Every important car news story breaking today, one convenient read
Thanks for joining us this Monday April 22nd 2024. Notably in car news today: the Porsche Cayenne has once again gained a GTS variant, this time with more power and more chassis control, and Mercedes-AMG adds 600kW hybrid V8 powertrain to its GT sports coupe.
Porsche has updated its GTS, now starting from $209,600 before on-road costs
Porsche Australia has announced updated pricing for its Cayenne GTS high-performance SUV, including the coupe edition.
Pricing now starts from $209,600 (up $2100) before on-road costs for the SUV wagon, and $212,600 (up $1400) before on-road costs for the SUV Coupe variant.
The V8 is far from dead, with Porsche continuing to offer the Cayenne with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre bent-eight, now producing 30kW more for a total of 368kW. Torque is up 40Nm to 660Nm.
Porsche has also revised the chassis of the GTS, with adaptive air suspension, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus. Optional features include Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control.
Other standard features include a curved digital instrument cluster, dark-tinted matrix LED headlights, a Bose sound system and an adaptive extending rear spoiler.
Expect the updated Porsche Cayenne GTS variants to arrive in Australia in the third quarter of 2024.
Mercedes-AMG’s new-gen GT coupe gets hybrid V8 power
The Mercedes-AMG GT coupe is getting hybrid V8 power!
Mercedes-AMG might be going full steam ahead with hybrid four-cylinder power for the C63 S E Performance, but it won’t be giving up the V8 for its flagship GT coupe, which now gets a hybrid V8 for the first time in its history.
Producing 600kW of power and 1420Nm, the GT63 S E Performance uses a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine with AMG’s performance hybrid electric system. Its 0-100km/h will take a claimed 2.8 seconds. A version of this powertrain is already offered in the GT 63 S E Performance four-door sedan.
V8 power is augmented by a 150kW electric motor on the rear axle and the coupe features adaptive all-wheel drive. As a plug-in hybrid, the GT63 uses a 6.1kWh battery pack, but will have a pure-electric range of just 13 kilometres.
Standard features on the model will include active rear steering, a ceramic braking system, active ride control suspension and active aerodynamics, which includes an active rear spoiler.
The GT63 S E Performance will make its public debut in Shanghai this week, before going on sale around the world from the third quarter of 2024.
Chery to launch new hybrid SUV, the Tansuo, which claims 1300km driving range
This is the Chery Tansuo, which could come to Australia one day!
Chery will launch a new hybrid SUV called the Tansuo PHEV at the Beijing Auto Show this week, claiming a huge driving range peak of 1300km, according to fresh Car News China reports.
As many Chinese automakers push for EV, the Tansuo stands out by still using a petrol engine, in this case a 1.5-litre Miller cycle four-cylinder engine that produces 115kW of power and 220Nm of torque.
As a plug-in hybrid, the new Chery model also claims an electric-only range of 120km, which is significantly greater than the likes of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV sold in Australia that has an electric-only range of 84km.
Standard features for the Chery Tansuo PHEV include a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, AI assistant, head-up display, smaller LCD instrument screen, front seat heating and ventilation and even a massage function.
Chery currently sells the Omoda 5 SUV, the Tiggo 7 Pro SUV and will soon launch the Tiggo 8 Pro SUV in Australia. The first electric Chery Omoda E5 is due in Australia by mid-2024.
Google Maps just got more helpful for EV owners
Google Maps will assist EV owners with finding chargers
Global tech company Google is beginning to roll out a new suite of features for its Maps application to make things easier for the growing number of EV owners around the world.
New to Google Maps will be an AI-powered summary that will give EV owners a better idea of exactly where a charger may be, which could be especially useful in multi-storey car parks or large shopping centres.
Also new for Google Maps will be the ability for the app to recognise an electric vehicle’s state of charge. If you’re getting low, Google will suggest the nearest EV chargers, how many are available for use and how fast the charge rate is at said charging point.
If you’re set to do a multi-stop road trip – something that is very common in Australia – then Google will suggest the best charging stops along the way based again on the state of charge of your electric vehicle.
These features will also debut in the coming months across EVs that have Google built-in, such as the products from Polestar, Volvo, Honda and more.
The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Tuesday 23rd April at 4.30pm Sydney time.
