Loy Luxury

What started as a joke has turned into a real-life prototype. Elon Musk japed that he'd dig tunnels under Los Angeles to avoid traffic, and on Tuesday his Boring Company opened its first prototype tunnel in LA. The entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX also provided more details on how the system works. Musk started The Boring Company as a solution to traffic and congested cities. Machines dig tunnels to fit a vehicle, and an elevator shaft drops them down. From there, the car deploys tracking wheels that rub against the walls to guide it along the tunnel. For now, it's unclear how a vehicle will be outfitted with the tracking wheels or how it will deploy them. Musk tweeted that the retractable wheel gear "turns a car into a rail-guided train & back again." The rails are actually the sides of the tunnel and the cars remain cars. When completely realized, the vehicles could move at speeds in excess of 150 mph. CNN Business, which was present at the opening eve...

The second-generation Ford F-150 Raptor ditched its 6.2-liter V-8 for a twin-turbo V-6. While that's fine and dandy, it certainly doesn't provide the same soundtrack. Enter Hennessey Performance Engineering, which has installed a 5.0-liter supercharged Coyote V-8 engine to appease those who can't swallow a V-6-powered F-150 Raptor. New video from the company shows the V-8-swapped 2018 F-150 Raptor on the dyno where it makes 557 horsepower and 449 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. The V-8 and supercharger help the off-road performance pickup best the standard Raptor by a 258 hp in total as it makes 758 hp, according to HPE. Plus, the twin-turbo V-6 can't touch the sounds the 5.0-liter V-8 produces. HPE marries the V-8 engine to the Raptor's 10-speed automatic and also performs the necessary component and electrical swaps (wiring harness, computers, etc.) so the V-8 runs in tip-top shape. The 2.9-liter supercharger is installed and dialed in to run 7.0 psi of ...

It was two years ago that we first learned of a Chinese design company by the name of CH-Auto looking to branch out into production of high-end electric cars, starting with a small electric sports car to potentially be built in the United States. CH-Auto has been quiet since then but last week it announced the signing of a partnership agreement with California's Mullen Technologies to develop and assemble electric cars in the United States for sale across North America under the brand name Qiantu. The first model will be the Qiantu K50 electric sports car first shown at the 2016 Beijing auto show. It will feature an aluminum chassis wrapped in a carbon fiber body and generate a combined 402 horsepower from a pair of electric motors. Performance estimates include a 0-60 mph time of around 4.5 seconds and a top speed governed to 124 mph. The plan is to start production in 2020, utilizing components sourced locally and from China. Mullen will start accepting orders in 2019. At...

Only a year after the Kode 0 coach-built supercar made its debut at Monterey Car Week, one example has surfaced for sale in Japan. Perhaps someone has a serious case of buyer's remorse, or maybe they just need the money. Classic Driver listed the unique supercar for sale. The Kode 0 was the work of Ken Okuyama, a former Pininfarina designer. Okuyama designed and oversaw the production of five Kode 0 supercars, each of which used a Lamborghini Aventador as the starting point. The exterior was completely reworked for a wedgey look that recalls a 1990s concept car—in a good way. The rear end is a little more anonymous. We see some Lexus LFA influence at the rear, and those green fans are mighty cool. Kode 0 Lamborghini Aventador-based supercar for sale Inside, the interior remains identical that of the donor Aventador, save for a few trim pieces and green accents. The 6.5-liter V-12 engine also remains unchanged. The Kode 0 is truly a coach-built supercar for someone who beli...

BMW in 1966 hired Italian design house and coachbuilder Frua to pen a convertible based on the bones of the GT sports car manufactured by Glas, the automaker most widely known for the Goggomobile series of minicars, which BMW had acquired earlier that same year. The result was the 1600 GT Convertible of which just two prototypes were built. The cars featured the basic Glas GT body but sported several BMW design cues like the signature kidney grille and round headlights borrowed from a BMW 1602. More importantly, they also featured a 105-horsepower engine and rear axle borrowed from the sporty BMW 1600 TI. The plan was to sell the cars in the United States, with the proposal originally coming from famed European vehicle importer Max Hoffmann, who had earlier inspired BMW to build the 507. The 1600 GT Convertible was to be a more affordable alternative to the 507 which failed to ignite the market due to its high price tag. Sadly, production never went beyond the two prototypes. ...

Audi's Q7 is approaching the midway point in its life cycle and prototypes for an updated version are out and about. The prototypes reveal that Audi's updated Q7 will receive only minor changes on the outside, but that things are in for a major revamp on the inside. On the outside, you can expect the usual tweaks to the internals of the lights along with redesigned front and rear fascias. The changes to the lights are already clearly visible on the prototypes. Inside, the dash of the current Q7 will be replaced by the more advanced design found in the related Q8. While the digital instrument cluster is still present in the shot below, the old center stack has been replaced by two screens. 2021 Audi Q7 facelift spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien These screens control almost every vehicle function, with a tactile and acoustic click confirming when a finger activates a function. Voice activation with natural speech is also included in Audi's latest operati...