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After a two-generation hiatus, BMW is welcoming an M5 estate back to the fold in 2024, previewed by this disguised test mule already seen hammering around the Nürburgring.

Expect the ultimate 5 Series Touring to feature a similar powertrain to the XM: a twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 allied to an electric motor offering as much as 750bhp to all four wheels, as well as a modicum of all-electric range. How the M Division keeps the weight figure respectable will be fascinating to see, given an XM is on the wrong side of 2.7 tonnes.

A £235,000 Ford Mustang. World gone mad? Our take is that Ford’s engineers know they’re approaching the end-times of petrol-powered muscle cars, so right now anything goes.

Touted as a road-going racecar targeting Europe’s elite (and sharking for a seriously fast Nürburgring lap time) the GTD combines GT3-alike aero with an expected power output north of 800bhp from the supercharged V8. The gearbox is an eight-speed twin-clutcher mounted at the back to even up weight distribution. It’s 100mm wider and 40mm lower than a Vegas rental Mustang. You can have magnesium wheels as an option. ‘Muscle car’ doesn’t seem appropriate any more. This is full-blown ‘roid rage.

Well, we can dream. Teslas never arrive when they’re promised to: the Cybertruck has only recently landed with customers having been revealed in 2019 and promised initially to be in full-scale production by 2021. You’ll recall that the Model 3 and Model Y also took their sweet time.

It was way back in 2017 that Tesla announced a new roofless supercar with 660 miles of range, a 250mph top speed and a price around a tenth that of a Bugatti Chiron. Sales were due to begin in 2020, but have been continually postponed with boss Elon Musk’s most recent comments suggesting ‘2024 hopefully’ was his best guess. Keep ‘em peeled…

The Land Cruiser has had a coolness to it, because of its unkillability. Forget the Porsche 911 Dakar or a Range Rover. This is the car you’d want to be in in the wilderness. Or after a zombie apocalypse. It’s just so… no-nonsense.

That’s usually meant the styling has been more forgettable than Michael Bay movie dialogue. But for the new-gen car, Toyota’s found some blocky retro mojo. It looks chunky, friendly, and tough. Tough combo to pull off, that. It’s basically a Bernese mountain dog with knobbly tyres and we’re very much looking forward to getting it mucky on a big TG adventure.

Also, props to Toyota for keeping buttons and switches inside, noting they’re easier to find when being jiggled about off-road than a touchscreen sub-menu.

We don’t disagree with Professor Gordon Murray about much, but he could really have shaved some grammes on badging here, and just called it the Lauda. Geddit? His track-only version of the stunning T.50 is named in homage to his great friend and late F1 world champion Niki, but it’s also rocking an unsilenced 12,000rpm Cosworth V12. So it’s the T.50, turned up until the volume knob comes off in your hand. And that’s quite a prospect for the ears, and the soul.

Prepare yourself for a machine which (at 852kg) will weigh 134kg less than the T.50 road car, develop 75 more horsepower, and produce 1,500kg of downforce. Only 25 will be made, they’re all sold, and unlike a Ferrari XX car, you can take it home instead of leaving it locked up at the factory. It’s a sizeable piece of artwork but look at it this way: get that fan spinning and you could stick it to the wall with no Blu-Tac in sight.

It’s the electric G-Wagen, people. And also a weird departure for the Mercedes EQ brand. See, so far the all-electric line of Mercs have prided themselves on super-slippery aero. The EQS looks like a pebble. Or a squashed Prius. The EQE looks like a smaller pebble, or an even more squashed Prius. And the SUVs look… the same.

But the EQG has to look like a G-Wagen, because that’s the reason the G-Wagen (or G Class, strictly) is a phenomenon. It’s not the best SUV to drive or be driven in. But it looks like it could win wars. So the EQG will need to be blocky, bluff and right-angled, not pebble-y.

Could Mercedes go for a triple- or even quad-motor set-up, or will it just stick with usual dual-motors and rely on traction control to deliver the legendary G off-road smarts? All will be revealed early in 2024.

Another German cash-cow SUV being reinvented as an EV in 2024 is Porsche’s money-printing Macan. The outgoing model was based on the Audi Q5 (though you’d never know it to look at, sit in, and crucially, to drive). The Macan BEV will also share an Audi platform, this time the one that supports the upcoming Q6 e-tron.

Of course, Audi and Porsche’s electric saloons (both also due an update in 2024) already share architecture beneath their svelte four-door shells, but Porsche will be intent on proving it’s not slipping into badge-engineering, and can maintain its reputation for class-leading 4×4 handling and dynamics. Expect evolutionary styling, a screen-festooned cabin, and (hopefully) damping to make a Tesla Model Y weep with shame.

There’s actually two new Dacias to get stoked for in 2024: the chunky new Duster looks terrific, but if it’s bargain-basement transport you’re into then the Spring promises to be one of the year’s most fascinating new cars. Why? Because it’ll be Britain’s cheapest proper EV. Yes, the Citroen Ami will be cheaper still, but that’s more of a wheelie-bin with numberplates. The Spring is, well, like, a car. It has windows that go up and down, an infotainment system, space for four and the world’s cutest roof bar set-up, for less than £20,000.

With just 44bhp on tap, ‘Spring’ is a tad optimistic. Those pesky e-scooters are going to be a menace in the classic traffic light grand prix. But who cares about the 0-60 time (or even getting to 60mph) in a city car. This could be the breath of right-sized, modest kerbweight fresh air that EV motoring needs.

The name remains a mystery, but what’s going to top the 812 Superfast? 899 Hyperthrust, perhaps? We were worried that the 812 Competizione (pictured above destroying Pirellis) would be the swan-song for Ferrari’s front-engined V12 super-GT, but the sound of test mules howling out of the factory gates near Fiorano suggests Ferrari has managed to maintain its 12-cylinder signature for another chapter of front-engined supercars.

Fiat has the 500e. Honda had the e. Mini has the, er, Mini. Retro-looking electric cars have been missing a French option however, with the Renault Zoe and Peugeot e-208 keeping things much more modern looking.

Enter Renault, with a battery powered supermini inspired by the angular bodywork of the old 5. This was previewed by a concept car way back in 2020, and since then we’ve seen Alpine’s take on what a hot hatch version could look like. The new 5 will finally go on sale in 2024: expect around 240 miles of range and a price of around £25,000. And looks that will barely change from this design study. Bon!

In other ‘chic European city car reborn as an EV touting affordability and right-sized batteries as big selling points’ news… there’s this. Well not this. This is the 2019 Centoventi concept car, which promised Fiat a future for what it’s traditionally been brilliant at: low-cost no-frills runarounds. It’s expected that design ideas from this concept will be morphed into a new electric crossover which will target the likes of the Dacia Sandero. In other words, a new Panda. No, it won’t have the interchangeable batteries and suicide doors of the concept car, but the world is a better place for having small Fiats in it.

This year marks the centenary of the MG (Morris Garages) name, and as such its new Chinese-bankrolled guise needs something to celebrate beyond another worthy and temptingly-low priced crossover. Enter the Cyberster, which is going on sale at least a year before Porsche will have an electric Boxster ready.

Specs are still being finalised, but here’s what we know for sure. Butterfly doors? Check. Over 300bhp for around £55k? Check. Top-of-the-range model with 536bhp, all-wheel drive and a price north of £65k? you’d better believe it. What’ll be extra interesting is not just how the Cyberster drives, but whether or not people with Boxster / Alpine / Supra money take it seriously as a place to sink their money.

Don’t expect an all-new Vantage this year: more of a rethink for the current car in a similar vein to Aston’s successful evolution of the DB11 into the sharper, more focused DB12, complete with an interior that wasn’t designed for five-pounds-ninety-nine.

The Vantage will enter a world featuring the revised Porsche 911 and all-new AMG GT, so it’ll need more than just some new colours and bumpers. Bank on a huge power hike (like the DB11/DB12 evolution) and another totally redrawn cabin with no more Mercedes hand-me-downs. Don’t order a Ferrari Roma until you see what’s inbound…

Though the new Mini was revealed all the way back in October 2023, the overlords at BMW are taking a long old time to set it free for test drives. We say BMW: actually, the new Cooper is a joint venture with China’s Great Wall Motor, and shares many components beneath the cheery exterior with the 03, formerly known as the Funky Cat.

UK prices begin at £31,915: yep, the Mini remains a rather expensive small car. But with the Audi A1 not long for this world, Smart amidst an identity crisis and various new European e-superminis inbound, Mini is coming out fighting with a multi-model range. The Cooper E delivers 181bhp, the Cooper SE has 215bhp and we’ve heard an electric JCW is being mooted as a range-topper. Inside it’s much more minimalist than before.

And yes, there will be petrol versions if you’re not convinced by a plug-in car just yet.

Noticed how many of 2024’s most important newcomers are EVs? Here’s yet another: Lotus’s answer to the Porsche Taycan. In essence the Emeya is the same as the Eletre SUV, just closer to the ground. Such is the weight of a battery-powered platform, it’s unlikely to be much less chunky in the kerbweight department than the SUV, but the likes of Porsche, Audi and Lucid have demonstrated that an all-electric four-door can be genuinely entertaining to drive. Get your ‘Lotus Carlton reference bingo’ card at the ready – the four-door Lotus saloon is back.

Could it be? Test mules spied at the Nürburgring hint that Toyota is up to something with the Supra. It’s been spied fitted with a tall rear spoiler, front aero flicks, stickier tyres and lighter wheels. Just a track pack perhaps, or something more? As Toyota doesn’t have a suitable engine in its stable it’d stand to reason that a more potent Supra would use a proper BMW M Division engine, such as the twin-turbo ‘S58’ motor from the current M2, which develops 453bhp in the baby M car and 503bhp in the M4.

The base car benefits hugely from some choice mods, so the idea of Gazoo Racing doing the job in-house is tantalising, especially judging by the Japan-only GRMN version of the GR Yaris, which is also due for an upgrade early in 2024. Exciting times…