Autos

Following its debut of the Rolls-Royce Dawn “Silver Bullet,” Mansory is back with a reworked carbon fiber Audi RS7 Sportback. The exterior design is reworked for an aggressive stance, featuring high-quality carbon fiber add-ons found on the front, side skirts, rear wing and rear diffuser. The glossy nardo gray coat is accented with bright blue accents on the wheelbase and exhaust contours. Interiors are sporty and luxurious, continuing the outward theme with black and blue Alcantara leather and carbon fiber touches. For performance, the base 591 horsepower twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine has been tuned to provide 770 horsepower, running zero to 62 mph in just three seconds. Additional upgrades include the addition of a high-performance exhaust system, a bigger turbocharger, a sp...

Aston Martin F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were asked to ditch their usual AMR21 F1 race cars to try their hand at iconic James Bond vehicles, specifically, ones that will appear in the 25th Bond film, No Time To Die. No Time To Die features four iconic Aston Martin cars, including the 007-ubiquitous Aston Martin DB5, the DB5 Superleggera, the V8 and the Valhalla. Vettel and Stroll are given the opportunity to drive the DB5, also known as Bond’s car of choice. The professional drivers were to recreate two action scenes from No Time To Die to show off their stunt driving abilities. Vettel and Stroll took turns to reenact the scenes, along with the classic Aston Martin DB5 sharp drifting. Stroll found it quite difficult to master the stunt, but succeeds after several att...

It’s a rare but joyous occasion when a barn find turns out to be a hidden gem, and that is exactly what has happened with this 1994 Subaru Prodrive 555 Group A World Rally Championship Car. What was originally thought to be a car worth no more than $15,000 AUD to $20,000 AUD (approximately $10,000-$14,500 USD), turned out to be one of 63 Prodrive-commissioned WRC cars that has since been authenticated as an original by ICAARS, proving that this exact model was driven by Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae in the championships. It was uncovered after sitting in a barn in Victoria, Australia, for years collecting dust, and was presented at auction in an un-restored and un-touched condition following its retirement from rallying in 1996. As a result, it features dirt marks and chips from the t...

Lotus‘ all-new Porsche Cayman and BMW M2 rival, the Emira sportscar, will soon be making its stateside, and the pricing is rather impressive. Starting less than 1/4 the price of a Ferrari 488 Pista, the race-bred V6 version Emira will be priced at $93,900 USD while the four-cylinder version will be priced at $74,900 USD. Taking cues from Lotus’ $2 million USD all-electric Evija supercar, the Emira’s V6 version produces 400 horsepower via a supercharged Toyota 3.5L engine while the four-cylinder generates 360 horsepower via a Mercedes AMG-tuned 2-liter turbocharged engine. While heavier than many would expect from the car manufacturer, the Emira is meant to be a supercar that can be daily driven, has all the details of a modern-day luxury vehicle — KEF speakers, a sm...

Mercedes-Maybach launched the “Edition 100” version of the S-Class luxury sedan, in honor of the luxury division’s 100th anniversary. Limited to 100 units, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class luxury sedan features a V12 engine, noise-insulated first-class rear compartment with Burmester 4D surround sound system, heat and massage functions for the seats and high-tech screens. The model is also equipped with all-wheel drive for the first time. Compared to the S680, the new model is hand-painted in silver and nautical blue tones and features a cabin upholstered in crystal white or silver grey pearl leather. “Edition 100” also adorns the C-pillar, various stowage compartments, the illuminated panels in the interior and on the wheels. The “Edition 100” will be...

Nike’s Vice President of Design and Special Projects, Tinker Hatfield, is responsible for decades of iconic shoes ranging from the Air Jordan 3 (the shoe that saved Michael Jordan’s relationship with Nike) to the Air Max 1 (the first sneaker with visible Air cushioning) and the MAG (the Back to the Future sneaker). He’s shaped sneaker culture and has, in the eyes of many, become a legend in the process. Over the course of the past two decades, Hatfield has become an avid motorcycle rider. His love for motorcycles started with some light-hearted teasing from Michael Jordan, and has grown to become, in his own words, an “escape from the complexities of everyday life.” Now, Hatfield is leaning even further into his passion for motorcycles. He’s teamed up with creative agency Kamp Grizzly and ...

Luxury automaker Rolls-Royce has joined a range of other car brands such as Volkswagen‘s Bentley, Jaguar‘s Land Rover, Mercedes and its sibling brand Mini Cooper in all-electric production plans by the end of the decade. Its parent brand BMW predicts 50% of its production vehicles will be fully electric by 2030. Rolls-Royce’s first fully electric vehicle titled the Spectre is slated to arrive on the market in Q4 of 2023. The two-door vehicle looks to be based on the Wraith coupé with its “fastback-oriented” design. “With this new product we set out our credentials for the full electrification of our entire product portfolio by 2030, said Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce. “By then, Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or sell...

After putting its twist on the Mercedes-AMG GT S, Brabus’ 700 WIDESTAR G-Wagon, and more recently the Brabus 800 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S four-door, the design studio fostla.de is back with yet another G-Class, this time around taking on the Brabus 800 iteration. The G 63 has been given the full Brabus 800 conversion, meaning it features a far wider body kit than standard that’s dominated with carbon fiber trims, hitting up areas such as the front skirts, radiator grille, the hood extension, and the roof extension above the windshield that now includes LED auxiliary lights. Additionally, mirror caps and fender flares have been added, while the signature rear wheel cover is now offered up in carbon fiber alongside a new rear wing with Brabus branding gracing its tips. 24″ Mono...

Swedish automaker Volvo has now unveiled a prototype of a self-driving semi-truck which it hopes to ultimately bring into production for the North American market as a step towards greater sustainability. While specific details revolving around the semi remain scarce at this point, the vehicle itself is based on the company’s existing long-haul VNL model. The Class 8 truck will be outfitted with Volvo’s very own Aurora Driving technology in order to give it full autonomous driving under a Level 4 classification or beyond. Noting that safety is paramount for self-driving cars, Volvo will also be focusing efforts to strengthen performance and durability, introducing what it calls “a redundant safety-based solution” to improve operational reliability through features s...

A group of Texas police is suing Tesla after a Model X in Autopilot crashed into five officers. The lawsuit comes after Tesla has been consistently facing scrutiny over its Autopilot function as the main culprit in several crashes involving emergency vehicles. It was reported that the crash initially took place on February 27, 2021. However, it was not recently that the lawsuit came to fruition. The lawsuit states the Model X SUV injured several police officers while “they were engaged in a traffic stop on the Eastex Freeway.” The plaintiffs have claimed that the “design and manufacturing defects known to Tesla” are responsible for the accident and that “Tesla’s unwillingness to admit or correct such defects” shows that its vehicles have continuous...

Now you can lubricate your engine just like Takumi Fujiwara from Initial D with AKT Japan’s 10th anniversary “Legends Legacy” oil line. The entire line — available in 4-liter and 20-liter options — features colored illustrations from Shuichi Shigeno’s manga which include Takumi and his Toyota Trueno AE86. Isao Koga, a representative at TAKUMI Motor Oil, mentions that the line is made up of “high-end products with improved lubrication performance and wear resistance.” All oils are ISO9001 / ISO14001 certified in addition to the SP standard, and come in SAE viscosities: 5W-30, 5W-40, 10W-40. Look for the TAKUMI AKT oil to hit stores on October 1 with prices ranging from ¥4,900 – ¥18,300 JPY (approximately $45 – $165 USD). In other a...

Despite multiple concerns surrounding the safety concerns of Tesla‘s Autopilot feature, the electric vehicles company has now given its drivers access to the “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) program. With just a touch of the “request” button, Tesla drivers will have access to the software. However, the company is stating the before the driver can actually utilize the function, their driving “safety score” will be taken into account. According to Tesla, the safety score is determined by five criteria that estimate and calculate “the likelihood that your driving could result in a future collision.” Through the use of data collected by sensors on the driver’s Tesla, the information records hard braking, aggressive turns, unsafe following as...