Autos

In a historic move no doubt influenced by PETA lobbyists and mounting pressure from both the Elks Lodge and Caribou Labor Union, manufacturing mogul and holiday god-emperor Santa Claus (née Saint Nicholas) is apparently retiring his traditional reindeer-flown sleigh for something a bit more terrestrial. Nothing is written in the snow yet, but Bentley’s latest bespoke commission appears to be right in line with Father Christmas’ well-known aesthetic sensibilities. Chalk it up to too much eggnog or finally getting a smooch under the mistletoe from the Spirit of Ecstasy, but the Crewe-based automaker is uncharacteristically forthcoming about the identity of this mystery buyer. In a release full of cheer, Bentley all but confirms Kris Kringle as the force behind this commission; as...

Just like the Zonda before it, only three examples of the Huayra Tricolore will be built, and each is going for $6.75 million a pop. For a little context, the Zonda Tricolore sold for “just” $1.47 million when it was new, a comparative bargain. The Huayra has been changed extensively for the Tricolore special edition, though. The body is a blue carbon-fiber weave with blue accents for the headlights, blue detailing on the wheels, and the red, white, and green tricolore stripes flowing down the sides of the car. Pagani also fits a new front splitter and rear diffuser for added downforce, as well as a new front bumper designed to guide cool air directly to the engine, per the automaker. Other exterior details include rear wing supports shaped to mimic the tailfin of the Aerm...

The folks responsible for the Canoo EV, the Los Angeles-based firm whose stated aim is to free customers from the shackles of vehicle ownership, are now hard at work on an electric multi-purpose delivery van aimed at dramatically lowering the total cost of operation for small businesses, last-mile delivery companies, independent contractors, utilities, service technicians, and more. Behold the 2024 Canoo MPDV1 and MPDV2. Both will be based on the same flat and low skateboard chassis that underpins the Canoo EV (like that vehicle, the wheelbases of the MPDV1 and MPDV2 measure in at 112.2 inches). It employs a steel frame and a low-profile control-arm-type suspension with transverse leaf springs front and rear. Steering and braking are both “by wire,” and the vehicle fe...

According to Chevrolet, their blacked-out trim packages are the candy everybody wants. Last year, 20 percent of Chevrolet Trax buyers chose either the Midnight or Sport packages, and one-third of Chevy Blazers went out the door with the RS package. So, guess what that means? More Midnight, more Sport, and more RS packages! Blacked-out trim for everyone! Don’t want your Traverse quite that murder-y? Then you’ll want the Sport Edition, which gives you a choice of paint colors all garnished with black for the grille, fog light bezels, wheels, roof rails, and badging. Both trim packages are available on LS and LT trim levels. Traverse Premiere buyers, meanwhile, can still get the not-quite-as-blacked-out Redline package. The RS trim package (which, back in the day, stood for Rally ...

If you’re in the market for a new Alfa Romeo Giulia or Stelvio, we’ve got some good news. For 2021, Alfa Romeo revealed a mild restructuring of both trims and standard content across the range, with new colors thrown in for good measure. Let’s take a look. Where before there were seven disparate trims for both the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, there are now only four, with the base-level trim evocatively renamed “Sprint” for both; the Sport and Ti Lusso trims have been axed from the hierarchy. Aside from Sprint, buyers have the choice of Ti, Ti Sport, and 505-hp Quadrifoglio iterations on both the crossover and sedan. If you slide into a Stelvio Ti or Giulia Ti, you’ll find a standard dual-pane sunroof and 8.8-inch infotainment display. The Ti Sport...

The typical entanglement of tuner cars and the police involves Fast & Furious impersonators modifying cars to outrun other street racers and the cops, but who get caught anyway and go to jail for doing illegal stuff on the public roads. Today we stand witness to the exception to the normal tuner car-police relationship. This AC Schnitzer-tuned BMW M850i makes more than 600 horsepower but isn’t for outrunning the German Polizei—it’s actually for the German Polizei. The modded 8-Series is part of a German campaign called “TUNE IT! SAFE!” Essentially, the German police and AC Schnitzer want to encourage drivers of all sorts to customize their rides while being safe and respecting the rules of the road. The campaign has been around since 2005, and for 2020 AC S...

Outwardly, nothing about this Ferrari 458 Speciale is amiss. It is the incredibly desirable, high-performance, and lightweight predecessor to the 488 Pista and whatever insane(r) performance variant Maranello has cooking up for today’s F8 Tributo. However, if you were to, say, try shooting at this specific 458 Speciale with the intent of harming its occupants (and you’re not packing, say, a rocket launcher), you might be surprised when the mid-engine supercar shrugs off the attack. That’s because the red Ferrari pictured here is armored. See all 8 photos Why on earth would anyone armor a lightweight sports car? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the whole point of a lightweight sports car? Aren’t there plenty of Chevy Suburbans and other huge SUVs laying around for p...