Harris Drives Manual Ferrari, $15M Porsche, Audi Picks Georgia
PLUS: 900-HP G63 Pickup, V16 Bugatti, '81 Celica Supra
Releases & Reviews
Chris Harris on Cars: Ferrari 12C Manuale on road!
Chris Harris rides along with Ferrari test chief Raffaele De Simone, who says the manual 12Cilindri was never in the original plan and fit only because the dual-clutch layout left room for a shifter. Software blocks first gear above about 43 mph. Harris calls the car much better than he expected.
2027 Mazda CX-5 Has Same Starting Price, Gets Google Gemini
The base model holds at about $31,000 and higher trims rise modestly. Power is unchanged at 187 horsepower from the 2.5-liter four-cylinder, and Mazda says more powertrain options arrive in 2027, which MotorTrend expects to mean a hybrid. Every trim but the Premium Plus gets a 12.9-inch screen with Gemini standard.
Technology, Market Data & Analysis
Audi Will Invest $4 Billion into Its First U.S. Factory in Georgia
The plant in Macon, Georgia, breaks ground in 2027 and begins production in the early 2030s, building up to 200,000 SUVs a year. Reuters reports the Q7, Q8 and Q9 are planned for the site. Audi imports every US model today, and tariffs cost it about $1.4 billion in 2025.
Dealers Building Inventory — Good News on Prices
The average new car sold for about $51,000 last month, near a record. Cox Automotive puts the average brand at an 82-day supply against a 75-day target. Toyota and Lexus sit near 40 days while Jeep, Dodge and Ram hold at least 149, where Kelley Blue Book sees the most buyer leverage.
Car Culture
Jerry O’Connell’s 1979 Cadillac Seville Got Stolen. Here’s the Story | Jay Leno's Garage
Actor Jerry O'Connell sits down with Jay Leno to tell the story of his stolen 1979 Cadillac Seville. The first-generation Seville was Cadillac's smallest car when it arrived for 1976, priced above the DeVille and aimed at Mercedes buyers. The Jay Leno's Garage episode runs 48 minutes.
Malaise-Era Hero: W72 Trans Am from a Famous Drag-Racing Dealer
Eddie Bloom, then working at his father's Pontiac dealership in Queens, traded a Grand Prix for an unsold black 1978 Trans Am with the W72 400 V8 and a four-speed. The 220-horsepower car listed at about $7,000. He still drives it, now showing about 29,000 miles.
Miscellaneous
Porsche’s Plan To Build A $15 Million Car Is Less Crazy Than It Sounds
Automotive News reports Porsche is working on 15 one-off commissions priced from about $1.8 million to $15 million, the top one already sold. The auction record for a Porsche is the $14.08 million Le Mans 917K. Porsche's Alexander Fabig says future projects could exceed a 200% premium over the base model.
Ford Patents Idea That Lets Parked Cars Autonomously Flee Danger
The filing describes a parked car that detects someone repeatedly peering in or a vehicle circling the lot and relocates itself to a spot it deems safer. It could also park between walls or on an incline to deter wheel theft, or back against a wall to block the tailgate.
Quick Links
Brabus Is Turning the Mercedes-AMG G63 Into a 900-HP Pickup Truck
The P900 Rocket Edition bores the AMG V8 out for 900 horsepower and a claimed 3.7-second run to 62 mph, with torque electronically capped to protect the drivetrain.
1981 Toyota Celica Supra on BaT: The Supra Story Starts Here
The first-generation car pairs a 2.8-liter inline-six making 116 horsepower with a manual gearbox, carries a freshly reconditioned engine, and its auction closes October 28.
Flat Out In The 1800hp V16 Bugatti Tourbillon! | 4K
Top Gear tours the Molsheim campus and new assembly hall before driving the hybrid V16 Tourbillon, which Bugatti says is a few pounds lighter than the Chiron with 3D-printed suspension parts cutting corner weight by 45%.
2027 Lamborghini Revuelto SV First Drive: It’s a Friendly Monster
MotorTrend's Vallelunga track drive notes new Bridgestone semi-slicks, 80% more downforce and a 214-mph top speed, and calls the handling predictable and the Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes among the best it has tested.
Honda’s Next TrailSport Off-Road Vehicles Will Get a Lot More Serious
Honda's TrailSport team tells MotorTrend the next-generation CR-V TrailSport, expected for 2028, and a Ridgeline version will get functional off-road hardware, following the 2027 Passport's extra 1.4 inches of ground clearance.
Mercedes-Benz Crash Tests Two Moving Cars
Two CLA models, one gas and one electric, struck each other at a 90-degree angle with both moving at about 35 mph, and Mercedes says all eight dummies stayed below injury limits with both cabins intact.
Petrol Is Back?! Lotus Emira 420 Sport Review
Autotrader puts the Emira 420 Sport, the newest gas-powered version of Lotus's Hethel-built sports car, through a 12-minute road review.