A heavily camouflaged prototype of an electric Bentley SUV has been spotted. It was seen undergoing testing at Nürburgring.

This is easily the clearest look yet of the upcoming EV, which will sit below the Bentley Bentayga in the brand’s lineup. Despite heavy disguise, we can see the proportions of the electric SUV. Smaller, yes, but not small by any stretch. Expect a length of nearly five metres. The stance is tighter, the silhouette feels sleeker, and it looks more agile than the Bentayga.

Reports suggest that Bentley’s first electric SUV will ride on the dedicated PPE platform. That means no combustion engine compatibility. Just a clean electric architecture designed purely for performance and efficiency.

Giving power to the electric Bentley SUV would be a dual-motor AWD setup. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a 4-figure power output. Also expected is some seriously fast charging capability.

Source: @Carspotter Jeroen

The Czinger 21C has been testing at the Nürburgring in preparation for a lap record attempt. The American hypercar is not only expected to beat the Mustang GTD’s record but will also challenge the Mercedes-AMG One’s outright lap record.

In this video captured by CarSpyMedia, the Czinger 21C can be seen testing hard during an industry pool session. Watch as the hypercar attacks corners while negotiating through traffic.

The 21C is not like your regular hypercar. It has a unique design featuring a narrow cockpit, where the driver sits in the centre with the passenger seat positioned right behind him. This setup reduces the frontal cross-section of the car, which helps reduce drag. It also has a massive rear spoiler, which should come in handy on the twisty, undulating tarmac of the Nordschleife.

Powering 21C is a rather unusual engine. It’s a 2.88-liter twin-turbo V8, which is paired with three electric motors to deliver a combined output of 1250 hp to the rear wheels.

It seems like Adrian Newey has been keeping busy with several projects at Aston Martin and not just the AMR26 F1 car. A video circulating on social media suggests that Newey might have just created a single-seater Aston Martin hypercar derived from the Valkyrie AMR Pro.

This wild prototype was recently spotted testing at an airfield. The car looks like a cross between a Formula 1 car and a Valkyrie AMR Pro. In fact, the design is more akin to an Indycar.

It has a sharp nose section with F1-style suspension featuring exposed wishbones and inboard dampers. A single cockpit with the halo roll-over protection device and the engine intake positioned just above the driver’s head.

The prototype single-seater hypercar has a shrink-wrapped engine cover with a shark fin that extends to the massive rear spoiler. There are F1-esque bargeboards and floor. However, unlike a modern F1 car, it seems to be powered by a naturally aspirated V12 engine.

Source: @Scubachef1969 via Tiktok

THERE have been mixed results from the latest round of ANCAP safety testing with four-star results awarded to the Suzuki e Vitara and Nissan Qashqai and a five-star score for both the Audi Q3 and Cupra Leon.

 

The Suzuki e Vitara, assessed under ANCAP’s 2023–2025 protocols, delivered solid performance across most categories but was ultimately limited by its Adult Occupant Protection score, with inconsistent results recorded in full-width crash testing.

 

The absence of a centre airbag to mitigate head contact in the event of a side impact also counted against the overall rating for the Suzuki e Vitara.

 

Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota said that while safety is “paramount”, the brand believes its products meet the expectations of buyers, focusing on value despite the lack of current five-star ratings across the range.

 

By contrast, the new-generation Audi Q3 achieved a five-star rating with strong, consistent results across all key areas of assessment, reflecting the benchmark required to secure top marks under the current regime.

 

Alongside the new model assessments, ANCAP has also updated ratings for three existing vehicles following specification changes and reassessment.

 

As such, the Audi A3 and Cupra Leon both retain five-star ratings, continuing to demonstrate strong performance across Adult and Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist categories.

 

However, the Nissan Qashqai has been downgraded to a four-star rating…

 

While it continues to perform strongly in Child Occupant Protection, its results in other categories were not sufficient to maintain a five-star standing under current criteria.

 

ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg said the latest results highlight the importance of balanced performance across all safety pillars.

 

“These outcomes show that higher levels of safety are within reach, and that continued focus on delivering consistent performance across all areas is key to achieving the highest rating,” she said.

 

A closer look at the latest ANCAP scores across Adult Occupant protection, Child Occupant protection, Vulnerable Road User and Safety Assist categories reveals how the performance of the vehicles assessed.

 

	Adult Occ.	Child Occ.	Road User	Safety Assist
Audi A3	86%	80%	76%	75%
Audi Q3	87%	86%	80%	83%
Cupra Leon	88%	86%	82%	82%
Nissan Qashqai	78%	91%	68%	62%
Suzuki e Vitara	77%	87%	79%	71%

 

ANCAP says the latest round of vehicle assessments underscores the tightening standards required to achieve a five-star rating, particularly as newer models incorporate more advanced active safety and occupant protection technologies.

Gordon Murray’s second V12 supercar is finally taking shape, four years after it was first revealed.

The GMA T33 is a grand tourer that’s supposed to be less hardcore than the T50. The design hasn’t changed much in the last four years, as the prototype looks similar to the concept. It’s a simple design, featuring clean surfaces with fewer sharp edges, a low-slung nose section and stacked headlamps.

In the rear, the T33 has round taillamps and twin central exhausts with a diffuser around them. The engine scoop has also been retained.

The T33 is powered by a Cosworth-built 3.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine that produces 607 hp @ 10,500 rpm with a red line at 11,100 rpm. The engine is bolted to an H-gate 6-speed manual gearbox

Source: Autocar

The biggest car news and reviews, no BS

Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday.

Few people are lucky enough to get behind the wheel of a Bugatti Veyron, but Loris Bicocchi is even luckier. He was the test driver Bugatti hired to explore the outer limits of Veyron prototypes during the car’s development in 2001. As he describes in a press release from the automaker, it was an expedition into the unknown.

Bicocchi served as a test driver for Bugatti’s ill-fated 1990s incarnation, shaking down the EB110 in both GT and higher-power Super Sport forms. But with a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 that would go on to produce 1,001 horsepower and 922 pound-feet of torque in production form, the Veyron was something else entirely. Today Rivian sells an electric pickup truck with similar output, but at the time, the Veyron had about twice the power of any production vehicle.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Bicocchi said of his first test of a Veyron prototype at a Michelin track in France. “I didn’t dare to go full throttle. It was so impressive—crazy, almost inexplicable. You immediately understood what this car stood for.”

The Veyron was capable of reaching 253 mph, a record for production cars at the time. A couple of supercars—the EB110 and the McLaren F1 that the Veyron would eventually dethrone as the world’s fastest—had ventured deep into 200-mph territory, but it was still largely unfamiliar ground for production cars.

“From 300 or 320 kph [186 mph or 198 mph] onwards, everything changes,” Bicocchi said. “Especially aerodynamics. Every single detail counts. I had to reset all the references I had built during my career, because the Veyron was simply incomparable to anything I had driven before.” But after getting to grips with an “incomparable” car, Bicocchi had to guide development so the final product could be driven by mere mortals.

“That was a huge responsibility, both for me and the marque,” he said. “We had to create an incredible car, yes, but one that could be driven by anyone, not only by professional drivers. It was real teamwork—a 360-degree strike force of experts—and we all learned together as we set about making history.”

And make history they did. The Veyron entered production in 2005, relaunching the Bugatti brand in grand style. Bugatti built 450 examples over 10 years, spanning the original 16.4 coupe and other variants, including the Grand Sport convertible and the Super Sport, which upped the top speed to 267 mph. The Veyron was replaced by the Chiron, which in turn has been superseded by the Tourbillon, a car that’s expected to continue pushing the limits of speed and elitism.

Got a tip? Send it in: tips@thedrive.com