Autos

Got a hole in your garage and another one in your wallet? We’ve found a great way to fill the first one with the money pouring out of the second: Ron Patrick’s street-legal, jet-powered Volkswagen New Beetle is up for sale on Craigslist. If you have $550,000 and a few extra gallons of kerosene, you can be the big hit at your local cruise-in! Patrick built this ultimate rear-engine conversion while he was studying for his PhD in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. His reason for adding a jet to his bug? “In California, new cars have biennial smog inspections so if you modify the engine, it is likely to fail and you won’t be able to drive it on the street. There are some exempt engine modifications, but none that will allow you to add 1,350 horsepower to ...

Why is Ares Design calling their new limited-run retro-roadster Wami Lalique Spyder? Maybe they thought Panther, the name of their Huracán-based DeTomaso Pantera tribute, was just too easy to pronounce. While the Wami Lalique Spyder’s name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue—instead it gets caught up there, flops around a bit, then falls to the floor with a resounding thud—these computerized renderings show the car itself to be a work of mid-century-inspired art. For those unfamiliar, Ares Design is an Italian concern started by Dany Bahar, best known as the former chief of Lotus, where he implemented a six-model vaporware program then left under a cloud. Ares opened its doors in 2014 and began modifying high-end cars for the super-rich. Project Panther was their most extensive...

If you’ve spent any time in the brand-new 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric SUV or at least perused images of its interior, you may have noticed a cool design detail on its touchscreen infotainment system: the volume knob that pokes through the panel. Well, truthfully, that knob isn’t poking through anything at all—it’s an illusion, Michael. That’s because rather than Ford going through the costly process of developing a touchscreen with a hole punched through it—and all the attendant fit and finish and function issues that could bring—the Blue Oval and its supplier opted for a less difficult but no less cool solution. You see, that big, glorious vertical touchscreen is a full, unbroken panel and the knob doesn’t work mechanically like a traditional volume control;...

There’s a whole lot we don’t know about Hyundai’s upcoming Ioniq 5, and the Korean company’s teaser for the new electric vehicle doesn’t lend much in the way of new or exciting info. What’s its driving range? How much will it cost? Will there be an N version (a pipe dream)? All these questions and more remain unanswered. Heck, we don’t even know what the thing will look like. The only real tidbit this video reveals is that the Ioniq 5 is due to break cover early in 2021. You can watch the 30-second teaser video below, but be forewarned, there isn’t much there. Instead of teasing anything about the car, we get a load of snappy catchphrases. This includes: “Extra power for life”, “[e]xtra time for you”, and “[e]xtr...

On a macro level, the Maseratis are mostly the same—there are no radical redesigns or powertrain changes to speak of. Instead, Maserati made minor tweaks inside and out to ensure the cars were all recognizable as a part of the brand’s current family tree. To that end, every vehicle in the Maserati lineup gets a new front grille with vertical slats designed to look like a tuning fork. The grille itself will be available in chrome on GranLusso trims or black on GranSport trims. See all 29 photos Out back, the Levante, Quattroporte, and Ghibli also receive redesigned taillights. Though not matchy matchy as the trio’s shared grille design, the taillights on all three Maseratis feature a similar sort of “boomerang design” to their lighting elements. The new tails will be...

The Mazda MX-5 Miata sees a modest bump to its base price for the 2021 model year. At $27,775, the entry-level Miata Sport costs $250 more than last year. Those extra bucks net buyers standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility on the model’s carryover 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Previously, Mazda limited Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to higher-end Miata Club and Grand Touring trims.  While the Miata Sport remains a soft top-only affair, the Club and Grand Touring continue to offer retractable-hardtop RF versions in addition to their standard soft-top iterations. Going RF adds $2,755 to the $31,235 and $32,715 starting sums for the RF and Grand Touring. Like last year, stepping up to the mid-level Club trim adds kit such as a Bose premium sound syst...

Like the revised 2020 Nissan Titan pickup, the updated 2021 Nissan Armada sees its 5.6-liter V-8 engine’s power swell from 390 horses to 400. Torque, too, grows from 394 lb-ft to 413. Despite sharing its engine with Nissan’s full-size truck, the 2021 Armada full-size SUV does not adopt the Titan’s nine-speed automatic transmission. Instead, it maintains the same seven-speed unit as before. Nevertheless, it seems the Titan’s transmission is due to find a home in the Armada in the coming years. “The development timing didn’t work out to add the nine-speed to the [2021] Armada,” Nissan product planner, Brent Hagan, shared during a recent call with multiple media outlets, including MotorTrend.  While Hagan noted that Nissan “[doesn’t] ...

British sports cars don’t come more iconic than 1960s MGs, Triumphs, and the like, cars from an era freewheeling and carefree enough to support a hazily positive view of the breed. These classics’ fun-loving nature was in lockstep with the ’60s Baby Boomer explosion of self-expression and protest. Never mind the fact that, as were British sports cars before and since, 1960s-era models were finicky, leaky, and diabolically unreliable. But one ’60s British sports car rose above the rest to become a legend: The Jaguar E-Type, a stunningly gorgeous symbol of speed and lust. Sixty years on from the E-Type’s 1961 debut, Jaguar is honoring its luminary with a special-edition F-Type coupe and convertible. See all 11 photos The Jaguar F-Type Heritage 60 special edition...