Car news

The wait is finally over. The first leaked photos of the next-generation BMW Z4 have arrived courtesy of Bimmerpost Unless a complete swerve happens in the coming days, these leaked photos of the new Z4 appear to be the real deal. We’ve waited a long time to see the roadster in the flesh, and in true auto industry fashion, we get an unauthorized sneak peek at the Z4 ahead of its official unveiling on August 23 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Update: 8-15-2018: Official-looking press images of the new, 2019 BMW Z4 have been leaked online ahead of its debut. Check out the latest images in our special section below!

China may be ground zero for hundreds of startup EV automakers, but that doesn’t mean success is on the horizon for a lot of these companies. That’s the sentiment shared by NIO Capital Managing Partner Ian Zhu, who told Bloomberg that 99 percent of all Chinese startup electric car makers will fail to get off the ground because of a lack of significant investment in the technology.

It would seem that the most important goals for any manufacturer today are continuity and clarity. If you do cheap cars, do only them. If you do sports cars, focus only on them. If you are premium, adapt to what the people think is premium and push.

Alfa Romeo had a problem with its mission, vision, and continuity. Since the Eighties, it seems to have shifted its vision two or three times basically confusing buyers when it comes to what the brand truly represents. Now, it is eager to find its footing with what it should have done all along - sports character, upscale styling, and premium nature.

At a press conference held earlier this year Tim Kuniskis, Global Head of Maserati and Alfa Romeo said: “We know our future depends on staying true to our sports car roots. We have learned that when we stay true to Alfa DNA, we can stand out in any segment.”

Thankfully, the brand seems to have found what it wants to be the best at. To communicate this noble vision to the automotive lunatics and solidify brand recognition, Alfa Romeo has to do some extraordinary things. Having the Giulia Quadrifoglio and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio was only a start. Now, the company needs to go further, and that further comes in the shape of the 8C.

Recently, the late Sergio Marchionne hinted at the new 8C only months before his death. Moreover, the plan FCA displayed in June clearly showcases a planned super sports car called the 8C, and it will appear in the next three or four years.

Ford is all set to reveal an all-new model at the Woodward Dream Cruise this weekend, and by all accounts, that “all-new” model is going to be a Ford Mustang Cobra Jet. The revelation comes to us by way of Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook, who flat out told Autoweek that the mysterious production model that will be unveiled at the Woodward event is, in fact, the Mustang Cobra Jet. The debut is expected to take place at the Ford Media Club House on August 16, 10 A.M. Eastern time.

A bridge in the northwest Italian city of Genoa collapsed on Tuesday, killing 26 people, injuring 15 others, and sending cars crashing from heights of more than 150 feet on to rail tracks, buildings, and a river. The catastrophic scene unfolded just as heavy rains pummelled the Italian city. It’s unclear what led to the bridge’s collapse, but Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo has vowed to get to the bottom of the issue, including holding those responsible accountable for the disaster.

Patent filings are flying all over the place as automakers rush to protect their home-grown inventions. The latest company to do so is General Motors, which has secured patents for a number of active aerodynamic components that could soon find their way to the Chevrolet Corvette. All in all, GM was recently awarded three new patents involving adaptive aero technologies, specifically Active Side-Skirts, Active Spoilers, and Downforce Generating Ducts..

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has a stake of almost five percent in Tesla, but a new report from Bloomberg claims that the Middle Eastern nation wants to raise its stake by being a part of any investor pool that will be created in response to Elon Musk’s plan to take the electric car maker private. It’s unclear if these plans will gain any traction because the process of taking Tesla private is going to be a difficult task.

While the Type R may be a bit over the top with its styling, the lesser versions of the latest Honda Civic are definitely exceptional in their compact-car mission. Now, Honda has revealed the 2019 Civic with new styling features for the coupe and sedan. As an added bonus the Sport trim can now be had on the Civic Coupe.

Despite a strong move towards more crossovers and trucks, Ford isn’t ditching all the good stuff its got going with its line of sedans. The latest is that the Blue Oval’s upcoming “baby Bronco” will take its underpinnings from the Focus four-door.

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Aston Martin has yet to send the Valkyrie hypercar to the welcoming arms of its owners, but that hasn’t stopped the British automaker from setting its sights on developing a successor that it plans to unleash on endurance races from 2020. The new hypercar only goes by the nickname “son of Valkyrie,” but it’s already being talked about in glowing terms by people within the company as the car that could help Aston Martin achieve outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

We’ve seen plenty of supercar battles on airstrips before, but this one’s a bit different from the rest. Posted to Twitter by user @Chopsyturvey, it’s an abbreviated 44-second clip that shows a head-to-head acceleration battle between a Lamborghini Huracan Performante and a MIG-29K fighter jet, combining horsepower and firepower into a single brief video.

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Another day, another Tesla drama. The latest pertains to the California automaker’s new Model 3 compact, it’s most-affordable, and arguably most-important, offering to date. Apparently, the car is having some trouble holding on to its rear bumper when driving through puddles.

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Lamborghini is known for naming its cars after famous bulls in history. The Miura, for example, is named after a Spanish fighting bull that was bred from the Miura Cattle Ranch Feruccio Lamborghini’s friend, Don Eduardo Miura. There’s also the Islero, which was named after a specific Miura bull that killed matador Manolete back in 1947. Then there’s the Murcielago, which is, quite arguably, the most famous bull in history, thanks in part to the myth that has grown from it surviving 28 sword strokes in a bullfight that took place all the way back in 1897. Of all the Lamborghinis that have made hit the road, only a handful carried names that weren’t connected to bulls. One of those models is the Lamborghini Countach, regarded as the first Lamborghini to break free from the automaker’s bull-naming tradition. So if the Countach’s name isn’t related to bulls or bullfighting, how did Lamborghini come up with the name? Well, we now have the answer, one brought to us by no less than the head of the Countach’s design team, Marcello Gandini.

The next-generation models of the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra have been joined at the hip ever since BMW and Toyota announced plans to build them together. It’s only fitting; then, that one week before the Z4 finally breaks cover at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, we get our hands on a spy video of the Z4 and Supra prototypes testing at the Nurburgring together. Who knew that all the hype and pandemonium surrounding these two sports cars would all lead up to seeing them together in the tail end of their respective testing sessions?

Suzuki hit the jackpot with the overachieving Jumny when the lastest generation made its debut. Everybody adores it. It is a car that you could proudly drive to a car meet, and people would gather around to witness the awesomeness of a raw, off-road ready, tiny machine from Japan. Liberty Walk saw an opportunity with the Suzuki Jimny, and they released a new body-kit. Yup, a Liberty Walk body-kit for the new Suzuki Jimny. We live in an awesome time.

You know what? The body kit is much the same as what one could order for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. It looks similar. It is not sized as such, of course, but it’s strikingly similar. As I noted in my first review about the Jimny, this one is much like a baby G-Class.

As Liberty Walk gearheads obviously live deep within car stardom, they revealed two similar kits for two similarly awesome cars that are dramatically different in size. This is actually the first time that Liberty Walk devised a body kit for a truck - one for the G-Class, and the other for the Jimny.

Geely’s plans for Lotus includes bringing the once-proud British sports car brand back to relevancy. But a new report from Automotive News Europe reveals that the Chinese auto giant now has bigger plans for its new acquisition, specifically increasing its stake in Lotus with a fresh $1.9 billion investment. If Geely’s plans come to fruition, it could up its stake in Lotus from 51 percent to a more significant ownership percentage. Doing so would cut into the shares of Malaysia’s Erika Automotive, which currently owns 49 percent of Lotus.