Motor News

BMW has pulled the cover off a badass new M5 Touring station wagon at this year’s Monterey Car Week.Based on the M5 sedan, the Touring boasts 717 horsepower from a plug-in-hybrid powertrain, enough for a 3.5-second 60-mph time, according to BMW.Think of the M5 Touring as an even more practical daily driver than the M5—you know, in case its performance isn’t enough reason to justify the purchase. It is expected at dealers in early 2025.A station wagon with an M5 logo is no longer forbidden fruit to driving enthusiasts in the U.S. thanks to the introduction of the 2025 BMW M5 Touring. This longroof version of the M5 sports sedan adds a lot more cargo space to the mix but sticks with the same plug-in-hybrid powertrain as the four-door.That powertrain makes 717 horsepower and consists of a 577-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 engine and a 194-hp electric motor. All-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission are both standard. The all-wheel-drive system is rear-biased and can be switched off, leaving the M5 Touring a rear-drive car.Much has already been said of the new-generation M5’s weight gain, which at 5390 pounds is over 1100 pounds above the previous-generation sedan’s curb weight. The Touring will be even heavier; BMW reports an estimated 5530 pounds. Nonetheless, there’s no denying that both of these M cars are gonna rip. BMW estimates a 3.5-second time to 60 mph for the M5 Touring, just a tenth of a second slower than the M5 sedan. Top speed is limited to 155 mph in the standard car, but with the optional M Driver’s package it is increased to 190 mph.More M5 Madness:We recently had a chance to drive a prototype M5 Touring in Europe and came away impressed by its performance and less worried about its curb weight. Its plug-in-hybrid powertrain delivers a noticeable boost but also enables fuel-free driving for short trips up to around 25 miles. That’ll make it easier to savor the premium octane in the fuel tank when you get to some open tarmac.You’d expect the price for a machine of this nature to be steep, and it is: $122,675, a $2000 premium over the M5 sedan. The M5 Touring’s closest natural rival is the Audi RS6 Avant, which has a similarly high asking price and less horsepower. Plus, the M5 Touring comes with just about every luxury item in BMW’s arsenal: Bowers & Wilkins audio, ambient interior lighting, a panoramic sunroof, leather upholstery, a curved infotainment display with Drive 8.5, a head-up display, native navigation, and a lot more. Customization options through BMW’s Individual program are seemingly endless and include a wide range of exterior colors and some special Merino Metallic leather options for the cabin. Production of the M5 Touring begins later this year, so expect to see them arrive at U.S. dealers in early 2025. In the meantime, join us in daydreaming about a future hi-po wagon comparison test pitting the BMW against the Audi.Drew Dorian is a lifelong car enthusiast who has also held a wide variety of consumer-focused positions throughout his career, ranging from financial counselor to auto salesperson. He has dreamed of becoming a Car and Driver editor since he was 11 years old—a dream that was realized when he joined the staff in April 2016. He’s a born-and-raised Michigander and learned to drive on a 1988 Pontiac Grand Am. His automotive interests run the gamut from convertibles and camper vans to sports cars and luxury SUVs.       More

Acura debuted the Performance EV Concept during Monterey Car Week to hint at a new electric SUV that will join the company’s lineup next year.Head of design Dave Marek says the design themes from this concept will be seen across future Acura vehicles.The production version of this concept will be the first EV on Honda’s new EV architecture and built in the company’s new hub for electric-vehicle production in southern Ohio, launching in late 2025.Following closely behind the 2024 ZDX, Acura’s first EV, is this Performance EV Concept that hints at its next one. This is a big deal, because this is the first EV off Honda’s new EV platform developed in-house, whereas the ZDX is built by General Motors and shares its underpinnings with the Cadillac Lyriq. The Performance EV Concept is debuting during Monterey Car Week and will be on display at The Quail as well as the concept lawn during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. No surprise, the concept is a SUV, with a fast roofline that’s closer in appearance to the 2010–2013 ZDX than the new EV that wears that nameplate. The pillars and roof are blacked out to give it a dramatic two-tone effect, and Acura’s head of design, Dave Marek, says that the design themes from the Performance EV Concept, such as the vented hood and the prominent diagonal body-side feature and rounded contouring, will be seen on future Acura vehicles.Acura didn’t release dimensions of the concept, so we’ll have to wait until we see it in person to get a sense of its size. The company says that spelling out A-C-U-R-A across the rear liftgate will be shared by all of the company’s electrified vehicles. Honda is in the middle of a large-scale, $700 million overhaul of its two final-assembly factories in southern Ohio, Marysville (which currently builds the Honda Accord and Acura TLX and Integra) and East Liberty (which produces the Honda CR-V and Acura RDX and MDX), along with its engine plant in nearby Anna, all of which will contribute to building EVs. A joint venture with LG Energy will provide the battery cells to power these EVs, and the production version of this EV concept will be the first one to come from this Ohio hub and will hit the road in late 2025. Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver’s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism. More

Tesla opened reservations for the Cybertruck’s range extender option, which brings the on-paper range of the truck to more than 450 miles.Pricing is listed at an estimated $16,000, with reservations requiring a nonrefundable $500 deposit. Production for the range extender is expected to start next year. Installation must be handled at a service center. Nothing about the Tesla Cybertruck is conventional. From the electric pickup’s looks to its steering technology to its performance, the Cybertruck defies tradition. After dropping the single-motor rear-drive configuration from the lineup (which never actually reached customers’ hands), Tesla has now opened reservations for the Cybertruck’s range extender option.TeslaWhile we know the Beast trim comes equipped with a 123.0-kWh battery, we still don’t know the capacity of the range extender. What we do know is that, according to Tesla’s website, the range extender is capable of adding 120 miles of range to the Beast model and 130 miles for the standard dual motor. Those additions bring the Beast’s estimated range up to 440 miles and the dual-motor truck’s range up to 470 miles. Not quite the 500 miles Tesla originally promised, but certainly not far off. In real-world terms, those figures are likely optimistic. We put a Beast model without the range extender through our standard 75-mph highway fuel-economy route, and it managed a 250-mile result. On the flip side of added range, the extender will hamper the Cybertruck’s practicality by taking up roughly a third of the pickup’s bed space. Despite that, Tesla says the extender can be installed without impacting compatibility with other accessories. Reservations are open now and production is “planned for early 2025,” according to the Tesla website. Tesla lists pricing as an “estimated” $16,000, with reservations requiring a nonrefundable $500 deposit. Installing the extender will require a trip to a Tesla service center, which is likely a safety requirement. More on the Tesla CybertruckJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Genesis is revising the G80 mid-size luxury sedan for 2025.The changes include tweaked headlights and a new grille, plus a massive new screen inside.The 2.5-liter and 3.5-liter engines continue unchanged.UPDATE 8/15/24: Genesis released pricing and U.S. specs for the updated 2025 G80. It starts at $58,350 for the all-wheel-drive 2.5T and rises to $63,150 for the 2.5T Advanced and $69,600 for the 2.5T Sport Prestige. The V-6–powered 3.5T model starts at $70,850 for the 3.5T Sport Advanced and $78,250 for the 3.5T Sport Prestige. These prices are up between $2700 and $4400 depending on trim level. We’ve also update this story to include more U.S.-specific details about changes for 2025.The Genesis G80 sedan is following its SUV sibling, the GV80, into the 2025 model year with a similar refresh. The revised front end and new wheel designs make it look slightly different on the outside, but the bigger changes are found inside, where a new screen and dashboard design modernize the cabin considerably.GenesisThe exterior changes amount to small tweaks to the grille, headlights, front and rear bumpers, and wheel designs. There’s also a new color called Vatna Gray. The G80 Sport trim level, pictured below in red, continues and features a different grille texture plus a more aggressive-looking front bumper with additional air intakes.GenesisInside, the huge new 27.0-inch OLED screen now dominates two-thirds of the dashboard. It combines the digital gauge cluster and the central display and looks to have crisp graphics. There are still two rotary knobs on the center console, one for the infotainment system and the other serving as a gear shifter. The climate controls now utilize a new layout with a touch-sensitive interface, though it looks like a few hard knobs and buttons remain.GenesisThere aren’t significant changes to the G80’s two powertrains, which include a turbo 2.5-liter inline-four and a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. Genesis also says the 2025 G80 now has standard four-piston front brake calipers and new wheel designs. The electric version, called the Electrified G80, will likely receive similar updates later on.Look for the 2025 G80 to go on sale in the U.S. within the next few weeks.GenesisMore Genesis NewsThis story was originally published December 13, 2023.Despite 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 Pininfarina Battista Targamerica is an open-top variant of the brand’s Battista battery-electric coupe.The Targamerica is a one-off model commissioned by a current Battista owner.Like its coupe counterpart, the Targamerica packs 1877 horsepower courtesy of four electric drive motors.If you have enough money, you can get what you want, as exemplified by the very existence of the Pininfarina Battista Targamerica. This one-off open-top variant of Pininfarina’s battery-powered Battista hypercar exists due to the wants of one well-off Battista owner. The Italian brand is mum on the details of the individual who commissioned the Targamerica, but we get the impression this person is a real cigar aficionado. Consider the bespoke aluminum and glass cigar holder and humidor positioned between the Targamerica’s front seats. The case packs enough space to hold up to three stogies, while the hue of its backlighting corresponds to each of the Battista’s five drive modes: Calma (green), Pura (blue), Energica (orange), Furiosa (red), and Carattere (yellow). Like a lit cigar, the Targamerica is smoking hot. Credit the car’s distinct rear bodywork aft of the cabin as well as its silver and blue paint scheme, the latter of which also appears under the rear wing. Pininfarina complements this with unique 10-spoke wheels and a contrasting black and tan interior. As with its closed-top counterpart, the Targamerica packs an 1877-hp punch from its quad-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain that’s fed electricity from a 120.0-kWh (gross capacity) battery pack. In the standard Battista, this setup nets a manufacturer-claimed 1.9-second run to 60 mph and an estimated 300 miles of combined driving range. There’s no word whether these exact estimates apply to the Targamerica. Even so, there’s no doubt this special Battista variant is ridiculously quick. Just how far it’ll travel on a full charge depends on whether its driver is looking to light up some rubber or light up a stogie.Related StoriesDespite their shared last name, Greg Fink is not related to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s infamous Rat Fink. Both Finks, however, are known for their love of cars, car culture, and—strangely—monogrammed one-piece bathing suits. Greg’s career in the media industry goes back more than a decade. His previous experience includes stints as an editor at publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Motor1.com, and MotorTrend. More

Reporting and photos by Rich Ceppos, K.C. Colwell, Drew Dorian, Ezra Dyer, Joe Lorio, Caleb Miller, Tony Quiroga, Elana Scherr, and Dave VanderWerpYou’ll never see more street-parked supercars, history-making race cars, and exquisite classic cars than during Monterey Car Week. It’s the year’s best car spotting, with I’ve-never-seen-one-of-those-before finds seemingly around every corner. The week is so jam-packed with overlapping events that it’s impossible to see them all, but we’re fortunate to have a group of editors heading to California for the festivities, and we’ll share as much as we can with you here. Check back often as we bring you all the updates. —Joe LorioWednesday, August 14Rich Ceppos|Car and DriverReady to drive some vintage Mercedes-Benz cars from LA to Monterey. The list includes a 1980 450SL, a 1969 280SL, a 2007 R63, a 1997 Renntech E60 RS, a 2017 Maybach S650 cabriolet, and a 2008 CLK63 Black Series coupe. I’m in the 280SL. Woo-hoo! Let’s go! —Rich CepposRich Ceppos|Car and DriverRich Ceppos|Car and DriverCaleb Miller|Car and DriverI’ve made it to California, and now Cadillac is shuttling me down to Carmel in the back seat of an electric Lyriq, but not before I made an important pit stop for some In-N-Out. —Caleb MillerUPDATE: I’m getting close! YouTuber Shmee150’s Ford GT just cruised past me around 30 minutes outside of Carmel. —CMCaleb Miller|Car and DriverTwo hours to Monterey! It’s my first time attending Car Week festivities and I couldn’t be more excited. Picked up this rad 2024 BMW M4 convertible in Velvet Orchid and am taking the scenic route down Highway 1. It’s chilly, but I can’t not have the top down, right? –Drew DorianDrew Dorian|Car and DriverStopped for lunch at the crazy Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. Three hours spent behind the wheel of the 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL reveal it to be comfortable, soft-riding, and easy to drive. For a 55-year-old car, it’s a sweetheart. And so great-looking! —Rich CepposRich Ceppos|Car and DriverEzra Dyer|Car and DriverI’m going to be heading to Monterey from Los Angeles in a caravan of vintage Porsche 911 Turbos, some more vintage than others. So far they’ve reprimanded me for drooling on this 993 out of the Porsche Museum. It’s not an S but does have the 450-hp GT2 engine, so it’ll probably get out of its own way. All the cars are running on Porsche’s synthetic biofuel that it makes in Chile, so I want to learn more about that too. Presumably we have a Cayenne somewhere towing a fuel trailer? I don’t know! I just got here. Time to head north. —Ezra Dyer Ezra Dyer|Car and DriverEzra Dyer|Car and Driver6:00 a.m: It was an early start for me as I had to get up to Monterey by noon for a scheduled interview. My ride was the special-edition Maserati GranTurismo PrimaSerie. You’ll have to fudge some math to understand how a 2024 car can be a 75th anniversary edition of the first Maserati grand tourer (1947), but I’ll happily accept a long birthday celebration from a car whose massive cargo area carried my “shoes only” suitcase along with rest of my luggage containing all the outfit changes required for Car Week. Car and DriverElana Scherr|Car and DriverElana Scherr|Car and DriverThe PrimaSerie uses the same twin-turbo Nettuno six-cylinder that powers regular GranTurismos, but it wraps it all in anniversary badging, contrast interior details, and matte silver metallic paint. I’ve received lots of compliments already, mostly from teens and drivers in work trucks—the most authentic sort. –Elana ScherrCar and DriverAfter checking into our hotels, Caleb and I met up in downtown Pacific Grove to walk through the Little Car Show. All of the vehicles here are tiny and cute. We met the owner of this Daihatsu Hijet, who bought it while stationed in Japan and then shipped it home to the States after his tour ended. He’s since painted it bright red and put in a rubber bedliner. It’s clear he’s very proud of his minitruck. –Drew Dorian Caleb Miller|Car and DriverCaleb Miller|Car and DriverAnother highlight of the Little Car Show was seeing this BMW Isetta with its front-hinged door open, exposing its itsy bitsy pedals and minuscule gear selector. We were also surprised to find a purple 1993 Geo Metro LSi convertible in mint condition, quite the stark contrast to the dozens of supercars we’ve already spotted. –Caleb Miller Car Week is no longer a secret to the California Highway Patrol, and the CHP was out in force on all the main roads leading up from Los Angeles. Our crew, law-abiding as we are, seem to have made it up unscathed. Our sympathies to those who did not. Blasting by with the A/C and stereo bumping and thinking, “Oh, he might be having even more fun.”Car and DriverIsn’t it embarrassing when someone shows up at the party in the same outfit? Or maybe this is a couples situation, one for each. Relationship goals. –Elana ScherrCar and DriverI stopped by the Gordon Murray encampment (stay tuned for a deeper dive into the GMA cars, and a ridealong with Dario Franchitti in the T.50), but while I was there, chief creative officer Kevin Richards—a designer who has worked with Murray since the McLaren F1 days—showed me his inspiration for the color on the prototype T.33 Spider. It’s a brassy metallic, not quite orange, not quite bronze. Elana Scherr|Car and Driver”It’s a kingfisher,” Richards said, pulling up a photo of a long-beaked bird with a bold copper chest and turquoise wings. “And the white bits in the interior are like the white feathers around its chin.” Inspiration comes from all around us. –Elana ScherrCar and Driver5:57 p.m. I am wounded that the Maserati Ghibli didn’t want to park right next to me and be besties. —Elana ScherrJoe Lorio has been obsessed with cars since his Matchbox days, and he got his first subscription to Car and Driver at age 11. Joe started his career at Automobile Magazine under David E. Davis Jr., and his work has also appeared on websites including Amazon Autos, Autoblog, AutoTrader, Hagerty, Hemmings, KBB, and TrueCar.Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story “A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2.”  In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story More

The 2025 Toyota Sequoia adds the 1794 Edition, joining the Tundra in offering the luxury-focused trim in its lineup.The Sequoia 1794 Edition has walnut wood inside, plus it has heated and ventilated leather front seats with available massage functions.For 2025, there’s a new wireless camera accessory that goes on the back of a trailer, which then streams a live view to the digital rearview mirror. The Toyota Sequoia lineup is growing and getting more luxurious with the addition of the 1794 Edition for 2025. Toyota’s full-size three-row SUV joins the Tundra pickup in offering the luxury-focused trim, which is fitting since they’re built on the same platform. The 1794 is situated between the upper-crust Platinum and Capstone trims and adds unique styling cues inside and out. ToyotaThe new Sequoia 1794 Edition has an upscale appearance featuring special badging and unique trim pieces scattered throughout. While the exterior looks almost identical to any other Sequoia, the interior adds more luxury flair. The standard cloth or leather seats are replaced with fancier leather finished in a beautiful brown tone. Plus, there’s real American walnut wood grain throughout the cabin, increasing the luxuriousness. The 1794’s front seats are heated, ventilated, and offer massaging cushions. The latter feature is a new option for 2025. The 1794 trim is also equipped with second-row captain’s chairs, and it rides on 20-inch wheels. Other changes for the Sequoia’s new model year include the addition of a wireless trailer camera. The unit can be attached to the back of a trailer and sends a live feed directly to the Sequoia’s digital rearview mirror using Wi-Fi. ToyotaUnlike the Tundra, Toyota doesn’t appear to be limiting production of the 2025 Sequoia 1794 Edition. When it goes on sale, we expect its starting price to fall somewhere in the $75,000 to $80,000 range between the Platinum and Capstone trims.More on the Sequoia and 1794Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Hyundai’s first electric three-row SUV is set to debut later this year, and we’ve finally caught sight of the new model testing. We’re happy to report that the test mule is a faithful recreation of the Hyundai Seven concept, as it keeps the same overall shape and many styling cues. While the official name hasn’t yet been revealed, for now, we’re calling it the Ioniq 7 for simplicity’s sake. KGP PhotographyDespite the heavy camouflage, it’s pretty easy to make out the Ioniq 7’s large stature and long wheelbase. The brand’s unique Parametric Pixel lighting design can be seen peeking through the covering on the front of the car. The rear shows a similar arch-shaped lighting design to the concept, with lights wrapping up and around the rear end. Unsurprisingly, the coach doors and massive glass rear hatch first seen on the concept have been left on the cutting-room floor. The test model appears to have more traditional side doors and a standard rear hatch. KGP PhotographyInside of the test mule, the concept’s furniture-like seating is gone, though its interior still looks pretty airy. Otherwise, things look similar to Hyundai’s other EVs, with a column-mounted gear selector and a massive dual-screen setup covering the flat dashboard. As with most of Hyundai’s current lineup, the screens presumably use the same 12.3-inch displays under a single glass panel.KGP PhotographyThe new Ioniq 7 will be built on the E-GMP platform that underpins the rest of the Hyundai-Kia-Genesis EVs, including the three-row Kia EV9 SUV. That model comes with two battery sizes, a 76.1-kWh pack on the base model and a larger 99.8-kWh pack on all-wheel-drive and long-range versions. Range estimates for the EV9 currently span between 230 miles and 304 miles. The Ioniq 7 will likely feature similar variations, all of which will have an 800-volt electrical architecture that enables rapid DC fast-charging. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for Hyundai to reveal the full suite of details as well as the official name for the new EV, but the brand previously announced that the full reveal is slated for later this year. We expect pricing to be similar to the Kia, meaning the Hyundai will likely start somewhere in the $50,000 to $60,000 range.More on Hyundai’s New EVJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More