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Lotus still knows how to make a driver’s car: The 2025 Emira V6, driven

1 August 2025 at 14:54

The mid-engine sports car is an increasingly rare breed, but Lotus still carries the torch with its Emira, which is available with a choice of supercharged V6 or turbocharged inline-four cylinder engines. Between its steering, compact dimensions, standard manual transmission, and low mass, it’s a breath of fresh air, and it's ready to capture the hearts of enthusiasts. Pricing starts at $102,250 for the V6, which is in direct competition with the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS while it lasts, and a sea of mostly cosmetic options inflated this example to $116,950.

Like many Lotuses before it, the Emira’s foundation is a bonded aluminum chassis with Bilstein passive damper-equipped double-wishbone suspension at all four corners and the engine mounted right behind the seats. Curb weight isn’t as low as you’d think at 3,187 lbs (1,445 kg), but it’s contained within an overall length, width (sans mirrors), and height of 173, 75, and 48 inches (4,395 mm, 1,905 mm, 1,220 mm), respectively.

Mid-engine layouts generally put the same components like radiators in the same places, and the Emira's shape follows its predecessors (as well as cars from McLaren or Ferrari) with large intake ducts straked across its doors and rear fenders, a low nose, and little overhang past the axles. In fact, these are key in its sense-of-occasion appeal; climbing over its door sills and into its driver position is teeming with "let’s go" energy, and the view out the windshieldβ€”fenders, short nose, and allβ€”is more exotic than anything else at its price.

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Β© Peter Nelson

BMW M5 review: a PHEV worth its weight

19 July 2025 at 12:00
photo of BMW M5.

After 40 years and six generations, 2025 marks the beginning of a new generation of the BMW M5: the G90 chassis. Featuring a ground-up redesign and a new plug-in hybrid powertrain, the specs are impressive. It's not just its horsepower and torque numbers but its curb weight of 5,390 pounds, too. That's no small figure, but the German brand's never held back in this department, and it has never greatly impeded the badge.

Well, until now. There's a lot to like about the newest M5, especially in its corner-carving competence and how it acts around town solely propelled by electrons. But in other areas, this $123,275 super sedan lacks some nece …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Rivian R1S review: second time’s the charm

12 July 2025 at 12:00
photo of Rivian R1S

Just four years after Rivian began selling its R1T truck, 2025 marks the beginning of the R1T and R1S' second generation. Considering they look essentially the same on the outside, it might be hard to decipher what warrants a new generation. But underneath, it's actually quite easy: all-new electric architecture, a new motor arrangement, retuned suspension, and more. Kicking off at $107,700, here's how all these revisions make the 2025 Rivian R1S Premium Tri-Motor a true frontrunner in the modern EV space.

Specs

The tri-motor arrangement fits in between the base dual and top-level quad, and was my tester's powertrain for a whole week. All …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Mercedes-Benz electric G-Wagen review: king of the off-road

5 July 2025 at 12:00
Photo of Mercedes-Benz electric G-Wagen.

As exciting as it is to see how electric technology redefines automotive transportation, it's just as exciting to see how it alters what we already have. In the aftermarket, EV-converted restomods are quickly becoming big business. But direct from manufacturers, there's great potential in electrifying legacy badges by seamlessly blending old design with new technology.

Case in point is the 2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology, better known as the EV GelΓ€ndewagen (which is German for all-terrain vehicle), or G-Wagen. Starting at $162,650, the G580 stays true to its original design formula but also utilizes EV technology to bolster its …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Lamborghini Revuelto review: perfect harmony

28 June 2025 at 12:00
photo of Lamborghini Revuelto

With the dawning of a new era of hybridization in the automotive industry, more and more manufacturers are integrating electric propulsion into their lineups. Mild-hybrid systems are well-established, and more beneficial plug-in hybrid systems keep getting better and better. Even Lamborghini's participating in the latest wave of hybridization, which might come as a surprise to some.

That's because this Italian company's outlandish supercars have never been regarded as thrifty, or ever trying to be thrifting. They've always returned old-truck-like fuel economy thanks to their ravenous 10- and 12-cylinder engines. And their innate ability to make those behind the wheel drive them as inefficiently as possible doesn't help, either.

But by God, it's a reality in the 2025 Lamborghini Revuelto, the Italian brand's top V12-powered model. Its plug-in hybrid system is mainly there to up the thrills, but surprisingly, it can also return respectable fuel economy with no downsides to its ravenous driving experience. Here's how $612,858 (before costly options) worth of Lambo slots into our current golden age of hybridized high-performance.

Doing its part

Lamborghini …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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