Get ready for yet another coupe-like SUV, this time from a fledgling manufacturer that has yet to establish itself: Lynk & Co. This time the vehicle in question currently doesn’t yet have a name, but we do know it is the more rakish and slightly less practical version of the high-riding 01 model.

The vehicle was recently spotted by our spies under thick camouflage, but we are able to make out its BMW X6-inspired rear end design, as well as the same front end as on the 01 - the car in the photos looks like it’s the same until the B-pillar, but from there on its roofline dips in fastback style.

Its interior and engine range will be the same, although the coupe variant of the SUV may come with sportier suspension tuning and slightly less emphasis on comfort - this is also what other manufacturers that have such vehicles do to give these models more than just a visual differentiation.

And in the not too distant future, we may start to see lots of Lynk & Co vehicles not only in Europe but also the States. Geely, the Chinese automotive giant that owns Lynk & Co (as well as Volvo), is examining possibilities to open manufacturing facilities in Gent, Belgiu as well as in North Carolina.

Records are meant to be broken, right? Well, the outright lap record at the Nurburgring stood for over three decades before Porsche came back to better it this summer. Now, it seems that the record might fall again, sooner than anyone expected, and in the hands of Volkswagen no less. The German manufacturer plans to obliterate the existing record for electric cars with the already impressive I.D.R., but there might be enough juice in the electric prototype to top the overall leaderboard in the process.

The outright record around the northern loop of the Nurburgring was something of a staple in motorsport. For over 30 years, the 6:11.130 lap time set by Germany’s Stefan Bellof was unbeaten. That is, until this summer when Porsche brought their 919 on steroids and, with Timo Bernhard behind the wheel, sliced the fastest lap time by almost a minute. It seems, now, that the new record won’t last for other three-and-a-half decades as the car that proved untouchable at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hillclimb event will take on the Nurburgring next May.

Mercedes’ first hot hatch, the A45 AMG, is monstrously quick around a twisty road, with its 400 horsepower and all-wheel drive grip, yet it’s not the most feelsome or engaging hot hatch to throw around. The Three-Pointed Star’s second attempt, the new A35 based on the fourth-generation A-Class (bearing the internal codename W177), is much better in this respect.

When Subaru founded Subaru Technica International (STI) 30 years ago, it probably didn’t think it would become synonymous with rally racing dominance, nor would it become a staple in the all-wheel-drive sedan segment. The STI nameplate has accomplished great things for Subaru. Turns out, it accomplished enough that Subaru’s throwing a 30th-anniversary party with five packets of Japanese curry and a red teddy bear holding a spoon. This is not a joke, ladies and gentlemen. The STI’s glorious three-decade milestone is being honored with a stuffed bear, Japanese curry, a special curry spoon, and a commemorative t-shirt that says, “CURRY IS POWER.”

What can your $10 get you? For some people, $10 equates to a few lottery tickets. For others, it’s a pack of cigarettes. That’s great, sure, but what if your $10 can get you a one-off Lamborghini Huracan that bares the signature of none other than His Holiness, Pope Francis? This isn’t a joke, folks. The one-off, white and gold Huracan that Lamborghini gave to Pope Francis back in November 2017 is now up-for-grabs at Omaze. The lottery-slash-charity initiative requires at least a $10 donation to enter the sweepstakes. According to Omaze, proceeds from the lottery will go to a “number of causes working to transform lives around the world.” The website is accepting donations ranging from $10 to $5,000. The amount donated correlates to the number of entries you get. Entries will be accepted until January 30, 2019.

Introduced in December 2018, right between the auto shows in Los Angeles and Detroit, the 720S Spider replaces the 650S Spider in the lineup and enables McLaren to compete with the 488 Spider and Huracan Spyder. It’s the third member of the family, joining the coupe and the race-spec 720S GT3. The 720S Spider shares all exterior and interior features, as well as the drivetrain centered around the 4.0-liter V-8 engine, with the coupe model. Although it’s 108 pounds heavier than the coupe, the 720S Spider remains the lightest in its class with a dry weight of 2,937 pounds.

Back in October, Ken Block revealed the latest wild machine to claw its way out of his caffeine- and tire smoke-addled brain. It’s called the Hoonitruck, and it’s a twin-turbo, 914-horse dose of custom carbon fiber madness designed to shred all things round and rubber. Now, you can watch it do exactly that in this 2-minute, 43-second test session video.

Audi first introduced the A7 in 2010 at the Paris Motor Sow as a sporty, yet practical iteration of the A6. U.S. models arrived for the 2012 model year, while the hot-to-trot RS7 was released in 2013 with more power, complimentary suspension and chassis upgrades, and sharper looks. Now, following the release of the second-gen A7 in October of 2017, Audi is cooking up a second generation for the RS7 as well, and it could get as much as 700 hybridized horsepower under the hood.

Updated 12/10/2018: Our spy photographers caught the upcoming Audi RS7 Sportback in its production form during cold weather testing flaunting its big oval exhaust pipes.

Volkswagen’s plans with the I.D. family are undoubtedly grand, and the German manufacturer is going to great lengths to make sure their upcoming EVs will be best-sellers from the word go, but internal combustion engines won’t be killed off by the end of 2026 as previously reported.

Remember VW’s plans to build 1,000,000 EVs a year by 2025? Well, the car maker from Wolfsburg is now aiming to roll out 15,000,000 cars based on the new MEB platform in the first wave. That calls for a continuous flow of money that will see Volkswagen cut costs by eliminating some of the ICE models from its lineup and curtail redundancies in various administrative departments.

I’ve wondered for long - what the heck is a sleeper? Can any of the modern performance-laden cars be sleepers? I think it’s possible, but only if you inject it with a proper amount of power. This time I am referring to a rather unusual entry in the world of modified cars - the Carbonfiber Dynamics BMW M5 Estate - an Estate with a power greater than that of a Porsche 918 Spyder. Yup, this BMW M5 Estate has an engine under its bonnet with 900 horsepower.

The Germans! What can I say!?

The world has been waiting two years for the Bugatti Chiron to post a top speed run. We’ve been teased about it before, but now it looks all that teasing will be for naught. Bugatti has now closed the door on a top speed run for the Chiron. Word of the company’s decision on the issue comes straight from the mouth of CEO Stephen Winkelmann, who said that a top speed run isn’t in any of Bugatti’s priorities at the moment. Whether that position holds true or changes remains to be seen, but if you’re looking for a threat to the Koenigsegg Agera RS’ world record top speed of 277.8 mph, that conversation, at least for now, starts and ends with the Hennessey Venom F5. Bugatti’s not joining that party, much to the dismay of everyone.

BMW just introduced the new 8 Series earlier this year, and in doing so, resurrected the 8 Series nameplate after roughly two decades on the shelf. Fans already adore the new luxury-laden grand tourer, but now it’s looking like BMW might apply some of its 8’er gloss to its SUV line as well.

McLaren has had a busy year with the respective launches of the track-focused Senna and the three-seater Speedtail. But 2018 isn’t done yet, so McLaren’s busting out another debut, this time for the “more affordable” 720S Spider. Despite its place in the “Senna-Speedtail” pecking order, the McLaren 720S Spider is lethal and potent in its own right. It has the same 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-8 engine as its coupe counterpart and produces 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. More importantly, the 720S Spider isn’t as heavy as you’d think, especially with the complex roof system it’s carrying. McLaren is already taking orders for the 720S Spider, which carries a price of $315,000. Those who order from the British automaker should expect their supercars to arrive sometime in March 2019.

When Nissan and Italdesign joined forces to create the GT-R50 prototype earlier this year, the final product elevated Godzilla from functional to fantastic, bestowing undeniable beauty onto a platform usually regarded for its prowess, rather than its aesthetic. Now, Nissan has revealed a final limited-run production version, and its still got the goods to drop jaws.

Yamaha’s Ténéré line expands down into the mid-range with the all-new Ténéré 700 (XTZ700). The “700” brings solid dual-sport capability to the adventure-touring range with an off-road bent that definitely favors soft terrain. Yammy’s CP2 engine delivers the goods with a transmission and chassis tuned specifically for trips off the beaten path, much more so than its bigger brothers in the Super Ténéré family. After a race to the top, this model marks a new front in the battle for market supremacy as the factory seeks to fill in under the 1,200 cc units, so let’s see where the balance between price and value lies on this newest and smallest Ténéré.

Ford is reportedly working on a replacement model for the Courier pickup sold in Brazil, and there’s a good chance this new model could make it to North America. Unlike the Courier, which is positively tiny by American pickup standards because it is based on the Fiesta city car (and also it went out of production in 2013 and never got a direct replacement), this new Ranchero would use the slightly largerFocus platform.

This means it’d grow in length quite considerably and also move from a single cab design to a crew cab. If it makes it to the States, it would probably get a name change as well, so instead of Courier, it will probably be called Ranchero, recalling an older model name. The old Ranchero was built between 1957 and 1979 as a unibody, car-based pickup. It was Ford’s answer to the Chevy El Camino.

So, it would be quite natural for Ford to use the Ranchero name for this newly proposed pickup, although nothing has been officially confirmed yet (or denied, for that matter). What’s clear is that this new Ranchero could be here by 2022, when it will share the showroom floor with the likes of the new Ranger, Bronco, and maybe a boxy-looking Focus platform-based crossover (aka “baby Bronco”).

As one of the most astounding racing cars in the world, the electric Volkswagen ID R seems to be gunning for the Nurburgring Lap Record. Sources close to the company reported that Volkswagen actually booked the track for May next year. We suspect it will try to send the slightly retuned electric ID R to that very track in order to slash the electric car record and take the scalp off the Nio EP9. That one managed to lap the Green Hell in 6 minutes 45.9 seconds. It is, obviously, a really fast car. Yet, considering the blistering Volkswagen ID R hill climb run at Pikes Peak where it smashed the previous record by 15 seconds and managed to finish the course in 7min 57.148 seconds, I can only imagine it will do the same at Nurburgring.

I started my research on this topic by entering three words in the google search bar - “Two Door SUVs” - and the first result that came out is a story authored by Doug DeMuro titled “Every Single Two-Door SUV Has Failed.” I feel that the guy is right. Like 100 percent right. Especially after reading a freaking list of two-door SUVs that actually existed and that still exist in this world of ours. While DeMuro really did provide an extensive list mentioning 29 different two-door SUVs, I managed to find a few more of them, that, of course, failed. Now, I will not list all of them, but I will mention five interesting two-door SUVs that we may have forgotten about. I am writing about them only to show you that modern two-door SUV interpretations are probably doomed and destined to fail.

Mercedes showed up to the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show with quite the surprise – the AMG GT R Pro. It’s essentially a more aggressive version of the GT R with some serious track equipment to push it right to the next level. Not that the standard AMG GT Rcouldn’t deliver track performance, but this is for the serious track guys. Extras include a spoiler lip, longer front splitter, new bumper flics (For downforce, obviously), revised steering wheel and AMG’s Track Pace app. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come along with any extra power, but it still has 577 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque on tap, so it’s not like it was lacking in that department. It is the quickest Mercedes on the Nurburgring and can even hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Thanks to the updated suspension and ceramic-composite brakes it can handle well and can be tamed if needed. And, since most of the upgrades can be seen on the outside, we’ve decided to make the AMG GT R Pro our wallpaper of the day. Grab yours now and lighten up the mood on your desktop!

Volkswagen might be working hard to broaden its cutting-edge electric offerings as of late, but it isn’t forgetting where it came from, digging deep into its catalogue of classic hits to mate the new with the old. Now, the latest VW icon to get EV’d could be the ever-lovable Beach Buggy.

Having the engine in the middle or as close to the center of the car as possible is deemed ideal in order to have even weight distribution between the two axles. But over the years, the configuration has mostly been reserved for expensive exotics unattainable by only the wealthiest enthusiasts. That’s why cheaper cars that have adopted the configuration have always stood out and usually attract some manner of cult following.

It’s not yet been 20 years since Y2K, and we’re already reaching for the rose-colored glasses when talking about the 2000s. It was a decade of rapid technological advancements, one where flip phones turned into smartphones and laptops were finally making some gains on desktop computers. It was, arguably, the decade of the Fast And Furious franchise, for the movie-going car guys, that went from glamorizing the tuner culture to being just another action franchise that happened to feature some exotics.

All the recent news about the Aston Martin Vanquish tooling and design being sold has spawned new interest in sports car here at Top Speed. As the replacement for the Mirage that went out of style in 2001, the Vanquish has had a good long run, but it, as we know it, might not be around much longer. This pains us deeply, but at the same time we have so much to look back at, and that’s why we’re going to honor it as our wallpaper of the day. As a reminder, this baby delivers 568 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque from an all-alloy V-12. It can run to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and will top out at 201 mph if you really push it. It’s a blast to drive, unbelievably comfortable and handles like a dream. If you ever get the chance to drive one, don’t turn down the opportunity. Until that happens, go ahead and download our favorite wallpaper or run through our gallery below for more choices. Download one or all, the choice is yours.