Motor News

Porsche in increasing its Paint to Sample availability to more than 160 color options. Exclusive Manufaktur is also offering Paint to Sample Plus, which lets customers choose an even more individual bespoke color. Paint to Sample is now available on every model in Porsche’s lineup and it costs between $11,430 to $12,830 extra. Paint to Sample Plus costs up to $25,660 on GT cars.Porsche’s list of optional extras is already immense, and Porsche says its customers want even more customization possibilities. The company announced earlier this year that it’ll build one-off dream cars from its Sonderwunsch program, and now customers will have even more choices when it comes to colors. Porsche is expanding its Paint to Sample offerings to over 160 colors for its entire lineup, including the Cayenne, Macan, and Taycan.
Porsche says that it is able to expand the Paint to Sample color palette because of a new color mixing bank at its factory in Zuffenhausen, Germany, where it builds the 911 and 718 sports cars and the Taycan electric sedan, which was shown in Rubystar for its 2022 model year updates. Many Paint to Sample colors resurrect historic colors such as Rubystar and Acid Green. Now, Porsche says, its 911 Paint to Sample production will increase from roughly five cars to nearly 20 per day, and this apparently does not increase the time of production.

If none of the new colors are what you desire, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur will help customers find the perfect match with its Paint to Sample Plus program. It’s available on all Porsche models except for the Cayenne SUV. However, first Porsche needs to put the color through feasibility testing that can take up to 11 months. This can cost anywhere from $22,860 to $25,660 on the 911 Turbo/Turbo S and GT cars, and if the color doesn’t work, Porsche will cover the cost of testing. Paint to Sample specifications are available through Porsche dealers and cost anywhere from $11,430 to $12,830 for Turbo and GT cars. And soon Porsche says that its online configurator, our favorite to play with, will be updated to show Paint to Sample colors.
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Nissan has shared a comprehensive plan for future electric vehicles.Four EV concept cars comprise a pickup truck, a convertible sports car, and two crossovers and preview future electric models.Nissan also says it will be producing solid-state batteries by 2028, which will reduce cost dramatically.Nissan is the latest automaker to share its far-reaching future plans for electric vehicles, and we’re excited to see four new concept cars that give a good idea of some of the 15 new EV models that will arrive by 2030. A small pickup truck called the Surf-Out concept is perhaps the most noteworthy of these, but a convertible sports car called the Max-Out also piqued our interest. A boxy crossover called the Hang-Out is also included, while another small SUV concept called the Chill-Out looks to be the closest to production.

Nissan Surf-Out concept
Nissan

While it’s difficult to gauge the exact dimensions, the Surf-Out appears to be a small pickup truck that could slot into the lineup below the mid-size Frontier. It has a futuristic look with interesting lighting setups front and rear and a minimalist interior with a huge screen spanning the width of the dashboard. Nissan says it has some amount of off-road capability thanks to an e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive setup and it also features some sort of onboard generator.

Nissan Max-Out concept
Nissan

This convertible is the sportiest of the four concepts, with a low-slung stance and an emphasis on performance. Nissan says that it is lightweight and has a low center of gravity. The two seats are configurable and can flatten into the floor to transform the interior space.

Nissan Hang-Out concept
Nissan

This boxy small SUV strikes us as a spiritual successor to the Nissan Cube. It has a low floor and a tall roof, making for a lounge-like, spacious interior. The four seats rotate and move around in several different configurations, including one that creates a movie-theater-like space that appears to use a projector and a giant screen at the rear of the cabin. Like the other concepts, it has an e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive setup and ProPilot driver-assitance technologies.

Nissan Chill-Out concept
Nissan

The least futuristic of the concepts, the Chill-Out appears to foretell a production model that isn’t too far down the road. It looks somewhat like the Ariya but slightly smaller, and Nissan says it rides on the company’s CMF-EV platform. We expect this to arrive sooner rather than later as a subcompact EV crossover slotting in below the Ariya in terms of size and price.Look for more news to come from Nissan in the near future about these big plans for EV models. Other claims include a new battery plant set to open in the U.S. by fiscal year 2025 and for EVs to make up 40 percent of the company’s U.S. sales by fiscal year 2030.
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A just-revealed electric concept car from Swiss “deep tech” company WayRay shows off 3D augmented reality as part of the car’s technology.The car is designed for ride-hailing—someday you may call up an Uber Holograktor instead of an Uber Black—and is mainly a showcase for the holographic technology the company makes.Porsche, Hyundai, and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba are all early investors, WayRay says, and the company is targeting release, possibly with a major automaker, by the end of 2025. We love the sort of outlandish concept cars that treat themselves as high art, and regret that COVID-19 and the general death of the big auto show is increasingly denying us this pleasure. But here is a spectacular example of the genre to lift the late holiday weekend malaise: meet the WayRay Holograktor.

The concept’s purpose is serious: to demonstrate what Swiss company WayRay says is a new holographic windscreen display technology that will allow apparently three-dimensional images to be added to the real world. The angular concept that has been built to preview it, just officially unveiled in Germany, is a spectacular example of the attention-grabbing show car. The design might look as if it has been influenced by the early video games that attempted to render the world in large polygons, but WayRay says it is actually inspired by Russian constructivism, the abstract art movement that created many of the geometric propaganda posters used in the USSR.
“If you have those early Soviet posters in mind, you can see those brightly colored geometric shapes of triangles and blocks,” the Holograktor’s Russia-born designer Sasha Selipanov explains in the official press release—he previously worked for Bugatti, Genesis, and Koenigsegg. “Coincidentally, the triangular form is reminiscent of a prism, like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album cover.” It’s hard not to love any car that cites both The Floyd and Soviet agitprop as its major influences.

WayRay says the Holograktor has been designed to preview a potential ride-hailing future, although not the fully autonomous one that even the makers of far-out concepts no longer regard as being inevitable. In addition to a fold-away steering wheel for the driver it is also designed for remote operation “by a qualified driver using the car’s cameras, radar, mapping and sensor suites.” Despite the Johnny Cab–style mission, the Holograktor’s unspecified EV powertrain is clearly intended to be potent: WayRay claims a 3.9-second zero-to-62-mph time, a 125-mph top speed, and 372 miles of range.
The Holograktor’s primary purpose is to demonstrate WayRay’s augmented-reality holographic displays. These use glass incorporating a transparent photopolymer film which is able to create an apparently three-dimensional image when struck by light generated by compact laser units. The company says that these Deep Reality Displays have a much bigger field of view than existing automotive head-up displays, and also that information can be shown much brighter at different apparent depths ranging between zero and infinity. Working without mirrors means the displays will still work in direct sunlight.
The rear-seat passenger also gets a separate display projected onto a glass screen in front of them from a unit on the concept’s roof the official release describes as “the shrimp.”
When it comes to the question of what the displays will display, things start to get trippy. The Deep Reality Displays are capable of showing driving information, highlighting pedestrian crossings or red stoplights. But WayRay is also predicting a future that includes radically different content, from games, scheduled appointments, and highlighting the proximity of social media contacts to—inevitably—advertising. The company says the system won’t show anything to distract a driver when the car is moving, although passengers will be fair game, but when it is stationary, the images of this metaverse show a world filled with manga-style characters and funky animations. WayRay predicts that immersive AI could ultimately reduce the cost of ride-hailing trips for those who agree to watch the ads roll by. And while many of us will view that as a dystopian nightmare, others are likely to welcome the chance to spend extra time with ever more realistic 3D cat videos, without even having to glance at your phone. WayRay says the display technology is ready for production, either in a street-legal version of the Holograktor, or in conjunction with other automakers.
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For the 50th anniversary of the M brand, which started as BMW Motorsport, BMW will bring back a classic logo for some models as well as 50 old colors including Daytona Violet and Macao Blue.The “BMW Motorsport” emblem puts three specific semicircles in blue, violet, and red around the BMW roundel to represent how the automaker is connected to racing.These new old features will be available by request starting in January, and the first models built with the old logos will come off the line in March.UPDATE 11/27/21, 4 p.m.: In the U.S., BMW will make the newly announced anniversary badging standard on its M division high-performance models including the M3 and M4, and it will be an option on M340i, M440i, and other M models. However, unlike in other markets, vehicles with the M Sport package are not eligible for the historic badging, a BMW spokesperson said today.BMW is bringing back a performance logo from its racing past along with a large number of old-school paint colors to celebrate the 50th anniversary of BMW Motorsport. The actual anniversary date won’t happen until May 24, 2022, but when you want to look backward, it doesn’t hurt to start early.

BMW

BMW announced this week it will once again offer the classic BMW Motorsport emblem on selected models next year, but you’ll have to be the kind of person who asks for it. First, the new old logo will only be available by request. Second, you will have to buy a new M model. Whatever you choose, only orders for new BMWs placed starting at the end of January 2022 will be able to be outfitted with the new old emblem, and the first cars built with the classic logo will be built starting in March.

The new emblem—inspired by the classic BMW Motorsport logo—will replace the standard blue and white roundel on the vehicle’s front and rear and on the wheel hubs. The BMW Motorsport logo surrounds the brand’s standard logo with blue, violet, and red semicircle lines. This version was first used in 1973 on BMW Motorsport’s racing cars. BMW says the colors represent BMW (blue), racing (red), and the way the two are connected (violet).On top of the trip to the history books for the way its new vehicles will look, BMW said 2022 will be an exciting year. Exactly what that encompasses has not yet been revealed.”We have a great year ahead of us, which will be celebrated with unique product highlights and exciting performances,” said Franciscus van Meel, chairman of the board of management of BMW M, in a statement. “The M has long been considered the strongest letter in the world, and in our company’s anniversary year it is stronger than ever.”

When it comes to exterior paint options, BMW said it will reintroduce what it calls “50 iconic and historically significant BMW M paint finishes” on selected models next year. The list includes Dakar Yellow, Fire Orange, Daytona Violet, Macao Blue, Imola Red, and Frozen Marina Bay Blue. These old paint options will be available on some new options next year, including the first M3 Touring model and the M4 Coupé series.At some point in 2022, BMW will also introduce the successor to the M2, and it will launch the “first electrified high-performance model in the history of BMW M GmbH.”
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If there’s one thing we’d bet no production Rimac Nevera will do, it’s slide around in the mud. Most will be sparingly driven on pavement through perfect weather to local Cars & Coffee events, only to be tucked into climate-controlled garages all other days of the week. The pre-production car you see above is set to be used as a crash test mule for U.S. homologation, so company founder Mate Rimac figured he’d give it a proper sendoff by drifting it around the dirt and mud.

This dark-blue Nevera is Rimac’s first pre-series car, meaning it was the first car to come off the production line. It’s used to make sure everything would go smoothly once production actually kicks off. It’s been put through dozens of track and road tests, as well as customer previews, media drives, and show events. In fact, this was the very Nevera our friends at Road & Track drove for their review.

Rimac

Because the car needs to be crashed to satisfy the U.S.’s homologation rules, Mate thought it a good idea to use the car to put on a show at the build site of the company’s future factory, which is currently just a dirt lot. He doesn’t hold back one bit, pulling off massive slides through the dirt and slinging tons of mud right at the camera. By the end of the day, the whole car was covered. It’s unlikely any future Nevera owner would do this with their own car, so we’re glad Mate was brave enough to have a bit of fun in this one before it’s inevitably driven into a wall at high speed.

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A 1957 Volvo TP51, originally used as a vehicle for the Swedish military, is coming up for sale in January.The Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction will list this four-wheel-drive lifted and restomodded Volvo at no reserve; it was last seen in the western U.S. at the 2018 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.Among the features are a 620-hp 572-cubic-inch Chevrolet V8 engine, replacing the original 90-hp engine, and onboard mobile satellite, a Playstation 4 console, and a built-in beverage cooler.When it comes to lifted, knobby-tired, four-wheel-drive, vintage SUVs, Volvo is hardly the first name that comes to mind. And yet, that’s exactly what we have here. Specifically, this is a 1957 Volvo TP21, restomodded and fully kitted out, and it can be yours if you raise your paddle at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale sale in January.

Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson

Built for the Swedish military from 1953 to 1958, the TP21 was based on the civilian PV830/PV831. The standard bodywork from the cowl rearward was retained, but the frame was shortened to make the TP21 more capable off-road. Its rounded profile and large snout earned the TP21 the nickname “Sugga” (or sow).

Barrett-Jackson

Originally, this TP21 would have been motivated by a flathead 3.7-liter inline-six and a four-speed manual transmission. Four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case and vacuum-actuated front and rear differential locks provided a key component of its capability, and these vehicles were used for troop transport or, as is the case here, as a radio command car.

Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson

This restomodded example has an upgrade from the original 90-hp mill to a 572-cubic-inch Chevy V-8 good for 620 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with a TH475 three-speed automatic transmission. It has also been fitted with air conditioning, and other enhancements include navigation, a rear-seat LCD TV with a Playstation 4, and a trunk-mounted LCD TV. The latter is just the thing for tailgating, where this Volvo would be sure to upstage any nearby XC90 SUV or Cross Country wagon.
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After years of neutering the Cayman to protect the iconic 911 as the pinnacle of Porsche’s lineup, the German automaker finally unleashed the full potential of its mid-engine sports car with the newest GT4 RS model. Porsche dropped in the 911 GT3’s immaculate 4.0-liter flat-six and fitted extreme aerodynamic doodads to create the ultimate track-ready Cayman. The GT4 RS is already considerably more expensive than the base Cayman, starting at $143,050, but as is tradition with Porsche, the extensive and expensive options list can make the price quickly skyrocket. With the online configurator now live, a few of our editors got together to build our ideal versions of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS.Carlos Lago’s $149,429 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Porsche

Porsche

As I see it, there are two paths you can take when building your dream Porsche. The first is the usual impulse to click all the go-fast(er) boxes and wind up with a track weapon that is miserable to drive at anything other than the absolute limit. The second is the more realistic option, one that ignores future market speculation and focuses more on the way I drive cars in the real world. My potentially boring GT4 RS has a combination of creature comforts for road use and a few features that should be standard, like auto-dimming mirrors with integrated rain sensors ($700), a smartphone cubby ($560), and heated seats ($530). I also opted for the no-cost Adaptive Sport Seats; the standard Full Bucket Seats look fantastic, but do not agree with the shape of my spine. I only picked two expensive options. The front axle lift system ($3,040) should cost less than replacing your front splitter after it meets a steep driveway for the seventh time, while the LED Headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus ($2,020) comes with several upgrades that improve night visibility — plus, the LED lights look super cool. The last option? All-weather floor mats ($89), because I find it insane that we still accept carpet in the place where our dirty shoes sit. — Carlos LagoConnor Hoffman’s $153,670 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Porsche

Porsche

To me, the new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS might be one of the best GT cars. A 493-hp flat-six from the 911 GT3 mounted behind the seats with those air intakes, oh, the intakes, and the 718 interior’s analog feel that the 992-gen 911 went away from. The only downside is you can’t get RS cars with a stick. I’d get mine finished in—wait, there’s no Chalk?!—GT Silver and keep the standard aluminum wheels painted in silver. It’d be awesome to daily this mid-engine, 9000-rpm screamer, so I’m selecting the sport seats over the carbon buckets. I’m also forgoing the $13,250 Weissach Package because I don’t need all that carbon fiber and deleting the GT4 RS logo on the doors and rear. Give me the front-axle lift ($3,040), heated seats ($530), Arctic Grey seatbelts ($360), and a Bose sound system ($990). It’s crazy that the 718 Cayman starts at $61,850 and this GT4 RS costs more than double at $153,670. — Connor Hoffman Eric Stafford’s $174,130 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Porsche

Porsche

Why buy a house in middle America when you can use that money to build what might go down in history as one of the best driving and best sounding Porsche models ever? My wife probably doesn’t see it the same way, but that’s married life for you. To maximize my investment and the GT4 RS’s performance, the $13,520 Weissach package is a must-have. It adds a slew of exposed carbon-fiber bits, and it’s the only way to unlock the optional 20-inch magnesium wheels ($15,640) that reduce unsprung weight by 21 pounds. I like the clean look of the $3540 Carrara White metallic paint, and I’d pair it with the blue-accented interior that’s included with the Weissach pack. I think the dash-mounted stopwatch in the $310 Chrono package is a neat touch. Plus, it gives the gauge cluster a useful digital stopwatch for tracking lap times, and the touchscreen gains a unique performance display. No RS would be complete without carbon-ceramic brakes. Their $8000 surcharge comes with the territory and makes the $800 fee to change the calipers from yellow to black feel like chump change. The enhanced headlights ($2020) look sick and help lower the odds of me obliterating an animal—and my six-figure dream car—during a late-night driving session. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t pay $900 for the Porsche Experience Center Delivery in Atlanta, which, most importantly, includes 90 minutes of instructed track time in an equivalent car. — Eric StaffordCaleb Miller’s $192,880 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Porsche

Porsche

If you’re buying one of Porsche’s RS track cars, you might as well go all in, so I specced my GT4 RS with the Weissach Package, adding oodles of exposed carbon fiber for an extra $13,250. This allowed me to select the $15,640 forged magnesium wheels, and I dropped $8,000 on the ceramic composite brakes. I also splurged for the $3,540 Gentian Blue Metallic paint; I needed a splash of color and the no-cost red and yellow options don’t speak to me. $170 added gloss black door handles. Inside, I went for the Deep Sea Blue stitching and got the seat belts and door pull loops in yellow ($360 and $200, respectively) to match the brakes. I spent $350 on the Light Design Package—I have to admit I’m a sucker for ambient lighting. Auto-dimming mirrors for $700 were a must because I’m tired of being blinded by the powerful LEDs on many modern SUVs. I decided to pick up my GT4 RS at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, paying $900 for a tour of the facility, lunch at the restaurant, and a 90-minute instructed track session to get to grips with my new beast. Since I’d then drive 11 hours back to Michigan, I went for the adaptive sports seats instead of the buckets—making them heated for an extra $530—the $990 Bose sound system, and the $3,040 front-axle lift system. Somehow I’ve ended up with a $192,880 Cayman. — Caleb MillerDavid Beard’s $202,240 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Porsche

Porsche

Can you hear that metallic grinding sound? Those are the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and 2022 Porsche 718 GT4 RS gears grinding in my head. I’m torn which car to be more excited about. Sure, the Z06 will be the obvious value play but like Tom Cruise stated in Risky Business: “Porsche. There is no substitute.”My idea of a GT4 RS is one that’s not for daily use, but one for that crushes the occasional canyon twisties and for full-send track days. This is my forever car. One that will be passed on for generations. And because this is fantasy land, I’m not holding back. First off, the exterior. Why limit yourself to one of the nine standard colors? Paint-to-sample is a must for $12,830 and I’m leaning towards Oak Green Metallic or perhaps NATO Olive, because there aren’t enough green vehicles on the road. With that special paint comes the mandatory weight savings of the Weissach package for $13,250 and the included leather and Race-Tex interior for an additional $2160. That’s fine, I would add those anyway. To keep this masterpiece light as possible, the $15,640 magnesium wheels are a no-brainer and to keep them free of disgusting brake dust, the $8000 carbon-ceramic brake package will find a home in their barrels. LED headlights for $2020? Why not. With the $730 carbon-fiber window trim and deletion of the model designation on the doors, my exterior is complete. On the inside, things are simple. Because this is for occasional use, I’m keeping the standard full bucket seats and adding the soft 3D-printed inserts to them to maximize what little comfort they have. The Arctic Grey seat belts will pair nicely with the rest of the interior and the no-cost Smoking package and luggage net in the passenger footwell are useful additions. All in, I’m at $202,240* for my little dream machine. Why the asterisk? The dealer-installed Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R gumballs cost has yet to be determined and for a car of this pedigree, they’re the final piece of the puzzle. I hope my grandkids approve. — David Beard

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An Automotive News story this week, using a Porsche dealer meeting as its source, suggests a top-end three-row luxury SUV could be coming. A Porsche spokesman contacted by Car and Driver declined comment.The new SUV would sit above the Cayenne in the Porsche lineup, and it could come in plug-in-hybrid and all-electric versions, the report said.After all, the Cayenne is Porsche’s biggest seller, and Porsche undoubtedly would like to have a three-row SUV to put up against BMW, Audi, and Cadillac luxury entries.Three-row luxury SUVs are doing big business right now, something which is likely making those top-end automakers without one in the lineup wonder about filling the gap. That certainly seems to be the case at Porsche, with Automotive News reporting the company is seriously considering a larger sport-ute that would be positioned above the existing Cayenne. A Porsche spokesperson contacted by Car and Driver responded with the statement, “As a matter of policy, we don’t speculate or comment on potential future product. ”

The AN story says that a meeting of dealers at Porsche’s U.S. headquarters in Atlanta was shown a rendering of this potential car, with a design that one of the people to see it described as “part sedan, part crossover” with both three rows of seats and a plug-in-hybrid powertrain, likely one related to the 670-hp hybridized V-8 already offered in the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid. A pure-EV version is also a strong possibility given the speed at which Porsche is moving toward electrification—and the speed at which bans on the sale of internal-combustion engines are approaching in many European markets.Globally, the Cayenne is currently Porsche’s most successful model, selling in volumes that continue to amply justify the once controversial decision for the world’s most famous sports-car maker to diversify into SUVs. Last year the company sold nearly 93,000 around the world, over a third of its total production of 272,000 cars. By contrast, a relatively modest 34,000 of the iconic 911 were sold worldwide.

Interior of the two-row Porsche Cayenne.
Porsche

Not that Porsche fans with three or more kids should get too excited yet—it could well not be happening. The company refused to confirm or deny the existence of a potential future model to AN but did say that it often shares ideas for future cars under what is called the Porsche Unseen initiative. This may be one of those.Taking a wider view of this bit of the industry suggests it would certainly be easy to make the case for a model above the Cayenne. In the U.S., luxury three-row SUVs are enjoying booming demand. Cadillac sold nearly 31,000 Escalades here during the first three-quarters of 2021, and BMW managed nearly 16,500 of our segment-favorite X7 in the same period. We suspect many Porsche dealers are feeling frustrated at having to miss the bonanza; although the closely related Audi Q7 and Bentley Bentayga are both offered with three rows of seats, the current Cayenne has been designed to only accommodate two.Will this add up to a Porsche-for-more? We’ll have to wait and see.

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