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Tech problems, swearing, and bubbling personal insecurities masked as automotive opinions? It could only be Car and Driver’s Window Shopping, the mostly but not always weekly video call in which we allow you to see why we’re always behind deadline.

This week’s challenge has C/D history: Find a station wagon and the parts to make it better, better, boss. Car and Driver has upgraded family haulers since the ‘60s, when the staff gamed the order sheet on a Plymouth Fury wagon with a muscle car’s 383 V-8. Since then, there’s been a Boss Wagon about every decade, with the most recent being K.C. Colwell’s Mazda 5 made speedy. The rules are loose: wagonesque shape and a plan for bossifying, with a $50,000 budget. Our bossy group included favorite C/D contributor Jonathon Ramsey; Road and Track’s John Pearley Huffman, resentful at not being introduced as favorite contributor; Boss Wagon expert K.C. Colwell; actual Car and Driver boss, Tony Quiroga; and wagon weirdo Elana Scherr. The choices include many rear-facing back seats, two non-lowering rear windows, enough woodgrain to build a (very thin) deck, several variants of Chevy powerplant, and a surprising overlap in wagon choice. Ramsey has technical problems with his Wi-Fi on the moon—or whatever exotic location he’s calling in from—and Pearley and Scherr discuss the correct usage of “fuselage,” as applied to Chrysler products. For the record, the full-size cars used it first. In the end, a winner is chosen for wild boundary pushing and possibly to wreak havoc on the self-esteem of the other participants. We need counseling, but we have wagons. Tell us what you would choose or suggest your own Boss Wagon ideas.

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• The Ferrari 612 Scaglietti from the early 2000s was not necessarily anybody’s choice for an all-time classic because it had kind of awkward styling.• It sure has stood the test of time, though, as have its 533-hp V-12 and six-speed manual with gated shifter.• This model is up for sale on Bring a Trailer. And, though the auction doesn’t end until Monday, March 21, bidding is already at $150,000.Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and it looks like that’s the case with this 2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti six-speed, currently up for sale on the Bring a Trailer auction site—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos.

In its own time, the 612 was something of an oddball—way more expensive and less powerful than a Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG, although it did beat the Mercedes CL600 (and the Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin DB9) in a 2004 comparison test. But that win was in spite of its styling, not because of it. In that test, we paid passing mention to its “clumsy long-hood, cab-rearward proportions” and “unconvincing styling” and spent much more time waxing rhapsodic about how great it was to drive. A Ferrari V-12 absolves a lot of sins. A Ferrari V-12 hooked to a six-speed manual transmission with a gated shifter? It could be installed in a Kia Amanti and we’d still want it. But nobody had the 612 Scaglietti pegged as a future classic.

Bring a Trailer

Well, maybe it’s the special-order Azzurro Argentina blue paint or the setting of the photos here, but the 612’s Pininfarina-penned styling is aging quite well. Its soft curves are of another era, as is its powerplant: a 5.7-liter naturally aspirated V-12 that was rated at 533 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque. The BAT listing says that only about 60 manual-transmission 612s ever made it to the U.S., and that estimate tracks with what Ferrari told us at the 2004 launch for the car. Back then, Ferrari had 200 U.S. orders for the car, and 90 percent of those were for the F1 single-clutch automatic.

Bring a Trailer

This 612 has 15,000 miles on it, which strikes us as the right amount—it’s still essentially a new car, but you can drive it as much as you want and not worry about depreciation. The original sticker price was $271,664, including $2005 worth of options that are hilariously written in by hand (“stitches in blu medio, steering wheel in blu medio, painted metal strip on dash”). Above that line are 13 other options that are most notable for the one that’s missing: the automatic transmission. It’s pretty hard core to live in New York (where this car was first delivered) and go for the manual. Nice work, you ol’ plutocrat.

Bring a Trailer

There’s still more than a week to go on this one, so we have some time before we’ll know how much the world is willing to pay for one of the last V-12 manual Ferraris. But we’re already sure that the 612, once considered a bargain, is about to get its due.

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The 2022 Genesis GV80 adds a new trim level called the Prestige Signature.It’s a four-seater with second-row captain’s chairs that are heated, cooled, and power-adjustable.Only 600 units will come to the U.S. and this model costs $78,295.If you’re the type to be chauffeured in your Genesis GV80—or even if you just want to treat your kids to an ultra-luxurious back seat—then the new Prestige Signature model is your ticket. This new version of the mid-size luxury SUV comes with a four-seat layout that includes fancy rear-seat captain’s chairs that are heated, cooled, and power-adjustable. It costs $78,295—$4500 more than a loaded GV80 3.5T Prestige—and only 600 units will come to the U.S.Genesis hasn’t yet released a photo of exactly what the rear thrones will look like in the U.S. version, but we assume they’ll be similar to the setup available in the global GV80 (pictured below).

Genesis

The GV80 Prestige Signature also looks a bit different thanks to its 22-inch 10-spoke wheels and matte paint. It’s available in just two color combinations: matte grey with a black interior or matte white with a blue and beige interior.This Genesis isn’t cheap, but it’s a relative bargain compared to other luxury SUVs on the market that offer similar four-seat setups. The Lexus LX600’s new Ultra Luxury model starts north of $120,000, while the Mercedes-Maybach GLS tops $160,000. Volvo previously offered an Excellence version of the XC90 but discontinued that trim in the U.S. a few years ago.The standard 2022 GV80 is still offered as a five-seat two-row model or a seven-seat three-row model if you opt for the $69,095 3.5T AWD Advanced+ configuration. Pricing starts at $51,295 for a base 2.5T RWD model.

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Volvo will be rolling out updated versions of the S60 and V60 for 2023.The styling is slightly different, while the interior gets Volvo’s Android-based infotainment system.U.S. details aren’t available yet, but we expect these models to arrive within the next few months.Volvo’s 60-series sedan and wagon models will be freshened for the 2023 model year with updated styling and a new infotainment system. The S60 sedan and V60 and V60 Cross Country wagons all get a facelift, as seen in these photos, along with the Android-based touchscreen infotainment first seen on the electric XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2.

The design changes take a keen eye to spot and appear to include reshaped front and rear bumpers and new wheel options. Inside, the new software means different graphics and menu structure for the central touchscreen display. Volvo has yet to release more details on exactly which other changes this update entails but a spokesperson told C/D that more U.S.-specific information on the 2023 models would be available later in the spring.
We don’t expect any changes to the S60’s powertrain options, as it just received a new 48-volt hybrid B5 designation for 2022. The plug-in-hybrid model also gained a larger battery pack and more powerful electric motor recently. The 2023 V60 Cross Country may adopt this B5 powertrain as well, as it’s currently only available with the old nonhybrid T5 turbo-four. The V60 wagon without the Cross Country model’s cladding and suspension lift is only available in the U.S. in the 415-hp Recharge Polestar Engineered plug-in-hybrid configuration.Look for more specs and information to come soon, including pricing which likely will rise slightly compared with the 2022 S60’s $40,295 and the V60 Cross Country’s $47,295 starting prices.
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Small but highly respected German tuner Alpina has long built its own versions of BMWs.Now the firm is being absorbed into the BMW corporate universe after 57 years of an arm’s-length partnership. Development of new Alpina versions of BMWs will end at the company’s headquarters in Buchloe, Germany, after 2025, but that doesn’t mean the best isn’t yet to come for the brand under BMW ownership.Alpina has long been a colorful exception to the size and scale of Germany’s large automakers. The tuner was born from an unlikely diversification from office equipment into performance parts for BMW. The symbiotic relationship grew to the point that Alpina was building its own versions of BMW models with the larger company’s consent, even getting early access to future cars to allow it to plan its variants. In the United States, Alpina has distributed models like the well-received XB7 through BMW, but in other countries the two companies were, nominally at least, in direct competition.

But that is all set to end, with news that BMW is going to take full control of Alpina, bringing 57 years of partnership to an end and—it seems—ending the development and production of new variants in Alpina’s Buchloe, Germany, factory after 2025. Two reasons seem to be behind this, the first being the growing challenge of meeting increasingly tough compliance hurdles. “The politically driven transformation to electric mobility as well as tightening worldwide regulatory demands—especially on vehicle emissions, software validation, and requirements on safeguarding driver assistant and supervisory systems—means the demands and risks for small-series manufacturers are increasing,” Alpina said in its official statement. When we spoke to Alpina CEO Andeas Bovensiepen at the European launch of the XB7 in 2020, he admitted that electrification was a huge challenge that the small company would struggle to overcome.The second reason, paradoxically, is Alpina’s growing success. Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was the company’s most successful year to date, with more than 2000 cars delivered globally. BMW clearly sees the potential to grow that number further and probably also to integrate Alpina into its wider portfolio in a similar way to the company’s own M division. (While M’s brief is pure performance, Alpina has always combined speed with increased luxury.)The official plan is for Alpina to continue to build versions of existing (and future) BMW models in Buchloe until 2025, at which point the brand will be fully absorbed into the corporate Borg. At that point, we presume, development and production will be handled by BMW’s facilities. The Bovensiepen family will also create a new company bearing its name, which will continue to work with classic cars (we presume still BMWs) but which will also offer engineering consultancy services to other automakers as well as BMW.

Alpina 3.0 CSL from 1971.
Alpina

We hope there will be more interesting Alpina-branded cars in the future, yet we also feel sadness at the passing of such an interesting, independent company, especially one that made such an art of automotive pinstriping.

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The replacement for the Lamborghini Aventador has been spied testing before it goes on sale next year.The presence of the yellow warning stickers on this prototype seem to confirm the plug-in-hybrid setup that the V-12 engine will add.The tight-fitting camouflage reveals aggressive character lines and gaping air intakes.Earlier this year, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann dropped some hints about the Italian supercar-maker’s upcoming products in an interview with the U.K.’s Car magazine, including details about the replacement for the Aventador. Now the Aventador’s successor has been spotted testing, with the spy photos revealing revised bodywork and confirming the presence of a hybridized powerplant.

KGP Photography

The key detail revealed by Winkelmann had been that the Aventador’s replacement would stay true to its ancestors by keeping the V-12 engine, but that the supercar would gain a plug-in-hybrid system to help it cope with stricter emissions standards. The spy photos affirm the electrified setup: the prototype sports yellow stickers with a lightning-bolt icon, commonly found on hybrid and electric test cars. Lamborghini has said the V-12 will feature a new design, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s actually a heavily revised version of the naturally aspirated 6.5-liter unit in the current car.

While the supercar prototype is camouflaged, it is pretty easy to make out the revised bodywork. There are large intakes in the front bumper, but the inlets on the side of the car are truly colossal and wrap up the side of the car in a zigzag fashion before meeting the top of the windows.

KGP Photography

Around back, quad exhausts now sit at the same height as the Y-shaped taillights, while an aggressive diffuser protrudes from below. The rear tires also look extremely wide for maximum grip. The plug-in-hybrid Aventador successor is expected to go on sale next year, presumably bearing a new model name and beating the current car’s output of 769 horsepower.
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