Hot rods to hit Goodwood, Forester gets Wildernessy, Speedtail doused in shade

Goodwood Revival will turn back the clock to 1951

Intake: It’s been 70 years since two momentous automotive events took place in 1951: the Festival of Britain and the founding of the National Hot Rod Association. To celebrate both, the U.K.’s Goodwood Revival, scheduled for September 17–19, will be recreating a slice of that festival atmosphere, as well as hosting one of the largest-ever gatherings of hot rods in Europe.

Exhaust: The ode to 1951 is the perfect way to welcome back the thousands of enthusiasts who attend the annual Goodwood Revival, which was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Goodwood, the largest and most authentic historic motorsport event in the world, celebrates the years in which the Motor Speedway was an active racing venue (1948–66). The majority of participants dress in period, making it a must-see event on your automotive bucket list.

Subaru keeps exploring new Wilderness models, Forester up next

Intake: Late this March, we met the 2022 Outback Wilderness, an off-road focused version of Subaru’s trademark wagon with a 0.8-inch lift, lots of extra body cladding, and matte-black 17-inch wheels clad in uprated all-terrain Yokohomas. (All-wheel-drive goes without saying. So too, sadly, does the CVT.) The Outback won’t be alone in the Wilderness range, either, as this teaser image shows. After much peering at front quarter panels, we expect the next Wilderness model to be the Forester, the smaller of Subie’s two SUVs.

Exhaust: Judging by the Outback Wilderness, this beefed-up Forester Wilderness should be appealing and not unreasonably expensive: At $38,120 with destination, the lifted Outback is not the priciest trim, falling below the turbocharged Limited ($39,120) and Touring ($41,170) models. The Forester’s base price starts a few grand below the Outback’s, and we think its boxier styling might look adorable in a swashbuckling Wilderness sort of way, with a healthy dose of plastic fender protection and orange accents.

The shadiest of McLaren Speedtails is a bespoke beauty named Albert

Intake: 12 weeks and 1.24 miles of masking tape later, McLaren Special Operations has completed a wild paint job on one of the final Speedtails, a special commission from McLaren’s Beverly Hills dealer in California. McLaren aficionados will know that “Albert” is more than a cute nickname; it’s a nod to the street address of the company’s Woking headquarters, where the original F1 was built and tested. (True nerds will know that the first Speedtail prototype, MVY02, was also dubbed “Albert.”) The intricate paint job mimics the ideal path of air over the Speedtail’s lovely carbon-fiber body and is worked in Magnesium Silver and Ueno Grey. The first was worn by the first F1 road car at the ’92 Monaco Grand Prix; the second, by the F1 GTR that won Le Mans in ’95.

Exhaust: Yes, it’s all very retrospective, but don’t let the onslaught of inside McLaren references distract you from the entirely modern wonder that is the Speedtail. This 17-foot-long, 1036-hp hybrid is faster to 186 mph than a Chiron and, indeed, the fastest McLaren ever—the XP2 prototype hit 250 mph. Over 30 times. The Speedtail is also an absolute delight to drive at, ahem, mortal speeds: You can read our review here.

Renee Brinkerhoff ready to finish off 7-continent challenge in Antarctica

Intake: After an 18-month delay due to the pandemic, Renee Brinkerhoff and her Valkyrie Racing Team are ready to complete their goal to race Brinkerhoff’s 1956 Porsche 356A on every continent. The seventh and final piece will be the toughest: Antarctica. Sometime this winter, the team will attempt to drive 356 miles on the harshest, coldest terrain in the world—on custom tracks instead of wheels—and hopes to achieve a new land speed record on the ice of Antarctica.

Exhaust: Brinkerhoff will become the first woman to race on all seven continents, which is impressive enough. Better yet, the renowned racer and philanthropist is also using the adventure to raise money to rescue children around the globe from human trafficking. Through Valkyrie Racing/Valkyrie Gives, she is challenging the global community to raise $1 million in this effort.

Refreshed 2022 Tiguan stays affordable while nudging upmarket

Intake: The 2022 Tiguan represents a thoughtful refresh of VW’s best-selling vehicle, wearing more LEDs on its minimalist exterior and packed with more screens in the cabin. The best news? You’ll still have an easy time speccing a moderately-well equipped model right around $30K. Not that the base S model, which gets a $750 uptick from the previous model year, is Spartan: heated seats and an 8-inch digital instrument cluster now come standard. Even better, VW’s suite of driver-assist tech is now available on the base model as an $895 add-on (it’s standard on the other three trims), and VW will automatically toss in the Convenience Package, too: rain-sensing wipers, a leatherette steering wheel, and auto-dimming headlights. The most obvious price drop, however, occurs at the top end of the Tiguan family: the SEL R-Line, which replaces the SEL Premium R-Line from 2021, is $2500 cheaper than its outgoing equivalent.

Exhaust: If you want to stay in the mid-$20K range with a nicely specced compact VW SUV, look to the Taos; but if your budget stretches to the low 30s, you’ll be well-served by the updated Tiguan. For our money, an all-wheel-drive S with the driver-assist goodies and rain-sensing wipers is a sweet proposition at $29,585, destination included.