Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

2026 BMW M2 Turbo Design Edition: The 2002 Turbo Is Back—With a Manual and a Wink

BMW is closing out 2025 with a heavy dose of nostalgia and just a sprinkle of madness. Following South Africa’s 325iS and 333i Homage Editions, America now gets its own slice of retro heaven: the 2026 BMW M2 Turbo Design Edition. Think of it as BMW’s way of saying, “Remember when our cars were small, loud, and slightly unhinged?”

A blast from Bavaria’s past

Painted exclusively in Alpine White, this limited-edition M2 channels the legendary 1973 BMW 2002 turbo, Europe’s first turbocharged production car. The resemblance isn’t subtle — and that’s the point.

Hand-painted M stripes wrap around the hood and trunk lid, finished in that classic blue, purple, and red trio. Even the carbon fiber roof gets a splash of color. The hood bulge, proudly wearing a mirrored “turbo” script, is a direct nod to the original’s famously cheeky decal (which, back in the day, read “turbo” in reverse so you’d know exactly what just overtook you).

Out back, another “turbo” badge sits beneath the M2 logo, while the side sills and cupholder lid get the same retro treatment. Subtle? Absolutely not. Brilliant? Definitely.

Old-school soul, new-school muscle

Under the bonnet, there’s no 2.0-liter four-pot huffing through a single snail like in 1973. Instead, you get BMW’s modern masterpiece — the 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six from the standard M2, pumping out 473 horsepower. That’s about 2.8 times what the 2002 turbo offered, which means this homage can comfortably outrun its ancestor before you’ve finished saying “boost lag.”

Most importantly, this edition sticks to the enthusiast’s script: six-speed manual gearbox only. No paddles. No dual-clutch trickery. Just you, a clutch pedal, and the kind of connection BMW’s been trying to convince us still exists.

Spec sheet flex

As standard, the Turbo Design Edition gets BMW’s carbon fiber roof, adaptive full-LED lights, carbon rear spoiler, heated Alcantara steering wheel, carbon interior trim, and wireless charging. The seats? Proper M Sport thrones in black Vernasca leather with M-colored highlights.

Tick a few boxes, though, and things get spicy — and pricey.

  • M Carbon bucket seats: $4,500
  • M Driver’s Package (unlocks a higher top speed): $2,500
  • Matte Gold Bronze wheels: $6,266

Add it all up and you’re staring at $97,341, which puts it uncomfortably close to the upcoming M2 CS at $99,775. Still, this one gives you heritage, and that’s priceless — at least that’s what BMW’s marketing team will tell you.

Retro done right

Production kicks off in early 2026, with deliveries set for the following quarter. Each car will be built in tiny numbers — BMW hasn’t said how many, but expect it to sell out faster than a Cars & Coffee meet runs out of flat whites.

So, what’s the verdict? The M2 Turbo Design Edition isn’t just another trim-level gimmick. It’s a proper celebration of BMW’s turbocharged roots, dressed in nostalgia and powered by the best M2 yet. A manual gearbox, hand-painted stripes, and that iconic mirrored “turbo” script — it’s everything the brand does best, distilled into one punchy, rear-driven tribute.

Source: BMW

NEW CARS

The Capricorn 01 Zagato Is Proof the Analog Hypercar Isn’t Dead Yet

In an era when hypercars come loaded with electric motors, digital dashboards, and more drive modes than a Formula 1 car, Capricorn and Zagato have gone in the opposite direction. Their new creation—the Capricorn 01 Zagato—is a defiant celebration of analog purity: a 900bhp, rear-drive, manual-gearbox missile designed not for algorithms, but for enthusiasts.

A Purist’s Weapon

At the heart of this striking Italian-German collaboration sits a supercharged 5.2-liter Ford V8, tuned by Capricorn’s motorsport engineers to produce a mountain-moving 738 lb-ft of torque and “more than” 900 PS (888bhp). The numbers are still provisional pending homologation, but even conservatively, that’s enough to make it one of the most powerful cars ever fitted with a five-speed dog-leg manual gearbox.

Power goes exclusively to the rear wheels, and with a curb weight of under 1,200 kilograms, the 01 Zagato’s power-to-weight ratio sits in the same rarefied air as the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. Capricorn says it’ll rocket from 0 to 62 mph in under three seconds and top out at 224 mph.

Form Follows Function—Beautifully

Zagato’s chief designer Norihiko Harada aimed to create something that could “stand the test of time,” and he may have done just that. The Capricorn 01 avoids the trap of contemporary hypercar excess—no towering rear wing, no sci-fi cameras in place of mirrors. Instead, its carbonfibre skin channels airflow through an intricately sculpted floor, generating substantial ground-effect downforce without resorting to add-on aero clutter.

The result is a car that looks as though it could have graced a Le Mans grid in the 1970s, yet it’s entirely modern beneath the surface.

Race-Bred Core

Built around a carbonfibre monocoque chassis inspired by LMP1 endurance racers, the 01 Zagato benefits from Capricorn’s deep motorsport experience. Braking is handled by carbon-ceramic discs gripped by six-piston Brembo calipers, while steering assistance is delivered electronically at low speeds—then disengages entirely at pace for undiluted feedback.

As Capricorn CEO Robertino Wild puts it, “Our target was to achieve a constant and predictable downforce distribution for stability—not an ultra-high number that makes the car nervous.” In other words, this is a car built to reward precision, not punish imperfection.

The Analog Experience

Open the gull-wing doors and you step into a cockpit that’s closer to a vintage race car than a modern supercar. A large analog tachometer dominates the dash; digital displays are practically nonexistent. The seats are bolted directly to the chassis, and instead of moving the seats, the pedal box and gear lever adjust to fit the driver.

There’s no touchscreen—just a small retractable screen for the reversing camera. Drive modes (Comfort, Sport, Track) are selected via a rotary dial on the steering wheel, and that’s about as high-tech as it gets.

Exclusivity Defined

Just 19 examples of the Capricorn 01 Zagato will be built, each priced from €2.95 million (around £2.56m) before tax. Every car will be homologated for European roads, including the UK, making this one of the few true analog hypercars you could—at least theoretically—drive to the shops.

Interestingly, Capricorn had originally been tapped to produce the De Tomaso P72, another carbon-bodied manual hypercar, before that project shifted to HWA. With the 01 Zagato, Capricorn seems determined to make its own mark on the modern hypercar landscape—one that values engagement over automation, and timeless beauty over fleeting tech trends.

In a world increasingly driven by software, the Capricorn 01 Zagato is a welcome rebellion—a car that remembers what driving used to feel like.

Source: Autocar

NEW CARS

2026 Opel Grandland Electric Long Range: The 430-Mile German SUV That Finally Kills Range Anxiety

Opel is serious about electrons these days. The brand’s Grandland SUV — once a fairly conventional crossover — has evolved into a fully electric flagship. And now, with the debut of the Opel Grandland Electric Long Range, it’s also taking a shot at one of the industry’s biggest anxieties: range.

This latest addition to the Grandland family stretches the distance between charging stops to an impressive 694 kilometers (431 miles) on the WLTP cycle. That’s thanks to a new 97-kWh battery pack, making it the range champion in Opel’s lineup and one of the longest-legged EVs in Europe outside the luxury bracket. Prices start at €51,750 in Germany, and yes — you can order one now.

Built for the Long Haul

The Long Range model sits atop Stellantis’s STLA Medium platform, a modular electric architecture designed to host large battery packs without eating into interior or cargo space. In this case, the platform supports that 97-kWh pack while preserving the SUV’s practicality. Opel claims you can charge from 10 to 80 percent in about 27 minutes at a DC fast charger — enough time for a coffee and a pretzel on the Autobahn.

Under the hood (or rather, under the floor), a 170-kW (231-hp) motor sends 345 Nm (254 lb-ft) of torque to the front wheels. It’s not a rocket ship, but it’ll do 0–100 km/h in 8.8 seconds and top out at 170 km/h. More than fast enough for a family hauler that can quietly glide from Frankfurt to Milan on a single charge.

A Comfier Kind of Electric

Opel hasn’t forgotten comfort. Even the base Edition trim includes Intelli-Seats — ergonomic chairs designed to ease long-distance fatigue — and a Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) suspension setup. That system adjusts shock absorption depending on road surface and driving style, softening the ride over cobblestones while tightening things up in corners.

Step up the range, and the Grandland piles on tech: Intelli-Lux HD adaptive headlights with over 50,000 LED elements, a head-up display, and a 360-degree camera system all make the cut. Inside, a 16-inch touchscreen handles infotainment and navigation, while a wireless Pixel Box keeps your phone charged and visible in the center console. Higher trims also bring a sensor-controlled tailgate for easy access when your hands are full of groceries or charging cables.

All-Wheel Drive? Already Covered.

Opel recently rolled out the Grandland Electric AWD, a dual-motor version producing a healthy 239 kW (325 hp) and 509 Nm of torque. The new Long Range variant, by contrast, focuses less on raw performance and more on efficiency and endurance. Together with the standard 73-kWh version (good for 521 km of range), Opel now offers three distinct flavors of its electric SUV — a rare bit of choice in a market still figuring out how to scale EV options.

Charging Forward

Every new Grandland Electric Long Range ships with Opel’s ‘Electric All In’ package — essentially a starter kit for EV life. Buyers get an eProWallbox Move for home charging, e-route navigation, and eight years of battery and roadside coverage. It’s the brand’s way of smoothing the transition for drivers still hesitant to ditch the gas pump.

The 2025 Grandland Electric Long Range isn’t about adrenaline or track times — it’s about making electric driving practical, comfortable, and actually convenient. With nearly 700 kilometers of range, serious interior comfort, and just enough German Autobahn DNA to feel composed at speed, Opel’s top-spec SUV might just be the brand’s most convincing electric effort yet.

Whether that’s enough to lure buyers away from Tesla or Hyundai’s long-range champions remains to be seen — but one thing’s clear: Opel has officially joined the big leagues of electric mobility, and it’s bringing comfort, confidence, and a lot of kilometers to the table.

Source: Stellantis