Autos

The acronym GTO, or Gran Turismo Omologato, is commonly associated with Ferrari and Pontiac. However, the GTO moniker has been affixed to other cars, too. The Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO is one such example, and today it’s been reimagined as the Audi RS 6 GTO. A group of Audi design students, led by the brand’s head of design, were tasked with reimagining the 90 Quattro IMSA GTO to celebrate 40 years of Quattro. What they came up with is a modern-day homage to the iconic race car. Details from the original car, such as the white center-lock wheels and huge side-exit exhausts, are featured on the new concept. The RS 6’s body is also widened, which gives the wagon a little extra menace—something it hardly needed. Additionally, the front bumper cover features a larger grille, t...

The second installment in Ford’s $11.5 billion investment in electrification is scheduled to hit the road in late 2021. The 2022 Ford Electric Transit, or E-Transit will follow this fall’s Mach-E and precede the electric F-150, which is scheduled for mid-2022. The Transit has been a global best seller for much of its 55-year life with over 10 million sold, and the new fully electric variant will ensure that it can continue to deliver goods and services as dense metropolitan areas transition to emissions-free zones. And Ford’s unique selling proposition in a burgeoning electric cargo van market that will soon be joined by the Rivian Amazon Prime Van and Bollinger Deliver-E van is its Sync 4-based Connected Fleet Management Tools and decades in the commercial vehicle space. Electric Powertra...

Acura has a habit of naming the colors for its NSX after famous racetracks. It’s a tradition that started with the first-generation NSX, and over the last few years, some of the best hues on the Acura sports car include a nod to a racing circuit, such as last year’s Indy Yellow Pearl.  Prior examples include Spa Yellow Pearl, Imola Orange Pearl, and Silverstone Metallic. For 2021, Acura adds Long Beach Blue Pearl to the NSX’s color palette as a $1,000 option. The new hue updates the original Long Beach Blue that Acura offered on the NSX from 2002 to 2005. It’s one of the rarest colors on the original car, with just 88 NSXs painted as such. Thermal Orange and Indy Yellow Pearl are still on the menu for 2021, too. As are Valencia Red Pearl, Nouvelle Blue Pearl, Casino...

Rivian’s R1T truck and R1S SUV seemingly just got one step closer to reality, as the electric automaker announced pricing and delivery timelines for the two models. Well, at least some variants of the vehicles. While Rivian eventually plans to offer three battery pack options in the R1T and R1S, the brand will only sell one at the outset: the mid-level unit that promises more than 300 miles of driving range. Those looking for the cheaper pack that reportedly delivers more than 250 miles of range or the pricier setup that supposedly tops 400 miles on a full charge will have to keep waiting. <!– –> The first batch of R1T and R1S trucks and SUVs arrive in June and August of 2021, respectively. Deemed “Launch Edition” models, the earliest Rivians wear sticker prices of less t...

We already knew that the 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid has more power and torque than its segment rivals, save for the 702-hp Ram 1500 TRX, which is hardly an apples-to-apples light-duty competitor. Now, according to the EPA’s website, we’re learning the gas-electric PowerBoost hybrid truck will boast pretty impressive fuel economy numbers, too. The EPA also has revealed efficiency figures for most of the rest of the 2021 F-150 family. <!– –> 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid MPG The hybridized Ford F-150 delivers an estimated 24 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and—predictably—24 mpg combined on the EPA test cycle. It achieves this high rating while managing to put out 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque. As expected, the hybrid performs better than most other models in the F-150 lineup, w...

The Hyundai Kona Electric has been with us for a while now, and it’s a pleasing electron-powered alternative to the standard Kona. For 2022, all of Hyundai’s Konas are getting a new face, and now we know at least the European-market version of the Kona Electric will, too, among other changes. Outside, the Kona EV adopts the gas-fed model’s slimmer headlights and sleeker face. The wheel arch cladding is body colored instead of bare plastic, while the rear of the car gets slimmer tail lights, new turn signal elements, reversing light unit, and a new rear bumper. All in all, the changes to the exterior have turned the entire Kona range from a somewhat awkward looking machine into something relatively handsome. <!– –> Underneath that massaged sheetmetal lies...

We drove the electric Jaguar I-Pace from London to Berlin in mid-2018, before scooting through the deserts of Abu Dhabi Audi’s electric powered e-tron just before Christmas that same year. We flew to Norway to sample the electric-powered Mercedes-Benz EQC in May 2019. With luck, we’ll get to drive a production version of BMW’s electric-powered rival to all three, the iX, in late in 2021. Which begs the question: What took BMW so long to enter its challenger to a wave of European luxury EV SUVs? You don’t have to wander far into the iX’s 23-page press kit to find a clue: The new SUV, it says, is BMW Group’s new technology flagship. The I-Pace, e-tron, and EQC are much more tentative vehicles, both in terms of their hardware and the way they’re positioned within the Jaguar, Audi and Mercedes...

If you look closely at the ultra-pricey custom truck industry, you’ll notice a few trends. For one, money doesn’t always buy taste, and two, bespoke truck builders just can’t stop making six-wheeled monster pickups with obscene amounts of power. Southern California-based Rezvani has jumped on the dual rear-axle bandwagon with the apocalypse-ready Hercules 6×6. Picking up where the almost-as-bonkers Rezvani Tank SUV left off, the Hercules 6×6 adds a truck bed, a 1,300-hp supercharged 7.0-liter V-8 based on the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon crate engine, and, most importantly, another pair of wheels and on-demand six-wheel drive. Since the Rezvani Tank is a custom-bodied, highly modified Jeep Wrangler, it’s probably a safe guess that the Hercules starts life as a Jeep Gladiator pickup...

As a flagship luxury sedan, the Lexus LS should impress us more than any other passenger car in the brand’s lineup. But in some ways, it’s the more mainstream midsize ES and sometimes the even smaller IS sedan that commands more of our attention. With a mid-cycle update for the LS, Lexus aims to shove its full-size four-door to the front of your mind and remedy the key issues we have with the large luxury sedan, including its ride quality and interior usability. These changes were previewed earlier this year for Japan, but Lexus has finally released U.S.-specific information and confirmed that the 2021 Lexus LS hits dealerships in late November, with hybrid models arriving early next year. 2021 Lexus LS: Suspension Updates We’ve long complained that the LS sedan’s ride is rougher than it s...

A few months ago, we heard that Mazda was readying an inline-six engine for use in upcoming larger vehicles, including large sedans and crossover SUVs that could incorporate hybrid technology. We even found some patent filings that showed the inline-six’s notably compact design. Mounted longitudinally—so, pointed north and south in the car, front to back—this increased the potential for dynamically interesting, rear-drive (or rear-drive-based all-wheel drive) models in the BMW mold. A Mazda investor presentation provides some more details about what those vehicles will look like, and how this new large vehicle platform could spawn a hybrid SUV for America. The report was first spotted by the Japanese publication Car Watch and can be found here in PDF form. The good stuff is in the part of ...