As car manufacturers continue to drive towards an electric future from the next decade, many models we’ve come to know and love are disappearing from our roads.
And the year 2024 has claimed some huge automotive scalps.
From retro-inspired superminis to multi-million-pound hypercars, the axe has been wielded on a number of motoring legends in the last 12 months.
One brand has even taken to culling its entire car range, while others have been forced to delete models from their line-ups on emissions grounds.
So, what has been killed off in the last 12 months?
Here’s a look at nine motors that have been butchered in 2024 or won’t be around for long in 2025…
1. Audi R8 (2006-2024)
The Audi R8 made its debut in 2006 and quickly become a cult icon
The R8’s 18-year tenure as Audi’s flagship supercar ended in 2024 when the final example in Vegas Yellow rolled off a German assembly line
Since it wowed the public with the Le Mans quattro concept in 2003, Audi revealed the road-going R8 three years later. And it went on to earn modern supercar icon status.
A more affordable – and arguable better looking – alternative to a Lamborghini or Ferrari, it quickly earned a huge fan base.
The second-generation car arrive in 2015 but didn’t steer too far from the stunning design that made the R8 a huge hit.
But the R8 finally came to the end of the road in March 2024 when the final example rolled off the assembly line at the Audi Böllinger Höfe site in Heilbronn, Germany finished in Vegas Yellow.
But the R8’s demise came later than planned.
Audi has intended to terminate production in 2023. However, due to a spike in customer orders, it delayed the move for months. In fact, in the last full year it was available, R8 sales shot up 49 per cent with 1,591 examples snapped up before it was too late.
2. Bugatti Chiron (2016-2024)
Bugatti signalled the end of production of the Chiron hypercar in May with a salute to the last example to leave the Molsheim factory
Called the Super Sport L’Ultime, which translates to ‘The Ultimate’, it was the 500th and final model in the limited run of Chirons
In May 2024, Bugatti confirmed it had completed production of the final run of Chiron hypercars.
Called the L’Ultime, which translates to ‘The Ultimate’, it was the 500th – and final – Chiron to leave the Molsheim factory.
Based on the extended-body Super Sport, the L’Ultime is finished in a dual-tone shade of Atlantic Blue and French Racing Blue that is a nod back to the first cars unveiled some eight years ago at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.
It signals the goodbye to the first road-legal car to boast 1,500PS (1,478bhp) and be capable of surpassing 300mph – on closed roads, of course.
Given a ‘standard’ Chiron Supersport cost around £3.5million, the L’Ultime will easily ring into the £4million mark.
3. Chevrolet Camaro (1967-2024)
The sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro is the last with a combustion engine before the nameplate is used for an EV. The final example was produced in the UK in January 2024
First introduced in 1967, the Chevrolet Camaro is one of the most famous American pony cars on the planet.
But 57 years and six generations later, General Motors has taken the decision to lower the curtain on the Camaro as we know it.
The Camaro with a combustion engine came off the assembly line at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan in January 2024.
There’s now talk that the legendary nameplate could be used for an all-new electric SUV – very much following in the footsteps of Ford and its Mustang Mach-E. However, its Blue Oval rival still has a burbling V8 Mustang on sale that’s likely to see out the end of the decade.
4. Ford Focus (1998-2025)
Despite a decline in electric vehicle sales in recent months, Ford bosses said they will not delay killing off the Focus hatchback in 2025
The Focus first arrived in 1998 and became an instant hit for its dashing looks, practical interior, brilliant drive and affordable price
Okay, this one isn’t dead just yet, but it won’t be around much longer. And given the immense popularity of the Ford Focus, we thought it deserved an honourable mention in our list.
The car giant confirmed earlier this year that it will go ahead with plans to kill off the family hatchback in 2025 as it continues to shift its range to electric vehicles, despite a monumental drop in demand for EVs in recent months.
Plummeting appetite for battery-powered cars has triggered some of Ford’s rivals to announce the extended life cycle of some of its popular combustion engine motors in recent weeks.
However, Ford Europe’s boss said in May that there will be no stay of execution for the Focus – a mainstay on Britain’s roads since 1998 – which is being culled in 2025. When the last examples roll off the production line in Saarlouis, Germany hasn’t been confirmed.
So, if you want a Ford Focus, you’ll need to be quick about it in the next few months.
5. Hyundai hot hatches (2017-2024)
The Hyundai i30N hot hatch arrived in 2017 but has been killed off as of February 2024
The smaller i20N hot hatchback, which came in 2020, has also been culled. Hyundai says it is so it can concentrate of achieving its EV goals
Korean car giant Hyundai earlier in 2024 announced the demise of its i20N and i30N hot hatchbacks, much to the disappointment of petrol heads.
The i30N arrived first in 2017 and – following a mid-life facelift- boasts 276bhp from its 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The i20N came three years later to challenge the Ford Fiesta ST and Mini Cooper S.
But both have been sent to the chopping board and are no longer sold in the UK – and it’s all so that Hyundai can concentrate of adding to its electric car line-up.
In February, the company said: ‘Production of the ICE [internal combustion engine] N models has ceased for the European market starting from February, in line with our commitment to offering a zero-tailpipe-emission line-up to our customers by 2035 and to operating 100 per cent carbon neutrally by 2045.’
However, the firm did say it would retain its N division, though exclusively for its performance EVs.
6. EVERY Jaguar
Jaguar has wound-up production and sales of all cars – and won’t bring another to market for 12 months. It means the XE and XF saloons, F-Type sports car, E-Pace and F-Pace SUVs and I-Pace EV have all been culled in 2024
Jaguar had an eventful 2024 to say the least. A dramatic image rebrand, a controversial EV concept unveiling and confirmation that it will disappear from the new car market for a whole year have all come in the last 12 months.
This comes ahead of its switch to battery power from 2026 and its dealers closed order books to new customers in early November, leaving Jaguar with no new cars on sale for what it dubbed a ‘sunset period’.
The Tata-owned company wound up outputs of existing models for UK customers during the year, with the British-built XE (from 2015) and XF saloons (from 2007), and F-Type sports car (from 2013) ended in May.
Production of its biggest model – F-Pace (from 2016) – will continue in Solihull for the foreseeable, however this will only be outputs for overseas markets. A spokesperson for the brand confirmed UK-spec production terminated in November.
And while manufacturing continues for the compact E-Pace SUV (from 2017) and its only electric car – I-Pace (from 2018) – in Graz, Austria, until the end of the year, its UK allocation has also sold out.
Jaguar says I-Pace availability continues but only for ‘corporate clients into 2025’.
It means Jaguar has essentially halted all car sales in Britain for the first time since WW2 as it terminates its 102-year history with the combustion engine.
7. Lamborghini Huracan (2014-2024)
In April, Lamborghini released a limited run of 10 Huracan STJ models to bid farewell to its junior supercar after a decade on sale
Introduced in 2014 as the replacement for the Gallado, the Huracan has been a monumental success for Lamborghini, especially as it’s been made available in various guises
In August, Lamborghini unveiled the £300,000 Temerario – its new junior supercar with a plug-in hybrid V8 drivetrain, officially sounding the death knell for the naturally-aspirated V10 Lambo engine. And it also confirmed the end of the road for the Huracan.
Introduced in 2014 as the replacement for the Gallado, the Huracan has been a monumental success for Lamborghini.
It has come in a variety of guises over a decade, including the bonkers £270,000 Huracan Sterrato – a jacked-up version customers could happily take off-roading.
In April, the Italian supercar maker released a limited run of 10 Huracan STJ versions to bid farewell.
The limited-edition model was said to be a ‘celebration of the super sports car equipped with the V10 engine, an engineering icon of the Sant’Agata Bolognese car maker’.
8. (BMW) Mini Clubman (2007-2024)
The first-generation BMW Mini Clubman had a quirky single rear door – the only problem was it was on the roadside for British customers and not the kerbside, which limited its appeal
Pictured: The last Mini Clubman to come off the Plant Oxford assembly line in recent days. The second-generation BMW Mini Clubman reverted to a more conventional four-door layout
Mini’s UK factory produced the brand’s last estate car back in February.
The final Mini Clubman emerged from the Plant Oxford assembly line, putting an end to 17 years of output since BMW relaunched the nameplate.
The move also signals the end of the road for Mini estates dating all the way back to 1960 and the iconic Traveller, with the Clubman making way for the new battery-powered Aceman crossover.
The Clubman – as we’ve come to know in recent years – first went on sale in 2007 as the estate-bodied version of the Mini hatchback. However, its bloodline can be traced back some 64 years to the 1960 Morris Mini Traveller.
BMW’s first attempt at a compact estate was a quirky three-door variant, with one rear door on the nearside of the car. While this was beneficial for kerbside entry and exit in countries where motorists drive on the right, it wasn’t rebodied for the UK market and – as a result – was bought in far smaller numbers than the conventional hatchback.
The second-generation Clubman, launched in 2015, rectified this issue with a more conventional four-door design.
Its demise comes as the popularity of traditional estate cars has gone into decline, especially as a result of increased demand for SUVs models.
In fact, the Clubman has stood almost alone in the small estate car segment for the last three years, especially since the culling of the few rivals that had existing on the market, including Seat’s Ibiza ST and Skoda’s Fabia Estate.
The only rival to the Mini on sale in 2024 is Dacia’s Jogger – the smallest seven-seat model sold in Britain, which is an estate version of the Sandero supermini.
9. Nissan GT-R (2007-2025)
The Nissan GT-R R35 debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007 and instantly became an automotive icon for its supercar-destroying performance
Production for the global market is due to cease next year. That said, the GT-R hasn’t been available since 2022 when it failed to meet noise regulations
Godzilla is about to finally be defeated. Having remained on sale for the best part of two decades, the R35 Nissan GT-R is due to bow out next year.
It was banned from the UK and across Europe in 2022 for failing to meet noise regulations.
Production for the North American market ended in October 2024, but outputs in Japan for the rest of the global market will run into next year. What date it is due to disappear hasn’t been clarified just yet.
With its incredible 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 – which makes 565 horsepower in the latest guise – has become a thing of legend and the GT-R has generally lasted the test of time incredibly well despite a rapidly evolving market and the introduction of electrified drivetrains.
Unfortunately, it’s new emissions regulations that have put a nail in the coffin for the supercar-killing sports car that has received minor tweaks and upgrades almost annually following its mid-noughties debut.
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