Hypercar

You know those used car listings that claim “no stories,” where a vehicle is of such faultless history and pure lineage that it requires no qualification? Well, this isn’t one of those cars.

This particular story goes like this: When VINwiki founder Ed Bolian was hunting down a blown-up Lamborghini Murcielago V-12 powerplant to create a “steampunk chandelier” for his garage, he found a seller who was willing to throw in the body shell of a Lykan Hypersport. 

The aggressively named Lebanese supercar is manufactured by UAE-based W Motors, and rose to prominence after being featured in Fast and Furious 7. Only 7 of the original cars exist in total; this particular shell was not used in the film, but was intended for use in a Fast and Furious live show.

Since the real deal Hypersport was based on a Boxster chassis and modified by Ruf, Bolian and his cohort Casey Putsch of Genius Garage hunted down a 2007 Porsche Boxster S as a donor car so they could mate the bodywork to a functioning chassis. The build process was documented in this YouTube playlist, and as Putsch puts it, “This will never be a Porsche Boxster again.”

The Lykan Hypersport Supercar reportedly drives perfectly. 

Genius Garage

The story takes a human interest twist when we get to the workforce used to painstakingly Frankenstein the fiberglass body onto the Porsche platform (which no doubt required stretching, shimmying, and squeezing in order to connect the disparate mechanical dots): Putsch’s Genius Garage utilized engineering students, whose practical experience on the project gave them an unusual perspective on what makes a functioning automobile tick. W Motors guided the team on how to make all those mismatched parts fit together, and its CEO provided a letter and a commemorative roof plaque.
While Putsch says the car “drives perfectly,” he also discloses a few caveats like a check engine light, a tire pressure warning light, and an off-road-use only stipulation. The car is currently for sale on Bring a Trailer, with proceeds going to Genius Garage, which is a 501 C3 nonprofit with a self-described mission of “bridging the gap between academia and industry to help kickstart the careers of college engineering students.” 

The ersatz Hypersport has already reached a six-figure price on Bring a Trailer—not quite the original Lykan’s $3.6 million value, but still significant considering its convoluted provenance. Putsch says, “Histories and stories are what set great cars apart from historic cars. This car definitely has an awesome story.”

Click here to see all the photos of the Lykan Hypersport Supercar.

Genius Garage

The world is about to get another hypercar, and this one looks fit for a superhero.

Rodin Cars just announced that its track-only monster, the FZero, is officially going into production. The company isn’t trying to temper expectations for its follow-up to the open-wheel FZed, either. It says it’s aiming to create the “fastest car around track, without exception.”

Three years after first teasing the vehicle, Rodin feels its “no-limit” hypercar is finally ready for its moment. It will be interesting to see how the car turns out, because the company is certainly promising a lot. Its hybrid powertrain consists of a “revolutionary” 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-10 aided by an electric motor. Ricardo says the bespoke setup will be able to pump out a total of 1,160 horses and 757 ft lbs of twist. Thanks to all that grunt, the car will be able to hit a top speed in excess of 224 mph.

The FZero’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-10 

Rodin Cars

Just as outlandish as the car’s claimed performance is its design. We’ve described cars as looking like the Batmobile before, but this is especially true of the FZero. Its black and gold color scheme, bubble cockpit, giant fenders and even bigger rear wing give it the look of something the Caped Crusader could have driven in one of Tim Burton’s two Batman films. The design, as outlandish as it may be, serves a purpose. The vehicle was shaped to be as aerodynamic as possible and will help produce a claimed 8,818 pounds of downforce.
The FZero will also be extremely large. The car stretches over 18 feet bumper to bumper and is 7.2 feet wide. Despite this, it’s got a very low profile, with its highest point just 3.7. feet above the ground. Somehow, it will also be a true lightweight, tipping the scales at just 1,539 pounds. Even for a track-only beast that features copious amounts of carbon fiber, that’s feather light.

Rodin Cars

“The Rodin FZERO is the physical representation of the ultimate heights in vehicle performance. Without the restrictions of building to a set of rules, we are able to make the car lighter, more powerful, and produce significantly more downforce,” founder David Dicker said in a statement. “The only real restrictions we face are the laws of physics, and we have even pushed those to the absolute limit. We look forward to bringing the most intense driving experience conceivable to tracks around the world.”

Rodin has said the first FZero will roll off the line next summer. No price has been announced for the vehicle, but we expect it will be steep, especially since the speed machine will be limited to just 27 examples. There are also reports that a road version is in the works as well. Stay tuned.
Click here to see all of the photos of the Rodin Cars FZero.

Rodin Cars

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Helmeted and harnessed directly behind my pilot, I prepare for takeoff as the cockpit canopy shuts over us. It could be a scene from Top Gun: Maverick save for the fact that we’re not launching from an aircraft carrier but pulling out of pit lane at the Thermal Club’s track in a final prototype of the Czinger 21C hypercar.

The $2 million, carbon-fiber-bodied, tandem-seat Czinger 21C astounds with specs—1,250 hp, zero to 62 mph in 1.9 seconds, a claimed top speed of 253 mph—and recently blew away the McLaren P1’s production-car track record at Circuit of the Americas by six seconds. But more impressive—seriously—is the hybrid’s build process: The main structural components are designed by Czinger’s proprietary AI software and then 3-D-printed. “These structures cannot be made more perfect for the requirements inputted,” says Kevin Czinger, who, along with his son Lukas, cofounded Los Angeles–based Czinger Vehicles. “You could have 1,000 engineers and they would never get to this solution.”

A profile view of the sleek Czinger 21C hypercar. 

Ted Seven

Figuring out how to put these “perfect Lego blocks” together was tasked to Lukas, with a degree in electrical engineering from Yale, who invented a fixture-less assembly system. In other words, there’s no part-specific fixture or tooling required to hold pieces in place during the robotic build. Meanwhile, his polymer team created an adhesive that bonded in under two seconds. The result is a 22-robot cell that doesn’t have to be retooled from one application to another, meaning the same hardware can transition from creating a rear frame to a full chassis with only a software change—a potentially revolutionary new approach to manufacturing.
Revolutionary, too, is the Czingers’ share-the-wealth philosophy. “The mission is to democratize the pinnacle of technology and engineering so that anyone can use it,” says Lukas. “We ultimately want to change the way anyone thinks about making anything.”

It’s a long journey from prototype to production car and the Rimac Nevera has finally completed it with the first delivery going to Formula 1 champ Nico Rosberg. 

Not that the Nevera hasn’t already impressed us plenty—the world record setting, Robb Report Best of the Best-winning EV hypercar has already proved its mettle as a highly functional, extraordinarily capable speed machine, as confirmed in our first drive. But delivering a production-spec car to a paying customer is easily the steepest milestone any carmaker faces, and paves the way for the inevitable gauntlet of real world durability, build quality and reliability.

The Croatian-built Nevera touts some astounding specs—0 to 62 mph in 1.85 seconds, nearly 2,000 hp and a seven-figure price tag. Rosberg’s stats aren’t bad either, as his 11 years in F1 included 206 races, 57 podiums, 23 wins and a 2016 World Champion title. The German-Finnish former racer is a near-ideal debut customer for the outrageous Nevera, the first product from Bugatti Rimac, which has helped raise $500M on the company’s valuation of $2B.

The first Rimac Nevera delivered 

Bugatti Rimac

Interestingly, though Rosberg’s 20-minute YouTube video of the delivery process feels like a sponsored sales pitch for the company, he reveals that he foolishly opted out of an early opportunity to invest in the company. Rosberg does, however, express genuine wonder at its organ-compressing acceleration, remarking that a YouTube drag race against a Ferrari SF90 made the Italian supercar look like “it’s some kind of Renault Twingo or something.” 
“Ever since I first met Mate and truly understood the genius behind Nevera, I knew I wanted car number one,” Rosberg says in Rimac’s official press release. Based on his business track record, it appears his passion for EV life is real: Rosberg has invested in more than 20 mobility startups, as well as Formula E. Furthermore, his 2021 championship-winning Extreme E race team is currently leading in points.

Rosberg and Rimac discussing the Nevera 

Bugatti Rimac

CEO Mate Rimac adds that “… we set out to build a car that impress even the best drivers in the world. Nico was on that list, and it’s a great feeling to know that someone who has mastered the most focused and cutting-edge motorsport in the world gets such a thrill from the car we’ve created.” Even better? Mate won’t have to worry about bad PR from reckless pileups when the ex-F1 champ maneuvers his new Rimac through the streets of Monaco. We hope.

What’s happening in the high-performance automotive sector looks like a Top Chef challenge. Leading marques, operating under the same set of emissions restrictions, are picking from a common crate of power-train ingredients—a six-cylinder engine and electric motor—while trying to present the most tantalizing supercar du jour. Latest on the menu: McLaren’s 671 hp Artura.

During the past few years, McLaren Automotive has seemed to favor frequent model releases over substantial advancements in engineering and drive experience, impacting the perceived collectability of some of its most recent cars. Enter the Artura, which signals a return to late racer Bruce McLaren’s penchant for reinvention and innovation. Touted as McLaren’s first series-production hybrid, the Artura, starting at $233,000, represents a laundry list of firsts for the automaker (some more auspicious than others), including use of a V-6 engine in a road car and the introduction of the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) platform.

Navigating Spanish traffic through the seaside destination of Marbella, the Artura feels like it may also be the brand’s first true daily driver, whether in Comfort, Sport or EV settings—the last of which offers an 11-mile range on battery alone. (There’s also a Track mode, which should be saved for, well, you know… ) Improving on the rattling side mirrors and echo-chamber cabin of the barely street-legal 620R and with more functional space than the 720S, this car is what we wanted the McLaren GT to be but with an agility on par with some of the marque’s more track-focused models.

Yet as far as sibling resemblance, the Artura seems closer kin to the 819 hp Ferrari 296 GTB. Both rear-wheel-drive machines feature a 3.0-liter V-6, with twin turbochargers set between 120-degree cylinder banks to lower the center of gravity, complemented by an axial flux electric motor (providing 94 hp in the Artura). And both have the shortest wheelbase in their respective manufacturers’ current stables, the McLaren measuring 104 inches versus the Prancing Horse’s 102.3-inch span—though at 3,075 pounds, the Artura’s dry weight saves 166 pounds over Maranello’s machine, thanks in part to the MCLA’s carbon-fiber monocoque tub and a new ethernet-based electrical system that’s 10 percent lighter than the outgoing iteration.

McLaren’s 671 hp Artura is a hybrid daily driver at home on any race circuit. 

Courtesy of McLaren

The resultant athleticism is evident on the roads weaving to Ascari, a private racetrack in Málaga. The coupe’s stability at speed is due to a revised rear suspension and, especially, McLaren’s debut of an electronic differential. The combo’s effectiveness is driven home on the 3.35-mile circuit’s 26 turns and truncated straights, where the e-diff constantly optimizes the traction of each back wheel. Able to cover zero to 60 mph in 3 seconds flat, the Artura only hints at its 205 mph top speed before the carbon-ceramic brakes are required, able to scrub 124 mph down to zero in 413 feet. (Note: That’s 62 feet longer than required by the more potent 296 GTB.)
Heading back to the coast, there’s time to appreciate improved cabin ergonomics, including the engine-mapping selector that now sits on the steering column. Most noticeable are the seat adjustments; finally easy to reach and operate, they’re no longer the cruel exercise in frustration they’ve been on previous models. As with any relationship, small gestures go a long way, and it feels like McLaren has been listening.
It also feels like there’s a lot riding on the Artura. Admittedly, it doesn’t wow quite like the roughly $318,000 Ferrari 296 GTB, but it fits solidly between that model and the solely V-6-powered Maserati MC20, which it outperforms but is still the more comparable car in terms of power and price. How it fares in the near future must keep McLaren execs up at night. After all, the likes of Aston Martin and Lamborghini also have this production-hybrid recipe, and you know they’re busy cooking.

Pagani is sticking to what it knows—for now.

At a time when the rest of the auto industry is embracing electrification, the boutique hypercar maker says it will continue to build vehicles powered by V-12s for the foreseeable future, according to Autocar. The marque’s founder doesn’t think an EV could live up to the Pagani name yet.
Brands like Lamborghini and Bugatti may be developing battery-powered models, but the internal-combustion engine still reigns supreme as far as Pagani is concerned. It’s not that the brand hasn’t thought about making an EV, but after four years of research Horacio Pagani doesn’t think the technology has advanced far enough. Specifically, he feels that EVs currently lack emotion and are too heavy because of their battery packs.

The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC 

Pagani

“The challenge is to make an EV that gives good emotion like a normal ICE. Pagani isn’t going to do something just with good performance, as you can do this [now], but to give emotion to the driver,” he told the British magazine. “The idea should be to make a lightweight car, but this is the biggest challenge. The dream would be a [2,866-pound) EV, but this isn’t possible.”
Although Autocar and other outlets initially reported that Pagani was pulling the plug on EV development, that doesn’t appear to be the case. On Friday morning, one day after the publication’s story ran, the marque told Top Gear that while it does not believe it could currently produce an EV that would meet its high standards, it will continue to explore the possibilities of electrification going forward.
“We will launch when the technology is ready,” a spokesperson for the brand told the website, “and the Pagani EV will be unmistakably and quintessentially ‘Pagani’.”

Pagani did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Robb Report on Friday afternoon.
It’s a good thing the automaker isn’t completely anti-EV. While enthusiasts may rejoice at the news of at least one hypercar sticking with the V-12, selling those cars might prove to be increasingly difficult going forward. At the end of June, Europe agreed to ban the sale of all gas- and diesel-powered vehicles starting in 2035. While the automaker’s sales don’t all come from its home continent, one expects that countries and continents will soon follow in its footsteps.

Ferrari’s return to endurance racing has entered the testing stages.

The legendary Italian marque shared the first image of its new Le Mans hypercar on Wednesday. Then, later, the car was spotted running laps around the Prancing Horse’s Fiarano test track for the first time.
We’ve known since early last year that Ferrari wanted to compete in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans—the race it dominated after World War II but hasn’t entered since 1971—but this is the first we’ve seen of the race car it will use to make its return. The image, which depicts the camouflaged vehicle’s reflection in a window, doesn’t give away much but it’s definitely enticing. We’re particularly interested in seeing the car’s curves and trio of massive rear fins in all their glory.

The Ferrari 512M competes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1971 

Ferrari

“Being able to touch the result of many months of work, planning, and simulations gives us new energy and motivation,” Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT, said in an official statement. “We are proud of what we have achieved, and although the LMH’s masking during testing hides the car’s volumes and styling, I think it is undeniably recognizable as a Ferrari.”
The first official image of the racer leaves much to the imagination, but clearer spy shots of the vehicle started to circulate online later in the day. The images, which were published by Autosport, show the car undergoing its first shakedown test at Fiarano. We don’t know any specifics, but the magazine reports that Ferrari factory driver Alessandro Pier Guidi was at the wheel and that more testing will be carried out later this month.
While there is still clearly plenty of work to be done, Ferrari intends to run its new hypercar in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will be the centenary edition of endurance racing’s premiere competition. We’ll have to wait until closer to then to find out what the car will look like and be capable of. One thing we do know, though, is that at least 25 production examples will likely need to be built for the car to be eligible for the race. After more than 50 years, we can barely wait.

The heady aroma of unburned hydrocarbons and charred rubber is in the air. Which can mean only one thing; it’s Britain’s annual summer automotive extravaganza that’s the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Kicking off its four-day run tomorrow at the 11th Duke of Richmond’s grand country estate, which lies 70 miles south of London, the four-day festival is promising to be bigger, better, faster and noisier than ever.

Headlining this year’s event is BMW, which is marking the 50th anniversary of its M performance division with a dramatic M-themed artistic sculpture—so far still under wraps—prominently displayed outside Goodwood House. Naturally, there’ll be a multitude of M-cars in action on Goodwood’s fearsome 1.17-mile hill-climb course. Star billing will go to the new BMW M4 CSL, making its public debut. Only the third model to wear the fabled CSL moniker, this lightweight, track-focused coupe packs a 543 hp punch from its 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline-six engine.

Headlining this year’s event is BMW, which is marking the 50th anniversary of its M performance division. 

Jayson Fong, courtesy of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Alas, the CSL will likely pale into mild insignificance when Mercedes-Benz unleashes its long-awaited Mercedes-AMG One hypercar on the Goodwood hill. Powered by a Formula 1–derived 1.6-liter V-6, juiced by a quartet of electric motors, the One can summon an impressive 1,048 hp. So far unseen by the general public, it will make various runs up the hill that will no doubt be one of the must-watch spectacles of the weekend.
Well, that, and Texas-based John Hennessey’s Venom F5 projectile that’s also making its Goodwood premiere. Delivering 1,817 hp from its thundering 6.6-liter, twin-turbo V-8 (aptly named “Fury”), the Hennessey hypercar has just clocked 271.6 mph in its countdown to eventually going for the 300 mph mark.

Hennessey’s 1,817 hp Venom F5. 

Hennessey Performance Engineering

Porsche will also be doing its very best to dominate the Goodwood festivities with a slew of motorsport-focused entries. All eyes will be on the brand-new Porsche LMDh Le Mans racer, also making its official public reveal. This is the hybrid racer that will challenge the World Endurance Championship next year—a series that includes Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring—in the hands of the new Porsche Penske Motorsport team. The LMDh will run at Goodwood together with Porsche’s other new racing project, the all-electric 718 GT4 ePerformance race car.
There are also a few scurrilous rumors that Porsche will use the festival to pull the wraps off its breathlessly awaited 2023 911 GT3 RS. Thinly disguised prototypes, which have been seen lapping Germany’s Nürburgring track, show the aero-focused car’s huge, free-standing rear wing, air-gulping front-hood intakes and fender vents. All will—or maybe won’t— be revealed this weekend.

Driving on the edge at a past edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. 

Nick Dungan, courtesy of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

And rest assured, the folks at Ferrari won’t be standing idly by letting the opposition dominate the spotlight. As part of its ongoing 75th anniversary celebrations, the marque will be running its latest mid-engined bella macchina, the new Ferrari 296 GTB, in the hill-climb challenge, along with the mighty 812 Competizione and Daytona SP3. There will also be a multitude of other historic Prancing Horses.
On hand to pilot some of those classic Ferraris will be a slew of famous names. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason will be at the wheel of his near-priceless 1953 250 MM; Aussie design-legend Marc Newson will be wrangling his 1953 Ferrari 857 S and Le Mans–legend Derek Bell will be driving a 1972 365 GTB/4 Daytona. Other supercar newbies in action this weekend include the likes of the new Czinger 21C hybrid hypercar, built in Los Angeles and famous for its 3-D-printed tech; designer Gordon Murray’s T.50; the new Radford Lotus Type 62/2; and the 2,000 hp, all-electric Rimac Nevera.

Built in Southern California, Czinger’s 21C hypercar is famous for its 3-D-printed composition. 

Czinger Vehicles Inc.

This year’s festival will again place focus on the latest and greatest in electric mobility with its Electric Avenue: The Road to 2030 display. It means plenty of innovative EVs will be present, like the Lucid Air, Fisker Ocean, three-wheeled ElectraMeccanica Solo, Genesis GV70 E and Polestar’s new luminary—many of which will be available for festival-goers to drive.
But the car that’s sure to grab every EV headline will, without doubt, be the truly bonkers McMurtry Spéirling single-seater. Looking like a cross between the Batmobile and a vacuum cleaner, this astonishing piece of British engineering claims a zero-to-60 mph time of less than 1.5 seconds. Word is that it will shatter the previous hill-climb record set by the Volkswagen I.D.R. What might make all the difference is the McMurtry’s twin fans that suck air from under the car to provide more downforce at 150 mph than that generated by a Formula 1 car.

The McMurtry Spéirling claims a zero-to-60 mph time of less than 1.5 seconds. 

Jayson Fong, courtesy of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

And there’s more. A lot more. A huge collection of Group B rally cars, historic racers, superbikes, current Formula 1 examples and lots of prewar classics. Plus, there will be a Bonhams auction and Red Arrows aerobatic display. The action gets in gear Thursday and ends with the must-see Supercar Shootout on Sunday afternoon.

If you’re having a bad day, it might help to hear that it’s probably not as bad as that of Cristiano Ronaldo’s bodyguard, who just crashed the soccer star’s $2 million Bugatti.

On Monday, the bodyguard lost control of the Portuguese player’s Bugatti Veyron Vitesse when taking a tight turn in Majorca, Spain, causing him to hit a brick wall, according to reports. Luckily, no one was hurt in the accident, but the car took on quite a bit of damage. In images from the crash, scratches can be seen on the bumper and splitter, while the passenger side sustained further injury. The car was eventually taken away covered by a blue tarp.

“The car smashed into a wall but there was only material damage with no-one injured and the driver accepted full responsibility for what happened,” a source told The Sun. “The information about who was behind the wheel and what occurred is registered on a police database and is there for a court or officers to access if any further investigations need to be conducted.”

A Bugatti Veyron Vitesse (but not Cristiano Ronaldo’s car) 

Bugatti

Ronaldo is visiting Majorca for a family vacation, and he had both his 1,200-hp Bugatti and Mercedes-Benz G-Class shipped to the island. Along with the two luxe cars, the athlete’s Azimut “CG Mare” superyacht has also been seen anchored off the coast of the island.
The wrecked French hypercar is just one part of Ronaldo’s impressive car collection, which is estimated to be worth $20.8 million. He also owns an Aston Martin, a Bentley, a Ferrari Monza and a limited-edition Bugatti Centodieci, of which only 10 have been made.

Given that the Manchester United forward is one of the highest-paid soccer players, it seems likely he’ll be able to afford the necessary repairs to his scratched-up Bugatti. Still, we can imagine that receiving news of the crash hasn’t been the most welcome part of his vacation.