As promised, Bugatti and its bespoke division, Sur Mesure, have revealed the mysterious and ritzy Chiron they prepared for The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering – the client handover will occur against the fashionable background of the Monterey Car Week 2023.

First things first. There's a reason we are seeing this Bugatti Chiron Super Sport just now. So, although production ceased for a while already, Sur Mesure and the exotic automaker needed two years of "innovative and bespoke craftsmanship, featuring entirely new techniques that elevate it from the world of automotive and into pure artistry." Even more simply put – this was the vision of the client, and Bugatti Sur Mesure goes beyond the usual levels of customization to achieve any customer's ambitious dreams.

On this special occasion, the collector wanted to celebrate Bugatti's storied, modern, and intricate engineering of the W16 engine, as well as the company's history. Out of the many Chiron versions, which include the Sport, 110 Ans Bugatti, Super Sport 300+, Noire, Pur Sport, Les Legendes du Ciel, Pur Sport Grand Prix, and Profilee, they went for the Super Sport variant to celebrate the ICE's story. At the same time, the rest of the design pays homage to the company's history in every way possible.

The result is appropriately called the 'Golden Era' and features hand-drawn sketches of the bodywork (which alone took 400 hours to complete) among the highlights. Other essential aspects are how the stylists celebrated Bugatti's different eras, the golden ages of Ettore Bugatti, Jean Bugatti, and Roland Bugatti, and the initial modern-day incarnation of Bugatti from 1987. And it's easy to see how they picked the icons from those times as the timeline is inscribed on the door sills, and then a trio of representative models are featured on the respective door's inner panels.

Naturally, the customer's name is kept secret. Still, we are pretty sure it's an American because the final stage of the project was overseen by Bugatti's "trusted dealer partner located in Greenwich, Connecticut." As such, it makes perfect sense that Bugatti by Sur Mesure Chiron Super Sport 'Golden Era' will be presented to the customer at The Quail, a Motorsport Gathering during this year's Monterey Car Week celebrations. Oh, and has anyone noticed there are 26 hand-drawn sketches on the passenger side and only 19 on the drivers?

Anyway, the 'canvas' for all this artistry is represented by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport's body painted in a unique, timeless, and celebratory shade of gold named 'Doré,' which was created specifically for this project and then applied to the hypercar with a gradient color split fading into a special metallic variant of 'Nocturne Black.' As for technical details, there are none, so we can easily presume the Chiron Super Sport's fact sheet remained unchanged – 1,580 hp, zero to 124 mph (200 kph) in 5.8 seconds, and a limited top speed of 273 mph (440 kph).

New Polestar 2 coming with some major upgrades

The manufacturer promises more power, performance and range with its 2024 edition of the Polestar 2.

Polestar has revealed its 2024 refresh of the Polestar 2 5-door electric compact, and it gets a few major boosts in key areas.

The front end has been redesigned to look a little more like the recently-released Polestar 3. There are also upgrades in performance and range, plus rear-wheel drive for the first time.

The new Polestar 2 will benefit from the SmartZone tech first introduced with the Polestar 3. It uses a front-facing camera and mid-range radar to improve driver and passenger safety.

There will also be new electric motors and inverters, which improve efficiency and the driving experience. The new real-wheel drive motor has a power output of 220 kW (up from 170 kW) and is capable of torque of 490 Nm (up from 330 nM). This means the 2024 Polestar 2 can go from 0-60 mph (0-100 km) in 6.2 seconds.

A dual-motor variant will also be available, with 310 kW of total power and torque of 740 Nm. Add on an optional performance pack and that can be raised further, to 350 kW (0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds).

As well as the speed and power of the new model(s), the range has been improved alongside better charging. The single-motor Polestar 2 versions will be capable of a maximum range of around 312 miles (518 km), while a long range variant will reach almost 400 miles on a full charge.

"Changing from front- to rear-wheel drive in the single-motor variants, and re-calibrating the torque ratio in the dual-motor variant for an increased rear-wheel drive feel, elevates the Polestar 2 driving experience to a whole new level," said Polestar's head of chassis development, Joakim Rydholm.

"The updated Polestar 2 is an even more playful and agile car, retaining its compactness and complete sense of control, while at the same time becoming more mature with added comfort."

The next-generation Polestar 2 is available to pre-order online now, with the first deliveries expected in the third quarter of this year, around autumn time. Prices start at €50,190 / £44,950.

Overview

Think of the all-new Lamborghini Revuelto as a combination of styles stretching back decades. It blends the big-nosed Murcielago with the hips of a Diablo. The scissor doors and wedge shape come from the Countach. There are plenty of nods to the past, but unlike any bull before it, the Revuelto is a plug-in hybrid. Its mid-mounted V-12 gets help from two electric motors on the front axle and a single motor mounted to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission for a total output of 1001 horsepower. While this may cause some purists to wail, Lamborghini promises that additional electrification only enhances the supercar experience.

What's New for 2024?

2024 is the inaugural year of the all-new Lamborghini Revuelto plug-in hybrid.

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

This bull is no ballerina when it comes to performance. The mid-mounted 814-hp 6.5-liter V-12 is naturally aspirated and screams up to a 9500-rpm redline. Of the three electric motors integrated into the powertrain, two drive the front wheels, while the third is integrated into the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and assists the V-12 gas engine on the rear axle. The total output of this powertrain is 1001 horsepower, the most of any Lamborghini ever. That's also the most horsepower from any plug-in hybrid, knocking the 986-hp Ferrari SF90 Stradale from the top spot. We haven't tested a Revuelto yet, but Lamborghini claims it can reach 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed in excess of 217 mph.

Italdesign Concept Pays Homage To Leonardo DaVinci

Italdesign's DaVinci Concept can be put into production with minimal changes with an EV powertrain or a V8

Italdesign has released more details and images of the DaVinci Concept that’s on display at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show as we speak.

Dedicated to Leonardo DaVinci, the study has been designed as a Gran Turismo with a pure electric drivetrain. It’s capable of housing two electric motors, one on each axle, whereas the batteries are mounted on the floor.

Furthermore, with only a few modifications, it can house an internal combustion engine, too, with four-wheel drive. This version was developed around a 4.0-liter V8, said the Italian coachbuilder, and fitting it desn’t necessitate any changes to the car’sdesign which looks nicely executed.

At 4,981 mm (196.1 in) long, 2,124 mm (83.6 in) wide and 1,392 mm (54.8 in) tall, it’s slightly larger than the new BMW 8-Series Coupe, and has a 2,900 mm (114.2 in) longer wheelbase. The elegant exterior is completed by the sporty roofline, gullwing-style doors, OLED taillights that form a hexagonal frame and active spoiler. Additionally, it’s equipped with a new set of tires made by Pirelli specifically for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that reduce rolling resistance and noise.

The interior has no less than three screens, including one mounted in front of the passengers, another in the central console in a portrait mode and one for the digital instrument cluster. In the middle of the dashboard, right under the air vents, a display surface is embedded into the upholstery, which integrates the climate controls.

The DaVinci is only a concept, but with enough interest, Italdesign said that it can be put into production with minimal changes. Furthermore, it can “fit different platforms developed by different brands”, which increases its chances of hitting the street.

Hydrogen-Powered Hyperion XP-1 Makes Public Debut With 2,000 HP And A 1,000-Mile Range

The hypercar made its public debut in Los Angeles although it is still in the prototype stage

Remember the hydrogen-powered Hyperion XP-1 which made headlines in August 2020 with its impressive specs? Well, the first model from the California-based startup made its public debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, still looking like a vehicle built by an alien civilization.

The Hyperion XP-1 is still in prototype form and features no styling changes compared to the renderings we saw more than two years ago. It admittedly looks even weirder in person, with unconventional proportions, complex intakes, and pieces sticking out of the bodywork, including the Bugatti-styleadjustable blades which are covered in solar panels.

The Hyperion XP-1 promises 1,016 miles (1,635 km) of range when the carbon-fiber hydrogen tanks are filled up, a process that takes less than five minutes. The powertrain includes hydrogen fuel cells, supercapacitors instead of batteries, a three-speed transmission, and four axial-flux electric motors sending power to all four wheels. The combined power output exceeds 2,000 hp allowing a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration in 2.2 seconds and a top speed of 221 mph (356 km/h).

According to Hyperion, the XP-1 tips the scales at 2,275 lbs (1,032 kg), which is significantly lower than most electric hypercars, thanks to the carbon titanium monocoque structure, the aluminum alloy suspension, the titanium-reinforced composite bodywork, and of course the absence of a massive battery pack.

As it was announced back in 2020, Hyperion wants to build 300 units of the XP-1 in the US, with pricing set to be announced at a later date. The original goal was for production to commence in 2022 but we guess that this has been postponed. Last year, a camouflaged prototype of the hypercar was tested in Las Vegas. Hyperion is already accepting reservations through a special form on its official website.

Besides the Hyperion XP-1, the company which supplies hydrogen propulsion systems to other firms announced the “XF-7 Hyper:Fuel” power stations using NASA technology to refuel both FCEVs and BEVs. The stations will also be capable of providing “utility grid support for emergency and backup power applications”.

2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre Points the Ultrasilent Way Forward for Rolls

The massive battery-powered coupe proves that for Rolls, the EV future is nothing to fear.

Electrification suits Rolls-Royce better than just about any other brand. After all, for decades, the highly exclusive automaker has worked tirelessly to tune its V-12s to near silence. But even in the context of previous Rolls-Royces, the electric Spectre represents a step change in quietude. If you subscribe to chief engineer Mihiar Ayoubi's take that "silence is luxury," then the Spectre is quite likely the most luxurious vehicle ever.

A New Order of Quietude

This isn't a foregone conclusion. That all electric vehicles are inherently and equally silent is as incorrect as it is oft repeated. While it's true that electric motors tend to generate far less noise than internal-combustion engines, especially under high loads, that's only one of the three primary sources of racket. As for the other two—noise propagating up from the road and the vehicle slicing through the surrounding air—EVs have no particular advantage.But the Spectre is so silent that to experience it is to ruin every other vehicle, including the rest of the Rolls lineup. At 80 to 90 mph, the slightest ripple of wind starts to nip at the Spectre's side glass. But compared with a ride the next day in a Cullinan SUV, one of the quietest vehicles we've ever measured (62 decibels at a 70-mph cruise), the Spectre is so much quieter that we thought one of the Cullinan's windows might be slightly open.

Driving the Spectre

The company's first EV is about far more than just a lack of noise, however. Its tires roll so frictionlessly over smooth roads that you could believe you're hovering over the road, although sharp impacts ground those thoughts and serve as a reminder of the weight of the 23-inch wheels and 32-inch-tall Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect tires. The rolling smoothness is why we think the Spectre should have a coasting mode, which would continue the otherworldly feeling of effortlessness. Instead, there's a modest amount of default regen, with a B button on the spindly column shifter to increase regenerative braking to the point that it will bring the car to a stop without a touch of the brake pedal, which is a bit long of travel in an attempt to guarantee smoothness. Other than that, the Spectre has no selectable drive-mode settings, an approach we wholeheartedly agree with—offer a single excellent tune without giving drivers numerous ways to screw it up. For the same reason, there are no audio settings. The only other choice relating to the powertrain is a Rolls-Royce noise that scales with motor output; it sounds like an ominous futuristic storm that's a considerable distance away. With it off (our preference), the motors are perfectly silent. They're also plenty strong, although acceleration isn’t bonkers by today's EV standards. Still, a rush to 60 mph in the low-four-second range roughly matches the performance of the brand's V-12 models.

Those front and rear current-excited synchronous motors are borrowed from parent company BMW. There's a 255-hp motor in the front and the more powerful 483-hp rear unit from the iX M60 and the i7 M70. The 102.0-kWh battery pack is also shared with BMW and uses the same cells from CATL. Peak output is 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet, all but equal to the latest twin-turbo V-12 in the Phantom sedan. Ayoubi says the Spectre uses nearly 400 pounds of sound-deadening materials, as in other Rolls-Royces, and the 1543-pound battery pack is another effective noise blanket.

Integrating the large battery pack into the aluminum Architecture of Luxury was done deftly—the front seats sit just 0.8 inch higher and the rears 1.2 inches higher than those in the 2009 Phantom Coupe, which served as the Spectre's muse. The pack also is a major contributor to the claimed 30 percent increase in torsional rigidity over the Rolls-Royce Ghost. That the Spectre is only about 500 pounds heavier than a Cullinan or an i7 feels like about as big of a weight win as a 6600-pound four-seater can hope for.A high beltline limits the view from the plush seats, with considerable distractions from the gorgeous leather and wood interior materials. A tap of the vents suggests billet aluminum. Despite the removal of the internal-combustion engine and drivetrain, there's still a central tunnel. The now-familiar Starlight headliner that's dotted with points of light is augmented with a new Starlight Doors option, featuring 4796 additional "stars" in the doors and the adult-size rear-seat area. Or you can go with the traditional and spectacular wood paneling. Once you've taken it all in and get on with the business of driving, you'll find that the Rolls-typical steering wheel, thin rimmed and large diameter, is light in effort but very precise. In a pleasant surprise, it passes along subtle road feedback. Over large swells in the road, the Spectre can be slightly too floaty front to back, but body roll is well controlled. The forward view of the Spectre stuffing its lane makes it feel as massive as it is, but the four-wheel steering and active anti-roll bars let it drive far smaller. At no point when chucking the Spectre through a series of switchbacks at a pace totally unbecoming of its laid-back mission does it fall apart. When you finally must depart the cabin, hang on after a second pull of the door handle, and the door powers open, pulling you along with it.

Design Continuity

Nothing about the Spectre's arresting presence shouts about the sea change in propulsion, and that's deliberate. The brand's customers are not interested in a stylistic departure as Rolls-Royce transitions all its models to electric propulsion by 2030. Therefore, the long hood and generous dash-to-axle ratio remain, although there's not much to be seen under the hood save for a massive metal cover. The only bit that underwhelms is the oversize charge-port cover. Rolls reshaped and optimized every surface above and on the underside, leading to contribute to an impressive 0.25 coefficient of drag (versus 0.36 for the Phantom Coupe). Even the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament that powers out of the front of the hood contributes, now crouching slightly lower with her flowing robes more extended. The grille slats are mostly closed off since cooling air isn’t needed. At nearly five feet long, the rear-hinged coach doors are the longest Rolls has ever produced, which is why they get a secondary stabilizing latch.

The company says research with potential owners showed that they are almost exclusively interested in charging at home and that the Spectre’s estimated 260 miles of EPA range is sufficient. Those traveling farther would likely choose a different vehicle from their personal fleet—one that isn’t ground-bound. Nevertheless, the Spectre has DC fast-charging capability with a claimed 195-kW peak.

Pricing starts at $422,750, but with a seemingly endless amount of customization possible, the company says it expects most of the vehicles to transact above $500,000. Rolls says 40 percent of those who have ordered a Spectre are new to the brand, and the first year of production, roughly 2500 cars, is already sold out. Deliveries start in November 2023.

The Spectre is that most wonderfully irrational vehicle—a massive, BMW 7-series–sized behemoth with just two doors. It both feels familiar yet represents the ultrasilent way forward for Rolls-Royce.

Porsche’s new Mission X concept is a bubbly, all-electric hypercar

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The squat concept sports car has slick wings, cool retro-future interior, and a futuristic roof that lets you see everything.

Porsche debuted its new Mission X on Thursday — it’s an all-electric concept car it calls a “conceptual reinterpretation” of the hypercar. Like the Porsche 918 Spyder, it’s a squat, compact affair with bubbly fenders, but where the Spyder is somewhat toned down, the Mission X leans into its chunky corner details, making it a big part of the design that extends to the roof.

Porsche says the battery, if the car were to go into production, would have a 900-volt system architecture and would charge around twice as fast as the Taycan Turbo S. It says it has a power-to-weight ratio of about one hp per 2.2lbs, and claims it would “be the fastest road-legal vehicle around the Nürburgring Nordschleife” — at the moment, that distinction belongs to the Mercedes-AMG One.

The doors sweep forward and up, so when you open them, you’re now seated under the sky, and the car takes on the look of something like a scarab beetle when looked at from the front

The MH2 is the first concept of a Slovak hydrogen car. It is an example of effective collaboration between academic and the private home sector.

The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a high-performance racing car developed to compete in sports car racing series. With its aggressive shape, wide front spoiler, prominent rear diffuser and huge rear wing, it exudes aerodynamic efficiency. Inside, we find a racing seat with many adjustable elements for an optimal fit for the driver. Under the bonnet is a powerful V8 twin-turbo unit that produces impressive power, which is transmitted to the rear wheels via a quick sequential gearbox. An advanced suspension system and high-performance brakes ensure excellent handling and control in demanding racetrack conditions. The AMG GT3 was designed with high performance and safety in mind. It includes a number of safety systems such as traction control systems, electronic stability control and fully adaptive racing ABS. Using light materials and high technology, this car is a real trump card for conquering racetracks around the world.

The Pininfarina Battista is an ultra-luxurious electric hypercar that combines exceptional performance with refined design. Its name comes from the name of the founder of the Pininfarina brand, Battista "Pinin" Farina. It is designed with an emphasis on high technology, exceptional aerodynamics and an environmentally friendly drive unit. The Battista boasts an extremely powerful electric powertrain consisting of four electric motors mounted on each wheel. The total power is an impressive 1900 horsepower, which enables acceleration to 100 km/h in less than 2 seconds. The battery pack also allows for a long range, making the car one of the most powerful electric cars on the market. Design-wise, the Battista is extremely attractive, with smooth lines and an elegant silhouette. The exterior details are thoughtfully designed for maximum aerodynamics and cooling, contributing to the car's performance. The interior is sophisticatedly designed using the highest quality materials, creating a luxurious and futuristic environment. The Pininfarina Battista is not only a sports car, but also a symbol of innovation in the world of electric vehicles. With limited production and an extremely high price, it represents a rare combination of exclusivity, performance and environmentally friendly technology.