Curso de Pintura

My first car was a Mini, a 1968 Australian-built Mini Deluxe. Its previous owner(s) had added chrome wide wheels, a rorty sports muffler, and a Saas wood-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel, all of which delivered plenty of street cred in the high school parking lot. But the 2021 DBA Mini Remastered Oselli Edition (phew!) is a Mini beyond anything 16-year-old me could have imagined.

My Mini packed 38 hp and 52 lb-ft of torque, courtesy of the 998cc version of the BMC A-series four-banger under the hood. The DBA Oselli Edition punches out 125 hp at 6,200 rpm and 113 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm from a 1,450cc, near-race version of the venerable A-series (an engine introduced in 1951 in the Austin A30 that stayed in production until the last of the original, pre-BMW-era Minis rolled off the line in 2000).

My Mini took about 20 seconds to struggle to 60 mph and had a top speed of 75 mph, though I swear on a downhill stretch with a tail wind, I once saw the speedo needle flickering around the 80-mph mark. The DBA Oselli Edition sprints to 60 in 7.8 seconds and tops 100 mph. By how much is not certain, as the vintage replica Smiths speedo, with its authentic old-school graphics, only reads to 95 mph.

My Mini cost me about 600 bucks. The DBA Oselli Edition will lighten your wallet by more than $140,000. Yep, you read that right. This pint-sized pocket rocket will cost you more than three times as much as the bonkers, limited edition, 301-hp, 165-mph 2021 Mini John Cooper Works GP. And that’s before you start ticking any of the options boxes.

Who Is DBA? And What Is the Mini Remastered Oselli Edition?

DBA stands for David Brown Automotive, which was founded in 2013 and launched its first car, the $740,000-plus Speedback GT, in 2014. Basically a Jaguar XKR chassis and mechanicals wrapped in hand-shaped aluminum panels, the Speedback GT looks like a larger, sleeker riff on an Aston Martin DB5. Interestingly, though, company founder David Brown—a genial Yorkshireman and serial entrepreneur whose business interests range from brewing beer to manufacturing construction equipment—is not related to the British industrialist of the same name who owned Aston Martin from 1947 to 1972.

DBA’s second car, the Mini Remastered, was launched in 2017. As its name suggests, this is a remastered version of the Alec Issigonis–designed Mini that made its debut in 1959 and was produced with only minor changes for the next 41 years. The Mini Remastered combines original 1,275cc Mini powertrains—completely rebuilt and refurbished—with a brand-new body shell from British Motor Heritage, which now owns the original tooling. The interior features lashings of sumptuous leather, knurled aluminum switchgear, and even a modern infotainment system with a 7.0-inch touchscreen.

Prices start at an eye-watering $100,000 or so, plus tax. Even so, DBA says four examples have already been shipped to the U.S.

Announced in 2019, the Oselli Edition was created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the original Mini, though the global pandemic got in the way of the party, delaying the car’s launch. Only 60 will be built, all available in either Old English White or Carbon Grey with graphics and stripes—hand painted, not decals—in Competition Red, Royal Blue, or Heritage Green. Oselli? It’s a British classic car sales, service, restoration, and performance engineering shop that traces its roots back to a race car tuning operation founded in 1962 by two BMC engineers who thought a vaguely Italian-sounding name was cool.

Oselli engineered and developed the 1,450cc A-series engine that’s at the heart of the Mini Remastered Oselli Edition. It’s been bored to what must be the outer limits of an A-series block—the siamesed exhaust ports on the middle two cylinders were a notorious head-gasket hotspot even on my Mini—and fitted with two 1.5-inch SU carburetors, headers and big-bore exhaust, and a more aggressive camshaft, all Mini go-fast hardware I could only dream about more than 40 years ago.

Other mechanical changes include a five-speed transmission that resides in the same space in the sump as the original four-speed, a limited-slip differential, AP Racing front disc brakes, and Bilstein shocks. Whereas the regular Mini Remastered rolls on 12-inch alloy wheels, the Oselli Edition gets 13-inchers. Tires are Yokohama A539s, 175/50R-13s all round. The 9-gallon gas tank is on the left-hand side of the trunk, just like in my Mini, though this car has the optional 5.5-gallon second tank on the right side, as well.

Instead of classic English charm, the Oselli Edition’s interior is race car chic, though still with a faintly ’60s vibe. There’s Alcantara on the deeply dished three-spoke steering wheel, and on the hip-hugging Sabelt seats. The standard interior seats four; our car has the optional two-seat setup, which means there’s a half roll cage behind the seats with Sabelt four-point racing harnesses strung from it. The Oselli Edition’s not exactly Spartan, though. It has the regular car’s power windows, Pioneer infotainment system, and air conditioning. Air conditioning! A hot summer’s day in my Mini meant both front windows rolled down and the two rear side windows popped open, the throbby baritone from the exhaust filling the cabin.

Issigonis’ Mini was a groundbreaking design. It pioneered the transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel-drive layout that’s used in most modern mainstream automobiles so that most of the car’s tiny footprint could be used to accommodate four passengers and their luggage. And it is tiny, just 120.3 inches long, 57.9 inches wide, and 52.4 inches tall, and with an 80.1-inch wheelbase. Today’s two-door Mini is gigantic by comparison—32 inches longer, almost a foot wider, 3.5 inches taller, and with an 18-inch-longer wheelbase.

I fold myself in through the door and, once settled, marvel again at how well this tiny car accommodates my 6-foot-2 frame. The steering column has been dropped so it feels less like you’re steering a bus—my car had aftermarket column supports that did the same thing—but the shifter sprouts out the floor in the same way, and the pedals are still tightly bunched in the footwell. I sold my Mini in 1977 and have only driven one other original version in the four decades since, but the muscle memory comes flooding back in the first few miles.

The race-face A-series needs to be kept spinning—spend too long lurking below 2,000 rpm, and it will start to gag and sputter like high-performance engines used to in the days before fuel-injection and engine management computers. But punch the gas pedal, hear the SUs gurgle, and the little engine lights up, spinning happily to 6,200 rpm. The shifter’s throw is long and the gate wide—it doesn’t quite have the mechanical feel I remember—but you always find the gear you want, when you want it. Those tightly grouped pedals mean heel-and-toe downshifts are a cinch.

The Oselli Edition might only have 125 hp, but it feels quick—indeed, its claimed 0–60-mph time is only 2.8 seconds slower than that of the Mini John Cooper Works GP, a car with nearly two and a half times the horsepower and a quick-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s physics: The Oselli Edition weighs just 1,631 pounds, 40 percent less than its modern counterpart.

Low mass doesn’t just help longitudinal acceleration: The Oselli Edition’s steering, which has electronic power assist up to 15 mph, is as kart-darty as I remember, the car responding the instant you pull the wheel off center. But there’s more roll than I recall. My Mini had BMC’s innovative Hydrolastic suspension, with rubber springs all around and a hydraulic fluid damper system connecting the front and rear wheels on each side of the car. The Hydrolastic setup reduced fore-aft pitch and improved the ride while still allowing the car to have high roll stiffness. By contrast, the Oselli Edition leans noticeably in corners, though the body motions are beautifully controlled by the Bilstein shocks.

My Mini would snap and spin like a top if I dared lift off the gas on corner entry. The Oselli Edition initially feels much more tail happy, but, paradoxically, it also feels more controllable. Its greater rate of roll means you’re more aware of the weight transfer occurring during transients, and so you’re more easily able to modulate liftoff oversteer to get the little car rotated and into corners. You’ll get power understeer if you’re too ambitious with the throttle, the front tires scrabbling for grip. But once those tires hook up, the limited-slip diff means the little Mini will go exactly where the front wheels are pointed.

It’s a boisterous little thing on the track and great fun on the road, where its small size, high agility, and low mass mean you always have much more real estate to play with than drivers in regular cars. Sure, there are modern hot hatches that are faster, with more power and more grip, but few deliver the grin-inducing driver engagement the Oselli Edition does at speeds that won’t get you locked up.

The Oselli Edition really is a Mini Remastered, a car that distills the original Mini’s giant-killing spirit. They say you can’t buy memories. But as I climbed out from this thoughtfully upgraded and beautifully built little car, I was, just for a moment, a 16-year-old-kid once again.

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A strange thought lingered briefly in my mind the other day for about the same 9.34 seconds it takes the new Tesla Model S Plaid to clear the quarter mile: Is the Model S Plaid essentially just an electric Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye? The electric Jekyll to the Charger’s internal combustion Hyde?

Initially it sounds ridiculous to compare the Model S Plaid and Charger—and maybe it’s the g forces talking—but they have a lot more in common than you probably think (aside from the fact we’ve actually compared them before). For starters, both are full-size American four-door sedans. The Charger went into production in 2011, the Model S in 2012. Both were only offered out of the gate with rear-wheel drive, but all-wheel drive is available today. Both were also relatively pedestrian compared to their 2022 counterparts when they first hit the market: The Tesla made 416 horsepower in its most potent trim, and the Dodge Charger produced just 375 hp. New powertrains have been their only substantive updates since launch.

Here are some other ways the latest Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye and the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid mirror each other:

Stupid Amounts of Horsepower

While Dodge has long sold a Charger SRT performance variant, it really took things to the next level when it launched the first Hellcat-powered Dodge Charger in 2015. Supplanting the 470-hp Charger SRT8 as the new top dog (cat?) in the Charger lineup, the then-new Charger SRT Hellcat made an unheard =0of 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. The power came courtesy of a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 that drove the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic. Since 2015, the Charger Hellcat has grown wider and more powerful: Thanks to lessons learned on the Dodge Challenger Demon, the new 2021 Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye gains 90 hp and 57 lb-ft, now producing 797 hp and 707 lb-ft.

Tesla wasn’t far behind in the horsepower race. Following on the Model S P85’s heels was the first-ever dual-motor all-wheel-drive performance Tesla, the 2015 Model S P85D. Using front and rear motors, the Insane Mode–equipped P85D made 691 hp and 687 lb-ft of torque combined. After successive steps up the horsepower ladder with various Ludicrous models, Tesla recently released the 2022 Model S Plaid. It’s Tesla’s first-ever tri-motor vehicle, and the Model S Plaid makes a Hellcat-smashing 1,020 hp and 1,080 lb-ft of torque.

With its horsepower and torque advantage over the Dodge, plus an all-important traction advantage, the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid is quicker than not just the Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, but literally every other car we’ve tested. The Model S Plaid sprints to 60 mph in 2.07 seconds and on through the quarter mile in 9.34 seconds at 152.2 mph. The Charger Hellcat Redeye is no slouch, but its best 0–60-mph run is a respectable (and traction limited) 4.0 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 11.9 seconds at 126.6 mph.

Nips and Tucks

Similarly, while both the 2021 Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye and the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid have received a lot of attention to their powertrains, neither Dodge nor Tesla has devoted a lot of time to the cars’ exterior sheetmetal.

The Dodge’s changes have been more extensive, however. The second-gen Charger sedan launched in 2011 featuring angular body work inspired by the Charger coupes of the late 1960s, but Dodge face-lifted it in 2015 to give it a more aerodynamic and athletic Coke-bottle shape. The softer, rounder Charger survives to this day with little change.

The Tesla’s visual changes have been more subtle. The most obvious change occurred in 2016, when the Model S got a small nose job, losing its black “grille” in favor of a grille-less nose that brought the Model S’ design in line with the then-new Model X and upcoming Model 3. The 2021.5 Model S represents another subtle change, with a larger radiator opening on the nose, a revised hood, and a new rear diffuser.

While Dodge has done more to the Charger’s exterior than Tesla has to the Model S’, the opposite is true when we’re talking interiors.

The new Model S Plaid represents a fairly major interior redesign for Tesla’s flagship sedan. In fact, the automaker says the front-seat-riser covers are the only carryover pieces. For the 2021.5 model year, the Model S Plaid replaces a traditional steering wheel with a less useful steering yoke, trades its signature portrait-oriented infotainment screen for a landscape-oriented one, and the car’s cabin materials are all more luxurious and upscale than before.

The Charger’s changes have been comparably minor. While it too has a newer steering wheel, it thankfully remains circular in shape. It also has a better infotainment system and interior in 2021 than it did in 2011, but the “spot-the-differences” game is much more difficult in the Dodge than it is in the Tesla.

Why Haven’t the Charger or Model S Been Updated Extensively?

Dodge’s rationale for not thoroughly updating the Charger is pretty obvious: Aside from the fact the car completes in a shrinking segment and still sells relatively well, the brand has had three different parent companies during the current model’s production run.

Tesla’s case is a bit more curious. Although the new 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid is the latest and greatest Model S, we found it a bit odd Tesla spent its money on an extensive midcycle update instead of a true second-generation Model S to compete with a new generation of electric car challengers from Audi, Mercedes-EQ, Porsche, and (eventually) Cadillac. A high-ranking Tesla source told us simply, “We didn’t feel like we needed to go into a whole new program to make the ‘best car.’”

We’re not sure Tesla made the right call, but it’s pretty easy to forget about that for now; we’re just enjoying these new horsepower wars.

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The 2022 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class S680 4Matic is a glittery thing. The grille and the front intakes, the trim down the middle of the hood and across its broad rump, the frame around the greenhouse, the exhaust pipes, and the wheels all sparkle as brightly as a diamond-encrusted Rolex in a Miami nightclub. Subtle it ain’t. But, as Mercedes-Benz has learned, when it comes to Maybach, all that glitters is gold.

It didn’t start that way. Panicked by Volkswagen’s purchase of Bentley and BMW’s audacious acquisition of Rolls-Royce in the 1990s, Mercedes-Benz decided that it, too, needed an über-luxury limousine. The car it built on the W140 S-Class platform and launched to much fanfare in 2003 was as technically competent and lavishly finished as its rivals, but management decided the Mercedes-Benz name didn’t have the gravitas needed to compete with the gilded British brands. Instead of being badged Mercedes-Benz Maybach, it became, simply, Maybach.

Wilhelm Maybach was an engineer who worked with Gottlieb Daimler at the dawn of the automotive age and built his own luxury cars in the years leading up to World War II. It was a revered name among some prewar car buffs, but it meant nothing to anyone else. Before Maybach was quietly taken off life support in 2013, barely 3,000 examples had been sold worldwide. One well-placed industry source suggests Mercedes lost more than $350,000 on every car it built.

In 2015, the company did what it should have done in the first place: It overtly linked the Maybach name with the three-pointed star. The largest and most lavishly equipped versions of the W222 S-Class were badged Mercedes-Maybach, the three-pointed star standing proud on the hood, and although the decision was made so late in the car’s development there was no time to design and engineer any unique parts, it proved a runaway success. Mercedes has since sold more than 60,000 of these blinged-up S-Class models, many in China, where in 2019 demand was running at 700 cars a month.

Now That You’re Up to Speed…

The new Mercedes-Maybach is based on the redesigned W223 S-Class launched late last year. Unlike the outgoing car, though, it does have unique sheetmetal, including a new hood that sits three-quarters of an inch higher than the S-Class hood and runs back from a large, more upright grille with bright vertical bars. It also features a redesigned greenhouse that includes a slightly higher roofline, fixed rear quarter windows, and a more formal C-pillar. And more chrome. Because that’s what the customers like.

The new Mercedes-Maybach rolls on the longest of the three platforms developed for the new S-Class. Codenamed Z223, it boasts 7 inches more between the axles than the long-wheelbase platform (codenamed V223) that underpins all S-Class models sold in the U.S., and 11.5 inches more than the standard-wheelbase S-Class that’s common in Europe. All that extra length is dedicated to the rear passenger compartment, not the least because that’s where many of the cars’ owners in its three largest markets—China, Russia, and South Korea—spend most of their time, their chauffeurs handling the driving chores.

The rear seats can be reclined from a 19-degree rake to 43 degrees, while the leg rests extend 2 inches further than before and will give you a calf massage should you so desire. Neck and shoulder heating is standard, and the seat belts are presented to you like those in the front seats of Mercedes coupes so you don’t have to twist and find them. The standard infotainment screens on the backs of the front seats can be controlled via a smaller, removable touchscreen device mounted in the rear center console so you don’t have to stretch forward, either.

Among the few options to be offered to American buyers is a package that adds heated and cooled cupholders to the rear-seat center console, along with tables that fold out from it like those in a first-class airline seat. Other options include a fridge—complete with a pair of metal champagne flutes—that’s accessed via a panel between the seats, and an electric opening and closing system for the rear doors actuated by switches mounted in the roof, just above the rear windows.

The Back Is Where It’s At

Given the car’s intended function, the Mercedes-Maybach’s rear seat is where we started our test. You’re very well accommodated, though it’s not quite as plush as the pew in a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Two reasons: The seat squab feels as if it could use a little more padding, especially when the seat is reclined a little, and the ride, despite an air suspension that uses stereo cameras to scan the road to prepare for upcoming bumps, is still not quite as relaxed as that of the Rolls, mainly because of the discernible reaction of the low-profile 255/35 R21 Pirelli P Zero tires to small, sharp imperfections in the tarmac.

From behind the wheel, the Maybach feels pretty much like the new S-Class to drive. At 215.3 inches long and 75.6 inches wide, the Maybach takes up a lot of real estate on the road, but all its sophisticated systems shrink it around you, making it feel smaller and more maneuverable than you expect. The standard rear-steering system—the rear wheels pivot 10 degrees on the standard tires, or 4.5 degrees if you order the optional wider rear tires—endows this big limousine with remarkable low-speed agility, right-angle corners requiring little more than a quarter turn of the steering wheel. And so you know exactly what’s going on around you, there’s visual feedback from the driver-assist screen on the 3-D instrument panel, which graphically shows the road ahead and the movements of traffic around you, as well as traffic-proximity signals from the superb augmented-reality head-up display.

The air suspension and 133.7-inch wheelbase all but eliminate fore-aft pitching, and the electronics help keep the car on an even keel even when pushed through corners. You can’t argue with the laws of physics, but there’s a serenity to the way the Maybach devours any road that will have you wondering at times. With the bass speakers of the 1,750-watt, 30-speaker Burmester 4D audio system emitting low frequencies to counter road noise, you easily find yourself wafting along much faster than you think.

Price, On Sale, and More

Two versions of the car will be offered in the U.S. The Maybach S580 4Matic shares its drivetrain with the top-spec S-Class. Codenamed M176, the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 under the hood makes 496 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 516 lb-ft of torque from 2,000 to 4,500 rpm, with an additional 20 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque provided on demand from the 48-volt integrated starter-generator mounted between the engine and the nine-speed automatic transmission. The S580 goes on sale shortly as a 2021 model, priced at $185,950.

The Maybach S680 4Matic arrives in the first half of next year as a 2022 model, and although no official pricing has been announced, don’t expect much change from $215,000. The Maybach S680 combines for the first time the tried-and-true 6.0-liter V-12, codenamed M279, with Mercedes-Benz’s slick nine-speed automatic transmission and versatile all-wheel-drive system. Yes, the V-12 lives! No longer available in the regular S-Class, it’s now reserved solely for the Maybach. And it feels right at home.

The 9G-Tronic automatic transmission can only handle a maximum of 664 lb-ft, so the twin-turbo V-12’s torque output has been dialed back from the 738 lb-ft it made in the outgoing Maybach S650. You don’t miss it. With more ratios to work with and 603 horses available, the engine hustles this 5,200-pound limousine to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds without breaking a sweat, 0.2 second quicker than the S650. In Europe, the Maybach S680 will hit 155 mph, Mozart tinkling through the Burmester speakers and champagne cooling in the fridge. Here in the U.S., our love of all-season tires means it’s limited to a mere 130 mph.

It’s taken more than 20 years, but Mercedes-Benz has finally figured out a unique niche for the Maybach brand. The 12-cylinder Maybach S680 may not have the extraordinary presence of a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but it comes with much more high-tech amenities for less than half the price. Meanwhile, the V-8-powered S580 is bigger, roomier, and more ostentatiously opulent than a similarly priced Bentley Flying Spur. Those who want understated luxury will be perfectly happy with a loaded S-Class. But as the 60,000 customers who bought the just superseded Mercedes-Maybach will attest, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling.

2022 Mercedes-Maybach S680 4Matic Specifications PRICE $215,000 (est) LAYOUT Front engine, AWD, four-door, four-pass sedan ENGINE 6.0L/603-hp/664-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC V-12 TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT 5180 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 133.7 in L x W x H 215.3 in x 75.6 in x 59.4 in 0-60 MPH 4.4 sec (mfr) EPA FUEL ECON, CITY/HWY/COMB N/A ON SALE Fall 2022

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Reading into sales figures can be a bit like reading tea leaves or palms. Sometimes, you can draw clear conclusions: Of course a lame cheap hatchback is outsold by, say, a full-size pickup truck. This is America, after all. But Ford’s announcement that, in June 2021, the gas-fed Mustang coupe and convertible were outsold by the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV is fully in “shake the magic eight ball for answers” territory.

Is it a big deal that a curvaceous electrified crossover bearing the Mustang name and a few classic Mustang styling cues has passed its iconic namesake, a vehicle long associated with internal-combustion hooliganism and fun, in sales? Absolutely. It isn’t as if the Mach-E is no great shakes; even outside of its more powerful GT form, the Mach-E is fun to drive and eye-catching out on the road. But clearly the world is turning a corner when an electrified Mustang is snatching more sales than the original pony car.

The Mach-E saw 2,465 sales in June, a few hundred more than the Mustang’s 2,240. Even though this is the first time the Mach-E has pulled ahead in the sales race with the traditional Mustang, June sales weren’t the EV’s best. Back in February, Ford sold 3,739 Mustang Mach-Es; since, the electric SUV’s monthly sales have hovered just under 2,000. The regular Mustang saw a 2021 monthly sales high in April, moving 8,000 units. Every other month save for June, it was in the 4,000–5,000-unit range.

All this is to say the numbers alone don’t paint a clear picture of why the Mach-E-vs.-Mustang sales race suddenly flipped, because the numbers have been a little all over the place.

We reached out to Ford for clarification, and found out that Mustang inventories were impacted by the ongoing chip shortage rippling across the auto industry, particularly in April and May, when Mustang production was actually halted altogether. Sales for those months likely represented a sell-off of whatever Mustang ground stock existed at dealerships nationwide, hence the seemingly precipitous sales slide from April’s 8,000 units to 4,436 in May. A Ford representative also confirmed that the Mach-E received some “priority” as a hot new product, but added that the Mach-E’s sales represent real orders that are being filled as they come in, which, along with the EV’s February sales high of 3,739 units, dispels the notion that June sales were somehow a “glut” drop of pent-up Mach-E orders.

So, yeah, the Mach-E outsold the Mustang, but there are some asterisks. We aren’t entering the end-times because an electric Mustang SUV is out-selling the Mustang, because in all likelihood, the Mustang will retake its sales position ahead of the Mach-E as the chip issue subsides. Or perhaps not. We’ll have to wait and see; in the meantime, consider it nifty that Ford’s EV has enough appeal to even draw close enough to a production-limited Mustang in the sales race.

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Given the current state of battery technology, lithium is an essential material in most EV batteries. But most of it is sourced overseas. GM, in the midst of an EV push centered around its Ultium battery tech, wants to change that, announcing a major investment in a California lithium extraction project taking place at a geothermal energy plant near the Salton Sea. Given the battery pack size of a massive vehicle like the upcoming GMC Hummer EV, the appeal of significant local lithium production becomes clear.

Lithium is produced in several different ways. Some of it is dug out of the ground in clays and then processed. But lithium produced by at the Controlled Thermal Resources facility near Imperial, CA, is extracted from hot, lithium-rich brine pumped out of the ground. The brine is used to generate steam power, which is sold, and then the brine is processed to remove lithium and pumped back into the ground to re-heat. That means there’s no problematic evaporation ponds or tailings, or a large hole carved into a mountainside. It also should be relatively low-carbon impact, as the clean geothermal energy on-site will be used to process the lithium.

Of course, it’s not all rainbows in lithium extraction. Some fairly toxic chemicals are involved in the processing, and those need to be properly stored and disposed of. But consider that the carbon impact of locally-produced lithium is surely lower than transporting it in from abroad, which is part of the appeal of local lithium extraction.

And there’s a sizable amount of lithium at CTR’s California site, known as Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power. GM’s multi-million dollar investment in CTR means it’ll have first rights on the lithium produced by the project, which CTR says will reach 20,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year in its Stage 1 level or production—all while producing up to 49.9 megawatts of clean energy for sale. The extraction process also produces various amounts of potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, and rubidium.

Reuters reports that CTR believes the lithium production could eventually reach 60,000 tons a year by mid-2024 ,enough to produce up to 6 million EVs. Lithium, it should be noted, can be processed into several derivatives, so production volume is generally reported in lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) volumes. Using this standard of measurement, the global management firm McKinsey estimates that a typical 55 kWh EV battery contains the equivalent of 16 pounds of lithium carbonate, for reference.

GM says that a significant amount of the lithium it uses in its vehicles could eventually come from the Hell’s Kitchen project. In addition to the environmental benefits of local sourcing, GM and CTR both hope the resulting lithium will be “low-cost.” It all sounds promising, so here’s hoping it works out.

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Age is just a number, right? Well, not in the automotive world. In an industry that’s reinventing itself faster than ever, the 14-year-old Toyota Tundra stands as one of the oldest vehicles on sale. First released in 2007—with a major face-lift in 2014—the current Tundra is without a doubt on its last leg. But a new one is right around the corner, so we thought we’d take one last look at a 2021 Tundra TRD Pro to see if the new truck could learn anything from its predecessor.

Interior Improvements Required

The interior is a perfect example of the way things used to be done. The industry, especially full-size trucks, has moved away from a setup like the Tundra’s. A single, 8.0-inch touchscreen sits in the middle of the dashboard, and a set of huge analog dials is housed in the gauge cluster.

These days, everything is dominated by customizable displays and vast, tablet-like touchscreens. There’s also a move toward luxury—a trend we don’t necessarily mind when it comes to trucks, vehicles that have to play the roles of workhorse, daily driver, and occasional off-roader.

We expect the next Tundra to vastly improve on interior tech and to bring a load of higher-quality materials to key touchpoints. But there is one feature we want Toyota to keep: its physical primary controls. The huge knobs for the HVAC controls, the buttons for fan speed, and the knobs for tuning the radio and controlling the volume are simple and easy to use without taking your eyes off the road or work gloves off your hands. For that reason, they’re far more intuitive than the capacitive buttons that are found in so many new cars in 2021. Sometimes the old ways are the best, and this area is no exception.

A Powertrain Rethink

One part of the current Tundra we don’t mind biting the dust is the 5.7-liter V-8 engine that serves as its sole engine option. Its 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque is middling in 2021. Plus, peak torque doesn’t arrive until 3,600 rpm, and that means the Tundra doesn’t have any real get up and go until you stick your right foot into the carpet, shortly after which the transmission will upshift early leaving you in a low-down, powerless part of the rev range.

And although trucks aren’t noted for their efficiency, the Tundra’s 13/17 mpg city/highway doesn’t cut the mustard in the face of something like a Ford F-150 hybrid that can get up to 25/26 mpg city/highway. The ability to choose between efficiency and outright power is why Ford, Chevy, and Ram all offer a plethora of powertrain options in their full-size pickups. We don’t expect Toyota to exactly follow the blueprint set by the domestic trucks, but we would like to see more than just one engine option for the upcoming Tundra.

Rumor has it a massaged version of the 3.4-liter turbocharged V-6 in the Lexus LS500 will take the V-8’s place under the hood in two states of tune, but take that with a grain of salt. Toyota is still keeping the full powertrain details under wraps, but it did promise more power than the V-8 for the new truck’s standard powertrain and an optional one that will “blow you away.”

More Off-Road Ability

Off-roaders are better than ever. Electronically detachable anti-roll bars, multiple locking differentials, and neat software gadgets like hill descent control and trail cameras are available on a wide variety of trucks and SUVs in 2021. All this kit and more all make the great outdoors significantly more accessible for drivers of all skill levels.

The Tundra TRD Pro, which is supposed to be the most off-road-ready version of the Tundra, doesn’t have any of the aforementioned features. There is the option to select between 4WD and 2WD along with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, but when we took the Tundra off-road, it struggled to keep up with its smaller, newer, and better-prepared sibling, the Tacoma.

It’s worth noting that the Tacoma we brought along was a TRD Off-Road spec version, but it ran a much more suitable set of tires for our day in the dirt. We would have liked the option for tires more aggressive than the Michelin LTX A/T 2s our test truck wore. The Michelins are a decent compromise if you never plan to drive on anything but the pavement or dirt roads, but should you want to go any further afield, more suitable rubber is a must.

Not to mention the other off-road-specific tech that we’d like to see in the next Tundra. It’s not that every Tundra needs the extra kit, but if you’re going to call something a “Pro,” it should be loaded up with the very best a manufacturer can offer.

More Towing and Hauling Capability

The current Tundra comes standard with a towing package. As nice as that is, it doesn’t change the fact that the Tundra can’t tow or haul as much as its domestic rivals. Max tow and haul ratings for the Tundra are 10,100 and 1,730 pounds, respectively. The Ford F-150, with the 400-horsepower, 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6, can tow up to 14,000 pounds. Not only that, but every F-150, regardless of powertrain, can haul at least 110 pounds more than the Tundra, and its max-haul rating is 3,250 pounds.

It doesn’t need to deliver a class-leader with the new Tundra, but Toyota definitely needs to up its game in the towing and hauling departments. The new turbocharged V-6 should help it deliver the goods in that regard, and we hope it’s a more serious competitor in this space. The new powertrain’s extra power and torque will no doubt help with that.

It’s About Time

The new Tundra is a long time coming, and we’re hoping the new truck is finally a credible alternative to those from Ford, Ram, and Chevy. If you want to know more about the Tundra the minute we do, keep your eyes on this space. The new truck is coming, and soon.

Editor’s note: A big thank you to Curtis from Rosamond, California, for coming to our aid when we received a flat tire while off-roading.

SPECIFICATIONS 2021 Toyota Tundra 4×4 TRD Pro BASE PRICE $54,995 PRICE AS TESTED $55,818 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door truck ENGINE 5.7L/381-hp/401-lb-ft DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,933 lb (56/44%) WHEELBASE 145.7 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 228.9 x 79.9 x 77.2 in 0-60 MPH 6.8 sec QUARTER MILE 15.2 sec @ 90.9 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 127 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.70 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 29.1 sec @ 0.56 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 13/17/14 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 259/198 kWh/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.33 lb/mile

The post 2021 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Review: Farewell, We’re Ready for the New Tundra appeared first on MotorTrend.

All it takes is one look at the 2022 Honda Civic sedan to tell that it’s a decidedly different car. Gone are the outgoing Civic’s busy front mug, C-shaped rear light banks, and noisy character lines. In their place is a more mature exterior with a wider stance, glassier greenhouse, and sharp beltline. Inside, the cabin’s snazzy hexagonal mesh (real metal!) dash trim, slick new digital gauges, and smudge-resistant surfaces are also significant updates you can see and touch.

Ah, but has the new Civic changed as much underneath all that shiny new metal, leather, and plastic? Much of our instrumented testing would indicate otherwise. But that doesn’t mean Honda’s chassis and powertrain engineers were less busy than the exterior and interior stylists in developing the 11th-generation 2022 Civic. After all, when you already have a good core, it’s all about the toning. Honda has been toning the Civic for some 50 years and tuning the Touring’s powertrain—a 1.5-liter turbo I-4 and a continuously variable transmission—for the better part of a decade. Gotta keep working that core, especially as you get older.

How Does the New 2022 Honda Civic Perform?

All that work didn’t exactly pay off when it came to the straight-line performance numbers, however. Out at the track, the 2022 Honda Civic Touring’s 0–60-mph time of 7.4 seconds is actually two ticks slower than what we recorded for the then-new 10th-generation Touring sedan back in 2015, despite the new engine’s 180 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque (increases of 6 horsepower and 15 lb-ft). Same goes for the quarter-mile time of 15.7 seconds at 91.4 mph, which was also 0.2 second and 1 mph slower than the 2016 Civic Touring sedan we tested. The most likely culprit is weight, as the 2022 Civic has put on some poundage. At 3,038 pounds, the new Civic sedan weighs 113 pounds more than the outgoing model, according to our scales.

But those extra pounds are all muscle, right? According to Honda, the new Civic has 8 percent more torsional rigidity and 13 percent greater bending rigidity than before. That shows in our handling tests, where the new 2022 Civic gains the upper hand over the outgoing car, posting better numbers on the skidpad (0.88 g vs. 0.83 g) and in the figure-eight (26.7 seconds at 0.64 g vs. 27.5 seconds at 0.62 g). These are the kinds of stats that bode well for the inevitable high-performance Civic models to follow, including a sedan-based Si.

Those skidpad and figure-eight numbers might have been even better if not for some pesky nannies, according to road test editor Chris Walton. “On the skidpad, it’s largely neutral with very mild understeer, but stability control cannot be shut off, so it chops the throttle, limiting skidpad speed,” he noted.

Pulling stopping duties for the new 2022 Civic are 11.1-inch vented discs at the front and 10.2-inch solid rear discs, both with single-piston calipers. The test team was able to haul the Civic down from 60 mph in 122 feet, 1 foot shorter than the last-gen model, and reported that the brake feel was decent with good body control. The addition of some grippier tires could have potentially helped further shorten that distance.

What’s the New Civic Like Away From the Track?

Out in the real world, the 2022 Civic’s ride and handling have been markedly improved. Again, credit some serious core work—a 1.4-inch wheelbase stretch and a 0.5-inch-wider rear track. Numerous additional updates were made to the MacPherson strut front and multilink rear suspension, most notably in an effort to reduce suspension friction. Multiple suspension bushings, ball joints, and damper mount points were reworked with the goal of reducing harsh impact shock and noise. Honda claims harshness noise was reduced by 20 percent as a result.

The changes are evident from the first road imperfection you hit. The 2022 Civic Touring has far and away the most refined ride we’ve ever experienced from this nameplate. It’s that good. There’s very little of the impact harshness you’ll often get from shorter-wheelbase, front-drive cars. The car is also quiet at freeway speeds thanks to a host of noise-reduction measures, including the Civic’s first use of urethane spray foam, applied to hollow areas of the body.

As for the powertrain, under hard initial acceleration, power will surge before the transmission quickly settles into a step-shift action designed to reduce the “rubber-band effect” inherent in continuously variable transmissions. The CVT has a downshift control feature that adds engine braking when going downhill, and it’s been revised in an effort to improve engine response when you’re getting on it. The CVT also works to further reduce the turbo lag of the Civic Touring sedan’s 1.5-liter engine, which, despite the pedestrian acceleration numbers, feels linear in its overall power delivery.

While we didn’t have a chance to get really aggressive from a handling perspective, when we got hard into a tight onramp, the Civic’s chassis didn’t feel overwhelmed or wallowy. We did, however, have ample opportunity in jammed L.A. traffic to try out the Civic Touring’s adaptive cruise control and Traffic Jam Assist systems, which are part of its Honda Sensing safety suite. The adaptive cruise did its job, and although the brakes did come on somewhat abruptly at times, the system did restart from a stop. Traffic Jam Assist works at speeds up to 45 mph and essentially steers for you until you’re told to put your hands on the wheel. We had no issues with it other than we would have liked to have left our hands off the wheel longer.

But then again, the Civic has always been a hands-on sort of car, despite the fact that it’s now entering the digital and luxury worlds in a big way with the 11th generation. It’s a car that tuners have messed with for decades and one that Honda itself has tuned with myriad performance editions. It’s a car that, come what may, will remain at the core of what Honda is all about, all while it keeps improving its core.

2022 Honda Civic Touring Specifications BASE PRICE $29,295 PRICE AS TESTED $29,295 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 1.5L/180-hp/177-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4 TRANSMISSION Cont variable auto CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3,038 lb (61/39%) WHEELBASE 107.7 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 184.0 x 70.9 x 55.7 in 0-60 MPH 7.4 sec QUARTER MILE 15.7 sec @ 91.4 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 122 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.88 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 26.7 sec @ 0.64 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 31/38/34 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 109/89 kWh/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.57 lb/mile

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Launched in 1959, the original Mini revolutionized automotive design. With its engine mounted transversely across the front of the car and driving the front wheels, the Mini’s space-efficient mechanical layout became the blueprint for small and medium-size cars the world over. The second-generation Mini, launched in 2001 by BMW, was a digitally remastered homage to the original’s cheeky design that also amped up its fun-to-drive dynamics. BMW’s new Mini Vision Urbanaut concept is less a car than a lounge on disco-lit wheels.

Think of the Urbanaut as a small minivan stuffed with a hipster loft interior. According to BMW, it has a “daybed” and a “street balcony” at the front and a “cosy corner” at the rear. Pop a token into one of three slots on the small table and the Urbanaut will present you with one of three “curated Mini moments” (Chill, Wanderlust, and Vibe), each of which changes the interior ambiance, seating configuration, and connectivity settings. Steering wheel? Pedals? Other car stuff? Oh, it’s all in there somewhere. The six-page press release makes a fleeting reference to an electric powertrain and autonomous drive capability.

Is this really the future of Mini? BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk justifies the Mini branding on the basis the Urbanaut concept makes “clever use of space.”

The one-box format does deliver a lot of interior room for the concept’s given footprint. The only dimension quoted is an overall length of 175.6 inches, which makes the Urbanaut—in comparison to long-dead models—shorter than a Mazda 5 but longer than a Honda Element. And if the CGI renderings are to be believed, it’s taller than both. In purely physical terms, a Mini it ain’t.

Mini Vision Urbanaut: Urban Chic

Inside the Urbanaut is dominated by textiles woven from natural and recycled materials, washed with ambient lighting that changes according to mood and mode. Cork is used on the steering wheel and parts of the floor. The simple exterior is devoid of seams and decorative trim, with the car’s matte green-blue-gray finish fading into the greenhouse and glass roof. It’s enlivened, once the car is switched on, by changeable lighting graphics front and rear, and wheels inspired by the light-up ones on skateboards. The top-hinged windshield can be opened up when the Urbanaut is parked to create what BMW calls the street balcony.

For all its future-tech brainstorming and colorful lighting, however, the Mini Vision Urbanaut is an oddly dystopian take on a brand that once epitomized fun and functional transport.

Only one of those so-called “Mini moments”–Wanderlust–actually involves the Urbanaut moving, either with a driver at the controls or in fully autonomous mode. In the Chill and Vibe modes, you’re apparently just supposed to lounge around or socialize in the Urbanaut while it’s parked. But it’s difficult to imagine why anyone would actually choose to do that rather than, say, lounge around in the comfort of their own home or socialize with their friends at a bar or a restaurant. Unless, of course, in the future, we’re all going to be reduced to living in our cars…

Mini Vision Urbanuat: Spiritual Inspiration

The Urbanaut isn’t the first one-box Mini concept. The Mini Spiritual and Spiritual Too concepts unveiled at the 1997 Geneva Motor Show revealed BMW had been toying with the format as it worked on a replacement for the original Mini, a ground-breaking small car that had been in production with minimal changes for almost 40 years.

By the time the Spiritual concepts were revealed to the public, BMW had already decided on the design of its retro-styled front-drive hatchback that would appear as the all-new Mini in 2001. The decision to show the Spiritual cars at Geneva was primarily done to distract media attention from the launch of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

Originally designed in 1995, the Spiritual cars were in their own way as innovative and ground-breaking as the original Mini and hewed much more closely to that car’s core design concept of delivering maximum possible interior space in the smallest possible package than the car BMW eventually launched as the new Mini.

The Spirituals were powered by a three-cylinder engine mounted under the rear seat and driving the rear wheels. The suspension was a version of the Hydragas setup used on the original Mini, and the gas tank was under the front seats. At 120 inches, the two-door Spiritual was the same overall length as the original Mini, while the longer four-door Spiritual Too had interior room comparable to that of a contemporary BMW 7 Series.

While the Spiritual concepts were genuinely modern takes on the ideals that guided the original Mini’s designer, Alec Issigonis, in the 1950s, the retro-styled hatch that BMW chose instead, though an entirely conventional small car in terms of its engineering and execution (but nowhere near as space-efficient), was undoubtedly the smarter choice in terms of its commercial appeal.

Update: This post, which originally ran on November 17, 2020, has been updated to include new images of the Mini Vision Urbanaut concept.

The post Mini Vision Urbanaut Concept First Look: Mini Takes on #VanLife appeared first on MotorTrend.

Today we have a video of Mercedes’ inimitable G63 AMG SUV being made from a few boards of Fujian cypress. But this isn’t just any old video of Mercedes’ inimitable G63 AMG SUV being made from a few boards of Fujian cypress: This anonymous woodworker, whose skill is clearly matched only by his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, has created what may be the best toy car ever. No, really, trust us.

The video starts out as everything you thought you could hope for in a car-from-wood film, with lots of manly sawing and routing and chiseling and banging of wood blocks on metal work surfaces. You’ll get about three-and-a-half minutes in and think, “Okay, cool, I’ve seen how he does this. I get that he went all nerdy turning miniature brake disks and detailing the engine bay and carving out inner door panels complete with power seat controls. What could possibly fill up another six minutes?”

And that’s when the artist begins to build the G63’s frame with a completely working and accurately modeled suspension. A-arms and all—remember, the newest G ditched its live front axle for a more modern and surely more difficult-to-recreate-from-wood independent layout.

Yes, that’s right—A-arms, springs, shocks, and a turned driveline, all made of wood. Well, not all made of wood—there are some metal bits, particularly the springs, because wooden springs aren’t very springy (we know this from the YouTuber’s earlier F-150 Raptor model).

This particular G63 AMG model has already sold for a price unknown—and good for both the artist and the buyer!—but he has other wooden car models available, priced between $1,000 and $1,500 and worth every damn penny if this video is any indication.

Again, trust us: Watch the video if you haven’t already. Unless you win the lottery or meet your future spouse, we’re pretty sure it’ll be the best nine-and-a-half minutes you’ll spend all day. And if your day isn’t looking all that bright, you can watch this same artist build a Lamborghini Aventador, a C8 Corvette, a classic GT500, and all kinds of other cool stuff.

The post G-Wooden? Watch a Mercedes-AMG G63 Painstakingly Crafted From Wood appeared first on MotorTrend.

Getting older and growing apart from your friends is a sad fact of life. Kevin Hart and the Plastic Cup Boyz—John “Burgandee” Clausell, Ron “Boss” Everline, Will “Spank” Horton, Harry Ratchford, and Joey Wells—are lifelong friends and will do anything they can to stay close with one another, but careers, family, and life in general often find a way of foiling those plans. The Plastic Cup Boyz aren’t going to let that happen, and it was their shared love of cool cars and a desire to keep the group tight that started Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew.

A couple years ago, Kevin Hart bought each of the guys their dream classic car, and now they want to get serious about car culture. But where do they fit in and what are they all about? They’ve got such a disparate group of cars and opinions about what’s cool and how to build a car, they don’t know where to begin. 

Related: The MotorTrend App is the only place to watch as Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew learns what it takes to set up a serious car club. Sign up today for a free trial!

It doesn’t help that, even though they can recognize cool, they don’t really know that much about cars. But the Plastic Cup Boyz aren’t afraid of admitting that; they’re eager to learn more and to be taken seriously as collectors and a car club, and they’re happy to bust each other’s chops along the way.

Quarantine Cruise: An Introduction to Car Culture

The whole point of a car club is getting the rides together to show off and brag. Car people can’t help but gab about their vehicles, especially when they gather en masse at car shows and cruises, like the Quarantine Cruise in Huntington Beach, California. There’s no better place for budding enthusiasts to dip their toes in the vast waters of car culture and meet like-minded people who are more than happy to share everything they know.

The Plastic Cup Boyz brought all their cars to the show, and it quickly became apparent that they had no idea what they were looking at when checking out the other cruisers’ cars. Shock towers, twin-turbos, MSD EFI? It’s a foreign language the guys don’t understand—yet—but they’re working on that. 

The Plastic Cup Boyz also decided that four of the six cars in the crew just aren’t up to snuff. Joey’s ’56 VW Beetle and Boss’s ’65 Mustang both suffer from reliability and driveability issues. Spank loves the 396 big-block in his ’69 SS Chevelle, but it doesn’t have the power to get out of its own way. John thinks he’s the fastest in the crew, and if Spank is getting more power, he should too, so expect to see something change on his 1968 Chevy Camaro SS.

How to Choose a Car Builder

If you’re like Kevin Hart—a global megastar leading multiple blockbuster movies every year on top of all kinds of other gigs—dropping, say $1,000,000, on a state-of-the-art custom car put together by a world-renowned builder is totally reasonable. Joey doesn’t want to spend anywhere near that kind of money on his ’56 Beetle (would that even be possible?) and Harry’s already dropped six-figures in his ’70 Chevelle, which was a hard pill to swallow. 

Anyone who’s ever gone down the rabbit hole of customizing a car knows how quickly the finances can get out of hand if one gets too excited. Finding a builder that knows how to work on the car you own and can give you quality work at a reasonable price in a reasonable amount of time isn’t easy. The guys split up in an effort to find a shop that could suit all of their build and budget needs, but the search came up empty.

That’s where Lucky Costa of HOT ROD Garage comes in. Before starring on the MotorTrend App, Lucky has been a mobile repair technician and car electrician for decades as well as being a behind-the-scenes builder on Overhaulin’. Lucky also owns a shop where he’s always got something going on, like an LT4-swap in Dax Shepard’s 1988 Chevy 454 SS Pickup. Lucky loves anything American and pre-emissions, but he’s seen and worked on it all, especially vintage Volkswagens. 

A car built by Lucky Costa isn’t some back-alley deal or multi-year, multi-hundred-thousand-dollar relationship. He builds cars to be reliable and fun at any price point. Sounds like a match made in heaven for the Plastic Cup Boyz, but there’s only one place to follow the crew on their classic car culture education: the MotorTrend App. Sign up for a free trial, and start streaming today!

The post How to Navigate Car Culture with Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew appeared first on MotorTrend.

Maserati is glamming up its lineup for the 2022 model year by introducing three new trims: GT, Modena, and Trofeo. Complementing innovation, performance, and design, the new trims will be available on the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans, as well as the Levante SUV.

Let’s start with the base GT trim level. So-equipped Ghibli and Quattroporte models get 19-inch wheels, while the Levante GT comes fitted with 20-inch wheels. GT models also receive special interior treatments. The Ghibli features what the brand calls “Dark Mirror” trim, whereas the Quattroporte sports “Radica” wood. Meanwhile, the Levante GT includes piano black bits. All GT models come to our shores with a 345-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 engine underhood. Although this engine was previously offered in the Ghibli and Levante, it now finds a home under the hood of the entry-level Quattroporte for 2022.

The Modena trim toes the line between elegance and performance. What it means for American-market Ghibli, Quattroporte, and Levante Modena models is the GT’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 is tuned to pump out 424 hp in Modena models. Those seeking more thrilling high-speed runs down an open desert road in their Levante can upgrade to the available Modena S, which trades the six-pot for a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-8 with 550 hp.

On the exterior, Modena models feature trim-specific bumpers with piano black inserts, as well as a set of 20-inch wheels. Inside, the Levante and Quattroporte interiors feature piano black trim. The Ghibli, meanwhile, nets the brand’s Dark Mirror decor.

Spring for the top-of-the-line Trofeo trim and you’re Maser gets the likes of carbon-fiber exterior bits and head-turning red brake calipers. The Levante Trofeo rides on 22-inch wheels, while the Ghibli Trofeo and Quattroporte Trofeo come fitted with 21-inch wheels. More importantly, this trio of Tropheo-trimmed Maseratis each relies on a 580-hp twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-8 for motivation. Sport seats and full-grain “Pieno Fiore” natural leather upholstery complement the might of the Trofeo’s powertrain.

Regardless of trim, all 2022 Maserati Ghiblis, Quattroportes, and Levantes feature updated badging, as well as the brand’s latest emblem that it debuted on the 2022 MC20.

The post Slim Trim: Maserati’s Sedans and SUV Get Mild Updates for 2022 appeared first on MotorTrend.

Update 7/1/21: There is now a full product list of GR Heritage parts available for the Toyota 2000 GT, the A70 (MkIII) Supra, and the A80 (MkIV) Supra. The list for the two Supras is nowhere near as long and in depth as the one for the rare ’60s-ea 2000 GT, but more parts will likely be available in time. If you want to check out the parts lists, you can view them on Toyota’s Gazoo Racing site here. There’s also a form to fill out if you want to request a specific part as well as instructions on how to order them. 

If you’ve ever owned a classic car that’s no longer in production, then you know as well as anyone that finding parts can be a major concern. Of course, if you need an alternator for a Toyota Camry built in the 1980s, that’s probably not going to be tough to find. But what if you’re looking for parts for your third- or fourth-generation Toyota Supra, a car built in far fewer numbers? Or what about the ultra-rare, increasingly expensive 1960s-era 2000GT sports car (Toyota made fewer than 350 units)? That’s a little trickier. Thankfully, Toyota and its Gazoo Racing division have unveiled a list of parts that will go back into production this year.

GR Heritage Parts is the official name for this service, which takes cues from many other factory-supported “heritage” programs across the globe. In fact, we detailed many such programs not long ago, which range from increased parts support and dealerships trained in servicing classic vehicles, to all-out vehicle restoration services. In the case of GR Heritage Parts, initial offerings will be somewhat slim, offering parts that cater to the third- and fourth-generation Toyota Supra (A70 and A80 chassis codes), in addition to the 2000GT, models that Toyota says offer a direct link to its newest breed of sports cars.

“There is a huge variety of classic models that enthusiasts would like us to cater for,” Toyota said in a release. “However, we’ve started by populating the GR Heritage Parts catalog with selected components for the third-generation and fourth-generation Supra models. These are the models that laid the cornerstone of the modern GR line.”

So what new heritage parts can be expected? In 2020, Toyota expects to reproduce third-generation Supra prop shafts, door handles, fuel sender gauges, door and window weather stripping, and front emblems. Fourth-generation Supra parts slated for 2020 production include headlights, door handles, and brake servos.  That’s admittedly not a long list, but owners with suggestions for other parts that should re-enter production can submit requests on the program’s website. Details on the 2000GT lineup of parts (announced separately from the Supra parts, in July 2020) are forthcoming, but GR says that first among them will be replacement gears for the five-speed manual transmission and a final-drive set. We’re told to expect more announcements starting August 1, 2020.

While the most comprehensive factory heritage programs are predominantly located in England and Europe and focus on cars that tend to be fairly pricey to begin with, Toyota follows country mates Mazda and Nissan who are upping their offerings for historically interesting vehicles such as Miata and Skyline models. While we’d love to see Toyota ultimately offer a factory restoration program for models like the Supra, MR2, and Celica All-Trac Turbo, we’ll take what we can get for the time being.

The post Toyota GR Heritage Parts Program for A70, A80 Supra Detailed Further appeared first on MotorTrend.

Behold! You can be the proud owner of a 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor for less than a hundred bucks. Better yet, you can gift Ford’s aggressive off-roader to any dirt-loving enthusiast in your life and forever be the favorite friend or family member. Like all things that sound too good to be true, there’s a caveat. The LEGO 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor is about 17 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 6 inches tall. And it’s made of LEGO bricks. Yes, a LEGO Raptor is now a thing.

Don’t get us wrong. Any kid can attest that things don’t have to be real to be awesome. The bottom line is that the new LEGO 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor (Technic item #42126) simply makes us feel happy inside. The kit consists of 1,379 LEGO pieces that combine to form the coolest little Raptor ever—assuming you can follow hundreds of steps of directions without smashing the whole thing in a fit of frustration.

When completed, the LEGO Ford Raptor has four opening doors, suspension that compresses, wheels that roll, a hood that opens, a steering wheel that steers, and rotating pistons in its V-6. Best of all, you can pretend that it sounds like the burly supercharged 702-hp V-8 of the Ram TRX and not like an angry 450-hp leaf blower. We can’t wait to give it a test jump in the living room.

The front end reflects the changes made to the third-gen Raptor, and from what we can tell, the rear five-link suspension is spot-on. Close-up pictures of the dual tail pipes, fender flares, and Raptor graphics will have your friends thinking you ponied up for the real thing. The wheels and tires are a tad off in their designs, but LEGO makes up for it with that bicentennial Michigan license plate.

The real-life 2021 Ford Raptor will probably hit streets before the LEGO version hits your, umm, shelf, but pre-orders are now open for the miniature version, and shipping begins October 1, 2021. If the Raptor doesn’t suit your fancy, LEGO has tons of options: Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Mini Cooper, 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback, Land Rover Defender, Volkswagen Beetle, Porsche 911, and the Tesla Cybertruck, for example.

The post The LEGO 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor Is Cool, Still Doesn’t Have 702 HP appeared first on MotorTrend.

Of all the vehicles on sale today, it somehow makes sense that the full-size van twins from General Motors—the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana—still offer a CD player as a factory option. It’s part of the vans‘ fanciest available sound system. After all, the Express and Savana have seemingly been on sale since just after the last Ice Age. But like taxes, death is inevitable. And so the painfully obsolete CD option has been consigned to oblivion, as reported by GM Authority. The ball’s in your court now, Lexus.

The change happens for the 2022 model year, with the discontinuation of the “US8” sound system and its in-dash CD player. Just like the two vans themselves, we presume this option stuck around so long simply due to the fact its tooling has been amortized many times over.

If you’re wondering what replaces the old US8 stereo option in the 2022 Express and Savana, then you better prepare for disappointment. Rather than introduce a newer more modern infotainment setup to these vans, GM is taking the system that currently sits below the US8 in today’s vans stereo system hierarchy and adding SiriusXM capability and extra speakers to the unit so it can serve as the premium option in 2022 model year Express and Savana vans.

While these big GM vans may still rely on aging infotainment tech, the models at least feature modern engines fore of their cabins. Remember, GM made its 6.6-liter gas V-8, good for 401 hp and 464 lb-ft of torque, optionally available for 2021. The vans are also offered with a 4.3-liter V-6 and a torque-rich and frugal 2.8-liter turbodiesel I-4. For better or worse, though, the Express and Savana, which have been on sale for 26 years, show no signs of following their soon-to-be discontinued in-dash CD player to the junkyard in the sky. Yet.

The post GM Pulls the Plug on Its Chevy and GMC Full-Size Vans … Available CD Player appeared first on MotorTrend.

Are you curious what it’s like to be in a new Tesla Model S Plaid as it sprints from 0–60 mph? While we can’t bring the feeling of nearly 1.30 g of accelerative force slamming your body into the electric sedan’s seatbacks, we can offer the next best thing: onboard footage of the new Model S Plaid at the drag strip.

Watch as the Model S Plaid gets into its “Cheetah Stance” and rips off a 1.98-second 0–60 mph time and a 9.25-second at 152.6 mph quarter mile on the super sticky VHT-coated surface of Auto Club Famoso Raceway. On normal asphalt, the Tesla’s acceleration numbers are a little less quick but no less impressive, with the 1,020-hp EV accelerating from 0–60 mph in 2.07 seconds and crossing the quarter mile in 9.34 seconds at 152.2 mph. Without the customary one-foot of rollout, the Model S Plaid can hit 60 mph in just 2.28 seconds, and, if you don’t feel like waiting up to 15 minutes for the car’s Drag Strip mode to engage (not to mention another nine seconds or so for the Plaid to get into its Cheetah Stance), then you can always just stomp on the accelerator pedal and rip off a 2.45-second 0-60 mph time.

While the Plaid’s tri-motor powertrain is unquestionably the star of the show, the updated Model S also features a completely redesigned cabin (complete with a steering yoke instead of a wheel), a new infotainment system, and more.

Be sure to check out all of our Tesla Model S Plaid coverage below:

Tesla Model S Plaid First Test

Tesla Model S Plaid Interior Review

Tesla Model S Plaid Yoke Review

Testing the Tesla Model S Plaid: Milestones, Records, and Other Geeky Factoids

How to use Launch Control in the Tesla Model S Plaid

Tesla Predictive Shifting Test and Review: Well, It Almost Works

Tesla Model S Plaid Fast-Charging and Range Test

The post Watch the Tesla Model S Plaid’s Record-Breaking 0–60-MPH Run appeared first on MotorTrend.

Among the many aspirations of Carroll Shelby later in his life was to build a modern Cobra. With the original AC-based sports car having become a valuable classic—in spite of the ready availability of far more affordable knockoffs—Shelby felt the new millenium held promise for a Cobra revival. The famed automotive designer teamed up with Ford to develop a fully functional prototype and announced their collaboration at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d’​Elegance. The Ford Shelby Cobra Concept would make its debut months later at the 2004 North American International Auto Show.

Chris Theodore, former Ford Vice President of Product Development, and J Mays, Group Vice President of Product Design in collaboration with Carroll Shelby, took charge of the design and build. Given the code name “Daisy,” the Ford Shelby Cobra Concept came to fruition in 2004 and debuted at the Detroit Auto Show that same year. Now 17 years later, the one-off concept will be crossing the auction block for the first time and is heading to Mecum Auctions in August.

An all-aluminum space frame chassis underpins the Ford Shelby Cobra Concept along with a bespoke billet aluminum front structure. The independent front and rear suspension components are from a Ford GT, and it comes equipped with Brembo cross-drilled and ventilated discs with four-piston monoblock calipers. This one-of-a-kind sports car is finished in Tungsten Grey and rides on unique seven-spoke BBS billet wheels sporting custom BFGoodrich racing tires.

Under the hood, a 6.4-liter aluminum V-10(!) with dry-sump lubrication mated to a six-speed, rear-mounted Ricardo transaxle drives the rear wheels. The hand-built concept packs 605 horsepower and is somewhat similar conceptually to the Dodge Viper—a car that, interestingly enough, was in part inspired by the original Cobra. A one-piece hydraulically operated tilting hood allows for contemplative gazes at the bespoke engine and chassis.

For rigidity and to handle the demands of a high-performance car, the body is constructed of double-wall fiberglass with a foam core. Other exterior highlights include carbon fiber rocker panels, splitters, rear diffuser, and billet aluminum A-pillars. The custom interior features a billet aluminum dashboard, headrests, carbon fiber trim, and leather upholstered carbon-fiber Sparco racing seats with four-point seatbelts.

Carroll Shelby drove the 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept for more than 150 miles at Irwindale Speedway in California. Showing no signs of slowing at the age of 81, Shelby did high-speed runs around the track and topped it off with donuts on the infield. After testing the car, Shelby gave Daisy his legendary signature of approval. Former MotorTrend editor Matt Stone was there for the wild ride and would later get behind the wheel.

Chris Theodore, who currently owns the Shelby Cobra Concept, purchased it in November 2017. The proceeds from the sale went to the restoration of the Fair Lane mansion, the home of Henry and Clara Ford. Ford disabled the powertrain for liability reasons prior to the sale, as many manufacturers do when selling vehicles that were never certified for road use. Theodore utilized his deep knowledge of the concept and contacts in the industry to restore the car to running condition, installing a new transmission output shaft, twin-plate clutch, flywheel, and wiring harness. He even managed to get the car registered for legal road use. The new buyer will be able to title and license this priceless concept car for the road.

Included in the sale are a certificate from the Shelby Registry, a Letter of Authenticity from Ford Motor Company, a detailed build book presented to Ford COO Nick Sheele, and a collection of photographs taken during design and development.

Returning to the site where Shelby and Ford originally announced their collaboration, one lucky buyer will have a chance to drive (or trailer) the “last Shelby Cobra” home when it hits the auction block at Monterey Car Week 2021. The special one-off piece of history, restored under the watchful eye of its original chief engineer and running as well as when Carroll Shelby himself drove and signed it, “Daisy” is expected to bring in as much as $3 million.

The post The V-10-Powered 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept Is Up For Sale, Comes Carroll Approved appeared first on MotorTrend.

LEVC has unveiled a few sketches of its upcoming e-Camper, a spry PHEV campervan. The leisure van aims to appease environmentally conscious adventures looking for greener mobility solutions in the campervan market—or those just looking for a way to get out and explore, which is perfectly acceptable too.

The Geely-owned London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) was born in 2017 but traces its history back to 1908 with the London black cab, a vehicle that was the backbone of taxi services for a hundred years. The company’s modern black cab taxi, the plug-in hybrid electric TX, was introduced in 2018 and is manufactured at a high-tech factory in Ansty, a village in the Rugby Borough of Warwickshire, England. Production of a VN5 medium-sized electric van sibling began in November 2020, the first non-taxi model for LEVC.

The easy-to-maneuver LEVC e-Camper is based on the VN5 but also incorporates some styling cues from the TX electric taxi. The plug-in hybrid van has an electric-only range of over 60 miles and a total range of 304 miles thanks to the company’s e-City range extender technology—which includes a Volvo-supplied 1.5-liter three-cylinder gas engine that supplies charge to the 31-kWh battery pack. The rear wheels, driven by a 147-hp Siemens e-motor, are never driven by the internal combustion engine. This setup helps reduce range anxiety while also allowing for stress-free, pure electric travel. Pure EV mode, Save mode, and Smart mode determine the load provided by the range extender and battery.

The most noticeable feature of the LEVC PHEV e-Camper is the pop-up roof, allowing for more interior room. The interior, designed around the flexible use of space, includes an integrated electric kitchenette, a central folding table, and a second-row bench seat that converts into a second double bed. It can sleep up to four.

Partnering with a UK-based campervan converter company named Wellhouse Leisure, the first deliveries of the LEVC e-Camper are scheduled for the last quarter of 2021.

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