Aurelia Butler

The 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Backcountry is a new limited-edition trim that prioritizes standard tech and off-road-focused features.The Backcountry features the same plug-in-hybrid powertrain as the 4xe Sahara, delivering 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque.The new Wrangler 4xe Backcountry is limited to 5800 units and costs $66,185.If just having a plug-in-hybrid Jeep Wrangler wasn’t high-tech enough for your off-road excursions, Jeep is introducing a new limited-edition Wrangler 4xe Backcountry trim that is meant to better serve trail-loving technophiles.The New Backcountry WranglerBuilding on the upscale and comfort-oriented plug-in-hybrid 4xe Sahara trim, which comes standard with leather upholstery, heated seats, and an available 12.3-inch touchscreen, the 4xe Backcountry ups its tech quotient while also adding new accessories to make it more capable off-road. JeepAs far as tech goes, the 4xe Backcountry’s new additions include a nine-speaker Alpine audio system and the inclusion of a portable Jeep power box that can draw energy from the Backcountry’s hybrid battery pack and be used to charge devices or power small appliances. Like the 4xe Sahara, the 4xe Backcountry features a 12.3-inch touchscreen display with built-in navigation. To encourage adventure, the infotainment system includes off-road trail guides for 62 Jeep Badge of Honor trails as well as an integrated geocaching app. While some Jeep owners use their Wranglers to get off the grid, the 4xe Backcountry comes with onboard Wi-Fi if you aren’t part of that camp.Outside of the new tech goodies, the Backcountry also gets some significant off-road bits. It wears steel bumpers at both ends, a Mopar grille guard, and rock rails along its door sills to limit damage from any boulder bashing. To prevent bashing from happening in the first place, the Backcountry comes standard with a front trail camera to survey the path ahead. JeepJeepIt also comes standard with unique matte-black 20-inch wheels wrapped in 275/55R-20 General Grabber all-terrain tires for supreme traction on any surface. To help it look the part, it has Backcountry decals on its hood, fenders, and rear swing gate and comes with a removable three-piece body-colored hardtop. A towing package is also included, which adds seven- and four-pin wiring harnesses, auxiliary switches, and a receiver hitch. The Wrangler 4xe Backcountry is limited to 5800 units and retails for $66,185, which is $6595 more than the 4xe Sahara. If you want to hear what an Alpine audio system sounds like echoing through a dense forest, now’s your time to find out.Related StoriesAustin’s car fixation began at a young age and at 1:64 scale. Eventually, Hot Wheels weren’t cutting it anymore, so he developed an obsession with his father’s full-sized 1965 Ford Mustang instead. Desperate to break into the automotive industry, he bartered his way into a job at a local BMW dealership by promising to stop hurling nerdy technical facts at the salesmen who came into the neighboring coffee shop where he worked.

That was also around the time when he started writing automotive reviews, news articles, and technical guides for a number of local and international publications. Now at Car and Driver, Austin brings more than 10 years of experience in the automotive industry and an all-so-common love-hate relationship with German engineering to the table. More

Rivian has launched its first special-edition models, the R1T and R1S California Dune Edition.Their exteriors wear a tan paint job, with the option to match the same hue on the 20-inch wheels that come as part of the standard All-Terrain package.The cabin features a two-tone look, with a Black Mountain upper section and a Sandstone lower section.The Rivian R1T truck and R1S SUV received comprehensive updates for the 2025 model year, bringing tweaked exterior styling, a lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry in the standard battery, and a new drive unit in the Tri-Motor and Quad-Motor powertrains. Now, Rivian is enhancing the R1 duo even further with the California Dune Edition, a special version of the R1T and R1S that gets a desert-inspired paint job and standard off-road gear. This marks the first time Rivian has launched a limited-edition variant of its R1 line of vehicles.The special-edition model is differentiated from standard Rivians by an all-new paint color called, unsurprisingly, California Dune. The color was inspired by Southern California’s beautiful dunes. The vehicles also wear an exterior Darkout package to accentuate the contrast between the badging and the tan paint job.Inside, each California Dune Edition sports a hue called Sandstone on the lower section of the cabin with a Black Mountain upper half. The interior also features flooring material that’s supposed to be easy to clean, with Sandstone floor mats to match the seats, center console, and door panels.The California Dune Edition is based around the R1 models’ Tri-Motor setup, which packs three electric motors spitting out a whopping 850 horsepower and 1103 pound-feet of torque. This allows the electric SUV and electric truck to rip from zero to 60 mph in a claimed 2.9 seconds. The Tri-Motor powertrain also features a Soft Sand drive mode, which ties in nicely with the California Dune theme.RivianThe special Rivians also come fitted with the All-Terrain package as standard. Normally a $3700 add-on, the package adds 20-inch wheels, a spare tire, and a reinforced underbody shield. The wheels are offered here with two finishes, either a darkened look or a California Dune paint that matches the rest of the body. The inclusion of the All-Terrain package does knock the Tri-Motor powertrain’s EPA-rated range from 371 miles to 329 miles.The California Dune models also feature a couple of unique accessories. There are black MAXTRAX traction boards that live atop the roof rack, which also get a darkened appearance. On the R1T pickup truck, there is also a standard powered tonneau cover, which got a revised design for 2025.Rivian didn’t say how many examples of the California Dune models will be built, but it did describe the model as limited editions. The special Rivians are available to order now, with the R1T California Dune Edition starting at $99,900 and the R1S California Dune Edition starting at $105,900.Related StoriesCaleb 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

Nikola, the electric-pickup and semi-truck startup manufacturer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Court filings show that the company has about $47 million in cash on hand, with liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion.Despite enjoying early enthusiasm from investors, Nikola struggled to deliver enough vehicles to turn a profit. Nikola, the Phoenix-based EV startup focused on electric and hydrogen commercial trucks, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The news comes after reports earlier this month that the fledgling automaker was running out of money.The company has experienced a rocky 10 years since it was founded in 2014 with a focus on both electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. In 2020, Nikola revealed the Badger, a tough-looking EV pickup with both EV and hydrogen powertrains. Plans looked promising enough for General Motors to sign on to aid in development ahead of a 2022 launch. The company was accused of fraud a short time later, with then-Nikola CEO Trevor Milton found guilty of multiple charges in 2022. After falling out with Milton, Nikola changed course, canceling the Badger and refocusing its efforts on commercial trucks. The company delivered its first electric semi-trucks in 2022, but it has not been able to deliver enough in the intervening years to make a profit. NikolaLate last year, Nikola announced it had $200 million in cash and $270 million in long-term debt. With new reports coming out earlier this month that Nikola was nearing a bankruptcy announcement, the company’s stock price plummeted to under a dollar. In a release confirming the bankruptcy filing on Wednesday, Nikola said it had about $47 million in cash on hand. The company intends to continue with “limited” support for trucks on the road. Court filings confirm that the automaker has liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, with the number of creditors it owes between 1000 and 5000. Nikola’s filing makes it the third high-profile EV startup to declare bankruptcy in recent years. Lordstown Motors, another EV pickup startup, sought bankruptcy protection in 2023. A year later, Fisker, the California-based startup headed by Henrik Fisker, went belly up. Related StoriesJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

The McLaren Artura and 750S MCL38 Celebration Edition pay tribute to McLaren’s 2024 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship win, its first since 1998.The two supercars wear Papaya Orange paint and special badges inside and out, including a plaque made of carbon fiber from the MCL38 F1 race car.Only nine examples of each MCL38 Celebration Edition will be built, representing McLaren’s nine Constructors’ Championships since its founding in 1963.While Red Bull phenom Max Verstappen handily won the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, things were less straightforward in the Constructors’ Championship. A poor showing from Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, allowed the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to lead the British team to its first Constructors’ title since 1998. Now, to celebrate the win, McLaren is releasing a pair of special editions based on the Artura and the 750S to commemorate the win.Dubbed the MCL38 Celebration Edition, the cars feature a bespoke livery meant to evoke the look of the Formula 1 race car. The front end is painted a dark hue called Anthracite while the bright Papaya Orange that has become synonymous with the team adorns the rear half of the car. The first part of the special edition’s name is shared with the team’s 2024 car, which racked up eight pole positions and six Grand Prix wins over the course of last season.McLarenJust behind the front wheels is a logo featuring nine stars, one for each of McLaren’s Constructors’ Championships. The orange racing stripe bisecting the hood also features a “Champions’ Laurel” logo and a diagonal stripe design meant to echo the appearance of the F1 car’s livery. The brake calipers have also been painted Papaya. Raising the dramatic doors on either the 750S or Artura reveals the signatures of both Norris and Piastri on the carbon-fiber door sill cover on the driver’s side. Inside the cabin, the Champions’ Laurel appears once more on the headrest of the seats. A 12-o’clock hash mark on the steering wheel also comes in Papaya Orange.McLarenEven cooler, there’s a plaque dedicated to the MCL38 race car that uses a real section of carbon-fiber bodywork taken from the triumphant F1 car. In the storage area beneath the hood, there is a second plaque that lists the pole positions, race wins, and fastest laps achieved by McLaren last year.McLaren will only build nine examples of each, a nod to the 2024 title being McLaren’s ninth Constructors’ Championship win. There’s no word on pricing, but with so few being built, the MCL38 Celebration Edition will likely require a significant chunk of money atop the supercars’ base price. The 2025 Artura starts at $254,100, and the 2025 750S starts at $318,085.More on McLarenCaleb 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

The first Prospector XL Tray Bed was a concept built for AEV’s president.AEV is reissuing the Tray Bed variant in limited quantities.The HD Ram-based Prospector XL rides on 40-inch tires and packs a Cummins diesel.We’ve described off-roading outfitter AEV’s Prospector XL as the diesel Power Wagon that Ram won’t build. Now, you can get a version of the Prospector XL that AEV only builds small quantities of—and only occasionally. It’s called the Prospector XL Tray Bed, and it is magnificent.At the metaphysical heart and physical rear of the XL Prospector Tray Bed is its titular cargo carrier. This aluminum piece has drop-down sides and is supplied by a company appropriately named Ute. It’s affixed to the rear of a Cummins-powered regular-cab Ram 2500; standard Prospector XLs come with four doors and a conventional bed, although AEV will sell you a two-door chassis cab to which you can attach the backpack of your choosing.AEVAEV has offered the XLPTB in limited quantities before. Originally a pet project and personal vehicle of company president Dave Harriton, the first Tray Bed was shown as a concept at the company’s 2013 SEMA booth. A run of 10 or so was offered in 2017, and now AEV is building a handful based on the latest HD Ram.The asking price for the conversion is a not-insignificant $32,203 on top of the Ram 2500 donor vehicle, which will run you at least $63K. For that outlay, you get the tray bed, of course, as well as an AEV front bumper with integrated 20k ComeUp winch, a custom rear bumper, the company’s 3-inch DualSport on-road/off-road suspension system, and 40-inch BFGoodrich HD-Terrain tires on AEV Salta XD wheels. The result is a truck that can go just about anywhere and carry just about anything.AEVAEV says it will only build a very small batch of Tray Bed Rams this time around. Since there’s no telling when or even if they will be offered again, it’s probably best to stock up.More AEV-Modded TrucksEver since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs. More

The Rolls-Royce Spectre has a new Black Badge variant that adds 73 horsepower, making it the most powerful Rolls ever. The additional power is accessible with a new Infinity drive mode, while a new Spirited mode enables launch control. Rolls-Royce claims that client demand for a sportier Spectre prompted the creation of a secret fleet of early Black Badge models.The most powerful Rolls-Royce to ever saunter down the motorways is here and isn’t powered by a silky-smooth V-12. Instead, the crown goes to the new Black Badge version of the Rolls-Royce Spectre electric coupe. The legendary automaker has been using the Black Badge moniker to denote its high-performance models for nearly a decade, but the Spectre is the first EV to get the title.As with the standard Spectre (if anything about the Spectre can be called standard), the Black Badge comes with all-wheel drive and a pair of electric motors. The standard car’s 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque are more than enough to hustle the grand two-door down the boulevard, and the performance version should be even quicker, as it packs 650 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque.The maximum number of horses is only accessible via the new Infinity driving mode that improves accelerator response and gives the gauge display a sportier arrangement. The max torque comes into play with a new Spirited drive mode that essentially acts as a launch-control system. The mode is engaged by pressing the brake and accelerator to the floor at the same time, waiting for the go-ahead from the car, and then letting it rip. Rolls says that the increase in power and the launch system mean the Spectre Black Badge can sprint to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, but considering we managed just 3.7 seconds in our testing of the standard car, we expect the performance model to do even better.To “inspire clients to wield the unprecedented power of Black Badge Spectre with confidence,” Rolls-Royce engineers increased the steering weight and fiddled with the dampers to reduce body roll and squatting under acceleration.We’re not sure exactly how much Rolls-Royce is asking for the Black Badge version of its EV coupe, but we imagine it’s a sizable increase compared with the 2025 Spectre’s $422,750 starting price.More on the RR SpectreJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More