Evelyn Reynolds

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

From the October 1987 issue of Car and Driver.He held his hands outstretched in a can­-you-believe-this pose, and then broke down laughing. “It’s so red,” he said, cir­cling the Eurosport VR and giggling some more. “So . . . so red.” Matt Smith, our 22- year-old road warrior, has washed and gassed more exotic machinery than most enthusiasts will lay hands on in their life­times, but nothing had ever reduced him to babbling before. He pulled open the VR’s front door. “Gawd, “he howled, “the carpeting. It’s so, um . . . red!”We’re pleased to report that Matt is re­covering nicely, but there is no arguing with his observations. If the Eurosport VR accomplishes nothing else, it has already advanced the state of the art of red paint jobs by five years. Porsche, Alfa, and the blood-reddest of them all—Ferrari—have nothing on this Chevy. We happened to have red versions of the 911, the Milano, and the Mondial in our lot at the same time as the VR, and we can tell you that they don’t measure up. There is some­thing about splashing standard Camaro red paint—that’s all it is—across such a big canvas that just boggles the senses. We don’t understand it, either. What we are sure of is that this new Chevrolet delivers a bunch more Euro style and a ton more celebrity. The Euro influence is as unmistakable as an AMG Mercedes. AMG pioneered the flared­-and-spoilered monochrome formula in the early eighties, and the look still turns heads. For the most part, the Celebrity gets the look right, though the mock–Star-Fleet exhaust ports in the rear bumper are a bit much, and the bold “Chevrolet” let­tering across the hood would gross out most European supersedan customers. But this is America. Drive a pulsating­-red VR through Anytown, U.S.A., and you’ll understand how it feels to be a ce­lebrity. You couldn’t draw more attention to yourself if you strolled down the main drag with Madonna. The publicity-shy buyer can limit the amount of rubbernecking by opting out of the high-visibility zoot suit for a white, black, or silver paint job, but he’ll still get a car with a show-business past. The VR, you see, was born on an auto-show turntable. Add a pair of black covers to the headlights of a white VR and you ‘re looking at the spitting image of the Celebrity RS concept car, which made the rounds of the auto-show circuit for several years. Envisioned as Chevrolet’s answer to AMG-style cruise missiles, the RS featured a massaged 3.3-liter all-alloy V-6, hunky 16-inch-diameter wheels and tires, a special suspension, and revised instruments. More Reviews From the ArchiveThe idea of producing the RS finally took root about eighteen months ago, when the division’s sales department sud­denly decided that the RS’s wrapper would sell. The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place when AutoStyle Cars, an aggressive specialty-car maker, offered to build a limited run of RS-inspired Celebri­tys. The first production VRs trickled out of the factory late last spring. About 1500 copies—some of them wagons—will be on the road by the end of this year. This is no simple makeover. In the transformation to VR trim, a garden-vari­ety Eurosport receives a blanked-off grille, a new one-piece urethane front bumper with an integral air dam and a bottom-breather air intake, rocker-panel skirts, lower-door trim pieces, a new ure­thane rear bumper, and a rear spoiler. The new exterior pieces and the stock Eurosport alloy wheels are all painted body color. If you think the exterior treatment stretches the bounds of good taste, wait until you see the cabin. Inside, the VR has been reworked to match the Celebrity RS show car as closely as possible. The upholstery and the carpeting are all-new. The seats and the door panels are covered in thick gray velour and trimmed with red piping. Black leather thigh bolsters adorn the seats’ lower cushions, and large swatches of black vinyl are sewn onto the upper halves of the door panels and onto the rear of the front seatbacks. Just to make sure you don’t fall asleep at the wheel, the floors of all Eurosport VRs, no matter what the exterior color, are cov­ered in carpeting so red it would embar­rass a Commie. The new decor may be wild, but it at least delivers one badly needed functional improvement: better seats. Starting with the stock Eurosport front buckets, Auto­Style cuts and reshapes the seat cushions for better support and improved lateral restraint. The flat rear bench seat is recon­toured, too, to accommodate two passen­gers more comfortably than before. (Three can still fit if necessary.) The seat­ing revisions are so effective and so sim­ple, we wonder why Chevrolet didn’t make them long ago. Unfortunately, this mother lode of inte­rior and exterior cosmetic revisions is all she wrote. In translating the Celebrity RS into a production machine—”produc­tionizing,” the marketing types call it—all of the difficult and expensive improve­ments promised by the show car were edited out. No all-alloy V-6. No meaty tires. No miracle suspension. Our test car didn’t even have a tach. (A pitiful LED rev counter is optional.) The hard truth is that the Celebrity VR looks like an AMG, but it still drives like a Chevrolet. Mechanically, the VR is no dif­ferent from any off-the-rack Eurosport. Don’t get us wrong. The Eurosport is a nice piece, and our test car drove sweetly. Its optional 125-hp, fuel-injected, 2.8-liter V-6 was always on its toes, as its 9.0-second 0-to-60 time and 118-mph top speed indicate. The Getrag-designed five­-speed manual gearbox shifted effortlessly. The ride was reasonably supple, and the steering was acceptably accurate. Our VR’s overall behavior was plenty ade­quate for a family sedan.If this were a road test of a standard Eurosport, we’d conclude by encouraging Chevrolet to add a usable tach and im­prove the speedometer’s graphics—and we’d be done with it. But this isn’t just any Celebrity Eurosport. This is the Star Wars Eurosport, the expensive Eurosport: the VR option alone costs a cool $3550. You can’t help suffering elevated expectations when a car looks like this one—and that sets the Eurosport VR up for a fall. Flash alone might satisfy some people, but we want at least an equal helping of substance.CounterpointsI wore rose-colored sunglasses when I drove the hot Celebrity, so I had no trouble seeing through its redness dur­ing my search for innermost goodness. What I saw was a very sensibly sized Chevrolet; a car with a very modern and appropriate powertrain; an automobile that—in black, white, or silver—would be admired in most neighborhoods.I also saw a golden opportunity that was less than fully exploited. Farming the VR project out to an independent contractor gave Chevy another model to put on the road, but one that is less than it should be in two respects: it isn’t complete, and the final package is not an irresistible value. If Chevrolet kept all the members of the Celebrity family in-house, it could easily make a VR with proper instruments, the latest chassis tweaks, a touch more horsepower, and a more attractive price tag. The era of niche marketing appears to be here to stay, but the sooner the big guys get comfortable with serving the multifacet­ed needs of their customers on their regular assembly lines, the better off we’ll be. —Don Sherman “VR” must stand for “Very Red.” Not only is the VR’s exterior blinding, but a sea of equally red carpet floods into view when you open the door. The problem with this Las Vegas styling is that it attracts too much attention from the wrong kind of people: the police. And even the guy in the red Corvette will look you over at a stoplight. But when the light turns green, he’ll leave you in his dust without trying.When worked hard, the Eurosport VR performs reasonably well in a straight line. Its acceleration times are similar to those of an Integra LS, and not far short of a Beretta GT’s. It has enough torque at highway cruising speeds that shifting out of fifth isn’t nec­essary for simple passing. Its handling is predictable even when cornering hard. But the VR just doesn’t have enough lateral grip, and its brakes need better modulation and balance. And for a car with such sporting pretensions, the omission of a tachometer is nothing short of absurd. Perhaps that contradic­tion best sums up the VR: overdone styling with underdone stuffing. —Nicholas Bissoon-DathLet’s say you’ve just picked up your brand-new Lamborghini Countach. It’s what you’ve always wanted, but your neighbor just down Rolling Dough Lane has one exactly like it. Hey, you’ve already spent more than $100,000, so what’s another five thou for a distinctive rear wing? Sure, throw it on. At the upper end of the price spec­trum, paying such sums for added dis­tinction is easy. What’s the difference between $120,000 and $125,000? But when you’re talking about a mid-priced sedan, paying $3550 for added flair seems extravagant. Relatively speaking, that’s like spending $30,000 for a paint job on a Countach. But if you want a racy-looking Celeb­rity Eurosport, it’s going to cost you. No, the VR package won’t bring you any increase in performance. And you won’t notice any improvement in handling. Aside from better seats, about all you’ll get for your $3550 is a lot of attention. One thing is clear: “VR” doesn’t stand for “Very Rational.” —Arthur St. Antoine SpecificationsSpecifications
1997 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport VRVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $10,690/$17,751Options: VR conversion, $3550; air conditioning. $775; 2.8-liter V-6 engine, $610; AM/FM-stereo radio/cassette, $329; powerwindows, $285; Eurosport equipment, $240; power locks, $195; cruise control, $175; rear defroster, $145; aluminum wheels, $143; tilt steering, $125; tinted glass, $120; P195/70R-14 tires, $90; gauge package, $64; miscellaneous options, $215
ENGINEpushrod V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, port injectionDisplacement: 173 in3, 2837 cm3Power: 125 hp @ 4500 rpmTorque: 160 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/trailing armsBrakes, F/R: 10.1-in vented disc/8.9-in drumTires: Goodyear Eagle GTP195/70R-14
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 104.9 inLength: 188.3 inWidth: 69.3 inHeight: 54.1 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 53/45 ft3Trunk Volume: 16 ft3Curb Weight: 2986 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 9.0 sec100 mph: 30.3 sec1/4-Mile: 16.6 sec @ 82 mphTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 12.6 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 13.8 secTop Speed: 118 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 211 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.74 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMYObserved: 17 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 19/27 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDRich Ceppos has evaluated automobiles and automotive technology during a career that has encompassed 10 years at General Motors, two stints at Car and Driver totaling 20 years, and thousands of miles logged in racing cars. He was in music school when he realized what he really wanted to do in life and, somehow, it’s worked out. In between his two C/D postings he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine; was an executive vice president at Campbell Marketing & Communications; worked in GM’s product-development area; and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced continuously since college, held SCCA and IMSA pro racing licenses, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He currently ministers to a 1999 Miata, and he appreciates that none of his younger colleagues have yet uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells one of his stories about the crazy old days at C/D. More

“Everything else is a derivation,” Enzo Ferrari once said of his original V-12. Eighty years ago, Il Commendatore and Gioacchino Colombo conceived the first Ferrari V-12 engine and in 1947 put the 125 Spyder Corsa on the road. Today, the 2025 12Cilindri Spider harks back to Ferrari’s grand-touring roots and its front-engine, V-12 soul. The 12Cilindri Spider is a first-quarter opening salvo in what’s shaping up to be a pivotal year in the brand’s storied history. The company will introduce six products, including its first EV in October. Meanwhile, F1 fans count the days until the Australian Grand Prix for a glimpse of Lewis Hamilton in the Scuderia Ferrari paddock. Hamilton, like Enzo, has effortless cool, an attitude that makes modern Ferrari feel distinct from the competition. Getting EmotionalArriving on the precipice of an expanded electrified portfolio, the 12Cilindri Spider features a naturally aspirated front-mounted 6.5-liter V-12 engine that is an internal-combustion coda to Ferrari engine lore and a delicious guilty pleasure. The operatic engine note, experienced unfiltered in the open air, is the Spider’s reason for being. For the Ferraristi, driving is a provocative sensory experience. For the 12Cilindri Spider, creating that experience was the assignment. “I’m getting emotional,” said Ferrari designer Andrea Militello, only half-joking. Militello is head of sport design projects for Ferrari and participated in a panel discussion with his engineering and product planning colleagues the night before our coastal drive. Militello explained how the engineers, designers, and test drivers work side by side. “The final design of the car, it transmits something that we can’t describe with words” he said. “It’s something that happens in the guts.” The 12Cilindri Spider’s look references the 1969 365GTS/4, the famed Daytona Spider styled by Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina. You can see the classic proportions in the long, clamshell-shaped hood and the set-back cabin. The modern car’s contours and surfaces are tucked and shaped in sympathy with the front end and carefully frame the large 21-inch wheels. The A-pillars are swept back dramatically, and flying buttresses fade from the headrests into the rear decklid. Driving La Dolce VitaThe Spider is meant to be savored outside in the elements, and so we traveled to Cascais, Portugal, for our drive. There, we found a half-dozen Spiders in Verde Toscana, a gemstone green hue that sparkled in the sunshine. For this car, Ferrari says it started with the “gentleman driver” in mind. What that driver is looking for in a Ferrari is defined by Raffaele de Simone, Ferrari’s chief development driver, who was there to walk us through the ins and outs of the driving setup. De Simone paused to listen as we brought the 12Cilindri Spider engine to life with a tap of the haptic button on the center of the steering wheel. He let the sonic drama sink in. “Bellissimo! It sounds like music,” he said. De Simone recommended the 1600-watt Burmester audio system’s Live setting (others include Pure, Comfort, and 3D Surround) as an accompaniment to the V-12’s engine note. Live produces a full-on concert experience in the way the sound is distributed through the speakers. It’s one of the more impressive systems we’ve tried, balancing the audio sound with the engine note even with the top down.Act one of the 12Cilindri Spider opera was underway as we warmed up the tires on Portuguese coastal roads that were made for King Luís I of Portugal’s court in the 19th century. For the unfiltered experience, we turned off the ADAS with the touch-sensitive button. The haptic-touch buttons and sliders are a bit fussy but became more intuitive over eight hours of driving. The 10.3-inch center infotainment screen and 8.8-inch passenger’s display are low-key compared to the Purosangue’s more digitally based cockpit.A violent windstorm had left the pavement sand-swept, and the 12Cilindri’s little wiggles in the turns were a thrilling reminder of its rear-wheel drive and V-12 power in action. Soon the roads opened up, and we pursued the engine’s delightful 9500-rpm crescendo. We cycled through high notes, trying out the various driving modes, reveling in the palpable feedback of 819 horsepower as the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission worked its silky magic. Top down, the Spider magnified the V-12’s glory. On public roads, we never saw the claimed 211-mph top speed—same as the coupe’s—but 60 mph comes quickly at an estimated 2.8 seconds, and the four tailpipes served as trumpets for those we left in the dust. On-the-money steering and confidence-inspiring carbon-ceramic brakes checked boxes on a GT-car wish list. The suspension’s magnetorheological dampers produced a smooth ride on bumpy concrete, a welcome bonus. The neck-level heat vents and the retractable center window between the headrests kept the cabin serene and let us settle in to focus on the driving dynamics. In third and fourth gear, Ferrari now does electronic torque shaping, like it’s done previously on turbocharged models, to keep the rising crescendo of power linear, a move the company claims doesn’t slow acceleration. Later, we closed the retractable hardtop, a quick 14-second maneuver—raising or lowering the roof can be done when the car is in motion at speeds up to 28 mph, a fun party trick to deploy with the touch of a center switch. Top up or down, 12Cilindri Spider satisfies all five senses.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Ferrari 12Cilindri SpiderVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door convertible
PRICE
Base (C/D est): $510,000
ENGINEDOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 396 in3, 6496 cm3Power: 819 hp @ 9250 rpmTorque: 500 lb-ft @ 7250 rpm 
TRANSMISSION8-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 186.3 inWidth: 79.0 inHeight: 50.9 inCurb Weight (C/D est): 4050 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 2.8 sec100 mph: 5.8 sec1/4-Mile: 10.5 secTop Speed: 211 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)Combined/City/Highway: 14/12/16 mpg More

The term “flagship” usually conjures images of an elegant sedan or a flashy full-size SUV. But things are a bit different over at Mitsubishi. The Japanese automaker considers the Outlander—a compact SUV that competes in one of the most mainstream segments there is—to be its flagship. We can see why Mitsu might say this when you compare the Outlander to the other vehicles the Japanese automaker sells in our market.Last redesigned for 2022, the Outlander is the only car in Mitsubishi’s current stable that can be considered remotely competitive within its segment. It’s a decent-looking crossover inside and out, and it also offers a relatively advanced plug-in-hybrid powertrain with more electric range than many of its rivals. The Outlander is also Mitsubishi’s bestseller, which explains why the company is boasting about all the small changes it made for 2025’s mid-cycle refresh.Little has changed underneath. The Outlander remains on the same platform as the Nissan Rogue and, in base form, still uses a dated Nissan four-cylinder engine paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission. But the update does include freshened front- and rear-end styling, additional standard features, suspension tweaks, more sound-deadening material, and two new audio systems from Yamaha with up to 12 speakers and 1650 watts of power. It’s worth noting that these changes will only appear on gas-fed 2025 Outlanders; the PHEV will get the same updates for the 2026 model year.More on the OutlanderSay what you will about the Outlander’s polarizing face, but the look is distinctive. The extra chrome trim and nice 20-inch wheels found on most trims (ES models get 18s) make the Mitsu look more upscale than a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V. We drove one of the upper-trim models, an SEL, with the Premium package and thought the cabin’s plushness was a good match for its aspirational sheetmetal. Soft-touch dashboard materials, quilted leather upholstery, and knurled switchgear make this interior a pleasant place to spend time. The Yamaha stereo’s new speakers add an extra dash of visual interest. Even with our limited seat time, we’d rate the Outlander’s accommodations near the top of the compact-SUV class.The Outlander has one other cabin trick up its sleeve: a standard third row. Since the Volkswagen Tiguan is dropping its third-row option for 2025, the Outlander will become the only compact SUV that can seat seven. But even Mitsubishi admits that the wayback is meant for “occasional use” (translation: It’s only for kids, and even then, only in a pinch). Thankfully, the second-row seat is plenty comfortable for adults, and it slides fore and aft to offer various cargo configurations.The Outlander’s middle-of-the-road driving demeanor continues to jibe well with its comfy interior. Driven at a reasonable pace, we found it quiet and refined by this segment’s standards. We couldn’t really notice the various changes to the dampers, spring rates, and bushings, but the additional sound-deadening appeared to be doing its job. As before, the Mitsu is no handling maestro; its mushy brake pedal and vague steering don’t engender confidence when pushed to more aggressive speeds on twisty roads. . . . Not that you’ll be gathering much speed to begin with. While the Outlander’s Nissan Rogue sibling has adopted a turbocharged three-cylinder with variable-compression-ratio tech, the Mitsubishi chugs along with a carryover naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four making 181 horsepower. That isn’t much in an SUV of this size, and the engine has to work hard to get the Outlander moving.The 2025 Outlander’s pricing is reasonable on the lower end, starting at just over $31,000, but it’s tough to justify the higher-end models that stretch well into the $40,000 range. Sure, the Mitsu does give you a solid amount of equipment for the money, but at that price point we’d spring for competitors that offer far more powerful engine options, like the Mazda CX-50. The changes made to the 2025 Outlander don’t thrust it to the top of its class, but at the same time, it’s far from our least favorite compact SUV. It’s more refined and pleasant than you might expect a Mitsubishi to be, and its solid midpack performance is made more appealing if you need a third row of seats but don’t want to step up to a mid-size SUV.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Mitsubishi OutlanderVehicle Type: front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 7-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base: ES FWD, $31,535; ES S-AWC, $33,335; SE FWD, $34,285; SE S-AWC, $36,085; SEL FWD, $38,885; SEL S-AWC, $40,685; Platinum S-AWC, $45,035
ENGINE
DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 152 in3, 2488 cm3Power: 181 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 181 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
TRANSMISSION
continuously variable automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.5 inLength: 185.8 inWidth: 74.7 inHeight: 68.8 inPassenger Volume, F/M/R: 54/48/18 ft3Cargo Volume, Behind F/M/R: 64/31/11 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3850 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 8.2 sec1/4-Mile: 16.3 secTop Speed: 120 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY 
Combined/City/Highway: 26–27/24–31/24–30 mpgDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More