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Hyundai’s 276-hp Elantra N wears a base price of $32,295.A six-speed manual transmission comes standard.Opting for the dual-clutch automatic transmission adds $1500 to the sticker.Move over Hyundai Veloster N, because there’s a new entry-level N-badged Hyundai in town: the 2022 Elantra N. With a starting sum of $32,295, the Elantra N undercuts the base price of its smaller stablemate by $600. Add another $1500 to the high-performance sedan’s sticker if you want to swap out the standard six-speed manual transmission for the brand’s eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

Hyundai

Regardless of transmission, all Elantra Ns rely on a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that produces 276 horsepower and 289 pound-feet of torque. Both figures top those of the Veloster N, which makes do with 275 horses and 260 pound-feet of torque. If you opt for the Elantra N’s two-pedal gearbox, Hyundai includes its so-called N Grin Shift feature that—when activated—allows the compact sedan’s four-pot to produce 286 hp for up to 20 seconds.

Predictably, the Elantra N’s larger shadow—at 184.1 inches long, it’s 16.2 inches bigger than the Veloster N—nets it a slightly heavier curb weight. At 3106 pounds, the stick shift Elantra N carries 80 extra pounds of mass relative to the three-pedal Veloster N (the difference is only 49 pounds with the dual-clutch transmission).Even with its slight weight penalty, we predict the Elantra N will nearly match the acceleration figures of the Veloster N. The most recent Veloster we tested was a dual-clutch model that hit 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and crossed the quarter-mile in 13.4 seconds with a trap speed of 105 mph. The Veloster, of course, will always have its fans for its lighter weight and more shapely styling.Look for the Elantra N to hit Hyundai dealers by the end of the year.
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Polestar shared the first image of the new 3 luxury electric crossover. Both single- and dual-motor configurations will be available. It will be built at Volvo’s plant in South Carolina and go on sale late next year. Polestar, Volvo’s electric-vehicle subbrand, will soon have additional EV offerings to join the 2 that’s on sale now, as it’s aiming to introduce a new model each year. The Polestar 3 will be the next to arrive, and the Swedish automaker has just shared the first photo of the new luxury electric crossover that will compete with the BMW iX and Jaguar I-Pace.

Polestar

Previously, all we had seen was a covered image (pictured above) of the new two-row EV crossover, which will be built in the brand’s Charleston, South Carolina plant where the Volvo S60 sedan is currently produced. The new 3 will have handsome styling typical of the other two existing Polestar models, and its chunky D pillar gives it a coupe-like appearance.

Powertrain details are scarce, but it will ride on Volvo’s new electric vehicle platform, and Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath confirmed that it will offer single- and dual-motor configurations, like the 2. The Polestar 2 offers up to 265 miles of electric driving range in the single-motor version. Polestar also announced that the 3 will eventually offer autonomous highway driving using lidar technology. We’ll know more about the 3’s features and specs when it makes its official debut sometime next year. The Polestar 3 will go on sale toward the end of 2022, and pricing is expected to start at around $75,000. The brand’s flagship luxury sedan, the Polestar 5, will enter production in 2024, and the Polestar 4, described as an SUV coupe, is due to arrive in 2023.
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Lexus has shared the first images of the new RZ, an electric crossover.The RZ’s body shape makes us think that it’s related to the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra.It will likely use a more powerful drivetrain than those models, which only make 215 horsepower in their dual-motor forms.Lexus is closely following Toyota into the EV fray with a new model that we now know will officially be called the RZ. Based on these teaser images, it appears to be related to the Toyota bZ4X but looks to have distinctly styled front and rear ends that fit in with the current Lexus design canon. This production model was previewed by the Lexus LF-Z Electrified concept shown earlier this year. It will be the first Lexus EV to the sold in the U.S., following the China-only UX300e.

Lexus

We’re expecting the RZ to wear the RZ450e designation, given that Lexus has already trademarked that moniker. The number 450 suggests more power than the 215 horsepower than the bZ4X offers in two-motor form, so we think the Lexus will use a more potent all-wheel-drive two-motor setup. The company previously shared details on a powertrain called Direct4 that used a 201-horsepower electric motor on both the front and rear axle, so the RZ450e could make around 350 or 400 horsepower in total.To go along with its luxury purview, the RZ is also likely to have a more sumptuous interior than its Toyota sibling. We don’t know if the bZ4X’s yoke-style steering wheel will make its way into the Lexus, but the materials inside the cabin should be plusher and more upscale. We’d expect the Lexus to start around $50,000, and an F Sport version will probably be part of the lineup.Look for more details to come on the Lexus RZ sometime in 2022.
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The new 2022 Toyota Tundra has the truck world buzzing, as it’s redesigned so infrequently that every new generation feels like a significant step forward. While there are still plenty of models still to come for the new third-generation truck such as the hybrid and the TRD Pro, Toyota has released the configurator tool for trucks powered by the standard twin-turbo 3.4-liter V-6 engine. Our editors chose from the various options for colors, bed sizes, cab configurations, and trims, and you’ll notice that many of them centered on similar combinations of trim levels and packages.

Connor Hoffman’s $58,862 Tundra Limited TRD Off-Road

Toyota

Toyota

If I bought a 2022 Tundra, I’d get a TRD Pro, but it’s not arriving until the spring, along with the other iForce MAX hybrid powertrains. I’m impatient, so I’d go for the next best thing: a Limited model with the TRD Off-Road package because this truck is hopefully going to live most of its life on the trails. I’d get it in the crew-cab configuration with a 5.5-foot bed and four-wheel drive. I love that you can now get my favorite Toyota color, Lunar Rock, previously a TRD Pro–specific color, on non–TRD Pro trucks. The TRD Off-Road package costs an extra $3085 and it adds things including 20-inch TRD wheels on all-terrain tires and Bilstein dampers—things I’d add anyway. Some other options I’d add are the all-weather floor liners ($169), console safe ($359), hard tonneau cover ($1295), rock rails ($270), and a black tailgate badge ($89) for a total of $58,862.Austin Irwin’s $41,075 Tundra SR

Toyota

Toyota

I wanted to see how weird the cheapest new Tundra with four-wheel drive would look. The base SR trim starts at $38,075 with destination, but keeping the final cost close to $40,000 requires sticking with the smaller DoubleCab and a 6.5-foot bed. The larger, more desirable CrewMax cab with a shorter 5.5-foot bed costs an extra $2050; although the DoubleCab with the longer 8.1-foot bed is only $330 extra, it makes the Tundra’s proportions look like a cabin with an attached bowling alley. I was willing to pay an extra $3000 for four-wheel drive, an obvious must-have in Michigan, even if it drops the max towing capacity by almost a half-ton to 11,200 pounds. For no extra cost, I chose Midnight Black Metallic because it’s the only color offered at that trim level to separate you from the delivery truck at O’Reilly Auto Parts. I also found that the $430 SR Tow package that’s not included in the base price isn’t optional in the configurator, but seems necessary as it includes a hitch and trailer harness. At $41,075, my truck is better than the previous-generation Tundra: It can tow more, has standard LED headlights and a larger 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, while retaining keyless entry and push-button start. Even if the DoubleCab looks a little goofy, the non-hybrid 348-hp twin-turbo V-6 for base models makes more torque sooner than the old truck’s beloved 5.7-liter V-8. I think there’s some beauty in that.Greg Fink’s $59,525 Tundra Limited TRD Off-Road

Toyota

Toyota

Want the most off-road-ready 2022 Toyota Tundra sans the gasoline-electric hybrid i-Force MAX powertrain? Then pick up a Tundra SR5 or Limited with four-wheel-drive and add on the TRD Off-Road package. (The package is also available on rear-drive Tundra SR5 and Limited trucks, but what sort of jabroni adds an “off-road” pack to a two-wheel-drive truck?) But I’m not stopping there. I’m adding a variety of additional options to my brown (or Smoked Mesquite in Toyota parlance) Tundra crew cab—err. . .CrewMax—with the shorter 5.5-foot box. Heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel? Check. Panoramic sunroof? You know it. While I’m at it, I’ll also tick the boxes for the Limited Premium package (premium LED headlights and additional trailering tech to make the most of this specific truck’s 11,120-pound max towing capacity) and Limited Power package (wireless charging, an AC power socket for rear-seat riders, as well as a second AC power socket mounted in the LED-lit bed. All in, my Tundra Limited rings in at $59,525. It’s certainly not cheap, but it’s arguably the best way to snag a luxury-lined and off-road-ready variant of the strictly gas-powered Tundra.Eric Stafford’s $58,360 Tundra Limited TRD Off-Road

Toyota

Toyota

It felt like the Tundra’s outgoing generation predated the internet, which makes mixing and matching the all-new 2022 model’s trims and options on Toyota’s online configurator so refreshing. Since the TRD Pro with its lifted suspension and desirable Fox dampers isn’t available yet, I settled for the TRD Off-Road package like several of my colleagues. It’s only offered on the SR5 and Limited, and I’d pick the latter because it brings standard features including a 14.0-inch touchscreen as well as leather seats with heating and cooling. While SR5 models offer some of those upgrades, they can’t be paired with the TRD Off-Road kit. My Limited would have four-wheel drive, the larger CrewMax cab, and the longer 6.5-foot box. This configuration starts at $53,925. I really dig this truck with Army Green paint, and the $4435 TRD Off-Road package brings light-colored interior upholstery and a panoramic sunroof. The 2022 Tundra Limited’s 389-hp twin-turbo V-6 lacks the sound of its predecessor’s V-8, but at least Toyota’s full-size pickup now—finally—feels up to date.

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Volkswagen’s electric ID.Buzz minivan is taking another baby step toward production, as it’s been seen cold-weather testing in northern Sweden.The retro-future styling has been toned down somewhat from the original concept shown back in 2017, but the van is on track to launch in North America in 2023 as a 2024 model.The van seen testing in these photos is still partly camouflaged, particularly on the front end around the headlamps and front emblem. The long-awaited 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz is getting ever closer to becoming reality. These photos show it wearing very little camouflage in cold-weather testing near the Arctic Circle. From these photos, the electric minivan has lost some of its retro charm in the transition from concept to production vehicle, but it’s still looking attractive and practical.

Brian Williams

Originally shown in 2017 at the Detroit auto show, the ID.Buzz concept was touted as a modern interpretation of the 1960s Microbus, an icon of the hippie era. The ID.Buzz will feature an all-electric powertrain and shares its structure with the smaller ID.4 SUV. We expect the base model to have rear-wheel drive and come with around 200 horsepower; an all-wheel-drive variant could offer around 300 horsepower from dual electric motors.If the ID.4 is anything to go by, the ID.Buzz should deliver a driving range somewhere around 260 miles of range per charge. An onboard charger capable of DC fast charging is expected to be standard, resulting in charging times as little as 30 minutes to reach an80 percent charge.

Brian Williams

Unfortunately, there are no spy photos of the ID.Buzz’s interior yet, and we don’t see a third row of seats through the windows in these photos. But we do expect the ID.Buzz to come standard with such a feature, which may help the ID.Buzz catch on with families seeking a three-row electric vehicle at an affordable price. We expect to find out more about Volkswagen’s new EV van closer to the ID.Buzz’s reveal date, which should be sometime late next year.

Volkswagen

We recently had a chance to see a prototype of the ID.Buzz in person in Munich, Germany, where Volkswagen and partner Argo AI are testing an autonomous driving system. That prototype wore much more camo than the one seen here and had external radar and lidar sensors mounted on all sides for the computer vision system, making it hard to get a good idea of what the production van would look like.
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Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the Project Maybach, an electric off-road coupe concept designed as part of a partnership with the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh.The Project Maybach has extreme proportions and carries off-road goodies including skid plates and an exterior roll cage.The concept comes in a tan and black two-tone look and features solar panels under a transparent panel in the hood.Mercedes-Benz teamed up with influential fashion designer Virgil Abloh last year to create the chunky, race-car-inspired Project Geländewagen, a jaw-dropping design piece based on the iconic G-class. Now Mercedes-Benz is paying tribute to Abloh, who died Sunday at age 41 of cancer, by unveiling the Project Maybach concept. The stunning show car was designed under the guidance of Abloh—who founded the design company Off-White and headed Louis Vuitton’s menswear division—and Mercedes’s chief design officer, Gorden Wagener.

Mercedes-Benz

While the concept’s long-hood proportions evoke the Mercedes-Maybach 6 concept from 2016, Mercedes says that every piece of the Project Maybach, which stretches nearly 20 feet in length, was built from scratch. The electric coupe is decked out for off-roading, with thick, knobby all-terrain tires and an exterior roll cage sprouting up and over the cabin. There are also tough metal skid plates at the front and rear and body cladding with exposed rivets over the wheel wells.

Mercedes-Benz

The Project Maybach’s front end features striking circular headlights and chrome vertical grille trim pieces under a glowing full-width light bar. Four auxiliary lights adorn a bull bar attached to the bumper, and four more lights extend from the roof rack. Round taillights mimic the headlights, and the two-tone appearance hides solar cells, for boosting the Maybach’s range, under the hood. It’s unclear if the Project Maybach previews a potential production vehicle, but Mercedes did say that the concept “exemplifies the possibilities of future design.” The Project Maybach is on display at the Rubell Museum in Miami December 1–2 in memory of Abloh, “to respectfully celebrate the work of a truly unique design talent.”
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The Bring a Trailer auction site is currently listing this 1965 International Harvester Scout 80, product of a 2753-hour restoration process.This Scout is an example of the Champagne Series, which was introduced for 1964 and included luxuries such as vinyl bucket seats and a removable hard top. Bidding ends on Monday, December 6, and as of this writing bids are already above $12,000 and sure to go much higher.The notion of what constitutes a luxurious SUV has certainly changed over time, as is starkly illustrated by this beautifully restored 1965 International Harvester Scout 80 currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer.Commenters on the auction website are losing their minds over the painstaking level of detail in the restoration of this Scout, which is said to have been a 2753-hour endeavor. The build was chronicled by the owner/restorer in a 76-page series of posts on the International Harvester fan site binderplanet.com.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

The restoration is truly impressive, but an additional element that makes this Scout stand out is that it’s a Champagne Series model. Introduced for 1964, the Champagne Series featured the Doll Up interior trim (yes, really) with such luxuries as carpeting, a headliner, a driver’s-side sun visor, a dash pad, embossed vinyl door panels, vinyl bucket seats, sound deadening, and chrome-plated control knobs. The dash and steering wheel were painted to match the champagne-colored upholstery. Talk about puttin’ on the ritz.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

This Scout also boasts a Travel Top, which is a removable fiberglass hard top, plus a rear bench seat, full wheel covers, and an AM radio. Power is by a Comanche four-cylinder engine, originally 152 cubic inches, now rebuilt and bored over. (A turbo was also offered.) The gearbox is a three-speed manual with a Warn overdrive. This Scout also features four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case controlled by a pair of floor shifters, a Power-Lok rear differential, and twin fuel tanks.

Bring a Trailer

Bring a Trailer

At this writing with five days to go before the December 6 deadline, bidding stands at $12,250 but is sure to go much higher. Previous Scouts on BaT have brought as much as six figures, although those were all heavily modded trucks. We find this faithfully restored Scout far more intoxicating. As Robin Leach used to say, “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.”

Bring a Trailer

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BMW has released teaser images of the i7, the electric variant of the next-generation 7-series.The i7 is seen undergoing testing in Arjeplog, Sweden, close to the Arctic Circle.The i7 will be unveiled next year, and will be sold alongside gas-powered versions of the next 7 Series.Last year, BMW announced that the next generation of its flagship sedan, the 7-series, would be available with a fully electric powertrain. Now the Bavarian automaker has confirmed that the EV version will be called i7 and provided teaser images of a camouflaged prototype testing in extreme conditions at the BMW Group winter test center in Sweden near the Arctic Circle. BMW says it is using the icy Swedish roads to test driving dynamics and the electric powertrain’s ability to withstand the intense cold.

BMW

BMW’s camouflage is quite effective at masking the i7’s true design, but we are able to make out a few details. The horizontally-oriented headlights are set relatively low in the front end and there appears to be a cut line that extends across the top of the lights and the grille, creating a furrowed-brow look. Thin vertical air intakes extend from the edges of the headlights, and there are small holes for battery cooling in the lower front bumper. The rear end is well-disguised, but we can make out the Hofmeister kink in the side windows, a trademark BMW design element.

BMW says that the i7 will use the fifth generation of BMW’s eDrive technology already seen in the iX SUV. BMW is expected to offer gas-powered and hybridized versions of the next 7-series alongside the i7, explaining that the i7 is “based on the same vehicle concept as all further model variants of the BMW 7 Series.” The i7 will be revealed at some point during 2022 and will compete with other luxury EVs such as the Mercedes EQS and Lucid Motors Air.
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