Top Speed

The Best Automotive Comebacks of the Century So Far

info@topspeed.com (Dim Angelov) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

When we talk about legendary cars, we usually talk about those from the previous century, as in 1900 to 2000. In this period, many innovations and rivalries occurred, producing some truly epic cars in the process, while at the same time constantly evolving the car formula.

Despite the current focus being maximizing profit, carmakers occasionally bring back an old name or simply make a modern-day version of an old, legendary car to commemorate its success and to remind us of some of their highlights. Here are 10 such cars.

Want a Classic Alfa Romeo 158 F1 Car? You Can Start With an Old Mazda MX-5

info@topspeed.com (Ciprian Florea) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 16:00:00 GMT

Are you a fan of classic Formula One cars and you have a Mazda MX-5 Miata laying around? Well, for around $11,500 you can use it to build your own replica of the iconic Alfa Romeo 158, the car that won the first official Formula One race back in 1950s.

It’s called the Tipo 184 and it’s available as a kit designed by Ant Anstead, whom you might know from "For the Love of Cars" and "Wheeler Dealers" TV shows. You can either build it yourself or take delivery of the assembled race car.

How The Porsche 959 Rally Legend Redefined The Nature of Supercars

info@topspeed.com (Ciprian Florea) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 14:00:00 GMT

For most of its long and illustrious career, the Porsche 911 acted as the brand’s range-topping sports car through turbocharged models like the Turbo, Turbo S, and GT2. But the 911 was at times superseded by supercars like the 959, Carrera GT, and 918 Spyder.

The 959 was Porsche’s first supercar and it’s by far the most intriguing when it comes to the reason it was designed. Unlike its spiritual successors, the 959 was born out of Porsche’s desire to join Group B rally racing. But development took longer than expected and by the time the 959 was ready for production and homologation, Group B was cancelled. Porsche eventually raced it at the Paris-Dakar Rally, winning the grueling event in 1986. It’s been almost 35 years since the 959 won the race and Porsche is celebrating with a special "Top 5 Series" video.

The SRO Is Set To Revive The Wild Days Of FIA GT1 With The GT1 Sports Club In 2021

info@topspeed.com (Michael Fira) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT

It’s only been a few months since we called for the creation of a racing series dedicated to all of the beautifully insane track-only hypercars that we’ve seen come out in the last few years, be it the Ferrari FXX-K Evo, the McLaren Senna GTR, or the Aston Martin Vulcan, and it seems like our prayers have been heard. The SRO Group, creator of the GT3 formula and conductor of the GT World Challenge championships around the globe, is finally getting ready to launch something it calls the ’GT1 Sports Club’. If the name GT1 rings some bells that’s because it should. Read on to see why this may be the coolest racing series that’s not actually a racing series.

Wanna Know How Brake-By-Wire Works? Here’s Your Explanation

info@topspeed.com (Tudor Rus) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 10:00:00 GMT

The new Chevy Corvette C8 Stingray uses brake-by-wire but the feature is more common to EVs and hybrids, because it lets the car’s powertrain recuperate energy during braking, as the b-pedal controls both traditional friction braking - via the car’s discs and calipers - and regen braking. How such a system works can confuse a lot of people, so here’s a neat explanation.

Knight Vision R Hybrid

info@topspeed.com (Dim Angelov) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT

Car manufacturers often try to recreate some of the most iconic cars from years past. Whether they succeed in giving us a worthy successor or not is an entirely different story. One thing is certain – with an ever-increasing amount of regulations it’s getting more and more difficult to capture the spirit of the original car.

Knight International – a company best known for selling rare hypercars, has decided to have a go at it by making the Knight Vision R. Although it looks just like a heavily-modified 1960s Cobra, under the “skin” things are very different.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E Might Live Up to the Mustang Name After All

info@topspeed.com (Sidd Dhimaan) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Slapping the Mach-E EV with the ‘Mustang’ moniker drew a lot of flak with the muscle car fanboys. At the onset, it seemed to be a way to promote Ford’s first fully-electric vehicle and add some credibility to it. But, it looks like the tables have turned and Ford is trying to justify the ‘Mustang’ badge on the Mach-E; or well, at least that’s one way to look at it.

Speaking with Road and Track, Ford’s Global Brand Director subtly hinted that the Mach-E could get even more powerful in the future. So, are we talking about 600+ horses here?

Toyota Is Killing Off the Land Cruiser After 2021

info@topspeed.com (Ciprian Florea) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 16:00:00 GMT

Toyota will discontinue the big Land Cruiser SUV in the United States after 2021. That’s the word from Road&Track, the outlet that received confirmation from Toyota that 2021 will be last year for its range-topping hauler in North America. The Japanese automaker will reportedly return with an all-new Land Cruiser that’s more modern and luxurious, but there’s no specific timeline for that.

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid - Driven

info@topspeed.com (Robert Moore) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 15:00:00 GMT

When Hyundai introduced the eighth-gen Sonata in 2019, it essentially built on top of the already awesome styling that was brought with the seventh-gen’s mid-cycle facelift. Today, the car looks like it sits in a higher price bracket than it does and in hybrid form it delivers some pretty impressive fuel economy figures too. Does the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid have the looks, comfort, and driving experience to nudge itself above cars like the Toyota Camry Hybrid and Honda Accord Hybrid? Well, we just spent a week with the Sonata Hybrid, and we actually have a lot to say about it. Here’s what you need to know.

Can a Shelby F-150 Super Snake Sport Beat The Lamborghini Urus In a Drag Race?

info@topspeed.com (Sidd Dhimaan) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:00:00 GMT

The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has started appearing in YouTube videos lately and it looks as fierce in the real world as it did in the images and videos released by the automaker. It lived up to its ‘Raptor-killer’ name when it defeated the Ford F-150 Raptor in a drag race. However, another iteration of the F-150 by Shelby, monikered as the Super Snake Sport, recently beat the TRX in a straight-line race quite comfortably, thus leading a lot of us to believe that this is the next big thing.

With 770 horses under the hood and some serious performance figures matching it, the folks at Throttle House brought it to the drag strip once again; this time to take on a raging bull embodied in an SUV – the Lamborghini Urus. Can the F-150 Super Snake Sport prevail this time, too?