reviews

The Cayenne Coupe, like the entire Porsche lineup, is due for an update. However, that won’t happen until later in 2022, so, for now, we must work with what we have. Manhart decided to take the Cayenne Turbo Coupe under its wings and give it some serious improvements.

Its latest package, the CRT 800, not only makes the German SUV look better on the outside, but also adds a lot more power under the hood.

The second-generation Toyota Venza was announced in May 2020 and went on sale for the North American market for the 2021 model year. Of course, no major changes were announced since then, but for the 2023 model year, the Venza will offer a special Nightshade Edition.

This is not the first Toyota model to get a Nightshade edition, as in the past few years the package was offered on pretty much every car, ranging from small cars like the Avalon to bigger ones like the 4Runner.

Audi announced updates for its entire 2023 lineup, and the S6 and the S7 sedans are no exception. While no major exterior or interior updates will be offered, both models can now be ordered with an exclusive Design Edition package. It is only about some cool exterior and interior color combination, and it does make both sedans look better than ever.

The new Design Edition package will be offered exclusively for the 2023 model year and can be ordered starting June.

Harley-Davidson adds some much-needed vim, vigor, and vitality to its Grand American Touring lineup with the new-for-2022 Street Glide ST model. This is a bagger based on the large tourbike frame with the classic Batwing fairing up front and lots of long distance-comfort items on board. Best of all, it comes with a performance bent due to the Milwaukee-Eight 117 powerplant and optional electronic engine-management goodies.

Mercedes marks AMG’s 55th birthday with the launch of a series of "Edition 55" special editions. After the release of the AMG A 35 "Edition 55" and the G 63 "Edition 55", the company has now announced the CLA 45 "Edition 55."

The model is available to order now until December 2022, and the equipment package will be priced from €12,614 for the S versions and from €14,280 for the base CLA 45.

Chevrolet Corvette has a very long history of pacing the Indy 500 race. It started in 1978 and 2022 will mark its nineteenth time on the job and its sixth consecutive year. This year, the pace car will be based on the 2023 Corvette Z06 and will be driven by former Indycar Series driver and team owner Sarah Fisher.

The Land Cruiser is Toyota’s longest-selling car. It was launched in 1951, and, at the end of 2019, the production had surpassed 10 million units. It is true that in the States, the model does not enjoy the same success as it does in other markets. The fact that the new LC300 generation didn’t make it Stateside says it all. But, everywhere else in the world, the Land Cruiser is actively used and enjoys great success.

Inspired by this success, Khann International came up with a very cool Expedition package that will literally take your Land Cruiser everywhere.

When a car company starts out as an airplane manufacturer, you can expect some very unusual and downright crazy design and engineering decisions. Bristol is one of those companies, and one of the last cars to come out of its assembly plant is the Bristol Fighter. It looks like what Mercedes would have built, if the idea of a 300SL Gullwing successor was realized in the 1990s, only this one has an all-American Viper V-10 up-front. YouTuber and car nut, JayEmm managed to get his hands on one of the very few made and shared his impressions on one of the strangest British sports cars ever made.

Mansory has a very long history of updating the Mercedes-AMG G63. Just recently, the tuner unveiled two special editions built for the Chinese and the UAE markets. And, because the Middle East is such a big fan of big, luxury, flashy cars, Mansory announced a new special edition built exclusively for them.

If the name sounds familiar - Gronos EVO S P900 - it is because the tuner offered a car with a similar name back in 2021.

Indian Motorcycle carried over its popular Chieftain Dark Horse into MY2020 with much the same custom panache, but repowered it with the Thunder Stroke 116 engine. Classic historical touches abound on this ride for a healthy dose of nostalgia, but of course, it rocks all of the factory’s electronic fandanglery to make it a thoroughly modern machine. Whether you want to do some light touring or just do some boulevard cruising, the Chieftain Dark Horse brings something to the table for you.

With modern cars becoming more and more artificial, we can see how there is a market for resto-modded, updated, or reimagined classics and young-timers. It seems Aston Martin Works was ahead of the game since in 1992, a 6.3-liter conversion was offered for the first-generation Aston Martin Virage and Virage Volante (convertible), made between 1989 and 2000.

The Lexus IS brings a lot of excitement for the 2022 model year, but that does not mean it was never exciting. Lexus was intelligent enough to give it a facelift for the 2021 model year, ensuring that the lack of a new generation has no bearing on sales. The IS was always a daily-driver kind of sports sedan, which offered both, comfort and decent performance. But, rivals like the 3 Series, the C-Class, and the A4, are more dynamic on the road when compared to the IS. Surely you would love to take the IS on the highways, but what if you wanted to take it to the track? For the 2022 model year, Lexus has started rolling out the more performance-focused IS500 F Sport Performance models. These models are not only powered by a throatier 5.0-liter V-8 but also come with an adaptive sport suspension, quad-exhaust tips, and upgraded brakes. As for the standard IS300, there are still two engine options, one is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot, and the other one is the underpowered 3.5-liter V-6 which also powers the IS350 F Sport, but is rated at 311 horsepower. It is a bit confusing about the whole IS, but we will try to simplify them in the latter part of the review. Apart from performance, Lexus cars are more about luxury and exquisite craftsmanship, which we witness with every line-up. Do all of these make Lexus a more approachable brand? Is the Lexus IS the best buy for you?

Who said only tuners can work on updating sports cars? Take BS Teile Center, for example. Its origins are rooted in selling used Mercedes-Benz parts, but this didn’t stop it from creating the perfect AMG GT R. And, it did this just by using original parts from model variants with superior features and drive systems.

The Fiat 131 Abarth was a tiny race car that made history: among many other titles, it also won the Manufacturers’ World Rally Championship three times: in 1977, 1978, and then again in 1980, with Walter Röhrl behind the wheel. In 1976, Fiat built a total of 400 131 Abarth Rally units for road use. Unlike the race versions (237 horsepower), the street version only delivered 138 horsepower, but nobody cared as the 131 Abarth Rally captured the imagination of an entire generation of car enthusiasts.

In order to mark the 40th anniversary of the last Abarth 131 Rally official race, Abarth decided to come up with a 695 Tributo 131 Rally special series limited to only 695 examples worldwide.

Using feedback from the market, the media, and the N-thusiasts - who already found ways to improve the i30 N, Hyundai came up with the i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition. While it will offer the same high-performance driving experience, the new edition will offer an updated exterior and interior design.

The new special edition will be limited to only 800 copies: 620 for Europe and 180 for Australia. Production has already begun.

Summer is just around the corner and all we can think about is outdoor fun. The problem is that there are not many fun buggies out there. The good news is that, like usual, Brabus has our back: the tuner has come up with a hardcore buggy based on the Mercedes-AMG G63.

Limited to only 15 examples, the new Brabus Crawler is priced at €749,000 (almost $800,000 at the current exchange rates). Brabus will build five copies in 2022, five in 2023, and the final five in 2024. Unfortunately, the buggy is not street legal.

Land Rover introduced the Defender to the North American market for the first time back in 1993. It was an extensively modified Defender 110, in order to comply with the strict North American safety regulations. The SUV was powered by a 3.9-liter V-8 petrol engine.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the North American introduction of the Defender, Land Rover will offer a special Defender 30th Anniversary Edition. It will be limited to only 500 units - just like the initial export batch offered in the States, and will be priced from $75,000.

Mercedes-Benz is not the only automaker out there to offer a Night Edition package. In fact, this has been quite a popular name among the special editions lately. For example, Hyundai is offering a Sonata N Line Night Edition, while Ram added the same name to its 1500 and Heavy Duty models.

However, the name has the longest history in the Mercedes-Benz lineup. It has even been offered for models like the Maybach S 650. But, the latest addition is for the E-Class lineup, including coupe, cabrio, sedan, and station wagon, with the exception of the AMG models.

Just like the Nissan Juke, the SOUL has a boxy design that helps it stand out in the crowd. Of course, over its relatively short history, the SOUL stopped being as angular as it was when launched back in 2008, but still, it is very easy to recognize for what it is.

The third generation arrived in the States for the 2020 model year, and since then, it suffered minor changes constantly, including dropping the manual gearbox for the 2022 model year. The 2023 model year will once again offer some changes, including losing the 201-horsepower, 1.6-liter gasoline engine.

The BMW 3 Series is widely regarded as the poster child of what a compact luxury sedan is supposed to be. The M3 Competition, on the other hand, serves as a firm representation of what a compact performance saloon should be. The range of sheer precision and performance between a base 3 Series and the M3 Competition is so wide that the two couldn’t feel more different from a driver’s perspective. With just over 500 horsepower on tap, is the M3 Competition really suitable as a daily road car, though? I spent a week with it to find out, and let’s just say that there’s more to the M3 than the grille.

BMW rolled into 2021 with what it calls a soft re-imagination of its plucky little roadster, the G 310 R. Not only did BMW tuneup the looks, but the new G 310 R sports a number of tech upgrades and safety equipment to boot. The engine is a carryover from 2020 even though it, too, hits the showroom floor with buffed engine-control electronics and mechanical features. New paint packages finish out the details that make their model debut in MY2021.