Fisker Ronin to cost £300,000; Mortgage rates cut from Monday; Economy grows unexpectedly in June – Car Dealer Magazine

£300,000 Fisker Ronin electric convertible

The electric American car brand Fisker has announced new details around its upcoming flagship GT car, the Ronin.

Named after the 1998 film Ronin, which is known for its legendary car chase, this new Fisker was revealed for the first time last week, with the firm now confirming new details around its price, performance and production.

Pitched as a rival to the long-awaited Tesla Roadster, as well as the upcoming Polestar 6, due on sale in 2026, the Ronin will priced at $385,000 (£303,000), with reservations already open. It will be limited to just 999 examples too.

Santander to cut selected mortgage rates from Monday

More lenders have announced mortgage rate reductions and new deals, following a stream of rate cuts earlier this week.

Santander said that from Monday, selected fixed purchase and remortgage rates for homeowners will decrease by up to 0.29 percentage points.

It will announce details of the new rates on Monday and added there are no changes planned to its residential tracker mortgages or buy-to-let deals.

Economy grows unexpectedly rapidly in June

The UK economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year as it showed a surprisingly good performance in June.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.5 per cent in June, helped by the manufacturing sector.

Economists had expected GDP to grow by 0.2 per cent in June and 0.0 per cent in the quarter as a whole. It grew by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

Hyundai reveals details of new Santa Fe

Though revealed last month, Hyundai announced limited information about the model at the time.

Ahead of going on sale in the UK next year, the firm has now said European models will be available with a choice of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains, both using 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engines.

This new Santa Fe gets a significantly bolder design than the current model, with the firm saying it took an ‘unusual design strategy’ as it was the huge tailgate that was the first bit of the car to be designed.

Mark Zuckerberg plays down Elon Musk’s cage fight

Mark Zuckerberg has played down suggestions that his rumoured cage fight with Elon Musk is close to being arranged.

The Meta owner said on social media platform Threads that none of Mr Musk’s claimed plans had been agreed, and that he was “Not holding my breath”.

Mr Musk, owner of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, earlier appeared to suggest the fight would be held in an “epic location” in Italy.

Parts of UK may be hotter than Los Angeles next week

Tropical air could make parts of the UK hotter than California at the end of next week with temperatures possibly soaring past 30C, after heavy rain lashes the country.

High pressure set to build from the middle of the week means south-east England could reach 32C on Friday, according to the Met Office – higher than the 26C predicted for Los Angeles.

However, it will come after most of the country sees heavy and persistent rain from Sunday evening and into Monday.

Death toll from Maui wildfire hits 89

A raging wildfire that swept through a picturesque town on the Hawaiian island of Maui this week has killed at least 89 people, making it the deadliest US wildfire of the past century.

The newly released figure surpassed the toll of the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California, which left 85 dead and destroyed the town of Paradise.

At least two other fires have been burning in Maui, with no fatalities reported so far:  in south Maui’s Kihei area and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry.

Weather forecast

The sunny spells and showers will continue today with Scotland affected the most where hail and thunder is possible, according to the Met Office.

The showers in England and Wales will gradually ease but there will be rain in the evening in the southwest.

Although the showers will mainly fade in the north tonight, Wales and England may face downpours and it will be largely cloudy.