Future Autos: The Coolest Cars Coming In 2024 (And Beyond)
The year 2024 will see a plethora of new cars hit the road as manufacturers now lean into large-scale EV production, leaving the coolest cars with combustion engines for the high-end marques. These are some of the models we’re eagerly anticipating in 2024 – from iconic city cars, rugged and classless SUVs and, of course, a new 911.
Aston Martin Vantage
The classic British sports car isn’t dead yet it seems, with Aston Martin having another crack at the Porsche 911 with its very heavily upgraded Vantage. The new model will share its basic body and chassis with the existing model, but a totally new front end and significant changes to its interior and powertrain should see the bits that matter most changed.
Working from Aston’s recent updates to the DB12, the new Vantage’s interior will be brought right up to date with new digital interfaces, plus expect a sizable uplift in power from the V8 engine.
A Roadster won’t be far behind, nor Aston’s racers, which will compete in the new GT3 class alongside its traditional nemesis, Porsche.
When to expect it: Q1 2024
Mini Cooper SE
The new all-electric MINI Cooper will storm into showrooms in the early parts of 2024, having been revealed in late 2023. In typical fashion, MINI doesn’t look to have gone too extreme with the new model, but on closer inspection you might notice how much more contemporary the design is, with those classic MINI traits reimagined with flatter and more modern surfaces.
Inside will see the biggest change though, with a new minimalist interior dominated by a super impressive OLED screen that will function as both the instrument cluster and infotainment center.
A petrol-powered model will be out alongside later in the year, but it’s the EV model that we think will make a bigger splash – a perfect London runaround as it always has been.
When to expect it: Q1-2 2024
Porsche 911
Not to be outdone, Porsche is readying its own update of the iconic 911, itself featuring a host of upgrades to the design, interior and engines.
Set to offer a hybrid system for the first time, Porsche’s engine updates are expected to create quite a bit more diversity, with the hybrid powertrain rumoured to be joined by a new naturally aspirated flat-six for the GTS models alongside the existing turbocharged Carreras.
The Turbo is also expected to pick up a hybrid system, and all will feature a subtly revised new look with lots of active aero components. The interior will get an upgrade, too, with fresh digital interfaces and even more personalisation – the only downside is that we’ll need to wait until the end of the year for it to land in showrooms.
When to expect it: Q3-4 2024
Range Rover Electric
Land Rover says that lots of its customers have been asking for an electric version of the iconic Range Rover and the company seems to have listened, teasing the first all-electric take on the iconic SUV.
We know already that it will share its current design and structure with the petrol-powered Range Rover, as it was designed from the outset in this current generation to easily be adapted for electric motors.
Being a Range Rover, it will focus on luxury, comfort and design, but will also maintain Land Rover’s unique capability off-road, despite only a small fraction of buyers ever taking their car off the road.
We’ll know more about the forthcoming EV Range Rover in the next few months, ahead of an expected launch this summer.
When to expect it: Q2-3 2024
Polestar 3
Polestar might still seem to be something of an unknown quantity to many, but 2024 will see an impressive new all-electric SUV arrive, so be prepared to soon see lots on the road.
The Polestar 3 will feature a high-spec dual-motor system that will make it more than powerful enough to entice buyers who are used to Tesla-like performance, while offering a much more luxurious and dynamically resolved driving experience.
Its future-facing interior, with high-res screens matched to extremely high-quality materials, which focus on sustainability just as much as luxury. We have a feeling it will be one of the best new cars of 2024, and we’re looking forward to finding out if we’re right.
When to expect it: Q2 2024
Dacia Duster
OK, who put a compact SUV onto this list? Well, before the snob police come looking, there’s something genuinely wonderful about a Dacia Duster, and it has nothing to do with how much they cost, but rather who drives them.
Next time you see a Duster on the ski slope and find some eloquently dressed man inside, you can be certain that rather than buy a high-performance SUV and drive it up there, making a mess of its leather seats and struggling to get its fat tyres up the driveway, the Duster will likely accompany an Aston or Porsche in the garage like wellingtons do a pair of Prada loafers.
The new one looks even cooler, and will no doubt be hit when it arrives in the next few months.
When to expect it: Q1 2024
BMW M5 and M5 Touring
BMW might be leaning into EVs, but it knows that while it’s still allowed to build them, people will always flock to the high-performance M models.
For the first time since the E60 generation of 2005, this year’s all-new M5 will be available as a Touring model, offering huge performance with a little extra load bay. Under the bonnet will be one of BMW’s new plug-in hybrid powertrains, which use the existing twin-turbo V8 as a base and then add a few hundred horsepower’s worth of electric motor.
The new M5 should have around 750bhp when it does arrive, making it significantly more powerful than its predecessor or, frankly, any of its potential rivals.
When to expect it: Q2 2024
Lucid Gravity
You’ve heard of the Air, but Lucid’s challenging second album looks to be aiming even higher than the wickedly brilliant saloon. This is the Lucid Gravity, a Tesla Model X-rivalling high-end electric SUV that’s expected to fundamentally change the future of family cars.
As with the Air, the Gravity introduces a new way of building cars, with unique use of glazing in the interior, an even more high-tech interior with seamless digital displays and world-beating electric powertrains that promise huge power, range and stamina.
The only issue? Well, Lucid is still being coy about when it will make the jump over the UK, but we guess nothing is stopping you from placing an order in Amsterdam and bringing it back. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s brought something fun back from the Venice of the North…
When to expect it: Q2 2024; UK tbd