Everything We Think We Know About the 2020 Ford Bronco

Ford is bringing back the beloved 4×4 SUV. Here’s what to expect.

The Ford Bronco is coming back. Ford confirmed the return of the legendary off-road SUV at the Detroit Auto Show in 2017, and we expect the 2020 Bronco will make its debut there next January. Naturally, Ford hasn’t released many further details on the 2020 Bronco, other than one teaser image, but we know it’s based on the 2019 Ranger, which debuted earlier this year.

The last-generation Bronco was based on the F-150, but Ford product head Joe Hinrichs told us the 2020 will be based on the new Ranger. Someone claiming to be a Ford designer on Reddit said that the Bronco will be similar to the Everest, a Ranger-based SUV sold in other markets.

We wouldn’t be surprised if Ford’s new Bronco shares engine and transmission offerings with the Ranger since they’ll share a platform. For the US market, the new Ranger gets a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder derived from the Focus RS. Ford hasn’t released detailed specs for the Ranger’s engine, but it has confirmed that it’ll be equipped with a 10-speed automatic. Ford did, however, confirm in its 2018 Q1 earnings call that the Bronco will get a hybrid drivetrain of some sort.

The alleged Ford designer on Reddit did say that the Bronco will get an off-road version to take on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. That fits with Nair’s assertion that the Wrangler will be the Bronco’s chief competitor. As for a Raptor, that’s anyone’s guess. Ford is making a Ranger Raptor, but it’ll only be sold in Asia-Pacific markets. Ford Performance boss Jamal Hameedi didn’t rule out the possibility of a Raptor-ized Everest at the Ranger Raptor’s launch, so perhaps there’s some hope for the Bronco.

2019 Jeep Wrangler Pickup: Everything We Know

We can’t wait for this truck.

Jeep hasn’t sold a pickup truck since 1992, when the XJ Cherokee-based Comanche went out of production. Now, we know that a JL Wrangler-based pickup is on its way, and it’s high on our list of cars we can’t wait to drive. To say we’re excited for the Wrangler pickup would be an understatement, so let’s round up everything we think we know about it.

The new Wrangler SUV debuted in late 2017 as a 2018 model, and it represents a massive improvement over its predecessor. That’s good news for the pickup. We’ve covered all of the details of the JL Wrangler in our story about its reveal and our first drive of a Rubicon model, but here are some highlights:

• The JL’s body is made from aluminum, which helps save up to 200 lbs of weight over its predecessor, the JK.
• The interior is much nicer than before, with better materials, sharper design, and FCA’s great UConnect infotainment system.
• It still comes standard with Chrysler’s 3.6-liter 285-hp Pentastar V6, but a new six-speed manual and optional eight-speed automatic make the most of it. Optional is a 270-hp turbocharged two-liter four-cylinder; a diesel V6 is set to debut later.
• Despite all this new stuff, the Wrangler still has a ladder frame and solid axles, exactly what off-roaders want.

2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1: Here It Is, In All its 755-HP Glory

Here it is!

The pack leader is finally here, launched in Sebring Orange to make sure you notice all the significant upgrades that no doubt make it the fastest street car GM has ever made. This is the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.

It all start with its big, bulging exposed carbon-fiber hood. Apparently, GM put a lot of effort into coming up with the C6 ZR1’s transparent hood window, only to find that some customers thought it looked like a cheap piece of plastic. So this time around, they went all in.

The trick is that one of those two pieces is the actual carbon fiber intercooler cover, meaning that the engine is out in the open through what GM calls a “halo” hood. The carbon weave is perfectly aligned with the body panel, but the intercooler cover will move around when the engine is running, since it’s part of the drivetrain. Now that’s just bonkers.What’s more, the two openings in front of the cover extrude hot air from the engine bay, which is much needed, since the ZR1 packs eight very angry cylinders.

To keep all that power on the asphalt, Chevrolet came up with an equally serious aero package in a rolling wind tunnel, with both versions of the ZR1’s available rear wings bolted to the chassis itself—not unlike the Corvette Racing C7.R.

Chevy claims that after bench marking a few sports cars with active wings, they came to the conclusion that those serve more of an aesthetic purpose than anything else. That, and the fact that an active wing would have been a packaging nightmare on the C7, led Chevy to offer a pair of fixed wing designs, as well as a clever front underling designed to balance out the additional rear down force without making the car unusable on the street. It gives the ZR1 an estimated 950 lbs. of down force near its top speed.

2019 Toyota Supra: What We Know So Far

Toyota is bringing back the beloved Supra, with help from BMW. Here’s what we know about it.

Toyota reentered the rear-wheel drive sports car game with the 86 (née Scion FR-S) back in 2012, and now it’s got something more ambitious in the works. Something that fans have waited a long time for—a new Supra.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the new Supra. Horsepower? More than 300 is all Toyota will say. Torque? An engineer tells me it will be “more than twice that of the Toyota 86,” which makes 156 lb-ft. Zero to 60? A number less than five seconds, the automaker says. When will it go on sale, and how much will it cost? I wish I could say.

The Supra and Z4 share a jointly-developed rear-drive platform. Their chassis components are identical, though each automaker will use its own unique tooling and calibration. When production begins, the two cars will be built side-by-side at Magna Steyr’s factory in Graz, Austria.

So while Toyota hasn’t divulged any detailed Supra specifications, we can look to the Z4 for the basics. The cars have a surprisingly squared-off footprint, with a stubby 97.2-inch wheelbase and a track width of just over 63 inches—a smidge shorter than a two-door Mini, but roughly four inches wider. Toyota says the Supra, like the Z4, will have perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and a knowledgeable source predicts the Supra will weigh in at less than 3300 lbs, a significant chunk lighter than the drop-top BMW. As for performance, the six-cylinder Z4 makes 382 horsepower, 369 lb-ft of torque, and does 0-60 in 4.4 seconds; a prototype ran the Nurburgring in 7:55 at the hands of a German sports car magazine.

2020 Porsche Taycan: Here’s What We Know

Porsche’s first all-electric car should arrive next year. Here’s what to expect.

Porsche stunned the world two years ago with the debut of its all-electric Mission E sedan concept, later promising it’d go into production as the Taycan in 2020. The spy photos seen throughout this post provide an early look at a Taycan prototype testing in public near Porsche’s development center in Weissach, Germany.

At first, we thought Porsche would just call this car the “Mission E,” but today, the company has announced that won’t be the case. On the occasion of its 70th anniversary, Porsche announced that its first electric car will be called the Taycan, pronounced tie-con. It’s a Eurasian word that translates, roughly, to “lively young horse.”

“Our new electric sports car is strong and dependable; it’s a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances and that epitomizes freedom,” Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement announcing the name.

Porsche doesn’t just make one 911, and the same will be true for the Taycan. Car magazine spoke with Porsche boss Oliver Blume who confirmed that the car will likely follow Porsche’s model preexisting hierarchy—that means you can expect a Taycan S, or a Taycan GTS. Maybe not a Taycan Turbo, though, since it won’t actually have turbos.

Automobile Magazine got to drive an early Taycan prototype and reported the car will be initially offered with three power outputs 402 hp, 536 hp, and 670 hp. Like a Tesla Model S, the Taycan will have electric motors at the front and rear axles for all-wheel drive, but Porsche might eventually sell an entry-level rear-drive version.

credits: https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/