Porsche reveals pre-production 918 Spyder

Tweet from Monterey’s motor week reveals actual, proper, road-going 918

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A simple tweet from Porsche, and a picture: "The latest production version of the Porsche 918 Spyder at Monterey Motor Week". 

UPDATE: It's not quite the final production version: Porsche clarified this with an further tweet: "The image of the 918 Spyder is the latest pre-production version. The production version will be unveiled at Frankfurt."

Still, we've seen it as a render, half-built and with special livery; heck, we've even driven one (as you can read below). But this is the first time we've seen an un-camouflaged, near-as-dammit, road-going version.  

Top Gear drives the Porsche 918 Spyder

A quick recap then, if you permit: it's Porsche's top-dog hypercar, going up against the LaFerrari and McLaren P1. It's a hybrid, too, sporting a race-bred 4.6-litre naturally-aspirated V8, producing 608bhp, together with a 149bhp electric motor on the rear axle, and a 129bhp electric motor on the front axle.

That's right, it's a four-wheel-drive electric-hybrid Porsche hypercar, producing a total of 886bhp (that's almost 100bhp up from the original estimation). It revs to 9150rpm, it'll hit 0-62mph in under three seconds, go from 0-125mph in under eight seconds, top out at 202mph, and emit just 70g/km of CO2.

Video: Ginetta hit by door at 140mph

Watch as GT3 racer gets struck by a flying door at Brands. And keeps his foot in…

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Racing drivers aren't cut from the same cloth as you and I. Their internals are forged from unobtanium and their minds wired up to sniff out circuits, not spreadsheets. Strange creatures, we understand one of this enigmatic breed is apparently terrified by ducks...

Anyway, Mike Simpson, Ginetta GT3 racer. Last weekend at Brands Hatch, the Ginetta works driver was running in third place and chasing down second position when, inexplicably, the windscreen of his G55 was hit. BY A FLYING DOOR.

And it wasn't like he was coasting along, either; he was doing somewhere in the region of 140mph - the scary region, then - when said FLYING DOOR smashed into his windscreen. Mike's reaction? He kept his foot in, and continued chasing down the car in front.

Unfortunately, the impact of aforementioned FLYING DOOR destroyed his radiator and windscreen, and forced him into an early retirement, because the car began sliding around on its own coolant. Said Mike: "The collision was an issue outside of our control, yes it destroyed the windscreen and radiator, but it's a good job we build them strong at Ginetta, or it could have been a different story."

Limited edition Bentley announced

Special versions of the Mulsanne built to celebrate Le Mans, only available for US

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Bentley has announced a special edition of its Mulsanne to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Le Mans 24hour race, and 10 years since it won it in a Speed 8.

It's called, unsurprisingly, the Bentley Le Mans Limited Edition Mulsanne, and there are six versions available, each one inspired by a driver from Bentley's six victories at La Sarthe.

Each one features diamond-quilted hide for the seats and door panels, drilled alloy foot pedals, sports tuned suspension and steering, quad exhaust pipes and two-piece, five-spoke, dark tinted alloy wheels. Phew.

And who are these mythical Bentley racers? First up you've got the John Duff Le Mans Mulsanne (dark grey ‘moonbeam' exterior). The original ‘Bentley Boy'; Duff set over fifty world records for speed and endurance, and was the man who convinced Mr Bentley to participate in the very first 1923 Le Mans, going on to win it the following year.

Next is the Dudley Benjafield Mulsanne (green exterior, cream/green leather interior); Dudley was a Harley Street ‘specialist' who competed in motorsports for the "thrill of the race", and competed at Le Mans seven times, winning in 1927.

Woolf Barnato also lends his name to the Mulsanne (granite exterior, red leather interior), and quite rightly too - he secured three back-to-back Le Mans wins for Bentley from 1928 through to 1930. Mr Bentley considered Woolf to be the best driver he had; Woolf later served as company chairman.

This is a 400bhp Toyota Yaris

Hybrid-R concept set for Frankfurt Motor Show, tech pinched from Le Mans racer…

Toyota has revealed its hybrid racing concept for the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. When it was teased last week, we hoped it would be a hardcore GT86. It is not a hardcore GT86. It is a 400bhp Yaris.

This monster Yaris will form part of Toyota's hybrid-focused show stand. It gets Toyota's four-cylinder 1.6-litre ‘Global Race Engine' (itself only developed last year by Toyota Motorsport), connected to a pair of electric motors, making it four-wheel-drive.

The HyYaris uses a form of KERS, recovering energy under braking and storing it in a super capacitor, which can quickly deploy this power to the motors for added oomph. It's the same kind of technology we've already seen in Toyota's TS030 Le Mans hybrid. Here's hoping it sounds even half as delightfully intergalactic as that racer...

The Yaris boasts with two different driving modes, one for road and one for the track. Don't expect this monster to appear in your local showroom anytime soon - it's a showpiece for Toyota's hybrid tech.

Still, if Toyota did build a 400bhp hybrid Yaris for production, would you be tempted? After all, if 5.5 million of you have bought Toyota hybrids since 1997, surely this should be top of the list?

2014 Cadillac ELR, a Caddy coupe de Volt, emerges

Four years ago in Detroit, Cadillac unveiled the Converj concept, an idea for an angular small coupe powered by the electric-gas hybrid drive of the Chevy Volt. It comes to life today at the Detroit Auto Show as the 2014 Cadillac ELR.

The ELR changes little from the original concept, displaying the same vertical LED head and taillights, with the headlights merely widened a fraction. Its sleek silhouette appears modern and slender, the look that will soon spread across the Cadillac line. It's one of those rare cars that looks slightly better in pictures than it does in person, but it’s still a tasty machine.

Powered by a tweaked version of the Chevy Volt drivetrain, the 1.4-liter engine and 16.5-kWh battery remain. But the ELR boasts a slightly more powerful electric motor, that combines to produce 207 hp and 295 lb. ft of torque. With the initial oomph an electric motor provides, Cadillac claim the ELR will accelerate like a BMW M3 (if only for a split second); GM declined to say how much the ELR might improve on the 8.5-second 0-60 mph time of the Volt.

Electric range is slightly less than the Volt (35 miles vs. 38) due to a heavier curb weight and more power, but by using slightly more of the battery’s power, it still nips at the Volt’s heels. The interior is typically Cadillac, trimmed with the level of opulence one would expect for a luxury coupe.

Like the Volt, the true benefit to the ELR is the lack of time spent at the pump. Cadillac claims the electric-gas hybrid technology will provide driving range exceeding 300 miles. A “Regen on Demand” systems aids efficiency too, by allowing the driver to temporarily regenerate energy by capturing the energy produced by momentum, and turning it into electricity that can be stored in the battery for later use. Pulling a paddle on the steering wheel engages the system.

The big question is what all this Cadillac goodness will cost. Official numbers have not been released, but expect base price to run around $60,000 before any tax incentives, a number that will make the ELR a low-volume niche car. On paper and in the metal, the production ELR manages to save much of the Converj's show car appeal. I only hope it drives as well as it looks

All-new 2014 Toyota Corolla goes from bland to bold

The Toyota Corolla has long been the antithesis of the enthusiast car. It’s the automotive equivalent of smooth jazz — ubiquitous and innocuous but seldom loved. And like a forgettably syrupy Kenny G ballad album, it’s also enjoyed enviable success over the years; in 1997 it beat out the Volkswagen Beetle to become the best-selling car of all time, and is always near the top of the charts for its segment, selling 290,947 units in 2012 in spite of being near the end of its model cycle.

But reputation and bulletproof reliability alone hasn’t been enough to stave off competition in recent years, and it’s been sparring with the Ford Focus for bragging rights as the best-seller. Since a half-hearted makeover would likely lead to losing more market share, Toyota has unveiled a new, eleventh generation Corolla that’s sleeker and dare I say, interesting.

Surprisingly similar to the carbon fiber-trimmed Corolla Furia concept from this year’s Detroit Auto Show, the production version sheds the frumpy profile from the existing car by stretching the wheelbase and overall length by almost four inches. With chiseled lines and sculpted creases on the outside and a sportily svelte cabin within, it’s the best-looking Corolla yet. Nonetheless, the smallish tires tucked into cavernous wheel wells show it’s still an economy car at its core.

And while the fundamentals of the car won’t change much — there’s still a 1.8-liter, 132-hp engine, a four-speed automatic (in addition to a six-speed manual and CVT) and a torsion beam rear suspension — Toyota promises a more engaging drive. Steering has been slightly quickened to 3.19 turns lock-to-lock similar to the pre-refresh 2012 Honda Civic, and the electronic power steering unit touts better road feedback and accuracy. The S trim traditionally has little frills and no thrills, and for 2014 it’ll see a stiffened suspension setup as well as a 140-hp engine.

So the “sporty” grade won’t take on a Volkswagen GLI at a stoplight, but efficiency, not speed, has always been one of the key selling points of the Corolla, and Toyota is targeting 42 highway mpg for the LE Eco trim. The compact will also see more standard features across the line-up, including Bluetooth connectivity, LED-adorned headlights and eight airbags.

None of those are groundbreaking specs, but what’s game changing is Toyota’s shift towards the sporty, even with what has long been a hopelessly forgettable appliance. If the Corolla gets a competitive pricepoint and driving dynamics that don’t induce sea sickness, it may not only be a value-minded purchase for buyers, but an enjoyable one.

Electric Glossary: AC, DC, and Why Electrolytes Aren’t Just Something Found in Gatorade

August 9, 2013 at 4:06 pm by Car and Driver

On AC, DC, and why electrolytes aren’t just something you get in a bottle of Gatorade.