Latest news with #preproduction
Forbes
a day ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Driving Charge Cars' ''67'. You May Think It Looks Like A...
"You may well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment" is perhaps not the first phrase that comes to mind when reviewing Charge Cars' the "'67". The phrase was first deployed by a fictional British politician, Francis Urquhart, in the original 1990s UK version of political drama "House of Cards".. I'm thinking it because every time I mention what the car looks like, Charge Cars' rescuer-in-chief, Paul Abercrombie, says I can't call it that. It's an EV; 1967-lookalike, 2025 tech, updated from the 2016 tech of the original pre-company-collapse car. It's also a pre-production prototype of a vehicle Abercrombie and his team of six evolved from the design and product of the formerly West London-based company that collapsed in 2024. I'm wary of pre-production prototypes; they're usually accompanied by a rehearsed series of responses for when something falls off, stops working, or bursts into flames. And they rattle, and make those prototype-sort-of-noises. They're often cars a company can't wait to share, or which journalists relentlessly ask to drive first, but just illustrate the car isn't quite ready. Then you're given "guidance" as to what not to do when driving them, which is usually, well, "enthusiastically". Recognizable From A Certain Steve McQueen Car Chase? Not the "'67". Most motor-heads will recognise its look from a certain car chase involving Steve McQueen. Looking round it at Charge Cars' new base at the former Upper Heyford RAF base, in Oxfordshire, England, the beauty and proportion of the car chase car comes to mind. External enhancements give it more menace and muscle in a 2025 sort of way. But if I follow Abercrombie's directive I can't tell you what it obviously is. Ford has licensed the silhouette to Charge Cars, permitting use of "heritage" panels, providing no reference is made to the you-know-what driven by McQueen. But you don't want to know about licensing and trademarks; you want to know if this car will turn you into Steve McQueen. The answer, if it was a silent movie version of Bullitt, is yes. No way would the baddies and their Dodge Charger R/T get anywhere near this 2025 version of the icon (although, to be accurate, Frank Bullitt's motor is a '68). While the former RAF base doesn't have any hills or mountain twisties, it does have a snaking perimeter road. And a big, wide, runway with a lot of run-off. Party time. I hope. Under The Right Foot Lurks 550bhp And 1,000Nm Of Torque Abercrombie walks me round the car, talking through its features: 'It weighs about 2,050 kilos (4,500lbs), and the motors produce around 550bhp and 1,000Nm of torque. It has four-wheel-drive, a motor at each corner.' That torque level is about the same as a Bentley Continental Speed; some of us know just how effective such grunt is at propelling a lot of car towards the horizon. Taking the passenger seat so Abercrombie can run me round "to get the idea", the interior is minimalistic, well-finished and comfortable. It has little if anything that references the Ford you-know-what. He asks me not to use the electric window because it needs some fine-tuning in its last half-inch of travel, where a frameless door closes and the window lifts to seal the cabin. I await the list of doesn't-work and don't-dos, but none. and we move off. In EVs, it's always a surprise when they ease forward in silence, especially one in which you're expecting a big V8 to spike the hairs on the back of your neck. Shocking Acceleration, Even More Shocking Outright Grip We enter the snaky perimeter road, and Abercrombie, an occasional race driver, floors it towards a slightly uphill S-bend. Acceleration is shocking, but what's more-so is that as we enter that S-bend Abercombie keeps his foot pinned, and, for a moment, I think something's wrong, the e-throttle has stuck wide open, and we're about to clear the airfield fence. Instead, the '67 charges through right and then left, glued to the road. We must have entered the S at around 50mph, Heaven knows exit velocity. This car is fast. And goes round corners. "The suspension is probably on the firm side at the moment, but we'll fine tune it for a better on-road drive," says Abercrombie, in that matter-of-fact race driver tone that suggests nothing unusual has just happened. Back at Charge HQ we swap seats. The seating position is just right, relationship between steering wheel, pedals and seat bang on. In front of me is a Charge Cars-developed digital-dials dash, everything you need to know clearly visible. There's something of an analogue feel in some places, with buttons and just one central screen. Trickling on to the perimeter road I decide not to do the immediate pedal-flooring, instead build speed over a few runs getting the feeling this car has a very high grip limit, although, with high grip limits and big tyres, it's in the mind that when it lets go, it'll probably be uncatchable. So, instead, it's to the runway, and the test of any prototype. Only after about 20 minutes of donuts, attempted drifting, and general oh-the limit brutality did a warning message finally flash up on the dash. Being a prototype, it was in engineering-speak gobbledegook, but clearly not critical as Abercrombie then took the wheel for some more attempted donuts and drifting. This is going to be a lot of fun for its owners. On that subject, Charge Cars is tempering its expectations and looking at potentially double-digit annual deliveries of what will be a £350,000 ($474,000) car. The now-defunct original company was perhaps a little volume-ambitious, but Abercrombie and team are cautious, operating within means and investment levels. There's a small fleet of demonstrators in the UK, USA and Middle East. It'll be around 12 weeks from commission to completion for each car, which will be assembled in a small neighbouring in-construction factory. Cars will be bespoke, and, asked about who's buying them it's clearly all about people who know cool when they see it. The order book is healthy, with "at least ten well-known names" having put down deposits and commissioned cars, deliveries beginning in the first half of 2026. I wonder what they'll call them when they tell their friends. There: I didn't say Mustang once. Ah.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Sony and Honda's First EV Enters Pre-Production in Ohio
Sony and Honda's First EV Enters Pre-Production in Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog. Sony Honda Mobility's first electric vehicle, the Afeela 1, has entered pre-production at Honda's East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio. Engineers at the facility are using this stage to fine-tune part fit, paint finish, and assembly precision ahead of full production, scheduled to begin in 2026. The move brings the tech-heavy sedan one step closer to market after more than two years of joint development between the two companies. From Concept To Factory Floor The Afeela 1 was first shown in concept form in 2023, promising an emphasis on connected technology, advanced driver assistance, and entertainment features powered by Sony's electronics expertise. The production car will be offered in two trims: Origin, starting around $89,900, and Signature, from about $102,900. Both use dual 180-kW motors for all-wheel drive, a 91-kWh battery, and target roughly 300 miles of range. Deliveries for the Signature are expected in mid-2026, with the Origin following in 2027. High-Tech Manufacturing Goals East Liberty, long known for building the Honda CR-V and Acura models, is integrating new assembly techniques to accommodate the sedan's unique design and sensor-laden body. Over 40 sensors, including LiDAR, will feed data to the car's driver-assist systems, while Sony's AI-based interface is designed to personalize the in-car experience. The company says pre-production allows its engineers to validate these systems in a real-world manufacturing environment before the first customer cars roll off the line. Reservations in California are already open for $200 deposits, as detailed in our earlier coverage of whether the Afeela 1 can compete with Tesla. Market Context And Challenges Honda's EV strategy has been under close scrutiny. With demand growth slowing and tariffs looming on some imported models, the automaker is re-evaluating parts of its electric rollout. Those considerations affect its U.S. plants as well, making the Afeela 1's success an important test case for the partnership's future. As noted in our recent report on how Honda is shifting gears on EVs, the company is trying to balance ambitious technology projects with shifting consumer demand and cost pressures. Looking Ahead The Afeela 1 is positioned for the premium EV market, where established players and new entrants are vying for buyers who expect both cutting-edge tech and top-tier build quality. Pre-production in Ohio is the clearest sign yet that Sony Honda Mobility is confident in its manufacturing readiness, though the next year will determine if the project can meet its ambitious timelines and performance promises. Sony and Honda's First EV Enters Pre-Production in Ohio first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Phone Arena
29-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Apple tries to sneak a disguised iPhone 17 Pro into the real world for testing
In what appears to be our first look at a pre-production 2025 iPhone model, an X subscriber with the username @Skyfops posted a tweet showing someone holding an iPhone 17 series model hidden in a thick black case that hides the camera bar on the back of the phone. According to the X subscriber, the photograph also shows a burly security guard who tried (but failed) to block the phone from being photographed. Trying to figure out a more specific unveiling date, Gurman eliminated Monday, September 8th, and Friday, September 12th, since Monday and Friday events are usually not done by Apple. Thursday, September 11th, is out since Apple considers it in poor taste to announce new products on any anniversary of 9/11. Photos embedded in this Tweet show off a pre-production iPhone 17 Pro in a case designed to hide the device. | Image credit-@Skyfops One photo shows a man wearing sunglasses and a hat (the hat is worn in the traditional manner) and in one hand is a recent iPhone Pro model while the disguised iPhone 17 is in his other hand. Even with the thick black case, you can tell that it is an iPhone 17 model with a camera bar because of the placement of the cutouts for the flash and LiDAR sensors. The cutout for the camera lenses indicates that the phone in the picture is an iPhone 17 Pro model. Here's your first look at the pre-production iPhone 17 Pro in a thick black case, | Image credit-@Skyfops The second photo is a look at the same scene from the side. In this picture you can see how thick the case that is covering up the iPhone 17 Pro is. The thickness of the case allows Apple to cover up the camera bar on the rear of the phone, which would be a dead giveaway that one of the phones being held by this man is not a model that Apple has released. You might remember that back in April 2010, an unknown iPhone model was discovered on the floor of a bar in San Jose, California. This was the iPhone 4, which not only had a much different design than the iPhone 3GS, but it was also put into a case so that no one could see what the phone looked like. Apple and other phone manufacturers resort to using such cases when they take a phone being tested out in the real world from being spotted, photographed, and placed all over social media. Obviously in this case, it didn't stop the device from being spotted, photographed, and placed all over social media.
