All posts in “breaking”

Ford will build 350 more GT supercars through 2022

When Ford originally announced the GT supercar, it was clear it’d be a limited-run affair. Just 1,000 were earmarked for potential buyers, who had to apply for a chance to fork over $450,000 to own one. As you’d expect, there was a tidal wave of applicants fighting over a very limited number of cars.

Back in July, we heard a rumor that Ford would reopen the application process, but not produce any more cars. It turns out this rumor was partially correct; Ford has confirmed to Autoblog that they will reopen applications and build another 350 cars. The GT will still also get a longer run, with production extending to 2022 instead of ending in 2020.

Applications open on November 8th of this year, and Ford will accept them for 30 days. After that, you’re probably well and truly out of luck. It’s unlikely that Ford will up the production totals or take new applications again after this, but anything is possible.

If this news is making you drool, and you want some more GT action to help satiate your hunger for the Blue Oval’s amazing halo car, read our first drive review and check out our video review of the GT buzzing the canyons above L.A.

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October 18, 2018 / Comments Off on Ford will build 350 more GT supercars through 2022
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Alfa Romeo 8C and GTV: Classic names revived as high-powered hybrids

BOLOCCO, Italy — There were grand plans for Alfa Romeo at FCA’s last five-year plan. By 2018, we were supposed to get eight new products, including a new “specialty” vehicle. In reality, we’ve gotten the Giulia and Stelvio. At this year’s follow-up, Alfa Romeo brand head Tim Kuniskis called the last plan ambitious, but he offered a new vision that was both more realistic and more far-reaching. Beyond doubling down on utility and electrified vehicles, by 2022 Alfa has plans to revive both the 8C and GTV names as high-performance hybrids.

Since 2014, Alfa sales are up 160 percent, with an estimated 170,000 vehicles to be sold in 2018. The North American market counts for 16 percent of that, up from nothing back in 2013. Future products will focus on Alfa’s current strengths: styling and performance. Look for new compact and full-size utility vehicles to slot on each side of the Stelvio. Plans for a larger sedan seemed to have been nixed, though a long-wheelbase version of the Giulia will make it to the ever-increasing Chinese market.

The most exciting news obviously comes from the return of the 8C supercar and GTV sports car. We have few details, but what we do know looks promising. The 8C will use a carbon-fiber chassis with a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6. More than 700 horsepower will be sent to all four wheels thanks to an electrically-driven front axle. The car should hit 62 mph in fewer than 3 seconds.

The GTV will be slightly more tame, though Alfa is promising more than 600 horsepower from its hybrid powertrain. The four-seater will also have all-wheel drive, torque vectoring and a 50/50 weight distribution. The brief teaser image shows a car that looks like a two-door Giulia, though it’s unclear if we’ll actually get a new coupe.

Electrification, autonomy and connectivity are coming, too. Obviously, the 8C and GTV will get electrified powertrains, but look for each Alfa Romeo model to have some sort of electrification available. Look for six plug-in hybrids with all-electric ranges of more than 30 miles. Level 2 and 3 autonomous systems are coming, too.

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June 1, 2018 / Comments Off on Alfa Romeo 8C and GTV: Classic names revived as high-powered hybrids
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Here’s the next-generation Tesla Roadster

In addition to unveiling its new electric Semi Truck, Tesla also dished details on its next-generation Roadster. Tesla calls the all-wheel-drive EV the “quickest car in the world,” with a claimed 0-60 mile-per-hour time of just 1.9 seconds. The sprint to 100 mph takes only 4.2 seconds, and its top speed is over 250 mph.

Tesla didn’t reveal horsepower or kilowatt figures, but said wheel torque is 10,000 Newton-meters, or 7,375 pound-feet. That translates to a quarter-mile time of 8.8 seconds.

Perhaps just as impressive, this four-seat EV will have a driving range of 620 miles on a single charge. Range anxiety, begone! The new Tesla Roadster will also feature a trick glass roof that stows in the trunk.

The car won’t come cheap, though. Its base price will be $200,000, though hard-hustling Tesla owners can score one for free through the automaker’s referral program. Just to reserve it will cost $50,000. Tesla will launch the Roadster with a Founder’s Series model, priced at $250,000 and limited to 1,000 examples.

Expect to hear more about the next-gen Tesla Roadster in the near future. For now, take a gander in the image gallery above.

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November 17, 2017 / Comments Off on Here’s the next-generation Tesla Roadster
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Bloodhound gang notches 2 successful 200-mph test runs

Last week we brought you video of British pilot Andy Green describing what it was like breaking the sound barrier by going 763.035 miles per hour in the Thurst SSC on the 20th anniversary of that record-setting run in 1997. Today, at an airport in southwestern England, he drove the successor vehicle, the Bloodhound SSC, at speeds reaching 200 mph in a key test toward the ultimate goal of hitting 1,000 mph.

Green made two successful runs, hitting speeds of more than 200 mph in 8 seconds in at least one run. “The car did exactly what we were looking for, two runs of just over 200 miles per hour,” Green was quoted as saying. “This is a proper fast car. We came here to show the world Bloodhound is go, and I cannot think of a better way of having done that.”

Here’s another view.

The Bloodhound SSC uses an EJ200 jet engine from a Eurofighter Typhoon and a rocket cluster under development by Norwegian company Nammo, plus a Jaguar supercharged V8 engine, which acts as an auxiliary power unit to drive the rocket oxidizer pump. The system delivers 135,000 thrust horsepower, more than eight times the power of the cars on the Formula One race car grid combined. Thursday’s test run relied only on the jet engine for propulsion.

Next up is another test run in 2018, location TBD. During the Facebook Live stream, Bloodhound engineers said they’ll need to test the vehicle’s aerodynamics and how it handles the massive shock waves it will generate. One of the biggest challenges, one engineer said, is to prevent the vertical forces from driving it into the ground, effectively turning it into “the world’s fastest plow.” The final attempt will be made on a dried-up lake bed in South Africa, as early as 2019.

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October 26, 2017 / Comments Off on Bloodhound gang notches 2 successful 200-mph test runs
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Two dead in Lamborghini crash at Las Vegas exotic car experience center

According to the Las Vegas Sun, as well as several other local outlets, two men died in a Lamborghini crash on track at a facility called SpeedVegas. The car reportedly hit a concrete wall with a tire barrier and burst into flames. Tragically, the driver and the instructor were both killed instantly. We confirmed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that the organization is investigating the crash.

The crash happened at SpeedVegas, a facility with a 1.5-mile closed track that offers visitors the opportunity to drive high-performance sports cars ranging from the Porsche Cayman GTS up to a Lamborghini Aventador. According to the website, drivers do not need any experience before taking the wheel, and only need to be 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license, and wear closed-toe shoes. The facility provides helmets and insurance as part of the driving fee.

SpeedVegas provided an official statement, seen above, on the crash at its Twitter page. It confirms that the crash occurred, and that the company will cooperate fully with the investigation. It also passes along sympathy to employees and family members connected to the victims. We have also reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and SpeedVegas directly for further comment on the incident, but have not received a reply at the time of publishing. We will update this post with additional information as it is available.

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February 13, 2017 / Comments Off on Two dead in Lamborghini crash at Las Vegas exotic car experience center
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