Electric Cars
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Electric car startup Faraday Future may be facing some significant financial challenges right now, but that didn’t stop the company from entering the 2017 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. During the event held on Sunday, a prototype for Faraday Future’s first model, the FF 91, raced to the clouds on Colorado’s famous mountain. The 1,050-horsepower electric car was entered in Pikes Peak’s Exhibition class and clocked in a time of 11:25:083, thanks to the efforts of Faraday Future engineer Robin Shute. The video shows Shute’s run during the lower third of the...
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Fisker EMotion 400-mile electric sedan seen in the metal for first time
Fisker is scheduled to reveal its new EMotion electric sport sedan on August 17, but the company’s founder and namesake, Henrik Fisker, just couldn’t contain himself from showing it a little early. He posted a photo to social media on Wednesday showing the EMotion on a street just...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Plant that once built Hummers will soon build EVs for Chinese-backed startup
In a strange twist of fate, the plant that once built big, gas-hungry Hummers has been bought by a startup looking to build electric cars. On June 22, Chinese-backed electric car startup SF Motors announced plans to acquire AM General’s commercial vehicles plant located in South Bend...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Richard Hammond and Rimac boss discuss Concept_One crash
“The Grand Tour” host Richard Hammond was involved in a major accident on June 10 while taking part in a Swiss hill climb. He was driving the 1,206-horsepower Rimac Concept_One, and when approaching a sharp bend appeared to have lost control of the electric supercar which then skidded...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2018 Nissan Leaf will arrive with ProPilot Assist self-driving capability
There's a new nugget of information surrounding the 2018 Nissan Leaf, but it doesn't have to do with its battery, range, or its powertrain at all. Instead, it's all about self-driving capability. The 2018 Nissan Leaf will arrive with what the brand calls ProPilot Assist, a semi-autonomous driving...
Sean Szymkowski -
Walter de Silva to design cars for Chinese EV startup Arcfox
Former Volkswagen Group design boss Walter de Silva has come out of retirement to join German engineering consultancy EDAG, and his first task will be to design a fleet of cars for a Chinese electric car startup. The Italian designer quit his post at the VW Group in October 2015, a month after the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi’s e-tron Sportback concept unveiled in April at the 2017 Shanghai auto show will spawn a production model of the same name in 2019. On Wednesday, Audi confirmed that production of the e-tron Sportback will take place at the company’s plant in Brussels, Belgium. The news is hardly a surprise as the Belgian plant is where Audi will start production of its e-tron in 2018. The electric SUV was previewed by the e-tron Quattro concept at the 2015 Frankfurt auto show. “With the decision on the Audi e-tron Sportback, we are showing that Audi takes the issue of electric mobility...
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Polestar becomes standalone brand for high-performance electrified cars
Originally an independent motorsport team dedicated to racing Volvos, Polestar would later start tuning Volvo road cars and eventually be bought out by the Swedish automaker. Volvo’s original plan for Polestar was to make it an alternative to BMW M and Mercedes-AMG. But on Wednesday the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Rimac provides more details on Richard Hammond’s crash
“The Grand Tour” host Richard Hammond was involved in a major accident on June 10 while taking part in a Swiss hill climb. He was driving the 1,206-horsepower Rimac Concept_One, and when approaching a sharp bend appeared to have lost control of the electric supercar which then skidded...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche may join Formula E in 2018
Formula E may be attracting yet another high-profile brand to its form of electric motorsport: Porsche. According to a new report from Autosport, Porsche is mulling over the possibility of joining Formula E in 2018. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, board member Michael Steiner, and LMP1 racing chief...
Sean Szymkowski -
Don Panoz’s Green4U unveils electric race car concept, hints at road-going version
Entrepreneur Don Panoz, founder of the Panoz motorsport and sports car brand, as well as the DeltaWing project, is back with yet another automotive startup, this time focused on electric car development. The new startup is called Green4U Technologies, and on Thursday it unveiled an electric race...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
After eclipsing Ford and GM, Tesla's market value briefly surpasses BMW
The market value of Tesla [NSDQ: TSLA] rallied once again last week and the automaker briefly surpassed BMW in market capitalization. According to Bloomberg, Tesla's stock climbed following CEO Elon Musk's announcement that the Model 3 would begin production in July and be followed in two to three...
Sean Szymkowski -
Following his major accident on Saturday behind the wheel of a Rimac Concept_One, “The Grand Tour” host Richard Hammond posted a video message for fans. The video was filmed a day after the accident which saw him slide down an embankment during the Hemburg Hill Climb in Switzerland, in which he was taking part for a segment of his new show. In the short clip, Hammond thanks his rescuers while also cracking a few jokes. He also reveals details of his fractured knee which would be operated on later that day at the St.Gallen Hospital where he is recovering. Importantly, he also...
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Richard Hammond crashes Rimac Concept_One during “The Grand Tour” filming
“The Grand Tour” host Richard Hammond managed to walk away without serious injury after a violent crash on Saturday. The former “Top Gear” host was filming a segment for the second season of his new show, which involved him driving the Rimac Concept_One electric supercar up...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nio wants to sell a Level 4 self-driving car in US in 2020
Chinese electric car startup Nio’s first volume model, the ES8 SUV, will enter production in China in late 2017. (The company has already built a handful of EP9 supercars.) The ES8, unveiled in April at the 2017 Shanghai auto show, is a premium SUV with third-row seats and a swappable battery...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Acura mulls electric power for next NSX
Honda is considering a pure electric powertrain for its next-generation Acura NSX. Recall, the automaker entered a pure electric version of its current NSX in the 2016 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Though a concept, Honda R&D boss Sekino Yosuke has revealed to Autocar that the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Honda presents 2030 Vision strategy, aims to have Level 4 self-driving car by 2025
Honda has outlined its plans for the coming decade in a company-wide strategy dubbed the 2030 Vision. As outlined in the strategy, Honda plans to follow the now-familiar path of electrifying its lineup and introducing self-driving technologies and associated mobility services. In the area of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fisker EMotion priced from $129,900, pre-orders start June 30
It was less than a year ago that Henrik Fisker came out with the announcement he was starting a new electric car company under the Fisker name and that the first product would be an electric sedan with more range than a Tesla Model S. The Danish designer must have been working on the project for a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
NEVS on Wednesday at the 2017 CES Asia taking place in Shanghai, China previewed a pair of electric cars destined for production and outlined a new mobility program to be run in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. NEVS is the company that bought the assets of Saab following the Swedish firm’s bankruptcy in late 2011. NEVS’s original plan was to revive Saab, but after running into its own financial difficulties and losing the rights to the Saab name, NEVS formed its own brand and started focusing on electric cars and mobility. At CES Asia, NEVS presented concepts for a 9-3 electric...
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NEVS presents InMotion self-driving city car concept at 2017 CES Asia
NEVS on Wednesday unveiled the InMotion self-driving city car concept at 2017 CES Asia in Shanghai, China. The concept is NEVS’s vision of a car devoid of a steering wheel and pedals, i.e. a Level 5 self-driving vehicle, and signals the company’s intention to compete in the mobility...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Opel Ampera-e is the new Popemobile
The Popemobile has taken the shape of many automobiles over the years, but the latest is likely the most environmentally friendly yet. Opel has bestowed the current pontiff, Pope Francis, with a 2017 Ampera-e as the Vatican City aims to become the first country in the world to produce zero carbon...
Sean Szymkowski -
Faraday Future highlights FF 91’s dynamic qualities, confirms 2017 Pikes Peak entry
Faraday Future may be desperate for cash these days but this isn’t stopping the company from pressing ahead with plans for production of the FF 91 electric car. In a new video, Faraday Future highlights the dynamic qualities of the FF 91 and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
AAA hikes Tesla insurance rates due to higher than average number of claims
Tesla owners carrying policies through AAA aren't going to like this news: rates are going up. AAA determined the Tesla Model S and Model X are both affected by abnormally high claim rates. In turn, AAA could raise rates up to 30 percent. Tesla has disputed the analysis by AAA and said the data is...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota offloaded Tesla shares in 2016
Toyota on Saturday revealed that it sold its remaining shares in Tesla at the end of 2016. The Japanese automaker previously sold some of the shares in 2014. Toyota’s investment in Tesla followed that of Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler in 2009. Daimler bought 10 percent of Tesla for an...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran