Evelyn Reynolds

From the June 1980 issue of Car and Driver.Ladies and gentlemen, you will please cue up your Superman tapes, main title passage, please. We are here to tell you about one of those rare cars, of which a few come to each generation, whose presence and capabilities completely transcend even the uppermost limits of accepted goodness. To harness yourself into this car is to lace up Seven League Boots. To drive it well, with skill, con­centration, and energy, is to unleash the miracle of our own genius for progress in transportation. Each time we drive the 733i, then relinquish the key to a neophyte, we find ourselves looking over our shoulders at the one taking its wheel for the first time. Each of us won­ders privately if he is alone in his per­ception of this car’s capacity to satisfy our wildest dreams of accomplishment in sedandom. But then the newly initiat­ed driver returns, gets out of the car, and pinches himself. As we have pinched ourselves in the same situation. Aha, we are not alone! We on the staff are expected to foam some at the mouth when a piece like the 733i comes along, but when the boss does, too, well, jeez… When the origi­nal 733i was first made available to us two years ago, frankly The Man’s praise button short-circuited in the full-on po­sition. “I’m saved,” he said. “I, David E. Davis, Jr., self-appointed high priest of Bimmer Madness in North America, can finally stop feeling guilty about not lik­ing the 630CSi coupe. Forget the coupe! The magnificent 7-series sedans have arrived in America and God’s in his heaven and all’s right with the world! Damn, what a car…this is Bim­mer Infinity.”Right again, Boss-man. What we need here is an automatic typesetter with a key marked “Superlatives.” That is the nature of this 733i. It is so good, it makes you feel guilty when you note something even slightly negative about it. And while it’s nice to dabble around town in, you will never discover its true delights until you take it out in the open, where the road unreels like a bal­loon with a hole punched in it. Knowing that, we quit Los Angeles and set off for Monterey up the coast on Highway 1 in our Seven League Boots, sidestepping the highway patrol by sixth sense and practiced eye. This is necessary because this car makes you feel like a somnolent old coot if you’re not out there thump­ing on it for all you’re worth every sec­ond the wheels are turning. More BMW Content From the ArchiveBMW has done hand-to-hand combat with the rudiments and the complexities of suspension design, and has come out a winner. The result is a fine cream of consistency, a refinement in the way the car goes about its most trying business that carries through to almost every as­pect of its behavior. The 733i offers a thoroughly civilized give-and-take that returns at least what you put into it. It feels better than the Mercedes 450SEL in its way of going, although it will be interesting to see how the new S-class Mercedes, coming next year, will com­pare. BMW’s biggest advance in the 733i’s all-independent suspension came in front at its damper-strut linkage. It is located by two separate positioning links instead of the normal (and less ef­ficient) one. Suspension geometry is thus improved, providing less self-steer­ing when the wheels are unequally load­ed, more self-centering for the steering wheel, and less dive under braking. The 733i goes around corners like an overgrown open-wheeled race car, yet it sacrifices nothing in the way of ride quality. It just turns in and tracks around with record low amounts of un­dersteer for a big sedan. It encourages you and serves devotedly in the tightest of switchbacks, and it cuts beautifully clean arcs through great, long sweepers. It is light on its feet and possessed of startling maneuverability and agility, and while its passage can be breathtak­ing from outside, inside, the 733i pro­fesses absolute calmness and gives time for clearheaded perception. BMW’s characteristic trailing-throttle oversteer, a normal byproduct of semi-trailing-arm rear suspension, has been throttled back, although it’s still provokable. Log­ic has it that the 733i’s very low levels of initial and final understeer help reduce final oversteer because, even entering corners more quickly, it will track around with less addition of steering lock (which tends to initiate an outward swing of the tail with the turning in of the nose), and have much less need to close the throttle (thus avoiding the in­herent steering outward of the semi­-trailed rear wheels), which is the likely way to slow down a car that first threat­ens to go straight on in corners. Dips and bumps pass under BMW’s suspension calibrations like low water under a tall bridge, the 733i flowing over the road as if it were the world’s fastest hovercraft. Its directional stabili­ty seems somehow related to the path and character of unrefracted light, un­wavering and true. The degree of steer­ing assist is determined by road speed, and its subjective feel may outqualify Mercedes’ as the best in the world. The BMW’s steering has slightly less feel, but it also take less effort, nearly perfect effort. We dream about having this no­-muss, no-fuss steering response in se­dans, and discovering it here feels as reassuring and familiar as pocketing your favorite penknife in the morning. Thank God for that. California was just entering its record-breaking rain-­flood-and-mudslide season when we picked up the 733i. Amid the stop-and-­go traffic and the impending, soggy collapse of the coastal range, the car never missed a beat. Its single flaw, in the face of winds that tore shrieks from damp young ladies clutching disemboweled umbrellas that flopped like one-legged chickens, was a tendency for it to be bat­ted around by these stout gusts. This is Mother Nature’s elbow in the ribs of the 733i’s superior attitude. Cars that like to change direction when you tell them to sometimes like to do so when they haven’t been told, you see, and a stabi­lizing air dam would be a welcome addition beneath the front bumper. Beyond that, the smooth attitude transitions and fishbowl visibility of the 733i make working traffic a breeze. And its Continental radials, in spite of minor out-of-roundness, slice through rainwa­ter and cling to sunbaked pavement with equal finesse, though nothing in their appearance would suggest this combination of virtues. BMW has some­how magically wedded these tires to its suspension, and the 733i flashes as surely up Highway 1 in streaming rain as lesser cars do when it’s bone-dry. And in the dry, HO-HO! the 733i plays first chair. It has some tendency to vault through quick cycles of vertical motion over repeated and highly exaggerated ripples, but its speed must be nigh on to ungodly to make this happen, and it re­covers quickly. Most other cars would already have inserted themselves in ditches.When trouble does start, the brakes are at your side. They are hydraulically assisted, shunning the more popular vacuum boost, so they put the squeeze on very quickly, without deliberation but with great consistency. They have tremendous feel, easily defining the ul­timate possible degree of braking under every hard-charging circumstance we could induce on our run up the gantlet of Pacific Coast Highway. The brakes are progressive, direct, and firm, a blessing that shuns disguise. They are also called for. It is no surprise that the engine is a thing of wonder. This is a BMW. It is expected, and BMW has smote our gov­ernment’s emissions and mileage re­quirements with research and develop­ment. The research has turned up a three-way catalyst, a Lambda-sensor, and unleaded fuel, and the develop­ment is horsepower. The expensive and sophisticated six-cylinder engine it’s housed in is the mechanical embodiment of absolute insistence. It has a pas­sion for accelerating the countryside past as if it were wired to a well-man­nered-but-berserk, Jekyll-and-Hyde rhe­ostat. It pulls beautifully through the gears, and when the power band of its overhead cam comes on, it begins to howl. It says you could never ask too much. And lordy, does it give. You may wonder that 3.2 liters can wallop 3600 pounds of prime Bavarian comfort up to 60 mph in 8.2 seconds, and cover the quarter-mile in 16.3 seconds at 84 mph, but believe it. The 6400-rpm redline, if you’re in the grasp of neck-and-neck fe­ver, won’t bid you goodbye in third gear until 97 mph, and running flat-scat over the open road packs your sensory load­ings to overflowing. This raises impolite questions such as, “How come other automakers can’t seem to do this?” and, un­fortunately, “Do they even want to?” BMW’s EPA mileage number is 16 mpg, but we’d say you could probably do better with restraint.Even so, your mileage won’t be terrific. This car needs a five-speed, with fifth an overdrive. At least there isn’t a nicer four-speed around, and finding one in here at all is reward enough. This is sig­nificant because there aren’t any other luxury cars that come with manual gear­boxes over here. BMW, of course, has an automatic too, but the stick shift is the tip. Our engine ran so smoothly that we used the gears too hard, too soon, and it wasn’t long before the box was audibly reminding us of our shortsight­edness. Gear noise is not normally a problem, but proper break-in, as we know from other experiences with BMWs, is very important. Inside this 110-inch wheelbase is enough room for the Jabbar family up front and a non-contact soccer match in back. We stretch the point, but the space is all here. The leather seats are at first very comfortable and they are ad­justable for any angle or attitude from foxhole to crow’s-nest. But the leather is slick, lumbar adjustments are missing, and marathon drivers seem to wind up with minor backaches. But support for hard driving is good, and the back seat is a place of airy comfort despite still more slippery leather. BMW’s four-spoke leather wheel is in-out adjustable. The dash layout, con­trols, and ventilation are worth the price of admission, and there are separate ventilation controls for the back seat. Our only real complaints cover the two-­tone dash treatment—black above, out-­of-place gray below—and the lack of engine-function gauges. A good Blau­punkt AM/FM/cassette unit puts out four-speaker stereo, and a central lock­ing system buttons up everything that can be opened except the ashtrays and the huge, fold-down glove box. The electric sunroof seized open once, as still more rain approached, and then it inexplicably freed itself just in time to fend off another downpour. Outside, the 733i is a solid citizen of upright appearance, but it could use a deft pinstripe around the beltline crease for the sake of definition. Its solidity of construction needs no extra help. The 733i, in terms of driving satisfaction, is certainly worth more than $10,000 less than a 450SEL. And one of these days, one of these 733is will burst up behind you, slashing at your heels. Capitulate and move over. This may not give you the view you’d like, but it’s the second-­best suggestion we’ve got, the other be­ing to fork over big money and plug in your Superman tapes. CounterpointsBefore I wax hyperbolic about the 733i, I think there are a few sobering facts you ought to consider: compared with a Pontiac Bonneville, the 733i has one fewer seats, gets 2 mpg less, and costs $21,971 more. And you have to shift it yourself?Most Bonneville buyers probably think that shelling out nearly 30 grand for any car—let alone one that makes you stir the gears—is about as dumb as buying land by mail. Value, of course, is in the bank account of the beholder. But if you can stretch your credit far enough for a high-roller luxo-sedan, you won’t find more satisfaction than in the 733i. It’s a cornucopia of driving delights, from the way it moves—arrogantly assured, superbly responsive—to its carved-from-a-single-billet construction. From behind the wheel of a 733i you survey the vehicular world as if from a snowcapped peak in the Bavarian Alps. And to drive it is to know all the wonderful things machines can do for man. Which is a sense makes the 733i a pretty good deal. After all, it may cost $30,000 but it make you feel like a million. Make that two million. —Rich CepposSo what we have here is the wonder of the ages, right? The perfect automobile. You’ve just read reams on how exquisite the 733i is, and the people who have been telling you all these wondrous things are card-carrying automotive experts. Still, you’re a little skeptical. Philosophy 101 taught you that nothing is ever as it seems. And you’re right. All is not perfect in 733i land, and I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to reveal the truth. Yes, the engine and transmission are perhaps the most delightful tandem you can own. And the instrument panel is an aesthetic and ergonomic delight. Oh, sure, the suspension offers the best combination of luxury ride and handling available. And, yes, the car’s looks, solid feel, and general over-the-road competence are unmatched in even the best Mercedes-Benz has to offer. But what about the driver’s side floor mat? I’ll tell you what. It doesn’t fit. It snags on the clutch pedal. No matter how you move it around. Can you believe it? Inexcusable. —Mike KnepperThis is the third 7-series BMW I’ve driven since our friends in Munich introduced their Mercedes-zerstörer, and it’s the first one I did’t like so much. The electric sunroof so compromises front-seat headroom that I was always uncomfortable driving the car—literally a pain in the neck, she was. Given the lack of headroom, I then found it impossible to get the seat adjusted to my taste. Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Volvo, Saab, and the GM X-cars all provide me with enough headroom for the hat of my choice—why not BMW’s 733i?The engine is strong and willing, but the one in our test car had a period of vibration in the midrange that would send me bitching and grumbling to my BMW dealer once a week. The four-speed gearbox is a pleasure to use, but it needs a fifth speed, since the engine really begins to intrude at radar-detector cruising speeds. Perhaps I’m being tough on the luxus-Bimmer because I just spent ten days in an XJ6 Jaguar. More and more, though, I feel that BMW’s business is somewhere south of the 5-series cars. I really like the 320i, and I’m eagerly awaiting the 323. Now, if they’d just build us an all-new 1600. —David E. Davis, Jr. SpecificationsSpecifications
1980 BMW 733iVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $28,945/$28,945
ENGINESOHC 12-valve inline-6, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 196 in3, 3210 cm3Power: 174 hp @ 5200 rpmTorque: 188 lb-ft @ 4200 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/semi-trailing armsBrakes, F/R: 11.0-in vented disc/11.0-in discTires: Continental TS772205/70HR-14
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 110.0 inLength: 197.4 inWidth: 70.9 inHeight: 56.3 inCurb Weight: 3610 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 8.2 sec1/4-Mile: 16.3 sec @ 84 mph100 mph: 26.7 secTop Speed: 118 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 200 ft 
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined: 16 mpg (est) 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

Remember the Mercedes-Benz EQC? An electric analogue to the GLC-class compact luxury SUV has been in the works for years—and in markets beyond the U.S., it actually existed as a thing people could buy. We in the States didn’t get that lucky, though; the EQC as originally conceived suffered several setbacks and ultimately never arrived here. But that’ll soon be rectified with the electric GLC. Ahead of the new EV’s debut at the IAA auto show in Munich this September, we got a taste of the GLC at Benz’s winter proving ground in far-north Sweden.The regular GLC is a bestseller in the U.S., and its electric variant will live within that greater lineup. We don’t have an official name yet, but the lineup currently contains the gas-only GLC300 and the plug-in-hybrid GLC350e, so the EV could slide above that as the GLC380 or GLC480, similar to how the electric G580 is positioned above the gas-only G550. Going forward, this is likely how Mercedes will continue to structure its lineups, even when cars within the same line don’t share a platform.Despite looking like a gas-powered GLC, the electric variant rides on the dedicated MB.EA platform, which will underpin additional future EVs as well. Ahead of our prototype drive, Mercedes told us the decision to use MB.EA was all about compromise—or rather, a lack thereof; putting an EV on the gas-fed GLC’s platform would’ve required the automaker to make undesirable concessions, whereas MB.EA lets Mercedes engineers optimize for the EV part. The examples we drove were heavily camouflaged inside and out, and concrete specs at this stage are few. But Mercedes did tell us that the GLC EV’s body is just a bit longer than the gas model’s, granting enough space in the floor to fit a roughly 94.5-kWh battery. The top offering works at 800 volts, and it is said that charging rates of 320 kW can be “sustained” on a 350-kW charger. As for range, Mercedes estimates that this juice box will be good for a hair over 400 miles on the European WLTP test cycle, with an EPA estimate north of 300 miles. Lift the hood, and you won’t find any power hardware—just a four-cubic-foot frunk, which, according to our eyeballs, should hold at least 50 pounds of shrimp. At least.Similarly, we’re not quite sure of the full breadth of powertrains we’ll get in the U.S., but deep in wintry Sweden, we sampled a dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant that makes approximately 483 horsepower. On roads covered in snow and ice, that proved more than enough power to get the rear end loose at will, and Sport mode offers a surprising amount of yaw before it slowly dialed back the power and brought the rear end in line. There’s a two-speed transmission tucked in at the rear, too, as in the Porsche Taycan, and like the Porsche, the transmission’s shifting is nearly imperceptible.Thankfully, there were some stretches where we were able to assess the GLC EV’s ride quality on normal pavement. Unsurprisingly, it was mighty smooth; the vehicle we drove included the optional air-spring suspension, which did a great job counteracting the EV’s as-yet-unknown curb weight. The car can take a licking, too; with the suspension raised about an inch, we blasted up a small mountain road riddled with washboard bumps and deep ruts. And aside from having the fillings shaken out of our molars, the GLC sailed its way upward without much drama. That’s probably more off-roading than most owners will ever do, but it’s nice that the capability is there. Mercedes-Benz’s complicated all-in-one brake module makes an appearance on the GLC EV, too. We first sampled this unit on the upcoming new CLA-class hybrid; the module combines the booster, master cylinder, and other components, with the goal of providing a seamless brake feel whether using regeneration or friction. The brakes prioritize regen as much as possible to boost efficiency. In most situations, it doesn’t rely on a mechanical link between your foot and the brake discs—the feedback and pressure underfoot are simulated, and they’re simulated quite well.The interior was completely shrouded, so we can’t yet speak to how closely the cabin resembles that of the gas-powered GLC. But we can say that the EV’s extra length pays off in rear-seat legroom, which was ample behind a six-foot-two front-seat passenger. The platform’s flat floor also left more than enough space to comfortably tuck our feet under the front seat. Between that and the sizable panoramic glass roof, the cabin is airy and feels more spacious than the average compact SUV. There’s a long time to go until the GLC EV’s official debut in September, and it will likely end up as a 2026 model when it goes on sale in the States. While pricing likely won’t be announced until after the Munich show concludes, we can look at current context; the GLC350e PHEV tops out at $65,2o0 in its loaded Pinnacle trim, so we’d estimate a starting price somewhere above that. The electric GLC will be expensive, but after our brief spin in one, we think it’ll fit right into the greater lineup—when it finally arrives. Which we think it will, this time.Cars are Andrew Krok’s jam, along with boysenberry. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Andrew cut his teeth writing freelance magazine features, and now he has a decade of full-time review experience under his belt. A Chicagoan by birth, he has been a Detroit resident since 2015. Maybe one day he’ll do something about that half-finished engineering degree. More

Perhaps you were one of the legions of critics of the whole Mercedes-EQ thing—what with the oddball naming convention and the even odder egg-shaped styling. If so, consider yourself vindicated. The backpedaling is now fully underway.A slew of new product announcements have signaled that Mercedes plans to move back toward a more traditional lineup, one where vehicles with different powertrains exist alongside one another with fraternal-twin styling. We’ve seen the first fruits of this new direction with the G-class: The G550 has a gas engine, while visually identical the G580 is electric. And the upcoming new CLA-class keeps this momentum going.We’ve already had an early exposure to the upcoming electric CLA, and now it’s time to take the CLA hybrid for a spin.Not-So-Mild HybridOne of the, let’s say, peculiarities of the Car and Driver style guide is that we generally don’t separate “mild hybrids” from their more traditional counterparts. Yes, so-called mild hybrids do still contain electric motors and a battery (albeit a very tiny one), but these 48-volt systems exist mostly to enable engine-off coasting and extend the length of stop-start engagement. They’re nothing like a Prius.The CLA hybrid is also a 48-volt hybrid, but it’s just different enough to make us glad we never split those hairs. The gas side of the equation comes in the form of a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder, dubbed M252, running on the more efficient Miller cycle. This combines with a 1.3-kWh lithium-ion battery, as well as a 27-hp electric motor sandwiched inside the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. In total, the CLA hybrid should be good for about 188 horsepower. More on the CLA-classSo what makes the CLA hybrid so different? Simply put, it wants to do more than a “mild hybrid” normally can. Forty-eight-volt hybrids generally pull a bit of energy from the brakes, but the CLA can jam up to 25 kilowatts of juice back into the system at any time. The brake pedal itself is new too; it’s part of an integrated module that, in most circumstances, does not provide a mechanical connection between your foot and your brakes. Instead, the pedal’s force and travel—and the actions of the brakes themselves—are generated electronically, though there is a hydraulic fallback if needed. The module’s goal is to ensure maximum usage of regenerative braking, with friction braking only entering the picture as needed.Mercedes promises that the CLA hybrid will also be capable of electric-only operation in short bursts, but don’t expect to cruise 10 miles on battery power alone—unless you’re at the top of a very large hill. It’ll permit EV operation in traffic, and perhaps on your way out of your neighborhood, but not much more than that. Driving the CLA HybridOur time with the CLA was limited to pre-production prototypes, which we experienced in the same way that its engineers did during the car’s cold-weather development. Thus, we started our journey at the top of a Swedish mountain with rutted roads covered in ice and snow. With simple non-studded winter tires underfoot, the CLA kept itself nice and tidy on the way down—until we gave the wheel a good yank, at which point the car was more than happy to drift. You get more lateral leeway in Sport mode, but no matter the setting, the electronic stability control will eventually rein everything in with minimal noise or vibration. It acted quickly too; by the time we made a steering correction input, the car was already halfway to sorted out.Since the first stretch was entirely downhill, the combustion engine never turned on. Small throttle inputs would provide a smidgeon of acceleration at will, but the temptation of power-induced oversteer couldn’t be satiated without a fat stab of the gas, at which point the engine would step in—and without much fuss, since the e-motor also functions as the starter. If your commute happens to be wholly in a downhill direction (the opposite of how your grandpa walked to school), you won’t hear much from the engine. Which is fine; the 1.5-liter Miller-cycle four sounds okay, but only just okay. The handoff from e-motor to gas engine was more or less imperceptible—a point of praise we must also extend to the new brake-pedal setup, which provided nothing but consistent, strong pedal feel without any blending weirdness. That last bit is notable for anyone who’s driven a Benz EQ model.The second portion of our CLA jaunt took place at a Mercedes-Benz proving ground atop a frozen lake. This part was mostly outright hooliganism. You’ll be glad to learn that you can do snowy donuts all day in the CLA, and it’s rewarding, though maybe not as much as in the insta-torque EV variant. It’s impressive what Mercedes has managed to get out of a 48-volt hybrid system, and that system operates with a delightful smoothness. Nothing odd about that.Cars are Andrew Krok’s jam, along with boysenberry. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Andrew cut his teeth writing freelance magazine features, and now he has a decade of full-time review experience under his belt. A Chicagoan by birth, he has been a Detroit resident since 2015. Maybe one day he’ll do something about that half-finished engineering degree. More

From the October 1986 issue of Car and Driver.Porsche predicted long ago that the 944 would become its mainstream model, just as the 911 once was. In 1969, at a stage of the 911’s evolution comparable to where the 944 line stands today, Porsche offered increasing levels of performance in the 911T, E, and S models, along with the price-leader 912 variant. Similarly, the 944’s promise has become a reality over the past year. With the introduction of the new S model in Germany, there are now three distinct 944 automobiles—the origi­nal 944, the 944 Turbo, and the new-for-1987 944S—as well as the closely related 924S (C/D, July 1987). Only an open-air 944 is missing, and that’s not far down the road.The new S, due to go on sale here this fall, employs a sixteen-valve engine to bridge the nearly 70-horsepower gap be­tween the popular base 944 and the pow­erhouse 944 Turbo. We were certain that such a model was on the way two years ago when Porsche announced the four-valve­-per-cylinder 928S, for the 944’s power­plant is essentially half of the 928’s V-8. Sure enough, the prototype 944 convertible shown at the 1985 Frankfurt Auto Show was powered by just such an engine, rated at 181 horsepower. In the intervening months, Porsche’s engine wizards found another 6 hp, raising the total to 187 SAE net hp for the produc­tion 944S. That translates into 190 hp, ac­cording to the latest EEC, or Common Market, standard (the DI system is no longer used by most European manufac­turers), but don’t let the 3-hp difference confuse you: this engine develops exactly the same output with or without a catalyst, just like the 944 Turbo engine. That equality wasn’t achieved by letting the engine loaf. The 944S’s 187 hp repre­sents 75.4 horsepower per liter, the high­est specific output of any normally aspirat­ed American-spec engine that doesn’t wear a Ferrari or Lamborghini badge. And despite its outstanding power, the new sixteen-valve virtually matches the eight­-valve 944 engine in refinement, low-rpm flexibility, and stingy fuel consumption. At a glance, the 944S’s engine appears to be little more than a 944 block combined with one of the 928’s sixteen-valve heads. Its head is virtually identical to the corresponding 928 part, sharing its unusu­al cam-drive design (a belt drives the ex­haust cam, which in turn drives the intake cam via a chain that connects the two at their midpoints). In addition, the four- and eight-cylinder engines share the same pent-roof combustion-chamber design (with its 27.5-degree valve angle), valve sizes, and even valve timing. However, the four-cylinder head employs considerably larger intake ports, which favor high-rpm breathing at some expense to low-end per­formance. Although such a trade-off is the opposite of the result achieved with the 928S’s heads, which were calibrated to produce the low-rpm torque needed to match the car’s tall, fuel-economy-orient­ed gearing, it is appropriate for the sport­ing 944S. If there is a secret to the new engine’s well-rounded performance, it’s the lofty 10.9:1 compression ratio. High compres­sion simultaneously promotes high-rpm power, low-rpm torque, fuel economy, and, unfortunately, detonation. The last effect is why only one other engine in the land of the free and the home of unleaded fuel has ventured higher than a ratio of 10:0.1 (The exception is Jaguar’s V-12 with an 11:5.1 ratio.)To make their new engine perform at such pressures, Porsche engineers have not only incorporated everything they know about combustion-chamber design but also taken the unprecedented step of employing two detonation sensors. Both sensors are located on the left side of the block, just below the cylinder head with one between the front pair of cylinders and the other between the rear pair. The Bosch Motronic engine-control system monitors each sensor in turn (at any given moment monitoring the one nearer to the firing cylinder), responding to a signal from an intake-cam-position transducer. According to Porsche engineers, this elaborate system is more sensitive to detonation than a single-sensor system would be, particularly in view of the increased noise and vibration generated by the additional hardware and higher rpm of the sixteen-valve engine. When detonation is detected, the timing is dialed back in three-degree increments to a maximum of nine degrees. Porsche specifies premium unleaded fuel for full power, but the system prevents damage if low-octane is used.More on the Porsche 944Other than the mounting bosses for the detonation sensors, very little is changed in the bottom end of the engine. The increased stresses of the sixteen-valve powerplant required no modifications to the block, the crankshaft, the connecting rods, or the lubrication system. Even the new pistons, with their slightly concave faces, weigh the same as their eight-valve counterparts, obviating any changes to the engine’s twin balance shafts.Naturally, the intake and exhaust manifolds were revised to match the flow needs of the sixteen-valve head. To save weight, the new intake manifold is cast from magnesium, as are the distributor-drive housing and the cam cover. In addition, fuel pressure has been increased from 36 to 55 psi to improve atomization.Along with the S engine’s 26 percent power increase, torque is boosted by 18 percent, from 144 pound-feet at 3000 rpm to 170 pound-feet at 4300 rpm. That’s enough of an increase to require upgrading the transaxle with several of the beefier components developed for the 944 Turbo. Indeed, the S’s transmission ratios are exactly the same as the Turbo’s, although its final-drive ratio is 3.89, instead of 3.38. Compared with the standard 944, the S is geared the same in first, is slightly taller in second, third, and fourth, and, like the 924S and the European 944, is much shorter in fifth.The new powertrain should satisfy anyone who feels that the 944 is to docile. Porsche claims a top speed of 142 mph for the S, and our prototype easily reached an indicated 151 on the autobahn. That’s a big improvement over the eight-valve car, which is hard pressed to reach 130, but it’s still well short of the Turbo’s mid-150s capability. In acceleration as well, the S falls right between the other two 944 models, the factory promising a 7.7-second 0-to-60-mph time and a 15.4-second quarter-mile. If those figures don’t seem too impressive, remember that our tests generally find the Porsche factory’s num­bers extremely conservative. Despite the 944S’s strong performance, it doesn’t feel startlingly quick. As with many sixteen-valve engines, the S motor delivers its power almost seamlessly. It simply pulls well at low rpm and keeps tug­ging harder as the revs increase. In con­trast, the Turbo is a bit weak at low rpm; then the boost comes on, and the sudden transition produces a strong kick in the back. In the 944S, it isn’t until you find yourself accelerating forcibly above 100 mph, or zinging up to the redline on an up­hill stretch, that you become fully con­vinced of how strong the car really is. The S’s linear power flow may not pro­vide the adrenaline rush of a turbo climbing its boost curve, but that’s no bad thing when one is exploring a car’s handling lim­its. Instant thrust, exactly proportional to the motion of the driver’s right foot, is very useful in controlling the 944’s cornering attitude. The S handles very much like the standard 944 because its chassis is virtually unchanged. The only noteworthy alter­ation is a switch from a positive to a negative scrub radius in the steering geometry, which improves stability when the optional ABS brakes are applied. (ABS will be op­tional on all 944 models for 1987. Other chassis specifications for the American 944S have not yet been determined, but it’s likely that the base 944’s optional anti-­roll-bar package will be standard.) Externally, the 944S will look exactly like the standard 944 except for the badge on its tail and “16-Valve” labels on its front fenders. The only interior clue will be the 6800-rpm redline on its tachometer. Several new options will be offered on all three 944 variants for 1987: new seats, with fully power-operated adjustments; driver and passenger air bags (standard on the 944 Turbo); and a sound system with ten speakers, an 80-watt amplifier, and an equalizer. In addition, racing packages are being prepared for the two higher-­powered models. Prices haven’t yet been set, but the S will probably be positioned about halfway be­tween the eight-valve 944 and the Turbo. In other words, don’t expect much change from your $30,000. The good news is that such a broad range of models and options is now available that you should have no trouble selecting the 944 that’s exactly right for your needs. SpecificationsSpecifications
1987 Porsche 944SVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door hatchback
PRICE
Base: $28,000 (est)
ENGINEDOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 151 in3, 2479 cm3Power: 187 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 170 lb-ft @ 4300 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/semi-trailing armsBrakes, F/R: 11.1-in vented disc/11.4-in vented discTires: Pirelli P6215/60VR-15
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 94.5 inLength: 168.9 inWidth: 68.3 inHeight: 50.2 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 50/12 ft3Trunk Volume: 12 ft3Curb Weight: 2850 lb
PERFORMANCE (MANUFACTURER RATINGS)
944/944S/944 Turbo60 mph: 8.3/7.7/6.1 sec100 mph: 22.3/19.6/14.8 sec1/4-Mile: 16.2/15.4/14.4 secTop Speed (mfr’s claim): 131/142/153 mph 
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 19/27 mpg Csaba Csere joined Car and Driver in 1980 and never really left. After serving as Technical Editor and Director, he was Editor-in-Chief from 1993 until his retirement from active duty in 2008. He continues to dabble in automotive journalism and WRL racing, as well as ministering to his 1965 Jaguar E-type, 2017 Porsche 911, 2009 Mercedes SL550, 2013 Porsche Cayenne S, and four motorcycles—when not skiing or hiking near his home in Colorado.  More

Congratulations! You’ve just purchased a new 2025 Polestar 3. You grab the keys from the salesperson, hop into the cabin, start it, and—what the hell is this? The whole steering wheel is blank! Everything else lights up, but the wide swath of buttons on the tiller stays dark as night. Is it broken? Do you have to solve a series of riddles first? Your window sticker did have a line item for the bridge-troll toll, so it can’t be that.Not every car spoon-feeds you the driving experience in the way you’re used to. It’s not necessarily a surprise that Polestar does things a little differently—after all, the new Polestar 4 doesn’t even have a rear windshield—but doing things differently doesn’t also mean doing them well. That’s the thing about the Polestar 3: It nails the basics, but when you start diving into the minutiae, some parts of this compact electric SUV will clearly take some getting used to.Then again, even a quick glance at the exterior is all it takes to know the Polestar 3 isn’t always following the beaten path. The whole shebang gives off more of a tall-wagon vibe in person than a proper SUV, but Polestar’s traditional Volvo-adjacent lighting keeps the car vaguely rooted in familiarity. HIGHS: A blast in any weather, clever design, competitively priced.And for all the awkward bits we’ll get to in a bit, the 3’s cabin does succeed in its luxurious-minimalist appeal. We love the utilization of multiple interesting textiles across various touch points, though the carbon-footprint data printed on the $5500 nappa leather seats might lean too hard into the greenwashing. Otherwise, the cabin is well lit from all sides and felt sufficiently spacious. We don’t love the size of the tiny armrest cubby, but the expansive tray underneath makes up for it.Our Polestar 3 test car was the Launch Edition, which included all three of its major packages. The Pilot package adds additional driver aids, while the Plus pack piles on the luxury with a Bowers & Wilkins sound system, but we’re most interested in the Performance pack. A standard dual-motor Polestar 3 produces 483 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque, but Performance models bump that up to 510 horses and 671 twisties, in addition to adding sportier chassis tuning and a whole lot of gold, including the seatbelts. LOWS: Some infuriating controls, nannies out the wazoo, iffy rear visibility.That’s more than enough motive force for this sled. At the test track, our Polestar 3 made its way to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds—0.3 second quicker than the last Mercedes-Benz EQE 500 SUV we tested and dead even with the Porsche Cayenne S Coupe. The Polestar also bested the EQE in the quarter-mile by 0.3 second and 2 mph, running 12.5 at 109 mph. Despite the Polestar weighing 30 pounds more than the EQE, the former’s brakes were certainly hungrier for friction; the 3 only needed 152 feet to stop from 70 mph, while the EQE 500 SUV required 182. The gulf widens further at 100 mph, where the Polestar required just 307 feet, while the Merc asked for 374. In addition to its zero-to-60 dead heat with the 3, the Cayenne is even-steven with the Polestar in braking from 70 mph (and oh so close from 100 mph at 310 feet)—which is wild when you consider the Porsche is almost 600 pounds lighter.More on the Polestar 3Polestar has said many times that the Cayenne is the 3’s natural dynamic target, and whaddya know, it’s pretty darn close. Sure, the Swede’s 0.92-g skidpad effort is 0.11 g below the Porsche’s, but lateral grip isn’t everything. The 3 rides on a pretty normcore combination of adaptive dampers and dual-chamber air springs. The suspension did a great job of waving away the Polestar’s mass, and the scales belied how light the 3 really felt whether we were chucking it into a mostly dry corner or around an abandoned (read: unplowed) Walmart parking lot. Unwanted pitching or rolling was hard to find, but the 3 never rode so stiff that we felt uncomfortable. Polestar found a lovely line to thread between comfort and poise. The only thing we truly didn’t like about the driving experience was mediocre sightlines to the back and the sides.There are some parts of the Polestar 3’s cabin tech that work well—the infotainment software is Polestar’s (hell, Sweden’s) best iteration yet, with a pleasant color scheme and vehicle settings that include graphic complements to better show what the setting actually changes. The tiny little display behind the steering wheel is nice, and certainly preferable to looking farther away from the road for some centrally mounted display, like you’re back in a Saturn Ion. And then there’s the steering wheel and most of what’s near to it. All those blank buttons? That’s by design—you must lightly hover your finger on a button before the gauge display will tell you what it does, if anything. Sometimes, the buttons simply have no function. Most of it’s related to the cruise control, which is engaged by . . . shifting into Drive for a second time, which in other cars usually hides a brake-regen function. Need to cancel? Shift into Drive again. Need to resume? Shift into Drive twice—but not too slowly, or else it won’t count. If you also own a non-Polestar vehicle, it’s sort of like learning a second language, which can be less than ideal if you bounce between cars often.Oh yeah, and there’s only two window switches for four windows on the driver’s door panel. Thank you, Volkswagen, for creating a monster that we may never be able to kill. This car costs damn near $100,000; we think they can afford four window switches there.VERDICT: A solid-value performer if you can get past some of the quirks.Price is the final arena where the Polestar competes to win. Our Launch Edition, which includes the Performance pack’s power boost, starts at $86,300, with our tester ringing in at $93,100 with a couple extra options. A base Mercedes EQE 500 SUV demands $90,650 before a single option box is ticked; if you want an EQE SUV that outperforms the Polestar 3, you have to step up to the $110,750 AMG variant. The Porsche Cayenne S is also quite dear, starting at $103,595. Skip the Launch Edition model and you can get a Perf-pack 3 for just $81,300.Not only is the Polestar 3 approaching the performance chops of its intended target, but it’s doing so at a major discount too. It may not have the badge panache of Mercedes-Benz or Porsche, but the 2025 Polestar 3 is definitely worth checking out, provided the steering wheel doesn’t trip you up.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Polestar 3 Performance Launch EditionVehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $86,300/$93,100 Options: Nappa leather seating surfaces (nappa leather, front massaging seats w/ ventilation and power side support, Bowers & Wilkins front headrest speakers, black ash wooden deco panels), $5500; metallic paint, $1300
POWERTRAIN
Front Motor: permanent-magnet AC, 241 hp, 310 lb-ftRear Motor: permanent-magnet AC, 268 hp, 361 lb-ftCombined Power: 510 hpCombined Torque: 671 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 107.0 kWhOnboard Charger: 11.0 kWPeak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 250 kWTransmissions, F/R: direct-drive
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 15.7-in vented disc/15.4-in vented discTires: Pirelli P Zero Elect PZ4F: 265/40R-22 106V XL POLR: 295/35R-22 108V XL POL
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 117.5 inLength: 192.9 inWidth: 77.5 inHeight: 63.5 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 58/48 ft3Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 47/18 ft3Front Trunk Volume: 1 ft3Curb Weight: 5700 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 3.9 sec100 mph: 10.2 sec1/4-Mile: 12.5 sec @ 109 mph130 mph: 21.7 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 4.1 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.5 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.1 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 132 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 152 ftBraking, 100–0 mph: 307 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.92 g 
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 77/81/73 MPGeRange: 279 mi
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDCars are Andrew Krok’s jam, along with boysenberry. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Andrew cut his teeth writing freelance magazine features, and now he has a decade of full-time review experience under his belt. A Chicagoan by birth, he has been a Detroit resident since 2015. Maybe one day he’ll do something about that half-finished engineering degree. More

12/4/24 UPDATE: This review has been updated with instrumented test results.Okay, let’s get this out of the way: “2025 G580 with EQ Technology” is a terrible name. But Mercedes is ditching its EQ branding convention (EQS, EQE, etc) and bringing back the old letter-plus-a-number scheme that everyone understands, so that’s the moniker affixed to the new electric G-wagen. Luckily, Benz had the foresight to bestow the electric G with an alphanumeric that lends itself to shorthand—since there is no gas-powered G580, we can simply use that succinct handle for the EV. And from here on out, we will.The G580 looks very similar to its internal-combustion siblings, the G550 and AMG G63, and that’s by design. There are a few subtle nods to aerodynamic efficiency, but not so you’d immediately notice. The G580’s most obvious visual tell is its slim exterior cargo bin at the back, which houses a charging cable where you’d expect to find the spare tire. But you can specify a spare tire instead, so even that isn’t an automatic giveaway.The G580 is still a body-on-frame SUV, and indeed the body’s mounting points are the same whether a gas or electric G-wagen is coming down the assembly line. The frame itself is much different, though, since it houses a 116.0-kWh battery pack between its rails. Given that the battery precludes the ladder sections of the frame, the pack itself subs in as a stressed member and is designed accordingly, with cells spaced out to allow structural reinforcements tied to the frame. We’ve yet to run the G580 on our 75-mph highway range test, but by the EPA’s measuring stick, the G580 will travel 239 miles on a charge. HIGHS: Incredible off-road talent, retains the classic G look, tank turns!Also buttressing torsional rigidity: the 127-pound underbody armor plate that protects just about everything between the axles. Mercedes says that this component, which is fastened with 50 bolts, is made of “an intelligent mix of materials including carbon.” Which sounds like a step back from claiming a carbon-fiber skid plate, but when you peek beneath the G you’ll see a familiar glossy black weave that sure looks like carbon fiber. Whatever Benz calls it, the underbody armor is designed to take severe rock-crawling abuse in the name of battery-pack preservation, because breaching the pack with a boulder would be a major harsh on your trail-ride mellow. Benz also tested the pack in situations that combined torsional stress with rapid temperature changes because, hey, that’s off-roading—you might clamber up a mountain with suspension flexing at max articulation for a mile, getting the motors and battery nice and warm while the trail tries to play Slinky with the structure, and then plunge into a cold creek and suddenly chill all the components. What happens then? Are all the seals still watertight? What if you do all that 10 times in a row? Benz feels confident that its test engineers have abused the G580 more severely and creatively than its customers will.And in fact, some of its capabilities may be understated. The G580’s rated 33.5-inch wading depth is 5.9 inches more than the gas models can manage, but Mercedes concedes that the electric G can go even deeper than that—the powertrain is thoroughly waterproofed. The weak point now: the HVAC air intake. We’d guess that in coming years, Benz will snorkel that intake and enable some really preposterous water fording. And we can confirm (with an assist from French weather) that the G580 can handle plenty of water. Mercedes arranged a trail drive outside Montpellier, France, that involved billy-goat rock climbs, water fording, and mud. All of those off-road disciplines were more difficult than planned on account of relentless rain. We’ve been to off-road events where rain completely scrambled the plans, but not here—our hosts just reminded everyone that the climbs would be more treacherous, the water and mud deeper, and we forged on ahead.We headed out on the trail in pairs, with one driver in a G550 and the other in a G580. Traditionalists, prepare for rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, because the electric G is pretty clearly the superior off-roader. LOWS: Weighs nearly 7000 pounds, confusing name, G63 will be quicker.While the G550 retains its locking front, center, and rear differentials, the 579-hp quad-motor G580 requires no differentials at all, and thus the signature G-wagen diff-lock buttons on the center of the dash are relabeled to reflect the exciting possibilities of independent torque at each corner. The middle button engages low range, which might seem superfluous when you have 859 pound-feet of torque at 0 rpm. But by deploying a 2:1 gear for rock crawling, Mercedes was able to use smaller motors, with the mechanical advantage helping minimize heat buildup during off-road workouts. (The motors use extra lubrication oil to dissipate heat, Porsche 993–style, giving an assist to the coolant circuits. And no, the oil never needs to be changed.) You can switch between low range and high range on the move—while coasting in neutral—which is a neat trick, and the neutral mode allows flat-towing a G580, if you’re looking for a luxe runabout to lash behind your Prevost. Besides all that, the low-range capability means that you get to say that your car has four transmissions, which ought to earn bragging rights at your neighborhood off-road park. Of course, even if there were only a car length of real estate—say, a dead end out on the trail—the G580 could still turn around, thanks to the third button on the dash. That one engages G-turn, which drives the motors on either side of the car in opposite directions to spin it on its axis. After engaging G-turn, you pull the steering-wheel shift paddle for the direction you want to turn and then floor the accelerator and hold the wheel pointing straight. That last part requires some mental recalibration, because it’s extremely hard to resist steering a car that’s turning, and if you dial in even a bit of lock the system will cancel. And you do have to hold firm to keep the wheel from moving. Follow all the rules and the G580 will spin two full rotations, which is to say one more than is strictly necessary for convenient exit of your Upper East Side parking garage. More on the Mercedes G-classThe electric G even apes the gas-powered models’ live rear axle articulation by using a De Dion rear end, a setup also employed by the eSprinter. The De Dion is sort of a hybrid of a solid rear axle and an independent setup, with the motors centrally mounted and driving the wheels via half-shafts and CV joints while a C-shaped solid axle connects both sides. So unsprung weight is minimized while retaining the articulation prized by off-roaders—one side goes up, the other side goes down. In fact, the G580 handily beat the 2023 G550 Professional’s ramp travel index score, recording a limber 549 to the gas G’s 511. Like the other G-classes, the G580 eschews air springs, and its ride height is fixed. It still delivers a properly imperious ride. Time for an apples-to-oranges comparison. The G580’s 0.80-g skidpad performance on Falken Azenis FK520 summer rubber demolishes any of the gas-powered G-wagens—the last G63 AMG we tested equipped with the Trail package managed a severely stability-control-limited 0.72 g on its all-terrain tires, and the G550 Professional, just 0.64 g. Despite the G580’s 6908-pound curb weight, it’s the handling champ of the lineup. Summer tires will do that, and it’s the only way to current get a G580. Our fun in in the French mud was on the Professional package’s Falken Wildpeak A/Ts, a tire package not yet on the option sheet. Pin the accelerator long enough, and you might run into the G’s electronically limited top speed of 112 mph, at which point the motors are turning 14,500 rpm. The G580 will run in rear-drive mode when possible to aid efficiency, which means that Benz had to consider the possibility that a driver might be cruising at 112 mph on the rear motors, encounter a hill, and suddenly need the dormant front motors to join the party—which means matching motor speed to road speed. So here’s a fun stat: The G580’s motors can spin up from 0 to 14,500 rpm in 300 milliseconds. The engineers on hand asserted that despite the surge of power required for that trick, selectively disengaging motors is still the most efficient strategy. With all four motors at work, the G580 hits 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and runs the quarter-mile in 12.6 seconds at 108 mph, numbers that split the difference between the former twin-turbo V-8 powered 416-hp G550 and 577-hp AMG G63. The G550 is now powered by a 443-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six that we have yet to test. The mighty G63 remains the same. When it’s time to stop, though, the G580 is best of the bunch, with its 162-foot stop from 70 mph besting the G63 Trail package’s performance by 20 feet. The first G580 with EQ Technology will be the $180,900 Edition One, and if that sounds like too much of a bargain, we’d recommend talking to your sales representative about the Manufaktur customization program, which offers a modest selection of novel exterior colors (20,000). Because there’s nothing more embarrassing than seeing your neighbor pull up in a G-wagen painted the same standard-production Obsidian Black Metallic hue that you just ordered.VERDICT: G plus EV equals off-road LOLs.In the decades since its 1979 introduction, the G-wagen mutated from a hardscrabble four-by-four into a luxury icon, but even its most ridiculous offshoots (looking at you, Maybach G650 Landaulet) were fundamentally capable machines. The electric G not only lives up to those expectations, it expands them. For instance, after experiencing G-steering’s radius-carving wizardry, we asked a Mercedes engineer why the gas models couldn’t do that too. He conceded that someday they probably will.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ TechnologyVehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $162,650/$192,690Options: Edition One (Night package, 20-inch AMG wheels, Blue brake calipers, exterior trim insert with Blue accents, Manufaktur Logo package in Black, Manufaktur Interior Package Plus, active multicontour seat package, Silver Pearl/Black nappa leather, multifunction sports steering wheel in nappa leather with Blue contrast stitching, Manufaktur grab handles in leather, Manufaktur Magma Grey seatbelts, Manufaktur AMG carbon-fiber interior trim with Blue accents, AMG floor mats with Blue contrast stitching, $18,250; Manufaktur Moonlight White Magno paint, $6500, high-end rear-seat entertainment system, $2990; Black panel radiator grille, $1600; Manufaktur running boards in Black, $700
POWERTRAIN
Front Motors: 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 145 hp, 215 lb-ftRear Motors: 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 145 hp, 215 lb-ftCombined Power: 579 hpCombined Torque: 859 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 116.0 kWhOnboard Charger: 9.6 kWPeak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 200 kWTransmissions: 2-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axleBrakes, F/R: 13.9-in vented disc/13.9-in vented discTires: Falken Azenis FK520275/50R-20 113V MO
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 113.8 inLength: 182.0 inWidth: 74.4 inHeight: 78.2 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 54/53 ft3Cargo Volume, F/R: 70/37 ft3Curb Weight: 6908 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 4.1 sec100 mph: 10.4 sec1/4-Mile: 12.6 sec @ 108 mphResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 4.4 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 1.9 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 2.5 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 112 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 162 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.80 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING75-mph Hwy Fuel Economy/Range: 47 MPGe/160 miAverage DC Fast-Charge Rate, 10–90%: 128 kWDC Fast-Charge Time, 10–90%: 46 min
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 62/68/53 MPGeRange: 239 mi
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDEzra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive. More

From the March 1982 issue of Car and Driver.You can drive around these United States all afternoon and half the night, in almost any neighborhood you choose, and never cross the tracks of a single Aston Martin. Or you can take one of the few Aston Martins extant and drive it under the nose of any citi­zen you come across, and be pretty sure he won’t even notice. Of course, this combina­tion of rarity and obscurity costs a bunch of money. Your basic Aston Martin two-door will run you $97,000 these days, maybe just a bit more when the 1982 prices are finally firmed up. Or if you prefer your obscurity served with wind in your hair, the Volante convertible is $115,000.Clearly, we’re not dealing with any old or­dinary form of obscurity here. Aston Martin has taken obscurity beyond the automotive pale and right up to a fine art. This is the Howard Hughes of motorcars. Everybody has heard of the Aston Martin—hey, isn’t that the James Bond car?—but nobody knows what one looks like. We’re talking the perfect bank robber’s es­cape vehicle here. The witnesses would draw a blank. “Uh, well, it was sorta chunky look­ing, ya know, with real shiny paint.” That’s one good bank-robber reason. Another is that the witnesses wouldn’t have much time to draw their blanks, because Aston Martins run like scalded Peterbilts. We say “Peter­bilt” because of weight—about 4100 pounds for the Volante convertible—and “scalded” because the last one harnessed C/D road­ test instrumentation (June 1980) did 0 to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds. Emission requirements seem to have slowed the current model somewhat, but it’s still faster than any legit highway-patrol cruiser in the country. Such speed seems a bit less remarkable once you’ve had a look inside the engine room. A 5.3-liter, all-aluminum V-8 with four overhead cam and four Weber carburetors has to be good for something besides decoration, although it’s certainly a decorative piece from every angle. Power output, in the Rolls-Royce tradition, is unspecified.There haven’t been many mechanical changes in the car since we drove it last: mi­nor revisions to the front suspension, includ­ing new springs, shocks, and bushings, is about the full length of the list. But the com­pany that makes the car—Aston Martin La­gonda, Ltd., of Newport Pagnell, England—has undergone a pretty substantial over­haul. Once again it has been pulled back from the brink of bankruptcy, this time by a man named Victor Gauntlett, who traded a dump-truck load of cash for half ownership. Given that Gauntlett made his money in the oil business, investing it in the production of gas guzzlers does not seem entirely inappro­priate. And given that the Volante’s price has been raised $35,000 in two years, it’s appar­ent that Gauntlett does not intend to pro­duce gas guzzlers at a loss. Apparently he doesn’t have to. The market seems happy to soak up the factory’s annual production of 250 cars, 60 of which disappear into the U.S.More Aston Martin Reviews From the ArchiveThe Aston Martin is a gentleman’s sportster of the sort they don’t build ’em like any­more. It’s old, based on the DBS introduced at the London Motor Show in 1966. It’s big—about the size of a Corvette—and notably hefty. And it’s meticulously hand-built: the body is hand-formed aluminum fitted over a steel understructure with just a buffer of lin­en between; each engine is assembled by one guy who then affixes a plaque with his name on it to the cam cover; and all the seals are made—and have been for some years—by the same man, who selects the hides himself and whose wife does the stitching. Cars like this aren’t built anymore, because almost no­body can afford them. Those who can afford them get what they pay for—a car that, despite its obscurity, has plenty of personality. It’s unwieldy in traffic, coming into its own only out on the road, where you can appreciate its high-speed poise. The V-8 rumbles, the power steering has exceptional feedback, and the suspension handles uneven surfaces with aplomb. You can hurry in this car. Its front engine location puts the transmission right under the lever for solid shifting, and the pedals are just right for heel-and-toeing. All of this mechan­ical directness trimmed out in fine wood and leather and blanketed by a six-figure price is probably deservedly obscure. There can’t be many who would buy such a car. Most rich folks bent on such inconspicuous consumption buy a Chevrolet instead and put the rest in a sock. SpecificationsSpecifications
1982 Aston Martin VolanteVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door convertible
PRICE
Base/As-Tested: $115,000/$115,000
ENGINE
V-8, aluminum block and headsDisplacement: 326 in3, 5341 cm3Power: N/ATorque: N/A
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 102.8 inLength: 183.8 inCurb Weight (C/D est): 4100 lb 
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 10 mpg  More

Maserati might be thought of more as a luxury brand than a racing brand today, but for many, many years it built dedicated race cars, even competing in Formula 1 in the 1950s—its rivalry with Enzo Ferrari set up the first act in Michael Mann’s Ferrari. And the 111-year-old company isn’t completely done racing. It builds and sells GT2 race cars based on the MC20 for the GT2 European Series, and to celebrate this—including a series-best 12 wins in 2024—Maserati constructed the roadgoing GT2 Stradale.Limited to 914 examples worldwide, the Stradale takes some elements of the race car and applies it to the road car, but most is MC20 carryover, including the carbon-fiber tub and aluminum subframes (front and rear), suspension arms, and eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Even the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, with its novel prechamber ignition, is the same as the regular MC20, save a token 10-hp bump to 631 horses.Chassis changes are as you’d expect with a racy model. The springs are 8 percent stiffer in front and 10 percent stiffer in the rear, and engineers recalibrated the bushings. A large part of the spring-rate increase is due to the Stradale making a lot more downforce than the MC20. What is 320 pounds at 174 mph in the MC20 is 1102 pounds of downforce at the same speed in the Stradale thanks to a carbon-fiber rear wing, extended spoiler, reworked underbody and diffuser, fender vents, and an S-duct-style front end that eliminates the regular MC20’s frunk. Of course, the adjustable dampers are retuned too. Forged aluminum wheels 42 pounds lighter than the MC20’s have a center-lock nut. Fun fact: The last Maserati to have center-lock wheels was the Ferrari Enzo–based 2004 MC12.Aside from the wing, the biggest visual difference is the rear fenders. The intercooler and air intakes on each hock are much larger and look like they actively grab the air passing by, rather than merely letting gravity and Bernoulli pull the air in. This was required because Maserati situated the heat exchangers more vertically to increase their efficacy by 20 percent, something it deemed necessary for track driving. Maserati also did lots of small aero tricks—such as a mesh on the front-fender vents that directs hot evacuated air away from the rear intakes—to make sure that the coefficient of drag (0.38) increases by as little as possible: a bump of 0.005, according to engineers. The carbon-fiber cocoon that is the cabin lacks carpet; instead the exposed structural tub is on display. And while there are more surfaces covered with Alcantara, Maserati used a thinner (thus lighter) version of the faux suede to keep weight down while letting the material help with interior noise abatement. Standard carbon-fiber buckets do an excellent job of keeping you in place at the expense of comfort in traffic. By comparison, Porsche’s carbon seats are more comfortable day to day, but no worse at holding you in place. The standard MC20 seats can be substituted at no cost.Collectors will pursue the $13,750 Performance Pack option. It swaps Bridgestone Potenza Sport tires for Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2Rs and slightly upsizes the carbon-ceramic rotors—fronts increase 0.3 inch in diameter and 0.1 inch in thickness, but the rears grow 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. The upsized brake hardware uses the same calipers and is largely employed to take more advantage of the 2R tires, but the option’s biggest feature is an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. We didn’t get a chance to drive a car without the optional diff, but we can say that with it the car never struggles with grip, even in corners.The Performance Pack also includes a few more drive modes, which are set up very much like GM’s Performance Traction Management. There’s Wet, GT, Sport, and Corsa for all Stradales, but the Performance Pack unlocks a graduated series of Corsa Evo modes (4, 3, 2, and 1) that eventually disable all the stability nannies, leaving a track-focused ABS program on. Wonderfully, in all modes, Maserati lets the driver choose the suspension firmness independently (Soft, Mid, or Hard). You can get the GT2 Stradale in any color you want, but any outside the base color palette fall under the Fuoriserie program, which is akin to Mercedes Manufaktur or Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, meaning it’ll cost you unadvertised amounts for personal flourishes. But you shouldn’t look past the Matte Digital Aurora paint. It’s a bright blue base coat with a translucent red applied on top before the matte finish. In low light it looks like a deep purple, but in direct sun it’s bright blue, and the sharp edges where you’d normally find glare produce red spots surrounding a gradient fade back to bright blue. It’s not the same color-changing tech found on a mid-’90s Ford Mustang Cobra painted Mystichrome, but the dramatic effect is similar and will certainly make people look twice.Despite the carbon-fiber construction and weight-savings measures, the GT2 Stradale is but a claimed 132 pounds lighter than the MC20, which, based on our previous test, means the GT2 Stradale weighs at least 3600 pounds (though Maserati says it weighs a few hundred pounds less). Acceleration to 60 mph should be just a hair over three seconds and should you want to, it’ll go 201 mph given the room. More Maserati ContentSo, a bit lighter and about the same horsepower for a roughly $80,000 premium? This is the question many a Maserati salesperson will face when trying to sell the $313,995 GT2 Stradale. When you add GT2 to the name of a car, people expect big power or greatly reduced weight. Better yet, big power and greatly reduced weight. The Stradale doesn’t really check either of those boxes. It feels nimbler with the Michelins providing some mega grip in corners, but its steering is a bit numb although accurate and responsive. The brakes are powerful but touchy, and the transmission shifts with an unnecessary jolt. It’s fun and lovely to look at, but it just doesn’t feel as fast as something this pricey should. Full disclosure: Our exposure to the car was very limited and with a tight leash choking us from the passenger seat. Given a place to drive it without a passenger, the GT2 Stradale could come alive in the way a track-focused car should. We can think of one such place in Virginia. The last time Porsche made a GT2, it added 160 horses to a 911 Turbo. Mercedes-AMG went full ballistic missile with the 720-hp GT Black Series. Sure, the Merc didn’t have a two in its name, but it might as well have. Unless you already have a garage filled with some of those trident-wearing race cars from the 1950s and 1960s, you’ll be back at the dealership asking for the power that was left behind. This engine, after all, makes 724 horses in the track-only MCXtrema.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Maserati GT2 StradaleVehicle Type: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base: $313,995
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 183 in3, 2992 cm3Power: 631 hp @ 7500 rpmTorque: 531 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 183.8 inWidth: 77.4 inHeight: 48.1 inCargo Volume: 4 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3600 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.1 sec100 mph: 6.4 sec1/4-Mile: 10.9 secTop Speed: 201 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 18/15/25 mpgK.C. Colwell, the executive editor at Car and Driver, is a seasoned professional with a deep-rooted passion for new cars and technology. His journey into the world of automotive journalism began at an early age when his grandmother gifted him a subscription to Car and Driver for his 10th birthday. This gift sparked a lifelong love for the industry, and he read every issue between then and his first day of employment. He started his Car and Driver career as a technical assistant in the fall of 2004. In 2007, he was promoted to assistant technical editor. In addition to testing, evaluating, and writing about cars, technology, and tires, K.C. also set the production-car lap record at Virginia International Raceway for C/D’s annual Lightning Lap track test and was just the sixth person to drive the Hendrick Motorsport Garage 56 Camaro. In 2017, he took over as testing director until 2022, when was promoted to executive editor and has led the brand to be one of the top automotive magazines in the country. When he’s not thinking about cars, he likes playing hockey in the winter and golf in the summer and doing his best to pass his good car sense and love of ’90s German sedans to his daughter. He might be the only Car and Driver editor to own a Bobcat: the skidsteer, not the feline. Though, if you have a bobcat guy, reach out. K.C. resides in Chelsea, Michigan, with his family. More