Autos

As difficult as it may be to believe, take a look outside from your work-from-home space: it’s already November 2020. For much of the country, that means cold temperatures, and plenty of rainy, snow, and ice in the near future. Those conditions conspire with the pandemic to bring a big slow-down to the track-day and autocross events we enthusiasts love, at least until next spring. If you read our previous guide to sim-racing wheels, you’ll know there are some affordable options to get you started. Here, we take a closer look at the new Logitech G923 gaming wheel, and the GTR GTA Pro simulator rig, two potentially key components of an affordable sim-racing setup for home use. While they may not provide as complex an experience as the multi-hundred-thousand-dollar pro-grade setup...

We’ll always miss the Challenger Demon, the limited-production street-legal drag-strip-demolisher that wowed back in 2017. We’re glad Dodge revived much of its spirit with the new Super Stock, and in case that isn’t enough for you, Mopar is now offering a new crate engine that can give your project car the heartbeat of both mighty Dodges. The familiar 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8 delivers 807 hp, the same output as the Super Stock and 1 pony less than in the Demon. The crate engine’s torque rating matches the Demon at 717 lb-ft, and it is the most powerful muscle-car engine Mopar has ever made available to home builders, at least when it comes to production-based engines. See all 27 photos A less powerful version of the engine is also found in the Challenger and ...

“Merchandising!” Short of “the Schwartz,” there’s arguably nothing more important to Spaceballs‘ Yogurt than merchandising. It seems Tesla’s chief executive officer, Elon Musk, took this to heart, too. Not only does his company’s electric vehicles feature nods to the 1987 Mel Brooks comedy (we’re looking at you, Ludicrous mode and Model S Plaid), his other venture, The Boring Company, leaned on Yogurt’s “Spaceballs the Flamethrower” joke to build and sell a number of so-called “Not a Flamethrower” flamethrowers. The latest bit of merchandising by Musk, though, comes in the form of Tesla Tequila. That’s right, Tesla, the automaker, is selling booze right through its website (albeit fulfilled ...

At $24,595, the entry-level 2021 Hyundai Sonata undercuts the price of the base 2021 Honda Accord and 2021 Toyota Camry by $1,130 and $1,370, respectively. Logically, the racy Sonata N Line ought to maintain a similar price advantage to the similarly sporty Accord Sport 2.0T and Camry TRD. Except logic seemingly falls short here, as the Hyundai’s $34,195 price makes it $1,330 and $1,015 more expensive than its Honda and Toyota counterparts. That’s right, the Sonata N Line is a Hyundai that fails to undercut key rivals’ base prices. See all 23 photos Still, this doesn’t make the Sonata N Line a bad value. With its 290-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, the Sonata N Line manages to better the output of the Accord Sport 2.0T’s turbocharged 2.0-liter ...

The Mustang GT500 rewrites rulebook regarding expectations for Ford’s pony car. Not only is it the most powerful production Mustang ever, it also has a snappy dual-clutch gearbox, can be had with carbon-fiber wheels, offers some of the most friendly and capable handling on the market today, and runs the 1/4 mile in 11.3 seconds at 131.6 mph—all while being less expensive than a base Porsche 911. But what if your inner rebel wants to unleash its 700-plus-horsepower fury in some other car—what ever shall you do? Ford has just answered that question: The GT500’s supercharged 5.2-liter 90-degree V-8 “Predator” engine will soon be available for purchase as a crate motor courtesy of Ford Performance. There’s no word yet on how much horsepower or torque the crat...

The Porsche 911 Turbo S is a very quick machine indeed, and in its most recent iteration, it also is one of the best-driving 911s you can buy. We even pitted the mightiest 911 against the also-mighty McLaren 720s Spider and Mercedes AMG GT-R Roadster, and the new 911 Turbo S Cabriolet came out on top in that comparison test. Now, Porsche has partnered with the Embraer Group—that Embraer Group, that makes planes—to build 10 unique aeronautically themed versions of their newest super 911. There is a catch, and it’s expensive: The only way to get your hands on the beautiful, two-tone, Embraer-themed 911 Turbo S models is to also buy one of the ten matching special Embraer Phenom 300E business jets. Just for reference, an Embraer Phenom 300E will cost you just under $...

Before it came to mean a fuel-saving technology that married electric and internal combustion power, “hybrid” in some contexts meant a sophisticated European car motivated by a powerful American engine. The DeTomaso Pantera is arguably the most memorable of all these creations, but there were many running the gamut from the Franco-American Facel Vegas to the British oddities like the Gordon Keeble. Zagato’s newest creation, the Iso Rivolta GTZ, is an homage to an early 1960s classic hybrid: the stunning Iso Rivolta Grifo A3 cars, particularly the sharp A3/C cars bodied by Drogo. See all 12 photos That car’s wild lines came courtesy of Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone, with thin slit-like intakes that gave the Grifo such a distinctive face that Zagato’s homage rei...

Bentley today announced an aggressive transformation, from a company that has seen great success selling vehicles powered by massive internal combustion engines to one that will not sell any—all in slightly less than a decade. This will happen in two steps: a phase-in of electrification, and a few years later, a complete phase-out of internal combustion engines. Bentley will be a fully battery-electric vehicle company by 2030. No more W-12 engines, no more V-8s or turbos—just the silent thrust provided by flowing electrons. The company, like many others, has hinted at an electric direction for years. In 2017, for example, the company showed off the slinky but ponderously-named EXP 12 Speed 6e convertible concept. And more poignantly, the EXP 100 GT concept was revealed last year for the co...

The Aznom Palladium is likely one of the strangest “cars” you’ve never heard of until now. Just released, it’s a follow-up to an earlier—and more bizarre—attempt at the same concept, the Atulux, seen below. That $300,000+ creation—yes, three-hundred thousand dollars—transformed a last-generation Ram pickup into a sedan-like luxury vehicle with an opulent interior, but its truck roots were obvious from every angle. The Palladium aims to perfect the formula. See all 13 photos Aznom is based in Monza, Italy, and that’s where the Palladium was designed and will be produced. Italy is home to some of the world’s most iconic design houses, automotive or otherwise, but few coachbuilders have produced a project this idiosyncratic. The company is the pet project o...

The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe—and its longer counterpart, the 2021 Suburban—isn’t what we would call a performance SUV. Especially when you consider just how capable SUVs like the BMW X5 M and Porsche Cayenne Turbo are. Still, there’s nothing wrong with trying to make the big Tahoe and Suburban perform better. Cue a new catalog of performance parts for the full-size SUVs, straight from Chevy itself. Among these upgrades is a $625 performance air intake. The intake is available for the SUVs’ 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V-8 engines and, according to GM Authority, reduces air restriction by 13 percent and 17 percent for each engine, respectively. There’s no word on if that translates to more horsepower, but ensuring your engine can breathe a little easier is never a bad th...

It’s only a matter of time until owners of lower-end Ford Mustang and Mustang GT models try to turn their four-, six, or eight-cylinder pony cars into knockoff Shelby GT350s. How, then, do you convince future Mustang fans your GT350 is the real deal and not just some clone? Well, you can fork over $129.95 to the Blue Oval’s performance arm for a Certificate of Authenticity package for your 2015-2019 GT350 or GT350R.  See all 17 photos The kit nets an official certificate of authenticity with accompanying sleeve, a VIN decoder, a poster, a brochure, a production summary chart, a duplicate of the original window sticker, a cobra-logo keychain, and a kitschy business-card holder that looks like a brake disc and caliper. Yes, some of these things originally came with the GT350...

Way before the best-selling Ford F-150 pickup truck, there was the now classic F-1. The postwar pickup was in production from 1948 to 1952 and sported an egg-shaped cab with a toothy grille, plus a short but functional bed. In 1951, FoMoCo gave it a refresh: The gearshift was relocated from the floor to the steering column and the single-bar grille now featured three bigger teeth. It already looks pretty mean to us, but that’s where Dave Kindig’s vision for the truck starts on the “Thank You for Your Service” episode of Bitchin’ Rides. Our goateed designer and host plans to offset the front grille 3 inches, stretch and shave the cramped cab, and add an hourglass bed. Kindig wants to make every last line look like it’s going fast for the clients, Mark and...