Blog

If indefatigable master assassin John Wick ever needed a new set of wheels, he needn’t look any further. Because the lining of this… this thing is ‘tactical’.

It has been constructed by a Detroit-based company called Mil-Spec Automotive, and we suspect has rocketed to the top of your very latest nightmare. Welcome to #006: the sixth specially built Hummer Mil-Spec’s done.

They started with a 1996 four-door H1, and – much like Singer and Redux do with the 911 and E30 M3 – stripped it down and put it back together again, only better. They replaced the floorplan with a welded aluminium one. They replaced body panels with specially fabricated aerospace-grade aluminium versions. They even ditched weight wherever necessary, and strengthened up the whole truck.

We’re told the most unique aspect of #006 is the adjustable suspension setup. Mil-Spec’s #002 had air-ride, but this one gets self-levelling and a four-inch ride height adjustment (via airbags at each corner, controllable from within the cabin, of course) for better off-road ground clearance.

Eight-way adjustable shocks finish off the suspension setup, while Mil-Spec have binned the standard four-wheel drive for a part-time set-up. Under normal loads – say, on road when evading a horde of less-good assassins – it’s rear-drive, engaging the front axle only when you decide to climb up a mountain. We’re told it’ll be quiet inside, though, thanks to better NVH. NVH! In a Hummer!

The engine? There is one. It’s a 6.6-litre Duramax diesel from the 2006 Hummer, rebuilt and reassembled to kick out 500bhp and 1,000lb ft of torque, which is more than a regular 1996 Hummer would have produced. Do not ask us for a 0-60mph time. A), it really doesn’t matter, and B), we don’t actually know.

There are mighty tyres. It’s finished in black with Kevlar, with semi-gloss trim bits. There’s a bonnet scoop, big bumpers, a winch, and LED light bar. Naturally you can personalise the interior. This one gets… a black interior, with all-weather vinyl replacing the floor carpets. Plus lots of sound deadening. Because screams aren’t fun.

The price? $295,039. As mentioned, it’s the sixth of Mil-Spec’s special Hummer line, and we’re told they’re only building 12 limited edition Hummers. Does thou wanteth one?

So it begins. This is Aston Martin’s very first all-electric, full production car, housed in the rather delightful form of the Rapide. So, meet the Aston Martin Rapide ‘E’.

Recognisably an Aston, then, but without the most recognisable thing of all – a socking great naturally aspirated, 6.0-litre V12. In its place sits a bespoke battery pack encased in carbon fibre and Kevlar, using more than 5,600 lithium-ion cells. Aston tells us there’s 800V and 65kWh in total.

Aston also tells us this 800V system, designed in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering, is better at charging and offers “greatly improved thermal characteristics” than other electrical systems.

We suspect you care less about the thermal characteristics, and more about the speed characteristics. A total of 601bhp and 700lb ft of torque is produced, which is quite a lot indeed. This is sent rearwards and rearwards only, to a pair of relectric motors recording some very intriguing times.

It’ll go from 0-60mph in under four seconds, go from 50-70mph in just 1.5secs, and top out at a clean 155mph. And, because of that fancy new battery, Aston says the Rapide E “will deliver its performance in a consistent and repeatable way as would be expected from a traditional Aston Martin”. So much so, it reckons a full lap of the Nürburgring is possible “with no performance derating”.

So a full range of 200 miles is estimated on the WLTP cycle, and it can recharge at 185 miles each hour with a 50kW charger, or 310 miles each hour using 100kW or more.

Naturally, there are modes – GT, Sport, and Sport+ – and alongside those rear motors sits a limited-slip differential and revised spring and damper rates over the traditional, V12-engined Rapide. Other things? There’s a new honeycomb grille, a redesigned underfloor and a bigger rear diffuser. Plus forged aluminium wheels.

Oh, and wave goodbye to those analogue dials so beloved of many. In their place sits a 10in screen providing all the Informations you require of a spirited electric drive.

“As our first ever all-electric production car, it is truly a historic step,” explains Aston boss Andy Palmer. “One that signals Aston Martin is prepared for the huge challenge of an environmentally responsible and sustainable future.

“As a car company, we cannot afford to passively allow that future to come to us. We have to actively chase it,” he added. Don’t forget, Aston has the Lagonda brand up its sleeve, which will be a fully electric, luxury car brand.

Just 155 Rapide Es will be built, and prices are on application. ‘Lots’, then.

By: Vijay Pattni, April 16, 2019

For more cars, visit: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/aston-martin-rapide-e-600bhp-all-electric-supercar

Source: https://www.topgear.com/

I’ve driven the BMW 8 Series three times, first as a prototype nearly a year ago, then again as a production car for a commute and a couple laps around our figure eight handling track a few weeks ago. Then I drove the new M850i convertible around southern Portugal on roads I’d never been on with lanes barely wide enough for the car. The narrow roads, the general lack of guardrails except in the deadliest spots, the jet lag, the 523 horsepower—none of it fazed me. That I should take it easy at first, feel out the car, didn’t even occur to me as I slid behind the wheel and dropped the top. Why would it? I have confidence in the 8 Series.

But wait. This is the convertible. BMW says it’s 258 pounds heavier at a portly 4,738 pounds, and a lot of that weight sits high on the chassis. More weight and a higher center of gravity have surely ruined the car, or at least made it less good, right? To that, I say: meh. That’s less than the weight of two passengers. You can’t feel that difference in a street car, even a light one. It might show up on the Vbox when we test this car in a few months, but it won’t be significant.

It doesn’t matter anyway. Even if the drop top handled a little less well than the coupe or was a little slower, it’d be the difference between super great and really great. Yes, the 8 Series is a large and heavy car, but it doesn’t drive like one. Credit whichever active system or combination of systems you like: rear steer, active anti-roll bars, active dampers, active differential, rear-biased all-wheel drive. The miracle of modern automotive technology is that with enough computers and actuators, you can make a car drive a size smaller. If not for its width, you’d say the 8 Series convertible drives like a 4 Series convertible.

So no, I didn’t think twice about knocking the shifter over to Sport and poking the mode buttons until the gauge reads “Sport Plus.” I didn’t worry it was too much car for the road or that a tag team of physics and horsepower would get me into trouble. I know the 8 Series has a ton of grip. I know that if a freak storm blows in and soaks the road, the 8 Series still has a ton of grip. I know the steering is tight and responsive, never forcing you to move your hands on the wheel outside a parking lot. I know that if a nun carrying a box of kittens wanders into the road, the car has the poise and the reflexes to safely avoid them. I know that if in the middle of that maneuver another nun spilled a bucket of oil in the road in front of me, the 8 Series drifts so beautifully even Jonny Lieberman can look like Ken Block with more beard—but only if you turn all the safety systems off, which no one should ever do on a public road.

By: Scott Evans, April 9, 2019

For more cars, visit: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/8-series/2019/2019-bmw-m850i-xdrive-convertible-first-drive-review/

Source: https://www.motortrend.com/

There’s this assumption—really more of a hope, if we’re being honest with ourselves—that at some point in our 20s we’ll discover who and what we’re meant to be. It’ll just click sooner or later, or at least, it had better. Wouldn’t want to be staring down the dreaded midlife crisis in our 40s.

Back in its 20s, the BMW 7 Series knew exactly what it was. Sleek, powerful, athletic, the 7 Series was confident. It was the Ultimate Driving Machine for the masters of the universe. James Bond drove one from the back seat, a highlight of an otherwise forgettable movie.

Now in its mid-40s, the 7 Series has lost confidence in itself, in its purpose. Significantly larger in every dimension, it’s packed on the pounds despite the carbon-fiber work it had done a few years back. Sure, it’s still a better runner than the old man from Stuttgart, but it’s not its younger self, either. The S-Class, though, knows exactly what it is: the standard against which luxury sedans are measured. But while S leads the way at Mercedes-Benz, 3 sets the course at BMW.

The 7 thus finds itself careening into a midlife crisis it never expected. Athletic and 3 Series-inspired though it may be, it’s not a sport sedan. BMW has made it abundantly clear that’s the mission of the upcoming 8 Series Gran Coupe just as it was for the preceding 6 Series Gran Coupe. It’s not the ultimate luxury sedan, either, riding too stiffly and offering a 3 Series-evoking interior to the S-Class’ tour de force. It’s not the ultimate technology showcase, either, not with the Audi A8 replacing every touch point with a touchscreen. The 7 tries to compete with both, or at least offer a middle ground, and ends up seemingly confused about what it wants to be.

Take it at its word as the ultimate driving luxury barge, and there are young upstarts still in their 20s and 30s trying to push the 7 aside. That A8 is no slouch in the corners, either, and Lexus modeled its latest LS on the 7 Series. Lexus did such a good job it doubled LS sales and outsold the 7 last year in the U.S. That’s not to mention the Lexus-following Genesis G90 or the plenty sporty Jaguar XJ.

By: Scott Evans, April 2, 2019

For more cars, visit: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/7-series/2020/2020-bmw-7-series-review/

Source: https://www.motortrend.com/