News

The Volkswagen T-Roc R will return in 2027 with hybrid power, hot hatch performance and an aggressive design that sets it apart from the standard car.

VW CEO Thomas Schäfer confirmed the performance variant’s comeback as he unveiled the second generation of the Golf-based crossover, promising: “For all the petrolheads out there, we will bring a real powerful T-Roc R.”

The range-topper will mark a renewed expansion of Volkswagen’s performance car line-up after the retirements of the hottest versions of the Tiguan, Arteon and Touareg left just the Golf to fly the R flag. Bosses would not be drawn on specifics of the upcoming T-Roc R’s powertrain, but the company has confirmed that the whole T-Roc line-up will be electrified.

The most likely basis for the R derivative is the range-topping mild hybrid, due in 2026. Its 2.0-litre petrol engine and four-wheel drive make it a close mechanical match for the previous, pure-combustion T-Roc R.

Details on power output and performance remain under wraps, but that 2.0-litre engine produced 296bhp in the old car, and its output has been ramped up as high as 329bhp in the latest Golf R.  It is possible that the addition of a hybrid element could push the hot crossover even further.

Its increased power will be signalled by a bespoke design treatment that emphasises its performance potential.

Exterior design boss Stefan Wallburg told Autocar that it will look obviously different to the R-Line that will initially top the T-Roc range. “Our task is to create a strategy of making R and R-Line different, because R customers will expect a bit more than R-Line,” said Wallburg.

Changan, one of China’s oldest and biggest car makers, will launch in the UK next month as it expands its presence in Europe.

This will start with the Deepal S07, an Italian-designed electric SUV. It's priced from £39,990 and positioned as a premium rival to the likes of Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID 4 and Skoda Enyaq.

It will offer a range of 295 WLTP miles from an 80kWh battery pack, a rear-mounted 215bhp motor and a 0-62mph time of 7.9sec.

Standard kit includes a heat pump, keyless entry, a 15.6in infotainment touchscreen and heated seats.

Ahead of next month’s UK launch, Chinese state-owned Changan has partnered with retailers including Lookers, Ancaster and Parks. Twenty sites will sell the Deepal S07 initially, with a further 30 planned to open by the end of 2025. 

Changan UK MD Nic Thomas said the UK is a “primary market for Changan”, adding that “we’re not just launching a new car but [also] a fully capable ecosystem to support it, along with future models we will bring to the UK.”

“The Deepal S07 is a statement of intent for Changan in the UK,” said Thomas. “This is just the beginning of our growth story in the UK.”

Its market launch comes a year after Changan set up an R&D centre in Birmingham, where all of its European-sold models are tested and validated.

Changan is the latest in a wave of Chinese manufacturers coming to the UK, following BYD, GWM, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, Maxus, MG, Omoda, Skywell and Xpeng.

It's one of the country’s largest car makers, with 2.68 million models sold last year in markets including Asia, the Middle East and Russia.

Founded in 1862 as an armaments manufacturer, Changan begin making motorised vehicles in 1959.

We’re moving away from heat engines with the transition from ICE cars to EVs, but heat still plays a big part in the performance and wellbeing of all electric cars.

With that in mind, Continental has developed a device called an e-Motor Rotor Temperature Sensor (eRTS), which monitors temperature more accurately than software-based simulation and should reduce the amount of rare-earth material used in permanent magnet synchronous motors.

Batteries, motors and inverters all generate heat due to the power they are handling and the majority of them use liquid cooling.

Most EVs also use permanent magnet motors that have rare-earth magnets embedded in the rotors. Although some manufacturers have chosen to substitute permanent magnets for electromagnetic windings in the rotor, rare-earth permanent magnets have traditionally been the go-to solution to achieve high power and efficiency.

However, the environmental impact of extracting and processing them is significant. The current geopolitical turmoil is also raising concerns over supply and most of them come from China, so alternatives – like asynchronous magnet-free motors – or using less of them are advantageous.

Permanent magnets also have a vulnerability: overheating. If magnetised material reaches a certain temperature known as the Curie point, which varies depending on the material, it can become demagnetised. If that happens to the magnets in an EV motor, then the performance will at least diminish and at worst the motor will fail.

The heat of rotors today is not measured directly but calculated by algorithms developed through simulation and based on temperatures recorded by a sensor on the stator (the windings surrounding the rotor that don’t move).

Because the temperature is calculated rather than directly measured, manufacturers leave a fairly large margin of error on the figure calculated by the algorithms of 15deg C. The temperature of an EV rotor can rise to around 150deg C, so to protect magnets from demagnetisation, enough rare-earth elements must be used to cover the entire tolerance range and ensure the magnets don’t overheat. 

Using a temperature sensor is much more precise. It reduces that margin to only 3deg C and enables the use of less rare-earth material.

The eRTS is a clever device in other ways, too, and can generate its own power. It’s in two parts. One is a mote sensor (mote means small particle) embedded in the rotor, which senses the temperature of the magnets.

The second is a transducer (which converts one kind of energy into another) sitting outside the motor casing. Through piezo ultrasound, the mote can generate the tiny amount of power it needs wirelessly, as well as transmitting the temperature data.

Sometimes the smallest things can have great significance.