Maxxd.com

Category: Highlight

  • 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo completes final tests ahead of summer launch

    The first battery-electric wagon is coming, and it will be known as the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.

    It launches this summer, Porsche confirmed on Tuesday, and the final testing of prototypes is currently underway. It’s expected to arrive as a 2021 model.

    The Taycan Cross Turismo is essentially a wagon option for the Taycan sedan, akin to Porsche’s Panamera Sport Turismo wagon. However, the Taycan wagon will be positioned as a soft-roader and feature all the typical cues of such vehicles like a taller ride height, roof rails, and what even appears to be protective elements for the lower body.

    Air suspension will also be included, enabling the ride height to be adjusted. This will be important for efficiency (and therefore range), as a lower ride height will be key during highway driving. The suspension will also be tuned to handle rough terrain, with Stefan Weckbach, head of the Taycan model line, confirming that there will be driving mode for unpaved and dirt roads.

    2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo

    2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo

    It’s possible we also see a sportier Taycan wagon like the Panamera Sport Turismo at some point given Porsche’s penchant for launching multiple derivatives of a single product line.

    Performance of the Taycan Cross Turismo should be similar to the Taycan sedan. This means potential buyers can look forward to 4S, Turbo and Turbo S grades, all with standard all-wheel drive and outputs ranging from 522-616 (750 temporarily) hp. EPA-rated range should fall around 200 miles.

    Don’t expect a version matching the rear-wheel-drive Taycan base model added for 2021, since all-wheel drive is being made a key element of the Taycan Cross Turismo.

    For Porsche fans looking for a more conventional crossover with electric power, the automaker is also working on a battery-electric Macan. It’s expected to arrive next year and will be based on a separate platform to the Taycan, specifically the PPE modular EV platform Porsche is developing in partnership with fellow Volkswagen Group brand Audi.

    Source

  • Netflix to release “Formula One: Drive to Survive” Season 3 on March 19

    Buckle up racing fans, “Formula One: Drive to Survive” will soon return to Netflix with fresh episodes.

    On Friday, Netflix released a trailer for season three of its behind-the-scenes series, “Formula One: Drive to Survive,” and announced it will kick off on March 19.

    While the first season followed most of the F1 teams, it notably excluded Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG Petronas because the two teams chose not to participate. Both teams did an about face afterward and allowed the cameras to roll for the second season in 2019. The team producing the show had full access to all the teams, including Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG Petronas, again for season three.

    Like everything in the world in 2020, Formula One looked dramatically different with drivers and teams dealing with COVID-19, pushed and canceled races, and no or just a few fans in the stands.

    Viewers will witness the fight, and flight, of the 2020 F1 season with access most fans only dream of. We already know that Lewis Hamilton won another championship for Mercedes-AMG Petronas, which means Hamilton now has seven F1 titles and that equals Michael Schumacher’s record.

    Season three of Netflix’s popular racing show will be released just before the 2021 F1 season kicks off on March 28 with the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Australian Grand Prix, which is traditionally the opening race of the year, has been rescheduled for the end of the season on Nov. 21.

    Source

  • Should the C8 Chevrolet Corvette look more like a Corvette?

    As the first production mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette, the C8 broke new ground for the sports car. But does the C8 actually look like a Corvette? Hot rodder Chip Foose doesn’t think so, and he offered his opinion on how to improve the design in a video posted to YouTube.

    Foose said one of things he liked most about the Corvette was the clear evolution of its design over the first seven generations. That abruptly ended with the C8, as the proportions were completely changed to accommodate an engine behind the driver.

    A mid-engine layout brings significant performance benefits, which helped the C8 win Motor Authority’s Best Car To Buy award, but it also erased the Corvette’s heritage, according to Foose, who believes the C8 is too generic looking, and too easily confused with other mid-engine cars like the Acura NSX.

    Chip Foose draws the Chevrolet Corvette C8

    Chip Foose draws the Chevrolet Corvette C8

    Foose’s solution, as laid out in a sketch, takes more styling cues from the previous-generation C7 Corvette. Foose used the front-fender vents from the C7, flipping them around to serve as air intakes for the mid-mounted engine. Foose’s version also has more pronounced rear haunches and a longer hood, linking it more closely to the C7 and continuing that evolutionary line.

    That design DNA may soon get stretched to its limits, if reports that Chevy is mulling a Corvette-badged electric SUV prove true. That would take advantage of General Motors’ new Ultium battery system, and give Chevy a competitor to the Ford Mustang Mach-E but, as far as we know, the plan hasn’t been approved.

    The traditional Corvette could also go electric eventually, as part of GM’s “aspiration” to eliminate tailpipes from its passenger-car lineup by 2035. That would certainly open up a lot of design possibilities.

    Source