MotorTrend March 2021

@markrechtin Welcome to the annual Best Driver’s Car issue, arriving a few months later than usual. Also, welcome to the Top Gear America issue. That’s what COVID-19 did to us. Normally, we conduct BDC testing in July and get you the issue in late September with a November cover date. But planning for these events started in March, and with everything falling into chaos and disorder (and stay-at-home order), we quickly made a decision to postpone our annual supercar shenanigans. We performed some test runs of socially distanced group gatherings in the process of performing our Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year evaluations. Having slathered ourselves in Purell, wiped down all cars with 91 percent isopropyl alcohol between drivers, and installing a COVID cop to ensure that we were doing things properly, we…

Set the date on the calendar, kids! Top Gear America is (finally) coming exclusively to the MotorTrend app, starting January 29. This isn’t some rip-off of that motoring show from across the pond, either—this is die-hard car enthusiasts who live and breathe cars. When two of the most influential brands in automotive history—MotorTrend and Top Gear—join forces on a car show, what could go wrong? We couldn’t ask just anyone to take up the American mantle of the most iconic car show in history. There have been many copycats and tributes over the years, but they all pale in comparison to that most venerable of trios: Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. But this ain’t that. Sure, we’re calling it Top Gear, and it’s a trio of hosts, and it’s about cars.…

My first Ford Mustang had a 4.6-liter V-8, five-speed manual, and rear-wheel drive. My next might have two electric motors, single-speed automatic gearboxes, and all-wheel drive. The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is an all-electric, four-door, battery-powered SUV that’ll eventually have up to 480 hp and 634 lb-ft of torque. More than that, the new Mustang Mach-E is going to force the world to rethink just what it considers a Mustang. I’d argue it doesn’t really matter—what does is that the Mustang Mach-E is quite good. The Mach-E shares many of the traditional Mustang styling cues—like its signature tri-bar taillights, roofline, and a dash-to-axle ratio reminiscent of rear-wheel drive—but that’s about it. It’s quite easy to get into the weeds here, but the important things to remember are that the Mustang Mach-E rides…

Even if it ain’t broke, a few things can be fixed Meet the 2022 BRZ. Not only is the sheetmetal all new, but our prayers for more power have at last been answered. Let’s start with all 28 extra horsepower. The engine remains naturally aspirated but grows from 2.0 to 2.4 liters. The result is 228 hp at 7,000 rpm and 184 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 rpm, up from 206 hp and 156 lb-ft in manual cars and 200 hp and 151 lb-ft of torque in automatics. Why no turbo? Subaru says to keep the BRZ’s price down. In the Age of Hellcat, the BRZ no doubt sounds underpowered. Keep in mind, however, that Subaru says the new BRZ weighs less than 2,900 pounds, which would be about 100 pounds more than…

Where to, Bentley? Although two of Bentley’s current models—the Continental GT and Flying Spur—are based on Porsche’s relatively new MSB platform and one—the Bentayga—is built on Audi’s older MLB architecture, VW Group has decided to put the British brand more firmly under Ingolstadt’s aegis, to the point where Audi might even take a shareholding. Driving the move is the bold plan to produce only electric-powered Bentleys from 2030 onward. Formally linking it with Audi means Bentley will get a major role in defining the characteristics it requires of the high-tech “Artemis” EV architecture being developed under the direction of former motorsport engineer Alex Hitzinger. Why not Porsche? “Bentley is a luxury brand, not a sports car brand,” one insider says. “Audi is a better fit.” Electric Rivalry As Mercedes engineers…

Quick as a Raptor and can power your house We borrowed a 2021 Ford F-150 Lariat Sport 4x4 PowerBoost, strapped our gear to it, and were frankly amazed that it’s ready to race Raptors for pinks. But by the end of our three days with this F-150, it was the power in the pickup box, not under the hood, that most impressed us. Sandwiching a 44-hp, 221-lb-ft electric motor in between the 394-hp, 492-lb-ft 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission boosts total output to 430 horses and 570 lb-ft. The outgoing Raptor made 20 more horses but 60 fewer lb-ft of torque, and the last one we tested weighed 171 pounds less, but the hybrid has a better weight-to-power ratio. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, then, that the new truck…