The 2018 BMW X3 has been redesigned, and it’s now wearing BMW’s current design language and boasts a new M performance model that looks slightly more aggressive than more pedestrian variants. Let’s take a look at the third-generation X3 and see how its design has evolved inside and out.
As with other BMW models, the 2018 X3 receives an exterior design that is more evolutionary than revolutionary, especially the front fascia, which features a larger kidney grille and wider headlights similar to those on the new 5 Series sedan. The air intakes on the lower front fascia are also bigger than those of its predecessor, giving it a more aggressive look. The headlight clusters feature new LED accent lighting in a C-shaped pattern instead of the “angel eyes” found on past BMW models. From the side, the new X3 looks similar to the vehicle it replaces, but it appears lower to the ground, especially in the M40i guise. A small M badge on the front fenders placed right above the side air inlets gives a subtle indication that the X3 M40i is geared more towards performance.
Out back, there are wider, less angular taillights that are more sculpted than the ones found on the outgoing X3. The X3 M40i also features split dual exhausts that help give the car a wider, more planted stance when viewed from the rear. Inside, the dash now has a freestanding touchscreen with the new iDrive interface while the center stack is tilted slightly toward the driver to give it a more driver-focused feel.
Available with a 248-hp 2.0-liter turbo-four or a 355-hp 3.0-liter turbo I-6, the 2018 BMW X3 features the latest engines from the German automaker, and they’re paired exclusively to an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard, and like its predecessor, the new X3 will be assembled at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina facility alongside the X4, X5 and X6 crossovers.
Porsche has made its presence known at the Goodwood Festival of Speed by unleashing the most powerful street-legal 911 ever. The 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS delivers 700 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque from its 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six.
Thanks to the new engine, the 911 GT2 RS hits 60 mph in a Porsche-estimated 2.7 seconds. On the track, top speed is 211 mph. Compare that to the outgoing 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, which was estimated to hit 3.4 seconds and a top track speed of 205 mph. Most impressively, the new model has a 80-hp and 37 lb-ft advantage over its predecessor.
Based on the engine in the 911 Turbo S, the engine in the new GT2 RS boosts performance even further with a new additional cooling system and larger turbos that push a greater volume of air into the combustion chambers. The flat-six pairs to a custom GT seven-speed PDK transmission.
The car’s chassis accommodates rear axle steering and has been specifically tuned for the spirited driving this car will undertake. To improve performance, the rear-drive 911 GT2 RS features large air intakes, a large rear wing, ceramic composite brakes, and 265/35 ZR 20 tires up front with 325/30 ZR 21 tires in the rear. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics can be found on the front fenders, wheel housing vents, rear quarter panel air intakes, and other areas. The front luggage compartment is also made of carbon fiber, and the standard roof panel boasts a magnesium construction. A lightweight titanium exhaust system weighs about 15 pounds less than the system in the 911 Turbo, just one update that helps keep the car’s weight as low as possible to 3,241 pounds. To shave off an extra 40 pounds, buyers can opt for the $31,000 Weissach package. For this price, you’ll receive magnesium wheels as well as a carbon fiber roof and anti-roll bars.
Red Alcantara, black leather, and carbon fiber accents fill the cabin. Both driver and passenger get full bucket seats with carbon fiber reinforced backrests. Audio, navigation, and other creature comforts are also part of the interior. The standard Porsche Track Precision app enables drivers to record and analyze their driving data on their smartphones, while the optional Chrono Package gets a built-in performance display for viewing, saving, and evaluating lap times.
Although we’ll have to wait several months, we can expect to see this sports car on our shores. The 2018 Prosche 911 GT2 RS goes on sale here in early 2018. Prices start at a whopping $294,250.
JaguarLand Rover enlists its SVO division to build high-performance versions of its standard vehicles, with the most recent creation being the XE SV Project 8. But now, the division that first launched in 2014 wants to create its own bespoke car.
“Deep down we want to make our own model,” John Edwards, JLR’s managing director of Special Operations, told Auto Express. “Just look at the success of the [Mercedes] AMG GT.”
SVO’s F-Type Project 7 could serve as the basis for a bespoke car to fight the Mercedes-AMG GT, the publication reports. The division could use the mechanical workings of this limited-edition, 567-hp Jaguar and dress it up with a new body and interior.
Before introducing a bespoke car, however, SVO will continue making more Project vehicles. Promising new candidates to receive the SVO treatment include the Jaguar F-Pace and Range Rover Velar. Previously, Edwards said SVO aims to launch an average of one new car every year through 2020.
Earlier this week, SVO brought out the XE SV Project 8, which Edwards said is “the car to make our reputation.” The model, which is 75 percent unique, packs a 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 producing 591 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. The Project 8 is based off an XE sedan aluminum body shell, but only the roof panel and front door skins are left unchanged. Look for an updated suspension, retuned transmission, and carbon fiber for the hood, front fenders, bumpers, front splitter, rear diffuser, and massive rear wing.
Judging from the design of the grille, the Leaf is starting to take after the IDS concept that debuted at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. Nissan sources said the exterior styling of that concept would resemble the design of the new Leaf. At this time, Nissan has given few other clues on what to expect for the new EV. Earlier this year, the automaker teased the car’s unusual headlights.
Rumor has it the new Leaf will offer more range than the current version, and Nissan has confirmed the new car will feature semi-autonomous driving technology. A feature called ProPilot will help control acceleration, braking, and steering to keep the car positioned in its lane on the highway. Over time, Nissan will add more capabilities, including autonomous lane changing. Eventually, the ProPilot system will also be able to handle city intersections.
The Nissan Leaf is expected to go on sale before the end of the year. It’s likely to make its auto show debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens later in September.
What’s happening to One Ford? (You know, Ford’s corporate re-engineering scheme launched a decade ago.) It was meant, inter alia, to save costs and make better cars by doing one vehicle for each segment and selling them globally. After the Fiesta, we got a worldwide Focus, Fusion, Edge, Escape and more. OK, they didn’t all wear the same badges as they rolled out across the oceans, but they were pretty much the same cars.
But here is Europe’s new Fiesta. Will it land here soon? Suddenly everyone at Ford comes over all taciturn. An engineer quietly told Motor Trend there’s no technical issue with its going global, but the PR department’s lips are sealed. We asked the question and got an answer to a different question. “We are introducing the new Fiesta in Europe and Middle East and Africa at this time and will have more to say about other markets at a later date. Fiesta remains an important part of our lineup.”
So will the current Fiesta be replaced by this new one here, too? Right now it’s built in Mexico for U.S. sale. Could the POTUS have tweeted it out of existence? Or has Ford decided to shave small-car costs by skipping a generation in the U.S.? It pulled that cheap trick before, with the Focus in 2004 when Europe got a new car, but North America was palmed off with a face-lift.
Just in case these two conspiratorial speculations are wrong and the new Fiesta will come here, we tried out the Euro-market version. Or if it doesn’t come here, take a read and file it under forbidden fruit. Because as baby cars go, it’s pretty fruity.
Its basic proportions resemble the current car. The initial plan was to update the sheetmetal and fix up the over-designed but cheap-feeling dashboard plus add some driver-assist tech. The original platform was to have been retained.
But in the end there was a whole lot of mission creep, and very few parts except the three-cylinder engine have lived on unaltered.
For instance, they installed new seats derived from Focus items, with a wider range of adjustment, which meant the whole floor pressing was changed. The front track was widened by more than an inch, achieved by new control arms. So they felt they might as well take advantage by doing new uprights, new struts and top mounts, etc. They wanted more lateral stiffness in the rear suspension, so they built a whole new torsion beam. The wheels are bigger, and the brakes are stronger. The manual transmission is a new six-speed. “We had an argument with the finance people at every stage,” shrugged an engineer while describing the changes.
Meanwhile, back to the changes they planned at the start. Design was led by Ford of Europe director Joel Piaskowski, who’s soon to return to Dearborn, Michigan, to run car and crossover design. The Fiesta has fewer creases than before but fuller curves in the surfaces. All exterior panels are new. The clearest change is at the rear, where horizontal lamp clusters replace the old vertical ones.
Additional driver aids include adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation braking—which spots pedestrians as well as vehicles—lane keeping assist, road-sign detection, blind-spot detection, and cross-traffic alert. For a mainstream small car, that’s pretty comprehensive even if it is mostly optional rather than standard.
The new cabin ditches the angular design of the old one, gets a bigger instrument binnacle, and has a touchscreen mounted in tablet format. It’s the first time the Euro-Fiesta has had full Sync 3, though the U.S. has had it for a while. It works well. In many models it’s paired up with an audio system branded B&O Play. Proper adjustable items replace the old coin-flap vents, and the HVAC controls are less toylike. But the quality of some cabin plastics, especially the horrid door pulls, still leaves room for improvement.
The wheelbase has grown negligibly, so improvements in the Fiesta’s class-mediocre rear seat and trunk space are similarly modest, mainly brought about by no-brainers such as strategically thinning the seat cushions.
We sampled the 138-hp version of the 1.0-liter engine. Its peak torque differs little from the 123-hp one currently sold in the U.S., so its behavior is similar but with a greater keenness to chase the 6,600-rpm cutout. It vibrates distinctively though not annoyingly in the mid-revs.
The new six-speed transmission shifts slickly, and unlike many small-car trannies it doesn’t feel like it’s been over-geared to meet economy tests. It’s interesting to note that the auto version switches from a DCT to a six-speed torque converter.
On summer tires, the new version finds remarkable grip through corners and maintains its cornering balance gamely. So you just pile it into curves with increasing abandon. Sure, that implies there isn’t the throttle-adjustability of the current ST, but remember this is the shopping edition. It’s 160 inches of proof that driving a slow car flat-out can be more fun than driving a fast car slowly. It’s precise and progressive, and it manages reasonable feedback as you try to rub the writing off the tires’ sidewalls.
It’s true the damping can eventually let slip on difficult cresting surfaces. But there’s an answer to that. An ST-Line package has better dampers as well as stiffer springs and anti-sway measures, so it keeps itself under tighter control.
Neither car has a pillowy ride, but they take away sharp edges from the surface, and their suspensions feed up little noise to the cabin. In fact, the Fiesta’s overall refinement remains a strong asset. It’s not just about muffling any acoustic intrusion from suspension, wind, and engine. It’s also about the slick and well-engineered feeling of all the controls.
The Fiesta was never a space-optimized small car. In the face of new generations of the Honda Fit and Nissan Versa Note, that’s clearer than ever. But if you don’t need to carry four U.S.-spec adult males or two bicycles, it’s a great use of fuel and urban road space. And when you get it out of the urban confines to canyons or highways, it excels.
It’s not transformative because it had no need to be. But it’s a solid update, and Americans would have the right to feel pissed if denied it.
View photos of the 2018 Ford Fiesta Euro-Spec Titanium here:
View photos of the 2018 Ford Fiesta Euro-Spec Vignale here:
