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Maserati revealed its track-only MCXtrema during Monterey Car Week on Friday, August 18.It will be powered by a 730-hp version of the Nettuno 3.0-liter V-6. The company will build only 62 copies, about half of which are destined for U.S. buyers.In the most basic of terms, the Maserati MCXtrema is a modified MC20 built solely for track use. The two models share a carbon-fiber tub and the same basic engine, but not much else. It’s like the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport from Modena. But the Porsche is nearly four times as common. Maserati is keeping this model extra exclusive. Only 62 of these track-star cars are planned for production. About half of those will make it to the U.S., which also happens to be the largest MC20 market.”If you have to ask how much?” or however it goes, seems to apply here because all MCXtrema cars are spoken for. We’re guessing seven figures, considering how much the car has changed from the MC20.Powering the MCXtrema is a Nettuno 3.0-liter V-6 turned up to 730 horsepower. While the torque peak of 538 pound-feet at 3500 rpm remains unchanged, engineers squeezed 109 more cavallini from the MC20’s engine with updated turbochargers and exhaust, plus the requisite engine programming. From the bellhousing, the engine turns a paddle-shifted six-speed sequential transaxle fitted with a limited-slip differential.Race-Ready InteriorWe didn’t see the production interior in person, but the design indicates the MC20’s interior is totally stripped. All the controls reside on two futuristic-looking consoles that flank the driver. A racing-style yoke replaces a steering wheel, and a six-point harness lashes the driver to a fixed bucket. A safety cage built to FIA standards increases chassis stiffness. Adding a passenger seat is an option.In addition to the adjustable wing, flat underbody, and ankle-lacerating splitter, a.k.a. standard track-car kit, Maserati fitted a longitudinal spine. It splits the roof-snorkel engine intake and is said to increase in-corner stability and rear-wing efficiency. Large side scoops, a design detail not on the roadgoing MC20, feed the intercoolers and rear brakes. All the suspension arms, of unequal-length front and rear, are billet aluminum and attach to the body and upright via ball joints. The suspension also features Ohlins four-way adjustable dampers and adjustable anti-roll bars. From the steering wheel, the driver can adjust ABS and traction control. Race tires, the kind that use metric sizing and aren’t road legal, wrap 18-inch center-lock wheels.MCXtrema mechanics—because, let’s face it, those owners probably have mechanics on payroll—can leave the floor jacks at home because this has air jacks. On the scale of track-day flexes, air jacks is pretty high up there. All signs indicate this big-kid toy will be a ton of fun to own and run at a track. Maserati says the MCXtrema is the first of its kind, which kind of implies there will be other low-volume specials that may or may not be street legal in our future. That’s a good thing. Executive EditorK.C. Colwell is Car and Driver’s executive editor, who covers new cars and technology with a keen eye for automotive nonsense and with what he considers to be great car sense, which is a humblebrag. On his first day at C/D in 2004, he was given the keys to a Porsche 911 by someone who didn’t even know if he had a driver’s license. He also is one of the drivers who set fast laps at C/D’s annual Lightning Lap track test. More

Automobili Pininfarina has unveiled its second model, the B95 speedster, at Monterey Car Week.The B95 uses the same powertrain as the Battista coupe, an 1877-horsepower quad-motor setup developed by Rimac.Only 10 units will be assembled, and Pininfarina is offering endless customization options such as the houndstooth fabric adorning the seat headrests in this example.The Pininfarina Battista burst onto the scene in 2022 with a sharp design and an 1877-horsepower electric powertrain borrowed from the Rimac Nevera. Automobili Pininfarina—spun off from the famous design house of the same name after it was purchased by Indian industrial conglomerate Mahindra—has now revealed its second model, an open-top hypercar called the B95, at Monterey Car Week.The B95—”B” is for barchetta, an Italian word for roofless, two-seat sports cars—is built on the same Rimac-sourced bones as the Battista, with a T-shaped 120.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack slotted into a carbon-fiber housing. It feeds juice to four electric motors, one at each wheel, for a total of 1877 horsepower, and Pininfarina claims a 60-mph sprint of under 2.0 seconds and a top speed over 186 mph. That seems plenty fast for a car without a windshield, let alone a roof. Pininfarina also promises that the B95 can charge at up to 270 kW on a DC fast charger, going from 20 to 80 percent in 25 minutes.While the powertrain may be nothing new, the stunning bodywork certainly is. The B95 is wide and low, with flowing curves and a pointy front end featuring a visor-like full-width trim piece that houses LED headlights. Although there is no traditional windshield, the clear polycarbonate aero screens are mounted on aluminum arms that can raise or lower to help shield the occupants from wind. Pininfarina will also offer bespoke matching helmets for B95 buyers. Two streamlined fairings sprout up behind the seats to improve the airflow over the vehicle.The example unveiled in Monterey is painted in a grayish hue called Bronzo Superga that contains gold flake, juxtaposed with bright yellow Giallo Arneis paint on the nose and driver’s side fairing. The front splitter and rear diffuser are finished in exposed carbon fiber and the B95 rides on black aluminum wheels measuring 20 inches up front and 21 inches at the rear. The brakes match the contrasting Giallo Arneis paintwork.The cabin, if you can even call it that, uses a dashboard and center console design that appears nearly identical to that of the Battista coupe, with a trio of screens situated behind the steering wheel and lots of carbon fiber trim on the rest of the dashboard. Tan leather covers the seats, center console, and dashboard, contrasting with brushed black aluminum trim, while the seat headrests are decked out in a snazzy Pied de Poule Houndstooth fabric. Pininfarina will only build 10 units of the B95, with nearly unlimited customization options allowing each example to be unique. There’s no word on price, but with the Battista starting at $2.2 million for the 150-unit production run, we imagine the much more exclusive B95 will cost a significant chunk more.More from PininfarinaThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More

Acura revealed its Electric Vision concept during Monterey Car Week.The show car was designed in-house at Acura’s California design studio.The concept appears to preview an EV supercar—could it be an early look at a future NSX?After unveiling its first production EV, the 2024 ZDX, during Monterey Car Week, Acura pulled the sheet off a second electric vehicle, this Electric Vision Concept.Whereas the ZDX is a fairly standard-style SUV, which will see deliveries early next year, the Electric Vision design study takes the shape of a supercar. The proportions are ultra-low, and the design language is curvaceous rather than angular. Exterior lighting is used as a design element and is color-changing. While the ZDX rides on a General Motors platform (the same one that underpins the Cadillac Lyriq), the concept is not believed to have been designed around a specific production-ready platform.Related StoriesInstead,Acura design chief Dave Marek describes it as a high-performance model that “is inspiring everyone in our studio to push the boundaries.” He did not describe it as a first step toward a next-generation NSX, but we’re free to speculate. After all, Acura head honcho Jon Ikeda has been quoted as saying, “There’s gonna be another one.” And with Acura transitioning to an EV brand, well, a third-gen NSX necessarily would be electric. So, this very well could be the starting point on that journey. Do you like where Acura is headed?Deputy Editor, Reviews and FeaturesJoe Lorio has been obsessed with cars since his Matchbox days, and he got his first subscription to Car and Driver at age 11. Joe started his career at Automobile Magazine under David E. Davis Jr., and his work has also appeared on websites including Amazon Autos, Autoblog, AutoTrader, Hagerty, Hemmings, KBB, and TrueCar. More

Ford has revealed a very special version of the Mustang called the GTD.It has a supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 engine, active aerodynamics, and numerous other track-oriented modifications.It will cost around $300,000 and will be built in limited quantities starting next year.After seeing the clay model of the Ford Mustang GT3 race car in the design studio, Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley decided the Blue Oval needed to turn it into a road car. Built from a desire to win Le Mans with a Mustang, the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD is essentially the street-legal version of Ford’s upcoming racer that is due to debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona before heading to Le Mans. Unhindered by racing rules, the GTD street car will have more power (approximately 800 horsepower) and active aerodynamic features that are illegal in the series Ford will race the Mustang GT3 in. Ford plans to build the street-legal GTD in limited numbers and it intends for this super ’Stang to take on the best track cars in the world. As Farley puts it, “It’s for AMG Black, Aston Martin, Porsche GT3 RS. We want to beat it [the GT3 RS] at Le Mans, but we [also] want to beat it as a street car.”Ford Performance + Multimatic = Mustang GTDDesigned and engineered by Ford Performance and Multimatic, the GTD starts life as a body-in-white run-of-the-mill Mustang that leaves the model’s Flat Rock, Michigan plant and heads north toward Multimatic’s factory in the Canadian province of Ontario. From there, the rear of the Mustang shell undergoes surgery to fit the GTD’s transaxle, which contains a Tremec eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. A transaxle cooler mounted onto the trunk lid chills the gearbox. Ford tells us there’s still some trunk space under the transaxle-cooler’s ducting and radiator, but we didn’t get to see it.Fitting a transaxle that connects to the front-mounted engine via a carbon-fiber prop shaft shifts the balance of weight rearward. Ford claims the GTD has a nearly 50/50 front-rear balance, which compares quite favorably to the Mustang Shelby GT500’s 56.6/43.4 percent distribution. More Racy MustangsThe automaker is keeping the GTD’s final weight under wraps for the time being. With the exception of aluminum door skins, carbon-fiber forms the rest of the bodywork. Before you ask, exposed carbon-fiber panels (as on the GT supercar) are under consideration. However, such an option may ultimately prove too complicated and expensive. The Secretariat of Ford MustangsNo doubt, the GTD will be quick. Motivation comes courtesy of a slightly modified version of the Shelby GT500’s supercharged 5.2-liter V-8. In GTD guise, the blown bent eight ought to make around 800 horsepower—up from the GT500’s 760 horsepower—and redline at 7500 rpm. A dry-sump oil system should allow the engine to keep all eight cylinders sufficiently lubricated on the track. Even with this addition, the engine maintains the same mounting position as the GT500. An available titanium exhaust made by Akrapovic blows hot air out of two large pipes that protrude from the rear fascia. We assume the GTD includes a launch-control system so it can make the most of the traction provided by the mammoth 345/30ZR-20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R rear tires. Up front, Ford fits the GTD with 325/30ZR-20 rubber, among the widest tires we can recall seeing fit to the front end of a production car. A bespoke suspension makes the most of the rubber’s grip. Multimatic’s adaptive spool-valve (ASV) dampers pair with a new unequal-length control-arm front suspension, while the rear end incorporates a pushrod-style multilink setup that works with inboard-mounted ASV dampers and coil springs.Forged aluminum wheels come standard, but even lighter forged magnesium wheels are optionally available to further reduce unsprung weight. Massive carbon-ceramic brake rotors hide behind the GTD’s wheels. Dedicated cooling ducts help keep the front rotors from overheating. GTD Brings the Wing With the push of a button, the GTD’s body drops approximately 1.6 inches in order to make the most of its aerodynamic package. The massive wing hanging off the C-pillar is an optional extra and it’s due to come with a hydraulically controlled active drag-reduction system (DRS) to increase downforce when necessary. Pressure-reducing vents in the front fenders and hood look like pieces pulled from a dedicated Le Mans racer. For those wanting the most extreme aero package, Ford will offer a carbon-fiber underbody that comes with hydraulically actuated, active front flaps. In person, the GTD is shockingly wide, with aggressive fender sculpting. The four-inch wider track, aggressive stance, and improved proportions of the approximately $300,000 Mustang variant made the Shelby GT500 that Ford parked nearby look like Danny DeVito to the GTD’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. The tinted glass of the prototype vehicle limited our view of the interior. Nevertheless, we caught sight of the latest Mustang’s large gauge cluster and infotainment screens, as well as the racing-style Recaro front seats. There are no rear seats. Befitting its big wing, the GTD’s options menu includes a 3-D–printed rotary shifter and shift paddles made from the titanium parts of a Lockheed Martin F-22.Production of the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD is still more than a year off, with the Blue Oval planning to build between 1000 and 2000 examples of this mighty Mustang. We’re sure Ford will sell every last one. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Editor-in-ChiefTony Quiroga is an 18-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. “Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It’s the place I wanted to work since I could read,” Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D’s early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years. More