All posts in “Cars”

Goodwood Festival of Speed cancels Saturday events due to weather

The Goodwood Festival of Speed will not hold events as planned Saturday for the first time in its 30-year run due to concerns over high winds, the organizers announced late Friday. Concerns over the potential for damage to temporary structures prompted the late cancellation after a long Friday of (appropriately?) dreary British weather promised to worsen ahead of Saturday’s competition. 

Saturday ticket holders will be refunded, event organizers said, and Sunday’s events will go on as planned. The full announcement from the Duke of Richmond and the Festival of Speed Team follows. 

It is with deep regret that we have taken the decision that the Goodwood Festival of Speed will not go ahead tomorrow (Saturday 15 July 2023). After consulting meteorologists, health and safety experts and other key stakeholders, we have taken the decision to close the event site due to a severe wind warning in the Goodwood area.

On-site safety is our highest priority and the forecasted high winds will pose a serious risk to various temporary structures across the site. We politely ask that you do not travel to Goodwood or attempt to access the site.

This decision has not been made lightly and His Grace, The Duke of Richmond, along with the whole Festival of Speed team, are deeply saddened that we will not run the event on Saturday for the first time in its 30 year history.

The event will resume as planned on Sunday.

Please note: Sunday is a sold out day. Anyone with a Saturday ticket will not be able to access the site. All ticket holders for Saturday will be communicated with in the coming days regarding a refund, and we ask that customers requesting refunds please do not try to contact the ticket office over the weekend.

Please pass this message on to any other ticket holders in your group.

Thank you for your understanding – further updates will be provided via email in due course. If you are camping over the weekend, you are welcome to stay in the campsites. Please be careful during the high winds and consider taking down gazebos and awnings, securing tents with additional pegs or demounting during the peak wind period. If you have any problems, please keep in touch with Goodwood through our campsite managers in the office.

Koenigsegg details outrageous new Gemera specs with Dark Matter e-motor

Koenigsegg recently held an event to celebrate an expansion of its campus headquarters in Angelholm, Sweden. We got some initial bits out of it from Koenigsegg Registry, focusing on changes to the production-spec Gemera such as the option to swap the turbocharged 2.0-liter three-cylinder engine for the 5.0 TTV8 from the Jesko. It looks like the Swedes saved the juiciest details for now. Coming straight from founder and boss Christian von Koenigsegg, the Gemera hasn’t only been improved by a lot, it’s got some outstanding new tech that started with the question of an engine and transmission swap.

Engineers had developed a nine-speed gearbox called the Light Speed Transmission (LST) for the Jesko’s TTV8. The LST dispenses with a flywheel and clutch or hydraulic coupling, making the TTV8 engine’s output shaft the LST’s input shaft. At some point during Gemera development, someone wondered if the Gemera could fit the TTV8 and LST instead of the planned Direct Drive transmission from the Koenigsegg Regera. The short story is the engineers answered that question in the affirmative with what’s now called the LSTT, the Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission. In the lingo of jewel-like Swiss watch internals, a “tourbillon” is a mechanical feature that makes a watch more accurate. Reworking the LST for its new employment made it smaller, lighter, and better.

Alongside that, engineers created a new six-phase e-motor to replace the three, three-phase Quark e-motors that had been paired with the 2.0-liter Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) engine. The 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. transmission. Their combined output in operation came to 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, 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. When operating together, max output comes to 1,400 horsepower and 1,365 pound-feet of torque. The Gemera retains its all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, and torque vectoring.

Thanks to the more compact transmission and single e-motor, the TTV8 could find a home in the Gemera’s engine bay. That required more development, mostly changing the turbo setup to a hot vee, putting the exhaust into the valley between the cylinders. Note the more pronounced pipes emerging from beside the rear window.

Previous info said going to the V8 would add $400K to the Gemera’s price. It also makes a huge difference to output. With 1,500 hp coming from the TTV8 and 800 hp coming from the Dark Matter, final output is rated at 2,300 hp and 2,028 lb-ft. of torque. Well then. 

This Gemera iteration is called the Client Specification. It’s what those who managed to get on the Germera reservation list will fly to Sweden to configure in the new extension called the Gripen Atelier. Production begins toward the end of next year, first deliveries planned for early 2025.

Aston Martin Valour gets retro looks and a manual-backed V12

A few years ago, Aston Martin stunned the supercar world with its Victor. It took the V12 and other mechanicals of some of the most advanced and exclusive Astons of the modern era, such as the One-77, and gave it ’70s retro looks and a retro transmission: a six-speed manual. The problem, though, was that it was a one-off. Beautiful to look at, but out of reach for even the most well-heeled customers. We have a feeling a good number of those prospective buyers were ringing up Aston begging to give them money for something like it, because the new Valour offers a taste of Victor … y.

Though Aston doesn’t explicitly say so, we’re confident that the Valour’s based on the DB12 platform, considering the shape of the greenhouse as well as the twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 that we’ll get to shortly. But you probably won’t notice that connection at first because of the radical restyling. Just like the Victor, the Valour takes styling inspiration from the V8 Vantage of the 1970s with its forward-leaning nose, boxy fenders and subtle lip spoiler. It even gets unique round LED headlights to drive home the classic look. But there are many other nifty exterior touches to this carbon fiber bruiser. Its grille slats and rear trim are made of real aluminum, and there are aerodynamic aids throughout, such as the vents and scoops in the hood, the air ducts on the outboard ends of the front bumper, and even the rear window louvres help with aero.

Under that perforated hood is Aston’s twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 making more power than the DB12, but less torque. Total output is 705 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. Again, Aston didn’t explicitly say, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the torque was turned down a bit to accommodate the six-speed manual transmission, the only gearbox available for the Valour. We doubt prospective buyers will be bothered by the lower torque number when they’re getting to shift for themselves. That power goes only to the rear wheels through a mechanical limited-slip differential. The adaptive suspension has its own unique tuning not shared with other Astons, and it comes standard with carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers. Connecting everything to the ground are 21-inch wheels with 275-mm-wide front and 325-mm-wide rear Aston-specific Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tires.

Owners will spend time in the Valour’s unique and carbon fiber-laden interior. The centerpiece is definitely the manual shifter, which has its linkages exposed and is capped with a luxurious knob crafted from a choice of aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber or walnut wood. The options expand in regards to color and fabric. Aston equipped the debut car with tweed upholstery, a nod to the 1959 DBR1 race car. This is one of the many special upholstery options. And on the topic of customization, the exterior has extensive choices, too. Four sections of the car can be painted different hues: the front, hood, sides and rear. There are 21 colors on offer as standard, but with even more money, the Q program will let you choose completely custom hues, stripes and other graphics, and even tinted carbon fiber.

No pricing was announced for the Valour, but with the limited production nature of the car, and its special design and powertrain, it likely doesn’t matter to buyers. Only 110 will be built, and they’ll probably be sold out soon after this reveal, if not already. Production starts in the third quarter of this year, with deliveries starting by the end of the year.

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Pininfarina Battista Edizione Nino Farina honors the first F1 champion

Design house-turned-carmaker Pininfarina took a trip to the heritage well to create its latest limited-edition model. Named after Giuseppe Farina, the first Formula One champion, the Battista Edizione Nino Farina stands out with several edition-specific styling cues inside and out.

Giuseppe “Nino” Farina’s ties to the Italian automotive industry aren’t limited to winning the first Formula One Driver’s Championship in 1950. He’s also the nephew of Battista “Pinin” Farina, who founded the design house that bears his name. Pininfarina honored the driver by giving the Battista edition-specific Rosso Nino paint with contrasting Bianco Sestriere and Iconica Blu accents, wheels finished in Glorioso Gold, and “01” graphics on both sides. The Furiosa Pack, which adds carbon fiber exterior trim pieces, comes standard.

The interior is characterized by a two-tone design. The driver’s seat is upholstered in black leather and has the “01” logo embroidered into the headrest. The passenger’s seat gets beige leather and the Pininfarina logo embroidered into the headrest. Production is limited to five examples, and each one will receive a specific aluminum door sill plate engraved with a date that commemorates Farina’s life and career; 1906 celebrates the year he was born, for example, and 1950 corresponds to the year he won the Formula One Driver’s Championship.

Mechanically, the Edizione Nino Farina is identical to the regular Battista, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing; few could argue that it needs a higher output. Power comes from four electric motors (one per wheel) that jointly develop 1,900 horsepower and 1,726 pound-feet of torque. The company quotes a zero-to-62-mph time of 1.86 seconds, a top speed of 217 mph, and up to 300 miles of driving range.

Pininfarina will present the Battista Edizione Nino Farina at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed that opens in England on July 13. Pricing information hasn’t been announced, but keep in mind that the standard Battista (which is limited to 150 units) starts at about $2.2 million.

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Koenigsegg shows production Gemera with TTV8 option

The Koenigsegg Gemera is taking the scenic route to production, making stops along the way that buyers will appreciate. Koenigsegg Registry attended an event to inaugurate a new production line for the Gemera, company boss Christian von Koenigsegg telling the audience the mid-engined four-seat hypercar can be optioned with the 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that powers the Koenigsegg Jesko. The V8 adds $400,000 to the price and about 500 horsepower to the spec sheet, while decreasing torque by about 500 pound-feet, the announced figures being 2,300 hp and 2,028 pound-feet of torque on E85. The TTV8 makes 1,280 hp and 738 lb-ft by itself on premium fuel, 1,600 hp on E85. The remaining output comes from the Gemera’s three electric motors. The nine-speed Light Speed Transmission (LST) would also make the jump from the Jesko. 

The Gemera debuted in 2020, the original spec sheet boasting 1,700 horsepower and 2,583 pound-feet of torque from a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that could get the four-seater from 0-60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds. A turbocharged 2.0-liter inline three-cylinder called the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) sends 600 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque to the front axle. It’s frugal enough that the company lists gas-powered range as 590 miles. Three Quark electric motors turn the rear axle, two motors for each wheel, another between the crankshaft and the Hydracoup direct-drive transmission. The axle motors each produce 500 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque, the crankshaft e-motor makes 400 bhp and 369 lb-ft of torque. Their combined output in the powertrain comes to 1,100 bhp.

The Gemera shown on stage at the event sported physical side mirrors instead of the cameras on the concept car. Those will be a necessity for markets like the U.S. that haven’t approved digital outside mirrors yet. It’s not clear if the camera system will be offered in places like Europe that do allow such. 

The options sheet grows again with the addition of a Ghost Package. This installs a larger front splitter, an S-duct in place of the traditional hood, and a rear wing. Aggression and downforce get amped up, but practicality diminishes since the S-duct front end replaces the frunk. That would be a shame considering the four-season, nuclear family potential of the car. The Gemera comes with all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering and torque vectoring on both axles. The 16.6-kWh battery can power up to 31 miles of all-electric range on the WLTP cycle. The interior’s been designed with four heated seats, tri-zone climate control, infotainment screens for front and rear passengers, wireless chargers front and rear, and a few climate-controlled cupholders among the beverage receptacles. 

After production begins, 300 Gemeras will come off the line. As part of the improved headquarters, customers visiting Sweden to configure their cars will find a new showroom, lounge, experience center and retail space. 

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Eccentrica Cars unveils Lamborghini Diablo restomod

San Marino-based Eccentrica Cars is bringing the Lamborghini Diablo, one of the most emblematic supercars of the 1990s, into the 21st century. The startup unveiled a limited-edition restomodded Diablo with a more modern design inside and out and a more powerful V12.

Eccentrica enlisted the help of several well-known suppliers to complete its first project. BorromeodeSilva, a design studio based in Milan, updated the Diablo’s lines by taking inspiration from the GTR model. The only exterior panel left untouched is the windshield; everything else has been updated, including the bumpers, the hood and the side skirts. Designers fitted a muscular-looking body kit, new-look headlights hidden behind retractable covers, and hexagon-shaped intakes that channel air to the radiators. The engine cover was redesigned as well.

What you see isn’t necessarily what you’ll get if you’re one of the lucky customers whose name appears on the waiting list. For example, the “remove before flight”-branded engine covers are temporary. They’ll be replaced by a pair of “mobile components” on the production car. 

The interior gets a similar treatment: it stays true to the original car’s spirit and layout while incorporating modern styling cues and materials. Eccentrica describes it as “a meeting point between the minimalism of the early 1990s and the state-of-the-art mechanics typical of luxury watchmaking.” It adds that one of the project’s goal was to replace many of the plastic parts found in the original Diablo.

Step in through the scissor doors — getting rid of such an emblematic styling cue was out of the question — and you’ll find a pair of Alcantara-upholstered seats, a reinterpretation of the regular Diablo’s steering wheel and a digital instrument cluster with a throwback look. Square buttons occupy most of the space on the center stack, while the center console features toggle switches and a gated shifter.

Fully street-legal, Eccentrica’s Diablo is powered by an evolution of the standard car’s 5.7-liter V12 that develops 550 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 442 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm thanks in part to valvetrain modifications. In comparison, the Diablo launched in 1990 with a 5.7-liter V12 rated at about 492 horsepower and 426 pound-feet of torque. The engine exhales through a Capristo exhaust system, and it spins the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. We haven’t heard the V12 fire up yet, but we’re betting it sounds amazing.

The firm quotes a 0-62-mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 208 mph, and it adds that the use of titanium and carbon fiber parts lowers the coupe’s weight, though the final figure hasn’t been released. More power and less weight is a combination that requires bigger brakes, so the updated Diablo gets a Brembo-designed braking system with six-piston front calipers that grip huge slotted rotors. Eccentrica hasn’t said much about the suspension system, but it widened the track and made the chassis stiffer to improve handling.

Eccentrica will build 19 units of its modern-day Diablo, and buyers will be able to personalize the paint, the upholstery and the trim material, among other features. The brand wants to ensure that no two examples are exactly alike. Pricing starts at €1.2 million (about $1.3 million at the current conversion rate) excluding any and all options and the cost of the donor car, and production takes between 16 and 18 months.

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How Porsche plans to grow margins with luxury and speed

Porsche — with CEO Oliver Blume behind the wheel — has zipped by a number of milestones over the past several years. Its share price has gained more than 36% since its IPO in September 2022 and profit margins are at an enviable 18%.

And yet, Blume isn’t satisfied.

“We are driving the company like a sports team,” Blume said earlier on the sidelines of the company’s 75th anniversary celebration. “After a success, focusing [on] what we can do more… going for the next goal.”

The next goal, Blume said, is 20% margins. The road to get there will be paved with investments in new segments and maybe even a seven-figure hypercar.

Timing is everything

The last nine months haven’t been kind to other automakers that went public in the past few years, particularly companies like Canoo, Fisker, Lucid Motors and Polestar that merged with special purpose acquisition companies. Even Rivian, the 2021 IPO darling that debuted at $78 a share, has seen its price fall some 82%.

Porsche has managed to avoid a similar fate — a result that Blume credited to years of preparation.

“It was a process over years, where we developed the company,” Blume said. “Five years ago, Porsche would never have been able to go to the stock market, and now it was the right moment.”

That preparation required a renewed focus on the fundamentals: margins, profits and cash flow. But, don’t think all that has made the company boring. At Porsche’s 75th birthday party in Stuttgart, Blume unveiled the Mission X, a hypercar designed to be the fastest production car ever made, not the most profitable.

Pushing into the luxury segment

When it comes to growing profit margins, it’s hard to do better than the luxury segment.

Though Porsche is certainly a premium manufacturer, its reputation has been built on performance, not poshness. A pivot to challenge brands like Mercedes-Benz or Rolls-Royce is not to be made lightly.

“Before we decide to go to a new segment, we make a deep analysis of the markets, of the profit pools and different regions of the world, and we think the segment of luxurious SUVs is quite huge, and with a very strong development potential from the future, and strong profit margins. What’s missing is a very sporty one there,” Blume said.

In other words: Buyers have many luxurious and stylish options in the premium SUV segment, but none of them has the character of a Porsche.

Learning from the Cayenne

It’s a similar story to what drove Porsche to introduce the Cayenne SUV 20 years ago. Though not particularly luxurious, the tall, big and wide Cayenne was a massive departure from the company’s pure sports offerings.

Cayenne sparked controversy, with many brand purists saying that Porsche had lost its way. Far from the beginning of the end, Cayenne is now Porsche’s biggest seller, while the company’s portfolio of fast, desirable sports cars is broader than ever.

By heading to green pastures, Porsche found huge success, and now Blume hopes to do so again.

That next expansion is a new SUV that Blume referred to by its code name: K1. This new SUV, first mentioned in March and due by 2027, will be bigger than Cayenne. It’ll be quick, too, but the focus here is on luxury.

Performance will come from a fully electric powertrain, Blume said, in keeping with Porsche’s goal of delivering 80% EVs by 2030. However, the look and layout of the car might be a little unfamiliar. “You will be surprised by the design,” Blume said.

Blume also said that the K1’s systems and software, the car’s “technology profile,” will be unique.

Wanted: Software engineers

To create innovative technologies found only in Porsches, the company is on a hiring spree — a notable difference from an industry that is laying off workers.

Porsche has more than 1,000 technical positions open, including many on the software side. Blume said that this is an increasingly core part of the company’s identity: “We think that the IP we are developing is very specific,” Blume said. “100% portion of this kind of costs are important for our brand identity and for our product identities. Therefore, that is our core business.”

For Blume, this clarifies the build versus buy debate.

“You can buy solutions in the market in areas, which are not your core business… And so for us it is very clear where to tap into that focus, where we will get the best talent from the market to develop our core competencies,” he said. “And in other areas, where it is not so important… we will work together with partners, but they are the best partners in the market.”

When it comes to that core experience, Blume said: “All the touch and feel and coming up to the software experience into the car should be unique for Porsche.”

Bringing a luxury all-electric SUV — catnip for American buyers — might make sound financial sense. However, for extremely low-volume hypercars (Porsche sold just 918 of the 918 Spyder), the value proposition is often a bit more nebulous.

Blume cited the brand-building impact of a record-setting halo car like the Mission X: “All our hypercars are icons,” he said. But, there are some more tangible benefits, too. “In the hypercars, we show the best the company is able to develop, to produce, to show what our technologies [are] for the future. We will later bring [them] to other serial cars, and so, it’s not only a showcase, it’s real life, to bring innovations, to develop innovations,” he said. “The whole team is focused, motivated, pushed to develop a hypercar, and that is the best the company is able to deliver.”

Mission X: To be or not to be?

Porsche Mission X Concept

  • Porsche Mission X Concept

Blume declined repeatedly to indicate whether or not the Mission X would be produced, but we shouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

He said the decision will be made “during the next month.” Should it get the green light, its first official duty will be recapturing the fastest production car lap record around the Nurburgring Nordschleife. For Blume, that iconic, 13-mile race track cut through the forests of western Germany is part of Porsche’s DNA: “When we design and build the concept of a car, the Nurburgring Nordschleife is the measure for Porsche.”

Porsche’s last hypercar, 2013’s 918 Spyder, itself set the fastest lap time for a production car, with a time of 6:57. The current record, set by the $2.7 million Mercedes-AMG One, sits at 6:35. That will likely be the target for the Mission X, the existential goal for a car built by a nearly octogenarian company still intent on proving its mettle on the track.

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Volkswagen’s SSP vehicle architecture back on track for 2026 debut

Volkswagen execs would tell you some very unfunny things happened on the way to electrification: Design decisions wrought years of damage, vehicle platform and software catastrophes scotched launch timelines for not just one but at least three brands, and chaos piled high enough to unseat a CEO. Those execs might not be correct about that middle one, though, if Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is telling the truth. During a presentation laying out the conglomerate’s ten-year plan at the annual capital markets day, Blume said the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) will launch on time, in 2026. This counters recent reporting as well as complaints from individual brands late last year and this year. Due to ongoing problems with the software needed to make the SSP work, Automotive News Europe reported last July that Audi’s first vehicle with the new software had been delayed up to three years, to 2027. A few months later, Autocar reported that Porsche updated its IPO prospectus with a warning that software holdups might delay the battery-electric 718 twins and Cayenne

We don’t know how the company got things back on track, but investors will be pleased and customers should be, too. Blume’s presentation made clear that VW expects to launch a platform even more potent than the one we were told about two years ago. Previous CEO Herbert Diess gave a similar presentation in 2021 explaining that the SSP would serve every group brand, and serve every kind of vehicle from city cars with as little as 114 horsepower to supercars with as much as 1,140 hp. Blume, however, said the SSP will be able to power drivetrains making as much as 1,700 hp — 560 hp more than the last projection.

But wait, there’s more. SSP development will break down into three paths: Urban city cars for Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Cupra; compact and mid-size vehicles for VW, Audi, Porsche and Skoda; and large vehicles for Audi, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini. Note the absence of Bugatti.

This one skateboard chassis will eventually replace the current MQB, MLB, MSB and MMB internal combustion platforms, the present MEB, PPE and J1 electric platforms, and the MEB+ arriving in 2025. It will be powered by new “unified” batteries of various chemistries developed in-house and running on an 800-volt electrical architecture. The charging time to take the batteries from 10% to 80% SOC will be 12 minutes, compared to the 35 minutes needed for the current MEB battery-electric platform; the interim MEB+ platform will lower that time to 21 minutes. The fleshed-out software dubbed 2.0 will enable Level 4 hands-free driving. 

To get a sense of scale and return on investment when this is all put together, the current MEB platform sits under about ten models total, from the ID.3 to the Audi E-tron GT. The large SSP will support 14 models from Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche by itself. According to Blume, those 14 SSP-based models are predicted to sell about 1.14 million units between debut and 2038, netting the group more than 150 billion in revenue, with profit margins above 20%. For comparison, Porsche’s 2022 operating profit was 18%. 

It’s not clear which vehicle will introduce the world to the SSP in 2026, but we do know the second-generation all-electric Audi Q8 E-Tron, Audi’s Project Artemis and Volkswagen’s Project Trinity have all been penciled in around that time. If Blume’s assertions still hold weight at that time, then a line from Herbert Diess’ 2021 presentation could still come true: That come 2030, VW will make more money in the EV business than the ICE business.

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2025 Lamborghini Urus to drop gas-only model, go PHEV-only

After introducing the first hybrid to the brand this year in the Revuelto, Lamborghini’s transformation takes two more big steps next year. Autocar reports that toward the end of 2024, the Urus will switch to a PHEV-only powertrain. We’ve known for a while there was an electrical cord headed to the Urus’ flanks, but we didn’t expect Lamborghini would give up the pure ICE variant. Brand honcho Stephan Winkelmann confirmed to Autocar the engine will be a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, but didn’t give output figures. A 2021 report in Car magazine — back when the purported Urus PowerHybrid was due in 2022 — predicted the engine in question is coming from Porsche and would produce about 660 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque. The horse count would rise with help from a 168-hp electric motor in the transmission. However, the gearbox’s internals wouldn’t allow any more than 660 lb-ft. That’s still a perfectly fine number; the 6.5-liter V12 and three electric motors in the new Revuelto “only” throw a combined 783 lb-ft.

Today’s Urus romps with a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 making 657 horsepower and 627 lb-ft. in both S and track-focused Performante trims. Theoretically, the Urus PHEV could crank that to about 830 hp and 660 lb-ft. The additional power would be partially offset by additional weight, as much as 551 pounds if Car is correct. This SUV would carry on until 2029, when an all-electric version ushers in a second generation.

The Lamborghini Huracan successor is expected to debut before the PHEV Urus but go on sale about the same time as the Urus. Since that successor will use an adapted version of the engine headed to the Urus mated to the transmission in the Revuelto, we expect the release of vital details to begin as soon as the new baby coupe makes its introduction, thought to be around next spring. 

To hear Winkelmann talk, we’re ruminating now on the last hurrah of old-school, visceral, ICE-powered Lamborghinis. The brand has a high-riding battery-electric 2+2 GT penned in to debut in 2028 with about 300 miles of range. That will be the next big sign of things to come. He told Autocar, “You go with the most difficult legislation, which is the US, and is really California. Other states adopt California’s rules — typically big cities and that’s where we sell cars. …

Even if it [legislation] is not banning EVs, taxation will be a killing factor. Then mega-cities are talking of abolishing non-EVs before 2035 regardless.” And despite the work of sister brand and collaborator Porsche, Winkelmann’s not sold on synthetic fuels yet. For him, they’re “more about keeping alive the current car parc,” not creating new ICE-powered models using said fuels.

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Aston Martin ties up with Lucid, extends deal with Mercedes-Benz

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings is tying up with Lucid Group Inc. on electric vehicle technology, uniting the storied British carmaker and relative automotive newcomer both backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Aston Martin will pay $232 million in shares and cash to Lucid in exchange for battery-electric powertrain components, the companies said Monday. The UK manufacturer also extended a years-long cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Group AG, though it will no longer issue more stock to the German carmaker that already owns a roughly 9% stake.

The announcements sent Aston Martin shares soaring as much as 15%, their biggest intraday jump in over a month, while Lucid advanced as much as 9.1% in premarket US trading.

“The proposed supply agreement with Lucid is a game changer for the future EV-led growth of Aston Martin,” Chairman Lawrence Stroll said in a statement.

Stroll, 63, is three years into an effort to turn around the 110-year-old British manufacturer with a long history of financial trouble. Aston Martin has needed several capital raises since he rescued the company in early 2020, the most recent of which made China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund major shareholders.

The Public Investment Fund, or PIF, owns about 49% of Lucid and 18% of Aston Martin, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Aston Martin’s longstanding financial woes have made it increasingly reliant on partners for technology that other automakers consider core to their products. Models including the DBX sport utility vehicle and DB12 sports car are powered by Mercedes engines.

While Mercedes will continue to provide access to powertrains and electric architectures for current and future Aston Martin vehicles, Aston Martin will pay in cash rather than shares as previously planned.

An Aston Martin spokesman said Lucid’s technology is available now, whereas Mercedes’s AMG electric platform isn’t accessible until late 2025.

The deal with Lucid — which has been producing its lone EV, the Air sedan, since September 2021 — will help Aston Martin toward its ambitious electrification targets. The UK carmaker plans to launch its first plug-in hybrid supercar, the Valhalla, early next year and its first battery-electric vehicle in 2025. By the following year, all new product lines will have an electrified powertrain option.

Aston Martin said it will make phased cash payments to Lucid totaling $132 million and has committed to spending at least $225 million on the EV maker’s powertrain components. Aston Martin also will pay another $10 million to Lucid for integrating its technology into its vehicles.

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McMurtry Speirling Pure track car starts at $1M, preorders now open

With the release of a production version of the McMurtry Speirling, the England-based company has taken the next step in its goal to become “one of the world’s most prestigious and long-standing automotive brands, founded on motorsport innovation.” This version for sale is called the Speirling Pure and is only for track use; a road-legal variant is reportedly in development. This one’s also slightly different than the prototype used to break the record up the 1.16-mile hill at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed. That one was said to clock a time of 39.14 on the day, a benchmark soon revised downward to an even more impressive 39.081 seconds, eclipsing the time set by the Volkswagen ID.R by nearly a full second. That’s a ridiculous delta to achieve in little more than one mile.

When we say this one’s a little different, that means it’s better. There’s a new skirted fan system that weighs 14% less, is 15% more efficient, and is less affected by airflow variation. A new battery weighs 3% less, the battery casing weighs 15.5% less, and the new e-axle that uses two motors to power the rear wheels is 0.5% more efficient. Weight savings continue everywhere from the chassis to the steering and brake systems, wiring loom, and pedal box. The front tires and rear tires are each 60 millimeters wider, wrapped around lighter 19-inch wheels instead of 18-inchers, and tucked under reshaped wheel arches. Buyers can spec antilock braking if they desire, and new gearing takes the top speed from 150 miles per hour to 190.

The changes add about 10 inches to the overall length, but the single-seater is still just 135.8 inches long, roughly 18 inches shorter than a Mazda Miata. We’re told the diminutive dimensions are still able to swallow an occupant up to 6’7″ and more than 300 pounds.

With the weight reduction, output from the motors has come down to an even 999 horsepower. The company says the 60-kwH Molicell battery lasts long enough to power the Speirling Pure to 10 laps of England’s Silverstone track at record pace, then can be fast-charged back to full in just 20 minutes. We still haven’t been given charging specs. The driver would want the rest, the Speirling able to hit peak lateral forces of 3G when that fan kicks in with more than 4,000 pounds of downforce for a car that weighs about half that.

Preorders are open now for the 100 units McMurtry said it will make. The first validation prototype is going on display at next month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Pricing starts at £820,000 before taxes, or $1.04M U.S. at current exchange rates. The firm will spend 2024 completing a testing program, first deliveries anticipated in early 2025.

Likely Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 prototypes spotted in Colorado

Chevrolet is engineering its next hot Corvette variant, the process far enough along to get prototypes out on the roads. In May, spy shooters caught a gaggle of Corvettes in heavy camo cruising around Detroit with an escort including a Corvette Z06 convertible, a Corvette E-Ray, and a Porsche 911 GT2 RS. At least one of the camouflaged cars could very well be the coming ZR1, said to be due next year as a 2025 offering. Now YouTube channel Frim Autos has caught another group of Corvettes testing in Golden, Colorado. The same school of cars got caught at a different location in Colorado a few days earlier. The E-Ray and the 911 GT2 RS didn’t make the trip out west, but there was another Z06 among the field.

To recap, the ZR1 is basically a twin-turbo version of the naturally aspirated Z06. Instead of a 5.5-liter V8 making 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, the ZR1 would make up to 850 horsepower and up to 825 pound-feet of torque. The engine code for the ZR1 will be LT7, one up from the LT6 in the Z06.   

Corvette watchers have wondered if the ZR1 will keep the Z06’s flat-plane crank or if Chevy will go to a cross-plane crank with the addition of turbos. Engineers driving the prototypes in Colorado pulled out of the hotel parking lot with barely any throttle, so it’s impossible to detect the turbos much less the crank arrangement. What we tell from this video and the earlier photographs is that something interesting is happening in the frunk area. The vinyl camo on one of the ZR1s in the photos couldn’t hide Y-shaped lines below, while another prototype wore a raised flat panel over the frunk. The three prototypes in Colorado got the raised panel, but it’s affixed to the adjacent camo panels differently.

One school of thought believes whatever’s happening at the front could have to do with active aero devices. Another school of thought suspects the ZR1 could get an electric motor in front like the E-Ray and be all-wheel drive. The non-believers think Chevy is withholding active aero for the hybrid AWD Zora flagship, and that the E-Ray and Zora will be the two AWD Corvettes in the range.  

Both spy sightings have shown the purported ZR1 wearing the cow-catcher front splitter and stepped rear wing from the Z07 package available for the Z06. The ZR1 will be available without those, two of the Colorado cars featuring a tamer front and and a low spoiler on the decklid.  

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Acura to climb Pikes Peak with Integra Type S and wildly modified NSX

This year marks the 101st anniversary of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, one of the oldest motorsports events in the world. As has been the custom for the past 13 years, Acura will head to the Colorado summit with a fleet of specially prepped cars based on production models. This year, their team consists of two new Integras in regular and Type S flavor, a modified NSX Type S, and a TLX Type S pace car.

Of the Integras, the HPD-prepped Type S will be the most eye-catching, as it’s wrapped in an anime-style livery. It’s an extension of the company’s “Chiaki’s Journey” web series whose second chapter was released to coincide with the Integra Type S’s launch. The second installment features the Pikes Peak race as part of its story line. 

The real-world Chiaki is Lori Unser, a fourth-generation driver in the Unser racing dynasty. Her father Johnny raced at the Indianapolis 500, and if you count her extended family of Al, Bobby, and Al Jr., the clan has nine Indy championships under its collective belt. The family also has a history of racing at Pikes Peak, with Louis and Joe Unser competing in the hillclimb way back in 1926.

In the Time Attack I division Acura is fielding a wild-looking NSX Type S called the Active Aero Study. We prefer its nickname, Yamabiko, which means “echo” in Japanese but is also the name of a spirit from Japanese folklore that lives in the mountains. 

The NSX wears an enormous carbon fiber front splitter and rear diffuser, which by the looks of them extend the length of the car by two to three feet. The one-off aero bits include an active aero rear wing that can be electronically moved to reduce drag on high-speed sections of the course, or deployed as an air brake. At the same time, enough has been stripped out to reduce weight by 200 pounds. More powerful turbos have been fitted to the twin-turbo V6 and the engine software re-written, but Acura did not reveal how much over the stock Type S’s 600 horsepower Yamabiko’s output might be.

The NSX was built specifically to tackle the hillclimb by Crazy New, the skunkworks team of Honda employees that brought us the 800-horsepower CR-V Hybrid. It’ll be driven by Honda engineer James Robinson, who holds the current Hybrid class record of 10:01.913, which he set with an NSX in 2020. With Yokohama Tires’ trademark Advan black and red livery and lightweight HRE forged wheels wrapped in Advan A005s, it certainly looks the part of a purpose-built Pikes Peak racer.

In addition, an Integra 1.5T modified with off-the-shelf parts including an HPD suspension from the Civic TC America race car, Cusco LSD, and Bilstein dampers will be driven by Acura engineer Paul Hubers. weekend wrenchers will want to see the result of this one, as it’s a car anyone can build in their garage. Another engineer, Jordan Guitar, will campaign a TLX Type S as well, and a separate TLX Type S will serve as pace car. 

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a 12.42-mile course packed with 156 turns and rises over 14,000 feet above sea level. It takes place June 25.

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Lotus Evija X track special appears in spy photos at the Nurburgring

Few people would say the Lotus Evija is lacking in performance. It’s meant to make just shy of 2,000 horsepower and is light for an electric car at around 3,700 pounds. But apparently Lotus wants to go further. These spy shots reveal a wild track-only special that’s clearly labeled the Lotus Evija X testing at the Nürburgring.

We’re assuming this X will be substantially lighter than a regular Evija. It has a bare carbon body with seemingly fewer individual pieces. The headlights are gone and so are the rear windows. The interior appears gutted, too.

That carbon body is far from stock, too. It’s much wider and has all manner of downforce-producing add-ons. The front has a massive front splitter and canards and cutouts above the front wheels. The sides even have wide splitters with struts. And the X’s crown aero accessory is that enormous wing that rises well above the roof. 

The wide body also encompasses fat slick racing tires that are almost certainly not street legal. They bear the Pirelli P Zero name on the sidewalls, and they’re wrapped around center-lock wheels. AP Racing brakes are tucked inside.

There are of course plenty of questions surrounding the Evija X. It’s definitely a track-only machine, but is it a one-off, or is it going to be sold in extremely limited numbers to select buyers? Maybe Lotus wants to take the Evija racing? Though it seems more like a rules-be-damned type of car like the Pagani Zonda R.

Or maybe the Volkswagen ID.R, the fastest electric car to lap the ‘Ring, would be a closer analogue to the Evija X. The spy photographer that provided these photos said the track was rented out for the day by Lotus, and some sort of notary was on hand, likely to certify a lap time. If Lotus is gunning for an EV lap record there, the Evija R is going to be outrageously fast. The ID.R’s time sits at a shocking 6:05.336. And if the Lotus tops it, it would become the second fastest overall car at the ‘Ring. We’ll definitely be looking forward to more details and an eventual lap time.

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Porsche Mission X concept points at brand’s next hypercar

Frequent interviews with Porsche CEO Oliver Blume include a question as to when we’ll see another Porsche hypercar. He once answered the queries with some version of “not until the middle of the decade at the earliest least.” His most recent answer, from April of this year, pushed that back toward the end of the decade; Blume and R&D chief Michael Steiner say current battery technology isn’t prepared to satisfy the demands a Porsche hypercar would make on it, so everyone will need to wait for next-gen cells due in four or five years. So the car you see here, the Porsche Mission X concept, isn’t the next Porsche hypercar and at the moment isn’t planned for sale. However, the battery-electric two-seater with the “ultra high-performance” powertrain is full of indicators about what might be down the road.

Dressed a specially created Rocket Metallic with satin carbon fiber accents, dimensions 177 inches in length and 78.7 inches in width fit the concept into same rough footprint as the 2003 Carrera GT and 2013 918 Spyder. The 20-inch wheels in front and 21-inchers in back eat up nearly half the two-seater’s 47.2-inch height. Since this concept counts as one of the brand’s 75th birthday presents to itself, historic cues mix with modern ones. The illuminated DRLs in the photos rework the four-point signature seen on the automaker’s road cars. At the same time, the DRLs and the four LED main beams buried in the lattice support structure call back to the stacked double headlights that sat inches off the ground on Le Mans racers like the 906 and 908. Passengers enter through doors that swing up and forward like those on top-class Le Mans prototypes going back decades, then sit under a glass dome built around a skeleton of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. And the Mission X marks the debut of Porsche’s new crest.

It’s all modern in back. A horizontal lattice supports thin, ornate LED taillights that bracket floating, illuminated Porsche logotype. When charging, the “E” pulses in white. 

The cabin begs even onlookers to hit top speed. The carbon-backed seats and their six-point harnesses appear largely built into the tub. Both feature Andalusia Brown lowers, the driver’s throne additionally signified by the Kalahari Gray upper. There are four paddles behind the steering yoke — we’re not sure what they control other than the obvious guess of regen braking. The ornate stopwatch in front of the passenger is a removable unit clipped into a bayonet system on the instrument panel, created by Porsche Design. At the track, the stopwatch could be used in conjunction with the multiple built-in cameras. One imagines other accessories, like a screen, could go here when not on the track.   

Porsche calls it a “reinterpretation of a hypercar,” but we don’t know enough about the Mission X yet to understand what that means. Drivetrain and output specs weren’t included with the reveal. We’ve been told the battery sits behind the cockpit in a way that mimics mid-engined dynamics, the setup called “e-core.” The automaker said that were the street-legal coupe to get a production run, it would aim to “be the fastest road-legal vehicle around the Nürburgring Nordschleife; have a power-to-weight ratio of roughly one hp per 2.2 lbs.; achieve downforce values that are well in excess of those delivered by the current 911 GT3 RS; offer significantly improved charging performance with its 900-volt system architecture and charge roughly twice as quickly as the current Porsche frontrunner, the Taycan Turbo S.”

Starting from the top, the Mission X has the Mercedes-AMG One in its sights, the other Stuttgart hypercar maker owning the Nordschleife record with a time of 6:35.18. That’s about 22 seconds faster than the 918 Spyder ran the lap, the 918 the first production car to break the seven-minute barrier

The power-to-weight ratio is measured in metric horsepower, so 0.986 of our American ponies per kilogram. The 918 Spyder weighed about 3,650 pounds, or 1,656 kilograms. Given the weight of an electric hypercar — the Rimac Nevera weighs about 5,070 pounds or 2,300 kg — we might think a Mission X comes in at 1,700 hp on the extreme low end to as much as 2,300 hp.

The GT3 RS produces as much as 860 kg (1,896 pounds) of downforce but uses a giant wing and other aero addenda to do it, meaning the undisturbed Mission X concept’s glasshouse and upper surfaces are hiding an underbody full of chicanery.

And the Taycan Turbo S maxes out at 270-kilowatt charging to go from 5% to 80% state of charge in a little more than 20 minutes. Read: The Mission X concept should fill-up quick.

As for the chances of a version you can buy, Porsche says Mission X “production to be decided in due time.” We have no doubt the phones at HQ have been ringing with “name-your-price” offers all day. We don’t see why Porsche would miss the chance to celebrate its birthday with a cool new concept, some treats for its best clients, some icons for posterity and a stupendous haul of loot.   

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Watch (and listen to!) the Bugatti Bolide go flat-out on an airstrip

Development of the track-only Bugatti Bolide has reached a significant milestone. After finalizing the hypercar’s design and building the first prototypes, the French brand has started testing the model on an airstrip to fine-tune parameters like the amount of downforce it generates.

Power for the Bolide comes from an 8.0-liter W16 engine that’s quad-turbocharged to 1,578 horsepower — you know we’re talking serious power when the horsepower figure includes a comma. While this is the same basic engine that powers the Chiron, among other models, the major similarities between the two models stop there. Bugatti didn’t design the Bolide for street use so its engineers were unfettered by the regulations that shaped your daily driver. They focused on keeping weight as low as possible while designers created a race car-like body.

So far, the tests have confirmed what months of computer simulation predicted: the 3,200-pound Bolide can handle up to 2.5 Gs of lateral forces, meaning it can take a corner really, really, fast, and it generates up to three metric tons of downforce (that’s about 6,600 pounds) depending on the speed it’s traveling at. Bugatti explains the car’s front splitter helps achieve this downforce: air hitting the car gets compressed under the splitter and expands under the diffuser to create the suction that helps pin the Bolide to the pavement. There’s much more to it, and all of the aerodynamic add-ons are functional. The shape of the passenger compartment, which is narrow compared to the Chiron’s, was selected in part to maximize airflow to the side-mounted intercoolers. The door mirrors channel air to the intercoolers as well.

While the mirrors add drag, Bugatti explained that they make more sense than cameras because they give the driver a better idea of where they’re positioned compared to other cars. “Every technical consideration has been translated directly into an aesthetic design,” said Frank Heyl, the company’s deputy design director, in a statement. “Design and technology flow into one another in the Bolide,” he added.

Bugatti will continue testing the Bolide on race tracks around the world in the coming months, and it plans to begin delivering the car in 2024. If you’re not already on the waiting list, it’s too late: production is limited to 40 units and they’re all spoken for in spite of a base price pegged at €4 million (about $4.29 million at the current conversion rate). Alternatively, there’s a 905-piece Lego kit that’s not sold out and that only costs about $50 excluding tax. It doesn’t need to be tested on a race track, but we can’t guarantee it will provide three tons of downforce.

In addition to bringing the Bolide to production, Bugatti is busily developing the yet-unnamed model that will replace the Chiron. Details are vague, but Autoblog learned the model will use a plug-in hybrid powertrain and feature many new components, including the monocoque.

Ferrari supercar spy photos may show LaFerrari successor

Ferrari has made big news with the launch of its first ever crossover in the Purosangue, perhaps to the chagrin of the Ferrari faithful. But it seems the supercar builder will have something for traditional fans soon. Spy photos show a serious-looking prototype, and we suspect it’s a successor to the automaker’s last flagship, the LaFerrari.

This prototype does still look like a fairly early prototype, sporting slightly blocky bodywork and parts bin lights. We’re also not expecting the giant fixed rear wing to appear on the final product, especially since it looks like the struts are mounted in slots where a retractable piece would go.

But there’s still plenty to glean. The center section of the body, mainly the cockpit and roofline are probably close to production. That cockpit is particularly narrow, and, like the LaFerrari, features a door panel that goes into the roof, likely to aid entry, and a rear window that tapers toward the rear, boat-tail style. The overall body is also fairly rudimentary, but between the substantial width, aggressive diffuser and giant wing, this car will probably have impressive amounts of downforce.

There’s still a lot that’s unknown about this new supercar. The powertrain is probably the biggest mystery. We’re willing to bet it will be a hybrid of some sort, just as the LaFerrari was and as more modern Ferraris such as the 296 GTB are becoming. The number of cylinders is the question, as well as whether forced induction will be used. It would be nice to see one final top-end application of a Ferrari V12 before emissions and fuel economy regulations make it non-viable.

Also, while this prototype suggests there’s still a decent amount of development remaining, we wouldn’t be surprised if the car is revealed in the next year or so. Ferrari has a rough cadence of 10 years between flagship supercars starting with the F40. That has fluctuated by a year or two either way, but with that in mind, we’re coming up on a decade since the launch of the LaFerrari.

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Pagani is developing an EV but says batteries remain too heavy

Like many of its peers and rivals, Pagani has spent the past couple of years experimenting with electric technology. While the project is ongoing, the Italian company explained that it likely won’t launch an EV in the near future because battery technology remains far too heavy.

“Our goal is to create something that has to be lightweight. Looking at Pagani, what you see that is common with all the vehicles that we produce, they have to be lightweight,” said Christopher Pagani, the son of company founder Horacio Pagani, in an interview with Top Gear.

He added that the brand’s EV project started in 2018, and “there is no need for us to stop that,” but weight remains the biggest hurdle. “So, probably, nowadays with the existing technology we cannot create the Pagani the way that we would like to do,” he clarified. His comments echo those made by his father in 2022. At the time, Horacio Pagani also noted that his team has “never found interest in the supercar market for an EV” and added that forcing small carmakers to go electric doesn’t make sense when “90% of energy is produced in a bad way.”

Electric technology has improved in the past decade, but Pagani explained that delivering the level of performance its customers want would require building a car with a 1,300-plus-pound battery pack. For context, the V12-powered Utopia (pictured) has a dry weight of about 2,822 pounds while the electric Lotus Evija weighs around 3,700 pounds. The EV is quicker, but there’s more to a supercar than flat-out speed.

Pagani plans to continue using a Mercedes-Benz-sourced V12 engine modified in-house for the foreseeable future. Interestingly, the brand revealed that Mercedes-AMG floated the idea of using a V8-electric hybrid drivetrain during the Utopia’s development process. Pagani held its ground and launched the car with a big V12. “We, let’s say, ‘challenged them’ to keep the V12 and they accepted,” the company said.

What’s next depends largely on regulations in various markets. “We know that for small manufacturers can have [the V12] at least until 2035. But, we’re not afraid of approaching another powertrain in the future. We just have to know what the rules are,” Pagani told Top Gear.

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Ferrari Monza SP1 in life-size built from Lego bricks

Another full-scale Lego Ferrari has been built to awe visitors at the toy company’s theme parks. A low-resolution Ferrari Monza SP1 has been built out of plastic bricks at Legoland Billund Resort, located in the same Danish town as Lego headquarters.

Like other full-size Lego cars before it, the Monza SP1 is built around a steel frame to hold the considerable weight of the blocks. The model tips the scales at 2,954 pounds, almost as much as the actual car, which weighs in at 3,306 pounds.

The Lego version comprises 383,610 pieces and took a team of Lego designers 1,414 hours to complete. Only a few items on the model aren’t made of Lego bricks: the wheels and Pirelli tires, a carbon-fiber steering wheel, and assorted badging. 

This is the second 1:1 scale Lego Ferrari to be installed at a Legoland. A year ago, Legoland California became the first when a life-size Ferrari F40 became part of its Lego Ferrari Build and Race attraction. The Monza SP1 headlines a similar attraction in Denmark, allowing kids to build their own (much smaller) Lego Ferraris.

They can then race the cars on a track at the attraction, or digitally scan their creations and race them virtually on a simulation of Ferrari’s own Fiorano, Italy test course.

The Monza is just the latest life-size car to be constructed out of Legos. There have been many other official and unofficial builds, including a Ferrari F1 car, Lamborghini Sian, Bugatti Chiron, McLaren Senna, Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado, VW Microbus, Toyota Camry, and even fictional vehicles like the Batmobile. Hopefully the Monza will be one that holds up

De Tomaso supercar revival hits speed bump with lawsuit against founder

A planned revival of Italian sports car brand De Tomaso as a maker of $1 million supercars appears to have hit a speed bump with lawsuit against the founder by the former chief executive officer.

Ryan Berris, who joined De Tomaso Automobili Holdings NA in 2014 as CEO and lead developer of its planned P72 supercar, sued the company and its founder, Hong Kong financier Norman Choi, on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. Berris claims he was fired last year because he stood in the way of Choi’s plans to move forward with a blank-check merger based on false information.

“Choi became obsessed not with making the perfect automobile to resurrect De Tomaso and to serve the company’s discerning clients, but instead with trying to take the company public through a bogus SPAC process,” Berris said in the complaint.

Berris claims he’s owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation and a 10% stake in the company that was once valued at as much as $1.5 billion.

The press office for De Tomaso didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Choi couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

De Tomaso, best-known for the Mangusta and Pantera sports coupes it introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Rights to its name were eventually acquired by Choi and a partner in 2014.

According to Berris, Choi reached out to him shortly thereafter, and the two met at a racetrack in Spain. At the time, Berris was working for Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG), a US manufacturer of high-performance racing and road cars whose SCG007 hypercar would go on to take the podium at Le Mans in 2022.

“Desperate to avoid failure, Norman Choi pleaded with Berris to take over the company and create a world-class, credible revival of the famed De Tomaso brand,” Berris’s lawyers at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP wrote in his complaint.

Berris says he agreed and went on to develop the P72, which was unveiled at the 2019 Goodwood Festival. An homage to the De Tomaso P70, a 1965 legendary prototype co-developed by Alejandro De Tomaso and Carroll Shelby, the new car with a $1 million base price proved a sensation and, within a few days, received more legitimate purchase inquiries than the planned 72-unit limited run, according to the suit.