| QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I don't want 10 healthy teams and two struggling teams. But I agree with Jean that 12 healthy teams is better than 10 healthy teams." F1 CEO Chase Carey referring to FIA president Jean Todt’s comments that he would like to see two new teams in Formula 1. The series last had 12 teams on the grid during the 2013 season.
NEWS AND RUMOR
If you haven’t yet heard about the McLaren Speedtail, we suspect that’s about to change, drastically. The homage to the brand’s legendary F1 is a hybrid tuned for insane speeds, and the 1,055-hp prototype proved its worth with not one 250-mph run at the Kennedy Space Center, but 30.
Ford has unveiled a gorgeous Heritage Edition for its Mustang GT350 track special, which tacks on a relatively reasonable $2K to the car’s price. Thing is, it doesn’t add much besides looks to the car, either. For your money, you get Wimbledon white paint with dual blue stripes and some interior trim—it could be worth it if that’s the look you’re after.
With the Detroit auto show moving to late spring this year, the annual CES tech extravaganza is the next big global stage for automakers. Among others, Honda plans to take advantage of the massive crowds to show off an augmented driving concept designed to transition owners between truly autonomous driving and semiautonomous driving. Kind of like when that texting driver next to you looks up just long enough to make sure they’re not about to rear-end a school bus.
RACING LINES
As the offseason continues AND the end of the decade approaches, we’re taking a look at some of the people, events and news that shaped motorsports during the teens. Head over to Autoweek Racing to see our top 10 Funny Car drivers of the decade, 10 biggest F1 disappointments and much more, along with offseason news and notes from every series.
WHAT WE’RE DRIVING
In case you were wondering who on staff has the most fun, Mark Vaughn is happy to tell you about his day with the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, screaming around on Southern California backroads while laughing hysterically. Bottom line: If the Aventador represents the last breed of naturally aspirated V12 supercars from Lamborghini, it’s a great way to go out.
On the other end of the spectrum, Robin Warner finds the Toyota Yaris still maintains the lightweight, thrashable charm of econoboxes of yore. It’s an inexpensive compact sedan that can be entertaining to drive hard and will last forever.
Right in the middle sits the Hyundai Santa Fe, a large, well-equipped two-row SUV that Jake Lingeman loves the looks of. Not only does the Santa Fe do pretty much everything right, it looks nice doing it. Add in a reasonable base price (though our loaded tester gets a little spendy) and it’s no wonder Hyundai’s moving these through dealerships.
BUY THIS
When a 5-foot-by-2-foot box shows up in the office just before Christmas, folks naturally get curious. And in this case, that curiosity was rewarded with a 12-volt, twin-motor child-size McLaren 720S that’s getting shared among staffers’ children. Sound like something your own budding car fan would enjoy? Well, $339 isn’t cheap, but it’s the least expensive drivable McLaren you’re likely to find anytime soon. Find out more here.
SOME ODDS, MOSTLY ENDS
If you saw the Tesla Cybertruck and thought, ‘hell, I could build that with a couple sheets of plywood and some silver spray paint,’ well, you’re right. But the Russians beat you to it. This, ahem, prototype Cybertruck kit is bolted (or possibly glued/taped) to an unidentifiable base vehicle. With a few more tweaks, it’d almost be believable.
At least one of us on staff has long coveted the Alfa Romeo Montreal, and now it can be added to the long list of cars we should have bought back when they were still relatively affordable. Yes, the Montreal has been “discovered” by the classic car community, and they’ve quickly morphed into six-figure investment cars. This orange 1973 model will make its way to the block at Gooding & Co.’s Arizona auction in a few weeks and help set a benchmark for the Montreal for the year ahead.
Finally, given that it was Christmas week, our own Graham Kozak looks at a phenomenon likely shared by many of our readers: The collection of car-themed holiday baubles, whether it be ornament, greeting card or other assorted tchotchke. Kozak’s collection mainly reflects the popular “tree atop indeterminate vintage vehicle” theme, but the variety never fails to impress.
LISTEN UP
Be sure to check out the “Autoweek Podcast” episode 89 this week, where we look at what we’ve been driving, including the Cadillac XT6, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Infiniti Q50. Wesley Wren and Jake Lingeman host a Twitch takeover at the start of the show to discuss their favorite and least favorite racing games of 2019 before each settles on a top five list. Download this episode and listen to all the rest right here.
WHAT’S AHEAD
We’ll be back with car news, reviews and car culture posts most of next week, though we will be taking New Year’s Day off. Check in during the weekend for the latest offseason racing news and notes from the best motorsports team on the web!
--Andrew Stoy, Digital Editor
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