Autos

Five years after unveiling a prototype of its semi truck, Tesla has finally delivered its first batch of units. CEO Elon Musk appeared at the kickoff event at the company’s factory in Sparks, Nevada, on Thursday, where he jokingly apologized for the delay: “Sorry for the delay.” “There’s been a lot that’s happened since then, to say the least,” he said. “We’re incredibly excited tonight to actually deliver our first production Tesla Semi Trucks.” The Semi was first revealed in December 2017 and while production of the vehicle was scheduled for 2019, it was pushed back due to the pandemic and issues sourcing battery cells. Tesla’s first customer to buy and use the production Semis is PepsiCo Frito Lay Inc, but it wasn’t revealed exactly how many tru...

Welcome to vintage JDM heaven, as a collection of ’70s Datsun Z cars heading to auction courtesy of Bring a Trailer have just surfaced. As the world gears up for the wider rollout of the Nissan 400Z, interest in Z cars is at an all-time high. Couple that with the ever-growing love for all things JDM, subsequently driving up the prices of models like the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Toyota Supra, and BaT’s new collection offering is enough to whet the appetite of any true petrolhead. That’s because there’s not one, not two, but six Z cars from the ’70s on offer. In this collection you’ll find a 1970 Datsun 240Z Series I, 1976 Datsun 280Z 2+2, 1973 Datsun 240Z, 1977 Datsun 280Z 4-Speed, 1974 Datsun 260Z, and a 1973 Datsun 240Z — and all of them are in...

The McLaren P1 is no slouch by any means, but what do you do when you’ve got a spare couple of million in the bank and a yearning to create a road-legal race car? This is where Lanzante comes in, converting the track-only McLaren P1 GTR into a road-going machine, and now one has appeared on the auction market courtesy of Collecting Cars. One of only 58 cars built; the GTR-spec P1 comes with a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 and electric motor that, combined, produce 986 BHP and can send the car to 62 MPH in under 2.8 seconds before going on to 217 MPH. Coupled with the considerable 50kg weight reduction over the standard road car, coming courtesy of an even barer interior and elements like a twin-exit Inconel and titanium alloy exhaust, and the P1 GTR offers an astonishing power-to-we...

Tesla is keeping busy working on a redesign of the Model 3. The electric vehicle is knicknamed as the “Highland” and according to Reuters, the company is hoping to reduce the number of complaints and therefore, complexity with the cards with its redesign. The Elon Musk-led company is expected to alter the car’s exterior as well as the powertrain performance. However, it is currently uncertain if the redesigned Model 3 is set to feature the controversial steering yoke. Reports have indicated that Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory will begin producing the new Model 3 sometime in Q3 of 2023. The company is also expected to redesign the sedan however the refresh has not indicated if it will feature the automaker’s next-generation 4680 battery cells. While the redesign ...

Audi‘s RS 6 and RS 7 vehicles are already among the automaker’s most powerful, but the brand continues to push its limits. Sharpening the models’ appearances and driving experiences, Audi has introduced the new RS 6 Avant and RS 7 Sportback performance vehicles, set to launch on December 8. Both models are equipped with an improved 4.0-liter V8 engine that includes larger turbochargers and increased boost pressure, improving the cars’ output to an impressive 621 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. Additionally, both vehicles are capable of excelling from 0 to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than standard models. Audi prepped both cars with its RS Dynamic Package, which includes dynamic all-wheel steering, the quattro sport differential on the...

Released in 2020, the M5 CS is presently the most powerful M5 on BMW‘s roster. The vehicle is built with one of the most customizable V8 engines available, so it was expected that the car would receive reinventions from tuners. Among them, Manhart has just revealed its new MH5 GTR, pumping up the power of the high-performance sedan with several key features. The M5 CS already boasts impressive performance figures, delivering 627 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, with a 4.4-liter, bi-turbo V8 engine. However, Manhart pushed the vehicle’s limits further by installing an in-house carbon air intake and the MHtronik auxiliary control unit. With its new additions, the MH5 GTR produces 788 horsepower and 689 pound-feet of torque. Manhart has also equipped the vehicle with a sta...

Warner Bros. Pictures‘ Batmobile from Tim Burton‘s live-action films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) is now being sold by Classic Auto Mall on consignment. Following its appearance in the two classic films, the car would end up at New Jersey’s Six Flags where it was used as a prop for the Batman Returns roller coaster before being purchased by an avid movie car collector who now lists the historic vehicle to the public for the very first time. The exotic machine features a gloss-black fiberglass body with one-off traits such as a jet engine turbine mounted on the center of the Daytona Prototype-like nose and bat-style fins sandwiching the closed cockpit. Additional exterior features include various air intakes, a large air scoop on the roof, steampunk-style add-on...

Rolls-Royce has teamed up with easyJet for a cutting-edge development in aviation transportation. The two companies announced that they’ve successfully pulled off the first run on a modern aero engine on hydrogen, making them first in the world to accomplish the feat. According to Rolls-Royce, the two companies aimed to prove that hydrogen can be utilized to safely power aero engines as part of their overarching future goal to substitute hydrogen as a zero carbon aviation fuel and, eventually, to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The test was carried out on an early prototype of a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine at a facility in the U.K. The engine used what’s called “green hydrogen,” a type of hydrogen created by wind and tidal power. “We are committed to...

Earlier last week, Mercedes F1 star Lewis Hamilton posted a video of his experience taking a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R for a midnight run through the streets of Tokyo, zooming through the city’s infamous Expressways and ripping donuts in the parking lot with fumes seeping out of the gearbox. “I only like to drive on track, but I make exceptions,” Hamilton writes in the caption for the video. While it looked like absolute euphoria for Hamilton, the rental company that claims to have lent Hamilton the car, Omoshiro Rent-A-Car, is understandably not too happy about it. The JDM legend car, worth approximately $250,000 USD, is currently listed on Omoshiro’s website from ¥34,500 JPY (approximately $249 USD) per night. “This is a car from Omoshiro Rent-A-Car, but it wa...

The all-new Genesis G90 car, which is slated to release in 2023, was spotted on the road during an autonomous test drive. According to South Korea’s Economic Review, the self-driving vehicle was seen passing the roads of Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, and Gyeonggi-do on the morning of November 24. Its rears were labeled with bumper stickers that read “test vehicle,” “low-speed driving,” “please keep a safe distance” and “caution, sudden braking” in Korean. Sources claimed that a level 3 self-driving technology is applied on the new G90 car, an indication that the vehicle is capable of adjusting its speed, changing directions, and coping with contingencies without driver intervention even on the highway. The Genesis G90 is manufactured by Hyundai’s subsidiary, Genesis Motor, and is expected to be r...

Abarth‘s take on the Fiat 500 took the small hot hatch world by storm when it was first released in 2008, sitting alongside competitive machines from MINI, Renault, and Ford as the definitive cute but firey Italian city car. Now, as the world becomes increasingly desperate for a switch to green energy, Abarth has taken the already-popular Fiat 500e and turned it into its own Abarth 500e. Taking green quite literally if the press shots are anything to go by, the Abarth 500e (or Pulse, as it’ll be known in Brazil) is self-described as being “more Abarth than EVer.” Electric vehicle puns aside, the Italian marque has taken the standard 500e and improved not just its electric architecture, but also the weight distribution, wheelbase, and torque range for an all-round sp...

In 2015, BMW showcased its 3.0 CSL Hommage R concept car, itself a reflection of the legendary 1970s 3.0 CSL “Batmobile,” and now, the German marque has officially unveiled its incredibly limited, ready-to-buy road-going version, the BMW 3.0 CSL. Marking the 50th anniversary of the car it draws inspiration from, BMW will only be making 50 examples of the new 3.0 CSL. Each is given the utmost attention courtesy of BMW’s M division, crowning the car as the most exclusive machine it has ever built. A hand-selected team of 30 workers has been enlisted to develop and oversee the creation of the vehicle, and every single one of the 50 iterations built is subjected to an extensive assembly process that takes up to 10 days. With this in mind, this is no ordinary BMW. Instead, it&...