All posts in “Plants/Manufacturing”

Driving the GMC Canyon, and pour one out for the Camaro | Autoblog Podcast #812

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They start by discussing the the cars they’ve been driving, including the 2023 GMC Canyon AT4, ECD Jaguar E-Type EV, ECD Land Rover Defender 110 and the Genesis GV60. Next, they hit the news starting with the Chevrolet Camaro production ending. Rumors about the Hyundai N Vision 74 are bandied about, and then the two discuss the latest McLaren iteration named the GTS, which is a refresh of the GT. Lastly, the pair discuss who they think were the most influential leaders in the automotive industry throughout 2023. 

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

Autoblog Podcast #812

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Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or “Alexa, open Autoblog” to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives.

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December 22, 2023 / Comments Off on Driving the GMC Canyon, and pour one out for the Camaro | Autoblog Podcast #812
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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. 

May 27, 2023 / Comments Off on De Tomaso supercar revival hits speed bump with lawsuit against founder
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More V8s on the way: McLaren extends relationship with engine builder Ricardo

McLaren recently announced that it would be extending its partnership with engine manufacturer Ricardo “into the next decade.” The relationship will produce V6 and V8 engines, including both hybrid and non-hybrid variants, at a time when most automakers are eying partial or complete electrification.

The two companies are intimately acquainted, having worked together since the McLaren 12C in 2011, and the partnership has already spanned 34,000 engines. Ricardo builds the engines in its facility in Shoreham, England, and ships them 50 miles to McLaren’s base in Woking. The engine builder said it would “make further significant investment” in its production facility and noted that it already employs more than 100 engineers and technicians on the McLaren powertrains project.

McLaren Automotive’s CEO, Michael Leiters, said that the new “high-performance, hybrid V8 powertrain will form an integral part of McLaren’s next-generation product lineup, delivering best-in-class performance and thrilling driver engagement.” Ricardo’s CEO, Graham Ritchie, echoed that excitement: “We are extremely pleased to have concluded this new engine supply agreement with McLaren Automotive for their next-generation high-performance V8 powertrain, which extends the long-term relationship between both companies into the next decade.”

Despite the enthusiasm, it’s interesting that McLaren is still homed in on gas V8s. Lamborghini’s entire product catalog will be electrified by the end of 2024, and the Italian supercar maker said it would release its first EV before the end of the decade. Ferrari plans to release an EV in the next few years and noted that 40 percent of its sales will be electric by 2030.

McLaren confirmed plans to design hybrid powertrains with this agreement, so it will be interesting to see how the company transitions over the next few years. In any case, the McLaren-Ricardo partnership has produced some impressive vehicles thus far, so there’s plenty to be encouraged about with this extension.

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May 10, 2023 / Comments Off on More V8s on the way: McLaren extends relationship with engine builder Ricardo
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2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 production numbers increased

The headlines say Chevrolet has re-opened order books for the 2023 Corvette Z06 after closing them in July. Those headlines should come with asterisks. What the small print explains — and should have always explained, even here — is that GM gatekeepers lowering the drawbridge means practically nothing for anyone who didn’t get on a dealer list a long time ago. When GM stopped taking orders in July, it stopped taking names off of dealer’s lengthy lists of reservation holders. The production process seems to be going better than planned, so “re-opening the order books” means GM has increased the number of cars it plans to build for the 2023 model year and has asked dealers to submit more names for orders to fulfill. A GM spokesperson told Motor1, “We had previously shared with dealers and the public that we had accepted enough Z06 orders to fill the number of Z06 production slots we had for calendar year 2022, so we stopped elevating dealer orders to accepted orders that the plant would build. Now we are saying we’re going to accept more dealer orders to continue filling the pipeline of Z06 production through the end of model year 2023.” 

We don’t have any details to explain any of this nor put it in context. GM didn’t reveal its initial production estimate, and it hasn’t said how many orders it will add to the previous mysterious number. It was thought GM’s conservative production window had to do with a supply constraint, but even that’s not clear. We don’t know how many reservations there are, either, although a thread at Mid-Engined Corvette Forum lists more than 100 dealers and suggests just eight of them have easily more than 6,000 reservations combined. One dealer would only say its reservation list was “out to 2025.”

GM built 39,940 of the C7 Z06 from 2014 to 2019, averaging a touch under 8,000 units per year. Dealers know this, so for one to say they’re booked until 2025, the order rolls must be relatively staggering. There’s no reason for dealers to be in a hurry to get cars built, either, with some charging anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 over the base $106,395 MSRP per vehicle according to posters.

As for verified production, Corvette Blogger wrote a week ago that 41 customer Z06 orders have been built as of the end of October, 22 of them the 70th Anniversary Editions. On top of that, it’s said 216 Z06s have been built for GM’s Captured Test Fleet used for proving and data capture. The first customer deliveries have been made, including Rick Henderson acquiring the first one off the line, a Carbon Flash 70th Anniversary Edition he bought for $3.6 million at a charity auction in January of this year.

November 7, 2022 / Comments Off on 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 production numbers increased
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Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Roadster ends non-hybrid V12 production

To quote Hall & Oates: “She’s gone,” the “she” here being the Lamborghini Aventador. The last of the scissor-doored supercars with a naturally-aspirated V12 rolled off the line in LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster form colored an Ad Personam light blue, headed for a quiet life in Switzerland. That also closed the chapter on the 350 coupes and 250 roadsters made in Ultimae spec. This is a belated end-of-life, the Italian concern restarting production lines after 85 Lamborghinis, 15 of them Aventador Ultimaes destined for the U.S. market, got torched on the cargo ship Felicity Ace in March of this year. The final tally for the latest V12 spreadsheet counts 11,465 cars delivered in 11 years, more than doubling the entire sales count of its predecessor, the Murcielago, and exceeding the combined sales of every one of Lamborghini’s V12 models since the 3.5-liter V12 in the 350 GT in 1964. 

What began with the 6.5-liter 12-cylinder with 691-horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque in 2022 ended with that engine making 760 hp and 531 lb-ft in the Ultimae. The official 0-to-62 mile per hour dash came down a tenth of a second in that time, depending on where you look, from 2.9 seconds to 2.8. Top speed rose from 217 mph to 220. Plenty fast then, plenty fast now. Between those yardposts there have been more than 10 one-offs and limited editions. The former group includes the Jota, SVJ Xago, and the SC18 Alston track car. The latter group counts the Anniversario, Veneno, Centenario, and Sian FKP 37. There were also innovations like the enclosed carbon fiber monocoque supported by “flying doctors” that traveled the world to help diagnose and repair damage that benefited owners. There was the pushrod suspension that turned a heavyweight into a flickable canyon runner, benefiting all drivers. There was the Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) single-shift transmission, which Lamborghini says was “chosen for lightweight compactness and the most emotive shift.” Given its tidal shifting motion and occasionally clumsy changes under partial throttle or when trying to figure out what the driver wanted in changing conditions, we never figured out who that benefited.

What comes next will be a hybrid V12 powertrain wrapped in looks that, based on spy shots, will evolve the latest design language with details like new lights, bladed B-pillars, and high-rise exhaust. Shouldn’t be long to wait now. But no matter what comes, to paraphrase Hall & Oates on the Aventador again: There can never be what she was to us.

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September 28, 2022 / Comments Off on Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Roadster ends non-hybrid V12 production
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Koenigsegg building more CC850s because it sold out fast

The Koenigsegg CC850 is sold out. That’s completely unsurprising, as these special supercars are snapped up almost as fast as a Jesko’s transmission can shift. But what’s interesting is that the company sold the 50-unit run so quickly, it ended up deciding to expand the production run by almost half.

Instead of just 50 cars, Koenigsegg announced it would expand the run by another 20. According to the company, that initial allocation sold fast enough that a number of long-time Koenigsegg customers missed out on a chance at the supercar. It ended up going back to some early order holders to check if they would be all right with the expansion, and obviously it must’ve gone over fine.

The 50-unit run was based on founder and owner Christian von Koenigsegg’s 50th birthday. The extra 20 was based on the 20th anniversary of the company’s first production car, the CC8S. That’s also the same car that the CC850 is celebrating with its manual-ized version of the nine-speed automatic Light Speed Transmission and more than 1,000 horsepower.

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August 25, 2022 / Comments Off on Koenigsegg building more CC850s because it sold out fast
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2023 Chevy Corvette, including Z06, reportedly a few months away

After getting eyes on a memo General Motors sent to Chevy dealers, the Corvette Action Center site has posted some key dates and information concerning the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette. We’re not sure if it’s because of the new generation or “the new normal” in the state of world affairs, but the coming model transition won’t be like those in recent memory.

First, the dealer order guide for the 2023 Corvette is two months away, coming out on March 21. Three days later, on March 24, dealers will be able to begin placing orders for next year’s coupe and convertible. CAC says the online configurator for keyboard tire kickers will launch that day, too. On March 31, dealers will be able to begin pairing orders with their Corvette allocations.

Six weeks later, on May 6, 2022 Corvette production is expected to end. 

Here’s the first departure from the norm: Instead of Bowling Green Assembly Plant taking the traditional one- or two-week gap between model years, 2023 Corvette production is slated to begin on May 9, three days after the last 2022 leaves the line. That May 9 date matches the date Corvette Blogger and GM Authority posted as the commencement of 2023 Corvette production in November 2021.

That brings us to the second switchup in Corvette production. In previous years, GM kept allocations of standard Corvettes separate from the Z06. For the C8, Corvette allocations won’t be separated. This suggests that 2023 Corvette Z06 production will begin on May 9, the same day as the standard car. Furthermore, with the C7 Corvette Z06, GM based dealer allocations on how many Z06s the dealer had sold the previous year. With the C8, GM will use a dealer’s Average Daily Supply to gauge how quickly that dealer is selling Corvettes, then determine how many of each Corvette the dealer gets.  

If all of these dates hold, the 2022 Corvette would have spent just eight months in production, having started down the lines on September 6, 2021. With the 2023 Corvette Z06 having sucked all the air out of the room — in part to power its brand new and massively powerful V8 — we don’t expect much beyond small cosmetic and option changes for the standard Corvette for the coming model year.

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January 19, 2022 / Comments Off on 2023 Chevy Corvette, including Z06, reportedly a few months away
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McLaren Artura hybrid supercar delayed until second half of 2022

The new hybrid McLaren Artura is officially delayed. A report from Automotive News broke the news on the electrified supercar.

When McLaren officially revealed the Artura, it promised that deliveries would begin in the third quarter of 2021. The third quarter of this year has long since gone, and we’re about to head into 2022, and there are still no Artura deliveries taking place. The new target date for initial deliveries is set for July 2022. 

Automotive News heard confirmation of the delay from a McLaren spokesperson.

“We held on longer than everybody else in terms of stopping production, but unfortunately, our semiconductor supply dried up,” the spokesperson said. “That made us have to reduce production across the board.”

So, there’s your reason for the delay, too. McLaren is blaming the chip shortage that is currently plaguing the entire automotive industry. It’s unfortunate, because McLaren could certainly use the new Artura to freshen up its lineup. Automotive News reports that McLaren originally meant the Artura to make up 40% of its deliveries in 2022. With the delay until July next year, that’s going to be a difficult number to approach.

In case you needed a reminder, the Artura is a totally new McLaren from the ground up, as it’s sporting a new platform, new twin-turbo V6 engine and a plug-in hybrid electric system for purely electric motoring — 19 miles with a full battery pack. The engine and electric motor combined produce 671 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque, sending it to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds. Base price for the Artura is $225,000.

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December 28, 2021 / Comments Off on McLaren Artura hybrid supercar delayed until second half of 2022
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Audi denies McLaren purchase report

BERLIN — Early Monday morning, Audi denied reports that the company was closing a deal to purchase McLaren, leaning on a previous statement saying that the company is continuously looking at different ideas for cooperation and saying that the rumor of a completed purchase was “wholly inaccurate.”

“As part of our strategic considerations, we are constantly looking at various cooperation ideas,” an Audi spokesperson said in response to an earlier Autocar report that indicated a deal to purchase the supercar manufacturer was in the works to help the company secure a Formula 1 team. The report cited a source who said Audi had taken over the British sportscar maker. 

“McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group,” Audi said. 

McLaren later joined Audi in denying the story, using a statement saying, “McLaren Group is aware of a news media report stating it has been sold to Audi. This is wholly inaccurate and McLaren is seeking to have the story removed. McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group,” the spokesperson said.

Audi said to Reuters it was “looking at various cooperation ideas” but neither confirmed nor denied whether it was in discussion with McLaren about a possible sale.

McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt announced in October that he would be step down after eight years leading the financially troubled company, which is now searching for a successor. 

This article contains reporting by Reuters.

November 15, 2021 / Comments Off on Audi denies McLaren purchase report
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Bugatti begins winding down Chiron production

Bugatti’s stunningly powerful Chiron has almost reached the end of the line. While the standard model is sold out, there are still some Pur Sport and Super Sport build slots available for buyers who want to add the hypercar to their collection before it sprints off into the sunset.

Developed to replace the Veyron, the Chiron was unveiled at the 2016 edition of the Geneva auto show with a 1,500-horsepower, quad-turbocharged W16 engine mounted behind the passenger compartment. Deliveries started in March 2017, and the 100th unit was delivered to a customer in the Middle East in May of the following year. Bugatti reached the 250-car milestone in February 2020, and it built the 300th Chiron in March 2021. It said that the final examples of the Chiron and the Chiron Sport are either being built or scheduled to be built.

What’s left, then, are less than 40 build slots split between the Pur Sport and the Super Sport (pictured) variants, though Bugatti told Autoblog some of those are slotted for production but haven’t been configured yet. The curtains will close when the final units are built. 

There’s no word yet on how long it will take to fill the remaining build slots; Bugatti stressed that demand for the Chiron has increased significantly in 2021. Sales doubled and even tripled in some regions during the third quarter of the year. As for what’s next, your guess is as good as ours. Bugatti is now controlled by Rimac so rumors sketching the outline of an electric model are rampant, though nothing is official. We’ve also heard vague details about a second model line, one that could slot below the Chiron, but those reports also remain speculative.

What’s certain is that something will take the torch from the Chiron.

“We will not just recycle what we have — not restyle the Chiron or hybridize the Chiron. We’re developing a completely new product from the ground up. Everything, because we think that’s the best way to go. That product will have an internal combustion engine,” said Mate Rimac.

In the meantime, Bugatti’s factory will stay reasonably busy: the French brand will soon launch production of the EB110-inspired Centodieci, which is limited to 10 examples, and it’s planning to build 40 units of the Bolide, a track-only two-seater that weighs less than a Subaru BRZ.

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October 25, 2021 / Comments Off on Bugatti begins winding down Chiron production
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De Tomaso claims it’s moving to America so we can relearn how to design cars

De Tomaso is a truly international carmaker. It was founded by an Argentinian racing driver, it’s ostensibly based in Italy, and it’s owned by a Hong Kong-based group of investors. Now, it has announced the next leap in its geographical game of hopscotch will take it to America, and it brazenly claimed it will bring global glory back to our industry.

“We’re deeply committed to returning America’s automotive industry to its golden era of design, and to the treasured respect it earned between the 1920s and the 1960s,” De Tomaso explained in a statement, one which firms like Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus could reasonably disagree with. It added its main goal is to create opportunity rather than compete with established American carmakers. Not out of consideration for its peers in an economic landscape that looks like a minefield, but simply because it positions itself a cut above everyone else.

Executives have crafted a long-term strategic plan called Mission American Automotive Renaissance (AAR), which outlines the process De Tomaso will follow to relocate its core production, design and corporate facility to the United States. Where? It’s too early to say, because talks with several state governments are ongoing.

An announcement is expected in the next six months. Meanwhile, engineers are continuing to fine-tune the P72 (pictured) developed jointly with Roush and introduced in 2019. It will be the first De Tomaso of the 2020s, and it will be built largely by hand in the state the company ends up calling home starting in the fourth quarter of 2022.

De Tomaso explained its decision to move to the United States was driven by the void it’s seen over the past several decades. It also wants to help reduce the skills gap in American automotive design and craftsmanship. And yet, it also plans to form strategic partnerships with major automakers and suppliers in the United States.

Has the American industry really not built anything noteworthy since the 1960s? Is it doomed to the point where it needs a little-known company that hasn’t manufactured a car in nearly two decades (and that has never developed its own engine) to step in and save it? Both of these rather off-color statements are debatable, but diving further into this matter would breach the scope of this story. We’ll wait to see whether De Tomaso can keep its word, or if it enters the history book as yet another cash arsonist that speaks a great deal but does little.

American roots

De Tomaso’s ties with the United States are decades-old. It sold the Pantera (shown above), a mid-engined coupe designed by Detroit-born stylist Tom Tjaarda and powered by a Ford-sourced V8, through Lincoln-Mercury showrooms between 1971 and 1974. About 5,600 units found a home in the United States before Ford pulled the plug on the project and sold its stake in the firm. Production continued without the Blue Oval’s input until 1992.

October 21, 2020 / Comments Off on De Tomaso claims it’s moving to America so we can relearn how to design cars
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This is McLaren’s new carbon fiber tub it will use for future hybrid supercars

Look! It’s a big hunk of carbon fiber! Specifically, it’s McLaren’s new hunk of carbon fiber, and it’s high tech to the max. McLaren says this new structure will be the basis of all hybrid supercars it produces in the future, with the first of those launching in 2021.

There’s no fancy name for the new architecture yet. “MonoCell” was McLaren’s name for the previous chassis, and it was introduced for the 12C many years ago. The new chassis is a clean sheet redesign that was designed “specifically to accommodate new hybrid powertrains.” McLaren developed it in-house at its Composites Technology Center. The chassis are molded and put together at this tech center, then transported 173 miles to McLaren’s production facility in Woking, Surrey. Once there, the rest of the vehicle is assembled around it.

McLaren boasts of “world-first processes” that allow them to strip out excess mass while also improving safety attributes, but specific details are still light on the ground.

“This new, ultra-lightweight carbon fibre chassis boasts greater structural integrity and higher levels of quality than ever before with our new MCTC facility quickly becoming recognized as a global center of excellence in composite materials science and manufacturing,” says Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren.

If you were curious about how McLaren goes about making the carbon fiber tub, it’s included a convenient flow chart to follow. We’ve pasted it below.

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August 25, 2020 / Comments Off on This is McLaren’s new carbon fiber tub it will use for future hybrid supercars
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Ferrari to gradually restart operations from Monday

MILAN — Luxury carmaker Ferrari said on Thursday it would restart operations at its Maranello and Modena plants on May 4, when Italy is set to start lifting coronavirus lockdown measures.

The two facilities, both located in Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region, have been closed since mid-March when Rome imposed curbs on people’s movements and froze manufacturing activities deemed as non essential, to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The sites will resume operations “gradually” and return to full production on Friday May 8, Ferrari said.

Ferrari said that before resuming operations it was organizing training sessions for workers — focused on precautionary measures they must take — as part of its “Back on Track” program, unveiled earlier this month and aimed at preparing for a safe working environment at the sites.

Under this program, Ferrari staff, families and suppliers will first take blood tests and will then be given an app which will alert them if they’ve been in close contact with any of the people taking part in the scheme who had contracted COVID-19.

During the closure period Ferrari has produced parts to convert snorkel masks into respirators for treating patients with coronavirus and to protect medical workers, using its 3D printing technology at its Maranello plant.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Giulia Segreti and Susan Fenton)

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April 30, 2020 / Comments Off on Ferrari to gradually restart operations from Monday
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Bugatti Chiron Sport Edition Noire Sportive marks the production halfway point

For Bugatti, possibly only for Bugatti, a 1,479-horsepower coupe with a quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 is just the starting point. Bugatti unveiled the Chiron in 2016 with the intent of building 500 examples, and four years later, 250 units and numerous extraordinary limited-editions have been crafted. To mark the occasion, Bugatti will show No. 250, a Chiron Sport Edition Noire Sportive, at the 2020 Geneva International Auto Show, where it all began.

Near the end of 2019, Bugatti announced two new blacked-out Chirons, one called the Chiron Noire Elegance and the other called the Chiron Noire Sportive. The Elegance model exhibits a reflective gloss, while the Sportive has a muted matte exterior. Backing up the Noire designation, the Sportive model goes completely black, with nearly nothing left to show off any sort of metallic sparkle. The Elegance, however, looks a bit more dressed up with aluminum and silver accents. Both feature Noire script graphics, including on the underside of the rear wing. The Noire models are limited to 20 examples total, and No. 250 will surely be one of the most interesting of the bunch.

The Noire Elegance and Sportive follow in the footsteps of Bugatti’s (and the world’s) most expensive release, the Bugatti La Voiture Noire. A coachbuilt homage to the Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic, the La Voiture Noire reportedly cost more than $18 million, with fees and taxes factored in. It was limited to only one example, and it was only one of numerous special launches that spawned from the Chiron.

In addition to the base Chiron, Bugatti has also released the lighter and sharper Chiron Sport, on which the car seen here is based. Then there was the Chiron-based Divo “for the bends,” and then came the Chiron Super Sports 300+ to honor the car that broke the 300-mph barrier. Other special editions included the 110 ans Bugatti Chiron to honor the company’s history and the Bugatti Centodieci that honors the Bugatti EB110 supercar. So much honor.

For only having one car in its lineup, Bugatti sure has made a lot of different vehicles, and we recently found out it could have been more. In an Autoblog exclusive, we learned Bugatti also planned two never-before-seen coupes that would have been marketed alongside the Chiron. Unfortunately, they never made it through to see production.

With 250 produced, only 250 remain, and their availability is getting increasingly more scarce. Bugatti says 150 Chirons are already spoken for, which means only 100 are left to be claimed. We fully expect some of those to debut new bespoke features, new special editions and hopefully more coachbuilding.

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February 20, 2020 / Comments Off on Bugatti Chiron Sport Edition Noire Sportive marks the production halfway point
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Ferrari SF90 Stradale shows how it was made in new video

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 23, 2020 / Comments Off on Ferrari SF90 Stradale shows how it was made in new video
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