Tesla Motors has reportedly increased its range estimate for the Model X crossover.

Reports based on an invite-only configuration portal initially quoted a distance of 240 miles, however the listed specs have been quietly changed to a promise of 250 miles, according to Green Car Reports.

The figure is tied to the range-topping P90D Signature Series, integrating a 90-kWh battery pack. In contrast, the the Model S P85D received a 253-mile EPA range and Tesla suggests the 90-kWh battery should bring the number up by six percent to 268 miles.

Tesla has not yet detailed the entire range of available configurations for the Model X, but a rear-wheel-drive or non-performance package could offer greater range than 250 miles with the same 90-kWh battery pack.

The Model X Signature Series carries a $132,000 price tag, though Tesla chief Elon Musk previously promised that the crossover will only cost approximately $5,000 more than a similarly-equipped Model S sedan.

The first batch will be ready by the end of the month, ahead of volume production toward the end of the year. Tesla is not expected to introduce the entry-level packages until 2016.

Hyundai has previewed its most-powerful Tucson ever, a SEMA-bound show car built with help from Bisimoto Engineering.

The high-performance crossover is powered by Hyundai’s 2.4-liter Theta-II powerplant, shared with the Sonata. In the Tucson’s standard production form, the four-cylinder engine produces 182 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque.

Bisimoto took the diminutive mill and added a high-boost turbocharger, strengthened internals and an upgraded engine management system to deliver more than 700 horsepower to the wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.

“After hundreds of hours of testing and developing new engine components, we’re confident that this power plant can handle what we’re asking from it, delivering a fresh, race-bred take on the 2016 Tucson with performance and reliability at its core,” said Bisimoto owner and chief engineer Bisi Ezerioha.

The tuner added a unique body kit to achieve a “street fighter” look, complete with air-ride suspension and white five-star race wheels. A custom roll cage hints at its track potential.

The customized Tucson will be formally unveiled at a SEMA press conference on November 3.

General Motors is reportedly aiming to push the Cadillac Escalade into the six-figure price category.

Following rumors of a potential V-badged Escalade in the works, an Automotive News report suggests the company is considering an upmarket shift to better compete with ultra-luxury models from Bentley and Maserati.

The 2016 Escalade currently tops out at $98,945 (including freight) for the stretched ESV Platinum package with every option, just shy of the $100,000 mark, and the company is said to see room for even more expensive variants.

“The strength of the Escalade prompts us to think about ways to delve into even further,” Cadillac spokesman Dave Caldwell said in a statement. “The argument for doing it with Escalade is strong and momentum is moving it higher. It’s completely logical that’s where you go with it.”

The luxury SUV has been a strong seller for the brand, with sales of the short-wheelbase model up by 17 percent for the first eight months of the year. The more expensive ESV variant has been on an even steeper trajectory, with deliveries jumping by approximately 40 percent.

A time-frame for offering a more expensive Escalade remains unclear, and Caldwell cautioned that Cadillac is currently more focused on filling holes in its portfolio rather than offering more variants of existing models.

It’s no secret that consumers can’t get enough of crossovers, and in light of that Mazda wants at least 50 percent of its US sales to be such vehicles.

Speaking with Automotive News, Mazda’s global marketing chief Masahiro Moro said that would like to see, in two to three years, Mazda achieve annual sales of 300,000 vehicles in the US. The quickest path he sees to that goal is by feeding America’s insatiable hunger for crossovers.

Currently, sales of Mazda’s CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9 represent about 40 percent of Mazda’s sales. However, that the Mazda CX-5 is the one doing all the heavy lifting in that figure, as the sprightly new Mazda CX-3 has just debuted very competitively in the compact crossover segment, and a completely redesigned Mazda CX-9 is scheduled to launch soon.

Until now, Mazda has been too dependent on sales of low-margin compacts like the Mazda 3, thinks Moro. The model accounted for 46 percent of the company’s sales in 2010. Moreover, those customers saw the car as a stepping stone brand, and would leave Mazda for another brand in their next purchase. Brand loyalty is at an all-time low, but Moro believes crossover buyers are much more likely to stay with the marque.

Live Photos by Ronan Glon.

Eager to increase its presence on the recovering European new car market, Kia has announced that it will take on rivals Volkswagen, Renault and Mazda with a station wagon version of the new Optima.

The still nameless Optima wagon will presumably look similar to the Sportspace concept (pictured) that was shown earlier this year at the Geneva Motor show. That means it will be nearly identical to the Optima sedan from the front bumper to the B-pillar, but beyond that it will stand out thanks to a longer roof line, a rakish D-pillar and horizontal tail lamps.

The Optima wagon will borrow the bulk of its mechanical components from its sedan counterpart, so buyers in Europe will be able to choose from a wide palette of gasoline- and diesel-burning four-cylinder engines, and either an automatic or a manual transmission. Badged GT, top-spec models will get a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder mill tuned to make approximately 240 horsepower and 260 lb-ft. of torque.

Look for the Kia Optima station wagon to make its debut next year at the Geneva Motor Show and go on sale across the Old Continent shortly after. Kia hasn’t talked about availability yet, but we’d be surprised if the wagon makes the trip across the Atlantic.

Photos by Ronan Glon.

The all-new 2016 Megane was introduced earlier this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but Renault has announced that the next generation of the Megane RS hot hatch isn’t scheduled to arrive until the first half of 2017 at the very earliest.

The next Megane RS is shaping up to be equal parts evolution and revolution. For starters, Renault design boss Laurens van den Acker confirmed the next RS will exclusively be available as a four-door hatchback, a first in the nameplate’s history, because the two-door coupe model has been deep-sixed.

“On one hand we need to increase our line-up with new crossovers because we didn’t have any crossovers, we need to expand into trucks, we need to keep present in the normal segments and in the meantime we need to not finish with 60 variations and just keep adding. So we had to cut some variants somewhere,” explained van den Acker in an interview with Australian website Motoring.

Technical details are still a little vague but another Renault executive hinted that the new model will likely need to pack over 300 horsepower — 25 more than the current model — in order to keep up with the competition, notably the Volkswagen Golf R and the Honda Civic Type R. The RS won’t get a hybrid drivetrain, though RenaultSport openly admits it will have to adopt a gasoline-electric setup in the not-too-distant future to comply with upcoming emissions regulations.

Purists will scoff at the idea of a four-door RS, but they’ll at least be satisfied to hear that the next-gen model will most likely retain the current car’s manual transmission. However, all-wheel drive has been categorically ruled out for the time being, meaning the 300 ponies will all be sent to the front wheels.

The 2017 Renault Megane RS will be presented to the public either next year at the Paris Motor Show or the following spring at the Geneva Motor Show.

Though the writing was on the wall as early as 10 months ago, it is now official: the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge is dead.

Based on an Infiniti Q50 sedan, the Eau Rouge would have been powered by the hair-melting 560-horse twin-turbo V6 from the Nissan GT-R, underpinned by its unflappable all-wheel-drive system, and served as a halo car for the luxury brand.

However, in an interview with Car magazine at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show, Infiniti vice-president Francois Goupil de Bouille corroborated what we had assumed for months. “After we evaluated sales numbers, we realized it was not realistic to produce it. It was just too costly. That was it.”

However, de Bouille left the possibility of future Infiniti performance models open. He did not confirm whether the rumors of an even higher-end GT-R-powered sedan — along the lines of an Aston Martin or Lamborghini Estoque instead of a BMW M3 or Mercedes AMG C63 rival — were of substance.

Given Nissan’s penchant for crossovers these days, however, it may not be surprising if they build an Eau Rogue instead. After all, they’ve already GT-R-ified the Juke.

The Toyota-BMW sports car project could take a very different form than what we were expecting. If a new report out of Australia is to be believed, the car may even qualify for supercar status to rival cars such as the Audi R8 and upcoming Acura NSX.

Until now, speculation surrounding the project has generally settled on the idea that the resulting car would have a straight-six turbo motor, perhaps with hybrid all-wheel-drive, and be badged as a Supra on the Toyota side and a Z4 on the BMW side (or something in that range).

Now, while Reuters reports that Toyota is still thinking about whether to go ahead with it, Australia’s Motoring is saying that BMW is very happy with the progress and that the collaboration may yield an even bigger, badder supercar with two different engines.

According to the article, the supercar will share a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive platform. From there, BMW would install a “bespoke” twin-turbo inline-six developed by its M performance division, adding a plug-in hybrid supplied by Toyota.

Toyota, on the other hand, is supposedly testing a 520-horsepower 3.7-liter V8, a version of the motor found in its TS040 Le Mans race car. Adding a hybrid system would bump that to about 800 horses, a concession made only for real world factors such as fuel efficiency, emissions and engine production considerations. Otherwise 1,000 horsepower would be possible.

Naturally, the Toyota version would be badged as a Lexus, leading some to call it a LFA successor. If produced — and that’s a big if — the cars would be ready in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.