Motor News

The Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 gain a new Performance trim with extra power and other tweaks.The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine produces 621 hp and 627 pound-feet of torque, an increase over the previous model’s 591 hp and 590 pound-feet.Audi says these models will arrive in the U.S. for the 2024 model year.Audi is rolling out a new Performance version of the RS6 Avant and RS7 models that gets a big boost in power and torque, along with some chassis upgrades and visual tweaks. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine now makes 621 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque, increases of 30 hp and 37 pound-feet compared with the outgoing versions.The extra grunt comes from larger turbochargers that make more boost. Audi claims this will make the cars 0.2 second quicker in the sprint to 62 mph; in our testing, the RS6 got to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and the RS7 did it in 3.0 seconds, so we can expect some improvement on these numbers once we strap our test equipment to the upgraded models. The Performance models are also 18 pounds lighter thanks to Audi’s deletion of some of the sound deadening, which is also meant to allow more engine sound to enter the cabin.More on the RS ModelsNewly available 22-inch wheels are wrapped in 285-width Continental Sport Contact 7 tires. Audi says these tires provide more grip and that the new wheels reduce unsprung weight by 44 pounds overall. There are also revisions to the center differential, and tweaked programming for the drive modes that include Efficiency, Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and customizable RS1 and RS2 modes.A few new matte colors join the palette, including Ascari Blue and Dew Silver, and certain exterior trim pieces are also finished in matte. Inside, the Performance models gain blue contrasting stitching, blue seatbelts, and other blue accents.Audi has yet to release pricing for the 2024 RS6 Avant Performance and RS7 Performance, but we can expect them to carry a price premium over the current starting prices of $119,995 for the RS6 and $122,995 for the RS7.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.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. More

As the Tesla Model 3 gets closer to its sixth birthday, it is reportedly getting closer to receiving its first facelift. The report comes via Reuters. The news service said it spoke to four sources with information on the plans. The revamp is part of an attempt by Tesla to cut production costs as well as to entice buyers through visual changes to the car—a rare move from Tesla. Most auto manufacturers put their cars through through multi-year cycles, complete with small year-to-year updates. Tesla does it differently; the EV maker prefers to rely on over-the-air (OTA) updates and simply change mechanical parts as they are developed. Because of this unusual method, the nearly six-year-old Model 3 has never received a facelift. But now, according to a report from Reuters, a refreshed Model 3 code-named “Highland” is on the way and is expected to be put into production in the third quarter of next year. More on TeslaThe revamped Tesla is part of an attempt by the company to simplify its design and drive production costs down. According to the Reuters report, one focus of the new Model 3 design is to reduce complexity in the interior while maintaining features that Tesla customers care about, such as the center display. Never mind the fact that the interior of the Model 3 looks as barren as that first apartment out of college: it’s got a place to sit, and a massive screen, and not much else. The last major vehicle update from Tesla was swapping the steering wheel of the Model S for the yoke setup and switching to a horizontal screen orientation, something the Model 3 already possesses.Michael Simari|Car and DriverThe other major reason for an update seems to be increased pressure from the competition, especially competition within the China market. The Model 3 remains Tesla’s cheapest offering, though its $48,440 starting price has steadily crept skyward, and more established automakers have begun to put their weight behind EV production. According to Reuters, the facelifted Model 3 will go into production at Tesla’s Shanghai, China, and Fremont, California, factories. Car and Driver reached out to Tesla for written comment, but did not receive a response.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.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. More

Virtual concept cars are all the rage these days. We’ve seen fully digital Vision Gran Turismo designs from the likes of Jaguar, McLaren, Audi, and more. Now, Ferrari is finally stepping up with a Vision Gran Turismo of its own. Titled simply the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo, the fully virtual concept car is a center-positioned single-seater race car designed specifically to appear in PlayStation’s series of Gran Turismo video games. Ferrari says it uses an even more potent version of the twin-turbo V-6 powering the company’s newest Le Mans competitor, the 499P, along with three electric motors, one for the rear axle and two for each front wheels. Thanks to a lack of real-world sporting regulations, total output is an incredible 1336 hp. And that’s not all. From the release:The bodyshell of the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo appears as if suspended over the flat, carbon-fiber underbody which incorporates all the car’s technical components, thus giving purity to the shape. The chassis is designed to emphasize the car’s lateral dynamics in on-the-limit handling. The powertrain layout guarantees an optimal front-rear weight balance and an extremely low center of gravity to the benefit of the AWD. The elasto-kinematic suspension setup was developed around the performance characteristics of the tires used in Gran Turismo together with the car’s aerodynamic balance, the aim being to guarantee superlative performance on both torturously winding city circuits and traditional endurance race tracks.According to Ferrari, it’s used its experience in Formula 1 to ensure the battery for the electric motors is always in a full state of charge, whether you’re setting an ultra-fast qualifying lap or doing a handful of consecutive laps at once. Vision GT CarsThe Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo will become available to all users starting on December 23, 2022. One Gran Turismo user will have the chance to drive the car one week early, however, as all GT7 players will be able to participate in a viewers’ campaign quiz for a chance to be gifted the car in-game on December 15. On that same date, Ferrari will reveal a full-size replica of the Vision Gran Turismo, to be displayed at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello through March 2023. This content is imported from OpenWeb. 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. More

Located in Greenwich, Connecticut, is a 19-acre mansion for sale that has 10 bedrooms, 14.5 bathrooms, and seven wood-burning fireplaces, complete with a main house, pool, and pool house.What we noticed, however, was that this massive property has parking for up to 36 cars, including a 30-car garage in the lower level of the main house. The home was built in 2009, coming to the market for the first time now, the property is listed at $33.8 million by real estate group Brown Harris Stevens. If you happen to be a recent Powerball winner whose bank statement looks more like that of a oil tycoon than a used car salesman . . . first of all, email us, we’ve got some exciting ideas for all that cash. Second, check out this $33,800,000 estate in Greenwich, Connecticut. The sprawling property features 17,878 square feet of living space sitting on 19.1 acres of property. Our attention has been piqued, but the real crown jewel of the property is the basement garage, which has space for up to 30 cars. Brown Harris StevensCar MansionsBuilt in 2009, the home features 10 bedrooms, 14.5 bathrooms, and seven wood-burning fireplaces. A three-car garage attaches to the mudroom, along with a three-car porte cochère. Quick math brings the total parking spaces on the property to 36—ample room for the kind of collection this house’s owner can probably afford. From the look of the photos, the current owners have an affinity for Porsche, with at least six 911s visible in the garage. Brown Harris StevensIf this feels like an absurd amount of money to spend on any property, no matter the acreage or garage space, consider that it is a relative bargain compared to this $62 million Los Angeles mansion. For just over half the price, you get double the car storage! And the estimated monthly payments come out to a very reasonable $149,677, assuming a 20 percent down payment. 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.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. More

• This 1988 Ferrari Testarossa that’s currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer has us overdosing on nostalgia. • Not only is the Testarossa an ’80s icon thanks to the TV show Miami Vice, but the BaT photoshoot has vivid retro vibes. • This minty ’88 Testarossa has just over 5000 miles, all piled up from its 390-hp 4.9-liter flat-12-cylinder engine. The auction ends Tuesday, November 29.If you waste as much time dreamscrolling on Bring a Trailer as I do, by now you know the vast array of exotic and vintage vehicles can easily blend together unless you’re searching for something specific. If I had a dime for every time I saw a Ferrari Testarossa up for auction, I feel like I’d have enough to actually afford one. However, the 1988 example that’s currently listed on BaT, which—like Car and Driver—is part of Hearst Autos, caused me to pause due to its wonderfully retro photoshoot.Bring a TrailerThere’s just something about the purple and gold backdrop in the Testarossa photos that vividly recalls the 1980s vibe, a decade when cars were characters as big in American TV shows as the actors who drove them. Who can forget K.I.T.T., the black customized 1982 Pontiac Trans Am from Knight Rider, or the red Ferrari 308GTS Quattrovalvole wheeled by a mustachioed Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I.? And of course, the other ride that epitomizes the ’80s is the Testarossa, like the white one Don Johnson’s character Sonny Crockett drives in Miami Vice.All of this automotive nostalgia was stirred up inside me when I scrolled past the ’88 Testarossa listing, and I was compelled to investigate further because I wasn’t even quite sure what color paint it had. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it wore what Ferrari calls Oro Chiaro Metallizzato (translation: clear gold metallic light blue-green). It certainly wouldn’t be my first choice. Then again, what’s tackier, er, more appropriate to represent 1980s style than a gold supercar?Bring a TrailerFor those of you who could care less about my incessant nostalgia, I’m happy to point out that this specific Testarossa only has just over 5000 miles on it. Whether those were easy or hard miles, we’ll never know. Judging by the pictures, though, this Ferrari looks pretty mint on top, inside, and underneath. Currently, it has a bid of $112,000, and the auction is set to end on Tuesday, November 29. Its Nero Connolly (read: black) leather interior looks immaculate and free of wear, although the color combination is a boring choice, in my humble opinion. I think the seats look as if they were pulled out of a bumper car, and the center console is a distracting hodgepodge of buttons. Still, I only wish I could grip the Ferrari’s thin-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel and clink the shifter through its exposed gates. Did I mention this car comes with matching luggage? That is so fetch.Bring a TrailerLast but not least, the 1988 Ferrari Testarossa features a 4.9-liter flat-12-cylinder engine. By today’s standards, its factory-rated 380 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque wouldn’t even impress people with a Ford Explorer ST in their driveway. When Car and Driver tested a 1985 Testarossa, it needed 5.0 seconds to hit 60 mph and 13.3 seconds at 107 mph to finish the quarter-mile. Again, a 1087-pound-heavier, 400-hp Explorer ST is within tenths of both marks.Bring a TrailerYet, in this admittedly random Ford-versus-Ferrari comparison, it should be obvious that when it comes to the Testarossa, it’s never going to be about the numbers. It’s about being one of the most recognizable cars on the planet, and one that makes you feel like a sun-tanned Sonny Crockett chasing coke-dealing baddies through the streets of 1980s Miami.Big Ferrari Fan? Read this.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.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. More

Acura announced pricing for the 2023 TLX Type S PMC Edition, which starts at $63,995.This special edition is handbuilt and exclusive, with just 300 units planned in total.It’s mechanically identical to the standard TLX Type S but features visual differences inside and out.Acura is charging a pretty penny for the exclusive, hand-built PMC Edition version of the 2023 TLX Type S sports sedan. Orders opened for this limited-production trim level last month, and now we know that it starts at $63,995—a $7550 premium over the starting price for the mechanically identical TLX Type S.What does the extra outlay get you? Primarily it’s the knowledge that your TLX is one of just 300 PMC Editions in total—or just one of 100 that’s finished in each of the three colors taken from the NSX. Orders already opened for Curva Red and 130R White—and Acura says the white car is sold out—but the Long Beach Blue Pearl hue pictured here won’t be open for reservations until December 8. Additionally, the PMC Edition comes with other visual tweaks including 20-inch wheels painted a copper hue, a front diffuser and rear spoiler, and some interior trim differences including a serialized plaque and carbon-fiber trim.AcuraThe TLX PMC Edition is built at the same Performance Manufacturing Facility in Ohio that just finished production of the NSX Type S supercar, rather than the Marysville, Ohio plant where other TLXs are built. But its components are the same as what you’ll find in the standard TLX Type S. That means a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 engine with 355 horsepower, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and Acura’s SH-AWD system with torque vectoring.More on the TLXAcura hasn’t shared exactly when deliveries of the 2023 TLX PMC Edition will begin but does say that the costlier destination fee for this model—it’s $1995 compared with the standard model’s $1095—does include a different shipping process. PMC cars get a special cover to protect the paint and are delivered to dealerships in an enclosed single-car carrier.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.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. More

BMW has brought back the 3.0 CSL name on a new limited-edition sports car that echoes the design of the original Seventies-era 3.0 CSL and sports a motorsports-inspired livery.The twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six engine makes 553 horsepower; it’s the most powerful inline-six used in a road-legal BMW M car ever.That motor is mated to a six-speed manual, and power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels. Only 50 units will be built.Back in 2015, BMW hinted at a revival of one of its most iconic sports cars ever with the 3.0 CSL Hommage R concept. It was a muscular modern interpretation of the 3.0 CSL homologation special built in small quantities in the 1970s, which earned the nickname “Batmobile” thanks to the race car’s dramatic aerodynamic package. Now, seven years later, BMW has finally made that concept a reality, reviving the 3.0 CSL nameplate for a new limited-edition sports car that attempts to distill the core values of the M division and its illustrious motorsports history into one vehicle.While the cabin shape and overall proportions suggest that the 3.0 CSL shares its bones with the current-generation M4, the 3.0 CSL’s bodywork is unique and one of the most eye-pleasing designs BMW has produced of late. We certainly wouldn’t call the grille small, but it’s not monstruous like the unit on the M4, new i7, or XM super SUV, and its satin aluminum trim flows neatly into the angular headlights. The bulging fenders and double rear wing setup clearly recall the original 3.0 CSL “Batmobile,” as do the two circular air intakes carved into the front bumper and the small fins protruding from the hood.The headlights feature yellow LED laser lights—drawing a connection to the M4 GT3 race car—and the intricate, wiry taillight LEDs are reminiscent of those on the M4 CSL. The brawny wheel arches house gold-colored center-locking wheels measuring 20 inches up front and 21 inches at the rear, wrapped in specially developed Michelin tires. The special-edition sports car also stands out thanks to its motorsport-inspired livery, with the white paint accented by stripes in the traditional BMW M colors just like the livery on the 1970s racer. Nearly all of the bodywork is fashioned from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), with the weave visible in the lower trim elements, the rear wing, and the lettering on the roof, and most of the carbon components are manufactured by hand.The same twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six found in the M3 and M4 lies at the heart of the 3.0 CSL, but it has been tuned to make it the most powerful inline-six ever used in a road-legal BMW M car, spitting out 553 horsepower, a 50-pony increase over the M4 Competition. Torque output remains at 406 pound-feet, the same as the non-Competition-spec M4, and all of this shove is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The 3.0-liter makes use of technical know-how from BMW’s DTM racing program, with a rigid crankcase, forged lightweight crankshaft, and a 3D-printed cylinder head core, as well as a specially designed oil supply and cooling system. To help manage all of that power, an active M differential on the rear axle works with the stability control to maintain traction and prevent drivers from putting their limited-edition sports car into a wall. The front suspension uses a double-joint spring strut setup while the rear suspension is a multi-link design, paired with adaptive dampers and variable-ratio electric power steering. Carbon-ceramic brakes are used to slow the 3.0 CSL, with six-piston fixed-caliper stoppers up front and single-piston fixed-caliper brakes at the rear. The calipers are painted red, and the traction control system has 10 selectable levels of intervention, helping customize the driving experience. The cabin ditches the rear seats for a storage compartment that can fit two helmets, and carbon fiber has infiltrated the cockpit, with CFRP on the door panels and the two bucket seats making extensive use of the lightweight material. The dashboard design is largely similar to the M4’s, and black Alcantara covers the seats, steering wheel, and parts of the dashboard. White contrast stitching compliments the unique gearshift knob, which has a retro design with the number 50 engraved into it to remind you just how exclusive the 3.0 CSL is.More Sporty BMWsThat number references the fact that BMW will only build 50 units of the 3.0 CSL, with the entire production run lasting just three months at BMW’s Dingolfing plant in Moosthenning, Germany. There’s no word yet on price, but given the limited production run, we expect it to cost significantly more than M4 Competition coupe’s $79,595 starting price, and likely even higher than the M4 CSL’s $140,895 cost. Prospective buyers will also need to act fast—with so few units available, it probably won’t be long before they are all snapped up.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.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. More