2 HRS AGO - On the night the new logo is revealed at Frankfurt, the logo atop VW’s Wolfsburg HQ will be switched for the new one Volkswagen is transforming its entire business – including rebranding itself with a new logo next week Volkswagen will unveil a new brand identity alongside the pivotal ID 3 electric car at the Frankfurt motor show next week, as it attempts to draw a line under the fallout from the dieselgate scandal. The revelations in October 2015 about how the firm had cheated diesel emissions tests sparked a clear-out of its leadership group, and sparked a heavy investment in electric technology. The first result of that will be the ID 3, the first car based on the VW Group’s electric-only MEB platform. Termed ‘New Volkswagen’, the design revamp goes far beyond a new logo. Chief operating officer Ralf Brandstätter calls it a “pivotal moment”, as significant as a new-car launch. The roots of ‘New Volkswagen’ began following a board meeting after Herbert Diess took over the Collapse

8 HRS AGO - Not the most practical crossover hatchback, but it probably doesn’t need to be. Looks good, classy inside, and impressive to drive – with the right engine The Mazda CX-30 is yet more evidence that the third age of the crossover hatchback is in full swing. If you’re a car-maker it’s probably already too late to jump on the first age’s Qashqai-sized bandwagon, given that every industry player and his dog already has; and it’s getting too late, even, to launch a cheaper and more compact, Renault Captur-sized second-age one. With any luck it'll all be over soon.It’s the high-design, fashion-item crossovers that have become the growth area now: the likes of the Mini Countryman, Audi Q2, Citroen C3 Aircross, VW T-Roc and Toyota C-HR, which sacrifice a little bit of their added onboard practicality for extra visual appeal.Mazda is the latest to enter the sub-segment. The company’s sales pitch for the CX-30 claims that it offers the cabin space of a CX-5 in a footprint much closer to that Collapse

13 HRS AGO - Electric city car will now offer 161 miles of range from batteries, with prices starting around £23,000 Volkswagen will launch a new version of the e-Up electric city car, with an increased range of 161 miles and a reduced base price, at the Frankfurt motor show. The new model will switch the 18.7kWh lithium ion batteries from the current model, with a range of around 118 miles, for 32.3kWh batteries. VW says they will be capable of charging at 40kW, and will take 60 minutes to charge the battery to 80 per cent. Power will come from a 82bhp electric motor, which can achieve 0-62mph in 11.9 secs and has a top speed of 81mph. The firm says that the e-Up will feature air conditioning system, a ‘composition phone’ radio with a Bluetooth connection interface, Lane Assist. The firm also says it will offer a range of personalisation options. Volkswagen says that the new e-Up will be cheaper than its predecessor, with a price of 21,975 euros in Germany. UK pricing is not confirmed, but is Collapse

15 HRS AGO - New GA-B modular architecture allows different small car bodystyles and a better driving experience Toyota has begun the gradual build-up to the unveiling of its next-generation Yaris, due to be shown in 2020, by revealing the new platform that will underpin it. The architecture, dubbed GA-B, is a development of the TNGA platform that underpins the bulk of Toyota’s European range, from the Prius and Corolla to the Camry and RAV4. The Japanese firm claims its focus is to “elevate the design and driving performance of small cars”. Most significantly, though, the GA-B platform allows for variable wheelbase lengths, widths and heights, suggesting that Toyota will eventually expand its small car line-up beyond the Yaris with different bodystyles. Designers are said to have “the freedom to give each new model a distinctive and individual look” with the platform. Toyota claims advanced structural build techniques give the GA-B a “highly rigid underbody”. It can accommodate different Collapse

16 HRS AGO - New SUV will be a 'core model' in Mazda's range and is due on sale in the UK this year Mazda has announced UK pricing and specifications for its new CX-30 mid-sized crossover. Sitting between the CX-3 and CX-5, the new model is priced from £22,895, and is available initially with a choice of two petrol engines and five trims. Entry-level SE-L trim comes equipped with 16in metallic alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, colour-coded electrically adjustable wing mirrors, chrome exhaust tips and automatic windscreen wipers as standard. Inside, standard models receive a cloth interior, manually adjustable front seats, head-up display and an electronic parking brake. SE-L Lux trim adds £1300 to the model’s list price, and brings with it front parking sensors, heated front seats, a reversing camera and electrically assisted bootlid. Sport Lux, from £25,295, includes 18in alloy wheels, a black front grille and adaptive LED headlights. GT Sport and GT Sport Tech head up the CX-30 range Collapse

20 HRS AGO - Volkswagen's eighth-generation Golf will be unveiled in the autumn, with significant developments in electrification Volkswagen will unveil the new, eighth-generation Golf in the autumn, and now spy photographers have caught the plug-in hybrid GTE variant testing. The standard car, which will feature a raft of mild-hybrid powertrains, has already been seen with virtually no disguise before. But now a prototype has been spotted with a charging port built within its front wing, suggesting it is the flagship PHEV model. Specs for this variant have yet to be detailed, but we're expecting a boost in performance, electric range and efficiency from the new version, which wil make use of a 48v electrical system like other high-end Golf variants. It'll likely be revealed after the standard range, possibly in early 2020. VW has already confirmed that it will unveil the eighth-generation Golf later this year, with the firm’s design chief promising that it will be a “genuine Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Honda’s rare, alternative, unconventional and understated supercar has been tweaked rather than overhauled. Seems a better drive for it, even though it’s still short on firepower. This is a refreshed version of the second-generation Honda NSX: a car we liked, though we always recognised that it was highly unlikely to match the stature of its famous predecessor. The Ferrari 348 was a considerably easier benchmark to surpass in 1990, after all, than a McLaren 720S is today – and not just because of the passing of nearly 30 years.The original Honda NSX changed the landscape of the market niche into which it emerged – and expecting to do that twice in a row was a tall order. Today’s very best £200,000 supercars probably only have the usability, visibility, drivability and all-round completeness that they do as a result of the legacy of that 1990s Japanese lightning bolt.The 2016 version did what it could to rewrite the mid-engined rulebook again using electric motors and typical Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Entry-level Porsche sports cars are likely to offer electric variants from 2022 The Porsche 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster are the “right cars to start electrification in [Porsche] sports cars”, according to Porsche deputy chairman Lutz Meschke. Autocar first reported on a possible electric and hybrid 718 arriving in 2022 earlier this year, and while Meschke would not confirm the electrified model was coming, his comments strongly hinted that this is the case. He said the 718 would certainly go down a pure-electric route rather than any form of hybrid. “We need to start thinking about electric cars in the sports car segment. An [electric] 718 could be a very good step in the future.” Meschke added that a new electric platform would be created for an electric 718, which would then be shared with the wider Volkswagen Group, rather than sitting on the Taycan’s existing PPE platform, shared with Audi. “Sports cars are part of our history; we can't just offer electrified SUVs.” Porsche Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Porsche has a brilliant past and present, but Tesla’s reign as the cool kid of EVs means brand competition is fierce Porsche, purveyor of extraordinary sports cars. Tesla, purveyor of sometimes-questionable-quality electric cars. Today, the day which many Porsche traditionalists might never have thought would come, marks the arrival of Porsche’s first electric car, the Taycan. Suddenly, two of the most aspirational brands in motoring collide. New Porsche Taycan arrives as pivotal electric sports car But for all of Porsche’s history and brilliance, does it have the brand cache of Tesla, the (relatively) new kid on the block? On the matter of the product - which should be the most important thing, but rarely wins against brand appeal - the Taycan promises to be a force for good. Contributing ed Frankel, having driven the prototype, said “shut your eyes and you could almost be in a 911”. The Stuttgart maker is also pushing the Taycan’s repeatability - that it can continue to perform Collapse