Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of some of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. There’s also just a little opinion of mine because I can. This week:
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Range Rover Sport gets new refinements and plug-in hybrid option
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Nissan reveals Nismo LEAF concept for the sporty EV buyer
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Koenigsegg sets new 0-400-0 km/h record with Agera RS
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Barrett-Jackson auctioning GT500 Super Snake for Las Vegas responders
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What’s your automotive news?
2018+ Range Rover Sport
Land Rover has announced a series of updates coming to the Range Rover Sport for the 2018 and 2019 model years which range from new infotainment to a first ever hybrid model. Most of the new features are coming with the 2018 model available early next year, but the polar bear-friendly model will have to wait till next summer as a 2019 model.
Starting with the 2018 model first, it sports an evolved exterior design with a redesigned grille, redesigned LED headlights, and a new bumper up front. Inside, it gets a brand new Touch Duo Pro infotainment system displayed across two high-definition ten-inch screens and up to fourteen power points to keep devices charged. There’s also a new gesture control system which can control a sunblind and an Advance Tow Assist feature which can back up a trailer for you.
A supercharged 3.0-liter V6 and a supercharged 5.0-liter V8, each with two available power outputs, remain available. Some markets will also get a turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel V6. The ultimate Range Rover Sport is still the SVR derivative and it’s about to get even hotter. The supercharged V8 in that one gets an additional 25 horsepower for a new total of 575 horsepower. It gets some additional design revisions of its own and more carbon fiber is used in construction. 0-60 mph in this big luxury SUV now takes 4.3 seconds.
While the Ranger Rover Sport’s awesome supercharged engines aren’t going anywhere just yet, a new plug-in hybrid model will debut to much fanfare next summer. Jaguar Land Rover’s first plug-in hybrid is the Range Rover Sport P400e. A gas-powered, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 296 horsepower is paired with an 85kW (114 hp) electric motor, resulting in 398 horsepower and 472 lb.-ft. of torque available through the permanent AWD system. 0-60 mph takes 6.3 seconds and it tops out at 137 mph. When charged fully (the socket is hidden behind the Land Rover badge in the grille), the P400e can travel up to 31 miles in pure EV mode.
Now if we can get that SVR motor as a hybrid too…
[Source: Land Rover]
BLIPS
Nissan is toying with the idea of a Nismo LEAF. Yep. With a sporty appearance package that won’t compromise the LEAF’s low drag coefficient and a Nismo-tuned suspension that promises an engaging drive, this seams easy enough to build for production. The question is would anyone bother checking that box? We’ll find out soon I guess. The concept will be on display at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.
[Source: Nissan]
Koenigsegg is the new 0-400-0 champion with the Agera RS, just weeks after Bugatti claimed the record with the Chiron. The record time for going 0 to 400 km/h and back to 0 was previously 41.9 seconds, but Koenigsegg crashed the party with a blistering time of 36.44 seconds. Niklas Lilja was the brave soul piloting the 1,160+ horsepower Agera RS on a WWII-era airfield in Vandel, Denmark. You can watch the run in its entirety above.
[Source: YouTube]
Barrett-Jackson is auctioning off a 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake again, but this time it’s a bit different. The car comes from Barrett-Jackson president Steve Davis who donated the car for their tenth-anniversary auction at Las Vegas later this month. All proceeds from the sale will go to a fund that supports Las Vegas first responders, all of whom deserve all the support they can get after dealing with last Sunday’s horrors. The auction will be taking place at Mandalay Bay of all places (they were booked there already). So if you or someone you know has their Hawaiian shirt game on point and want to help out some amazing people, Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas is the place to be.
[Source: Autoweek]
What’s your automotive news?
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.
[Image © 2017 Hooniverse/Greg Kachadurian]
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