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Lewis Hamilton shared a clip last week of himself driving an R34 Nissan GT-R hard around a city. It is an instant classic video, a rare example of F1’s most successful driver ever just having fun in a cool car, but not everyone is happy about it. Chief among the unhappy parties is, apparently, the company that actually owns the car.CarBuzz reports the car is owned by the Japanese company Omoshiro Rent-a-Car, which rented the Nissan out to either Hamilton or an associate during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. The video was filmed shortly afterward, but Hamilton’s outright hooning was in apparent violation of the company’s policies. In a tweet attributed to the company, the brand simply says that “such driving is prohibited.” While the brand confirmed the rental to Hamilton to CarBuzz, an Omoshiro Rent-a-Car representative added that “Under the guidance of our attorneys, [Omoshiro is] unable to disclose any further information.” It is unclear if this is an active legal matter. This content is imported from twitter. 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.こちらはおもしろレンタカーの車ですが、これは弊社が許可をして撮影されたものではありません。このような走行は一切禁止しております。 https://t.co/5Ud0stH44t— おもしろレンタカー　中のひと (@info82262789) November 24, 2022No matter what happens next, though, the conclusion is the same. If you are going to take a rental car out to do things the agreement expressly forbids, do not post a video online unless you are prepared for the rental company to find it. Even seven-time world champions and 103-time Grand Prix winners are not immune to the rules of rental agreements.This content is imported from twitter. 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.This content is imported from twitter. 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

The next move for GM with its valued Corvette nameplate will be to launch a Corvette subbrand.It will include a four-door “coupe” and a sporty high-performance crossover to partner the upcoming two-seater Corvette EV.The new Corvette lineup will be positioned well above its rivals, such as a future trio of electric Mustangs. What’s in a name? When you are a carmaker, the answer is: everything. Arguably, people buy a BMW or a Benz at least as much for the name as for the car itself, and the same goes for Corvette. In terms of brand value, Corvette is among the auto industry’s most heralded and valued nameplates, and yet it currently only pulls a small percentage of the potentially huge profit. But according to those in the know, this is going to change. We have already seen the new Z06, and there are several more versions of the C8 still to come, including a possible E-Ray hybrid, the revived ZR1 and the even more extreme Zora hybrid named after Zora Arkus-Duntov, father of the original C1. There’s also a Corvette EV on the horizon slated to use GM’s Ultium architecture.Step two of GM’s Corvette brand strategy is even more ambitious and far-reaching. Starting in 2025, GM plans to launch a Corvette brand that will also include a sleek four-door coupe and a brawny crossover. Both of these future new Vettes will be EVs.Sports cars are useful image builders, but their contribution to the bottom line is—at least in the case of GM—negligible. Played intelligently and with authenticity, however, the name Corvette should be a license to print money. At a point in time when Ferrari and Maserati and Porsche are all offering one or more SUVs—the antithesis to the hard-core sports cars that put them on the map in the first place—why shouldn’t Corvette also consider building sedans, crossovers or, heaven forbid, even pickups? More on the CorvetteOf course, these new age products can’t be a half-hearted attempt like the Cadillac Cimarron or the Ford Contour-derived Jaguar X-Type. Instead, the pivotal starting point is a redefined unique DNA that shouts “Corvette” in terms of design and driving dynamics. The switch to the Ultium battery platform allows the keepers of the brand to reimagine the proportions, stance, and engineering—or to adhere to the trademark elements which shaped the American sports car icon from the ’50s to the present day. A source who has seen the first proposals describes them as “copies of nothing” and as “encapsulated emotional purity.” Waxing lyrical may do justice to the styling themes, but what about the bespoke content? The mechanical package apparently includes battery packs with high energy density, superfast software, a patented cooling concept, staggered Lego-like topographic packaging, miniaturized componentry, ultra-efficient inverters, high-revving electric motors, an 800-volt electrical system that provides up to 350 kW of charging power, a two-speed transmission, brake-by-wire, multi-mode four-wheel steering, and torque vectoring.Corvette EV prototypeGMAccording to our friend from within the GM Tech Center: “Corvette is not just a brand. It’s a constantly evolving system paired with a dramatically different user experience.” The four-door coupe (think of it as more of a liftback) and the crossover add two new values to the marque: mainstream exclusivity and overt luxury. Thanks to a delicate balance of functionality and fashion, stats and style, and limited availability fueling high desirability, all three pillars are prepared for pragmatic evolution and subsequent proliferation.”The aim is not to beat Taycan and Cayenne at their own game but to create three American legends capable of breaking new ground by making the essence of Corvette scalable. To do so, that essence must at all times be in a state of progressive flux,” our source comments. Hear, hear.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.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

This content is imported from youTube. 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.On the cheap end, production bikes are faster than production cars. With a $10,000 budget you’d have no problem getting a bike that could run away from any internal-combustion car that costs five times as much. But when you get to the ridiculous, over-the-top end of the performance spectrum and add in electric motors, cars are hard to beat.Proof comes in the form of this new video from CarWow, which pits the Ferrari SF90 up against the BMW M1000 RR. The bike is BMW’s fastest, a special edition with M branding and 212 horsepower on tap from a 999-cubic-centimeter inline-four engine. That’s quite a bit for a package that weighs just over 400 pounds unloaded. Ferrari vs. the World, Then and NowBut it doesn’t matter. The Ferrari, with its half-million-dollar price tag and sophisticated hybrid system, is too quick. The gas-sucking V-8 makes 769 hp all on its own, but with the three onboard electric motors, total system output is 986 hp. That powertrain drives all four wheels, giving the 3500-pound Ferrari a lot of traction with which to unleash its 590 pound-feet of torque. The result is a browbeating for the bike. An all-wheel-drive, 986-hp hypercar is just too much to handle. But we’d bet the BMW rider had more fun. From 2020: First DriveThis content is imported from youTube. 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

The Audi RS6 Avant and RS7 gain a new Performance trim with extra power and other tweaks.The twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine produces 621 hp and 627 pound-feet of torque, an increase over the previous model’s 591 hp and 590 pound-feet.Audi says these models will arrive in the U.S. for the 2024 model year.Audi is rolling out a new Performance version of the RS6 Avant and RS7 models that gets a big boost in power and torque, along with some chassis upgrades and visual tweaks. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine now makes 621 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque, increases of 30 hp and 37 pound-feet compared with the outgoing versions.The extra grunt comes from larger turbochargers that make more boost. Audi claims this will make the cars 0.2 second quicker in the sprint to 62 mph; in our testing, the RS6 got to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and the RS7 did it in 3.0 seconds, so we can expect some improvement on these numbers once we strap our test equipment to the upgraded models. The Performance models are also 18 pounds lighter thanks to Audi’s deletion of some of the sound deadening, which is also meant to allow more engine sound to enter the cabin.More on the RS ModelsNewly available 22-inch wheels are wrapped in 285-width Continental Sport Contact 7 tires. Audi says these tires provide more grip and that the new wheels reduce unsprung weight by 44 pounds overall. There are also revisions to the center differential, and tweaked programming for the drive modes that include Efficiency, Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and customizable RS1 and RS2 modes.A few new matte colors join the palette, including Ascari Blue and Dew Silver, and certain exterior trim pieces are also finished in matte. Inside, the Performance models gain blue contrasting stitching, blue seatbelts, and other blue accents.Audi has yet to release pricing for the 2024 RS6 Avant Performance and RS7 Performance, but we can expect them to carry a price premium over the current starting prices of $119,995 for the RS6 and $122,995 for the RS7.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.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