A brand new report alleges that Toyota’s future FJ Cruiser revival may experience on the identical structure as its new $13,000 Hilux Champ, a compact truck. Japan’s Best Car journal alleges that the pickup’s platform will underpin the corporate’s upcoming off-roader, which is able to enter manufacturing later this 12 months.
Even earlier Best Car reviews appear to contradict this new data. The publication beforehand reported that the brand new FJ would experience on the TNGA-F structure, which underpins the Toyota Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tundra, Lexus LX, and Lexus GX.
Attempting to suss out what an automaker will construct subsequent is a idiot’s errand. Companies aren’t desirous to spill the beans on future merchandise, and leaked particulars are both proper on the cash or wildly off base, with a lot of the data based mostly on imprecise leaks from nameless sources. Contradicting reviews are widespread, and you may’t click on three hyperlinks on the web in the present day with out stumbling upon some hopium.
Does the concept of a bare-bones tiny off-roader with retro styling and boxy proportions sound superb? Yes, it does tickle an itch in our 11-year-old brains, however it would not print Toyota cash. American customers aren’t keen on small and low-cost, so an SUV based mostly on the Champ launched in Thailand late final 12 months looks as if a non-starter, at the very least for the US market.
However, Toyota would not actually have a compact off-road platform in its portfolio if it is trying to supply one thing smaller than the Land Cruiser. It may reskin the RAV4, however that would additionally dampen its off-road capabilities as Toyota walks a wonderful line between off-road enjoyable and affordability.
If you’ve got been following the story of the BSA Company revival previously few years, chances are high wonderful that you could have a couple of unanswered questions. While new BSA Gold Star 650 motorcycles have been trickling out to clients within the UK and choose different European markets, no matter occurred to the plans for a UK manufacturing facility?
We’ll get there in a second, however first, this is a teensy little bit of needed historical past. As it’s possible you’ll recall, the Mahindra and Mahindra-owned Classic Legends acquired BSA all the way back in 2016. If you prefer to observe classic motorbike marques that come again from the useless like we do, it’s possible you’ll acknowledge that Classic Legends is also the parent company of Jawa and Yezdi. Yezdi bikes are offered in India; whereas Jawas are primarily additionally offered there, the model can be presently exported to Europe.
Now that you’ve got a greater grasp on Classic Legends, let’s get again to BSA. Back in November 2020, Classic Legends spoke with each the Guardian and the Financial Times within the UK about its bold built-in-Britain bike plans. Talk at the moment revolved round a UK authorities grant to construct a brand new technical and design facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in addition to a separate manufacturing facility facility close to Coventry.
Publicly mentioned plans for the new-gen BSA bikes additionally revolved round providing two powertrain choices: A combustion model and a newly-developed electrical model. Even higher, all of the components for the electrical model (with the attainable exception of the battery packs) had been deliberate to be constructed within the UK as properly. Sounds nice, proper?
And then, after all, you realize a few of what occurred if you happen to’ve been alive and paying consideration since 2020. While BSA and Classic Legends have not explicitly said that the onset of a worldwide pandemic threw a little bit of a wrench into their plans, at this level, it feels sort of like a given. It’s a pure catastrophe of a distinct kind than we’re used to considering, however its influence and attain are nonetheless plain.
Fast Forward To 2024, And Things Seem To Be Moving Forward
According to a current report in India’s Economic Times, Classic Legends plans to go forward with constructing that UK manufacturing facility finally. Even higher, the agency desires to do it beginning someday in its subsequent fiscal yr, which begins in April 2024. Since it is the again half of February 2024 as we write this, the beginning of that new FY is developing quick.
Further particulars have not been made public simply but, however RideApart has reached out to BSA to inquire about its plans for the brand new facility. We’ll you should definitely replace this piece with any info we be taught.
For now, although, we’re sort of taking a look at it like these first seedlings you see poking their heads above floor in spring. They’re not large, lovely greenery simply but, however simply seeing them begin is its personal sort of hope.
Following the success of the revived 33 Stradale, Alfa Romeo is already underway with plans for another supercar. Cristiano Fiorio, the person in charge of strategic projects, has confirmed that a second low-volume, high-priced model is in the works. The design of this new supercar will draw inspiration from iconic models, with feedback from prospective buyers indicating a preference for the design direction of the 1963 Giulia TZ.
Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, Alfa Romeo’s head of design, mentioned that customers would also like to see a revival of the 1960 Giulietta SZ and 1970 Montreal in some form. Similar to the 33 Stradale, the new supercar is being developed by Bottega, a bespoke division within Stellantis. Bottega specializes in creating ultra-exclusive cars, with production limited to fewer than 50 units per model.
The Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival series is redefining automotive craftsmanship. It is a continuation of the iconic 1965 class-winning Le Mans car and has gained attention with its latest model, featuring a striking yellow color instead of the traditional Rosso Corsa. This revival series is limited to just 24 carefully hand-built vehicles, maintaining the legendary features such as a single-piece composite body over a steel frame and a powerful 323 cubic inch V8 engine that delivers over 400 horsepower. Compared to the original, these cars feel more rigid, offering a power-to-weight ratio of a modern supercar.
The yellow masterpiece will debut in California’s prestigious Monterey Car Week, where it will be showcased at popular events like the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and The Quail. Car enthusiasts from across the country will have the opportunity to witness the iconic Bizzarrini brand through various events. The revival series is the result of the brilliant mind of Giotto Bizzarrini, the genius behind the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO and the celebrated Lamborghini V12 engine. The Bizzarrini team is also working on the upcoming Giotto Hyper GT, a modern hand-built performance car that embodies Giotto’s enduring engineering brilliance. If you’re attending this year’s Monterey Car Week, be sure to keep an eye out for the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival series.
The boldly styled 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe is creating quite a controversy, even more so than BMW’s vertical kidney grille revival. It’s not just one design element that stands out, but rather the entire car. The rear of the SUV is particularly striking, with its gigantic tailgate and unusually low-mounted taillights. The profile is reminiscent of the Defender 130, while the H-themed lights add another eye-catching feature.
Shortly after its online premiere earlier this week, the fifth-generation Santa Fe was spotted by Instagrammer shorts_car in an underground parking lot. This particular version appears to be a lower-end model, evident from the simple exhaust tip. In comparison, the models featured in the official gallery had a more polished exhaust finisher. Additionally, the two-tone wheels on this prototype are different, and the rear lacks the giant “Santa Fe” lettering. But let’s not forget, it’s still a prototype.
Prior to its revival in 2017, Alpine produced some of France’s finest sportscars from the 1950s all the way to the 1990s. Since its revival in 2017, Alpine has only released one model–albeit a great one at that. It’s called the A110, and Alpine has evolved into becoming Renault’s performance and motorsports division as it merged with Renault Sport. This means that it wasn’t just going to make sports cars, but also performance derivatives of Renault’s vehicles as well. Alpine also became Renault’s motorsports flagbearer, actively participating in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship. Motorsports is at the heart of modern-day Alpine, and this gave them confidence to expand its model range beyond just the A110. It also declared that it will enter the North American market by 2027, and to enter such a competitive market, here’s how Alpine plans to succeed.
But as the world switches to electro-mobility, offering a single sportscar with an internal combustion engine (ICE) won’t cut it. Realizing this challenge, Alpine recently announced that they are currently undergoing a “revolution”. The bold statement comes with a preview of Alpine’s fully-electric “Dream Garage”, which consists of seven new models to be launched from 2024 to 2030.
Alpine
Front view of Alpine A290 Hot Hatch concept
Surprisingly, Alpine’s electric dreams will kick off with an electric hot hatch that’s based on the A290_β concept, a move that is in contrast to most other EV startups that offered big, expensive models first before trickling down to offer more affordable models. The production A290 will utilize the Renault Group’s CMFB-EV platform that will underpin the upcoming Renault 4 and 5 EVs. Details are scarce at the moment since no production model has ever utilized the CMFB-EV platform yet, but we expect the Alpine A290 to be the highest-performing small EV in the Renault Group’s model range. It’s also probably too small for North American tastes, so don’t expect the A290 to be sold stateside.
What will definitely come stateside is the electric successor to the A110. The next-generation electric A110 was previewed with a concept car in 2021 called the A110 E-ternité, which proved to the world that Alpine could develop an electric sportscar that’s lighter than the Porsche 718 Cayman with an ICE. The concept was co-developed with Lotus, but the partnership has been terminated–albeit on friendly terms. Moving forward, Alpine is now developing a new platform called the Alpine Performance Platform (APP), in which the production electric A110 will formally debut in 2026.
Unfortunately, the 2026 launch date also means that American buyers won’t ever get the chance to own an ICE-powered A110. Remember, the brand is only set to enter the North American market in 2027, in which by that time, its lineup will consist purely of high-performance EVs.
A blue Alpine A110 R parked in a city alley of Tokyo
Alpine said that its revenues for 2022 have hit a record, up 33 percent versus 2021. The A110 is the best-selling sportscar in France for the past seven years and is also one of the five best-selling sportscars in Europe. There’s currently a seven-month backlog and sales are expected to reach 4,200 units in 2023. But having only one low-volume model is not going to be enough if Alpine wants to continue growing in terms of revenue. Therefore, Alpine is also set to ape the sales strategy of Porsche in a bid to gain more customers and sales.
Porsche only made sportscars until 2003 when it decided to launch an SUV called the Cayenne. The plan worked beautifully for Porsche, bringing in new customers to the brand and more importantly, increasing its sales and thus having more revenue to fund its sportscar development. Likewise, Alpine is aiming to repeat the same feat by launching two more vehicles using its in-house developed APP platform.
Alpine
Teaser photo of the seven new models that Alpine will launch
APP is set to be a scalable performance EV architecture. This means that apart from the lightweight A110, APP will also give birth to two more models–a roadster based on the A110 and a modern-day four-seater coupe successor to the A310. Once again, details of the APP-based vehicles are very scarce, and no existing vehicle has utilized this platform yet. We’ve now mentioned four cars, the A290, the next-generation A110, the A110-based roadster, and a modern-day A310. What Alpine has also confirmed is the launch of two new cars in the D and E segments, which in North American terms means that these will be midsize and full-size cars. These two will presumably be rivals to the Tesla Model S and/or the Porsche Taycan.
Unsurprisingly, the seventh model will be yet another electric crossover SUV. For now, Alpine is calling it a “Crossover GT” (initially teased as the GT X-Over), which is set to debut in 2025, but this won’t be underpinned by the APP. Instead, it will most likely utilize the CMF-EV platform that the Nisaan Ariya and Renault Megane E-Tech electric crossovers use. Unsurprisingly, details about the upcoming SUV are scarce, since it’s still in the infancy of its development stages, but you can pretty much guarantee that this electric crossover will arrive in America.
In just a short span of time, Alpine managed to become a household name among car enthusiasts in Europe, mostly thanks to its involvement in Formula 1. Being present in Formula 1, after all, is one of the best marketing tools for any brand to make its presence felt. Unfortunately, in the United States, you need more than motorsports heritage to become popular. Alfa Romeo is also a household name in motorsports, but that hasn’t necessarily translated to the brand becoming desirable in the United States.
Likewise, Alpine will most likely face that uphill battle. It also doesn’t help the fact that French automakers found it too challenging to adapt to the tastes and preferences of North American buyers. Peugeot was the last French automaker to do business in the United States, leaving the country in 1991. Among the French players, Peugeot had the most success, with its sales peaking at 20,000 units in 1984. Initially, they were able to ride the hype train of midsize imported European sedans in the 1980s, but because Peugeot was slow to adapt to shifting American preferences, its sales went on a downtrend, selling just 4,200 units by 1990.
Hopefully, whatever mistakes Renault also did in the past in the United States are still fresh in the memories of its executives. This would help steer its marketing team and executives away from any potential mistakes that could prevent Alpine from being successful in the United States.
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