Aurelia Butler

The new Pagani Utopia Roadster is a convertible version of the Utopia coupe.The droptop model isn’t any heavier than its coupe counterpart, and both have an 852-hp twin-turbo V-12 without hybrid assist—but with a manual option. The Pagania Utopia Roadster costs around $3.4 million and only 130 copies will be sold around the globe.Artistry and state-of-the-art automotive technology converge on the new Pagani Utopia Roadster. It’s the topless follow-up to the Utopia coupe that was revealed back in 2022, but Pagani didn’t just lop off the roof and reinforce the body. Instead, the Italian hypercar maker meticulously redesigned the Carbo-Titanium monocoque for maximum rigidity without adding weight. That means the Utopia Roadster isn’t any heavier than its coupe counterpart, which Pagani claims weighs a feathery 2822 pounds without any fluids.A Topless UtopiaLike its fixed-roof sibling, the Utopia Roadster is among the few new hypercars that doesn’t have a hybrid powertrain. Another anomaly is that it caters to purists by offering a seven-speed manual transmission. The stick-shift setup routes power from the twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12 to the rear wheels. Developed by Mercedes-AMG, the Utopia’s hand-assembled engine makes a hefty 852 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 811 pound-feet of torque from 2800–5900 rpm. You can also choose to skip the Utopia’s third pedal and opt for the seven-speed automatic, which allows paddle-shifted gearchanges. Pagani didn’t share any performance estimates, but it did quote the droptop’s electronically limited top speed of 217 mph.The Utopia Roadster’s hardtop roof features a glass panel that helps keep the two-seater cockpit feeling airy. That top can also be removed and placed on a stand for safe keeping. What about when you’re out for a drive and bad weather unexpectedly strikes? Well, Pagani stores a supplementary soft top behind the seats. And when it comes to storing luggage, every Utopia includes two matching suitcases made of carbon fiber and leather that go in compartments on either side of the engine bay. The accessorizing doesn’t stop there as a separate set of matching garment bags live behind the headrests.PaganiAs you’d expect from a roughly $3.4 million hypercar, the personalization options are virtually limitless. The Utopia Roadster pictured here is painted Habanero Red, and it allows the car’s carbon-fiber bodywork to show through. This specific car, which will make its public debut at the upcoming Monterey Car Week, is also equipped with the optional Sport package that includes exclusive bits made from Pagani’s Carbo-Titanium material. This applies to the convertible’s movable exterior flaps to the seat structures to the gear shifter.Inside, the Utopia Roadster represents a simpler time when the gauges and switchgear were more mechanically complex. Besides the single digital display facing the driver, which allows access to the infotainment system, navigation, and backup camera, everything else in the cabin is appropriately ornate and appears to be wonderfully tactile, from the shifter’s exposed linkage to the toggles on the dash to the steering wheel. Pagani says the latter actually started life as a single piece of aluminum before it was milled for 28 hours into a steering wheel weighing just 3.5 pounds. We also dig the checkered pattern on the seat cushions, with Pagani calling this interior design Grecale and Huayra Signature leather. Interestingly, the Utopia’s key is shaped like the car itself and has a dedicated nook on the center console.Release the leather straps that secure the Utopia’s rear hood and raise it skyward and the Roadster’s eye candy continues. The V-12 is dressed with bronze valve covers, carbon fiber, and other flashy bits, some of which can be seen from the outside via a small window. The Pagani’s distinctive quad-tipped center-exit exhaust also helps identify the car. The forged 21-inch front and 22-inch rear wheels offer a turbine-like design that’s said to help cool the brakes. Those Brembo stoppers include carbon-ceramic rotors that measure 16.1 inches in front and 15.4 inches in back and feature a set of monoblock six- and four-piston calipers, respectively. Pagani also says the Utopia Roadster offers Pirelli’s Cyber tire that uses a sensor on the inside of the tread. The sensor then transmits data to the car’s electronic control units (i.e. ABS, stability control, and traction control). Along with a standard set of Pirelli P Zero Corsa and P Zero winter tires, the Utopia Roadster can be equipped with stickier Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS rubber.The Pagani Utopia Roadster has been homologated for sale in the United States. However, with only 130 copies planned for global production, being filthy rich is by no means a guarantee that you can own one. More Pagani StoriesEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

We absolutely adore the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. Its 668-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, available manual transmission, adult-sized rear seat, and sweet balance between everyday comfort and ferocity when prodded has made it a three-time 10Best winner and one of our favorite sports sedans of all time. Cadillac is leaning into the Blackwing’s angry side for 2025 with a comprehensive suspension-upgrade option called the Precision package. After driving a prototype at one of our favorite tracks, Virginia International Raceway, we came away very impressed.This new offering builds upon the 2025 facelift for the entire CT5 lineup, including a revised front fascia, larger dashboard screens, and an overhauled version of its onboard Performance Data Recorder telemetry. The CT5-V’s new Precision package is all about making the Blackwing more direct and more rapid on track. Development engineer Derek Zalewski tells us this project was somewhat inspired by former GM performance boss John Heinricy running a CT4-V Blackwing in SCCA’s T2 class. What else could be done to up the CT5 Blackwing’s track game? The answer: Spring rates are 70 percent stiffer up front and 60 percent in the rear, there’s a stiffer front anti-roll bar, and pretty much every bushing has been replaced. There are bits inherited from the Camaro SS 1LE and ZL1 1LE and—in the most extreme case—one of the rear cradle bushings is now 1000 percent stiffer. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires remain standard, but track-oriented Cup 2R rubber is available, and the 285-section width is 10 millimeters wider than the stock PS4Ss. (Interestingly, in the interest of development time and cost, these are off-the-shelf tires versus the GM norm of having them customized for the vehicle.) The front suspension knuckles had to be revised to be able to accommodate 2.8 degrees of negative camber up front, and a second set of rear toe-control links are provided—they come in the trunk, and are about 0.1 inch longer—to be able to adjust the rear alignment to negative 2.0 degrees of camber (stock track alignment is -2.4 degrees front, -1.5 degrees rear). Finally, to make it all sing, the electronic controls—steering, MR dampers, stability control including Performance Traction Management, and the electronically controlled limited-slip differential—get a retune. In case you were wondering, engineers say the LT4 V-8 is already at the limits of balancing power and emissions, so there’s no more power. But 668 horsepower is still a lot.The added grip from the Cup 2R tires is instantly noticeable at VIR. The fronts just grip and grip and grip with no squeal. Average grip through Turn 1 is up nearly 10 percent over the last Blackwing we ran at Lightning Lap, and that’s with just a handful of cold laps. With our normal three days of lapping, expect an even bigger gap. The other two areas where the CT5’s added stiffness really blew us away is the increase in stability under braking and in the most challenging cornering sections. On our first lap braking into Turn 1 was, well, uneventful. We still remember the feeling of the standard Blackwing’s rear waggling under braking. Another highlight is NASCAR, where a preceding fast left-hand sweeper leads into the braking zone. It’s a dicey section to carry lots of speed through the left and then get the braking done in time to make NASCAR’s apex, and a spot that trips up many cars (drivers, too). This CT5 felt so much more stable and predictable there, making it much easier to gather it up and get to the apex cleanly. Similarly, the fast off-camber left-hander after the climbing esses is another spot where the CT5’s newfound, well, precision is sure to lead to quicker times. That slight rear wallow that you sometimes feel in the stock Blackwing has been absolutely banished.Considering how large of an improvement the Precision package felt like on track, we were pleasantly surprised at how perfectly livable it remains on the street. About the worst of its newfound stiffness is a bit more head toss over low-speed impacts such as putting one side over a parking-lot speed bump. It otherwise proved remarkably refined and streetable considering the serious stiffening underneath. We’ll put it this way: It’s a serious on-track upgrade, but we’d choose it for our daily driver too, further solidifying GM’s ride-and-handling engineers as some of the best in the business. Cadillac hasn’t yet announced pricing for the Precision package, but it will go on sale in early 2025. Ticking that box will require the carbon-ceramic brake option, but it will be available with or without the carbon-fiber aero packages. There was no time for an official lap time during this teaser drive. Cadillac also wouldn’t quote us a bogey time for a Precision-package-equipped Blackwing at VIR, but the team is confident the car has what it takes to become the fastest gas-powered four-door in our Lightning Lap history. Being just 1.7 seconds quicker than before would do it, getting its nose across the finish line just ahead of the Porsche Panamera Turbo S. More Cadillac CT5 StoriesDave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver’s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism. More

Mitsubishi is in talks with Honda and Nissan about joining the partnership established by the two automakers earlier this year, Nikkei Asia reports.The alliance will focus on electric vehicles and automotive software, as the Japanese manufacturers look to catch up to EV leaders like Tesla and BYD.The partnership could also bring new models for each automaker as they build on each other’s strengths, such as Mitsubishi’s lineup of hybrids in Japan.Earlier this year Honda and Nissan signed a memorandum of understanding to begin weighing a partnership. The potential collaboration between the two large Japanese automakers is expected to focus on electric vehicles and automotive software platforms. Now Mitsubishi—which is 34 percent owned by Nissan—also looks set to get in on the deal, as reported by Nikkei Asia. According to the publication, Mitsubishi will join the Honda-Nissan alliance and has reportedly began discussions with the two automakers after signing a nondisclosure agreement. The partnership is supposed to help the three automakers catch up with Tesla and powerful Chinese EV companies like BYD and Geely, which have already invested far more resources into research and development for EVs, as well as scaling up the supply chain. Michael Simari|Car and DriverIn March, Honda and Nissan said it was “necessary to combine their strengths” and that the companies must “accelerate electrification and acceleration means investment and that requires achieving scale.” Honda’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe had suggested 2030 as a light deadline for Honda to be a “top runner” in the EV space.A main focus of the agreement, Nikkei Asia reports, will be to standardize the in-vehicle software used across the brands, with Honda and Nissan developing the underlying software. The companies will discuss using the software architecture in Mitsubishis as well. The alliance could also yield new models for the three brands, which can build on the strengths of each other’s lineups to plug gaps in their own arsenals. Mitsubishi sells plug-in hybrids and pickup trucks in Japan, two areas where Honda doesn’t compete in its home market. Mitsubishi could end up supplying vehicles for Honda, and the two companies may also collaborate on city cars, likely in Japan’s tiny kei car segment. With Mitsubishi set to join the partnership, the three brands combined will have more than 8 million global sales, with 4.1 million from Honda, 3.4 million from Nissan, and roughly 800,000 from Mitsubishi through the fiscal year that ended in March 2024. If all goes according to plan, the Japanese domestic market would then be split into two major conglomerates: Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Toyota, which has links to Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, Daihatsu, and Hino Motors. All told, the Toyota-led group has a combined sales volume of 16 million units. More Mitsubishi NewsCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More