Cars

The Nissan Rogue is in its second generation, but it has been soldiering on since it was introduced in 2014 with only a mild facelift in 2017 and a safety equipment update in 2018. With all of the wide selection of compact SUVs on the market, we thought it would be a good idea to see how the aging Rogue holds up on an oh-so-competitive market. Does the Rogue’s appearance, interior comfort, safety systems, and technology hold up against the ever-growing crop of small crossovers or is Nissan in dire need of majorly updating the Rogue? Well, we found that out for ourselves and more – this is our experience with the 2020 Nissan Rogue.

Mercedes is preparing to debut the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class on December 11th, but before the second-generation crossover arrives, the German automaker dropped a new teaser showing the new GLA-Class’ side profile and parts of the rear section.

The familiar design echoes the looks that we’re now familiar with from Mercedes’ new batch of compact cars. The carmaker took a few design liberties in rendering of the GLA-Class — the wheels and tires are abnormally large — but for the most part, the second-generation crossover carries a host of new design features that should make the GLA Class look sportier than in previous forms.

With electrification gaining a strong foothold in the car industry, we’re bound to see an increase in the number of supercars that harness the power generated by a battery pack and a pair of e-motors.

Drako’s GTE ups the ante with a quad-motor setup and the complete lack of differentials. Instead, the supercar uses a smart algorithm that sends just the right amount of torque and power to each wheel, for what Drako calls the ultimate driving experience. Let’s see what that means, shall we?

Do you remember the Maximus 1000? Hennessey injected the Jeep Gladiator with steroids and renamed it the Maximus 1000 earlier this year. Although it looks absolutely stunning in black, the truck’s biggest change was under the hood where the tuner decided to swap the stock Pentastar engine with a Hellcat mill.

The engine was then further tuned to churn out 1,000 horsepower and now Hennessey has released a video of the Maximus doing a dyno run. Although you’d expect it to rev in all its glory, the Maximus actually didn’t make a 1,000 horses. It was a lot less, and honestly, a tad bit disappointing.

So, the Nissan GT-R50 is no longer a pipe dream. It’s going to be built in limited quantities as a special-edition supercar brought to us by Nissan and Italdesign. Naturally, news of the GT-R50’s imminent arrival has sent everyone in a tizzy, including designer Rain Prisk, who quickly took inspiration from the stunning supercar and created his interpretation of what the GT-R50 could look like if it took the form of a mid-engine supercar.

A mid-engined version of the Nissan GT-R50 isn’t happening so absorb as much as you can from Prisk’s rendering. It’s probably the closest we’ll ever come to see a GT-R in this kind of layout. Which is a pity because Prisk’s work is incredible.

The 2021 McLaren 620R is the range-topping version of the Sports Series, the company’s entry-level lineage of sports cars. Essentially a road-legal version of the 570S GT4, the 2021 620R slots above the 600LT. Design-wise, the 2021 620R is almost identical to the 570S GT4. It also features the same engine, but because it’s not restricted by racing regulations, the V-8 boasts more power.

Rated at 610 horsepower, the 2021 620R is the most powerful Sports Series vehicle ever created. It’s also the quickest, but it lags behind its siblings when it comes to top speed. With production limited to 350 units, the 2021 McLaren 620R costs almost $300,000. Let’s find out more about this supercar in the review below.

The insane and utterly mental 755-horsepower Shelby Super Snake F-150 Concept Truck is headed to production. Long associated with the Ford Mustang, the Shelby Super Snake moniker makes its way to the mighty F-150 truck for the very first time. The stunning concept only made its debut last month at the 2019 SEMA Auto Show, but after receiving incredible demand from enthusiasts, the media, and Shelby dealerships, the concept quickly turned into a limited edition production model. Only 250 units of the Shelby F1-50 Super Snake Sport will be built, each with a price that starts between $93,000 to $95,000.

The Mercedes GLS now has a hotter, sexier sister that wears a Maybach badge and a whole lot of model-exclusive features. Naturally, the interior is the epitome of luxury, ranking up there with the best of the best, but the exterior has been updated to make it stand out in the GLS lineup as well. This includes the two-tone exterior finish, the massive chrome grille, and the cheese grater-like insert in the front fascia. That part we can’t really get onboard with but the rest of it looks amazing.

Under the hood sits an AMG-sourced V-8 that’s paired with a 48-volt electrical system and EQ boost. The engine alone delivers 558 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque while the EQ Boost function pumps out another 22 ponies and 184 pound-feet. So, despite the lack of the usual V-12 engine, this Maybach will get you to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds but will top out at 155 mph when the electronic governor kicks in. Sales for this luxrious people mover kicks off in the second half of 2020 and pricing is expect to start out north of the $200,000 mark.

An old friend of the public automotive auction scene is back for another go. The Sunbeam Alpine was an interesting yet underrated British sports car that once raced disguised as a Ferrari. It wasn’t some gimmick, just the result of the relationship between famed U.S. Ferrari importer, racer, and team owner Luigi Chinetti and the owner of this particular Sunbeam Harrington Alpine Coupe.

With a 1.6-liter engine developing just 104 horsepower, the Sunbeam Alpine was surely not the car you’d pick if you wanted to go for overall honors in the 12 Hours of Sebring but, due to its low dry weight of just 2,228 pounds and an aerodynamic body, it was tough nut to crack in the lower GT ranks. This example was first run by the factory-backed Rootes team before going through a never-to-be-repeated makeover that saw it repainted in Ferrari Red. This is what we call a sheep in wolf’s clothing and you can pick it up during January’s RM/Sotheby’s Arizona sale!

Seven years old as of late 2019, the third-generation Audi A3 is a bit long in the tooth and a fourth-gen model is underway. Alongside the familiar hatchback, Audi is also working on a new sedan model, including a higher performance S3 version. The latest prototype was spotted cold-weather testing in Sweden and the bodywork suggests that the compact four-door is ready to go into production. The A3 wasn’t wearing any camouflage, but it was hidden under a cover. Our paparazzi managed to grab some shots as Audi employees were removing the cover, so we can get a good look at the A3’s front end.

Less than two years after it introduced the 600LT, supposedly the range-topping model within the Sports Series lineup, McLaren launched a sportier and even more powerful variant, the 620R. It’s essentially a road-legal version of the 570S GT4 race car, and McLaren claims that it handles, performs, and feels like one. The 2021 620R is the most powerful Sports Series model, but it’s also the most exclusive, with production set to hit only 350 units. Pricing starts from a whopping $299,000.

Revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the current-generation Renault Megane R.S. is due for its mid-life nip and tuck. The coming of such a revamped model is backed up by a set of photos sent it by our spy photographers, who caught the French hot hatch completely free of camouflage during what looks a lot like a pre-production test run.

In all fairness, we don’t expect Renault to operate a lot of changes on the facelifted Megane R.S., which is already a mature model both in terms of exterior design and drivetrain. The cockpit, however, does leave some room for improvement especially in the technology and material quality areas. Renault knows this all too well and is surely working to tweak things in this regard, but take a closer look at the spy shots and you’ll spot a couple of other cosmetic changes as well. Let’s check them out.

Not everyone gets the chance to go to the Nurburgring and drive around it, but just because that’s the case, it doesn’t mean you can’t bring the Nurburgring to your living room.

You’ll get that chance now with the release of Nurburgring Monopoly. It’s the second Nurburgring-themed version of Monopoly — the first edition Nurburgring Monopoly was released in December 2018 — but instead of featuring vintage race cars, the second-edition Nurburgring Monopoly comes with a more varied mix of figurines, including — not surprisingly — a Formula One race car.

The Cadillac CT6, the company’s range-topping sedan and spiritual successor to the iconic Fleetwood, will be discontinued in January 2020. A highly anticipated vehicle that should have revived Cadillac’s presence on the full-size luxury, the CT6 leaves the scene after only four years in production. Although the discontinuation can also be attributed to the fact that General Motors is retooling its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant for electric vehicle production, the CT6 was a disappointment sales-wise, with less than 40,000 units sold since its introduction.

Supercar Blondie has all the luck when it comes to getting her hands on hypercars, supercars, and even concepts, and she got even luckier when she got to drive the Saudi Arabia exclusive GFG Style 2030. Her maiden voyage in the concept took place during the Riyadh Car Show in Saudi Arabia, where the Style 2030 was showcased alongside 1,200 other beautiful cars, a preview before the Style 2030 is shown off at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show. But, thanks to Supercar Blondie’s video, you don’t have to wait to get up close and personal with it.

We know that you’ve probably seen the Corsair before – it was released earlier this year, but new for 2020 is the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring. This Corsair itself is aimed at the younger crowd that don’t need three rows of seating and desire a little more space and now the Grand Touring trim steps in to provide even better fuel economy for those that are more green conscious.

It might not be quite as powerful as the non-hybrid, but the 2.5-liter gasoline engine and two electric motors are said to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 266 horsepower and Lincoln is “anticipating” a range of 25 miles. AWD also comes courtesy of the electric motors as they exclusively power the rear wheels while the engine handles the duty of driving the front wheels.

In terms of appearance, the Corsair Grand Touring doesn’t stand out my way of any real unique aestetic features, so aside from the exterior badges and the ability to drive silently for a limited period of time, there’s not much else to report. However, we’ve created a full gallery and organized it into our awesome slider above and the article below. Go ahead and browse through the images to learn more about the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring.

Roush Performance is no stranger to building tricked out programs for Ford products over the years. The Ford specialist is at it again with a new kit developed specifically for the Blue Oval’s best-selling pickup, the Ford F-150. The Roush package is available on either the F-150 XLT or F-150 Lariat trims. It’s loaded on all fronts with exterior and interior upgrades to go along with performance improvements that are meant to give the F-150 an even more imposing off-road presence. You can even score optional goodies that aren’t available in the package. The cost of buying Roush Performance’s new program for the 2020 Ford F-150 starts at $13,750.

Pickup tug-of-war battles have become the spectacles these days. Just about everybody’s doing some form of it, and yes, this video is no different. This tug-of-war battle comes to us by way of Carwow, which decided to pit a Mercedes X-Class against a pair of Japanese trucks: the Isuzu D-Max and the Toyota Hilux. As with most tug-of-war scraps, the objective of this competition is to pull the other truck into your side of the set cone. Whichever pickup manages to carry out this goal wins. We’re not going to divulge the winner here because, well, where’s the fun in that?