A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Volvo plans mass electrification
With an announcement that by 2019 all new vehicles will sport some type of electrification, from mild hybrid through to full-battery EV, Volvo becomes the first major auto manufacturer to step entirely away from the internal combustion engine. (For those of you about to complain that Tesla has already done so, we’ll have to wait for their Model 3’s success or failure to see if they can make the transition from popular niche company to major player.)
The news will only really be surprising to anyone who hasn’t been following Volvo’s ambitious strides with regards to their current lineup. At the top of the range, the T8 version of the XC90 crossover already has plug-in hybrid technology, and positions the tech as a benefit over the standard model. Volvo turfed their straight-six turbos and naturally-aspirated V-8s for a compact twincharged four-cylinder, and has experimented with making even triple-turbocharged fours, the better to extract power from small displacement.
Even so, Volvo’s move towards the electric future, while seemingly daring, should be taken with a few grains of whatever Ikea-branded salt is called. Kindesaltingö or whatever. Yes, Volvo makes five types of plug-in hybrids around the world, but no electric cars as yet. Further, the demand for electric cars isn’t so much set by the manufacturer or regulator, but by the customer. It’s all well and good to be hoping to sell one million EVs by 2025 – as is Volvo’s stated goal – but there are already plenty of electric options right now, and they’re all relatively slow sellers.
Still, Volvo’s move sets itself apart from mainstream luxury manufacturers, and gives the company some kind of brand identity. And what about that Volvo reputation for safety?
Kangaroos confuse self-driving Volvo
As we’re all constantly being told, the future is both electric and autonomous. Robot cars will be far safer than human drivers, and prone to making fewer mistakes (always assuming we can get them to work properly).
Volvo’s autonomous program suffered an unexpected setback in Australia recently, when its large animal detection equipment became confused by hopping kangaroos. The system was built around dealing with elk, deer, and moose, and does a good job of recognizing and avoiding them.
Kangaroos, on the other hand, like to jump. In the system’s brain, that makes them suddenly appear further away, then close, then further away again. It causes a glitch that’s been hard to program out.
On one hand, not being prepared for Australia isn’t such a big deal. Australian wildlife is weird: I mean, what kind of country has a deer that looks like a tyrannosaurus rex with pockets?
On the other hand, it’s more proof that the world is a complicated places with ever worsening roads and unpredictable wildlife. Sure, eventually the computing power will be there to deal with every possibility, but how long will it take, and will everybody trust it?
Porsche shows off ultimate 911
Like Volvo, Porsche is also readying for an electric future, with plans to have half its fleet equipped with some sort of electrification by 2023. The Mission E, an answer to the Tesla Model S, is expected to launch by 2019.
While we wait for that, Porsche’s GT sub-section is busy cranking out machines that stretch the limits of technology in a different way. The new, 690 horsepower 911 GT3RS is the most powerful road-going 911 variant ever, a twin-turbocharged monster capable of hitting a top speed of 340 kilometres per hour.
Fitted with functional aerodynamics and even a water-spray system for its intercoolers, the GT3RS should be a track weapon. It is, however, horrendously expensive, with a price tag north of a quarter-million dollars. Ouch. Better to wait for whatever the GT versions of the Cayman and Boxster are going to look like.
Jaguar Project 8 is a 330 km/h four-door
Once upon a time, the cops cursed the Jaguar saloon cars. Far faster than the contemporary police cruisers, the Jaguar MK 2 made the perfect getaway car, scampering off into the night with ill-gotten gains in the boot.
Fresh from Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations division, the Project 8 swaps Jag’s supercharged V-8 under the bonnet of the XE sport sedan, giving it 592 h.p. and 516 foot-pounds of torque. A pair of massive 305-series tires get the power down out back, carbon-ceramic brakes scrub down speed in a hurry, and there’s a reworked, adjustable-height suspension with a huge rear wing and a front splitter.
The result is ... well, it’s a bit much, isn’t it? The Brits have a nice term for this: over-egging the pudding. While the Project 8 would make for a really neat racing machine, fitting in with Jaguar’s tradition of sporting excellence, as a road car, it’s like the bit in Spinal Tap where the bassist shoves a foil-wrapped zucchini down his pants for better “stage presence.” Yes, the wing is functionally necessary for a car capable of going beyond 200 miles per hour, but it’s a bit Essex, innit?
Jag needs a tamer version of this, one to go head to head with the Mercedes-AMG C63 and BMW M4. Lose the wing, tweak the suspension to deal with rough pavement, but keep the V-8 snarl. Grace, pace, and space: you need all three legs of the tripod to make a great Jag.
Classic Car show this Sunday
As I predicted, almost immediately after publishing last week’s show guide, something else reared its head. This Sunday, July 9, at 270 East First St. in North Vancouver, my friends at Classic Car Adventures and RX Autoworks are closing the street for a collector car appreciation day.
The event runs 8-11 a.m. and is roughly a Cars and Coffee style meet. Bring your 25-year-or-older vehicle down to show off, or park nearby and walk over for a rare chance to get a peek inside the RX Autoworks garage.
Looking further out, the folks at the All Japanese Classic sent me a note as well: their event this year will be down at Waterfront on Aug. 27. Many cars are already registered – check their Facebook site for details.
Watch this space for all the week’s best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected].
