Looking down the list of new cars launching in 2025, you wouldn’t know that the car industry has had a rocky time of late. A few delays here and there maybe, and a few more electric cars than we’d have seen a few years ago, but if there’s anything notable about this year’s new car launches, it’s how diverse and downright exciting they are.
That applies at every level in the market too. It’s been slim pickings for those on tighter budgets in recent years but 2025 seems to be the year that genuinely appealing design and a sense of carefree fun has made it back down to the entry level – while those searching for their next supercar or hypercar have arguably never had it so good, be that in terms of power or striking styling.
Lotus Evija
Image credit: Lotus
Like the Honda NSX that launched in 2016 after first being shown in 2012, the Lotus Evija is at risk of feeling like old news when those who ordered them finally get their hands on the car this year. The Evija was first shown in 2019, and Lotus has launched three entirely new cars in the interim, the Emira sports car, the Eletre electric SUV, and the Emeya electric saloon.
If you’ve been impatiently waiting for the £2 million Evija, then the reward will be a design that still looks striking thanks to its aero tunnels (most evident at the rear, where they’re encircled by the tail lights), butterfly doors, and a sparse but neatly-detailed cabin from which to deploy the Evija’s four-motor, 2012bhp output. As the adverts used to say, good things come to those who wait.
Renault 5 / Alpine A290
Image credit: Yannick Brossard / DPPI
Image credit: Malcolm Griffiths
These French hatchbacks should be considered as a pair, as the new hot hatch from sports car brand Alpine, the A290, is the performance version of the regular Renault 5 electric hatchback. And if a £29k plug-in B-segment hatch topping 250 miles of range doesn’t sound like one of the highlights of the new year, then there are a few factors that might sway your opinion.
The first is that both Renault and Alpine variants look absolutely fantastic, with the same kind of visual impact that the BMW-owned MINI did when it first emerged in 2001. Even if there weren’t several clever touches to reference the classic Renault 5, it would still stand out. The next is that the Alpine variant (which starts upwards of £33,500) has been developed by the same people as the brilliant A110 sports car, and that Renault knows fun hatchbacks better than almost any other company – with plenty of ex-Renault Sport folks still working behind the scenes.
BMW M5 Touring
Image credit: BMW
Most of the column inches around the new BMW M5 have been around its gargantuan weight – 2475kg for the new M5 Touring. Fewer have been about how the M5 has always been an all-rounder rather than an out-and-out sports car, and has never been especially flyweight – even the original was more than 1400kg, when a Golf GTI was barely more than 800kg.
With deliveries of a new M5 Touring starting early in 2025, that all-rounder status will continue, enhanced by the tax breaks that come with any plug-in hybrid vehicle in the UK market. Naturally, it’s spectacularly quick, with a 3.6-second 0-62mph time and rampant mid-range pace thanks to the electric assistance. Pumped-up, wide-arched styling ensures that like previous M5s, it’s also subtly different at a glance from lesser 5 Series models – though with prices starting at £111,000, so it should be.
Dodge Charger
Image credit: Dodge
While not coming to the UK in any official capacity, the new Dodge Charger could be one of 2025’s most significant cars. It’s a revival of one of the most significant names in North American motoring, and it’s doing so – initially, at least – with electric power, and a price tag of $40,000 and up.
As you can imagine, this hasn’t gone down well with those of a V8 persuasion, and with over 100kWh of batteries slung underneath for a 300-plus mile range, it’s even heavier than the BMW M5 elsewhere on this page, at 2648kg. But muscle cars were rarely light either, and they were always fast: the new Charger in 670bhp Scat Pack form has a 3.3-second 0-62mph time. For those still not convinced by electrons, a 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six is also on the way, while rumours persist that Dodge will still drop a V8 in there too…
Lamborghini Temerario
Image credit: Lamborghini
Goodbye, V10; the new Lamborghini Temerario, replacing the Huracan, features a 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 instead. Not that it’s likely to be any kind of poor relation to the V10, since the new engine makes 789bhp and revs to 10,000 before you even factor in electric assistance, which raises peak power to 907bhp.
As a result, the Temerario – which will arrive in 2025 with pricing from around £260,000 – has a claimed 2.7-second 0-62mph to its name. Straight-line speed isn’t the only string to its bow though. Lamborghini’s chassis tuning has improved significantly over the time the Huracan was on sale, and if that continues here the new car will be as engaging to drive as it is stunningly fast. And, as a Lamborghini, it’ll be just as easy to appreciate simply parked by the side of the road.
Range Rover Electric
Image credit: Land Rover
Land Rover released images of its new all-electric Range Rover undergoing final testing towards the end of 2024. Largely unchanged externally, the Electric swaps combustion power for batteries and electric motors, with power comparable to the current V8 models, according to Land Rover. Pricing, meanwhile, starts at around £125,000, actually around £17,000 less than P530 V8.
Off-road performance should be on par too, for the handful of buyers who’ll take their six-figure electric SUVs into the rough, while a wading depth of 850mm will illustrate the benefits of not having an engine to flood with water. Electric power should allow even more sophisticated driving modes too – and of course, the drivetrain’s silence should suit the already luxurious ambience of the Range Rover’s cabin, just as it does in the Rolls-Royce Spectre.
MINI Cooper JCW
Image credit: BMW MINI
The MINI entered its fourth generation in 2024, and for 2025 it gains a John Cooper Works model, just like the generations that preceded it. For the first time, both petrol and electric JCWs will be available; the MINI brand isn’t quite ready to ditch combustion power entirely, which will be music to the ears of hot hatchback enthusiasts.
That petrol version will make 228bhp from a 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four, similar to that found in its predecessor. What you won’t get this time around is a manual gearbox – that’s been entirely ditched from the current MINI range. In its place is a dual-clutch auto, while three-door hatch and two-door convertibles will be available. The electric variant meanwhile will make 254bhp – though it’ll be heavier too. Petrol pricing starts under £33,000, with the electric JCW around £39,000.
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Image credit: Chevrolet
Another US-only model, until enterprising importers begin to get their hands on the top-dog Corvette. The ZR1 name has been seen before, but never with this much potency, as the latest, mid-engined car makes more than 1000bhp and hits 233mph flat out – putting it among the very fastest cars currently on sale, but at around $200,000, for a tiny fraction the outlay of anything faster.
Don’t look for any hybridisation to achieve those outputs and speeds either: this is pure American muscle, with a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8, and rear-wheel drive alone. A comprehensive, if not especially pretty aero package gives the ZR1 similar attitude to the C8.R that won in the LMGTE endurance class at Le Mans in 2023 – and Chevrolet offers carbon fibre wheels to reduce unsprung weight. It’s a true exotic (it just isn’t priced like one) and should be one of 2025’s most exciting cars.
Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider
Image credit: Ferrari
Until the 12Cilindri came along, Ferrari’s front-engined V12 road cars were offering increasingly intense experiences for those fortunate enough to own one – ever sharper, louder, more agile and higher-revving. The 12Cilindri has toned things down a little, with softer styling and a less extreme demeanour, and the Spider will be more of the same – with just a little more fresh-air access.
We’re talking fractions here, because this is still an 819bhp car with a 9500rpm red line. Like many recent Ferrari drop-tops, the roof is a folding hardtop, the rear deck pivoting at the back before the centre panel flips 180 degrees and stows beneath it, similar to that of the old 550 Superamerica. Pricing starts just shy of £370,000, with personalisation above that, cementing it at the top of the maker’s range – at least until the F80 hypercar arrives.
Aston Martin Valhalla
Image credit: Aston Martin
Much like the Lotus Evija, the Valhalla isn’t a new name for 2025, but this year marks the point at which interested parties can finally get their hands on the new supercar. The Valhalla was also shown way back in 2019, at that year’s Geneva motor show, but the revised production variant is now just around the corner.
It certainly has the looks, like a scaled-down Valkyrie (and perhaps, in there, a hint of modern McLaren), while power comes from a 1086bhp, AMG-sourced twin-turbocharged V8 – though unlike the Corvette ZR1’s similar output, the Aston uses hybrid assistance. And costs rather more, at around £850,000, though that’s to be expected from a carbon-tubbed supercar with an Aston Martin badge. The company plans to make 999 units, with production starting in the middle of the year.
Bonus car: Fiat Grande Panda
Image credit: Fiat
The Grande Panda looks a little lost alongside the sports cars and supercars on this list, but it’s here because it shows that appealing design and character are not yet solely the preserve of the most expensive vehicles on sale. In Europe, the electric version will go on sale for under €25,000, and a petrol mild hybrid for under €20,000 – significantly less than the Renault 5 elsewhere on this list, and other than the Renault, one of very few visually interesting cars down at the bottom end of the market. Check out the Fiat and Panda lettering stamped into the metalwork, or the acrylic interior dashboard detailing that houses a small model of a classic Panda. You won’t get that in the equivalent Dacia or Kia.
Plus, who doesn’t love a Panda? The new one might be larger than before, but this hire-car favourite has always been a hoot to drive, while being surprisingly practical and durable for one so small. If the new one continues that trend, it’ll be off to a very good start.
Secure, de-humidified car storage for all car models, old and new
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