Motor News

Chevrolet is introducing a 70th Anniversary Edition package for the 2023 Corvette to mark seven decades since the C1 Corvette began production.Two colors are available—White Pearl Metallic Tri-Coat and Carbon Flash Metallic—and each can be had with a pair of racing stripes.The package includes special wheel designs, unique badging, and red trim inside and out.The 2023 model year is important for the Chevrolet Corvette. Not only does this model year mark the arrival of the new Corvette Z06—propelled by a flat-plane-crank 5.5-liter V-8 pushing out 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque—but it is also the legendary sports car’s 70th birthday, as the original C1 Corvette was first launched for the 1953 model year. To commemorate the occasion, Chevy is releasing a 70th Anniversary Edition package for 2023 Corvettes, including the new Z06.

Chevrolet

The 70th Anniversary Edition package brings a choice of two unique exterior colors, White Pearl Metallic Tri-Coat and Carbon Flash Metallic. Buyers can option racing stripes in Satin Gray for the white paint job or Satin Black with the Carbon Flash look. The package also includes special wheels—with different designs for Stingrays and Z06s—which have a dark finish and a red stripe around the perimeter.

The cockpit is fitted with two-tone Ceramic leather GT2 or Competition Sport seats and red seatbelts, as well as red stitching throughout. The brake calipers are also painted red, as are the engine covers on Stingrays with the package, and there are new 70th Anniversary Edition Corvette badges inside and out. A custom luggage set with red stitching and the new logo also comes with the car. The 70th Anniversary Edition package will be available later this year when production begins on 2023 Corvettes, although there’s no word yet on price. If you don’t feel like springing for the package, all 2023 Corvettes will have a commemorative interior plaque on the center speaker and a graphic on the lower rear window noting the anniversary.
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Cybertruck Owners Club via YouTube

A video clip, showing the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck on what seems to be a shop floor, surfaced on YouTube today.Although this is circulating on the video-sharing site as a “leaked” video, the two people involved in shooting it don’t seem to be making any effort to hide their participation.Perhaps not coincidentally, Tesla will be holding an earnings call on Wednesday, January 26. We here at Car and Driver like to maintain a healthy skepticism when it comes to manufacturer claims that seem dubious. Sometimes, we even prompt fixes so that car company braggadocio aligns with reality. So while we’d certainly like to drive a Tesla Cybertruck, we wouldn’t bet our bulletproof windows on whether it’ll arrive before Elon colonizes Mars. Both because we’re skeptical, and because Tesla has given us no proof that the Cybertruck is actually imminent anytime soon. And this new video doesn’t change that.
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In a four-minute clip posted by several different YouTube accounts, a guy in a high-vis vest does a walkaround of the truck while commenting on the details he could see, which don’t amount to much. The headlights keep coming on, possibly because of proximity sensors or cameras, or maybe because someone from Tesla is just offscreen turning them on. We don’t see the interior. He doesn’t open the tailgate. There are cables of some sort running laterally across the floor of the bed, seemingly held in place with sandbags. What are they for? Why the sandbags?Our narrator does not explore this line of speculation. He comments that the truck looks like a refrigerator, and it sounds kind of like a compliment. There’s another guy with tattoos who seems to know more about the truck than the guy who’s filming. The truck has external rearview mirrors but no door handles. It has one windshield wiper. The mirrors might be a production item. Or they could be temporary, for testing. We don’t know what the deal is with any of this. All we do know is that Tesla parked a Cybertruck by itself where two dudes could examine it at their leisure and then post the resulting video online without fear of reprisal—garnering attention and stoking the idea that an important product is nearing production—a few days ahead of an earnings call. Huh!

What we don’t know is anything else, even about this particular truck. Was it built at the Texas Gigafactory, on an assembly line, as car companies do to fine-tune the production process and identify potential snags? Or is it a hand-built prototype? Does it have a production-ready powertrain? How much will it cost? Is this one smaller than the original concept they unveiled? Is this even at the Texas Gigafactory or are we led to think so because the guys have southern accents? Not to be too conspiracy-minded, but simultaneously pumping the idea that the factory and the truck are both further along than they actually are would be pretty smart.Anyway, there’s definitely a Cybertruck, and they’re planning to build more at some point. That we know. Probably.
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Lamborghini will release four new cars this year, and they’ll be the final Lamborghinis to use gas engines without any electric assistance. That’s according to CEO Stephan Winkelmann in an interview with the U.K.’s Car magazine.These new models will be followed by a plug-in-hybrid replacement for the Aventador in 2023, with plug-in Huracán and Urus models arriving the year after. Lamborghini’s first electric car will likely be a grand tourer, and that one is currently in the very early planning stages, according to Winkelmann.While Ferrari is already building two series production hybrid supercars—the plug-in SF90 Stradale and its baby brother, the 296GTB—Lamborghini has made just one electrified model, the limited-production Sián. But that is soon to change, with Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann revealing the Italian supercar maker’s path toward an electric future in a recent interview with CAR magazine. Before Lamborghini’s electrified onslaught begins, however, the last Lamborghinis with a gas-only powertrain will arrive this year. Winkelmann confirmed two new variants of the Huracán and two versions of the Urus SUV as part of a mid-cycle facelift. The first new Huracán model is expected to be the Sterrato, a rally-style off-road supercar first shown as a concept back in 2019. Car claims that the second Huracán derivative will be a subtler take on the garish high-performance STO (think Porsche 911 GT3 Touring), possibly called JV Stradale. The updated Urus has already been spotted testing and is likely to add a high-performance model.

Lamborghini

Plug-In Hybrids Coming, Plus a New EngineThen 2023 will mark the start of Lamborghini’s electrification plans, with Winkelmann revealing that the Aventador replacement will arrive that year sporting a plug-in-hybrid setup with a new V-12 engine. This will be Lamborghini’s first plug-in model, and itwill quickly be followed by two more, an Urus and a Huracán, in 2024. The Urus will use a V-8, but Winkelmann remained tight-lipped about what will power the plug-in Huracán, only saying that it will have a “completely new engine.” According to Car it will be a V-8, but unlike the unit found in the Urus, it will be developed by Lamborghini itself and not shared with Audi or Porsche. Car claims the V-8 will have a 10,000-rpm redline and will be able to run on synthetic fuels, with the hybrid system generating an approximate total of 850 horsepower.

Further down the line, Lamborghini is preparing a fully electric grand tourer. Lamborghini’s first EV is still in its early planning phase, with the company testing electric rivals and working out the details of what the car will need to be competitive. While it may be a while until we see Lamborghini’s EV debut, the Italian automaker has plenty of exciting models to keep us sated in the meantime.
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The Jeep Grand Wagoneer is arguably the definition of American excess, and the big Jeep is both beautiful and atrocious for it. Sure, no one needs an approximately three-ton box with a 471-hp V-8 that rockets it to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, nor does anyone need up to seven infotainment-related screens or enough leather and wood trim to put an Aspen ski lodge to shame, but dammit, they want it. Is that not the American Dream, after all? [editoriallinks id=’da5f97fb-da53-491a-9115-a8b6da79027c’ align=’left’][/editoriallinks]Yet, as indulgent as it is, the Grand Wagoneer still shows some signs of restraint. At 214.7 inches long, Jeep’s full-size SUV casts a shadow more than a foot shorter than that of the largest Cadillac Escalade, the Escalade ESV. This is due to change soon, though, as Jeep seems intent on adding a long-wheelbase variant to the Grand Wagoneer model line, as evidenced by these images that show the vehicle undergoing testing alongside a standard-wheelbase model. [image id=’5b6c5e39-14b3-410c-8224-942ad01b67f8′ mediaId=’c9068c95-f3e2-4ac1-8373-2b25477e290a’ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’18×11′][/image]The 2022 Grand Wagoneer’s measurements top those of the standard-wheelbase Escalade by 3.7 inches in overall length and by 2.1 inches in wheelbase (at 123.0 inches). In much the same way, the long-wheelbase Grand Wagoneer (the Grandiose Wagoneer?) will almost certainly overshadow the giant Escalade ESV with its 134.1-inch wheelbase. Although we only see Jeep testing an extended Grand Wagoneer in these images, we believe the brand plans to offer the less opulent Wagoneer in long-wheelbase form as well.Save for additional third-row space and cargo room, the longer Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer should carry over the features of its shorter kin, including those models’ powertrain options. This includes the likely addition of a plug-in hybrid 4xe variant. One thing that is likely to remain missing from this extra-large Wagoneer model, however, is Jeep’s Trail Rated badging. If the standard-wheelbase iterations of the Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer lacked the agility to earn this distinction, then these even bigger versions—with surely worse departure and breakover angles—can be expected to fail to achieve the honor. Jeep is still keeping quiet about its longer Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer for now. That said, we think the off-road-oriented brand will formally unveil these massive models before the end of the year, likely as 2023 or 2024 models.[poll id=’f3777272-1ea8-41fb-beb7-9d840b96bd0f_98d2ad120519b’ type=’text’ question=’Should Jeep add long-wheelbase Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer variants to its model line?’ answer1=’Yes.’ answer2=’No.’][/poll][editoriallinks id=’eda9a23f-9579-4c53-a7dd-a25e7bc488fe’ align=’center’][/editoriallinks]

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The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor carries a starting price of $69,995.Ford has yet to release option prices or details about trim levels, but we imagine a fully equipped model will be considerably more expensive.Ford says deliveries will begin this summer, and those with an existing Bronco order can choose to upgrade to the Raptor.The new 2022 Bronco Raptor is the ultimate version of the Ford Bronco (at least for now), and it carries an appropriately heady base price of $69,995—nearly $20,000 more than a standard Bronco Wildtrak four-door model. Ford has yet to release details on options and trim levels, but we imagine a fully loaded model will reach above $80,000. The Raptor comes only as a four-door with a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 engine that Ford claims will make around 400 horsepower.

This starting price makes the Bronco Raptor slightly more expensive than the F-150 Raptor pickup, which starts at $67,070. The F-150 is powered by a larger-displacement twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 that makes 450 horsepower, giving it a power advantage over the Bronco. But it’s worth noting that the Bronco Raptor comes standard with 37-inch tires, whereas a 2022 F-150 Raptor requires adding some expensive options to get equivalent 37-inch rubber: the $5250 37 Performance package and $6150 801A package, which together bring the truck’s price to $78,470.The other important point of comparison is with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, which has a 6.4-liter V-8 that makes 470 horsepower. The Rubicon is more expensive than the Bronco Raptor, starting at $76,395, which is to be expected given its extra power. Tire-wise, the Wrangler 392 comes standard with 33-inch tires and offers a 35-inch tire option as part of the $3995 Xtreme Recon package.Ford says that deliveries of the 2022 Bronco Raptor will start this summer. Customers with an existing Bronco order will be offered the chance to upgrade to a Raptor.
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The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor is a high-performance off-roader that features long-travel suspension and the biggest tires you’ll find on any SUV. Prices start at $69,995 (destination included), and deliveries begin this summer. Shoppers with existing Bronco pre-orders will be able to upgrade, if desired. The 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor has arrived, and it looks like something we might have drawn as children. Beyond the massive fender flares, the Raptor transformation includes more power from a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 and similar hardware to Ford’s F-150 Raptor pickup, from long-travel suspension and 37-inch tires to adaptive Fox Racing shocks.

Internally named Warthog, the Raptor has massive tires and beefy suspension to augment the already capable Bronco hardware, including locking front and rear differentials and a disconnecting front anti-roll bar. Ford says this package was inspired by the combination of high-speed desert racing and rock crawling that happens at Ultra4 racing events like King of the Hammers. Tires, Suspension, Clearances If you trace an imaginary line up from the center of the 37×12.50R-17 LT BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires, you’ll find it’s roughly in line with the bodywork. To accommodate the 8.6-inch-wider track, there are 85.7 inches between the Raptor’s fenders, making this Bronco nearly as wide as the F-150 Raptor and also necessitating amber marker lights in accordance with Department of Transportation regulations.
While optional on the F-150 Raptor, the tires come standard on the Bronco Raptor, bringing dramatic improvements in clearances and capability. Approach, breakover, and departure angles increase by 3.5 to 4.5 degrees. As on the F-150, the tires are mounted on 17-inch wheels that accept an accessory beadlock rim. The 37-inch tires and additional suspension travel introduced a variety of challenges for Ford engineers. Mounting the heavier spare wheel and tire on the tailgate required additional carrier reinforcement. The size also meant Ford had to push the taillights outward. Look on the backside of the new center taillight housing and you’ll see “RAPTOR” printed backward so it reads correctly in the rearview mirror. The standard Bronco’s independent front and solid rear axle setup has been upgraded to withstand durability needs for serious off-road performance, with a Dana 44 front and Dana 50 rear axle with a 235-mm ring gear. The 3.1-inch diameter Fox Racing shocks are the same setup as the F-150 Raptor’s, with external reservoirs in the rear but Bronco-specific valving. The brakes, wheels, and tires will even bolt right up to the F-150, though the wheel offset is different. New shock mounts and control arms enable longer wheel travel, up to 13 inches in front and 14 inches in the rear, like the F-150 Raptor. The upper front control arms even have a small bend to clear the body as they pivot through the range of travel. Additional front and rear jounce dampers help absorb the load after landing sweet jumps, while new braces on the trailer hitch help increase the tow rating to 4500 pounds. Engine, Gearing, and Exhaust It should be no surprise that the Bronco Raptor doesn’t have a V-8. Instead, the power upgrade comes from a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 like what you’d find under the hood of a Ford Explorer ST. The engine features some additions and changes for the Raptor, including new turbochargers.
Ford did not specify horsepower and torque but says the target is 400 horsepower. In the Explorer ST, the engine makes that amount of power and 415 pound-feet of torque. This might be the only thing Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 owners have remaining to brag about against the Bronco.A new Baja drive mode joins the Bronco’s stable of settings. Among other settings, this mode has an anti-lag system that lets exhaust flow when you’re off the throttle to keep the turbos spinning, so that there’s boost when you reapply the gas pedal. Baja mode also opens the dual exhaust system’s electronically controlled valves wide open. These valves adjust depending on the drive mode, from neighborhood-friendly to The Terror on Nextdoor. The transmission is a 10-speed automatic with unchanged gear ratios. And the low range is 3.06:1, netting a 67.8:1 crawl ratio that matches the standard Bronco with the automatic and a 4.7:1 final drive. Removable End Caps and Side Steps The Raptor’s new steel bumper features a large steel front bash plate with integrated tow hooks and four Rigid LED foglights. Two of the inboard fog lights come covered from the factory; Ford says the combined lumens of all four are too bright for legal on-road use.
At each end of the bumper are end caps that, when removed, provide more clearance in front of the wheels. A steel side step is installed onto factory rock rails and can likewise be jettisoned by undoing a few bolts. The rear fenders have replaceable front sections, as Ford found during development that they would get damaged by flying debris. Interior and Tech In a nod to the more practical-minded aspects of desert racing, the entry Bronco Raptor features vinyl seats and rubberized flooring that you can hose out. A Premium option adds more plush materials including floor carpeting and suede seats with leather-wrapped bolsters.
Regardless of covering, the Raptor-specific seats feature additional bolstering to keep you secure, and Ford engineers also considered headroom with a helmet included. Behind the driver’s helmet is a new aluminum B-pillar cross bar, while the C-pillar gains a carbon-fiber reinforcement structure. Combined with other structure improvements, these parts help increase torsional rigidity by a claimed 50 percent. Like higher-end versions of the standard Bronco, a 12.0-inch center touchscreen comes standard, as does a comprehensive exterior camera system. The optional Lux package adds a 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system and adaptive cruise control.Pricing and Availability The Bronco Raptor starts at $69,995, destination charge included. For comparison, it costs $78,470 to equip a 2022 F-150 Raptor with 37-inch tires, and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 starts at $76,395. Orders open in March and deliveries begin in the summer. Ford will also let current Bronco reservation holders upgrade their order to the Raptor, if desired. Fair warning: Ford says they expect most of the 2022 Bronco Raptor SUVs to be snapped up by those existing reservation holders.
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There are no self-driving cars available to own today, but that isn’t stopping automakers from hyping that these Level 2+ systems are offering more than they’re capable of.Now, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) wants to see just how good these “partial automation” technologies are at identifying distracted drivers, the ones who are supposed to be actively participating even if the car can change lanes or drive the speed of other cars automatically.IIHS will issue its first ratings later in 2022 and doesn’t see any automaker’s system getting top marks just yet.Some drivers might call it Level 2+ autonomous driving, or perhaps a partially self-driving vehicle. Companies call the technology these cars use things like Autopilot (Tesla), Pilot Assist (Volvo), and Super Cruise (GM). Whatever name you give the fancy driver assistance systems in today’s cars, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is going to start figuring out just how safe they really are, especially when it comes to reducing intentional or unintentional misuse.IIHS announced this week it will create “safeguard ratings for partial automation” technology and will rank these features with one of four ratings: Good, Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor. The reason, IIHS said, was because the group has not seen all of the benefits in safer driving that partial automation promises. In 2020, a study of 2013–2017 BMW vehicles by the IIHS’s Highway Loss Data Institute, for example, found that front crash prevention sensors and the addition of adaptive cruise control did reduce the amount of property damage and bodily injury, but “the further addition of lane centering as part of the company’s partially automated driving package had little impact,” the group said at the time. When Car and Driver tested driver-assist features in 2021, we found that all of them had problems identifying inattentive drivers.

“Partial automation systems may make long drives seem like less of a burden, but there is no evidence that they make driving safer,” said IIHS president David Harkey in a statement. “In fact, the opposite may be the case if systems lack adequate safeguards.”To earn a Good rating, a driver assist system will have to be able to track where a driver is looking, and it needs to make sure drivers are watching the road with their hands on the wheel—or are ready to grab it—during the entire drive. IIHS will also require a car to offer “escalating alerts” and have “appropriate emergency procedures” in place whenever the driver isn’t paying attention. IIHS said that different kinds of warnings—”chimes, vibrations, pulsing the brakes or tugging on the driver’s seatbelt”—are better than just one type, and that a driver who fails to respond to these alerts “should be locked out of the system for the remainder of the drive, until the engine is switched off and started again.”IIHS doesn’t expect any automaker’s system to get a Good score when the first ratings are assigned later this year. “While most partial automation systems have some safeguards in place to help ensure drivers are focused and ready, none of them meets all the pending IIHS criteria,” the group wrote in a statement.

IIHS

IIHS

This would be a good place to mention that there are no fully self-driving vehicles available to buy in the U.S. today, even as some automakers hype their systems’ capabilities beyond what’s real. “Some manufacturers have oversold the capabilities of their systems, prompting drivers to treat the systems as if they can drive the car on their own,” IIHS wrote. “In egregious cases, drivers have been documented watching videos or playing games on their cellphones or even taking naps while speeding down the expressway” before citing a 2018 example of a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model X where the driver was likely playing video games while “driving.”
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Koenigsegg takes its carbon fiber seriously. One look at any of the Swedish supercar company’s creations up close, and you’ll understand just how much effort is put into each and every weave. Whether we’re talking about monocoques, body panels, or even wheels, Koenigsegg’s carbon is perfectly aligned and masterfully crafted. It’s a major reason why all of the company’s cars sell out so quickly. Previously, if you wanted a car with carbon fiber made by Koenigsegg, you’d have to shell out several hundred thousand dollars to buy a Koenigsegg. Now, though, all you’ll need is a Tesla to make use of Koenigsegg’s ultra-high-quality carbon. That’s thanks to a new collaboration between Koenigsegg Advanced Manufacturing and Tesla tuner Unplugged Performance. Unplugged Performance is one of the most popular suppliers of aftermarket Tesla parts, offering things like high-performance braking systems, suspension upgrades, and exterior modifications. It’s also the company behind that highly modified Model S Plaid that attacked Pikes Peak in 2021. Furthermore, Unplugged Performance is an officially authorized service provider for Tesla vehicles, according to Electrek. So it’s only natural Koenigsegg would team up with it to provide parts to customers.

As a part of the launch, Unplugged Performance is offering a handful of carbon-fiber spoilers for the Model S, Model 3, and Model X. Additionally, carbon-fiber front fenders are available for the Model 3. Pricing for the spoilers range from $1745 to $2495, while the fenders come in at $8895 per set before taxes and shipping. That sounds like a whole lot of money for body panels, we know. But once you consider the parts are made from Koenigsegg’s proprietary carbon-fiber weave and built on the same assembly line as the aerodynamic parts destined for Koenigsegg’s newest hypercars, it starts to make sense. Unplugged Performance says it plans to debut more parts in collaboration with Koenigsegg later in 2022, so if you don’t see anything you like just yet, stay tuned.

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