The News for May 27th, 2022

Alma L. Figueroa

Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. This week: Maserati brings drop top goodness to MC20, BMW brings back iconic M3 colors for special edition model, Speedkore built a wicked Charger for the former CEO of SRT, Prodrive is building a modernized 22B Impreza, plus your news for the week.

Maserati MC20 Cielo

The Maserati MC20 has been hitting showrooms and press fleets with some high praise thrown its way. With its launch underway, Maserati has wasted no time in getting an open-top version developed. The fancy Italian word that they used to convey that it’s a convertible is “Cielo”, which just means Sky. America had a car called Sky once. This one is just a little quicker.

While there are no changes in the unique powertrain that originally debuted in the “standard” MC20, it doesn’t exactly need anything more. Maserati’s completely in-house “Nettuno” engine, a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6, provides 621 horsepower and 538 lb.-ft. of torque. An eight-speed DCT moves power to the rear wheels and a standard mechanical or optional electronic limited-slip differential keep things in check at the rear.

The MC20 Ceiling’s party trick is a segment-exclusive retractable glass roof. Maserati believes that by having a electrochromic (smart glass) panel instead of a traditional metal or fabric roof provides the best driving experience with the roof up or down. It also utilizes Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal technology to transform the glass from clear to opaque when selected through the central infotainment screen. It offers excellent thermal insulation as a result. And when the view of an open sky alone isn’t enough, the roof’s stowing mechanism operates in just 12 seconds.

Thanks to the carbon chassis that the MC20 CeeLo Green shares with the coupe, torsional rigidity is uncompromised. It does however weigh 143 pounds more than the coupe, which would make it approximately 3,443 pounds. They didn’t mention performance figures or what kind of impact the extra weight would have, but it’s probably something 99% of buyers won’t notice. And those that do notice will probably agree that an open top supercar driving experience is worth it. As for how much this open top supercar is worth, they haven’t said yet.

[Source: Maserati]

BMW M3 Edition 50 Jahre BMW M

BMW is back at it again with the unnecessarily dumb names for special edition models. It really is called the BMW M3 Edition 50 Jahre BMW M instead of something else that could get the point across with half as many words. But to give BMW some credit, this is about as cool as an anniversary edition car can get. BMW is bringing back five iconic paint colors with “modern formulations”, one from each of the previous (and better looking) generations of M3.

From the one that started it all and is probably worth about $69,420,000 on Bring a Trailer, the vibrant non-metallic Cinnibar Red pays homage to the E30 M3. The E36 M3 is represented by what else but Techno Violet, one of the most desirable paint options on any BMW in history. Moving up to the E46 M3, Interlagos Blue was chosen and is a stunner. The Lime Rock Park Edition E92 M3 lends its Fire Orange III paint to represent that generation. Finally, the F80 M3 gets tributes paid via Limerock Grey, a color exclusive to the F80 M3 CS.

Of course, special paint isn’t the only thing that sets the BMW M M3 Edition Jahre M BMW 50 Edition apart from every other M3. It gets some special touches inside and out such as classic BMW Motorsport logos on the hood, trunk, and wheel center caps, plus an exclusive matte Orbit Grey finish on the Style 826M wheels. There’s of course special badging and an aluminum plaque inside. And how could I forget the 50 Jahre BMW M Boardcase, a 50-liter roll-aboard suitcase that comes with each car.

Only 500 of these will be built for North America at $96,695 (including destination) apiece. At that price each one comes in a single, well-equipped specification with basically every tech/convenience/safety feature preselected. The only options for the buyer are the choice of color as well as M Carbon Ceramic Brakes and M Carbon bucket seats.

BMW only released images of the Interlagos Blue and Techno Violet cars but I’m not complaining. These colors look stunning. It really is such a shame that this car is so fuckin ugly.

[Source: BMW]

Speedkore builds wicked Charger for Ralph Gilles

Though this isn’t exactly industry news, I couldn’t not talk about an extremely American car ahead of Memorial Day. Speedkore Performance Group, masters of the art of carbon fiber and restomods, revealed a new one-off project for Ralph Gilles, current Chief Design Officer at Stellantis and former CEO of SRT.

Ralph is one of those rare automotive executives with a real passion for the cars that bare his company’s name, past and present. This 1968 Charger is a dream car of his and he had it thoroughly reworked by Speedkore to his specification. That includes what Speedkore is known for, a full carbon fiber body and extensively reworked chassis. It also includes what Ralph’s own company is known for, a shit load of power. A limited number of Hellephant crate engines were offered by Mopar, and one of them ended up in this. This 7.0-liter supercharged V8 produces an ungodly 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb.-ft. of torque. An eight-speed automatic does its best to send all that to the rear wheels. It rides on a custom set of HRE wheels sized 19×9 front and 20×12 rear. A massive rear wheel was required for an equally massive set of 345/30R20 tires which might handle that power.

It’s an amazing build with great taste and excellent execution. I highly recommend heading to the Speedkore site for the full parts list and more photos. Oh, it’s called Hellucination. How great is that.

[Sources: Speedkore via MotorAuthority]

Prodrive P25 confirmed for Goodwood debut

Few rally cars are as storied as the 22B Impreza. It remains the most iconic Subaru in history and was driven to victory by a titan of WRC, Colin McRae. The team responsible for the Impreza WRC’s success that year, Prodrive, is taking another stab at it 25 years later. It’s not just a tribute or a simple restoration. This is a modernization of a rallying legend done by the team that made it a legend in the first place.

The P25 will be produced in a limited run of 25 cars and celebrates the 25th anniversary of the team’s, and the car’s, success in WRC. Peter Stevens, who styled the original Impreza WRC for Prodrive, has returned to handle the job once more for this project. Additionally, Prodrive technical director, David Lapworth, is overseeing the project just as he was for the original program.

It’ll be more powerful, lighter, and handle better while keeping some of the 22B’s magic alive. The confirmed specs so far call for a 2.5-liter flat four boxer engine producing “in excess of” 400 horsepower with a six-speed semi-automatic gearbox. It all rides on a lightweight chassis with extensive use of carbon fiber all throughout.

Prodrive chairman, David Richards, said this of the P25 project: “The original 22B Impreza is considered the most iconic of Subarus and highly sought after. We wanted to enhance everything that made that car so special by applying the very latest technology to create our own modern interpretation of a car that’s established a place in motoring history.”

We will get to see the fruits of their labor at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month. Given the whole 25 thing, I’m tempted to suggest a £250,000 starting price.

[Source: Prodrive]

What’s your automotive news?

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That’s all I’ve got for you this week, so now it’s your turn. If you saw anything, fixed something, broke everything, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments.

Have a good weekend.

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