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Hyundai has revealed a camper version of the cool-looking Staria van.It has lay-flat seats, a mattress, a sink, and a refrigerator.The Staria Lounge Camper will be sold in Korea for the equivalent of between $40,000–$50,000.Hyundai’s futuristic-looking Staria was begging for the camper treatment, and the company has finally indulged adventurers by building a factory pop-top version of the Korea-market van. It’s called the Staria Lounge Camper and will be offered with up to eleven-passenger capacity and a variety of modifications.

The most obvious change is the electrically operated pop-top roof, which creates space for a two-person mattress—included with the camper version—to fit up there. There’s also an extendable awning with built-in LED lights. The seats inside the cabin can also lay flat to provide more sleeping space. A water tank is included for the sink, and there’s a built-in refrigerator that runs off an external power supply.

Hyundai

The Staria Lounge Camper is only offered with either white or black exterior paint, but the interior is available in either black or brown. Hyundai hasn’t said which engines the camper version will offer, but the standard Staria has either a 3.5-liter gasoline V-6 or a 2.2-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder.We’re not expecting to see the Staria make its way to the U.S. in any form, sadly. But the camper version will be sold in Korea starting at around $40,000, with loaded versions costing around $55,000. Apart from the Mercedes Weekender that’s currently offered here, American outdoors enthusiasts’ best hope for a futuristic-looking factory camper van is the VW ID.Buzz, which may eventually be offered on our shores with a pop top.

Hyundai

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GM has filed a patent for autonomous driver-training technology, as first reported by Motor1.Instead of a human instructor, the system evaluates and trains novice drivers using various methods.GM’s system can give greater control to the driver-in-training if they achieve a high enough score.Human driving instructors might soon be replaced by computerized ones. No, not full-blown robots, but rather autonomous vehicles. That’s the idea behind the driver-training technology that’s described in a patent that General Motors filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as first reported by Motor1.

GM’s patent describes autonomous technology that doesn’t require a living, breathing driving instructor. Instead, the system is designed to evaluate and train novice drivers by using a combination of sensors for the car’s autonomous features as well as monitoring how the driver-in-training operates controls such as the accelerator, brake, and steering. The system also uses a processor with a driving algorithm stored in the car’s memory. By comparing the trainee’s manual inputs with recommended driving instructions, the processor calculates a score.

USPTO

From the sound of it, the score that GM’s autonomous driver-training feature calculates is similar to a grade given by a human instructor. The patent states that this score can be shared with third parties, too. Most importantly, it’s used to determine if the driver meets predetermined thresholds. It then selectively gives the driver greater control of various vehicle functions based on how their score compares with the preset thresholds. That sounds a lot more intuitive than the trial-by-fire method of letting young Kyle or Kelly learn how to navigate busy intersections or merge onto the freeway before they’re fully prepared.

While we’re not entirely sure if this system will be offered on personal vehicles, the patent points out that the technology could be used as part of a fleet for driver-education purposes. It also mentions the possible advantages of using autonomy to teach new drivers versus human instructors. Not only can real people be prone to bias, the patent suggests, but traditional training techniques might be more expensive and less efficient than autonomous techniques. We also don’t know if GM has any kind of timeline for rolling this technology out to the public, but it is encouraging to see that in the future the technology can be used to train people how to drive rather than mainly taking that ability away from them.
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• If your Aventador Ultimae went down with the ship, consider owning this Countach in a few days for the same money.• Lamborghini produced only 610 Quattrovalvole models from 1985 to 1988, and this one is up for auction until Monday, April 25.• Countach ownership comes with lifetime rights to valet in front of any Miami nightclub.Scissor doors started with the Lamborghini Countach. Technically, they debuted on another Marcello Gandini masterpiece a few years prior, but never had a car designer insisted on vertical hinges and hydraulic struts to hold a door in place. It made no practical sense in 1974, and it still makes insurance adjusters squeamish in 2022. This 1987 Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole is selling for twice the price of the new Huracán Tecnica because it has two doors that open the right way. It’s on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—and quietly sitting in Seekonk, Massachusetts, ready to re-enact Cannonball Run.

Bring a Trailer

The winning bidder gets a DVD of that 1981 film, itself a reenactment of our very own Cannonball Run. Even better are the new spark plugs, fresh period-correct Pirelli P7s with the most extreme stagger ever (225 front/345 rear), and everything in dizzyingly immaculate condition except a power mirror switch. Not that mirrors matter on a Countach.

The red over tan scheme is called Rosso Siviglia sull Senape, so practice those words during the first few miles (there are about 4500 on the odometer, which reads in kilometers). And then, it’s a Quattrovalvole: Four valves per cylinder, 48 in total, coaxing even more power out of the 5.2-liter V-12 and helping produce the most godly vocals of any 1980s supercar. Lamborghini built 610 Countach models to QV spec between 1985 and 1988 and just 66 with fuel injection. This is one of them.

Bring a Trailer

As with every V-12 Lamborghini built until a few years ago, handling and agility were not included by the factory despite the two seats hovering inches above the ground and the OZ wheels with their punch-hole “phone dial” design. There is no lightness to the controls. A few Countach owners are so exasperated from working the pedals and steering that they’ve retrofitted electric power assist and looser throttle cables. The seller of this Countach is not one of them.

Bring a Trailer

With a week to go before the auction ends on Monday, April 25, bidding is at $500,000. A little advice for the Countach’s next owner: We recommend the immediate removal of the American bumper extensions that tarnish a Bugatti Chiron or Aston Martin Vantage as badly as this 1987 Lambo. Gandini wasn’t concerned with our 5-mph bumper laws designed to help Oldsmobile drivers back into another car at Sears without damage. For parking, however, Lamborghini believed the scissor doors aided in rearward visibility so a driver could lean their head out and rest on the sill while feathering the clutch. Wisely, instead of some atrocious add-on backup camera from Amazon, the seller replaced the driver’s-side door strut. It’s the most important part on a Countach.

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Ferrari has converted the 296GTB into a convertible, the 296GTS, and it uses the same 819-hp hybrid V-6 setup as its coupe counterpart.The car’s retractable hard top can deploy or retract in 14 seconds at up to 28 mph.The 296GTS can also be had with the weight-saving Assetto Fiorano package and can match the GTB on acceleration and top speed. Last June, Ferrari unleashed the 819-hp 296GTB, powered by the first roadgoing Ferrari V-6 engine since the Dino of the late 1960s and early 1970s and featuring a Formula 1–inspired hybrid system. Now, with summer on the horizon, Ferrari has unveiled the 296GTS, which turns the GTB coupe into a hardtop convertible claimed to offer the same scintillating performance.
The powertrain of the 296GTS remains unchanged from its fixed-roof brother. That means a 120-degree 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 good for 654 horsepower. This engine is coupled with an MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit, Kinetic) that draws on Ferrari’s extensive Formula 1 knowledge and adds an extra 164 hp. Although the GTS weighs 154 pounds more than the GTB in its lightest configuration, Ferrari still claims a sprint to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds and a 205-mph top speed.

The biggest change, of course, is the roof. Now called GTS—for Gran Turismo Spider—the 296 gains a retractable hard top that can go up or down in just 14 seconds at speeds up to 28 mph. With the roof up, the GTS is virtually indistinguishable from the 296GTB. With the press of a button, the roof folds in two and nestles in above the engine bay, although a window at the rear still allows for a peek at the 120-degree V-6. Ferrari also redesigned the chassis for the GTS, working on the A-pillar, B-pillar, and side sills to maintain torsional rigidity and bending stiffness. Inside, Ferrari has reworked the seats and added aerodynamic flaps on the rear trim structure to minimize buffeting and make for a more comfortable top-down experience. Like the GTB, the GTS is available with the Assetto Fiorano package, which shaves off weight and prepares the 296 for track duty. There’s no word yet on when the 296GTS will go on sale or how much it will cost, but we would expect at least a $20,000 increase over the GTB’s $322,986 starting price based on Ferrari’s previous droptop offerings.
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