Digest of the day: Lexus without a mastermind, Greek hypercar and other industry events

The chief engineer of Lexus and the inspirer of the sports F-series, Yukihiko Yaguchi, is retiring. He worked at Toyota for 43 years and at first was engaged in finalizing existing solutions. Yaguchi-san has been working on Lexus cars since the birth of the brand — in particular, he was engaged in the vibro-acoustic characteristics of the very first Lexus LS 400 sedan. In fact, all Lexuses are somehow created with his participation or under his command. The appointment of a successor has not yet been announced.

Audi's European plants, which were stopped in mid-March, will be gradually launched until the end of April. It is stated that additional measures of anti-infectious protection of employees will be taken at all production sites. Some production processes will be rebuilt in such a way that workers observe a distance of 1.5 m, and additional fiberglass partitions will be installed in those areas where this is physically impossible.

Volvo will launch the head plant of Torsland in Sweden on April 20, at the same time office employees will return to work. But the company in Ghent, Belgium, will be launched only partially on this day — with a reduced staff and reduced production capacity. The restart of the Volvo plant in the USA is scheduled for May 11. Well, the company's Chinese enterprises have already returned to work.

The new Ford Bronco will be presented this spring, as originally planned. The company confirmed that the pandemic and quarantine did not affect the plans for the presentation of a frame SUV, which will become a direct competitor to the Jeep Wrangler model. Another thing is that not all of its versions can see the light at the same time, and the start of mass production may be postponed due to idle plants.

The factory Toyota Ambulance ambulances, created on the basis of the Hiace minibus of the last generation, have been modernized. Automatic braking systems, all-round view cameras, as well as a display in place of the interior mirror, to which the image from the rear camera is constantly transmitted, are added to the standard equipment. Also, Japanese ambulances received the ITS Connect system, thanks to which they will be able to transmit data about their approach in advance to all cars on the route with similar electronics. Finally, the settings of the" machine " became smoother.

The future Porsche 911 GT3 of the 992 series is being tested at the Nurburgring. The prototype has not yet completely lost its camouflage, but it is already easy to see a large wing on the stern, cutouts in the hood, an enlarged front splitter and a developed diffuser. According to preliminary information, with the change of generation, the GT3 will retain a four-liter atmospheric engine, but its output will be increased to 510 hp. The model of the current generation was presented only three years ago, but the premiere of the new coupe, judging by the pictures, is not far off.

Morgan has presented a special version of the Plus Six and 3 Wheeler models with the LE60 index, dedicated to the sixtieth anniversary of cooperation with the Dutch Louwman Exclusive dealership. The circulation of the series was only five cars: a special batch consists of two light blue and two silver Plus Six roadsters, as well as one green three-wheeled model. All five cars are decorated in the same style with a wide use of yellow details and leather upholstery with yellow stitching.

The four-wheel drive hypercar Spyros Panopoulos Project Chaos has been announced. The Greek company has been working on the car since last year, but so far not much is known about it. The four-liter V10 turbo engine will produce 2000 hp as standard, and its upgraded version with ceramic pistons and carbon fiber connecting rods will reportedly be able to boast a power of 3000 hp and a cut-off shifted to 12,000 rpm. An eight-speed "robot" with two clutches will work together with it. The premiere of the Greek hypercar is scheduled for March 2021.

Also today we talked about the upcoming update of the Volkswagen Tiguan crossover, the upgraded Buick Regal GS sedan, the Karma Revero GTE electric car, the Volkswagen Viloran minivan and the certification of the Mini John Cooper Works GP hot hatch in Russia.