CAR ADVICE

A McLaren P1 has fallen victim to Hurricane Ian in the US, a little more than a week after its new owner purchased the million-dollar supercar. A Florida man’s McLaren P1 supercar has been swept away by flood waters just one week after he took delivery. In a series of posts on Instagram , a user named ‘Ernie’ ( @lambo9286 ) documented his first week of McLaren P1 ownership, claiming the million-dollar machine had just 300 miles (482km) on the odometer. Recent photos uploaded to Instagram displayed the McLaren P1 in waist-high flood waters caused by Hurricane Ian accompanied a message by the owner who claimed the supercar “went through the garage” and onto the street. Produced between 2013 and 2015, the McLaren P1 was priced from more than $US1,150,000 ($AU1,750,000) when it was new.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ernie (@lambo9286) Used-car website CarGurus recently listed two used examples for sale in...

Strict side-impact rules that knocked the Alpine A110 out of Australia will also prevent a final cameo with the track-focussed R. Renault-owned sports car brand Alpine is going all-in with a final track-focused send-off for its A110 sports car, before the niche French brand goes out of production in the coming years. The 2023 Alpine A110 R is due to be unveiled next week, but the French brand issued an early tease with illustrations of the go-faster parts it will add to the final version of the mid-engined lightweight – which in 2017 put Alpine back into business as the sports-car division of Renault. The tweaks to the A110 R include a bigger high-mounted rear wing and underbody aerodynamic diffuser, and bigger wheels and racing seats. But Alpine was unable to do anything about the additional side-impact crash protection needed to satisfy new Australian regulations that ended local sales last year – so the A110 R will not be making a final appearance in Australia. “I...

French brand Renault will bring its budget affiliate Dacia from Romania to Australia in 2024, but the vehicles may not have a five-star ANCAP safety rating. French carmaker Renault is targeting an attack on Australia’s budget-car market using its Romanian value brand, Dacia , from 2024. An all-new Dacia Duster compact SUV will lead the launch, but all Dacia models planned for sale locally will wear Renault badges to avoid confusion for customers – and bypass the massive costs of establishing a new brand in the overcrowded Australian market. It is likely to be followed by the larger Bigster family SUV, already previewed as a concept but not set for production until 2024 or 2025. However, to meet its targeted low prices, the Renault-owned company’s vehicles are not engineered to score five-star safety ratings – and lack many of the advanced safety aids fitted to dearer cars. Above: Dacia Bigster concept. “We see a terrific future for the Dacia [models], but badged as...

The Ford F-150 Lightning electric pick-up is yet to be confirmed for Australia, but it’s a chance if the local conversion of the regular model is a success. Here’s why it is one of the most ground-breaking vehicles we’ve tested so far this year. Skip ahead: Introduction Running costs Price and specification Energy use Interior space and comfort On-road assessment Connectivity and infotainment Summary Safety 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Meet the world’s first electric full-size pick-up, the Ford F-150 Lightning – a battery-powered version of what has been North America’s top-selling vehicle for almost half a century. The Rivian R1T technically beat the Ford F-150 Lightning to US showrooms by a few months; however, it is a smaller vehicle – somewhere between a Toyota HiLux and a Ford F-150 in size – and production was initially restricted to a few dozen vehicles at a time. Ford ramped up to a production rate of 30,000 vehicles a year from the...

The quirky French brand’s odd-ball styling has peaked with the Oli – an electric car concept with body panels made from cardboard. The Citroen Oli is the latest concept car from the French car-maker, highlighting the future of vehicle production with sustainable materials, electric power and quirky styling. Positioned as a bigger sibling to Citroen’s current Ami micro car, the Oli – pronounced “all-e” – is said to outline the brand’s ambitions to reduce its environmental impact at every stage of a car’s life cycle. The Citroen Oli’s bonnet, roof and pick-up tub panels are made from recycled cardboard – corrugated in a honeycomb pattern and reinforced with fibreglass, developed by German chemicals company BASF. According to Citroen, the cardboard-based panels are strong enough for an adult to stand on, despite weighing half as much as equivalent steel panels. Limited to 110km/h, the Citroen Oil was designed as a city runabout rather than a highway cruiser, with aer...