All posts by Francis Mitterrand

Hyundai is developing a small electric car for the European market

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is expanding its electric range. After the unveiling of the Ioniq 6 as a rival to the Tesla Model 3, the arrival of the Ioniq 7 SUV with three rows of seats was announced for 2024. For those with a little less money, Hyundai is preparing a cheaper electric car for the European market that will cost around 20,000 euros.

In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Hyundai’s head of marketing in Europe Andreas-Christoph Hofmann said that developing a more sustainable electric vehicle in response to increasingly stringent emissions laws in the European Union will be a difficult task. First of all, small cars are cheaper and do not bring much profit, which will affect the company’s profit. That’s why Hyundai has focused on its three larger models, the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 7.

Hyundai plans to produce 11 electric models by the end of the decade, and this is supported by the fact that Hyundai’s share of the European electric car market has grown by 470 percent.

The South Korean automaker is among several companies that believe hydrogen still has a future. However, without major investments in infrastructure, fuel cell cars like the N Vision 74 Concept remain just a dream.

Source: Automotive News Europe

1973 BMW 2002 Targa will be sold at auction

In the early 70s, the director of product planning, Helmut Werner Bönsch, and the designer of the M10 engine, Alex von Falkenhausen, proposed to BMW a 2.0L version of the BMW 1600-2 model. This is how the BMW 2002 Targa was born. BMW produced only 2,317 examples of this model and one of them, the 1973 BMW 2002 Targa, will soon be sold at auction.

Pebble Beach Auctions has announced the sale of this rare car that has only 62,229 kilometers on the odometer and is in perfect condition. The car is painted green, and the bodywork was made by the Baur company from Stuttgart. Baur used the 2002 model as a base, and the upper part of the roof was cut off to create a convertible. However, the roof is there and can be pulled out if needed.

The BMW 2002 Targa is powered by a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine with 100 hp (75 kW). The engine is paired with a 4-speed manual transmission that transmits power to the rear wheels.

When it comes to price, it is estimated that the car could be sold for 55k – 65k dollars.

Source: Pebble Beach Auctions

The McLaren 765LT Spider is a spectacular sports car

Following last year’s presentation of the McLaren 765LT based on the McLaren 675LT, German tuner Novitec has unveiled the McLaren 765LT Spider based on the 675LT Spider.

Novitec equipped the car with the NOVITEC RACE high-performance exhaust system that provides a special and unforgettable sound, which can optionally be obtained with fine gold plating. Also, engineers have prepared aerodynamic-enhancement components made from naked carbon, which make its appearance spectacular. This includes air intakes trunk lid, trunk-lid N-LARGO, headlight inserts, side air intakes and panel entrance.

Three tuning stages are available, the most powerful of which is Performance Stage 2. McLaren 765LT Spider is powered by a standard 4.0-liter eight-cylinder twin-turbocharged engine that now develops 855 hp (629 kW) and 662 lb-ft (898 Nm) of torque. Thanks to the plug-and-play N-Tronic control unit, compared to the standard model, the 765LT Spider reaches 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds. It reaches 124 mph (200 km/h) in 6.7 seconds with a top speed of more than 205 mph (331 km/h).

The car got new springs thanks to which it can be lowered additionally by 0.79 inches (20mm). It is mounted on MC3 20-inch and 21-inch forged central-lock Vossen wheels, available in 72 colors.

Source: Novitec