BMW COUPE SET FOR GOODWOOD DEBUT

BMW will celebrate the return of the Festival of Speed in 2021 with its first ever world premiere at Goodwood.

The all-new BMW 2 Series Coupé will make its global debut on July 8 on the famous 1.16-mile course.

Also taking to the hill will be the fastest and most powerful BMW M production car ever, the new BMW M5 CS, whilst the Festival will also provide the stage for two further UK premieres for the brand in the shape of the new fully electric BMW iX and BMW i4.

The all-new BMW 2 Series Coupé will continue the tradition of the German company's compact and powerful two-door models and represents the most modern interpretation of the legendary BMW 2002.

And the newM5 CS, is seen as the ultimate incarnation of the BMW M5, and the most powerful production car in the history of the company.

Taking BMW M performance to an unprecedented level, the 635hp 4.4-litre V8 engine powers the M5 CS from 0-62 mph in just 3.0 secondsand an electronically limited top speed of 189mph.

SUPPLY HITCH FOR CAR PRODUCTION

UK car production rose dramatically in May according to latest figures FROM the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, but still faces ongoing Covid-related issues.

Some 54,962 cars rolled off production lines compared to just 5,314 a year ago, when coronavirus halted manufacturing.

Performance, however, is still far below pre-pandemic levels, down -52.6 per cent on the same month in 2019.

So far this year UK factories have turned out 429,826 cars, up some 105,063 units on last year, the majority of the additional volume built for export, but overall output remains down -22.9 per cent on the same five-month period in 2019.

This isreflective of the scale of the challenge facing the industry as it seeks to recover from the pandemic while grappling with global supply shortages, notably of semiconductors.

When compared with a five-year average, production was down -58.0 per cent for the month and -36.3 per cent for the period January - May.

Meanwhile, UK car production continues to be export-led, with 83.6 per cent of all cars built so far in 2021 shipped overseas.

The European Union remains by far the most important destination for British cars, taking 56.0 per cent of all exports, followed by the US (18.3%) and China (7.3%).

GET TOUGH ON ‘TOTTERS' CALL

ROAD safety and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging courts across the country to get tough on ‘totters'.

And the outfit insists that a consistent and strong message is needed for drivers and riders who accumulate 12 penalty points on their licences.

The call comes as figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) reveal there are 46 people who have been allowed to continue driving on the UK's roads, even though they have collected more than 30 penalty points on their licence.

These drivers would have claimed in court that a disqualification would have caused them 'exceptional hardship' and been allowed to remain on the road.

A recent example has emerged of a driver who successfully invoked the ‘exceptional hardship' excuse and managed to persuade magistrates that he should be allowed to continue driving.

The man drove at 58mph on the M27 between junctions 9-8 at Swanwick in January 2020. The limit in the temporary zone is 50mph.

DVLA figures show there are 8,237 drivers in England on or over the 12-point threshold, with men (6,837) far outnumbering women (1,400).

In Wales, the overall figure is 512 - with 413 male and 99 female motorists - while Scotland has a lower total figure of 225, split into 192 men and 33 women.

VOLVO STEPS UP SAFETY TECH

VOLVO'S upcoming fully electric flagship SUV will have industry-leading safety technology as standard - helping save even more lives as the company sets a new benchmark for automotive safety.

The electric successor to the XC90, to be revealed next year, will come with state-of-the-art sensors, including LiDAR technology developed by Luminar and an autonomous driving computer powered by the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip, as standard.

By combining this hardware with Volvo, Zenseact and Luminar software for the next generation of its collision-avoidance tech, Volvo aims to reduce fatalities and accidents as a whole.

Volvo chief Hakan Samuelsson said: "Volvo Cars is, and always has been, a leader in safety. It will now define the next level of car safety.

"By having this hardware as standard, we can continuously improve safety features over the air and introduce advanced autonomous drive systems, reinforcing our leadership in safety."

With the new safety package, Volvo aims to reduce collisions, and the reduction rate is anticipated to accelerate over time via over-the-air software updates.

The new technologies are also designed to specifically address those traffic situations which result in a large portion of the remaining severe injuries and fatalities found today.