The eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatchback is here. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four with 241 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. Europe will get the new GTI this fall, but Americans will likely have to wait until the fourth quarter of 2021 for it to arrive. As the former owner of two second-generation […] More

This is the 1993 Volkswagen Golf A59, a prototype developed when Volkswagen was considering entering the 1994 World Rally Championship.The A59 was powered by a unique turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 275 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque and paired with a six-speed manual and all-wheel drive.Much of the bodywork is made from carbon-fiber and Kevlar, and the A59 features a distinctive hood with three large rectangular vents.Along with a highly modified Jetta GLI and some crossovers with camping gear, Volkswagen brought this silver 1990s Golf to the 2022 SEMA show. But this is no ordinary Golf, as evinced by the bulging wheel arches and hood that looks like someone attacked it with a hole puncher. This is the 1993 Volkwagen Rallye Golf 3 A59 prototype, designed to be a homologation special so that Volkswagen could compete in the 1994 World Rally Championship. But that never happened, and this Golf with an attitude remains a one-off.Michael Aaron|Car and DriverThe A59 prototype was built with help from a German firm Schmidt Motorsport, and took the Mk 3 Golf to the extreme with a specially developed engine, a completely reworked suspension, and swollen bodywork. A bespoke all-aluminum turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder was said to produce 275 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, over a hundred horses higher than even the most powerful Golf GTI production cars of the era. A six-speed manual transmission routed that power to all four wheels via a variable center differential. Michael Aaron|Car and DriverThe 16-inch five-spoke Speedline wheels—shod in 225/45R16 tires—were affixed to a front strut suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers and wider control arms and a multilink rear suspension with Bilstein struts. Brembo brakes with cross-drilled discs took care of stopping the A59.More Wild Stuff from SEMAMany of the exterior body panels were fashioned from carbon fiber and Kevlar, and the revised front bumper, muscular wheel arches, side skirts, rear spoiler, and chunky rear bumper hiding quad exhaust pipes gave the A59 a menacing look. The multiple cutouts in the hood for cooling were a unique touch, while the interior gained Recaro seats, a three-spoke steering wheel, and a digital dashboard. If the A59 had raced, Volkswagen would have been required to build 2500 of these fierce Golfs for the road, but the project was cancelled. That means that this remains the sole Golf A59, although Volkswagen says the powertrain went on to record class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in other vehicles.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

The new generation of the Mercedes GLC compact luxury SUV now has an AMG GLC43 version.It has a 416-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine to replace the old model’s V-6.The GLC43 will go on sale in the U.S. in early 2024.Like its sedan sibling the C-class, the latest AMG performance version of the new Mercedes GLC SUV is swapping its V-6 for a four-cylinder engine. The 2024 AMG GLC43 now features a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four rather than the previous model’s twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, but fortunately the new powerplant produces more horsepower despite its smaller displacement and fewer cylinders.The turbo-four in the new-generation GLC43 is the same M139 engine found in many other AMG models including the C43, and it has 416 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque in this application. That’s an increase of 31 hp but a decrease of 15 pound-feet compared with the old V-6, but Mercedes touts better responsiveness thanks to this engine’s F1-inspired technology that incorporates an electrically assisted turbocharger and a 48-volt hybrid system. Mercedes says the belt-driven starter generator can add a boost of 13 horsepower at lower engine speeds. The GLC43 hits 60 mph in a claimed 4.7 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph.Rear-wheel steering, adaptive dampers, and larger brakes are standard equipment. The AMG GLC43 also differentiates itself from the base GLC300 with an AMG-specific front grille, a rear diffuser, dual exhausts, and 20-inch wheels with a staggered-width tire setup. The transmission is a nine-speed wet-clutch gearbox, and the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system is tuned to send more torque to the rear wheels than in the standard GLC.Interior tweaks include a different steering wheel with aluminum shift paddles and AMG-branded pedals, door sills, display screens, and floor mats. Sports seats are optional, as is Nappa leather upholstery and a data-logger function that can record lap times and other performance metrics.We expect the 2024 AMG GLC43 to start in the mid-$60,000 range; although Mercedes hasn’t released details on option packages yet, there will surely be lots of costly extras. The AMG GLC43 treatment will also surely reach the GLC’s coupe bodystyle soon enough. For now, Mercedes says that the squareback GLC43 SUV will go on sale in the U.S. in early 2024. It’ll be followed later next year by the far more powerful GLC63, now with a hybrid powertrain also using a turbo-four, that’s set to arrive as a 2025 model.More on AMG ModelsThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

The U.S. government has arrested a former Green Beret soldier and his son; they were wanted by the Japanese government for aiding in Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan to Lebanon while he was out on bail. Ghosn escaped hiding in a black box aboard a private jet in an audacious stunt that captured the world’s […] More

Lexus has revealed an electric supercar concept that it says will carry on the spirit of the legendary V-10–powered LFA.Lexus hasn’t given the concept a name, but the company did say that it will reach 60 mph in the “low 2 second range.”The EV supercar has a theoretical range of 435 miles, and Lexus says it will use solid-state batteries. The legendary Lexus LFA will be a difficult model to follow up, but Lexus says that this upcoming EV sports car will inherit the “secret sauce” from that V-10–powered supercar. That’s a heady claim, but the preliminary performance numbers that Lexus has shared are impressive: it claims this model will get to 60 mph in the “low 2 second range” and that it will use solid-state batteries to provide a driving range of around 435 miles.

Lexus

We don’t yet have a name for this new model other than “Electrified Sport,” and these images show just a concept version of its design, but it looks to be fairly close to production. Interestingly there’s no spindle grille to be seen, and the low-slung silhouette is reminiscent of the Toyota FT-1 concept that ultimately previewed the Supra.

This information about Lexus’s EV supercar was shared during Toyota’s presentation detailing its future EV plans. We don’t know anything about a possible timeline for the arrival of this Lexus sports car, but we do know Lexus is planning to launch its first EV, called the RZ, sometime in 2022. Stay tuned for more information on these developments as we find out more about Lexus EVs.
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