Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

Bufori CS8: The Handmade Grand Tourer That Wants to Out-GT the Italians

A boutique automaker with one foot in Australia and the other in Malaysia doesn’t usually come to mind when you think of six-figure grand tourers, but Bufori has never played by the book. Known for its eccentric, hand-built sedans that look equal parts Rolls-Royce homage and retro fever dream, the company has spent the past decade brewing something entirely different. The result is the Bufori CS8, a carbon-kevlar-bodied “Ultra High Performance Grand Tourer” with a supercharged American V8 that sounds like it should come with its own noise ordinance violation.

From Concept to Carbon Reality

The CS8’s story stretches back to the BMS R1 race car concept of 2009, which morphed into the CS prototype shown in 2019. The production CS8 doesn’t deviate wildly from those earlier sketches, but the details are sharper, tighter, and ready for the showroom. Slim LED headlights tuck into the wide front fenders, the bumpers now feature gaping intakes, and a spoiler stretches across the rear deck like a tailored crease in an expensive suit.

The car’s footprint isn’t massive by GT standards—wheelbase is 102.7 inches, with an overall length of 179.8 inches—but the entire body is formed from carbon-kevlar composite, a signature Bufori material since the late ’80s. The result: a curb weight of just 3,417 pounds, featherlight compared to similarly priced Bentleys and Ferraris.

Cabin: Leather, Screens, and Recaro Buckets

Open the long door and you’ll find an interior that splits the difference between race car focus and grand tourer indulgence. Electrically adjustable Recaro buckets anchor the cockpit, stitched in leather and set against a surprisingly polished dash. A 13.6-inch infotainment display dominates the center stack, sitting above offbeat climate vents, while a Dodge-sourced steering wheel and analog gauges remind you that Bufori still has one foot in Detroit.

Tech isn’t forgotten: GPS-based smart tagging helps owners locate their car, and driver-assist features are included, though Bufori is clearly betting its buyers would rather listen to the exhaust than lane-keep warnings.

Power: A Buffet of Stellantis Firepower

At its most outrageous, the CS8 houses a supercharged 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that belts out 810 horsepower and a monstrous 717 lb-ft of torque. Of that, 750 hp actually reaches the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic and a limited-slip differential. The payoff: 0–62 mph in a flat three seconds, with an electronically limited top speed of 205 mph.

For buyers not ready to tame Cerberus, Bufori offers a surprisingly broad menu of engines, all sourced from Stellantis. Options range from a naturally aspirated 6.4-liter Hemi (475 hp) to a twin-turbo 3.0-liter Hurricane six (550 hp). In between are a 455-hp supercharged V6 and a 320-hp naturally aspirated variant. This is a rare GT where the badge matters less than which Stellantis crate motor you tick on the order form.

Built By Hand, Not Robots

If the powertrain choices don’t make the CS8 niche enough, the production method seals it. Each car takes over 9,000 man-hours to build, finished by hand in Bufori’s Kuala Lumpur workshop staffed by 150 people. Every CS8 is effectively a one-off, tailored to the buyer’s taste with bespoke paint, exotic interior trim, and hand-stitched upholstery. As a parting gift, each buyer receives a scale model of their exact car—something Ferrari and Aston Martin don’t bother with.

The Company It Keeps

At 2.188 million Malaysian Ringgit (about $517,000), the CS8 competes in rarefied air. That’s Ferrari 12Cilindri, Aston Martin Vanquish, and Bentley Continental GT Hybrid money. But while those cars arrive with pedigrees measured in Formula 1 trophies and Bond cameos, the Bufori CS8 trades on eccentricity, scarcity, and the romance of something handmade in a corner of the world that most supercar buyers would never consider.

It may not be the obvious choice, but then again, Bufori has never been about obvious choices. The CS8 is proof that even in 2025, there’s still room in the GT landscape for the eccentric outsider.

Source: Paultan

NEW CARS

Hydrogen-Powered BMW X5 to Join the Lineup in 2028

BMW has never been shy about hedging its bets when it comes to future propulsion. While rivals charge headlong into battery-only electrification, Munich is keeping every card on the table—petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid, EV, and now, hydrogen. In 2028, the X5 will officially gain a fuel-cell variant, marking the brand’s first hydrogen-powered model to be offered to paying customers.

The move builds on BMW’s iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet, which has quietly been logging miles since 2023. Those vehicles, strictly used for testing and development, ran a Toyota-supplied second-generation fuel-cell stack paired with BMW’s own integration. With a combined 396 horsepower and a WLTP range of 313 miles, it was a promising appetizer. The main course arrives in four years, powered by BMW’s third-generation system.

Smaller, Stronger, Smarter

The new setup, developed once again with Toyota, is said to be 25 percent smaller than the iX5 Hydrogen’s unit but offers more power density and greater efficiency. BMW says it’s modular by design, meaning it can scale across multiple vehicle platforms. Production of the stacks will take place in Steyr, Austria, while other key components—like a new hydrogen-specific high-voltage brain dubbed the BMW Energy Master—will be built in Landshut, Germany.

Prototypes are already being pieced together at Dingolfing, with BMW board member for development Joachim Post promising “improved range, higher output, and significantly greater efficiency” compared with the current pilot fleet. Translation: expect more horsepower and more miles between fill-ups from the new X5 Hydrogen.

A Limited-Run Experiment

BMW won’t flood showrooms with this one. Sales will be limited to markets where hydrogen refueling infrastructure actually exists—a caveat that should temper any expectations of wide availability. That said, the X5 Hydrogen represents an important milestone: BMW’s first commercial hydrogen passenger vehicle after decades of dabbling.

A New-Gen X5, A New Look Inside

The hydrogen variant will ride on the upcoming fifth-generation X5, codenamed G65, which itself is due in 2026. Early prototypes reveal styling cues lifted from the next iX3, including sleeker lines and a more aggressive stance. Inside, the transformation is more radical. Out goes the familiar instrument cluster and the long-serving iDrive rotary controller. In their place: a panoramic projected display, a 17.9-inch widescreen central interface, and full reliance on voice and touch inputs.

The Long Game

BMW’s hydrogen strategy may seem contrarian in today’s EV-hungry market, but it’s a deliberate hedge. The company insists that hydrogen fuel cells can coexist with battery EVs, especially for long-distance and heavy-use scenarios. With Toyota as a partner and a modular system capable of scaling across platforms, the upcoming X5 Hydrogen is less a one-off experiment and more a test case for a wider rollout down the road.

The future of hydrogen cars remains uncertain. But BMW, never one to ignore an engineering challenge, is betting there’s room for both plugs and pumps. In 2028, the X5 will let customers decide.

Source: BMW

NEW CARS

Porsche 911 Turbo S: Hybrid Power Is Coming, but the Flat-Six Lives On

With a model range as sprawling as the Alps it was born near, the Porsche 911 never sits still for long. Every year brings a fresh twist—sometimes it’s a new trim, sometimes a commemorative badge, sometimes just a handful of subtle updates that only Porsche diehards will notice. But the big changes are the ones worth watching, and the biggest of the 992.2 generation so far is just around the corner: a hybridized 911 Turbo S.

Porsche has been teasing the car with cryptic social posts ahead of its September 7 debut. Blink and you might miss the clues, but one thing is certain: it’s a 911. A video starring actor and racer Patrick Dempsey shows the unmistakable 2+2 layout, and Porsche has already confirmed the Turbo S will bow this year with electrification baked in.

A Faster-Than-Fast Turbo

The outgoing Turbo S is no slouch. With 640 horsepower from its twin-turbo 3.7-liter flat-six, it rockets to 62 mph in just 2.7 seconds when fitted with the Sport Chrono package. That’s borderline warp speed for a car with license plates. But add in an electric motor’s instant torque, and the next Turbo S should make “faster than schnell”—as Porsche itself teased—sound like an understatement. Shaving a few tenths from that launch time feels inevitable.

While Porsche hasn’t spilled specs yet, the hybrid system is expected to push output well past today’s 640 horses. If the GTS’s recent hybrid upgrade is any indication, the setup won’t compromise character—it’ll amplify it.

What Comes After the Turbo?

The 992.2’s story is still unfolding. A new GT2 RS is reportedly in the works for next year, likely embracing electrification as well. Rumors also swirl about a Slantnose revival, a nod to the wild ’80s 930 Turbo SE. What you won’t see this decade is a fully electric 911. Porsche has drawn a line in the sand: the 911 remains an internal-combustion car, and likely the last of its kind in Stuttgart’s lineup.

That pledge is backed by Karl Dums, head of Porsche’s synthetic fuel program, who insists the 911 will stay on the road with a combustion engine for as long as possible. With the Cayenne’s V-8 confirmed to stick around into the 2030s, the rear-mounted flat-six isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Farewell to the 718, Hello to… Maybe?

The same can’t be said for the 718 twins. Both the Boxster and Cayman bow out next month, making way for all-electric successors later this decade. A combustion follow-up isn’t on the cards—at least officially. Still, Porsche has hinted that some future models originally slated as EV-only could see ICE versions after all. If the business case works, don’t count the 718 out completely. Stranger things have happened, like the unexpected decision to build a new gas-powered Macan alongside its EV counterpart.

The Bigger Picture

Porsche is threading a needle that other automakers have already dropped: balancing its racing-bred combustion heritage with an electrified future. The hybrid 911 Turbo S looks set to be the perfect embodiment of that strategy—brutally quick, technologically advanced, and still unmistakably Porsche.

When it arrives, the question won’t be whether it’s fast enough. The real question will be whether anything else on the road can keep up.

Source: Porsche