All posts by Francis Mitterrand

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2025 Fiat Grande Panda

This year, Fiat celebrates its 125th anniversary, and for this special occasion, the Italian company announced the arrival of a new version of the small Panda city car, the Fiat Grande Panda.

Grande Panda is 3.99 meters long and will occupy a place in the compact B segment, unlike its smaller brother (Panda), which is an A segment model. In terms of design, Fiat does not abandon the standard box-design characteristic of the first generation. Protective elements have been added in the lower part of the front and rear bumpers emphasizing the SUV style, while the headlights are made of opal cubes and refer to the style of windows on the facade of the Lingot factory, and the daytime running lights and indicators are integrated into the same light block.

The Grande Panda will be offered with a hybrid and electric drive, most likely a 1.2-L turbo gasoline engine combined with an electric motor with a total power of 128 hp (95 kW). The all-electric Grande Panda will likely be powered by a single electric motor with 113 hp (84 kW), and will be equipped with a 44 kWh LFP battery that provides a range of 320 km. It will sit on 17″ wheels.

It is not known when the production of this model will begin, but Fiat’s primary goal is to offer it in the European, Middle Eastern and African markets.

Source: Fiat

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2025 Fiat Grande Panda
EV

Alpine A290 GTS

French car company Alpine has revealed the sporty version of the recently introduced Renault 5, the A290 GTS. It is the first all-electric car of this company and will cost around 38,000 euros.

The body, decorated with several retro details, is reminiscent of the legendary Renault 5 Turbo, and will be offered in four colors and with four equipment packages. The cabin has heated front seats, a sports leather-wrapped steering wheel with a red OV (overtake) button which, when activated, provides additional power for the next 10 seconds. There is also a 10.1-inch multimedia system display that is compatible with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto applications.

Alpine will offer two versions of this model and the A290 GTS is the most powerful, powered by a single electric motor with 220 hp (164 kW) and 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) of torque. That’s enough power to push the 1,479 kg car from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.4 seconds. Power is sent to the rear axle, and drivers will be able to choose between four modes (Save, Normal, Sport and Personal). It is equipped with a 52 kWh battery which, according to WLTP norms, enables a range of up to 380 km. On 100-kilowatt chargers, the battery can be charged from 15 to 80 percent in 30 minutes.

A slightly weaker version is the GT Premium with a single electric motor and 180 hp (134 kW), which is enough to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds. It is mounted on 19″ wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tires. Brembo brakes from the A110 model take care of safe braking and stopping.

Source: Alpine

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Alpine A290 GTS
News

Porsche will stop producing the 718 Cayman and Boxster with ICE from 2025

Demand for EVs is currently not meeting manufacturers’ expectations, and some have already changed their plans by postponing the discontinuation of models with internal combustion engines. Porsche is not one of them, and the decision that the 718 Cayman/Boxster will be completely replaced by electric versions from 2025, stays.

Porsche will offer both ICE and electric versions of the 718 Series, at least until the fall of 2025 when the combustion engine versions become a thing of the past. In this way, Porsche wants to ensure that in case of a change of decision, it can continue to offer ICE versions of the 718 Series.

Porsche’s 718 Series currently consists of the Cayman/Boxster with mid-mounted engines with four and six cylinders, and from next year it will join the Porsche Macan whose Macan 4 and Macan Turbo versions are powered by electric motors only.

Macan 4 is powered by a dual motor with 408 hp (300 kW) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque, the Macan Turbo has 630 hp (470 kW) and 833 lb-ft (1,130 Nm) of torque. However, all these figures are implied with overboost, which means that this power is available for a limited time even when using Launch Control. The Macan 4 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.2 seconds with a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), while the Macan Turbo reaches 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.3 seconds with a top speed of 260 km/h (161 mph).

Source: Porsche

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