Cars

High-mileage engines are something special. It’s not uncommon to see an engine go beyond 200,000 miles these days, but there was a time when anything above 250,000 that didn’t sport a Honda badge, meant you had to pray to the car gods it would start and get you to work each day. In this video, we’re looking at the teardown of a running engine from a Skoda Octavia – one that has amassed a total of 430,000 miles or just over 692,000 kilometers. The good news is that, once the teardown is complete, the mechanic on duty is giving the old girl a full rebuild to provide this 430,000-mile beast a new (hopefully long) lease on life. But, I’ll stop there and let you see what it looks like on the inside for yourself. Go ahead and click play, then fill up our comments section with stories about your highest-mileage car.

The BMW M3 has been around for a while now, first entering production in 1985 as a high-powered go-faster variant of the ever-popular BMW 3 Series. The latest F80 generation dropped in 2014, essentially setting the benchmark for all other fast four-doors to match, and now, there’s a new generation in the making. Dubbed internally as the G80, the next M3 is shaping up to be quite the ultimate driving machine, so we gathered up all the rumors we could find and put ‘em right here in the following speculative review.

In case you hadn’t heard, Volkswagen is pivoting to a greener, more eco-friendly approach to building its cars, offering up plans to produce a host of new all-electric models over the next several years. Spearheading this new direction is a range of vehicles dubbed the I.D. family, which includes concepts like the Buzz minivan and Crozz four-door crossover. However, doesn’t think the I.D. range will be the death of go-fast VW’s - quite the opposite, in fact, as VW is also prepping a little something labeled I.D. for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado this June. It’s called the I.D. R, and it’s the company’s first-ever all-electric race car, purpose-built to tackle the Race to the Clouds. If ever there was a worthwhile application of VW’s EV tech, this is it. Mind the wing.

Continue reading to learn more about the Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak.

When deep-pocketed car lovers want something more than a 253-mph coupe like the Bugatti Veyron, the only answer is to find a way to remove the top. And, that’s exactly what Bugatti did, effectively creating the Veyron Grand Sport. It wasn’t anywhere near as easy as it sounds, though, as Bugatti had to do a lot to make the car exactly what it was – an open top speed demon. To help set the model apart, and keep it safe in the event of the unfortunate, there’s a lot going on here. The windshield is lighter, it has restyled running lamps, and that roof – it was made from transparent polycarbonate. It had to be safe, though, too, so Bugatti added in reinforcement around the side skirts and the transmission tunnel. The B-Pillars got carbon fiber cross supports, and the new carbon-fiber doors were built around longitudinal beams that would direct the energy of an accident from the A to the B-Pillars, It even has redesigned air intakes and the necessary carbon fiber roll bars in the rear.

Needless to say, this is one timeless beauty, and that’s why it’s displayed across every computer screen here at Top Speed. Well, when we’re not cracking the whip and punching keys, anyway. We’re displaying our favorite wallpaper here, but there’s a huge gallery at the bottom of the page if you’d like something different. Go ahead and take your pick – they are free for the taking.

One of the first automakers to launch a production hybrid — the Insight arrive in late 2000 — Honda still has a lot of catching up to do in the all-electric market. Having focused on hydrogen tech and hybrids in recent years, the Japanese firm has only two EVs on offer: the brand-new Clarity Electric and the really old Fit EV, based on the second-gen hatchback that was discontinued in 2014. But Honda wants to change that really soon. It has already signed a global partnership with CATL, China’s biggest battery maker, and more recently one with Nikkei, which will spawn a new all-electric Fit.

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding dual-clutch transmissions. It’s only to be expected considering it’s a relatively new technology. The truth is, the DCT isn’t really an automatic transmission, and it isn’t really a manual transmission either. It’s a blend between the two. Sure, there’s no clutch pedal but, in fairness, some models don’t have a real “park” position either. As far as BMW’s DCT goes, it’s one of those that doesn’t have a park position, but it doesn’t use a torque converter like traditional automatic transmission either. And, that’s where the confusion comes in. See, BMW’s DCT doesn’t even start rolling right away as an automatic would. It has what the brand refers to as low-speed assist, which means that you tap the gas and it creeps along at a couple of miles per hour. If you come to a stop and let off the gas, it will simply sit there in a neutral-like state. Furthermore, the transmission will automatically shift into “park” when the engine is shut off.

I know, that description doesn’t really help the confusion, does it? Well, lucky for you, BMW has put together a video to help you understand just how well it works. Unfortunately, the man in front of the camera isn’t speaking English, so you’ll have to read subtitles, but that’s okay because it’s certainly worth the read. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Just days before the 2019 Silverado’s debut, Chevrolet decided to reveal one key piece of information – the introduction of a four-cylinder engine to its line-up! That’s right, the heavyweight beast is all set to get an engine comparable to a hatch; but wait, puny, you say? This four-cylinder engine is more potent than the V-6 engine! Continue reading to know more.

Introduced in the early days of the automobile, three-wheeled cars have remained a rare, exotic thing to this day. It’s actually pretty surprising that they’re still around and we probably owe it to Morgan, which revived its three-wheeled car in 2012 after a very long hiatus. Needless to say, Morgan isn’t the only company making small cars on three wheels, but it’s one of the very few that are also developing an electric version. Come 2018, and it gets some competition from Vanderhall, a small company from Provo, Utah that has been making three-wheeled vehicles since 2012. It’s called the Edison and it’s based on Vanderhall’s first design, the Laguna, but it has an all-electric drivetrain.

The brand’s third vehicle, it joins the carbon-fiber bodied Laguna and the retro-oriented Venice. While the former was launched in 2012, the latter was rolled out in 2017. The Edison is Vanderhall’s first EV, using two electric motors and a battery instead of the GM-sourced, 1.4-liter gasoline engine found in the Venice. Like the existing Vanderhall models, the Edison is hand-built at the company’s Utah factory using almost entirely American-sourced components. Let’s find out more about it in the review below.

Continue reading to learn more about the Vanderhall Edison.

The Volkswagen Atlas was expected to be a model that slotted between Tiguan and the Touareg, but for some reason, VW thought it needed another SUV that was larger than its largest SUV. Then again, the Touareg was one of VW’s many pushes into the luxury market it has no business trying to compete in. To put it simply, nobody wants to pay that much for a Volkswagen when you can get an Audi badge instead. Be that as it may, the Atlas came onto the scene looking sexy and spacious with a decent price and plentiful interior. And, as Volkswagen’s latest SUV offering, and a pretty one at that, we decided to make it our wallpaper of the day. We’ve hand-picked one that’s getting screen time at Top Speed headquarters, but we’ve also included a full lineup of wallpapers at the bottom of the page. Check ‘em out at take your favorite.

Memorial Day is upon us, and with it arrives a host of new deals to entice new buyers onto dealership lots. So then - if you plan on picking up a sweet new ride this weekend, check out the following deals.

Continue reading for the full story.

The Tesla Model 3 almost feels like more of a unicorn than a car that’s on the market, doesn’t it? There are so many customers still waiting for theirs. Those who have theirs have had complaints about the materials and build quality. It was just knocked hard as hell for poor brake performance (Elon Musk has promised a fix, by the way.) The thing is, a lot of people haven’t actually had the chance to see one up close yet. I’ve seen three different Maseratis in the past two weeks and haven’t seen one Model 3 – and I live in a big city with plenty of public chargers.

The point is, you’re probably curious to see just what it’s like to be inside the Model 3, how it drives, whether or not it’s powerful enough. Hell, maybe you’re just outright curious. It’s an intriguing little car with a minimalist design and downright quick performance. The long-range model can hit 60 mph in 5.1 seconds – that’s faster than a lot of sports cars its size on the road today, and it does it without using a drop of gasoline or diesel fuel.

With that said, Top Gear was nice enough to take a nice long drive with the Tesla Model 3 and they took the time to record the whole trip. Go ahead and watch the video below, then click on the link at the bottom to learn all about the Tesla Model 3!

Hey folks, it’s Friday again, and I’m here to say "I told you so!" Yes I know, you need more than that. Here it is: I told you Elon Musk has a hard time admitting that Tesla cars have certain issues that take several months to fix.

Some cars look good as convertibles. Take most of Mercedes’ lineup, for example. Cabrio models go a long way in expanding an automaker’s lineup and appeasing those that prefer living life with unlimited headroom. There are cars that have no business losing their roof, and while I should be talking about the T-Roc, I’m actually talking about the Leaf. Nissan decided to throw together a one-off concept of the Leaf feature, you guessed it, absolutely no roof. It’s also void of rear doors, and we’re not even sure that the rear hatch is functional anymore either.

It’s been less than two weeks since Volkswagen announced that it will skip the 2018 Paris Motor Show, and Lamborghini has now revealed that it will join its parent company in not setting up a booth at one of the world’s most important car shows. Volkswagen and Lambo are only two of many automakers that won’t show up in Paris, including Ford, Infiniti Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Subaru, and Volvo.

With cars like the Ford Focus RS and Honda Civic Type Rcruising the street, the Mazda 3 doesn’t really get all of the attention it deserves. It’s actually a gorgeous car with a timeless design, yet practical and family oriented at the same time. Of course, it’s designed to be a family car and not a hot hatch, so it does have a drawback. Be that as it may, it’s not exactly a slouch either. Depending on configuration, it comes from the factory with either 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque or 184 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque. It’s more than enough to get the job done, even if it won’t win any straight-line races on the way to work. Either way, we think it deserves some love, so we’ve decided to make it our wallpaper of the day. Go ahead and download our favorite or check out our full-feature gallery.

In case you hadn’t heard, the so-called “EV Revolution” is currently underway, bringing the heat to internal combustion with crazy torque and power levels. However, there are still a few ways in which traditional powerplants best their battery-driven rivals, but that might all change if Audi follows through on its research into solid-state batteries.

Continue reading for the full story.

The Honda Civic Type R is an awesome machine, and it got even cooler with the latest generation when Honda decided to bring it to U.S. shores and finally gave us a taste of the once forbidden fruit. With 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque on tap, it’s the definition of Japanese-bred hot hatch. It’s also the fastest car that’s spun its front two wheels around the Magny-Cours track. And, in a weird turn of events, Honda engineers have decided to chop one up and turn it into a proper pickup truck. Yes; a pickup truck. And, the weird part is that it’s pretty damn cool.

It’s not very often we can start out talking about any car with the words “it comes standard with a manual transmission,” but that’s how we’re starting today. This is fantastic news, considering previous rumors suggested that Subaru would kill off the manual because Eyesight isn’t compatible. (180284) Back to the real reason we’re here, Subaru has confirmed what we told you back on April 13, 2019 – the 2019 WRX STI will get a minor bump in power. It’s just five horsepower, and Subbie went to a lot to make it happen, but it’s there. It also comes with a bump to pricing across the line.

With both Audi and Mercedes-Benz now using 48-volt electrical systems in some of their cars, which turns them into mild hybrids, BMW is looking to take the same path. The 3 Series compact is already set to gain one, but a new rumor suggests that BMW will use a similar layout in the higher performance M3 model as well.

When it comes to the Porsche 911, there’s usually nothing all that surprising about it - engine in the back, familiar fascia up front, and a steering wheel somewhere in between. However, with the up-and-coming 992-generation 911, Porsche might be changing the formula in a big way.

Continue reading for the full story.

We all shed a tear when the Dodge Viper was killed off, and another when it Detroit-based production facility was officially killed off too. Fanboys and long-time customers scrambled to buy up the Viper in hopes to hang onto the once great car, and don’t forget the five “celebratory” special editions released in 2016 after the Viper’s fate was sealed. All of that drama and no we’re here to tell you that the Viper is coming back, and it’ll probably hit the market for the 2021 model year. Sorry, folks, but if any of you rushed to get your hands on the last run of Vipers, you got taken like a whore in handcuffs at an Ivy League frat party.

There’s just something romantic about an old race car. The associations we make usually include memories of going to see it in action on the track or watching it on TV, and it can be a powerful thing for those of us who breathe gasoline. But what if we took these classic speed machines and updated them for the modern era? Well, that’s exactly what Budget Direct did with the following eight classic race cars, and the results are simply stunning.

Continue reading for the full story.