If you’re anything like us, from time to time you catch yourself marveling at how quickly time passes. And being car enthusiasts who follow the automotive industry’s evolution, time seems to fly even more when models that once seemed far, far away are now common sights on everyday streets.
So once again it’s time for our annual look at the latest crop of significant future cars. From new brands to new interpretations of legends, there’s more than enough enticing product in the pipe to inspire you to begin setting aside money today.
After all, these vehicles will simply be the cars of now before you know it.
2024 Acura ZDX
WHAT IT IS Acura is bringing back the ZDX nameplate, but this time it’s a whole different car. The ZDX will be Acura’s first dedicated EV, and it will be based on General Motors’ Ultium platform. The ZDX will share design cues with the Precision EV concept shown at last year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance and will be a two-row compact SUV to compete against the likes of the Audi Q4 E-Tron, Genesis GV70 EV, Tesla Model Y, and Lexus RZ. Acura has already confirmed the ZDX will get a high-performance Type S variant.
WHY IT MATTERS It’s yet another fully electric option from an increasing pool for consumers to choose from. That’s a good thing. General Motors and Honda signed an agreement where Honda gets to use GM’s Ultium platform for two of its models—the Honda Prologue and this ZDX. Last year, both companies expanded their contract to include joint development of a whole new EV architecture, saving costs for both companies.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN The Ultium architecture—which really describes the battery and motor technology rather than a platform in the traditional sense—has already been deployed in several vehicles, including the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, and Chevrolet Silverado EV, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV. The 2024 Acura ZDX will be closely related to the Blazer EV, and depending on the variant, range should fall between 240 and 320 miles. Regular models will surely have standard AWD, but it’s not yet clear if the Type S will be solely (or offer) rear drive.
ESTIMATED PRICE $57,000
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE Spring 2024
2028 Alpine Electric SUV
WHAT IT IS The American return of French automaker Renault in the guise of its performance division, Alpine (not to be confused with BMW’s Alpina). Plans call for an SUV and a coupe, both powered by electricity.
WHY IT MATTERS Renault is eager to return to the U.S. market, a tough sell as American buyers are still traumatized by Mitterrand-era French cars like MotorTrend’s 1983 Car of the Year, the Renault Alliance. Renault CEO Luca de Meo thinks Alpine—well known among modern-day car fans for its magnificent A110—might be the gateway for a return to affluent markets like ours. Alpine’s A290_ß concept, shown here, previews a small electric hot hatch soon to launch in Europe, but de Leo acknowledges it’s not the right size for America. “We are looking at bigger cars,” he has said, “because we need them to get access to richer markets.” Bigger, in Renault’s definition, means something similar in size to Mercedes’ GLC-Class and GLE-Class but following the same styling theme.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN Alpine’s expats headed stateside will likely use an extended version of the CMF-EV platform, developed with Nissan and Mitsubishi and underpinning both the Nissan Ariya SUV and the Alpine A290_ß concept. The A290_ß uses a front motor, but CMF-EV can support rear- and all-wheel drive, as well.
ESTIMATED PRICE We imagine Alpine would price its new SUV in the same ballpark as other European high-performance models, in the $75,000 to $95,000 range.
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE These new electric Alpines won’t arrive on our shores before 2027 or ’28.
2024 Aston Martin Valhalla
WHAT IT IS Developed off the back of the extreme, Adrian Newey–designed Valkyrie hypercar, the Valhalla is Aston Martin’s second mid-engine production car and its second hybrid. The Valkyrie cost $3 million and only 275 will be built, yet the Valhalla will be a part of the lineup for some years to come, Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll says. The Valhalla will still be expensive and exclusive, however—it will carry a high six-figure price tag, and only 999 will be produced.
WHY IT MATTERS The Valhalla was originally intended to be the link between the Valkyrie and a higher-volume mid-engine Aston Martin sports car—the Vanquish—which was intended to compete with cars like Ferrari’s 296 GTB and the McLaren 750S. But the mid-engine Vanquish program has been axed, and the name will now be used on a successor to the front-engine, V-12-powered DBS; as a result, the Valhalla will now be used to highlight Aston Martin’s Formula 1 effort. It will also form the basis of several hand-built, special-bodied cars Aston plans to release each year. “It will ultimately come in many variants, not just the one we’ve introduced,” Stroll says.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN The Valhalla shares elements of the Valkyrie’s carbon-fiber chassis, but not its shrieking V-12. Instead, the Valhalla will have a 1,012-hp hybrid powertrain based around a mid-mounted flat-plane-crank version of the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. Most of the output will be funneled to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, though Aston engineers are also looking at twin front electric motors to help with performance and handling. Target curb weight is 3,640 pounds, and the car is expected to produce as much as 1,400 pounds of downforce at 150 mph.
ESTIMATED PRICE $800,000
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE 2024
2026 BMW “Neue Klasse” 3 Series EV
WHAT IT IS BMW has resurrected the term “Neue Klasse” to refer to its next-generation electric vehicles; it previously referred to the cars launched in the 1960s that kicked off the company’s rise. In this case, the BMW Neue Klasse 3 Series EV will be an all-electric version of BMW’s iconic luxury sport sedan.
WHY IT MATTERS Like most everyone else, BMW is in the midst of transitioning to an all-electric lineup, and this all-new 3 Series plays a pivotal role, with the model being a staple since its 1975 introduction. We expect the electric 3 Series will take styling inspiration from the BMW i Vision DEE concept, a retro-futuristic sedan that made use of the automaker’s e-ink technology instead of conventional paint. It’s unlikely that tech makes production, but one can dream, right?
As you might surmise, the 3 Series EV will ride on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform, and it will likely revive the i3 moniker to slot in properly with the i5 and the i7. Battery pack assembly will take place at the automaker’s $700 million plant near Woodruff, South Carolina, which will have an annual capacity of 30 GWh. Full specifications for the
