Holy Shift! Koenigsegg’s New Gearbox Is a 6-Sp Manual *and* a 9-Sp Automatic

ford bronco Full OverviewYou play chess? Good, because then you know the most powerful piece on the board, the one with all the moves, is the queen—not the king. This admittedly forced chess metaphor serves another purpose. Since Ford resuscitated the Bronco, Dearborn and Jeep are now locked in a fierce battle for off-road SUV supremacy. Between the various trims on offer, we almost have enough "pieces" to field a chess game; according to each model's website at the time of this writing, buyers have eight Broncos and 12 Wranglers to choose from. With the launch of the new 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor, not only has FoMoCo significantly expanded the Raptor family, it's also officially rolled out its biggest weapon to date in this fight. We've admired and loved the F-150 Raptor since its debut nearly 15 years ago. Does the Raptor formula work on an SUV? Or, sticking with chess, are we talking about a new queen? Keep reading.What Makes a Braptor?Ford changed many things in going from Bronco to Braptor—yes, I insist on calling it Braptor, the best nickname since "Fiata. " The most important of these changes just might be the 3.0-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 found under the new, air-extractor-equipped hood. Compared to the 2.7-liter version found in the regular Bronco, power rises from 330 hp (or 315 hp here in California with our lousy 91-octane gas) to 418, and torque goes from 415 lb-ft (410 in the Golden State) to 440 lb-ft. Ford squeezed more power out of the 3.0-liter, which is also found in the Explorer ST and Platinum, by reducing induction and exhaust losses, as well as by fitting larger turbochargers. The 10-speed transmission has been reprogrammed for Bronco Raptor duty, and the transfer case has been beefed up.The heavy lifting from an engineering point of view, however, involved the suspension. Like the pickup truck Raptor, the SUV version has been significantly widened—mostly at the tires—to the tune of nearly 10 inches (!) each front and rear. That's nuts. To achieve that sort of girth, new shock towers were fitted all around, as well as wide, Braptor-specific control arms. The new front axle is a Dana 44 AdvanTEK, and there's a big ol' live Dana 50 Heavy Duty AdvanTEK out back. Raptors have always come with a set of trick Fox internal bypass shocks. Ford calls this system HOSS 4.0, and in addition to enabling 13.0 inches of travel in the front and 14.0 inches of articulation in the rear, the suspension uses height sensors to adjust the damping 500 times per second.The Braptor also comes with massive 37-inch BF Goodrich KO2 tires. Those are 2 inches larger than you get with the standard Bronco's Sasquatch package. As such, the ground clearance rises by 1.6 inches to an impressive 13.1 inches. But people often mistake ground clearance for off-road capability. It's not. What is? Approach, breakover, and departure angles, and these are where the Braptor is off the charts. The approach angle is a whopping 47.2 degrees. Breakover is 30.8 degrees (that's great), and the departure angle is impressive at 40.5 degrees. The Braptor can ford more than three feet of water, and the engineers were even able to increase towing capacity by 1,000 pounds to 4,500.Perhaps the most shocking number is this: 85.7 inches. That's how wide the Bronco Raptor is. A Hummer H1, the military truck, is 86.5 inches wide. Less than an inch difference! However, unlike the F-150 Raptor, Ford didn't widen the Braptor's body. Instead, it just fit massive fender flares nearly 5 inches wider than those found on a normal Bronco. Instagram seems to hate these huge flares with a burning passion. I think they look fine—overall, I like the Braptor's appearance—but I should point out that accurately placing either front wheel anywhere is tricky. Why? Well, you can see the edges of the Braptor's front fender, and it has trail sights that rise off the hood—but each wheel sticks out an additional 4.9 inches from there. Not the end of the world, but just be aware.Braptor Versus BroncoIf I were more of a conspiracy theorist, I might tell you that the Braptor is an emergency refresh of the worst parts of the freshly launched regular Bronco. For example, the mainstream Bronco's three front-seat grab handles feel cheap and flimsy. However, the Braptor's grabbies have been Raptorized—meaning the cheap parts are now wrapped in thick, tactical rubber and feel much stouter. The same is true for the top of the formerly flimsy dash. Here's another difference: At 80 mph, I could have a normal, inside-voice conversation with Renz, our photographer. This was totally not the case with the five other Broncos I've driven, four of which supposedly had the quiet roof panels. (One was a soft top.) We know the removable, Webasto-supplied hard roofs were plagued with issues from the start. Life is much quieter in the Braptor.Speaking of the roof, just under it lie Braptor-specific B- and C-pillar beams called the B-bow and C-bow. The B-bow is made from aluminum, and the C-bow is crafted of carbon composite. They're essentially crossmembers between the roll cage. Together the two pieces increase the body-in-white's torsional rigidity by an incredible 50 percent. That's great on the one hand, but on the other it says Ford knows the regular Bronco's structure leaves a lot to be desired. Can you retrofit your Bronco with these stiffening bows from the Braptor? You can order one, but not both. I might even be inclined to say the 3.0-liter V-6 is a tacit admission that the failure-prone, forum-fodder 2.7-liter EcoBoost wasn't the right "big" engine for the Bronco in the first place. Just speculating here, your honor.On-Road BraptoringThat 3.0-liter has some grunt to it. If you're not in Sport mode, the 10-speed transmission is all too happy to run up the gears, even under heavy throttle. If you are in Sport mode, then the 418 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque puts the Braptor back on its haunches (thanks to the squishy, long-travel suspension) and the 10-speed holds the closely spaced gears longer. The transmission even aggressively downshifts itself in Sport, which is something you usually don't see outside of Porsche or Ferrari dual-clutch gearboxes. Big thumbs-up to Ford Performance for this mode's calibration. I'd personally like quicker upshifts when using the paddles, but as my wife often points out, come on, no one uses the paddles. The ride is much improved over a regular Bronco, too.I was certainly impressed by how well the Bronco Raptor took to be driven quickly. Except for Jeep's magnificent Wrangler 392 Rubicon, I've never had any fun driving a ladder-frame, convertible, doors-come-off type of vehicle. Yet here we are. I did preface the above by saying, "mostly," for two reasons. One, if you're trying to hustle the Braptor through tight corners, it doesn't work. I think the oversize 37-inch tires are too big for that sort of thing. Large, sweeping corners? The Braptor hustles and is great fun to drive. Also, amazingly, even at more than 80 mph, there's no thrum from the tires. Bad stuff? It weighs a ton—nearly three of them, in fact. Ford's saying 5,731 pounds, way up from the 4,828 pound mid-grade V-6 Bronco we weighed. As a result, the brakes—which are lifted directly from the F-150 Raptor—aren't quite up to canyon snuff. But hey, trail-braking nearly 6,000 pounds of SUV down to an apex is a big ask and, well, not really this particular vehicle's milieu. Case in point, the lovely Eruption Green Metallic example I drove from Palm Springs to Idyllwild and back developed squeaky front brakes after an hour of hard driving. Speaking of hard driving, the computer showed me 11.8 mpg at the end of the trip, and this was after about 15 miles of freeway cruising. It was 11.6 mpg when we came off the mountain. That's terrible.And Off-Road?In its native off-road environment, in the dirt, the Bronco Raptor is superlative. There was one point where I turned to a colleague from a rival publication and asked, "Can you think of another production vehicle that could do that?" That was in reference to a section of severe rock crawling that's in fact part of the King of the Hammers race course. I can't stress the word "severe" enough. Like, there was one waterfall obstacle (in this case "waterfall" refers to a near vertical rock face) that I was certain was a dead end, and there was no way the Braptor could climb it. Sixty seconds later, I was shaking my head in disbelief. It looked impossible, as did the obstacle just after it. "Maybe a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Xtreme Recon. Maybe," my colleague said. I agreed. Maybe, but also maybe not. Mercedes G-Wagens just don't have the approach angle needed. A Chevy Colorado ZR2 could also probably do the deed, but you'd flatten its tailpipe.Our Broncos didn't make it through the Hammers sections (I should say this Hammers section, as we ran another, easier one) unmolested. Ford had us drive up to the more difficult section in one group of Bronco Raptors and run the gnarly section in another. Why? The second set had the running boards and bumper caps/foglights removed. And the beadlock-capable wheels had the beadlock ring installed. I bashed the hell out of my Core Orange Braptor's aluminum skidplate, as well as the locator brackets for the rear-end links. And that is what rock-crawling is all about. I'd go so far as to say if the undercarriage of your Braptor isn't all chewed up, you probably bought more vehicle than you need.The Bronco Raptor didn't just excel on the extreme stuff. It exhibited a full 360 degrees of off-road excellence. Important example: I remain shocked at how poorly the regular Bronco feels when driving down a simple dirt path. There's a bumpiness and a vibration present that frankly doesn't make any sense. Obviously, the Fox shocks with their near-constant revalving helps things, but I also think the 50 percent stiffer body pays massive dividends in the Braptor. The off-road ride quality is on par with the on-road. Impressive. And should you feel like hitting 70 mph on dirt—which I did—this SUV loves it.The high-speed dirt runs were performed in the Braptor's new Baja mode, part of the Bronco family's on-the-nose G.O.A.T. modes. The most notable thing about Baja mode is that it keeps the throttle open and the wastegates closed, effectively (or as effectively as possible) eliminating turbo lag. Pity that Sport mode doesn't get this feature. The worst thing about Baja mode is its effect on the Braptor's variable exhaust. Allow me to speak truth to cacophony here: Unless it's Italian, no twin-turbo V-6 is worth listening to. Thankfully, there's an exhaust mode button on the steering wheel, so you can always turn down the racket and put it in Quiet. Also worth noting is the brakes work wonderfully in the dirt. Crazy, right?Props to Ford and its partner Driven Events for coming up with such a comprehensive off-road route. In addition to the slick rock/boulder section described above, we ran light dirt trails and covered whoops, dunes, loose rocks, small rocks, and even an autocross set up on a dry lakebed. Plus, we used part of the dirt racetrack that the Driven people use to train for high-speed desert-running. Except for mud and deep water (California desert, baby), we experienced it all in the Bronco Raptor. The Braptor jumps pretty good, too. And I have to tell you, these Fords did it all exceptionally well. These SUVs simply possess massive off-road capability. Save for a Unimog, I'm thinking this is now the most capable production vehicle you can buy, something I said about the OG Raptor back in 2007. Talk about full circle.Why So Good?How can the Bronco Raptor be so good, whereas the regular Bronco is about 90 percent as good as a comparable Wrangler? Two words: Ford Performance. What's so special about Ford Performance? Well, I talked to quite a few engineers at this launch, and to a person their previous project before the Braptor was the Shelby GT500. Not coincidentally, I don't think very much of the current-generation Ford Mustang, but I'll go to my grave telling people about how I watched a GT500 keep up with a Ferrari F8 Tributo. And the dude that was driving the F8 is quick! That's a long-winded way of saying that Ford Performance (née SVT) is Ford's GT division, its AMG. Its people work magic.So, How Much?This brings up price. The Braptor starts life at $70,095, and two of the three I drove had enough options to push the price to $75,955. You simply have to get the cool digital graphics, yeah? Both configurations are more than double the base price of the absolute cheapest Bronco you could buy, which starts at $32,395. That said, the base Bronco doesn't interest me in the slightest, whereas I might be captain of Team Braptor. Looking at the competition, a relatively underpowered 285 hp V-6 Wrangler Rubicon with the Xtreme Recon package is just over $55K, whereas the awesome but pricey Wrangler 392 starts at more than $80K—and that's before you factor in the Xtreme Recon kit.To put more of a point on it, $75K gets you a Land Rover Defender with nowhere near the capability or about half a Mercedes G550. True, the Ram TRX can be had for as little as $80,695 (should you find a friendly dealer), but most I've seen are packed with options, especially the $10,295 Level 2 Equipment Group. Also, while the TRX is amazing, its massive size means it can't do what the Braptor can. What about the F-150 Raptor? Those begin at $71,700, though if you want to add 37-inch tires like the Braptor, that adds $10,005. You read that right. But again, like the TRX, the F-150 Raptor's size diminishes its capability when compared to the Bronco Raptor. The pesky Chevy Colorado ZR2, particularly the $51,395 Bison version, might be able to hang with the Ford over crazy rocks. Emphasis on "might," if its foot-longer wheelbase didn't hang it up.The ConclusionFord brought the wood with the new 2022 Bronco Raptor, aka the Braptor. I'm not going out on much of a limb when I say, looking at the entire package, the Bronco Raptor is likely the most capable off-road vehicle on sale today from a dealership. (A future comparison test with its rivals to determine off-road supremacy will make the final call.)Going back to the tortured chess metaphor, the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor puts the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in check. General Motors, for whatever reason, has chosen to ignore this lucrative segment entirely and is stuck playing checkers against itself. How Jeep will respond to Ford's latest move will no doubt be both wonderful and fascinating. Until then, all hail the queen.Looks good! More details?2022 Ford Bronco Raptor  Specifications   BASE PRICE $70,095 LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV ENGINE 3.0L/418-hp/440-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve V-6 TRANSMISSION 10-speed auto CURB WEIGHT 5,750 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 116.5 in L x W x H 191.0 x 85.7x 77.8 in 0-60 MPH 5.5 sec (MT est) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 15/16/15 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 300 miles ON SALE August 2022 Show All

jaguar f-pace Full OverviewProsOne of the last supercharged V-8sGreat balance between sport and luxuryComfortable seats ConsThirsty engineBad sun-glare from center consoleEdition 1988 upgrades too subtle for someIt's a warm Saturday afternoon in Paris and I've just been handed the keys to a 2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988. "We'll pick it up in London on Tuesday morning," say the folks from Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations before waving goodbye.Racing HistoryThe Edition 1988 version of the Jaguar F-Pace SVR SUV celebrates an epic Jaguar win in the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, a victory that ended a 31-year drought in the world's greatest sports car race for the storied British marque. The Edition 1988's deep purple-black paint—Midnight Amethyst is the color—with gold detailing pays homage to the purple and yellow highlights on the livery of the Jaguar XJR-9 that crossed the finish line in first place shortly after 3 p.m. local time on Sunday, June 12, 1988.The race had been a close-run event. Dutchman Jan Lammers, who had shared the No. 2 Jaguar with fellow Formula 1 driver Johnny Dumfries and promising newcomer Andy Wallace, began the final lap just 100 seconds ahead of the menacing Porsche 962 driven by talented all-rounder Klaus Ludwig, whose teammates were five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell and the fast and versatile Hans Stuck. Lammers held on, though, and Jaguar finally ended Porsche's seven-year Le Mans domination.That year was the second-last without any chicanes on the famous Mulsanne Straight to slow the cars. During the race, the slippery WM-P88 Peugeot driven by French driver Roger Dorchy hit 252 mph just before the gentle right-hand kink—now the site of the second chicane—that led into Mulsanne Corner.The Jaguar XJR-9 topped out at 245 mph. "They tell me you can overtake slower cars at the kink without lifting," Wallace told the U.K. 's Motor Sport magazine at the time, "but I'll practice that when the track's clear." This is the same Wallace who 30 years later would drive more than 600 miles at more than 245 mph while testing for his record-breaking 304-mph run in the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. It's an intimidating place, Le Mans. Always has been. Always will be.On a Different TrackPhotographer Charlie Magee and I are not bound for Le Mans, however, despite the French circuit's obvious connection with the 2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988. Instead, we head to the site of another French racetrack, now long-forgotten. A track that was arguably even more intimidating than La Sarthe, and that for 30 years many regarded as a rival to Germany's legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife: the Circuit de Charade, near Clermont-Ferrand in central France.Completed in 1958, the Circuit de Charade swooped and swept around two of the extinct volcanoes that provide the dramatic backdrop to the city where the Michelin brothers founded their eponymous tire company in 1889. The last race held on it was in September 1988, just three months after the XJR-9's epic Le Mans triumph.Charade packed 50 corners and more than 500 feet of elevation-change into a single, mad five-mile lap. "I don't know a more wonderful track," said Stirling Moss after winning a Formula 2 race there in August 1959. Indeed, "The circuit of Charade ranks among the best and sorts out those who can drive from those who are just trying to kid us," as the doyen of F1 reporters, Denis Jenkinson, wrote in 1972.And Jenks, who had ridden along with Moss to win the 1955 Mille Miglia, one of the greatest drives in motorsports history, was right; just four F1 grands prix were held at the Circuit de Charade between 1965 and 1972, and each was won by a driver who would finish the year as world champion: Jim Clark (1965), Jochen Rindt (1970), and Jackie Stewart (1969 and 1972).Jaguar's Stonking SUVIt's more than 250 miles from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand, most of it on smooth and beautifully maintained autoroute. Once clear of the mercifully light Saturday afternoon Paris traffic, the big Jaguar settles down to a relaxed 86-mph cruise, the engine turning just 2,000 rpm in eighth gear. It could go much faster, of course—its top speed is 178 mph—but the gendarmerie tends to vigilantly police the 80-mph speed limit, so discretion is the better part of valor.The 2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 is based on the revamped F-Pace SVR that appeared in early 2021, a car we regarded as a thoughtful rework of the 2016 original. Its charms are still evident as the Edition 1988 rolls through the French countryside.The Pivi Pro infotainment system consigns the clunky, miserable user experience of the old setup to the dumpster. The heated and cooled SVR performance seats not only look the part but prove notably comfortable, and the 542-hp supercharged V-8 under the hood growls agreeably when I punch the Jag away from the occasional toll booth.One gripe: The polished aluminum trim on the center console reflects eye-searing glare if the sun is in the wrong place.Smooth, and with power to spare, the F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 feels like a car that can cross continents in a single afternoon, a grand tourer made just that bit grander by the special paint and trim finishes that comprise the Edition 1988 package, and by its exclusivity.Jaguar will build just 394 examples. Why 394? That's the number of laps the Le Mans-winning XJR-9 covered in 1988, traveling the equivalent of 3,313.7 miles, roughly the distance from Miami to Seattle, in 24 hours. Also, the XJR-9's 245-mph top speed, expressed in the metric system, is … 394 kph.Playing With PowerThe original F-Pace SVR's engine made 502 lb-ft of torque, and the torque peak was trimmed in the lower gears to protect the transmission. As part of the 2021 SVR revamp, the eight-speed automatic was fitted with the more robust torque converter from the thuggish Jaguar XE SV Project 8, which allowed SVO engineers to bump peak torque to 516 lb-ft, available from 3,500 to 5,000 rpm.As such, there's just a fraction more immediacy in the way the F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 grunts out of corners, and crisper response from the transmission, even in the regular drive mode. Dynamic mode sharpens everything up nicely, and despite the forged aluminum 22-inch wheels and low-profile Pirelli P Zero tires—265/40 up front and 295/35 at the rear—the ride remains on the civilized side of firm.The small rotary controller to the right of the redesigned shifter makes switching between drive modes a simple, intuitive twirl of the fingertips, rather than the frustrating hunt-and-peck exercise on a screen that it was in the original SVR.On the RoadSunday morning dawns bright and sunny and we're on the road early, bound for Charade, the village after which the circuit was named. There's still a racetrack in the valley to the south of the village that uses part of the original layout. Now in private hands, it's closed today, but more than three miles of the legendary old Charade, still public road, is free to explore.Local enthusiasts had in 1954 proposed laying out a street circuit in Clermont-Ferrand itself. But the disaster at Le Mans in 1955, when barely two-and-a-half hours into the race Pierre Levegh's Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR careened into the crowd on the start-finish straight and killed 83 spectators, put paid to that idea. All racing in France was canceled.When racing resumed in 1956, 1950 Le Mans winner Louis Rosier was invited to work out the course for a potential circuit using public roads in the nearby volcanic mountains. At one point the proposed track ran six miles, but to avoid taking the race cars through the villages of Thèdes and Manson, the decision was made to build a new road from a corner near Thèdes, along a valley and up a hill to Charade.Most of that road is now part of the permanent circuit, but we find a concrete wall that was part of the original construction on the outside of an uphill right-hand curve on the public road across from the circuit entrance. Faded remnants of 1960s-style BP logos are still visible; ghosts in the sunshine.The road leads through the sleepy little village of Charade before plunging down the northern flank of the Puy de Charade, the larger of the two extinct volcanoes around which the old circuit looped. The corners just keep coming, sweeps and loops and kinks and hairpins, one after another, all the way down to the banked right-hander at Gravenois, the circuit's lowest point.It's here where, despite its fearsome reputation, the Circuit de Charade claimed its only life in a car race—and there's a Jaguar and Le Mans link.In the 1959 Formula 2 race won by Stirling Moss, British driver Ivor Bueb's BRP Cooper-Borgward ran wide on the exit of the banked turn, left the track, and hit the banking just beyond it. Bueb, who'd shared the winning Jaguar D-Type with Mike Hawthorn in the tragic 1955 Le Mans race, was thrown out of the car. He died of his injuries six days laterSuch was the constant onslaught wrought by Charade's topography that, during practice for the 1969 French Grand Prix, several drivers complained of motion sickness and opted to wear open-face helmets. The latter course of action was so they could throw up, claimed 1967 world champion Denny Hulme (who would qualify his McLaren-Ford on the front row here for the 1972 French Grand Prix at an average speed of more than 103 mph).Still a Blast TodayIt's easy to see why. Even at (sort of) road-legal speeds, Charade is relentless. In Dynamic mode and with 90 percent of the torque sent to the rear wheels, the Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 punches hard out of the corners, its supercharged V-8 snarling like an angry lion. With grunt and grip to spare, the SVR Edition 1988 is happy to play when the mood takes you.Among the engineering changes in the 2021 SVR upgrade was the addition of an electric brake-booster. The shortened pedal travel and improved feel are invaluable on the long downhill stretches, especially into the decreasing-radius corners, as are the recalibrated steering and revised suspension bushings, all of which endow the big Jag with the agility and composure needed to cope with the constant directional changes.The last F1 race on a track without Armco safety railing was held at the Circuit de Charade in 1970. Armco was installed for the 1972 race, and sections of it still survive near the junction of the D5 and the D767 roads on the southern flank of the volcano. The D767 was cut along the shoulder of the Puy de Charade to join the road to Charade village near the old concrete wall, allowing the development of the shorter, safer, permanent Charade circuit.A section of the old track, now abandoned and overgrown, runs from the junction to the fence at the eastern end of the permanent circuit. And there, among the brambles, is 1972's Armco.My heroes raced within inches of it—Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Hulme, Jochen Rindt, Chris Amon, Jacky Ickx, Emerson Fittipaldi, Graham Hill, and Bell. I can almost hear the bark of the Ford Cosworth DFV V-8s that powered most of the field, as well as the howl of the Ferrari and Matra and BRM V-12s, and see the flashes of green and red and blue and white paint.That 1972 race also ended the career of a promising Austrian driver, blinded in the left eye on lap six by a hard chip of volcanic gravel that pierced his visor after it was kicked up by the car ahead.Helmut Marko is today better known as Red Bull Racing's Chief Advisor and Head of Driver Development, but back then he was himself no small talent behind the wheel. A few weeks earlier, he'd set the lap record on the 45-mile-long Targa Florio circuit in an Alfa Romeo T33 sports car—the day before he qualified his BRM F1 car here in sixth.In the EndRosier never got to see the Circuit de Charade in action; he was killed in a race at Montlhéry in 1956. But on Monday, after we'd been given access to the permanent circuit—sadly only to look at, not drive on—we visit his memorial at Rosier corner.The modern Circuit de Charade channels the original's spirit. That's hardly surprising given the fact the 1.7 miles between the Epingle de Champeaux and Virage du Manson corners is the original. Overall, the track today has 18 corners on a 2.5-mile lap, and elevation change of 170 feet.The modern Charade has Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica, Ferrari 296 GTB, and Porsche 911 GT3 written all over it. Sadly, its location, tucked away in central France—and the fact there's not a lot of margin for error if you make a mistake—means it's unlikely any automaker will be brave enough to host a press launch here. Pity.It's now 1 p.m. and we have a Eurotunnel booking for tonight. Calais is more than 450 miles away. Time to point the 2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 north and head for the coast. Time for some more grand touring.Looks good! More details?2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 PRICE $111,150 LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV ENGINE 5.0L/542-hp/516-lb-ft DOHC 32-valve supercharged V-8 TRANSMISSION 8-speed auto CURB WEIGHT 4700lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 113.1 in L x W x H 187.5 x 77.1 x 65.7 in 0-60 MPH 3.8 sec (mfr) EPA FUEL ECON, CITY/HWY/COMB 15/22/18 ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY 225/153kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.11 lb/mile ON SALE Now Show All

With Acura's NSX supercar being sunsetted this year after the final run of Type S variants is built, the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) where it is assembled by hand is going to need purpose. Well, a different purpose, at least—and Acura's been trying to give it some over the past few years with its normal-looking-on-the-outside, secretly hand-built batches of PMC Editions of its mainstream models. These mostly ordinary Acura models are usually gifted some special paint—a lustrous red on the 2020 TLX PMC Edition, a blazing orange on the 2021 RDX PMC Edition, etc.—and carry the distinction of being hand-built in the same factory as the NSX supercar, by the same technicians, even. The newest addition to this PMC family? The latest-generation TLX sedan.As mentioned, there has been a TLX PMC Edition previously, but that was based on the previous-generation TLX. This 2023 Acura TLX PMC Edition blends not only the newest TLX with the PMC treatment, but also the TLX in its spicier 355-hp Type S form, which also gets Acura's torque-vectoring Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. This sport sedan with a name of many characters will, ironically, be limited in number, though Acura hasn't outlined yet what that number will be. (Past PMCs were built in numbered runs, with each model wearing a plaque inside with its unique figure; there is a similar plaque pictured on the new '23 TLX, but it only shows "001," not how many that number is out of.) It is, of course, built by hand at Acura's PMC in Ohio, and for an added dash of fancy, each car will be delivered in a covered, single-car transporter to its delivery dealership in order to keep the paint free from blemishes.In no small part because this TLX PMC Edition is based on the already saucy looking Type S version of Acura's midsize sedan, it is an altogether more serious-looking machine than the old one. Acura steps up the visuals with copper-colored 21-inch wheels, carbon-fiber rear spoiler and diffuser pieces, and Berlina Black (a classic Honda color) roof and door mirrors. Three colors will be available, and (go, America!), they're Curva Red (with a black interior), 130R White (red interior), and Long Beach Blue (with a white interior)—perfectly timed for a certain celebratory weekend in the U.S.A. All three colors are borrowed from the NSX, too.Other enhancements on the PMC include Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, carbon fiber interior trim, backlit "Type S" door sill plates, and blacked-out badges. The result is a TLX Type S that is subtly different, but in a hard-to-place way if you just saw one on the street.Of course, the delicious, even subtler aspect of these PMC cars has long been their hand assembly, which is just plain unusual for cars not priced in the stratosphere. Like with past PMC Editions, we anticipate the TLX Type S version won't break the bank, costing a few thousand bucks more than a regular one. Again, imagine someone paying just a little more for, say, a hand-built Ford F-150 or Honda Civic. It's both weird and kind of, secretly, maybe cool. We'll know final pricing and, likely, how limited production will be when the order books open for the TLX Type S PMC Edition later this year.