Car News

The upcoming Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will make use of two 3D-printed parts in its brakes, developed at its Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Michigan. Along with the GT500, printed parts will be used in the interior of the F-150 bound for the Chinese market. The company says it has a bank of 23 3D printers at the facility in Redford, Michigan, where around 100 people are employed.

Mercedes-Benz UK has detailed the plug-in hybrid E300e, which commences deliveries in Great Britain from 'spring 2019'. Unlike the E300de, which teams a turbo-diesel engine with plug-in hybrid tech, the E300e uses a more conventional petrol-electric setup. Power comes from a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine making 211hp (157kW) and 350Nm, while the electric motor makes 122hp (91kW) and 440Nm. Mercedes-Benz claims a beefy system torque output of 700Nm, not bad at all.

Porsche Australia has revealed pricing and specifications for the facelifted Macan S, set to touch down during February 2019. REVIEW: 2019 Porsche Macan As we learned in October, the new-look Macan will kick off at $81,400 before on-road costs with the base, four-cylinder petrol engine. The more powerful Macan S bumps that to $97,500 before on-roads, a $2000 price jump over the outgoing model.

Hyundai Australia has detailed the revised 2019 i30 range, which is largely unchanged for the new year except the addition of the new N Line and N Line Premium variants in replacing the previous SR grades. Similar to the N Line versions revealed for Europe a few months ago, the Oz-market i30 N Line brings the look of the flagship i30 N hot hatch without the flagship powertrain.

Euro NCAP has awarded five-star safety ratings to several new models, including the Audi Q3, BMW X5, Peugeot 508, along with the Volvo S60/V60. The Q3, 508, S60 and V60 all scored over 90 per cent in the area of Adult Occupant Protection, while the X5 managed 89 per cent – largely due to the driver's knee airbag not deploying properly in the front offset test.