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2020 Ford GT gets more power, full carbon fiber body in surprise update

Just when you thought the Ford GT was yesterday’s news, Ford hits us with an unexpected shot of supercar. With a few years of production remaining (scheduled to finish in 2022), Ford has decided to make the last half of its run of GTs a hair better than the first half. Call it a mid-cycle refresh, but for a half-million dollar supercar.

Instead of 647 horsepower from the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, all 2020 GTs will produce 660 horsepower. That 13 horsepower increase comes thanks to a few changes, according to Ford. Mechanical upgrades include new gallery-cooled pistons and higher energy ignition coils. This is then combined with a new engine calibration, ultimately resulting in a broader torque band — though Ford hasn’t told us what the exact difference is yet. Ford mentions that lessons learned from the track-only GT Mk II helped this upgrade along.

Cooling to the engine is greatly improved, as Ford designed new buttress air ducts that increase airflow by 50 percent. The intercoolers are also slightly larger than before, a boon for extreme track use. Speaking of the track, Ford says it also increased the suspension stiffness in “Track” mode for even greater on-track performance. It was probably stiff enough before, but maybe you’ll be able to pick up a tenth of a second somewhere in the lap. Everybody will be able to hear you a little better on track in the new car, too, because Ford is making the optional Akropovic titanium exhaust standard equipment for 2020. It was a $10,000 option before.

Lastly, Ford is introducing a couple new looks for the 2020 GT. The first is called Liquid Carbon, and it’s pictured at the top of this page. If you like carbon fiber, this is the GT for you. Ford eliminated the paint! Well, not all of it. There’s still a special clear coat sprayed onto the full carbon fiber body — we’ve asked Ford what kind of weight savings there are with the elimination of the paint, but it wasn’t able to provide a figure. You can bring a little color to the party in the form of optional stripes and painted mirror caps. These will be available in any of the colors offered on the regular GT. The carbon fiber wheels will be standard with this car (duh), and you can still pick an optional brake caliper color.

The last appearance package is an updated Gulf Racing Heritage livery. Ford now uses black pinstriping to surround the orange stripes, and the number has changed from a 9 (2019 car) to a 6 for 2020 as it mimics the racing numbers of the back-to-back (1968 and 1969) Le Mans winning GT40. You can also select carbon fiber wheels on the Gulf liveried car this year, an option that wasn’t available for 2019.

When we asked, Ford told us the 2020 price has increased to “approximately $500,000.” That’s up significantly from the $450,000 Ford wanted when the car first went on sale. For those who want one of the special Liquid Carbon GTs, Ford says to expect a number in the $750,000 range. As a reminder, all GTs are currently spoken for, so these updated cars already have future homes.

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February 6, 2020 / Comments Off

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Try to spot the new Porsche 911 GT3 in this Super Bowl commercial

When Porsche chose YouTube for the reveal of its Super Bowl commercial, the biggest news was the Stuttgart sports car maker returning to The Big Game after 24 years away. Depending on whether you’re more interested in the annual commercial-palooza or the products therein, Porsche hid even bigger newness inside “The Heist:” A sneak peek of the 992-series 911 GT3. As far as we can tell, Motor1 was first to catch the trickery, a Porsche rep confirming the subterfuge to Motor Trend. The presentation begins at 43 seconds in the video above, ending at 49, the culprit being the blue coupe on the lift above the yellow GT2 RS.

What can we tell from these snapshots? That the prototypes haven’t lied. It’s real busy in back, with a high-rise wing above a ducktail spoiler. The current 911 GT3 uses a pair of solid supports at the base of the engine cover supporting the wing from the bottom. Prototypes we’ve seen of the new GT3 fit a pair of thick stanchions set higher up on the body, next to the backlight, that clamp the wing top and bottom. Our guess is engineers needed to make room for the ducktail spoiler across the width of the car. We can’t quite make out the arrangement on the GT3 in the commercial, but it looks like the prototype plinths have been shaved down to a pair of thin braces next to the rear glass. Beneath all that, the rear bumper shows the same recessed section across its width. And an inordinate amount of the coupe’s flanks is taken up by big, 10-spoke, center-lock wheels fronting giant rotors.

Curiously, the GT3 Touring prototypes spotted at the Nürburgring lack both the big rear wing and the ducktail spoiler.

Don’t be surprised at a Geneva Motor Show reveal in March. Technical specs have homed in on a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six with up to 550 horsepower, the choice of a manual transmission, and a speculated ‘Ring lap time of around seven minutes, which would take about 12 seconds off the current car’s time.

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January 28, 2020 / Comments Off

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Ferrari SF90 Stradale shows how it was made in new video

Supercar geeks! Stop what you’re doing and watch this, preferably somewhere quiet where you can listen to the ambient, ethereal music. It’s a nearly 10-minute video Ferrari released titled “Manufacturing the SF90 Stradale,” and it offers a dream-like look at the production of its first-ever plug-in hybrid ahead of its launch this year.

What we see isn’t exactly sequential — 3D digital modeling and virtual reality are shown at the end, after we’ve seen the physical car being built — but it’s nonetheless an interesting look at the artistry side and painstakingly detailed preparation of manufacturing a 986-horsepower Italian supercar.

The video opens with a visit to the foundry, where molten aluminum is poured into molds and we see gloved hands and robots assembling parts for the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, its most powerful V8 yet at 769 hp. Ferrari says its engineers increased the capacity on the F154-heritage engine to 3,990 cc from 3,902 cc via a larger, 88-millimeter bore. There’s also a new, narrower cylinder head with a central injector, a Ferrari V8-first 350-bar GDI and a larger intake and redesigned exhaust system.

From there, there’s lots more eye candy, as we’re taken through body assembly, the paint shop, digital and clay modeling, interior parts assembly, and so forth. It finishes with a shot of the completed car in red against a dark background.

Other notables in the SF90 include four powertrain modes controlled by buttons on the steering wheel, including up to 15 miles in all-electric with front-wheel drive relying on the two front electric motors. The hybrid modes activate a third e-motor located at the rear axle, between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The SF90 is also the first Ferrari to use all-wheel drive, which the company says was necessary to fully exploit the hybrid power.

The video can only mean that we’re getting close to launch, and it’s sure to whet the appetites of those privileged enough to afford one.

January 23, 2020 / Comments Off

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This sounds like the flat-plane crank V8 Chevy Corvette

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January 21, 2020 / Comments Off

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Hennessey Venom F5’s carbon chassis weighs as much as Steph Curry

CEO and founder of Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) John Hennessey has pegged the famous Quail Motorsports Gathering during the 2020 Monterey Car Week for the debut of the production version of the Venom F5 supercar. Only 24 examples will be built for the world, and each one will cost at least $1.8 million. HPE has already shown the the conceptual shape of the car, as well as its (claimed) 1,800-plus-horsepower engine, and now for the first time, the public gets a glimpse at the car’s skeleton, a carbon-fiber chassis that weighs less than 200 pounds.

As of January 20, 2020, Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) has three customer-bound Venom F5 supercars in production, with testing scheduled to begin in the second quarter of the year. Under the skin of each will be this structure, an all-new clean-sheet chassis made up entirely of carbon fiber weave impregnated with polymers. The entire thing only weighs 189.6 lbs, or about the listed weight for NBA superstar Steph Curry, and Hennessey claims its torsional rigidity is approximately 38,353 lb-ft of torque per degree. It’ll need every bit of strength for what HPE has in mind for the supercar.

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The initial goal with the Venom F5 was to break 300 mph, but during the time the car has been in development, Bugatti went ahead and broke that mark by hitting 304 mph in a Chiron. Not one to be outdone, Mr. Hennessey now says he wants his creation to reach at least 310.7 mph, which equals a nice, round 500 kph.

In order to do this, the car needed something bigger and badder than the 1,600-plus-horsepower engine shown back in 2017. Powering the current Venom F5 is a bespoke Hennessey Specialty Vehicles twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8 with custom lightweight internals and 3D-printed titanium compressor housings. Hennessey says it makes 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 lb-ft of torque, and it has been dubbed Fury.

When the car is complete, 12 will be sold to the American market, and the other 12 will go to international clients. Lucky for interested parties, Hennessey says there are still open slots for U.S. customers. Once the initial run of F5 coupes is distributed, Hennessey will likely shift its focus to altering the chassis you see here to accommodate the demands of a Venom F5 Roadster.

Oh, one last thing: Turn the volume down before watching that video above or your ears might start bleeding.

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January 20, 2020 / Comments Off

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Top 5 most expensive cars at the 2020 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction

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January 20, 2020 / Comments Off

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Koenigsegg reportedly bringing ‘Mission 500’ concept to Geneva

Koenigsegg has a thing for the Geneva Motor Show, introducing its first customer car there, the CC82, in 2002. Since then, the Swedish carmaker has trucked wares like the CCX and CCXR, Agera, Regera, and Jesko from Angelholm to greet the world in the Romandy region of Switzerland. According to a report in The Supercar Blog, the ritual takes place again this year, with Koenigsegg supposedly debuting a concept called Mission 500. The concept, so the story goes, will preview the vehicle the hypercar maker plans to use to crack the 300-mile-per-hour barrier. The “500” in the name refers to 500 kilometers per hour, which equates to 310.6 miles per hour. There are rumors of two more cars on display, but the Mission 500 concept is the centerpiece.

Getting any production car to reach 300 miles per hour is a stellar feat, one accomplished last September by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. The task is so difficult that every extra mile per hour beyond 300 could be considered its own Herculean conquest of several categories of physics. The Molsheim coupe ran 304.77 mph (490.48 kilometers per hour) at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien track. If Koenigsegg can hit the magic 500, that additional 6 mph represents a gargantuan achievement.

It’s not clear if the Mission 500 concept is a new vehicle or based on the Jesko. Company boss Christian von Koenigsegg has said he has a 300-mph variant of the Jesko in mind that only needs some extreme aero to manage the task. The CEO has practical math to work with for his claim, his company having got the Agera RS up to 277.87 mph in 2017 — that speed averaged after runs in both directions, unlike the Chiron Super Sport run that was timed in one direction only. If the Mission 500 is Jesko-based, we’d expect to see the 5.0-liter V8 amidships that makes 1,577 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque on E85, or “just” 1,262 hp and 941 kW on 95-octane pump gas.

Top Fuel NHRA racer Brittany Force set a national record last year at 338.17 mph through the speed trap, using a 500-cubic inch (8.19-liter) supercharged V8 with 10,000 horsepower to do it. The idea that we could see a passenger car with navigation and two cupholders get within 30 mph of that speed is outstanding. Even better is the idea that, assuming the Swedes pull it off, Hennessey or SSC might attempt to beat it. Come on, Geneva.

January 15, 2020 / Comments Off

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1995 Ferrari F50 Berlinetta Prototipo heads to auction

We’ve seen our fair share of classic and exotic cars head to auction, but it’s rare to see something as special as this 1995 Ferrari F50 Berlinetta Prototipo on offer to the general public.

Prototipo, of course, is Italian for “prototype,” indicating this example’s status as the very first example of the F40 successor ever built. It saw duty as a development vehicle, auto show star, and media evaluation tool. That’s right: if you ever read a “first drive” review of the 1995 Ferrari F50, chances are this is the car your favorite auto scribe was driving.

Per the listing, it was also the model for Shin Yoshikawa’s cut-away illustration and several scale models (including those sold by Burago, Maisto and Tamiya) and its likeness was even depicted on postage stamps.

After this world tour, the Prototipo returned to the Ferrari factory for a complete rebuild, after which it was sold (as promised ahead of time) to Jacques Swaters, a personal friend of Enzo Ferrari. It remained in the Swaters collection until 2007, when it was sold to a Ferrari collector in Burbank, California. It has since changed hands several times.

While it may have lacked the raw, angular aggression of its F40 predecessor, the F50 was no less stunning (or less special) as a result. Its ferocious 4.7L V12 made more than 510 horsepower and 345 lb-ft of torque, which is still plenty respectable even today, especially considering it weighed just a little over 2,700 pounds. That combination was good for a 0-60 run of just 3.7 seconds on the way to a 202-mph top speed.

As CassicCars.com points out, fewer than 350 examples of the F50 Berlinetta were ever produced.

The F50 Berlinetta Prototipo will cross the block Wednesday, Jan. 15th, 2020, at the Worldwide Auctioneers event in Scottsdale, Ariz.

January 8, 2020 / Comments Off

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Zombie cars: 9 discontinued vehicles that aren’t dead yet

Image Credit: Dodge

Like zombies, these dead cars still sell among the living

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn’t just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process.

That’s the case with the nine cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up “new” sales with them.

There are actually a lot more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we included here. We kept this list to the oldest and most unlikely vehicles still being sold as new, including a couple of supercars. Every car on this list was discontinued at least two years ago. We’ve ordered the list in order of fewest vehicles sold. Click on the image above to get started.

Last updated January 2019

Image Credit: Dodge

2014 Dodge Avenger: 1 sale

Wow. We’re truly amazed. Someone actually bought a brand new 2014 Dodge Avenger in 2019. The Avenger was uncompetitive when it was new, and it’s woefully uncompetitive now. Here’s hoping the sole individual who parked a new Avenger in their driveway in 2019 got a smoking deal.

Dodge Avenger Information

Image Credit: Lexus

2012 Lexus LFA: 3 sales

The first supercar on this list (which otherwise is full of highly lackluster automobiles) is the Lexus LFA. It’s an exhilarating car to drive, and is packed full of interesting technology. Lexus sold a total of 3 LFA coupes last year to what we have to guess are very satisfied customers. By our count, there ought to be 5 more unsold LFAs sitting somewhere on dealer lots in America.

It’s also worth noting that Lexus only sold the LFA for two model years, 2011 and 2012, which means it is by far the oldest new vehicle on this list.

Lexus LFA Information

Image Credit: Chrysler

2016 Chrysler Town & Country: 5 sales

The Chrysler Town & Country was already an old vehicle when it was officially killed off in 2016. The basic van was introduced for the 2008 model year, and saw only refreshes until its conclusion eight years later. Some of those updates were helpful and kept the car at least somewhat competitive.

Still, we’re thankful Chrysler replaced it with the Pacifica, a superb van that is arguably the best in the segment. And if you do happen to really like Chrysler’s older minivan offering, the Dodge Grand Caravan is still on the market.

In any case, Chrysler managed to sell five of these minivans so far this year. Here’s hoping the buyer scored a great deal.

Chrysler Town & Country Information

Image Credit: Dodge

2017 Dodge Viper: 5 sales

The second supercar on our list out is one that we love. We don’t think there are a bunch of unsold Dodge Viper coupes sitting on dealer lots all across America. Nevertheless, five lucky individuals managed to bring new Vipers home in 2019.

At least we know those buyers are out there having fun!

Dodge Viper Information

Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz

2017 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: 8 sales

Mercedes-Benz sold the B-Class Electric Drive in the United States from 2013 through 2017. Though the rest of the world gets other versions of the B, only the electrified variant was sold here in the States. And it was never a big seller — just over 3,500 were sold over its production run in America. Now that 2019 has come to a close, we can add eight more to the total.

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive Information

Image Credit: Dodge

2016 Dodge Dart: 25 sales

Dodge discontinued the compact Dart back in 2016, just three years after its launch. The automaker just wasn’t able to compete with the segment leaders like the Honda Civic or the sales juggernaut that is the Toyota Corolla. Despite the fact that it’s been dead for several years, Dodge managed to sell 25 Darts in 2019.

Dodge Dart Information

Image Credit: Jeep

2017 Jeep Patriot: 27 sales

The Jeep Patriot initially launched back in 2007 alongside its more car-like Compass sibling, but while that vehicle got a redesign and is still on sale in Jeep dealerships, the boxier Patriot ended production in 2017.

Apparently there are a handful of Patriots still collecting dust on dealership lots in America, because the automaker tallied 27 total sales last year.

Jeep Patriot Information

Image Credit: Chrysler

2017 Chrysler 200: 48 sales

The Chrysler 200 is actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, but apparently has a bunch of leftover 200s floating around in America with a total of 48 sold in 2019.

Image Credit: Volkswagen

2017 Volkswagen CC: 58 sales

Volkswagen discontinued the CC in 2017, and the slinky coupe-shaped sedan recently got a replacement in the form of the 2019 Arteon. Here’s hoping last year’s 58 CC buyers managed to get a good deal on their new old sedans.

Volkswagen CC Information

January 6, 2020 / Comments Off

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Lamborghini Huracan Evo gets Amazon Alexa tech at CES 2020

In-car technology is a must, Lamborghini development boss Maurizio Reggiani told Autoblog as he unveiled the Huracán Evo‘s touchscreen-based infotainment system in 2019. Amazon Alexa integration announced at CES 2020 is the next part of the march towards supercars that are as smart and connected as they are quick.

By programming the voice assistant directly into the native infotainment system, rather than adding it as a third-party app, Lamborghini claims it achieved seamless integration that lets drivers control an extensive list of functions in the car, and in their home. If your butt is cold, you can ask Alexa to turn on the heated seats. You can also make calls, turn the map lights on or off, get directions, check the weather at your destination, and set the A/C, among other things. And, because Alexa speaks to connected devices, you can raise the temperature in your living room while doing hot laps at Watkins Glen, or turn on the porch lights as you pass a Porsche. The catch is that Alexa goes on strike if the Huracán isn’t connected to the internet.

Lamborghini and Amazon plan to deepen their cooperation in the coming years, though they didn’t reveal precisely what they’re hoping to achieve. They could teach Alexa new functions, but don’t expect the Italian brand to release a car with an entirely button-free cabin in the near future. The driver still has to manually switch between the driving modes, for example, and the ignition button remains under a fighter jet-like red flap positioned on the slanted center console.

Amazon Alexa will be available across the entire Huracán Evo range — which will grow to include a rear-wheel drive model developed to replace the 580-2 — by the end of 2020. Lamborghini told Autoblog it hasn’t decided whether the feature will be standard or optional yet.

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January 6, 2020 / Comments Off

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Lamborghini Huracan Evo Rear-Wheel Drive promises lots of oversteer

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January 5, 2020 / Comments Off

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Ferrari Roma platform to underpin Purosangue SUV, as product roadmap takes shape

To create the Roma, Ferrari started with the platform used for the Portofino convertible. Engineers strengthened and lightened the architecture and made it modular, so that it will support the company’s range of front-engined vehicles included in CEO Louis Camilleri’s near-term product roadmap of 15 new vehicles over the next three years. Auto Express reports one of those products will be the Purosangue SUV – or FUV, Ferrari Utility Vehicle if you heed the carmaker’s marketers – expected to debut in 2021 before going on sale in 2022 or 2023. The breadth of possibility built into the platform means it can swallow Ferrari’s range of V8 and V12 engines, as well as the coming V6, plus plug-in hybrid equipment and all-wheel drive mechanicals.

Although observers figure a V12 Purosangue will grace the lineup eventually, models with smaller engines braced with hybrid assistance are expected first. The V12, in fact, is unlikely to get a hybrid form if Ferrari can help it, the brand’s marketing manager saying, “To be honest, electrifying a V12 means creating, very probably, a heavy and big car. So electrification ideally should be coupled with smaller engines.” Absent Ferrari’s righteous 6.5-liter V12, Ferrari’s head of technology says there will be other ways the vehicle codenamed “175” distinguishes itself from V8-powered super-SUV competition, but wouldn’t clarify what those ways are.

We’ll guess the people-hauler slots into the company’s GT vehicle classification alongside the GTC4Lusso, Portofino, and Roma. In the next decade, the GT category grows with a new supercar that marks “the return of an elegant model” cued off classic, mid-20th-century Ferrari Gran Turismos, as well as a battery-electric car after 2025. The Sport Range includes the 812Superfast and 812 GTS, 488 and 488 Pista, and SF90 Stradale. The Icona line kicked off with the Monza SP1 and SP2, and will expand with “timeless design[s] of iconic Ferraris reinterpreted with innovative materials and state of the art technologies.” One-offs like the F12 TRS, SP12 EC and SP38 form the Special Series. The carmaker’s entire range will be split across two modular platforms, one for front-engined placement, one mid-engined.

At the pointy end of the product roadmap, it’s thought Ferrari’s already begun development of its LaFerrari successor. Said to use a naturally-aspirated V12 without electric help, it will produce less output than found in the 986-horsepower, hybrid-V8-powered SF90, while at the same time Ferrari says the new model will be faster than the hybrid-V12-powered LaFerrari. Due sometime after 2022, the new small-run screamer will focus on lightness, controllability and aerodynamics.

December 26, 2019 / Comments Off

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JRM GT23 a limited-edition, road-legal Nissan GT-R GT3 racer

Nissan has worked with England’s JR Motorsports (JRM) for a decade on race versions of the GT-R Nismo. JRM won the GT1 World Driver’s championship in 2011 with the GT-R Nismo GT1, and in 2012 developed the GT-R Nismo GT3 that it still engineers and sells for certain international markets. To celebrate a decade of expertise and success with the Japanese super-coupe, the engineering firm has created a road-legal version of the GT3 called the GT23, because just 23 units will be built. That means getting the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 in the GT3 car instead of the 5.6-liter V8 in the GT1 racer, but without FIA series restrictions, GT23 specs surpass both the competition cars. It starts with a tune to 650-horsepower, 50 hp more than the GT3 car, and a likely 510 pound-feet of torque in a package that weighs 2,811 pounds. The scale figure is about 55 pounds less than the actual GT3 racer, and a gargantuan 1,054 pounds less than a stock, 600-hp GT-R Nismo.

Nothing’s been untouched.The aggro aero starts up front with a mesh grille replacing the solid bumper, above a huge splitter. What’s left of the hood really only provides attachment points for an enormous duct below the cowl. The track’s been widened by 3.5 inches in front and 3.9 inches in back, covered with wider, vented fenders and underlined with extended, vented side sills. The high rear wing lords over a mostly unchanged rear end fitted with a deep diffuser and center-exit exhaust. Even with all that, the GT23 is a whole foot shorter than a stock GT-R. JRM says that with 325-width race slicks on the 18-inch wheels all around, the GT23 can max out at 2G in corners. An optional Extreme Pack ups output to 760 hp, bolts on a larger front splitter, turning vanes, and a bigger rear wing, fits an FIA roll cage, fire extinguisher, stiffer suspension and anti-roll bars, center-lock wheels, and air jacks.

Engineers swapped the GT-R’s all-wheel drive for rear-wheel drive, and moved the engine back to improve balance. The seven-speed automatic is gone, a six-speed sequential gearbox with a four-plate clutch in its place. The suspension is height-adjustable, the brakes vented all around, with six-piston calipers in front, four-piston units in back.

The interior’s been stripped to near racing standard, the gauge cluster thrown out for a compact, full-color digital display. A steering wheel with a bunch of buttons matches the new center console that’s been pared back to a push-button control center on the tunnel. And get a load of that all-encompassing race seat.

JRM will construct each GT23 at its headquarters in Daventry, England. Price starts at £380,000 British pounds ($498,383 U.S.) before options like the £59,995 Extreme Pack ($78,680 U.S.). JRM says clients can work with the design team to customize their cars as desired, deliveries will begin in Spring 2020.

December 19, 2019 / Comments Off

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Production Rimac C_Two coming next year in Geneva, with prototypes testing now

Rimac likes to make sure we don’t forget about them. The company consistently shares intriguing bites of news with us, like behind the scenes aero development or crash tests for its upcoming $2.1 million electric hypercar. Rimac is doing the same today, as it announced that Rimac C_Two prototype testing is beginning at various tracks and testing facilities. This will be followed by a pre-production phase starting in early 2020.

Rimac says it’s going to make 17 prototype vehicles in total. As of now, Rimac has plans to produce and sell 150 C_Twos, so 17 separate cars for testing purposes is a significant amount. As one would expect, each of the prototypes will be made with different testing purposes in mind. For example, Rimac says one will be tortured in chassis rigidity testing, while another will be used for high-performance autonomous driving development.

The final production version of the C_Two is set to be unveiled at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, where Rimac will give the car a proper name — C_Two has only been a placeholder. Rimac went on to say that the production car will differ from the concepts we’ve seen in 2018 and 2019 “with improvements in design, ergonomics and performance.” Customer deliveries are scheduled to begin at the end of 2020.

The predicted power figures are still the same as before, as Rimac claims the C_Two will make 1,914 horsepower and 1,696 pound-feet of torque from its four electric motors.

December 17, 2019 / Comments Off

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McLaren Senna Can-Am and XP special editions honor two racing icons

McLaren produced 500 examples of the Senna road car, and the entire run sold out immediately. This year it added the more powerful, track-only Senna GTR, selling out of all 75 units instantly. That’s not the end of the Senna line, however, with 26 more units divvied up between three special editions. The most numerous is the Senna LM, a street-legal version of the GTR supposedly put together by McLaren Special Operations. The bodywork’s been toned down a touch by dropping the aero flics on the front bumper and the GTR’s extended rear wing, and the LM fits a less aggressive rear diffuser. Interestingly, a spy shot shows the Senna LM also going without the windows in the lower portions of the doors. There’s no reliable intel on the engine yet, but it’s hoped that the LM fits the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 as the GTR, producing 814 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The LM is reputed to cost £1.3 million ($1.7 million U.S.)

CarBuzz reports that another special edition will be based on the Senna LM, having received an anonymous tip from a reader with one of the cars on order. Called the Senna Can-Am, McLaren would only say that this model was commissioned by a dealer. As the name implies, the coupe celebrates the legendary Can-Am cars that terrorized the series in the late 1960s and 1970s, and that are responsible for giving us the trademark orange hue McLaren remains known for. The Senna Can-Am is a specific homage to the M8B, called “the perfect race car,” that started on pole and won all 11 races during the 1967 season with Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme driving.

In CarBuzz‘s rendering, the Can-Am is done up in McLaren orange with Canadian flags on the front fenders, and number roundels on the rear fenders along with the signatures of McLaren and Hulme. Instead of the “LM” logos on the wing endplates and embroidered into the headrests, “Can-Am” appears instead, the M8B’s race record appears on the door sills, and a black anodized throttle pedal gets the Can-Am logo. CarBuzz‘s source said the Senna Can-Am is “due to be delivered in two to four weeks,” and cost $1.5 million.

The final three special-edition examples (pictured) come from early in the life of the Senna. Beverly Hills managed to acquire three of the experimental prototypes that McLaren used to develop the Senna, and commissioned three builds now known as the Senna XP. Each car gets a name and celebrates a Formula One race track where Ayrton Senna scored an especially outstanding victory. All three are dressed in gloss black carbon fiber, accented with the colors of the F1 circuit’s country, and adorned with Ayrton’s car number on the wing endplates. The “Master of Monaco” lauds Senna’s six victories in the principality; “Lap of the Gods” hails Senna’s opening lap in the wet at Donnington in 1993 when he drove from fifth place to first in less than a lap; “Home Victory” relishes Senna’s 1991 win in Brazil.

The Senna XP uses the standard Senna’s 3.9-liter V8 with 789 hp and 590 lb-ft, costs $1,435,328, and naturally, is sold out.

December 13, 2019 / Comments Off

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The McLaren 620R is revealed as a road-legal 570S GT4 race car

Perhaps you missed out on the limited-run McLaren Senna race car for the road. Those were all snapped up immediately, so it’s understandable if you did. Don’t fret, though, because McLaren just unveiled another road-legal race car that it plans to sell 350 of. It’s called the McLaren 620R, and it’s even more exclusive than the 500-unit Senna.

The 620R is truly a road-legal 570S GT4 race car at its core. McLaren simply homologated it for road use, and then took advantage of the total lack of racing regulations to make it even quicker than the race version. The end result is rather enticing.

To make it road legal, McLaren attacked a laundry list of items. The massive rear wing gained a brake light. McLaren says that cars will be delivered to customers in the most roadworthy low-downforce setting, but a McLaren retailer is able to adjust it to one of the two other more aggressive settings — in maximum attack, it can contribute 408 pounds of downforce. The front bumper and splitter were redesigned with “more pronounced aero blades” on the splitter. Dive planes were added to help accelerate air flow along the sides of the car and aid brake cooling. Then, the redesigned carbon fiber hood has two nostrils to clean up the air flowing over the top of the car and aid downforce. The full frontal aero package is able to produce up to 143 pounds of downforce.

As expected, it uses an unshackled version of the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 out of the GT4 race car. In this spec, it produces 612 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. That’s good for a 0-60 mph sprint in 2.8 seconds and a maximum speed of 200 mph.

The dampers are straight off the GT4, too. They’re manually adjustable, and actually contribute to a 13-pound weight savings over the road version of the 570S. Still, these dampers are meant for the track, so expect them to be brutally stiff on our pockmarked roads. Lightweight aluminum wishbones and uprights are used, plus stiffer anti-roll bars as well. Carbon ceramic rotors and forged aluminum calipers are used to stop. McLaren says stopping power is spectacular with the standard Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, but it’s taken to an entirely new level with the optional full slicks.

Buyers in the U.S. are allowed even more goodies than those elsewhere with this car. You’re able to spec an MSO upgrade package that features a carbon fiber roof and roof scoop for the car’s intake. The McLaren Track Telemetry system comes with this package, allowing you to record your lap times and analyze them later. The starting price is $299,000, and production will begin in January 2020.

December 9, 2019 / Comments Off

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You can still buy a million-dollar Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign

Almost a year ago to the day, Nissan revealed the GT-R50 in its final production form, declaring the order books open for business. We have our first update from Nissan on how the super exclusive and rare GT-R is doing today. Turns out, you can still order one!

Nissan says it has received a “significant number of deposits,” but didn’t specify what the current number is. The company goes on to say that a “limited number of reservations for the remaining models are still available.” As of now, Nissan appears to be sticking to the 50-car limited production run of the Italdesign collaboration anniversary model.

With such limited supply, it may seem surprising that enough rich GT-R fans haven’t swooped in and picked these up. Let us remind you of the price, though. A single GT-R50 will run you north of $1 million — the base price converted from euros is $1,126,799. Make a little more sense why some are still available now? The GT-R50 looks like a superb car in every way, but it’s easy to see why Nissan could be having some difficulty selling a car that’s $1 million more expensive than the vehicle it’s based on.

For those who have already put money down on a GT-R50, Nissan says it’s in the process of working with those clients to finalize their custom builds. Owners can expect to see the cars delivered between the end of 2020 and the end of 2021.

The last bit of interesting news today comes in the form of the photos at the top. Nissan made some new renderings to show off the GT-R50 in different paint colors (we’re loving the green). If you want to see the prototype in person, Nissan says it’ll be on display at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show.

December 5, 2019 / Comments Off

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Our first look at the Peugeot hypercar for Le Mans

Peugeot is returning to Le Mans with Rebellion Racing, and the French automaker just dropped the first photo of what its car will look like in the hypercar class. We normally wouldn’t get too worked up over a race car rendering, but this one has certain … implications.

Homologation rules require manufacturers to both build and sell at least 20 production versions of the race car for it to be competition-legal in this class. That means Peugeot is ultimately going to have to sell a road-going version of this wild-looking race car, but only a few of them. Whether this potential Peugeot hypercar ends up looking anything like this rendering is still up for debate, but it’s an interesting idea to toy around with.

Peugeot has never produced a supercar or hypercar before, so the news that it would enter the WEC in this fashion was a bit shocking last month. The FCA-PSA tie-up just makes it all the more interesting now that Peugeot will be part of a massive company producing cars for the U.S. We’re still waiting on details about how much involvement Peugeot Sport will have in the car, as a previous report suggested Peugeot would hand much of the project off to Oreca and Rebellion Racing. Today, Peugeot made the Rebellion Racing partnership official, but the rest is still a bit hazy.

The racing program is scheduled to kick off in 2022 with the Swiss Rebellion Racing team. We dig the jagged edges and concept design of the hypercar rendering Peugeot released today, which leaves us hopeful for an awesome final product in a couple years.

December 4, 2019 / Comments Off

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Hennessey planning a 1,200-horsepower C8 Chevy Corvette

It was bound to happen at some point, but now we’ve heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. Hennessey has designs on giving the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette much more performance than it has from the factory. The Texas-based company says it plans to offer a 1,200-horsepower version of the C8 called the HPE1200.

Hennessey claims it’s going to make this massive amount of power with specially built twin-turbo LT2 V8 engines. The engines will have upgraded internals such as forged aluminum pistons, forged steel connecting rods and other unspecified upgrades. To handle the power, Hennessey says it’s going to “incorporate an upgraded and fortified factory dual-clutch automatic transmission and a full Brembo brake system” among other chassis upgrades.

The pictures you’re looking at are only renderings, courtesy of Hennessey, so the car doesn’t exist yet. It’s a menacing look, if this is what Hennessey ultimately ends up with. We’re in love with the roof scoop, which may become necessary as Hennessey attempts to keep 1,200 horsepower cool. That wing may be a bit overkill, but this car is bound to be ridiculously quick.

Hennessey doesn’t offer up a price or expected sell date for this HPE1200 kit, but it does detail a few other upgrades it’ll put on sale first. New C8 owners can expect a stainless steel exhaust system, a supercharger upgrade good for 700 horsepower and possibly more “once computer tuning becomes available for the new C8 platform.” Hennessey is taking suggestions from the crowd, as well. An online questionnaire is available to let them know exactly what you want to spend your many thousands of dollars on. More power in a car that does 0-60 mph in under three seconds from the factory sounds a bit mad, but that’s what Hennessey does.

One last interesting stat from this news comes from John Hennessey himself. He says they’ve modified over 500 C7s so far. We’ll be interested to hear what the true demand might be to make the already bonkers quick C8 go faster in a straight line.

December 3, 2019 / Comments Off

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Bugatti Chiron Noire only slightly less exclusive than ‘La Voiture Noire’

Bugatti has only constructed one La Voiture Noire, the homage to the Jean Bugatti’s now-lost 57 SC Atlantic, and as far as we know, Bugatti will only build one. The Molsheim manfuacturer has come up with a way to spread the sheen of The Black Car to a few more Bugatti owners with two versions of a single special edition. The Chiron Noire Elegance and Chiron Noire Sportive are two ways to dress the hypercar up in black, the difference being that one presents a gleaming black objet to admire, the other opens two doors to a singularity and perhaps a portal to the Planet of the Apes.

The Elegance is the showy black one, all of its bodywork done in exposed carbon fiber. Two new mesh designs cover the front radiator grilles, highlighted by a Bugatti badge worked up in solid silver and black enamel. Matte polished aluminum caps the C-line swooping around the doors, tying in with the polished aluminum on the side mirrors and engine cover. Lower down, the word “Noire” on the rear fenders, scripted in black, of course, gives away the coupe’s exclusive identity, as do the black brake calipers. Inside the black leather interior, silk-matte aluminum highlights the C-line between the seats, and Noire badging decorates the center console, armrest, and door sills.

The Chiron Noire Sportive is the shadowy black one, all of its bodywork and normally metallic jewelry slathered in matte black, including the C-line and tailpipes. Bugatti appears to have dipped the interior in a tub of black, so not only is the leather the color of night, so too are all the usually aluminum parts; the C-line, the steering wheel, the center console, switchgear, buttons and knobs on the dashboard and the door handles, all of them want to swallow all the light.

Bugatti will sell only 20 of this Chrion Noire special edition, builds to begin in the second quarter of next year. Either package can be ordered for the base Chrion for three million euros ($3.3M U.S.), or added to the more expensive Chiron Sport for an additional 100,000 euros ($110,865 U.S.).

December 3, 2019 / Comments Off

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