Luxury

Mercedes came up with an AMG C63 Black Series almost a decade back. The team at Carwow brought it to the drag strip to take on an F80 BMW M3. Both these vehicles, however, are tuned and make 1,450 horses combined. While the BMW features a pair of hybrid turbos, the Mercedes features a supercharged under the hood. They go up against each other in a series of rolling and drag races. Which tuned car do you think will win the showdown?

Volvo announced the C40 Recharge for the U.S. market back in March this year. It is essentially a crossover version of the XC40. The U.S. market is known to welcome crossover coupes with arms wide open and Volvo accepted the invitation. For the 2022 XC40, Volvo introduced two new trims – Plus and Ultimate. But, the C40 will be offered only in the top-spec Ultimate spec. Aside from the looks, it comes with a premium cabin and a ton of creature comforts. The downside, however, is the range. The C40 Recharge is offered with a range of 210 miles, which isn’t too impressive for a vehicle that costs close to $60,000.

Being on the market since 2017, it might seem logical to glance over the Mercedes E-Class until a new-gen model arrives in a few years. That actually couldn’t be further from the truth because the E-Class lineup was refreshed for 2021 with new technology, and updated appearance, and a more efficient powertrain. We’ve been itching to see how the new E-Class stands after its most recent refresh, so Mercedes let us spend a week with the E450 Wagon. It didn’t take long for us to realize that the fifth-gen E-Class has aged well, and in fact, we’d take the E450 Wagon over most SUVs – how’s that for a plot twist?

Ram officially announced the electric 1500 a couple of weeks back without a whole lot of details. Ram’s parent company, Stellantis, celebrated an EV Day earlier this month wherein announced EVs from Dodge and Jeep, and of course, Ram. The 1500 EV’s production is slated to commence in 2024, but this could give it an edge over its rivals – which arrive earlier – as Ram can study the market better and come up with a well-rounded product right from the launch.

In fact, Ram also resonates with this and is confident of coming up with a truck that will be better than the Ford F-150 Lightning and the electric Chevy Silverado. The company’s brand marketing head noted that the electric 1500 won’t be a compromise. Well, if it’s arriving that late, we really hope it won’t in any aspect.

The BMW 5 Series has long been one of the brand’s most significant models. With nearly 50 years of history and millions sold, the 5er has enjoyed great success. The current G30 generation was recently updated, so it’s not going away in the next couple of years. That said, we’ve already seen spy footage of the next generation BWM 5 Series, set to debut around 2024. This is what we know so far.

The Porsche Macan has been on the market since 2014. Following a revamp in 2018, Porsche has reworked the Macan once again to make it ready for life alongside an all-new electric model that will shortly join it. With its second facelift, the combustion engine model is buying more time. The upcoming Electric Macan will be the first vehicle to be constructed on the Audi and Porsche PPE (premium electric platform).

The Audi RS7 and the BMW M5 CS are both quick vehicles, but how they do fare against each other? Daniel Abt finds out the answer by pitting the two together in a drag race. While the Bimmer makes more horsepower, the Lord of the four rings produces a lot more torque. Both the Germans are powered by V-8s and feature an all-wheel-drive system. With similar specs, you’d expect them to have a close race. However, the M5 CS blows the RS7 out of the water. What do you think could be the reason for it – transmission, weight, tires, driver’s skill?

Lexus is growing its exclusive Black Line series with the new RXL Black Line for the 2022 model year. This new special and limited-run edition will be based on the RX 350L or RX 450L, with the former being limited to 389 examples and the latter being produced in just 106 examples. The main highlight is, arguably, the new Cloudburst Gray or the optional Eminent White Pearl, however, it’s the black accents outside that really tie the package together. The 20-inch black wheels are the most notable, however, the wheel lug nots, radiator grille, outer portion of the mirrors, badging, and lower front bumper are all finished in black. When paired with the standard Cloudburst Gray, the RXL looks downright menacing while the Eminent While Pearl exterior finish makes for an awesome two-tone contrast that really draws attention.

On the inside, there’s a decent helping of open-pore wood trim, while te Nu-Luxe seats are upholstered in black with blue contrast stitching. That same blue stitching also ties together the dash pad, shift boot, and steering wheel. Since the Black Line is a purely aesthetic package, the RXL 350 delivers 290 horsepower and 263 pound-feet of torque from a 3.5-liter V-6 while the hybrid model dishes out 308 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque from the same engine paired with an electric motor. Pricing for the RX 350L Black Line comes in at $52,030 while the RX 450 HL Black Line commands $55,290.

The 2022 Audi RS3 promises to retain the formula of the 1980s, turbocharged, inline-five, all-wheel-drive, 1980s Audi Quattro. The philosophy “evolution, not revolution” is often synonymous with the Porsche 911, but it appears that Audi is also (partially) following the same recipe. About 40 years ago, they gave us the boxy Quattro – a turbocharged, five-cylinder, all-wheel-drive rally monster that dominated the scene. Now, we still get the same basic recipe, but in a more modern, more practical shape, in the form of the Audi RS3, and for 2022, the super-hatch is even better.

There are high chances you would’ve heard of the name ‘Ineos’. It is a U.K.-based petrochemicals group. You must have even seen the name across the Mercedes F1 cars, America’s Cup team boats, and also ‘Ineos Grenadiers’, a cycling team previously known as Sky.

Now, Ineos has dipped its toes into the automotive segment and has come up with an SUV called Ineos Grenadier. The SUV is heavily inspired by the yesteryear Land Rover Defender. While it may look the part, is it as hardcore as the original model? Carfection finds out.

In a world dominated by large, tech-heavy cars, an engaging, back-to-basics, lightweight sports car is just what driving enthusiasts crave. UK is considered the birthplace of the compact lightweight sports car, even though it was the Japanese who made it reliable, with cars like the Honda S600 and, of course, the Mazda MX-5. However, a new company called Wells Motor Cars is a testimony that UK still knows how to make engaging lightweight sports cars and their mid-engine Vertige is the perfect example.

Despite manufacturers churning out a variety of luxury SUVs of late, full-size luxury sedans are still the epitome of opulence and lavish luxury. Even now, the luxury sedan market is quite competitive. The new Mercedes S-Class recently came out, Audi has updated their A8, and an all-new BMW 7 Series is on its way. The German trio has been killing it for years, with the occasional Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS, or Cadillac CT6 securing a rather insignificant market share. Now, however, Genesis is the one gunning for the full-size luxury sedan segment, by coming up with an all-new G90. Here’s what we know so far.

Indian Motorcycle made a number of changes to its touring lineup ahead of MY2020 including a new powerplant for its full-dress Roadmaster. The base-model Roadmaster hits important historical high notes and maintains the full-size front fairing, but the real news here is the addition of the new Thunder Stroke 116 engine that toes the family line and pumps out over 120 pounds of stump-pulling torque. Comfort and luxury for the every-rider are the hallmarks of the Roadmaster, and it delivers with its usual style and aplomb.

Stellantis showcased future developments for several brands under its corporate belt during its very first EV Day event. A six-minute film was shown by its Jeep brand to demonstrate the automaker’s goals. The company that specializes in off-road vehicles puts a great degree of emphasis on the brand’s 4xe goals, part of which includes the installation of Solar charging stations on trails across the country.

From deep within the bowels of Hennessey comes a very unexpected project that involves a 2021 Ford Mustang, the black and white color scheme of the Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 of 1966, and 808 horsepower of full-on, all-American muscle. Okay, maybe I’m over-selling it a little bit, as it is essentially just a rehash of Hennessey’s Heritage Edition from 2018 with a different color. But hey, this is Top Speed, and we love go-fast cars – this Mustang is certainly that, and I want to tell you a little more about it.

Rivian took the internet by storm back in the day when it announced a feature that would turn the truck on a dime. Such technology was possible because you have a motor on every wheel which controls them individually. Now, the automaker has milked this hardware some more to come up with something known as a K-turn. In its essence, it is pretty much the same as the Tank Turn, but it isn’t as aggressive and won’t dig a hole if you attempt it on a soft surface.

The Genesis brand has come a long way in a short while, and the G80 embodies that perfectly. It was the G80 that made the transition to the Genesis brand, as it actually started life as the Hyundai Genesis. In 2020, came the second generation and a year later the first Genesis EV – the G80e. Now that the mid-size luxury sedan has made a full circle, Genesis wants to make the G80 a bit more exciting. The next evolution of the Genesis G80 will be the Sport version, which brings a few exciting features.