Reviews

From the February 1994 issue of Car and Driver.Put any car guy under the micro­scope, zoom down through his polite and civilizing layers to where the corpuscles flow red hot, and there burns The Uni­versal Fantasy: You get a surpassingly neat car, then you make it even neater. This is a field trip into that fantasyland. But first, let’s agree on what consti­tutes “neater.” Can we drop all pretense at high-mindedness? Truth be told here, the satisfactions we’re chasing aren’t much above scheming to get the biggest slice of the pizza. And then getting it!Give us more of the good stuff!More power. Speed thrills. More grip. G’s thrill. What else is there? Ah, now here is the leading question.David Dewhurst|Car and DriverThe fantasy cars we’re seeking don’t exist on any menu. They’re cooked to order. So, what’s the chef’s latest inspi­ration? Give him some room, we say. Let’s see what he can do. That’s what happened here. We called a meeting of the best car chefs—tuners, in the parlance. “Cook something up for us,” we said. “Show us maximum neat. Bend our mind, blow our fuses.”For a meeting room, we reserved the state of Texas. Lots of space down there, too much, heh, heh, for really good police protection on all the blacktops. For the exacting demands of testing, we bought a day on the Firestone test track at Fort Stockton. Clearly, this would be a go-fast meet­ing. But we wanted real cars, not racing cars. So we threw down two require­ments to assure that these Chef’s Specials would be good citizens of the automotive world. First, they had to be emissions legal. That means the tuners had to demonstrate that their engine-modification packages passed the standard EPA emissions test, which would make them 49-states legal, or that they certified them with the tougher California Air Resources Board, which is accepted by the feds.David Dewhurst|Car and DriverSaleen MustangSometimes the thing just blows up.Even the best-made plans often go awry when it comes to driving and testing a group of supertuned cars. No matter how much preparation goes into the endeavor, there’s always some­thing that goes wrong. Unfortunately, this time it was the Saleen entry that blew up. It suffered a fatal clutch failure early into our second day of cross-country roadwork and thus never made it to the instrumented testing.Having sold all of his ’93 Mus­tangs and with the ’94 models still a few months away from production, Steve sent a ’91 model borrowed from a customer. It came equipped with a 302-cubic­-inch (4.9-liter) V-8 sporting a Vortec supercharger, TFS high-perfor­mance cast-iron heads, and Saleen Racecraft low-restriction intake mani­fold, dual exhaust system, and performance chip. Added up, the engine modifications are claimed to produce 425 hp, which is 190 hp more than the last Mustang Cobra we tested. Exterior modifications included a composite hood, deeper front air dam, lower body-side cladding, and a large rear wing.Suspension and brake modifications consisted of stiffer springs, shocks, and bushings, plus larger rotors and calipers both front and rear. Rounding out the mechanical modifications were shock­-tower braces and a set of seventeen-­inch wheels shod with low-profile BFGoodrich Comp T/A tires. Interior changes were limited to a roll cage, rac­ing harnesses, and some additional gauges. In all, the modifications made for a seemingly strong contender with an aggressive stance, good looks, and a sweet sound coming from the pipes.Due to the clutch failure, our only impressions of the Saleen were gathered during our first day of over-the-road driving on the cross-country leg of the program into New Mexico. Although the engine felt strong and pulled impres­sively at the start of our drive, its output and performance seemed to wane as the day wore on. Soon after our lunch stop, on the first really twisty section of road, the engine began to blow oil out the rocker cover vent, and the V-8’s output faded. At day’s end, it was fully winded and in need of rejuvenation.On open stretches, interstates, and two-lane blacktop, the Saleen tracked straight, exhibiting none of the usual dartiness common to cars equipped with wider tires. The stiffer suspension under­pinnings and low-profile rubber increased ride harshness, but not intol­erably, over that of a stock Mustang GT. Handling, however, was less than per­fect on the twisty mountain road sections of our drive. Under hard cornering, the rear end tended to wiggle and squirm like Bob Packwood at a NOW conven­tion. A loud grinding sound emanating from the aft end only added to our sense of unease.Coming on the heels of the after­market industry’s annual SEMA show, our gathering proved to be troublesome for Saleen, because his only cherry car had to be in Las Vegas on display. The poor showing of this entry was probably due more to the car’s high mileage and heavy usage than to his modifica­tions and workmanship. But as we’ve said before, when it comes to after­market tuners, caveat emptor. —André IdzikowskiSPECIFICATIONSVehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 3-door coupePrice, stock (1993)/modified (1991): $19,900/$31,278Engine type: 16-valve V-8, iron block and heads, port fuel injectionModifications (1994 prices): engine: Vortec super­charger, low-restriction intake manifold, high-perfor­mance heads (oversized valves), 1.72 roller rockers, low-restriction dual exhaust system, performance chip, ($5267); short-throw racing transmission with 3.00:1 final-drive ($1684); suspension: stiffer springs and shocks, bushings, shock-tower braces, underbody sub­frame connectors ($1110); brakes: four-piston front calipers with 13-inch grooved rotors, 2-piston calipers with 10.5-inch vented rotors, stainless lines ($2495); wheels and tires: 17-inch Saleen 3-piece alloy wheels, BFGoodrich Comp T/A tires ($2695); body and interior composite hood, air dam, spoiler, side skirts, extra gauges, roll cage, racing harness ($2495)Power, stock/modified: 235 hp/425 hpTransmission: 5-speed manualCurb weight: 3250 lbC/D TEST RESULTS60 mph, stock/modified: 5.6 sec/DNF1/4-mile, stock/modified: 14.3 sec @ 98 mph/DNF100 mph, stock/modified: 14.7 sec/DNF130 mph, stock/modified: 35.3 sec/DNFRolling Start, 5–60 mph, stock/modified: 5.9 sec/DNFTop Gear, 30–50 mph, stock/modified: 11.3 sec/DNFTop Gear, 50–70 mph, stock/modified: 12.0 sec/DNFTop Speed (drag limited): 137 mphBraking, 70­–0 mph: 181 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad, stock/modified: 0.85/DNFSuch certification has another bene­fit—it pulls this fantasyland within check­book reach of your armchair. These aren’t one-off powerplants available only to magazine testers. They’re on the market, and any of the chefs would be delighted to cook one up for you. As for our second requirement, well, you won’t feel too sorry for us. To qual­ify for the track test, the cars had to live through the roadwork. There’s nothing like hundred-mile stretches of open road, punc­tuated by stop-and-go metro slogging, to screen out the prima donnas and nickel rockets. Neat cars are supposed to do all the things that ordinary cars do, and more. Not less. So we planned two days of switching seats and blurring the Texas terrain, just to make sure these weren’t one-trick ponies. When the meeting was called to order in El Paso, six tuners presented their credentials. Many more were invited—­including Callaway, Dinan, Hennessey, HKS, and Ruf—but the emissions-legal requirement or logistical problems held them back. Another, the Stillen 300ZX, was felled by an untimely crash. That left us with a Mustang-to-Mercedes array, $31,278 to $200,000 in full-dress prices. Cheap thrills these aren’t. Steve Saleen’s supercharged 5.0 Mus­tang weighed in at the affordable end. Saleen is just now celebrating his tenth anniversary as a “small-volume manu­facturer,” a level of truce with the regu­lators that few special builders ever attain. It permits him to modify zero-mile cars and sell them through new-car dealers. Unfortunately, his makeover of the 1994 Mustang was still a few months off at the time of the meeting. Instead, he sent a high-mileage customer car of the old design. Peter Farrell Supercars RX-7The prescription for activist-enthusiasts.Rally champ turned road racer Peter Farrell launched his aftermarket tun­ing operation right in the middle of a busy and successful IMSA GT Super­car series, in which he was campaigning Mazda­-sponsored RX-7s. It seems that more than a few civilian RX-7 owners were following the race series and developing an acute speed-lust in the process. Naturally, they called Farrell’s race shop in search of a cure. Peter Farrell Supercars Inc. was born to minister to these poor sick souls.And who better to do so? Of the handful of shops souping up RX-7s, Farrell’s is the oldest and it’s the only one with a direct factory racing connec­tion. PFS owns what may be the only dynamometer outside Japan set up to run ’93 twin-turbo rotary engines, so when Farrell rates his engine at 360 horse­power, you know that it actually makes 105 more ponies than a stocker.Farrell is a hands-on racer. He’s totally Type A, he wrenches what he runs, and he doesn’t just send his chief mechanic along on trips like this—he comes himself. It naturally follows that his car, which is clearly the most adjustable one of the bunch, encourages the active involvement of its driver.Progressive-rate springs and adjust­able shock absorbers with eight settings provide ride comfort that ranges from RX-7 Touring-soft to firmer than a stock R2. Quite a bit more understeer has also been baked in to make the car more user-­friendly for the non-racer.High-volume intake and exhaust systems and a larger, more efficient intercooler provide the poten­tial for big speed. It’s Far­rell’s magic software that allows the engine to fulfill that potential. Most tuners provide an engine com­puter chip with a high-per­formance calibration pro­grammed in. The PFS computer comes with three performance calibra­tions, each optimized for a different set of operating conditions (plus a no­-boost “valet” mode). But if you can demonstrate to Farrell that you’re smart enough to han­dle it, he will sell you the almost infi­nitely programmable model we tested.This baby allows fine tuning of the fuel, boost, and ignition maps for oper­ating conditions outside those encoun­tered on the government’s emission cycle. Air too thin at high altitude? Dial in a bit more boost and less fuel. Can’t find 92-octane fuel? Dial back the spark and boost. The car is always adjusted to get max power for the conditions.So tuned, this RX-7 runs like a rocket. Big power lives in the secondary turbo that chimes in at over 4500 revs to lift boost levels as high as 15 psi, so quick sprints require a vicious clutch drop. The top speed of 170 mph was measured after two attempts were aborted, due to a failed hose clamp on the boost-pressure relief valve and an oil breather line that burst after g-forces filled it with oil in the banking on our 7.5-mile track. But Farrell doesn’t com­pete on drag strips or the Bonneville Salt Flats—he’s a road racer. So it’s no sur­prise that his car cleaned up on the road­ course: here, despite strong understeer, the RX-7 turned in the best lap time by 0.8 second. A tuned car that’s both faster and more forgiving than stock with no comfort penalty—sounds like good medicine to us. —Frank Markus SPECIFICATIONSVehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door coupePrice, stock (1994)/modified (1993): $36,758/$47,203Engine type: twin-turbocharged and intercooled 2-rotor Wankel, aluminum rotor housings iron end plates, port fuel injectionModifications (1994 prices): engine: larger intercooler with larger and more rigid ducting, low-restriction intake system, driver-programmable powertrain-management computer, low-restriction exhaust system aft of stock catalytic converter ($3500); short-throw shifter kit and 4.30:1 rear-axle gearset ($1000); suspension: progressive-rate springs, 8-position adjustable shocks, stiffer anti-roll bars ($1500); brakes: Kevlar pads, stainless lines ($450); wheels and tires: 17-inch O.Z. Mito 3-piece modular wheels, Bridgestone Comp T/A tires ($3800); body: front fascia, rear spoiler ($1290)Power, stock/modified: 255 hp/360 hpTransmission: 5-speed manualCurb weight: 2848 lbC/D TEST RESULTS60 mph, stock/modified: 5.3 sec/4.3 sec1/4-mile, stock/modified: 14.0 sec @ 100 mph/12.9 sec @ 112 mph100 mph, stock/modified: 14.0 sec/10.7 sec130 mph, stock/modified: 27.4 sec/18.3 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph, stock/modified: 5.9 sec/5.3 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph, stock/modified: 13.4 sec/10.9 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph, stock/modified: 7.9 sec/5.8 secTop Speed (drag limited), stock/modified: 157 mph/ 170 mphBraking, 70­–0 mph, stock/modified: 156 ft/164 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad, stock/modified: 0.99/0.95 gJohn Lingenfelter, naturally, was ready. He’s a racer—by instinct a predator, no more able to hide his intentions than an eagle circling in the sky. He’s 48 now, an eminence with steel-gray hair: for a quar­ter of a century he’s been building engines to put in fast cars, many of them his own, for the sole purpose of beating all comers, at the drags mostly. His shop in Decatur, Indiana, specializes in powertrains, usually Chevy V-8 because that’s what the market wants, but his talent finds horsepower in whatever the customers bring to his door. He doesn’t hide from the bureaucratic procedures, either. His standard tweak of the Corvette LT1—displacement stretched to 383 cubic inches (6.3 liters) output upped to 440 horsepower—has passed all the emissions tests necessary for CARB acceptance. The black Corvette he unloaded in El Paso was specially built for the occasion—rented, actually, from Bud’s Chevrolet in St. Marys, Ohio, and reloaded with a Lingenfelter 383. What we thought of as a meeting, he viewed as a shootout. And he came, as usual, cocked and locked. Minneapolis Corvette specialist Doug Rippie brought a black Corvette too, a ZR-1, seemingly stock at first glance. Then you notice the big-bore exhausts and the roll bar. Rippie is 43, barb-wire lean, reserved at first, like a midwestern farmer. His shop does “anything for Corvettes,” but road racing is the passion. He parked his own helmet after the 1986 season to concentrate on preparing cars for others. He’d comprehensively massaged this ZR-1 for its owner, 22-year-old Steve Wait, to run in the Silver State 100 last May. Wait drove it to a seventh-in-class finish, averaging 159.4 mph on his first try at this public-road display of bravery that occurs twice each year. Lingenfelter CovetteWalk softly and carry a big broom.Among the brightly colored, bespoil­ered entries in this test, John Lin­genfelter’s Corvette sticks out like a healthy, normal thumb. There’s little clue to this car’s speed other than its shiny ZR-1 wheel—sort of like Clark Kent with little dumb­bell cufflinks. Lin­genfelter likes the subtle approach. Ask him what his Corvette will do, and he’ll defer until he sees the numbers. He prefers to let the machinery speak for itself. Experienced drag racers (or, the ones who know bet­ter) are aware of the peril of prediction. You could call 48-year-old Lingenfelter experienced, with twelve NHRA class championships under his belt. He even worked as an engineer for International Harvester for seven years. But Lingen­felter is best known for the reworked Chevy Corvettes, from small block to ZR-1, which have left his Indiana shop since 1987. For this exercise, he worked up a standard LT1 coupe, because he thought more readers would be inter­ested in it. Lingenfelter works hardest on what he knows the best: the engine. This car includes his bored, stroked, and blue­printed 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) engine, with its hotter cam, and re­worked intake and exhaust system . It makes 440 horsepower (140 more than stock) at 6000 rpm. Lingenfelter included ZR-1 tires, wheels (polished at a local shop), anti-­roll bars, and springs, because he likes their ride and handling. He also wanted the ZR-l tires’ 200-mph speed certification. To fit the wide wheels in the stock fenders and to maintain proper wheel offset, the rear spindles are machined. This Corvette drives as if it were on some illicit drug. The torque, all 450 pound-feet of it at 4500 rpm, might as well be anywhere on the tach—down low, in the midrange, or near the 6500-rpm redline. The exhaust howls, and the body squirms with each shift, giving this car an uncanny liveliness. In accelera­tion tests, the tires want to go up in smoke in second gear. Lingenfelter sug­gests we shift at 6300 rpm. Spin the tach past 6000 rpm, where its markings end, and the needle starts bouncing, as if to say, “Hey! What the hell’s going on down there?” Top speed, with the engine in full baritone wail, is 189 mph.The tire and wheel swap made for better roadholding and braking but did not translate to faster track laps. With the prodigious underhood juice, Lin­genfelter’s car required restraint in cor­ners. When the tail did swing wide, it would recover with a hard snap. “This car requires a careful and deft touch,” said tester Csere. Still, Lingenfelter’s car matched the lap times of Rippie’s smooth-handling ZR-1. As drag racers will remind you, power counts for a lot. Lingenfelter seemed relaxed throughout the test, probably because his car, which needed little fiddling, seemed so well prepared. He even came pre­pared with a broom to sweep the track for the acceleration tests. Something his car did handily, as well. —Don SchroederSPECIFICATIONSVehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door coupePrice, stock (1994)/modified (1993): $40,074/$59,260Engine type: 16-valve V-8, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injectionModifications (1994 prices): engine: bore +1 mm, stroke +7 mm, heads and intake manifold ported and pol­ished, high-performance cam, performance chip, low­-restriction exhaust system aft of catalytic converters ($16,800); suspension: ZR-1 front and rear springs, cus­tom-valved shocks, stiffer anti-roll bars ($1255); brakes: 4-piston front calipers, 12.9-inch grooved and cross­-drilled front rotors, stainless-steel lines ($3182); wheels: polished 1994 ZR-1 ($2363)Power, stock/modified: 300 hp/383 hpTransmission: 6-speed manualCurb weight: 3368 lbC/D TEST RESULTS60 mph, stock/modified: 5.4 sec/4.2 sec1/4-mile, stock/modified: 14.0 sec @ 103 mph/12.4 sec @ 119 mph100 mph, stock/modified: 13.2 sec/9.0 sec130 mph, stock/modified: 26.3 sec/14.7 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph, stock/modified: 5.8 sec/4.3 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph, stock/modified: 12.0 sec/8.7 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph, stock/modified: 12.2 sec/9.1 secTop Speed (drag limited), stock/modified: 158 mph/189 mphBraking, 70­–0 mph, stock/modified: 176 ft/167 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad, stock/modified: 0.89/0.95 gIn addition to the gasoline in his veins, Rippie has computers in his mind, the result of computer school in his younger days. Now he’s fearless when it comes to engine-management black boxes. His ZR-1 package, rated at 475 horsepower from the stock 5.7-liter displacement, is emissions legal in all 50 states. Twinkly-eyed Peter Farrell, 35, is a racer, too, so much so that he left his native New Zealand ten years ago to pursue the bigger possibilities of the U.S. Along the way, he hooked up with Mazda to cam­paign the new RX-7 in road racing. Now he’s applying what he’s learned on the track, and his own intuition about what street drivers really want, into a go-fast, handle-sharp package for the RX-7 that he calls the Peter Farrell Limited Edition.Farrell’s good-humored approach makes him seem less of a gunslinger than the Corvette racers. But steer the conver­sation toward the politics of IMSA racing and watch him ruffle up like a banty rooster. Racers—good ones, anyway—are all alike under the skin. They thrive on advantage: finding it, seizing it, using it to make others small in the rear-view mirror. His engine mods, which boost the RX-7’s output by 105 horsepower to 360 horse­power, are legal in 49 states, and the paperwork has been filed for California. As the players lined up for the first sortie out of El Paso, the pea-shooter rotary—as it turned out, the only runner with less than 400 horsepower—was the consensus underdog. Rotary engines have always been inscrutable to piston guys. Over the years, though, we’ve learned that inscrutable is not the same as impotent. DR Motorsports Corvette ZR-1Fine-tuning without fanfare.The three-inch exhausts poking out the back of this ZR-1 sing a glori­ously throaty basso profundo, and they jump the needle on the dyno by 17 horsepower, yet we have the idea Doug Rippie allows them in the car with a certain reluctance. Before leaving his Minneapolis shop, he’d tried to conceal them with a spray of flat black. Showing off­—hell, showing any­thing—is not his style. “Not interested,” is all he has to say about the deep chin spoilers, wings, spats, slats, slits, and strakes that dress up—and less often enhance the perfor­mance of—some cars. That stuff all runs against his grain. He messes with the looks only when he gets performance. The Dymag cast­-alloy wheels are made to his specifica­tion—0f magnesium to reduce weight, of non-standard offsets to make the track width one inch wider in front, one inch narrower in back. This brings these dimensions closer to one of his chassis­-tuning axioms—to avoid greatly dissi­milar front and rear track dimensions.Rippie, at heart, is a chassis tuner, even though his engine business is now as big as his chassis business. Twenty years of road racing does that, just because road courses are a lot more fun in cars that turn and brake as athletically as they accelerate. He began tuning the current-model Corvette eight years ago. He learned well. This Corvette, in the twisties, pretends it’s not a Corvette. In fact, among the staffers, this may prove to be a watershed Corvette. The stock version has tremen­dous grip, but it’s full of transitional wiggles that accompany changes of brake, power, and steering inputs. Though these wig­gles don’t fling you off the road, they’re unsatisfying to perfection seekers and, at very least, they encour­age leaving big margins next to mountain dropoffs. Those among us who were impressed by Corvette grip tended not to admit the wiggles—until they finally drove a Corvette that doesn’t wiggle. This one.In the mountains, this is a precision tool, with very good path accuracy. On the road course—after the top-speed run, when the engine was whipped—it matched the lap times of the more pow­erful Lingenfelter car without the yaw­ing histrionics. Doug Rippie has this chassis figured out. His list of modifications (in con­densed form here) is extensive: coil springs in place of the plastic leaves; drastically-reduced bump steer both front and rear; less static caster; less brake anti-dive; more camber gain in front, and less in back; and harder bush­ings in certain pivots. The whole pack­age costs over $23,000—but it makes a terrific Corvette. On the road, particularly when Rip­pie experimentally dialed an altitude correction, the engine felt like its full, rated, 475 hp. But during sustained full-­throttle testing, the engine suffered from a mysterious fuel restriction that stran­gled its output the faster it went. The problem was so severe that we couldn’t complete a top-speed run. Still, we’re impressed. The drastic improvement in handling shows just how much a good chef can contribute. —Patrick BedardSPECIFICATIONSVehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door coupePrice, stock (1994)/modified (1991): $71,538/$90,932Engine type: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionModifications (1994 prices): engine: ported and pol­ished intake plenum, manifold, and cylinder heads, low­-restriction exhaust system, performance chip, heavy-­duty clutch ($12,495); 3.73:1 rear-axle gearset ($895); suspension: revised front and rear suspension geome­try, coil springs (replace transverse leaf springs and lower ride height one inch), revised valving for 3-posi­tion cockpit-adjustable shocks, bushings ($3745); brakes: stock calipers reinforced, rear brake bias spring, stainless lines ($695); wheels: 18-inch Dymag magne­sium wheels ($4000); body: roll-cage and racing harness ($1325)Power, stock/modified: 405 hp/475 hpTransmission: 6-speed manualCurb weight: 3546 lbC/D TEST RESULTS60 mph, stock/modified: 4.7 sec/4.3 sec1/4-mile, stock/modified: 13.1 sec @ 111 mph/12.7 sec @ 115 mph100 mph, stock/modified: 10.6 sec/9.5 sec130 mph, stock/modified: 18.3 sec/16.6 sec150 mph, stock/modified: 28.3 sec/27.1 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph, stock/modified: 5.3 sec/4.9 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph, stock/modified: 12.9 sec/11.4 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph, stock/modified: 12.9 sec/11.5 secTop Speed (drag limited), stock/modified: 179 mph / N/ABraking, 70­–0 mph, stock/modified: 161 ft/165 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad, stock/modified: 0.92/0.94 gIf engine output were proportional to moving parts, the SOHC V-12 BMW would be a fearsome competitor. Auto­Thority Performance Engineering of Fair­fax, Virginia, had been rubbing on a BMW 850i for some time—on the engine and on the cosmetics. The goal was a “smooth, quiet, tractable, and emissions-legal car,” according to company spokesman Paul Misencik, and, of course, one that was “considerably more powerful.” Although AutoThority has had its name on a few racing cars over the years, it’s not a race place. From its beginning in the mid-Seventies as a service and tuning shop for Porsches, it progressed into recalibrated engine-management chips for many European and Japanese brands. Now it has complete engine­-building and car-modifying facilities, though they are minor enterprises compared with the chip business. Nonetheless, it has produced an 850i that makes a strong impression even before its V-12, stroked to 5.5 liters from 5.0, comes to life. The aero mods to the nose, sills, and rear, all painted tuxedo black to match the body, give it a sleek, muscular presence they’d barely recognize down at the BMW store. The ultra-low-profile Pirelli P-Zero tires on 18-inch wheels fill the openings just right. The overall look manages what may be a first in the realm of custom cars, to tell the world “one of a kind” in tones that whisper. The flamboyant-yellow RENNtech­-modified Mercedes 500SL says one-of-a-kind too, albeit with the question “Who else would dare?” German-born Hartmut Feyhl started young, at age seventeen, as an apprentice at Mercedes-tuner AMG in Affalterbach, Germany. He stayed with AMG for eleven years, gaining experience, developing information sources at Mercedes engineering and elsewhere. AMG transferred him to the U.S. as tech­nical director, a position he held for two years before starting RENNtech in Del­ray Beach, Florida, in 1989. Now he’s 32 and determined to succeed on his own. AutoThority 850iPay attention to the man behind the curtain.Paul Misencik says he’s not the brain trust behind AutoThority—that would be founder Al Collins—but he agrees with the principle behind the company in Fairfax, Virginia, and its 475-horsepower BMW 850i. “Our philosophy is not speed at all cost,” Paul explains. “We want horsepower and refinement.” That particular axiom might also explain how a 25-year-old who stud­ied philosophy at the University of Maryland came to an outfit that exists to make infinitesi­mal changes to engine-managing microchips in the search for more horsepower. Before he studied Schopenhauer, Misencik studied cars. He put himself through the Jim Russell race school at Mont Tremblant in his teens, then raced a Formula Ford for two seasons. He approached Collins for a job after col­lege, when he watched a Collins-modi­fied Porsche 934 in action at Summit Point. Now Misencik is in charge of marketing AutoThority’s doctored chips, but he also gets behind the wheel with engineers in the last stages of chip programming as a guinea pig for the drivability of new projects. Ninety percent of AutoThority’s business is chip work. With computer software that can plot fuel delivery curves, AutoThority modifies the pro­file of an engine’s fuel delivery with additional data points. If you’ve got a Mazda, Nissan, or a BMW, AutoThor­ity has probably seen its chips with their pants down.The other ten percent of its business is special projects like this 1991 850i, owned by a New Yorker who asked for at least 450 emissions-legal horse­power. AutoThority went shopping for the power at Racing Dynamics and picked out a new crankshaft, new pistons and camshaft, a new exhaust system, and eighteen-­inch wheels. The stock intake manifold went to California’s Extrude­ Hone, where gritty gunk was squeezed through its passages to widen and smooth them for better airflow. Finally, all the combustion surfaces—the piston heads, the valves, and the combustion chamber itself—went to New York’s Swain Tech for a ceramic coating. The result? The AutoThority 850i was 1.2 second quicker to 60 mph, tripped the quarter-mile 1.1 seconds sooner, and topped out 14 mph faster than the governer-limited stocker. The engine work transforms this pudgy bat­tlecruiser into a lithe-lier ride. Because it favors understeer in the twisties, balanc­ing the 850i’s cornering attitude is much easier with 475 horsepower underfoot. A couple of glitches sullied Auto­Thority’s upgrades. It occasionally hic­cuped under light throttle, and twice it overheated in high-rpm, low-speed cor­ner work. And its tuners expected it to go nearly 190 mph, not the 170 mph we observed. Misencik says this is because the car has two electronic speed limiters and they only disabled one. Those foibles aside, the AutoThority 850i is bothersome for just one reason. A stock new $94,095 850Ci is already too expensive. The conversions added another $52,000 to the 1991 car. But if you’ve already bought into BMW’s mega-cruiser philosophy, the AutoThor­ity is the next logical step. —Martin Padgett Jr.SPECIFICATIONSVehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupePrice, stock (1994)/modified (1991): $94,095/$141,983Engine type: SOHC 24-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionModifications (1994 prices): engine: stroke +8 mm, compression increased to 10:1, low-friction piston skirts, ceramic-coated piston crowns, valves, and cylinder head surface, performance cams, honed intake manifold, per­formance chip, low-restriction header and tailpipes ($38,000), 2.93:1 rear-axle gearset ($2000); suspension­: lower, stiffer, progressive-rate springs ($800); wheels and tires: 18-inch Racing Dynamics alloy wheels and Pirelli P-Zero tires ($6000); body: air dam, spoiler, side skins ($9000)Power, stock/modified: 296 hp/475 hpTransmission: 6-speed manualCurb weight: 4168 lbC/D TEST RESULTS60 mph, stock/modified: 6.3 sec/5.1 sec1/4-mile, stock/modified: 14.9 sec @ 96 mph/13.8 sec @ 103 mph100 mph, stock/modified: 16.6 sec/12.7 sec130 mph, stock/modified: 31.7 sec/23.7 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph, stock/modified: 6.7 sec/5.5 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph, stock/modified: 12.1 sec/9.5 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph, stock/modified: 12.2 sec/9.8 secTop Speed (governer limited), stock/modified: 156 mph/170 mphBraking, 70­–0 mph, stock/modified: 181 ft/174 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad, stock/modified: 0.82/0.87 gAfter a close inspection of this car, there’s little more that needs to be said about the young Mr. Feyhl, except that he’s quite prickly when things don’t go his way. His car shows supreme confidence; he started for El Paso on a completely untested suspension package (probably his factory contacts eliminated the usual need for trial and error). He’s a perfectionist; modifications throughout the car are highly detailed and beautifully done. He’s aggressive; the name RENNtech appears on the decklid, on the license-plate sur­round, on the exhaust tips, on the front fenders, on the engine cover, and three times on each hub cover. As we plugged in our radar-and-laser detectors and made ready for the first day’s 335-mile qualifying thrust into New Mex­ico’s Mogollon Mountains, what were we to make of this screaming yellow, Hey-­look-at-me! Mercedes? High-profile visu­als and high-speed muscles, all crammed into the same car, are a worrisome recipe. Might just as well file our route plan with the highway patrol.The canny Lingenfelter, it should be noted, eyed this car like a loaded gun. He’d encountered Feyhl before, at some past showdown when the German was mothering over another unlikely machine, a big Mercedes transformed into an AMG Ham­mer—four doors, $160,000 price, top speed over 180 mph. Racers remember feats like that. And they don’t charge them off to luck. RENNtech 500SLThis Mercedes hot rod shows as well a it goes. Even a brief glance at the RENNtech 500SL will persuade you that its cre­ator, Hartmut Feyhl, is as much arti­san as tuner. His car’s meticulously applied, glorious yellow paint—extend­ing even to the wheel spokes and the arms of the windshield wipers—and his carbon-fiber composite hub caps cannot be overlooked.A peek in­side confirms the notion that this 500SL is as much show car as hot rod. The bright yel­low and gray leather interior, with contrast­ing stitching, covers every interior surface—even the mirror housing. The workmanship is exquisite and the effect is riveting without being garish. This particular car also uses high-­tech composites as interior trim. The panels flanking the transmission tunnel as well as part of the shift knob are car­bon-fiber and Kevlar moldings, which are rich, warm, and smooth. The yel­lowish Kevlar fibers in the gray resin even complement the leather trim. Feyhl, the head of RENNtech, has devoted considerable attention to the “optical qualities” of his cars—as he puts it in his German-accented speech. But his background includes eleven years at AMG, the premier Mercedes tuning firm in Germany, and his cars reflect AMG’s—and his own—auto­bahn bloodlines. Under the hood lies a V-8, punched out from 5.0 to 6.0 liters and fitted with headers, hotter cams, an extrude-honed intake manifold, a low-restriction air ­cleaner, and catalysts that flow more freely. The result is 440 hp, which flows through a beefed-up four-speed automatic to a 2.47:1 limited-slip differen­tial (stock is 2.65). Feyhl beefed up the SL’s underpin­nings with stiffer and lower springs, thicker anti-roll bars, firmer Bilstein shocks, harder bushings, and beefier brakes and Pirelli P-Zero tires, 245/40-18 in front and 275/35-18s in the rear on 8.5 and 10.0-inch-wide O.Z. wheels. Feyhl also put the SL on a 400-pound diet by substituting Recaro shell-type seats for the electric-motor infested orig­inals, using lighter sound-proofing, and removing the convertible top and much of its complex mechanism. These changes transform the 500SL into an explosive hot rod. It hits 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, covers the quarter-mile in 13.0 seconds at 111 mph, and runs solidly into its 6200-rpm cutoff at 182 mph. The RENNtech SL can corner at 0.93 g and stop from 70 mph in 161 feet. It all adds up to an SL that’s remark­ably agile. You can hurl it into corners with confidence and rocket away from the apex while holding the car in perfect balance with the responsive throttle and precise steering. Despite its performance, the souped­-up SL is not a nervous thoroughbred. It idles smoothly, its exhaust note is sub­dued, and its muscular suspension remains nicely supple. Best of all, the RENNtech SL feels solid enough to run sub-five-second 0-to-60s forever.The downside to the RENNtech mods is money—they virtually double the SL’s price to about 200 grand. But Feyhl’s workmanship, performance, and refinement simply amplify the original product. You shouldn’t be surprised that his price does the same. —Csaba Csere SPECIFICATIONSVehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door convertiblePrice, stock (1994)/modified (1991): $108,148/$200,000 (est.)Engine type: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionModifications (1994 prices): engine: bore +4 mm; stroke +6 mm, honed intake manifold and high-volume air cleaner, low-restriction exhaust system ($40,000); 2.47:1 rear-axle gearset ($4000); suspension: lower and stiffer springs, stiffer shocks, larger anti-roll bars, urethane bushings ($10,000); brakes: 4-piston aluminum front calipers with 13.0-inch rotors, 2-piston rear calipers with 12.0-inch vented rotors, stainless lines (incl. w/ suspension mods.); wheels and tires: O.Z. Futura 3-piece composite wheels with Pirelli P-Zero tires ($5500); body: air dams, spoiler, side skirts, custom paint ($10,000, est.); interior: Recaro seats, custom yellow leather trim with carbon-fiber and Kevlar accents ($30,000)Power, stock/modified: 315 hp/440 hpTransmission: 4-speed automaticCurb weight: 3782 lbC/D TEST RESULTS60 mph, stock/modified: 6.3 sec/4.6 sec1/4-mile, stock/modified: 14.6 sec @ 99 mph/13.0 sec @ 111 mph100 mph, stock/modified: 15.1 sec/10.8 sec130 mph, stock/modified: 28.3 sec/18.5 sec150 mph, stock/modified: N/A / 29.0 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph, stock/modified: N/A / 4.7 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph, stock/modified: 3.7 sec/2.8 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph, stock/modified: 3.9 sec/2.9 secTop Speed (governer/redline limited), stock/modified: 155 mph/182 mphBraking, 70–0 mph, stock/modified: 175 ft/161 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad, stock/modified: 0.82/0.93 gFor the record, the road miles were more fun than even the enforcers would imagine, and discretion demands that we leave it at that. But we can declassify a few observations. Consider: 1. Tire makers and chassis tuners are making progress with ultra-low-profile tires. Although such tires still tend to be vague on center, the darty behavior over worn roads that was common a few years ago was not bothersome in any of these cars.2. Modern fuel injections have altitude­-compensating systems to improve performance and economy at high elevations. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement. 3. If your engine demands premium fuel, you still have to plan your trips care­fully. We faced empty tanks and towns with only 86 octane in southern New Mexico.4. It’s amazing how calm and perfectly appropriate three-digit speeds seem when you’re driving the right car on open roads. 5. It’s amazing, too, how much perfor­mance is left untapped in today’s produc­tion cars. More

From the October 1995 issue of Car and Driver.If there was anything wrong with the first SHO Taurus, it was that it lacked refinement. It certainly did not lack performance. Even with the automatic transmission that was introduced for 1993 to bolster sales, the SHO ran to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds and tripped the quarter-mile lights in 15.7 seconds. That put it in the company of the BMW 325i and the Acura Legend. Along with such sprightly accel­eration came marvelous midrange flexi­bility and rip-snorting throttle response. Somehow, this failed to impress the sports-sedan clique, who refrained from purchasing SHO Tauruses in even the modest numbers Ford had hoped for. It’s a risky wager, but we bet the new Ford Taurus SHO does not suffer the same fate. Why? Because the car has moved into a new niche, its focus has altered, and its image has shifted upmarket. And the car will cost a lot more—about $33,000, Ford tells us. The new SHO is more a four-door Lincoln Mark VIII than it is a souped-up family sedan. The choice of a V-8 under­lines that fact as much as it fulfills the prophecy we heard from Ford officials a few years ago that all Fords would soon be powered by engines from their own drawing boards. The new SHO’s engine shares the basic architecture of the Duratec 2.5-liter V-6 found in the smaller Contour, with exactly the same bore, stroke, and cylinder spac­ing. Development time decreases when all of an engine’s dimensions and parameters have already been explored. This com­monality endows the 3.4-liter V-8 with a 60-degree angle between cylinder banks, relinquishing the usual 90-degree V-8’s inherent equilibrium and making the installation of a balance shaft necessary.Although this is a Ford engine, devel­opment was shared by Yamaha, which machines and assembles the engines in Japan after receiving castings produced, using a patented Cosworth process, by Ford’s plant in Windsor, Ontario. The fin­ished engines are shipped back to Ford’s Atlanta assembly plant for installation in the SHO Taurus. It is the only Ford engine with direct ignition, reverse-flow cooling, and aluminum bucket tappets in the valve­train. And what a civilized engine it is. Producing just a satisfying purr at cruising speeds—and a mellow snarl when spurred to greater effort—the four-cam V-8 sounds and feels more expensive than the V-6 it replaces. But it doesn’t have the immediacy that the old V-6 flaunted, nor the enthu­siastic midrange pickup. Although the V-8 produces more torque (225 pound-feet versus 215 at the same 4800 rpm), it seems to lack the V-6’s instant midrange throttle response. The early prototype SHO we tested was also less capable in every performance cat­egory except braking, where it equaled the old car’s 197-foot stopping distance from 70 mph. Its 8.0-second 0-to-60 time makes it 0.4 second slower than the previous SHO automatic we tested. It was also a half-­second slower in the quarter-mile. The impression of having less midrange response is heightened by the fact that the new SHO comes only with an automatic transmission; it downshifts obediently at any generous measure of throttle increase, choosing to rev rather than to lug. And this impression is also reinforced by the some­what distant nature of the well-isolated powerplant. In the old SHO, a dig at the throttle pro­duced an exuberant snarl from the engine, a distinct tug of torque steer at the wheel, and a surge of power. In the new car, such things are handled much more circum­spectly, the sensations diluted by the improved body structure, the well-behaved steering, the seamless transmission, and the thick layer of refinement that coats all of the car’s mechanical exploits.The only part of the new SHO’s reper­toire that is uncharacteristically rude is the ride quality across abrupt breaks in the pavement. Over tar patches and bad expan­sion strips, the suspension thumps like a buckboard—this despite automatic dual-­level damping, which is informed by ride­-height sensors and initiated by electronics. Over less sudden undulations, the ride is nice and flat, with little roll or pitch to dis­turb its attitude. The SHO is also very quiet on pave­ment that lacks the sharp breaks needed to set up that disturbing percussion, and it covers ground with a tempo understated by the car’s good composure and quiet ride. Helping keep the act together is a remarkably smooth and precise variably assisted steering gear, along with handling that keeps the car faithfully on your chosen line without any of the deviations you usually expect from changes in surface camber or texture. Here again, the quality of the new SHO’s steering and handling is subtle, engineered to keep the occupants isolated from the action rather than involved in it. You have to detect the tiny bit of road feel through the damped steering mechanism and to acknowledge the good off-center response visually rather than as a tactile change of wheel effort. Consequently, the new SHO is less of an overt driver’s car, even though it exhibits much better poise than its prede­cessor. Most of the torque steer is gone, but the new car still swivels slightly off­-course under full throttle, at the same time revealing a mild locked-up steering effect. Squeeze in a degree of correction and the car locks onto a heading slightly off-course in the other direction, if you’re still accel­erating hard. Mainly, though, the new SHO just goes obediently about its business. The elec­tronically controlled AX4N transmission is among the least intrusive mechanisms of its kind, producing upshifts (just above 6000 rpm, despite the 7000-rpm redline) that are a perfect blend of speed and smoothness, and downshifts that are more apparent on the tach than they are through the seat of the pants. Squeeze the overdrive button off while cruising and you can watch the tach needle swing to a new posi­tion without any discernible driveline surge. It’s that smooth. Along with the creamy driveline, the new SHO has a roomy interior filled with sculpted forms, organic moldings, and swoopy panels. When you slide inside it, any expectations of a sporty persona dis­solve. The accommodations are generous and comfortable. The switches are clear and easy to use, with decent tactile quali­ties, but the surfaces are as impersonal as the control interfaces. The oval center con­sole, in particular, is an art-deco affecta­tion that feels as if it will not grow friendlier with time. More on the Taurus SHOStill, the only part of the SHO’s pol­ished new upscale personality that does not work is the jittery, clumpy ride on high-frequency pavement breaks. The rest of it—questionable styling aside—is gen­teel enough to lure luxury-car aspirants who wouldn’t have considered the pre­vious Taurus SHO. As for the fans of the previous car . . . Ford must be hoping that they have matured, too. SpecificationsSpecifications
1996 Ford Taurus SHOVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base: $33,000 (est.)
ENGINEDOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 207 in3, 3392 cm3Power: 225 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 225 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 11.5-in vented disc/10.0-in discTires: Goodyear Eagle RS-AF: 225/55VR-16
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 108.5 inLength: 198.3 inWidth: 73.1 inHeight: 55.7 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 56/47 ft3Trunk Volume: 18 ft3Curb Weight: 3574 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 8.0 sec100 mph: 22.4 sec1/4-Mile: 16.2 sec @ 86 mph120 mph: 39.2 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 8.0 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 4.1 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.1 secTop Speed (drag ltd): 136 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 197 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.79 g  
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (ESTIMATED)City/Highway: 18/26 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

From the November 2023 issue of Car and Driver.The Dodge Hornet R/T is freighted with expectations. In the post-Challenger world, we’re all looking for a sign that Dodge can find its way without supercharged V-8s and red key fobs. The Hornet is a vision of that future, infusing a dreary yet marketable form—the small crossover—with trademark lovable Dodge dumbness. The car has functional hood scoops, an ornery exhaust burble, and the hybrid version of temporary overboost, which Dodge modestly calls PowerShot. The Hornet hits 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, not too far in arrears of the 5.1 seconds required by a manual Hemi Challenger R/T. On paper, this vehicle fits neatly into the Dodge pocket-rocket succession, joining rowdy former luminaries such as the Omni GLH and the Neon SRT-4. In reality, the story is a little more complicated. Don’t break out your yellow splitter guards just yet.HIGHS: Punchy acceleration, useful EV range, flashes of Dodge whimsy. For one thing, the Hornet achieves that Nissan Rogue–demolishing 60-mph time only after you pull both paddle shifters to engage PowerShot mode. According to Dodge, PowerShot unlocks an additional 30 horsepower from the rear electric motor for 15 seconds and knocks 1.5 seconds off the 60-mph time. We found that it trimmed a mere 0.2 second from the 60-mph and quarter-mile runs and a slightly more noticeable 0.3 second from the 5-to-60-mph time. PowerShot’s 15-second duration neatly covers a quarter-mile, which is dispatched in 14.2 seconds at 96 mph. The Hornet makes 288 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, figures that require engaging PowerShot, but it seems the unboosted output can’t be too far off. And all of that torque makes the R/T feel strong even when you’re not lined up at a drag-strip Christmas tree.As for Dodge’s other performance claims, we had a hard time matching a few of them. The company says the R/T is good for 0.90 g on the skidpad, but we managed only 0.87 g, even though our test car included the Track Pack, which brings Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires and electronically controlled dampers. The Track Pack’s Brembo four-piston fixed front brake calipers contributed to a tidy 164-foot stop from 70 mph, with no fade even after multiple stops from 100 mph (which required 334 feet). That performance is even more impressive considering the R/T’s weight, which checked in at 4205 pounds. A quote often attributed to Albert Einstein seems fitting: “The wing structure of the hornet, in relation to its weight, is not suitable for flight, but he does not know this and flies anyway.”LOWS: Middling fuel economy, max power limited to 15-second bursts, $10K-plus upsell over the GT.Part of the R/T’s chunkiness is due to its 12.0-kWh battery, which the EPA figures is good for 32 miles of electric range. We nearly matched that number at 75 mph too, logging 31 miles and 74 MPGe. With the battery depleted, we averaged 27 mpg overall, which is definitely better than you’d see from a wide-body Hellcat Charger. In electric mode, the Hornet—now rear-wheel drive—musters a mere 121 horses, but that’s enough to push it as high as 84 mph before the gas engine awakens. The electric side of the powertrain can go AWOL at higher speeds, depending on the battery’s state of charge and the temperature of the battery and motor, as evidenced by the Hornet’s 118-mph peak speed on our 1.5-mile straightaway. Dodge claims a 128-mph top speed, but attaining that might require the Bonneville Salt Flats and a nice tailwind. The base GT model, Dodge says, is good for 140 mph.But we’ve got strong acceleration, respectable EV range, and an artfully crafted interior, so what’s not to like? Well, there’s the oddly jacked-up ride height, which makes the Hornet look like a wagon that’s in the process of being raised skyward on a four-post lift, but that could be easily rectified with the upcoming Direct Connection factory lowering springs. The bigger issue is right there on the window sticker. The $48,465 as-tested price poignantly reminds you that the Italian-built Hornet is a twin to the Alfa Romeo Tonale. We don’t envy the Dodge salespeople tasked with selling a $48,000 Hornet when there are cheaper all-wheel-drive three-row Durangos sitting on the same lot. VERDICT: Dodge studies abroad and returns with an unconvincing accent.If you think the Hornet might make a lot more sense at a price closer to $30,000, you’re right, and it does. The base GT model brings a 268-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder hooked to a nine-speed automatic and all-wheel drive for $32,330. With that transmission and significantly less weight, the Hornet GT should post numbers awfully close to the R/T’s. If there’s a true heir to affordable Dodge performance, it probably shouldn’t surprise us that it’s the one without a plug.More on the HornetSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Dodge Hornet R/TVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $42,530/$48,465Options: Customer Preferred Package 28B (Tech Pack: Intelligent Speed Assist [ISA], Active Driving Assist, park-assist system, drowsy-driver detection, $2345; R/T Blacktop and Track Pack Bundle: black Alcantara non-vented seats with red accents, Inox steel door sills, gloss-black painted mirror caps, dark badges, gloss-black painted side mirror moldings, leather steering wheel, dual mode suspension, 235/40-R20 all-season tires, Abyss finish aluminum wheels, bright pedals, red painted Dodge calipers, 4-way power lumbar driver and front passenger seat, 8-way power adjustable driver and front passenger seat, driver seat memory, $3590)
POWERTRAINTurbocharged and intercooled SOHC 16-valve 1.3-liter inline-4, 177 hp, 199 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 44 and 121 hp, 39 and 184 lb-ft (combined output: 288 hp, 383 lb-ft; 12.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 7.4-kW onboard charger)Transmissions: 6-speed automatic/direct-drive
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/strutsBrakes, F/R: 13.5-in vented disc/12.0-in vented discTires: Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4F: 235/40ZR-20 (96Y) Extra Load
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 103.8 inLength: 178.3 inWidth: 72.5 inHeight: 63.0 inCargo Volume, Behind F/R: 51/23 ft3Curb Weight: 4205 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.5 sec1/4-Mile: 14.2 sec @ 96 mph100 mph: 15.4 sec110 mph: 20.7 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.2 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.4 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 4.6 secTop Speed (mfr’s claim): 128 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 164 ftBraking, 100–0 mph: 334 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.87 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 24 MPGe75-mph Highway Driving, EV/Hybrid Mode: 74 MPGe/27 mpg75-mph Highway Range, EV/Hybrid mode: 31/300 mi
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined: 29 mpgCombined Gasoline + Electricity: 77 MPGeEV Range: 32 mi
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDSenior EditorEzra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive. More

We’re in something of a golden age of high-performance and luxury SUVs and crossovers. If you’re in the market for a two-ton people mover that corners harder than your dad’s old Corvette, you’re spoiled for choice. Alfa Romeo entered the conversation with the power-rich Stelvio Quadrifoglio for the 2018 model year. Now the 2024 Stelvio Competizione—with an active suspension and a host of luxury items—arrives as a stepping stone between the more humdrum models and the pricier 505-hp Quadrifoglio. Like the Veloce trim it is based upon, the Competizione’s main focus is luxury. From the outside, this Alfa fully looks the part. The Comp-exclusive matte Moonlight Gray paint option gives the car a more premium feel, and the Stelvio follows in lockstep with its Giulia sedan partner by getting new LED matrix headlights that glare menacingly out of the darkness with three half-rings on each side. An updated version of the V-Scudetto grille rounds out the front-end highlights, while the rear features new taillights. Step inside the Stelvio Comp, and you find that the double-humped upper dash is covered in leather (the real stuff), ditching the coarse-grain finish found on lesser versions. There’s a 14-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system, though the infotainment system’s laggy software muddled our experience. Switching to Apple CarPlay seemed to solve that particular issue. The Comp’s leather seats are finished with red stitching and special “Competizione” badging on the sides and headrests. Unfortunately, the Alfa also suffers with some parts-bin switchgear, resulting in a sort of teeth-grating grimace every time you go to change the climate setting. The leather-wrapped shifter is nice enough, though dare to lower your forearm to the surrounding transmission tunnel, and you’re met with a cheap grooved-plastic finish. Fortunately, the Competizione is more or less redeemed through Alfa’s ability to build an emotional powertrain. At the Competizione’s $58,520 starting price, you might be expecting something closer to the deliciously enticing 505-hp twin-turbo V-6 from the Quadrifoglio, but no dice. Still, the standard 2.0-liter turbo four is no slouch, generating 280 horsepower. Those ponies are shipped to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The last Stelvio we tested with this powertrain managed an adequately speedy 60-mph time of 5.3 seconds. Power delivery is swift, and the exhaust is pleasantly gruff in spirited driving. Stomping on the accelerator from a stop results in a quick chirp of distress before the tires hook up and spring the Alfa forward with vigor. Even with the mode selector in the default Natural setting, the Stelvio is a shockingly engaging drive for the segment. The steering is quick and direct, though it could offer more feedback. Twisting the mode selector over to Dynamic brings more fun. Like the QF, the Competizione is equipped with Alfa’s adaptive-damper setup, allowing you to swap between a softer setting for the daily commute and a stiffer mode for spirited drives. In its mellower mode, the suspension mutes all but the sharpest bumps, while the sportier setting sends more minor reverberations through the seat bottoms. In either setting, the chassis feels lithe and agile. The Stelvio’s athleticism silently urges you to grab the massive shift paddles on the steering column and overtake slower traffic. More on the StelvioThe Competizione is all Alfa, but its high price tag leaves us wanting something a bit closer to what the Quadrifoglio has on offer. Like with a curry missing key spices, we’re left feeling full but wanting something more. SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Competizione AWDVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base: $58,520
ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled SOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 122 in3, 1993 cm3Power: 280 hp @ 5200 rpmTorque: 306 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 110.9 inLength: 184.6 inWidth: 74.9 inHeight: 66.0 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 49/40 ft3Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 57/19 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4100 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.3 sec1/4-Mile: 14.0 secTop Speed: 145 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 24/22/28 mpgAssociate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

From the November 2023 issue of Car and Driver.Say, are you handy with a wrench? Do you think the Ford F-150 Raptor would be a great truck if only it had a better suspension? Got about $25,000 of extra cash and a late-model Ford F-150? Well then, Factory Five Racing has the perfect project for you. The XTF, its newest kit, transforms a stock F-150 into something you could drive down to Ensenada and enter in the next Baja 1000. We’re not sure which class it would land in, but you’ll have plenty of time to research that while you’re figuring out what to do with a stock F-150 frame. Because you won’t be needing that anymore.HIGHS: Looks badass, trophy-truck suspension travel, satisfaction of building it yourself.Prior Factory Five offerings hewed to the time-honored kit-car practice of scavenging donor hardware from a production car to build something entirely different—like using Subaru WRX guts to create the 818 or Corvette parts to animate the GTM supercar. The XTF is different in that you start with an F-150 and end up with an F-150, albeit one with newly acquired off-road superpowers. This requires building the truck from the frame up.When your idea of a proper suspension means 16 inches of travel up front and 20 inches at the rear, the stock Ford frame isn’t wide enough or strong enough (for reference, a Raptor R manages 13.0 inches of front travel and 14.1 inches at the rear). Thus, the centerpiece of the XTF kit is an entirely new tube frame that replaces the stock ladder frame. Factory Five claims its frame weighs 100 pounds more than the Ford item but is nearly twice as strong, using 327 total feet of tubing. Installing it might not be as daunting as you’d expect, given that the 2015 and later F-150’s cab is a self-contained unit—unbolt it, unplug the wiring harnesses, and pluck it out of the way with an engine hoist or lift. The cab is watertight, so an XTF intender who’s short on space could leave it outside while working on the frame and suspension in the garage.The $24,990 kit is intended for 2015–20 F-150 four-by-fours with the 5.0-liter V-8 or the turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 (newer trucks have changes that make Factory Five’s kit incompatible). You’ll need the crew cab with the 5.5-foot bed and 26-gallon fuel tank. And yes, the ideal prerunner truck would likely be a two-wheel-drive regular cab with the V-8, but Factory Five wanted to design the kit around a truck people actually buy. Indeed, this first finished XTF is based on an everyday 3.5-liter EcoBoost Lariat, which once upon a time left the line in Dearborn as a nice family truck. It’s a little different now.At a glance, you could mistake the XTF for a Raptor R, with its flared fenders and 37-inch tires. But after anything more than a cursory look, that tube frame gives away the game, its welded latticework peeking out from below the rocker panels and leading back to the four-link, coil-spring rear suspension with its towering remote-reservoir Fox dampers. The bed is aluminum and, on this truck, mostly filled by the optional spare tire (the mount goes for $199). Those fiberglass fenders are part of the kit and inflate the XTF to a yawning 90-inch width, three inches wider than a Raptor R. Consequently, the hood, grille, and tailgate all are Factory Five items as well.For $6990, the body components are available in clear-coat carbon fiber, which, if left unpainted, might not be that far off the cost of paint-matching the fiberglass panels to the cab. (The nose panel is carbon fiber, no matter what.) Other options include a rear anti-roll bar for $465 and a tow package for $675. The latter includes more than a hitch, bringing axle-limiting straps and a Panhard rod into the equation to tame the contortionist rear suspension during towing.LOWS: Unwieldy width, added weight, tribulations of building it yourself.The carbon-fiber parts trim 34 pounds from the build, helping offset the 388-pound weight gain we recorded versus a similarly optioned 2017 F-150 crew cab with the same powertrain. The Factory Five truck weighs in at 5862 pounds, 130 of which are accounted for by the massive spare-tire assembly and its bed mount. So it’s not surprising that the XTF was a little bit in arrears of the stock truck at the drag strip—even with a mild tune that added about 60 horsepower—recording a 5.9-second 60-mph time, 0.2 second behind the grocery getter. The Factory Five’s stadium-size frontal area comes into play at higher speeds, with the quarter-mile requiring 14.8 seconds at 88 mph versus the stock truck’s 14.3 seconds at 97 mph. But the XTF had no problem bulldozing enough atmosphere to get to the 110-mph top-speed limiter. We should note that we do not conduct our acceleration tests across fields strewn with loose cinder blocks, but if we did, we’re pretty sure the XTF would be at a distinct advantage.To give the XTF an actual off-road workout, we headed from Factory Five’s headquarters in Wareham, Massachusetts, up to the Team O’Neil rally school in Dalton, New Hampshire. Over 200-plus miles of highway driving, the truck proved itself a competent pavement cruiser in the vein of a Raptor. Lots of tire sidewall and suspension travel make for a cushy ride, and the stock interior retains its factory fripperies (ventilated seats, panoramic roof) and refinement. With the rear anti-roll bar installed, the truck is civil on pavement, though the all-terrain 37-inch Toyo Open Country M/T tires contribute to the XTF’s 0.70-g skidpad result and 201-foot stop from 70 mph. After the rear anti-roll bar is manually disconnected, the truck is capable of extreme off-road axle articulation, as we soon found out.The main challenge, both on-road and in the woods, is the width of the thing. If you were wondering how wide the street parking spaces are in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, it turns out they’re just a little bit less than 90 inches. Out on the trail, about the only obstacle that will stop an XTF would be two trees spaced 89 inches apart.Since we wanted to exercise that Slinky-on-the-stairs suspension travel, we put the XTF in the hands of rally driver Wyatt Knox and told him to point the truck toward the nearest jump. After some acclimation on the dirt skidpad and slalom course, he aimed the truck uphill toward a steep crest that’s designed to send rally cars into low orbit. But rally cars don’t have 20 inches of suspension travel, and instead of flight, the XTF’s suspension extended to maximum droop, like a cat clinging to a fabric sofa, and the front contact patches barely got a taste of daylight. “Well, normally, that’s a jump,” Knox said. Foiled there, we headed to a mudhole specifically designed to cross up axles and put tires in the air, training drivers to deal with that particular off-road situation. Except, again, the XTF refused to play by the rules, stuffing its high-side rear tire up under the fender and dangling the low side impossibly far into the rut to maintain contact with the ground. If the rear axle were any more articulate, it would be defending its thesis on modern juxtapositions of the patriarchal monarchy to the American frontier, as exemplified by King Ranch.More Pickups!If you’ve got the requisite mechanical skills, the XTF kit is an intriguing value proposition: For about the price of a Raptor, you might build a truck with far wilder looks and capability while maintaining stock Ford interior amenities and powertrain reliability. (Hiring some-one to build it will likely add nearly $20K.) And when it comes time to register, insure, or finance the truck, it’s just an F-150 with a factory VIN rather than a homebuilt kit car. Of course, Raptors are also upgraded under the hood. But easy mods are there for the taking—this EcoBoost truck included a low-restriction intake and exhaust that gave it a Ford GT soundtrack, and Factory Five is already building a supercharged V-8 truck to see what happens when 700 or so horsepower join the party. VERDICT: What the Raptor wants to be when it grows up.For small manufacturers looking for a niche, part of the peril is that an OEM might decide to pursue the same concept on a factory production line. The Jeep Gladiator killed the AEV Brute, and Factory Five’s own GTM was usurped when GM finally built a mid-engine Corvette. But the XTF pushes the desert-racer truck concept further than it’s ever gone or is likely to go. Ford won’t build this. But you can.SpecificationsSpecifications
Factory Five XTF 3.5-liter EcoBoostVehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $96,562/$97,226
ENGINEtwin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 213 in3, 3496 cm3Power: 435 hp @ 5750 rpmTorque: 480 lb-ft @ 3100 rpm 
TRANSMISSION10-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axleTires: Toyo Open Country M/T37x12.50R-20LT 126Q M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 145.0 inLength: 231.9 inWidth: 90.0 inHeight: 77.2 inCurb Weight: 5862 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.9 sec1/4-Mile: 14.8 sec @ 88 mph100 mph: 21.8 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.0 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.6 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 4.6 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 110 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 201 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.70 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 12 mpg75-mph Highway Driving: 15 mpg75-mph Highway Range: 390 mi 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDSenior EditorEzra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive. More

From the January 1996 issue of Car and Driver.The first Pathfinder, introduced as a 1985 model, was one of the pio­neers in what has now become a high-fashion category, compact sport-utes. That was way back in the pre-Explorer days when four side doors seemed like a goofy idea. “Whaddaya gonna do, use it for a car? Harharhar.” That Pathfinder had two side doors, like all Broncos and Blazers and Jimmys of the day. Only the odd Cherokee and Wag­oneer had four doors. Times change. This all-new Pathfinder only comes with four side doors, and the idea of using it as an off-road dustbuster seems, well, “Ya wanna risk denting up your cool $28-grand car?” HIGHS: Maxima mood of the interior, blot-up-the-bumps stride of the suspension, quality feel throughout.For the record, we’ve driven the test Pathfinder out in the belly-scraping nas­ties, and it behaves as if it were made for the job. Yet we’re well aware that most owners think getting to the other side of deep Cool Whip on the way to the trattoria is challenging enough. A sport-ute, to them, is an all-weather road car with the rugged good looks of the Marlboro man. Actually, that first Pathfinder probably did more than any other single model to put sport-utes in the fashion spotlight. Its taut, hard-body shape and macho-swagger treads—especially those hunky, square-shouldered tires—made a helluva fashion statement to the urban sophisticate. It was Patagonia on wheels. Ken Hanna|Car and DriverThis all-new Pathfinder takes that con­cept of go-anywhere gear and smooths off the edges. It’s so easy-to-wear now that Maxima and BMW drivers can make a painless transition to an authentic sport­-ute. In fact, we think they’d be happier here than in one of the American choices because Nissan has built in so many of the cues that import drivers associate with their kind of car. Little things like the hue of the speedo needle and the texture of the steering-wheel rim and the firm support­iveness of the seats are all import style. There’s a sense of quality here too, a lack of squeaks, creaks, and quivers. The Pathfinder feels well made, lasting, and expensive. Part of the credit should go to unitized construction, new for the Pathfinder and rare for a sport-ute (the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee are unit bodies). This design stiffens the structure; Nissan claims 2.3 times greater bending stiffness and 2.9 times more torsional stiffness than in the old Pathfinder. Credit the ride, too—it’s surprisingly smooth, notably better than that of a V-8 Explorer. Credit the lack of interior noise—howl from the drivetrain and tires are nicely muted. Credit the on-road response of the controls—always linear and predictable. Even the classically cor­rect round dials on the instrument panel are reassuring. Except for the sit-up-high driving position, there’s nothing trucky about the Pathfinder. Car and DriverOutside dimensions have been increased in the new model. It has 2.0 inches more wheelbase, and it’s 6.4 inches longer overall (without the optional external spare) and 2.2 inches wider. That makes the Pathfinder about Grand Cherokee size, some three inches shorter than the Blazer, and more than ten inches shorter than the Explorer. Passengers are more comfortable than in the Grand Cherokee, particularly in back, where Pathfinder knee and foot spaces are much more generous and the rear seatback reclines over a wide range. In hauling capacity, sport-utes are tighter inside than their hulking presence suggests—comparable to compact station wagons—but the Pathfinder’s extra width now allows it to carry a full sheet of ply­wood (it rests atop the wheel wells and extends out the tailgate). The load floor can be made flat by tilting the seat cushions forward, then folding the one­third/two-thirds split seatback forward into the space vacated by the tilted cushions. The full interior compartment is available because the under-floor storage area for the spare accommodates tires of all sizes. The test car’s outside-mount spare is an option, offered because some folks like the look. LOWS: Weak acceleration, contrived step rails on an otherwise overcautious exterior, behind-the-times four-wheel drive.By enlarging the V-6’s bore, Nissan added 0.3 liters of displacement, for 3.3 total. Power is up 15 hp to 168, but the spe­cialty here is torque—over 90 percent of peak torque is available by 1500 rpm. Nat­urally, this means little need to visit the upper reaches of the tachometer, though the redline allows 5900 rpm. Accelerating to 60 mph takes 11.3 seconds, exactly one second quicker than before (weight is up 54 pounds to 4254, offsetting part of the power increase). The Pathfinder still feels slow compared with 9.1-second Blazers and 10.4-second Grand Cherokees. Ken Hanna|Car and DriverOff-road, the Pathfinder feels a bit low; the center differentials drag sooner than we expected. But let’s be serious—this is, for most customers, a road car, and many of those customers com­plain about the high step aboard. (Why else would Nissan make those contrived, whacked-tube step rails standard equip­ment on the SE model?) Road-driving cus­tomers don’t like noisy off-road treads either, so the tires have been greatly compromised toward touring, probably a wise decision. Unfortunately, the on-road security of full-time four-wheel drive that is available in the Explorer, the Bravada, and upper­-level Grand Cherokees is not available on this Nissan. Still, the Pathfinder’s part-­time, shift-on-the-fly (below 50 mph) system acquitted itself handsomely in our off-road ventures. Excellent bump absorp­tion, lack of steering kickback, and stiff body structure are all appreciated in the rough stuff. Serious hill-and-gully riders will be delighted by the available five­-speed manual, with its creamy-smooth clutch and snick-snick shifter. An off-road package including cockpit-adjustable suspension damping and a limited-slip rear differential is available on the SE. Ken Hanna|Car and DriverThe anti-lock system standard on all Pathfinders has been specially adapted for off-road use, Nissan says, by the addition of a “G-sensor” that adjusts braking for the tricky condition of loose gravel. With normal anti-lock, the tires tend to skim over the loose surfaces commonly found off-road, locking and releasing too easily, resulting in long stopping distances. We did not measure a stop on gravel, but in our normal dry-pavement braking evalua­tion, 206 feet was required to stop from 70 mph, longer than the sport-ute average. More off-road Ready SUVs From the ArchiveOn road, body roll is nicely limited by the standard-equipment anti-roll bar front and rear. We measured 0.69 g at the skidpad limit, accompanied by a deter­mined understeer. Automatic-transmission Pathfinders are rated for towing up to 5000 pounds. VERDICT: Go anywhere, never muss your hair.Not that towing matters for most owners. Rugged-looking sportswear that doesn’t bind, chafe, or irritate is the over­whelming desire, and with this new Pathfinder, Nissan proves to be a fine tailor. SpecificationsSpecifications
1996 Nissan Pathfinder SEVehicle Type: front-engine, rear/all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE
Base: $28,000 (est.)
ENGINESOHC V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 200 in3, 3276 cm3Power: 168 hp @ 4800 rpmTorque: 196 lb-ft @ 2800 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/rigid axleBrakes, F/R: 10.9-in vented disc/11.7-in drumTires: Bridgestone Dueler H/T265/70SR-15
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 188.2 inWidth: 72.4 inHeight: 67.9 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 54/39 ft3Cargo Volume: 38 ft3Curb Weight: 4254 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 11.3 sec1/4-Mile: 18.4 sec @ 73 mph100 mph: 56.8 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 12.0 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 5.7 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 9.2 secTop Speed (drag ltd): 101 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 206 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.69 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 16 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 15/19 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

The moniker that’s attached to the new top-dog Mercedes-AMG GLC—2025 Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S E Performance—is the first indication of the newfound complexity of this extreme machine. AMG’s signature product was once known as the Hammer, a simple but effective tool. You wouldn’t call AMG’s new GLC simple, but it’s undeniably effective.The source of motivation is the biggest change versus the previous generation. That model used a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 that somehow managed to channel the brawny character of AMG’s big naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8. Now, AMG has chopped the cylinder count and displacement in half, switching to a 2.0-liter turbo four—but before you walk away in disgust, listen to this: 671 horsepower!To reach that lofty total, the heavily boosted M139l four (itself good for 469 horsepower—an incredible 236 horsepower/liter) is teamed with a rear-mounted electric motor. The motor delivers up to 201 horsepower and is fed by a 4.8-kWh battery that can be charged by either engine or cord, making this a plug-in hybrid. There’s also an electric motor on the shaft linking the compressor and turbine wheels that spools up the turbo; it also keeps the snail spinning when the driver lifts off the gas. There’s a 400-volt system to run that e-motor (and to facilitate the automatic stop-start system). A nine-speed automatic transmission again employs a clutch pack rather than a torque converter, and the rear motor gets its own two-speed gearbox. Finally, the 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system can distribute the torque from the engine and e-motor to either axle in any percentage from 50/50 to 100 percent rearward. Aside from minor details, this is the powertrain from the 2024 C63.There’s plenty going on underneath this SUV as well. The latest GLC63 trades the previous air springs for steel coils, paired with retuned adaptive dampers that now provide a greater range of adjustability. There are also active anti-roll bars, which necessitate their own 48-volt electrical system. Rear-wheel steering is another new addition. With a factory-stated curb weight of nearly 5100 pounds, the brakes need to be beefy and they are, with 15.4-inch discs up front and 14.6 inches at the rear.The GLC63 S E Performance “enables a previously unknown variety of driving experiences,” says Steffen Jastrow, director of vehicle development at AMG. To that end, there are no fewer than eight drive modes (Slippery, Individual, Battery Hold, Electric, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Race), chosen via the steering wheel’s starboard dial. They mix and match three levels of adaptive damping (Comfort, Sport, and Sport+), seven powertrain settings (Reduced, Battery Hold, Electric, Moderate, Sport, Dynamic, and Race), and four AMG Dynamics levels (Basic, Advanced, Pro, and Master—the last only after switching off stability control), which alter the all-wheel-drive system, the rear-wheel steering, the limited-slip differential, and the stability control. There’s also a launch mode; the only thing missing is the C63’s Drift mode. The driver can load two of the selectable elements onto the steering wheel’s left display circle, where two buttons allow one to cycle through the choices without delving into the touchscreen. To wring the very most out of the powertrain, it’s necessary to load Boost mode onto that left circle; available when in Race mode only, it allows the electric motor to deliver its maximum 201 horsepower in 10-second bursts.One of the previously unknown GLC63 experiences, evidently, is motorsports driving. There’s also a Drag Race menu, should you be headed to the Christmas tree. Or if you’re on a road course, the GLC63 has saved maps of major racetracks. For your track session, you can record and later download telemetry including speed; steering wheel angle; longitudinal, lateral, and vertical acceleration; slip angle; front and rear wheel angle; boost pressure; electric turbocharger power; engine output, torque, and speed; gear engine or transmission oil temperature, 12V battery voltage and current, HV battery charge level, voltage, current, and temperature; rear axle locking ratio; individual tire temperatures and pressures; and on and on—80 parameters in all. Is anyone going to use this? “We don’t know how many of our customers are going to a racetrack,” admits AMG product planner Patrick Roth. But “if you want to, you can do it.”At the far opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the electric-driving component. The GLC63 can be driven in EV mode, and the motor is muscular enough for highway speeds, although pushing through the accelerator’s kick-down detent will wake the gas engine. EV range is only a few miles (12 kilometers on the European WLTP cycle, which equates to about six miles using EPA methodology), so if you’re keen on battery-electric driving, this really isn’t your car.The GLC63 does offer four levels of liftoff regen (from none to one-pedal driving)—but the higher-than-standard levels can’t be selected until the battery is significantly depleted. Once the driver selects a higher-than-standard level of regen, it works in any drive mode except for Race. No matter what liftoff regen level is selected, the brake regen is unaffected, and indeed, brake modulation felt totally natural.This powertrain’s ludicrous output numbers shade competitors such as the BMW X3 M Competition (503 horsepower, 479 pound-feet) and Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio (505 hp, 443 pound-feet). That certainly sounds like overkill, but the GLC63 has a lot more weight to cart around—some 500 pounds more than the BMW. AMG says the zero-to-62-mph time is 0.3 second better than the old car’s; we got a 3.4-second 60-mph time from the previous GLC63 S, so figure 3.1 seconds for this car. That would just barely nose it ahead of the BMW (3.2 seconds) and the Alfa (3.3). So if the hyper-complicated new propulsion system doesn’t appear to give AMG a major leg up on its rivals, why do it? It’s clear that AMG sees the move as a step toward the EV future. “We’re an engineering company, and we want to develop,” says Roth. Drive the GLC63 S E Performance, however, and you discover that, for all the over-the-top complexity, this thing just works. That was the overwhelming feeling we got after two days of driving in southern Spain, mostly along empty mountain roads. Engine response was everything you could ask for and more. As you might guess, the GLC63 also roars off from a stop, without even having to fuss with launch control. Through an extended series of fast sweeping curves and then tighter switchbacks, we switched among the more sporting drive modes. Again and again, the nine-speed automatic delivered well-timed anticipatory downshifts as we dove into corners, held the lower gear for a just-right length of time, and snappily upshifted as our speed climbed. Out on the highway, flat-foot the accelerator, and acceleration isn’t immediately frenetic. The multi-pronged powertrain takes half a beat to gather itself before shoving the GLC forward on a wave of torque. When cruising, calls for higher speed bring a gentle swell of acceleration with no abrupt downshifts. And in low-speed stop-and-go, the PHEV smoothly hands off between gas and electric propulsion. Those who are new to AMG should be fully satisfied with this electrified four-banger. Returning buyers, however, may miss the thunderous character of the brand’s V-8s. The turbo four does offer an enhanced sound setting (independent of the drive mode), and while it isn’t bad, it can’t match the deep-throated rumble of the V-8, especially at startup.The GLC63’s chassis is just as complicated as the powertrain, and here there’s no downside. The steering, in any of the three settings, avoids all the obvious pitfalls—it doesn’t vary wildly in its response and is neither overboosted in Comfort nor overly heavy in Sport+. Instead, it provides predictable reactions and even a modicum of feel. The degree of rear steer depends on the chosen drive mode, among other factors, and there was one point during a series of moderate-speed twisties when we could feel it tightening the line. But during most of our two-day drive, its helping hand remained invisible. The suspension is especially impressive. A brutal ride is typical of high-performance SUVs (we’re looking at you, X3 M Competition). Not so here. These adaptive dampers are claimed to offer a wider range of compression and rebound tuning, and together with the steel springs they provide impressive bandwidth. The ultra-low-profile tires (Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV, 265/40ZR-21 front and 295/35ZR-21 rear) don’t offer much cushion over sharp ridges, but the suspension never feels jarring or stiff-legged. With the standard active anti-roll bars, head toss never rears its, uh, head, and body roll is a nonissue in the cars we drove. The optional AMG Performance seats, however, are too firmly padded to be truly comfortable. At least they’re not overly confining, although the outer bolsters can be adjusted for a tighter squeeze. The interior is otherwise little changed from the standard GLC and has the same pros and cons as most current MB products. Pros: a sleek waterfall dash that swoops down to the center console, great-looking digital displays, and a central screen that minimizes menu diving. Cons: a total lack of physical switchgear, idiotic touch sliders, and annoying steering-wheel touchpads. Outside, the GLC63 gets the AMG vertical-bar grille and an AMG-specific lower fascia, side sills, and rear diffuser with quad exhaust outlets.Related StoriesWe should also note that the previous GLC63 S was only offered in SUV coupe form; those wanting the more traditional SUV shape had to settle for the mere GLC63. This time around, the SUV version is not held back—we expect the still-to-be-unveiled SUV coupe model, which should appear sometime before the GLC63’s on-sale date in mid-2024, will offer the same powertrain. So that, at least, is simple. Even if not much else here is.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E PerformanceVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-motor, rear/all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE (C/D EST)
Base: $100,000
POWERTRAIN
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 469 hp, 402 lb-ft + AC motor, 201 hp, 236 lb-ft (combined output: 671 hp; 4.8-kWh lithium-ion; 3.7-kW onboard charger)Transmissions, F/R: 9-speed automatic/2-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 113.7 inLength: 187.0 inWidth: 75.6 inHeight: 64.4 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 56/49 ft3Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 54/17 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 5100 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.1 sec100 mph: 6.9 sec1/4-Mile: 11.1 secTop Speed: 171 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 20/18/23 mpgCombined Gasoline + Electricity: 29 MPGeEV Range: 6 miDeputy 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

From the November 2023 issue of Car and Driver.A road trip that puts tires in all 48 contiguous states and hits 50 major U.S. landmarks was the perfect exclamation point to put at the end of our time with our long-term 2022 CT5-V Blackwing. Our route followed the framework of a 13,699-mile itinerary designed by a data scientist in 2015.We figured we could get it done in about 30 days if we kept a steady supply of fresh drivers, so we sliced it into seven chunks, with keys handed off from one pilot to the next about every four days at various points around the country. Some staffers brought a spouse, a child, or a friend along for the ride, and all reveled in the cathartic healing of a road trip exploring the vastness of our country. We introduced the CT5-V Blackwing to both natural and manufactured beauty. We drove past the Grand Canyon and through Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, and Glacier National Parks and posed in front of the White House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin house in Wisconsin, and the Breakers, the Vanderbilts’ dramatic summer home in Rhode Island. The Mall of America was not on the route, but we stopped there anyway. It is decidedly not beautiful.No one would expect such a high-performance sedan to be so adept at the long haul, but the CT5’s ride quality is luxury-car fantastic, although many found the firm seat bolstering and armrest padding a little tiresome after hours in the saddle.Car and DriverThe vast amount of soak time means nothing escaped our watchful eyes. For example, the seat’s lateral elements are black—black wings, get it? Also, as the temperature drifts upward from a cool morning, the air conditioning often doesn’t keep up. Following a restart, it seems to reset itself and comes on full force.If you keep the speeds modest, fuel economy can be quite good (23 to 24 mpg), on par with boring midsize crossovers. A small-block V-8 turning slowly is a time-tested fuel-saving strategy. But from the Blackwing’s CTS-V origins, Cadillac’s megasedan has always had a relatively small tank, with none of us able to stretch it to even 400 miles between fill-ups.Even though some drivers reported hitting the brakes no more than a couple of times a day, somehow, late in our time with the Blackwing, its rotors became curiously warped. This is quite surprising, considering that a few spirited laps at Virginia International Raceway months prior had no ill effects. We also had plenty of time to ponder some of life’s big questions. Like, considering the wide-open spaces we drove through in Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, the Dakotas, and Nebraska, what percentage of the cows in this country have now seen a CT5-V Blackwing? Also, why do some historical landmarks attract so much kitsch? The biggest eye-roll goes to the vendor outside Mount Rushmore whose billboard dangled the loftiest of promises: “Be President, Next Right.”Leg 1: From Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Washington, D.C.Open GalleryFox Theatre, MichiganShelburne Farms, VermontMount Washington Hotel, New HampshireAcadia National Park, MaineUSS Constitution, MassachusettsThe Breakers, Rhode IslandThe Mark Twain House and Museum, ConnecticutStatue of Liberty, New YorkLiberty Bell, PennsylvaniaCape May Historic District, New JerseyNew Castle Historic District, DelawareColonial Annapolis Historic District, MarylandWhite House, Washington, D.C.Leg 2: Washington, D.C., to Mobile, AlabamaOpen GalleryMount Vernon, VirginiaWright Brothers National Memorial, North CarolinaLost World Caverns, West VirginiaFort Sumter National Monument, South CarolinaOkefenokee Swamp Park, GeorgiaCape Canaveral Air Force Station, FloridaUSS Alabama, AlabamaLeg 3: Mobile, Alabama, to Carlsbad, New MexicoOpen GalleryFrench Quarter, LouisianaVicksburg National Military Park, MississippiElvis Presley’s Graceland, TennesseeToltec Mounds, ArkansasThe Platt Historic District, OklahomaThe Alamo, TexasCarlsbad Caverns National Park, New MexicoLeg 4: Carlsbad, New Mexico, to St. George, UtahOpen GalleryPikes Peak, ColoradoYellowstone National Park, WyomingCraters of the Moon National Monument, IdahoBryce Canyon National Park, UtahLeg 5: St. George, Utah, to Seattle, WashingtonOpen GalleryGrand Canyon National Park, ArizonaHoover Dam, NevadaSan Andreas Fault, CaliforniaSan Francisco Cable Car Museum, CaliforniaColumbia River Highway, OregonLeg 6: Seattle, Washington, to Minneapolis, Minnesota Open GalleryHanford Site, WashingtonGlacier National Park, MontanaFort Union Trading Post, North DakotaMount Rushmore National Memorial, South DakotaAshfall Fossil Beds, NebraskaFort Snelling, MinnesotaLeg 7: Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Ann Arbor, MichiganOpen GalleryFrank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, WisconsinTerrace Hill Governor’s Mansion, IowaC.W. Parker Carousel Museum, KansasGateway Arch, MissouriAbraham Lincoln’s Home, IllinoisWest Baden Springs Hotel, IndianaMammoth Cave National Park, KentuckySpring Grove Cemetery, OhioDirector, Vehicle TestingDave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver’s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism. More