Electrifying rebirth: BMW 5 series revamps and challenges the future with style, technology and power

Mercedes has unveiled its new Vision One-Eleven concept, which combines dynamic design with all-electric propulsion technology. 

The prototype is inspired by the extremely aerodynamic mid-engined sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s, and features such as gull-wing doors and a copper-orange paint job reminiscent of the C 111. 

The interior of the car offers a new lounge concept reflecting the transition from self-driving sports car to autonomous electric vehicle. 

The technology makes use of a new battery concept with high-performance liquid-cooled cylindrical cells and two exceptionally powerful and advanced axial-flow motors developed by YASA, which not only have a high power and torque density, but also take up little space and are lightweight.

The Range Rover Evoque comes to model year 2024 with a number of important updates in terms of both aesthetics and technology. The British SUV presents itself to the public with a refined and minimalist design, characterised by details that enhance its exclusivity. 

The interior, on the other hand, is more modern and digital, thanks to the large 11.4" curved display, which controls all the car's functions. Unique finishes and customisation options are also available, such as the wool-blend Kvadrat fabric combined with perforated Ultrafabrics with polyurethane fabric inserts and the three variants of the dashboard finish. 

Under the bonnet, the Evoque offers a wide range of electrified petrol and diesel powertrains, with the P300 AWD 1.5 turbocharged plug-in hybrid at the top of the range with 309 hp and 540 Nm, capable of travelling up to 62 km on battery power alone.

To calculate how many kilometers a car can travel on a full tank simply multiply the tank capacity by the claimed km/l. The turbodiesel examples in our "top ten" (all European, half of them German) manage to exceed 1,300 km without ever stopping at the gas station. Let's find out the ranking together, here you go:10th Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi ECOnetic 1,325.00 km9th Opel Insignia 2.0 CDTI ecoFLEX 1,346.15 km5th Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.6 JTDm-2 1,363.64 km5th Peugeot 308 1.6 HDi robotized transmission 1,363.64 km5th Renault Mégane 1.5 dCi 1,363.64 km5th Citroën C4 1.6 HDi Ideal 1,363.64 km4th Volvo S40/V50 DRIVe 1,410.37 km3rd Audi A3 1.6 TDIe 1,447.37 km2nd BMW 320d EfficientDynamics 1,487.80 km1st Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI BlueMotion 1,590.91 km

Audi, Mercedes, BMW, are certainly luxury brands, producing expensive cars. But compared to today's "hyper cars," they look like super-cheap cars.

In fact, the most expensive cars in the world reach figures that are really hard to imagine. They are called "hyper cars" those cars for which the adjective "super" is too reductive.

Super-powerful cars, equipped with huge engines, and careful study to the design, aerodynamics, as well as the finish and interior ...

The shape of an automobile is the child of many requirements: mechanical, aerodynamic but also purely aesthetic. Today, design is one of the aspects in which car manufacturers invest the most.

A car judged aesthetically unattractive, in fact, risks becoming a commercial flop despite the fact that it may have interesting technical features, and vice versa.

In the history of the automobile, there are numerous cars that, while reliable, economical, and sometimes even fast and performing, have failed to shine in the market because of a questionable exterior appearance.

Automobiles have become the symbol of the dreams and aspirations of every era. And in Italy their history has indelibly marked moments linked to a path of industrial and economic as well as technological and design growth.

There are certainly many cars in Italy that would be worth remembering, but we have chosen 10 that have left something special for historical placement and change.

Italian genius imposes itself in the most diverse fields, but few sectors like the automotive sector have photographed in such detail every era experienced by the Bel Paese.

The Vector W2 was one of the most futuristic concept cars of the 1980s. Designed by Jerry Wiegert, founder of the Vector Motors Corporation, this prototype promised to take automotive design, technology and performance to a new level. 

The shape of the Vector W2 was inspired by the fighter jets and racing cars of the 1960s and 1970s. 

The effect was impressive: a low, wide and aerodynamic body with a line that seemed to defy gravity. In addition, the car was equipped with gull-wing doors, which accentuated its aggressive look.

Mercedes C 111, equipped with a rotary engine wankel never went into production. But it soon rose as an icon, providing ideas for the subsequent proposals of the Stuttgart house.

The futuristic Mercedes C 111 was greeted with amazement by the world public. Its creators? Bruno Sacco and Joseph Gallitzendörfe.

His debut in society took place at the Frankfurt International Motor Show 1969, where it was able to excite the public and the insiders.

The Mercedes C 111 did not have a commercial outlet, retaining its nature as an experimental vehicle. A total of twelve units were built, in the two versions unveiled in 1969 and 1970.

It was 1983 when Mansour Oijeh, founder of the TAG Group (an acronym for Techniques d'Avant Garde, holding offering services related to motorsports, aviation and watchmaking) requested from Porsche Exclusive a rare special homologation of the Porsche 935.

It was the first car ever produced by that division, and was named Porsche 935 Street.

The base was the Porsche 935 Group 5, a motorsport icon that dominated German championships in the late 1970s and a dream for all car fans.

John Z. DeLorean and its sports car DeLorean DMC12 in the 1980s made the traditional auto industry wake up and look for new ways.

Ford was very focused on developing the events of DeLorean. And although by 1984 the DeLorean "threat" had passed, for Ford the interest in a supercar with "wedge" shapes remained. Italdesign of Giorgetto Giugiaro was therefore approached.

The design produced by ItalDesign, the Ford Maya, was a two-seat coupe with distinctly wedge-shaped lines, featuring a mid-engine. This was in 1984.

It's called Plectrum the latest luxury yacht designed by the Italian design studio Lazzarini. 74 meters long, it is designed to be the fastest in its category thanks to a system equal to that of a hydrofoil.

The inspiration comes from the catamarans of the America's Cup but instead of being pushed by the wind, "Plectrum" moves and rises above the surface of the water before leaving.

Plectrum is very powerful with three hydrogen-powered engines of 5000 hp each that allow it to reach a maximum speed of 75 knots (140 km / h). The construction is entirely made of carbon fiber composite materials.

The Icona Vulcano embodies the best of Italian design and engineering. Reaching up to 950 hp of power through an ingenious combination of internal combustion engine and electric motors, all encased in a beautiful design with voluptuous and harmonious shapes.

The 2013 Icona Vulcano had a V12 engine and two front seats. The claimed top speed is about 350 km/h and the 0-200 km/h sprint well under ten seconds.

The engine of the Icona Vulcano is the work of the well-known Claudio Lombardi, a former technical director of Ferrari starring in the participation of numerous world champion cars.