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• Here’s a clever 1960s solution to last-mile mobility: A fizzy little 53cc motorbike that folds up into its own carrying case for portability.• Often mistakenly thought to be part of Subaru’s history, this scooter has roots in early Nissan heritage and Hitachi aircraft.• This Bring a Trailer auction ends January 15.There’s a childlike wonder to folding mobility, be it Honda’s Motocompo scooter, the WWII British paratrooper Welbike, or even Mazda’s ill-fated suitcase car. Up for auction this week on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is a combination barstool and minibike, straight out of the 1960s, with some pint-size two-stroke fun that packs up into its own carrying case.Bring a TrailerBring a TrailerIt’s a Go-Devil (not to be confused with the early four-cylinder Jeep engine of the same name). With a bright-red exposed frame, a 53cc two-stroke single-piston engine, and 5-inch wheels, it’s pocket-size hilarity that folds up into a little cube. Store it in your trunk and, when you’re ready to use it, unfold it, pull-start the engine, and go zipping around the paddock or parking lot with the kind of grin you haven’t felt since borrowing a friend’s minibike on your tenth birthday.Bring a TrailerThe Fuji Go-Devil is a not-infrequent listing on Bring A Trailer. This example is the seventh such scooter to cross the BaT block in the past year, but it is a pretty exceptional one, featuring fresh powdercoating, new seat foam, new tires, and new wheel bearings. It’s ready to roll.Go-Devils were exported to North America from Japan from 1964 to 1967. Because the company that manufactured them was called Fuji Motors, there is a tendency to conflate its origins with Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru. Indeed, at the same time the folding Go-Devil was being made, FHI was producing the Fuji Rabbit, one of the first Japanese scooters able to approach 60 mph. The Fuji Rabbit resembles a duck crossed with a Vespa and is unrelated to the Go-Devil.Instead, to dig up the Go-Devil’s parentage, we have to delve back into the primordial soup of Japan’s bubble-car era. As in postwar Germany, many former aircraft manufacturers turned to the production of tiny proto-cars, designed to sip fuel in an era of rationed gasoline.One such manufacturer was the Hitachi aircraft company, which built engines for wartime trainers and bombers. Forced to shift its efforts to peacetime mobility, Hitachi Aviation changed its name to Tokyo Gas and Electric Manufacturing Company, and it started building 60cc engines for various applications, including motorcycles. At the same time, a former subsidiary of Nissan called Fuji Motors had lucrative contracts for refurbishing and repairing the vehicles of the U.S. occupying forces. The two companies merged. Engines were provided to outside motorcycle companies and also used in the in-house brands FMC and Gasuden.Fuji CabinBrendan McAleerFlying FeatherBrendan McAleerOne of the best-known automotive products of Fuji Motors is the wonky little Fuji Cabin, which looks like someone fitted wheels to one of Gru’s Minions. Penned by the oft-overlooked Ryuichi Tomiya, an early Nissan designer sometimes called the “Leonardo da Vinci of Japan,” the Fuji Cabin was tiny and cleverly constructed but not ultimately a success. Consider it a cousin to the BMW Isetta or Messerschmitt Kabinenroller, but one that never got off the ground.Tomiya had designed Nissans before WWII and was a contemporary and friend of Yutaka Katayama, the “Mr. K.” of Datsun 240Z fame. Before the Cabin, the two had collaborated on a very light prototype car called The Flying Feather, considered an early indication of Katayama’s forward thinking.To come back to the Go-Devil, its scooter heritage is thus tied to a thoroughly inventive period in Japanese automotive history, long before the government moved to consolidate a constellation of car companies into a handful of mega-conglomerates. In the mid-1960s, FMC and Gasuden were a household (in Japan, anyway) supplier of small two-stroke engines for chainsaws, scooters, and all manner of applications. FMC/Gasuden was eventually snapped up by the heavy equipment manufacturer Komastu, and the motorcycle engine department was spun out and much later acquired by Husqvarna. So, the Go-Devil has nothing to do with Subaru but is fascinating in its own right. As a product, it is fun to ride, folds away, and is a wonderful conversation piece. It’s also a link to a time in Japanese automotive history when innovators were just throwing things at the wall and seeing what stuck. More

Mercedes-Benz is expected to stop using EQ branding on new EVs by 2024, according to a report today from the German publication Handelsblatt. The paper cites unnamed sources at Mercedes who claim the branding will become redundant with the switch to electric-only models.We reached out to a company spokesperson to confirm the report, but they have yet to respond to our request for comment. It’s currently pretty easy to identify an all-electric Mercedes-Benz model from a gasoline-burning one. Not only does the former feature aerodynamically optimized, albeit blob-like, bodywork, but it also bears a badge with the prefix EQ. By the end of next year, that will no longer be the case for Mercedes’ new EVs, according to a report today by the German daily newspaper Handelsblatt.The scoop, which has now been picked up by numerous media outlets, is based on sources within the company who claim the EQ branding will become redundant once Mercedes switches to an electric-only lineup. It makes sense. For example, there will be no need for an electric version of the S-class to be called the EQS when there is no gas-fed S-class.Of course, Mercedes’s complete adoption of electric models will still take some time, so we don’t expect to see a full eradication of the EQ subbrand for a while. Instead, we believe new electric models will begin adopting traditional nameplates within the next couple of years or so as their existing combustion-powered counterparts finish out their current generations.We reached out to a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson to confirm the report about the company’s plans. We have yet to hear back, but we’ll update this story if we do.The Evolution of Mercedes EQThis 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. More

Mercedes-AMG revealed a special edition SL63 that it says is meant to mark the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season.Labeled the “Motorsport Collectors Edition,” the Silver Arrows–colored SL takes inspiration from the W13 E Performance racing car that brought Mercedes a third place finish last season. The special edition will have an extremely limited run, with Mercedes-AMG only planning to produce 100 units globally.Mercedes-AMG is breaking out the silver paint buckets for an extremely limited run of special-edition SL63 roadsters called the “Motorsport Collectors Edition.” Mercedes-AMG is planning a run of only 100 units globally of the roadster, which takes inspiration from the 2022 W13 E Performance Formula 1 car, piloted by British driving duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. After two seasons running a black paint livery, the company reverted to its historical Silver Arrows livery. The 2022 season saw the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team struggle to rise to the same levels of success it has become accustomed to in recent years. It did manage to produce a third-place finish, with enough points to end the season well ahead of the fourth-place Alpine and nearly enough points to claim second place from Ferrari. More on the SLMuch like the race car that inspired it, the limited-edition roadster features two-tone paint, graduating from high-tech silver metallic to obsidian black metallic at the rear of the car. The SL63 also features blue Petronas accents along the front apron, side panels, and rear diffuser. As a special touch, Mercedes-AMG added the Mercedes star pattern to the rear of the car in a nod to the engine cover of the Formula 1 car. AMG added an Aerodynamics package that sensationalizes the looks of the car, giving it larger flics on the front and rear apron, a larger rear diffuser, and a reworked underbody to improve aerodynamics. The AMG Night package adds gloss black to the front splitter, side sills, mirror caps, and decorative trim of the rear diffuser. Its twin, the AMG Night package II, adds black chrome for the typography and a Mercedes star at the rear, along with the radiator grille. Mercedes has not released pricing information, but fun fact: an AMG customized indoor car cover comes with each car. That should allay any fears of overpricing. 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. More

Cadillac is preparing for the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, showing off the gold, blue, and red liveries that its three V-LMDh endurance cars will wear at the iconic event.The blue number 02 car will also run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with new rules for endurance racing in 2023 making IMSA SportsCar racers eligible for the World Endurance Championship.The V-LMDh car uses a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter DOHC V-8 and a spec hybrid system, sending up to 670 horsepower through a seven-speed sequential gearbox. Cadillac may not be the first brand you associate with motorsports, but the American automaker has found success in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in recent years, winning the premier American endurance racing series three times since 2017. With the first race of the season—the grueling 24 Hours of Daytona—fast approaching, Cadillac has revealed the liveries that its three V-LMDh race cars will wear as they rocket around tracks across the nation.CadillacEach car flies one of the colors found in Cadillac’s V-Series logo. The number 01 and 02 cars—run by Chip Ganassi Racing under the Cadillac Racing banner—are gold and blue, respectively. The 01 will be driven by Sebastian Bourdais, who won Daytona in 2014, and Renger van der Zande, who triumphed at Daytona in 2019 and 2020 in a Cadillac, with six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon joining for the opening round.The 02 will be piloted by two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook. Following the 24 Hours of Daytona, the trio will head over to Sebring to begin the World Endurance Championship, going after overall victory at Le Mans later in the year thanks to new rules that allow the top class endurance race cars in IMSA to also compete in the WEC.CadillacThe number 31 car, painted red, will be fielded by Whelen Engineering Racing, with 2021 IMSA champion Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims at the helm. Jack Aitken, who substituted for one Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2020, will help out during the longer endurance events, including Daytona.See the Other Daytona CompetitorsThe V-LMDh car was first previewed last summer with the Project GTP Hypercar, and is powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter DOHC V-8, mated to the standardized hybrid system that all LMDh competitors use. The powertrain combines for up to 670 horsepower, routed through a seven-speed sequential gearbox. Cadillac has four wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona since 2017, and will look to capture a fifth victory when the race kicks off on January 28. 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. More