Autos

Alfa Romeo was a monster of post-war racing on land, winning a number of what we’d now consider Formula 1 races with the Alfetta 158/159 powered by a very small-displacement, supercharged straight-eight engine. This car was monumentally successful at the hands of drivers like Juan Manual Fangio and Nino Farina. But, less well known to us car enthusiasts, this engine (and other motorsports engines from the company) also had very successful careers on the water. The Arno II, seen above, was powered by an Alfa 158 engine (and is parked next to its Grand Prix car relative). All told, the boats in this exhibit racked up 11 world records, six world championships, and a number of European and Italian championships. Alfa Romeo developed marine engines and supported race efforts for decades, ...

If you get the feeling that major car makers have been collaborating with streetwear designers more than usual lately, you’d be right. Virgil Abloh recently teamed up with Gordon Wagner, Mercedes-Benz’s design honcho, to reimagine the classic G-Wagen. Now BMW has done something similar (albeit less drastic) with an icon of its own. Meet the 2021 BMW M4 Competition X Kith. Like Abloh’s Off-White, Kith is a streetwear brand known mostly for its footwear and men’s apparel. The man behind the brand, Ronnie Fieg, is both designer and BMW enthusiast. But instead of just setting to work on some new, BMW-inspired apparel, Fieg decided to try his hand at sprucing up the brand new 2021 BMW M4 Competition. While his changes don’t do much for the M4’s attention grab...

For 2021, Hyundai is giving Elantra buyers a more powerful alternative in the form of a new N Line trim. It has less competition than its Sport predecessor, too, now that the Honda Civic Si is on hiatus. Priced at a reasonable $25,095, the Elantra N Line just might be up to the task of winning over would-be Si buyers. See all 45 photos Under the hood, the N Line features a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine making 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. This engine pairs with a standard six-speed manual transmission. If you opt for the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, the price goes up to $26,195. To match the powertrain updates, Hyundai gives the N Line sportier suspension and steering tuning. It also gets larger front brake rotors for improved stopping performance. Cos...

Time for your weekly dose of “what the heck?” But instead of originating in the darker reaches of the automotive web, this latest installment comes straight from one of the world’s most prestigious automotive brands: Bugatti. The French brand recently put up a photo of a (presumably) forthcoming vehicle’s taillights on its website with the caption “What if…?”, and we genuinely have no idea what sort of vehicle these lamps are attached to. Bugatti is no stranger to the world of insane concepts, though, and we would not be surprised if this image previews the brand’s next show car. Just look to Bugattis efforts in the late 1990s and its crazy concepts such as the EB 218 and the wildly styled—for its time—18/3 Chiron. These days Bugatti seems mo...

If you think the 2022 GMC Hummer EV looks pretty wild as it is, know that the design could have been even more dramatic. General Motors took to social media this week to show off some early sketches that influenced the electric pickup truck‘s final design. Just look at those massive tires. This imaginary set of rubber makes the truck look even more formidable, especially with all the extra ground clearance. This is not to say the production model doesn’t impress in this area—it comes standard with 35-inch tires and can accommodate rubber as tall as 37 inches. The sketch also reveals a bolder hood design and some seriously aggressive cladding. The back end looks particularly different than the final product in one of these sketches, taking a more rounded shape and adopting a uni...

Not one to shy away from special editions, Mini is introducing another unique vehicle to its lineup. The 2021 Mini Cooper 1499 GT is a very limited-edition car with a black and gold exterior, a dressed-up interior, and—surprisingly—a pretty decent price tag. The 1499 GT model pays homage to the Mini 1275 GT from 1969. While the original had a gold paint job and black side graphics, the 1499 GT reverses the color scheme. Its black paint job is complemented by a black grille, black door handles, black headlight rings, and black rings surrounding the Union Jack-motif taillights. It also gets the John Cooper Works styling package with special bumpers, side skirts, split level spoiler, and door entry plates. Topping it all off are 17-inch black wheels paired with all-season tires. See all 12 ph...