JULY 8, 2020
Sunday, July 5, 2020 at 10:11AM 
This is the Lamborghini Sián Roadster: a limited-edition, open-top super sports car engineered around Lamborghini’s iconic V12 engine, with unique hybrid technologies. ‘Sián’ in the local Bolognese dialect, means ‘flash’ or ‘lightening.’ The Sián Roadster’s hybrid system combines the V12 engine with a 48-volt, 34HP e-motor incorporated into the gearbox, which delivers immediate response, improved performance and also supports low-speed maneuvers such as reversing and parking with electric power. The Sián Roadster also incorporates Lamborghini’s innovative super capacitor application: a world-first technology storing ten times the power of a lithium-ion battery. Located in the bulkhead between cockpit and engine it ensures perfect weight distribution. Three times more powerful than a battery of the same weight and three times lighter than a battery producing the same power, the electric system with the supercapacitor and e-motor weighs only 34 kg, thus it delivers a remarkable weight-to-power ratio of 1.0 kg/hp. Symmetric power flow ensures the same efficiency in both charging and discharging cycles: the most lightweight and efficient hybrid solution. This advanced technology combines with the V12 engine, which incorporates titanium intake valves and is up-rated to 785HP (577 kW) at 8,500 rpm. Combined with the additional 34HP from the hybrid system, the Sián Roadster delivers a total of 819HP (602 kW) and reaches a top speed of over 350 km/h. The Lamborghini Sián Roadster incorporates a highly sophisticated regenerative braking system, especially developed by Lamborghini. The symmetric behavior of the super capacitor, which contrary to normal Li-Ion batteries can be charged and discharged with the same power, fully charges the Sián’s energy storage system every time the vehicle brakes. The energy stored is an instantly-available power boost, allowing the driver to draw immediately on increased torque when accelerating away, up to 130 km/h, when the e-motor automatically disconnects. It is more than 10% faster than a car without this system. The innovative system also delivers instant acceleration in low gears, with improved traction force provided by the combination of V12 engine and hybrid system. The Sián Roadster accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2.9 seconds. By the way, there are nineteen units to be built. And they're All. Sold. Out.
This is the new Bentley Bentayga. We'll spare you all of the details, but suffice to say it is freshened throughout and it will cost you serious ca$h-ola. It's still powered by a Bentley’s 4.0-liter, 32-valve dual twin-scroll turbocharged V8 with 542HP and 568 lb.ft (770 Nm) of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The Bentayga has a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h) and 0-60 mph time of 4.4 seconds (100 km/h in 4.5 seconds).
2021 marks the year that Dodge is distilled into a pure performance brand, offering Hellcat-powered, 700+ horsepower SRT versions of every model across the lineup, starting with the new 710HP Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat (above), the most powerful SUV ever. The 2021 Dodge Durango features new exterior styling, a new interior with "driver-centric" cockpit and, of course, the new 710HP SRT Hellcat model, powered by the proven supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® Hellcat V-8 engine (with 645 lb.-ft. of torque) paired with the quick-shifting TorqueFlite 8HP95 eight-speed automatic transmission. It has massivestandard Brembo high-performance six-piston, two-piece (front) and four-piston (rear) calipers, and vented rotors at all four corners measuring 15.75 inches (front) and 13.8 inches (rear). The three-row muscle SUV runs 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, has a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) certified quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.5 seconds, a top speed of 180 mph and runs 1.5 seconds faster than the SRT 392 on a 2.1-mile road course, equal to nine car lengths after one lap, according to Dodge PR minions. Dodge will build the Durango SRT Hellcat for the 2021 model year only; dealer orders open this summer and vehicles are scheduled to start arriving in Dodge//SRT dealerships this fall. Editor-in-Chief's Note: After reading all of the gushing praise for the new Porsche Cayenne GTS from the mainstream automotive media of late - and reading about the heavily optioned sticker prices going well over $150,000 - the Durango SRT Hellcat sounds like the perfect antidote for stupid money spending. -PMD
Dodge is calling its new, 797HP Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye "the Most Powerful and Fastest Mass-produced Sedan in the World," and who are we to argue? To back its claim Dodge offers these statistics: It has the most powerful production V8 engine with 797HP and 707 lb.-ft. of torque; it has a top speed of 203 mph; and it is the quickest production Charger ever with a quarter-mile elapsed time (ET) of 10.6 seconds at 129 mph. The Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye features the aggressive Widebody, introduced on the Charger SRT Hellcat in 2020 as standard, with integrated fender flares that add 3.5 inches of width over the wider wheels and tires. Redeye models also feature a newly designed, functional performance hood. Dealer orders open for 2021 Dodge Charger models this fall, including the new SRT Hellcat Redeye; vehicles are scheduled to start arriving in dealerships in early 2021.
Dodge is calling its 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock "the World’s Quickest and Most Powerful Muscle Car." The 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock is powered by the same supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI® high-output V-8 that powers the SRT Hellcat Redeye, but features a revised powertrain calibration that increases power output to a staggering 807HP. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.25 seconds and has a quarter-mile elapsed time of 10.5 seconds at 131 mph with a tire-limited top speed of 168 mph. The widebody comes standard on the Challenger SRT Super Stock, making room for the bigger wheels and standard drag radials adding 3.5 inches of overall width to the vehicle. About those radials? The Challenger SRT Super Stock is equipped with standard lightweight 18-inch-by-11-inch wheels in Low Gloss Granite finish, riding on sticky 315/40R18 Nitto NT05R drag radials at all four corners. Dealer orders are scheduled to open for the 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock this summer with production starting at the Brampton (Ont.) Assembly Plant this fall. Deliveries to Dodge//SRT dealerships are scheduled to begin later this year. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Dodge is choosing to ride this "home of bad-ass cars" thing as far as they can take it. And frankly, I applaud the True Believers at Dodge for doing so. If we are truly in the last throes of the Golden Era of Performance - and I believe we are - then kudos to Dodge for keeping the hammer down hard. -PMD
AE Song Lyrics of the Week:
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we’ll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove
You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us out of here
been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won’t have to drive too far
Just cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
finally see what it means to be living
See my old man’s got a problem
He live with the bottle that’s the way it is
He says his body’s too old for working
his body’s too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody’s got to take care of him
So I quit school and that’s what I did
You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast it felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder
And I, I had a feeling that I belonged
And I, I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain’t got a job
And I work in the market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You’ll find work and I’ll get promoted
We’ll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast It felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder
And I, I had a feeling that I belonged
And I, I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking till late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do your kids
I’d always hoped for better
But maybe together you and me'd find it
If you got no plans and ain’t going nowhere
Take your fast car and keep on driving
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped round my shoulder
And I, I had a feeling that I belonged
And I, I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
You leave tonight or live and die this way
"Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman (1988)* Watch the video here.
*Chapman (from Q magazine) commented: "It's not really about a car at all... basically it's about a relationship that doesn't work out because it's starting from the wrong place." This won the Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. This song returned to the UK singles chart in April 2011 after it was performed by contestant Michael Collings on the first edition of the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent. When the then-unknown Tracy Chapman was booked to appear down the bill at the Nelson Mandela birthday concert at Wembley Stadium on June 11, 1988, little did she know her appearance would be the catalyst for a career breakthrough. After performing several songs from her self titled debut during the afternoon, Chapman thought she'd done her bit and could relax and enjoy the rest of the concert. However, later in the evening Stevie Wonder was delayed when the computer discs for his performance went missing, and Chapman was ushered back onto stage again. In front of a huge prime time audience she performed "Fast Car" alone with her acoustic guitar. Afterwards the song raced up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. (Knowledge courtesy of songfacts.com)