Autos

T-Mobile has ventured into driverless cars in a partnership with Las Vegas-based startup Halo. The new car service currently consists of a fleet of five autonomous cars that are powered on 5G, the same network that provides connectivity to most cell phones today. The service works similarly to other ride-hailing companies by connecting users to a car through an app. A Halo car, however, is actually driven to its user by a remote operator. From there, the user can get behind the wheel and drive the car as normal for their trip, after which the remote operator will take over the car and head on its way to the next customer — no parking needed. “Driverless cars! Fueling this kind of startup innovation is part of why we’ve built the biggest, fastest and most reliable 5G network in the country,...

ABT Sportsline and Volkswagen‘s relationship is as old as time, with the two coming together on a number of VW’s performance-based vehicles such as the inaugural Golf GTI. Now, their relationship expands with the ABT Sportline take on the VW Golf R MkVIII. The Mk8 is without fail the most advanced and powerful Golf R there has ever been, pumping out 315 BHP in stock form from its two-liter four-cylinder engine. Now, at the hands of ABT Sportsline, the turbocharged four-pot serves up a whopping 384 HP and 470 Nm of torque, which is sure to take that already impressive 0-60 MPH time of 4.7 seconds into the low fours. Volkswagen’s R platform cars are often so quick because of their advanced 4Motion torque vectoring system and all-wheel-drive nature, meaning the wheels get th...

Croatia’s electric supercar maker Rimac Automobili announced a merger with French carmaker Bugatti Automobiles on Monday. According to Associated Press, the deal is estimated to be worth millions of euros. The newly-combined company will be called Bugatti Rimac LLC, and Rimac Group will be the majority shareholder with a 55 percent stake. Mate Rimac, the namesake company’s founder and Bugatti Rimac LLC’s new CEO, will retain his original shareholding in the new Rimac Group at 37 percent, with Porsche at 27 percent, Hyundai Motor Group at 12 percent and other investors at 27 percent. As part of the deal, Bugatti and Rimac will continue to operate as separate brands and retain their own production facilities and distribution channels. “Bugatti Rimac represents the com...

Lamborghini is finally ending production for its ultra-iconic Aventador, but not before the Italian supercar maker celebrates the momentous occasion with one last limited-edition model. Dubbed the LP 780-4 Ultimae, the final Aventador model will also be the automaker’s last non-electric V12 vehicle, carrying the massive 6.5-liter naturally aspirated engine that churns out a whopping 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque when it hits 6,750 rpm. The immense power is brought to all four wheels thanks to a seven-speed Independent Shift Rod automatic transmission controlled via two shift paddles by the steering wheel and gives the limited-edition Aventador a 0-60 mph time of just 2.8 seconds as well as a top speed of 220 mph. It also weighs 55 pounds lighter than the S ...

In the 1980s, pop culture and media had an idea of what the future would look like — and now we’re here in 2021, it’s not quite what we all thought it’d be. But hold that thought, because Netherlands-based company PAL-V (Personal Air Land Vehicle) has officially unveiled what’s dubbed as the world’s first flying car. Named Liberty, PAL-V’s design was first shown at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021 on July 8 to thousands of car and automotive enthusiasts. While a heavy presence of electric cars and hypercars were on display, it was the outlandish concepts or machines such as Liberty that really stole the show. By combining Dutch sensibilities with the beauty and eye of Italian design, PAL-V has created something that’s of our wildest imaginatio...

A Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nür is one rare JDM machine with only 718 existing in the world, so finding one with just six miles on the clock is practically unicorn-status worthy. Thanks to Yahoo! Auctions, a 2002 example is currently up for grabs and is on its way to becoming one of the most expensive Skyline’s there’s ever been, no doubt thanks to the rising prices of these cars which also saw another clean example sell on Bring a Trailer just last month for $315,000 USD. This Skyline GT-R is the V-Spec II Nür edition, meaning it comes with all the V-Spec II upgrades as well as a host of other Nür (standing for Nürburgring) components. So, alongside the upgraded twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter RB26DETT inline-six engine that produces 276 HP comes a new set of brakes that are t...

Lamborghini replaced the Diablo in 2001 with the Murciélago, and in doing so it entered a new era of supercar performance. Today, one 2006 example has just sold on Bring a Trailer, and despite the car’s prominence in the contemporary supercar scene, it fetched a rather modest sum. The Murciélago features a 6.2-liter V12 engine situated behind the seats and delivers 571 HP and 480 lb-ft of torque. By today’s standards that’s about the same you get in a fast sports car, not a thoroughbred supercar, but in its heyday the Murciélago was the car to beat. All of the power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed manual, which resulted in a 0-60 MPH time of 3.5 seconds (again, pretty impressive for something built 15 years ago) and a top speed of 205 MPH. This particular examp...

Continuing to elevate the driving experience of its supercars, British automaker Lotus has now announced a new partnership with compatriot audio equipment expert KEF. The two British companies will celebrate their new collaborative relationship with the Lotus Emira, an upcoming mid-engined sports car equipped with a 10-channel sound system utilizing KEF’s very own Uni-QTM technology. The system is able to reproduce the entire mid and high-frequency spectrum from just one single point in space, allowing the entire car to create a coherent and hyper-realistic sound experience. “We’re delighted that KEF’s first foray into automotive is with Lotus,” said Lotus’ executive director of marketing Simon Clare. “It’s the perfect partnership – two iconic British brands t...

British designer Thomas Heatherwick unveiled a concept car model that is equipped with technology to remove pollution from the air while driving, dubbed “Airo,” at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Friday. The forward-thinking design, which serves to not only address mass pollution, but also to provide a solution for the “space crisis,” will potentially go into production in China in 2023, with hopes to make one million models. Heatherwick, who is better regarded for his architectural work on projects including Google‘s headquarters in California and London, had never designed a car before Airo, according to BBC. “When I grew up, design values were manifested through cars, whether it be the [Ford] Sierra in the 1980s, the [Fiat] Panda, some major ideas w...

German automotive giants Volkswagen and BMW have been slapped with a €875 million EUR (approx. $1 billion USD) fine by the European Union over alleged misconduct in relation to its emissions reduction technology. According to reports, the two automakers allegedly colluded with Daimler — which ultimately became the whistleblower — in order to avoid competitive practices in the area of reducing diesel engines’ nitrogen oxide emissions, resulting in stunted innovation and development of those technologies. Discussions between the three companies were held between 2009 and 2014, whereby they agreed not to compete on AdBlue urea injection technology, agreeing on various details including average consumption, ranges and tank sizes as well as “sensitive” technical data. Followin...

The Phoenix Suns have been dominating this season’s Finals, with two games under their belt against the Milwaukee Bucks, and standing at the forefront of this 2-0 lead is shooting guard Devin “DBook” Booker. His agility and flurry of three-pointers resulted in 31 points in Game 2, as well as 27 points in Game 1. However, on the eve of Game 3, HYPEBEAST wanted to delve into Booker’s side passion, one off the court and devoid of a basketball altogether: cars. Being labeled as “the next Kobe Bryant” awards you with luxuries in life. And while a fleet of supercars would easily empty those deep pockets, Booker’s taste in cars is, like his game, quite elevated. In our latest episode of Tagged, we discover Booker’s interest is more focused on Americ...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted this weekend that creating a car that is truly self-driving is a “hard problem” to solve. Musk has been promising to release Full Self-Driving software upgrades for several years, though at present, the electric car company does not offer a completely autonomous driving experience. Instead, Tesla offers an Autopilot feature, which comes standard on its new cars and allows drivers to accelerate, brake, and steer automatically. The company says that the current Autopilot feature still requires “active supervision” from the driver. Tesla says the Full Self-Driving package is designed to allow for short and long distance trips “with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.” This includes automatic parking, lane changes, and summoning of th...