FUTURE CARS
We’re all still on the wild ride that began in earnest 18 months ago, but if nothing else, a lot of things sure do feel different right now than they did at this time last year. We’ll save talk about challenges faced by new-car dealers and customers for our Buyer’s Guide issue next month; right now, it’s time to look toward what’s beyond the horizon.
Whether you’re most interested in peering ahead to the near term or further down the road, we have you covered with all of our latest intel on cars of the future. And with info that breaks down more than 50 of the most noteworthy vehicles set to arrive within the next few years—from the continuation of some of the world’s most famous conventional gasoline-powered models to a quickly growing fleet of EVs—there’s sure to be more than a few cars here that catch your eye.
So, get reading, and look forward to the time when the recent unpleasantness will hopefully be even further in our rear view and the models featured on these pages hit the streets. They’ll all be here before you know it.
2023 Aston Martin DBX AMR
WHAT IT IS: A high-performance version of Aston Martin’s stylish SUV. The DBX AMR is aimed squarely at Lamborghini’s Urus.
WHY IT MATTERS: Aston Martin’s first SUV is already a hit, quickly accounting for close to half the marque’s total sales despite being launched in the middle of the pandemic. New Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers believes DBX sales could reach 5,000 vehicles per year, so he has made expanding the DBX family a priority. As such, the DBX AMR won’t be the only addition to the DBX lineup: Two hybrid models are also coming within two years.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: Whereas the AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the regular DBX makes 542 hp, the DBX AMR is expected to get a Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S engine with at least 603 hp—and perhaps up to 650 hp, Aston insiders say—and 627 lb-ft or more of torque. To match the 641-hp Urus, the quickest SUV we’ve ever tested, the DBX AMR will need to scoot from 0 to 60 mph in about 3.0 seconds, almost a second quicker than the standard DBX.
The mild hybrid version of the DBX will have a turbocharged and electrically supercharged 429-hp 3.0-liter straight-six under the hood, plus a 21-hp motor mounted between the engine and the nine-speed automatic transmission. It’s basically the AMG 53 powertrain, and in the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe, it delivers a 0–60 time of 5.2 seconds and city/highway fuel economy of 18/23 mpg.
The plug-in hybrid DBX will likely be powered by the potent AMG E-Performance powertrain scheduled to make its debut in the forthcoming Mercedes-AMG GT73e four-door coupe. Combining the 603-hp version of the AMG twin-turbo V-8 with a 201-hp motor mounted at the rear axle, that means this PHEV Aston SUV should pack more than 800 horsepower..
ESTIMATED PRICE: $180,000
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: The Aston Martin DBX AMR is expected to go on sale in 2022. The MHEV DBX goes on sale later this year, and the PHEV DBX is scheduled to arrive in 2023.
2024 Aston Martin Valhalla
WHAT IT IS: A limited edition mid-engine supercar that borrows key technologies from the Adrian Newey–designed multimillion-dollar Aston Martin Valkyrie halo car.
WHY IT MATTERS: Aimed at niche hypercars like the Ferrari SF90 and the McLaren Senna, the mid-engine Valhalla is designed to showcase Aston Martin technology and to fill the gap between the ultra-exotic V-12-powered Valkyrie and the mainstream mid-engine Vanquish. Although it shares some of the Valkyrie’s design and aerodynamic features, the Valhalla is designed to be a more all-around usable car. The interior is still relatively minimalist, but it has much more room.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: Whereas the Vanquish has a bonded aluminum chassis, the Valhalla will have a carbon-fiber monocoque like the Valkyrie, as well as lots of lightweight components and dramatic ground effects/aerodynamic elements.
Like the Vanquish, the Valhalla was intended to be fitted with a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 developed in-house by Aston Martin. However, the engine was canceled last year after new CEO Tobias Moers found it was still in the very early stages of development and would have cost too much to ultimately put into production.
The Valhalla will be powered by a hybrid powertrain built around a version of the AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 fitted with unique components to boost power and torque. This engine will be significantly different from the V-8 fitted to the Vanquish. Like the Vanquish, though, the Valhalla will be all-wheel drive, with electric motors at the front axle providing extra traction and improved agility via torque vectoring. Total system output should be around 1,000 horsepower.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $1 million
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: Q1 2023
2025 Aston Martin Vanquish
WHAT IT IS: Aston Martin’s first “mainstream” mid-engine supercar. The Vanquish will be priced and equipped to compete with Ferrari’s F8 successor and Lamborghini’s next Huracán.
WHY IT MATTERS: The mid-engine Vanquish is designed to expand Aston Martin’s regular sports car lineup and will be sold alongside the company’s traditional front-engine Vantage and DB11 models. Although only a clay model of a coupe version has been shown, it is suspected that a convertible is under development, as well, with more powerful iterations likely to appear before the end of the decade. CEO Moers, who formerly headed Mercedes-AMG, believes the company could sell up to 3,000 Vanquishes per year.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: The Vanquish platform is constructed from bonded aluminum, and the car will feature an all-wheel-drive, hybrid powertrain with electric motors powering the front wheels.
When Aston Martin announced in 2019 it was building the Vanquish, the car’s internal combustion engine was intended to be an all-new Aston-developed 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6. But that powerplant, which had scarcely progressed beyond the early prototype phase when Moers arrived last August, has been axed. Instead, the Vanquish will be powered by a version of AMG’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, revised for a mid-engine configuration. To be competitive against its Italian and British targets, the Vanquish is expected to pack 700 horsepower or more. The Vanquish will also get the new Aston Martin infotainment system being rolled out in refreshed versions of the DB11 and Vantage over the next three years.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $300,000
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: Fall/winter 2024
2024 Audi A6 E-Tron
WHAT IT IS: An electric version of the A6, one of Audi’s core nameplates, as previewed by this year’s A6 E-Tron concept. Whereas Audi’s first serious electric vehicle efforts have been the low-volume E-Tron SUV and E-Tron GT fastback sedan, this sleek-looking A6 EV is a sign of mainstream things to come for the four-ring brand. And surprise: It’ll be sold alongside the more conventional-looking regular A6.
WHY IT MATTERS: Audi reports 95 percent of the concept will translate to the production car. The sleek new sheetmetal shows off the latest evolution of Audi’s design language, including the new “inverted face” front end, which swaps the traditional dark grille area and body-color front bumper treatment of its conventional cars and SUVs.
In profile, the concept car looks more like an A7 than it does an A6. Credit the fastback roofline, which imparts not only style but also slipperier aerodynamics: The A6 E-Tron concept has an impressively low claimed 0.22 coefficient of drag, just 0.02 higher than Mercedes-Benz’s pedestrian-looking EQS flagship.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: The sleek A6 E-Tron uses a new platform co-developed with Porsche. Dubbed Premium Platform Electric, or PPE, it will underpin all electric Audis—as well as Porsches and Bentleys—for the foreseeable future. This modular platform supports single-motor rear-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrains, and it’s capable of up to 270-kW charging speeds. That’s about 80 kW less than initially promised but still 20 kW more than the quickest Tesla Supercharger.
The production A6 E-Tron will showcase PPE’s flexibility, offering rear- and all-wheel drive, as well as single or dual motors. The concept’s two motors produce a total of 469 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, splitting the performance difference between the current Audi S6 and RS6. Unlike the E-Tron GT, we expect the A6 E-Tron concept to have a single-speed direct-drive transmission instead of a two-speed unit. Audi says its concept can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4.0 seconds, which we assume the road model will match.
Thanks to its 100-kWh battery pack, the A6 E-Tron concept claims more than 435 miles on a charge—albeit as measured on the rather optimistic European WLTP test. For comparison purposes, the 2021 Audi E-Tron SUV is WLTP-rated at 248 miles of range, but its EPA rating is 222 miles. Expect the 2024 A6 E-Tron to score north of 300 miles on the EPA cycle when it goes on sale here in 2024. Assuming you can find a station capable of charging at that 270-kW max, 10 minutes of charging is said to add 186 miles of range. Juicing the battery pack from 5 to 80 percent requires as little as 25 minutes on said charger, according to Audi.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $55,000 (single motor)
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: Spring 2023
