging ports integrated into the front fenders further emphasize the company’s all-in EV commitment.

Still, Jaguar knows luxury buyers won’t accept compromise disguised as innovation. So the numbers attached to the Type 01 border on absurd.

Three electric motors.
1,000 horsepower.
1,300 Nm of torque.

Those figures place the Type 01 firmly in hyper-sedan territory, despite Jaguar positioning it as a grand tourer rather than an outright performance car. If the company delivers on those promises, the Type 01 could become the most powerful production Jaguar ever built—and easily the fastest.

But straight-line speed isn’t really the story here.

The real challenge is whether wealthy buyers actually want a six-figure electric Jaguar at all.

That’s where the company’s gamble starts looking less like confidence and more like desperation. Jaguar’s traditional clientele—buyers raised on supercharged V-8s, long hoods, and old-money British swagger—haven’t exactly been begging for an ultra-modern EV reboot. Dealers around the world have reportedly expressed serious concern about the brand’s dramatic change in direction, warning that many longtime customers are walking away altogether.

And honestly, it’s not hard to see why.

The high-end luxury market may be slowly embracing electrification, but the world’s wealthiest enthusiasts still seem deeply attached to internal-combustion excess. Cylinders still matter. Noise still matters. Presence still matters. For many buyers in this segment, an electric drivetrain remains something to tolerate—not celebrate.

Jaguar, however, appears convinced that the future customer is someone entirely different.

The company no longer wants to compete with traditional German luxury sedans or aging sports coupes. Instead, it’s chasing a younger, wealthier, design-obsessed audience that sees electric propulsion as progressive rather than sacrilegious. The Type 01 isn’t trying to be the next F-Type. It’s trying to become a rolling piece of modern architecture.

Whether that vision succeeds is another question entirely.

We’ll see the production-ready Type 01 later this year, before sales begin in 2027. By then, Jaguar won’t just be unveiling a new car. It’ll be revealing whether one of Britain’s most iconic brands can survive a complete reinvention without losing the soul that made it matter in the first place.

Source: Jaguar