Author: EVAI

Carlos Sainz has a ride for the 2025 Formula 1 season and beyond. On Monday, the Spaniard announced via Instagram he signed with Wiliams Racing for 2025 and 2026 on a two-year contract. Williams said the contract has the option to be extended. The move will see Sainz join Alex Albon and replace Logan Sargeant. Sainz will continue to race the…

• Japanese automakers ease into EV world

• Concerns about Stellantis U.S. plants

• EV satisfaction: Traditional vs. Tesla

• Chevy unveils turbocharged V-8 Corvette

• Hydrogen Toyotas irk scientists

• The Cybertruck’s optional range extender battery pack will require a service appointment for installation or removal
• Tesla hasn’t said how much the option costs or when it will be available
• The battery will increase Cybertruck range to 470-plus miles, according to Tesla

Cybertruck owners excited about the optional range extender battery now have more details about how it will work.

On Saturday, Tesla Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill confirmed the optional range extender battery pack will not be user installed.

Morrill responded to a question on X, formerly Twitter, asking if the range extender battery will be easily removable or offered as a rental option from a local service center.

“No, any range extender by Tesla will be structurally mounted so it’s safe in a crash,” Morrill responded on X.

Wes Morrill on X noting Cybertruck’s range extended battery isn’t DIY install

This means owners will need to schedule a service appointment with Tesla to have the optional battery pack installed or removed. It’s unclear if removed what happens with the battery pack.

No specifications or pricing has been announced for the range extended battery option, nor has Tesla said when it will become a reality.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Cybetruck range extender battery pack

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, also the owner of X.com (formerly Twitter), noted on the platform after the truck’s debut that the range extender battery pack would take up about a third of the truck’s bed.

Even with the optional range extender battery pack the Cybertruck won’t have the originally promised 500 miles of range.

The three Cybertruck models announced include a Rear-Wheel Drive, Dual-Motor, and tri-motor Cyberbeast. The three models have respective range claims of 250 miles, 340 miles, and 320 miles, according to Tesla. Official EPA ratings don’t exist. Tesla claims the optional battery pack will enable the Cybertruck to offer up to 470-plus miles of range, but it’s not clear for which model.

Tesla recalled the Cybertruck in April due to “trapped” accelerator pedals, and again in June for a busted wiper motor and loose trim.

• Gordon Murray Group sold Gordon Murray Technology
• Gordon Murray Technology was the EV division for the automotive group
• CEO Phil Lee doesn’t see the EV supercar market developing, focusing on V-12s

The winds of the all-in EV future are shifting for everyone from mainstream automakers to niche supercar companies.

On Monday, Autocar cited comments from Phil Lee, CEO of Gordon Murray Group (GMG), revealing the company sold its EV division last year.

The division, known as Gordon Murray Technology, was part of the larger Gordon Murray Group, which consists of the Gordon Murray Automotive car business and Gordon Murray Advanced Engineering development and engineering business.

Gordon Murray, the designer responsible for the McLaren F1 and founder of GMG, serves as the executive chairman and remains involved with the businesses.

Lee said the Gordon Murray Technology EV division was sold to CYVN Holdings investment group. The Abu Dhabi government is linked with CYVN Holdings, which is also one of the top investors in the Chinese automaker Nio.

Gordon Murray Technology was established in 2022. The division announced development of two electric SUVs, one of which was to be sold by Gordon Murray Automotive. The state of the two electric SUVs is unknown.

ForSeven, a CYVN-backed EV startup, was working with Gordon Murray Technology before the sale. Lee said the project was became huge and started to swamp the team’s focus off Gordon Murray Automotive’s supercars.

Lee wouldn’t disclose how much Gordon Murray Technology sold for, but noted the sale gave the team focus and cash to move forward with their V-12-powered supercars.

GMA T.50

The cash infusion is being used to get the T.50, T.50S, and T.33 supercars, all powered by V-12 engines, out the door. The supercars are sold out through 2028.

Lee said the company needs to protect the V-12 engine given where the automotive market is going. There’s big demand for the emotion the 12-cylinder powertrain provides.

“I’m not completely sure that there is a place for electric supercars in the way that there is a V-12,” Lee said.

The automaker will go hybrid at some point to keep the V-12 alive as long as possible, according to Lee. But the hybridization will be “clever” instead of a more conventional design with a big battery, series, or parallel system.

Current legislation puts the cut-off at 2040 in the U.S., 2035 in Europe, and 2030 in the U.K. before the automaker would need hybridization. Lee said the team will work on lobbying to protect low-volume vehicles from the regulations.

Honda and Nissan are forging a partnership in the areas of electrification and software, and Mitsubishi reportedly wants a piece of the action.

Honda and Nissan first announced plans for their partnership in March, which at the time of the announcement was only at the feasibility study stage.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday that Mitsubishi will now work with Honda and Nissan to finalize the details of the partnership, particularly when it comes to standardization of in-vehicle software systems.

The Nikkei reported that the tie-up will leave Japan with two dominant automotive groups to better challenge Tesla and a band of Chinese EV brands.

Toyota and its associated brands will form one of the groups and the other will be the alliance between Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. Combined, the two groups last year sold over 19 million vehicles.

Mitsubishi is already closely linked with Nissan. Both automakers form part of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance, and already share platforms and EV technology. Approximately 34% of Mitsubishi’s shares are also owned by Nissan.

Mitsubishi and Honda have also been linked in the past. Most recently, the two automakers tested the waters with a battery leasing joint venture company known as Altna.

Japanese brands have lagged some of their foreign rivals in rolling out EVs and are now playing catch up. China’s EV leadership helped the country overtake Japan last year to become the world’s largest exporter of vehicles.

Separately, Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru in May also teamed up to develop a new generation of internal-combustion engines.

Mercedes-Benz AMG’s Lewis Hamilton claimed victory on Sunday at the 2024 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix after teammate George Russell, who was the first to cross the finish line, was disqualified for an underweight car. A post-race weigh in resulted in Russell’s car weighing 796.5 kilograms (approximately 1,756 pounds), or 1.5 less (3.3 pounds) than…

When you buy new or used from a car dealer, you could drive home with more than a new set of wheels. A number of options, accessories and dealer add-ons could come along for the ride, bundled into the monthly payment. They can add up, so consider them carefully. This guide should help you decide what’s right for you, and show you how to…

• The Tesla Cybertruck’s being turned into a police car
• The Irvine Police Department said it’s taking delivery of its police-spec Cybertruck soon
• The conversion to police spec is being handled by UP.FIT

The world hasn’t gotten quite bad enough for the emergence of RoboCop, but the first police Cybertruck will soon report for duty in California.

First spotted by Electrek, the Irvine Police Department announced on X (formerly Twitter) this week that it would soon take delivery of a Cybertruck. No further details were given, but Electrek notes that the accompanying photo indicates the truck looks like one used in promotional materials for UP.FIT, a division of Tesla tuner Unplugged Performance.

Coming soon to Irvine…….#cybertruck #notkidding#irvine #irvinepd #tesla #orangecounty #police #policecar #teslamodels #whelen #cityofirvine #carsofinstagram #policecybertruck #elonmusk pic.twitter.com/jOaoszz9ZD

— Irvine Police Department (@IrvinePolice) July 24, 2024

UP.FIT unveiled a Cybertruck police cruiser last month, saying police departments and other agencies had already expressed interest, and that deliveries would start later this year.

Customers can spec typical police equipment, including radios and any other additional communications equipment, as well as prisoner partitions, storage for weapons and other equipment, and K9 enclosures, UP.FIT said when it unveiled the truck. The company also offers heavy-duty suspension and brake packages, as well as an off-road package.

Tesla Cybertruck Next-Gen Patrol by UP.FIT

While UP.FIT’s offering is an aftermarket conversion, Ford announced an electric police truck based on the F-150 Lightning in 2022, offered through the automaker’s Special Service Vehicle (SSV) factory upfit program. In 2021 the automaker, which has traditionally controlled a large share of the police market, showed a Mustang Mach-E police testbed, and subsequently announced that the NYPD had expressed interest in Mach-E police cars.

But other than small-scale tests, police departments have largely avoided EVs due to a lack of options for suitable vehicles, with cost being a major issue, according to a 2022 report. The Cybertruck starts at $60,990 before any police conversion work.

North Carolina Toyota Land Cruiser specialist TLC 4×4 has released a new restomod that fuses different Land Cruiser generations into one capable off-roader. The 1989 FJ142 Land Cruiser maintains the style of a 1980s Land Cruiser with the body from the FJ62 model sold during that decade. But that body sits on the frame from a later FZJ80 Land…

Although hydrogen may cost more initially, the FirstElement Fuel co-founder and chief business development officer argues hydrogen-powered trucks will be more efficient and viable than battery-electric counterparts at scale.