New Roma Spyder Is Ferrari’s First Soft-Top In Over 50 Years
Ferrari is bringing back the soft-top for the first time in more than five decades.
The Prancing Horse has just unveiled the new Roma Spyder, a convertible version of the automaker’s V-8 grand tourer. It’ll be the marque’s first model to feature a retractable fabric roof since the 365GTS/4, according to Car and Driver. And that soft-top was released way back in 1969.
If you found yourself wondering what Ferrari’s gorgeous everyday driver would look like without a roof when it debuted in 2019, it would seem that you weren’t alone. The answer, unsurprisingly, is quite chic. The roadster retains the standard vehicle’s long nose and smooth curves. In fact, the only real difference you’ll spot is the lack of a roof. It’s been replaced by a fabric top that can be erected in just 13.5 seconds at speeds of up to 60 km/h. That could come in handy if you end up driving into an unexpected rainstorm.
The Ferrari Roma Spyder with its soft-top up
The removal of the roof and installation of the hardware needed to retract the fabric top required a couple of important modifications. The first was strengthening the chassis’s rear portion to support the additional 90 kg of weight from the system. The car’s active rear spoiler has also been redesigned to accommodate driving with the top down. It has three positions, each of which produces more downforce as the convertible speeds up.
The interior has received some subtle reworking, too. The front, with its leather seats and 21cm vertical infotainment touchscreen, remains the same, but a wind deflector has been integrated into the backrests of the rear seats. It can be deployed at the touch of a button, but only if no one is sitting on the cramped rear bench. The new element reduces wind noise when the top is down. When it is up, Ferrari says its multi-layer fabric material provides the same “acoustic comfort” as the removable and retractable hard-tops it usually uses.
Inside the Roma Spyder
The Roma’s turbocharged 3.9-litre V-8 has been left untouched—and with good reason. It’s mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic that sends 612 hp and 760 Nm of torque to the rear wheels. No performance numbers were mentioned, but the coupe can rocket from zero to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 320 km/h. The convertible will probably be a tad slower but still in the same neighbourhood.
Ferrari hasn’t said how much the Roma Spyder will cost but expect it to come in higher than the standard grand tourer’s current $368,145 starting price. A release date hasn’t been announced either, but you can expect it to go into production sometime this year. If we’re lucky, deliveries will begin while it’s still warm out.
Ferrari is bringing back the soft-top for the first time in more than five decades.
The Prancing Horse has just unveiled the new Roma Spyder, a convertible version of the automaker’s V-8 grand tourer. It’ll be the marque’s first model to feature a retractable fabric roof since the 365GTS/4, according to Car and Driver. And that soft-top was released way back in 1969.
If you found yourself wondering what Ferrari’s gorgeous everyday driver would look like without a roof when it debuted in 2019, it would seem that you weren’t alone. The answer, unsurprisingly, is quite chic. The roadster retains the standard vehicle’s long nose and smooth curves. In fact, the only real difference you’ll spot is the lack of a roof. It’s been replaced by a fabric top that can be erected in just 13.5 seconds at speeds of up to 60 km/h. That could come in handy if you end up driving into an unexpected rainstorm.
The Ferrari Roma Spyder with its soft-top up
The removal of the roof and installation of the hardware needed to retract the fabric top required a couple of important modifications. The first was strengthening the chassis’s rear portion to support the additional 90 kg of weight from the system. The car’s active rear spoiler has also been redesigned to accommodate driving with the top down. It has three positions, each of which produces more downforce as the convertible speeds up.
The interior has received some subtle reworking, too. The front, with its leather seats and 21cm vertical infotainment touchscreen, remains the same, but a wind deflector has been integrated into the backrests of the rear seats. It can be deployed at the touch of a button, but only if no one is sitting on the cramped rear bench. The new element reduces wind noise when the top is down. When it is up, Ferrari says its multi-layer fabric material provides the same “acoustic comfort” as the removable and retractable hard-tops it usually uses.
Inside the Roma Spyder
The Roma’s turbocharged 3.9-litre V-8 has been left untouched—and with good reason. It’s mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic that sends 612 hp and 760 Nm of torque to the rear wheels. No performance numbers were mentioned, but the coupe can rocket from zero to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of 320 km/h. The convertible will probably be a tad slower but still in the same neighbourhood.
Ferrari hasn’t said how much the Roma Spyder will cost but expect it to come in higher than the standard grand tourer’s current $368,145 starting price. A release date hasn’t been announced either, but you can expect it to go into production sometime this year. If we’re lucky, deliveries will begin while it’s still warm out.
“A hobby”—that’s how Orlebar Brown founder Adam Brown describes the early days of the luxury label. Such words, however, don’t acknowledge the graft and acute passion that framed all that he did from the outset, nor the guiding central vision set on a very simple desire to deliver an elevated swim short that could be worn “from beach to bar”. That tailored and original “Bulldog” short—cast of 60 individual elements—found immediate cut-through, given its design and what was then a truly unique market position.
Now “OB” is a rightly acclaimed premium lifestyle brand that has built a global following with product lines that walk well beyond shorts, as seen in its latest SS23 outing. The new collection (which launches in time for a stylish European summer sojourn) envisages a luxurious life in and around the water—cue yachting, refined beach clubs and more. A suite of products that hover around “resort” and “swim” informs the new drop, so too a lavish delivery of print we can’t look past the stunning “Cravat” range (pictured) as a seasonal standout, specifically the “Sea Mist” short and matching cotton-silk polo.
“Today we’re a lifestyle fashion brand based around holiday,” adds Brown. “To ‘holiday better’ is what we say and essentially what we do. Whether it’s downtime with family or friends, exploring new places, being social, dancing on the table, meeting a new girlfriend or boyfriend—that’s the spirit of OB.”
Speeding ahead of the onslaught of soon-to-be-dropped watch releases at Watches & Wonders, Girard-Perregaux is fast-tracking the launch of its latest Laureato with the announcement of two solid green ceramic versions in collaboration with Aston Martin that should have collectors racing to call their local authorised dealers.
Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato first appeared in the brand’s collection in 1975. It answered the call of the era, which demanded a highly wearable sports watch for everyday use. The original model debuted the signature octagonal bezel placed on a contrasting round case. These elements have continued to lay the foundation of the Laureato collection through each iteration, including the three variations designed collaboratively with Aston Martin since their partnership began in 2021.
Today, we see the fruits of their labour yet again with the third edition of the Laureato Aston Martin, this time in the luxury sports car manufacturer’s signature British racing green. For nearly 125 years, the green hue has been the trademark of British race cars, including Aston Martin. The tradition began in 1900 with the Gordon Bennett Cup in which various colors were assigned to the cars based on the nationality of the driver. British cars were dressed in green, and the tradition has continued, inspiring the tone of the latest Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin creations.
A painstaking 18 months in the making, the biggest challenge in creating the Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition was first achieving the proper hue and then replicating it consistently across each of the ceramic components of the watch. This lightweight material comprises zirconium oxide and metallic oxides to produce the perfect green tint. The zirconium oxide selected by Girard-Perregaux is composed of an extremely fine powder, made of micro-beads, each measuring mere fractions of a micron in diameter. By using this specific grade of micro-bead, the structure of the bracelet and case exhibits a notably homogenous appearance. In addition, it allowed the brand to finish the ceramic components with a combination of polished and satin-finished surfaces, an endearing characteristic common to all Laureato models.
The influence of Aston Martin’s aesthetic extends to other elements of the Laureato as well, for instance, the cross-hatch design of the dial. This diamond-like pattern was found on the Aston Martin logo from 1921 to 1926 as well as the quilted seats found in some of the car marque’s high-performance vehicles. Each version of the Laureato, both 42 mm and 38 mm, fully embody the spirit of the two brands. A major difference between the two sizes is the movement. The 42 mm model is fitted with the Caliber GP01800, while the 38 mm version is equipped with the Caliber GP03300. Both in-house movements are self-winding and can be admired through an exhibition case-back, personalised with the Aston Martin logo.
“From the outset, the design of the Laureato was distinctive, yet cohesive,” remarked Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Girard-Perregaux in a press conference. “Its styling encompassed geometric, clean-cut lines while exhibiting a slightly gentle character. Contrasting polished and satin-finished surfaces, an ergonomic integrated bracelet and, of course, as always, an in-house movement… are the essential ingredients that have made the Laureato a remarkable success. The same ingredients are much in evidence with the new Laureato Green Ceramic Aston Martin Edition along with the addition of an interesting, highly contemporary material.”
The 42mm version is priced at $40,500 and limited to just 388 pieces while the 38mm version is priced at $39,200 and limited to only 188 pieces.
Available only at The Hour Glass, the exclusive retailer of Girard-Perregaux in Australia.
When Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel opened in 1913, it became an instant classic, luring chic travellers to the decadent palace at the heart of the Cannes Croisette. The grande dame hotel and its private beach club have been the site of debaucherous parties and wild scandals for over 100 years—but the party’s just getting started.
It’s no surprise that the hotel, as the go-to spot for the jet set during the Cannes Film Festival, has been seen on the silver screen throughout the years, including starring roles in French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline and To Catch a Thief with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. (Fun fact: Grace Kelly met her future husband, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, at the Carlton Cannes during the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.) The accommodations were also the target of some real-life jewellery heists, including a $206 million robbery in broad daylight in 2013.
But perhaps the most notorious event to ever take place at the Carlton Cannes is the filming for Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” music video (the most delightfully zany thing you’ll see this week), along with the subsequent party that resulted in a trashed hotel room. The hotel even has a cameo in the 2019 Rocketman biopic.
Now, the hotel is set to enter a new chapter as it unveils a complete renovation by interior designer Tristan Auer and architect Richard Lavelle this week. This new iteration of the hotel will see updates to its 332 rooms (starting at roughly $1,935 per night) along with 37 brand-new residences (for longer term stays) and a courtyard featuring the largest infinity pool in Cannes, lined with chic cabanas and sunbathing decks.
Tristan Auer handled the architecturally sensitive interior renovation.
“It is a canvas on which the exceptional service and tailored experiences of a Regent hotel can truly shine,” says Tom Rowntree, vice president of luxury brands for IHG Hotels & Resorts, which houses the Carlton Cannes under its vast hospitality portfolio.
The interior public spaces have undergone a complete refresh, but the craftspeople and artisans (some of the same people who have worked on the Palace of Versailles) were careful not to tamper with the original character of the building. You’ll find new public spaces, including the lounge, “a great example where heritage contrasts with contemporary furnishings in a moment of unexpected harmony,” says Rowntree. “It is one of the light-filled spaces where the historical architectural detailing remains as an impressive yet subtle backdrop to Art Deco pendants in bronze and milk glass and beautiful modern wood and rattan sofas.”
Throughout the hotel, you’ll also find areas that Rowntree refers to as “personal havens,” relaxing nooks and crannies where one or two people can get together to take in the coastal scenery or cozy up with one of the sea-themed books from the hotel library.
The hotel is making a splash with a massive new infinity pool.
“They are places that allow guests to relax, indulge, or enjoy inspiring views, adding a layer of extravagance to that moment,” says Rowntree.
But it’s the resort’s new restaurant that will be its splashiest spot come film festival season. Opening in May, Rüya will mix Anatolian cuisine with “Turkish hospitality.” It’s also the first Anatolian restaurant to open on the French Riviera.
There’s also a pétanque court (that comes with its own rosé menu) and the deck at the Carlton Beach Club (called the pontoon), where you can nab a seat for sunset cocktails.
Meanwhile, the city of Cannes is undergoing a renovation of its own following a 1.7 million euro investment. The plan is to completely overhaul the Cannes Croisette and turn the beachfront promenade into a flâneur’s paradise.
“The return of Carlton Cannes embodies the ambition of the city to reinvent itself for the next century,” says Rowntree.
Gordon Murray is finally ready to release his latest supercar into the world.
The legendary designer’s eponymous marque announced on Tuesday that it has begun production of the T.50 supercar. Murray even personally autographed the carbon-fibre monocoque chassis of the first example that will be built.
The news comes two-and-a-half years after Gordon Murray Automotive first announced plans to build the T.50. The company’s debut model is a spiritual successor of sorts to an earlier Murray supercar, the McLaren F1. Every example will be built by hand at the automaker’s production facility in Surrey, England. Each T.50 will be completely unique, with no two even having the same exterior paint colour.
Gordon Murray signs the first Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 carbon-fibre monocoque chassis
“From the very moment we announced T.50—conceived to be the world’s most driver-centric supercar—I’ve been looking forward to this day,” Murray said in a statement. “Designing and engineering the T.50 has been an incredible journey with much of the initial work completed during lockdown, so to witness the engineering art of the first customer car’s carbon-fibre monocoque ready for assembly, less than two-and-a-half years since reveal, is quite magical.”
The T.50 has some big expectations to live up to because of its lineage, but it should be able to hold its own. Murray’s latest supercar features a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis that weighs just 236 pounds. Thanks in no small part to this, the entire vehicle tips the scales at 2,174 pounds, or two-thirds the weight of most of its peers. It is powered by a Cosworth-developed, hybrid-assisted 3.9-litre V-12 that can generate up to 654 hp, 467 Nm of torque, and redline at 12,100 rpm. The driver-focused speed machine also comes equipped with a large ground-effect fan in the rear that increases downforce by 50 percent.
Richard Pardon
Gordon Murray Automovie remains adamant that it will build just 100 examples of its debut supercar. Unfortunately, the entire production run—along with that of the track-focused T.50S Niki Lauda and its follow-up, the T.33—is already spoken for, so you’ll have to hope that one eventually pops up on the auction market. Or you could wait for one of the all-electric SUVs the marque plans to make.
The first few months of any given year tend to be a time when the allure of the movies and all they offer is strongest.
Most of us are hunkered down catching up on the year’s Best Picture nominees while Tinseltown’s biggest stars take to various red carpets in showstopping finery.
It makes perfect sense then that Chopard, a name synonymous with cinema and haute horology given its extended partnership with the Cannes Film Festival, has elevated the legendary actress Julia Roberts to the status of global ambassador – and is celebrating the occasion — so too awards season — with a new series celebrating the magic of moviemaking.
The ‘Love Of Cinema’ series, made in collaboration with acclaimed director and five time Palme d’Or nominee James Gray (Little Odessa;Ad Astra), consists of 12 videos in which Roberts shares some of her fondest filmmaking memories.
It’s a candid setting for the star who offers and explores various on-set stories, snippets of personal wisdom learnt along the way and what it takes to capture the kind of cinematic brilliance that’s wrapped so many of her films in sense of revered timelessness.
Fittingly, given Roberts’ trademark megawatt smile and general pep, the first episode lands March 20— ‘International Day Of Happiness’.
Brutalism is one of the most polarising architectural styles, but it continues to captivate people across the globe. So much so, in fact, that the pioneers of the movement and their most famous works have been immortalised in a new Phaidon book titled The Brutalists: Brutalism’s Best Architects.
Brutalist architecture gained popularity in the postwar era of the 1950s and 1960s, which grew out of the early 20th-century modernist movement. The style is defined by block-like forms—predominantly made from concrete or brick—with angular geometric shapes, unadorned structures, textured surfaces, simple silhouettes, and raw materials. Brutalism eschews glamorous grandeur and intricate patterns in favour of minimalist style.
Penned by Owen Hopkins, the tome chronicles 350 Brutalist buildings from 1936 to today. It showcases structures from Australia to Bangladesh to Canada, England, Ukraine, Japan, South Africa, and beyond. Works featured include Raffaele Contigiana’s Hôtel du Lac in Tunisia from 1973; Ludwig Godefroy’s Casa Zicatela in Oaxaca, Mexico from 2015; and Alison and Peter Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens in London from 1972, among others.
The hardcover also profiles 250 influential starchitects, from A to Z, including Le Corbusier, Peter Smithson, Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima, and Igor Vasilevsky, as well as other less-recognized names. The book also highlights influential female architects, like Charlotte Perriand, who designed many radical buildings while working for Le Corbusier that the Swiss-French architect took credit for.
The Brutalists also examines the dualities of the style; how it embodies both the future and the past. Brutalism has garnered an almost cult-like following, but the book questions whether it has a role in the architecture of tomorrow. The author certainly thinks so. Hopkins is director of the Farrell Center at Newcastle University and was previously the senior curator of exhibitions and education at Sir John Soane’s Museum and the architecture program curator at the Royal Academy of Arts. He was inspired to write the book due to the resurgence of the style in today’s architecture. Pick it up for $70 and you can weigh the future of Brutalism yourself.
The Phelps House in New York City that was designed by Judith Edelman in 1983. ESKW / Architects
A university campus in Lima, Peru designed by Grafton Architects.A building in Bangladesh that was designed by Louis I. Kahn in 1982.Raffaele Contigiani’s Hôtel du Lac in Tunis, Tunisia that was penned in 1973.
First it was the power train, now it’s the chassis: Lamborghini is drip-feeding us details about its next-gen hybrid that is set to debut in full at the end of this month.
The Raging Bull just released the first official details about the new “monofuselage” that will form the body of the hotly anticipated flagship. It comes just one week after the marque unveiled the hybridised V-12 power train that will be the beating heart of the Aventador’s successor.
The supercar, which is currently being referred to as the LB744, will be equipped with a new aeronautics-inspired chassis made entirely from carbon fibre. Lamborghini says the monofuselage is 10 percent lighter than the Aventador chassis and 25 percent more torsionally stiff. As such, it represents a significant step forward in terms of driving dynamics.
What’s more, the LB744 will be the automaker’s first super sports car to feature a front frame that is 100 percent carbon fibre. It is reportedly 20 percent lighter than the Aventador’s aluminium front frame and is capable of absorbing twice as much energy upon impact. The rear chassis, meanwhile, will be forged from high-strength aluminium alloys.
Most excitingly, the monofuselage gives us an idea of the new model’s silhouette and proportions. For starters, it sports a dramatic, sloped roof, a sharply raked windscreen, and Lambo’s signature sleek lines.
As for grunt, the LB744 will be powered by a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V-12 good for 814 horses at 9,250 rpm and 72 of twist, along with three electric motors that will get juice from a 3.8-kWh battery pack. The setup will be able to push up to 1,000 hp of power to a newly developed eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Plugging the LB744 into an outlet will fully replenish the battery in just 30 minutes. The engine can also recharge the battery in just six minutes, according to the marque.
The LB744’s production run is yet to be specified, but CEO Stephan Winkelmann previously stated the vehicle will go on sale in late 2024.
It seems absurd, or perhaps just ignorant, to suggest that there is a better sports car your sub-supercar money could buy than the Porsche 911, but it seems simply sacrilegious to suggest that the vehicle in question also wears the famous Stuttgart badge.
But the fact is, to drive the new Porsche Cayman GT4 RS is to want one, and after a few brilliant, ballistic days spent in it Robb Report was willing to whisper the blasphemous thought that it might be an even better thing than its bigger, more famous brother.
The Cayman has recently been New Zealand to the 911’s Australia, belittled by its slightly rubbish-sounding four-cylinder engines, but the GT4 RS gets a very special heart transplant — taking the 4.0-litre, naturally aspirated six-cylinder purist’s power plant from the 911, with all of its glorious 368kW and 450Nm.
While that engine hangs out over the tail of the wider, larger and heavier 911, in the Cayman it sits right in the middle of the vehicle, and right behind your ears, with seemingly nothing between your left shoulder and its supra-wolf metallic howl.
That mid-engined balance means that, particularly on a track but even just on your favourite bit of winding road, the GT4 Rs feels just a little bit more… perfect. The balance is just so right, the power-to-weight ratio so kidney-punchingly brutal and the steering so Samurai sharp that it makes you feel almost nakedly connected to the driving experience. It’s the car equivalent of a high-speed luge ride.
You’ll find yourself smashing your way to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, but stretch its wiling engine towards its 9000rpm redline and you’ll quickly leave that pedestrian speed behind, and you’ll be tempted to do this constantly as the noises it makes as the revs rise beyond 5000rpm are simply irresistible.
The car this monster was built on, the Cayman GT4, was quite something, but the RS version is such a track-focused leap ahead that it is an incredible 23 seconds a lap faster around the legendary and much-mentioned Nurburgring.
If you have the $300,800 spare, then, is there any reason why you wouldn’t buy one? Well, its heavily carbonified construction is on the stiff side, the ride can be a bit bone rattling at times and, day to day, you’d be far more comfortable in a 911.
And so the answer is obvious – you need a Cayman GT4 RS, and a Porsche 911.
When Michael Mercier, founder and CEO of battery-electric hovercraft maker VonMercier, was a teenager, he had a monthly subscription to Boys’ Life.
“It was the kind of magazine where you could get X-ray glasses, sea monkeys—that sort of thing,” Mercier tells Robb Report. “But there was also a recipe for an air cart where you just needed a round sheet of plywood, an old vacuum cleaner, and a strip of shower curtain material.”
“I was able to put my little sister on it out in the garage and move it around,” Mercier says. “My mind was just blown.”
Supercar curves.
Mercier built more sophisticated versions for school science fair projects. Even as he studied mechanical engineering in college and graduated to corporate roles in product development, “the idea for a better hovercraft was always in my head.”
Hovercraft, which may seem confined to midcentury science fiction and Jetson cartoons, ride on an air cushion that allows it to glide over land or water. Although the core technology has existed for decades, perfunctory models were noisy and difficult to control, according to Mercier. “It hadn’t caught on like ATVs or Jet Skis,” he says. “The idea of personal hovercraft got left behind.”
The ultimate yacht tender? The advantage over small boats is that it can actually land on beaches.
Mercier, 36, is turning his vision into reality. His invention, the $300,000 battery-electric Arosa personal hovercraft, uses a trio of electric motors instead of a traditional gasoline engine. Mercier says the amphibious vehicle can hover about six inches in the air, allowing it to glide over grass, gravel, sand, snow and water.
Hovercraft rely on the physics of thrust and air flow to lift, accelerate, brake, and travel laterally 360 degrees. Instead of brakes, the driver uses reverse thrust to slow the craft on land or stop on water. VonMercier closed a crowdfunding campaign in December that raised $167,000 to bring the Arosa to market.
An auto-like experience, with steering wheel, foot pedals, throttle and bucket seats.
Although the Arosa’s curvy carbon-fiber body evokes the silhouette of a supercar—early mood boards for the prototype included Bugattis, Aston Martins, and a chrome-and-wood concept car from BMW, as well as Chris-Craft boats and B-2 bombers—the hovercraft generates just 240 electric hp and is not street-legal.
Mercier and industrial design partner Ben Taber tinkered with the initial design, which they debuted in 2014 as the Supercraft, over the last decade to create a sleek hovercraft sporting sweeping lines, an aggressive front end, and a rear lower deck large enough for an optional swim ladder.
“The challenge was creating a car and a boat that was not a Frankenstein of those elements,” he says.
In hover mode.
The first seven customer orders are entering production this month, with first deliveries planned for July. Based in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the company has the capacity to build 25 models this year and plans at least to double production in 2024.
Customers can choose between an 18 kilowatt-hour battery for 90 minutes of cruising, depending upon factors such as wind speed and water conditions. The 36 kilowatt-hour version can travel an estimated 80 miles over three hours. Both models can plug into any standard electric-vehicle charger.
The Arosa features an open-top cockpit with a driver’s seat and a passenger seat directly behind it. Its 500-pound payload can accommodate up to three passengers with an optional second-row bench seat. Buyers can also customise interior fabrics, wood and carbon accents, and audio and GPS systems.
A slick profile compared to conventional hovercraft.
The Arosa cruises comfortably at 32 km/h, but the company is still ironing out its top speed, which Mercier puts around 80 km/h—far slower than a supercar but the fastest electric amphibious vehicle yet. Its battery-electric powertrain and fan design also make it the quietest hovercraft on the market, according to the founder.
Mercier plans to build two more models over the next decade. The Lucerne is similar to the Arosa but will be built for four to six passengers, while the Olten is targeted toward first-response and search-and-rescue missions for ice, floodwaters, and shallows like mudflats.
“The old product-design mentality is that you either want people to love it or hate it,” Mercier says. “But now we’re disrupting the status quo of how a hovercraft looks and how it’s controlled.”
We’re still waiting on the all-electric Porsche Macan, but the German marque has announced it has another battery-powered SUV on the way.
CEO Oliver Blume confirmed during the automaker’s Annual Press Conference on Monday that the company will build an all-electric version of the popular Cayenne. The marque’s fourth EV is expected to arrive during the second half of the decade.
Blume’s announcement isn’t particularly shocking. There’s been talk of a fully electric Cayenne since the brand confirmed it was working on a battery-powered Macan in 2020. The executive didn’t reveal too much about the company’s latest EV but said it will be based on the mid-size SUV’s fourth generation and not the third, which is scheduled to debut in a matter of weeks. The latest Cayenne has been comprehensively upgraded and will feature a new and more versatile chassis.
2022 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
A battery-powered Cayenne may have been confirmed, but it won’t hit the market for at least a few years. It won’t launch until after the already announced electric Macan and 718, the latter of which will only be available as an EV. Those battery-powered models are expected to arrive in 2024 and 2025 respectively, according to Motor1.com. Because of this, the battery-powered Cayenne likely won’t arrive until the second half of the decade.
It will be followed by an all-new electric SUV that Blume revealed was being developed last summer. The EV has no name yet, but it will slot above the Macan and Cayenne in the Porsche lineup. It has previously been reported that the model will share a design language with the brand’s other SUVs, have three rows of seats and a range of over 400 miles.
A prototype of Porsche’s all-electric Macan Photo: Courtesy of Porsche AG.
“We are thereby underlining and strengthening our sporty luxury positioning. We are observing growing profit pools in this segment, in particular in China and the US,” the executive said during the press event.
By the time the electric Cayenne and unnamed SUV hit the market, the Porsche lineup will include five EVs. This should put the brand in a better position to reach its goal of having 80 percent of its sales consist of fully battery-powered models by 2030. The brand has said it won’t release an electric 911 this decade, but it’s hard to imagine it won’t arrive sometime soon after.
At its height in the early 1970s, the Concorde was the Champagne-and-caviar incarnation of supersonic travel, and it remained so until noise and emissions restrictions sunsetted the quixotic aircraft in 2003. Two decades after the Concorde’s final flight, Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, is again extolling the potential of flying faster than the speed of sound. “Speed is not just about going fast,” he says. “It’s about who we can spend time with, who we fall in love with and where we can do business.” He’s hardly alone in his infatuation with the idea of a supersonic revival.
Other ventures attempting to resuscitate the genre include Spike Aerospace, which is developing a supersonic corporate jet, and Lockheed Martin, which is contracted to build NASA’s X-59 for possible civilian use. Upping the ante are outfits such as Destinus and Hermeus, which aim to leave the competition behind with hypersonic velocities that quintuple the speed of sound. Yet numerous efforts have fallen back to earth, among them Aerion, once considered the supersonic industry leader, which abruptly closed its doors in 2021 after nearly 20 years of revving everyone’s hopes.
Boom is also encountering headwinds, not least of which is its name. Since 1973, supersonic travel over the U.S. and Europe has been banned due to the disruptive effects of the audible blast that occurs when the sound barrier is broken. Scholl says Boom’s first aircraft, Overture, will reach Mach 1.7 on overwater flights, but over land it will fly at the subsonic speed of Mach 0.94, within existing noise regulations. Unlike the Concorde and its afterburner-capable thrusters, Boom plans to use a medium-bypass turbofan engine, dubbed Symphony, that will be outfitted with extensive noise-mitigation features. On paper, Boom’s prospects look promising and include 130 orders from carriers such as American, United and Japan Airlines, as well as a partnership with Northrup Grumman for military applications. It also recently broke ground on a new factory in North Carolina, where it says the Overture will be in production sometime next year. But many in business aviation are skeptical that the aircraft will ever fly, especially after major engine builders including Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, GE Aviation, Honeywell Aerospace and Safran have all stated they have no interest in developing propulsion for the jet.
“Now they’ve announced this unbelievable pairing of companies to develop an engine,” says aviation- industry analyst Brian Foley, about the trio of Florida Turbine Technologies, GE Additive and StandardAero that Boom says will provide its propulsion solution. “That seems like a deliberate—and desperate—move to have an answer,” he adds. “Designing an engine is no easy task, especially from scratch, and it’s potentially a multibillion-dollar exercise beyond designing the plane.”
The engineering challenges of meeting 21st-century regulations for such aircraft are formidable. One industry expert, who asked to remain anonymous, described it as being “like a Rubik’s Cube—you get the yellow side, but then the blue and green go to shit.” Then there’s the most important issue: funding. Boom says it has raised only $600 million so far. “Much of the public, and even some in our industry, don’t appreciate the substantial dollars that will be required to get this thing over the top,” Foley says.
Some are quite outspoken about the chasm between the current reality and a finished aircraft. “This is nothing but a set of interesting concept drawings,” says Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, of Boom. “I just don’t see anything there, except an effort to attract money. They’ve gotten some, but by aerospace standards it’s an amusingly small amount.”
Scholl acknowledges that fundraising efforts are nowhere near his estimated need of $6 billion to $8 billion to bring Overture to market but pushes back against the naysayers: “We’ve already done things that the experts said we couldn’t do. The technology and supply chain exist. There’s no fundamental new science—every key technology in this aeroplane has already flown before.”
Even as Boom partners such as United Airlines ramp up marketing efforts around supersonic travel, industry insiders remain aware of its very daunting challenges—though they also acknowledge the allure. “Maybe that’s part of the problem,” Aboulafia says. “It’s so charismatic, it’s going to attract just enough money to linger on for a long time.”
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