Car News

The 2021 Toyota HiLux Rugged X and Rogue won’t be available for customer deliveries until January even though demonstrator models have begun arriving in dealerships across Australia. Both models were meant to be on sale by now, however a chronic production bottleneck at the Melbourne conversion facility – caused by extended lockdowns in Victoria during the coronavirus crisis – has prompted the delay.

Patent filings for the updated 2022 Jaguar I-Pace have emerged, hinting at yet another update for the electric SUV. After receiving a model-year-2021 update in June 2020 – focusing primarily on technology and charging updates, with styling changes being minimal – American publication Motor Trend has uncovered a set of international patent filings for a lightly-revised I-Pace, filed by Jaguar in January 2019, and officially approved on December 1, 2020.

UPDATE, December 7, 2020: BMW Australia has at last confirmed the X7 Dark Shadow Edition for our shores. Just 10 examples will offered locally, available in a choice of two powertrains: the 195kW/620Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel inline-six-powered xDrive30d, or the 390kW/750Nm 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8-powered M50i. Five of each engine choice will be offered, priced from $188,900 drive-away in xDrive30d M Sport guise, and $215,900 drive-away in M50i form.

Daimler has announced it will pour €70 billion (AU$114B) into accelerated development of electric technologies. According to electric vehicle (EV) website Electrek, Daimler – parent company of Mercedes-Benz and associated brands – is investing the money over the coming four years, after the company's Supervisory Board approved its budget to 2025.

A futuristic drift car has been designed by students at Adelaide’s St Francis Primary School, as part of a program to promote “science, maths, and design skills.” The two-metre long papier-mache concept – known as Tiger Stripe – reportedly took 10 weeks to build, and is loosely based on the McLaren Senna GTR. The name references the vehicle’s orange rims, which, according to the year-three students who built them, “look like fire” when spinning.