2017 Ford Explorer XLT Sport Appearance Package

It wasn’t that long ago that that increasing gas prices almost killed off the SUV 

market. We traded in our Ford Explorers and Dodge Durangos for more fuel efficient cars like the Honda Civic or the Ford Focus. Just a few years later, the SUV market has rebounded with a vengeance. As the interest in SUVs continue to grow, manufacturers are starting to offer more and more variants of the SUVs in their lineups. Today, the manufacturer in the spotlight is Ford and its release of a new trim level for the Ford Explorer.

Currently, the Explorer is offered in five trims – Base, XLT, Limited, Sport, and Platinum. According to Ford, Explorer buyers are interesting in unique models, with the Explorer Sport and Explorer Platinum accounting for 30 percent of Explorer sales in the U.S. market. Due to that interest, Ford will now be offering the Ford Explorer Sport Appearance Package.

Ford’s Explorer brand marketing manager, Omar Odeh, says, “Our Sport Appearance philosophy is rooted in the fact that we know exterior appearance is the No. 1 consideration in SUV purchase decisions. The XLT Sport Appearance Package is a dramatic offering that gives customers another attractive option.”

The XLT Sport Appearance trim is set to join the Explorer lineup sometime this summer, with its little brother – the 2017 Ford Escape – also receiving a similar addition to its lineup. So, now that Ford has spilled the beans, let’s take a look at what the Explorer XLT Sport Appearance Package brings to the lineup.

SOURCE:TOPSPEED

2016 Aston Martin WB12 Vengeance By Kahn Design

Ever since Kahn Design teased the Aston Martin DB9- based WB12 Vengeance in May 2015, updates on the car have been few and far in between. Actually, there hasn’t been so much as a peep about the project, at least until recently when the British tuner announced that the car would make its long-awaited debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

The announcement is the latest indication that Kahn Design is serious about its attempt to become a full-fledged coach builder after establishing a reputation as one of the best Land Rover tuners in the world. It’s worth noting that it was just last year at the same event that Kahn unveiled the Land Rover Defender- based 105 Longnose and the 110 WB 6x6 Flying Huntsman SUV. For an encore, the company is setting the stage for the WB12 Vengeance’s debut, and while the full swath of details have yet to be revealed, Kahn has provided a few specifics about the car, including the meaning behind its name. For instance, the WB stands for wide body while the 12 understandably points to the car’s 6.0-liter V-12 engine.

Kahn also indicated that the inspiration behind the WB12 Vengeance is the first-generation Vanquish, the Ian Callum-penned model that launched Aston Martin into the new millennium. Apparently, at least according to Kahn, Aston Martin hasn’t come close to replicating the kind of design impact the original Vanquish had when it burst into the scene back in 2001.

So, he’s taking matters into his own hands with the WB12 Vengeance. The question now is this: will the WB12 Vengeance live up to expectations? The answer to that will be determined at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

SOURCE: TOPSPEED

2016 Lotus 3-Eleven

SPECIFICATIONS:

year:

2016

make:

Lotus

Model:

3-Eleven

price:

82000

Engine:

V6

Horsepower @ RPM:

450

0-60 time:

3 sec. (Est.)

Top Speed:

180 mph (Est.)

Having launched the 2015 Lotus Elise S Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Lotus Evora 400 in 2015, Lotus is slowly but surely heading toward stability under the guidance of Jean-Marc Gales. The Frenchman joined the company in May 2014, when the Brits were struggling to stay afloat with net losses at more than $250 million at the end of 2013. Now that the British brand is somewhat stable, Gales reportedly wants three new vehicles in dealerships, including an Evora Roadster, an SUV, and a successor to the 2-Eleven. And the latter was just introduced at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Dubbed 3-Eleven, the new sports car follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in just about every respect. It sports the barchetta-style design and features a comprehensive aerodynamic kit that includes all the goodies usually seen on a hardcore track car, including a large front splitter and rear wing, as well as a race-spec diffuser.

What sets the 3-Eleven apart from its ancestor besides the updated styling is the significantly more powerful engine and the fact that it comes in two versions. The Brits will built models for both the road and the track. Both will feature the same powerplant, but the racing variant will feature improved aerodynamics to help it go faster around the track. Lotus also aims to lap the Nurburgring in only 7:09 with the 3-Eleven, which would make it the fifth quickest production car on the "Green Hell."

Updated 09/09/2015: Lotus announced that the new 3-Eleven just finished a two-week test session at the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit, in which over 1,200 miles were covered. During the test sessions, the 3-Eleven achieved one of the fastest ever lap times around the Nürburgring: 7 minutes and 6 seconds — which is even better than the company predicted. The time however, was obtained combining the quickest sector times achieved during the fastest 2 laps on the “Sport Auto” magazine lap configuration.

SOURCE:TOPSPEED

2015 Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo

The Vision Gran Turismo project has provided quite the list of poster-worthy concept vehicles from some of the biggest automakers in the world. The 2015 Volkswagen GTi Supersport looked positively gnarly. The 2015 SRT Tomahawk was sheer and utter madness. And don’t even get me started on the 2015 Chevrolet Chaparral 2X. To this day, I still can’t wrap my head around that thing. Today, though, isn’t the day to reminisce on what’s already been launched. Today is the day all of us welcome another virtual concept to the Vision Gran Turismo roster. It comes by way of Hyundai, and it’s called the N 2025.

There aren’t that many details about the N 2025 out yet. The N 2025 will make its debut on Sept. 15th at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show .

The company did drop some teaser photos of the concept before the covers are officially pulled. Best remember, though, as exciting as it is to see the N 2025 in all its glory, don’t expect to see it as a production race car. Not today, not tomorrow, and certainly not in 2025.

The "N" in the concept’s name is only a mere mention of the company’s upcoming "N" performance division. Sure, the concept might include some designs and technologies that Hyundai could implement in the future, but like all the VGT concepts, the N 2025 is meant more for the virtual world than the real one.

Updated 09/09/2015: With just a few days before its official debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, Hyundai dropped a series of new teaser images for its future N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo.

SOURCE:TOPSPEED

2015 Audi R8 LMS

SPECIFICATIONS:

year:

2015

make:

Audi

Model:

R8

price:

$ 400000 (Est.)

Engine:

V10

Transmission:

six-speed with paddle shifters

Horsepower @ RPM:

585

Displacement:

5.2 L

0-60 time:

3 sec. (Est.)

Top Speed:

186 mph

After first entering the GT3 fray with the R8 LMS in 2009 and following it up with the slightly improved R8 LMS Plus a few years later, Audi is recommitting to its GT3 customer-racing program with the all-new 2016 R8 LMS. Based on the redesigned 2016 R8 road car, this thing looks positively ferocious.

Though GT3 cars are intended to be factory-supported customer race cars, and are for the most part, the class has become the stage for a global proxy battle between an unprecedented number of major manufacturers.BMW, Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin, Mercedes-AMG, Lexus, Porsche, Lamborghini, Nissan and McLaren are all major players, and most either recently introduced new GT3 cars or have new ones on the way.

Despite all that competition, the first-generation R8 LMS excelled in the class, collecting 26 GT3 Championship wins and 23 titles in other international classes. It won seven 24-hour races, including two wins in the torturousNürburgring 24. With 130 cars sold to customer teams worldwide, it’s arguably the most successful and popular GT3 car in the world. So, the new one has a lot to live up to.

And we won’t have to wait long to see if it will. Entries during the 2015 season have already been confirmed for the Nürburgring 24 in May and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in July, with more likely to come. We can also expect to see it racing on our shores, possibly in the Pirelli World Challenge series and in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship after the GTD class fully embraces the FIA’s global GT3 specifications in 2016.

Updated 09/09/2015: The new Audi R8 LMS can now be ordered by customers, and the first deliveries will be made by the end of the year. Audi’s GT3 sports car is priced at 359,000 euros (plus VAT) - $400,000 at the current exchange rates, with a starter and parts package increasing the total price up to 398,000 euros (plus VAT) - $444,000 at the current exchange rates.

SOURCE:TOPSPEED

2017 Bentley Bentayga

SPECIFICATIONS:

year:

2017

make:

Bentley

Model:

Falcon

price:

$ 200000 (Est.)

Engine:

W-12 (Est.)

Transmission:

ZF eight-speed automatic

Horsepower @ RPM:

600 @ 5250 (Est.)

Torque @ RPM:

664 @ 1250

Displacement:

6.0 L

0-60 time:

4.0 sec. (Est.)

Top Speed:

187 mph

Even though it has a history spanning almost a century, and some of its earlier models were nicknamed by Ettore Bugatti as "the world’s fastest lorries," Bentley has never manufactured an SUV. Its Continental GT lineup is almost exclusively all-wheel-drive, but far from meeting the criteria for being called an SUV. Those three letters have actually given nightmares to traditional Bentley enthusiasts since 2015, when Bentley officially announced that it will launch a full-size SUV called theBentayga by the end of the year. With the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show just around the corner, the Bentayga is finally here to brag about being the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive SUV in the world.

With the luxury carmaker being all about sales nowadays, and the Bentayga already amassing 4,000 pre-orders, the SUV is bound to be a sales success despite what the old-school Bentley fans want or believe. Based on the same platform as the new 2016 Audi Q7, the model is also set to become the first Bentley powered by a diesel engine and a hybrid drivetrain, but more on that as you read the following review.

Updated 09/09/2015: Bentley dropped the official details on the new Bentayga, with just a few days before the car’s official debut in Frankfurt.

SOURCE:TOPSPEED

2016 Porsche 911 Convertible

SPECIFICATIONS:

year:

2016

make:

Porsche

Model:

911

price:

$ 101700 (Est.)

Engine:

flat-6

Transmission:

6-speed manual

Horsepower @ RPM:

370

Torque @ RPM:

331

Displacement:

3.0 L

0-60 time:

4.6 sec.

Top Speed:

181 mph

Just ahead of its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt International Auto Show , Porsche has dropped details on the latest mid-cycle refresh for the drop-top 911 , and it comes with a few new exterior styling tweaks, the latest infotainment and driver’s aides, and most notably, a smaller, turbocharged engine.

It appears as though Porsche is moving to widen the appeal of the 911 Convertible, which makes sense given the automaker’s lineup of hardcore, track-oriented models. However, purists will still inevitably complain about the boosted cabriolet’s engine, despite it bringing more power and greater efficiency.

The car is even quicker, with performance figures seeing improvements across the board and new standard features that enhance its race -inspired capabilities even further.

Porsche says the car blends “performance and everyday usability,” a combination the brand is well established for delivering.

Updated 09/09/2015: Porsche dropped the official details on the new 911 Convertible with just a few days before its official debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

SOURCE:TOPSPEED