2017 BMW X5 M

The crossover-SUV scene may be erupting like ancient Mount Toba, threatening to snuff out myriad car species and altering the gene pools of some of the world’s most storied auto brands, including Bentley and Alfa Romeo. But that doesn’t mean performance will die off in a global cataclysm of porky soft-roaders. In fact, the sheer size of many crossovers affords them the space to package an armory of go-fast parts, and the 2017 BMW X5 M employs nearly all of them to be one of the nuttiest of the breed.

Spawned alongside the mechanically identical but less practical X6 M “four-door coupe,” this 5303-pound dreadnought has changed little since the second-generation model debuted for 2015. Its hot-vee 4.4-liter V-8 still nestles a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers between its cylinder banks, pumping out a heady 567 horses at 6500 rpm and 553 lb-ft of torque at just 2200. An M-tuned eight-speed automatic transmission continues to send power to an all-wheel-drive system capable of routing up to 100 percent of the thrust to either axle, with a torque-vectoring rear differential further metering the power between the rear wheels to quell understeer and sharpen handling.

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A Genetic Anomaly

In essence, this volcanic people mover is everything that M cars traditionally have not been, even though BMW has fully embraced the turbocharged-automatic-AWD formula for the upcoming 2018 M5 supersedan. New for 2017: BMW’s iDrive interface now runs version 5.0 software and can be accessed via a touchscreen as well as the central control knob; the $4700 Executive package (adaptive LED headlights with automatic high-beams, soft-closing doors, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, and concierge services) adds wireless device charging and a Wi-Fi hotspot; and buyers can now opt for BMW Individual’s metallic paint and special leather treatments.

Although its hunchback X6 counterpart is marginally quicker and grippier, the X5 M remains a genetic marker for when SUV evolution went full guano. Despite its tonnage and 192.7-inch length, this anabolic crossover has the moves to keep pace with BMW’s M3 sports sedan in nearly every dynamic measure: zero to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, a 12.2-second quarter-mile run at 114 mph, a 153-foot stop from 70 mph, and 0.98 g of stick on our 300-foot skidpad. In our testing of its kind, only the Bentley Bentayga and the Tesla Model X P90D are quicker, and neither can approach the grip and rabid cornering ability of the BMW.

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And it can drift. We don’t condone it on public roads, but load up the X5 M in a corner with its stability control deactivated and you can overpower the monstrous rear Michelin Pilot Super Sports (325/30ZR-21s with still massive 285/35ZR-21s in front) into a pronounced powerslide. The composure of your rear-seat passengers may vary.

Techno Overload

Driving the X5 M hard is not so much rewarding as it is hilarious to thumb your nose at the laws of physics. Here’s a 67.6-inch-tall shopping cart that can accommodate five people and 36 cubic feet of luggage yet can effortlessly storm down a twisty two-lane like a pyroclastic cloud. As with many modern BMWs, however, that performance comes with little satisfaction. The hefty and highly precise steering is short on the satisfying road feedback we’d like from a car this capable. Despite the V-8’s empowering gusto and willingness to peg its 7000-rpm redline, the synthesized thrum it emits is more eight-bit video game than $100K performance machine. And making sense of the dizzying array of vehicle-system adjustments can muddle the act of simply enjoying the X5 M on the road: Along with three increasingly aggressive settings for the gearbox in both its automatic and paddle-shifted manual modes, there are Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ setups for the steering weight, engine power, and adaptive-damper firmness. The two additional wheel-mounted M preset buttons that allow for saving your favorite blend of all these settings are helpful, but it’s still a bit overwhelming.

All of those tuning controls on the center console clutter an already busy interior layout awash with too many materials and finishes, albeit very nice ones. This X5 also features BMW M’s unintuitive stub of a shift lever that natural selection has yet to suppress; with no true detent or button for park, it’s best to treat it as a manual transmission and always use the electronic parking brake located on the console before exiting the vehicle. Other niggles include how difficult it is to find a comfortable driving position, despite the supportiveness and 18-way power adjustability of the front seats. And even with the standard, self-leveling rear air suspension, ride quality with the standard 21-inch wheels can be excessively stiff for something this posh. We’ve yet to sample either M SUV on the available 20-inchers and thicker-profile tires (a no-cost option), which might take some of the edge off this overly starched ride. That and the BMW’s high-strung demeanor let the latest Mercedes-AMG GLE63 S coupe beat the X6 M in a recent two-way comparison test.

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This is normally where we’d chastise the fire-breathing brute for rapidly depleting the world’s oil reserves, which the X5 M will happily do with minimal prodding. But given its 14/19-mpg city/highway ratings, the 16 mpg we saw overall and the 20 mpg it returned on our 75-mph highway test are acceptable for a 2.5-ton rig with this much power.

The Cost of Evolution

Aside from our test car’s electric Long Beach Blue Metallic paint—which, along with the big wheels, gave it the bling of a prop fit for the set of Narcos—the X5 M exhibits the clean, understated look that its funkier sibling lacks. The flared, monochromatic bodywork is just racy enough for the hunkered-down stance and steamroller rubber yet won’t draw confounded stares from passersby. While it can’t match the curbside wattage of a $231,825 Bentayga, its aura is unmistakably rich, with tasteful blue ambient lighting inside, supple leather hides, and the feeling of spinning up a Learjet whenever you finger the start button. Six figures may be steep, but the BMW’s performance, fit and finish, and general attitude rarely have you questioning its $101,695 starting price.

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The X5 M’s list of standard features encompasses most of the SUV genome, with our $111,195 example also including the aforementioned Executive package, plus $2300 for night vision with pedestrian detection, a $1700 Driver Assistance Plus package (blind-spot detection, lane-departure warning, automated emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, and a 360-degree camera setup), a $500 parking-assist system, and $300 for Apple CarPlay connectivity.

Purists still will find the X5 M less than ideal—this BMW’s performance is impressive more in the context of its utility-vehicle core than it stems from actual engagement behind the wheel—but the crossover apocalypse does seem less threatening with this vehicle around. A next-gen X5 M on the horizon (which we’ve already spied testing near the Nürburgring) and soon-to-be-updated competitors from Jeep, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche ensure that this mutant branch of the SUV family tree will only grow stronger.

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante and Speedster spotted testing

Soft-top and roofless versions of Aston Martin’s limited-edition V12 sports car will be produced in a run of 99 and 28 units respectively

Aston Martin is adding the finishing touches to its limited-edition Vanquish Zagato Volante and Speedster models, ahead of planned customer deliveries next year.

The two drop-top versions of the Vanquish Zagato coupé will be produced in partnership with world-renowned Italian design house Zagato in a total of just 127 units: 99 Volantes and 28 Speedsters.

The Volante gets a folding soft-top and the Speedster (pictured below) ditches a roof altogether, in a similar vein to the Aston Martin DB AR1 of 2003. The models also clearly take influence from the Aston Martin Vulcan, One-77, CC-100 and DB7 Zagato.

First sightings of the models undergoing pre-production testing in the rain suggest Aston Martin used the time to assess waterproofing and, in the topless Speedster, the cabin's weatherproofing.

The limited-run V12 models use the same naturally aspirated 5.9-litre engine as the Vanquish Zagato coupé, with a maximum power output of 592bhp - 27bhp more than the regular Vanquish.

The Zagato Volante can sprint from 0-60mph in 3.7sec, but losing the convertible roof in the Speedster would decrease this time. Top speed will be about 197mph.

The Speedster will command the highest price, at about £1.3 million; the Volante is expected to cost more than £500,000. Of the 28 Speedsters to be made, just seven are destined for the UK.

Caterham Seven 420R Donington Edition 2017 review

Limited-edition road-legal Caterham track car is a superbly enthralling drive, with enough creature comforts to be used on the road as well. Even more addictive than most of its rangemates

 
 

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What is it?

If you’re familiar with Donington Park, you might just recognise this car’s colour scheme: the blue and white of the circuit’s kerbs and tyre walls and the flash of red that’s borrowed from its logo. This is the Caterham Seven 420R Donington Edition, a car that jointly celebrates 60 years of Caterham Cars and 40 years since the reopening of one of Britain’s prettiest circuits.

Rather than being a full factory model, the Donington Edition is the work of BookaTrack Caterham (for the uninitiated, BookaTrack is the renowned trackday company that recently secured the Midlands Caterham franchise, its showroom located at Donington Park). Just 10 such cars will be built, priced at £47,500 apiece, with orders being taken now.

The 420R sits right below the unhinged 620R in the Caterham line-up. It doesn’t have the supercharged model’s frenzied power output but, with 210bhp from its 2.0-litre Ford Duratec motor, and weighing no more than 560kg, it is still terrifyingly fast. In fact, its power-to-weight ratio is comparable to that of a McLaren 570GT.

The Donington Edition isn’t just a 420R with a new colour scheme, though. Unlike the regular model, it uses a six-speed sequential gearbox (the same transmission that’s found in the 620R and Caterham’s top-spec racing cars). It also has a competition roll cage and aero screen – there’s no windscreen or roof option whatsoever – as well as racing springs and dampers. The suspension rates and geometry have been tuned specifically for this model.

In fact, in many ways, the Donington Edition is simply a road-legal version of the cars that compete in Caterham’s top-flight racing category (until last year, the series was labelled R300-S, but for 2017 it was rebranded 420R to bring it in line with the company’s range of road cars). The differences between the two Sevens are minimal: the Donington Edition still uses a race clutch but it’s not as tricky as the competition car’s; it features a rear exit exhaust that complies with trackday noise limits; and it does away with the racing car’s expensive carbonfibre wings. There are a handful of other minor differences, too, but as far as all the stuff that determines the driving experience goes, the two cars are basically one and the same.  

What's it like?

It’s no wonder the Donington Edition feels a lot like the 420R competition car from behind the wheel, then. It has the same frantic straight-line speed and the same on-the-nose feel in the corners. In fact, it’s every bit as intoxicating on circuit as the full competition car, every bit as much fun to hustle around a lap. All that’s missing is a handful of identical cars over your shoulder desperately trying to find a way past.

"We wanted to bring the 420R racing car experience to trackday drivers in a road-legal model," says Stuart Foulds, the BookaTrack Caterham workshop manager who developed the car and will personally build all 10 examples. "We set out to make an accessible but fast trackday car. It’s almost as quick as the racing car, but it’s fairly easy to drive and it isn’t on a knife-edge. It doesn’t have any weather protection so I don’t envisage them being used on the road much, but it is actually pretty good to drive on the road. I hope in 20 or 30 years, it’ll be a sought-after model."

The Donington Edition is Foulds’ idea of the perfect trackday Seven. It therefore cherry-picks the most track-appropriate components from the Caterham range; the 620R nose cone with its bigger oil cooler; the ultra-sticky Avon ZZR tyres; a plumbed-in fire extinguisher; and a limited slip differential. It also borrows the 620R’s carbonfibre dashboard and each car will carry a plaque with the name of one of Donington Park’s corners inscribed on it. The car is also available with the longer, wider SV chassis.

As you lower yourself down into the cabin through the intricate cat’s cradle roll cage, you’d swear you were getting into the competition car. Once in, though, you quickly notice the differences. Whereas the racing car uses sections of foam that are moulded for each individual driver, the Donington Edition favours conventional seats. And whereas the racing car features fiddly six-point harnesses, this car uses a simpler four-point system. The dashboard is also peppered with buttons for headlights and heaters that you don’t get on the competition car. 

You forget all of those minor differences within two sharp tugs of the sequential gearlever, though. The Donington Edition captures all of the focus and intensity of the competition car and you soon find yourself getting faster and braver with every lap, just as you do in the racing car. You know when you’re getting on top of a track-focused Caterham when you start taking corners a gear higher. You soon realise that bends you had approached in third were better taken in fourth; you carry more speed in, keeping the car up on its toes through the corner rather than overkilling it and letting it sit down, which means you’re travelling way faster come the exit too. That’s when lap times start to drop.

Track driving can sometimes feel like you’re merely pointing a car from braking point to apex, and then to some point out on the exit in a disjointed, inelegant two-step. But when you feel the car flowing through corners, when you link one bend with the next in a smooth and graceful dance, you realise what it’s all about. Once you start getting on top of it, the Donington Edition flows beautifully.  

It isn’t particularly physical to drive, but it does demand all of your attention. There’s enough roll and lean built into the chassis that you can feel it working beneath you, just like the competition car, but whereas the racer can be quite snappy at the limit, the Donington Edition is altogether friendlier and more approachable. When it starts to slide, it does so progressively and it can be held in a drift, rather than spinning suddenly or violently snapping straight again.

Even so, this car has so much front end that you can agitate the rear just by turning in too abruptly. That aggressive balance gives it massive turn-in ability and huge cornering grip. The brakes, meanwhile, take just about as much pedal force as you can muster once the tyres are warm and they simply never fade.

What really makes the Donington Edition feel like the racing car, though, is the drivetrain. The engine is raw and dramatic, revving out with a frantic top end. Pulling gear after gear with your foot flat on the accelerator, clutch pedal untouched, is just so exciting, and banging down through the gears as you approach a corner with just a kick of the clutch pedal actually makes you feel like a racing driver. 

Should I buy one?

The more pertinent question may be: "Why not just go racing?" Lining up on a grid with a car beside you and a number on your nose cone is still the most thrilling Caterham experience money can buy.

But the 420R Donington Edition is a very fine substitute that you don't need a trailer to transport to and from your circuit of choice, or even to go racing to enjoy.

Caterham Seven 420R Donington Edition Location Donington Park, UK On sale Now Price £47,500 Price as tested £47,500 Engine 4cyls in line, 1999cc, petrol Power 210bhp at 7600rpm Torque 150lb ft at 6300rpm Gearbox 6-spd sequential Kerb weight 560kg 0-62mph 3.8sec (estimated) Top speed 136mph Fuel economy n/a CO2 rating n/a Rivals Ariel Atom 3.5 Supercharged, Lotus Elise Cup 250

Tesla Model 3: Elon Musk shares pictures of first production car

The new Tesla Model 3 is officially here - the first road-ready car has been finished and production has begun

The very first production Tesla Model 3 has been built and is ready to be delivered to its waiting customer – namely Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself.

Once again Tesla’s showman chief executive has used Twitter to catch us all off guard, posting two photographs of Tesla Model 3 number one. It’s hard to spot any key differences between this road ready car and the pre-production models touted by Tesla way back at the car’s initial unveiling in March 2016, but we should get a complete overview of the production Model 3 very soon. A handover party for the first 30 Tesla Model 3 cars is planned for 28 July, and we can expect to hear full details on powertrains, trims, finishes and options. 

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The first Model 3 car isn’t destined for Musk’s garage because of any rank pulling, however. In a separate tweet, the Tesla boss revealed that board member Ira Ehrenpreis held the ticket for order number one, but is handing the car to Musk as a 46th birthday present. 

With a waiting list over 400,000 long, the vast majority of buyers – including UK customers – will have to wait until 2018 to get their cars, but Musk has laid out a 2017 production schedule. The boss expects Tesla to produce a small batch of around 100 cars in August, ramping up to over 1,500 in September. By the end of the year, the company could be in a position to manufacture 20,000 cars per month. 

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Tesla Model 3 spy shots

The first pictures of the very first production Model 3 come after months of sightings and spy shots. A clutch of cars snapped by Reddit user 'inamachineshop' gave us a pretty representative look at what those who plan to buy Tesla’s ‘affordable’ all-electric BMW 3 Series rival will get when it begins to arrive on driveways.

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In terms of exterior design, little has changed compared to the pre-production car revealed last march, while in the cabin a new three-spoke steering wheel is found. The dashboard is still sparse, however, with just a large landscape infotainment screen mounted centrally.  

The Model 3 will adopt a more conventional hatchback body, but retains the sleek sloping roofline Teslas has become known for. A larger glasshouse than that seen on the bigger Model S creates a higher roofline, while the sunken bonnet gives it a very distinct profile. 

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Musk has also confirmed that early Model 3s will be rear-wheel-drive only – buyers holding out for the all-wheel-drive dual-motor version will have to wait a little while. Musk explained that in order to keep the production ramp on schedule, the first cars will be the simpler rear-wheel-drive versions.  

Tesla Model 3: all the details

The Tesla Model 3 is one of the most anticipated new cars of 2017, and it’s a potential game-changer for the California based electric car company – it’s the firm’s cheapest offering yet, and also its first attempt at creating a mass production EV with true mainstream appeal.

The Model 3 is a compact saloon sitting underneath the Model S in Tesla’s range, and comes with a BMW 330e baiting price tag. £35,000 is the magic number, and Tesla plans for first mass deliveries of the vehicle to take place in Q4 2017.

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Production delays have hampered Tesla launches in the past, but this latest update reveals the company is on track with the Model 3. Limited production is under way, with volume production by September 2017. Across all three of its model lines, Tesla aims to be capable of making 500,000 cars a year in 2018.

Like other Tesla launches the Californian company shunned the traditional motor show reveal to slowly unwrap the car on its own terms. We caught our first glimpse of the pre-production Model 3 at “part one” of its reveal in March 2016 followed by more news in October 2016, confirming that the Model 3 will support fully autonomous driving in the near future.

Those lucky enough to have reserved a Tesla Model 3 are benefitting from regular updates on their 'My Tesla' page. The company also has a Model 3 Configurator will is available to customers depending on when they placed their reservation, although the update at least shows us one more colour which is likely to be available - a dark blue which we've not seen before.

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Rivals for the Model 3 will not be in short supply with cars like BMW’s 3 Series, Audi’s A4, Jaguar’s XE and the Mercedes C-Class offering similar dimensions with more conventional powertrains. That low price for a fully electric car will set alarm bells ringing across the industry, however. The Model 3 is likely to be closer to £35k by the time it arrives in the UK but with the plug-in car grant factored in, it will still be very competitively priced. 

To date, many details on the Tesla Model 3 have yet to be released, but we know that the car will offer a minimum range of 215 miles with its advanced lithium ion batteries and all-electric powertrain. Performance wise, the Model 3 will blast from 0-60mph in just 6s as standard, but faster versions will be offered. "Tesla doesn't make slow cars", said Elon Musk.

Musk has confirmed in a tweet that the Model 3 will be getting Tesla's 'Ludicrous Mode' - a software tweak which unlocks even more potential from the car's electric drivetrain. When employed on the most powerful Model S, the P100D, it can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 2.3 seconds - although we don't expect the Model 3 to be quite that fast as it won't recieve the 100kWh battery pack, again confirmed by Musk on Twitter. 

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Tesla's smallest car won't come with free Tesla Supercharger access either - the company is ending the practice of allowing new customers to top up for nothing at the stations. Model S and X owners will get Supercharger credits, but any freebies for Model 3 owners look unlikely. 

The Model 3 and Tesla’s master plan 

The Model 3 has been part of Musk's plan since the company's inception. In 2006, Tesla published what Musk refers to as the “Secret Master Plan”. Step one: The Tesla Roadster, an expensive low-volume car intended to show the world that electric vehicles could be compelling. Step two: The Model S, a mid-production, not-quite-so-expensive car that would show the world how practical, useful, and downright good an electric car could be. (As for the Model X SUV, Musk regards that as step two-and-a-half.) 

And now we have Step Three: An affordable mass-market electric car in the guise of the Tesla Model 3.

Tesla Model 3 design details 

Appearance-wise, it's no surprise that the Tesla Model 3 looks like a downsized Model S. With electrical gear taking up so little space, downsizing the Model 3 was mostly a matter of shrinking the ends of the car and shifting the front seats forward to provide more rear-seat room. 

Like other Teslas, the Model 3 offers two boots, front and rear. The Model 3 has no grille, save for a small scoop at the bottom edge of the bumper. While this is no doubt good for aerodynamics, it gives the car a rather unfinished look when seen from the front, although the facelifted Model S and Model X both now have a similar look.

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Model 3 minimalist interior

The Model 3's interior is incredibly simple in its design. The cabin is dominated by a large touchscreen mounted horizontally rather than vertically as in other Teslas. Speed and gear selection are displayed in the upper corner of the screen, with a strip of climate controls at the bottom. The rest of the screen real estate is split between the map display and stereo controls.

Unlike other Tesla models, that's it for instrumentation—in fact, that's it for anything. Aside from a small squared-off steering wheel, the dash is nothing more than an unadorned strip of black and white, with a centre console bisecting the front bucket seats. It's the kind of interior we expect to see in a concept car, but Elon Musk has confirmed this is very close to the production version - it'll remain bare and operated through the central display. 

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The Model 3's rear window extends right up over the roof to the car's B-pillars, while a large sunroof over the front seats completes the illusion of a nearly-all-glass roof. The glass roof also improves rear-seat headroom, and the front seats have been pushed forward for more legroom. The six-footers riding in the back get legroom that’s acceptable and headroom surprisingly generous.

Tesla Model 3 specs and price

The Model 3 will have a base price of US$35,000 (about £28,500), which includes hardware for the Autopilot system (with all safety features as standard fit) but its cheaper price means you'll have to pay to use Tesla's Supercharger network.

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Nought-to-sixty times for the base rear-wheel-drive car will be under six seconds but our ride in the dual-motor four-wheel-drive car revealed performance that felt far in excess of that. Body lean was well controlled too - no surprise with the battery and motor mounted so low - but until we get our own hands on the wheel we’ll reserve judgement on the handling.

Range will be at least 215 miles per the stringent standards of America's Environmental Protection Agency. What was left unsaid? Musk made no mention of charge times or price points for the higher-performance dual-motor version. 

Tesla Model 3 production and the Gigafactory

While Musk says Tesla's existing plant in Fremont, California, is capable of building 500,000 cars per year (in its past life as a joint GM-Toyota plant, it produced around 350k per year), and that is Musk's goal by 2018. The issue is that every electric car needs a battery, and in order to build a half-million electric cars per year, Musk says Tesla would have to absorb the entire world's current lithium-ion battery production.

That is the job of Tesla's new Gigafactory in the Nevada desert. The plant is nearing maximum production capacity, and once up to speed, Musk claims the factory will produce 50 gigawatt-hours of batteries — “More lithium ion batteries than all the other factories in the world combined.”

Tesla Model 3 pre-orders and Tesla customer loyalty

With the assembled crowd at the original launch of the Tesla Model 3 cheering nearly every sentence Musk uttered, one got the sense that the details of the Model 3 are largely unimportant. Not unlike Apple, buyers believe in Tesla and they are ready to purchase whatever the company deigns fit to sell them. Hours before the announcement, would-be buyers lined up at Tesla dealerships to put down a £700 refundable deposit in order to secure their order. 

As the car was revealed, Musk announced that they had already taken 115,000 orders. Online reservations opened as Musk took the stage, and less than two hours after he left, the number was closing in on 135,000. By the end of 2 April 2016, two days after the Model 3 reveal event, 276,000 orders had been taken for the car. Now, that number stands at over 400,000. If all these translate into firm sales that's over $10bn (£7bn) of revenue for Tesla.  

We spoke to would-be buyers who had queued up at a dealership in Burbank, California, and waited nearly three hours to put down their deposits. 

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“I've been waiting for a longer range electric car because 90 miles isn't suitable [for me]”, said Bob Antonopolous, a laywer from LaCanada, California. He currently owns a Chevrolet Volt, the American version of the Vauxhall Ampera. So why a Tesla Model 3 and not General Motors' upcoming Bolt EV?

“It's the range and their track record,” he said. “The Model S had Consumer Reports' highest score ever when it came out. I'm impressed with the technology and the company, and I'm not willing to bet against Elon Musk on too many things right now.”

The Tesla Model S made headlines in the US when Consumer Reports, America's leading consumer ratings magazine, announced that the Model S they had purchased scored 99 out of a possible 100 points, the best score in the magazine's 80-year history. When the magazine upgraded to a P85D, the new car broke both the record and the scoring system with an unprecedented 103 points.

Despite the high rating, Consumer Reports refused to give the Model S a “recommended” rating because of reliability problems. Tesla surveyed 1,400 owners and found reports of frequent issues ranging from bad drive motors to leaky sunroofs, enough to rate its reliability as “worse than average” (though owners also noted that Tesla was quick to sort out the cars under warranty.) Despite the problems, 97% of owners surveyed said they would buy another Tesla. Such is the allure of this brand.

Why do Americans, who are such sticklers for quality and reliability, love Tesla and all that it does? Perhaps it's the ethic that drives Elon Musk and his company. “It's very important to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport,” Musk told the assembled crowd at the Model 3 reveal. “This is really important for the future of the world.” 

Tesla Model 3 name revealed

Back in 2014, Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of electric car brand Telsa, exclusively revealed a new electric BMW 3 Series rival, called the Tesla Model 3, to Auto Express. We had heard some talk about a Tesla Gen III model named 'Model E', but Musk told us exclusively what the name of the new car was - and why it had to be changed.

“We had the model S for sedan and X for crossover SUV, then a friend asked what we were going to call the third car,” Musk told us. “So I said we had the model S and X, we might as well have the E.

“We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E – I thought this is crazy, Ford’s trying to kill sex! So we’ll have to think of another name.

“The new model is going to be called Model 3, we’ll have three bars to represent it and it’ll be S III X!”