New Cars
American Idol: Drako GTE Packs 6491 Lb-ft of TQ
Perception lags reality. It’s one of those ideas that, once understood, seems like it should be obvious. A thing happens in reality, and it takes a little while before we (the observers of reality) perceive it. The fireworks explode overhead, and a second later we hear the boom. Electric cars blow past internal combustion engines, and it takes a while to hear the– whirr? Hum? Whatever it is, it’s here. This is the Quad Motor Drako GTE. It is 100% electric, and 100% the most powerful series built vehicle ever to hit public roads. Yeah, I know about the new Lotus. I know about the new Ferrari, too. Heck, I even know about the new electric Freightliner semi truck– and it’s not even close. The Drako GTE’s electric motors are pushing an unbelievable 6,491 lb-...
AI Powered Hybrid Supercoupe | 965HP Puritalia Berlinetta
There’s a lot to digest here, kids, so I’m going to get right to it. This is the Puritalia Automobili Berlinetta Hybrid. It features a unique and innovative “Purhydrive System” that dynamically process information like weather conditions, traffic data, the route you’re driving on, your state of charge, your current driving behavior, and your typical driving style to maximize your driving efficiency and minimize emissions. Oh– and it makes almost 1000 HP. So, yeah. This Berlinetta’s a thing. The Puritalia’s styling is just that: pure Italian. It’s long hood, short deck proportions evoke some of the most classic shapes of the Ferrari and Maserati GTs from decades past. The coupe is clean, without any gaudy rear wings or splitters to detra...
Karma GT Coupe Concept by Pininfarina Headed Stateside
Karma Automotive– formerly Fisker Automotive– has been working hard to reinvent itself after its initial bankruptcy. The new owners, however, seem to be moving things in the right direction. Its reborn Revero sedan is selling steadily, if slowly, and its GT coupe concept by Pininfarina is doing its job of generating press and moving the brand upscale, too. The next step for Karma, then, is to get its product in front of the stylish, well-heeled people it would like for its buyers. To do that, they’ll be taking the GT to Monterey Car Week next weekend in California. That’s right, gang– this multi-million dollar one-off PHEV coupe is coming to America! Long associated with the best-looking Ferrari models, Pininfarina has dabbled in low-volume manufacturing proje...
Hydrogen Fuel-cell Lexus LS for 2021 Spied
Lexus redesigned its flagship LS sedan for the 2019 model year, releasing it in ICE and hybrid versions. The hybrid version is good, but Lexus– and its parent company, Toyota– seem to be falling behind in the premium ZEV/EV race, though, especially considering the launch of the Hardware 3 Teslas. Toyota hopes to start clawing some of that gap back next year, however, with the launch of the 2021 Lexus LS FC, caught here in testing by Paul Tan. That news may upset some readers who are under the impression that hydrogen fuel cells are bad, bad things, but there’s still quite a few companies– namely, Toyota/Lexus and Honda— who are believers. They’re partnering with other companies like Shell and Kenworth, too, who have a stake in a liquid fuel infrastructur...
NIO and Razer Launch ES6 Night Explorer Electric SUV with 544HP
China is a magical place, where high-end carmakers spring up with exciting new products almost overnight– and with billions of real dollars in funding behind them. It was no different today in Shanghai, where Chinese electric automaker NIO partnered up with eSports equipment brand, Razer, to launch a limited-edition, 544HP, all-electric SUV called the ES6 Night Explorer … and it is awesome! The brand new NIO x @razer ES6 Night Explorer. Let the games begin. #NIOxRazer #Razer #ES6NightExplorer pic.twitter.com/JIeyjddgR1 — NIO (@NIOGlobal) August 2, 2019 The SUV is built on the NIO ES6 Performance Edition, with features like the NIO Pilot Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS), NOMI Mate, enhanced digital instrument displays, and other high-tech appointments. The Night Explor...
Spoiler Alert: 2020 Honda e Interior Revealed
The hotly anticipated Honda e will be Honda’s first globally launched, pure electric car when it arrives next year. It promises to be super fun, with a torquey, responsive electric motor and ultralow center of gravity working in concert to deliver excellent driving dynamics– which brings me to an interesting point. That is, we actually know a lot about the upcoming electric Honda … but we really don’t know much about its interior. Or, we didn’t, because Honda just dropped a few pictures showing off the car’s digital interior– and it is absolutely stunning! Honda e Electric Car Interior | Photo Gallery As you can see from the pictures, the new 2020 Honda e’s dashboard is made up of 5 screens. They’re high-res screens that occupy t...
Audi e-tron GT Factory Gears Up for Production
The almost-ready Porsche Taycan isn’t the only good-looking sporty electric car coming from the Volkswagen/Audi Group next year. Over at Audi, they have the wickedly styled– and wickedly fast!– Audi e-tron GT that’s set to begin production as well. To that end, Volkswagen has officially broken ground on a number of upgrades to the Audi Sport GmbH production facilities in the Böllinger Höfe, with the completion date slated for the fall of 2019. “Since the Böllinger Höfe was already created in the design phase as a small-series production facility with innovative and flexible production processes, that gives us the ideal conditions to produce the e-tron GT alongside the Audi R8,” Audi’s Production Manager, Wolfgang Schanz, explained in an interview. ...
FCA Announces Plan to Build 80,000 Fiat 500e EVs
Recently, Fiat Chrysler (FCA)’s chief for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Pietro Gorlier, announced that the Italian-American company would be placing its biggest single bet on an electric vehicle on the next-generation Fiat 500e. It’s quite a bet, too. FCA plans to build 80,000 of the things at its Mirafiori plant in Turin, northern Italy. That car, set to launch in 2020 as a 2021 model, is believed to rely heavily on the Fiat Concept Centoventi revealed back in March. It will also be the first all-electric vehicle that Fiat will market in Europe– which, seeing as how Renault and Nissan have been successfully selling EVs in Europe for over a decade, seems kind of incredible to me. Like, incredible in the, “I can’t believe Fiat is so far behind everyone el...
2000 HP Lotus Evija EV is the Most Powerful Car Ever
It’s not often you get to write an article about an all-new Lotus road car, but here we are. Meet the 2020 Lotus Evija. With more than 2000HP on tap, the Evija is the most powerful series production car ever built. As such, the car will– no doubt– prove to be one of the fastest production cars ever built, too, once one of the only 130 examples of the car finally finds its way into the hands of independent testers. Oh! I almost forgot: the new Lotus Eviga is 100% electric. You read that right. The most powerful production car to ever hit the streets is 100%, fully electric. The Lotus Evija is not a hybrid, like the carbon-bodied McLaren P1, the 1500HP, single-gear Koenigsegg Regera, or the 968 HP Ferrari SF90. It’s not even a “range-extended EV” like the ...
The Electric Mini is Here! Meet the 2020 Mini Cooper SE
The original Mini from the 1960s was a marvel of packaging engineering, fitting a tight little FWD power train and room for four adults into a cartoonishly small, 2-box shape. With its low weight and innovative suspension design, it became a giant-killer on racetracks and a favorite among car enthusiasts. Combined with distinctive styling, the Mini provided a formula that made it an obvious pick for BMW (Mini’s parent company) to “resurrect” during the late 1990’s retro craze that saw crosstown rivals, VW, enjoy a massively profitable run of New Beetle sales. Given the car’s small size and urban demographic, there has been talk of electrification for the Mini for over a decade— but the electric Mini never materialized. Until now, that is. Meet the new fo...
Production-ready Electric Porsche Taycan Breaks Cover in China
Get Plugged In In a Hurry? Here are the major points of this post. Porsche’s First Electric Car is Almost Ready This is the Tesla Model S’ First Real Competition Seen here roaming the streets of Shanghai and the track outside the Porsche Experience Center (PEC) is the ultra-quick, fully electric Porsche Taycan super-sedan in full production spec. trim. And you’ll probably see it again, too– that’s because this pre-production Taycan prototype is setting off on something of a “world tour” ahead of its official unveiling at this September’s Frankfurt Auto Show. To say that the Porsche Taycan has been hotly anticipated is an understatement. With more than 600 HP on tap from its electric motors, the slinky Porsche is expected to blast from 0-60 MP...
Volkswagen Secures EV Batteries Through 2023
Between its Volkswagen, Audi, and Seat brands, the Volkswagen Group has committed to building more than 300,000 electric vehicles in 2021. That’s a whole lot of electric cars from the company that, not too long ago, was touting the benefits of “clean diesel”. As such, you can imagine that some people doubted the company’s commitment ability to deliver. VW, though, claims they’ve locked down a battery supplier … for a full three years. “I can confirm that for the first years of our plan, a sufficient supply of cells has been contractually secured,” said Thomas Ulbrich, the Volkswagen brand management board member in charge of electric mobility. He also added that the contract would ensure this was the case until 2023 in a bid to remove all dou...