This supercharged V-8 engine will be saved for the even higher-performance Raptor R, and they’ll debut on February 3. More

Ford and GE plan to produce 50,000 ventilators in the 100 days leading up to July 4. Production begins the week of April 20. The ventilators will be built at a retooled Ford plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The announcement follows the news that GM is working with Ventec to produce thousands of the life-saving systems. […] More

On Monday, July 31, Nissan revealed this track-focused NISMO variant of the Nissan Z, which slots in above the Z Performance. With 420 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque, the Z NISMO is the most powerful of the current Z cars.There’ll be no manual for NISMO, but a retuned nine-speed automatic transmission and a Track mode for faster shifts. We saw it in spy shots wrapped in camo, and in a teaser video wreathed in tire smoke, but now Nissan has officially unveiled the 2024 Z NISMO. Like most performance variants, the NISMO treatment is focused on upgrades to the track-driving experience, both visually and mechanically. Early WordThe Z NISMO is a step up from the Nissan Z Performance trim. Where that model offers a limited-slip differential, bigger wheels and brakes, stiffer suspension, and better seats, the NISMO takes all that to the next level and adds in redesigned bodywork, stickier rubber, and more horsepower. How Much More Power?Let’s start there. Under the hood, the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 gets a redesigned wastegate, better cooling, and performance-enhancing ignition timing, based off the GT-R NISMO. The results are 20 extra horses and 34 more pound-feet of torque over the standard Z. The Z NISMO makes 420 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque, with peak torque from 2000 to 5200 rpm. The hotted-up engine gets a bigger oil cooler too, so you can use all that power on track for longer. No ManualThe Z NISMO will only be available with the nine-speed automatic transmission, but it comes with NISMO-only clutch packs and retuned engine management software, so downshifts are nearly twice as fast and launch control is more aggressive at the start. There’s also a Sport+ driving mode, designed to be quick enough on the downshifts that the driver needn’t even use the shift paddles. Those do remain, though, for those who like to have something to do in the car. The most obvious changes outside the car are where Nissan has extended the front fascia in a visual callback to the G-Nose on the Fairlady 240ZG. The new nose has a reworked grille opening filled with a fine honeycomb mesh to allow additional cooling for the engine. Just in case you might miss that extended spoiler, it’s highlighted with a brash red line. The red stripe runs all the way to the back, and if that’s not enough to clue you in that this is the top Z, NISMO badges and a black-painted roof make this version stand out.Other aero add-ons include extensions at the front corners to channel wind past the wheels, and a three-piece rear spoiler that merges into the top of the rear quarters. Like the Z Performance, the Z NISMO rides on 19-inch wheels, but these are gloss black and 0.5 inch wider. The front wheels are 10 inches wide, and in the back there’s a solid tire patch on 10.5-inch rollers. Despite being larger, they are lighter than those on the Performance. Nissan wraps the new wheels in Dunlop SP Sport MAXX GT600 tires.Behind the wheels are larger 4-piston caliper, 15.0-inch brake rotors in the front and 13.8-inch rotors in the rear, clamped by a heavy-duty brake pad. Chassis changes include additional bracing all around and under the car, increasing torsional rigidity by 2.5 percent over the Z Performance. Instead of the carbon driveshaft found on the other Z, the track-ready NISMO goes back to steel. Stiffer bushings and mounting points as well as larger dampers add to the NISMO’s track agility. NissanRedInside, the red theme continues on the anodized Stop/Start button and the drive mode selector. New graphics in the digital display echo the red exterior outline, and flash a NISMO-only animation on startup. Leather and faux suede Recaro seats (manually adjusted only) showcase a red center and NISMO logos in the headrest, and even the steering wheel was redesigned with a red accent mark at the top. NissanThe Z NISMO comes in a choice of five colors, four of which are available on all Z trims, Brilliant Silver, Passion Red, Black Diamond Pearl, and Everest White Pearl and one of which is a NISMO-exclusive, the slatey-blue Stealth Grey.Pricing has yet to be announced, but the Z NISMO goes on sale in the fall as a 2024 model.Current and Past ZSenior Editor, FeaturesLike a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews.     More

The Morgan Plus 8 ended production back in 2018 with a limited run of 50th Anniversary edition cars. It was supposed to be a final sendoff for the flagship and its aging BMW-sourced 4.8-liter naturally aspirated V-8. But today, the low-volume British retro carmaker announced it will be putting the Plus 8 back into production for an extremely limited run of high-performance “GTR” models.

Morgan Plus Four Looks the Same, Is New Underneath

Morgan Plans to Sell Its Roadsters in America

Why? you ask. Well, Morgan says this special project was only possible because a number of Plus 8 rolling chassis, built by the automaker before 2018 for a third-party manufacturer, had recently become available for purchase. Morgan presumably bought them back and decided they’d be best used for developing an ultra-low-production special edition model. So the GTR was born.
The Plus 8 GTR, like all Aero-chassis Plus 8s, will be powered by BMW’s naturally aspirated N62 V-8 engine. While previous cars made 367 horsepower, Morgan has yet to release final outputs for these new GTR models, suggesting more power could be on the horizon. Torque will be sent to the rear wheels via the buyer’s choice of six-speed manual or ZF six-speed automatic transmission.

“Reviving a V-8-powered Morgan at the current time may not seem like the obvious choice for a manufacturer firmly focused on new platforms and powertrains,” head of design Jonathan Wells said in a statement. “However, when the opportunity presented itself to recommission a number of rolling chassis and create an exciting special project such as Plus 8 GTR, we embraced it fully. This project has allowed Morgan’s design and engineering teams to revisit some of their favorite elements of past Morgan models, as well as experiment with some features that we hope will appear on future Morgan cars.”
Morgan will build just nine examples of the Plus 8 GTR, with production starting in summer 2021. The company says buyers will have the opportunity to visit the factory to commission their cars, which is pretty cool considering how awesome the Morgan factory is.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Remember when Rich Benoit, a.k.a. Rich Rebuilds, decided to stuff the electric motor from a Zero motorcycle into an ATV to create his own electric off-road toy? Well, Polaris is taking that idea to the factory level with the new 2022 Ranger XP Kinetic, an off-road utility vehicle packing Zero power. The motor, which makes 110 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque, looks to be the ZF75-10 used in the SR/S bike. In the Zero, the ZF75-10 produces a 124-mph top speed. In the Ranger: that’ll be less. But probably still a thrilling way to haul some bales of hay over yonder hill, or break trail out to your camp, or engage in any of the other adventurous and photogenic outdoors activities we imagine such a machine might inspire. The XP Kinetic isn’t an RZR, but neither is it a dour work cart like the Ranger EV with its 30 horsepower and lead-acid batteries. Ten inches of suspension travel and 14 inches of ground clearance speak to some fun.

Now that is a clean barn.
Polaris

The XP Kinetic will be available in Premium trim for $24,999 or Ultimate trim for $29,999. The main difference is battery capacity, which doubles in the Ultimate, from 14.9 kWh to 29.8 kWh. Polaris doesn’t specify whether those numbers are gross or usable capacity but says range will be around 45 miles or 80 miles, depending on the model. The Ultimate also doubles the charge rate of the Premium’s onboard charger, from 3 kW to 6 kW, although either can be outfitted with an accessory charger that adds another 3 kW. So equipped, a Premium could charge from zero to 100 percent in less than three hours. The standard chargers equate to a roughly five-hour charge time.

For buyers nervous about the longevity of an electric powertrain in an off-road vehicle, the Kinetic’s electric powertrain components carry a three-year warranty, with a five-year warranty on the battery. A full underbody skid plate is standard, implying Polaris learned some lessons from Tesla and its early experiences with deficiencies in underbody armor.

Does it confuse a horse when the trailer is moving but there’s no engine noise?
Polaris

In keeping with its mission as a farm implement with a fun side, the XP Kinetic can tow 2500 pounds and haul 1250 pounds of payload in its bed. It’s also available with most of the same accessories that fit the Ranger XP 1000, like a winch or a heated cab. The XP 1000, it should be noted, was the former powerhouse of the Ranger lineup. It makes 82 horsepower. Of course, you can also “charge” it with a five-gallon can of regular unleaded, so there’s that.

Polaris

Evidently, any new EV, land or sea, requires a reservation, and the XP Kinetic is no different: Reservations open today, December 1, 2021. Production commences next summer, at which point we’ll get to see how Rich Rebuilds’ Zero-meets-powersports concept translates to a real production UTV.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More