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The Little Car Company is making a drivable version of Tamiya’s Wild One 1/10-scale remote-controlled off-road buggy, called the Wild One Max.Blown up to 8/10 scale, the adult-size romper is about 16 inches shorter than a Mazda Miata but 2.5 inches wider, big enough for someone 6′ 5″ to drive.Build slots are available now with a refundable deposit. It will go on sale in 2022 for about $8250.On September 25, 1985, the Japanese remote-controlled-model maker Tamiya released the Wild One, a 1/10-scale off-road buggy kit. Ten years later, the Wild One is coming back, this time overscale instead of underscale, in an upsized version of the Tamiya called the Wild One Max.

It makes sense that this one would be the choice for an adult-size car: Along with kits like the Sand Scorcher and Rough Rider, it was one of Tamiya’s most popular R/C models in the late 1980s and ’90s. The black and red, two-wheel-drive dirt hopper with the coil-over suspension and iconic graphics cued up enough nostalgia in the early 2000s for Tamiya to reissue the Wild One in 2012. The same Little Car Company that built the downsized Baby Bugatti II and Aston Martin DB5 is making the Wild One Max. At 8/10 scale and powered by an electric motor, the Wild One Max will be big enough for humans standing up to 6’5″ to climb into the composite racing seat and drive into the sunset.

The Little Car Company

The Wild One Max is about 16 inches shorter in length than a Mazda Miata, and 2.5 inches wider. The space-frame chassis gets coil-over dampers suspending 15-inch lightweight wheels shod in grooved rubber up front and chunky knobby tires in back, just like the original. The flat white wheels hide a set of hydraulic Brembo disc brake,s also fitted with regenerative braking. The spare cockpit gets a racing steering wheel and a few digital gauges. And at just 551 pounds in base spec, the Wild One Max shouldn’t get its in own way when it’s time to hit the dirt.

The Little Car Company

As standard, power comes from a 2.0-kWh battery juicing a motor with 5.5 peak horsepower. That configuration caps top speed at 30 miles per hour and range at 25 miles. Those specs vary based on the driving modes Novice, Eco, and Race, however, which change power output, throttle mapping, and top speed.Wild One scale modelers were quick to upgrade from stock by heading to the Tamiya Hop-Up store. The Little Car Company is giving Wild Ones MAX builders—yes, this car is a proper, home-built kit—the chance to do the same. Bundles like the PowerPack add more battery power and increase performance and range, while the Tarmac Pack adds components to make the buggy road legal as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). Individual upgrades will be offered, too, like a four-point seat harness to supplant the three-point belt, and higher-spec brakes and suspension. The Little Car Company is taking $140 refundable deposits for build slots at the Wild One MAX site. Retail price is expected to come in around $8250. We wouldn’t mind seeing a red helmet and white race suit among the Hop-Ups. And since the original Wild One was supposedly a civilian version of Tamiya’s 1/10-scale Fast Attack Vehicle, a camo sticker kit and bumper-mounted headlights would be pretty cool, too.
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VW has revealed the first in its new electric performance lineup: the ID.4 GTX.The new version of its ID.4 crossover is claimed to be the automaker’s fastest roadgoing EV, but although VW wants you to think “GTI,” it has sadly failed to fit the GTX with plaid seats.We’re still not sure whether the GTX will come to the U.S., but an AWD ID.4 is on its way.Volkswagen announced it would be applying GTX branding to its most potent EVs earlier this month, and now it has revealed images of the first of this new performance line in the chunky form of the ID.4 GTX. The reality is very close to our prediction, with the finished car showing off a mild visual makeover to distinguish it from the regular ID.4. While the bodywork is unchanged, the GTX distinguishes itself with painted lower body cladding and gloss black roof rails in place of the regular car’s shiny metal finish. It also carries GTX badging on the tailgate and front fenders and gets differently shaped LED elements within its taillights. A set of 20-inch wheels will be standard, with 21-inchers available an option.

Volkswagen

Changes to the cabin take a similar approach. All the key architecture is shared with the existing car, but there’s more red trim, a redesigned instrument cluster, and some subtle GTX branding. Given the links Volkswagen is keen to draw with the existing GTI, we were disappointed not to see plaid seats.

The ID.4 GTX will feature all-wheel drive thanks to an additional front-mounted electric motor. The rear axle gets the same 201-hp permanent-magnet motor as the existing ID.4 but is joined by a less powerful asynchronous motor up front, each driving their respective axles through a single-speed reduction drive. Volkswagen claims a peak system output of 295 horsepower but hasn’t disclosed a torque figure. Curiously, that’s around the same power output that VW has claimed for the non-GTX all-wheel-drive version of the ID.4 that’s coming to the U.S. later this year, as well as the related Q4 e-tron Quattro, so it seems the GTX treatment doesn’t include any extra grunt.A significant omission from the official release is the GTX’s weight, although we can safely assume it will than the already substantial rear-driven version, which weighed in at 4698 pounds on our scales.

Volkswagen

Claimed performance is, frankly, underwhelming by segment standards. Volkswagen’s promise of a 6.2-second zero-to-62-mph time translates to GTI-level acceleration but looks leisurely by segment standards, delivering on our prediction that Volkswagen’s fastest EV will be slower than the cheapest and least powerful Tesla. Top speed will be limited to 112 mph, a number that looks very low by European standards, and especially in a country as fond of the limit-free Autobahn as Germany is.The GTX uses the same 77.0-kWh battery pack as the regular ID.4, with Volkswagen claiming a range of up to 298 miles under the generally optimistic WLTP testing protocol. That’s just 12 miles less than the figure the company states for the regular ID.4. For reference, we managed 190 miles equivalent to 82 MPGe in the rear-driven version, while testing in very cold conditions. It will support high-speed recharging at speeds of up to 125 kilowatts.Volkswagen hasn’t officially confirmed the GTX for the U.S., although it has promised that we will be the getting all-wheel drive versions of the ID.4. That suggests that either this car, or its powertrain under different branding, will eventually cross the Atlantic.
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The 2021 Ford F-150 will offer onboard scales and a smart trailer hitch on every model starting this summer for $650. Adaptive dampers are newly optional, costing $695 on the Lariat model and above. Orders for F-150s with these new features will open in June.This summer the 2021 Ford F-150 will add available onboard scales for measuring cargo weight, a new smart trailer hitch, and newly optional adaptive dampers. The 2021 F-150, which now offers a hybrid PowerBoost model, starts at $30,635 for the base XL model.
The available onboard scales display the approximate weight of the payload in the truck on the infotainment screen (pictured above). The new F-150 has either an 8.0- or 12.0-inch horizontally oriented touchscreen. The weight can also be viewed in the FordPass app, and the taillights show the amount of the payload used in four bars (seen below), like a battery percentage—or the new GMC Hummer EV’s charging lights. The top bar blinks when the max payload has been reached, and the there’s a scale mode that can zero out the current load for weighing added items.
A new smart towing hitch will be available, too. It measures the tongue weight of the trailer and shows the best weight distribution or hitch overloading on the touchscreen, the app, or the taillights. The onboard scales and smart hitch come together as a $650 option and require the max trailer tow package. Adaptive dampers are now available on upper trim levels starting with the Lariat model, which starts at $46,390. They’re standard on the $72,520 F-150 Limited. They require the onboard scales option and cost $695. They’re adjustedable via the truck’s drive modes, including the tow/haul mode.

Six powertrains are available on the 2021 Ford F-150, including a new hybrid drivetrain with a V-6 gas engine. The other V-6 and V-8 engines have carried over from the previous generation. The new F-150 has a max payload rating ranging from 1985 pounds to 3325 pounds and can tow anywhere from 8200 pounds to 14,000 pounds. Orders for the 2021 Ford F-150 with these new features open in June, and they’ll arrive by the end of the summer.
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Mercedes-AMG will now offer the most powerful GLC63 S model in both SUV and coupe body styles.It has a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine with 503 horsepower and standard 4Matic all-wheel drive.No pricing is available yet but AMG says U.S. deliveries will start in the fourth quarter of 2021.If you don’t want to compromise cargo space in your 503-horsepower AMG SUV, you’re in luck. Mercedes has decided to offer the AMG GLC63’s most powerful S derivative in both SUV and “coupe” body styles in the U.S. for 2022; the S was previously offered only in the swoopier coupe model that has less space in back.

Non-S GLC63 models continue on with a less powerful, 469-hp version of the same twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 found in the S cars. Along with the additional power, the S model also benefits from a more sophisticated 4Matic all-wheel-drive system and a higher top speed governor of 174 mph, compared with 155 mph. A 2018 GLC63 S coupe model was one of the quickest SUVs we’ve ever tested, with a 60 mph acceleration time of 3.2 seconds.Given the existing price differential between the GLC63 and GLC63 S coupe, we anticipate the GLC63 S SUV to start around $82,000.
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The Wraith and Dawn will be dropped from Rolls-Royce’s North American lineup following the end of 2021 model year production. A company spokesperson, who confirmed the news to our friends at Road & Track following a report from Motor1, said there are no direct replacements currently planned for either car.

The Wraith, introduced in 2013, and the Dawn, introduced in 2015, both sit on BMW’s aging F01 platform, also shared with the 2008-era BMW 7-series. So it’s not too big a surprise to hear Rolls is beginning to phase out production. It’s important to note, however, that this news only applies to the North American market. The company will continue to offer both cars overseas, though it’s not clear for how much longer. The spokesperson confirmed to Road & Track that all current orders will be fulfilled up until production of 2021 model year cars ends. The removal of the Wraith and the Dawn from the U.S. market means you’ll soon only have a selection of four-doors to choose from if you want a Rolls: the entry-level Ghost, the Cullinan SUV, or the top-dog Phantom. But we don’t expect it to stay that way for long. While Rolls has yet to release any details, the company says it’s planning to expand its lineup and unveil a swath of new products based on its all-aluminum “Architecture of Luxury,” which underpins the Phantom, Cullinan, and Ghost, that we suspect will fill the Wraith’s and Dawn’s shoes, and then some. For now though, if you’re in the market for a new Rolls-Royce, you’ll have to “settle” for one of its four-door options. A tough time for multimillionaires, surely.

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