Special and Limited Editions

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Ginetta Akula finally ready to take a bite of the supercar market

In 1958, the four Walklett brothers founded Ginetta as a race car maker with the same focus on light weight and super-sharp performance as better-known companies like Ace, Caterham and Lotus. Today, the company makes race and road cars, organizes one-make series’ like the Ginetta Challenge run here in the U.S., and sells the GT6 Evo for FIA GT racing around the world. At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, the company displayed its entry to the supercar game, a fair few levels above the 450-horsepower retro Ginetta G10 and modern Ginetta GTR. At the time, the former Akula (in the related gallery below) was projected to make 600 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque from a 6.0-liter V8, drape carbon fiber body panels over a carbon moncoque for curb weight of 2,535 pounds and a 49:51 weight balance, be limited to 20 units, and cost about 400,000 Great British Pounds.

Five years on, the production version of the Akula is ready, and almost all of the above numbers have been revised. The carbon monocoque stays, as do the steel roll cage and carbon fiber body panels. Carbon fiber subframes help support a double wishbone suspension with adjustable, pushrod-activated dampers all around; the front and rear roll bars are adjustable as well. The street engine is a billet aluminum block bored out to 6.4 liters divided among eight cylinders, sending 600 horsepower and 494 pound-feet of torque to the back axle through a limited-slip differential. Weight balance is now an ideal 50:50. Getting the 2,623-pound coupe from standstill to 62 miles per hour is said to take 2.9 seconds, the engine not running out of steam until the far side of 180 mph. That’s likely achieved with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, owners who want to ultimate engagement will select the six-speed manual.

Instead of the show car’s 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels, the retail Akula sits no 20-inch aluminum wheels. The P Zero rubber comes sized 265/35 in front, 305/35 in back. Behind the center-lock wheels, the standard ABS-equipped brake package gets four-piston calipers clamping 14.2-inch rotors at the four corners. An Akula Race Package upgrades to carbon ceramics, and installs a six-point racing harness.

Even though the aero-optimized bodywork is toned down from the Geneva car, there should be no doubt as to what the Akula was made to do. The interior reinforces the point even better than the copious ducting. Ginetta built the seats into the moncoque, making the steering wheel and pedal box electronically adjustable. Buyers will need to swing by the Ginetta offices to have their cars’ seats formed to their specific backsides.

However, touring is also a vital part of the brief. There’s a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, the iPhone kept ready with a wireless phone charger. The trunk holds nearly 17 cubic feet. And the 26.4-gallon gas tank is claimed to power a range of around 450 miles.

In 2019, Ginetta said it planned to build 20 Akulas in the first year of production. Now, the little firm plans to build just 20 Akulas, period, celebrating the 20-year anniversary of Dr. Lawrence Tomlinson buying the company. Pricing starts at 275,000 Great British Pounds ($362,400 U.S.) , and it’s not too late to get a build slot.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the name, akula is Russian for “shark.”

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September 10, 2024 / Comments Off

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Czinger C21 retakes Laguna Seca lap record from Koenigsegg Jesko

There are more hypercars on sale in the U.S. than there are new cars under $20,000. Sure, that’s still just a handful, but it doesn’t take much to make a crowd at more than seven figures; as it was with Greek mythology, so it is with $2M cars, a few Titans go a long way. With that kind of competition, it’s not enough for hypercars to make big horsepower, they need to prove their prowess with it. We’re too early in the game to call what’s happening the beginning of laptime wars, but factions keep firing shots at one another. Swedish outfit Koenigsegg and U.S. outfit Czinger exchanged the latest rounds on the battlegrounds of Laguna Seca. In 2021, Czinger development driver Joel Miller drove a 21C to a new record around the famous 2.2-mile Northern California track with a time of 1:25.44. That broke the previous record of 1:27.62 set by Randy Pobst in a McLaren Senna.

During last month’s Monterey Car Week, Koenigsegg development driver Markus Lundh piloted a Jesko Attack — the big-winged, track-focused Jesko variant — around Laguna Seca in 1:24.86, besting Czinger’s lap by 0.56. This was Koenigsegg’s first visit to the circuit, and Lundh’s as well. There’s no doubt the Lundh can go quicker, given more time to get himself and the Jesko dialed in to the track.

Czinger, based in Southern California, wasted no time trailering a C21 up north to get its stolen property back. Miller, piloting the C21 Blackbird trim that makes a little more horsepower, cut the lap record down to 1:24.75, a mere 0.11 ahead of the Jesko Attack. For now.

A comparison of the weapons: Jesko Attack bodywork hides a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 that makes 1,577 hp and 1,105 lb-ft on E85 (or 1,262 hp on regular pump gas) to power the rear wheels alone. Claimed weight is 3,064 pounds with fluids. The standard C21 uses a twin-turbocharged 2.88-liter V8 in back turning the rear wheels plus two electric motors turning the fronts, to make a combined 1,233 hp and more than 539 lb-ft. The C21 Blackbird increases the horse count to 1,333. Claimed weight is 2,756 pounds.

As we said, we’re not sure this is a war yet, but we know the skirmishes aren’t over. Czinger broke the Goodwood Hill Climb record in July (if you haven’t seen the C21 in action, sounding like the opposite of the Jesko, you should change that), Koenigsegg spent the same month breaking four records during its 0-400-0 run in a Jesko Absolute. Czinger had set a lap record at Texas’ Circuit of the Americas that Hennessey broke with the Venom F5, Czinger has already said it wants that record again, and some blue ribbons earned in Europe next year as well. And we know Koenigsegg and Hennessey are plotting to break the 300-mph record, they’re just waiting on the tires to do it. While we wait for the next charge, have a watch of Czinger’s Laguna Seca run.

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September 3, 2024 / Comments Off

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Monterey Car Week recap, 2025 Lincoln Navigator and more | Autoblog Podcast #845

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. They look back on Monterey Car Week, and pick their favorite highlights from the event, including the new Lincoln Navigator, the Ruf Rodeo, Cadillac Opulent Velocity concept and more. In the news, Ford has abandoned its three-row EV in a pivot to hybrid. Our hosts review recent cars in the fleet, like the Mercedes GLC Coupe, long-term Mazda CX-90 and the three-wheel Can-Am Ryker. They also compare the Jeep Gladiator with the Wrangler.

Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.

Autoblog Podcast #845

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August 23, 2024 / Comments Off

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Kalmar 9X9 condenses 40 years of Porsche 911 ideas into one package

The last time we visited Kalmar Automotive, the Danish coachbuilder was gunning its Rally Special-6 (RS-6), a rooster-tailing off-roader based on either a 993- or 996-series Porsche 911, through the mud. At The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, the company debuted its latest, the Kalmar 9X9. This is a mashup of ideas covering just about everything from the 959 to today’s 911 Turbo and GT3. A 993-series 911 lays the foundation, stripped and laid up with a hidden roll cage beneath CFD-honed carbon bodywork. The new panels and their 959-like rear end reportedly create 3,263 pounds of peak downforce. That’s 212 pounds above the coupe’s 3,051 claimed weight in its heaviest stock configuration.

There are three variants: 9X9, 9X9 Sport, and 9X9 Leichtbau (Lightweight). The 9X9 is the hi-po grand tourer, using the 3.8-liter flat-six from today’s 911 Turbo S. Instead of making the factory car’s 640 horsepower, the standard 9X9 makes 930 horses. Power goes to all four wheels through Porsche’s seven-speed double-clutch transmission. Rear-wheel drive also comes standard.

The 9X9 Sport turns down the power to turn up the focus. A turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six contributed by the 911 GTS makes 650 hp, 172 ponies over a store-bought GTS. This comes with a seven-speed manual, the PDK an option, as is rear-wheel steering. “More direct suspension components,” less sound insulation, and the 2,866-pound curb weight should heighten the fury and the sound with this one.

The 9X9 Leichtbau goes with the naturally aspirated 4.0-liter from the GT3 making 530 horsepower, 28 hp above factory output. A rear-driver only, with a seven-speed manual for the purists, this one comes in at a claimed 2,811 pounds.

Every 9X9’s engine has been upgraded with items like a new intake system, beefier cooling, ceramic bearings in the turbos, and an Inconel exhaust. They all sit on active engine mounts, too. The drivetrain rolls on a custom double wishbone suspension working pushrod-style Tractive dampers in front, the work of Italy’s Danisi Engineering. Magnesium wheels on Michelin tires hide carbon ceramic rotors clamped by CarboBrake’s 3D-printed titanium calipers.

The interiors go heavy on lightweighting, with no radios and no central infotainment screens. A centrally located analog tach dominates the gauge cluster, flanked by two small screens that we’ll guess are used to display information from Bluetooth paired devices.

All three flavors are on sale now through U.S. distributor Canepa Group, first deliveries scheduled for July 2025. Prices weren’t mentioned, that fact and the debut location should let you know if you’re in the target audience.

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August 18, 2024 / Comments Off

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Ferrari trims lineup, Q2 report says SF90 and 812 GTS order books closed

Ferrari’s quarterly report revealed the next chess moves coming to the lineup. The SF90 Stradale, the automaker’s first hybrid and a coupe so important to the brand that it shared its name with Ferrari’s Formula 1 car that year, is out of production after five years on the market. The convertible version, the SF90 Spider, remains on sale. The hardtop has no direct successor — that is, a mid-engined V8. However, the mid-engined 296 GTB with its V6 hybrid powertrain could be viewed as a taking up the mantle. The outgoing SF90 produces 986 horsepower from a 4.0-liter V8 aided by three electric motors, sending that power to both axles. The 296 gets a 3.0-liter V6 and one motor to make a combined 819 hp and 546 lb-ft, all of it sent to the rear wheels only.

The 812 GTS waves goodbye as well, this the open-topped version of the 812 Superfast and another launch from 2019. It does have a direct successor, the 12Cilindri that debuted a few months ago. The dirty dozen in the new car deliver 819 horsepower, up from 788 in the 812 Superfast and GTS, matching the track-focused 812 Competizione. Ferrari pegs 0-62-mph acceleration in 2.9 seconds, a 7.9-second rip to 124 mph, and a top speed beyond 211 mph.

The Roma, another coupe that launched in 2019, is preparing for its exit but not done with production. Along with the 812 Competizione, Ferrari says the duo are “approaching the end of the life cycle.” Only one of them can still be ordered, though; Roma books remain open, the 812 Comp’s production run was entirely spoken for the moment that car hit the public airwaves.

That leaves the best sellers, the Roma Spider, Purosangue SUV, and 296 to continue doing the heavy lifting. Specials such as the Daytona SP3 in the Icona series and customer versions of the 499P Modificata add their share to the automaker’s engorged bank balance, raising revenues and profits compared to Q2 of 2023 thanks to deliveries that were 2.7% higher. There’s more good stuff in the immediate pipeline while we wait for word on what follows the SF90 and Roma coupes, a new hypercar that might be called F250 supposed to debut before year’s end and a battery-electric model reportedly arriving next year.

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August 12, 2024 / Comments Off

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Koenigsegg Gemera goes V8-only due to low take-rate for three-cylinder

It’s been more than four years since Koenigsegg debuted the Jesko and Gemera just ahead of the 2020 Geneva Motor Show. The Gemera was the first home for a few of Koenigsegg’s pet projects, a hybrid powertrain based around a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter three-cylinder dubbed the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG). The engine featured cam-less Freevalve technology and was assisted by three electric motors. The Swedes claimed a combined 1,676 horsepower and 2,581 pound-feet of torque — 592 horses and 443 twists from the TFG — and a zero-to-62-mph sprint in 1.9 seconds. Those three e-motors, one on the crankshaft and two at the rear, helped deliver all-wheel drive, all-wheel torque vectoring, and all-wheel steering.

And it’s all gone. Not the Gemera, but the Tiny Friendly Giant. Two years after the Gemera appeared, Christian announced that the automaker found a way to fit the Jesko’s twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 into the Gemera’s tighter bay. Once that happened, Koenigsegg said most customers switched to the V8 — reportedly a $400,000 option. “There were so few left that asked for a three-cylinder,” he said, “we managed to convince almost all of them [to go for the V8 instead]. So for the time being, it [the Gemera] is V8 only.

We could frame this as conservative buyers rejecting ingenious novelty, but that wouldn’t be true. This is buyers giving up one ingenious novelty for another ingenious novelty with more familiar bragging rights. See, to get the Jesko’s V8 to work, Koenigsegg engineers redesigned the castings, heads, intake, exhaust, and sump. They shelved the direct-drive transmission from the Regera they’d originally fitted, and created what they call the Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission (LSTT). This was an evolution of the nine-speed direct-drive Light Speed Transmission developed for the Jesko, but smaller, lighter, better. Then the whitecoats created a new six-phase e-motor to replace the original trio of three-phase Quark e-motors that had been paired with the TFG. This one motor to rule them all is called Dark Matter, designed as a blend of radial flux and axial flux topologies called “raxial.”

In the original powertrain, two of the Quark motors on the rear axle could each make a maximum 500 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, the third Quark on the crankshaft made 400 hp and 369 lb-ft. Their combined output when working together rang in at 1,100 hp.

The Dark Matter makes 800 hp and 922 lb-ft. Pairing a single Dark Matter with the LSTT makes the TFG powertrain lighter and smaller again, after the transmission gains, further improving acceleration and performance. New control logic means the Dark Matter can drive the Gemera on its own, the TFG can power the car, or both can be called to action. And the fastback sedan retains its all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, and four-wheel torque vectoring.

With the hybridized V8, final output comes to 2,268 hp and 2,028 lb-ft. of torque — 600 more horses but 553 fewer torques than with the TFG. So we can’t be mad at buyers.

We would love to see Koenigsegg fit two Gemeras with these respective powertrains to gauge performance. One day, it might happen, Christian telling TG the TFG tech “is still interesting, we’re still working on it…. We might eventually do it in the Gemera one day in some version, but it just took over with the V8. I understand that.”

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July 29, 2024 / Comments Off

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Ferrari F250 prototype caught prowling Maranello

We’re not sure Ferrari’s coming hypercar will be called the F250, but that name has the short odds. What’s almost certain is that the car we’re going to call the F250 for now will break the 1,000 Imperial horsepower mark. Short money also says there’s a modified version of the hybrid twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 from the 296 GTB behind the cockpit, another reworked version of that mill powering the 499 Hypercar that Ferrari races in the World Endurance Championship. In the 296 GTB, the powertrain makes 819 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque, 654 of that coming from the internal combustion engine. However, since the hybrid V8 powertrain in the SF90 makes 986 hp and 590 lb-ft, that’s the real benchmark. Don’t expect a great deal of sound from all that fury in the F250; unless Ferrari’s drastically altered the exhaust setup, during testing at Fiorano last year the hypercar emitted the equivalent of an urgent whisper by Ferrari standards.

Speculated performance says 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds, and a top speed of more than 217 miles per hour.

Spy shooters are still tracking the remarkably low-slung coupe doing rounds in the Maranello region, the prototype finally shedding enough camo that we can make out some of the lines. The way the doors cut into the roof leads us to believe we’ll see the same mechanism as used on the Enzo and LaFerrari. Based on how many air passages and flics designers made integral to the bodywork, this one’s going to be an aero specialist, active elements including a rear wing that rises and can dramatically change its angle of attack.

The sports car maker told company investors that production numbers would “be limited to far less than 5% of total volumes.” With a 2023 global sales tally of 13,663 units, 5% comes to 683 cars. Unless the firm plans on selling a lot more cars this year, guesstimate production figures of around 599 F250 Berlinettas, roughly 200 Apertas, and perhaps 30 track specials would already be 250 units over the limit. Not that it matters. Potential customers have already been invited to a private reveal, every unit must already have a buyer’s name attached plus three alternates. Price is expected to surpass $2 million apiece, a debut should come late this year or early next.

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July 26, 2024 / Comments Off

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Kimera K39 hill climb car aims for Pikes Peak in 2025

This is what it was all about with Kimera and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the new K39. There’s much to learn about what’s gone into this beauty, but we know the internals will demonstrate quite the fortitude. Kimera went full carbon moncoque with this chassis instead of borrowing the shell from a Lancia Beta Montecarlo as employed for the EVO37 and EVO38. Those other cars used a turbocharged and supercharged 2.2-liter four-cylinder. The all-wheel-drive EVO38 version made about 600 horsepower, 100 more than the rear-wheel-drive EVO37. Kimera didn’t make any runs up the mountain this year, but says it will take the K39 to Colorado next year aiming to beat the all-time record.

Let’s make sure we’re clear on what that means: Kimera’s not trying to beat the best time for an internal-combustion-engined car, a time of 8:13.878 set by Sebastien Loeb in the Peugeot 208 T16 in 2013. Kimera wants the K39 to surpass the all-time record set by Romain Dumas in the battery-electric Volkswagen ID.R racer that climbed the hill in 7:57.148 in 2018.

Since the Kimera hides some sort of ICE powertrain, the Italian boutique maker has given itself an exceptionally tough hill to climb. The ID.R is still the only car to break the eight-minute barrier. Few gas-powered cars have gotten up the hill in under nine minutes, with Loeb’s Peugeot and the purpose-built Norma M20 SF PKP in 2018 being two exceptions.

Kimera understands the challenge, as he writes that an electric race car “is not penalized by the thin air that becomes increasingly oxygen-poor as you climb to the summit” of Pikes Peak.

We’re betting that the K39 is going to get a lot more than the 600 horsepower in the EVO38 as well as an all-wheel-drive system to make the most of whatever the final number is. This is because Loeb’s twin-turbo V6 Pug made about 875 horses, the Norma M20 SF PKP made about 800 hp from another twin-turbo V6. We have noticed that where the EVO37 showed off a set of quad exhaust pipes, the K39 rearranges the three exhaust pipes poking out of the EVO38’s backside.

If Kimera succeeds in all its goals on Zebulon Pike’s mountain, the K39 would obliterate the ICE-powered record and represent an upstart Italian David felling a German Goliath. The feat would certainly help burnish an already glowing reputation and sell the limited number of K39 road cars Kimera now says it plans to build.

Bentley Continental GT Speed Information

July 7, 2024 / Comments Off

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Koenigsegg pinpoints source of fire that flambeed a $3M Jesko Attack

The 70 or so road trippers who signed up for this year’s 6to6 European tour were looking forward to taking off from Athens, Greece, then crossing eight countries and two mountain ranges on their way to Monaco. One entrant didn’t make it out of Athens on the first day: Not long after leaving the hotel, a $3 million Koenigsegg Jesko Attack Nur Edition in raw carbon fiber with 24-karat gold accents caught fire while cruising through the city at low speed, turning into a bonfire that left little more than a pile of carbon shards melted to an engine. The Swedish carmaker had only delivered around 30 of the planned 125 Jeskos at the time. The Swedish mothership dispatched an engineer to bring the remains back to Sweden for an autopsy. In a post on Instagram, CEO Christian von Koenigsegg explained that the source of the fire was a leak in the car’s pressurized hydraulic line.

He said the systems containing other flammable liquids were intact, those being the engine and gearbox oil systems, and fuel tank. “However,” he wrote, “there was a streak of hydraulic fluid behind the car on the road. Given this we have investigated the pressurized hydraulic system, which is the only system that contains this fluid.” Sure enough, that was the culprit, the hose found to be “compromised at the rear of the car.”

The company’s checking the hydraulic system on every car that’s been produced as well as those that have been delivered. It’s also working on a software update that monitors hydraulic pressure and, in case of a leak, can shut the system down in less than a second. Based on the post date, that software should be on its way to cars or very close. Once the cars have been updated, Koenigsegg says they’ll be safe to drive again.

As for the two people in the car in Athens, they made it out unharmed. At the end of his post, Christian added, “We are also incredibly grateful to the owner of the car in Greece for giving us his continued support and that we will be able to supply him with a new car so he can continue his Koenigsegg journey.” Here’s a company whose customer service is almost as quick and comprehensive as its record-breaking cars.

Oh, and cue the Facebook Marketplace profiteers: Autoblog Greece (no relation) reported someone put bits of raw carbon fiber up for sale, claiming without proof they’d come from the Jesko. Which makes total sense. Because Facebook Marketplace.

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July 5, 2024 / Comments Off

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Watch a Koenigsegg Jesko break four speed records in one pass

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July 2, 2024 / Comments Off

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Koenigsegg tells Jesko owners to stop driving after $3 million car burns

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June 18, 2024 / Comments Off

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The Autoblog 20: The most significant new cars of the past two decades

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June 14, 2024 / Comments Off

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McLaren Automotive CEO admits there’s a plan for an SUV

Road & Track put McLaren Automotive CEO Michael Leiters through his interview paces, trying to assess how the ex-Ferrari man wants to return the carmaking operation to the top of the charts. Leiter, in place since late 2022, has mainly finished patching the holes in the ship like some organizational issues, delays with the Artura, and securing enough money to stay in business. There’s a long way to go to restore the glow of 12 years ago, when the MP4-12C impressed all with its combination of capability and drivability, however. The company still makes great cars, but of the current lineup, it’s the 750S and 765LT that shoulder McLaren’s aspirational allure; the GTS and Artura haven’t been nearly as convincing to the supercar set, and the balance sheet shows it. RT says 2023’s full-year loss of more than $1 billion on 2,137 global sales equated to McLaren losing more than $500,000 per car.

Naturally, Leiters didn’t get into how the current products might change to address that, but he vowed that supercars and Ultimate Series cars like the P1 and Senna would remain the “first focus.” The CEO believes one way McLaren can hit the front of the pack is by achieving what no competitor has so far: A lightweight EV supercar. There’s one such in development, the curb weight target is around the same 3,300 pounds as the Artura PHEV. “For me, a supercar that weighs two tons is no supercar,” he said. For comparison, the Lamborghini Revuelto is claimed to weigh about 3,900 pounds, the Rimac Nevera comes in at 5,100 pounds.

He also admitted that McLaren’s working on an SUV. Rather, the automaker’s working on a vehicle with “shared performance,” meaning it will fit more than two people, because SUV is still a bad word among superluxury makers until the first SUV is out the door making big bucks. The CEO’s ideal powertrain would be a plug-in hybrid based on a McLaren engine, but the car might not be a solo project, Leiters open to partnering with another automaker to “create synergies” so long as the result makes sure “not to lose anything which is core to McLaren and the DNA of the brand.” The idea’s familiar, we’ve just rarely seen it pulled off at this price point — something around $400,000, supposedly — outside of the Volkswagen Group.

The CEO had more to say on a range of topics, from too much serial production to too many limited editions, why an EV supercar could still make sense despite a softening market, and why the next Ultimate Series car doesn’t need to be all-wheel-drive even if it’s more powerful than the 903-horsepower P1. Head to RT for the full interview.

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June 10, 2024 / Comments Off

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Ford Mustang GTD heads to Europe for testing prior to Le Mans

The new Mustang GTD was forged to be the weapon with which Ford intends to conquer international road racing. On the quest to elevate its high-performance pony car, Ford is taking the GTD on a European tour to coincide with its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 21. To commemorate it all, Ford is kicking off a new digital series that documents the GTD’s development. The CGI images comprising the gallery above are the first components of that online narrative.

“These images and videos show high-performance equipment in ways that match the high-performance nature of the Mustang GTD,” Ford’s announcement said. They will be released via various social media channels, including YouTube and TikTok, suggesting that the campaign will likely progress beyond still CGI images to video content.

“We’ve tested the Mustang GTD in North America extensively, including laps at Sebring International Raceway and Virginia International Raceway. This has all been in service of engineering a car that can lap the Nürburgring in under seven minutes,” said Mustang GTD Chief Program Engineer Greg Goodall. “Moving onto European roads and dedicated test sessions at the Nürburgring is the next step, ahead of a timed run later this year.”

And by later this year, Goodall means Q4, following the GTD’s appearances at the 24 Hours of Spa and the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Ford’s hype engine is coming online just in time for European customers to start requesting reservations for the GTD; details of that are to follow in June. More than 7,500 customers raised their hands for allocations of 2025 and 2026 GTDs; how European enthusiasts will respond to the opportunity remains to be seen.

Ford Mustang Information

May 22, 2024 / Comments Off

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Pininfarina whips up a Batman-inspired Battista and B95 speedster

Albert, Harry, Jack, and Sam Warner founded Warner Bros. Pictures Incorporated in April 1923, 101 years ago. Artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger first put Batman into Gotham in an issue of Detective Comics (DC) on March 30, 1939, 75 years ago. Warner Bros., which owns DC Comics (and Discovery owns Warner), has gifted the ageless Dark Knight a mighty present for his diamond jubilee year: special editions of the Pininfarina Battista coupe and Pininfarina B95 speedster. Two trims of each, in Gotham and Dark Knight trims, make four cars in total. Every one of them gets the Battista’s standard powertrain, a 120-kWh battery charging four motors that make a combined 1,877 horsepower and 1,696 pound-feet of torque good for getting to 60 miles per hour in under two seconds and rated at 300 miles on a charge in the U.S.

The Italian automaker debuted the B95 Barchetta last year, a speedster in the mold of the Aston Martin V12 Speedster and Ferrari Monza SP1. At the time, the company said deliveries would begin in 2025 for the ten units it planned to produce. We’re not sure if these Batman editions are part of the ten or added to the ten.

The Gotham variants reflect Bruce Wayne’s sophisticated side. Fronted by backlit Pininfarina badges, they’re painted Argento Vittorio Gloss paint with contrasts in Nero Torino Gloss and a Goccia roof. A redesigned roof and door junction on the coupe adds more curved glass, letting more light into the cabin, while new louvers in the wheel arches pass more air out of aerodynamically sensitive areas. The staggered wheels on the coupe get Prezioso Evoluzione Gloss Black faces with a matte black rim. The B95 Gotham is differentiated by having a matte black inner ring and and gloss black outer ring. Cabins in both cars are dressed in tan leather and tan stitching with quilted center panels in the seats.

The Dark Knight flavors express Bruce’s tech-intense side, enabled by the boffins at Wayne Enterprises. These come in Nero Profondo Black paint with a Nero Torino Goccia roof and rims in Glorioso, over a cockpit in black leather and Alcantara.

Special touches include a new skin for the infotainment system, voiced by Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth, as well as discreet Wayne Enterprises badging inside and out.

The cars are part of a real-life lifestyle division called Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, which is rolling out a range of branded products for living the Bruce Wayne life, from these vehicles to luxury residences and “rarely seen, life-enhancing technologies and limited edition products.” You read that right. You can find out all about it at www.BruceWayneX.com, and apply for an allocation of any of these four cars right now. Pricing:

May 1, 2024 / Comments Off

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Lamborghini applies to trademark ‘Huracan STJ’ for another limited edition

When Lamborghini showed the 60th anniversary Huracans at Milan Fashion Week last April, automaker CEO Stephan Winkelmann said “The special editions of the Huracán not only celebrate the 60th anniversary of our brand, but also give our customers maybe the last chance to purchase an otherwise sold-out V10-powered Lamborghini.” We wrote at the time that we thought “maybe” was a vital qualifier. The Huracan’s twin-turbo V8 hybrid-powered successor isn’t due until the end of this year; 18 months is a long time for the Sant’ Agata brand to go without a special edition for the growing legion of buyers ready with six or seven figures sight-unseen. CarBuzz might have restored order to the world and proved us right, finding a couple of trademark applications with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for a vehicle called the Huracan STJ.

The J is for “Jota,” the Spanish pronunciation of the letter “J,” representative of the FIA rule book’s Appendix J detailing sports car racing and homologation regulations (a connection that might or might not be true), and of Lamborghini’s most focused road-going models for retail customers going back to the Miura Jota prototype in 1970. Since then, there’s been a Miura SVJ, Diablo SE30 Jota, Aventador J one-off speedster and the Aventador SVJ.

The short money says this is a turned-up version of the Huracan STO, itself the most raucous version of the Huracan that sold out through the end of production more than a year ago. The long money says this could be a track-only coupe, despite every previous J designation being legal for the street. The fans of all things bully at Lamborghini Talk say there will only be ten made, one for each of the automaker’s global regions, and all are sold out. One poster wrote that in December and January, Lamborghini approached prospective buyers with the chance to purchase the sole unit for their region. Our bet is that nary a “No” was heard.

It’s possible the public will get its first and perhaps only look at the Huracan STO — outside of Pebble Beach or an RM Sotheby’s auction — at Lamborghini’s takeover of Italy’s Imola Circuit on April 6 and 7. The festival is called Lamborghini Arena, the automaker calling it “The most extraordinary event in our brand’s history.” Could make a worthy entrance for an extraordinary new J.

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March 6, 2024 / Comments Off

271

Brabham Automotive and the BT62 track car dead for now

Brabham Automotive, maker of the BT62 track car, was formed through a partnership between two Australian enterprises. Private equity firm Fusion Capital, with decades of involvement in Australia’s transportation industry, worked out a deal with Brabham Group to license the Brabham name. As the “majority shareholder, sole funder, and operator of the Automotive company that bears the famous Brabham name,” Fusion Capital bankrolled the operation, with David Brabham — youngest son of three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jack Brabham and a Le Mans winner himself — the face and soul of the brand. Sportscar 365 reports the collaboration is officially over due to differences of opinion about the “strategic direction” of Brabham Automotive.

David Brabham said in written statement, “The decision to end the relationship was made after careful consideration and what was in the best interests of all parties and the brand.” Mat Fitch, chairman of Fusion Capital, said in his own written statement that the investment firm is “committed to projects that push the limits and defy convention in the motorsport and automotive sectors.”

The breakup seems to have been a slow burn. In July last year, Australian outlet Car Expert spoke to David about what he called “a reboot” for the company, wanting to build more units of the $1.8M AUD ($1.2M U.S.) BT62 and develop a more affordable variant. At the time, Brabham said in response to detailed questions, “Some of the answers are points of discussion at the moment, so we prefer to wait till these have been sorted.”

Looks like that’s happened. Neither man stated the source of the disagreement, but other Fitch comments as well as Fusion Capital investments suggest a major difference was over electrification. Fitch’s statement also included the line, “Powertrains are evolving, and the opportunity to challenge the mainstream OEMs has never been greater.” The company owns Australia’s Bustech, a maker of municipal buses for Australian cities that is heavily engaged in the transition to electric powertrains and clean fuels. As an offshoot, it’s reportedly looking at developing robotaxis.

Brabham Automotive had big plans for the BT62, planning to sell 70 examples of the track version, create a roadgoing variant that would enable entry into racing series’ like the World Endurance Championship, contest Le Mans, and develop a tech-heavy, one-on-one driver coaching operation. We don’t know how many ended up in private hands. It sounds like the BT62’s story isn’t necessarily over, but whatever the BT62 potentially morphs into won’t bear the Brabham name and might not be powered by a naturally aspirated, 700-horsepower, 5.4-liter Ford V8. Yet another Fitch line was, “My family and I have invested in automotive and manufacturing for over 40 years and … what we have created provides the perfect platform for the future.”

Given more time and that road-going version, the BT62 might have been able to make more of a name for itself. The track version set a lap record at Australia’s Mount Panorama circuit, and scored a race win plus a few podiums in the GT2 European Series.

We undoubtedly haven’t heard the last of the Brabham name, either. The scion wrote, “While it is regrettable that our relationship with Fusion Capital has come to an end, the collaboration helped further evolve Brabham to a new and exciting future. … With the brand license for Automotive ended, it opens the doors for future business ventures in the Motorsport, Automotive and Heritage sectors. I would like to personally thank everyone who contributed and supported to this project over the years.”

January 16, 2024 / Comments Off

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Red Bull RB17 due in 2024, makes 1,250 hp, weighs 1,984 lbs

In 2022, Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT) announced the development of a new hypercar, the RB17. RBAT is the commercial technology arm for the Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team — akin to Williams Advanced Engineering, it’s a place to market technologies developed for F1 and to employ engineers cut from the F1 team when the sport introduced a cost cap. The track-only car’s rough specs in the announcement were a twin-turbocharged V8 hybrid powertrain making 1,250 horsepower, bodywork incorporating every useful F1 performance aid both legal and banned, a price of five million pounds ($6.4M U.S.) plus taxes and options, and a market launch in 2025. Evo magazine, via an interview Red Bull team principal Christian Horner gave to Sky Sports, revealed the debut’s been pushed up to this year instead of 2025 and provided a few more details on what’s inbound.

An unnamed third party is building the twin-turbo V8 engine and, if not the entire transmission, the gearsets inside. Red Bull still isn’t ready to disclose the engine maker, so we’re going to put two placeholder possibilities here. First, Red Bull announced the RB17 in June 2022, stating that the coupe was in the “advanced stages of development.” Porsche began making noises about joining F1 in 2021, then announced it would pair with Red Bull in July 2022, one month after the RB17 news. And Porsche knows all about hybridized twin-turbo V8s and racy track cars. The collaboration process went far enough to reveal that Porsche planned a ten-year project that involved taking a 50% stake in Red Bull F1. In March 2023, both parties deep-sixed the deal over a disagreement about a controlling stake, but there’s no reason the breakup would need to end a potential powertrain partnership for the RB17.

Second, the placeholder we’d love to see: A Ford engine in the RB17. One month before Red Bull and Porsche officially hit the rocks, Ford announced it would return to F1 with Red Bull in 2026. We have no idea what engine sits behind the RB17’s cockpit, and suspect the chance of it wearing a Blue Oval badge (for due cause, not badge engineering) are close enough to zero to be considered zero, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking it would be great to see.

Horner said the RB17’s target weight is 900 kilograms (1,984 pounds). Top Gear, which drove Red Bull’s most recent track-only hypercar project, the non-hybrid, V12-powered Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, said it weighs 1,009 kg (2,225 lbs). The track-only version of the road-legal Gordon Murray Automotive T.50, called the T.50s, weighs 851 kg (1,878 pounds). For comparison, last year’s minimum weight for an F1 car was 798 kg (1,759 pounds).

Red Bull’s targeting a lower center of gravity for its 900 kg than found on the Valkyrie AMR Pro. The RB17’s said to have a longer wheelbase than that of the 124-inch span on the Aston Martin, the Pro’s wheelbase itself stretched 15 inches beyond the wheelbase of the regular road Valkyrie. The RB17’s also expected with larger wheels, too, meaning hoops larger than 18 inches, a bit surprising seeing that would outdo the spec sizes for F1 and LMP1 cars as well.

Motorsports fans have long mused on what Red Bull chief technology officer Adrian Newey could create without restrictions; Red Bull has done the same, creating virtual concepts like the X1 for Gran Turismo in 2010. The RB17 will be the first real-world demonstration, originally described with phrases like “All the tricks we’ve learned in F1” and “Adrian’s greatest hits.”

Production begins in RBAT facilities later this year, the division capping assembly at no more than 15 per year. With a planned production run of 50 cars, that’s more than three years for builds. The multi-million-pound purchase price is said to pay for service and maintenance, access to Red Bull simulators, and on-track instruction. And Christian Horner wants everyone to know, “It will sound fantastic, like a track car should.”

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January 7, 2024 / Comments Off

241

Koenigsegg details the madness of his Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission

We always tune in when Christian von Koenigsegg steps in front of the camera for another tour of his car company’s new technology and facilities. He’s obviously enthusiastic about what’s being designed and built in Angelholm, Sweden, but not overly so (not in his videos, at least), he’s talks about technology in simple terms, and, best of all, the stuff coming out of those factory machines is not only innovative, it’s beautiful. The fearless leader checks all the boxes again with this quick look at the new transmission and twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 block going in the two-seater Jesko and available for the four-seater Gemera.

A quick refresher on the LSTT, or Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission. During Gemera development, engineers wondered if the Gemera could fit the TTV8 and Light Speed Transmission (LST) from the Jesko into an engine bay designed for the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) three-cylinder engine and Direct Drive transmission from the Koenigsegg Regera. The engineers answered that question in the affirmative with what’s now called the LSTT, the addition of “tourbillon” referring to a mechanical feature that makes a wristwatch more accurate. On top of giving the Gemera a huge boost in available output, reworking the LST for its new employment made it smaller, lighter, and better. It’s super compact form fits nine gears and weighs just 198 pounds including the attached starter motor; the eight-speed dual-clutch Tremec TR-9090 for the Chevrolet Corvette weighs 307 pounds empty in its lightest configuration.

A tour of the 5.0-liter V8’s rotating assembly shows Koenigsegg doesn’t skimp on artwork. The ceramic coating on the top surfaces of the forged pistons is etched with the Koenigsegg logo, the connecting rods are etched with the Koenigsegg name, as are the anodized timing chain guides. Christian says the entire engine is “under 200 kilos,” or 441 pounds. That’s not far off the 445-pound weight of Ford’s Gen 3 5.0-liter V8, but the Koenigsegg carries two turbos and their ancillaries. He also shows off bits like the 3D-printed thermostat, intake plenum, and Inconel exhaust manifold, all of it art.

After that, a trip to the dyno to see what the motor can do on E85 and on our own 91 octane. If you like mechanical bits and what they can do when cost is no object, you should have a watch.

November 29, 2023 / Comments Off

307

Lamborghini Huracan STO SC 10 Anniversario won’t race, but should

Lamborghini’s one-make Super Trofeo racing series waved its first green flag in 2009. Installing the season-ending World Finals as a cap to the series didn’t start until 2013, the same year the Italian automaker created its Squadra Corse motorsports division, making this year the 10th anniversary of both. In honor of that, and perhaps to the benefit of a client or clients, Lamborghini’s Ad Personam custom division created the Huracán STO SC 10 Anniversario, a roadgoing Huracán with a special livery and aero package tweaked by the Squadra Corse racing division.

And since the Huracán is also headed into retirement after 10 years on sale, this racing-themed special model repeats history: Lamborghini sold a run of 50 Gallardo LP-570 Squadra Corse coupes for the 2014 model year on the eve of that model concluding its 10-year production run.

The Verde Mantis and Nero Noctis livery shouts out to the SC63 hybrid endurance racer that will compete in the IMSA’s Le Mans Daytona Hybrid class starting next year. The Huracán’s flourished in the lower classes, having won the GTD class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona three years in a row. Unique touches include the Tricolore band running down the center, “Squadra Corse 10° Anniversario” logos on the sides and rear fin, plus Rosso Mars accents along the carbon fiber package pieces. Inside, a Nero Ade seats are contrasted by Verde Fauns stitching, four-point seat belts, a roll bar, and a carbon fiber floor.

The company says this is the first time the Squadra Corse division has fiddled with a road car. The performance and aero changes count four-way adjustable racing-derived dampers replacing the adaptive shocks, specially developed Bridgestone tires, an Akrapovic titanium exhaust, new carbon fiber flics at the leading edges of the front cover vents, and a rear wing canted an additional three degrees for more rear downforce. The Gallardo Squadra Corse coupes got more downforce from a special rear wing, too, but the racing arm wasn’t in charge of that back then.

Chief technical officer Rouven Mohr described this as “a concrete demonstration of how experience gained in motorsport can be effectively transferred to the road product, enhancing performance and driving pleasure. We firmly believe that motorsport is the most technically sophisticated and challenging test bed, and Squadra Corse’s know-how is a valuable asset that deserves to be highlighted on unique models and limited road series with a racing vocation.” Lamborghini didn’t say whether there’d be more than one of these, nor mention a price, though, so perhaps give your dealer a call and a blank check to pass along if you’re interested.

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November 19, 2023 / Comments Off

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