The Brabus Bodo coupe was officially revealed Friday, and it’s just as epic as the leaked photos on Reddit suggested. Its hood and rear deck look like they were shaped by a taffy puller, making the Bodo as close to a production version of the Maybach Exelero as we’re likely to get.

With the full reveal comes the full story. The Bodo is named after Brabus’ late founder Bodo Buschmann, and is the brainchild of Buschmann’s son Constantin, who runs the company today. It’s the one car his father wanted to build but never got the chance to, Constantin said in a press release, so it’s getting built now ahead of Brabus’ 50th anniversary next year. Production will be limited to 77 cars in reference to the company’s 1977 founding year.

The senior Buschmann apparently had a thing for cartoonish proportions. At 16.6 feet long and 6.6 feet wide, the Bodo has nearly the same footprint as a Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class. But it stands just 4.2 feet tall, with that extra-long hood and teardrop tail framing the passenger compartment. In typical Brabus black, with its menacing vertical-bar grille and scowling headlights, it looks like something a supervillain would drive.

The performance should be downright evil too. The Bodo is powered by a Brabus-built, twin-turbocharged, 5.2-liter V12 that produces 1,000 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque. All of that power is sent to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, hurling the 3,911-pound Bodo to 62 mph from a standstill in 3.0 seconds, Brabus claims. The top speed is electronically limited to 223 mph, probably because the Continental SportContact 7 Force tires Brabus had custom made for the car are only rated up to 230 mph.

Those tires—size 275/35 ZR 21 at the front and 325/30 ZR 21 at the back—are mounted to forged monoblock wheels chosen for minimum weight. Also helping to keep weight in check is carbon-fiber bodywork, draped over an aluminum monocoque chassis. The release doesn’t say outright, but the above mentioned leaked photos indicate the Bodo chassis comes from a Mercedes-AMG SL. The interior certainly looks very Mercedes, although Brabus supplies its own black leather upholstery.

If you can see past that long hood, a claimed 50.2/49.8 front-rear weight distribution should aid handling. Stopping power is provided by carbon-ceramic brakes with 16.1-inch front and 14.1-inch rear rotors, while the suspension features electronically controlled KW coilovers with multiple driver-selectable settings. Four drive modes—including Wet, GT, Sport, and Sport+—affecting the engine’s response are also available.

All of this makes the Bodo a fitting tribute. The only question is, who wore the long-hood look better: this car, or Mercedes’ own Vision Iconic concept?

Kia is rapidly expanding its EV lineup, the most recent addition to its fully-electric family is the being the EV4. It is offered in hatchback and sedan versions and is aimed primarily towards the European market.

The car should bridge the gap between the smaller EV3 and the larger EV6. Today we got our hands on the Kia EV4 hatchback, equipped with the larger 81.4 kWh battery in the Long Range trim.

It also came with the GT-line trim, which improves the look, but slightly decreases range. Combined with the 19-inch wheels, we had the car with the highest consumption, with EV4 Long Range Air with its 17-inch wheels representing the other end of the spectrum. Going for the sedan version would likely bring another range boost, but this model is not as widely available as the hatchback.

The purpose of today’s test is to determine how efficient the model is in the real world, whereas a dedicated review will be coming shortly, examining all aspects of the car in detail.

After completing severl real-world runs we plug in data to our widget, which uses our own complex algorithm for figuring out the range you can expect in any combination of temperature or speed.

We drove our usual test routes, doing the same track both ways at constant speeds at the same place as with every other car we test. The ambient temperature while testing the Kia EV4 Long Range was 46°F, which certainly isn’t optimal testing weather for an EV. Further improvements can be made by equipping more efficient summer tires and having smaller wheels to build on the range figures presented below.

Even so at our lowest testing speed of 37 mph, the Kia EV4 Long Range performed tremendously. At this lower speed the efficient motors are really counting for someting. Compared to most direct rivals in terms of shape, the EV4 hatchback has a comfortable advantage.

When we sped up to 56 mph, consumption rised noticeably as the shape starts taking its toll on efficiency. The EV4 still performs great for its segment.

At the highest testing speed of 81 mph, the EV4 hatchback continues being among the best in its class. At the highway test it’s only behind more aerodynamic sedans or larger models with bigger batteries. Still, it provides more than sufficient range on a single charge and shows that the EV4 is a great choice for longer trips both on and off the highway.

In the compact electric segment, the Kia EV4 hatchback stands out for its impressive efficiency and driving range. The big 81.4 kWh battery is among the biggest in this class and it delivers a well rounded and highly capable package.

Beyond its range credentials, the EV4 offers a number of appealing features that will be explored in greater detail in our full review. For now, the results from our efficiency testing highlight its ability to cover long distances with ease, making it a practical choice for extended journeys.

Naturally, the shape of the EV4 doesn’t allow it to compete with the very best performers in our range test. The closest rival it loses to is the Renault Scenic E-Tech, which comes with an even larger battery pack and offers similar efficiency. For buyers focused primarily on range in a compact electric hatchback, the Kia EV4 Long Range remains a strong and commendable option that largely delivers on its promise.

Coming back to the widget we mentioned earlier – feel free to give at try!

The start of the 2026 Formula 1 season is around the corner, and I’ve been lucky enough to see several display cars that showcase the tangible changes brought by the new regulations. And while these Audi and Red Bull liveries I saw were plastered on models that won’t actually hit the track, one thing that has stood out is the size difference.

Three years ago, we wrote about a 2023 F1 car being as long as a Chevy Suburban. Now, if you’re someone who is constantly around race cars, this probably isn’t a huge revelation. To general fans, though? You betcha. A Suburban isn’t a small vehicle by any means, so to think that the world’s most advanced and best-performing race cars are as big as a family SUV that seats eight—that’s shocking.

That was then, of course, when the rules mandated wheelbases of 3,600 mm (141.7 inches). Now, the incoming regulations set the wheelbase at 3,400 mm (133.8 inches), a reduction of nearly 8 inches. It’s worth noting that wheelbase length isn’t the same as the car’s overall length, and the FIA doesn’t put any limits on that. For example, the 2023 F1 car we compared to a Suburban was the Alpine, which then measured approximately 221.3 inches, just a pinch shy of the SUV.

So what about the new cars? What do they compare to? Well, it’s still too early to do a precise comparison because teams are still playing around with aero packages, and overall length is largely dictated by how short or long the new front wings will be. But based on the 8-inch deficit as compared to the previous regs (and using the Alpine as the base), it puts a modern F1 car somewhere around 213 inches.

For continuity, I’ll stick with Bowtie SUVs. A 2025 Chevy Tahoe measures 211.3 inches, so a modern F1 car is still about two inches longer than that. Again, these are rough estimations.

Length isn’t the only measurement that’s been reduced for 2026—not even close. The new regulations have also made cars nearly 4 inches narrower. Weight has also been reduced, as well as floor width, and other major components that will drastically affect aero performance and handling. There are several good videos from Formula 1.com and The Race that offer solid visuals, making it easier to understand.

So there you go: Thanks to the new rules, F1 cars are no longer Chevy Suburbans. They’re Tahoes, now.

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