Car News

Sources close to Subaru have claimed that the next generation of its flagship WRX STI will offer 298kW and 489Nm, as reported by Forbes. The 2021 WRX STI will reportedly utilise a 2.4-litre flat-four FA24 engine – the newest addition to the FA engine family which was originally co-developed by Subaru and Toyota for use in the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86.

United States road safety regulator the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) has scheduled a public hearing into the cause of a fatal crash involving Tesla’s Autopilot on March 23, 2018. The hearing will take place almost two years after the incident which saw Wei Huang’s Tesla Model X collide with a concrete barrier on Interstate 101 in Mountain View, California while the vehicle’s Autopilot mode was engaged.

China’s Geely claims to have taken more than 30,000 digital pre-orders for its brand new Icon small SUV ahead of the completely online product launch this week. The company - which has launched an online test-drive, sales and servicing portal, and which owns the subscription-based car brand Lynk & Co - also claims to have fast-tracked the fitment of a bolstered air purification system in response to the Coronavirus.

Mazda has performed a minor about-face, adding two versions of its CX-8 seven-seat SUV powered by a petrol engine option - for the first time since the nameplate arrived in June 2018. The company has also greatly expanded the range from three specification variants, to eight. Where it once previously offered base Sport and luxury Asaki grades, it now also offers Touring and GT spec levels between these bookends to make the spec ‘walk’ more palatable.

China’s Geely Auto - perhaps best known in the west as parent of Volvo Cars, Lotus and the London EV Company - has launched a proprietary, contactless online ordering platform that enables customers to buy and take delivery. It is also offering home test drives, booked by a potential buyer who is visited by their closest local dealer in a demo car.