12 Exciting New Cars Still to Come in 2026

We’re only just past the halfway point of the year, but 2026 has already felt like a bumper year for new cars. The currently regulatory tumult the industry finds itself in means pretty much nothing’s been off the table, from hybrid supercars like the Audi Nuvolari to V12 grand tourers with faux-manuals like the Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale to controversial EVs like the Mercedes-AMG GT 4 Door. There has also been the Ferrari Luce.

Things don’t look set to slow down for the second half of the year, with plenty of exciting (and once again, controversial) new cars still to be revealed. Join us for a walk through the 12 we’re most excited for.

Lamborghini Revuelto SV

While nothing’s officially come from Lamborghini yet, there’s no shortage of spy shots showing an uprated version of the V12 hybrid Revuelto out testing. Rumoured to be revealed before the year’s out, it’s likely to be a harder, faster SV version, a name that’s been applied to every big V12 Lambo over the years bar the Countach.

Spy shots show a sizeable fixed rear wing, more aggressive front splitter and rear diffuser, and stickier Bridgestone rubber. The SV will likely shed some weight over the standard Revuelto, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Lambo coax some more power out of its 6.5-litre V12 and triple e-motor hybrid powertrain.

Mercedes-AMG CLE Mythos

We’re very glad of the Mercedes CLE’s existence in a coupe-starved market, but even the straight-six AMG 53 version hasn’t exactly set pulses racing when it comes to performance. Mercedes, though, has been teasing us for a while with official ‘spy’ shots of a much more hardcore-looking CLE, which is set to finally gain Mercedes’ much-loved 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

Sporting wider bodywork and a big wing, it’s confirmed to be part of Merc’s Mythos series, denoting low-volume specials like the bizarre SL-based AMG Purespeed speedster. That means production will likely be capped at a relatively low number, but we’ll take any V8-powered coupes we can get at this point.

Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series

The CLE Mythos isn’t the only hardcore coupe Mercedes has been steadily teasing over the last few months. After teasing the mysterious AMG GT Track Sport concept last year, Mercedes confirmed that it is in fact an in-development Black Series version of the new AMG GT.

Once again set to get Merc’s 4.0-litre flat-plane crank V8, it promises to be the most hardcore Black Series model yet, and this one has a dual purpose: it’ll essentially be a homologation special to provide Mercedes with a more hardcore base for its next-generation AMG GT3 racer.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992.2)

This is another one that’s not been officially confirmed by the manufacturer, but seems inevitable, especially as an enormously bewinged Porsche 911 prototype has been spotted pounding around the Nürburgring. What’s more, the GT3 RS is the only core model in the 911 range that’s not yet received the 992 generation’s .2 mid-life facelift, so it seems like only a matter of time.

Expect the usual increases in power and aero performance, but with one potential major caveat: the 992.2 GT3 RS might go turbocharged. Some of the spy footage of it running round the ’Ring are accompanied by a flatter, more turbocharged sound than we’re used to from the RS, but others appear to still feature its signature naturally aspirated howl. Maybe it’ll even vary by market, but all should become clear before too long.

Jaguar Type 01

Whatever your feelings on Jaguar’s big late 2024 rebrand and subsequent reveal of the dramatic Type 00 concept, there’s no denying that there’s a lot riding on the first production car of its new electric era, the Type 01.

Set to closely resemble the two-door concept but move over to a massive four-door saloon body, the Type 01 will get a triple-motor electric setup pushing close to 1,000bhp, and will aim to take Jaguar into a new, higher-end part of the market. One thing’s for certain: when the Type 01 is finally unveiled in New York in October, it won’t be a launch that comes and goes quietly.

Bentley Torcal

A luxury EV likely to stir a bit less controversy than some we’ll see (and indeed have seen) this year is Bentley’s first all-electric car, the Torcal. Due to be revealed in September, it’ll be a second SUV model, sitting below the Bentayga in Bentley’s range.

Perhaps sensibly given the rather visceral reaction to cars like the Ferrari Luce and Jaguar Type 00, the Torcal is likely to follow a much more conservative styling direction in a move to appeal more to Bentley’s core customer base. The Crewe company isn’t pinning lots on EVs, either, with the Torcal the only fully electric car it’s currently known to have in development.

BMW 3 Series

The current BMW 3 Series has been around for nearly eight years, so it’s ripe for a replacement, and we should see it by the end of the year. Expect the eighth generation of BMW’s heartland compact exec to effectively be a combustion-powered version of the boxy new i3 saloon.

Earlier this year, BMW’s online US shop accidentally leaked what appeared to be a swathe of upcoming model names (many of which have since come to fruition), and among them was M350 xDrive. That all but confirms at least one variant of the new 3er, a likely straight-six powered successor to the current M340i. You can expect four-cylinder, rear-drive versions too, and BMW has already confirmed that there’ll be another combustion-powered M3 to sit alongside the upcoming electric model.

Jensen Interceptor GTX

A curious one, this. Earlier this year, Jensen International Automotive, the company that owns the rights to the name of the muscly ’60s Jensen Interceptor grand tourer (and currently restomods them), announced an all-new car, bearing the Interceptor name and overall philosophy, but built from the ground up on a new aluminium chassis and powered by a supercharged V8.

In an unexpected twist, though, JIA has confirmed that the initial GTX model will be a track-only special. Nevertheless, it promises that a number of roadgoing versions will follow. The GTX, meanwhile, will be revealed in full at some point before the year’s out.

Citroen 2CV

After Citroen spent years shunning the idea of doing a retro-styled car, it’s taken one look at the success Renault’s found with the new 5, 4 and Twingo and pulled a total handbrake turn on that, confirming that a reborn 2CV is in the works and will appear at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Much like the original, it’s being designed as a simple, cheap and charming form of transport, with a targeted starting price of under €15,000 (around £12,750) – although this time, it will, of course, be electric. Citroen is targeting the EU’s in-development ‘E-Car’ ruleset, designed to spur on a new wave of small, affordable European-built EVs, although Citroen’s confirmed it’ll come to the UK too.

Dacia Spring

The new 2CV won’t be the only cheap but characterful EV revealed at the Paris show. Dacia has confirmed that the second generation of the little Spring, currently the cheapest new car on sale in Britain, will debut there.

The new Spring is likely to be based on the warmly-received new Renault Twingo, and will be built alongside it at Renault’s plant in Slovenia. The sole teaser image we’ve seen so far shows a tailgate that’s similar in shape to the Twingo, but featuring Dacia’s current rufty-tufty styling cues. Expect its price to undercut the Twingo, which itself is set to cost under £20,000 when it arrives in the UK.

Audi A2

A third small, funky EV due to be revealed in the autumn, but aiming for a more premium end of the market, the Audi A2 is making a comeback over a decade after the ultra-efficient, streamlined original went out of production.

Details are thin on the ground, but it’s essentially a given that it’ll be based on existing VW Group electric underpinnings, most likely the same MEB+ front-wheel drive platform found beneath cars like the Cupra Raval and VW ID Polo. Audi’s teasers and spy shots show a car that stays true to its predecessor’s styling, with the same gently curving roofline ending in a dramatically kammtailed rear.

Nissan Skyline

This one comes with a very big asterisk attached, because sadly, the chances of it coming to Europe are slim-to-none, but Nissan has teased a new Skyline and confirmed that it’ll be a sports-focused saloon. The teasers show details that hark back to the Skyline’s ’90s glory days, including those instantly recognisable round taillights. The rumour mill suggests it’ll stay rear-wheel drive and get the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 from the Nissan Z (also forbidden fruit in Europe). There could even be a manual version. 

While the Skyline itself is likely to be JDM-only, plenty of reports point to North America receiving it rebadged as an Infiniti. With Nissan’s European efforts largely focused on EVs and hybrid SUVs, though, we highly doubt it’ll come here, and our increasingly tough emissions regulations might preclude that from happening anyway. Nissan’s confirmed a reveal will come in the winter, so potentially by the end of the year.

Oh, and the GT-R: it’s been a separate model from the Skyline ever since the R35 debuted in 2007, so while a new one is in the works (but likely still some time away), it’s nothing to do with the new Skyline.