Luxury barges used to win you over with silence, ride quality and the faint smell of leather. Now they need a digital command centre and enough autonomy chat to frighten your local taxi driver. The 2026 Mercedes S-Class leans hard into that new world, while trying not to forget what made an S-Class an S-Class.

Our review gets into whether the updates actually improve the thing that matters, namely wafting better than almost anything else on the road. We cover the cabin tech, the self-driving talk and the usual Mercedes confidence, plus the nagging question of whether all this cleverness adds polish or just fingerprints.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2026-mercedes-s-class--ph-review/51192

If you thought the concept badge might quietly disappear before launch, not so. Jaguar has confirmed Type 01 as the production name, which means one of the most talked-about bits of its reboot is now locked in.

We all know this isn't just about two words on a bootlid. It's tied up with Jag's attempt to reinvent itself, lean on heritage and still look modern enough to tempt a very different buyer. Some of us will admire the conviction, others will wonder whether Coventry has got a bit too clever for its own good. Fair enough either way. What we still need to see is whether the road car itself makes the whole idea click.

So yes, the name stays. The real test, as ever, comes when the metal does the talking. Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/jaguar-confirms-type-01-name-for-production/51193

Lotus has finally admitted what most of us suspected the moment the Emira launched: if you're signing off the last petrol Lotus, you don't really want the one that sounds like a company car on cold start. So here comes the fix, a proper V8 flagship that puts Hethel back in a part of the conversation it helped start in the first place.

The new Emira V8 gets a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, likely AMG-sourced, with 592 bhp and 590 lb ft. That's enough for 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed north of 180mph, which is comfortably into serious supercar territory for a car that started life as the last analogue-ish Lotus sports car. It also marks the return of eight cylinders to a Lotus road car for the first time since the Esprit V8 bowed out in 2004, so this isn't just a faster Emira, it's a bit of a historical reset. Lotus hasn't hidden the wider significance either, because in among all the EV chest-beating of recent years, this feels suspiciously like a very public reminder that people still quite fancy a noisy petrol flagship.

Why does it matter? Because the Emira always had the looks, the cabin and the sense of occasion, but the range never quite landed for everyone. The Toyota V6 was likeable but ageing, the AMG four-pot was quick but hardly beloved, and neither quite delivered the full-fat halo effect some of us expected from the final combustion Lotus. A near-600bhp V8 version changes that instantly, giving Lotus something to pitch against 911 Turbos, junior McLarens and the sort of used exotica that buyers inevitably cross-shop when six figures are on the table. No price has been confirmed yet, but we'd expect it to sit well above today's Emira range and into properly serious-money territory.

What we still don't know is the bit PHers will immediately ask about: exact kerbweight, gearbox details, and whether Lotus has done the sensible thing with the chassis rather than just stuffed a huge engine in the back and hoped for the best. We also haven't got a firm on-sale date or final UK pricing, both of which matter if this is going to be more than a very good forum thread.

Read more: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=51188

It's not every day a right-hand-drive SL 65 Black Series is put up for sale - serious collectors assemble!

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/drop-everything-hammer-of-the-gods-for-sale/51171

Power, noise, speed, style, weight, quad exhausts - the S-badge makeover has returned. Is the DB12 better for it?

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2026-aston-martin-db12-s-ph-review/51169

Want to know what's possible if you take one very affordable Cayenne and go slightly crazy with it?

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/e1-cayenne-lives-up-to-porsche-classic-status/51156

There are rare, cool, classic VWs, and then there's the vanishingly rare RSI - https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spottedykywt/volkswagen-beetle-rsi-spotted/51155

They really don't make sports cars like they used to - https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/honda-s2000-vs-mazda-rx-8-vs-nissan-350z/51157

They really don't make sports cars like they used to - https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/honda-s2000-vs-mazda-rx-8-vs-nissan-350z/51157

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2026-toyota-gr-corolla-uk-review/51150

You've got £70k to spend on the PistonHeads classifieds for a new daily driver. Can't be more than 10 years old and must have a degree practicality, but it also has to work well on a road trip and ideally turn heads at a Sunday Service. What are you picking?

Listen to the full episode of The Gassing Station podcast on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7ZeZrC3fw

Bentley says it's 'rediscovering its passion for driver's cars'; the latest GT S is its jumping off point

We've heard a lot about BMW's Neue Klasse future recently; here's some good news if you have an original...

You've got £3,000 to buy a used sports car on PistonHeads. What are you going for?

More than 400hp in a series production Morgan for the first time, plus a non-BMW shifter for good measure...

Alpina's former overseers know a thing or two about GT cars - they will need every ounce of that experience now