Italy’s Pininfarina unveils super-sized electric SUV concept

The car-making division of Italian design firm Pininfarina has unveiled a luxury electric SUV concept that’s bigger than a Toyota LandCruiser.

Pininfarina – the iconic Italian car-design firm known for its work with Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and other brands, which has begun producing electric cars – has unveiled a new luxury electric SUV concept known as the Pura Vision.

Dubbed an “e-LUV” – short for electric Luxury Utility Vehicle – the high-riding four-seater features pillarless doors that open in three directions (forward, backward, or up) and a wide stance, rolling on large 23-inch alloy wheels.

The brand claims the new car was inspired by the 1947 Cisitalia 202 GT sports coupe – the first-ever car to show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The vehicle was created in conjunction with Pininfarina’s Digital Innovation Hub in Germany.

Overall dimensions are 5215mm long, 2147mm wide and 1641mm high, which makes it larger than a Lamborghini Urus in every direction (5137mm long, 2016mm wide and 1638mm tall). A Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series measures five metres long.

Hidden in the front end of the Pura Vision are slim headlights, which use new nanofibre lighting technology.

While there is a hint of the Ferrari Purosangue in the front fascia of the Pura Vision – and Pininfarina has been responsible for some of the most iconic Ferrari models of the past 70 years – Ferrari’s first SUV wasn’t penned by the Italian design company.

Inside the Pura Vision, the interior features floating front seats around a centre console claimed to resemble a sailing yacht’s boom – the horizontal post that hangs off the mast – made from 30 per cent wool and 70 per cent recycled polyester.

Other material choices inside the cabin include semi-aniline leather, more recycled polyester, and exposed carbon fibre panels.

Technology is kept out of the way of the design, and the central infotainment screen rises from the console only when asked for. Speakers are located separately in the headrests for individual audio output.

No mechanical details have been shared, although the Pura Vision may follow the Pininfarina Battista hypercar – related to Croatia’s Rimac Nevera, which just broke the electric-car production lap record around Germany’s Nurburgring race track – in using a large 120kWh lithium-ion battery and four electric motors.

Pininfarina is yet to commit to turning the Pura Vision concept into a production vehicle, however the company has expressed interest in expanding its line-up beyond the Battista.

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2022 Porsche Cayenne owner review

The Cayenne purchase was perhaps the fastest decision I’ve ever made in buying cars.
Owner: Happy Owner

After plugging away in a faraway land/island/city-state in South East Asia for the past 20-odd years, the urge to come home to roost started brewing, and the call only grew louder when international borders were sealed shut some three years ago during the pandemic. So, the decision was made for my wife and me to make plans for a permanent return home.

We would end up making multiple trips back and forth between Singapore and Sydney, shopping for white goods, house furnishings and, like any self-respecting suburbanite, we also found ourselves trawling the dealerships for the quintessential accompaniment to any home: our cars.

I’ve already written about taking delivery of the 911 Carrera GTS earlier in July 2023, so this write-up is a brief review of our earlier purchase made in 2022.

The first buy was for a 2022 Porsche Cayenne. I thought it would be prudent to be practical. Sydney is a large city, and Australia is a bigger country. I would need something with a little bit of heft, if not a smidgen of road presence, and nothing does that better than an SUV.

The Cayenne purchase was perhaps the fastest decision I’ve ever made in buying cars. We rocked up at 4:30pm, about an hour before closing time, and were assigned a rather helpful sales agent who cheerfully threw the keys in my direction and said I could take the family (I was there with the wife and our goddaughters) for a test drive.

I asked “Where?” and he said, “As long as you don’t cross state lines”. The deal was signed when we got back to the Porsche dealership at 5:30pm – Her Majesty suggested the full leather interior (over the rather tacky faux leather/plastic trimmings), and together, the girls helped to decide the colour and as usual they conspired to decide on yet another shade of silver…

A week later, I went back to the dealership and signed the contract for the 911 (that story has already been told), and with the deposit paid for both cars, we flew back to Singapore. In July 2022, my Cayenne landed, and we flew back to Sydney to collect the car. We paid for the car via bank transfer, much to the dismay of the dealership, and drove the car home.

We’ve since taken the Cayenne on long drives to the South Coast and to the Mountains, and the Cayenne has more than ably acquitted itself with distinction. Its road manners are impeccable, and the urgency with which it moves when my right foot prods the accelerator in anger can genuinely surprise me. Surefooted and with enough torque to get me into a free lane, it’s no wonder that the Cayenne is Porsche’s top-selling vehicle worldwide.

The head-up display is crisp and just the right brightness as to remain unobtrusive – although for the life of me, even after a year’s ownership, I still have not figured out a way to adjust the brightness of the damn thing without having to adjust the brightness of the entire dashboard display.

The (optional – really, Porsche? At this price point? Really?) Bose sound system is a treat and a half, playing Her Majesty’s perennial favourites by Westlife and Celine Dion, although the subwoofer does take up nearly half the free space underneath the trunk (the other half being occupied by a space-saver spare). Audiophiles have commented that the bass is over-represented, but for semi-tone-deaf plebeians like us, it’s by far and away one of the better systems ever fitted into a car – choice of songs being bleated out notwithstanding.

I did not specify the Cayenne with a sunroof – I’m not really into sunroofs, and I specifically chose the base Cayenne because it came with an honest-to-goodness standard solid item. The Cayenne S or any higher grade came with a sunroof as default. The sunroof has a thin mesh that covers the inner roof lining when closed but still lets in heat and light. Personally, I don’t wish to wear sunscreen when I’m inside the car, so thanks but no thanks, I’ll pass on the sunroof. Your mileage will obviously vary, and rightly so.

In the Cayenne, 360-degree parking cameras and Lane Change Assist come as standard equipment. Which in turn are extremely helpful for pointing and piloting this chubby little porker accurately along the narrow garage spaces that plague new homes these days, and when traversing the nightmare that’s Parramatta Road with trucks on either side!

The Cayenne has been further embellished with some of the finer accoutrements as required for a cosseting, pillowy ride: as previously mentioned, a full leather interior (for tired backsides), 14-way comfort seats as opposed to the standard eight-way or the harder 18-way Sports seats, and perhaps, most importantly, full adaptive air suspension that soothes away the potholes and magically melts away any expansion joints of a highway. It’s really quite like a magic carpet ride – all dream, no drama.

The only two drawbacks to the way the Cayenne was specified are the lack of LED Matrix headlights (Porsche’s Dynamic LED Lighting System is standard) and the lack of motorised adjustment of the steering column. Both of these issues were not available as options – ostensibly a casualty of the war in Ukraine, or so the salesperson told me.

And, if I had a chance to build a Cayenne again, I would also have specified ambient lighting as an option: the car is great to drive at night, with minimal distraction and minimally reflective surfaces inside, but when you need to look for something in a cubicle or a cubby hole, the lack of ambient lighting can be a frustrating endeavour. Thankfully, there are still the interior lights in LED to help out.

Sure, my 911 is special and I look forward to the contortionist act of sucking my belly in as I slide and squeeze myself into position every weekend, but for every other day of the week, for the IKEA runs, for the trips to Coles, the long cruises to nowhere and back, and the jaunt to the local bottle shop, nothing beats the chubby porker that is our beloved Cayenne.

Owner: Happy Owner

MORE: Everything Porsche

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Quick Robin, to the Batmobile… auction

Fight crime in style, with a replica 1960s Batman TV show Batmobile that is based on a 1992 Chevrolet Corvette

“Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed…”

The Batmobile from the 1960s Batman TV series is one of the most iconic small-screen cars of all time. Originally based on the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, the Batmobile was reportedly created in approximately three weeks by renowned customiser George Barris.

A star of the small screen between 1966 and 1968, the original car was sold back in 2013 for a staggering US$4.62 million (AU$7.15 million). Luckily, Barris’ bat-creation has spawned a number of replicas.

One car, this time based on a 1992 Chevrolet C4 Corvette, is currently being auctioned on the US-based auction website Bring-a-Trailer.

And no, the B-A-T irony isn’t lost on us…

According to the listing, the Batmobile was constructed in 2021 and is powered by a 6.2-litre LS3 V8 engine and a four-speed automatic transmission. It’s a faithful replica and features the twin bubble-dome windscreens, jet turbine outlet with a working flame thrower, parachute bag and of course, the Bat Phone to communicate with Alfred and Commissioner Gordon.

As part of the construction, the ’90s Corvette mechanicals were overhauled and a modern infotainment system was installed.

While it may be running Chevy rather than Ford underpinnings, the replica Batmobile looks every bit as crime-fight-ready as the original did almost 60 years ago. The black paint with red highlights, not to mention the bat-wing fins and bat-logo wheel centre caps, make this an unmistakable icon for bat fans, young and old.

At the time of writing the bidding had reached US$77,777 (AU$120,350), but with a few hours left to run, we expect this to climb.

So if protecting the citizens of Gotham City was on your 2023 to-do list, you had better get bat-bidding. There’s not a moment to lose!

View the auction listing on Bring-A-Trailer here.

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Electric BMW 3 Series previewed by Vision Neue Klasse concept

BMW’s new electric sedan concept points to the future of the 3 Series, with dedicated electric-car underpinnings and drivetrain technology claimed to deliver up to 1000km of driving range.

BMW has provided the strongest clues yet to the design and underpinnings planned for the electric version of the next-generation 2025 BMW 3 Series with the Vision Neue Klasse concept.

Unveiling at the Munich motor show in Germany, the Vision Neue Klasse is a clear evolution of the earlier i Vision Dee concept revealed by BMW the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2023.

It signals a radical shift in new-model development at the German car maker as it pivots from the production of traditional petrol and diesel-powered models to a broader range of electric cars scheduled for launch during the latter half of the decade.

The electric production version of the Vision Neue Klasse concept – likely to be badged i3 – is tipped to be sold alongside a next-generation 3 Series with petrol propulsion, for buyers not ready to make the switch to battery power.

However – whereas the petrol version is expected to sit on similar underpinnings to today’s model – the electric version will use BMW’s next-generation ‘Neue Klasse’ platform dedicated to electric vehicles.

BMW says it will offer an electric model in each of its core market segments by the end of this year, and by the end of 2025 it aims for more than a quarter of all sales to be electric models. 

It gets even more ambitious thereafter. By the end of 2026, BMW expects electric models to account for a third of its sales worldwide.

MORE: Next BMW 3 Series to offer petrol and electric power on different platforms – report

An early entrant to the electric-car ranks with the inherently-complex and costly-to-produce i3 launched in 2013, BMW has since taken a more cautious and cost-effective approach by basing all of its current electric cars on its existing petrol-car underpinnings, known as FAAR and CLAR.

The move has allowed BMW to amortise development costs and produce both traditional petrol models and their electric siblings alongside one another on the same production lines. 

Now, with acceptance growing in key markets across the globe, BMW has extended its financial and engineering commitment to a series of new electric models with the development of its first modular electric-car platform intended for large-scale production.

The new platform structure not only forms the basis of BMW’s latest concept car but also lends it its name: Neue Klasse.

There is history here. BMW first used Neue Klasse on a series of sedans and coupes produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s – including the 2000 CS – which turned the company’s fortunes around at the time.

As with the introduction of these models over 50 years ago, the development of its new electric-vehicle platform and the Vision Neue Klasse concept car are considered a once-in-a-lifetime brand reshaping exercise that is intended to project BMW into a new electric-car era.

“With the Neue Klasse, we have embarked on the biggest investment in the company’s history,” BMW board member responsible for development, Frank Weber, said in a media statement.

“We are not just writing the next chapter of BMW; we’re writing a whole new book. That’s why the Neue Klasse will certainly impact all model generations.”

As well as showcasing its new platform, BMW’s new concept car also adopts elements of the drivetrain, design and digital functionality the German car maker plans to provide to its future electric models. 

According to Mr Weber, BMW will launch up to six new electric models under the umbrella of the Neue Klasse project, including sedans and SUVs, between 2025 and 2027.

The first of these is planned to be an electric 3 Series billed as a direct rival to the likes of the Tesla Model 3. 

To be produced at a new factory under construction in Debrecen, Hungary, the new sedan is planned to be the first BMW model to benefit from a new sixth-generation electric drivetrain.

In combination with new a battery featuring round cells with a 20 per cent higher energy density than the prismatic cells used in today’s electric BMW models, it is claimed to bring a 30 per cent increase in range together with a 30 per cent increase in charging capacity, to 270kW.

Mr Weber says the electric drivetrain technology showcased by the Vision Neue Klasse, including its so-called ’46XX’ battery cells, will bring a 25 per cent increase in efficiency compared to current designs.

It is estimated to provide the electric version of the next 3 Series – the i3 as it is tipped to be called – with a theoretical driving range of up to 1000km.

As with the earlier Vision Dee, the Vision Neue Klasse previews the design lineage BMW has chosen for its next generation of electric models. 

The new look combines crisp and angular lines with taut and largely unadorned surfacing to provide the new concept car with a clean and contemporary appearance.

BMW describes its new sedan as being “clear, elegant and timeless”. It also points to new detailing that will distinguish its future models from those on sale today.

Included is a reinterpretation of its signature front ‘kidney’ grilles featuring illumination and various lighting themes, thin LED headlights, large wheelhouses, a heavily-angled windscreen, large windows, and tail-lights that extend across the rear to accentuate the concept’s width.

Inside, the interior of the Vision Neue Klasse follows the theme established outside, with a minimalist design that does away with almost all physical controls.

The main point of interaction is a central touchscreen supported by a voice-activated “intelligent personal assistant” and “panoramic vision” head-up display unit that projects information and graphics across the entire windscreen.

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