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Hyundai debuted the new, all-electric Ioniq 5 today in South Korea, marking the beginning of its all-electric Ioniq subbrand.
The Ioniq 5’s modern look is drawn in large part from the Hyundai 45 concept.
The U.S.-market Ioniq 5 will make up to 300 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque and has a 77.4-kWh battery. It is slated to go on sale this fall, with other Ioniq models coming in 2022 and 2024.
Hyundai has 23 global electric vehicles on the way between now and 2025, and today we are seeing the first of those: the Ioniq 5, a new electric compact crossover that made its debut in South Korea. The Ioniq 5 will be sold in both rear- and all-wheel-drive versions, sports a futuristic design, and comes with fast-charging capability thanks to one of the quickest systems in electric vehicles today.

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The Ioniq 5 derives much of its design from the Hyundai 45 concept, including its overall shape with its sharp, angular lines running throughout, the pixelated taillights, and the unique daytime running lights. The Ioniq 5’s wheelbase, which stretches just over 118 inches, is longer than the Hyundai Palisade’s, but its overall length—just over 182 inches—is 14 inches shorter than that SUV. The Ioniq 5 is six inches longer than the Tucson but still two inches shorter in height. So its dimensions put it somewhere between a crossover and a hatchback, but not fitting perfectly into either category.
The Ioniq 5 rides on the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that will underpin forthcoming electric vehicles from both Hyundai and Kia. In the Ioniq 5, this platform gives the EV 77.4 kWh of usable battery, good for between 290 and 300 miles based on the WLTP rating system. Typically, U.S. EPA ranges are lower than those from the WLTP. For example, the Hyundai Kona Electric, which has a 64.0-kWh battery, sees a WLTP estimate of 301 miles while the EPA estimates range to be 258 miles.

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Hyundai

Charging up that battery will take less time than many of the Ioniq 5’s competitors, with charging times similar to those of pricier EV entries including the Porsche Taycan and the new Audi e-tron GT. Like those sedans, the Ioniq 5 has an operating voltage of 800 volts, and when hooked up to a 350-kW charger, the Hyundai’s battery can go from 5 percent to 80 percent in 18 minutes. The Porsche Taycan needs 22.5 minutes to do the same.
The Ioniq 5 can be had with either rear- or all-wheel drive. In the all-wheel format, output will be 302 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque, with a claimed zero-to-60-mph time of 5.2 seconds, while the rear-wheel-drive model makes 215 horsepower and 258 pound-feet and is claimed to get to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds.
The Ioniq 5 also comes with Hyundai’s Highway Driver Assist 2 (HDA 2), a level-2 driver assist system and the first Hyundai to come with the second generation of the driver assist system. HDA 2 will allow the Ioniq 5 to drive on the highway with minimal driver intervention and can automatically change lanes by activating the turn signal. This system is similar to the capabilities of the Super Cruise system in Cadillacs—and soon, GM vehicles more broadly.

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Hyundai

The interior of the Ioniq 5 matches the modern design of the exterior. The front seats recline and have footrests for use while the vehicle is charging. They and many other parts in the cabin are made from recycled plastics, wool, eco-processed leather, and other sustainable sources. The instrument cluster and the infotainment screen, both 12 inches, sit on a single panel that stretches from in front of the driver to the middle of the vehicle.
The head-up display in the Ioniq 5 is bolstered by augmented reality, meaning that information such as navigation can be projected onto the windshield in the line of sight of the driver. Although we’re unsure what this will exactly look like in the Ioniq 5, Hyundai announced an investment in WayRay, a startup integrating augmented reality into head-up displays, in 2018. The Ioniq 5 could be the realization of that investment.
Other tech in the Ioniq 5 includes a solar roof, a feature seen in the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, and what Hyundai calls a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function, a charging system that can provide up to 3.6 kilowatts of power; that’s enough to charge and power many household appliances, but not quite enough to power your whole house.

Hyundai Writes Own Prophecy with EV Concept

Hyundai’s 45 Concept Previews Brand’s EV Future

The Ioniq 5 is the first vehicle in a new all-electric lineup from Hyundai. The Ioniq 6, a sedan, and Ioniq 7, an SUV, are due in 2022 and 2024, respectively, and will expand the full-electric Ioniq lineup. The Ioniq 5 is slated to go on sale in the U.S. this fall.
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If you like Audi’s turbo five-cylinder, you’ll love that it’s found in this new performance crossover, the Formentor VZ5, from VW spinoff brand Cupra.
Cupra normally makes sportier versions of existing models from VW’s Spanish brand Seat, but the Formentor is the first Cupra-only product.
The all-wheel-drive Formentor crossover is also available with the 300-hp 2.0-liter turbo four from the VW Golf R.
Many engine configurations are living on borrowed time, but one of the rarest—Audi’s charismatic turbocharged five-cylinder powerplant—has just found a new home in the Cupra Formentor VZ5. This freshly launched all-wheel-drive crossover is from the relatively new, performance-oriented Cupra division of the VW Group family, and, with 384 horsepower, it’s Cupra’s most powerful vehicle yet.

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The Formentor’s origin story is a bit convoluted. Cupra was first used as a model designator for the fastest performance derivatives of Seat, Volkswagen’s Spanish subsidiary, which exports to few markets outside Europe. Three years ago, Cupra was turned into a full-fledged subbrand to create high-output versions of mainstream Seat models. So, for instance, European buyers can choose between a Seat Leon hatchback and a faster Cupra Leon version.
But the Formentor crossover is a Cupra-only model—there is no Seat alternative. It rides on the same MQB architecture that underpins all of Volkswagen’s smaller models. That makes it a distant relative of the Volkwagen Tiguan, although with a far more exciting range of engines, including the 300-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter EA888 four-cylinder as seen in the VW Golf R.

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Cupra

The new five-cylinder version will sit at the top of the Formentor range, with an output of 384 horsepower, making it the most powerful Cupra or Seat model yet produced. That’s just shy of the 400 hp that the same engine makes in the recently replaced RS3, the TT-RS, and the RS Q3, which isn’t sold in the U.S. Like its Audi cousins, the Formentor VZ5 uses a tranversely mounted engine with power sent to each corner through a Haldex style all-wheel-drive system. A seven-speed DSG twin-clutch transmission will be standard, and Cupra claims it will be capable of a 4.2-second zero-to-62-mph time. There is no top-speed claim, but this will almost certainly be curtailed by a 155-mph speed limiter.

A Visual History of Audi’s RS Models

While the Formentor’s design is lacking outlandish originality, it certainly looks handsome in the released images, with the VZ5 getting both bigger wheel arches and 20-inch wheels to indicate its specialness, plus a pair of double exhaust tailpipes. Unlike many of VW’s fast products, Cupra says the VZ5 doesn’t get any sort of soundtrack enhancement. Standard specification includes six-pot calipers at the front, huge 18-inch brake discs, and an adaptive suspension. The cabin gets leather bucket seats, a central 12-inch touchscreen, and lots of the copper-colored detailing that seems to be a Cupra trademark.

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Cupra

The Formentor VZ5 will reach its first customers in late 2021. Cupra says that total production will be limited to just 7000—perhaps because of the limited life expectancy of the five-cylinder engine in the face of increasingly tough European emissions standards. The company also says the VZ5 will be produced exclusively in left-hand drive, limiting sales in right-hand-drive Britain, one of Europe’s biggest performance-car markets. While there is no official word on price, the Cupra seems likely to undercut and out-spec the Audi RS Q3.
All in all, another reason to feel jealous of some of the compelling European models that are denied us.
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The track-only version of Gordon Murray’s T.50 hypercar is here, and it’s named for three-time Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda.
The car’s 725-hp naturally aspirated 3.9-liter V-12 revs to 12,100 rpm, in a car slated to weigh only 1878 pounds.
Only 25 will be built, priced above $3 million, and some 15 have already been spoken for.
When Gordon Murray shared early details about his track-only hypercar last year, he promised that the finished version would carry a “historically significant” name in addition to its T.50S model code. On that, he has absolutely delivered: the car is now to be known as the Niki Lauda, a tribute to the three-time Formula 1 champion who died in 2019 and who would have turned 72 today.

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Gordon Murray Automotive

The Niki Lauda’s finalized technical specifications have changed slightly since we first told you about the car, and they are set to make it one of the most extreme vehicles on the planet. GMA says it is on track to weigh just 1878 pounds—more than 200 pounds lighter than its roadgoing sibling revealed last summer, the T.50. Power will come from an even more highly tuned version of the T.50’s naturally aspirated 3.9-liter V-12, making 725 horsepower and revving to a dizzying 12,100 rpm. Those figures mean that, as Murray puts it, this has got “the same power-to-weight ratio as the car that came second at Le Mans last year.”

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“T.50S was always a working title. We needed something to put on the drawings as much as anything else,” Murray explained us during a virtual walkaround of the new car. “But after Niki passed I suddenly realized it was a perfect tribute: a racing car with a fan on the back. Niki was a great friend, not just somebody who drove for me—and his family agreed it was a fantastic idea to commemorate the win in Sweden.”
Lauda’s victory at Anderstorp in 1978 was the only win for the Brabham BT46B “fan car” which Murray designed, and which inspired the creation of the much more advanced active fan system of the T.50. Each of the production run of just 25 Niki Laudas will also carry a plaque commemorating a race won at a different circuit by one of Murray’s Formula 1 cars, the first being designated Kyalami, 1974.

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Gordon Murray Automotive

Noise Level Is A La Carte
With no catalysts and much smaller exhaust silencers, the Niki Lauda will also be considerably louder than the regular T.50. “I know from Formula 1 back in the Seventies that when you put the pipes close together you mix the pulses and it sounds like double the revs,” Murray explains. “We’ve got the pipes right next to each other at the back of the car, so the first time it comes past flat-out it’s going to sound like 24,000 rpm.” Owners will be offered the choice of different amounts of exhaust muffling to allow for different racetrack restrictions.
Like the roadgoing T.50, the Niki Lauda will feature fan-assisted aerodynamics, using a 48-volt-powered fan to increase the effectiveness of its underfloor diffuser. The regular car varies the speed of its fan to create differing levels of aerodynamic assistance, but the track car’s assistance will run flat out all the time. Peak downforce is 3300 pounds, with GMA reckoning that the car is generating more than its own weight—and therefore theoretically capable of traveling upside down—at 175 mph. “In a 150-mph corner, the T.50S will pull around 2.5 g’s of lateral acceleration, and 3.5 g under braking,” Murray promises.

Niki Lauda Still Has Things to Say about F1 Rules

Racing Legend Niki Lauda Dies at 70

Although the Niki Lauda shares an obvious design relationship with the regular T.50S, it also features substantial differences—the most obvious being a sizable rear wing and an LMP1-style longitudinal fin that connects this to the cabin roof. There is also an intake “periscope” to channel air into the engine. The track car’s front end has gained a much bigger splitter and air-channeling dive planes. There are three NACA ducts on the panel, the two outboard ones channeling air to the brakes and the one in the middle supplying ventilation to the cabin.

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Gordon Murray Automotive

The interior is as minimalist as the rest of the car. The Niki Lauda keeps the regular T.50’s central driving position but will only have a single passenger seat. A yoke-style steering wheel contains basic controls and faces a single digital display screen; other functions are controlled by a panel of toggle switches to the right. The Niki Lauda’s carbon structure will be on proud display throughout, and both side windows and windshield use thinner glass than the T.50.
No Manual Transmission
One mild disappointment is the lack of the manual gearbox that Murray insisted be standard on the roadgoing T.50. A six-speed paddle-operated transmission created by X-Trac will be standard. Murray says a manual gearbox would have distracted from the experience rather than added to it. “The engine picks up speed even quicker than the road car, it’s got less inertia, and the gearbox ratios are closer because the top speed is lower. So the gearchanges are going to be coming so quickly that I honestly don’t think you’d want to be letting go of the wheel to find an H-pattern gear slot as often as you would have to.”

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Gordon Murray Automotive

Early hopes that the Niki Lauda would compete in the FIA’s proposed hypercar class haven’t come to pass. “They ended up proposing a sort of silhouette formula with a basic LMP2 chassis underneath, which wasn’t for us,” Murray says. However, there are hopes that Niki Lauda buyers will ultimately be able to take their cars racing through what is being called the GT1 Sports Club. “Initially you’d be invited to some of the GT championships, with the chance to watch the race but then stay on for a couple of days and drive it,” Murray says. “If that’s successful then [founder Stéphane Ratal] is talking about creating a Pro-Am series that would be a backup to the GT championship.”
Murray says around 15 Niki Laudas have been sold already and anticipates the remainder of the run of 25 will be allocated quickly following the car’s launch. The price is the equivalent of $3 million to $4.4 million at current exchange rates, with production scheduled to start in January next year.
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The 2022 Lexus IS500 features a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 with 472 horsepower.
Lexus calls it an F Sport Performance model rather than a full F like its RC F coupe sibling.
The 2022 IS500 will go on sale in the U.S. this fall.
Lexus’s familiar 5.0-liter V-8 engine has returned to the IS sports sedan, this time in the form of the new 2022 IS500 F Sport Performance model. Although the company is not calling it a full F model this time around, the IS500 reminds us of the original IS F. That car, which first appeared in 2008, had this same naturally aspirated V-8, bulging hood, and overall stance.

Tested: 2008 Lexus IS F

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This time around, the V-8 produces 472 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque, the same as in the RC F coupe. Rear-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission are standard. The IS500 has the same limited-slip differential and adaptive dampers that are optional on the V-6–powered IS350 F Sport. The IS500’s brakes are slightly larger, and the 19-inch wheels are exclusive to this model and claim to be lighter than the IS350 F Sport’s wheels. Overall curb weight is up by a claimed 143 pounds over the V-6 car.

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Lexus

Lexus says that the IS500 will get to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, which we think is conservative even if it’s significantly quicker than the 5.6-second run we achieved in a 2021 IS350 F Sport. The V-8 sings its distinctive song through quad exhaust tips, and drivers should be prepared to rev it out given that peak power doesn’t arrive until 7100 rpm.
The IS500 looks meaner than the standard car thanks to its hood bulge that sits two inches higher, and the front bumper and fenders are reshaped as well. Out back there’s a lip spoiler and different diffuser. Other details include dark window trim and black F Sport badges. There are various F badges inside as well, along with different pedals and a special animation for the digital gauge cluster.

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Lexus

Given that Lexus refers to this model as an F Sport Performance rather than an IS F, we’re curious how it will be positioned in the sports-sedan segment. Its power output places it close to the BMW M3s and Mercedes-AMG C63s of the world, but it’s possible that Lexus will price it more like the lesser M340i and AMG C43 models given its badging. The RC F starts at $67,000, and we’d guess that the IS500 will be several thousand less than that. At the right sticker price, the Is500 could be an attractive proposition. It may be the last compact sports sedan with a V-8 engine, now that we know that the next-generation C63 will be a hybrid with a four-cylinder gasoline engine.
We’ll have to wait for more details on price, as Lexus says that it will release more info on the the IS500 closer to its on-sale date this fall.
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COVID-19 forced many cancellations in Formula 1, from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix to almost every event on the calendar outside of Europe when the season actually began. It did not, however, cancel production of the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive, which was able to film throughout the shortened, rescheduled season. Netflix will debut the third season of the documentary series on its platform on March 19.

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A quick teaser posted on the official F1 Twitter account hints at a season focused on the challenge of keeping a globe-trotting championship together in a year defined by new concerns and roadblocks. The in-weekend cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, the day cars were set to take to the track in competition for the first time all season, will surely be a significant storyline early in the season, as will the race to get the championship back online on relatively short notice before the Austrian Grand Prix in July.
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In addition to COVID concerns, other major storylines for the season are likely to include AlphaTauri’s miraculous win at Monza, the massive fireball at Bahrain that injured Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean, and the lasting impact of a year of racing headlined by Lewis Hamilton, who spent 2020 fighting for justice and cementing his résumé as the greatest ever to race. Given how past seasons of Drive to Survive have gone, the hard-fought battle for third place in the championship—ultimately contested between McLaren, Racing Point, and Renault—should also be a major talking point.

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If you’ve ever thought there should really be a way to enjoy #VanLife in an RV-based Transformer, look no further than the SAIC Maxus Life Home V90 Villa Edition.
With a luxury bar and living space, an elevator, and an upstairs Zen tea room, the V90 Villa would certainly draw attention at the campsite, even though it looks relatively normal when it’s driving down the road.
Unfortunately, this RV is meant for the China market, where it will sell for a little over $413,000.
When thinking of way to make an RV larger, most people think longer. Some imagine a wider motorhome. But the Chinese engineers behind the SAIC Maxus Life Home V90 Villa Edition had a different idea: why not extend upward? They didn’t imagine just a simple pop-up roof, either, but a full-fledged upper level with a walk-out deck.

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The two-story RV is full of surprises. When it’s in driving mode, the V90 Villa Edition looks like a fairly standard RV. But when it opens up, Transformers style, at the spot where you’re planning to spend the night, it becomes more than a tiny home on wheels. First, you can extend the V90 Villa’s pop-out sides, which give the main floor a total size of 215 square feet. This space includes the living room, kitchen, “luxury bar,” and bathroom.

SAIC

SAIC

Upstairs, which you reach via elevator, you’ll find the second-level extension gives you another 133 square feet that can be used as an “open, sunlight room,” a Zen tea room, or a study, Maxus said, with windows that can transition from clear to opaque depending on your privacy needs. You can’t store large furniture up there, so the company website shows the space with lots of low tables and pillows.

SAIC

The V90 Villa Edition uses LED lighting in the taillights, as accent lights on the outside of the RV, and as a way to create a gentle atmosphere while you’re out on the upper deck. The interior living spaces can be outfitted with any number of convenience and luxury items, such as a JBL sound system, washing machine, kitchenette and air conditioner. There’s an app-driven infotainment screen in the dashboard with navigation. There’s also a pull-out cooking area behind the RV’s rear passenger-side wheel that can turn your campsite into a kitchen with an even better view.

SAIC

We will note here that the company website doesn’t feature any actual pictures of the V90 Villa Edition, just renderings, including one of a Level 4 autonomous drive lidar sensor on the top of the front end. That said, SAIC Maxus sells a wide variety of RVs in China and other versions of the V90 are pictured on the company website. The basic (i.e., non-Villa) edition of the Life Home V90 starts at the equivalent of $70,960, but according to New Atlas, the V90 Villa Edition starts at just over $413,000.

SAIC

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Road & Track will be chatting all things McLaren next week. Want in?
For the next episode of Inside Track, the magazine’s virtual Q&A series, our friends at R&T are excited to welcome guests Andy Thomas, McLaren of the Americas VP, and Dave Shuten, renowned builder from Galpin Speed Shop, star of Discovery’s Car Kings, and artist behind this 765LT that appears on the latest cover of Road & Track. It’s all happening on Thursday, February 25, at 5:00 p.m. ET, and they’d love for you to join them.
Register Here
In this episode, Road & Track executive editor Dan Pund will sit down with Thomas and Shuten to discuss the custom-painted 765LT and the recent launch of the all-new Artura—a creation that draws together decades of McLaren’s pioneering expertise. If you want to see it all go down, head over to the dedicated sign-up page here.
Inside Track is one of the many offerings of the newly revamped Road & Track. They’re hosting live events, virtual experiences, and adventures around the globe. They will also be hosting driving rallies at racetracks and on the most epic roads, holding discussions and debates on cool topics with some of the most influential people in the car world, and giving members the white-glove treatment at concours and auto show events.
Plus, you can access McLaren’s global reveal of the Artura here and read all about the new car here.
If you want to get in on the fun, become a member of The Track Club. You’ll get every issue of Road & Track magazine, plus a whole lot more. Find more details on the membership tiers and exclusive discounts at roadandtrack.com/join, and check out the full experiences lineup at experiences.roadandtrack.com.
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A Window Shop viewer sent us this week’s challenge: It’s often said that Miata is always the answer, but what if Miata isn’t the answer? What would we buy instead? Contributor John Pearley Huffman had the exact same idea and deputy editor, host of this recorded Zoom call, and author of this sentence, Tony Quiroga decided that perhaps he could put the Window Shoppers to work to find him a replacement for his beloved 1995 Mazda Miata.
To tailor the task to himself, Quiroga set a $10,000 budget, requested cars that offer an interesting driving experience, low mileage, and Miata-like reliability (as if such a thing is possible). He also suggested that a manual gearbox and rear-drive would be preferred, but not mandatory, and opened the possibilities to cars and SUVs.
Huffman didn’t pick a rear-drive car, but his second-gen Honda CRX nailed the fun-to-drive and reliability aspects. Unfortunately, his CRX suffered from some aggressively applied tire sheen and he also ran over the $10,000 budget. Contributor Jonathon Ramsey also picked a two seater, a high-revving Honda S2000 with nearly 200,000 miles, but the listing left too much to the imagination. Deputy testing director K.C. Colwell and senior editor Joey Capparella went outside the two-seater box entirely. Colwell went with an E39 BMW 528i manual and Capparella cleverly chose a 2002 Toyota Tacoma, which somehow meets all of this week’s requirements.If you make it to the end, you’ll notice that we miscounted the votes and mistakenly thought there was a tie. There wasn’t a tie. One vehicle emerges above the rest, but it really doesn’t matter, because Quiroga was only interested in buying his choice.
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