Latest news with #R&T
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mazda's Rotary-Engined Sports Car Is Almost Ready
Many mainstream automakers are moving away from sports cars. But not Mazda, which seems set to offer two different models. We've already reported on the company's planning for what will become the fifth-generation Miata, but Mazda is also intent on putting the larger, rotary-engined model that was previewed by the 2023 Iconic SP concept car into production. You didn't need to look too hard at the Iconic SP to see a viable car beneath its concept's sleek lines. 'I have to be very careful what I say here,' said Masashi Nakayama, the general manager at Mazda's design division, 'but we made sure that it will be feasible for production.' Mazda has already put the rotary engine back into limited production, using a small single-rotor 830-cc version that produces a peak of 74 hp to act as a range-extender in the MX-30 R-EV, a model that isn't sold in the U.S. But the production version of the Iconic SP—which we're imagining would likely gain an RX name—is set to use a much more powerful twin-rotor version. To no surprise, passing tougher global emissions standards—never a strength of the rotary engine—has been one of the biggest challenges faced by the engineering team. 'I decided to reopen the rotary engine development group and I gave a mission to them,' Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro told Road & Track, 'that was to comply with stringent emissions regulations like LEV IV in the U.S., and Euro 7. We know that rotary is not good at complying with emissions, that was the reason we decided to discontinue it in 2012. That is a very high hurdle they have to overcome, but in the last year the progress has been very encouraging.' 'Where we are is developing the technology to pass the U.S. regulation, and we have a very good forecast now, so we are almost ready,' chief technical officer, Ryuichi Umeshita, told R&T. 'The next challenge is... now you can support us in making a good business case. But technically, we are almost ready—if we see a good business case, we're ready to go.' So if you love the idea of another rotary-engined Mazda sportscar, start lobbying. Exactly how this new engine will be used remains an interesting question. In the Iconic SP, it was a range extender, recharging a battery pack on the move and giving a peak output of a claimed 365 hp. But Mazda could also potentially choose to use a more conventional hybrid layout, one that Umeshita hinted at when we spoke about the future Miata's continued use of a manual gearbox, suggesting the more potent sports car could get a quicker transmission and therefore, by implication, a mechanical connection between engine and wheels. 'If, let's say—and we haven't decided anything yet—if we do go to the super sports category, then [a gearbox] should be faster,' he said, 'then probably not a manual, but a more advanced transmission technology can be used.' The Iconic SP concept also featured miniature pop-up headlight covers, inspired by the pop-ups used by some of the company's best-known sportscars including all four generations of the RX-7. Could something like this also make production? 'We can do it in terms of technology,' Nakayama said. 'For example, in the current MX-5, there is a deployable bonnet, the hood pops up [in the event of a crash]… but the question is regulation. Of course, if you could support us, we'd love to do it.' So, once again, get lobbying. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Honda Gold Wing Was Made For America
Road & Track is decidedly not a motorcycle magazine, but we do appreciate the beauty and culture of the finest two-wheeled machinery. So when Honda sent an invite to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Gold Wing, the gold standard of cruiser motorcycles, the answer was a definite yes. As R&T's resident cycle nerd, I'm going to start out on a limb here: I've long believed the Gold Wing isn't just a motorcycle. It is the motorcycle of note from the last half-century, certainly from an American perspective. It wasn't uninhibited enthusiasm that birthed the Gold Wing in 1975, but rather a careful corporate decision-making process. The newly minted executive vice president of Honda, Kihachiro Kawashima, decided the company needed a two-wheeled flagship, one that would combine technical innovation with high levels of rider comfort. Powered by a 999-cc flat-four, the first Japanese water-cooled four-stroke, the '75 Gold Wing made 78 hp and 61 lb-ft of torque and propelled a bike that weighed a very chunky 602 pounds dry. It's the obvious place to start this history lesson, swinging my leg over the flat, one-piece seat of this beautiful early version and hitting the roads of Daytona Beach, Florida. Picking the veteran Gold Wing off its stand required the strongest heave for the whole ride, as it became ever more eager to roll between my legs once moving. Reaching the bars required no more than a slight raise of my elbow, and initiating a lean was done with a two-finger pinch of force on the thin bars. What's most important on a Gold Wing is smoothness. The power comes in gradually and linearly, rising steadily as I pass 4000 rpm on the white-needled gauges. It didn't have that coming-on-cam feeling that our favorite Japanese performance cars possess, instead mimicking the torque curve of a BMW inline-six. Reputedly, early Gold Wing dealer demonstrations included the placement of a coin onto one of the protruding cylinder heads, where prospective customers could watch it sit unmoving as the engine was revved. There was only one realm where this Gold Wing's age felt obvious: braking. Neither the front lever nor the rear pedal provided any real feel, and the retardation felt consistently weak to somebody more used to modern motorcycles. I found myself pressing harder as the ride went on, gaining confidence in the modern Continental tires more than the dual solid discs up front. The clutch shared this sense of inadequacy, as early Gold Wings were notorious for shedding their stock units. According to Rob Doyle, Honda's Northeast PR representative and the co-owner of this model, the warmer the clutch gets, the more it needs to be slipped. Bogging down at stoplights turned into a symphony as I spun the serenely balanced engine past 3000 rpm to get rolling. Contrary to its younger siblings, Honda's first Gold Wing has no clever features or fairings. It was a starting point for touring—saddlebags, wind protection, and upgraded seat comfort was on the owner, at least for the first few years. But a trip to New Mexico changed all that. "In about 1978, we had a gentleman at American Honda, his name was Ikuo Shimizu," says Lee Edmunds, a former Honda communications manager who gave a fascinating historic briefing. "His big philosophy was something we call 'go to the spot.' It means you can't really understand what's going on in the market unless you actually go and see it." Shimizu traveled to the Golden Aspen Rally in Ruidoso, New Mexico, to learn firsthand what customers needed and wanted. The result was vastly improved feedback to the Japanese-based R&D team and then 45 years of steady evolution—increased displacement and cylinder count, an air suspension, and numerous innovative and groundbreaking luxury features. One counterintuitive development was moving the engine forward. As former Cycle World editor and Gold Wing connoisseur Matthew Miles explains, each passing generation has seen the engine advance within the frame, a contradictory concept for those who believe in optimal weight distribution through a middle- or rear-mounted engine. "You can see it, whether it's in the drawings or in the actual treatment of the seats, just how important the passenger section is. If you have this tiny little seat, it's a problem. So they're always trying to move the engine forward for balance," Miles told me. That mission is one of versatility for the modern Gold Wing. It's shell suggests a loping, open-road approach to riding, while the hardware—as Miles points out—is pure sport bike. For the half-century milestone, the 2025 model year of the fifth-generation Gold Wing came with only a few upgrades, primarily the ability to sync a smartphone wirelessly through a helmet-mounted communication device and get Apple CarPlay on a seven-inch screen between the dials. Honda is also offering a 50th Anniversary limited edition, which I tested in two-pew Tour form. The generational spread means there is now 1833 cc of flat-six power, the engine making a wail reminiscent of a base Porsche 911. Okay, so the motor's power figures look low for its size—125 hp and 125 lb-ft. But in reality, this is more than enough to get the modern Gold Wing Tour's 845-pound chassis moving, whether that effort is funneled through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission or the classic six-speed manual unit. Getting settled onto the behemoth of a bike wasn't scary, but the first inches of movement felt intimidating as the better end of 1000 pounds gyrated between my legs. It takes some muscle to get it up off the stand and even more to push the wide clip-on bars around a tight parking lot. But, when starting, full clutch engagement coincides with the bike becoming weightless. Wrapped in an almost ironic, woody-wagon-esque paint scheme, my dual-clutch 50th Anniversary tester went from snapping turtle to a dachshund puppy in a matter of feet, as speed and the gyroscopic effect melted away its heft. Of course, the modern Gold Wing is a much more sophisticated motorcycle than the original one. The 2025 rides on a double-wishbone front suspension with a pro-link rear system that connects to a single-side swing arm and adjusts for both passenger and luggage weight. Directional ability is also much improved. Little muscle is required to dip the Gold Wing into both tight and sweeping corners, the lean gradient more rewarding the quicker you ride. Sure, the weight is apparent as speed bleeds off, requiring a strict adherence to the core tenets of motorcycling: looking where you want to go, dragging the rear brake during low-speed maneuvers. But the ride stayed glassy whether trailing pickups on I-95 or puttering around a parking lot. The combination of the quiet engine and generous wind protection from the windscreen and fairing package meant cruising at 70 mph didn't elicit so much as a breeze. The dual-clutch transmission shifted sweetly, and Honda even allows the ability to manually shift should you please. Brakes were also excellent—with dual six-pot Nissin hydraulic calipers up front and a single three-pot at the rear, slowing down was as easy and unflustered as speeding up, the lever feeling as if it communicated every groove in the discs as they passed through the pads. But it is the luxuries that really define the Gold Wing, especially for more casual riders. As well as the two-wheeled novelty of Apple CarPlay, my tester had seat heaters, an audio system, and even a winding windscreen—all functions I imagine are hard to let go once you've become used to them. The dynasty's enduring success has long been proved, with more than 700,000 having been built by 2017. Prices now start at $25,975 for the low-seat six-speeder and rise to $34,175 for the priciest airbag-equipped twin-clutch 50th Anniversary Tour version. My biggest takeaway from experiencing both ends of the Gold Wing story was the fundamental rightness of the line to American tastes. Confidence is key to being a good rider, but it can often take thousands of miles to build the faith that a motorcycle can survive a full emergency stop or deliver its engineered lean angle. But the Gold Wing puts those worries to rest on your first ride. It commands respect, but it treats you as a peer too. That's why you see them on just about every good road the country has to offer. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Olympian Leo Neugebauer and Actor Jack Quaid Would Love to Attempt a NASCAR Pit Stop
Ahead of the EchoPark Automotive Grand PRix at the Circuit of the Americas, the honorary starter Leo Neugebauer and Grand Marshall Jack Quaid agreed that they both would like to experience a NASCAR pit stop. Olympic silver medalist Neugebauer might be slightly more prepared for the challenge than the actor Quaid, who stars in Amazon Prime's The Boys and is promoting his new action movie Novocaine. NASCAR media member Jay Arnold asked Neugebauer if he had talked to any of the many former college athletes that make up the NASCAR pit crews about their career choice. Neugebauer lit up in the media center and explained that people have been telling it about it all weekend but had yet to have a dialogue with a crew member. "People have been telling me about all of these, that all of these crews are made up of college athletes like football players and whatever else," Neugebauer said. He added that he would love to lift one of the tires to see how heavy they are and better understand the physical demands put on the pit crews. "I need to talk to them, and I need to carry one of these tires or these fuel tanks," Neugebauer told media members, including R&T. "I just want to see how heavy it is because it looks heavy as hell. Then being able to like do these pit stops in like eight to nine seconds, insane. I want to experience that. As an ex-college athlete myself, I need to try and lift one of these things. Quaid chimed in, saying he would also like to lift a tire but may be disadvantaged compared to professional athletes. "I would also like to attempt but..." Quaid then gestures to his frame. The duo decided that Quaid could do fuel instead, and as Neugebauer joked they could finish the stop in a second, Quaid countered he would take an hour. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toyota Files New Trademark for 'GR Celica' in Brazil
Toyota hasn't exactly been sneaky about the strong chances of a reborn Celica model. U.S. New trademark filings for the nameplate were discovered back in November, shortly before Toyota vice-president Yuki Nakajima reportedly told journalists, 'We will make the Celica.' And while we've yet to hear anything official, we now have yet another piece of evidence to share — this time via a trademark filing for a "GR Celica" model in Brazil. The news comes by way of Australia's Drive, which located the trademark application that was filed last month. The filing, Process Number 937665010, has yet to be accepted by the Brazilian government, as it's awaiting an opposition filing deadline. That said, there's no real reason to assume that the automaker won't be awarded the trademark. "Gazoo Racing" branding has already been applied to all of Toyota's performance-oriented models around the globe, including the GR Supra, GR 86, GR Corolla, and GR Yaris for those outside of the States. (Note that R&T was unable to locate any similar trademark filings for the US market at this time, but that doesn't rule out a future filing, or one working its way through the system.) Given the Celica's long history in motorsport, we'd be amazed to see it return without receiving the GR treatment. The model's previous success with the GT-Four all-wheel drive trim makes it a natural fit for the brand's current GR-Four system, and with rear-drive offerings well-represented by the GR 86 and Supra, we'd expect the Celica to adopt front- or all-wheel-drive as in previous generations. Reports out of Japan suggest that the reborn icon will adopt a new variant of the brand's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot; hopefully, a manual gearbox is also a part of the equation. With all of the noise surrounding the Celica nameplate, we would be shocked if Toyota doesn't make some official comment in the coming months. That said, it's always important to remember that trademark and patent filings aren't always a great indicator of future product. Considering a new version could potentially turn out to be one of the best small cars on sale, however, you can be sure we'll keep you updated on the Celica's return as soon as we have something concrete — or another piece of news that's too good to pass up. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
BMW's New Centerlock Wheels for the M2, M3 & M4 Will Cost You Nearly $20,000
The BMW M Performance Parts Catalog has long been a popular spot for customers to bring a bit more of that motorsport-derived flair to their sports coupe and sedans. When BMW launched its slick centerlock wheel package for the G8X models last back in November 2023, American buyers were excluded from the order sheet. That's changing for 2025... but I hope you've got around $20,000 to spend for the enhancement. As first highlighted by BMWBlog, the wheels, which feature a handsome 10-spoke layout around that ever-important central nut, are compatible with the G80, G82, G83, and G87 models. (That's the M3, M4 coupe and convertible, and the M2 for those not up on their BMW chassis codes.) According to a BMW product spokesperson, the brand only has around seven complete sets of these wheels currently available in North America. The offerings are split between rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive sizes, but the brand can supply more units if the customer demand is there. The small stock might have something to do with the pricing on these wheels, which surpasses a quarter of of the base price of a new M3. BMW confirmed to R&T that the 19-/20-inch matte black centerlocks, listed as MP 963M, carry an MSRP of $6,696.07. Of course, those wheels won't bolt up to the factory 5-lug hubs, so you'll also need to swap those out for bespoke units. BMW is happy to provide the update hubs, but the kit costs $11,037.90 for both rear- and all-wheel drive models. There's also a list of suggested tools and materials for installation, including a release tool ($567), Sythes Glep 1 grease ($49.27), Wuerth Al 1100 aluminum paste ($51.99), a centerlock wheel socket ($323), and a torque wrench with a measuring range up to at least 1,000 nm ($1,270). BMW says that should total around $19,995.23 — and you'll also need three hours of dealer time for installation. Not exactly a bargain upgrade by any means. If you happen to be competing in a series somewhere with a G8X-series M car, a centerlock wheel upgrade might be a worthwhile investment in the pits. That said, it's a lot of cash to fork out for a visual upgrade alone, especially when the aftermarket for these cars is so extensive. Still, given the limited supply, I don't think BMW is going to have a hard time clearing out its current stock. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
