Autocar Confidential: Cupra boss's car collection, VW on self-driving cars and more

This week, our reporters have been quizzing the man in charge of Cupra over what else he drives, finding out what brand leaders really think autonomous cars, and asking if hydrogen is getting closer to the mainstream. 

A Cupra collection

What does Seat and Cupra boss Wayne Griffiths drive when he’s not in his company car? “I’ve got a Mk1 1966 Jaguar E-Type convertible in red,” the Brit told us proudly, showing us a picture on his phone. We would, too, if we lived near the Spanish coast.

Autonomy has its advantages

“Everybody loves to steer cars, to have fun, but sometimes it’s boring.” Bluntly put, perhaps, but Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter is keen to extol the benefits of self-driving tech. “In the future, you can decide what you want to do with the additional quality time we are giving our customers,” he said, suggesting traffic jams could soon provide extra chances to work or relax.

Hydrogen less of a wallet drain

Hyundai wants to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles more affordable, but they’re already far cheaper than they used to be. Sae Hoon Kim, who heads Hyundai’s fuel cell centre, said: “In the past, the cost of a fuel cell vehicle was extremely expensive. For example, the cost of the fuel cell system applied toa prototype vehicle in early 2003 was triple the price of my house in Seoul. However, in 2006, the cost was reduced by half.” The 2013 Tucson FCEV’s powertrain, he said, cost around 10% of the 2003 system.