NEW CARS

2026 Opel Mokka GSE — A Rally-Bred EV With Real Attitude

Opel didn’t mince words when it teased the Mokka GSE: “We’re bringing rally feeling to the road.” Big promise, bigger expectations. Yet after finally meeting the production-ready GSE, it’s clear the brand wasn’t bluffing. This is Opel’s most aggressive electric vehicle yet—an EV that borrows heavily from its own rally prototype and funnels that motorsport swagger straight into a compact crossover.

Rally DNA, Road-Legal Wrap

Let’s start with the headline figures: 207 kW (281 hp), 345 Nm of instant torque, and a 200 km/h top speed—numbers that matter because Opel lifted nearly the entire high-voltage drivetrain from the Mokka GSE Rally prototype. The production GSE sprints from 0–100 km/h in 5.9 seconds, making it the quickest electric Opel you can actually buy.

The energy comes from a 54 kWh lithium-ion battery, which keeps curb weight just under 1.6 tonnes—light for a modern EV performance crossover. Three drive modes—Sport, Normal, and Eco—allow the GSE’s personality to shift from full-tilt fun to efficient commuter.

But what really distinguishes this EV is the chassis hardware. Opel didn’t just tweak the suspension—they engineered it with motorsport intent. The Mokka GSE gets:

  • A Torsen multi-plate limited-slip differential
  • Hydraulic sport shock absorbers
  • Re-engineered axles and steering geometry
  • Heavier-duty brakes with yellow four-piston calipers

All key high-voltage components—motor, inverter, wiring harness—are direct descendants of the rally prototype. That level of parts sharing is rare, and it gives the GSE a depth of engineering you can feel even on a normal street.

A Rally Suit for the City

Opel made sure nobody mistakes the Mokka GSE for a regular Mokka Electric. Up front and out back, new GSE-specific inserts sharpen the already-angular design. The stance? Wider, lower, more planted.

The real eye-catcher is the set of 20-inch aerodynamic alloy wheels, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport EV rubber—rubber chosen specifically to translate electric torque into road grip. Those wheels, plus the big yellow calipers, serve the same purpose as a spoiler on a hot hatch: a visual promise of performance.

Black-and-yellow GSE badging finishes the job. It’s loud, but it works—this isn’t pretending to be subtle.

Inside: Performance Meets Precision

Open the door and Opel continues the rally-inspired theme without going overboard. Alcantara GSE Performance seats with integrated headrests hold you tightly without punishing you. A white center stripe and yellow stitching provide motorsport vibes without drifting into gimmicky territory.

Alcantara door inserts, aluminum pedals, and a sport steering wheel (flat top and bottom) give the cockpit a sense of purpose. Opel’s designers clearly wanted to make the GSE feel special, and they’ve succeeded.

Digital interfaces get the GSE treatment too. The 10-inch driver display and central touchscreen deliver unique graphics, plus pages of performance metrics—G values, acceleration runs, even battery management data. It’s more playful than your typical Opel, and that’s the point.

Comfort hasn’t been sacrificed, either. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, and an armada of safety systems come standard. Matrix headlights, lane-keep assist, speed assist, and a 180-degree rear camera ensure the GSE is as friendly in daily life as it is fierce on a back road.

Price and Positioning

The Opel Mokka GSE is already available to order. In Germany, the fully loaded model starts at €47,300 or can be leased from €399 per month. That makes it one of the more compelling performance EVs in its size class—roughly hot-hatch money for crossover practicality and legitimate rally-inspired engineering.

The Most Exciting Opel EV Yet

The 2025 Opel Mokka GSE isn’t trying to be a Tesla drag-strip monster or a luxury EV statement piece. It’s something more interesting: a compact, lightweight-ish electric crossover engineered with genuine motorsport influence.

Sharp design, real mechanical upgrades, and a drivetrain pulled from a rally prototype make the GSE feel like Opel rediscovering its performance roots—this time through electrons.

It may be Opel’s fastest electric production car ever, but more importantly, it might be its most fun.

Source: Opel

NEW CARS

Porsche Panamera Turbo Sonderwunsch: When Personalization Becomes Performance Art

Porsche has never been shy about blurring the line between production car and personalized sculpture, but the Panamera Turbo Sonderwunsch might be its most compelling argument yet for the art of bespoke automotive design. First revealed with a custom exterior that looked more at home in Monaco than in a configurator, the brand has now pulled the curtain back on an interior that’s every bit as audacious as the paintwork. The unveiling took place at the Icons of Porsche festival in Dubai—fittingly, a city where the ordinary rarely survives.

A Cabin Built Like a Concept Car—But for a Real Customer

Porsche’s Sonderwunsch program exists for one purpose: to turn a customer’s imagination into metal, leather, and lacquer. According to Alexander Fabig, Vice President of Individualisation and Classic, this Panamera’s interior is meant to demonstrate “our passion for making every customer’s personal dream a reality with the utmost precision.”

Precision is an understatement. The cabin mirrors the exterior’s dramatic fade from Leblon Violet Metallic to black, but trades violet for a sunset hue. A gradient shift from black into Sunset Red Metallic sweeps across seat centers, the parcel shelf, and even the vehicle document folder—because in this car, the details don’t take days off.

Avium Metallic: A Color Born for One Customer

A custom paint shade—Avium Metallic—was created specifically for this project. Outside, it highlights pinstripes, wheel faces, and window frames. Inside, Porsche lets the color take a victory lap.

Avium appears on:

  • The Sonderwunsch lettering on the console
  • Switchgear
  • Sport Chrono display bezel and hands
  • Seat piping
  • Door handles
  • Audio speaker grilles
  • Even the Drive Mode switch ring

It’s rare for a color to feel like a narrative thread, but Avium Metallic binds the cabin and exterior into one synchronized design language.

Craftsmanship That Borders on Excess—In the Best Way

The dashboard and door panels are wrapped in black leather with double stitching in Barrique Red, contrasting cleanly against black-stained chestnut wood inserts. The aesthetic is both quietly traditional and deliberately extravagant.

But the detail likely to spark the most conversation is stitched into the seats themselves. On the driver’s side, the badge carries the coordinates for Zuffenhausen—Porsche’s birthplace. On the passenger side: Leipzig, where the Panamera comes to life. It’s a subtle nod to heritage, and an invitation for future Sonderwunsch customers to embed their own story.

A Humidor and Champagne Cooler—Because Why Not?

If there were any doubt that this car was built for the most particular kind of connoisseur, Porsche’s design team erased it by integrating two concept features that feel straight out of a luxury yacht.

The cigar humidor sits beneath a glass lid in the center console. Cedarwood inserts and a hygrometer keep the microclimate just right, while removable trays hold a cigar cutter and lighter.

Not to be outdone, the illuminated Champagne cooler is tucked into the rear seat, tailored for a small bottle and two glasses. The bottle holder is leather-wrapped, Avium-painted, and embossed with the Sonderwunsch name.

Yes, it’s excessive. No, Porsche doesn’t apologize.

A Luggage Compartment That Laughs at the Concept of ‘Trunk’

Open the rear hatch and you won’t find carpet or plastic trim—everything is clad in leather. Black anodized metal strips framed in Avium guard against scratches, while the loading-sill protector includes real gold flakes suspended in the finish. It’s a trunk you treat like a showroom floor.

The Final Touches

Illuminated door sill plates with brushed black aluminum frame the Sonderwunsch branding. Even the key case and charging cable bag—both leather, both contrast-stitched—are crafted to match the cabin’s palette.

The Panamera Turbo Sonderwunsch isn’t simply a special edition—it’s a rolling argument for what happens when a manufacturer hands over the design reins to a customer with vision and a team with the craftsmanship to deliver. Porsche didn’t just match interior to exterior; it created a cohesive design universe where every stitch, shade, and piece of hardware contributes to the story.

This Panamera isn’t built for mass production. It’s built for the one person who dared to imagine it—and for the rest of us to admire from a respectful distance.

Source: Porsche

Tuning

Brabus XL 800 Cabrio: When a G-Wagen Just Isn’t Wild Enough

Just when you think the automotive world has reached peak madness, Brabus decides to cut the roof off a Mercedes-AMG G 63—twice—and turn it into something even more outrageous than the factory ever imagined. Say hello to the Brabus 800 Cabrio and XL 800 Cabrio, two open-air titans built in strictly limited runs of 50 units each, complete with “Masterpiece” interiors and the unmistakable stance of a luxury super-truck.

A G-Class With Its Roof Off? Brabus Says: Why Not.

Brabus didn’t simply unbolt the top. The company “hacked” the G-Class open at the C-pillar and engineered a retractable soft-top roof made from more than 500 newly developed components. It takes 20 seconds to open or close, creating what the tuner calls a “unique open-air experience.”

A carbon-fiber roof bow stabilizes the structure and helps with sound deadening, while a steel roll bar at the rear takes care of safety duties. The result is a convertible SUV that looks equal parts luxury yacht and armored personnel carrier.

Two Flavors of Excess

Both models wear Brabus’s signature widebody treatment and gigantic 24-inch wheels, but their personalities are completely different.

800 Cabrio: The Road Weapon

The standard 800 Cabrio leans toward on-road performance. It rides lower, wears high-performance rubber, and sports exposed carbon elements that make it look something like a convertible G-Class that wants to star in its own music video.

XL 800 Cabrio: Portal-Axle Insanity

The XL 800 Cabrio, though, is the wilder sibling. Thanks to portal axles and a skyscraping 18.9 inches of ground clearance, it isn’t just made to look off-road capable—it genuinely is. Brabus says it’s “mainly designed for phenomenal off-road capabilities,” and with those axles and all-terrain tires, there’s little reason to doubt it.

789 Horsepower of Roof-Down Fury

Under both hoods lives an uprated 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 pushing 789 horsepower and 1,000 Nm of torque.

The lighter, road-oriented 800 Cabrio rockets from 0–62 mph in 4.0 seconds and tops out at 150 mph. The taller, knobbier XL version does the sprint in 4.6 seconds, which is absurd given its ground clearance—and even more absurd considering it can likely do that on dirt, sand, gravel, or anything else you point it at.

Open-Air Luxury, the Brabus Way

Inside, both cabs are drenched in Brabus’s so-called “Masterpiece” treatment: ornate leatherwork, bold colors, and enough stitching to upholster a small boutique hotel. The headrests feature neck-level heating to keep passengers warm during winter roof-down cruises—because if you’re spending this much money, you’d better be able to use the thing all year.

Prices That Make a G 63 Look Like a Bargain

If you thought the standard AMG G 63 was already at the top of the food chain, think again.

  • The Brabus 800 Cabrio starts at €761,500 (around £670,000 before tax).
  • The XL 800 Cabrio begins at €887,600 (around £780,000).

For perspective, a factory G 63 starts from roughly £185,000. That means the Brabus convertibles cost at least £485,000 more—a premium you pay for exclusivity, engineering lunacy, and the sheer joy of driving a roofless super-G that nobody else on your street (or probably your country) will have.

Source: Brabus

Cars and catalogues