AUTOCAR AWARDS 2025: TOP TALENT AND BEST CARS

The recipient of this year’s Issigonis Trophy, Autocar’s

GOLF GTI MARKS 50TH WITH POTENT HARDCORE SPECIAL

VW’s new GTI Edition 50 packs 321bhp and is tuned for rapid track pace

BENTLEY’S FIRST EV IS SLEEK SUV WITH 1000BHP PROMISE

Lower-riding SUV has ‘authentic’ Bentley feel; 1000bhp variant will follow

ELLESMERE GETS NEW BOSS

Stellantis has appointed a new plant director at

VITARA EV DIPS UNDER £30K

The electric Suzuki Vitara will go on sale

MITSUBISHI KEEN ON UK COMEBACK WITH NEW LINE-UP

MITSUBISHI WANTS TO return to the UK as

US-UK TARIFF DEAL SIGNED

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister

SKODA TRIES NEW FIBRE DIET

Skoda has replaced carbonfibre with a new material

LANDIE’S CAMEL CHAMELEON

GETTY IMAGES The new Defender Trophy Edition is

DE MEO LEAVES RENAULT GROUP FOR LUXURY FIRM

CEO is departing after five years and an internal successor looks likely

HONDA’S TWINGO EV RIVAL TO STAR AT GOODWOOD

HONDA WILL SHOW a concept car that previews

KIA EV9 GETS 502BHP GT

The Kia EV9 is now a £82,185 Porsche

AUDI POISED TO REVEAL ALL-NEW LOOK THIS YEAR

Concept car will show the fresh approach taken by its new design boss

FAMILIES RALLY AGAINST CUTS TO LOLLIPOP CROSSINGS

Safety concerns raised as councils cut back on school crossing patrols

A TEMPERATURE CHECK THAT REDUCES RARE-EARTH USAGE

Continental’s sensor is the first to measure heat

Grapevine

Döllner wants Audi to be “the progressive choice”

Steve Cropley

Luca de Meo has been a charismatic and

Matt Prior

AUTOCAR IMAGE T here was a time

Damien Smith

RACING LINES

Testing, testing

Unspoiled beauty: empty roads free of average-speed cameras

Why I love... THE HUMBLE HATCHBACK

It was at once an unsatisfying and actually

What we did this week

SUGAR RUSH The Le Mans 24 Hours

YOUR VIEWS

WRITE TO autocar@haymarket.com Letter of the

CAUGHT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS

MERCEDES-BENZ CL 500 2009, 72,000 miles, £13,695

The car company founded by a woman

T he subject of last week’s My Car

ROAD TEST RESULTS

Autocar’s history of empirical road testing is the

KIA EV6 GT

TESTED 18.6.25, WARWICKSHIRE ON SALE NOW

FORD RANGER PHEV

TESTED 16.6.25, REYKJAVIK, ICELAND DELIVERIES NOW

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT

Standard coupé is now a PHEV and in essence a downtuned Speed

RENAULT SYMBIOZ

Uprated hybrid system and new petrol manual option for Kia Niro rival

ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST

Facelifted junior Rolls gains the sporting flavour of a Black Badge fettling

MANUFACTURER’S SPECIFICATION

ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST SERIES II BLACK BADGE On-the-road

VERDICT

Flirts with sporting appeal while retaining its Rolls DNA

In association with SIEMENS

Welcome to this year’s coverage of the Autocar Awards, a 44-page celebration of the best cars and the sharpest minds blazing a trail for an industry that refuses to slow down

Ho Sung Song

Kia’s CEO has led a transformation of company culture, brand identity and model strategy – and Kia is achieving enviable success as a result. MARK TISSHAW meets him in Seoul

Peter Rawlinson

Lucid’s co-founder was in on the ground floor of the EV era, and he’s still driven by a passion to innovate.

Diane Miller

Stellantis’s director of the parts distribution centre at Ellesmere Port could never be accused of painting herself into a corner.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE, BY TOMORROW

Diane Miller’s new domain, the Stellantis UK parts

Philippe Krief

MUNDY AWARD FOR ENGINEERING

KRIEF ON HIS CARS

458 Speciale is a Krief favourite and one

McLaren Formula 1

The Woking-based Formula 1 team has hit a rich vein of form that recaptures its past glories.

François Leboine

Fiat’s head of design has more than made his mark on contemporary motoring. JAMES ATTWOOD finds out what inspires him

Lawrence Stroll

The Aston Martin boss is steering the brand back towards profitability – and this, he tells STEVE CROPLEY , is only the beginning

Protean Electric

Britain’s in-wheel-motor pioneer is on the cusp of greatness. FELIX PAGE finds out why

Porsche 911 S/T

o suggest there was an inevitability to Porsche’s

Skoda Superb

I t suggests unusual faith in nominative determinism

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

“The Ioniq 5 N is complicated, but it

Alpine A290

F ew electric cars generated as much

McLaren Artura

W ho doesn’t love an epic narrative arc, eh?

Lamborghini Revuelto

U ntil very recently, the idea of Lamborghini’s

Dacia Duster

W he Dacia Duster is not the cheapest car

VW Golf eHybrid

“A 107bhp electric motor gives the eHybrid plenty

Kia EV3

No dynamic fireworks, but the EV3 handles nicely

Fiat Grande Panda

T he Fiat Grande Panda could easily have

Land Rover Defender Octa

“Its happy place is pretty much anywhere you

MG

BEST MANUFACTURER

FORD EXPLORER

Where our long-term test cars have been and what they’ve done

JEEP WRANGLER

We remove the roof and head into the concrete jungle on urban safari

TESLA MODEL 3

An EV road trip to the Highlands sounds dicey. Was it?

THIS ONE’S A KEEPER

HOW TO BUY A BMW X1

How to get one in your garage

AN OWNER’S VIEW IAN DAVID “I

A Ferrari-inspired BMW fit for a king

T his 1986 BMW 635 CSi is one

A new engine for my Imp – but first a new chicken run

Many, many months ago, I had basically decided