Without the impact of the pandemic, my colleagues and media colleagues would have packed our bags by now and are ready to head to Beijing for the 2022 Beijing Auto Show.
But there is no if in life, the auto show has been postponed early, and we in Shanghai have been locked up at home for three weeks or more.
Fortunately, although the auto show was postponed, there are still many new cars that choose to be released this week. In order to give you a sneak peek, I have selected six new cars that have been confirmed for release time, let's take a look at it together.
Luxury brand
The first to appear are four new cars from luxury brands, and coincidentally, in addition to the concept cars released by Audi, the other three new cars are flagship models of their own brands, and the lineup is quite "Nice"!
01
Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV
When: 18:00, April 19th
Type: Production car
At the Shanghai Auto Show a year ago, Mercedes-Benz brought a revolutionary product, the EQS. A year later, Mercedes-Benz will also release a blockbuster product that belongs to the new era, the EQS SUV.
Through the preview of the previous few weeks and the real car spy photos released by foreign media, the EQS SUV actually does not have too many secrets.
Whether in terms of exterior design or interior layout, the EQS SUV also based on the EVA pure electric platform will continue most of the design voice of EQS. One of the few differences is that the EQS SUV positioned by the SUV should not achieve the same extremely low drag coefficient as the EQS.
Therefore, in terms of mileage, the EQS SUV is likely to be lower than the EQS, unless Mercedes-Benz can stuff more batteries for it. In addition, with the same positioning as S and GLS, the EQS as an SUV version will also be equipped with a third row of seats to meet the travel needs of more people.
To be honest, my biggest doubt about EQS SUVs is probably the naming.
In the naming system of Mercedes-Benz fuel vehicles, "GL" stands for SUV. So how should the pure electric SUV be named, "EQGLS" is obviously inappropriate, is it really called EQS SUV?
02
Audi urbansphere
When: The evening of April 19
Type: Concept car
If you know the Audi brand, you should not be unfamiliar with the word "sphere".
At the Guangzhou Auto Show late last year, Audi unveiled the skysphere, which is positioned for gt cars and the grandsphere for cars. The urbansphere, which will be released on April 19, will be the last concept car in the entire sphere series, positioned as an SUV.
The picture shows skysphere
At present, Audi has not revealed much information about this concept car, and the official description of it is that this model is designed to meet the needs of customers in China's megacities.
However, through the skysphere and grandsphere and Audi's trailer, we should be able to guess part of the urbansphere design.
In appearance, for example, the urbansphere should also be more than 5 meters long and open carriage doors. And compared with the general SUV, the body line of this model will be more streamlined.
In the interior of the car, the urbansphere's seat layout should be 2+2 four independent seats, and the center console may be designed like the grandsphere, equipped with a through-screen integrated with the trim.
As for traditional components such as steering wheels, throttles, and brake pedals, these components should not exist in the urbansphere that pursues autonomous driving.
So the urbansphere is not like a pure electric SUV, but a mobile space that belongs to the future.
03
BMW New Generation 7 Series &i7
When: 20 April, 19:30
Type: Production car
The 7 Series has long been the flagship model of the BMW brand, and since the launch of the first generation of the 7 Series E23 in 1977, the 7 Series has undergone six generations of changes in the past 55 years.
On April 20, the seventh generation of BMW 7 Series will arrive as promised. And unlike in the past, in addition to the traditional 7 Series, BMW will also release a pure electric version of the 7 Series, BMW i7.
In fact, a month ago, at BMW's 2022 annual financial report annual meeting, BMW could not wait to show part of the design of the i7. Including a ring-shaped flare grille, a wrap-around interactive light strip, a rear-row floating giant screen and other new designs, of course, these functions and configurations should also appear on the 7 series.
And with the release of the BMW X7 after the mid-term redesign, the front face shape of the new generation of the 7 series should not be too suspicious. The design of the "double kidney" has been continued, but as everyone guessed, the area of the grille has increased. In addition, the "Angel Eye" headlight group has been completely renovated, and the split headlight group has been replaced.
As for the interior part, the half of the center console will definitely adopt the family design of the dual screen. The only question is whether the saddle zone in the lower half will be the same as the X7, or will it be similar to the iX?
I personally think that the probability of consistency with the X7 will be greater, after all, the 7 Series is equipped with traditional fuel power, and the gearbox is indispensable, so it will not penetrate the saddle area like the iX. The i7, which has the same platform as the 7 series, will naturally continue most of the design of the 7 series.
In addition, everyone should be most concerned about the mileage of the i7, after all, the Mercedes-Benz EQS released earlier has achieved 849 kilometers, and the i7, which is also a pure electric flagship sedan, can surpass this figure?
04
Range Rover
When: April 21
Type: New car launch
Although the BBA, as the façade of luxury brands, has released its own new cars, unfortunately none of them are sold, at least not yet.
However, if you really can't resist the desire to swipe your card, I suggest you must pay attention to the Land Rover launch on April 21. Because of the flagship model of the Land Rover brand, the fifth-generation Range Rover will be officially launched.
Simply speaking of the changes in the fifth generation of Range Rover, compared with the previous generation of models, the front face of the new Range Rover is actually not obvious, the overall feeling will be more refined, and the biggest change in the side of the body is the addition of hidden door handles.
Of course, if you want to distinguish the new generation of Range Rover, the best way is to look at the rear of the car. The style of the taillights will be more minimalistic, as if hidden in the trim.
As for the interior changes, compared with the late fourth generation version, the new Range Rover is not much. The biggest change may be the replacement of a larger floating central control screen, of course, the built-in system has also been upgraded to the InControl 2.0 system, which has been optimized for Chinese consumers.
In terms of power, the new generation of Range Rover will also launch six-cylinder, eight-cylinder and PHEV three power versions. The six-cylinder version is powered by the 3.0T L6 engine of the Injeri series and equipped with a 48V light hybrid system, while the eight-cylinder version is equipped with a 4.4T V8 engine from BMW, and the PHEV version will be introduced later.
In terms of pricing, the current 3.0T model extended version and the first version of 4.4T have announced pre-prices, priced at 2.0988 million yuan and 2.5188 million yuan respectively, which is basically the same as the pricing of the corresponding model of the fourth generation, so I guess the starting price of the range Rover entry-level version may be around 1.2 million.
However, as one of the few models of the Land Rover brand to increase the price, the landing price of the fifth-generation Range Rover is bound to be higher than that of the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS of the same level, and even reach the level of Bentley Bentayga and Aston Martin DBX.
Ultra-luxury brand
After talking about four new cars from luxury brands, it's time to talk about two new cars from Italian ultra-luxury brands. But don't worry about not being able to afford it, because one of them is really not as expensive as the luxury brands on it.
05
Ferrari 296 GTS
When: April 19
Type: Production car
It has to be said that April 19 is a good day, in addition to Mercedes-Benz and Audi, Ferrari also chose to release a new car on April 19.
According to the previously released teaser chart, the model brought by Ferrari is the convertible version of the 296 GTB, named the 296 GTS.
Pictured here is the Ferrari 250LM
In line with Ferrari's tradition, the 296 GTS will continue the 296 GTB in every way. Whether it's a vintage body design inherited from the 250 LM, or a plug-in hybrid combination of a 3.0T V6 engine + single motor.
Even in terms of performance, although the mechanical structure of the hard-top convertible will increase the weight of the body, for example, the SF90 Spider is 100kg heavier than the ordinary version. But Ferrari can still give you the same performance, so the 296 GTS is expected to accelerate 2.9 seconds from 100 km/h and exceed 330 km/h at a top speed.
As for the price, Ferrari has never been hidden, so the pricing of new cars will also be announced tomorrow. Personal speculation, if you refer to the pricing of the two models of SF90, the starting price of the 296 GTS may be 3.108 million yuan, only 110,000 higher than the 296 GTB.
Of course, Ferrari's pricing can only be used for reference, and the optional 500,000 yuan is also casual, and then counting luxury car tax, purchase tax and other costs, the landing price will exceed 4 million.
06
Maserati Grecale
When: April 21
Type: New car launch
If your dream is to own a Maserati, you'll be a big step closer to your dream after this Thursday.
Because of the Maserati brand's most entry-level model, the Grecale will be officially launched on April 21.
As the most advantageous competitor of porsche Macan, Grecale's parameters are almost all benchmarked against or even surpassed Macan. For example, in terms of power, Grecale will provide GT and Modena models equipped with 2.0T four-cylinder engine + 48V motors, compared with the ordinary Macan.
The Trofeo version, which is equipped with the Poseidon series 3.0T six-cylinder engine, has surpassed the Macan GTS in terms of power data and become the most powerful fuel vehicle in the midsize SUV.
Of course, in terms of interior design, compared with the upcoming Macan, Grecale's advantages are also very obvious.
With a full LCD instrument with a 12.3-inch central control screen and an 8.8-inch secondary screen, sitting in the Grecalle's car, you may have a hard time imagining that this is actually a Maserati, completely without the "nostalgia" of other models.
As for pricing, I'm guessing that the 2.0T version of the Gregare may start at a similar price to Macan, at around 600,000. The Trofeo version of Grecale will be more expensive, and the starting price may come to more than 1 million, or even 1.2 million.
After all, in Maserati's price system, the premium of the Trofeo version is quite terrifying. One Trofeo version on Levanta is enough to buy two regular versions, and there's even something to look for.
So Gregale sells for more than 1 million, which should not be too much, right?
If you still want to know more about new cars, please continue to pay attention to AutoLab, we will bring you more new car information. Of course, if there is any problem, remember to leave us a message.