*timeless & Beautiful Exotic *collector Quality *512 Tr *serviced Up To Date* // on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Top Gear's latest trailer shows off a golden Bugatti Chiron

Top Gear is returning on March 5, and after a lackluster first series with the new hosts, the new group seems determined not to hit a sophomore slump. Chris Evans is gone, and the latest teaser trailer shows the new trio of Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, and Rory Reid strapped into some pretty fantastic cars, including the Bugatti Chiron and the Ford GT. All of the typical Top Gear segments appear to be present, though the quick cuts don't give us many details. The trailer shows a copious amount of powerslides from an assortment of cars, and even Chris Harris racing around Daytona. Aside from the Bugatti and Ford, cars from Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW, Aston Martin, and Alfa Romeo are all present. Co-hosts Eddie Jordan and Sabine Schmitz don't appear at all, so it seems their roles may be downplayed to focus on three guys, as was the case pre-reboot. We have some hope for this re-relaunched show and will be keeping an eye out for more details in the lead-up to the series premiere. Related Video: News Source: YouTube Celebrities TV/Movies Alfa Romeo BMW Bugatti Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Porsche Top Gear chris harris Bugatti Chiron matt leblanc

Ferrari wants upcoming SUV to stand out in increasingly crowded segment

Whether you like it or not, Ferrari's highly controversial SUV is well on its way to production. The Purosangue won't be the firm's first four-seater; its family tree is full of luscious 2+2s. But it will be the first high-riding model with the Prancing Horse emblem on its nose. Conquering this territory is presenting the brand with unique engineering challenges. Independent from Fiat since 2016, Ferrari isn't exempt from the need to save money through economies of scale, so it will build the Purosangue on a modular platform shared with other upcoming front-engined cars. The SUV will offer a height-adjustable suspension, and an available plug-in hybrid powertrain, according to British magazine Autocar. The publication added the gasoline-electric setup will be built around a new, twin-turbocharged V6, but a flagship model with V12 power will likely slot at the very top of the range. Mid-range model might use a V8. The design brief Ferrari gave engineers and designers was relatively simple: The Purosangue needs to stand out from the other luxurious SUVs on the market. It can't be a copy of the Lamborghini Urus, the Bentley Bentayga, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, or whatever Maybach is cooking up. Michael Leiters, the company's chief technical officer, thinks his team has nailed it. "I think we've found a concept and a package which is on one side a real SUV, and will convince SUV customers to buy it, but on the other side there's a huge differentiation of concept to existing SUVs," he enigmatically told Autocar. He stopped short of providing more concrete details, including his definition of a real SUV. We're not expecting the Purosangue to follow a Jeep Wrangler down the Rubicon Trail, or to outpace a WRC car on a rally stage, but it should be capable of light off-roading.  The Ferrari Purosangue is tentatively scheduled to make its debut in 2022, meaning it might arrive for the 2023 model year, and pricing will almost certainly start north of $300,000. It's one of 15 new models the firm plans to release by 2023 in a bid to fatten its profit margins without diluting its image

Weekly Recap: Ferrari plans to gradually increase production by 2019

Ferrari has long been known for the exclusivity of its performance machines. It's on a different level than Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes. But as it transitions to a new era of independence from Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari is going to get a little less exclusive. It's by design, and it means a subtle, slow ramp-up of production – a move Ferrari believes will ensure its future by meeting growing demand in new markets. The strategy was detailed in SEC documents filed this month as part of the company's pending stock offering. The files reveal Ferrari will gradually increase shipments to about 9,000 units per year by 2019. This is a reversal of Ferrari's 2013 plans to cap production at 7,000 cars annually, which it hit on the nose that year. Ferrari shipments inched up to 7,255 in 2014, though that's down from 2012's record tally of 7,405. Ferrari is a vastly different operation than it was in 2013. Longtime chairman Luca di Montezemolo stepped down last fall, and FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne has been overseeing the company since then. Its IPO has attracted high levels of attention from enthusiasts and investors. As expected, demand has reportedly outstripped the availability of the stock, which has an estimated offering price of $48 to $52 a share. Speaking of more Ferraris, the company revealed a limited-edition model this week called the F12tdf (shown above). Based on the F12 Berlinetta, the car is a salute to the Tour de France endurance auto race that Ferrari dominated in the 1950s and '60s. The V12 engine's output increases to 769 horsepower, while weight is cut by 243 pounds – allowing for a sprint to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. Dramatic carbon-fiber elements and a radical redesign of the body panels give the F12 a more dramatic look. It will be limited to 799 units over the life of the car. If this is how Ferrari is increasing production, we're more than okay with the company's new strategy. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Tesla software unlocks Autopilot features Tesla released the latest version of its software for the Model S this week, which allows the all-electric sedan to drive in a semi-autonomous state called Autopilot. Tesla Version 7.0 enables the Model S to maintain lane position, change lanes by touching the turn signal, and manage the car's speed using an advanced, traffic-sensing cruise control. It also has a parallel parking feature, which searches for open spots and then parks your Tesla.