Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i MotorTrend

@Lohdown As we sat in his office working through the blurbs for this month’s cover, creative director Alan Muir took stock of my enthusiasm and noted with raised eyebrow and clipped Highland brogue, “I know why you’re so excited about this cover. Takes you back, doesn’t it?” Indeed it does. Before I joined the Motor Trend team in 2007, I was editor-in-chief of Sport Compact Car. In its heyday, SCC was the magazine of record for the serious business of high-performance compact cars. It is with great pleasure that we can bring some of that back in Christian Seabaugh’s fantastic cover story on “R Type” of freakishly fun four-cylinder compacts. During peak SCC, when the scene was ablaze with Neon SRT-4s, Mitsubishi Evo MRs, and all the aftermarket go-fast bits…

The brawny Audi Q8 will be the company’s first—and biggest—SUV coupe, exterior designer Sascha Heyde says. Left unsaid is the idea that consumers are increasingly turning their backs on traditional three-box sedans, resulting in the Q8 likely displacing the A8 as Audi’s flagship model when it arrives in the U.S. late this year. The Q8 shares its basic structure with the three-row Q7 SUV, though the architectural hardpoints have been tugged and teased to deliver a sportier stance. The 117.9-inch wheelbase is the same, but the Q8 is 3.3 inches shorter and 1.4 inches lower than the family-friendly Q7. The key dimensional change is across the axles, however: The Q8 is an inch wider. The broad-shouldered proportions are accentuated by the wide grille up front, a full-width light graphic at…

We have reached peak SUV. Behold the 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the most expensive and most lavishly appointed off-road-capable vehicle ever built. That’s right. The Cullinan is no louche boulevardier: Press the Off-Road button, and the big Rolls will lift its skirts and ready itself for rough tracks, gravel, wet grass, mud, snow, sand, and water up to 21 inches deep. But it will also do 155 mph on the autobahn. And all the time those inside will be riding in the lap of luxury. The Cullinan is built on what Rolls-Royce calls the “Architecture of Luxury,” a flexible, aluminum-intensive space frame that made its debut with the Phantom VIII last year and will eventually underpin every future Rolls-Royce. Under the hood is the 6.7-liter twin-turbo V-12 shared with the Phantom…

June 29 Auto Mundial, Motorsport Mundial July 2 HOT ROD GARAGE, Ep. 65 July 4 HEAD 2 HEAD, Ep. 104 July 5 LIVE! 24H Proto Series, 3X3H, Portimao, Portugal - Qualifying FIA World Rallycross, Sweden July 6 LIVE! 24H Proto Series, 3X3H, Portimao, Portugal - Races 1 & 2 Auto Mundial, Motorsport Mundial July 7 LIVE! 24H GT Series/24H Touring Car Endurance Series, 24H, Portimao, Portugal - Qualifying LIVE! 24H Proto Series, 3X3H, Portimao, Portugal - Races 3 LIVE! TCR Europe Series, Hungaroring, Hungary LIVE! Virgin Australia Supercars, Townsville LIVE! VLN Endurance Championship - Round 4, Nürburgring July 8 LIVE! 24H GT Series/24H Touring Car Endurance Series, 24H, Portimao, Portugal LIVE! TCR Europe Series, Hungaroring, Hungary LIVE! Virgin Australia Supercars, Townsville July 9 ROADKILL, Ep. 79 July 11 Mobil 1…

HUBRISTIC PRIDE OF THE MONTH: “No, I can’t go shopping in ‘my’ Vantage.” First, a correction After reading your June 2018 comparison tests, I need help understanding fuel costs as calculated by IntelliChoice. I first noticed that the Tiguan and the Volvo had similar EPA combined ratings (23 versus 24 mpg) and that the Tiguan specified regular fuel while the Volvo specified premium. So I expected that fuel costs would be similar, with better mileage (Volvo) offsetting the higher cost of premium. I was surprised that the fuel cost for Tiguan was significantly higher than for Volvo. It appears that the same price per gallon was used for both cars. So I also looked at the other three comparisons and got totally messed-up results. Perhaps you can explain how IntelliChoice…

Full disclosure: I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the Hyundai Veloster. Back in my Chrysler days, I proposed the same kooky asymmetrical door layout for the original Neon. Seeing my rejected idea survive for a second generation as other automakers cancel “normal” coupes and sedans is sweet validation. Discovering that the redesigned car is as fun to drive as it still is funky to look at is even sweeter icing. Hyundai has deftly matured the 2019 Veloster without altering its kid-at-heart essence. Dimensionally it’s 0.8 inch longer and 0.4 inch wider on the same wheelbase. Without changing the height, the roof slopes more steeply, but savvy packaging adds 0.6 inch of headroom, and seats-up cargo space balloons from 15.5 cubic feet to a CUV-ish 19.9 cubes.…

Being successful the first time around is tough, but it’s even harder following up an initial smash success. When the pressure is on, it’s easy to screw up. It might be hard to imagine, but during the past 40 years, there have been four generational changes to the Mustang (not all of them good), five Jeep Wranglers (if we count the CJ), and five Chevrolet Corvettes. But there’s only been one Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen. Known colloquially as the G-Wagen and officially as the G-Class, the Bundeswehr-ready SUV was originally released in 1979 for military and civilian buyers alike. The legendary G-Class has seen plenty of minor tweaks over the years, but the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G 550 and Mercedes-AMG G 63 represent Benz’s first attempt at a new G-Wagen. What’s changed? It’s…

Let’s be honest with ourselves: If they made The Transporter today, Jason Statham’s character would drive an SUV. It’s the way of the world now. If he wanted to be inconspicuous, he’d drive a perennial best-seller like the RDX, but equipped with Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive for the chase scenes. Regardless of franchise, the character is always the same: square jaw, finely tailored suit, obsessed with precision and discipline. He’s generally dispassionate and ruthlessly effective. If he were a car, he’d be the 2019 Acura RDX. The RDX is the first of a new generation of Acura vehicles aimed to reanimate the brand’s classic “Precision Crafted Performance” philosophy. At the same time, though, it’s Acura’s bread-and-butter product. It had to be approached with the same sort of rigid discipline…

Offered as a six- or seven-passenger SUV, the all-new BMW X7 was designed to keep customers from heading to other automakers when they want a full-size family vehicle. Motor Trend was invited to an early test drive of prototypes. Even in a vehicle likely to top 5,000 pounds, the standard 3.0-liter turbocharged I-6 provides even and smooth acceleration. It’s pleasing to listen to, reminding you there’s ample power, though it’s not as blunt as the louder and more audacious 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 option. Exhaust notes are a combination of the real thing and some sound enhancement. When the I-6 isn’t working hard, it’s remarkably quiet, at times drowned out by errant wind noise over the X7’s hulking body. If the goal is a soothing and comfortable five-hour drive with the…

The performance gap between the refreshed 2018 Ford Mustang with the Performance package and the Camaro SS 1LE was 3.3 seconds on our Streets of Willow Springs handling circuit. The more powerful Mustang’s best lap was an impressive 1:23.97, but the torquier Camaro’s superior chassis delivered a blistering 1:20.67. That, friends, is an old-fashioned ass-whoopin’. Not to worry, Ford fans. As that stinging defeat was announced, Team Mustang was finalizing a chassis and aero package it calls Performance Pack 2, which is available only on fastback manual GTs. The twin keystones to ultimate performance: four 305/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires like those on the front of the GT350R and an exacting retune of the Perf Pack 1’s MagneRide shocks. These barely DOT-legal semi-slicks feature two tread compounds, both…

[Electrification] fits right into our brand DNA. We’re calling it a ‘quiet flight.’” Joy Falotico spent 29 years quietly climbing the ranks to chairman and CEO of Ford Credit. But in a recent management shake-up at the Blue Oval, she found herself with two big new jobs—Ford’s chief marketing officer and president of Lincoln Motor Company—while retaining her duties at Ford Credit. Falotico was still getting acclimated when Motor Trend sat down with her at the New York auto show, where she unveiled the Lincoln Aviator SUV concept. What are your priorities with Lincoln? The first priority is to continue to build on the momentum of the transformation. We announced we are going to have two new utilities. [Aviator] is one. And we have four new vehicles around the corner.…

Every generation has one. Volkswagen Golf GTI. Acura Integra GS-R. Mitsubishi Evo. If you smuggled automotive magazines in from Europe, perhaps it was the Renault 5 Turbo or Ford Escort Cosworth. No matter who you are or where you grew up, odds are you remember your first hot hatch—a plebeian-skinned powerhouse designed around the democratization of performance and practicality. Some looked like ATMs on wheels; others had sloping lines approximating a coupe. But they all held the same secret: startling horsepower and tight handling underneath their econobox sheetmetal. Me? I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Subaru WRX. I was about 12 years old. It was a snowy winter morning, made colder by the wind ripping off an angry Hudson River. My dad and I were lugging my…

When you’ve produced a vehicle continuously for 40 years, odds are there are gonna be some good ones. So to celebrate the milestone launch of the second-gen 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center provided a half dozen ’80s G-Wagens for us to sample. Here are the three coolest. As I’m a child at heart, I naturally gravitated to the 1982 230G fire truck. Powered by a 102-hp 2.3-liter I-4 backed by a four-speed manual, this G-Wagen convertible spent most of its working life with an Italian fire department before being rescued by the Classic Center. For a truck fast approaching 40, the 230G was pretty peppy and happy to rev, though the gearbox had long, vague throws. All driving impressions are irrelevant because the gumball lights work—I was endlessly…

I know better. Driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on a Sunday afternoon is a circle of hell unto itself. After three days of touring wide-open interstates and empty state highways in Colorado and Utah, the soul-crushing, back-to-reality traffic leaving Las Vegas was an unwelcome end to a wonderful road trip. But I wasn’t nearly as frustrated as I normally would be. The easy-riding F-150 Power Stroke diesel gets a lot of credit for that. Normally, a pickup wouldn’t be my first choice for a 1,300-mile road trip. But in this case it makes perfect sense. Back in 2014, we set about updating our Truck of the Year competition to better represent what you, the truck buyer, want and expect from your rig. Part of that was collecting market…

Cynics will say the new Bentley is just a two-door Porsche Panamera. The cynics are wrong. The original press drive for the 2019 Bentley Continental GT was slated for November. In an unusual move, Bentley pushed back the launch of the replacement for its new big coupe by six months. Why? The car wasn’t good enough. Bentley engineers wanted a home run, not a double. Rightly so, for even in these SUV-crazed times when the Bentayga is Bentley’s best-seller, the Continental GT is the heart, soul, and face of the storied brand. The previous generation of the heavyweight grand tourer is the best-selling Bentley ever, with nearly 70,000 units sold. The new one had better rock. Fast-forward to the middle of May and the fabulous Kitzbühel Country Club tucked into…

They call it “The Boss.” This fall BMW will start selling the redesigned 2019 X5, the fourth generation of a crossover that fueled BMW’s entry into the now-booming segment. Although you’d have to squint to see design changes (the headlights are separated by a larger grille, for example), the dramatic changes are underneath the skin. The new X5 is 1.1 inches longer, it rides on a wheelbase that has grown by 1.6 inches, and it’s wider and lower. It also moves to the CLAR architecture for a better ride and more tech. At launch, the U.S. gets the xDrive40i with a 3.0-liter turbocharged I-6 (335 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque) and the xDrive50i with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 (456 hp and 478 lb-ft). Both have an eight-speed automatic transmission…

Record Breaker? Records, like glass in case of emergency, are made to be broken. So says Porsche and the most powerful 911 ever sold to the public, the 2018 GT2 RS. Here’s the funny part: Even with 690 blitzing German horses erupting from its 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six, the RWD GT2 RS is not the quickest 911 you can buy. A “regular” 580-horse Turbo S will leave the GT2 RS in its wake, hitting 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. The heir to the Widowmaker? 2.6 seconds. A curious thing happens on the way to the quarter mile, however. The big-horsepower GT2 RS passes the Turbo S, 10.3 seconds at 139.3 mph versus 10.5 seconds at 131.8 mph. The only rear-wheel driver that beats the GT2 RS is the alien-technology McLaren 720S,…

Jaguar has a long motorsport tradition, highlighted most famously by notable victories at Le Mans but also wins in other forms of sports car and touring car racing, as well as road rallies. It even had a Formula 1 team. The Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy takes that tradition in a new direction. The eTrophy has been developed for a one-make race series that will support the 2019 FIA Formula E championship. It will be an arrive-and-drive series, with competitors paying about $530,000 to show up and race fully prepared and maintained cars. Bend it, and they mend it—however, the price doesn’t include the cost of crash repairs. The eTrophy cars are stripped-out and strengthened I-Paces. Removing most of the interior has reduced weight by 500 pounds despite the addition of a…

The rise of the SUV means the A6 sedan isn’t Audi’s best-selling vehicle anymore; that honor goes to the Q5. So why is the A6 so important to the German automaker when the luxury midsize sedan segment is cratering? This fifth-generation A6, known internally as C8, matters because Audi thinks midsize sedans still matter, and adroit driving dynamics in a sedan will never get old. A6 project leader Christian König describes the A6 as the versatile soul of the brand—a car that offers comfort to the Europeans, sportiness to North America, and status in China. We got our first drive in some European-spec A6s in the craggy hills of the Douro Valley about an hour from Porto, Portugal. The narrow roads contain a bounty of curves that would make California…

The diesel variants of Ford’s F-150 XL and XLT are available only to commercial fleet buyers. Equipped with the 3.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel engine, these trims will not show up at a Ford dealer unless you have a Fleet Identification Number (FIN). You should also know that the diesel engine carries a $2,400 premium over the price of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, the engine that’s closest to the diesel’s towing numbers. That’s not cheap. The biggest benefit, however, is in fuel economy. We just ran our Real MPG tests, and our XL 4x2 SuperCab tester got 22.9/34.3/27.0 mpg city/highway/combined. Those are terrific figures when compared to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost work truck, which delivers 18/25/21 mpg, according to the EPA. But is the benefit worth the extra money? That’s a question…

Norms were smashed, benchmarks tossed aside, the edges of the envelope reduced to blurry lines in the distance. I’ve hot-lapped road cars on racetracks for more than 30 years, but nothing comes close to the McLaren Senna I recently drove at Britain’s famed Silverstone Circuit. Abbey into Farm Curve: A sweeping right–left sequence just past Silverstone’s magnificent F1 pitlane complex. 150 mph in fifth, brake where the curb starts at the left, grab fourth. 110 mph, turn in early, back on the gas well before the apex. Understeer builds gently, the outside edge of the track rushes into peripheral vision. Don’t lift! Keep looking through the corner—hands follow eyes—find the clipping point for the left-hander. There! Roll the wrists, and the McLaren calmly jinks left at 120 mph. Stowe, a…