This week on Chasing Cars: Ford’s sand supercar, Bronco ute, Audi’s latest EV

This week saw carmakers announce some genuine passion projects, with Ford unleashing their absurd F-150 Raptor and Audi paving the way for their EV future with the e-tron GT.

There was other EV news as well, with Chargefox just one step away from completing a rapid charging network and BMW jumping on the target-setting bandwagon and promising more electric vehicles down under. 

Ford F-150 Raptor announced

The fire-breathing, plus-sized F-150 Raptor ute was officially unveiled this week with bigger shocks, more ground clearance and a host of swish new features. Those who aren’t keen on the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine should stay tuned for the F-150 Raptor R which should pack a supercharged V8 mean enough to take on the Ram 1500 TRX which, unlike the Ford, is coming to Australia.

Audi e-tron GT finally unveiled

This is a car that Audi’s head of design, Marc Lichte, said will guide all of Audi’s future EV models – making the new e-tron GT much more than just a rehash of its cousin, the Porsche Taycan. Packing both a base quattro and unhinged RS variant the latter can get from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds – while also providing 488 kilometres of range with a Tesla-beating 270kW charging speed once you’ve run out of juice.

Ford Bronco… dual-cab ute?

We made a Bronco ute! Well, sort of… 

Late last year Ford released a design video showcasing quite a few concept sketches hinting at a dual-cab ute variant of the Bronco 4×4 – and it really got the rumour mill buzzing, hot on the heels of our earlier coverage of an Australian firm’s plan to import and convert the regular Bronco wagon for local buyers.

The addition of a Ford Bronco ute would make complete sense, given that the Bronco sits on the Ranger’s T6 platform – so we put our graphic designers to work and the result is appealing to say the least.

Other car and SUV news we covered this week

• Nissan unveiled its new Pathfinder large SUV which promises to be a nicer car to drive with even more capability. It will likely arrive in Australia in 2022.
  
  
• After completing their Port Macquarie ultra-fast charging station, Australian EV charging network Chargefox is now just one station away from finishing its Brisbane to Adelaide 350kW superhighway. 
  
  
• The Mercedes-Benz Vito has more safety technology now thanks to an update adding more standard safety equipment, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
  
  
• Ford quietly raised the price of the Ranger with the top-spec Raptor and Wildtrak bumped up to their new prices of $77,690 and $66,090 before on-road costs.
  
  
• BMW and Mini announced 25 electrified vehicles will be coming to Australia with around half to be fully electric cars.
  
  
• The Future Fuel Strategy released by the Australian government has ruled out subsidising the added cost of electric cars – in complete contrast to the rest of the developed world.
  
  
• Volkswagen’s facelift for the Tiguan midsize SUV will see the entry-price of the SUV range jump by almost $5,000 with more tech such as a 10.25-inch screen now standard.
  
  
• Mazda gave its CX-5 midsize SUV range a mild update this week offering the all-new 10.25-inch touchscreen on higher trims and adding a sports-focused GT SP variant. 
  
  
• Citroen updated its C3 small car, adding more style and comfort but while retaining its keen retaining its $28,990, before on-road costs.
  
  
• Mercedes-Benz announced the E 350 which sits above the E 300 and shoe-horns a two-litre four-cylinder petrol engine combined with a smooth 48-volt mild-hybrid system.
  
  
• The Skoda Kamiq four-cylinder is now readily available with a 110kW 1.5-litre engine in the Monte Carlo and Limited edition grades, after a false error message promoted a stop-sale in Australia.
  
  
• The Skoda Scala was also impacted by the false error message, but unlike the Kamiq, the 110TSI motor was the only option available and subsequently halted all sales for the model until now.

And that’s a wrap for Friday the 12th of February!

Join us next week for more great coverage of the Australian car industry – and if you haven’t subscribed to the Chasing Cars YouTube channel, make sure you do!