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Hummer is back with a 1,000bhp all-electric ‘supertruck’

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Somewhere in California Arnold Schwarzenegger has just exploded with excitement, because Hummer is BACK (baby). And its new truck is quite the thing.

It’s electric for starters, with GM’s clever new ‘Ultium’ batteries and three e-motors giving an estimated 1,000bhp, 11,500lb ft of torque and around 350 miles of range. 0-60mph takes “approximately three seconds”, while 350kW DC charging can supposedly replenish 100 miles of charge in just ten minutes.

Billed as “the ultimate off-road EV supertruck”, the Hummer EV comes with 35-inch tyres (though it’s compatible with 37s), adaptive air suspension with something called “Extract Mode” that can lift the body by six-inches and thick steel plating underneath to keep the battery from harm.

A shedload of cameras give up to 18 different views of the ground around (and under) the truck, which GM claims can scale “18-inch verticals”, wade through 2ft of water and quite literally side-step tricky obstacles with a “CrabWalk” feature that points the front and rear wheels in the same direction.

Inside you get a 13.4-inch centre screen and another 12.3-inch display just for the driver. Removable roof panels can be stowed in the Tesla-style “frunk”.

By: Tom Harrison, Oct. 21, 2020

MSO has Given the McLaren 765LT a Wild Color Scheme

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“It is fearsomely, intimidatingly fast. The way it fires itself across the second half of the rev range, coloured LEDs lighting up as you home in on a limiter you wish would cut in now to give you some respite from the relentless shove, is deeply affecting.

“The 765LT is not one for the faint-hearted.”

Now, you know how nature works. Things with a ferocious or venomous side tend to alert you with a bright array of colours across their body. Perhaps McLaren was taking notes, for this is the 765LT wearing MSO’s new ‘Strata Theme’. It is bold. You can’t say it’s not warning you…

“The extreme performance ethos of LT is brought to life,” says McLaren. “The vibrant colour, flawless fade and bold, hand-stencilled graphics give the car a sense of energy and velocity, even while at rest.”

Feeling suitably prepared? Then go watch our video review of a slightly more timidly painted 765LT…

By: Stephen Dobie, Oct. 1, 2020

Source: https://www.topgear.com/

For more cars, click here: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/mso-has-given-mclaren-765lt-wild-colour-scheme

The New BMW M3 and BMW M4 have Arrived

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“This is the new BMW M4”. That sentence is one of the easiest ways to break TopGear.com’s servers. If possibly eclipsed by “This is the new BMW M3”. So expect our internet shortly to go into a state of broken squared.

A quick jolt of stats for you. Three-litre turbo engine, in-line six cylinders, with a pair of turbos, one for each three-cylinder half of the engine. Five hundred and three horsepowers in the Competition versions you see here. Eight-speed autobox. Zero to 62mph in less than four seconds.

That’s the acceleration for the rear-drive type. In a few months there will be an optional four-wheel-drive system. A M four-wheel-drive system, no less, which means it lets you prod a button to aim extra torque rearward. Or, at a second prod, all of it. Just in case you’re feeling nuttier than a Topic bar.

Even beneath the unique-to-M paint colours, the design is way out there. Hagen Franke, who sets the cars’ spec and characteristics, says that’s what customers asked for: a greater distance in this generation between the M340i/M440i and the M3/M4. Job done, we’d say.

I put it to Franke that the existence of the M2 must have allowed him to nudge the M3 and M4 further up the tree, with a whole thump of extra power and the 4WD option taking it closer to the big-daddy M5. But no, he says, M3 and M4 buyers are super-loyal and know what they want. They want, broadly, this.

Except some of them want an estate, so they’ll get that in this generation. Is that to stop people migrating to the X3M or Macan? Nope, Franke denies that too. The M3 and M4 just seem to exist in their own bubble. “The Touring is a nice addition.” Same with 4WD. “Knowing our customers pretty well, there are some of them in the snow belt who want all-wheel-drive.”

When the 4 Series showed its – shall we say? – polarising nasal styling, the 3 Series was spared. So at least BMW was offering you a choice. But not this time. For the M-cars, they both get exactly the same gaping nasal passages. Sniff.

In the lands we call abroad, there are actually two engines available. The standard cars get 480bhp and a manual gearbox. But that’s a box that would break under the strain of the Competition versions. So they get an eight-speed auto with their 510bhp and 479lb ft. The M3 Competition and M4 Competition are the only ones available in Britain, so there’s no way we can get the manual.

As with any M car, we can geek out over a whole lot of other modification. It starts with the body, carbon-roofed as before. Its arches balloon over a widened track – the M3 is a whole 75mm wider than a regular 3er.

By: Paul Hornell, 9/22/20

For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/first-look/new-bmw-m3-and-bmw-m4-have-arrived

Source: https://www.topgear.com/

2021 Lucid Air Dream Edition Stickers for a Whopping $169,0

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Lucid Air Lead Image

The 2021 Lucid Air promises to cream the Tesla Model S when it comes to range and acceleration. But as it turns out, great performance comes at a great price.

That said, the base Air starts below $80,000. It’s unclear if this is before or after a destination charge, though. Keep in mind the Air qualifies for the full federal tax credit, which when factored into the equation, brings the price down to less than $72,500. The Tesla Model S no longer qualifies for this credit, and it starts at $76,190, including a $1,200 destination charge.

We’re still awaiting full performance specs for the base Lucid Air, which goes on sale after the initial batch of higher-end Airs roll off the assembly line. Nevertheless, we know even the entry-level Air boasts the ability to add 300 miles of range in 20 minutes when plugged into a DC fast charger.

Move up to the Touring, and you’re looking at a price of $95,000 before accounting for tax credits and destination. This variant delivers 620 hp, or enough to propel the sedan to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. It’s also capable of crossing the quarter mile after 11.4 seconds at 123 mph. The Touring’s driving range is a claimed 406 miles, which puts it close to the figure of the Model S Long Range Plus.

Lucid Air Range

But that’s chump change compared to the Dream Edition, the highest performing variant with 1,080 hp. Lucid claims the top-of-the-line trim hits 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and runs the quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds at 144 mph. These models come with a laundry list of luxurious appointments, including Bridge of Weir leather, Eucalyptus wood, and trim-specific wheels. Prices break the bank at $169,000. Compare this to the most expensive Tesla Model S, the Performance variant, which Tesla estimates hits the 60 mph mark in 2.3 seconds and starts at $96,190, including destination.

The 2021 Lucid Air enters production at Lucid’s Casa Grande, Ariz., plant in the spring of 2021. The Grand Touring and Dream Edition hit the market in the early part of the year, followed by the Touring near the end of 2021. The base model arrives in 2022.

The 2021 Mercedes-AMG E 63 S Gets a New Face and a Bunch of Tech, But No Power Bump

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The New BMW M5 Competition gets Fancy New Dampers

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This is the new Porsche Cayenne GTS, and it has a V8 again

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Not as big a V8 as when the first-gen Cayenne GTS launched (that was a 4.8-litre naturally-aspirated thing), but a sizeable one nonetheless. For this third-generation GTS Porsche has ditched the old 3.6-litre turbo V6, and slotted in a detuned version of the V8 you get in the range-topping Turbo. Cap ‘T’, remember.

This one of course has a turbo, but with a small ‘t’. Two of them, in fact, bolted onto that V8 to produce 454bhp – up 20bhp over the old V6 – and 457lb ft of torque, which is also a smidge more than the old car.

As such, both the Cayenne GTS and Cayenne Coupe GTS (the first time the Coupe gets such a nomenclature) record 0-62mph times of 4.5s – over half a second quicker – and top speeds of 173mph. Both of those stats are possible via Porsche’s Sport Chrono pack. Which you want.

Porsche reckons changes to the V8’s engine cylinder control, direct injection and thermal management system – and a retuned eight-speed tiptronic auto – mean economy figures of 20-21.2mpg are possible. We shall see.

The V8 is matched to a new sports exhaust system – a pair of twin pipes on the SUV, just the two pipes on the Coupe – said to deliver “a highly emotive aural experience”. Because V8.

And because this V8 is the sweet spot between entry-level Cayenne and mad-dog Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid (which you can read our review of here), it features 20mm lower suspension on standard steel-springs, adaptive dampers (PASM), torque vectoring, and 21in RS Spyder wheels hiding 390mm discs up front and 358mm on the back. Beefy.

There are options of course. Better brakes. Three-chamber air suspension. Rear-axle steering. Dynamic chassis control. Not listed on this particular sheet is the option to not buy a big 2.2-tonne SUV and get a V8 estate instead…

In any case, the Cayenne has always been a good thing to drive, and while the exterior of this third-gen car hasn’t differed much from the second-generation, GTS models get tinted LED head- and tail-lights, and black air intakes/window trims/exhaust pipes. Inside there’s lots of Alcantara, aluminium, and eight-way adjustable sports seats with deeper side bolsters. Perhaps salad should become your new best friend.

How much for this V8 tank, you cry? In the UK prices start at £85,930 for the Cayenne GTS SUV, and £88,750 for the Cayenne GTS Coupe.

By: Vijay Pattini, June 11, 2020

For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/suvs/new-porsche-cayenne-gts-and-it-has-v8-again

Source: https://www.topgear.com/

Novitec’s Ferrari F8 Tributo has 787bhp

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The Ferrari F8 Tributo was named to celebrate the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 that sits at its core. An unusual christening, yes, but then it is a rather special engine having won the International Engine of the Year Award in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Oh, and then there’s the small matter of it also being crowned the best engine of the past 20 years by the same voting panel.

Despite that, Novitec reckons that a few aftermarket tweaks can still improve on the 710bhp and 568lb ft of torque you get as standard in the F8. And (in terms of numbers at least) it seems that the German tuner was correct.

With a plug-and-play ECU that introduces new mapping and modifies the turbo boost pressure, Novitec has managed to up the F8’s figures to a frankly astounding 787bhp and 651lb ft. Crikey. The result is 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds (0.2 seconds quicker than standard) and a top speed of somewhere above 211mph. “There is no such thing as enough power,” says Novitec in its press release.

To match the engine upgrade there’s also a high-performance, lightweight exhaust that can be had with or without ‘electronic sound management’. Plus, as you can probably tell, there are new springs that drop the Tributo by 35mm front and rear – although you can spec a nose-lift system to make sure you’ll still get over speed bumps. And the odd sweet wrapper, say.

The wheels are 22-inch forged items from American manufacturer Vossen and can apparently be had in 72 different colours. Oh, and Novitec says its designers are currently working on a range of bodywork components that “will be equal parts thrilling styling and aerodynamic efficiency”. Uh oh.

Source: https://www.topgear.com/

By: Greg Potts, June 9, 2020

For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/modified/novitecs-ferrari-f8-tributo-has-787bhp

The SSC Tuatara will do 60-120mph in 2.5 Seconds

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A recent test of the 1,750bhp SSC Tuatara – just your regular ‘buzz-up to 210mph’ checks to monitor shock potentiometer and downforce balances – revealed something quite extraordinary.

“I do have kind of a funny story to share,” SSC boss Jerod Shelby tells TopGear.com. “Early in the particular test day, we did a few 90 per cent throttle second-to-third-to-fourth gear pulls to data log and measure the upshift sequence timing in Track Mode (that produces aggressive shifts).

“I noticed, during those pulls, that I wasn’t feeling any indication of our rev-limiter kicking in at 8,500+rpm. So, when we got back to our facilities, we emailed the data logs off to our master tuner (a daily occurrence), and asked him to verify that the rev-limiter is still programmed to start kicking in lightly at 8,500+rpm.

“I got a call from a very excited tuner later that night, while I was eating dinner with my family, saying: ‘do you realise that you’re going from 60mph to 120mph in 2.5 seconds flat in a couple of these pulls?’

“He said ‘I didn’t think that was physically possible from a 2WD car, but I checked and your logger was tracking six satellites during these runs, so this is legitimate. That is absolutely crazy’, he said.

“My response to him was… ‘what about the rev limiter?!”

Shelby said his tuner reminded him that ‘heavily modified, 2,500-3,000bhp AWD race vehicles run those kinds of times’. The Tuatara of course, is a rear-drive hypercar designed to be driven every day. Woah.

Source: https://www.topgear.com/

For VIDEO, click HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVtqUCKghpY&feature=emb_title

The New Porsche 911 Targa

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The soft-top 911 with a retro flavour is back. Welcome to the new Porsche 911 Targa 4, and the 911 Targa 4S. Hah, yes, you’re right, they do look like the old ones!

This is a car of few surprises. Because the 992-generation 911 is pretty closely based on the old 991-gen car, the intricate roof mechanism and general look of the glassy, hooped backside hasn’t changed much.

Porsche says the new Targa has ‘more powerful roof actuators’, but the folding origami dance still takes 19 seconds, and you still can’t do it on the move because the massive rear clamshell hangs over the back of the car in the process. So much so, the 911’s parking sensors are called into action in case you try to operate it while backed up to a wall, tree, or small child. Safety first.

It looks mighty fine though. 911 Targas have tended not to be the driver’s choice of 911, because they’re around 40kg heavier than even the 911 Cabriolet, but in black, from the rear, this new 992 version does look devilishly good. It’s sort of the anti-GT3. A 911 for admiring, not rinsing.

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