Motor News

• Our Bring a Trailer pick of the day is this 1962 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside pickup, up for auction until Tuesday, March 22.• This one’s a bit of a project as it needs some cosmetic and mechanical repairs to get it back into fighting shape.• We love the vintage look and think the side-mounted ramp to the bed is a novel feature that might make sense on modern pickup trucks, too.Today’s auction pick from the Bring a Trailer website—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is this old but cool 1962 Chevy Corvair 95 Rampside pickup truck. Okay, it’s a little rough around the edges, but hear us out: Small pickups are back in style. Right? And the Ford Maverick may wear a vintage name across its tailgate, but this old Chevy is actually vintage.

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Originally part of Chevy’s lineup of rear-engined Corvairs, the Rampside pickup featured a side door that folded down to serve as a ramp, allowing cargo to be loaded into the bed right from the curb. Maybe such a feature could be added to improve the functionality of the next Silverado.

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The interior appears to be in pretty good shape for its age, and the gray and beige color scheme presents an appealing contrast with the truck’s green exterior color. There’s some rust, obviously, and the roof sports a smattering of rust, er, patina, but we think that’s part of the charm. It’s up to the buyer on whether or not to give the truck a respray, but we kind of dig the appearance as it is.

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A horizontally opposed air-cooled flat-six engine, teamed with a three-speed manual transmission, drives the rear wheels. The engine is accessible by lifting a flap inside the bed. The engine made 80 horsepower when it was new, so don’t get any ideas of towing an Airstream trailer with this rig.

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The seller has done some repairs to get it running for the sale, including replacing the fuel pump, carburetor, and brake lines, so a buyer can expect that the truck runs and drives. It’s going to need some work to make it truly roadworthy, but with that in mind, it will make anyone’s fleet a bit more distinctive. The auction ends on Tuesday, March 22, and with five days to go, bidding on this no-reserve truck was only at $4400.
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Maserati will launch an electric version of the GranTurismo called Folgore.It claims 1200 horsepower from three electric motors and a top speed of 186 mph.Folgore EV versions of other Maserati models will arrive within the next few years.Maserati will launch a range of electric models that will wear the Folgore name—the Italian word for lightning. To emphasize these EVs’ focus on performance, Maserati says that the upcoming GranTurismo Folgore will offer over 1200 horsepower from three electric motors and claims it will accelerate to 62 mph in less than 3.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 186 mph. A photo of a camouflaged GranTurismo prototype shows the four-seat coupe’s styling ahead of its official reveal that will take place later this year.

There will also be Folgore versions of the upcoming Grecale SUV and the MC20 supercar coming within the next year, along with a convertible GranCabrio version of the GranTurismo. The next generation Quattroporte sedan and Levante SUV will be offered only as EVs and are slated to arrive in 2025. Maserati did not mention the Ghibli sedan as part of its future-product plan and confirmed that it will eventually disappear from the lineup after this generation runs its course.These Folgore models will ride on various platforms and not all of these upcoming EVs will adopt parent company Stellantis’ range of new EV-specific platforms. The Grecale, for instance, rides on the same Giorgio platform as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and the electric Folgore model will use a modified version of this architecture.By 2030, all Maserati models will be electric and gasoline engines will no longer be part of the lineup. The new GranTurismo, though, will still offer a gasoline version. Look for more details to come soon on these future models, as the Grecale and Grecale Folgore will debut next week.
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The Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept is a wagon version of the electric A6 that Audi showed last year.The A6 Avant e-tron will ride on the new PPE platform, and its two electric motors provide 469 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque.The Avant is unlikely to reach the U.S. market, but we could get a lifted Allroad model and potentially a sporty RS variant.If you remember last year’s Audi A6 e-tron concept, which previewed an electric version of the company’s mid-size sedan, then the A6 Avant e-tron concept revealed today will feel familiar. This stylish concept teases a wagon variant of the electric A6 due in 2024 and features much of the same design and technology seen on the first A6 e-tron concept—but the long roof makes it even more fetching to our eye.
The A6 Avant e-tron is similar in length to the gas-powered A6 wagon—which is currently offered in the United States as a lifted Allroad model and a high-performance RS6 Avant—but it is wider than the beefy RS6 and two inches lower. Audi claims a coefficient of drag of just 0.24. The classic Audi grille hides air intakes for cooling the battery, motors, and brakes as well as air curtains to smoothly channel air around the side of the vehicle. Compared to the A6 e-tron sedan, the rear diffuser gets more pronounced tunnels to reduce lift.The A6 e-tron and Avant will ride on the Volkswagen Group’s scalable PPE platform, which will also underpin an electric Porsche Macan and an Audi Q6 e-tron SUV. This new architecture includes an 800-volt system and up to 270 kilowatts of charging capacity. Audi says this will allow the electric A6 to gain around 186 miles of range in just 10 minutes when connected to a fast charger. Going from five to 80 percent will take under 25 minutes, Audi claims.
The A6 Avant e-tron features an approximately 100.0-kWh battery, with Audi aiming for up to 435 miles of range on the European WLTP test cycle for the production car. Like the sedan, the A6 Avant e-tron features two electric motors good for a total of 469 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The quickest A6 Avant e-tron models will hit 62 mph in under four seconds, and even entry-level models will sprint to 62 mph in under seven seconds, Audi claims. The PPE architecture will allow for both single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor configurations with all-wheel drive. The car rides on air suspension and 22-inch wheels and gets cameras instead of side-view mirrors, a feature that is still not legal in the U.S.Also like the sedan, the matrix LED and OLED lighting tech on the A6 Avant e-tron provides lots of fun party tricks. Projectors in the side of the body greet passengers with messages cast onto the ground beside the vehicle, and they can also project practical messages such as a warning symbol to oncoming cyclists that someone is about to open the door. Audi even says that, when the vehicle is parked, the projectors can display a video game on a wall while the passengers play inside.

The concept represents around 95 percent of the production design, and Audi said “never say never,” when asked about the wagon’s U.S. availability. The company hinted that we will get versions “positioned a little bit higher,” which likely refers to ride height and insinuates a future Allroad variant. There also may be a high-performance RS model sold stateside. When the A6 Avant e-tron arrives in 2024, it will be sold alongside the combustion-engine A6.
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This insane V-8–powered 1971 Saab 95 wagon is our Bring a Trailer pick of the day, in an auction that ends on Monday, March 21.Instead of the factory-supplied 73-hp V-4 engine, this Saab features a 502-cubic-inch big-block Chevy V-8 under the hood.This 95 has also been converted to rear-wheel drive and squeezes huge drag-racing tires under the rear fender skirts.This 1971 Saab 95 wagon may look like a dainty relic, but if you pulled up next to it late at night looking for an easy win in a red-light drag race, there’s a good chance you’d be left in its dust. That’s because this quaint little Saab has a massive 8.2-liter V-8 engine stuffed under the hood and beefy drag-racing tires hiding under the rear fender skirts. This ultimate Swedish sleeper is now up for sale on the Bring a Trailer auction site—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—with bidding ending on Monday, March 21.

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The Saab 95 was built from 1959 to 1978 as a wagon counterpart to the 96 sedan, and starting in 1971, U.S.-market versions were powered by a 1.7-liter Ford V-4 making 73 horsepower. But this example ditched the dinky V-4 for a big-block Chevy powerhouse, and it has been converted from front- to rear-wheel drive to maximize its drag-racing prowess. The steel 15-inch wheels are wrapped in BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires in the rear, which look plenty adept at putting the power down, and HKP 880 Sport IV tires up front. Before it gets to those BFGoodrichs, power is routed through a two-speed automatic transmission.

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Despite featuring only two doors and stretching only a couple of inches longer than a Chevy Trax, the original 95 wagon could seat seven occupants thanks to a rear-facing third row. This example, however, is down to five seats, with trunk space eaten into by a large black box that likely accommodates a differential and those huge rear tires. Otherwise, the interior and bodywork appear largely stock, with the exception of four-point racing harnesses for the front seats and a SuperTrapp dual-outlet exhaust that peeks out from under the rear bumper.

Saab 95 wagons come up a few times a year on Bring a Trailer, but so far none has been as wild as this example with its 502-cubic-inch engine and rear-wheel-drive drag-racing conversion. It may not be the most practical car, but the sleeper Saab is certainly unique. Bidding is currently at $12,500 with five days to go.

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Prodrive, the British company famous for building some of the most iconic race cars on the planet, has revealed a road-legal off-roader based on its championship-leading Bahrain Raid Xtreme competition car. Called the Hunter, it uses the same engine, drivetrain, and suspension, but comes with more power, more suspension travel, and a more livable interior.

The front-mounted 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine, free from the World Rally-Raid Championship’s restrictions, now makes 591 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, a 50 percent increase over the race car’s output. Like the race car driven by Sebastien Loeb, it sends power to all four wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox. But the shifter lever from the race car has been replaced with easier-to-use paddles near the steering wheel. The double-wishbone suspension, which features parallel uprights on all four corners, has 15.7 inches of travel, up from 13.7 in the competition car. The Hunter is fitted with 35-inch off-road tires, but the company estimates the car could hit 62 mph on pavement in less than four seconds if fitted with sticker rubber.While the Ian Callum–designed body of the Hunter hasn’t changed much in the switch from race car to road car, the interior has been given a total revamp. Most of the cage has been tucked away but there’s still plenty of visible carbon fiber on the dash and lower body panels. There are two carbon-fiber bucket seats and a real center console, along with a digital gauge cluster for the driver. You’ll also find six-point harnesses and a dual fire extinguisher system inside. Ben Sayer, a spokesperson for Prodrive, told Road & Track that testing and development for the Hunter has already been going on for over a month. But much of that testing is down to final calibrations and refinement. “Because [the Hunter] is based on the competition car, it’s done a huge amount of endurance [testing] already,” Sayer told Road & Track. “The three [competition] cars have done a total of 25,000 kilometers. So the whole of the powertrain and the suspension has been tested to the extreme and passed that endurance testing. Now it’s very much about refining the car for the kind of person who’s going to drive it.”

Speaking of buyers, Prodrive is currently on tour with its first Hunter model in the Middle East. Sayer says this region of the world will likely be the car’s most valuable market simply because it has exactly the type of terrain the Hunter was designed to conquer. But he also acknowledged its potential for North American sales.”This car is about driving at high speed over rough terrain,” Sayer said. “There are parts of North America where you’re able to do that, where you can turn off the road and you’re fairly free to do it. So North America is one of our markets.”The Hunter shown here has already been sold, and buyers for the next few examples have already been lined up, says Sayer. With a starting price of roughly $1.6 million, the car isn’t cheap. And because it fills such a narrow niche, Prodrive doesn’t expect to sell many. Its sold allocations will keep the team busy until at least the end of the year, according to Sayer. If you want one any time soon, we suggest getting your order in ASAP.

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The Aston Martin V12 Vantage’s twin-turbo V-12 engine will make 690 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque.It will be limited to just 333 cars globally and comes only as a coupe.The V12 model features a revised suspension, a wider track, and a dramatic-looking aerodynamic kit.We have long loved the combination of large engines in small cars, and few encapsulate the relative imbalance better than the freshly unveiled 2023 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Aston has stuffed the mighty twin-turbo 5.2-liter V-12 from the DBS Superleggera into the baby Vantage. The combination will be produced in a limited run of 333 cars, and Aston says that the order book has already closed “due to unprecedented demand.”While the previous-generation Vantage spawned multiple V-12–powered variants, all of which used the older 6.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, there will only be a single version of the new V12 Vantage this time around. It’s only available as a coupe and there won’t be a roadster version. The engine is closely related to the one in the DB11 and DBS, sharing the latter’s headline power figure of 690 horsepower produced at 6500 rpm. Although impressive, the 555 pound-feet of torque is 108 pound-feet lower than in the Superleggera. The regular V-8–powered Vantage is no slouch, but Aston Martin claims that the V12 Vantage will have a power-to-weight ratio more than 20 percent better.

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The gearbox is an eight-speed torque-converter automatic—a manual would have been too much to hope for—but with a unique calibration for quicker shifts. But unlike the regular Vantage, which uses an electronically controlled rear differential, the V12 features a conventional mechanical limited-slip differential, a feature previously only offered on the manual Vantage.

Other changes include extensive chassis revisions, many of these related to the ones made to allow the Vantage-based V12 Speedster to accommodate the V-12 last year. Aston CEO Tobias Moers recently told us that the revisions to the V12 Vantage are significant enough for it to be considered a new model, with these including spring rates increased by 40 percent at the front and 50 percent at the rear, new top mounts, revised sway bars, and a new secondary spring for the rear axle to improve ride comfort.

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Aston says the V12 Vantage is 1.6 inch wider than the standard car and features many carbon-fiber panels. A rear strut brace and additional reinforcements have improved structural stiffness over the V-8 model, too. The steering system is revised and carbon ceramic brakes are standard, along with 21-inch wheels. There will be an option for a lightweight version of these wheels, and all V12 Vantages will wear Michelin Pilot 4S tires.Much of the revised exterior design has been dictated by the need to manage the V12 Vantage’s high-speed airflow. The bonnet’s vast “horse shoe” vent seems to occupy more than half of the hood area and the radiator grille is also 25 percent larger than the regular Vantage’s. A new splitter element below the front bumper and a diffuser at the back improve aerodynamic performance, but the vast new wing makes the greatest contribution. Buyers will be able to forego this for a stealthier look, although doing so will diminish the 450 pounds of peak downforce the wing-wearing V12 Vantage is claimed to be capable of generating at peak speed.

Aston Martin

Buyers will be able to choose between leather sports seats or lightweight buckets with exposed carbon shells and manual adjustment; selecting these will save another 16 pounds of mass. Buyers will also be able to use Aston’s Q customization service to select bespoke exterior and trim colors. The company is not expecting any two completed cars to be the same. There is no official word on pricing yet, but we are told to expect around $300,000 before options in the U.S., with deliveries starting later this year. That would be more than twice as much as the standard Vantage, but this is also set to be a much rarer car. Aston has already said its V-12 engine is approaching emissions-enforced retirement; the Vantage will be one of its final applications.
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The Rivian R1T is a groundbreaking electric pickup truck that we’ve been anticipating for years. Configured for outdoor adventuring, it offers many unique options for carrying gear beyond its obvious truck bed, and its so-called Large battery pack—which isn’t as sizable as the Max pack they’ll soon offer—is good for 314 miles of range.

The R1T is powered by four separate electric motors, and they team up for 835 combined horsepower. You obviously won’t get 314 miles of range if you wail on the accelerator pedal and unleash all of those ponies to execute the 3.3-second zero-to-60-mph runs we found the R1T to be capable of, of course. And though it’s also rated to tow 11,000 pounds, latching on a trailer doesn’t do much for range, either. Look for more on that subject in the future, especially after the Max pack becomes available.But I’m here for the suspension. You may know that I used to tune suspensions for two major automakers before I joined Car and Driver, so I’ve developed the habit of pulling the tires off of new and interesting vehicles to see what’s going on in those wheel wells. This truck should be especially interesting for a variety of reasons, among them the hydraulic roll control system that it shares with none other than the McLaren MP4-12C and 720S.The R1T rolls on a four-wheel independent suspension, which isn’t the obvious choice for a pickup, let alone an off-road focused one that’s obviously aimed at the Overlanding set. You want a generous amount of clearance, suspension travel, and articulation when you’re going off road, so that’s why I’ve also driven the R1T up my 20-degree suspension flex ramp to measure its Ramp Travel Index or RTI.Does the R1T have what it takes to acquit itself well when driven in challenging conditions off-road? We’ll answer that question in full detail as we get more seat time in real-world situations, but for now we can get a good idea by eyeballing the suspension and measuring how the R1T does in an RTI test.

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• An excellent example of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the bulldog from Gaydon, is up for sale on Bring a Trailer in an auction that ends on March 18.• Its bite comes from a 4.7-liter V-8 with 430 horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque, and its bark is enough to scare Cerberus. The six-speed manual seals the deal, absolving the sins of a deft yet unforgiving chassis.• This Meteor Silver over Chestnut Tan California roadster with just 29,000 miles has had a pre-purchase inspection and comes with a partial service history and clean title.Beauty, hedonism, and nostalgia, daubed with masochism, compel my Bring a Trailer pick of the day, a 2014 Aston Martin V8 Vantage roadster. The auction site—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is accepting bids until Friday, March 18. In its 16-year life span, various trims in the compact, entry-level Vantage lineup have earned gold stars or wooden spoons as the best and worst of 21st-century Aston Martin. Yet it’s never been boring, and even at its worst, like pizza and . . . other things, it’s still rather good. The beauty and hedonism are self-evident. Just look at this car. As for nostalgia, this job requires repeated jaunts to the world’s most tempting locales to measure up the industry’s finest fruit. Eventually, one numbs to luxury, more indifferent to Michelin stars than Michelin tires, prone to exclamations like, “Oh no—not Marbella again.”

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Any work trip that pierces one’s insensate hide is special, and I’ve been on a few. But every trip involving an Aston Martin has been superlative. I drove a DB9 Sport Pack from England to France’s Champagne region, and then to Le Mans to watch the carmaker wage a successful 24-hour fight to win its class. I took a DBS to England’s National Motor Museum to see the James Bond movie-car exhibit, then got waylaid between hedgerows by a mule. A friend and I took a Rapide from Munich to St. Moritz for a long weekend plying Alpine passes.

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And before all that, there was my first international press launch, the 2007 V8 Vantage roadster drive. We bivouacked in a castle perched over a valley in the South of France. I made a bosom pal. We were served truffle-infused meals every day, three times a day, washed down with truffle wine. I still avoid truffles 15 years later.

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As for the V8 Vantage, it was sent to do an impossible job: challenge the Porsche 911. It failed, same as every such challenger, but the Aston Martin failed sensationally, with incredible looks, old-school English cosseting and character, dynamic chops, exclusivity (perhaps to an unintended extent), and an exhaust wail better than Rogaine to make one hirsute.

By 2014, though, development budgets less lavish than the products were turning old-school into an anachronism. The infotainment system needed to be euthanized. Mechanical noises, especially from the rough-shifting SportShift II seven-speed automated manual, went bump in the day and the night. The chassis wasn’t merely stiff; it refused to yield. Every long drive ended at an orthopedist.

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Hence the masochism, because we’d still take this one right here. The 420-hp 4.7-liter V-8 is always ready to stir the pot. The proper six-speed manual eliminates the compromises of the SportShift. The roadster would still “gallop through corners with confident handling, slack-free controls,” same as we said in 2007. And the droptop brings all ears closer to that chorus of dual-pipe demons. No OEM offering of the day was as brutish and pampering as the V8 Vantage, and there will never be another like it.What’s more, they’ll never be cheaper. Bidding is at $50,100 at the time of writing. Don’t be shy.

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