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The Ioniq 6 “electrified streamliner” sedan is as slippery as it looks, with a 0.21 coefficient of drag (Cd) that is the lowest Hyundai has yet achieved.With powertrain and battery options that mirror the Ioniq 5’s, the Ioniq 6’s estimated WTLP range of 610 km may translate to more than 400 miles of EPA-rated range for the rear-drive variant with the larger 77.4-kWh battery.Actual U.S.-market specifications will not be revealed until this November at the Los Angeles auto show, with North American market production slated for early 2023.One look at the new Ioniq 6 “electrified streamliner” sedan is all it takes to see why that nickname fits. It rides on a 116.1-inch wheelbase that’s 2.0 inches shorter than the Ioniq 5’s, but that allowed its 191.1-inch body, which is 8.6 inches longer than the 5’s, to be drawn out into a sleek shape with a distinctively tapered “boat tail” rear end that produces a very slick 0.21 coefficient of drag. The fact that its roof stands 4.1 inches shorter than the boxier Ioniq 5 certainly helped VP of Hyundai Design Simon Loasby and his design team achieve that goal, but the lowered roofline also has the added benefit of dramatically reducing the Ioniq 6’s cross-sectional area, which makes its low drag coefficient (Cd) that much more significant because total drag is a function of Cd multiplied by cross-sectional area. Powertrain OptionsOn paper, the powertrain offerings look very familiar to the Ioniq 5’s because the two cars are both built on Hyundai’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). You’ll have the choice of either single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive configurations. Overall power output of the dual-motor version matches that of the Ioniq 5, with the AWD Ioniq 6 delivering 321 combined horsepower and 446 pound-ft of torque.Likewise, two battery capacities will be offered, with the rear-drive model available with either a 53.0-kWh or 77.4-kWh pack and the AWD model coming exclusively with the larger pack. As with the Ioniq 5, the powertrain’s 800-volt architecture allows the car to take advantage of high-output 350 kW DC fast-charging stations, which will reportedly lift the battery from 10 to 80 percent charge in just 18 minutes.
Range EstimatesBut the Ioniq 6 is said to be far more efficient than the Ioniq 5, and with that comes a significant boost in range. Hyundai predicts that rear-drive versions with the 77.4-kWh battery will be good for over 610 kilometers on the European WLTP cycle. By comparing that to the Ioniq 5’s confirmed WLTP and EPA figures, we estimate that the Ioniq 6 could earn an EPA rating of some 400 miles.The slippery shape of the Ioniq 6 plays a huge role here, but Hyundai engineers we spoke with also said the 6 also benefits from a few powertrain optimization developments, including next generation semiconductors in the inverter, reworked motors that now feature hairpin windings, and a re-optimized control strategy when switching between single-motor and dual-motor operation in the all-wheel drive version.Design Details

The streamlined Ioniq 6 looks significantly different from the minecraft-inspired Ioniq 5, but if you look closely you’ll see pixelated details built into the head- and taillights that are an Ioniq signature element. Inside, the dual-screen instrument panel/infotainment interface is present, and the 6 feels spacious front and rear despite its slightly shorter wheelbase. Our 6-foot 2-inch tester was able to sit behind himself quite comfortably, which is a neat trick considering the aggressively tapered roofline. On the other hand, the designers are more excited than we are about their decision to use center-mounted window switches that allow for naked doors, and we’re not sure how the speed-synchronized ambient lighting, which gets brighter as speed increases, will play out in the real world. We assume/hope there will be an “off” button.
Specific details about the configuration, performance and pricing of the North American version of the Ioniq 6 will not be released until November’s L.A. auto show, and the production of units bound for these shores will not commence until the first quarter of 2023. Still, we’re excited by the truly amazing range estimate that Hyundai has revealed. The Ioniq 6 looks set to offer a substantial boost over the competition, and that will be even more significant considering the E-GMP platform’s 800-volt architecture and superior DC fast-charging capability, which we’ve already experienced with the Ioniq 5.
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The 2023 Jeep Wrangler is adding two new, interestingly named paint colors called Earl and Reign.Earl is a gray hue with hints of aquamarine that was first seen on the Jeep Gladiator Farout concept.Reign is a purple shade—and seemingly a Prince reference—that will have limited availability.Fans of the Jeep Wrangler who also happen to love Prince—or the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, if you like—now have the chance to choose a paint color that sounds like it was named after the late musician’s “Purple Rain” album and the accompanying film. That’s because for the 2023 model year the Wrangler will be available in purple paint called Reign. That has to be more than a coincidence, right?

Purple ReignJeep says it will only offer a limited number of 2023 Wranglers painted in purple Reign. It’s a $495 option that can be ordered now through October 2022. And that’s not the only interestingly named, newly available paint color that Wrangler buyers can choose from for the latest model year. No, it’s not yellow after the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” or “Red”—as in T. Swift’s greatest album. It’s weirder. It’s…Earl.

Jeep

A Paint Color Called EarlAny potential “Earl” reference is less obvious. Earl Gray tea, perhaps? The TV sitcom “My Name is Earl,” starring Jason Lee? We may never know. What we do know is that the color Earl is gray with an aquamarine tint. It costs $395 and can be ordered now and throughout the entire model year. The paint job first appeared on the Jeep Gladiator Farout concept back in 2020.
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• This 1980 Zastava 750 SE is today’s Bring a Trailer auction pick.• The diminutive, no-frills car is based on the Fiat 600 and was produced in Yugoslavia from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s.• The car is located in California, and the auction ends on Monday, July 18.The classic Fiat 500 and the related Fiat 600 radiate a certain La Dolce Vita Mediterranean summer cool, but if they’ve grown common in the resort city where you keep your megayacht, you might consider this Zastava 750 instead.

Up for sale right now on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—this Zastava looks adorable in its resprayed powder blue with a white interior. It’s also charmingly simple: Note the crank windows, two-spoke steering wheel, and painted metal dash.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

The Zastava is essentially a rebadged Fiat 600. It could also be considered the proto-Yugo, as it was built in the former Yugoslavia for three decades starting in 1955—first as the 600, then the 750, and lastly as the 850. This later model features front-hinged doors and, as an SE, wrings 30 rather than 25 horsepower from its rear-mounted 767-cc four-cylinder engine, which is paired with a four-speed manual transaxle.

Bring a Trailer

This example is said to have undergone some restoration work prior to the current owner’s purchase of the car in Croatia. It’s now located in California, where the engine was rebuilt and the water pump replaced. It would appear this Zastava is ready to turn heads, whether at the next Yugoslavian imports meetup or puttering around the harbor at your next port of call.Bidding is currently at $4200 with five days to go before the auction ends on Monday, July 18.
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Cadillac has released more revealing images of the Celestiq EV.The rear view shows a low-slung fastback silhouette, while the interior has a four-seat layout with a sumptuous rear cabin.The Celestiq is rumored to start at around $300,000 and will be built at GM’s tech center in Michigan.Cadillac is continuing to parse out information about its upcoming EV flagship, the Celestiq, and the latest images give us our best look yet at the car’s exterior and interior. With a low-slung fastback shape, exquisite detailing, and a hedonistic rear seat, the Celestiq—seen here in “Show Car” form—will attempt to take Cadillac into a higher echelon of the luxury market. Reports suggest that the Celestiq will not only carry a six-figure price tag, but that it could start at around $300,000, also known as Bentley and Rolls-Royce territory.

Cadillac

The Celestiq’s rear end suggests it will be a hatchback similar in shape to the Porsche Panamera or Mercedes-Benz EQS. The front view shows seven-spoke wheels with an intricate pattern that are wrapped in tires with a “Michelin Pilot Sport EV” designation.

Inside, we can see a clear view of four seats trimmed in red leather, and the rear seats appear to have their own entertainment screens, control knob, and seat-adjustment controls. Myriad screens dot the cabin, with a large widescreen setup on the dashboard, a screen between the front seats, a screen between the rear seats, and the aforementioned entertainment screens on the backs of the front seats.We don’t know how much the Celestiq concept car will change as it reaches production, but given that this model will be hand-built, the version you can buy may end up being fairly close to what you see here. We’ll learn more about the Celestiq soon, as the show car will finally make its debut soon.
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The most powerful Italian car in history is finally in official production mode. The Pininfarina Battista, whose electric motors drive 1900 horsepower and 1725 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels, famously shares roots with the Rimac Nevera. But almost a year following our first drive, a series of tweaks and refinements have since put a finer point on the $1.99 million hypercar, which the Mahindra-owned manufacturer says will reach U.S. garages later this year.”We’ve improved the performance aspects and gained consistency with reliability and durability,” chief product and engineering officer Paolo Dellachà told Car and Driver. “During the last 11 months we’ve also been fine tuning the e-powertrain, chassis calibration, ESC, and torque vectoring,” he adds. “I can tell you it is more refined and way faster than when you drove it [11 months ago].”

Pininfarina

That last bit is a gobsmacking claim. On paper, Pininfarina reports a zero-to-60-mph time of 1.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 217 mph, both of which remain unchanged. Incidentally, Battista feels even quicker by the seat of the pants than the figures suggest. Dellachà says the car is now faster around a racetrack due to improvements at corner exit and power delivery. However, we’re inclined to believe the average Battista buyer might not be hot to trot the multimillion-dollar EV with hot laps at their local circuit.

Pininfarina’s first nameplate since the Azzurra in the mid-1980s claims incremental distinctions over the Nevera, including a signature sound and a literal hum, which vibrates at 54 hertz. Just-released homologation details reveal the Battista is EPA rated at 300 miles of combined range (290 city/309 highway), edging out the Nevera’s 287 combined figure. Pininfarina also boosted its official torque figure by 29 pound-feet, while the Nevera takes the power crown with 1914 hp. Dellachà says that DC quick-charging has also been upped from 180 kW to 250 kW, and the five drive modes are now individually customizable.Battista honors its design house roots by bringing a bit of Italianate flair its Croatian counterpart’s straight-laced treatment. It’s a tipping point that likely serves as a strong draw for buyers like serial supercar collector and first customer Luciano Colosio, who told Financial Times that he has at one time owned a McLaren F1, a Bugatti Veyron, two Aston Martin One-77s, and numerous Ferraris. The publication says Colosio once had a strict V-12–only policy but has since shifted his viewpoint on electron-powered supercars—a cleverly leveraged preference that bolsters the argument for ultra-high-performance battery electric vehicles. Exterior designer Dave Amantea, who is working individually with each buyer to spec their Battistas, says the exterior can be configured in up to 13.9 quintillion configurations. Only 150 units will be produced in total, which helps explain why the boutique builder estimates 10 weeks to build each Battista at their Cambiano, Italy, facility. The hand-painted Anniversario spec extends that time frame to 18 weeks.Pininfarina also released details on three after-sales packages. Eccellenza offers five or 10 years of maintenance for “providing optimum performance and safeguarding its warranty and value,” at $72,000 or $145,000 respectively; Futura extends the battery and powertrain warranty an additional seven years (for a total of 10 years) for $150,000; and the Eterna package includes a set of replacement body parts in the unfortunate event that they’re needed. Pricing for the extra bodywork depends on the ordered vehicle’s specs.Watch this space for updates when we take a closer look at Pininfarina Battista at Monterey Car Week in August and get behind the wheel for a drive of the final production-spec car.

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Lotus Advanced Performance is a new division that will create several limited-edition bespoke models.The division is hoping to have both a new car and customer event by the end of the year.Simon Lane, the director of Lotus Advanced Performance, previously lead the similar Aston Martin Q division. Although Lotus just had its best sales year in a decade, selling 1710 units worldwide in 2021, that’s still a small batch of vehicles. But that isn’t stopping the company from getting even more exclusive. Lotus has now created a new division called Lotus Advanced Performance (LAP) aimed at creating bespoke cars and experiences for its customers.We sat down for a chat with Simon Lane, the new director of Lotus Advanced Performance and visionary for the group. Lane comes to Lotus fresh from heading up Aston Martin’s similar Q division.

When Lotus announced the new division in February, it released an enticing photo displaying what looks like the rear end of an open-wheel race car with a large wing. Notably, two exhaust pipes can be seen sticking out the back of the teaser car. We think it looks a bit like the Lotus 72, or perhaps the Type 49, but all Lane would give was “It’s clearly a very significant car for Lotus.” Excitingly, Lane also told us that, as the rest of Lotus moves toward full electrification, this division is retaining the right to “play” with internal combustion engines, albeit in very low volumes. LAP isn’t waiting around to get the ball rolling on production. Lane described the division as having four main “product streams,” with motorsport being one. Earlier this spring, it launched its first car, the Emira GT4 as a dedicated track machine based on the Emira mid-engine sports car. Lane told us that talks have started on what the team wants its next motorsport-focused car to look like, but there are no concrete decisions yet. He did explain that the proposed Electric GT series from the FIA is something his team is looking at, though offered no additional clues on that particular front.

Lotus Cars

The second “product stream” or “model line” would develop cars built on existing platforms. That means something on the Emira platform other than the aforementioned GT4, something on the Evija platform, or perhaps a performance version of the upcoming Eletre to compete with other performance SUVs. Bespoke options like unique paint jobs or liveries would also fall into this category. Modern Take on the PastHere’s where things get exciting. The third stream for LAP is set to consist of historic vehicles, both period-correct continuation cars and restomod-style cars with old designs and newer mechanical components.“I’ve discovered that there are a number of original drawings for cars that were completed in the Colin Chapman era, that never made it off the drawing board,” said Lane. “That’s really exciting, there were some amazing cars that were designed back then. And I think using a blend of original beautiful designs for cars that were designed by Colin, and modern technology offer us the opportunity to develop some really cool cars.”

Lotus Cars

Looking ahead, Lane also told us that LAP is hoping to launch its second car by the end of the year. “I would like to think that you will see something from us by the end of the year,” said Lane. The target for the first bespoke vehicle in the restomod line is later in 2023.It’s important to note that these will all be incredibly limited in number. We were told that most cars from Lotus Advanced Performance would have less than 100 made, and some would be as low as single digits. The fourth stream for LAP is in the experiential world with things like track days or tours of the company’s factory at Hethel. This page shows a great example of the sort of experience Lane put on with Aston Martin and works as a marker for what customers can expect Lotus to put on in the coming months and years.
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EV startup Canoo has made an agreement with Walmart to provide 4500 of its electric commercial vehicles for use in last-mile delivery. Walmart will be the first to receive a special model called the Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle (LDV), which has been specifically modified for short-range delivery purposes.The announcement saw Canoo’s stock open Tuesday at nearly double the value it closed at on Monday. Walmart will row its boat for the final leg of online-order deliveries with 4500 Canoos. As part of its initiative to achieve zero emissions by 2040, the superstore chain said today that it has signed a “definitive agreement” with Canoo, an U.S. EV startup, to purchase 4500 of its electric vehicles for use in last-mile delivery. It will also have the option to purchase up to 10,000 more later.

Canoo announced the agreement Tuesday, which involves the brand’s specialty Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs), which Walmart will become the first entity to receive. The LDV is a modified version of Canoo’s pod-shaped Lifestyle Vehicle (LV), an all-electric consumer utility vehicle with up to seven seats in a unique limousine-esque U-shape. The Delivery version, however, forgoes rear seats for cargo space and boasts 250 miles of range via an 80.0-kWh battery. Canoo also claims a 1464-pound payload capacity.

Lineup of Canoo LV models.
Canoo

Walmart will use the LDVs for last-mile delivery, which is the final step in an online-order package’s delivery. Basically, the Canoos will take your package from a local transportation hub to your front door. In the release, Canoo claims that the vehicles should hit the road for Walmart in 2023, but that LDVs will begin limited use in the coming weeks around the Dallas/Fort Worth area so Walmart can fine-tune the vehicle’s configuration. Car and Driver recently reported financial troubles for the up-and-coming EV startup, but Tuesday’s announcement saw Canoo’s stock open at $4.65 a share, nearly double its Monday closing value of $2.37. The company went public in December 2020, opening at $22.75 a share, but it has since steadily declined, though it’s important to note that other EV startups to have recently gone public—Rivian, Lightning eMotors, and others—have been following the same trajectory.
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The Walmart deal comes after another big Canoo announcement regarding fleet-use of the LV. The spunky pods were recently commissioned by NASA for use as transport vehicles in the upcoming Artemis moon-landing missions. All in all, things may be looking up for Canoo.
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Lynk & Co is an EV brand from Chinese automaker Geely Group that was once a strong contender to cross into the U.S. market.Its first model was the 01 crossover (pictured above), which went on sale in China in late 2017.At the time, we were told sales in the U.S. would start in 2020.When we last checked in with Lynk & Co, the Chinese carmaker—part of Geely Group’s automotive empire—was planning to expand its operations from China and Europe into America with the intention of opening an outpost in San Francisco by 2020. That was a couple of years ago, and it obviously has not happened—but that’s not because the company has lost interest.

CEO Alain Visser remains focused on bringing his EVs here. “My ambition, without a concrete plan, is to go to the U.S.,” he told Car and Driver, speaking with us at Lynk & Co headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. “I’m convinced there’s a market for our offering. Not everywhere, but in California, New York, and some other places.”Lynk’s structure is unusual. For a flat fee of around $500 per month, users acquire the use of a car, including all insurance and maintenance fees. There’s no commitment, so they can keep the car for one month or any other number of months. If they keep it for a year, it gets replaced with a new model. And with the touch of a button on their infotainment screen, users can offer up their car to share with anyone who is a member of the Lynk & Co app, for any duration—hour, day, week, month—at whatever price the market will bear. So, it’s like Airbnb for cars, but Lynk doesn’t even take a cut.Currently, Lynk & Co. operates in seven countries in Europe with 120,000 users on the app there and more than 17,000 cars on the road. In China, the company claims to be selling 150,000 cars per year.Plan B: Texas, Not California In keeping with the company’s offbeat nature, Visser now hopes to open the first Lynk USA brand experience center—”club,” in Lynk parlance—not on the coasts, but in Texas. “If I could do it now, I would open a club in Austin, without a car,” Visser said, though he admits he’s never visited the city. “I would just build the brand, the experience, talk about what it is we stand for, build the activities that we do in the clubs here in Europe. And then a year later, maybe add a car.”So what has prevented the company from doing just that? Well, the brand’s unique selling proposition wasn’t operational in 2020. “The sharing functionality wasn’t ready then,” he said. “We would have had just the concept of you use a car for a month, you pay the flat fee. And we wanted to wait because we think that the sharing is really what makes the business model sustainable.”

Lynk & Co

But now that that works—we saw on the Lynk App that there are hundreds of thousands of members throughout seven European countries looking to loan or borrow a car—what’s the holdup? Part of it is the U.S. insistence on an independent, franchise-based dealer network, which Lynk eschews—it does 99 percent of its business online. Visser, however, believes there might be a workaround. “We would almost be registered in the U.S. as a rental car company more than a car-selling enterprise,” he said. “We won’t have dealerships. But if Tesla had problems as an American company in the U.S., it would be definitely difficult for us.”If creating interest within the world’s second-largest automobile market for a completely unknown, garishly styled compact crossover made in China and sold with a wholly unfamiliar ownership model sounds like a challenge, Visser seems up for it.”We launched our first ever club in Amsterdam (pictured above), which is the most car-hating city in Europe,” he said. “And we said, let’s go there because it’s a clear signal that we go against the grain of the car industry. And I think I see Austin a bit like that. It’s in Texas, it’s the pickup state. So we start there.” We shall see.
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