Happy Friday! Welcome to this week’s edition of the Official DoubleClutch.ca News Rundown, where we recap the top automotive headlines from the week that was in one convenient package. Let’s go.
Vision BMW Alpina Concept: We finally dig the 'big sniff'
After decades of being one of, if not the best BMW tuner out there, Alpina finally joined the BMW corporate family as an in-house tuning division last year. Now, giving us a sneak peek at what's to come, BMW Alpina has unveiled the imaginately named — but achingly gorgeous — Vision BMW Alpina Concept.
If you, like us, are quietly disappointed the 8 Series is no more, the Vision BMW Alpina Concept is a glimmer of hope. At nearly 205 inches long and with four grown-up-sized seats, it's a big coupe that wears a modern evolution of BMW's iconic 'shark nose' front end. The lighting accents styled to resemble BMW's love-it-but-mostly-hate-it 'big sniff' front grille is tasteful here, and match Alpina's trademark 'deco lines' subtly running up along the side.
Split tail lights and quad oval exhausts finish off the tidy rear end, while the 20-spoke wheels — another iconic Alpina signature — tie it all together. Its bright and airy cabin follows the Neue Klasse look, trimmed with finer materials and with a distinct emphasis on comfort. The ambient lighting looks warm and inviting, the on-board crystal glasses secured by magnets are a clever-and-classy touch, and there's even a Comfort Plus drive mode.
A production version of this Vision BMW Alpina Concept, based on the newly refreshed 7 Series and packing a V8, is due sometime next year. We can't wait to see it in the flesh.
2027 vw ID. polo gti goes electric
In Europe, Volkswagen used 'GTX' to denote its performance-oriented EVs. That changes with the 2027 Volkswagen ID. Polo GTI, the firs electric VW to wear the GTI badge.
Granted, it probably won't show up in VW showrooms here in any official capacity anytime soon, but it's fun to daydream. Plus, our Golf-based GTI won't keep the EA888 forever, so we might as well brace ourselves.
The ID. Polo GTI puts out 223 horsepower and 213 pound-feet of torque via a single electric motor on the front axle. It does 0-100 km/h in about seven seconds and weighs just under 3,400 pounds. Handling is the main focus — it gets an adaptive suspension, a limited-slip diff, and supposedly retuned steering, among many other tweaks inside and out.
At least there's enough cutesy-tough styling, appropriately retro throwbacks like plaid seats and old-school gauge layouts, and not to mention actual buttons on the steering wheel. Perhaps the grass is greener on the other side after all.
And the rest...
Stellantis is promising some very big and exciting product updates by 2030, Mercedes pulled the wraps off the wildly restyled and now-fully-electric 2027 AMG GT 4-Door and I don't care what anyone says I actually kind of like it, Ram is bringing back muscle trucks with the 2027 Rumble Bee, and BMW gave the M3 CS some new colour options for 2027.
