Innehållsförteckning för June 2016 från MotorTrend

Like an increasing number of people around the world, I spend a lot of time every day holding, gazing at, and stroking a thin, rectangular wafer of glass, silicon, and aluminum. My particular brand of smartphone happens to be from Apple, whose long-rumored car we have imagined for the cover story of this issue. Our story was exhaustively researched by our editorial team, led by Kim Reynolds, but I should state that it is entirely speculative. We asked Apple for confirmation and details on any future vehicle, but the famously secretive company had no comment. But let’s suppose that this story comes true and Apple’s Project Titan bears fruit in a season not too far ahead, with or without the design and features we have outlined. Could you love it?…

What if a Corvette Z06 had four seats? More than a few people have no doubt asked themselves that question when trying to rationalize a Z06 with the realities of family life, and Chevrolet appears to be answering with the all-new 2017 Camaro ZL1. No, a Camaro isn’t a Corvette, but hear us out. This new ZL1 uses the Z06’s LT4 6.2-liter, supercharged V-8 fitted with a Camaro-specific intake, two-mode exhaust, and computer tuning, and it’s good for 640 hp and 640 lb-ft of torque. It employs magnetorheological shock absorbers like the Z06, careful aerodynamic tuning like the Z06, scads of fluid coolers like the Z06, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential like the Z06, Drive Mode Selector and Performance Traction Management like the Z06, big Brembo brakes like the Z06,…

@MT_TheGoods The intersection of priceless and worthless knowledge OFF-ROADING AND SURVIVAL Jeep Wrangler Poler Outpost Jacket • $165 • polerstuff.com Cold Steel Latin Machete • $32 • coldsteel.com The Jeep Wrangler, with its classic, rugged appearance and proven capabilities, is one of the most iconic off-road vehicles on the market. When you’re hitting those colder off-road trails, Poler’s Outpost Wool Jacket and its flannel body lining, taffeta sleeve lining, and wool exterior offer that same classic feeling. Wrap up your excursion with a traditional Latin Machete from Cold Steel, and you’re ready for whatever gets thrown your way. Mercedes-Benz G-Class Poler Bomber Jacket • $265 • polerstuff.com Cold Steel All Terrain Chopper • $44 • coldsteel.com The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, originally developed for military use, has proven itself in the…

Crowd-Pleaser Re: Track Drive/Volvo WTCC Polestar S60 (“Tossing Caution to the Wind,” March 2016). Thanks for waking long-dormant memories in this old man. In 1964, I was a young Air Force officer stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver and racing my highly modified 1964 Volvo 544 in SCCA B Sedan class. Although my Volvo dynoed with more horsepower than the XKE Jag, it was also my daily driver. On race weekends, I would jettison all the weight I could, swap my whitewalls for Goodyear Blue Streaks on wide Chrysler rims, and drive to the track, in this case some 200 miles to Aspen Raceway. Standing in the pits with the spectator who had volunteered to be my pit crew, we watched a large tractor-trailer drive in with North American Racing…

ARRIVAL 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club Erick Ayapana “Looks like my weekends for the next 52 weeks are pretty much booked. Can’t wait to hit the road.” @Erkayapana EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 27/34/30 MPG BASE PRICE $29,420 PRICE AS TESTED $32,820 The odometer on our long-term 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club hadn’t even hit 1,000 miles before staffers bombarded me with questions and suggestions. “How are you going to modify it?” “When are we putting new wheels on this thing?” We don’t often modify the cars in our fleet, but the Miata isn’t like most cars. Like those eager staffers, a good chunk of Miata owners love to tweak the little roadsters. For proof, just peruse the countless online forums buzzing with MX-5 enthusiasts convincing one another they need…

What’s On Demand This Month? On May 14 and 15 Motor Trend OnDemand celebrates the 10th edition of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique with exclusive live coverage from the world’s most famous grand prix circuit. Organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco and first held in 1997, this unique biennial event gives collectors the opportunity to unleash rare historic Grand Prix racing cars and let them shriek at full song through the famous tunnel and scream past the harbor, flanked by unforgiving barriers and luxury yachts. Seven classes of historic Grand Prix cars take to the track, including front engine cars of the 1950s, the first mid-engine cars of the 1960s, and the 3.0-liter cars of the late 1960s and 1970s. This is a must-see event for classic motorsport…

Depending on where you sit, the rotary engine can be an object of equally intense desire and frustration, and that even goes for the people building it. Mazda’s been trying to bring it back for years and made the bold promise at last year’s Tokyo show that it’s going to happen. We’ve been skeptical given the massive hurdles it faces, but insiders tell us it’s for real this time. Apparently, the sticking points— emissions, fuel consumption, oil consumption … you know, little stuff— are being fixed with modern tech, and if the so-called Skyactiv-R engine can pass two more key validation “gates,” it could actually go into production. In what car? Mazda’s RX-Vision concept, clearly. That’s the Tokyo show car we featured a few issues back and (hopefully) a sneak…

Switzerland may be neutral soil, but a session with the outspoken Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, during the Geneva Motor Show yielded an array of defensive maneuvers and news nuggets. Many of the jabs were about product delays, especially for Alfa Romeo. Marchionne said he “did not postpone investment in Alfa; we postponed the launch of vehicles, and there is a difference.” His stance: The Giulia announcement last June marked a decision two and a half years in the making on the architecture, and future Alfas will be a derivation of that choice. “That investment has been made, so nothing has been slowed down,” he said. The visible parts of the vehicle are the least expensive and easiest part of the engineering. One reason for the delay: Import…

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So often, it seems, the Germans stumble onto automotive greatness. They produce a special car outside of the normal product-planning cycle, and it becomes an instant legend. Then the marketers try to replicate that magic for the next generation but show a fundamental misunderstanding of what made the original great in the first place. No German car company is immune: Porsche 928 replacing the 911? Ha. VW R32 Mk5 replacing the Mk4? Sorry, folks. The Audi Allroad replacing the A4 Avant? Not even close. The Mercedes W113 SL replacing the W198 300SL? Hardly. There are more examples, but BMW seems to be the worst offender. When we heard about the 1 Series M Coupe replacement, we worried. Luckily, the M2 bucked the trend, but BMW has a history of replacing…

“We cannot predict the future,” says BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk, “but we can take a stance. That’s what our company feels is very important, to try and shape the future before it shapes you.” And the future, says van Hooydonk, is a lot closer than many think. He is convinced the next paradigm for the automobile and individual mobility will be shaped by technologies that will become commonplace in the next 10 years. For a traditional automobile manufacturer, that’s a frighteningly compact time horizon, less than two model cycles away. So what does the BMW Vision Next 100, the first of four advanced concepts to be unveiled this year as BMW celebrates its centenary, reveal about a 100-year-old automaker’s idea of the future? “This is a vehicle…

Newcomers Audi recently introduced higher-output variants of two sedans (the S8 and the RS 7) that probably didn’t need any more power. But who are we to complain? Both the new S8 Plus and RS 7 Performance's twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V-8s are replaced with the same upgraded, overboosted engine that, when the transmission’s Sport drive or Manual mode is selected, develops 605 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. In Drive, the V-8 will revert to the non-overboosted torque output of just 516 lb-ft. Audi conservatively estimates the S8 Plus should run 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, the RS 7 Performance in 3.6 seconds. Yet Motor Trend’s last tests of the standard versions of these super sedans produced 3.5 seconds (S8) and 3.2 seconds (RS 7), so expect our instrumented tests to…

Asking for a Friend Subject: Police vehicles for 2016. I was wondering when will you guys do an article on police vehicles so we can get a possible headsup on who’s behind us when we’re driving? BYRON RIECKMAN SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA We usually know once the strobe lights get real close to the rear bumper. But it would be informational to gather up the latest crop of law enforcement vehicles and scrutinize the first (and not back) rows.—Ed. Reader Recs Re: Corvette top noises (“Garage,” March 2016). Please tell Christian Seabaugh that unclamping the rear clamp on the targa top should end the noise. This lets the back of the top float so it’s not trying to be a structural part of the flexible Corvette body! We are on…

Larry Burns Former GM vice president of research and development and head of strategic planning, and current adviser to several companies shaping the future of mobility The word “and” is more important when it comes to the future than the word “or.” Mobility is transforming because connected and driverless and shared and tailored and electrical vehicles are converging to provide better mobility experiences at significantly lower consumer and societal cost. A combination of new technology and innovative business models is driving this change. Both a new age of the automobile and a new age of mobility are rapidly emerging where people will personally own and share driverless vehicles. Over the years I’ve seen Apple’s strong tendency to change the design language of the incumbent solutions. For example, the iPhone dramatically…