Car News

Volkswagen has revealed its next-generation mainstream manual transmission, designed to be more efficient and more SUV-friendly than before. The MQ281 transmission will serve initially serve in the new Passat, although Volkswagen's updated rival to the Mazda 6 and Toyota Camry won't be offered with three pedals in Australia.

Alex Misoyannis • Chevrolet has confirmed the eighth-generation C8 Corvette, set for a Friday reveal, will launch in ‘Stingray’ guise. The moniker was first used on the second-generation Corvette in 1963, before being dropped at the end of 1976. It made a return in 2014 to denote the entry-level variant of the C7 Corvette – the same role it'll fill within the new C8 range.

Alex Misoyannis • Pininfarina’s first independent model, the Battista, has entered the final stages of testing, ahead of its European market launch in 2020. The famous Italian firm is conducting final tuning on its all-electric hypercar. Work is being done in the wind tunnel, through computer modelling and on the simulator to refine the car’s aero package, minimise drag over the body, and increase cooling.

From the 1958 Chrysler Imperial with cruise control to the Tesla Model S equipped with Autopilot, cars continue to advance and remove the driver from the equation. When it comes to going from A to B, drivers are the biggest problem on the road - we’re only human. But no matter how advanced the car, it needs the help of its surroundings to know what's around the corner.

Ford's next generation of electric vehicles will be underpinned by Volkswagen's modular electric platform (MEB), after the two companies expanded their technology and platform sharing alliance. The Blue Oval will use Volkswagen's new MEB electric platform on at least one 'high-volume, fully-electric vehicle in Europe' to be released in 2023.