Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.Ford wants a rematch of the F-150 vs. Cybertruck tug-of-war, sort ofThe Blue Oval wasn’t pleased with its brief inclusion in Tesla’s Cybertruck reveal. During the live event, Elon Musk played a clip of the Cybertruck running away (uphill!) with Ford’s popular pickup hitched to its back bumper in a tug of war, the F-150 struggling to gain any sort of traction. In response, a VP at Ford called the contest unfair and demanded a rematch, saying Tesla cherry-picked a two-wheel-drive F-150. But when Musk said “Bring it on,” other talking heads at Ford seemed to walk the challenge back, telling Fox News it had been intended as a “tongue in cheek” comment. LISTEN: In this week’s episode, we talk about all the electrifying news coming out of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show with Postmedia Driving senior writer David Booth, including Ford’s bold Mustang Mach-e SUV. And, of course, we get Booth’s take on Tesla’s Cybertruck. Plugged In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.Is the player not working? Click here.The 4,000-horsepower Thor24 fetches US$12M at auctionAfter going under the hammer in Saudi Arabia, this 24-cylinder 12-supercharger 3,974-horsepower semi found its new owner — for a truckload of money. The custom big rig dubbed “Thor24” lines up two 12-cylinder Detroit diesel engines that, along with a nitrous boost pack, can get its 32,000-pound frame up to 200 km/h. Four 12-foot chutes help to bring it back down. US$12M seems like a deal, because that flaming paint job is priceless. This Ohio dealership is selling 1,000-horsepower Mustangs for US$55,000It’s called “Project M,” and it’s one wild pony. At the base: a Mustang GT (300a) with a modest interior and a Level 1 Performance Pack with automatic transmission. But Lebanon Ford in Ohio was able to saddle the pony with 1,000 horsepower from a Whipple supercharger or D1X Procharger, an upgraded fuel pump, a larger heat exchanger. The wildest part is the price of just CDN$73,000, which undercuts the 797-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye by $20,000. The Internet’s most hilarious reactions to the Tesla Cybertruck revealIt was big news. Partly because it’s an electric pickup finally here, partly because it looks like a couple of stacked triangles, and partly because, in the process of revealing it live, Tesla unintentionally broke not one but two windows while attempting to display their durability. Twitter almost instantly had a roundup of hilarious memes reacting to the Cybertruck, while Wall Street showed its uncertainty with a 6-per-cent drop in Tesla stock price, and more than a few people pointed out its proximity in looks to a certain time-travelling coupe. Horseplay a la highway—French police spot pony in passenger seatA woman piloting a microcar near Marseille in Southern France was stopped by police watching for distracted drivers after they saw a curious passenger riding shotgun. When they realized that, oui, c’est un cheval, the authorities snapped a pic and arrested the woman, who excused the fact she had a horse in the small car because she didn’t have the license to drive a more appropriately sized van. Are we sure this wasn’t Florida? Feels like
Origin: News Roundup: A pickup tug-of-war war, a 1,000-hp Mustang, plus an actual pony car
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4,000-hp Thor24 custom truck hammers for US$12 million in Saudi Arabia
What has twenty-four cylinders, weighs 32,000 pounds and was outlandish enough to command US$12 million in a country where moneys no object for many of its residents?If you think the answer is this Thor24 crew cab semi built by stunt pilot and boat racer Mike Harrah, youd be absolutely right.Over the span of seven years and about US$7 million, Harrah constructed one of the most extreme vehicles let alone truck tractors ever to ply the face of this earth. The power developed by 1,704 cubic inches of displacement comes from a brace of two 12-cylinder Detroit diesel engines, arranged neatly like ducks in a row.There are a dozen 871 superchargers arranged above the blocks to push the beast to create a blistering 3,974 horsepower. It also packs a nitrous boost, allowing the 32,000-pound truck to crest 200 km/h. A quartet of 12-foot drag chutes help to reel in all that speed.Harrahs vision began with a Peterbilt 359 crew cab semi, a truck stretched to 44 feet in length to accommodate his plans. Once the frame was completed, most parts on the bottom side were replaced with chrome-plated or polished aluminum bits. From a visual standpoint, its a good wager there is nothing else in the world like Thor24. As if to put the exclamation point home, flames adorn Thors flanks because of course they do.A bidder at the Global Auto Salon auction, hosted by Worldwide Auctioneers in Riyadh this past weekend, paid a reported US$12 million for this 44-foot-long brute. Keeping in spirit with other custom big rigs, an auxiliary power unit is onboard. The unit is what else? a Hawker jet engine. Your author was on the ground at the Riyadh show, where Bugattis were as common as Corollas. In that context, perhaps Thor24 doesnt seem so outrageous after all. But make no mistake back here in a world that loosely approximates reality, Thor24 is a wonderfully brutish machine that has more road presence than a fleet of Jensen Interceptors.Well have more car stories from Saudi Arabia in the days ahead, including the tale of a man who bought a brace of heavily-patinad 57 Chevys and plans to take them on a 1,600-km road trip. Until then, enjoy these snaps of what is surely the wildest semi in
Origin: 4,000-hp Thor24 custom truck hammers for US$12 million in Saudi Arabia
The Lotus Evija is a 2,000-hp electric hypercar
Lotus Evija electric hypercar is, according to the British marque, the worlds most powerful production car, but it looks to be a lot more than just that.The car, revealed July 16, is the first completely new vehicle Lotus has built in decades, but it looks like the wait was worth it.The entire monocoque is made of carbon fibre, and weighs a scant 284 pounds; magnesium wheels take even more weight off, and its got carbon-ceramic brakes hiding behind them. The entire vehicle weighs just 1,680 kg, which is actually fairly light considering where most electric sports cars these days fall on the scale.Speaking of electricity, it has 70 of them. Kilowatt-hours in the battery, that is. Maximum output is a whopping 2,000 kW, which can send the vehicle to 250 km/h in just nine seconds, and way over that not much later. Each of the four electric motors has a target output of 492 horsepower, making for a combined output equivalent to 1,968 horsepower. This ticks all the boxes for a hypercar it even nails the looks, with an aesthetic perfect for a bedroom wall poster, though so does everything else these days. The back of the vehicle looks like Spider-Mans mask, and with almost 2,000 horsepower on tap, youd better hope that its as sticky as the webslingers fingers. The four-wheel-drive will help, as will the Pirelli Trofeo R tires.The battery is also placed behind the driver instead of underneath the floor; Lotus says this gives the car a better look, better weight distribution and better handling.The price? Dumb. You shouldnt even ask, but since you are, its 1.7-million pounds ($2.7 million). Yowww, that is just insane. Only 130 customers will even have the chance to fork over that kind of cash for this thing now we totally get the Evijas code name, the Type
Origin: The Lotus Evija is a 2,000-hp electric hypercar
Hennessey’s gone ahead and built a 1,000-hp Jeep Gladiator
We now live in a world where gearheads can buy a Jeep pickup truck packing 1,000 horsepower. And as a proponent of everything that is over-the-top-iary, your author is totally fine with this development. This psychotic level of Jeep-mania is brought to us by the folks at Hennessey, who’ve stuffed a 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat V8 under its flat-brim hood and cranked the wick to eleven. They’re calling it the Maximus 1000. “We wanted to create the ultimate Jeep Gladiator,” said company founder and chief horsepower evangelist John Hennessey, in what is surely the greatest understatement since astronaut Jim Lovell radioed Houston about a “problem.” Starring in a supporting role to the thousand horsepower are 933 lb.-ft. of torque. The Hennessey team didn’t just plug in a Hellcat engine and call it a day. A model-specific set of natty bumpers are fitted, along with a stainless steel exhaust and a set of BFGs on 20-inch wheels. It also stands taller than a stock Gladiator thanks to a 6-inch lift and upgraded suspension system. Details are scanty but one can easily see snazzy twin cylinders out back, incorporated into the rear suspenders. Jeep spox have gone on record as saying the Hellcat engine will certainly fit between the fenders of a Gladiator, that but the automaker has little desire to pursue that option thanks to prohibitive crash test requirements. Given that it would be a niche trim at best, that’s probably a good decision, especially since the aftermarket will provide plenty of opportunity for horsepower-crazed Jeep fans to get their fix. Production is very exclusive and limited to just 24 units. The complete cost for the Maximus 1000 is a cool US$200,000, which generously includes the base Jeep Gladiator truck. I’d at least ask ‘em to toss in a set of floor mats. Production will begin in July and build time for each example will be approximately four months, roughly equating the expected lifespan of a set of tires on this thing. The company plans to finish two units per
Origin: Hennessey’s gone ahead and built a 1,000-hp Jeep Gladiator
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