10 Of The Most Exciting Cars Coming In 2026

It’s that time of year – one of new beginnings, fresh starts and promising yourself you’re really going to start going to the gym this year, honestly, just one more leftover mince pie, okay? 

Among those new beginnings are a fresh batch of new cars to look forward to seeing over the next 12 months – these are the ones we’re the most excited and intrigued by. And yes, a couple of these were on our list of cars to look forward to in 2025, too. We don’t have a crystal ball, okay?

Porsche 718

We’ve spent over a year being cautiously optimistic about the next generation of Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman, amid plans for them to go all electric. After all, if anyone’s going to be able to build a properly good EV sports car, it’s Porsche, right?

Nevertheless, we breathed a very big sigh of relief in the autumn when Porsche caved to market demands and announced that, contrary to previous plans, range-topping versions of the duo will receive petrol power after all. We don’t know what form that’ll take, but frankly, we still weren’t quite ready for a Porsche sports car without any form of combustion at all. Still, though, we suspect the EV versions will be rather good, too.

Renault Twingo

The first two of Renault’s planned trio of EV reinterpretations of past models – the 5 and 4 – have been two of the most talked-about cars of recent years, and we suspect that conversation will only get louder around the launch of the almost painfully cute Twingo E-Tech.

Going on sale in Britain in late 2026 or possibly very early 2027, it’s set to finally bring the frog-eyed charm of the Mk1 Twingo to our streets, the original car having never been sold here. It’s also set to cost under £20,000, making it one of the cheapest EVs on sale, and almost certainly one of the coolest.

Honda Super-N

The Twingo isn’t the only tiny EV set to melt our hearts next year, though. The Honda Super-N also wants a piece of the adorable pie. 

Based on the Japanese-market N-series kei cars, the little Super-N brings some hot hatch attitude with its flared arches, chunky seats and a ‘Boost’ mode that introduces simulated gearshifts, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N-style. It too should land at the cheaper end of the EV spectrum, setting us up for one of the cutest twin tests of all time.

Peugeot e-208 GTi

In 2024, Stellantis came up with a handy powertrain for small, quick EVs, consisting of a 276bhp motor powering the front axle via a proper mechanical limited-slip diff. It’s since gone on a quest to stick it in pretty much everything it’ll go in, but the application intriguing us most is arriving in 2026 following its reveal this year – the Peugeot e-208 GTi.

It once again revives Peugeot’s small-i hot hatch badge after it went dormant with the last 308 GTi, and while an EV’s obviously going to offer a very different hot hatch experience, we know from some of the other cars it’s fitted to how effective this setup can be. The future of the hot hatch may look very different to its past, but at least the genre is surviving into the electric era, as we’ll see again on this list.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N

As it feels like we’ve been repeating every day for the last year and a half, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N was the first hot electric car to convince us that an EV could be as good to drive – better, in many cases – than an equivalent petrol car.

It sounds like the Ioniq 6 N won’t suffer from difficult second album syndrome, though. It features the same 641bhp dual-motor setup as the five, but brings a fully revised suspension geometry, adjustable torque distribution on both angles, and refinements to the drift mode and e-Shift gearbox simulator.

Mercedes-AMG CLE 63

Right, you’re probably fed up with us going on about electric cars now, aren’t you? Fair enough. How about something with a thumping great V8 instead? That’s what’s set to arrive in the AMG 63 version of the Mercedes CLE Coupe at some point this year.

Following the, erm, frosty reception to the four-cylinder hybrid C63 (has anyone actually seen one on the road yet?), Mercedes is doing a total 180 with its top AMG models and doubling down on V8s, and the CLE 63 should be the first new model to result from that. It’s set to use the company’s existing 4.0-litre twin-turbo unit, likely with the mildest of hybrid assistance.

Toyota GR Corolla (maybe…)

‘What do you mean ‘coming in 2026’?’, you’re probably thinking if you’re reading this from Japan or North America. ‘The GR Corolla’s been out for ages.’ And you’d be right, but it’s so far been denied to us in Europe, where we’ve had to make do with the (admittedly still incredible) consolation prize of the GR Yaris.

That looks set to change next year, though, with an extra production line for the swole Corolla set to open up at Toyota’s factory near Derby to keep up with global demand. It’s been all but confirmed by Toyota execs that this will coincide with an arrival in the European market, which can only be good news, especially after a massively attritional year for the petrol hot hatch. 

Audi RS3 GT

The fabulous 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder engine that powers the Audi RS3 will soon be killed off by emissions rules, so it seems the VW Group is planning a bit of a farewell tour for it. It’s already returning to the Cupra Formentor for a second iteration of the VZ5, which is UK-bound this time round, but a be-spoilered version of the RS3 itself has been spotted lapping That One Racetrack In Germany™.

Industry chatter suggests it’ll be a more hardcore ‘GT’ version of the hot hatch, so expect chassis tweaks, some weight reduction and potentially a bump in power, as well as a very limited production run. Rumour has it that this motor will also find its way into a limited-run VW Golf R, but that likely won’t arrive until 2027, to coincide with the 25th birthday of VW’s R brand.

VW ID Polo GTI

We’ve already seen Peugeot’s interpretation of a small electric GTi, and it’ll be going straight up against VW’s first battery-powered take on the same three hallowed letters (with a big ‘I’ this time). 

The ID Polo as a whole is an important car for VW, as it represents the first of its ID electric cars to launch under its new scheme of aligning them with more recognisable model names, but of course, it’s the hot one we’re most interested in. It brings a promising-sounding spec sheet – 223bhp and a front e-diff – and will get a swoopy-looking Spanish cousin in the Cupra Raval.

The new Jaguar

There’s a small, distant chance that you might have spotted news in late 2024 that Jaguar stopped building most of its cars, went ahead with a complete rebranding and showed off a striking new concept car. We won’t blame you if you missed it, it came and went without much fuss…

Anyway, while the Type-00 concept wasn’t intended to preview a specific production car, it was supposed to hint at the styling direction of the new generation of electric Jags, the first of which we should see in 2026. First previewed as a disguised prototype last year, it’s a massive four-door saloon, and will feature similar minimalist, monolithic styling to the two-door concept. It’s set to go after an altogether higher-end market segment than the one Jag has played in previously, and we’re sure that when it’s revealed, nobody whatsoever will have any particularly strong opinions on the way it looks or how it’s marketed.

What else is on the way?

The 10 cars above are just our highlights of cars that will either be unveiled or go on sale throughout 2026. In terms of stuff we'll have to wait a bit longer for, or aren't 100 per cent sure when we'll see, there's all sorts to get excited about.

Things will kick right off in January when Ford reveals a mystery Ford Racing-branded performance car, although as we write this, we have very little idea what form this will take.

Two very different takes on big front-engined V8 bruisers have been unveiled in recent weeks in the form of the Toyota GR GT and Bentley Continental Supersports, but neither will properly arrive until 2027.

There are always at least a few new versions of the Porsche 911 to look forward to, and we're expecting to see the 992.2 facelift of the GT3 RS before too long.

Before long, Alpine will be ready to unveil its next-generation A110, confirmed as an EV but with hybrid power rumoured to be under consideration. And speaking of electric Renault-built performance cars, the utterly mad 5 Turbo 3E will be hitting the road in 2027.

Over in the States, meanwhile, there are growing rumours that the latest Dodge Charger will get the Hemi V8 it always deserved.

Away from sporty stuff, we'll finally see the electric Range Rover in full in 2026, and both Land Rover and Mercedes are working on 'baby' versions of their most iconic 4x4s, the Defender and G-Class. Merc will also unveil AMG's first standalone EV, the next-gen AMG GT 4-Door, in the coming months.

In short, no matter your automotive persuasion, there's a lot to be intrigued about over the next couple of years.