Sports Cars
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After four years on the job, current BMW M boss Frank van Meel will exit the role. BMW has appointed van Meel, formerly of Audi Quattro GmbH (Audi Sport), to chief of total vehicle development. Replacing van Meel will be Markus Flasch, chief engineer for the new 8-Series. Evo reported on the executive shuffle on Friday and said the shift from van Meel to Flasch shouldn't create any major diversions from the M division's current product plans. Van Meel championed a four-tier M strategy that introduced "M Performance" models beneath proper M cars. M cars themselves will start at base M, then...
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Mid-engine C8 Corvette could get clutch-by-wire manual transmissionChevrolet's worst-kept secret is the C8-generation mid-engine Corvette. We've heard a lot of rumors about the upcoming sports car with its engine mounted in the middle, but one has persisted: there won't be a manual transmission. That could change with a new patent General Motors has filed. The...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota thinks it needs a new Celica or MR2Toyota says it wants to build another sports car to join the upcoming fifth-generation Supra and the 86 in its lineup. A new Celica or MR2 could fit the bill, according to a Wednesday report from Road and Track. The public confirmation of Toyota's desire to build a third sports car comes after...
Sean Szymkowski -
Radical co-founder working on new track-focused sports carRadical is a top-tier producer of track-day specials. The British company was founded in 1997 and today sells a number of models for track enthusiasts and racers all over the world. One of the company's co-founders, Phill Abbott, is looking to make a new mark in the race car space. He plans to do...
Jeff Glucker -
Toyota Supra to be built alongside BMW Z4 at Austrian plantToyota confirmed Wednesday that its new Supra sports car will be built alongside the related BMW Z4 (shown below) at a plant in Graz, Austria. The plant is operated by independent vehicle manufacturer Magna Steyr and has produced the G-Class for Mercedes-Benz for several decades and more recently...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 BMW Z4 power details revealed: More turbos, more power, no manualBMW released powertrain and performance specifications for the 2019 BMW Z4 on Tuesday, nearly a month after revealing the new two-seat roadster at Pebble Beach. Base Z4s, dubbed the Z4 sDrive30i Roadster, will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The...
Joel Feder -
The vast majority of the population won't have the means to actually purchase McLaren's 600LT, but the company has been so kind to launch an online configurator. The configurator allows anyone to design a version of the track-focused sports car to his or her dreams. But even the public gets a watered down version. McLaren said soon-to-be owners have access to a real-time 3D configurator to complete their vehicles ahead of production. We're stuck with a 2D version. Still, there's plenty to toy around with, including paint color options, optional McLaren Special Operations carbon packages...
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The 2019 BMW Z4 won't offer a manual transmissionBMW is unlikely to offer a manual gearbox as an option on its new 2019 BMW Z4. The convertible sports car exists in a niche segment to begin with, and adding in the choice of a manual transmission would slice an already small take rate into quantities too small to matter. Speaking to Road &...
Jeff Glucker -
Track-focused Toyota Supra plannedWe've yet to see the new Toyota Supra debut in production form, but the company is already willing to admit the car will spawn a track-focused variant. The man behind the new Supra, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, told Top Gear on Friday that such a car will mainly focus on stripping weight away from...
Sean Szymkowski -
2019 Subaru BRZ priced, adds limited-run Series.Gray EditionThe Subaru BRZ will keep things affordable with a starting price of $26,680 for the 2019 model year. Pricing includes an $885 destination fee. Buyers will also have a new BRZ Series.Gray Edition model to choose from, but the higher performance tS model does not return. We'll start with the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Lotus appoints new CEO of sports carsFormer Jaguar-Land Rover executive Phil Popham has joined British sports car maker Lotus. Lotus company announced Thursday that Phil Popham will join the company as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for Group Lotus and CEO of Lotus Sports Cars. Popham will report directly to Lotus...
Sean Szymkowski -
BMW M launches M Town digital community for gearheadsBMW's M division has a new appropriately titled home in M Town. The company announced on Wednesday that M Town has opened its gates as a digital community for owners of BMW M cars. M Town's theme is "where too much is just right." The motif follows BMW's launch of the "Too Much" ad campaign, and M...
Sean Szymkowski -
British engineering outfit Gordon Murray Design has touted its iStream construction for a few years, but the latest iStream Superlight method doubles down on the architecture's core principles: it can cut a car's weight in half. Compared to traditional stamped metal, the iStream Superlight method results in 50-percent weight savings when producing a body-in-white, but it also offers increased rigidity, durability and platform flexibility. It's also more corrosion resistant than coated steel. The key is the replacing of traditional stamped metal with a high-strength, thin-wall aluminum tubular...
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Grex will offer the TVR Sagaris as a kit car, even in the StatesTVR is an iconic name in the realm of British motoring. The automaker has ridden a wave of strong ups and terrible downs. Along the way, the boutique sports car maker cranked out a number of sports car, and, despite some quality control issues, folks still clamor for a TVR. The brand is in the...
Jeff Glucker -
2019 Fiat 124 Spider benefits from new options including Monza exhaust for AbarthFiat will look to spice things up for its 124 Spider with a handful of new options being introduced for 2019. Key among them is a Record Monza exhaust upgrade for the 124 Spider Abarth that gives the car a more aggressive growl. It offers some solace to fans still sour from the Abarth model only...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla Roadster makes European debut at 2018 Grand Basel showTesla's big surprise the company promised for this week's 2018 Grand Basel show in Switzerland has turned out to be a mockup of the second-generation Roadster, this one finished in white. It was hoped we might see a production-ready example of the new Roadster, which Tesla has promised for delivery...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2020 Mercedes-AMG GT R "Clubsport" spy shots and videoMercedes-AMG is known to be working on a range-topping Black Series version of its GT sports car, but before it arrives the Affalterbach tuner will introduce a new version positioned between it and the current GT R. A prototype for this new version has just been spotted testing at the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla has a surprise reveal for Grand Basel show; is it the production Roadster?The Grand Basel show in Switzerland will play host to a new Tesla reveal, the electric car manufacturer confirmed Friday. Tesla sent invites to owners declaring it has a "surprise" to showcase at the show that celebrates all things design, as well as "automotive masterpieces." Noting the show's...
Sean Szymkowski -
Dutch sports car marque Spyker announced in March 2017 that it will start using V-8 engines for its flagship C8 line sourced from Sweden's Koenigsegg, instead of the aging Audi units that have powered the C8 since the nameplate's launch in 2000. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to have been any progress beyond the original announcement, which was made by Spyker CEO Victor Muller and Koenigsegg CEO and founder Christian von Koenigsegg at the 2017 Geneva auto show. The exact reasons are unclear but Koenigsegg spokesman Steven Wade shed some light when he told Autovisie in an interview...
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Why Porsche's Project Gold 911 isn't street legal in most countriesPorsche pulled the wraps off of Project Gold, a resto-modded 993-generation 911 sports car to much fanfare last week. The 993-generation 911 is special to Porsche aficionados: it was the final air-cooled Porsche 911, the first to feature twin turbochargers, and it boasted the nameplate's first...
Sean Szymkowski -
Californian firm offers carbon fiber Porsche 911 bodiesEnthusiasts and fans herald the 993-generation Porsche 911, but California-based Gunther Werks seeks to perfect what is widely viewed as the zenith of the 911 range. The company unveiled its carbon-fiber 993 body at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on Saturday during the 2018 Monterey Car Week...
Sean Szymkowski -
New Tesla Roadster acceleration makes Jay Leno screamIn November 2017, Tesla showed us "one more thing" at the company's reveal of its Semi. That "thing" turned out to be the second-generation Roadster, planned for 2020. And at the debut event, Tesla gave depositors their first rides in the future electric sports car. Now, Jay Leno has had his turn...
Sean Szymkowski -
Project Gold: 911 restomod celebrates 70 years of PorschePorsche isn't done with its celebrations for its 70th anniversary this year. Having already built a highly authentic replica of its very first sports car, as well as unveiling a spiritual successor in the form of the 911 Speedster concept, Porsche on Thursday unveiled a restomod based on a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi PB18 e-tron combines Le Mans prowess with electric futureAudi dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the better part of a decade with its R18 TDI prototype diesel race car and the German luxury brand is now on the front lines of the race for an electric future. At Monterey Car Week on Thursday, the brand unveiled a concept car that combines the two, the...
Kirk Bell