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Community Service brought to you by MCF Good Luck to all vested! 3 useful links for MCFers Real Time COE Bidding Results Check Your COE Bidding Status Latest COE Prices and Trending Highest Record Cat A => $92,100 [Jan 2013] Cat B => $115,388 [Nov 2022] Cat C => $87,790 [Feb 2023] Cat D => $13,189 [Nov 2022] Cat E => $118,001 [Feb 2023] Past Bidding Results (2001 - 2021) Past Bidding Results (2022 - 2023) 24 Months Trend Chart (Mar 2021 - Feb 2023) *chart taken from www.sgcarmart.com PQP (2010 - 2021) PQP (2022 - 2023) The details of the March 1st open bidding exercise for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) are as follows: Tender opens: Monday, 6 March 2023, 12 noon Tender closes: Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 4.00 pm Tender results: Wednesday, 8 March 2023 (Available on the www.onemotoring.lta.gov.sg) The total quota available for this tender is 1,590 for the following vehicle categories: NON-TRANSFERABLE CATEGORIES Category A : Cars (up to 1,600cc and maximum power up to 97kW (130bhp); and fully electric car with maximum power up to 110kW (147bhp)) => 517 Category B : Cars (above 1,600cc or maximum power above 97kW (130bhp); and fully electric car with maximum power above 110kW (147bhp)) => 431 Category D : Motorcycles => 467 TRANSFERABLE CATEGORIES Category C : Goods Vehicles and Buses => 43 Category E : Open Category => 131

Changi Airport clinches World’s Best Airport 2023 after losing for past 2 years https://mothership.sg/2023/03/changi-airport-world-best-airport-skytrax/ https://skytraxratings.com/singapore-changi-airport-is-named-the-worlds-best-airport-2023

Eh...is there more to this video? Rather short. Will be interesting if can show more.

Rumored to be fully unveiled (online) tomorrow. Basically, this RZ is a distance cousin of Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Sorella Solterra, sharing the same e-TNGA electric vehicle platform.

Community Service brought to you by MCF Good Luck to all vested! 3 useful links for MCFers Real Time COE Bidding Results Check Your COE Bidding Status Latest COE Prices and Trending Highest Record Cat A => $92,100 [Jan 2013] Cat B => $115,388 [Nov 2022] Cat C => $81,802 [Nov 2022] Cat D => $13,189 [Nov 2022] Cat E => $116,577 [Nov 2022] Past Bidding Results (2001 - 2021) Past Bidding Results (2022 - 2023) 24 Months Trend Chart (Feb 2021 - Jan 2023) *chart taken from www.sgcarmart.com PQP (2010 - 2021) PQP (2022 - 2023) The details of the February 1st open bidding exercise for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) are as follows: Tender opens: Monday, 6 February 2023, 12 noon Tender closes: Wednesday, 8 February 2023, 4.00 pm Tender results: Wednesday, 8 February 2023 (Available on the www.onemotoring.lta.gov.sg) The total quota available for this tender is 1,589 for the following vehicle categories: NON-TRANSFERABLE CATEGORIES Category A : Cars (up to 1,600cc and maximum power up to 97kW (130bhp); and fully electric car with maximum power up to 110kW (147bhp)) => 509 Category B : Cars (above 1,600cc or maximum power above 97kW (130bhp); and fully electric car with maximum power above 110kW (147bhp)) => 430 Category D : Motorcycles => 477 TRANSFERABLE CATEGORIES Category C : Goods Vehicles and Buses => 44 Category E : Open Category => 129

This is a good start The bosses interviewed said the surcharge is similar to previous years and has not been significantly increased due to recent inflation.

Patent images from Brazil registry. The front bonnet is exceptionally and unnecessarily long. Total waste of space (and material) in my opinion since the engine option is unlikely to be anything larger than an IL4 2.0 sump which will be transversely mount as usual. These spy shots give us a glimpse of how the actual car sis going to look like.

Replacement for the 8 years old CX-9 is scheduled to debut on the 31 Jan 2023. Here are some teaser shots, videos and quick bites released by Mazda. Stay tuned for more... Highlights Turbocharged 3.3-liter IL6 engine 340 hp / 254 kW 500 Nm torque Available with Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) Front-engine, Rear-drive architecture Mazda's Kinetic Posture Control (KPC) system borrowed from the MX-5 Miata

Polestar 3 SUV design revealed in these official teaser. While it look quite sleek and clean, I can foresee headroom and rear visibility will be severely compromised. CGIs based on spy shots captured, Polestar's first electric SUV is scheduled to debut in October this year. There’s a new teaser image previewing that vehicle and it is already shaping up as a very serious contender in the rapidly growing electric SUV segment. This is our first official look at the new high-riding electric vehicle with no camouflage. Polestar sees huge potential in this segment, which is currently one of the highest margin and fastest-growing segments in the automotive industry. The Polestar 3 will be manufactured in the United States and China with the first examples planned to hit the assembly lines early next year. Customers will be able to put an order right after its premiere in October. Polestar says the model will rely on a dual-motor electric system powered by a large battery for a targeted range between two charges of over 372 miles (600 kilometers). Bear in mind that these figures are based on Europe’s generally more generous WLTP testing cycle. “Polestar 3 is the SUV for the electric age,” Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, comments. “Our design identity evolves with this high-end large luxury EV, with a strong, individual brand character. With this car, we bring the ‘sport’ back to the SUV, staying true to our performance roots.”

Community Service brought to you by MCF Good Luck to all vested! 3 useful links for our dear MCFers: Real Time COE Bidding Results Check Your COE Bidding Status Latest COE Prices and Trending Highest Record Cat A => $92,100 [Jan 2013] Cat B => $115,388 [Nov 2022] Cat C => $81,802 [Nov 2022] Cat D => $13,189 [Nov 2022] Cat E => $116,577 [Nov 2022] The details of the January 1st open bidding exercise for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) are as follows: Tender opens: Tuesday, 3 January 2023, 12 noon Tender closes: Thursday, 5 January 2023, 4.00 pm Tender results: Thursday, 5 January 2023 (Available on www.onemotoring.lta.gov.sg) The total quota available for this tender is 1,533 for the following vehicle categories: NON-TRANSFERABLE CATEGORIES Category A : Cars (up to 1,600cc and maximum power up to 97kW (130bhp); and fully electric car with maximum power up to 110kW (147bhp)) => 462 Category B : Cars (above 1,600cc or maximum power above 97kW (130bhp); and fully electric car with maximum power above 110kW (147bhp)) => 410 Category D : Motorcycles => 445 TRANSFERABLE CATEGORIES Category C : Goods Vehicles and Buses => 70 Category E : Open Category => 146

Another odd design luxurious sedan in the making? At a quick glance, it shout Peugeot, to me. The next-generation BMW 7 Series has been caught once more, hinting at a completely redesigned exterior concealed under many layers of camouflage. Those simple headlights are likely provisional as they seem to have a basic look, but the original 8 Series-esque placement and shape is likely the final one. Tiny rivets on many parts of the body indicate the 7 Series prototype has more than just one layer of disguise, so it's best not to jump to any conclusions about the car's exterior appearance. As for the interior, the first thing you will notice are those side-by-side screens akin to the setup you'll find in the iX SUV and i4 Gran Coupe. In those two fully electric vehicles, the instrument cluster measures 12.3 inches and is accompanied by a larger 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment running on iDrive 8. Much like in the EVs, the screens are housed within a massive piece of curved glass slightly tilted towards the driver. It’s going to be a long wait before the next 7 Series will hit the streets as production reportedly won't start until July next year.

My New Year Wish to all forumers & their families for 2023: Stay healthy & Covid-free Safe and trouble-free motoring throughout the new year Drastic drop in COE price 😁 God of Fortune come knocking at your doors 💲💰💲

RX500h F Sport RX500h RX450h+ The 2023 Lexus RX rides on the GA-K platform, and the fresh underpinnings let the vehicle shed up to 89 Kg compared to the previous generation. The wheelbase grows by 60 mm, but the rear overhang shrinks by 60 mm, meaning that the overall length doesn't change compared to the previous model. The 2023 RX is coming with four powertrains, but Lexus is only offering details about three of them right now. Details about the 450h+ plug-in hybrid will come later. The 2023 RX will be available in six trim levels: Standard, Premium, Premium+, Luxury, F Sport Handling, and F Sport Performance. The new RX 500h F Sport Performance grade comes with some extra equipment. It has six-piston brake calipers and rides on 21-inch wheels. Inside, the leather upholstery includes suede door trim and perforated material on the steering wheel. The tread plates have F Sport branding. Depending on the grade, 10 colors will be available: Ultra White, Eminent White Pearl, Nebula Gray Pearl, Iridium, Caviar, Matador Red Mica, Copper Crest, Nori Green Pearl, Nightfall Mica, and Grecian Water. Inside, the new RX has an infotainment screen with a lower position that puts it next to the instrument cluster rather than being on top of the dashboard. A display as large as 14 inches is available. Other available upgrades include a panorama glass roof and a head-up display. Buyers have six upholstery color choices: Macadamia, Black, Birch, Palomino, Peppercorn, and Rioja Red. There are four available trim styles: Black Cascade, Ash Bamboo, Black Open Pore, and Dark Graphite Aluminum.

Both the exterior and interior have the Land Rover vibe, and seems up market.

This shall be my retirement ride, if the COE continues to remain at the current level. Anything higher, will go BMW liao. Five-Door Suzuki Jimny Spied Flaunting Its Longer Wheelbase The Suzuki Jimny is about to grow a bit bigger and gain an extra pair of doors to make the little SUV a bit more utilitarian. These spy shots catch one of them testing in Europe. Aesthetically, the five-door Jimny looks identical to the existing version, except for the lengthened body and extra doors. The spy photographer estimates that the wheelbase is about 300 millimeters longer than the existing 3 door variant. The width and height appear to be unchanged. Another interesting note from the photographer was that this vehicle seemed to be driving without producing any engine noise. This suggests that the Jimny might be getting a hybrid drive train. It's not clear whether the existing 1.5-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine making 100 horsepower (75 kilowatts) would continue to be available or whether this potentially electrically assisted setup would completely replace it. Switching to the turbocharged, mild-hybrid engine would give the Jimny improved emissions. This might rectify the current issue that limits the model's availability to a two-seat, commercial product in Europe. According to a rumor from Japan in 2021, Suzuki plans to call this model the Jimny Long, which fits with exactly what it is. The same report claims this version uses a turbocharged, mild-hybrid engine, which fits with what the photographer of this one is saying. For JDM models, price for the five-door would be about 300,000 yen more than the three-door unit. This Jimny Long, or whatever it final name is, is expected to be unveiled by end of this year, and become officially available from 2023. Stay tuned for more info.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-01/david-taylor-global-financial-crisis-2/101492384 The world is flirting with another global financial crisis, and the next few weeks are key It's hard to overstate the magnitude of the financial trouble Britain and, because of its financial heft, the world found itself in this week. We came within inches of "global financial crisis mark 2". That's not hyperbole. Towards the end of 2008, it was clear many Wall Street investment banks were on the brink of collapse. They were sitting on tens of billions of dollars' worth of rubbish assets – mortgage-backed securities attached to properties plummeting in value. A credit crunch was sparked when the US government allowed Lehman Brothers to collapse. It was sitting on a lot of these worthless assets. Suddenly, it was unclear who could afford to repay loans and who couldn't. We've just flirted with a scenario of similar magnitude. The problem now is, well, the flirtation is not over. Comedy of errors Liz Truss – Boris Johnson's replacement as British prime minister – inherited an economy at risk of entering a protracted and deep recession. Truss delivered a "mini-budget" last week which offered up lots more government spending and the biggest package of tax cuts in 50 years to help stimulate the economy. Great, right? Well, not so much. Financial markets asked an obvious question in response: "how are you going to pay for this?", when the UK's budget deficit (or net borrowing) is already in the hundreds of billions of pounds. The BBC reported conservative MPs walking the corridors "in shock" after the mini-budget was handed down. The ultimate response from the money markets was a vote of no confidence in the fiscal package. The bond market "sold off". Bond prices in the fixed income market plummeted. As bond prices fall, yields rise. It's really not necessary to understand the bond market machinations here, but it is important to understand the next point. That is, for Britain's pension scheme to work, or continue as a going concern, interest rates can't rise too high too quickly — which is what happened. The funds found themselves unable to pay pensions because they were losing too much money on their investments. To stop this, the Bank of England came in to buy up bonds on an enormous scale to increase the price of bonds and lower the interest rates on those bonds. "To achieve this, the Bank will carry out temporary purchases of long-dated UK government bonds from September 28. The purpose of these purchases will be to restore orderly market conditions," the Bank of England said. "The purchases will be carried out on whatever scale is necessary to effect this outcome. The operation will be fully indemnified by HM Treasury." But here's the killer line. "Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability." What the Bank of England was suggesting, according to former London City trader Henry Jennings, is that when the bond market moved violently against these pension funds, they were at risk of being placed into margin calls. That is, many funds had borrowed money to make more money. They were heavily in debt to enhance their returns. They were about to be asked to "pay up". If they were asked to pay up, they would have been forced into liquidating their assets, which he says would have led to a financial markets "death spiral". The sheer weight of global assets being sold off would have, in Jennings' opinion, led to a global "confidence crisis". Problem not going away The Bank of England bailout of Britain's pension schemes is limited. "These [bond] purchases will be strictly time limited," the BofE said. "They are intended to tackle a specific problem in the long-dated government bond market. Auctions will take place from today until 14 October." So, what happens when they stop buying gilts, or British bonds? The chief economist of the National Australia Bank says the forces that led to Britain's financial system edging to towards the brink remain firmly in place. "Markets are getting a bit worried," Alan Oster says. He says interest rates in Britain will keep climbing, and may do so quite aggressively in the coming months. "[Markets] are talking – well, it's frightening, they're starting off from a cash rate of 2-ish per cent and they're talking about a 1.25 per cent or 1.5 per cent interest rate increase [at the next Bank of England meeting]". "It's extraordinary and of course the pound is being absolutely killed." In other words, the problem facing the pension fund scheme is set to return. It's heavy stuff So, let's just do a quick stop-and-check at this point, because it's heavy stuff. The UK is still at risk from a financial crisis because a major investment scheme remains vulnerable to a bond market that's still at risk of plummeting due to the UK's economic woes (in part created by a dire mini-budget). This is all being reflected in a recent collapse of the pound. A financial crisis in the UK would, analysts say, lead to a global economic rout. Is Australia immune? The short answer is no. The Australian dollar is hovering around two-year lows against the greenback, and the stock market is down 15 per cent from peak to trough. We're inching towards a share "bear market". This has obvious implication for those in and approaching retirement. A destabilisation of the global financial system, more broadly though, would produce the same shock waves as 2008 and 2009. It leads to higher unemployment and a recession. The problem this time around is that the Australian government, and indeed the Reserve Bank, are in no position to engage in extraordinary economic stimulus measures. But … so far so good However, it seems the majority of Australians, right now, have the financial capacity to continue on in a relatively normal fashion. Australian retail turnover rose 0.6 per cent in August, according to Retail Trade figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier this week. The August increase was the eighth consecutive rise and follows a 1.3 per cent rise in July and a 0.2 per cent rise in June. "This month's rise was driven by the combined increase in food related industries, with cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services up 1.3 per cent and food retailing up 1.1 per cent," Ben Dorber, head of retail statistics at the ABS, said. The dark cost-of-living clouds hanging over millions of Australians is "being balanced by people saying, 'well, I'm not going to lose my job' ", NAB chief economist Alan Oster says. "The economy is doing really well." But, and that's a big but, he says ominously, the "next four weeks will be interesting". That's a reference to the fact that the bulk of already-announced Reserve Bank interest rates hikes will hit bank accounts over the next couple of months. It's unclear to most observers how, exactly, this would damage the Australian economy. Work is already underway though to put policy makers in a better position to make the right calls when it come to pulling the levers. The ABS, for example, is now delivering monthly inflation or cost of living data. The first monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator rose 7.0 per cent in the year to July and 6.8 per cent to August. The largest contributors, in the 12 months to August, were new dwelling construction, up 20.7 per cent, and automotive fuel, up 15.0 per cent. Now the Reserve Bank is in a better, or timelier, position to see how its policy tightening is influencing prices in the economy. This, in practice, is meant to avoid hiking interest rates too far. The RBA meets on Tuesday. At the moment it's a coin toss as to whether the bank raises its cash rate target by 0.25 or 0.5 percentage points. How serious is all this? Naturally, with any major financial event, the question is: do I need to worry about this? The answer is that you need to keep watching this story unfold. AMP's chief economist, Shane Oliver, suggests while the Bank of England's short-term effort to bring back the UK financial system from the brink has worked, the country's financial system is set to go right back there again soon. "The Bank of England's intervention to calm the gilt market (which was threatening financial problems for UK pension funds) by buying bonds (ie restarting QE) has helped calm things – directly in the UK and indirectly elsewhere by showing that authorities will still intervene in a crisis," Dr Oliver said. "Unfortunately, the return to QE [bond buying] may just add to inflationary pressures if it has to be sustained for long, which may necessitate an even higher interest rate hike when the BoE next meets in early November with many talking about a 1.25 per cent hike, which leaves the BoE in the silly position of easing and tightening at the same time." So, the options are that the Bank of England keeps coming to the rescue of the UK financial system with the risk of exacerbating inflation which will lead to much higher interest rates, or allow the market to take over, and risk a full-blown financial crisis when the bond market collapses again. Australia seems to be in a reasonable position now to manage a financial shock, but it's unclear whether that will still be the case in just a few weeks' time. Huge risks remain. Printing trillions of dollars of money, globally, during the pandemic to support the global economy was always fraught with risk. As it stands we are unable to remove that economic support without the whole system collapsing, but we need to remove it before we create even bigger economic problems. It's an extremely uncomfortable position to be in.

This is supposedly the 3rd generation XC90, which Volvo decided to give it a name change to signify the switch to all electric drive train. Earlier reports, however, suggested that the model, which it is said will blend SUV and sedan design elements, will be named Embla, after the first woman in Norse mythology. Next-Gen Volvo XC90 EV Design Allegedly Revealed In Patent Images In any case, Volvo announced in February that it would be keeping the XC90 around for a few more years. The SUV that heralded the brand’s modern revival will continue to be produced in Torslanda, Sweden, after a visual update.

The heart of this new beast is NOT a V8, or even V6, but a 2.0L IL4 unit! These spec should WOW you more than it's outlook. Max Horsepower: 671 hp / 680 ps Max Torque: 1,020 Nm 0 - 100 Km/h: 3.4 sec Top Speed: 280 Km/h (electronically controlled) The engine is AMG’s M139L 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder as seen on the SL43 roadster and the C63’s little brother, the C43. Like those cars it features an electrically-driven turbocharger, but for the C63 the blower is much bigger. So while the SL43’s gas motor peaks at 376 hp (381 PS), and the C43 tops out at 402 hp (408 PS), the C63 kicks both into the weeds with a 470 hp (476 PS) output. That doesn’t only match the old base model C63’s V8 for muscle despite being half the size, it makes this new version of the M139 the most powerful four-cylinder production engine in the world, and with 545 Nm, it must be the torquiest too. And that’s before we’ve factored in the electric boost that’s also new for 2024. That boost happens at the rear wheels courtesy of a 150 kW (201 hp /204 PS) electric motor packed into the rear axle together with an electronically-controlled limited slip differential and a two-speed drive unit. It can power the car as an EV at up to 125 km/h and for up to 13 km, if driven gently, which makes it sound like a PHEV from a decade ago, but that’s because AMG has prioritised power over efficiency for this hybrid system. Drawing from a 6.1 kWh battery the motor delivers its 150 KW maximum for up to 10 seconds at a time, but is always on hand with at least 70 kW (94 hp / 95 PS), and engages its second gear from 140 km/h once it kissed its 13,500 rpm rev limiter. The result is a fairly spectacular combined gas-electric output of 671 hp (680 PS) and 1,020 Nm, making the C63 not only far more powerful than the old V8-engined C63 S and its 503 hp, or the 503-hp BMW M3 Competition but punchier than super sedans from the class above like the 617-hp BMW M5 Competition. 0 to 100 km/h takes 3.4 seconds (down from 4.0 seconds for the old C63 S) and the 250 km/h top speed can be raised to 280 km/h with a suitable bung to your Mercedes dealer at order time. The electric motor acts only on the rear axle, and you can configure the gas motor to do the same. But for the first time the model operates by default in all-wheel drive. Power flows to the 4Matic+ four-paw transmission via a conventional nine-speed epicyclic auto, but one fitted with a wet clutch pack instead of a torque converter. Rear-axle steering also makes its debut on the new C63, and carbon brakes join a list of standard equipment that includes adaptive dampers for the steel-spring suspension and an AMG Dynamics drive mode selector with a new “Master” mode that allows the kind of oversteer antics C63s have become famous for. Drivers also get AMG-specific graphics in the digital instrument cluster and head-up display, plus a button on the steering wheel giving four levels of energy recovery ranging from almost nonexistent to strong enough to allow one-pedal driving.

2023 BMW XM Officially Revealed As The Ultimate M SUV With 735 HP BMW took everyone by surprise in November 2021 with the reveal of its aggressively angular Concept XM. Get ready to meet the subsequent production version with largely the same polarizing design, including the love/hate split headlights we've recently seen on the new 7 Series and X7 facelift. The edgy SUV available exclusively with a plug-in hybrid powertrain is the first standalone M product since the original M1 was discontinued in 1981. Everything is big about the M division's partially electrified mastodont, including the 23-inch wheels with 275/35 R23 front and 315/30 R23 rear tires as standard equipment. Alternatively, you can optionally go down one size. It does have two roundels at the back as a throwback to the M1 but this is pretty much where the similarities end. As with all fully fledged M cars, the XM has a quad exhaust system, only this time with stacked tips to make the sporty luxobarge stand out. Impressively wide taillights complement the muscular body and flank a prominent XM badge with a gold contour to echo other exterior details. The first M product with a PHEV setup features a charging port on the left-front fender, which will be the same story as the next-generation M5. Under the hood, BMW has installed its new S68 engine, a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 with mild-hybrid tech. On its own, the combustion engine is good for 483 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 650 Newton-meters of torque from just 1,600 rpm. Integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission is the electric motor, rated at 194 hp and 280 Nm. With the power of the two combined, the XM offers 644 hp and 800 Nm. The electrified punch enables a 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 4.3s). The ultimate M SUV is electronically capped at 250 km/h from the factory, but add the M Driver’s Package and BMW will loosen up the limiter to 270 km/h. The e-motor draws its juice from a lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 25.7 kWh. The XM will hit 140 km/h in electric mode, and BMW estimates a full charge will last for 48 kilometers based on EPA’s testing procedures. Over in Europe, the super SUV named after a 1990s Citroën model has a WLTP rating of 82 to 88 kilometers.

It will be available in both Liftback and estate version, while the next generation Passat will be available solely in estate form. For me, I will gladly take this estate variant, preferably in Scout trim (with >270 horsepower, 4x4 drive train, raised height,etc.). This heavily camouflaged prototype was caught testing with Czech registration plates without fake body panels or cladding. The proportions seem largely unchanged with the only notable difference probably being the slightly more sloped roofline. Underneath the skin, the architecture underpinning the new Superb will be an evolution of the MQB platform used by the current model. The production of the new Superb should begin next year at Volkswagen’s plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. In local context, that means end 2024 will be the earliest it will hit our shore.

To be unveiled in Japan in September 2022. Although it is sized between the HR-V and CR-V, but this new SUV will be replacing the CR-V in the Japanese Market, as they just announced the cease of CR-V production days before introducing this latest ZR-V. A strange move to me. For those of you who are follow motoring news closely, you may find that it look very familiar and that you have seen it somewhere. Well, the same model is available in the USA recently, but using the HR-V nameplate. Another head scratching decisions by Honda...

New design language, riding on the popularity of fastback and crossover. BTW, it is the cousin of Citroen C5X. Peugeot 408 GT Peugeot 408 HYBRID

NEA to lower vehicle noise levels, tighten motorbike emissions from 2023 Anyone knows what's the current noise level of a stock supercar? How about those LTA-compliant aftermarket exhaust?

'Petite' is the word I have long associated with cars from Lotus stable, so when I first read about the dimensions of this new EV, I thought it was an typo error, but it is not. This SUV is gigantic, even by other auto manufacturers' standards. Length: 5,105 mm Width: 2,131 mm Height: 1,630 mm Wheelbase: 3,019 mm For a better illustration, it is larger than Aston Martin DBX (5.04 m), Audi Q8 (5.01 m), Maserati Levante (5.01 m), Porsche Cayenne (4.92 m), Range Rover Sport (4.88 m) and the same size as Lamborghini Urus (5.11 m) Max. Horsepower: 600 PS (entry level) 0 to 100Km/h: <3.0 sec Top Speed: 257 Km/h Range: ~400 Km Charging Capability: 800V Battery Capacity: >100 KWh

Finally a major change in design language for the new Mini. This new Mini Electric look quite refreshing and modernized imo. The images were taken at a facility in China and posted to Chinese social media. In the photos, the undisguised Mini is accompanied by several other camouflaged models parked nearby. It has no visible tailpipe and a limited amount of air intake on the front end, which suggests that this is an electric model. The pictured model is badged with Mini’s “S” badging, designating that this is a higher-performance model. The other camouflaged Minis nearby all have the typical hood scoop of Mini’s S models, but the uncamouflaged version does not. These scoops are used for air intake, but electric cars need less air intake than ICE cars do, so the scoop is somewhat superfluous for an EV. The current Mini Cooper SE electric does have a hood scoop, however. The biggest exterior change is the rear taillights, which change in shape and pattern compared to previous models. They’re also connected by a horizontal black stripe across the whole rear of the vehicle. Current Mini models have patterns reminiscent of the Union Jack, the British flag, imprinted in their taillights. In the photos, it looks like a similar pattern might still be there but is obscured by vertical black lines covering it and by the triangular shape of the taillights. On the interior, the dashboard is a significant departure from current Minis. This new Mini has a flat, bare dash, no driver display, and a floating circular center screen as the main focal point of the car’s infotainment system. The dash has significantly fewer buttons, knobs, and switches than current models, though there are physical controls on the steering wheel and a few (stereotypically-Mini) switches underneath the screen. This lack of physical controls suggests that the circular screen will be a touchscreen. The small screen in front of the driver is a heads-up display, which is likely carried over from the current Minis.