Motor News

2021 Ford Bronco reservation holders have started receiving their new off-road SUVs after production began this month. The Bronco is available in two- and four-door models with either a hard or soft top and removable doors and roofs. Pricing starts at $29,995 for the two-door Bronco and $34,695 for the four-door model. Those placing future orders will likely have to wait until next year to take delivery. Ford started building the 2021 Bronco earlier this month, and those who reserved them have finally started taking delivery according to posts on the Bronco6g forum. These orders are for the more than 190,000 reservations, and those who want to place future orders will likely have to wait until next year. We recently drove the new off-road SUV, and you can read our review here.

Bronco6g.com

These photos from the forum show a four-door hardtop Badlands model finished in Race Red equipped with the optional off-road-focused Sasquatch package that adds 35-inch all-terrain rubber. A four-door Badlands model starts at $46,085. It was delivered to a customer near Traverse City, Michigan, who shared the order tracker—similar to a Domino’s Pizza order—for this particular Bronco. Other new owners posted a four-door Black Diamond model with the Sasquatch package and a First Edition model to the forum.

Bronco6g.com

Bronco6g.com

Six trim levels are available on the new Bronco, including base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, Wildtrak, and Badlands. The two-door configuration comes only with a hardtop, while the four-door model is available with a soft top or a hardtop. You can take the doors and roof off just like a Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator. A 300-hp turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission is standard, though a seven-speed manual is available. The available 330-hp twin-turbo 2.7-liter V-6 can only be equipped with the automatic.

We’re excited to start seeing new Broncos on the road, and we’ll run the SUV through our instrumented testing when we get our hands on one. The two-door Bronco starts at at $29,995 and the four-door model starts at $34,695.
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Honda’s new EV model will be called the Prologue.It will use GM’s Ultium battery packs and will also spawn an Acura version.The 2024 Prologue will arrive in calendar-year 2024. We now have a name for the new Honda EV that will arrive a few years from now: Prologue. Set to go on sale in calendar-year 2024, the 2024 Honda Prologue will be the first result of a partnership between Honda and General Motors on EV powertrains. It will use the same Ultium battery packs found in upcoming GM electric vehicles such as the GMC Hummer EV and the Cadillac Lyriq.

Honda hasn’t yet shared exactly what size or shape the Prologue will take, but we expect it to be either a compact or mid-size SUV. The powertrain and platform will be made up of GM components, and Honda executive vice president Dave Gardner said that the biggest points of differentiation between the Prologue and GM EVs will be in its “top half”—its body design—and its interior.The company says it chose the name Prologue to indicate that it is the first of many upcoming electric vehicles. The Acura luxury brand will also add a version of this EV in 2024, but that model’s name hasn’t yet been announced. Honda has said it plans to have EVs and fuel-cell vehicles make up 40 percent of its new-vehicle sales by 2030, 80 percent by 2035, and 100 percent by 2040.We think the name is a bit ironic given how the Prologue’s arrival is still several years away; Ford and Volkswagen already have new dedicated EV crossovers on sale today in the Mach-E and ID.4, and many more models such as the Nissan Ariya, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Kia EV6 are scheduled to arrive in the U.S. soon.
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Aston Martin’s Valkyrie is a long-awaited hypercar, as is the AMR Pro track version, which has been in the works since at least 2016.The AMR Pro will not be a hybrid, Aston has confirmed, unlike the “regular” Valkyrie.It will also have different proportions and aerodynamics than the roadgoing Valkyrie and is claimed capable of a three-minute, 20-second lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit.Last week we reported that, in addition to suing one of its Swiss dealers over deposits for the forthcoming Valkyrie, Aston Martin had also canceled the original proposal to build a track-only version to be called the AMR Pro and was to replace it with another variant.It turns out we were half right on the second point: Aston has confirmed it will be sticking with AMR Pro branding, but applying it to a car that is substantially different from the original proposal, with an all-new aerodynamic kit and the loss of the regular Valkyrie’s hybrid system.

The idea for a circuit-spec version of the Aston/Red Bull Racing hypercar predates the arrival of the Valkyrie name, with designer Adrian Newey promising one when he first told us about the project in 2016, and also promising it would be as fast around a racetrack as an LMP1 Le Mans endurance racer. Aston then showed a concept version at the 2018 Geneva auto show that lacked headlights and mirrors and had a low-mounted wing at the back.Behind the scenes, Aston, Red Bull, and motorsport specialist Multimatic were already working on what was intended to become a racing Valkyrie that would compete in the proposed Le Mans hypercar class. That project was canceled last year, but now Aston has taken many of the lessons learned from it—especially aerodynamic ones—and applied them to the the track-only Valkyrie.

Aston Martin

The car promises to be substantially different from the roadgoing Valkyrie. Aston says its wheelbase has been stretched by 15.0 inches, with the huge front splitter and rear-hung wing adding 10.5 inches to the overall length. Front and rear track widths have increased by 3.8 and 4.5 inches, respectively. Aston claims the AMR Pro will be capable of producing twice as much downforce as the road-legal car, suggesting a peak of up to 8000 pounds of aerodynamic assistance, based on the figures the company has claimed for the regular car. That will enable it to achieve up to 3 g’s of lateral acceleration and to deliver on Newey’s performance promise: Aston says the car is on track to be capable of managing a 3:20 lap of the Le Mans 24 Hours circuit. For reference, the fastest lap of the Toyota that won the race last year was a 3:19.76. The revised AMR Pro now won’t be using the hybrid system that Aston has developed for the regular car. This will save an unspecified amount of weight, but also reduces the total power output from the original proposal of at least 1160 horsepower to the 1000 horsepower that the Cosworth-developed 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V-12 engine produces by itself (while revving to a dizzying 11,000 rpm). Other mass reduction measures over the standard Valkyrie will include even lighter carbon bodywork, carbon suspension wishbones, and Perspex glazing.Aston has also decided to increase the size of the production run, saying it now plans to build 40 of the AMR Pro, plus two prototypes; the original proposal was for 25 cars. Buyers will also get the chance to attend special Valkyrie-only track days at international race circuits around the world, where they will be able to establish who is best able to handle what seems likely to be one of the fastest non–race cars in the world. There remains no official word on pricing, but don’t figure on getting any change back from $3.5 million. The company says that deliveries will finally happen in the last quarter of this year.
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Located only about 16 miles from Lamborghini’s legendary Sant’Agata Bolognese headquarters, the Bologna airport has deployed a Huracán Evo as a “follow me” vehicle.A “follow me” car does pretty much what its name suggests: it shows the way to aircraft making tricky maneuvers on the ground.This isn’t the first or only imaginative use of one of the supercars. The Italian state police got their own Huracán LP610-4 several years ago.Airports offer the chance to see many weird and wonderful specialist vehicles, but rarely the chance to spot a supercar. But visitors to the Bologna airport in Italy are going to have the chance of spotting a very unusual “follow me” car in the form of a 631-hp Lamborghini Huracán Evo.

Lamborghini

Painted in Verde Turbine matte green with high-visibility orange graphics, and wearing the orange beacon lights and communication radio that all vehicles need to operate “airside,” the Huracán Evo will help shepherd aircraft around Bologna’s Gugliemo Marconi Airport, which is just 16 miles from Lamborghini’s factory at Sant’Agata Bolognese. The airport is one of the busiest in northern Italy, regularly handling more than eight million passengers a year prior to the COVID pandemic.

Lamborghini has a long-term relationship with the airport, having previously supplied both an Aventador and a regular Huracán in a bright-yellow livery for similar duties. The Evo’s additional performance and 202-mph capability is unlikely to be tested during its official duties; aircraft are generally restricted to just 30 km/h (18.6 mph) while taxiing. But we wouldn’t be surprised if airport staff were to use quieter times to experience more of the Lamborghini’s mighty performance. It will certainly be more thrilling to drive than a baggage tug.

Lamborghini

The role of “follow me” cars is exactly as the name suggests: being deployed to help guide taxiing aircraft through complex or unusual maneuvers while on the ground, typically those that don’t use the conventional taxiways or that take planes to less-used parts of the site. They are also sometimes used for transporting staff, short notice cargo, or even VIPs. While utility-grade cars or trucks are usually used for such duties, Lamborghini isn’t the only performance-car maker to have supplied them: Hannover airport in Germany previously used a Porsche Cayman S wearing yellow and black checkers.There is also at least one police Huracán patrolling Italy’s highways, with an example wearing blue and white Polizia livery being operated out of Rome for both high-speed pursuit and donor-organ transport duties. That one will get to stretch its legs more than this airport one.

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We don’t know the number of vehicles damaged by a massive rainstorm, which brought six inches of rain to parts of Detroit in less than 24 hours, but videos on social media show dozens almost completely underwater at a Stellantis lot.The shipping yard is next to the plants where Stellantis builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, and the Dodge Durango. Governor Whitmer issued a state of emergency Saturday, and over 50 drivers had to be rescued from their cars after finding themselves stranded on flooded roads. The WDIV-TV photo above shows water over the road in a nearby neighborhood.Heavy rainfall in Michigan this week led to flash flooding in the Detroit area, and that in turn resulted in difficulty for people trying to move around the city. From Stellantis’s perspective, though, the big news was that potentially hundreds of brand new vehicles were damaged when the shipping yard at Stellantis’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP) became a temporary lake Saturday.
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Videos shared on social media show vehicles, including many Dodge Durangos, submerged up to their rooflines. Aside from the Durangos, Stellantis keeps newly produced SUVs, minivans, Chargers, Challengers, and truck models at the shipping yard staging area as they wait to be shipped to dealers once they leave the plant. Stellantis builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, and Dodge Durango at JNAP, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L at the nearby Mack assembly facility.
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Stellantis confirmed the flooding to Car and Driver and said it does not yet have an estimate about the extent of the damage. “As a result of severe storms that came through Detroit on June 25, many expressways, surface streets, and neighborhoods in the area experienced significant flooding, including the Jefferson North Assembly Plant and an adjacent shipping yard,” the company said. “Water from the plant was removed and second shift resumed at 4:30 p.m. An assessment will be conducted on the condition of vehicles in the yard. We have no further information to share at this time.”Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Wayne County (where Detroit is located) on Saturday, after more than six inches of rain fell on Detroit in 24 hours. The state issued an alert about the flooding which said that driving through six inches of water can cause “loss of control and possible stalling,” while a foot of water will float many vehicles and “two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles including sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks.” The New York Times said 50 people had to be rescued from their cars and over 350 vehicles suffered some sort of damage during the storm. This number includes people’s personal vehicles and not the ones damaged at the Stellantis yard. No injuries were reported, but more rain is expected in the coming days.The Detroit Free Press reported that Ford briefly paused production of the F-150 at the Dearborn Truck Plant because employees had difficulty getting to the plant. Ford also temporarily halted production of the new Bronco at the Michigan Assembly Plant because of a roof leak.Representative Debbie Dingell, whose district includes Detroit and nearby cities, wrote on Facebook earlier today that “Dearborn appears to be one of the hardest-hit cities. City engineers said Outer Drive had 7.58 inches of rain when sewer drains were only capable of handling 3 inches.” She added: “This is happening too many places and around the country. We have the rain and the west has a drought. Wildfires out of control. Climate is impacting all of our lives. And now we face a minimum of another seven days of rain. We must prepare.”
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For a month, teams have been practicing setups, driving strategy, and building (or in some cases rebuilding) their chances of conquering the 156-turn, 12.42-mile Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado. This is easily the craziest motorsports event left in America—more dangerous than the World Rally Championship and with the spirit of a 24-hour endurance race. Teams, spectators, and media were awake Saturday night getting ready for today’s climb to the clouds. Here’s how to watch it, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.
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The easiest way to watch is through Mobil 1’s livestream, above and on the Mobil 1 Facebook page. Another free option is local Colorado Springs radio KRDO, which is hosting a live broadcast at KRDO.com, or by tuning in to radio channel 1240 AM.If you aren’t already following the official Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Twitter, you absolutely should, as they’ll be live-tweeting race results and likely much of the epic carnage from today’s big race.

Shawn Bassett in 1974 Datsun 240Z is the first to make the attempt, 10:30 a.m. ET.
Mobil 1 via YouTube

Reading this on Monday or anytime after the race? Don’t fret. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb YouTube channel will have post-race coverage, including interviews with drivers and teams for their take on what either went right, or terribly wrong.We were so excited for this year’s hill climb that we drove over 1300 miles from Michigan to experience it ourselves, and will have post-race coverage with a photo gallery of our own following today’s event.

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Aston Martin has already debuted Aston-branded luxury condos in Miami and Los Angeles, and now it’s opening a limited number of freshly designed dwellings in a high-rise in Manhattan’s Financial District.Each of the five Aston units comes with an Aston Martin DBX in chic black.But where to park it? No Manhattan parking space is included in the price—you will be able to fetch it from a train station in Connecticut.What a bright and happy day it is in New York City. We’re walking the Brooklyn Bridge with hundreds of people. Everyone has their arms down because the cyclists rocket past like they’re in the autobahn’s left lane. Their mouths are visible and wide open, inhaling sunlight, the exhaust fumes and wind blowing off the East River, the vendors pushing chili-dusted mangos and cold water for a dollar. The energy, the excitement: it’s palpable again. Less than a year ago, what was the absolute worst place to live in America is returning, wounded still, to being the Greatest City on Earth.

The bridge traffic pours into Manhattan’s Financial District, a quieter section that’s always drawn smaller crowds. There’s really nothing to do down here, and that’s a good thing for the residents. We’re here to see a high-rise apartment building designed in part with Aston Martin’s trademark blessing. Because unlike the showoffs in Miami and Los Angeles, there’s nothing more New York than spending tons of money without anyone knowing.

130 William

There are 242 condos on 66 floors at 130 William Street. Just five occupy two whole floors that will become the Aston Martin wing, all of them fully furnished with private balconies. We first came here to drive Aston’s $80,000 racing simulator on the amenities floor, and now we’re in the $11.5 million condo on the 60th floor, which is without a buyer some three years after the building broke ground.

130 William

Instead of floor-to-ceiling glass, there are arched windows like buildings of old and thick U-shaped concrete openings along the balconies. There are three bedrooms, three and a half baths, and more than 2400 square feet inside and another 600 or so outside. Compared to the highest-priced Aston residences in Miami, the Manhattan units are a steal.

130 William

Luxury real estate, after tanking during the peak of the pandemic, is apparently coming back. Mansion Global reported that in May, city dwellers signed 130 contracts on homes worth $4 million or more, nearly seven times greater than last year. Of course, hundreds of thousands of people have also moved out of New York, many never to return. But blocks away from Wall Street, 130 William’s developers are appropriately bullish on the city’s comeback.

130 William

Each of the five units comes with an Aston Martin DBX designed by the building’s architect, David Adjaye, who after creating the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History can now rightfully call himself a starchitect. The car is all black like all the hallways. You don’t get to choose the furniture—the condos are fully furnished with Aston Martin Home Collection pieces—or the car. You don’t even get a garage spot, because city people in this income bracket love Uber. The DBX will be parked at a Connecticut train station for weekend jaunts.New York City desperately needs tenants. Bloomberg estimates the COVID shutdowns, office downsizing, and the slow recovery have cut property tax revenue by $1.6 billion. Buy some mangos on the street or a condo 60 stories above. Either way, you’re helping.

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The INEOS Grenadier SUV will be sent to Kosovo for land-mine-clearing work with the weapons-disposal charity Halo Trust in a testing phase.The automaker intends to build special Grenadiers for demining work once production starts. They’ll be equipped with floor armor and other equipment.The new SUV has been conducting trials this year all over the world in all climates.The INEOS Grenadier is inching its way to production, and even in its development period there are plans underway to push it to perform lifesaving work in some of the world’s most dangerous environments. Ineos has indicated this week that for the past two years it has been working with the HALO Trust—the largest land-mine clearance and weapons disposal charity organization in the world—to develop the new SUV, with plans to deploy custom Grenadier models for mine-clearing work in conflict-torn and postwar countries worldwide.

The HALO Trust currently conducts operations in 25 nations, working on land-mine-seeded areas from conflicts that ended decades ago or have yet to end, often working in hard-to-reach locations far from roads. Ineos had joined an active HALO team in Angola in 2020, witnessing first hand the conditions under which mine-clearing work was being conducted in a region where mine-clearing operations have been going on for decades. HALO itself has been working in Angola for 27 years, with its existing fleet of vehicles working in some of the toughest terrain in the world.The group is also working in Afghanistan, where war never really ended, and where 26 members of the organization’s team were injured or killed earlier this month in an attack on a demining camp.”From mountain tracks to urban battlefields, HALO goes further to find and destroy landmines,” said James Cowan, CEO of the HALO Trust. “This means that we need a vehicle fleet fit for war zones, rainforests, and deserts. Our 9000 deminers are some of the most resilient people on the planet—they need a vehicle they can rely on to keep them safe and get the job done. We want to share our experiences with INEOS to help build an off-roader ready for the challenges of the 21st century.”
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However, its worldwide fleet is composed of just 600 vehicles at the moment.INEOS plans to develop a fleet of custom Grenadier vehicles for mine-clearing operations once production starts, aiming to equip them with anchor points for armored floor plates and storage space for mine-clearing tools. INEOS also plans to equip the vehicles to be easily converted into ambulances in case of injuries during mine-clearing operations. At the moment, more than 130 second-phase Grenadier prototypes are undergoing testing around the world, as part of a program to collectively cover 1.1 million miles. Even the company’s prototypes plan to join HALO operations in Kosovo to assess road capabilities and repair operations in the field, among other qualities.”I hugely admire the HALO Trust’s mission and the dedication of the HALO team. It is a real privilege to work with them,” said Dirk Heilmann, CEO of INEOS Automotive. “With decades of experience running a large number of vehicles in extreme conditions, we could think of no better organization on Earth for helping us to develop Grenadier. All the knowledge and insight HALO is sharing with us is incredibly valuable to the engineering program, and will ultimately help us create the toughest, most capable vehicle for all users.”

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