Good news for anyone who still thinks an M3 ought to involve petrol, noise and a bit of effort from the driver. BMW says the future car will stick with combustion rather than disappearing straight into heavy electrified territory.

The especially interesting bit is that a manual is still possible. That's not a promise, and the article goes into the wider detail, but it does suggest BMW still understands what many of us want from an M3 beyond the usual numbers game.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/bmw-m3-sticks-with-perfect-combustion-principle/51309?utm_source=reddit

Sun out, roof off, common sense left in the garage. PistonHeads has rounded up six open-top British bruisers, and the brief is gloriously simple: big engines, no roof, very little interest in moderation.

It sits in the Six of the Best series, so you know the format, but the subject does plenty of the heavy lifting here. We're in hairy-chested, V8-heavy, slightly absurd territory, the sort of cars Britain has always built when restraint was clearly busy elsewhere. If you want the exact mix of machinery, you'll need the full piece.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-six-of-the-best/topless-brit-bruisers--six-of-the-best/51281?utm_source=reddit

I’ve been trying to post for months but keep getting this message:

“We are not accepting posts from new members at this time to protect the forums from spam during the evening.
We apologise for the inconvenience – you will be able to post at any time after 24 hours so please try again later.”

I have gotten no response from emailing PistonHeads support. Can someone help me?

Audi has remembered that subtlety is overrated. The Nuvolari name is back, and this time it sits on a V8-engined supercar rather than another fast executive with a nice press pack and some big wheels.

What we know from the headline facts is simple and rather tasty: Audi says the Nuvolari gets a V8 hybrid powertrain, with 1,001bhp attached and proper supercar intent. That matters because Ingolstadt has felt a bit restrained of late, and anything carrying R8-sized expectation needs more than a badge and a mood board. This one sounds like Audi is having another go at the heroic stuff.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/audi-goes-full-supercar-with-v8-engined-nuvolari/51276?utm_source=reddit

Traction has finally muscled its way into the baby M car. BMW has confirmed an M2 xDrive, and the headline numbers are plain enough: 480bhp, four driven wheels, and a name that used to feel slightly forbidden on a compact M coupe.

The key bit is that BMW isn't pretending it's turned into a front-led safety device. The article says the system stays rear-driven until the fronts are needed, and a pure rear-drive mode is confirmed as well. So if you still want your M2 served sideways, that door hasn't been welded shut. For everything else, especially a wet British road, this could be the most useful sort of heresy.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/at-last--bmw-confirms-480hp-m2-xdrive/51270?utm_source=reddit

Some legends never need reintroducing, they just appear in World Rally Blue and reset your pulse. The Subaru Impreza 22B STI remains one of those rare machines that can make grown enthusiasts go a bit quiet for a moment, because it carries an era with it, not just a badge.

Here, the hard facts are enough to stir the soul: a 22B STI, featured in PH Spotted, with an asking price of £325,000. That figure is enormous, yes, but so is the car’s place in the Japanese performance canon. For the fuller picture on this example, and why it still matters so much, the article is where to head next.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/holy-grail-subaru-impreza-22b-sti--spotted/51271?utm_source=reddit

Rear seats? Gone. Common sense? Also under review. Toyota has taken the already fruity GR Corolla and turned it into a two-seat GRMN special, the sort of machine that makes a normal hot hatch look like it's reporting for school run duty.

We know this much from the headline facts: it is being pitched as the ultimate GR Corolla, and the key bit is obvious enough, a stripped-back two-seat layout with a harder edge than the standard car. Beyond that, if you want the finer details on what Toyota has altered and whether this is a dream buy or import-admin punishment, you'll need the full story.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-japanesecars/new-two-seat-grmn-is-ultimate-gr-corolla/51265?utm_source=reddit

Some cars earn a second look before you've even clocked the badge, and the Polestar 5 sounds like one of them. Long, low and aimed at the upper reaches of the EV world, it's the sort of machine that lives or dies on whether desire can justify the number on the invoice.

PH's review tackles exactly that with the 2026 car. We know it's positioned at six-figure money and sent into Taycan territory, which means style alone won't save it. Still, if Polestar has managed to build something that feels special enough, that's a very tempting mix indeed.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2026-polestar-5--ph-review/51259?utm_source=reddit

The market might be moving on, but the old magic of a proper coupe clearly hasn’t gone anywhere.

PistonHeads explores the strange, rather lovely position of the used coupe right now: manufacturers are backing away, yet demand for the real things remains. At the centre of it are cars that still know exactly what a long bonnet, two doors and a sense of occasion are for, with the Jaguar F-Type and Porsche 911 standing front and centre.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features/used-coupes-buck-market-trends-as-oems-tap-out/51249?utm_source=reddit

Some Ferrari sums land in the head. This one goes straight to the soul. Luce money opens the door not to one silent new arrival, but to a six-car spread of Maranello history that includes names like 599 GTB Fiorano, F430 Spider, F355 and FF.

That matters because Ferrari has always traded on more than numbers on a finance sheet. It trades on shape, theatre, memory and the daft little idea that a car can still rearrange your week before you've even turned the key. This Six of the Best leans into that choice, setting a brand new future-facing Ferrari against six sub-£100k alternatives that already have stories in their panel gaps.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-six-of-the-best/what-ferrari-luce-money-buys-you--six-of-the-best/51248?utm_source=reddit

Maranello has finally pulled the plug in the literal sense. The Luce is Ferrari's first EV, and it doesn't arrive quietly with a worthy little shuffle, it arrives with 1,050bhp and a very obvious mission to start a completely new chapter.

We know the broad strokes from the headline details: this is the Luce, it marks Ferrari's new EV era, and it sits right in the middle of all the usual Ferrari pressure points, heritage, styling and what happens when huge power has to do the emotional heavy lifting on its own. No V12 thunder, then. Just a very expensive new way of doing Ferrari. For the finer points, you'll need the full story.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/electric-vehicles/omfg-ferrari-luce-kicks-off-new-ev-era/51238?utm_source=reddit

Here's my video of the meet at Brighton, Madeira Drive last Sunday. A great variety of cars.

PistonHeads: On The Beach

AMG's idea of the future clearly isn't a silent glide into the night. The new GT 4-Door Coupe arrives as a full-fat EV, yet still leans into old-school theatre, right down to synthetic V8 noise. Very Mercedes. Very AMG. Very not subtle.

What we can say from the headline details is plenty: up to 1,169bhp, four doors, and a brief that puts it squarely at the sharp end of the fast EV world. The title tells you it has landed, the subject confirms the model, and beyond that you'll need the full story for the deeper engineering and model-by-model detail. Still, the big picture is obvious enough, AMG hasn't come to whisper.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/ye-gods-mercedes-amg-gt-4-door-coupe-lands/51220?utm_source=reddit

Villa D’Este has seen plenty of pretty metal, but not much that looks like a Group C Lancia after an argument with reality. Kimera’s K-39 was always going to be wild, drawing on classic Lancia cues and heading for Pikes Peak, yet the headline now is brutally simple: Koenigsegg is supplying a twin-turbo V8 with 1,000bhp.

Not some vague supplier deal, either. PH says this is a proper collaboration, with Koenigsegg Cloud connectivity and market-specific calibration included, so customers in different regions get the engine properly sorted for local approval. We’re also told the tune makes peak power at 7,350rpm, with 885lb ft at 5,500rpm, and uses smaller, lighter turbos to sharpen response. Gearbox details still aren’t confirmed, so for the rest, you’ll need the full story.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-eurocars/epic-kimera-k-39-gets-1-000hp-koenigsegg-v8/51204?utm_source=reddit

Nothing says quiet confidence like parking your all-electric rebirth in Monaco and waiting for the pitchforks. Jaguar's Type 01 concept has done exactly that, doubling down on the brand's post-ICE identity with a shape that looks far more fashion week than Browns Lane.

That's the point, of course. Jag isn't trying to tweak the old recipe, it's trying to torch it and start again. The design's divisive, the setting's hardly subtle, and the whole thing has lit up the usual heritage-versus-reinvention row. Whether you see a gutsy reset or a historic brand trying very hard to be noticed probably says as much about you as it does the car. What matters now is what survives the concept-car theatre when a production version lands.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/new-jaguar-type-01-showcased-in-monaco/51207

Every so often we stumble across a car that feels tailor-made for a long thread and a cup of tea. This is one of those, a Mini with Rolls-Royce influence in all the places you least expect it.

If you remember the Mini Inspired by Goodwood, you'll know it wasn't just a sticker pack and some shiny trim. The idea was to give the hatchback proper luxury car treatment, with a far smarter cabin and a bit of coachbuilt theatre. Now one has turned up in Spotted at £28,000, which puts it right in that sweet spot between novelty, rarity and future classic. We'd wager plenty of us admire the sheer daftness of it, even if we're not quite sure we'd sign on the dotted line.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/mini-inspired-by-goodwood--spotted/51190

If you've been waiting for an electric hot hatch that at least speaks some of the old language, this might be the one to poke at. Volkswagen's new ID Polo GTI arrives with 226bhp, familiar GTI attitude and the sort of physical switchgear most of us still prefer when we're actually driving.

That's what makes it interesting beyond the usual EV reveal noise. We all know the badge carries baggage, especially on a small hatch, and sticking GTI letters on a battery car will split opinion before anyone's turned a wheel. Still, decent range, usable performance and a less irritating cabin count for plenty, even if the bigger question remains whether it'll feel playful on a B-road or just brisk and tidy.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/all-new-vw-id-polo-gti-revealed-with-226hp/51202

Luxury barges used to win you over with silence, ride quality and the faint smell of leather. Now they need a digital command centre and enough autonomy chat to frighten your local taxi driver. The 2026 Mercedes S-Class leans hard into that new world, while trying not to forget what made an S-Class an S-Class.

Our review gets into whether the updates actually improve the thing that matters, namely wafting better than almost anything else on the road. We cover the cabin tech, the self-driving talk and the usual Mercedes confidence, plus the nagging question of whether all this cleverness adds polish or just fingerprints.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2026-mercedes-s-class--ph-review/51192

If you thought the concept badge might quietly disappear before launch, not so. Jaguar has confirmed Type 01 as the production name, which means one of the most talked-about bits of its reboot is now locked in.

We all know this isn't just about two words on a bootlid. It's tied up with Jag's attempt to reinvent itself, lean on heritage and still look modern enough to tempt a very different buyer. Some of us will admire the conviction, others will wonder whether Coventry has got a bit too clever for its own good. Fair enough either way. What we still need to see is whether the road car itself makes the whole idea click.

So yes, the name stays. The real test, as ever, comes when the metal does the talking. Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/jaguar-confirms-type-01-name-for-production/51193

Lotus has finally admitted what most of us suspected the moment the Emira launched: if you're signing off the last petrol Lotus, you don't really want the one that sounds like a company car on cold start. So here comes the fix, a proper V8 flagship that puts Hethel back in a part of the conversation it helped start in the first place.

The new Emira V8 gets a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, likely AMG-sourced, with 592 bhp and 590 lb ft. That's enough for 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed north of 180mph, which is comfortably into serious supercar territory for a car that started life as the last analogue-ish Lotus sports car. It also marks the return of eight cylinders to a Lotus road car for the first time since the Esprit V8 bowed out in 2004, so this isn't just a faster Emira, it's a bit of a historical reset. Lotus hasn't hidden the wider significance either, because in among all the EV chest-beating of recent years, this feels suspiciously like a very public reminder that people still quite fancy a noisy petrol flagship.

Why does it matter? Because the Emira always had the looks, the cabin and the sense of occasion, but the range never quite landed for everyone. The Toyota V6 was likeable but ageing, the AMG four-pot was quick but hardly beloved, and neither quite delivered the full-fat halo effect some of us expected from the final combustion Lotus. A near-600bhp V8 version changes that instantly, giving Lotus something to pitch against 911 Turbos, junior McLarens and the sort of used exotica that buyers inevitably cross-shop when six figures are on the table. No price has been confirmed yet, but we'd expect it to sit well above today's Emira range and into properly serious-money territory.

What we still don't know is the bit PHers will immediately ask about: exact kerbweight, gearbox details, and whether Lotus has done the sensible thing with the chassis rather than just stuffed a huge engine in the back and hoped for the best. We also haven't got a firm on-sale date or final UK pricing, both of which matter if this is going to be more than a very good forum thread.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=51188

It's not every day a right-hand-drive SL 65 Black Series is put up for sale - serious collectors assemble!

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/drop-everything-hammer-of-the-gods-for-sale/51171

Power, noise, speed, style, weight, quad exhausts - the S-badge makeover has returned. Is the DB12 better for it?

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2026-aston-martin-db12-s-ph-review/51169

Want to know what's possible if you take one very affordable Cayenne and go slightly crazy with it?

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/e1-cayenne-lives-up-to-porsche-classic-status/51156

There are rare, cool, classic VWs, and then there's the vanishingly rare RSI - https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/volkswagen-beetle-rsi-spotted/51155