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INSIDE T HE DESIGN OF T HE YEAR, THE BUSINESS, → AND THE FUT URE

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CONTENTS

12 Boundary Smasher By Zach Bowman

It started out as a “what if” conversation among a group of Koenigsegg owners. It turned into a grand pursuit of a world speed record on an 11-mile stretch of closed Nevada public road in one of Christian von Koenigsegg’s Swedish hypermegacars—the Agera RS. Nothing about the runs was easy, but the results were better than anyone imagined.

Automobile

Design Surge By Robert Cumberford

Tesla’s rst foraynto i true volume production, the Model 3 has become a symbol of hope for proponents of an electri ed automotive future. It has also become a vanguard for electric vehicle design and styling, and it is our latest Design of theYear. EVs from Honda receive concept design honors, the Lexus LC gets some recognition, and Cumberford also outlines his highs and lows from the past year of automotive design.

MARCH /APRIL 2018 SPECIAL DESIGN ISSUE

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Genesis Man 54 By Ronald Ahrens

As the head of Genesis design, Luc Donckerwolkeroams the globe in search of talent to stock his team with—as he maestros the efforts of the brand’s far- ung studios. We also head to Korea to see and drive the new G70.

It’s Baaack! 7 4

By Jethro Bovingdon

The all-new BMW M5 features elements that would normally be strikes against it, speci cally allwheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission mated to a twin-turbo V-8. But this is the most dynamic M5 in years.

New Old Mustangs 8 4 By Mike Floyd

Welcome to two distinct takes on a Mustang that helped usher in the muscle-car era, created legends on the track, and enhanced visibility for a man named Shelby. We spend a day at the track playing with a recreation of the famed GT350R.

S E

M L O

H O N A J A R T N I B O R : G G E S IG N E O K

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R R A B

AUTOMOBILE(ISSN 0894-3583) March/April 2018, Vol . 32, No. 11. Published monthly, with double issues in September and March, by TEN: The Enthusiast Network, LLC., 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036. : Copyright © 2018 by TEN: The Enthusiast Network Magazines, LLC. All rights reserved. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S. and U.S. Possessions $19.94 for 12 issues. R E Canada $31.94 per year and international orders $43.94 per year (including surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY V FACILITIES: Send address corrections to AUTOMOBILE, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. For subscriptions, address changes, and adjustments, write to AUTOMOBILE magazine, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, Florida,O 32142-0235, or email [email protected] or call 800-289-2886 (U.S.), 386-447-6383 (international). Please include name, address, and telephone number on any inquiries. Reproduction without permission is C prohibited. Manuscripts, photos, and other material submitted must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope; AUTOMOBILE magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Printed in U.S.A. •

IN YOUR CAR

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CONTENTS

Automobile

MARCH /APRIL 2018 MEAT AND DRINK

10

Editor’s Letter By Mike Floyd

Jaguar Land Rover has its eggs in multiple baskets.

28

The Asphalt Jungle By Arthur St. Antoine

Driving the Ford GT is a revelation and worth every bit of its price.

80 Flyin’ Miata RF Turbo

6

By Nelson Ireson → M O C . G A M E L I B O M O T U A

30

Noise, Vibration & Harshness By Jamie Kitman

Why GM should beat the drum loudly for the ChevroletBolt EV.

32 64

Letters All hail the mighty station wagon.

Battle of the Sketches By Nelson Ireson

Pros and amateurs alike enter the ring known as the Middlecott SketchbattleExperiment, but only one leaves the winner.

Sometimes modding a car can turn it into something it isn’t, but Flyin’ Miata only makes the MX-5 RF better.

96 Variable Variables

By Nelson Ireson

94

Auctions By Rory Jurnecka

RM Sotheby’s Icons in New York closed out 2017 in grand style.

The In niti VC-Turbo is a endishly complicated yet simple solution to one of the internal combustion engine’s core issues.

102

Catching Up With … By Todd Lassa

As the head of Jeep design, Mark Allen has an important but challenging position.

O N A J A R T N I B

O R : E L T T A B H C T E K S ; 'S Y B E H T O S M R : N O IC ; R E K L A W M A I L IL W : A T A I M ; S R R A M IM T : N O I T A R T S U L IL

WHAT’S ON DEMAND THIS MONTH?

Automobile

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JANUARY 26

FEBRUARY 26

Junkyard Gold, Episode 4

Roadkill Garage, Episode 27

JANUARY 29

FEBRUARY 28

Roadkill Garage, Episode 26

Engine Masters, Episode 32

JANUARY31

MARCH

Engine Masters, Episode 31

Put Up or Shut Up, Episode 9

FEBRUARY 2

MARCH

Put Up or Shut Up, Episode 8

Roadkill, Episode 77

FEBRUARY 5

MARCH

Roadkill, Episode 75 FEBRUARY 7

Ignition, Episode 189

Ignition, Episode 188

MARCH

FEBRUARY 9

Dirt Every Day, Episode 74

Dirt Every Day, Episode 73 FEBRUARY 12

HOT ROD Garage, Episode 62 FEBRUARY 14

Head 2 Head, Episode 98

MARCH

2

5

7

9

12

HOT ROD Garage, Episode 63 MARCH

14

Head 2 Head, Episode 99 MARCH

19

Roadkill, Episode 76

Roadkill, Episode 78

FEBRUARY 2 3

MARCH

Junkyard Gold, Episode 5

Junkyard Gold, Episode 6

FEBRUARY 19

23

The programming information provided is subject to change.

Michael Floyd

C HIEF COMM ERC IAL OFFICER Eric Schwab

S VP , IN MARK ET AUTOM OTIV E CONTENT Ed Loh INTERNATIONAL BUREAU C HIEF

Angus MacKenzie

AD VE RT IS IN G ASSOC IATE GENERAL MANAGER,

E X E C UTIV E EDITOR Mac Morrison C REATIV E DIREC TOR Darren Scott DETROIT BUREAU C HIEF Todd Lassa SENIOR EDITOR Nelson Ireson

Jurnecka ASSOC IATE EDITOR Jonathon Klein MANAGING EDITOR Rusty Kurtz SENIOR C O P Y EDITOR Kara Snow COP Y EDITORS Jesse Bishop, Mary Kaleta GRAP HI C DESIGNER Michael Cruz-Garcia MANAGING ART DIRECTOR Mike Royer

IN MARK ET NETWORK

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VP , DIGITAL MEDIA Jason Rice M ARKETING DIRECTOR Shawn Higgins ADVERTISING O P ERATIONS MANAGER Monica Hernandez

FEATURES EDITOR Rory

George Kacher Cumberford NE W YORK BUREAU CHIEF Jamie Kitman EDITOR AT LARGE Arthur St. Antoine

EUROP EAN BUREAU CHIEF

AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN EDITOR Robert

AU TO MO BI LE DI GI TA L SENIOR EDITOR DIGITAL Kirill

Ougarov ONLINE EDITOR Ed Tahaney DAILY NE W S EDITOR Conner Golden P RODUCTION EDITOR Eleonor Segura SOC IAL MEDIA EDITOR Billy Rehbock

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ronald Ahrens, Jethro Bovingdon, Michael Jordan, Dave Kinney, John Lamm, Bob Merlis, Chris Nelson, Andy Pilgrim, Steven Cole Smith, Basem Wasef, Michael Whiteley

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Do you hate your detector? It was your best friend, now it never shuts up. The good news: New cars have a safety feature, theblind-spot warning system. Many models use K-band radar to “see” nearby cars.

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g EDITOR’S LETTER

@automobilemag VOLU

ME 3

2, NO.11

MARCH/APRIL 2018

BASKETS OF

EGGS T H E R E’S A H E C K of a lot of hand-wringing and head-scratching going on these days in the boardrooms, engineering pods, and product planning departments of the world’s largest automakers. The decisions being made now will determine their direction for the next five to 10 years or more. But which direction? Americans can’t seem to get enough crossovers—for now. How much longer should makers invest in the internal

10 M O C . G A M E L I B O M O T U A

combustion engine? Are electric powertrains the real answer, or will another solution emerge? Will anyone still want to embrace performance and drive for the love of driving anymore? How long before cars drive us? The simple answer in the near-term is there are no simple answers. But there are those who are positioned better than most. Who have their eggs neatly arranged in multiple baskets. Who appear to be nimble enough to quickly turn once the future of the automobile starts to come into clearer view. Jaguar Land Rover appears to be one of those automakers. I recently had a chance to sit down with JLR’s president and CEO for North America Joe Eberhardt, who has been running things out of New Jersey since late 2013. The company has had its share of challenges since the two storied British brands were acquired from Ford and consolidated by India’s Tata in 2008. But since Eberhardt’s come on, the news has been mostly good here in the U.S. with record sales for 2015-’16. Eberhardt has accomplished a lot during his 30-year career spanning multiple automakers, but his time at JLR has been some of the most fun he’s had. “The fact that we are the only British luxury volume brand I think makes us quite unique,” he said, “and we were fortunate enough to have the pr oduct portfolio … that allows us to record impressive sales growth.” As is the case with any automaker with more than one brand under a single umbrella, there is invariably platform,

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engine, and component sharing. The fantastic new Range Rover Velar I spent a week in recently shares sever al elements with our Four Seasons Jaguar F-Pace, for example. But thanks to the styling efforts of Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern, his counterpart at Jaguar, Ian Callum, and their teams, they’ve been able achieve a large degree of differentiation. “To have not one but really two of the leading designer s in the business is unheard of and almost a gift for us,” Eberhardt said. “The whole company embraces the importance and relevancy of design.” Jaguar now has two Callum-designed crossovers, the F-Pace and the soon-to-arrive compact E-Pace, but Eberhardt is determined to stay the course with the brand’s cars, despite the continued growth of crossovers in the market. “We internally debate that a lot, and every time I think the SUV share can’t go any higher, it does. We will not give up on cars, and we will not give up on sports cars. … The F-Type is the soul, the heart, the DNA of the brand.” (It certainly helps that Land Rover/Range Rover is an all-SUV proposition.) In addition to strong design, performance is another area that JLR wholeheartedly embraces, on the road and off. “Jaguar has a very rich and storied performance history,” Eberhardt said. “Land Rover performance has a slightly different definition. One is the off-road capability; that’s why we launched SVX with the Discovery [an off-roadthemed package]. And we have the Range Rover Sport SVR, which is proof that you can also build a performance SUV.” Eberhardt also sees room for electric power to be a part of the performance mix. The brand has been plugging into go-fast electrification as a major participant in the allelectric Formula E race series and will soon be offering its i-Pace all-electric SUV, which will hit dealers as well as the track this year through its i-Pace-only eTrophy support race for the 2018 Formula E season. Although he’s high on the i-Pace—and reaction to it has been positive thus far—Eberhardt knows JLR has to remain as diversified as possible in the powertrain department, and with advanced turbo-fours, diesels, and coming plug-ins, he believes they’re well positioned. “I don’t think anyone can bet on just one technology and say that’s where the future will go,” he said. “We believe we shouldn’t be the ones who dictate what customers should be driving or choosing. We need to fulfill what their needs and requirements are. We believe for the foreseeable future every powertrain has a role to play.” When it comes to autonomy, like other automakers JLR has been busy testing its self-driving tech. While he sees it as inevitable, he hopes there will be a way forward where we will still be able to drive ourselves. “Part of our brand experience is the joy of driving,” Eberhardt said. “I couldn’t see myself not driving a car.” Neither can we, Joe. Neither can we.A M

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THE BOOK by

ZAC H B OWM AN

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p h ot og rap h y by

RO B I N T R A JA N O an d JA D E NE L S O N

ETHOS

THE WORLD-RECORD-SETTING KOENIGSEGG AGERA RS SPEED RUNS

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“I’M MOST WORRIED AB OUT THE TIR ES,” NIKLAS LILJA SAYS, “BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MOST CRITICAL PART OF THE CAR. IT’S THE ONLY THING CONNECTING YOU TO THE ROAD.”

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The Agera RS is the fastest production car in the world. Christian von Koenigsegg, left, and a few of his customers found out by heading to the Nevada desert near Pahrump.

E

E V ER YONE WO R R I E S A BOUT the wind. They cast their glances out the open garage doors and into the early morning black toward the sound as it whips its way across the Nevada desert, a thin moon and a scattering of stars

the only light to be seen. It’s quiet inside. Christian von Koenigsegg, owner, founder, and CEO of Koenigsegg, pries his eyes from those dark gusts and gets back to conferring with his driver, Niklas Lilja. The two aim to put their mark on history at dawn by claiming a record that’s stood for nearly 80 years: the fastest speed over a flying kilometer on a public road. It’s easy to dismiss hypercars as elements of obscene fantasy, machines that exist entirely in the theoretical, their capabilities relegated to spreadsheets and simulations. Rare is the moment when they make that breach into reality. “It’s something we’ve been dreaming of doing for many years,” von Koenigsegg says, “but we’ve just not found a venue long enough to stretch our legs. We basically gave up two years ago.” That was when the Agera RSmade its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The car borrowed heavily from the company’s One:1, a track-focused model with a ludicrous 1:1 powerto-weight ratio courtesy of an in-house twin-turbo 5.0-liter V-8 good for 1,341 horsepower and 1,011 lb-ft of torque. Koenigsegg only built seven examples of the One:1, all sold by the time the car made its debut. The company wanted to offer buyers a softer, more approachable version. The result was the RS. “It’s an everyday kind of hypermegacar,” von Koenigsegg says. The standard engine produces 1,160 horsepower, though an optional package upgrades that to One:1 spec. With less downforce and the same muscle, von Koenigsegg realized the Agera RS was likely the fastest car the company had ever built. It could be the fastest production vehicle in the world.

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The scene inside the garage at Spring Mountain Motor Resort in Pahrump is dizzying. There are only 25 Agera RS models in the world, each with a price tag in excess of $2 million, and four of them sit here under fluorescent lights. These cars are timepieces. They are detailed in ways that would make a Ferrari 488 GTB seem common by comparison. The wheels are hand-laid carbon fiber, their spokes and

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hub hollow to save weight. The doors hinge upward in a ludicrous and perfect salute, revealing wide carbon-fiber sills. It’s hard to comprehend just how tidy these things are until you’re standing next to one with the roof at hip height. Of all the cars here, only one will make the sprint, and it isn’t some company prototype. Agera RS 143 belongs to Mark Stidham, and he saw it for the first time yesterday. He’s soft-spoken and quick to smile, with white hair and a goatee to match. He’s more approachable than you’d guess for someone who’s about to gamble $2 million on a maybe. He says the idea to ante his car began like so many other perfect notions.

“It started as one of those late-night conversations: ‘You know what would be cool?’” he reveals. “That was probably a year ago, and now here we are.” Stidham makes it sound easy. It wasn’t. Those conversations spurred a blizzard of activity from a coalition of supporters and the strong Southern California Koenigsegg owner contingent. Of the nine Agera RS examples headed to the U.S., seven ca ll the Golden State home. First, they had to find a venue. The Bonneville Salt Flats is a logical location, but von

More

than a stunt: Koenigsegg will use data from the high-speed runs to develop new settings for active aero components .

Koenigsegg knew the car would have required too many modifications to safely run on the dry lake bed. “A rear-wheel-drive car with 345 [tire width], basically at 250 mph you spin around,” he says. “So, OK, you can put on narrow tires, you can put weight in the front, but that is not the car [we make].” The solution came in the form of a stretch of Nevada’s State Route 160. Just outside of Pahrump, the four-lane pours out onto the plain between the Nopah Range across the California border to the southwest and the hills around Charleston Peak to the northeast. For 16 miles, the pavement does nothing but run dead straight—if not perfectly flat. Jeffrey Cheng was the first Koenigsegg owner in California, and he has been a Spring Mountain member for almost eight years. “It’s always been one of those things where I thought it’d be great to take one of these cars to top speed on this road,” he offers. “It’s always

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“WE PUT A LOT OF HOURS IN TO FIND THE BEST SETUP TO PUNCH THROUGH THE AIR. IT’S NOT ABOUT HORSEPOWER, IT’S NOT ABOUT WE IGHT. … IT’S ABOUT PUSHING THROUGH THE AIR. THAT’S THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE CAR.” been in the back of my mind. … Obviously, we could try to go bootleg it at 5:30 or 6 on a Sunday morning, but it would be cooler if we could officially have the blessing of the necessary parties.” There was a mountain of paperwork and plans to submit. Permits from a half dozen Nevada regulatory and lawenforcement agencies including the Nevada Department of Transportation, Bureau of Land Management, the state’s Division of Forestry, and the Nevada Highway Patrol. It took months of wading through meetings and letters volleyed between attorneys, but along the way the idea gained the support of the governor’s office. That helped, and when it was done, Stidham, Cheng, and their friends had legal access to 11 miles of public pavement. Meanwhile, as the owners battled America’s unique form of bureaucracy, von Koenigsegg and Lilja focused on readying the car for its run. “We put a lot of hours into simulators, tweaking everything to find the best

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ETHOS

setup to punch through the air,” Lilja says. “It’s not about horsepower, it’s not about weight. … It’s about pushing through the air. That’s the most difficult part of the car.” The company kept the changes minimal, including an optional louver on the rear lid borrowed from the One:1. “It’s creating downforce, but we also see that we get more clean air in the rear of the car, and we’re not filling up the engine bay with a lot of air,” Lilja explains. “It’s something we’ve seen driving the car over 370 kph.” There’s an optional, bolt-in safety cage inside, along with a different driver’s seat that accommodates a race harness. Otherwise, the car’s the same as the other Agera RS examples roaming the globe. But for all the simulations, Lilja and the car face an ocean of variables. There’s that damned wind, for one. And the fact Route 160 runs into a bowl, gaining or losing some 300 feet in elevation over 11 miles depending on your direction. There’s the road surface, too. It’s not some ironflat test track. It’s run-of-the-mill American tarmac. When we ask Lilja what he’s worried about, he doesn’t hesitate. “I’m most worried about the tires,” he says, “ because they are the most critical par t of the car. It’s the only thing connecting you to the road.” He says that at top speed, the tire-pressure monitoring sensor in each wheel experiences 30,000 g. The force causes the 30- to 35-gram part to weigh the equivalent of 150 kilograms, or 330 pounds. “Everything,” he says, “is pushed

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to the extreme.” He’s right to worry. The Agera RS wears Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, 265/35R-19s up front and 345/30R-20s in the rear. They’re off-the-shelf consumer rubber, the same ones

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you can order online from the comfort of your desk chair. This set has been to 250 mph a few times already, but it’s a wide gulf from 250 to the record of 268 mph and beyond. “Anything beyond that is brand-new territory,” Stidham says as Lilja fires the Agera RS and rolls out of the garage. “Man wasn’t meant to go 276 mph. We’re built to run. The idea that we have this much influence over our environment is kind of cool to me. That’s what drives me. What can we do when we apply our intellect and our resources? This is the result of that. To me, it’s a thing of beauty.”

20

The car sounds unlike anything you’ve heard as it moves through the paddock and onto the Spring Mountain road course. Lilja takes a few laps in the darkness, shaking the thing out, dusting himself off for later. The exhaust snaps and snarls, lighting the asphalt with brief flashes of offthrottle fire, the sound of so much air getting sucked through those exotic lungs echoing off the buildings behind us. The temperature hangs in the lower 50s by the time we make our way to Tecopa Road, the staging area for Lilja’s run. The sun is barely up, lighting the swirled stone hills to our northeast. There’s nothing out here, just sand and scrub and telephone poles like gallows strung straight for miles. Traffic’s been rerouted onto the northbound lane, but the highway patrol stops drivers on both ends while Lilja makes his attempts. Street sweepers have scoured the pavement since daybreak, attempting to clean the surface as best they can. Lilja and Stidham take a recon run, heading south while the cameramen clean their lenses and check their batteries.

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ETHOS SPRING MOUNTAIN MOTOR RESORT

~{INTERM

ISSION}~

A M E R I C A ’ S N Ü RBURGRING THE RED, WHI

As

beautiful as a desert rose to track rats, the Spring Mountain MotorResort has a massive expansion in its future.

TE, AND

BLUE HELL

by

JONATHON KLEIN

G E R M A NY’S NÜ

22

RB URG RIN G H AS

for decades seen company after company chase blistering lap times to prove its product is the quickest in the world. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Koenigsegg routinely take cracks at besting the renowned track and each other. Records fall as supercars get better and more like their racing counterparts. Now, Spring Mountain Motor Resort an hour outside Las Vegas is devouring land in an attempt to soon rival Germany’s torture test. Built by motorsports-lovers John Morris and Brad Rambo, the track Koenigsegg used as its base camp during its on-road record runs was founded in 2004. The idea was to not only create a place where the proprietors could unleash their own cars without worry but also to create a world-class facility that would attract likeminded enthusiasts to its circuit layout and beautiful backdrop. Spring Mountain’s track measures an impressive 6.1 miles when all of its layouts are connected to each other. However, the plan—already in the construction phase— is to expand much more, incorporating turns and designs from some of the best

circuits around the world and increasing the total track distance to 14.5 miles. When completed, that length will pit it squarely SPRING MOUNT AIN’S against Germany’s 12.9-mile Nordschleife. PLAN—ALREADY IN When asked why, Morris laughs and THE CONSTRUCTION says, “Why not?” That’s a lot different than the srcinal concept, which was to purchase PHASE—IS TO EXPAND, a piece of land by the side of Nevada’s State INCREASING THE Route 160 to “build a small racetrack for TOTAL TRACK DISTANCE ourselves and have some fun.” But that TO 14.5 MILES. narrowly focused dream quickly evolved into the massive expansion project Morris and Rambo—effectively the project’s only financiers—now envision. Upon completion, Spring Mountain will be the planet’s largest race facility, including an off-road portion, kart track, and a straight long enough to land a small Gulfstream aircraft. The plan also calls for amenities to rival any track in the world. Along with growing the overall length, development ideas for the surrounding area include a new hotel, casino, mall, cinema, housing development to support the expanding population, and a 24-hour Starbucks on the recently purchased 630 acres bought through Nevada’s Bureau of Land Management. “It’s going to be really interesting watching the community grow and see the impact of the track,” Morris says. AM

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Watching them go off into the distance, nothing about the car seems dramatic. It’s speed on the geological scale. When they return, someone asks Stidham how it went. He says it was a pretty good test run. They hit 220 mph. The idea was for Lilja to slowly build up speed. Take a stab at 160 mph, then 180, then keep jumping up, run after run until he beats the r ecord. But the man has no patience for that. It’s like he doesn’t want to spend too much time near that teetering edge.

“I’M RELIEVED. THIS IS DANGEROUS STUFF, YOU KNOW ? WE ’D NEVER DRIVEN FASTER THAN 250 ANYWHERE. WE’RE PUSH ING THE BOUNDARIES.”

24

The wind never settles, but on his first official run Lilja heads uphill into the sporadic gusts and rips off an average No custom speed of 271.2 mph over the flying kilometer. He leaves the rubber for this Agera RS. The helicopters filming the event well behind. It’s stunning, Michelin Pilot almost unbelievable to be there to witness the thing. When Sport Cup 2 tires came Lilja gets out of the car and removes his helmet, someone tells right off the shelf and fared him his speed. He nods. “Then I will try for 300.” well, even Later, he’ll say the headwind gusts had the car drifting a after several high-speed few meters left and right as he approached his top speed. record The day warms up. Lilja heads for the requisite return attempts. run over the same distance, and when the car finally appears over a swell in the pavement, a crowd gathers as he opens the door, and a tech pulls the Vbox data. There’s a snow-day excitement. A flurry of hushed numbers whispered among the crowd before theofficial word comes down. He’s averaged 284.6 mph this time for a combined speed of 277.9 mph. It isn’t just the fastest anyone’s ever officially gone on a public road. It’s the fastestanyone’s gone in a production car, period.

The Department of Transportation permit is good for all day, and Lilja’s keen to make the most of it. Earlier this year, Koenigsegg set another record, beating the Bugatti Chiron’s previous benchmark in the 0-400-0kph test on a broken concrete WWII runway. With all this perfect pavement on hand, Lilja can’t help but take another run at that feat. Someone asks if they should consider changing tires. The driver eyes the fronts. “We don’t need to change the tires,” he says, “because we’re not going that fast.” For the record, 400 kph is around 250 mph. There is some drama this time. The traction-control system overheats, and on his first run Lilja loops the car. After a cooldown, he takes another stab at it but doesn’t quite reach the magic 400-kph mark. On his last run, he blasts from a standstill to 401.7 kph and back to a stop in 33.29 seconds, putting more than 8 seconds between the Agera RS and Chiron. Von Koenigsegg is smiling.

→

ETHOS

“There’s probably something left in it, but I think we’re done for the day,” he says. “I’m relieved. This is dangerous stuff, you know? We’d never driven faster than 250 anywhere. We’re pushing the boundaries.” Indeed. Their efforts have gained them five production-car records: the highest top speed for a production vehicle at 277.9 mph (beating the 267.8 mph achieved seven years ago by Bugatti’s Veyron Super Sport); the 0-400-0 kph record at 33.29 seconds; the flying kilometer on a public road at 276.9 mph; the flying mile on a public road at 276.9 mph; and the highest speed on a public road at 284.6 mph (besting the Nazis who set the previous record of 268 mph in 1938 with a Mercedes-Benz W125). Maybe this is the point of these cars. To be unburdened by racing’s regulatory bodies. To grasp at the uniquely human pursuit of going faster for the sake of saying we’ve done so. To take the measure of ourselves not against our competitors but against the ver y fabric of physics. Von Koenigsegg could not have picked a more per fect name for his world-besting car. The Agera. In Swedish it means “ to act.” AM Niklas Lilja, the fastest man on public pavement, makes his mark.

25

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ETHOS

T H E

A

S P H A L T

BLUE OV AL vs. FE RRARI: T H E R E M AT C H Ford vehicles website, and you’ll see a range of relatively affordable, fairly conventional wheels: Fusion sedan (“from $22,120”), C-Max Energi SE hybrid ($27,120), Explorer SUV ($31,990), F-250 Super Duty pickup ($32,820)—you know, normal stuff. But under the “Performance Vehicles” link, you’ll finda low, lean missile labeled Ford GT. Base price: $453,750. No, someone on Ford’s web team did not accidentally tack on a digit. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker really does sell a two-seat supercar that’s more than 10 times the price of almost everything else the company builds. Way back in the fall of 2003, I had the opportunity to track test a prototype of what would become the 2005 Ford GT street car—a stunning, road-legal homage to the GT40 racing machines that conquered Le Mans (and the might of Ferrari) four times in a row starting in 1966. Despite its artful aluminum bodywork and 550-horsepower supercharged V-8, that srcinal GT was still something of a bargain, starting at “only” $139,995. For its all-new version, Ford has taken the mid-engine GT formula and cranked it straight to 11. Actually, to 15—right where Ferrari lives. I wish I could’ve been in the Ford product-planning meeting that approved this norms-shattering provocateur. Big-dreams engineer: “We’re thinking a lightweight carbon monocoque wearing scissor doors and a carbon-fiber body that looks like it was designed at Area 51, a 647-horsepower twin-turbocharged V-6, chassis engineering straight from the racetrack, and Ferrari-crushing performance with a top speed of around, say, 216 miles per hour.” Trembling bean counter: “Uh, whaddaya think all that’ll cost?” “We figure no more than $450,000. Tops.” PERUSE

28

THE

AJ

J U N G L E

2018

I L LU S T RATION

by T I M MARRS

A r th u r S t. A n t o i n e

Bean counter: “Please tell me this is April 1.” Yet against all dream-diluting corporate logic, Ford execs actually said “fine” to most of the wild ideas bandied about for the new GT. Ol’ Henry Ford never would’ve believed it: “Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars?! What’s the damn thing made of, Van Gogh paintings?” But the GT does exist, and I finally got to drive it—on a spectacular mountain road and on the track. You know how when you stand in the ocean surf all day you can still feel the waves even hours later? Well, days after my drive in Ford’s new g-generator, my insides are still wobbling like a nervous Jell-O mold. Up close, the GT is an intimidating, knifeedged beast—a Gillette Mach 3 on wheels. The rear buttresses look like they could suck you in and churn you up like a jet engine. The round outboard taillights and round central exhausts resemble four howitzer tubes ready to open fire on any vehicle dimwitted enough to come within range. Under the rear glass lies the stupendous motor, humorously wearing EcoBoost branding. Really? What’s so “eco” about an EPA city/highway rating of 11/18 mpg? (Will any GT buyer even care?) I’ve driven supercars of every stripe, from Corvette ZR1s and Vipers to Lambos and monster Ferraris. The GT feels like none of them. The cockpit is tight and surprisingly narrow (you’ll bump elbows with your passenger). With helmet on, I had to bend my 6-foot self forward to fit under the roof. The character isn’t street car, it’s race car. Fire up the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6, and race car is all you’ll be thinking. On the road, the engine machine-guns your ears under throttle and spits and crackles when you lift off. On the track, with a helmet on, the furor is only slightly lessened; the carbon-fiber body acts like a giant megaphone. But, da-yum, is the GT fast. It’s ferocious in a straight line, yes, but more so you notice the fleetness of its chassis. The GT doesn’t like powering through turns. It prefers to be set up straight before going back on the juice. But get it right, and the speed is blinding. The steering is light and direct, the seven-speed dual-clutch shifter a brilliant accompanist. Switch from Sport to Track mode, and the chassis instantly drops 2 inches while the shocks go full firm. Like I said: race car. The new Ford GT is gorgeous, wicked, insanely potent, and unashamedly raw. I still can’t believe the maker of Fusions and Tauruses actually built a car this extravagant, this outré. But I guess history does repeat itself. Pass the earplugs. Time to party like it’s 1966. AM

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short, and it’s tall, which accounts along with a substantial greenhouse for a spacious and airy cabin that magnifies the hatchback practicality, with room for big folk and a fair amount of stuff. Overall, its interior doesn’t subtract from but instead adds to the good cheer that dawns anew every time you find yourself realizing you’ll never have to hang out at a gas station again. And there’s that range, which makes ownership viable for more people. The first Bolts went on sale in December 2016 in California, debuting in various other green states before becoming available in all 50 states later in 2017. Chevy sold 20,000 through the first 11 months of last year, with almost 3,000 shifted in November, suggesting an annualized rate of 36,000 Bolts a year. Not bad for a new and still somewhat unfamiliar technology in a just launched model. But it could have been better. In fact, it should’ve been better, and it could be still. Why? Because the Bolt is good enough to own the affordable space, however briefly—roughly the time between now and when other cheaper EVs have this sort of range—at a crucial time in the electric car genus’ development and acceptance. Tesla has 455,000 people waiting

V

I B R A T IO N &

WITHER THE E L E C T R I C STOVE BO LT , GM? haven’t heard the news, the electric Chevrolet Bolt—with its official 235mile range (or more, as I ran up 267 miles)— is great. In fact, it makes the best case yet for Americans to own an EV, starting with double the battery range of most its antecedents. The price—$37,495 before options and a $7,500 tax credit—is stiffer than we’d like but a hell of a lot cheaper than a Tesla and not beyond the means of most early-intender-type buyers. The cost is also likely to fall in years ahead with greater volume and advances in battery manufacturing. The Bolt is not, to be clear, a Tesla Model S when it comes to luxury, flat-screen fantasia, or top-end performance. But then it costs considerably less. And it stands up to Tesla’s popularly priced baby brother, the Model 3, both in the fact you can buy or lease one today and in that it is a fully engineered machine, ready to use daily. The Bolt offers drivers the r eassuring sense they’ve not been sent out into the field, tasked to report back on the state of various open engineering and manufacturing questions. It is a Chevrolet, in the proudest sense of the word. Many are probably unaware that reliability and seamless ease of use are true for most electric cars these days; the Volkswagen e-Golf is also excellent, for instance. Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Soul EV, even the Fiat 500e—they’re all perfectly swell EVs I’ve driven, and I’m probably forgetting some others. They ride and handle well, they’re quiet and quick and pleasant to drive, with accommodating chassis if not ones that cry out for spirited, Tokyo-drift-style flogging. But the point is, the Bolt is all they are, plus it has more: more range, that is, which is key. It’s a short car, making for easy parking, but not too

NVH

H A R S H N E S S

IN CASE YOU

30

I L LU S T RATION

by T I M MARRS

J a m i e K tim a n

for Model 3s, suggesting there’s a much larger market for something like the Bolt.

BOB LUTZ SAID HE’D BEEN MISTAKEN ALL THE YEARS HE SPENT CRITICIZING TOYOTA FOR THE PRIUS BECAUSE ON PAPER IT LOST MONEY. IF HE HA D V IE W ED THOSE LOSSES AS A M AR K ETING E XP ENSE ... IT ALL M ADE SENSE . Why Bolt now? Because this is the time when neural connections are being made in drivers’ heads as the whole concept of electric cars and brands takes root. For reasons sound and reasons stoned, Tesla has dominated the psychographic space so far, and the market has rewarded it in the outsized valuation of its shares, if not in profitable operations. Bolt is GM’s product-based chance to start claiming the space for itself, before everyone else arrives with their guns blazing, too. If even

AUTOMOB

ILE

MAG.COM

E THO S

half the predictions of an all-electric future prove true, the space will be worth plenty. How could Bolt achieve more success? First off, General Motors could market it like it really meant it. When it wants to sell the hell out of something—say Silverados or Equinoxes—you notice. Television and radio, billboards, noisy dealers, and digital intrusions abound. I don’t pretend to monitor all media scientifically, but no ads for the Bolt have crossed my consciousness here, just outside of New York City, a likely target for automotive greenery if ever there was one. I’ve even typed Bolt into a search engine several times over the last few months and not even once have I been bugged by somebody tr ying to sell me one. There are very few cars whose makers lay so far back, and although I don’t want to complain—part of me, in fact, wants to say “thank you”— it does seem strange that GM is keeping its head down. After all, this is a company that startled itself silly recently, if happily, when the stock market responded to the announcement of its plan to accelerate the electrification of its range—20 new electric vehicles by 2023—driving its shares to a modern high. It is not much of an exaggeration to say all GM had to do was say it would do everything it spent the last 2 0 years fighting, and its shares—mired in concrete, notwithstanding some hugely profitable years—skyrocketed. So I said it, putting up a Facebook post to this effect when it happened. The second person to hit the thumbs-up “ like” button was GM executive vice president Mark Reuss. So why, then, doesn’t GM get busy promoting the Bolt now? We can imagine reasons. Too busy raking in mega shekels selling big trucks

FOLLOW US O N

F B &

I G

@ A U T O M O B I L E M A G

and SUVs. Doesn’t want to spend money if it doesn’t have to. Maybe the company is splitting the difference, developing the technology while not losing too much money by selling too many cars. Or perhaps GM is too obsessed with the autonomous future, where people buy ride services instead of cars to fawn over a nd polish, and thinks it premature to worry about owning the American electric car space now. But if done right the Bolt can be the setup for the ride service brand. Former GM vice chairman and product maven Bob Lutz once looked back and said he’d been mistaken all the years he spent criticizing Toyota for selling the Prius because on paper it lost money. If he had viewed those losses as a marketing expense, he came to understand, it all made sense. A wider Bolt rollout should be seen the same way. Use it to create some of the rosy good feelings that make a brand relevant again and last for generations. There’s a moment where GM could make it the 21st-century equivalent of Chevrolet’s reputation-building “stovebolt six” motor (1929-1990), but it will pass. Let’s hear it for the Electric Stove Bolt. Now. AM

31

LETTERS

Write:Automobile magazine, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, California, 90245 Email:[email protected]. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. Customer service: [email protected]; 800-289-2886

A LW AY S RIGHT ?

in diameter, and the white beam was fantastic, about 250 watts, straight from the 1969 J.C. Whitney catalog. I was a reporter crisscrossing central New Jersey each night. Kitman surely remembers that for mods like this it meant removing them every year for New Jersey inspection and then putting them back. KENN ET H TI VEN

Pawcatuck, Connecticut

all the fuss is about when asking who should die first in an autonomous vehicle crash. I would assume the autonomous vehicle makes no mistakes, so it must do just three things: 1) stay legal; 2) stay safe (no sacrificing of the vehicle occupants); and 3) stay in its own lane (no swerving into oncoming traffic to avoid a collision). If another vehicle or a pedestrian is hit, then it was probably the other person’s I WONDE R W H A T

32

fault. This is no different than what happens now except that a human driver might overturn a bus and kill innocent people rather than simply hitting the idiot who cut him off. DI RK NORD LI NG

Elkridge, Maryland BANGLED AGAIN

After doing everything possible to make BMWs hideous, Chris Bangle is now unconstrained in his bizarre visions, and I wish you wouldn’t enable him by giving his Redspace nonsense coverage. Well, maybe if you planned on having an April Fools’ Day issue. Thanks and aside from this, keep up the good work! DON WI NTE RH ALTE R

Biddeford, Maine WAGON NATION

Jamie Kitman’s Volvo wagon reunion drive story (January 2018) brought back memories of my Volvo 122 sedan. I enjoyed the reference to anold Volvo fitted with aircraft lights. In fact,having traded the Volvo for a brand-new Datsun 510 with quad headlamps, it was a perfect fit to use 13-volt aircraft landing lights as high beams. The filament looked like it was a half-inch

I agree that station wagons are really one of if not the most successful all-time vehicular compromises for achieving optimal form, fit, and function. Where is the safety factor in having a high center of gravity as seen in virtually all sport utility vehicles and crossovers? Is it really more desirable to roll over instead of skid? I’ve had a 15-passenger van, three convertibles, two station wagons, and about 10 sedans over the years with varying degrees of appreciation. Most were either purchased as performance models and/or modified for such. Of all those vehicles, my 2006 Dodge Magnum V-8 with all-wheel drive makes me happiest. I might never replace it because there hasn’t been anything to match or better it in the marketplace in the last 10 years. My wish is for FCA or anyone to come out with a modernized version of the old Dodge Magnum. PAUL BA NN I STE R

Montrose, Colorado It was with utter delight that I read Jamie Kitman’s column and superb article about the Volvo wagon armada. That so many owners volunteered to attend the event does not surprise. And the V90 is one of the most beautiful wagons ever made—second only, perhaps, to the 1800 ES, which is timelessly gorgeous. I was especially thrilled to see a V50 in attendance. The V50 is so rare that to see another is a small thrill. Of all that I’ve seen, mine is the only one with a manual transmission. Experiencing not one mechanical or other problem during the entire trip speaks well to Volvo’s reliability. Thank you all for producing such

a fine magazine and pressing the readership to at least think about getting a wagon. S COTT R OB B

Woodbridge, Virginia When are automobile manufacturers going to get the hint about station wagons? I drooled at the ones pictured in the January issue. Look at the percentage of wagons on the road in Europe. Not many SUVs but gobs of wagons. T HOM AS DAV ISS ON

Montgomery, Alabama Regardless of interior volume or center of gravity—or what Europeans drive—an SUV’s configuration offers a number of advantages over its wagon relative. Cars are an emotional purchase. People should be free to drive what they want without being told they should be driving something else. And to me, attempting to resolve #NoBoringCars with #VolvoStationWagon is a bit of a stretch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. PAUL D AVIS

Grants Pass, Oregon NOT ALL LOV E

Jamie Kitman just can’t seem to control himself. Yet again we have another not-so-thinly veiled shot at the conservative right (“Keeping the Faith,” January 2018). I’m proudly conservative and a subscriber since the very first issue ofAutomobile. I have no wish to pay to read someone’s anti-conservativescreed. I get more than enough of that for free on TV and in the papers. Maybe one of you can explain it to him: If he insults subscribers, they are not going to renew. If they don’t renew, the magazine has less money to pay Kitman. Maybe if he hears it from his colleagues, he’ll get it through his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating,Volvodriving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show head. KEI TH DOL AN

Brooklyn, New York

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TES L 34

MOD

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

Designof the Year Tesla Model

A

by

ROBERT CUMBERFORD

p h o to g r a p h y b y

3

BARRY J. HOLMES

35

EL 3

O U R S E L E C T I ON OF the Tesla Model 3 as Design of the Year might come as a surprise, given some of the shots the company has absorbed when it comes to its unreal stock market valuation and founder Elon Musk’s penchant for overpromising. Yes, the Model 3s on the road now have been cobbled up with a lot of handwork making up for deficient manufacturing experience and skills. But ignore the commercial drama and the commentary from the Musk haters and naysayers and take a good look at the car itself. It’s neither spectacular nor shockingly innovative. It’s just a really

Automobile’s

36

nice-looking, clean design that is instantly acceptable, despite the total absence of a traditional grille or representation of the same—as seen on the first Tesla sedans. The Model 3 is quite evidently an electric car, and its designers made no effort to disguise that fact. For several years now I’ve said the Tesla Model S is the best sedan I’ve ever driven. That’s no longer true. It’s not that I found recent Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Rolls-Royce sedans superior. Rather, I’ve done a few miles in the Model 3, which now holds the title of best four-door I’ve ever driven. Whatever the price point, heritage, styling, reputation, or prestige of its rivals, the Model 3 is quieter and quicker, and it rides better than anything else we might have considered for our Design of the Year award. And as a plus, it’s a much handier size than the Model S, far more practical for daily use in cities and suburbs. For the Model 3 to succeed, Tesla must build it in large numbers out of sheet steel, not the aluminum used for the Models S and X. That’s no special trick for any of the traditional carmakers, and although some of Tesla’s executives do have extensive experience in the traditional “tin box” industry, it’s all new for the factory team as a group. To build this car in big numbers at a profit requires a lot of advanced robotic operations that are, to date, not working as planned or as they should. But we believe those problems will not hold them back for a long time, as long as the company doesn’t run out of money .

There s

nothing over the top about theModel 3 s interior save its optional all-glass roof, which dramatically opens up the cabin.

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

usk sai d t h e cabin w ou ld b e “ l i k e a spac e ship.” That has turn ed o ut happi l y t o b e inaccurat e, a t l e ast if w e c o mpar e it t o t h e M

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Ultimately, none of this has anything to do with the virtues of this BMW 3 Series-sized car. It has a longer wheelbase, more perceived cabin volume, and a better, flatter, and more comfortable ride, and it’s a lot faster than most variations of th e German car that has been the class standard for decades. The optional two-piece glass roof enhances th e sense of space for up to five occupants, as does the ultra-simple transverse panel in front of the driver and passenger, punctuated by a huge screen in the exact center of the car. But that positioning does not mean a driver must turn his or her head to see vital driving data; there is a head-up display on the windshield that prov ides all the information you need to drive safely. A year ago when the car was first revealed without an interior we could see, Musk said the cabin would be “like a spaceship.” That has turned out happily to be inaccurate, at least if we compare it to the orbital craft we’ve seen so far. The cabin’s style and presentation is more modern Scandinavian than Soyuz, and it’s inviting. The front seats are comfortable, as are the two outer rear seats, but the center one accommodates only a small person. I sat in the outer back seat and found headroom excellent, but I did not ride there. Given the very flat ride, even better than the Model S, the weight of the batteries in the floor and the car’s lack of body roll, I’m inclined to believe the Model 3 will be perceived as a kind of magic carpet for four adults, not five. Still, that narrow person in the middle of the back seat will benefit from the high comfort level as well. And everyone benefits from the exceptionally agreeable interior ambience. In semi-autonomous mode already available on all Tesla products, the car will, if cruise control is engaged, slow to a new speed limit by itself. It’s slightly disconcerting but quite easy to come to terms with. The same is true of its regenerative braking. All recent electric cars I’ve driven offer the driver

No messy controls .T

here two here are only toggles on theModel 3 s steering wheel and no traditional instrument panel . A generous, 15-inch display dominates front and center .

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

→→

S M ALL CAR, BIG CAPAC ITY An advantage of the Model 3’s electric drivetrain is the ability

to utilize both the front and rear of the car for storage to the tune of 15 cubic feet of total cargo capacity.

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a choice, a setting in which the car will slow down at about the same rate as a normal automatic-equipped car when you lift your foot off the accelerator and another mode in which the accelerator is almost the only pedal you need touch. You modulate the rate of retardation by the speed of lifting your foot, and in well-judged situations bring the car to a halt before touching the brake pedal to hold it in one spot. This solution is much more energy-efficient than letting the car feel more like a conventional vehicle. Tesla has an optional “creep” function that allows the car to move slowly if the brake pedal is released. The Model 3 is not luxurious in an ostentatious, opulent sense. It’s much like the classic Eames chair or the deceptive simplicity of Apple products: Function is embodied in a minimalist manner, providing elegant simplicity rather than some “plain pipe rack” aesthetic like the srcinal Citroën 2CV or something rococo like a Victorian silver tea set or some overdone Japanese sedans with “Tokyo by night” decor. We have the impression that the studied simplicity of both interior and exterior will let this car age extremely well, that in 10 years it will still look contemporary and beautifully understated, not old and irrelevant. There are a few unattractive aspects, as noted in our By Design column in October 2016. The integrated spoiler, however effective it might be, does look like an add-on and somewhat ruined the purity and relative elegance of the pumped-up fastback profile that provides such good headroom for the rear 40

passengers. But all told, the Model 3 reminds us of some classic Pininfarina designs of the 1960s: simple and straightforward, perfectly proportioned with minimal extraneous detailing. It has all been done with unmistakably good taste. That’s a pretty good recipe for long-term success, whether for a fancy GT car or a family sedan.AM

The Model 3 reminds us of classic Pininfarina designs of the 1960s: simple and straightforwar d, perfectly proportioned with minimal extraneous detailing.

The Man Behind The

3

W E T A L KED W I T H Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, about the Model 3, his third Tesla car, and briefly about the Tesla truck and the new Roadster II—a surprise during the truck unveiling late last year. Von Holzhausen, a born American despite his Teutonic-sounding name, has deep industry experience, having created the Pontiac Solstice and heading Mazda design in California before being headhunted by

Musk for Tesla. He is familiar with his company’s products, owning one of each model. “My kids love the Model X, especially the falcon-wing doors,” he says. “ They’re 5 and 3 years old and think it’s fun.” What was the design brief for the Model 3?

It was essentially customer-driven. They saw the Model S as a great car, but there was a desire for something 10 to 20 percent smaller, BMW 3 Series or Audi A4 size. We thought the $35,000 price point would work. We wanted ve seats, more interior space, and to keep the fastback silhouette. FVH:

What was the timeline on the proje ct?

From initial sketches to production launch was about two years. We made three prototypes, two of them operating vehicles. Once the mission was de ned, our orders were to hurry. FVH:

A L S E T F O Y S E T R U O C N E S U A H Z L O H N O V Z N A R F

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

But you were late in terms of the announced dates. FVH: We’re actually pretty close to the dates initially announced. What’s particularly special about the Model 3? FVH: To keep the fastback pro le, we eliminated the liftgate and used a normal trunklid. To keep a faster pro le, we moved the structure ahead, to make sure the [head impact criteria] were all met. The big backlight is something we had experience with on the Model X windshield. What else did you bring forward from the S and X? FVH: For instance, we knew that ush door handles were important, but we simpli ed the mechanism, so they are

not as costly. We kept good aerodynamics for range as well as to make the car sporty. Not silliness, just clean and sporty. The $35,000 price point is exciting, but your own car you let us drive is more like $55,000. FVH: Yes, with the premium interior package and 15-speaker audio system, 19-inch wheels, and other options, the price is higher, but the base cars will be really nice without any options.

FRANZ

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When did you de cide to totally elimin ate the grille and front trim? FVH: That was a long time coming. We made the early cars less distinct from rivals but slowly came to this solution of how to keep a premium sports feel friendlier and happier than the luxury S. We changed that car, too, modifying 200 to 300 parts when the S was restyled without the painted “shield.” AM

41

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

TESLA’S BUSINESS MODEL : IT’S CO MPLI CATED

LASSA

the Tesla Model 3 as Design of the Year does not mark the first time we recognized the design and engineering acumen of Silicon Valley’s “disruptive” car company. Our 2012 Automobile of the Year was Tesla’s breakout product, the Model S. In the six years since, Tesla has grown. The only issues holding it back from becoming a mass-market automaker are its struggle with actually manufacturing electricpowered cars and SUVs, and slipping demand for electric vehicles in markets such as Hong Kong after a government tax break or subsidy is eliminated. Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to look at the battery-electric vehicle market only from the supply side. Prior to selling the first Tesla Model 3s, he said production of the $35,000 (base price) sport sedan would reach a rate of 5,000 per week by the end of 2017 and quickly rise to 10,000 per week later this year. Those plans called for producing 500,000 Teslas, mostly Model 3s, in 2018. Production of consumer salable Model 3s began last summer, and by the end of the third quarter the company had built just 260 and sold 222 of them (mostly to employees and investors), Musk said during a Wall Street analysts’ conference call. The O U R C H O I C E OF

42

BY TODD

CEO famously called the Model 3’s launch “production hell.” He said a subcontractor had “robot calibration issues” but blamed himself and his team for signing thesubcontractor. “We had to rewrite all that software—20 to 30 man years of software—in four weeks,” Musk told the analysts. Musk amended his production targets in that call and said Tesla would ramp up to 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of the first quarter of 2018. By the time you read this, the goal will be on its way to being met. Doubling that number to the ultimate goal of 10,000 per week would be easy, Musk said, because Tesla can make the robots “go really, really fast.” Whether Tesla meets Musk’s late first-quarter goal or not, it’s clear the 455,000 (net) global customers who placed $1,000 deposits on a Model 3 will not all get their cars before 2018 ends. A couple weeks after Musk’s conference call, he unveiled a prototype for a semi truck at his Hawthorne, California, facility. It arrives in 2019. A new Roadster, also shown at the event and which looks more like a four-seat targa top GT, comes in 2020. Musk promised a 5.0-second 0-60-mph time and a 500-mile range, and that’s for the truck. The Roadster will have a 200 kWh battery pack capable of 620 miles of range, a 1.9-second 0-60-mph

time, and a top speed of more than 250 mph. The compact Model Y SUV, based on the Model 3, is due the same year as A S UB CON TRAC TOR HAD the Roadster. “Don’t set your watch by this, but rough production starts in about “ROBOT CALIBRATION three years,” he said of the Y in the thirdISSUES. ... WE HAD TO quarter earnings call. REWRITE ALL THAT Tesla critics wonder where Musk SOFTWARE—20 TO 30 intends to build all these cars and trucks. MAN YEARS OF SOFTWARE If he meets his stated goal of 500,000 Teslas per year at the company’s Fremont, —IN FOUR WEEKS.” California, facility, he will surpass New United Motor Manufacturing’s best year, 2006, when it assembled 428,633 Toyotas and Pontiacs. NUMMI averaged 6,000 units per week between 1984 and 2009. One possibility is Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, though Musk has given no indication the company will assemble cars in a plant designed to mostly produce lithium-ion battery cells. No matter where the new models are assembled, Tesla will have to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, even billions, in new tooling and an expensive paint booth tall enough to accommodate big-rig trucks. Perhaps it doesn’t matter to a new car company that continues to lose money ($619 million in the previous third quarter) while showing a far more promising future than every upstart automaker since Preston Tucker. Some observers steeped in auto-manufacturing lore believe traditional automakers have a better shot at funding the EV revolution with the healthy profits from conventional gas- and diesel-powered vehicle s. Silicon Valley considers that 20th century thinking. The Cult of Elon, much like the Cult of Mac nearly a generation ago, will tell you that when climate change becomes a clear, imminent threat to global economic forces in a few years, AM Tesla will be positioned to become the world’s dominant automaker.

→

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DESIGN OF THE YEAR

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LC 500 HONORABLE MENTION :

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M O R E T H A N ONE Automobile staff member voted for the Lexus LC500 as our Design of the Year—it is the most stylish production Lexus since Er win Lui’s seminal wet-plaster-in-a-rubber-balloon LS 400 of 1991. The concept design was described in some detail in our June 2016 issue, but it’s well worth taking a closer look at the production model—so close to the concept car presented at the 2016 Detroit show that any differences don’t greatly matter—to see why it’s not quite Design of the Year material. If there is one thing all good car-body designers know, it is that proportion is king. Just as real estate agents insist that the three most important aspects of any given property are “location, location, location,” so “proportion” easily occupies the first half dozen or so vital points of a car design. Then and only then come line, surface development, and detailing. Get all of those matters properly organized and properly treated, and you might well

If not for Model 3 s

the

existence and a few critical details, theLC 500 could have been our choice for Design of the Year.

have an all-time winner. Some examples: Jean Bugatti’s Type 55 roadster, Gordon Buehrig’s Cord 810/12 sedans, Pininfarina’s (and Giovanni Savonuzzi’s) Cisitalia 202 coupe, Bob Bourke’s 1953 Studebaker coupe, Erwin Komenda’s Porsche 911, Albrecht Graf Goertz’s BMW 507, Malcolm Sayer’s Jaguar E-type, Bill Mitchell’s ’60s Buick Riviera, Giorgetto Giugiaro’s VW Golf, and Marcello Gandini’s Lamborghini Miura. The LC, even if not in that league, truly deserves an honorable mention. It’s a good design. It hits the proportions aspect of greatness almost perfectly, but it falls down a bit in matters of intersecting lines, conflicting discrete details, and that unique and definitely not beautiful oversized grille. Its interior brings us zero innovation, creation, or forward-looking imagination. But it’s extremely well-executed and far more interesting than earlier Toyota-Lexus designs. The large air scoops ahead of the rear wheels look aggressive but feature no heat exchangers inside, and they do not direct cooling air toward the rear brakes or the differential. They simply reduce aerodynamic turbulence inside the wheel wells. The 45-degree slashes up the rear fascia seem a bit much for no purpose other than framing the license plate, and they clearly relate to no other lines or forms on the body. The mere fact the LC’s proportions are satisfying, and the distribution of its volumes and the overall feel of the design please so many, is not enough for iconic status. It does, however, give us reason to hope for even better models yet to come. This and big boss Akio Toyoda’s commitment to better design is highly positive. —R.C. AM

→

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The simple approach of Honda’s EV

twosome really impresses

B Y ROBERT CUMBERFORD

CONCEPT OF THE YEAR

moderately good year for concept cars—from Detroit through Geneva, Frankfurt, and Tokyo—but when all was weighed and considered carefully, there remained only two show cars of real significance, Honda’s Urban EV (Frankfurt) and Sports EV ( Tokyo). The pair and their underlying all-electric platform clearly have a future, which is at best only partly true for most concepts. At Frankfurt, I really liked the Borgward Isabella concept designed by the protean ex-BMW creator Anders Warming, who was responsible for some of the best concepts of the Chris Bangle era and also helmed Mini design before joining the now Chinese-owned Borgward brand. But do I think there’s a big future for what is a very professional design? Not really. T H I S WA S A

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WHENEVER THERE IS A MAJOR CHANGE IN APPROACH TO THE WAY THINGS ARE DONE, THERE IS A TENDENCY TO APE THE OUTGOING TECHNO LOGY’S APPEARANCE IN ORDER TO SOFTEN PUBLIC REACTION TO THE CHANGE.

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I liked the Japanese Aspark Owl electric supercar at Frankfurt, too. It was a little messy in details but intriguing. Do I think we’ll ever see it again? Not really. The Nissan IMX electric concept in Tokyo was quite nice and is intended for production three years from now (at least its mechanical-electrical platform is), with versions planned for Renault and Infiniti, as well. But does it show us anything new or important in style? Not r eally. Toyota’s blunt, brutal box-shaped TJ Cruiser, another Tokyo unveiling, is almost certain to go into production without much variation from the show concept. But it’s very much in the line of previous Toyota “ tough” trucks and civilized utility vehicles. Is it an important look at the industry’s future? Not really. It’s impossible not to be impressed by the Mazda Vision Coupe’s fluidity of both surface and line, but do we think there will be a production version with smaller wheels and more reasonable cabin space—a rationally producible variation of the concept that retains the concept’s attractiveness? Not really. There are endless versions of ultra-fabulous superduper 80-to-240-mph sports cars that only some of the 1 percent can buy and only a hundredth of a percent of able buyers would be capab le of driving at anywhere close to their performance potential. But do they mean anything to the future of the automobile, whether that be autonomous or completely driver controlled? Not really. And so it goes. So what does matter? The Honda duo cited above, concepts released in Frankfurt in city-car form (evoking

We don’t think bench seats are coming back to family cars, but who knows? It could happen, and they look good. Rear hinged doors? Maybe. It’s good for entry .

thoughts of the early VW Golf) and in sports-car form in Tokyo, represent a number ofpositive lines of development. They’re small, which we think is going to be vital in the next four or five years when petroleum prices rise as the U.S. dollar ceases to be the key currency in the oil business. They’re more functionally design-oriented than they are related to current overwrought styling trends, and they are conceived as electric cars from the start. That’s important. Whenever there is a major change in approach to the way things are done, there is a tendency to ape the outgoing technology’s appearance in order to soften public reaction to the change. The last air-cooled Franklin cars in the ’30s had exceedingly handsome radiator grilles, but

CONCEPT OF THE YEAR

they didn’t have radiators. The first Tesla Model S sedans had painted simulacrum of radiator grilles (happily gone now). The Chrysler Airflow and Lincoln Zephyr cars conceived as droop-snoot aerodynamic shapes had tall hoods and artificial pointed grilles: the Chrysler after a year of production, the Lincoln before production began. Many electrified cars (VW Golf, Ford Focus, for example) completely conceal their mode of propulsion, and both the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf try fairly hard to look “normal.” The Hondas do not, and we see that as a very good thing. Honda designer Makoto Harada admits that the long hood of the sports model “is not rational, but it underlines the emotion, the driving pleasure one expects of such a car.” We say he’s definitely on the right track. Back in late 1983 Honda surprised the world with a completely new third-generation Civic line, including the near-sports-car CRX, a formal four-door sedan, and the proto-CUV Shuttle wagon. It was a terrific move, and we anticipate other models in this EV series by the time production begins. The aesthetics are a bit unusual, with a very flat roof on both models with ver y little arc front to rear, extremely simple surfaces, and a black panel that, yes, simulates a grille to some extent, with the prominent round

There’s just a

little curvature to the coupe roo ine, and its overall proportions are truly sporty, but this is really a city car , whatever its overall appearance suggests about intent.

headlamps incorporated within its perimeter. Although I was not completely on board with the simple design at the Frankfurt show, I was amazed to see a few months later that of the 44 photos I took at the show, more than a quarter were of the Urban EV—telling me after the fact that I was more impressed than I’d thought. Many design colleagues said it was their favorite concept in Germany, a position shared by other Automobile staffers present. And the Sports EV at Tokyo sealed the deal. This tentative new model range from Honda is the Concept of the Year. Really. AM

MANY ELECTRIFIED CARS COMPLETELY CONCEAL THEIR MODE OF PROPULSION. BOTH THE RENAULT ZOE AND NISSAN LEAF TRY FAIRLY HARD TO LOOK “NORMAL.”

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Best & Worstof the Year

T H E YEAR

IN

by

ROBERT CUMBERFORD

AUTO M O T I V E DESIGN E A C H Y EA R W E

get a selection of wondrous new

vehicles that their proposers tell us are world-beating creations, the fastest, the most expensive, the most economical, the most beautiful, . A nd each year we see m ost of them are the most innovative, ad nauseam

more of the same, truly of little interest to the automotive enthusiast or to the general public. Here are our brief takes on some of the things we . really liked or disliked during the course of the past year

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BEST AND WORST OF 2017

S C I E N C E FICTION T H E TES L A S E M I

truck introduced at the end of November 2017 is by far the best-formed single vehicle the visionary electric-propulsion car company has announced. The truck’s cab, with its central driving position like the 1947 Wimille prototype and the McLaren F1, really does look like the future is finally here, and we hope it becomes reality in a couple years. There have been quite a few futuristic-looking trucks over time, especially some by the rigorously self-promoting designer Luigi Colani a couple decades back, but those were all show business and almost no practicality. BMW designer Albrecht Graf Goertz remarked that the front overhang of Colani’s semi tractor was enough to exclude it from city streets—it swept too much surface and intruded on other people’s lanes. The Tesla truck, however, actually makes sense.

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PepsiCo has placed a deposit on 100 futuristic Tesla semi trucks, but it will have to evaluate which routes they’re best suited for.

C O P Y MACHINES ONE OF T H E most annoying things about car styling is the tendency toward mindless appropriation of (usually nonfunctional) decorative features, whether it does anything for the aesthetics of the car to whichit is applied or not. Case in point: the proliferation of little trapezoidal fins—sometimes pointing up, sometimes down—stuck to the lower body sides of many sedans and coupes. The inspiration comes from Formula 1 ars, c where the devices serve as airflow deflectors. On most road cars, let alone SUVs, they are meaningless embellishment. Another feature that has shown up widely this past year is the split-level roof, in which there is a physical or color break partway up the C- or D-pillar on sedans, wagons, and—again—SUVs. It can be a cool detail but not when it’s applied for the nth time.

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M O C . G A M E L I B O

Velar is Range Rover’s all-new model, which slots in between Evoque and Sport. While it’s handsome, many styling cues are well worn.

M O T U A

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BEST AND WORST OF 2017

VISION Unlike

F I S H SCALES WE’VE A L W A Y S CHAMPI ONED purity and simplicity in car design. The simple shapes seen in John Cobb’s land-speed record car or in the SoCal Special, the first hot rod to achieve 200 mph, are seductive but do not really relate to usable road cars. Still, smooth and simple shapes such as the Jaguar E-type, traditional rear-engine Porsches, or even the VW Golf—which creator Giorgetto Giugiaro insists was a simple transformation of his De Tomaso Mangusta GT—are agreeable and essentially timeless. But when we see cars with surfaces so faceted and complex that they look like they were assembled from small pieces of flat stock in a kindergarten class, we aren’t impressed. And there are a great many such cars available now. Toyota/Lexus, in its admirable desire to acquire some style, has done well in some models, far less so in others. Simple panels assembled in a harmonious way can be extremely satisfying. Consider the beauty in arrangements of scales on fish. Then imagine a drunken fool trying to reconstruct a disassembled fish. There are cars that look like that today.

Jaguar’s classic E-type, the complex body shaping of the Toyota FT-AC “Adventure Concept” can be called many things, but “smooth” certainly isn’t one of them.

H A S BEEN used in the names of a great many models in the past year, suggesting the creators have a perception of the future. But when we see the word, we conjure an image of two airline pilots sitting in a cockpit with hundreds of dials, switches, levers, and buttons, and one says to the other, “If we didn’t have so many instruments, we wouldn’t need instruments. We could see out.” This comes to mind whenever we get in a car with terrible rearward visibility, and in the past year there have been entirely too many of them, from the superb Tesla Model X to a number of European economy hatchbacks. If we dislike something about the absolutely extraordinary performance car that is the Chevrolet Camaro, it’s simply that you can’t see out—not just behind but also to the sides and even straight ahead. AM “ V I S I ON”

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HEAD O F GENESIS DESIGN LUC DONCKERWOLKE ROAMS THE GLOBE TO SUPERVISE AND LURE NEW

STUDIO WORK

DESIGNERS TO HIS T

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BUT HE DOESN’T WANT TO BE A BOSS.

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M AN ON A MISSION Luc Donckerwolke’s experience extends from commodity brands to boutique ones. At Genesis, he can leave his unique stamp.

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T H E R & D CAMP U S outside Seoul feels much like the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California. Employees of Hyundai Motor Group’s three divisions—Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis—bustle about on this lovely Friday morning. Over at yonder intersection a forklift truck hoists a disguised prototype off the pavement before proceeding to a testing cell. On another street some people on our bus spot the next Hyundai Veloster, a contract player in B productions, scuttling by in camouflage wrap. Alas, the security staff put strips of “Do Not Detach” tape over our camera lenses.

Donckerwolke and cool-hand Lee undrape the two G70s on stage and take more than 200 reporters through the high points, laying out the goals of making their 3 Series battler “emotional, athletic, and sexy.” The G70 evinces a vivid execution of conventional themes, but its grille and flaring nostrils outside it are a surprise after the sober G90 and somber G80, the papa and uncle models of Genesis. Surprising as well are the fender chevron and swoopy roofline, an arching cat’s back. These examples of the new car look alive in blue and red. It’s a fine result from Donckerwolke’s dream team, especially considering his stumbling block. “I never wanted to be a boss,” he tells me after the presentation, speaking with elegant traces of his native Flemish tongue. Not only is he in charge of creating the Genesis brand DNA, but he also seeks the right chemistry among his cast of characters. “We see our designers more than our family,” he says, “so it has to become a family. And we are making sure we really enjoy working together.” He names designers who are present or have remained in the studios. “When we work, there’s no such thing as a hierarchy. I’m not the boss. We are all at eye level, we are enjoying, we are contributing.” He summons Bozhena Lalova, the Mercedes-Benz veteran who is head of color and trim. Her theme during the presentation was how the G70 isn’t just sporty outside,

Over at the new design center, top executives are introducing the 2019 Genesis G70, the latest sedan from HMG’s two-year-old luxury division. Genesis head Manfred Fitzgerald welcomes us and turns the show over to Luc Donckerwolke, senior vice president and head of Genesis design. Clad in black, Donckerwolke looks ready to break into a rendition of “Folsom Prison Blues.” He was serious to the point of graveness when introducing Sang Yup Lee, vice president of styling and a key member of the international cohort of Genesis designers. Lee made a big mark in Detroit with the C6 Corvette and fifth-gen Camaro before going to England and contributing to the new Bentley Continental GT.

which explains the aluminum trim. She’s wearing a caped blue dress that lends a special salience to her presence. Taking my cue from this, I ask if there was ever an idea to use exotic materials, go a little crazy. “This car is cool,” she says, with overwhelming graciousness. “It’s young, it’s cool. That’s why we focus on the aluminum. Of course, ‘crazy’ materials are something we are considering and developing. And this is going to be the future for the next G80.” I thank Lalova, and before I take two steps, Donckerwolke smears caviar on the toast. With our session about to end he introduces Sasha, a bearded man, mid-30s, wearing a Metallica T-shirt. Alexander “Sasha” Selipanov presents his card: chief designer, Genesis Advanced Design. “Sasha designed the Bugatti Chiron,” Donckerwolke says. Like Lee, Selipanov is yet another product of ArtCenter College of Design. Although he was born in Tblisi, Georgia, he sounds American and looks moshed-out Californian. The patently irresistible opportunity to create a new brand drew Selipanov last December to the Genesis advanced studio in Russelsheim, Germany. But was there something else? What about that guy with the director’s bullhorn? “Luc has a unique blend of car passion, creativity, and ability to think outside the box,” Selipanov wrote later in an email. “He is very knowledgeable, however, he is always ready to look at things from an unconventional and unbiased perspective. It is not just the professional side of Luc that is inspiring. It’s also the human, social, and even humorous sides, as well.” After lunch on that Friday, hopes of touring the styling studios and seeing the digital design process were dashed.

R&D

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DESIGN

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We were dragged away to Anechoic Chamber Building 2 for a tutorial on how to create warning chimes. (Industry secret: two guys and a keyboard.) In another test cell, two more guys described subjecting a prototype to electromagnetic interference. Then we got back on the bus and left Namyang, but not before security checked those “Do Not Detach” strips. The next day, Donckerwolke flew to California. He flies often, visiting the studios in Irvine, California, and Russelsheim. Rare opportunities aside, his achievement in luring young designers to Genesis and to Korea is not to be underestimated. Seoul is neither beautiful nor ugly, cars are everywhere yet there’s no evidence of car c ulture, and Koreans aren’t exactly known for achieving a favorable life-work balance. Nor is the task of creating more than a generic brand to be underestimated. Although it’s yet another well-realized vehicle, there’s no distinctly indigenous aspect to the G70, though the hot-rod GV80 crossover revealed last spring in New York shows promise. Donckerwolke appears cognizant of the need to create more of a Korean identity for the brand. “This international team we’re gathering is also there to make sure that we create products based on the Korean culture in terms of feeling. We have in Korea what we call “beauty of emptiness.” [It] is not to overload, not to stress the driver or the user with a lot of contradicting elements. So it’s about making an element and making a statement and letting it be. This is why the interior is not overpowering you.”

Within established norms, theG70 is precise, crisp, and well-contoured . For Donckerwolke, starting with a low hoodline is key . If the G70 evokes snickers inMunich, there will be smiles in U.S. showrooms.

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We await more beauty of emptiness. Meanwhile, Donckerwolke, who is also head of design for Kia, had taken up a different preoccupation. After his visit to California, he flew to India in order to research the market. And he was appalled. Cars there have terrible proportions: narrow for mazelike streets but tall for turbans. Upon returning to Namyang he could rummage through the props room, find a magician’s hat to figure out a solution, and use his director’s bullhorn to announce it. AM

Together we drive.

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It is the driver’s responsibility to remain alert with hands on steering wheel, keeping a lookout for other vehicles and pedestrians at all times.

2019 G enesis

G 70

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RONALD AHRENS

THE GENESIS OF our hotel in the 123-story Lotte World Tower, four daytime running lights—the new Genesis signature—wink at us in the early dimness, as if advising us of the three-hour drive ahead. Our destination: Inje Speedium, a 2.4-mile circuit in the northeastern mountains outside the South Korean capital. Our ride: the all-new Genesis G70 Sport, specifically a twinturbo 3.3-liter V-6 model with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. After running our hands over the G70’s flared hood and creased sides, we climb into the driver’s seat. Like the body design, the G70’s interior is conventional but well executed with quilted leather upholstery and beautiful aluminum trim. An 8.0-inch touchscreen dominates from its perch atop the dash. Grasping the wheel and moving the stubby shifter into drive, we cross A S WE EX

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A CAREFULLY CONCOCTED

SPORT-LUXURY SEDAN

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Jamsil Bridge over the Han River and leave town on an expressway. Genesis is making much ado about its Active Sound Design creating “an aural character that reflects the engine load and driving-mode settings.” Departing the city in Comfort mode, we feel isolated from the sprawling Seoul area’s teeming millions. So far this is a quiet car. Thanks in part to the 365 horsepower generated by the V-6, Genesis says the G70 will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds in rear-wheel-drive configuration, though our allwheel-drive tester is likely a couple of ticks quicker. There will also be a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder model making 249 hp, and the possibility of a six-speed manual

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transmission is on many lips. A Dynamic edition is also coming to the U.S. at model introduction with Pilot Sport 4S rubber, torque vectoring, and a limited-slip differential. To make a bold statement, the G70 sports a large grille of meshing diamonds. An adventurous pair of front-corner air intakes also arrests the eye. Recognizability is a must, and the G70 scores above the 90th percentile on this aspect. There’s no confusing it for an Acura or a BMW. It has some swagger, and it’s the widest car in the segment, we’re told. Its design is distinctive and correct, with a beautiful sweeping roofline and a touch of felinity in the front threequarters view. Some might snipe about the troublesome chrome chevron on each front fender or the rear view’s suggestion of the Chrysler 200, but the G70 looks expensive and proclaims a broad appeal. Vice president of styling Sang Yup Lee can’t exult in a big breakthrough, but the details are executed with passion. The engineering is substantial, too. “It’s a very stiff, substantial platform,” says Albert Biermann,

2019 Genesis G 70

SPECS ON SALE: April

2018

PRICE:

$33,000 (est) ENGINES:

2.0L turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4/249 hp, 260 lb-ft;.3-liter 3 twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve V-6/365 hp @ 6,000 rpm, 376 lb-ft @ 1,300 rpm (est) TRANSMISSION:

8-speed automatic LAYOUT 4-door, :5-passenger, front-

engine, RWD/AWD sedan EPA MILEAGE:

N/A

I nje S peedium

is “my little Nürburgring in Korea,” says performance boss Albert Biermann. Driving precision and ride comfort were his targets.

L x W x H:

184.4 x 72.8 x 55.1 in WHEELBASE:

111.6 in WEIGHT:

N/A 0-60 MPH:

4.7 sec (3.3T RWD) TOP SPEED:

167 mph

formerly of BMW, who leads the chassis development program. Our urge for spirited driving is kept in check, though, thanks to an expressway jammed with people heading to their ancestral homes to observeseongmyo, the tradition of tidying up the graves of departed loved ones before the Chuseok harvest festival. While relaxing at the desired rest area at Gwangchiryeong, we try out the back seat and find entry and egress to be tortuous. A Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan seems like a limousine by comparison. It’s also a long reach to close any open door, no matter where we sit. Another of the G70s quirks: The 12-volt battery lurks below the cargo floor (and the extended mobility kit) in the trunk. This is a driver’s car that is “well harmo nized,” Lee tells us. So when we finally get to the Speedium, a wide and rolling circuit with one long straightaway and clusters of linked Kama Sutra-like turns, we’re eager to test the electronically controlled suspension, 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires, and dual-piston Brembo brakes. Turning the rotary knob on the center console, we change the driving mode to Sport, the fourth of five settings, and caress the paddle shifters. Then we stomp

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on it. The G70 takes off with, ahem, mellow contentment. This is not an edgy car. Sorry, no crackling exhaust here. It isn’t slow by any means—we hit 120 mph on the straight— and it carries a neutral attitude through the corners, but it also rolls like a C-Class and proves more prosecco thantequila. Ultimately, the G70 is a well-targeted consumer product, a nutritious bar of automotive almonds, chia seeds, and flax. Even lacking traces of bibimbap, it’s tasty nevertheless. AM

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A British-raised Texan who FOUNDED BY fell in love with the gritty streets and cutting-edge design of Detroit, the Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment is billed as the Fight Club of Design. But instead of a slumlord’s palace filled with lost men making soap, the Sketchbattle is a once-underground nexus of the future of automotive design. And it’s a party. Walk through the door of any of the Sketchbattle’s itinerant locations in Detroit, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles, and you’re greeted by thumping music, a cash bar, and Satori Circus, a Detroit-based performance artist who blurs the line between emcee and prankster clown. Chances are good you’ll also encounter some vintage sheetmetal to serve as inspiration and atmosphere for the design-off to come.

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The next thing you’ll notice is the boxing-style ring, ropes and all. Behind it, there’s a Jumbotron with contestant names and countries or cities of srcin, and keeping with the theme, there are weights. Each designer is called to the ring to start the battle, some engaging with the premise enough to jog out like a prizefighter. If it all seems a bit over the top, just wait for the main event: a 50-foot table lined with designers, professionals and students alike, vying for an oversize $2,500 check and the glory—and potential job offers—that come with

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OTT C E L D D I M E LE OF TH MENT IS THAT U R T S R I F E TH EXPERI E L T T A B H C SKET

YOU TALK ABOUT IT

winning the contest. Over four hours they battle it out, elimination bracket style, to see who has the chops to meet the criteria for each round and wow the judges. Sketchbattle is the creation of Brook Middlecott Banham, who spent the early part of his career designing shoes. But his passion lies with penning cars. He came to Detroit in 2010 to get his master ’s degree in transportation

DING! DING! DING! Fans and party attendees

gather around the long table to watch the magic happen.

DESIGN

B U L C T H G I F OF DESIGN by

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ISCH ERIK KMLOITM ORS DESIGNER KIA

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design from the College for Creative Studies. Sensing Detroit’s vibrancy as a design center, he and his wife, Judith, decided to stay and eventually founded their own firm, Middlecott Design, in 2012. The Experiment, which was srcinally started as a way for the Banhams to promote their company, has become a full-blown thing of its own in its roughly five years of existence. Starting and ending with the clang of a ringside bell, contestants are given 25 minutes to create a sketch. A design prompt for each round defines the goal. It can vary wildly, from sound systems to pickup trucks to wheels—just about anything you can imagine in the field of a utomotive design. The battlers get the prompts in advance to better allow them to create new and innovative designs in the allotted 25-minute window. The time limit adds a great deal of pressure, and it also presents difficulty for the judges, who are themselves highly accomplished and recognized automotive designers. At the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show edition of the Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment, the judges were Erik Klimisch, design manager for Kia Motors and former design instructor at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, his alma mater; Randy Rodriguez, creative manager of design and styling at Tesla (where he led the team that designed the new Tesla semi truck) and formerly project lead designer for Nissan/Infiniti and freelance designer for ICON Aircraft; and Camilo Pardo, design magnate and the man behind the second-generation Ford GT.

Satori Circus brings his own sideshow to the event, injecting a touch of friendly madness into the frenzied sketching.

ring announcer, cards for each round s theme, and a real ringside bell being rung by Sketchbattle founder Brook Middlecott Banham give legs to the FightClub theme. A

“I think the biggest challenge is quickly identifying the requirements and putting your idea down on paper in less than 25 minutes,” Klimisch said. Rodriguez adds that the key to success is “satisfying the criteria in a clever way while doing some awesome artwork that stands o ut from the rest.” Standing out from the rest can be difficult, but that’s nothing new to the contestants, whether they’re employed pros or aspiring students. And part of that increased level of difficulty comes from our perpetually connected culture. Klimisch explained, “I’m very impressed with the young designers who are coming out of the design schools. They seem to get better every year. When I was in design school, we didn’t have the internet, so you basically had to develop your skills by drawing inspiration from the other students and instructors. Today you have all these great design websites and blogs to access for reference, and you can even see expert sketch tutorial videos on YouTube.” But as Rodriguez points out, it’s not just about talent. It’s hard to make a name in automotive design, even at the Sketchbattle. “[Making a name is] very difficult as there is much competition, and it’s not only about being talented, as most designers are. Timing is essential as is being at the right place at the right time.”

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DESIGN

For at least one designer at every Sketchbattle, the right place and time are a given. But that’s just the jumpingoff point. You still have to impress the judges. What does it take? According to Rodriguez, it requires “proportion, balance, harmony, and that special something that moves me emotionally.” Klimisch takes a somewhat more concrete approach, saying, “I look for a hook. Every great design sketch has one. The rest is support. It takes adisciplined designer to

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not put everything but the kitchen sink into a sketch.” Despite the 25-minute time limit, great design is evident in abundance. Sure, there are the odd sketches that look out of place or amateurish, but by and large you’ll find stunning designs executed with masterful attention to detail—cars you wish existed and would love to drive. Even with the Fight Club-meets-nightclub atmosphere, there’s an air of reverence for the creativity and skill on display, a sense you’re getting an inside glimpse into the future of transportation design. There’s a good ch ance that at least one of the contestants in any given Sketchbattle will someday pen a car you’ll buy, and that’s before you count the pros who’ve already penned several—possibly even your own.

The

RODRIGUEZ SEES THE FUTURE AS AN OPPORTUNITY RATHER THAN A ROADBLOCK. “IT’S AN EXCITING TIME IN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN ... AS NEW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ARE COMING INTO PLAY.”

contestants handiwork is put on display, above, after each round for judging, and for viewing by the attendees . Below, Xander Wang collects his winnings.

As the anticipation built to see who would be crowned champion at the end of the night, we couldn’t help but feel like we were watching the dying embers of a oncegreat fire. We had to ask: Is there a future for car design in a world of autonomous, pay-per-use jellybeans? Klimisch thinks there is. “There is always a future for car designers” he said. “Graduating design students have so much to offer and can really energize a studio with their fresh ideas because they haven’t developed knowledge of all the design restrictions that experienced designers are bombarded with on a daily basis like engineering, package, pedestrian, and cost requirements.” Rodriguez agrees, and he even sees the future as an opportunity rather than a roadblock. “It’s an exciting time in automotive design,” he said, “as new emerging technologies are coming into play.” Seeing the talent on display, especially from the young and upcoming student designers, Klimisch and Rodriguez’s optimism seems justified. Maybe there’s even a chance that autonomy could free designers from some of the constraints placed on today’s cars. Imagine what a car could look like if there was no possibility it would crash. It could be anything. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking. Maybe we’re riding a dinosaur to a cave man’s banquet. But from ringside at the Middlecott Sketchbattle, it feels more like we’re riding a phoenix to war. AM

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B MW’ S S U PE R SEDAN RETURNS TO F O R M THAN KS I N PA R T TO A L L WHEEL D R I VE

2018 B MW M5

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t T H E STO R Y O F the BMW M5 is a fascinating and iconic tale. It was born in 1984 when the fabulous M88 3.5-liter straight-six from the mid-engine M1

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supercar was dropped into the sharknosed, razor-sharp E28 5 Series. Its replacement, the E34, stayed true to the first car’s formula, with more power and a chassis honed to a deliciously sharp edge. Significant changes were applied to the third M5, the E39, specifically the addition of a 5.0-liter V-8. At first, the purists cried. Then they drove it, and those tears of sadness turned to sobs of joy. For the next generation BMW unleashed the wildest M5 of them all, the E60, with its howling 5.0-liter V-10 that revved to a WITH BIGGER heavenly 8,250 rpm. It had its flaws, but TURBOCHARGERS it was special. It seemed the M crew from Munich THAN THE PREVIOUS M5, GRE ATER could do no wrong with what had become BMW’s definitive super sedan. BOOST, AND BETTER But that was then. The car we’ve come FUEL-INJECTION, to Portugal to drive has on the face of it THE 4.4-LITER V-8 abandoned every principle on which the SIMPLY CHEWS UP M5 legend was founded. The all-new F90 STRAIGHTS. series 2018 BMW M5 features a twinturbocharged engine. It is fitted with a fully automatic gearbox. And—the horror—it’s now all-wheel drive. The missing link in this story, the outgoing F10 M5, was heavy, slightly ponderous, and only really came alive at unspeakable speeds. The F10 ushered in BMW’s 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 and a greater focus on luxury. It simply didn’t feel special enough to be an M5. Fantastically capable, yes, but rather cold.

How to superheat the M5 formula once again? I can think of a million ways, but the adoption of all-wheel drive, switching from a dual-clutch transmission to a ZF eight-speed automatic, and focusing even more on luxury for $103,595 don’t make the list. In fact, those changes suggest that BMW either doesn’t know how to recapture the old M5 magic or simply doesn’t care to do so. At least that’s the narrative I was expecting to report. However, it pays to be open-minded, because this M5 has rediscovered the magic. It’s more aggressive, the ride is busy and uncompromising, it has simply sensational performance, and the all-wheel-drive system is wonderfully fluid and playful. And if you really must exit every corner with a full turn of opposite lock? Just stick it in rear-wheel-drive mode and enjoy the sort of over-thelimit balance that has always been an M5 hallmark. Before we explore the car further, let’s go back to the makeup of this mighty machine. It features a revised version of the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 that now produces

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SENSATIONAL All-wheel drive and an automatic transmission mated to its twin-turbo V-8 haven’t ruined the new M5. Quite the contrary.

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600 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque mated to the aforementioned eight-speed automatic gearbox. Thanks in part to the new M xDrive all-wheel-drive system, it reaches 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and can run from 0 to 124 mph in 11.1 seconds. With the optional M Driver’s package, it’s also capable of a top speed of 189 mph. M xDrive essentially allows the M5 to drive the rear wheels only for much of the time, the central clutch pack only sending power forward when the rear starts to lose grip or under sudden acceleration, when extra stability is needed. The rear axle also features the familiar M differential, though the four-wheel steering system seen on the M550i xDrive was omitted from the M5 to save weight. That BM seems a strange decision because it works so well on everything from a Porsche 911 GT3 to an M760Li and would surely afford the M5 SPECS even greater agility. Of course, the M5 offers a wide range of ON SALE: Now adjustment for pretty much every aspect of

the M5 feels never less than firm. Turn on to smaller, more interesting roads, and the uncompromising feel of the chassis translates into real agility, excellent body control, and a feeling that this all-wheel-drive system favors the rear wheels at all times. I haven’t mentioned the gearbox yet because it took a while for me to remember it wasn’t a dual-clutch unit. Yes, it’s more well-mannered than the old M DCT ’ box at low speeds, but it’s also more decisive and punchier when you’re exercising the twin-turbo mill. In M2 mode the M5 hits hard and clean, and every shift is tight and synchronized perfectly with my requests on the steeringwheel-mounted paddles. It doesn’t have that M super clean and almost magical feeling of the best dual-clutch gearboxes, but it’s pretty close and beats rivals such as the AMG or the Cadillac CTS-V hands down. I can’t think of an automatic that feels this responsive, save for the 10-speed unit in the Lexus LC 500. PRICE: So it takes just a few miles to be deeply $103,595 (base) impressed with the M5. In fact, impressed is ENGINE: 4.4L twin-turbo DOHC the wrong word. The old car was impressive. 32-valve V-8/600 hp The new M5 is fun, exciting, and pretty @ 5,700-6,600 rpm, uncompromising, too. In full luxury 553 lb-ft @ 1,800-5,700 rpm

2018

its dynamic personality. There are Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus settings for the dampers, steering, and throttle mapping, plus three modes for the gearbox, and you can r un with full DSC in the more relaxed MDM mode or

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TRANSMISSION: with stability control dialed out completely. mode it feels like a proper sport sedan. 8-speed automatic On top of that, the M xDrive has three modes: Dial everything up to Sport Plus, and it’s LAYOUT : 4WD, 4WD Sport, or RWD. You can only select almost rabid. On these narrow, craggy 4-door, 5-passenger, the latter two modes when you disengage roads, the M5 actually works best with front-engine,AWD sedan DSC, but confusingly, 4WD Sport defaults to the dampers in Comfort, while Sport EPA MILEAGE: 16/23 mpg (city/hwy) MDM mode for the stability control, whereas Plus feels like a racetrack-only setting, L x W xH: selecting RWD forces you to run completely which is handy because I’m following 195.5 x 74.9 x 58.0 in without electronic intervention. You have brown signs marked “Autodromo.” Estoril WHEELBASE : 117.4 in been warned. is awaiting our arrival. WEIGHT: If this all sounds horribly complex, well, The old F1 circuit is delightfully 4,370 lb that’s because it is. But the M5 has two shabby with huge, sun-bleached grand0-60 MPH: helpful preset buttons on the steering wheel stands that reek of faded glory, but 3.2 sec TOP SPEED: labeled M1 and M2. The idea is to let you Estoril remains a serious test for any car, → → 155 mph (189 mph experiment with the car’s various modes and let alone a 4,370-pound monster such w/M Driver’s package) settings until you’re happy to commit to two as the 2018 M5. The M Division worked preprogrammed and very personal setups. hard to keep weight down with items For the launch event held near Lisbon, M1 like a carbon-fiber roof, and despite the kept the car in standard 4WD with steering, adoption of all-wheel drive, the F90 is engine mapping, and dampers in Comfort and the gearbox actually lighter than its predecessor. However, it in its most serene mode. M2 ramped things up to 4WD never fulfills the old cliché of “shrinking around Sport with MDM mode for the stability systems, Sport for you” on the road. It’s a big car, and it feels the part. steering and dampers, Sport Plus for engine mapping, and This much mass plus AWD should mean understeer tickled the gearbox up to level two of three. and plenty of it on the track, right? The first surprise? In docile M1, the M5 feels eager— Nope. The M5 wants to turn, though you have to aggressive, even. The engine doesn’t have the pumped-up be careful not to be too greedy on turn-in. Once the theater of the E63 S, but it matches it for response and revs, front tires bite, and you’re on the throttle, the big with even more energy at the top end. The ride is taut and sedan errs toward oversteer rather than howling controlled, too. Over short, sharp bumps the M5 fidgets push. The 4WD Sport mode really is effective, and and thumps. Up the speed, and things smooth out—but although the M5 doesn’t feel as deliberately rearonly a little. On Portugal’s pretty decent highway system, biased as the E63 S, its behavior is more fluid and

IT S C HARA C TE R C O M ES NO T FR O M TH E SOUNDTRA CK BU T FR O M A C O CK TAIL OF P RE C ISION AN D ORGAN C RUSHING P O W ER .

natural. You tend to find at the limit some understeer on turn-in, followed by a lovely four-wheel drifting phase midcorner and a little flourish of oversteer on the way out. MDM mode allows you to experience this pretty well, but turn off all the stability systems, and the easygoing nature of the M5 even when the tires are slipping and sliding is addictive. The track also allows you to enjoy the M5’s engine at its full potential. With bigger turbochargers than the previous M5, greater boost pressure (24.5 psi versus 21.8),

The M5’s cockpit has a festival of high-tech options available to the driver, including the new M1 and M2 performance shortcut buttons on either side of the steering wheel.

and a higher pressure and more precise fuel-injection system, the 4.4-liter V-8 simply chews up straights. The noise feels a little artificial and is clearly augmented by the speakers—and if you love the ball-bearings gargle and spewing V-8 fire and brimstone of an AMG, the M5 sounds a little tame—yet the work it does cannot be criticized. Its character comes not from the soundtrack but from a cocktail of precision and organ-crushing power. It’s enough to test the optional carbon-ceramic brakes to the absolute limit around Estoril. The pedal goes long after a few laps, and the M5 starts to shimmy and dance as the braking performance is tested, but they’re going through an extreme and unrealistic regimen: five fast laps with a halfhearted cool-down lap, sit in the pits for three or four minutes soaking up all the heat as drivers swap, and then repeat until the fuel tank is dry or the tires are worn out. On the road, there were no issues, but such is the performance on offer here. Given the weight being hauled around, I suspect the carbon ceramics would be well worth the outlay. By the end of the day, the F90 M5 has confounded my expectations. Rather than moving away from the old M5 formula, it has used new technologies to return closer to it. This is a super sedan that can be used every day yet always feels special and doesn’t compromise outright performance for a veneer of luxury. It’s also an M5 to the core. Breaking all the rules, I tried one lap in RWD mode. The tires needed changing by the time I returned to the pit lane. Welcome back. We’ve missed you. AM

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A L ONE I N A good sports car, endless miles and unmarked hours ahead, the bonds of daily life start falling away. As you dance from canyon apexes to city on-ramps to the arrow of a modern interstate, the freedom of speed and the clarity of a mind not focused but emptied make you yearn for it never to end. Flyin’ Miata’s latest MX-5 masterpiece, the RF Turbo—or Rufus, as the prototype I recently spent several hundred miles in is known around the Flyin’ Miata shop—is a rare thing in the world of aftermarket tuned cars: It’s not different, it’s just better. That’s a strange thing to say and merits some explanation, so allow me to endeavor.

C REATION

DOESN’T

by NELSON IRESON

JUST

TUNE T H E MX 5 R F,

A rather limited set of extra parts takes M K Mazda’s hot MX-5 RF hardtop to the max, starting with a turbocharger kit from BBR (available in both CARB and federal specs) that adds roughly 70 hp and 70 lb-ft of torque to the Miata’s stock rating of 155 hp and 148 lb-ft. (Official dyno figures for the kit are forthcoming.) Next on the upgrade list is Flyin’ Miata’s Stage 2 suspension kit, which includes Koni dampers, updated springs, rear bump stops, and front and rear anti-roll bars. The company’s “Little Big Brake” kit, 17-by-8-inch 949 Racing 6UL wheels, rear diffuser, and its new Hush-O-Matic exhaust system round out the package. The Hush-O-Matic allows you to task the wiper controls to open a valve in the exhaust path for freer flow and louder sound, though even at full blast it won’t bother the neighbors—much. Total price is $11,000 plus installation if you don’t want to get your hands dirty. The result is a car that accelerates quicker, corners harder and more precisely, and stops more reliably than any fac tory-issue fourthgeneration Miata, all while preserving the car’s innate balance, tossable demeanor, and linear power delivery. Despite its much larger performance envelope, the same love letter to pure, simple joy remains. I picked up the car in Lancaster, California, not far from Willow Springs Raceway, but my destination was about five hours north by northwest: the annual Miatas at Mazda Raceway event held at historic Laguna Seca. The route was a good one, with secondary roads taking me through Tehachapi, Bakersfield, B uttonwillow, Coalinga, and King City before finally arriving in Monterey. The 314-mile path ballooned past 400 as I retraced the best stretches, unable to get enough of Rufus’ exuberance.

IT

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uh oh,

A ES

I T BETTER

p h ot o g ra p h y b y WILLIA

M WALKER

DRIVES

magic there’s

F LY I N ’ MIATA

M X 5 RF

TURBO

DRIVES

M IATA M ADNESS Leading a pack of hundreds of Miatas aroundLaguna Seca in a Flyin’ Miata RF Turbo is about as Mazda as you can get.

Only one minor incident marred the car’s otherwise flawless performance,

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DespiteIreson’s height, the ND stock cabin proved roomy . Aside from the carbon- ber heat shield and the turbo peeking out, the engine bay looks very close to stock —at rst glance . Miata’s

but it can be marked down to a prototype-specific issue and an artifact of its transport. When I picked it up, the boost controller used for tuning was still set for the high altitude of Flyin’ Miata’s home base in Grand Junction, Colorado. Going full throttle with too much boost meant Rufus’s 2.0-liter heart simply couldn’t supply enough fuel, causing a severe stumble—an issue FM is working on in an effort to further unlock the turbo ND’s power potential. A quick twist of the boost controller knob under the hood, and I was back in business. Four hundred miles strung over a full day of driving can be hard on the body in any vehicle, especially in a small sports car, and all the more so for my long-legged, 6-foot-2inch frame. But despite the long hours and rougher secondary highways I traveled, the RF Turbo’s suspension soaked up the bumps and dips so well I never once suffered the jarring feeling that often accompanies an overtuned sport suspension. This is clearly a car that’s meant to be driven every day, not some trailer-queen track toy. By the time we made it to the hills east of Monterey and the sinuous asphalt draped across them, I was working out what I’d need to sell to cough up the $11,000 kit price— plus the cost of a new RF to hang it all on. Getting out of the car only made matters worse, the RF’s natural curves and angles sinking naturally into the more aggressive stance highlighted by the Soul Red paint job and gold wheels. Lust inducing.

Inevitably, my extended day at the wheel of the Flyin’ Miata RF Turbo had to end. Fortunately, it ended at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where hundreds of Miatas of every generation and level of modification had convened for a long weekend of track-centric fun. There, I swapped Rufus for a chance to take a handful of laps in a more trackfocused version of the turbo car—a soft-top MX-5 known affectionately as Andy. Andy had another $8,000 worth of parts bolted on in addition to most of the $11,000 worth also affixed to Rufus. The updates over and above the Rufus spec are focused on reliability and robustness for track duty and include: oil, transmission, and differential coolers; a Global MX-5 Cupspec transmission with beefier third and fourth gears and new case studs; Verus Engineering brake ducts; a Hard Dog rollbar; and Flyin’ Miata’s Wilwood Stage 2 Big Brake Kit and Fox Stage 2 suspension kit (improved spring rates, Fox Racing shocks, and FM-specific sway bars). On track, Andy felt almost exactly like Rufus did on the street, despite having the advantage of Fox Racing dampers. Although the tiniest bit tail-happy at times, Andy was mostly docile, eager to turn in, breathtaking on the brakes, and smooth when delivering power. Despite the fantastic balance of the track-spec car, my time at Laguna

only made me appreciate the all-around prowess of Andy’s less focused but more versatile brother Rufus all the more. Left carless at the end of a weekend of mainlining Flyin’ Miata goodness, I took the passenger seat of the camera vehicle for the ride home—and spent the next six hours trying to figure out where I could park another car in my already too-crowded driveway.AM

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b y MIKE FLOYD p h o to g r a p h y b y JADE NELSON

OF

PA FUTURE PAST THE ORI GIN AL VENICE CREW AN D R E V OLOG Y CA R S O F FE R D I F FE R E N T TA K E S ON A S IMILA R THEME

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J O H N M O R TON B L I P S the throttle as he manhandles the Mustang’s large, thin wooden wheel. He sets up the car into the wide, right-hand sweeper traced by small orange cones with the nonchalance of a man who’s turned a car in anger hundreds of thousands of times. We hit the apex, and he pours on the throttle, unleashing all of the V-8’s 289 cubic inches and working over the four-speed manual as we barrel down the short front stretch of the Streets of Willow circuit. Morton prefers Big Willow, the track next door to Streets at the famed Willow Springs facility about two hours northeast of Los Angeles. It’s easy to understand why. It’s a much faster, longer circuit. It’s where years ago he tested a car just like

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this and raced a car just like this. A Mustang built in Venice Beach, California, near the shores of the Pacific. A GT350R much like this one. The new/old car Morton is hustling around Streets might as well be one of the race-prepped Shelby GT350Rs

INDEP ENDENT DAY T he “i” in the 98i on the side of the Original Venice Crew’s Mustang GT350R recreation

stands for independent suspension

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AUTHEN TICITY WAS A PR IMARY GOAL OF THE VENICE CREW. THEY DECIDED TO OFFER 36 RECREATION CARS, THE SAME NUMBER THEY BUILT BACK IN T HE DAY.

John Morton imparts some of his immeasurable wisdom to Automobile

editor-in-chief Floyd about how the OVC GT350R behaves on the track.

Mike

Morton and others like Jerry Titus campaigned at Willow, Riverside, and elsewhere across the country, and men like Peter Brock helped design and the then-17-year-old Jim Marietta wrenched on in 1965. Built by the Original Venice Crew (OVC), this one is close to the real thing but with new independent rear suspension. Back at the staging area, our own race ace Andy Pilgrim is about to strap into a GT350 Mustang, built by Revology, that looks very much like the Wimbledon White and Guardsman Blue-striped OVC machine Morton and I are in, only without the roll cage, race seats, and other oldschool high-performance flourishes. Instead, the Nappa leather inside is sourced from the same supplier Porsche uses, the floor is swathed in plush wool carpet, and the headliner is done in Alcantara. It has comfortable bucket seats, and a navigation/infotainment system complete with a backup camera. Pilgrim pushes the stop/start button, and its Ford Performance-prepped 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 with 435 horsepower mated to a Tremec T56 close-ratio six-speed manual clears its fuel-injected throat. Automotive industry veteran Tom Scarpello, who spent the better part of two decades primarily at Ford and Nissan

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in various roles including manufacturing and product planning, founded Revology Cars in 2014 out of Orlando, Florida, with the goal of creating a series of Mustangs with modern conveniences while celebrating the past. The approach is resto-mod at its core, but much more thanthat, Scarpello’s vision as “Chief Revologist” has been to create a company that takes a world-class, assembly-line approach to building cars he learned during his career. The official stamp of Shelby Automobiles and Ford makes Revology all the more legit. When it comes to being legit, you can’t be much more in Mustang circles than folks like Morton, Brock, and Marietta. These are men who spent their salad days being cajoled, cussed out, and inspired by Carroll Shelby, building cars on a wing and a prayer in Shelby American’s impossibly cramped, 10,000-square-foot shop in Venice. One night during a good round of bench racing, the guys started reminiscing about the three dozen GT350Rs they built back in ’65. Corners were carved. Brock never got a chance to sculpt the front end how he wanted. Then there was the car with the independent rear they never got to finish. It was a huge success at the track, but it could have and should have been better. What if they did it all

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over again how they really wanted to do it? “What if” became “why the hell not,” and the Original Venice Crew was formed. Authenticity was a primary goal of the Venice Crew. They decided to offer 36 recreation cars, the same number they built back in the day, using the same 1965 K-code Mustang they built up (higher spec 289 V-8 and front discs) as the base car. Finding the donor cars hasn’t b een easy, but so far they’ve located a couple. OVC, which builds the cars at the Shelby facility in Gardena, California, drops in a reworked version of the 289 pushing about 420 horses with a four-speed Borg Warner manual as the gearbox. Prices start at $250,000, and although that isn’t chicken feed, like Revology they have the official Ford and Shelby backing and a lineage that can’t be manufactured. Marietta, who wasn’t even out of high school when he scored that fateful job at Shelby, has become the unofficial OVC spokesman, though he’s quick to say it’s a team effort. About seven guys work on a car at any one time, and it takes about four months to complete one. He walks us around OVC’s 98i-coded GT350R and calls out several details. “You see this here,” he says, pointing to the rear fender. “These are hand-flared. They’re a little rough, but that’s the way it was.” He shows us the hand-welded plenums fitted over the carb and the gas tank filler in the trunk, and the changes to the front end and rear window that Brock made to the fastback to aid aero and

The Original VeniceCrew’s approach to its GT350R is one of faithful recreation. The only nods to the modernization are to meet new safety rules.

“WHEN PETER BROCK SAYS YOU SHOUL D DO SOMETHING, YOU PROB ABLY SHOULD,”

The Revology and OVC teams spent the day bench racing and getting feedback about how their cars were doing out on the circuit .

→

cooling, which helped lead to the use of a smaller radiator. “When Peter Brock says you should do something, you probably should,” Marietta says, breaking into a wry smile. You can get your OVC Mustang with the solid axle or the aforementioned independent rear. Duane Carling is the man behind the development work of the car’s IRS. It’s a magnificent-looking piece of engineering we saw a couple of weeks before the track day. As the story goes, back in ’65 the team was almost finished developing the IRS car when Shelby pulled resources away to the Daytona Coupe and GT40 projects. The suspension was put on a shelf and forgotten about. It was eventually carted off to longtime Ford racing par tner Holman Moody with other assets after Ford ended the Shelby Mustang program in 1969 and later sold to a private owner. Carling tracked down the gentleman who had it and sent him a letter inquiring about it.

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Revology takes a daily driver approach to its GT350 and tops it off with world-class interior details . But itsCoyote is wild at full howl.

“You see this here,” pointing to the rear fender. “These are hand-flared. They’re a little rough, but that’s the way it was.”

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“IT’S MORE START A CHAIN REACTION WITH A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF STEERING WHEEL TURN, AND THEN YOU SEE WHERE YOU END UP.

F U N STUFF 90

Miraculously, he shipped what he had out to Carling, who used it to form the basis of the IRS on the car we’re ripping around in at Streets. Morton and I pull in, and it’s Pilgrim’s turn to take the Revology GT350 out. Mustangs like this are a rare thing for him to drive, and he hadn’t been in a car quite like it since his days running Pontiac Trans Ams in the mid ’90s. “On track with a solid rear-axle car, you don’t so much dial in a turn with the steering wheel until you’re done with a corner.” Pilgrim says. “It’s more start a chain reaction with a slight amount of steering wheel turn, and then you see where you end up. Fun stuff!” It took a minute for Pilgrim to get used to the grabby, nonABS brakes (being far less experienced with such brakes, I would later lock them up coming into Turn 2), and he would have liked a little less power in the hydraulic steering (Revology says that’s doable), but he found the car pulls surprisingly hard to more than 7,000 rpm and sounds great with its Borla track exhaust, the Coyote making mighty thawwwwwacck racket at full chat. He also dug the six-

!”

speed. (Automatic is also available.) “The modern Mustang GT six-speed gearbox has a traditional-style gearshift lever and a solid industrial shift action,” he notes. “Forget the current slick Miata and Civic shifts, this is old school.” Revology indeed makes them to be old-school cool, but new-school chic. Scarpello freely admits the 1966 GT350 recreation Pilgrim and I are delighting in around Streets isn’t a purebred track car, but it more than holds its own on the circuit after some hardcore lapping. It also has plenty of power for its 3,225 pounds, as much power to weight as a Ferrari F430 according to Scarpello. Starting at $189,000, this car and the rest of the Revology Mustang lineup are built using as many off-the-shelf parts as possible, some of which are (gasp!) sourced from General Motors. “The No. 1 goal is to have a car that you can drive every day with all the amenities,” Scarpello says. “It’s like a modern car, and it’s really cool that it looks like something it isn’t.” Scarpello is busy stacking his team with mainstream auto industry veterans like himself. As a low-volume manufacturer as defined by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act

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CLASSIC

Andy Pilgrim hasn’t had a lot of experience with Mustangs, but he quickly got up to speed and had a blast wheeling both models.

of 2015, Revology has the ability to build and sell brandnew licensed reproduction classic Mustangs as long as the engines are emissions certified. The company can also sell rolling chassis replicas under existing state laws or resto mod an srcinal Mustang to Revology spec. At present it takes about six months to build a car to order, but they’re looking to get that time down as they ramp up production. Back out on the track, Pilgrim and I take turns jumping in and out of each car, relishing each lap. The OVC GT350R proves to be anything but a fussy museum piece. Each one has a VIN from the donor car, so they are also certified as street legal. But givenits heavy, nonpower-steering and racecar setup, the track is where this Mustang should gallop. “Driving around Streets is quite the workout,” Pilgrim admits. “I was determined to win the battle of wills with this very capable, 2 ,780-pound animal. “Once familiar with the handling, I star ted really working the independent rear suspension, making full use of the sticky vintage race rubber, body roll, pitch, and very willing motor. It was at this point I really started to appreciate it. The fun factor was off the scale.” Exactly. To be able to uncork the GT350R’s guttural V-8 roar, work its notchy four-speed, push on its massive brakes, feel the heat, and inhale the gas and rubber fumes, was fun beyond measure. And Revology’s mixology of time-machine

↘

looks, new model details and craftsmanship, and its fast and fun nature out on the track proved every bit as enthralling. When we weren’t in the cars, we gathered around the sheetmetal campfire, swapping stories and learning about the OVC and Revology teams. It was one of those days you never want to end. And as I waved goodbye to Marietta and Carling while they loaded 98i onto the trailer, the sun sunk low on the horizon over the desert expanse of Big Willow just like it did in 1965, when John Morton blew by at 160 mph. AM

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A STRONG FINISH FOR THE 2017 COLLECTOR CAR AUCTION SCENE

by

RORY JURNECKA

M O S T recent sale was among the last of the high-caliber collector car auctions of 2017. With a “quality over quantity” focus, just 49 lots of iconic items were up for grabs, including 29 full-scale a utomobiles (several children’s cars were also on offer), bottles of high-end wine and Champagne, and other mostly automotive-related items. More than $45 million was brought in by the sale, with an 84 percent sell-through for all lots (76 percent for vehicles alone). Overall, the Big Apple event proved a relatively strong sale that has us looking forward to the annual auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona, that kick off the 2018 calendar. R M S O T H EBY’S

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1952 JAGUAR C TY P E $5,285,000 Just 53 Jaguar C-types were ever built, and this example, chassis 007, is said to be not only the first delivered to the U.S. but also the first C-type to win a race in the U.S., courtesy of driver Phil Hill. The C-type was a serious race car in its day and could be considered a heavy revision of the XK120 road car with its updated straight-six engine, tube-frame construction, and new streamlined bodywork by Malcom Sayers. C-types such as this put Jaguar back on the map in international competition, thanks in part to its two overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

94 M O C . G A M E L I B O M O T U A

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1952 CHRYSLER D’ELEGANC E BY GHIA $885,000 Based on a shortened Chrysler New Yorker platform, this concept was a joint design project between Virgil Exner, Chrysler’s noted chief of design at the time, and Italian coachbuilder Ghia’s star designer Mario Boano. The car would not only introduce several design cues found on later Chryslers, but the overall similarity to the newfor-1955 Volkswagen KarmannGhia (also a Boano design) is also impossible to miss. Expensive and worth it—especially given its importance as a one-off show car.

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2000 B MW Z8 $329,500 The Henrik Fisker-designed BMW Z8 has often been described as far better to look at than to drive, but there’s no denying that this car continues to have a lot of appeal and—incredibly for a 17-year-old car—still looks utterly modern today. For these reasons plus limited production figures (a few more than 2,500 were sold in the U.S.), most Z8s have never dipped below their srcinal MSRP of around $130,000. This example had just 15,000 miles on the odometer and was srcinally owned by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, which likely led to the extra 25 percent or so it fetched over typical market value.

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1990 LA M BORGHINI L M002 $467,000 Before there was the Urus, there was the LM002. Based on a stillborn military prototype that never reached production, the LM002 was a luxurious super SUV before the world wrapped its mind around the concept. With a V-12 engine from the Lamborghini Countach sitting up front and a 76-gallon fuel tank, examples bought new in the prosperous 1980s were soon selling for a mere fraction of their $158,000 MSRP a decade later, though the recent rebound in LM002 values has been strong among a new, younger set of buyers. This example was restored to the tune of $325,000, putting the purchase price in some context.

'S Y B E H T O S M R F O Y S E T R U O C Y H P A R G O T O H P

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1959 FERRARI 250 GT LW B CALIFORNIA S P IDER C O MPETIZIONE $17,990,000 Ferrari’s 250 GT California Spider has always been an iconic member of the Prancing Horse family that rocketed to mainstream recognition, thanks to its appearance in the popular movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” This is the rarer Competizione version, one of just eight produced, with a factory hot-rodded engine, lightweight aluminum bodywork, and a larger fuel tank for endurance races. With Le Mans provenance, some would say this is the ultimate Cal Spider, and the new owner paid a big price—$1 million more than the high estimate—for the privilege of ownership.

RACING SUIT AND H E L M ET WO RN BY STEVE M CQUEEN IN “LE M ANS” $336,000 Most

items connected to SteveMcQueen and his automobiles continue to be . Earlier this hot at auction year,Gooding &Co. sold a Porsche 917 that had been featured inMcQueen’s epic racing movie,L“e Mans,” for more than $14 million . The driver’s suit, helmet, and ame-retardant underwearMcQueen wore in the lm brought big bucks, though it fell short of the $400,000-$500,000 estimate .

CIRCUIT P E R M ANENT DE L A SARTHE C E M ENT KILO M ETER

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1973 DE TOM ASO PANTERA L $145,600 The De Tomaso Pantera was an Italian-built, mid-engine sports car, designed in Italy by American transplant Tom Tjaarda while at Ghia and fitted with a good, ol’ American V-8 (a Ford “Cleveland” 351). Confused yet? What if we told you U.S.-spec cars were sold and serviced through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships? Convoluted backstory aside, the Pantera was designed as a budget-priced alternative to more expensive European metal, and although power was strong, the typical Italian build-quality issues limited the car’s success. This one was right on the money for its good condition.

2018 BUGATTI CHIRON $3,772,500 Said to be the first Chiron sold at auction, this particular car was also the first example ordered for the U.S. market. The Chiron’s 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged engine produces nearly 1,500 horsepower and catapults the car to an electronically limited top speed of 261 mph—the maximum its tires have been engineered to withstand. Just 500 will be produced at a price of around $3 million each. Its buyer gets to be the first on their gold-lined block to own one for a mere $700,000 or so more than MSRP.

M ARKER $12,000 This

particular marker was srcinally placed at the 4.5-kilometer mark on the 24 Hours ofLe Mans circuit’s famousMulsanne Straight . It might seem like a lot for what amounts to 170 pounds of cement, but the sale price was less than half its estimate, illustrating the difficulty in assigning value to esoteric pieces of racing history .

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SECRET TO EXTENDING THE

LIFE OF THE INTERNAL COMBU S T I O N ENGINE?

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T H I S M I G H T B E what Tomorrowland looked like to those lucky enough to see it when Disneyland opened in 1955. Rooted firmly in the understandable, the things we’ve built on for decades, but at the same time new and different in delightfully unexpected ways. This is the future of the combustion engine, if it has one. This is the Infiniti VC-Turbo, the world’s first production variable-compression automotive engine. On the other hand, this might also be what Tomorrowland looks like today to the eyes of us tomorrow dwellers: a quaint but flawed conceptualization of an idealized but incomplete future that simply never materialized. Regardless of whether it takes the industry by storm or sidles off into a corner of automotive anorakia, for the mechanically minded the VC engine’s design is a shockingly simple and elegant solution to a complex problem but one that relies on some incredibly complex engineering to achieve the production result. You might be wondering why a variable-compression engine is even desirable or necessary in the first place. The answer is simple: bandwidth. A high-compression engine can be efficient or powerful, but it can’t really be both. A low-compression turbo engine can also be very powerful, though it’s typically also rather inefficient. But an engine that can be both—or anything in between—can be as efficient or as powerful as the driver needs. According to Infiniti, the 2.0-liter VC-Turbo is 27 percent more efficient than its current, naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6, which would work out to around 25/34 mpg city/highway when fitted under the hood of a luxury crossover such as the Infiniti QX50, and is about 25 percent better than the best of the conventionally powered competition. Numbers like that have Infiniti making plans to replace its existing V-6 engine lineup with the VC.

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Reducing the VC-Turbo’s three-dimensional mechanical symphony to linear language is difficult, but the simplest explanation is this: A lever adjusts the length of the piston’s stroke to increase or decrease the engine’s compression ratio in response to throttle inputs. Taking in a little more detail, a motor-actuated linkage advances or retards the orientation of a two-point link that r ides on the crank pin, lifting or lowering the attachment point of the connecting rod and thereby adjusting the effective throw of the piston and hence the compression ratio, which can be adjusted infinitely and continuously between the system’s extremes of 8:1 and 14:1. Despite all of this high-tech mojo, Infiniti says the new VC-Turbo engine is slightly less expensive to manufacture than its VQ-series 3.7-liter V-6 with variable valve-timing technology. The VC-Turbo is also more efficient from a

position

S P OT THE C HANGES I t might seem imperceptible,

but the slight difference in the angle of this multilink is all the VCTurbo needs to adjust through its entire range.

for

power

friction point of view despite the additional hardware added to control the compression ratio. How? By straightening the run of the connecting rod through use of a smaller diameter crankshaft, there’s less sideways force acting on the piston, the cylinder walls, and the bushings connecting all of the linkages, which translates to substantially less friction. There’s also no longer any need for balance shafts. And because the hardware that controls the variable ratio is reciprocating rather than rotating, there’s much less slinging of oil in the crankcase. Despite the complexity, the new VC-Turbo engine is also about 40 pounds lighter than the VQ-series V-6. Another fun result of the variable-compression ratio is that the engine’s displacement is constantly changing, too, varying by 27 cubic centimeters from 1,970 cc to 1,997 cc, just as the stroke increases by 1.2 mm from its minimum

PROGRESS

understanding vc-t technology of 88.9 mm at 14:1. That means the engine actually gets bigger when you mat the throttle. It feels like it, too. Not that you actually feel anything about the VC-Turbo’s special-sauce functionality. It’s completely transparent in actual use, invisible except for the instrument-cluster display 1. that graphs the engine’s movement between compression extremes. The graph moves quickly and smoothly, jagging up When a change or down as you press or release the throttle, the compression in compression ratio reaching its targetjust before the turbo spools fully. ratio is needed,

bar) 8:1 ratio. As boost builds, the QX50 prototype dashes forward. How quick? I can’t say for sure, but Infiniti claims it’s a second quicker to 60 mph than the fastest of its close competitive set, defined as Audi, BMW, and Lexus with the Q5, X3, and NX, respectively. It definitely doesn’t feel underpowered. Acceleration on the move—from, say, 30 mph to 50 mph —is a bit tougher to gauge when you’re the only vehicle on the road, but even with the aging CVT transmission Infiniti

Infiniti says the full adjustment from 8:1 to 14:1 (or vice the Harmonic versa) takes 1.5 seconds total, but in practice you’ll more Drive turns likely be moving from 12:1 or 13:1 to 9:1 or 10:1, meaning and moves the the transition is completed in well under a second. And actuator arm. 2. because the transition is continuous, sweeping through every intermediary compression ratio along the way, the The actuator engine is constantly moving towardthe target—meaning it’s arm rotates the getting more and more powerful as you accelerate, building control shaft. 3. boost and reducing the compression ratio as the port- and As the control direct-injection fuel system races to keep upwith demand. But back to the driving: At Nissan/Infiniti’s Arizona Testing shaft rotates, it acts upon Center (ATC) an hour outside Phoenix sat a prototype of the upcoming Infiniti QX50 outfitted as a powertrain mule—the the lower link, which changes car’s suspension, interior, and camouflaged exteriorweren’t the angle of the yet ready for evaluation, but VC-Turbo-equipped models multilink. won’t bear any exterior badging marking the fact anyway. 4. Under the hood, the VC-Turbo—code-named KR20—is The multilink derived from the current Nissan/Infiniti MR20 2.0-liter adjusts the turbo engine (the “K” stands forkahen, the Japanese word throw of the for “variable”). Out the windshield, the ATC’s enormous oval piston, thus and some simulated country roads. changing the From a stop, matting the throttle on the VC-Turbo yields compression a not quite instant but still quick swing from the 14:1 ratio. compression ratio of idle to the wide-open, max-boost (1.6

saddled the VC-Turbo prototype with, the new engine feels peppy. And that’s without the ability to deliver full torque in the lower gears. The transmission simply isn’t robust enough to handle the engine’s full output of 268 hp and 288 lb-ft of torque. Infiniti is already at work fitting a traditional automatic transmission for production, though the CVT will also be offered. Engaging manual mode on the paddle-shifted CVT and taking off from 2,000 rpm in the simulated first, second, or third “gears” yields close to the worst-case lag scenario: not much acceleration until the engine has spun up to 3,500 rpm and then a surge of power to redline. Counterintuitively , doing the same thing in fourth gear results in markedly quicker acceleration, but that makes sense when you remember the torque limiting being done by the computer in lower gears. The overall takeaway from a day spent speaking with engineers and flogging the prototype was this: The VCTurbo is a very special engine, significant in a way no other combustion engine has been in decades. But it’s also completely normal, with no rough edges, hairy temperament, or jagged transitions between modes or functions.It’s a fully baked, ready-to-rock answer to a question the industry has been asking for close to a century. It’s simply brilliant. AM

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How much has the four-door Wrangler ch anged Jeep? MA: Before the Unlimited, we sold Wranglers in the spring and summer. The Unlimited became a car for daily use, and it surprised even us.

HI N G U P

W I TH

Sort of like going from a sports car to family car. MA: It’s like, “Hey, I want to get a Wrangler. I can bring the kids now.” The old Wranglers used

to be cross-shopped against a speedboat. My Wrangler, I drive it in the summer. That’s about it. So the Unlimited allows you to spend mo re tim e and money on developing things that ke ep the hardcore set happy? MA: It certainly helped. It’s gotta have updates. Simple things, like the door needs to s hut itself. Right? And that’s customer feedback. “I hate the door handle. I hate how the door shuts. Give me creature comforts.” Will th ere be blowbac k from t he hard core Jeep fans who don’t like th e door to shut itself?

I saw it happen when we did TJ. “Oh, you put a regular dashboard in it, and you put coil springs on it. Oh, it’s ruined forever.” And then I saw it on JK, and it’s like, “Oh, you’ve ruined it with four doors.” We still sell a Sport, and it’s very popular. Roll-up windows, a basic radio, HVAC, and the locker switches. No matter what, it’s a cheap convertible. Right? MA:

10 2

M O C . G A M E L I B O

MARK ALLEN JEE P D ESI GN CHI EF

by

TODD LASSA

M O T U A

A S FI AT C H R Y S L E R ’ S

head

of Jeep design, some would say Mark Allen has the best job in the world. Some would also say he has the least enviable job in the world because redesigning the iconic Jeep Wrangler is like redesigning the Porsche 911. How do you completely redo an icon without angering the hardcore enthusiasts who have made the model what it is? To find out, we spoke with Allen following the unveiling of the all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL.

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L L A K

R A M /

H T I W P U G N I H C T A C •

Is a manual transmission a nonstarter for the serious off-roader? Who wants to operate a clutch when you’re rock crawling? MA: If you want to s tart an argument, go with that line. We didn’t put an automatic in a Jeep until probably the ’70s. I drive a manual off-road, and I won’t drive an automatic. I can get out of my Jeep in rst gear and walk faster than it goes. That kind of debate keeps the brand go ing, ri ght? MA: Two doors. Four doors. Hard top. Soft top. Rubicon. Sport. All of that. Bring it. How much harder or easier was it to rede sign th e Wrangler co mpared with other Jeep models? MA: We were wanting to get our teeth into it. There were a

lot of things about it that had been bothering me that we were anxious to get to. If you look down the side, the door handles and hinges are aligned now. The hood now goes out straight rather than dropping. The sections are more generous. This car’s just more matured and relaxed than the JK. So you spent the first part of the design process going throug h all the fa r-out ideas? We probably spent the rst three to four months sketching. ... We papered the walls in here. Mild to wild. But what we chose was based more on authenticity and long life. You can do something that’s more radical here, but it will look good for about a year. MA:

How radical? MA: We had some [where] the whole quarter was plastic. Maybe the fender crawled onto the hood a little bit. Even different grille shapes and lamp shapes, stuff like that, just to put us right where we were. I’ve got a lot of young designers in

the room, and I had to be the voice of reason to come back, even with my boss, w ho’s always pushing, like he rightly should. Do you start with the two-doo r and t hen mov e to the Unlimite d? MA: The two-door is the one we really love to draw because really it’s the off-road sports car. I don’t know who gets credit for the CJ, but it’s obvious to me there were sketches done, there was clay work done, because there’s form in it. And I think that’s when they got it right. What di dn’t you g et? Rid of the metal antenna.

MA:

What’s your favori te secre t design element? MA: No secret, the face is a big deal. And championing the folding windshield [and making it easier to fold down]. Manufacturing hated it just for painting the car and handling that windshield. We’re keeping it. It’s the key on the left of the 911. It’s the motor behind the axle. I’ll read in online forums, “I never fold mine down.” Well, because we made it so hard. It’s wind in the face. It’s great for navigating off-road. It’s just ... the same reason I had to pull the doors off, right?

The En d

B U I LT FOR THIS

Performance is the result of driver and machine working together as one. Response to a driver’s demands becomes instant and instinctive. You no longer think about asserting control, but instead, you feel it. Sport Hyb rid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ is the latest result of Acura’s constant quest to deliver that feeling. With boundary-pushing performance born from uncompromising engineering, our a ll-wheel-drive system is arguably the world’s most advanced. The system consists of a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine and three high-output electric motors that together produce a hairpin-punishing 573 horsepower. Pair that with a rapid-shifting Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) to deliver dynamic acceleration and intuitive handling, and the result is a sensation of being one with the car and the road. This is the Acura NSX. And this is how we make it.

Check out the NSX at your local A cura dealer, or build your own at nsx.acura.com/build.

©2018 Acura. Acura, NSX, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™, and the stylized “A” logo are trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.