Car News

The SUV craze has diminished the public's appetite for wagons, but a few holdouts still offer properly hot load-luggers. BMW has axed the M3 Estate, but Audi has carried on its tradition for practical performance with the latest RS4. Power comes from a twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 pumping out 331kW and 600Nm, hooked up to a quattro all-wheel drive system. It'll hit 100km/h in a claimed 4.1 seconds, and keeps pulling through to 280km/h with the right options boxes ticked. Not slow by any measure.

Mercedes-Benz has teased the 2019 A-Class Sedan, confirming its credentials as a seriously slippery customer. According to the company, its upcoming three-box A-Class will be the most aerodynamically efficient car in the world with a 0.22 coefficient of drag (Cd), down on the (already-impressive) 0.25Cd offered by the hatchback. Mercedes-Benz is crediting an extensive period of development using computer-aided simulations, and plenty of time in the Sindelfingen wind tunnel.

Christopher Svensson, a life-long Ford employee responsible for some of the brand's most recognisable modern designs, succumbed to cancer on July 21, USA time. Most recently Svensson was global director in charge of Ford's SUV, truck and commercial vehicle portfolio. He held this job from mid-2017 until July 1, when, it's been confirmed to Automotive News, he quietly resigned. Above: First-generation Ford Ka.

It appears even the ultra-rich are affected by manufacturing defects... The Bugatti Chiron has been recalled for faulty side airbag inflators, and you'll be interested to know how the marque plans to conduct the repairs. According to the NHTSA's Safety Recall Report, just two examples of the quad-turbo hypercar have been recalled, both based on the US, due to improperly-installed heat shields for the side airbags.

The new Ariel Atom, complete with an engine from the Honda Civic Type R, has narrowly pipped the BAC Mono for British track-car supremacy in our latest poll. Although it looks similar to the Atom we've come to know and love, the Type R-powered car pictured here really is all new. It shares just the clutch, brake pedal and fuel filler cap with the model it replaces, with Simon Saunders, Ariel managing director, describing it as the "biggest change to the car" since it was released in 1999.