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M.Vision X concept from Hyundai Mobis envisions autonomous travel of the future with touchless controls.Controlled by voice and gestures, the concept features windows designed to transform into video screens.The Munich Auto Show, or IAA Mobility, opens in September and will be focused on future transportation tech, with emphasis on EVs and autonomy.Hyundai Mobis, which is the South Korean industrial giant’s automotive supplier arm, is headed to the IAA in Munich next month with the M.Vision X concept that promises to fit right in with the Mobility theme of the new show. Designed as an autonomous vehicle meant for four passengers, the M.Vision X concept features windows that can transform into displays for the benefit of the passengers, perfect for watching videos. In fact, just about every horizontal surface is a screen, with the vehicle permitting passengers to constantly be entertained by something, offering 360 degrees of viewing surfaces.

If this sounds like a preview of our entertainment-obsessed future, where even windows become screens for our entertainment, then what is even the point of autonomous cars, one would say, if not to allow ourselves to watch cat videos on YouTube instead of driving?That future looks contact-free as well—perhaps previewing a permanent pandemic state—judging by the concept’s use of gesture and voice controls.”The core solution of M.Vision X is the vertical cockpit in the center of the interior, which looks like a square pillar,” the company notes. “On each of the four sides of the integrated center cockpit is a 28-inch display. This integrated center cockpit communicates with passengers in a contact-free fashion using the gesture recognition functions. As a result, passengers can control all driving-related functions, e.g. the autonomous driving mode, AI speakers and infotainment. There is also a sterilization function that uses UV lighting to automatically sterilize the vehicle once the passengers get out of the car. This new technology is also a feature of M.Vision X.”
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The M.Vision X can seem either utopian or dystopian, depending on your view of pandemic-friendly touchless controls for everything. It also echoes the countless lounge-like vehicle concepts we’ve seen from South Korean and Japanese automakers, dating back maybe 20 years—long before any semi-autonomous vehicles were even in prototype stage. In that sense, the M.Vision X concept may prove to be more tangible and easy to picture than ever before, especially given that prototypes with Level 4 autonomy have been around for a few years now; we’ve even gone for a spin in a handful of them. With Level 4 autonomy being carefully rolled out on a small scale, perhaps we’re approaching the point where autonomous, geofenced shuttles like this one are a couple of years away from seeing limited, but very real, use, with custom-designed bodies meant to serve as autonomous taxis. The M.Vision X concept certainly looks like a robotaxi that could be deployed soon on a wider scale, even as prototypes now approach limited use in some cities.”We worked hard to sublimate the changes in life people have had to cope with in the post-Covid 19 era with new mobility technologies,” said Vice President Cheon Jae-Seung, head of the Fundamental and Advanced Lab of Hyundai Mobis. “The new mobility platform, as presented by Hyundai Mobis, contains the spirit of technical exploration, which also enables people to share their thoughts and feel the joy of everyday life.”

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Jeep has added a new Tuscadero exterior color to the 2021 Wrangler’s options, and it’s a bright pink. It joins Gecko, Hellayella, and Snazzberry on the list of flashy color options for the off-road SUV. The new pink costs $395 and is available through November, Jeep says. Jeep is adding a vibrant new pink exterior color choice for the 2021 Wrangler shortly after Ford added a few new colors to the Bronco’s palette for its second model year, which included Eruption Green and Hot Pepper Red.

The Wrangler’s new color choice is called Tuscadero, and it’s available on all Wranglers from the Sport model to the 470-hp Rubicon 392 and new plug-in hybrid 4xe. This includes both two- and four-door configurations with either a hard or soft top. Jeep says it’s only available on the Wrangler for now and didn’t comment on the color’s availability on the Gladiator mid-size pickup although it recently added the limited Gecko color to the Wrangler-based pickup. Tuscadero will cost $395 and is available to order now. Customers can do so through November. The option joins other exciting colors including Gecko, Hellayella, and Snazzberry. Pricing for the 2021 Wrangler starts at $30,565 and can reach up to $75,890 for the V-8–powered Rubicon 392.
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Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers tells Car and Driver that future plug-in supercars will switch to AMG V-8s, made by the company he once headed. A high-performance DBX and a plug-in hybrid are under development. Valkyrie deliveries will start this year, and an even more extreme track-only version is planned.UPDATE 8/25/21: In an interview with Motor Trend, Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers confirmed that a different DBX variant will debut this year before the high-performance version arrives in 2022. This new DBX model is expected to use the same supercharged 3.0-liter inline-six with a 48-volt hybrid system that is found in the Mercedes-AMG 53 models. When Tobias Moers became Aston Martin’s CEO last August, there was no doubt the former boss of AMG would make radical changes to the crisis-hit sports-car maker. The first part of this was stabilizing Aston’s position, cutting unsold inventory, and streamlining its production process. The second, now underway, involves some radical alterations to the English manufacturer’s future model strategy.

Aston had already begun to develop two entirely new mid-engine supercars, the Valhalla and Vanquish, which were set to use a hybridized V-6 powerplant the company was to engineer itself. That new engine has now been canceled, with Moers telling C/D he arrived to find that development on it had hardly begun. “If that engine had been ready to go, I would have been happy to go with it,” he said, when we interviewed him in Aston’s Gaydon, England, HQ this week, “but it was not here, unfortunately—it was only at a concept stage.”

Aston Martin Valhalla.
Aston Martin

Instead, Moers confirmed, both Valhalla and Vanquish will use AMG-sourced V-8 engines, although these will be substantially different from the customer-spec motors the company currently uses in the Vantage, DB11, and DBX, and will effectively be built around the company’s requirements. “We are going to create a bespoke engine for the Valhalla out of the V-8 toolbox of AMG, and the Vanquish will get another,” Moers said. “We will be able to make substantial changes, much more than before—you cannot just take a Black Series engine for example [that’s the one with the flat-plane crank] and put it into a mid-engine car. You need to change it. And we will do that ourselves.”The V-8 engines will be integrated with a plug-in-hybrid system that Aston will design and engineer itself, and which won’t come from Mercedes, according to Moers. “An electric-drive front axle will be standard in that segment by then, so we will have to create that ourselves,” Moers said, “also a gearbox which is capable of electrification.”Adding electrical assistance to both ends of the car suggests a layout similar to that of the Ferrari SF90 Stradale and one more advanced than that of the McLaren Artura, albeit some way behind it to market.Before coming to Aston Martin, Moers was largely responsible for the forthcoming AMG Project One, the car that features a detuned Formula 1 powerplant. As the only person in the world to have driven prototype versions of both cars, he is uniquely placed to compare them.

Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Aston Martin

“They are not rivals, they are totally different cars,” he said. “The Valkyrie is, from a car perspective, not really a car; it’s a two-seat Formula 1 experience. The Project One is much closer to a normal, standard vehicle, but one with a powertrain that is very bespoke.”Moers said he has committed more Aston Martin engineering resources into delivering the Valkyrie, which will be reaching customers this year. Production of the hypercar has also been moved to Aston’s Gaydon factory as part of a dramatic simplification of the company’s manufacturing activities. The previous plan had been to build it in a different facility. Company insiders say that the proposed AMR Pro track-only version is also being redesigned and made even more extreme. Moers admitted to also be considering other possibilities for the Valkyrie’s Cosworth-built naturally aspirated V-12 engine. “It is a huge investment [for one car]. I try to be creative about what else we could do with that.”

As for Aston’s existing sports-car lineup—the Vantage, DB11, and DBS Superleggera—Moers said these will be freshened with heavy facelifts. Expect these in early 2023. However, these will not include hybrid powerplants, he clarified. Instead they will continue with pure combustion power until they are replaced, with the company’s existing twin-turbocharged V-12 likely to retire due to tougher European emissions standards by 2027. Beyond that, Moers confirmed that Aston’s next-generation sports-car platform will be EV.More attention will be paid to the DBX range, delivering on the promise of range expansion made by Aston executive chairman Lawrence Stroll. The first variant will be a higher-performance derivative, due next year, with Moers saying this is targeted at offering more competition to the Lamborghini Urus: “Its life at the top is a bit too comfortable at the moment.” Beyond that, a plug-in-hybrid version will follow in 2023, and it’s set to use the same AMG V-8 plug-in architecture, which will carry “73 AMG” branding when fitted to Mercedes models. Plans to relaunch the long-dormant Lagonda brand were put on ice before Moers’s arrival, and the new CEO says it is likely to stay there for some time longer. “We just have to focus fully on Aston,” he said. “I like the idea of doing a Lagonda, but we have to keep it to one side at the moment.”This story was originally published May 11, 2021.
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Lucid announced that the Air Dream Edition, the exclusive launch model, will be sold in two versions: the Performance and Range.The Performance will get 1111 horsepower and a claimed sub-2.5-second sprint to 60 mph, while the Range makes 993 horsepower.Both the Range and Performance will cost $169,000, and Lucid says it will reach out to reservation holders soon to see which variant they want.The global COVID-19 pandemic and resulting parts shortages have caused enormous headaches for some of the world’s biggest automakers, so unsurprisingly the pandemic has also brought challenges for fledgling startups like Lucid Motors. The company’s first product, the electric Air sedan, was originally slated to begin production in the spring of this year, but deliveries were delayed to the end of 2021. Now Lucid is updating the options for the exclusive launch model, the Air Dream Edition, announcing that it will come in two variants: the Dream Edition Performance and the Dream Edition Range.

Lucid

Previously, the Dream Edition had been announced as a single specification that brought 1080 horsepower and a claimed 503 miles of range. Now the Dream Edition will be split into Performance and Range models, with the Performance’s powertrain “optimized for speed and acceleration” while the Range is focused on maximizing driving range. The Performance will produce 1111 horsepower to the Range’s 933 ponies, and both will have more than 737 pound-feet of torque. Lucid claims the Range will hit 60 mph in 2.7 seconds while the Performance will drop that number before 2.5 seconds en route to a 168-mph top speed for both. They will wear Pirelli P Zero tires, but the Performance will receive a staggered setup with standard 21-inch wheels while the Range will get 19-inch wheels, although both trims can be had with the alternate wheel option.

The EPA range certification process is still ongoing, but Lucid recently drove two Dream Edition Range models 445 miles from Los Angeles to Lucid’s headquarters outside of San Francisco on a single charge. While impressive, this was a one-off event, and the impending EPA certification should provide a clearer picture of the car’s true range. Lucid says it will reach out to Dream Edition reservation holders soon to see which version they want. Both will cost the same $169,000 that the Dream Edition had previously been announced at. The Dream Edition is scheduled to be delivered later this year with the lesser Grand Touring model arriving soon after.
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The G-wagen 4×4 Squared is arguably one of the coolest vehicles ever to come from Mercedes-Benz. With its revamped suspension, fender flares, and massive tires, it was the perfect SUV to stand out amongst the masses of standard G-wagens, Range Rovers, and Porsche Cayennes on Rodeo Drive. It’s no surprise then, to see a new version testing on the streets of Los Angeles.

A video published on YouTube last week by KindelAuto shows what looks to be an upcoming 4×4 Squared based on the newest generation of G-wagen. Like the original, the taller ride height, gigantic rubber, and accompanying flares are clearly visible and on display, despite the selectively applied camouflage there to hide it.Interestingly, this test mule doesn’t seem to have the rally-derived parallel suspension uprights on each corner found on first 4×4 Squared, so it’s possible this could be a highly modified tuner special based on a standard G63. But given the Michigan manufacturer plates out back, we’re inclined to believe this is a real Mercedes test mule. Either way, we’re all for more G-wagens with fender flares and off-road tires. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a new 4×4 Squared out testing shod in camouflage. Back in February, a video surfaced online of two test mules testing in the snow somewhere in Europe wearing similar equipment.

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The Porsche Taycan enters the 2022 model year with new colors and technology. Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur is offering 65 additional colors, Android Auto capability has been added, a remote-park feature is newly available, and the battery packs can precondition to slightly higher temperatures to help reduce charging times. They’ll arrive by the end of the year starting at $81,250. The electric Porsche Taycan, including its new Cross Turismo ruggedized wagon model, is now Porsche’s third best-selling vehicle in North America behind the Cayenne and Macan, which will soon spawn an EV variant. It’s entering the 2022 model year with a heap of new colors to choose from, an available remote-park feature, and, finally, Android Auto capability.

Porsche

Porsche

Through Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, you can now get the Taycan in 65 additional colors including classics like Acid Green, Rubystar (pictured), and Riviera Blue. If none of those or the 17 other standard color choices fit what you desire, Porsche says it will custom paint the Taycan to almost any color imaginable.

Other updates include an available remote-park feature that can park the car without a driver in the seat via a smartphone app, similar to Tesla’s Summon feature. Android Auto capability, also newly available on the 911, Cayenne, and Panamera, joins Apple Car Play in Porsche’s infotainment system, which includes various other changes for its sixth generation. Porsche says that the Taycan’s 71.0-kWh and 83.7-kWh battery packs can now precondition to slightly higher temperatures than before, which should help them charge marginally faster. Taycans have an 800-volt architecture and can charge at a maximum of 270 kilowatts. The EPA has yet to announce the 2022 model’s range estimates, but for the 2021 model year, the packs were estimated at up to 200 and 227 miles of range depending on configuration. The 2022 Taycans will begin arriving in showrooms by the end of the year starting at $81,250 for the base rear-wheel-drive model, the same as the previous model year.

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Reuters reports that Ford is preparing to double F-150 Lightning production for 2024 (a few years into the truck’s planned life cycle). Ford had already significantly increased production plans once, based on a rush of $100 pre-orders after the truck’s reveal in May 2021. The report says Ford will spend around $850 million more than previously planned to meet the updated production targets.This reported jump in future production comes as a global semiconductor shortage and other supplier issues have stymied Ford’s production plans for much of the last year.A report from the Reuters news service says that Ford has doubled its production target for the F-150 Lightning electric pickup to 80,000 for 2024. The move is said to be based on strong demand from both retail and commercial customers. Ford says it has 120,000 $100 pre-orders for the EV truck, which is scheduled to launch next spring with a 15,000-unit run for the 2022 model year. Ford will spend an extra $850 million to reach its new goal, according to the Reuters report. In a statement to Car and Driver, Ford didn’t confirm the details of its production plans but said it “will continue to look for ways to break constraints and meet customer demand.”

The constraints Ford is looking to break aren’t just the usual challenges of ramping up production of an electric vehicle: sourcing the materials, building the batteries, trying to convince customers they’re a good idea. There will also undoubtedly be roadblocks related to ongoing global supply-chain issues that have been upending automakers’ production plans for much of the past year.Ford has been forced to make numerous production cuts because of the microchip shortage that has been affecting the whole auto industry. This spring, Ford resorted to assembling thousands of F-150 pickups sans crucial microchips and then storing them in parking lots across Metro Detroit until the chips could be sourced and installed. The company has announced multiple delays related to its much-anticipated Bronco SUV. The most recent was due to a quality issue with the available hard top (sourced from a supplier), which was found to degrade when exposed to heavy rains. That all probably explains why Ford is planning a gradual production ramp-up for the F-150 Lightning as opposed to a market flood. The plan outlined by Reuters says Ford hopes to build 15,000 Lightnings for the 2022 model year, a relatively soft target considering the company sold 12,975 Mustang Mach-E EVs in the first half of 2021. Reuters says Ford will plan to build 55,000 Lightnings in 2023, then 80,000 in 2024. The Lightning is scheduled for a redesign for 2025, after which point Ford hopes to be selling 160,000 EV pickups each year. That would have accounted for 18 percent of F-series pickup sales in 2019, a healthy share considering EVs currently make up only a very small portion of the new-car market in the U.S. Ford is counting on orders from commercial customers to boost adoption of the EV F-150.
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The cover for the new Forza Horizon 5 features the 1000-plus-hp Mercedes-AMG One and the 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands.Devs told us the handling physics in Forza Horizon 5 have been improved to better handle the open-world map based in Mexico. Forza Horizon 5 will be available as early as November 5 on Xbox and on PC for preorder buyers. The cover for Playground Games’ new Forza Horizon 5 game on Xbox and PC has been revealed. With it will come eight minutes of gameplay from the next-generation racing game, including action from the 1000-plus-hp Mercedes-AMG One and the highly anticipated Ford Bronco Badlands.

Car and Driver talked to Mike Brown, the creative director for Forza Horizon 5. He told us that the driving physics in Forza Horizon 5 will be more fun than ever: “When you make a racing game behave more like a simulation, sometimes people think it makes it more difficult to play. But now the suspension behaves like it would on a real car, and the braking is more gradual—the simulation is not only more accurate, but the experience becomes more accessible as well.”Brown told us that Forza Horizon 5 uses an improved physics engine from previous Forza games, to accommodate the title’s new environment in Mexico. The environment will host all sorts of different terrain, including pavement, sand, dirt, swamps, rivers, lakes, plus some serious adverse weather conditions like dust and tropical storms on top of that.Not only is the Ford Bronco featured on the cover, it’s the opening act for Forza Horizon 5, the first vehicle you’ll drive through an exciting first look at the game’s new features and stunning detail. The design team with Forza go to great lengths to ensure that vehicles in their game are close to the real thing, taking more than 2000 photos of each model. The details are all there, from the knurling on the climate-control knobs to the reflection of textures inside taillight housings. Each vehicle is created from a combination of these reference photos and computer-aided-design models to make sure manufacturer specs like ground clearance (or lack of it, in the AMG One’s case) are realistic.

In the game the cars quickly end up jumping, rocking, flipping, and rolling while they pursue their adventures through Mexico, so we had to ask Paul Wraith, the chief designer of the Ford Bronco, if it made his heart ache watching his off-roader getting virtually scratched up in video games. “I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time playing games like Forza and Gran Turismo. I’ve grown up with this stuff. When we go for realism, damage is a part of it. And it teaches you to do a better job in the game. Plus, you can switch it off.”Forza Horizon 5’s entire car list isn’t public yet, but if you look closely at these screenshots, we know that the Ford Ranger Raptor and the first-generation Bronco are back. It also looks like the Pagani Zonda R and Koenigsegg Jesko are hiding behind the Mercedes-AMG One in photos.

Forza Horizon 5 is set to release on November 9 for Xbox Series X and S and Xbox One consoles, and for PC on Windows 10 and Steam. It will also be included in the Xbox Game Pass subscription on launch. People who preorder the game get early access November 5.
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