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Hyundai sold just under 4 million vehicles in 2022, but big changes are looming as the parent company aims high in the EV world.Hyundai wants to be a “top three EV manufacturer” in 2030, but exactly how the company is defining that list is vague.What we can say is that if the Hyundai Motor Group wants to sell 3.6 million EVs in 2030, it’s going to have to put in the work. The competition will not be resting.The Hyundai Motor Group wants to move on up in the world. The Korean company is objectively winning the “How ’bout these cool electric vehicles?” challenge all the automakers are playing these days, but it wants more. Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) announced earlier this month that it wants to be a “Top 3 EV manufacturer” by 2030. Exactly what that means is a bit difficult to define, and even Hyundai isn’t willing to say publicly which companies it is targeting. Tesla is obviously the world’s number-one EV company, but they’re not alone. Will Hyundai include China-only domestic brands, especially companies like the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC Motors) that sell their fair share of city EVs? Or does Hyundai want to be considered in the top three, no matter which companies you look at? Who Even Are the Top Three?We asked whom Hyundai considers its competition here, but HMG spokesperson Seoyong Choi told Car and Driver, “We do not comment on other automakers.” Choi did say that the company will measure the “global top three” EV sales company goal as including both passenger cars and commercial vehicles from HMG’s three brands: Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. HMG will offer more than 30 EV models in 2030.So, instead, let’s look at the overall EV sales numbers. To put them in perspective and appreciate the magnitude of Hyundai’s plans, let’s take stock of where things are today. Globally, sales of plug-in vehicles dramatically increased in 2021, with total sales of EVs and PHEVs roughly doubling from their 2020 numbers. Despite the start of the pandemic, annual EV sales in 2020 were relatively stable compared with the preceding years, according to International Energy Agency data. Roughly 2.7 million EVs were sold in China in 2021, almost half a million in the U.S., and 1.2 million in Europe. Choi said that HMG plans to produce and sell 3.6 million EVs around the world in 2030. The Hyundai brand sold 3.9 million vehicles, of all powertrain types, in 2022 and expects to sell 4.3 million vehicles in 2023.2023 Tesla Model 3.TeslaTesla Is Still on TopWhat about Hyundai’s competition? The global EV leader, Tesla, sold 1.3 million vehicles in 2022, and despite the continued news surrounding CEO Elon Musk’s actions over at Twitter, Tesla sales remain strong. Given Musk’s behaviors, we won’t predict where things will stand in 2030, but no one should expect Tesla to fade away. Ford, GM, and Volkswagen have all made big strides in their EV game in recent years, with VW saying it wants half of its sales to be electric by 2030. VW sold 4.5 million vehicles in 2022. We’re also still waiting to see where Chinese companies with international ambitions like BYD might land between now and the end of the decade. 2023 Kia Niro EV.Marc Urbano|Car and DriverMade in Korea—and in U.S.Selling more EVs will require building new EV plants or expanding those operating today, but Choi wouldn’t say how many new plants could still be announced and constructed in time for the 2030 deadline. HMG did say it will spend $18 billion to expand the EV sector in Korea, including money for new plants, and that it expects 1.5 million of the 3.6 million EVs HMG will build and sell in 2030 will be made in Korea. In 2022, HMG announced a new plant dedicated to building purpose-built EVs like the Niro Plus, an electric model that will be used as both a general model and a zero-emission taxi in Korea.Gearing UpIn the U.S., Hyundai broke ground on a new EV plant in Georgia last October and said it would be able to produce up to 500,000 EVs a year. It seems like HMG will need to expand capacity somewhere to hit the “Top 3” target, but all Choi would say is, “We are reviewing various scenarios to respond flexibly to the market situation.” Hyundai will also be a bit more flexible when it comes to vehicle design thanks to a next-generation, dedicated passenger EV platform called eM, which will be introduced in 2025, that fits inside Hyundai’s Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA) system. Vehicles built on platforms that use IMA will be able to use standardized batteries and motors “to increase product development speed and efficiency,” Hyundai said.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Contributing EditorSebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology’s importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.  More

From the May 2023 issue of Car and Driver.WHAT IT ISAside from the follow-up to one of Porsche’s best models, it will be Porsche’s first electric sports car. Not a big deal, right?WHY IT MATTERSAn established Porsche model going electric will send shock waves through the industry. The 911 may be Porsche’s gold standard, but the 718 is a high-visibility car, and its success or failure could dictate the market direction of electric sports cars.PLATFORMThis will be the first Porsche on the Volkswagen Group’s PPE platform. That means almost nothing will carry over from the current 718. Chassis balance will remain, well, balanced because the battery will occupy most of the space aft of the firewall where the engine is today, to ensure that the current car’s mid-engine handling will remain intact. A 900-volt electrical architecture will ensure the fastest DC charging.POWERTRAINPorsche is targeting a curb weight of 3650 pounds. At that weight, the car won’t need massive energy capacity to deliver strong acceleration. Expect the base model to have a single motor with at least 450 horsepower driving the rear wheels. Later, a second motor driving the front wheels will bring all-wheel drive to the 718, and eventually, there will be a model with upward of 1000 horses.COMPETITIONLate-model used Boxsters and Caymans; Tesla Roadster (if that ever gets off the ground); Lotus Emira.WHAT MIGHT GO WRONGGetting the emotion right will make or break the 718 EV. If the car is too clinical, as many EVs are, the enthusiasm to own one will wane. There is a good chance no one wants their toy car to be an EV. At least not yet.ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AND PRICEExpect to see the 718 EV early next year, with a fall 2024 on-sale date. The Porsche hierarchy will remain, but the 718 EV will cost about $15K more than the current base 718. Look for pricing to start near $80,000 and, as usual, near-endless factory options.More Cars Worth Waiting ForExecutive EditorK.C. Colwell is Car and Driver’s executive editor, who covers new cars and technology with a keen eye for automotive nonsense and with what he considers to be great car sense, which is a humblebrag. On his first day at C/D in 2004, he was given the keys to a Porsche 911 by someone who didn’t even know if he had a driver’s license. He also is one of the drivers who set fast laps at C/D’s annual Lightning Lap track test. More

Toyota published two teaser photos to Instagram this week showing off details of the upcoming 2024 Tacoma TRD Pro, giving us an idea of what sorts of updates to expect from the refresh of the popular mid-size pickup. The first image is a close-up shot of a rear wheel sporting a rugged black-painted design with a TRD badge, wrapped in a capable all-terrain tire. What’s most interesting about this photo is the brake setup that lies beyond the wheel. It’s a disc brake, the first for a Tacoma TRD Pro. Before this, the TRD Pro had to make do with drums in the rear. No longer, it seems. The next image gives us a close-up look at the Tacoma TRD Pro’s front suspension setup. Specifically, we can see a Fox QS3 coil-over with Toyota’s signature red spring. The QS3 design currently isn’t used in any production car, according to Fox’s website. Right now, you can only buy them for off-road vehicles like side-by-sides. This could mean a big improvement over the current TRD Pro’s setup for 2024. Toyota has yet to release a date for the 2024 Toyota Tacoma’s reveal, though considering the constant teasing it’s been doing this past month, we expect a full premiere within the month. Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing. More

SAE International has just published a paper co-authored by Car and Driver’s testing director, Dave VanderWerp, showing that, in our testing, EVs are far worse at matching EPA estimates than gas-powered vehicles.The paper compares EPA fuel-economy and range estimates to the results of C/D’s real-world highway tests, with EVs failing to meet the EPA’s range figures on average.The authors propose solutions like more standardized testing procedures and the inclusion of both city and highway range figures on new vehicles’ Monroney price stickers.A new paper published by SAE International uses Car and Driver’s real-world highway test data to show that electric vehicles underperform on real-world efficiency and range relative to the EPA figures by a much greater margin than internal-combustion vehicles. While the latter typically meet or exceed the EPA-estimated highway fuel economy numbers, EVs tend to fall considerably short of the range number on the window sticker. The paper, written by Car and Driver’s testing director, Dave VanderWerp, and Gregory Pannone, was presented this week at SAE International’s annual WCX conference. It points to a need for revised testing and labeling standards for EVs moving forward. “Basically we’ve taken a look at how vehicles perform relative to the values on the window sticker, looking at the difference between what the label says and what we actually see in our real-world highway test,” explained VanderWerp. “We see a big difference in that gap between gas-powered vehicles and the performance of EVs. The real question is: When first-time customers are buying EVs, are they going to be pleasantly surprised or disappointed by the range?”On Car and Driver’s 75-mph highway test, more than 350 internal-combustion vehicles averaged 4.0 percent better fuel economy than what was stated on their labels. But the average range for an EV was 12.5 percent worse than the price sticker numbers.Lucid MotorsOne reason the paper suggests for why EVs fail to match expectations is how the range is calculated. While separate city and highway range figures are computed behind closed doors, only a combined number is presented to consumers. The combined rating is weighted 55 percent in favor of the city figure, where EVs typically perform better. This inflates the range estimates, making it harder to match in real-world highway driving. The paper proposes publishing both city and highway range figures—as with fuel-economy estimates for gas-powered vehicles—to give shoppers a more holistic sense of a vehicle’s abilities.More on Electric RangeThe way the tests are conducted also skews the reported range figure. Unlike Car and Driver’s real-world test—carried out at a constant 75 mph—the EPA’s cycle is variable, with the speed increasing and decreasing over the course of the test. While this is detrimental to the results for gas vehicles, which tend to be most efficient at a steady rpm, the ability to regenerate energy under braking leads to higher range results for EVs, which are shifted even higher by the slight bias towards the city results in the combined rating. The EPA’s highway cycle is conducted at significantly lower speeds than Car and Driver’s 75-mph test, with the initial EPA results then multiplied by a reduction factor to simulate the effect of higher speeds. Automakers can chose between running a two-cycle test—where the data is multiplied by a standard 0.7 adjustment factor—or carrying out a five-cycle test in an attempt to earn a smaller reduction factor, making the label figure higher. That means range figures aren’t perfectly comparable across different vehicles.Porsche”There’s a balance,” explained VanderWerp. “The marketing team wants to tout a big range number, but to customers you want to be conservative.” This leads to different approaches from various brands. The German automakers—BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche—typically provide a relatively conservative range figure, allowing us to meet or even at times exceed the range numbers in Car and Driver’s real-world tests. Tesla, meanwhile, pursues an impressive figure for its window stickers, and ends up returning real-world results that are on average two times as far off the label value as most EVs. A range discrepancy between EVs from different companies might not be as extreme as the numbers would suggest. “400 miles of stated range for a Tesla and 300 miles for a Porsche is pretty much the same number at real highway speeds,” VanderWerp said.The paper recommends that the EPA shift the reduction factor closer to 0.6, which would result in range estimates that closely correlate with the results of the real-world efficiency test. But having the same test procedure for all cars is also crucial. “Every automaker could aggressively use the five-cycle test and get a better reduction factor, but then more people end up being disappointed in the numbers,” VanderWerp said. “They should all be tested the same, and it should be closer to the real world than it is now.” The paper can be found in full at SAE’s website.Associate News EditorCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More

From the May 2023 issue of Car and Driver.Remember the last time Lexus built a supercar? Of course you do, because the LFA was a memorable two-seat stunner with an even more memorable V-10 engine. So when Lexus reveals a concept previewing an electric supercar claimed to be the “spiritual successor” to the LFA, we listen. Unfortunately, we won’t hear the scream of 10 cylinders revving to 9000 rpm this time, but plenty of enticing details about this new sports car excite us.For now, it’s referred to only as the Lexus Electrified Sport, and it carries the expected claims for lightning-fast acceleration and a long driving range. Lexus says the car will accelerate to 60 mph in the low-two-second range, which would certainly beat the LFA, and it could have solid-state batteries providing 430 miles of range. There’s no word yet on horsepower, but we think its electric motors need to offer somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 ponies. LexusEven more interesting is that the company is looking into using a simulated manual transmission to increase driver involvement and has even built a prototype with a shifter and a clutch pedal in an electric UX crossover. Newly minted Toyota CEO Koji Sato, who is leading the company toward quicker adoption of EVs, stated in his previous role as the boss of Lexus that he wants the Lexus EV supercar to be “different” and have “another link from the car to the driver.” Even if that link is phony, we’re glad Lexus is trying something to connect EV drivers with their cars. More on the Lexus EV SupercarThe concept’s low-slung bodywork looks futuristic but not entirely unrealistic, suggesting that a production version could look similar to what you see here. By the time this Lexus comes to fruition several years from now, it may face a wide range of electric-supercar competitors from the usual suspects, such as Lotus, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Aston Martin, not to mention whatever EV startups pop up. An accordingly stratospheric price is also likely, as Lexus may see the LFA’s $375,000 figure as a mere starting point for its new-age replacement. Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

The 2023 GMC Hummer SUT lineup adds a EV3X trim level with a manufacturer-estimated range of 355 miles.The Hummer EV3X pickup truck features standard 22-inch wheels mounted on 35-inch-tall all-terrain tires.The 2024 GMC Hummer SUV also offers the EV3X trim, but it has a lower EPA-estimated range of 314 miles.The GMC Hummer EV pickup truck will no longer be available only as the fully loaded Edition 1, which continues into the 2023 model year. That’s because it’s now joined by the lower EV3X trim level, which brings with it a higher manufacturer-estimated driving range of 355 miles (26 more than the Edition 1).XXX Hummer EVsThe new Hummer EV3X pickup features the same three-motor electric powertrain as the Edition 1. However, the XXX comes standard with 22-inch wheels mounted on 35-inch all-terrain tires. It’s also available with the Extreme Off-Road package that includes 18-inch wheels on 35-inch mud-terrain tires as well as extra skid plates and other off-road-oriented add-ons.GMCEquipped with the Extreme Off-Road package, the Hummer EV3X’s estimated range drops to 329 miles per charge—same as the Edition 1, which features similar equipment. Both of those beefed-up versions are rated to tow 7500 pounds, whereas the standard EV3X has an 8500-pound max towing capacity.The EV3X is also part of the 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV lineup. It’s essentially the same deal as with the pickup truck, except the electric SUV’s tri-motor setup isn’t as powerful, and it has EPA-estimated ranges that are lower. Riding on the standard 22-inch wheel-and-tire combo, the Edition 1 and EV3X are expected to provide 314 miles per charge. Opting for the Extreme Off-Road package shaves 16 miles off of that estimate, dropping its range to 298 miles.GMCWhile both GMC Hummer EV body styles are currently being built at GM’s Factory Zero production facility in the Detroit-Hamtramck area, the company is still working to fill what was once said to be over 90,000 reservations combined. As a result of the back log, GMC says reservations are currently closed for the SUT and SUV.Must-Read Hummer EVThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

Hyundai’s Ioniq subbrand of electric vehicles now includes both the Ioniq 5 crossover and the Ioniq 6 sedan.The Ioniq 6 provides greater range and is slightly cheaper, while the Ioniq 5 has more cargo space and will soon offer a high-performance N variant. The two cars share the same E-GMP platform and battery packs, and their single- and dual-motor powertrains are similar.Hyundai and Kia are building some of the best electric cars you can buy today. We named both the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 to our 10Best Trucks and SUVs list for 2023, and now, even just within Hyundai’s Ioniq electric subbrand, we’re even more spoiled for choice. The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedan has just joined the 5 crossover and shares the same E-GMP platform, many interior appointments, and its various battery and motor configurations.But the two Ioniq models look completely different on the surface, and there are some key differentiators between the Ioniq 5 and the Ioniq 6 in specs, character, and packaging. Having now experienced both, we’re comparing and contrasting these Hyundai EVs to help you decide which is better.Range, Charging, and EfficiencyThe Ioniq 6 sedan is considerably lower, sleeker, and more aerodynamic than the Ioniq 5 crossover, and this is a boon for its estimated driving range—in some configurations. The highest-range version of the 6, the SE Long Range RWD, is EPA-rated to go an impressive 361 miles on a charge. The similarly spec’d Ioniq 5 Long Range RWD can only manage a 303-mile EPA range. It is worth noting that the Ioniq 5’s range estimate applies to all rear-wheel-drive single-motor trim levels (SE, SEL, Limited) with the larger battery pack, while the Ioniq 6 only achieves that impressive figure in the lower SE trim level with its smaller 18-inch wheels. The Ioniq 6 SEL and Limited have 20-inch wheels and wider tires that bring their estimated range down to 305 miles.The difference is less pronounced among the all-wheel-drive dual-motor variants. The top-spec Ioniq 6 AWD SEL and Limited models are rated at 270 miles of range, while the Ioniq 5 AWD estimated range is a slightly lower 266 miles. Both the 5 and 6 also offer a smaller battery pack in the Standard Range models, and that’s rated at 240 miles for the sedan and 220 miles for the crossover. The best compromise of the whole lineup might be the Ioniq 6 SE AWD, which combines the 18-inch wheels with the dual-motor setup and offers an estimated range of 316 miles. Regardless of which battery and powertrain you choose, all Ioniq models can charge quickly, with DC fast-charging capability. More on ChargingOf course, all of these are just estimates, and things are different in the real world. On our own real-world 75-mph highway range test, both Ioniqs fell short of their EPA ratings. The Ioniq 5 Limited AWD we tested managed 210 miles, while the Ioniq 6 SE RWD managed 260 miles. This admittedly isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, and we look forward to testing more configurations of the 5 and 6 to see how they stack up on this test.Power and PerformanceWith horsepower figures ranging from 149 horsepower for the Ioniq 6 Standard Range RWD setup up to 320 hp for the top Long Range AWD configuration, both the Ioniq 5 and 6 offer a wide range of performance possibilities. The base rear-wheel-drive models with the standard 53.0-kWh battery pack come with a single electric motor producing 149 hp in the Ioniq 6 and 168 hp in the Ioniq 6. Upgrading to the RWD Long Range, with a larger 77.4-kWh battery pack, brings power output up to 225 hp in both cars. The all-wheel-drive configuration comes standard with the larger battery pack and has front and rear electric motors that combine for 320 hp.Again, our own acceleration test results are for non-equivalent versions. The 320-hp dual-motor Ioniq 5 Limited AWD got to 60 mph in a brisk 4.5 seconds in our testing, while the significantly less powerful single-motor 225-hp Ioniq 6 SE RWD managed a sprint to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. When we eventually get our hands on an Ioniq 6 AWD for testing, we’ll see if it ends up being quicker than its taller sibling. But we don’t expect a huge difference between the two, as their claimed curb weights are similar when comparing equivalent configurations.A high-performance N version of the Ioniq 5 has already been confirmed, and that model will offer a considerably more powerful set of electric motors with around 600 horsepower. We don’t know for sure if the Ioniq 6 will also get the N treatment, but we won’t be shocked if it comes to fruition.Ioniq N ModelsInterior and DimensionsAlthough the Ioniq 6 sedan is longer and lower than the Ioniq 5, the crossover has the longer wheelbase of the two. Both cars feel spacious inside, and the Ioniq 6 only has slightly less passenger volume than the Ioniq 5. We thought the Ioniq 6 felt more spacious up front, and it does offer considerably more front legroom than the Ioniq 5. In the back seat, the Ioniq 5 wins out in terms of legroom.Predictably, the Ioniq 5’s hatchback body style offers considerably more cargo space than the Ioniq 6’s conventional trunk. You get 27 cubic feet of space behind the Ioniq 5’s rear seat, while the Ioniq 6’s trunk only offers 11 cubic feet.Price and Trim LevelsThe Ioniq 6 is the cheaper option of the two, but only just. It slots in just below the crossover in price, with the sedan starting at $42,715 for the base model compared with the Ioniq 5’s $42,785 starting price. At the high end, the Ioniq 5 Limited AWD is $57,835 compared with the Ioniq 6 Limited AWD at $57,215. Both are offered in SE, SEL, and Limited trim levels, and the standard and optional equipment is similar between the two. Color-wise, the Ioniq 6 offers a few hues you won’t find on the 5 including a nice dark green (Digital Green) and a bright red (Ultimate Red), but both cars offer matte paint options for an extra $1000.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

• Please don protective eyewear before viewing this Alfa Romeo, an avant-garde roadster with out-of-this-world wedgy styling.• The RZ roadster and related SZ coupe were supposed to galvanize Alfa Romeo styling in a new direction. • The auction runs through April 24.Car and DriverHistorically speaking, Italian coachbuilders have created some of the most beautiful machines to ever roll into a concours d’elegance. Zagato, founded more than a century ago, is among the best of them, and when its signature Z is paired with an Alfa Romeo, the result is always stunning. In this case, stunning can be read in a literal sense, like having an anvil fall on your head.Related StoriesToday’s pick from the auction site Bring A Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is an Italian wedge of formaggio that is definitely not going to be to everyone’s taste. In fact, more than a few readers have probably already scrolled directly to the comment section to voice disbelief and/or complaint. What is this crazy thing? Answer: a 1993 Alfa-Romeo RZ, the “RZ” standing for Roadster Zagato.Dubbed Il Mostro—the Monster—on its debut in 1989, the Alfa Romeo SZ was intended to shatter preconceptions and set Alfa design on a new path. The SZ (for Sport Zagato, the hardtop released before this rarer roadster version) was certainly uncomfortably electrifying. Utilizing computer-aided design rather than the hand sketches of some Italian artisan, its snub-nosed styling was finished in-house by Alfa’s then-parent company Fiat, with assembly farmed out to Zagato.Bring a TrailerIn fact, the SZ/RZ’s design is French in origin. The original concept was styled by Frenchman Robert Opron, who is also credited with Citroën’s SM, GS, and SX. This roadster is number 184 of just 284 built, a total that is about a quarter of SZ production. Build quality is—well, it’s a boutique car assembled in Italy during the 1990s. The indifference to precision can be neatly summed up by the slightly crooked angle of the limited-series metal plate below the gearshift.But in terms of personality, the RZ has about as much as you can handle. Bring a TrailerBring a TrailerIf you can embrace or at least get past the styling, then it’s a proper rear-wheel-drive Alfa, the quickest of them in its day. Under the clamshell hood is a 3.0-liter Busso 12-valve V-6, feeding a little over 200 horsepower to a rear-mounted five-speed manual transaxle. The RZ is a hair slower to 60 mph than the SZ, but both are lively and quick. The V-6 raises its voice in a gloriously mechanical crescendo, better heard with the roof down. This is Italian motoring con brio.Slightly fewer than half of total RZ production went to Japan, because of course it did. The RZ is exactly the sort of car to appeal in the country that produced the Mitsuoka Orochi. This example was brought back across the Pacific in 2010 and was purchased by the current owner (a serial Alfa owner) sometime last year. The timing belt and clutch and associated service were performed about ten years ago.Bring a TrailerAs a conversation starter at any car meet, this giallo ginestra wedge is sure to be polarizing. Bystanders are going to Have Opinions, and some of those opinions are not going to be very flattering.But so be it. The RZ is incomprehensible madness with a lusty Alfa Romeo V-6. It’s the antidote to automotive boredom.Car and driverCar and driver Lettermark logoContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More