All posts by Francis Mitterrand

News

Northern Ireland Tightens the Rules for New Drivers Starting This Fall

Learning to drive has always been a rite of passage. Keys in hand, freedom unlocked, playlist queued. But in Northern Ireland, that moment is about to come with a few more asterisks—and starting this October, a whole lot more structure.

The region is becoming the first part of the UK to roll out a graduated driver licensing system, a method already used in places like Australia, Canada, and much of the United States. The idea is simple: instead of going from learner to full-fledged motorist overnight, new drivers ease into independence in stages, with guardrails designed to keep them—and everyone else—out of trouble.

And if the crash statistics are anything to go by, those guardrails are overdue.

Slower to Start, Smarter in the Long Run

The first change hits before anyone even takes a driving test. New drivers will now have to hold their provisional license for at least six months before they’re allowed to book a practical exam. During that time, they won’t just be racking up aimless miles—they’ll be required to complete a structured training program, signed off by either a professional instructor or a supervising adult.

That’s a big shift from the old system, where learners could rush to the test as soon as they felt ready (or bored). The new approach treats driving less like a box to tick and more like a skill to actually develop—which, considering the speed and mass involved, makes perfect sense.

The Test Isn’t the Finish Line Anymore

Passing your driving test used to mean you were cut loose. Under Northern Ireland’s new rules, it just means you’ve entered the next phase.

For two years after qualifying, drivers will remain on updated R-plates, marking them as newly licensed. More importantly, those under 24 will face restrictions aimed squarely at the riskiest scenarios—namely, late nights and full cars.

For the first six months, young drivers will only be allowed one passenger aged 14 to 20 during nighttime hours, with exemptions for family members and adult supervisors. Translation: no more piling three friends into the back seat for a midnight burger run.

Is it socially inconvenient? Absolutely. Is it backed by data? Also yes. Studies consistently show that young drivers are far more likely to crash when driving late at night and with multiple peers in the car. The combination of fatigue, distraction, and showing off is about as dangerous as it gets.

At Least You Can Finally Keep Up with Traffic

Not all the news is restrictive. In a welcome move, Northern Ireland is scrapping the infamous 45-mph speed limit that used to apply to restricted drivers. That means newly licensed motorists won’t have to crawl along highways like rolling roadblocks, nervously watching mirrors fill up with frustrated traffic.

It’s a smart tradeoff: tighten the rules where the risk is highest (passengers and nighttime driving) and relax them where safety and flow matter more.

The UK Is Watching

Driving instructors have largely welcomed the changes, even if they’re still waiting on some fine print. And it’s hard to imagine this experiment staying contained. With young drivers involved in a disproportionate number of serious and fatal crashes, lawmakers in England, Scotland, and Wales are almost certainly paying attention.

Would these rules have driven your 17-year-old self crazy? Probably. Would they have made you safer? Almost certainly.

Northern Ireland is betting that a slower path to driving freedom leads to fewer wrecks, fewer funerals, and a generation of better drivers. If the results mirror what’s been seen overseas, the rest of the UK may not be far behind.

Source: BBC News

NEW CARS

The Next BMW 5-Series Refresh Won’t Go Full Neue Klasse

BMW is already deep into development of a mid-cycle refresh for the current G60-generation 5-Series, but if the latest camouflaged prototypes are telling the truth, anyone expecting a full Neue Klasse makeover might want to temper their expectations. Instead of a radical reinvention, the 2027 5-Series appears to be heading for something far more conservative—a design tweak rather than a design reset.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The current 5-Series is only a couple of years old, and while its styling didn’t exactly light the internet on fire, it hasn’t aged poorly either. What BMW seems to be planning is a light visual refresh designed to keep the car competitive without stepping on the toes of the all-new Neue Klasse models that will follow later in the decade.

Until BMW starts pulling camouflage off its test mules, we’re left reading tea leaves. But digital artists have already filled in the blanks. And the results range from cautious to borderline sci-fi.

One of the more realistic takes comes from Nikita Chuyko, whose rendering imagines a refreshed M5 Touring that doesn’t stray far from today’s shape—but sharpens it up in key areas. The biggest change is up front, where the current split-headlamp arrangement is replaced by narrower, simpler LED units. They’re cleaner and more modern, though arguably a bit less expressive than the existing setup.

The kidney grilles also get toned down. They’re still unmistakably BMW, but smaller and less dominant, trading shock value for something closer to elegance. For fans who still haven’t warmed up to BMW’s recent grille phase, that alone might count as a win.

There’s also a redesigned front bumper, revised side intakes, and lightly reshaped front fenders—enough to make the facelift obvious to enthusiasts without forcing BMW to reinvent the sheet metal.

Chuyko also explored a more aggressive direction for Kolesa, previewing what an M5 could look like if BMW leans harder into its Neue Klasse design language. Inspired by the 2023 Vision Neue Klasse sedan concept, one version features a full-width horizontal panel stretching across the nose, with the headlights integrated into either end. It’s a modernized callback to classic BMWs like the E30 3-Series and E24 6-Series—and, frankly, one of the more tasteful faces BMW has previewed in years.

Another version keeps the Neue Klasse headlamps but reintroduces a compact double-kidney grille, blending the future with BMW’s traditional front-end layout. It’s the kind of compromise we wouldn’t be surprised to see BMW adopt in the real world.

Inside, things are murkier. BMW’s new Panoramic iDrive system, which debuts on the iX3, is almost certainly coming to future models—but given how restrained the exterior refresh looks, a full interior overhaul seems unlikely for this mid-cycle update. Expect software updates and subtle interface changes rather than a dashboard revolution.

Under the hood, though, the stakes are much higher.

The current M5 uses BMW’s S68 twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 paired with an electric motor and an eight-speed automatic, forming a plug-in hybrid system that delivers a formidable 717 horsepower. But Europe’s looming Euro 7 emissions rules forced BMW to cut the V8’s output from 577 hp to 537 hp on EU-spec cars. BMW made up the difference by boosting the electric motor, keeping the system total the same—but the V8 itself took a hit.

The facelift could give BMW an opportunity to claw that power back. If the company restores the V8’s original output while keeping the revised electric motor, the M5’s total system power could climb even higher. Given the ongoing horsepower war in this segment, don’t be surprised if BMW takes that route.

Timing-wise, the refreshed 5-Series is expected to debut later this year, hitting showrooms as a 2027 model. The M5 sedan and M5 Touring should follow not long after, likely arriving for the 2028 model year.

In other words, don’t expect a design revolution—but do expect BMW to quietly sharpen its most important luxury sedan, making sure the 5-Series stays fresh while the brand’s Neue Klasse future waits in the wings.

Source: Kelsonik

NEW CARS

Bugatti’s W-16 Lives On in the 1600-HP F.K.P. Hommage

By now, Bugatti has made a habit of reminding the automotive world that it doesn’t merely build fast cars—it builds monuments. At Rétromobile 2026 in Paris, the marque unveiled its latest: the F.K.P. Hommage, a one-of-one hypercar that looks backward to the Veyron while pushing forward with 1600 horsepower and the full force of modern Bugatti engineering.

The setting mattered. Bugatti chose the debut of the Ultimate Supercar Garage—a new, ultra-exclusive enclave within Rétromobile—to reveal the second creation from its Programme Solitaire bespoke division. If the original Solitaire car, the Brouillard, was Bugatti’s proof of concept, the F.K.P. Hommage is its mission statement.

Built for the Man Who Invented the Hypercar

The name is no coincidence. F.K.P. stands for Ferdinand Karl Piëch, the former Volkswagen Group chairman whose stubborn vision forced the original Veyron into existence two decades ago. The Veyron didn’t just break records; it created the idea of the modern hypercar—four-figure horsepower wrapped in leather and refinement instead of stripped-out race-car brutality.

Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac opened the unveiling by framing the Hommage as a tribute not just to a man, but to a philosophy: performance without compromise. That mindset lives on in the car’s mechanical core, which uses the latest evolution of Bugatti’s legendary quad-turbo W-16, now producing 1600 horsepower—a figure that would have sounded absurd when the Veyron debuted in 2005.

A Veyron, Reimagined

Visually, the F.K.P. Hommage doesn’t try to reinvent Bugatti’s DNA. Instead, it sharpens it.

The familiar Veyron silhouette remains: the leaning-back stance, the flowing beltline, the unmistakable mid-engine proportions. But every surface has been tightened and modernized. The air intakes are larger and more aggressive, feeding the uprated W-16, while a three-dimensional horseshoe grille machined from solid aluminum replaces the flat grille of earlier cars, giving the front end both physical depth and visual authority.

The paint is equally dramatic. Bugatti calls it Rouge Jubilé, an evolved version of the Veyron’s original Absolute Red. Under show lighting, it reveals multiple layers of color and reflection, set against black-tinted exposed carbon fiber that keeps the car from slipping into retro pastiche.

Old-School Craft, New-School Excess

Inside, the Hommage breaks even more decisively from modern Bugatti interiors. Where the Chiron and Mistral lean toward digital minimalism, this car returns to something more mechanical and architectural.

The circular steering wheel, solid-aluminum center console, and machined tunnel cover are clear nods to the Veyron’s cockpit, but executed with today’s CNC precision. The upholstery uses a custom Ettore Grand fabric in a warm Havana tone, blending old-world luxury with modern tailoring.

Then there’s the centerpiece: a 41-mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon built directly into the dashboard. Set into an engine-turned metal “island,” it’s a reminder that for Bugatti’s clientele, timepieces are as important as horsepower—and that mechanical beauty is still king.

Programme Solitaire: Bugatti Goes Full Coachbuilder

The F.K.P. Hommage exists because of Programme Solitaire, Bugatti’s new ultra-low-volume division dedicated to true coachbuilding. Only two cars per year will be produced, each one fully bespoke. Customers aren’t choosing colors from a configurator; they’re commissioning rolling works of art.

That’s a major shift for Bugatti. While cars like the Chiron already offer extensive customization, Solitaire goes further, letting clients shape not just the trim but the very identity of their car—while still sitting on Bugatti’s 1600-hp W-16 platform.

The Veyron Still Casts a Long Shadow

Parked next to the F.K.P. Hommage at Rétromobile was the original Veyron 16.4, a quiet but powerful reminder of what started all this. Bugatti also displayed four certified Veyron variants—a 16.4, Grand Sport, Super Sport, and Vitesse—through its La Maison Pur Sang heritage program, underscoring how the once-unthinkable hypercar has become a blue-chip collectible.

Bugatti President Christophe Piochon, who worked on the original Veyron program, summed it up perfectly: the standards set 20 years ago still define what a Bugatti must be today.

More Than Just Another One-Off

In a world where every luxury brand seems to be chasing one-off commissions and personalization programs, the F.K.P. Hommage feels different. It isn’t just a styling exercise or a billionaire’s toy—it’s a rolling manifesto that ties Bugatti’s future to the man who made its modern rebirth possible.

And with 1600 horsepower, a W-16 heart, and craftsmanship that borders on obsessive, it’s also a reminder that Bugatti still plays a game no one else quite knows how to win.

Source: Bugatti