Future Car reviews

It’s no secret that Jaguar has eyes on launching an all-electric version of the XJ sedan, and just as we started lamenting the lack of tangible evidence of an all-electric XJ, a batch of spy photos fell on our laps and, lo and behold, we get our first look and what looks to be the all-electric XJ.

Granted, the spy photos don’t show the heavily wrapped sedan doing blitzing test runs, but, rather, they show the sedan getting transported to an undisclosed location where it could potentially do those blitzing test runs. We’ll take our victories where we can get them, though, and this batch of spy photos is validation — to a certain extent, at least — that the Jaguar XJ EV is actually a real thing. Expect more spy photos to come in the near future. Hopefully, those photos will show the sedan with its wheels touching the ground.

The 2021 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is an upcoming version of the Cayenne Coupe, a sleek SUV that Porsche originally introduced for the 2020 model year. Spotted testing in the wild with a different exhaust layout, the 2021 Cayenne Turbo GT is rumored to become the company’s range-topping model. It could also be a hybrid that generates more oomph than the already impressive Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid model. The fact that it was also spotted at the Nurburgring in the past suggests it will be more dynamic than any other Cayenne on the market. The equivalent of the 911 GT3 for SUVs if you will. The name is not yet official, but it could be called the Cayenne Coupe Turbo GT5, a badge that Porsche trademarked back in 2015.

Remember the excessively polarizing BMW Concept 4 shown at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show? Well, some of its distinctive styling cues are bound to be trickled down to the upcoming BMW 4 Series Coupé and we’ve already seen pics that suggest the oversized kidney grille is one such element.

Although we’ll have to wait a while to see the new 4 Series take a bow, our spy photographers caught a heavily camouflaged test mule and managed to sneak inside for a couple of interior shots. Read all about it and more in the in-depth review below.

The turn of the year marked the official demise of the BMW 6 Series in the U.S. But while it will no longer be offered in the U.S. market, the 6er will live on on the other side of the Atlantic. Proof of that comes in the form of new spy photos our eagle-eyed photographers culled of the soon-to-release, mid-cycle 6 Series Gran Turismo. Prototypes of the updated 6 Series GT have been spotted sporting barely enough camouflage to cover its entire body. A few physical changes are expected to come for the facelifted model, including some design cues that we’ve already seen in other new Bimmer models. The updated BMW 6 Series GT is scheduled to hit the market in the middle of 2020 as a 2021 model. It stands as the last 6 Series model in the market.

The Mercedes-Benz CLA is en route to receiving a plug-in-hybrid variant that would go under the 250 e badging. Info is scarce, but Stuttgart’s compact four-door coupé could be in line for the same powertrain used by the A-Class and B-Class PHEV.

On the design front, changes are to be of minimal impact both inside and out and will be resumed to new badging and the addition of plug-in sockets that would allow users to recharge their cars when not in use. Although there’s no word on a debut date, the 2020 Geneva Motor Show looks like a plausible launch platform for the CLA PHEV. Here’s everything we know so far.

BMW is set to launch an all-new 4-Series two-door sometime in 2019 or 2020, and while the G23 coupe version will not feature any dramatic changes over the current model, the G22 droptop will. Spy shots indicate that for the first time in two generations (E93 and F33), BMW is giving up on the folding hardtop design in favor of the more traditional soft top option which it last used on the E46 model discontinued in 2006.

Heavy camouflage covers the prototype spotted, but this important change is quite evident as the canvas top is left completely bare (quite obviously on purpose). It might be an illusion caused by the camo, but it also appears this new 4-Series has a longer hood and rear decklid compared to its predecessor.

Update 12/30/2019: The BMW 4 Series Convertible was caught on the back of a transport on the way to some final testing before its big debut. Check out the latest pictures in our “Spy Shots” section below.

The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI may still be the most popular hot-hatchback out there, but it’s getting a bit long in the tooth after more than four years on the market. With Ford already working on a new-generation Focus ST, which will be significantly more powerful than the current Golf GTI, Volkswagen needs to roll out a new hatchback really soon. Fortunately, the Germans are already testing the next-generation Golf GTI, which is rumored to break cover sometime in 2019.

Not much is known about the upcoming performance hatchback, but it should borrow many design features seen on recently introduced Volkswagen models, including the sporty Arteon sedan. The company also promises a revolution inside the cabin, including a "total digital environment," according to design chief Klaus Bischoff. Set to use a revised version of the company’s MQB platform, it will also a new engine with power ratings of up to 250 horsepower. Let’s find out more about that in the speculative review below.

Updated 12/30/2019: The 2021 Volkswagen Golf MK8 GTI was caught doing some cold-weather testing with next to no camo and zero padding. Check out the new images and the latest details in our spy shots section below!

The idea of a Lotus crossover might make some fans of the British sports carmaker a little squeamish, but if Lotus is going to stick around, it’s going to need a higher-volume model with more mass-market appeal. Lotus revealed that it’s developing a compact crossover in 2017, but we still don’t know much about its underpinnings and design. However, a batch of patent images that surfaced the Web provided some hints as to what the British crossover will look like, and our designer created a rendering of the vehicle.

So what do we actually know about this crossover so far? First, it will be built in China and launched exclusively in that market before expanding to Europe and Japan. No word on U.S. availability just yet, but it’s very likely that North America will get it too. Second, Lotus aims to win SUV enthusiasts with one of the lightest and most dynamic vehicles on the market. "The SUV market changes as well – it’s not just cars that are six feet high and wide now, it’s a huge market that’s becoming more segmented. There is a niche within that for a Lotus crossover that is light and aerodynamic and handles like nothing else," former Lotus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales told Autocar in October 2017. Lotus began testing the crossover in 2019, but the prototype is just an old Lynk & Co 01 model. As a reminder, Lynk & Co is owned by Geely, the same Chinese company that owns Lotus (and Volvo for that matter).

Updated 06/24/2019: Our spy photographers caught the very first mules for the upcoming Lotus SUV out for the first testing session.

The Genesis GV80 is the first SUV to wear the “Genesis” nameplate, but it won’t remain by itself for very long. Its smaller sibling, the GV70, is already scheduled to arrive in 2021, giving Hyundai’s upstart luxury brand a Development of the GV70 is ongoing, which explains the batch of spy photos we received from our eagle-eyed spy photographers. The SUV is still largely covered in camouflage wraps, but there are telling signs that the GV70 will share a lot of things with its big brother, not to mention its sedan counterpart, the G70.

The 2021 BMW X8 is an upcoming crossover based on the familiar X7. Rumored to arrive by the end of 2020 or in 2021, the X8 will fill another gap in BMW’s SUV lineup. Essentially an X7 with a coupe-style roof, the X8 will become BMW’s range-topping coupe-SUV, as it will slot above the X6.

BMW has yet to confirm the existence of the X8, but intel from BMWBlog claims that the vehicle is already in development with the internal designation G09 (the X7 is codenamed G07). Once it arrives, the X8 will be the eighth SUV in BMW’s lineup. What do we know about the X8? Quite a lot, and we also have a couple of renderings of the SUV’s design. Join me in the speculative review for more.

The BMW X2 is barely two years old as a model and it’s already headed down the path of electrification. A prototype version of Bimmer’s relatively new compact crossover has been spotted in the snowy abode of Sweden, and while it’s easy to assume that said model is the plug-in hybrid variant of the X2, the truth is that it’s not.

This crossover is the test mule of the iX2, the all-electric version of the X2 crossover that will be launched sometime in 2021 or 2022. The spy photos captured the iX2 prototype sans any camouflage and that’s not by accident. Visually, it’s still the X2 but that little sticker that says “electric test vehicle” confirms that, other than a few design changes, this prototype is an all-electric crossover hiding in the X2’s clothing.

Mercedes’ lineup of electric crossovers and SUVs continues to take shape with a fresh batch of spy photos of a model that looks a lot like the Mercedes GLB-Class. Except this isn’t the GLB; this is the GLB’s all-electric alter ego, the EQ B. The spy photos were taken in Sweden where the EQ B is undergoing winter testing. Mercedes hasn’t divulged the juicy details of the EQ B, but it is believed that, among other things, it will largely take the form of the GLB, albeit with a few minor tweaks to reflect is all-electric stature. No timetable has been given on when the Mercedes EQ B will launch, but we do know that the all-electric crossover will not hit the U.S. market until 2021.

The 2021 Wiesmann MF 6 is an upcoming sports car built by the German company. A spiritual successor to the GT MF 5, the MF 6 is Wiesmann’s first production model since it went bankrupt in 2014. Reopened in 2016, Wiesmann confirmed a new sports car for 2020. The vehicle is known as Project Gecko and the MF 6 name has yet to be confirmed, but it’s a natural choice given that the new sports car is supposed to be an evolution of previous models. Wiesmann confirmed that the MF 6 will feature a BMW engine, just like its predecessors. A teaser video and sketches posted on the company’s website reveal a familiar design that reminds of the MF 5.