Motor News

Volvo has discontinued the V60 Polestar Engineered plug-in-hybrid station wagon in the United States.A Volvo spokesperson confirmed to Car and Driver that the decision was made as Volvo moved V60 production to its facility in Ghent, Belgium.Thankfully, this doesn’t mark the death of all Volvo wagons in our market, with Volvo confirming that the V60 Cross Country and V90 Cross Country will continue. America’s misplaced lack of interest in the station wagon has struck again, this time taking out our favorite Scandinavian longroof: the Volvo V60 Polestar Engineered. Road & Track broke the news, reporting that Volvo’s consumer site reads, “The V60 Polestar Engineered plug-in hybrid is no longer available as a new vehicle in the US.”As sad as we are about it, we don’t blame the automaker for the decision. The company sold fewer than 3500 wagons in the U.S. last year, after all. In a statement to Car and Driver, a spokesperson for Volvo confirmed that the change came as production of the V60 migrated to the automaker’s production facility in Ghent, Belgium. Thankfully, the change doesn’t spell total destruction of Volvo’s North American wagon lineup. According to Volvo’s spokesperson, “Volvo Cars has decided to end production of the V60 Polestar Engineered model, focusing instead on the more popular Cross Country variant for the U.S. and Canada.” Well, beggars can’t be choosers. The most recent version of the most athletic V60 paired a 312-hp turbo four with a 143-pony electric motor for the rear axle to produce a combined 455 horsepower and 523 pound-feet of torque. An impressive 44 miles of EV range in our testing sweetened the pot even more. The surviving V60 Cross Country and V90 Cross Country feature less potent mills, with the former powered by a 247-hp turbocharged four-cylinder and the latter with 295 horsepower from a supercharged and turbocharged four-cylinder with a 48-volt hybrid system. We just hope Americans can come to their senses in time to save the few remaining station wagons before the entire segment goes extinct. More on Volvo Station WagonsJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Here’s a wonderful little Italian camper van, ideal for a slow-rolling holiday.Yes, Alfa Romeo did really once build vans. And isn’t “Autotutto” just fun to say?It won’t hit 50 mph, but taking it easy is the whole point.Fancy a little Roman Holiday? Check out this vintage camper built by Alfa Romeo. It’s up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). It will require a plane ticket and a bit of time off to properly enjoy, but we can’t imagine a more fitting way to meander through sun-kissed Mediterranean climes.Bring a TrailerAlfa Romeo is better known as the marque that built the racing cars Enzo Ferrari cut his teeth on. This wonderfully green T10 Autotutto is one of Alfa’s often-overlooked commercial models, vans and small trucks that delivered fresh foccacia and olives and who knows what else through the streets of Rome and beyond. Starting out life as a conventional van, this example spent its early life in Sicily and then Modena, and was later converted to a camper and refurbished. We love the details, from the white piping on the green vinyl seats to the roof-mounted 16-inch spare tire it wears like a beret.Bring a TrailerWhen new, the T10 could be optioned with a 750-cc engine shared with Alfa’s sedan range, or a small supercharged diesel inline twin. This camper has the latter, displacing 1158 cc, and it offers a very modest 31 horsepower. With a four-speed manual transmission, top speed is just 47 mph.Bring a TrailerThat’s not great for hammering down the autostrada, nor tackling the Alps. Instead, you’d simply have this little camper shipped down to Sardinia or Sicily, and spend a few weeks nosing around small towns on back roads, stopping in cafés and generally taking it easy. There’s a gas stove for cooking, a sink for cleaning up, and a picnic set for lunching in the shade of some gnarled olive tree.Bring a TrailerTake along a vintage film camera to document the trip, and you’d complete the 1950s European holiday experience. La dolce vita is waiting. The auction ends on February 27.Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

The Etna is a restomod take on the Lamborghini Gallardo from a Croatian firm. The V-10’s power gets a bit of a bump to 592 horsepower, but the big story is the 450-pound weight reduction.The build looks to capitalize on old-school baby Lambo charm and includes a conversion to six-speed manual.Built between 2003 and 2013, the Gallardo was a success for Lamborghini, with just over 14,000 sold over its production run. A decade later, it’s somewhat overshadowed by the Huracán, while the V-12-powered Murciélago of the same era is undergoing something of a renaissance. However, a Croatian coachbuilder says it has the fix for the first-generation cars.You probably haven’t heard of Zagreb-based Tedson Motors before, but the company has been around for a few years in the restomod 911 business. Its launch product was a reworked Porsche 964, although one that took a slightly different angle than similar 911 reimaginings from Singer or Guntherworks. Called the Daydream, Tedson’s machine incorporated a 540-hp air-cooled flat-six that paired with an electric flywheel to provide hybrid power. The added low-end torque was claimed to fling the car past 60 mph in under three seconds.Goran Turkić, Tedson’s owner, caught the restomod bug after studying physics in Irvine, California, and building his own 1975 911 project. The first Daydream was revealed in Monaco in 2022, and this new Gallardo-based restomod, called the Etna, now adds to the company’s portfolio.As is the case elsewhere, you have to provide your own Gallardo to start, although Tedson says it won’t mess with the rarer manual-transmission models. A full carbon-fiber body replaces the original sheetmetal, and when combined with a titanium exhaust sees a weight drop of an impressive 450 pounds. The car is also wider, with aerodynamic upgrades, but overall it looks quite subtle, capped off with 19-inch wheels.From an engineering standpoint, Tedson will convert the transmission to a six-speed gated manual unless a customer really wants to hang on to the E-Gear automatic, and the 5.0-liter V-10 is reworked to provide 592 horsepower. The factory suspension is also sorted with components from some of the Super Trofeo cars, and the brakes are upgraded too.Suitably remastered, the Etna retains some old-school Gallardo elements like hydraulic steering and an even-firing order for the V-10. (Quick sidebar here: later V-10 Lamborghinis share the Audi R8’s odd-fire order, which results in slightly more vibration and a different tone. Some Lambo purists prefer the note of the old even-fire.) Tedson says only 77 cars will be made, and each of them will take about a full year to make. Customers can of course choose all kinds of customization options, as you’d expect for the steep nearly-$800,000 price.The restomod 911 market is fairly saturated now, so it’s not surprising to see a company expanding into new space. The Etna looks like a well-executed effort, we’ll have to wait to see how many buyers want to dig deep for a modernized Gallardo. From the C/D ArchiveBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

Cosworth builds some of the best engines in the world. Here’s one in a sensible, practical package.This rare Ford Sierra Cosworth takes the brand’s European family sedan to another level.This one is in Texas and unlike many imported Cossie Fords, it has the steering wheel on the correct (left) side.The name Cosworth graces the engine bay of some of the world’s greatest exotics. The Bugatti Tourbillion. The Aston Martin Valkyrie. The Gordon Murray–designed, V-12–powered T.50. Each is breathtakingly fast, each highly tempting, each unfortunately also staggeringly expensive. Besides, you need a four-door for the kids. But what if you could get that sedan with the heartbeat of a hypercar?Bring a TrailerThis 1989 Ford Sierra sedan and it offers just that: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine from the keepers of the flame at Cosworth, and it’s up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos).Cosworth has a long history stretching back to the golden age of Formula 1. And it also have a history of imbuing European Fords with extra moxie. The Escort Cosworth and the Sierra Cosworth are hero cars across the Atlantic. Cosworth is based in the UK, as are many “Cossie” Ford fans, which means cars that find their way to the U.S. are often right-hand-drive. Happily, this example originally hails from Italy, so the wheel and pedal are on the left, where you’re used to finding them.Bring a TrailerEven better, perhaps, is that this Sierra is the sedan rather than the coupe. The four-door variant is hard to find and quite subtle, capable of surprising fellow drivers. “Is that a Merkur?” “Why the heck is that Tempo so dang fast?”Bring a TrailerThe answer lies under that anonymous white hood, the red-headed, YB-Series 2.0-liter inline-four. Fitted with factory turbocharging, this engine was rated at 204 horsepower and 205 pound-feet of torque, but of course racers and tuners could unlock much more power by pouring on the boost. Happily, this one hasn’t been fiddled with, and still puts down stock power through a five-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels. There’s the equivalent of 55K miles on the odometer.Bring a TrailerThe cabin is all business in light gray, the well-bolstered Recaro seats and thick-rimmed three-spoke wheel the only hints towards sportiness. The stereo’s non-operational, but a YB has a really unique yowl to it, so just roll your windows down and give the throttle pedal some welly.Related StoriesLeave the influencer crowd to pose in front of their seven- or eight-figure machinery that will rarely see anything more challenging than a London high street. Instead, fly under the radar with this white sedan riding on its discreet 15-inch alloys, knowing you’re using one of the best fast Fords just the way Cosworth intended. The auction ends on February 25.Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

Stellantis has shown off a new hands-free driving system that allows for up to Level 3 self-driving—to a point.The system allows for the driver to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road, but only up to 37 mph. The company is working on developing the system up to 59 mph, but there’s no timeline for when either system will be added to a car you can buy. Stellantis unveiled a new hands-free driving system that it says would allow users to watch movies, read emails, or confront the cold grip of reality while staring into the dark abyss that is the universe . . . Assuming, of course, that you’re driving under 37 miles per hour. You’ll also need to make sure you don’t get too lost in your reality check because even vehicles with SAE Level 3 autonomous-driving ratings might ask you to take control back.StellantisStellantis fittingly calls the new system STLA AutoDrive 1.0. With the speed capped at 37 mph, the system is designed for commuters in dense urban areas that often experience bumper-to-bumper traffic. It will apparently work in low-light and night conditions and even in poor weather. When traffic and environmental conditions allow it, a message will prompt drivers that AutoDrive is available. They can then activate the system with a physical button, prompting the AutoDrive to take control of steering, following distance to the car ahead, and adjusting speed and braking. Stellantis said it’s also working to develop the system further and hopes to increase the top speed to 59 mph, while also adding off-road capabilities down the line. In a written statement to Car and Driver, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the system isn’t available yet. “Our Level 3 technology is fully developed and ready for deployment, but the current market for autonomous driving at this level remains very limited. We have made the strategic decision not to launch it at this time. Once the market matures and conditions become more favorable, we will evaluate the path to commercialization,” the spokesperson said. More on Autonomous DrivingJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Mercedes-AMG has confirmed that it is working on a new generation V-8 that it calls a “high-tech electrified V-8.”The mill is intended for performance models riding on the brand’s new AMG.EA architecture.The twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-12 is also set to stick around, though only in select markets. Mercedes-AMG has just confirmed that it’s working on a new-generation V-8 setup to power its next generation of performance models. The announcement came as part of the same investor meeting where the Affalterbach-based automaker confirmed development on a smaller G-class SUV. Mercedes said that, moving forward, the AMG brand plans to “outgrow the performance market” with the help of a heavily refreshed lineup that will begin arriving in 2026. How will that lineup be refreshed? With the help of a new powertrain the automaker describes as a “next-generation, high-tech electrified V-8.” Mercedes-AMGWhat we don’t know is just how important the word “electrified” is in this context. Is it all new from the ground up? Or has Merc been quietly working to develop the existing hybridized 4.0-liter V-8? There’s also the question of battery size. Mercedes could stick to the same 48-volt system that has found its way onto the bulk of the lineup, or it could spring for a larger battery and a plug-in format. We do know that the engine is destined for the AMG.EA platform, where they will live alongside “dedicated high-performance electric models.” One thing Mercedes was more clear on is that the 6.0-liter V-12 will continue to be produced. Unfortunately, while the V-8 is being developed to meet the European Union’s strict emissions standards, the V-12 will only be available in select markets. More on MercedesJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Desert Power Wagons builds modern reproductions of the original Dodge Power Wagon with everything new but the styling.A recently finished truck uses a modern Ram HD as a basis and even borrows its contemporary interior.Ram-based models such as this one from DPW start at $425,000.Desert Power Wagons will build you an old-look, new-tech take on the 1940s Dodge original in one of two ways: with a custom body on a custom chassis or using that same body atop modern Ram bits. Car and Driver senior editor Ezra Dyer came away impressed after some time with the all-custom option, which garnered more attention than some supercars and cost an exotic-rivaling $385,000. We’re now getting a closer look at the other type of build, and it looks just as nicely finished.Desert Power WagonsDPW recently completed an example in a very Power Wagon-appropriate red with black trim. It looks every bit the part on the outside, with the Method Racing wheels being the real giveaway that this truck isn’t simply over-restored army surplus. Inside, however, the builder has neatly placed the guts of a modern heavy-duty Ram 2500—a Limited model, judging by the center-console lid. Everything looks like it was designed to fit, including the giant center touchscreen. The seats have been recovered in red-accented black leather with diamond quilting and crocodile-look embellishments, and the doors are trimmed to match.Desert Power WagonsAs Dyer explained in his piece, plopping the retro body on a new Ram necessitates a shallow bed. The latest creation is just as cleanly outfitted as the one he hauled kayaks in, with its oak floor stained black to match the rest of the truck’s motif. A set of 40-inch tires fill the giant fenders, and there’s a Carli suspension holding everything up and providing 9.5 inches of travel front and rear. Desert Power WagonsDesert Power WagonsThis truck is powered by a Cummins diesel 6.7-liter inline-six making 385 horsepower and 930 pound-feet of torque, backed by a six-speed automatic. It’s the same powerplant as in the one Dyer drove, the difference being it hasn’t been wrested from its natural home in a Ram frame. Desert Power Wagons will also build you a truck with a Hemi V-8, and it offers two-door Power Wagons as well as a more wagon-like facsimile of the WC-53 Carryall.Like other modern reproductions, the Ram-based Desert Power Wagon carries a high price. The $425,000 ask is put into perspective somewhat when you consider that this giant took over 5000 hours to create. Sheer size and mass don’t come cheap, and neither does meticulous attention to detail.More Rad TrucksEver since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs. More

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that a smaller, more affordable G-class SUV is on the way. The automaker also confirmed plans to overhaul its design language, bringing future EVs and combustion cars under a shared appearance. The announcements were made as part of a recent investor-relations presentation held by the automaker. After years of speculation and rumors, Mercedes-Benz has finally confirmed that a smaller version of the G-class (colloquially known as the G-wagen) will be built. The announcement came as part of an investor-relations presentation from Mercedes-Benz. Any details beyond the new G-class’s existence remain a mystery, but just try to stop our imaginations from running wild. The latest rumors suggest that the baby G will be sold exclusively as an EV. Considering Merc is already selling an electric version of the G-class, we don’t see any reason to doubt that. Daimler2019 Mercedes-Benz Concept GLBThis isn’t the first time Mercedes has tried to embody the spirit of the G-wagen in a smaller frame. Remember the Concept GLB? We don’t think this new SUV will miss the G’s spirit in the same way the eventual GLB production car did, but we also don’t expect it to be as brawny as the original.As part of the same announcement, Mercedes confirmed plans to drastically shift its design language. As things stand now, Merc’s entire fleet of EVs sets itself apart from the gas-burning side of the lineup with a design language that wouldn’t be out of place on your bathroom counter. That’s set to change. Mercedes-BenzIn the future, Mercedes will take a similar approach to BMW with a single model that offers internal-combustion, hybrid, and battery-electric powertrain options. The move is a 180-degree turn from Merc’s current strategy, which has separate combustion and EV models. The upcoming CLA-class will be the first model to make the change—the existing G-class and G-class EV notwithstanding. More on Mercedes-BenzJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More