Toyota Gazoo Racing Makes a Racy Splash With Super-Hot Concept Car

gmc sierra-1500 Full OverviewWorking as an automotive journalist is a surefire way to get to know all your neighbors. With a weekly (and sometimes daily) rotation of new metal circulating through your driveway, it's rare not to be asked about the vehicles when you dare poke your head outside. In my neighborhood, pickup trucks have been especially popular lately. The questions are usually the same, but a recent conversation involving the 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate threw me for a loop."Hey, what do you think of that Chevy?" came the inquiry. "The Chevy? Oh, no, that's a Ram TRX," I replied, pointing to our long-term test truck. "No, not that one. It was the boxy-looking truck," he said. "Oh!" I replied, "You mean the electric F-150? Yeah, it was pretty great!" "Yeah … maybe. I could have sworn it said 'Denali' on it," he said.After an embarrassingly long pause, it came to me: "The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate! I forgot I recently had that one." "Yes! What'd you think?" I paused for a second before replying, "Well, I forgot about it, didn't I?"This admittedly unfair personal anecdote is a sign of a larger problem for the new luxe Sierra Denali Ultimate: With a high-horsepower electric Ford and an ascendent, stylish Ram across the way, the GMC (and its Chevrolet Silverado sibling) is a bit lost in the shuffle until the next-gen electric trucks arrive. However, the only ones suffering for this are potential buyers; the new Sierra Denali Ultimate is the most convincing Denali product in years. But is it enough as we enter the electric pickup truck revolution?Why It's ImportantIt's easy to forget, but back when it first launched, people held GMC's Denali brand in the same esteem as its Cadillac siblings and Lincoln rivals. In fact, MTV's TRL (for the younger crowd, it was a show where you called Carson Daly and asked him to play your favorite music videos) was just as likely to feature a Denali-branded GMC on spinners as it was a Cadillac or Lincoln.Somewhere along the way, the Denali brand began to lose some luster as rivals stepped up from simply premium to truly luxurious. The new 2022 Sierra Denali Ultimate aims to fix that.Designed to slot above the already spendy Sierra 1500 Denali, as well as the Sierra 1500 Denali Limited, which is the pre-refresh truck, albeit also a 2022-model-year offering that is confusingly sold alongside the new one, the Ultimate ups the ante by adding double-finished embossed leather, open-pore engineered-wood trim, aluminum accents, and a synthetic suede headliner. GMC finishes off the interior with a smart-looking black and tan color scheme, hand-stitched massaging seats, topographic maps of its namesake mountain etched into the wood, and much less plastic than is typically found in a GMC product.The 2022 Sierra Denali Ultimate also steps things up on the tech front. Like the new Sierra 1500 AT4X, the Ultimate gets a massive 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a Google-capable 13.4-inch infotainment screen, and a 15.0-inch head-up display. Provided it has enough semiconductors handy, GMC also fits the Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate with its Super Cruise advanced driver assistance system as standard equipment.Outside, the Denali Ultimate gets the freshened face GMC fit to the Sierra 1500 for 2022, with the addition of black badges and accents, and black-trimmed 22-inch wheels. The Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate is available exclusively in the ever-popular crew-cab, short-bed (in this case a 5.8-foot carbon-fiber job) configuration. A 3.0-liter turbodiesel I-6 making 277 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque is standard, but our test truck was fitted with the more popular gas-swilling 6.2-liter V-8, which makes 420 hp and 460 lb-ft. All 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimates come standard with 10-speed automatic transmissions and four-wheel drive.Pricing for the 2022 Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate begins at $83,695, and this loaded test truck stickered for $84,190.Pros: What We LikeAlthough there's a fair bit of Spinal Tap-esque "but these go to 11!" nonsense in the Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate's naming and positioning (why not simply make the standard Denali more luxurious, as there's clearly room for improvement there?), there's no denying that by turning up the luxury dial, GMC has finally built a compelling Denali product again. The seats, though a bit hard and short, are swathed in thick, rich-feeling leather, and the aluminum brightwork and convincingly real faux-wood trim do much to make the Sierra's cabin feel special. Some of the materials below the belt feel of lesser quality, but the opulent touches that benefit the front of the cabin thankfully also carry through to the back seats.The Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate's new tech touches are a welcome addition, too. Super Cruise continues to be the most confidence-inspiring driver's aid on the market, clearly communicating to the driver when it can take control, when it's going to automatically change lanes for you, and when it needs you to resume control. The integrated Google Maps is also done well. We especially appreciated the fact that when you enter a destination into the system, it tells you how many minutes of your route Super Cruise will be available for. This is a really thoughtful touch.Whether or not Denali Ultimate buyers will ever put the Sierra 1500's bed to good use, the carbon-fiber cargo hold is impressively deep and wide. It features three tie-downs in every corner—an incredibly useful feature.Cons: What We Don't LikeIf the interior is so great, why had I forgotten about the Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate when my neighbor queried me? Probably because it's a bit unremarkable to drive.Surprisingly, the 6.2-liter V-8-powered pickup truck feels a bit poky compared to its crosstown rivals. The Sierra's V-8 feels big and lazy, and the 10-speed auto feels as if it's tuned for smooth, purposeful shifts, not quick up or down blats like you get in conventionally powered Ram 1500s, even if the GMC is ultimately quicker than all Rams without a dinosaur graphic under the hood. With a 0-60-mph run of 5.7 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 14.2 seconds at 98.5 mph, the Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate isn't exactly slow. However, the performance of the rival F-150 Lightning Platinum, which will hit 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and can run through the quarter mile in 12.7 seconds at 105.9 mph, makes the GMC feel stately in comparison.Despite the Sierra's standard magnetic dampers, there's room for improvements to ride quality, too. You pay for how good the Denali Ultimate's 22-inch wheels look with a firm, almost flinty ride. The GMC would likely be a far more luxe truck with a smaller wheel package.Lastly, those big new screens could use a bit more work, too. The graphics are clear and crisp, and the layout is generally intuitive, but the screen responds slowly at times. There were also a handful of instances when menus and features—such as the fancy 16-way massaging front seats, activated by a physical control on your seat but adjusted via the screen—wouldn't load.The Bottom LineAlthough the fancy new interior does much to finally drag the Sierra Denali brand forward, it does so at a time when all of its competitors are redefining what a luxury truck is.Looks good! More details?2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate Specifications BASE PRICE $83,695 PRICE AS TESTED $84,190 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door truck ENGINE 6.2L direct-injected OHV 16-valve 90-degree V-8 POWER (SAE NET) 420 hp @ 5,600 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 460 lb-ft @ 4,100 rpm TRANSMISSION 10-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,582 lb (58/42%) WHEELBASE 147.9 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 231.9 x 81.2 x 75.5 in 0-60 MPH 5.7 sec QUARTER MILE 14.2 sec @ 98.5 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 132 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.76 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 27.6 sec @ 0.61 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 15/20/17 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 408 (est) miles ON SALE Now Show All

The next-generation Honda Civic Type R is on the way. If you've kept up with the latest buzz, then you've seen the red, black. and white camouflaged prototypes several times now. The eagerly awaited hatchback will debut this year as a 2023 model and once again is offered with a manual transmission—an option fast disappearing from the Civic family here in America. But while we continue to wait for the hot hatch's official unveiling, Honda has released footage of the Type R-still under that red, white, and black wrap-zipping through the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. This is essentially video of the same car captured in still photography last month at the same track.When the 2023 Honda Civic Type R finally arrives, it should feature a more powerful 2.0 turbo-four, somewhere in the ballpark of 315 to 335 hp. In keeping with its track duties and sportier appearance, the front-drive hatchback will come fitted with red-painted Brembo brake calipers as the previous model. As for the inside, it appears that Honda is installing an updated version of the cloth bucket seats in the intense Flamin' Hot Cheetos color.The teaser video gives us a sense of the all-new Type R's feral capabilities. Listen to that turbocharged sound—okay, at least in this clip, it doesn't sound like much, but the drone-y engine at least seems quick. We can't wait to try out the grip provided by those sticky Michelin Pilot 4S tires or the pull of that turbo I-4 for ourselves, as we expect the less manic-looking hatchback to push performance limits even harder than the predecessor while upping its already surprising maturity even further.

bmw m5 Full OverviewThe new 2022 BMW M5 CS (short for Competition Sport) is not only the most outrageous version of the F90 (sixth generation) M5, but also one of the most ridiculous production BMWs of all time. It's certainly the most powerful: The S63 M TwinPower twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 makes 627 hp at 6,000 rpm and 553 lb-ft of torque between 1,800-5,950 rpm. The peak-torque figure is the same as you find in the M5 Competition, but it's available in the M5 CS for an additional 90 rpm. That might not seem like much, but keep in mind the M5 Comp's peak-torque rpm-range already exceeds the standard M5's by 170 rpm. In terms of M5-vs.-M5-vs.-M5 horsepower comparisons, the M5 Competition makes 617 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, and the standard M5 600 hp.The 2022 BMW M5 CS gets more than just additional power and revs compared to its "lesser" versions. It features the same chassis and suspension upgrades the M5 Comp boasts over the M5—stiffer engine mounts and suspension springs, 0.2-inch lower ride height, more negative front camber, and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar and toe-link ball-joint mounts. BMW says the M5 CS receives additional "spring and Dynamic Damper Control tuning" compared to the M5 Competition "to take advantage of the lower vehicle weight and of the optionally available (no-cost) Pirelli P Zero Corsa ultra-high-performance tires." Take note of the point about the rubber, as we'll circle back to it shortly.Ah, speaking of weight, the M5 CS tipped our scales at 4,089 pounds, whereas BMW says the M5 Comp checks in at 4,344 pounds. We have not had the opportunity to weigh an M5 Comp but suspect it would check in lighter than its official weight, due to the parameters under which BMW estimates its cars' curb weights. Either way, this is a notable difference between the two models, and the M5 CS' diet consists of additional carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic pieces, including the hood with vents in unpainted carbon fiber, the front splitter, mirror caps, rear diffuser, and rear spoiler. The engine cover is also made from CFRP, and further weight reduction comes thanks to less sound-deadening throughout the car.So, what do these upgrades yield in performance terms? We ran the 2022 BMW M5 CS through our standard battery of MotorTrend tests, with impressive outcomes.Gas ItIn our acceleration testing, the 2022 BMW M5 CS produced its best launches via its launch-control mode. This produced consistent, clean, and smooth yet explosive launches, and we noted how well the car put the power down without drama. Indeed, it exhibited zero, or almost zero, wheelslip; the AWD just dug in and blasted the car down the track. Our best 0-to-60-mph time came in at a double-take—hell, triple-take—inducing 2.6 seconds. That's the fifth-quickest time we've ever recorded to 60 mph, behind cars like the Tesla Model S Plaid, Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano, Porsche Taycan Turbo S, Porsche 911 Turbo S, McLaren 720S, Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, and Audi R8 V10 Plus, to name a handful. It also means the CS is even quicker than BMW claims: The company says this M5 reaches 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, so even if we knock off 0.2-second to estimate a 60-mph time of 2.7, our 2.6-second time remains ahead.The BMW's performance through the quarter mile was no less stunning, with a time of 10.7 seconds at 129.7 mph. Only eleven MT-measured quarter-mile elapsed times have been quicker: the same cars mentioned above (and a bunch more). If you're employed as a wheelman by nefarious characters who appreciate the quickest of getaways, look no further; if Hollywood remade John Frankenheimer's 1998 cult-classic Ronin today, we know which new production car should feature in it.Slow Your RollDespite BMW's boast about the M5 CS' reduced poundage, the fact remains that a car of this size and a two-ton curb weight needs to stop as well as it goes. No problem there, as the standard carbon-ceramic brakes brought the M5 CS to a halt from 60 mph in just 101 feet, beating Cadillac's CT5-V Blackwing by 1 foot and trailing the Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0—which weighs 916 pounds less—by only 2 feet. The brake-pedal feel was firm and consistent, and we felt good bite from the 20-inch Michelin PS4S tires. Our only knock against the overall setup is that the firm pedal's short-release travel makes it difficult to trail brake precisely into corners.DynamicsAh, did we just mention tires? As impressive as the 2022 BMW M5 CS performed on the Michelins, it really wants to live on its available, more aggressive, and stickier Pirelli P Zero Corsas. When we say, "available," we mean theoretically offered by BMW, but that's where things went slightly sideways for our test. (You can get the car smokingly sideways easily, too, for the record.) Unfortunately, supply-chain shortages affecting all walks of industry have hit the tire business as well, and despite our best efforts we were unable to source a set of the Italian rubber. Not only would it have almost certainly provided an even shorter stopping distance in our braking test, but it also would have improved the CS' performance on the skidpad and around our figure-eight course.Nevertheless, the big sedan pulled an average of 1.04 g on the skidpad, and it recorded a best figure-eight lap time of 23.2 seconds at 0.92 g average. The skidpad number equaled that of the CT5-V Blackwing, and the BMW bettered the Cadillac around the figure eight by 0.2 second and 0.03 g.These are all solid numbers, and we achieved them despite the M5 CS exhibiting loads of understeer on the skidpad and quite a lot of oversteer when exiting corners around the figure eight. Indeed, it was easy to see the M5 CS simply could not reach its full potential on these tires, which was a shame.Yes, You Want OneDespite being unable to record the absolute best test results, we saw more than enough from the 2022 BMW M5 CS to tell us the mechanicals are there. The engine is brilliant, the outright speed is breathtaking, and the brakes are good. The steering in its sportiest setting is quite nice, too; it loaded and unloaded clearly on the skidpad, which told us precisely when the front tires gained or lost grip. This is a proper driver's car, and then some, and it's the most capable BMW M5 of all time, by far. For all these reasons, we're still cursing the damned supply chain.On second thought, perhaps we're looking at this all wrong: We now have a legitimate excuse to get our greedy hands back on the 2022 BMW M5 CS when the better shoes become available—and we'll be thrilled to run it to its mega limits all over again, with even more impressive performance.Looks good! More details?2022 BMW M5 CS Specifications BASE PRICE $143,995 PRICE AS TESTED $148,995 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 4-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 4.4L Twin-turbo direct-injected DOHC 32-valve 90-degree V-8 POWER (SAE NET) 627 hp @ 6,000 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 553 lb-ft @ 1,800 rpm TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 4,089 lb (56/44%) WHEELBASE 117.4 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 196.4 x 74.9 x 57.8 in 0-60 MPH 2.6 sec QUARTER MILE 10.7 sec @ 129.7 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 101 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.04 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 23.2 sec @ 0.92 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 15/21/17 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 342 miles ON SALE Now Show All