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    Tesla Model Y Standard Range Discontinued; CEO Musk Tweets Explanation

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained on Twitter that the Standard Range Model Y was dropped from the automaker’s online configurator because it doesn’t meet the company’s “standard of excellence.”
    The vehicle appeared on the Tesla online configurator in January, and late last week its price was cut by $2000.
    Currently, the Standard Range Model Y is available for order only over the phone or in person at Tesla showrooms.
    The Tesla Standard Range Model Y has been on a price and availability roller coaster over the past week. First, the automaker dropped the price of the 244-mile Standard Range Model Y by $2000, to $41,190. Then, just days later, the vehicle completely disappeared from the online configurator. The remaining two versions of the Model Y are the Long Range (with 326 miles of range) at $50,190 and the Performance (with 303 miles) at $62,190. Tesla did not explain where the Standard Range car had gone on its website, but today CEO Elon Musk explained the reason for the model’s disappearance via Twitter.
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    Responding to a tweet inquiring about the vehicle’s disappearance, the Tesla CEO wrote, “It is still available off menu, but I don’t think the range, in many drive conditions, yet meets the Tesla standard of excellence.” That standard of excellence can be assumed to mean the Model Y’s sub-250-mile range.

    Tesla Adjusts Prices on Model 3 and Y

    Tesla Model Y Adds Cheaper Standard Range Model

    Tested: 2020 Model Y Takes Tesla Mainstream

    This isn’t the first time the Standard Range Model Y has been pulled from the online configurator for that reason. In July 2020, Musk tweeted that the vehicle would not go into production because of its “unacceptably low ( More

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    2022 Kia Carnival Revealed for U.S. with New Name and Logo

    Kia has released U.S. details for the 2022 Carnival minivan, which replaces the Sedona.
    It has a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, offers seating for seven or eight passengers, and comes in LX, EX, and SX trim levels.
    The Carnival will arrive at U.S. dealerships in the second quarter of 2021.
    The latest generation of Kia’s minivan is finally set to land in the U.S., and it’ll wear a new name and a new logo when it does. Say hello to the 2022 Kia Carnival, which replaces the Sedona and will be the first new Kia on our shores to wear the company’s new emblem. Compared with its predecessor, the Carnival also offers a more stylish look, more power, additional cargo space, and new features.

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    Kia

    The U.S. version of the Carnival doesn’t look much different than the global model we saw several months ago. Its longer hood and chunky C-pillar attempt to give it more SUV-like proportions, but we simply see it as a good-looking van. Inside, the boxier body contributes to a few extra cubic feet of cargo space with the third row of seats folded and the second-row seats removed.

    Kia Sedona Could Be Renamed Carnival for 2022

    Kia Shows New Ultra-Luxury Minivan with Curtains

    2022 Kia Sedona Full Details Revealed

    An eight-passenger setup is standard, with a second-row bench that has a configurable middle seat that can slide closer to the front seats or fold to become a table. Second-row captain’s chairs are optional, and the top SX-Prestige trim level has a special setup with power-adjustable recliner-style captain’s chairs with an ottoman and special headrests. Unlike the standard setup, though, these so-called VIP Lounge seats are not removable.

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    Kia

    The sole powertrain is a 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 290 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Unlike competitors such as the Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica, the Carnival is front-wheel drive and offers neither all-wheel drive nor a hybrid variant. Kia says the van can tow up to 3500 pounds, matching the Sienna.
    The Carnival’s interior looks far more upscale than the outgoing Sedona’s, and the pictured model has a interesting shade of brown leather upholstery. An 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment screen is standard, with both a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen and a digital gauge cluster screen optional. There are also available dual entertainment screens for rear passengers that have smartphone-mirroring capabilities. Standard and optional family-friendly features include an intercom system, power sliding doors and a power tailgate, a camera that offers a view of the rear passengers, and various rear-seat USB ports and power outlets.

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    Kia

    Kia hasn’t yet detailed what equipment is available on which trim level, but the lineup starts off with the Carnival LX and also includes EX, SX, and SX-Prestige models. Many driver-assistance features are standard equipment, with more advanced systems including blind-spot cameras, adaptive cruise control, and a 360-degree camera available as options.
    Pricing will likely start slightly higher than the current 2021 Sedona, which starts at $31,575. Kia will release more info in the coming months, as the 2022 Carnival is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2021.
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    Porsche Working on Synthetic Fuel to Make ICE Cars as Clean as EVs

    EVs are the future, but vehicles with internal-combustion engines are not going to disappear any time soon, which is why synthetic fuels could provide a greener option for the vast majority of the cars on the road today.
    The eFuels that Porsche is testing use CO2 and hydrogen ingredients and are made using renewable energy, which significantly lowers the greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-based fuels.
    Porsche is far from first to dip into synthetic-fuel research. Audi, Bosch, and McLaren have all been talking about and working on the technology for years.
    In the race for greener mobility, nearly every automaker is now focused on electric vehicles. But buying an EV doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority of cars being sold today are powered by gasoline, and they’re going to remain on the road for a long time. As a way to make driving existing vehicles more sustainable, Porsche has been working on synthetic fuels it calls eFuels that the company says can make an internal-combustion engine as clean as an EV.

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    Porsche’s eFuels are made out of CO2 and hydrogen and are produced using renewable energy. The final result is a liquid that an engine will burn the same as if it was gasoline made from crude oil, but an eFuel can be produced in a climate-neutral manner, at least in theory. Speaking at the recent launch of the new 911 GT3, Porsche vice president of Motorsport and GT cars Frank Walliser said the company will have its first small test batch—just 130,000 liters, or 34,340 gallons—of eFuel ready by 2022.
    “Synthetic fuel is cleaner and there is no byproduct ,and when we start full production we expect a CO2 reduction of 85 percent,” Walliser told the U.K. publication Evo. “From a ‘well to wheel’ perspective—and you have to consider the well-to-wheel impact of all vehicles—this will be the same level of CO2 produced in the manufacture and use of an electric vehicle.”
    One of eFuel’s big benefits is that you can pump it into a standard gasoline-powered vehicle without needing to make any adjustments to the engine. Porsche’s eFuel is not meant just for roadgoing vehicles, either. The newest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car can run on synthetic fuels, which Porsche said “significantly lowers CO2 emissions under racing conditions.”
    “This technology is particularly important because the combustion engine will continue to dominate the automotive world for many years to come,” said Michael Steiner, a member of Porche’s executive board for R&D, said in a statement in September. “If you want to operate the existing fleet in a sustainable manner, eFuels are a fundamental component.”
    Porsche is not the first automaker to investigate cleaner petroleum-substitute fuels, by any means. Audi produced its first batch of e-diesel in 2015, for example, and Bentley, Mazda, and McLaren have all said positive things about synthetic fuels. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz has taken an opposing stance, with R&D chief Markus Schäfer having told the U.K. publication Autocar in 2020 that e-fuel is not a viable option and that the automaker is focusing solely on electrification.
    In a similar vein, E85, a non-carbon neutral gasoline substitute made from 85 percent corn-based ethanol, has been promoted in the U.S. since the 1990s, with more than 100 E85-compatible models sold here since then, from the Mercedes-Benz CLA250 to the Chrysler 300, from the Chevrolet Impala to the Ram 1500.
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    2022 Mercedes C-Class Overhauled with New Tech and a Fresh Design

    The 2022 Mercedes C-class is redesigned inside and out and features a more efficient turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
    The exterior design is more aggressive, while the interior swaps out many of its physical buttons in favor of an 11.9-inch touchscreen housing the latest version of MBUX software.
    The 2022 C300 and C300 4Matic are expected in U.S. showrooms in early 2022. Mercedes has not yet shared pricing details.
    Mercedes has taken the wraps off the redesigned 2022 C-class sedan. The biggest-selling vehicle in the automaker’s lineup has received a major makeover that includes a sportier exterior design, increased interior space, and a host of updated technology features that were initially introduced on the 2021 S-class. The 2022 C300 and C300 4Matic C-class sedans are scheduled to arrive in U.S. dealerships in early 2022. Prices have not yet been released.
    The new sedan’s wheelbase is 1.0 inch longer than its precedessor’s, while the body is 2.5 inches longer, 0.4 inch wider, and has an 0.4-inch-shorter height than before; we think the new model has a more athletic stance. Cargo space is unchanged, but rear headroom and legroom have increased by approximately 0.5 inch and 0.8 inch respectively.

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    Mercedes-Benz

    Mercedes C-Class to Get Four-Cylinder Engines Only

    2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Shows Off Its New Look

    The 2022 C300 and C300 4Matic are equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four engine that produces a respectable 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. These numbers keep it competitive within its segment against competitors including the Audi A4, BMW 3-series, and Genesis G70. The new C-class cars feature the Mercedes 48-volt electric starter/generator EQ Boost system, which is capable of adding up to 20 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. Mercedes claims that the engine is 10 to 15 percent more efficient than the previous four-cylinder without hybrid assist. A nine-speed automatic is the sole transmission choice. More powerful AMG models, along with coupe and cabriolet variants, are expected in the future.
    The design of the 2022 C-class borrows heavily from the smaller A-class, and the new look does away with a slightly bulbous rear end of the previous-generation sedan. A sharper, more angular-looking front end and cleaner profile give the C-class the look it needs to compete visually with offerings from BMW and Audi.
    The biggest changes are seen inside, mirroring the more minimalist design aesthetic seen in the 2021 S-class. An 11.9-inch touchscreen has taken over the center of the dash, pushing the three air vents up above the display. Meanwhile, the center-console touchpad and controller knob found in the previous C-class have disappeared completely. The result is a less cluttered center stack with few physical buttons. The screen uses the latest version of the company’s MBUX software, which Mercedes says has more processing power than the previous generation.

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    Mercedes-Benz

    The tactile controls that remain include knobs and buttons for the drive mode, camera view, vehicle settings, hazard lights, and audio volume. There’s also a fingerprint scanner used for logging into individual driver profiles. Behind the leather steering wheel resides a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

    Is This the New Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class?

    Standard equipment includes 18-inch wheels, heated front seats, a sunroof, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions. Available options include a head-up display, additional driver-assistance systems, 19-inch wheels, nappa leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, and AMG body styling and interior trim.
    Mercedes has yet to announce pricing, but we’re guessing that the rear-wheel-drive 2022 C300 will start at around $43,000 while the all-wheel-drive C300 4Matic will fetch $45,000. Both are expected in U.S. showrooms in early 2022.
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    Is This the Next Mercedes-Benz GLC Hiding behind the New C-Class?

    Mercedes-Benz teased a silhouette image of a new GLC-class SUV sitting behind the new 2022 C-class sedan.
    The second-generation GLC-class will share its mechanicals with the new C-class, meaning it’ll be powered by a new hybrid four-cylinder.
    We should learn more about the new GLC by the end of the year, and pricing should remain in the mid-$40,000 range.
    The Mercedes-Benz C-class sedan just received an upscale redesign, and its GLC-class SUV counterpart will follow soon. Mercedes hinted at the small SUV’s new generation, shown sitting behind this photo of the 2022 C-class sedan’s side profile. The new C-class-based SUV should arrive by the end of the year to increase the competition against other small luxury German SUVs such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Porsche Macan.

    2021 Mercedes-Benz GLC300.
    Mercredes-Benz

    The current-generation GLC (pictured above) replaced the GLK-class for the 2016 model year, and since then we’ve seen subtle changes to its exterior, new infotainment tech, and the addition of a new base turbo four-cylinder borrowed from the C-class sedan. The GLC-class is Mercedes’s top-selling car in the U.S., and the new model is likely to continue the small SUV’s success in the States. If it looks anything like the new C-class, which it should, it’ll be sharper and more aggressive than its predecessor.

    2022 Mercedes C-Class Gets New Design and Tech

    Mercedes C-Class to Get Four-Cylinder Engines Only

    View Photos of the Mercedes C-Class Prototype

    It’ll share its mechanicals with the recently unveiled C-class sedan, meaning the base GLC300 model will be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder paired with a 48-volt hybrid system making 255 horsepower. Rear-wheel drive will be standard, with Mercedes’s 4Matic all-wheel-drive system available. Of course, we should see higher-performance models from AMG, too, though they’re expected to replace the existing eight- and six-cylinder engines with a more powerful hybrid four and to add fastback coupe variants.

    2022 Mercedes-Benz C-class interior.
    Mercedes-Benz

    The C-class’s new 11.9-inch central display (pictured above), which looks similar to the S-class’s 12.8-inch screen, should find its way inside the GLC-class along with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. It’ll be slightly larger than the current model’s standard 10.3-inch touchscreen, and the rest of the 2022 C-class’s upscale new interior should carry over onto the GLC.
    We should know more about the new Mercedes-Benz GLC-class by the end of the year. The starting price shouldn’t change much, staying in the mid-$40,000 range. The 2022 C-class is expected to start at around $43,000.
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    2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Kicks Off EV Lineup in Eye-Catching Style

    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.

    Hyundai Will Build Three EVs under New Ioniq Brand

    Hyundai Unveils EV Platform, Says 23 EVs Coming

    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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    Cupra Formentor VZ5 Is the Audi RS3’s Spanish Crossover Cousin

    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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    725-HP, 1878-LB Gordon Murray T.50S Niki Lauda Is Named to Honor a Legend

    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.”

    Gordon Murray Drops Details on Track-Only T.50

    654-HP Gordon Murray T.50 Revealed

    Gordon Murray: What I’d Do Differently

    “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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