Hyundai hypes hydrogen performance, Jeep goes pink, Gullwing lands on eBay
Hyundai hypes a hydrogen future with performance coupe teaser
Intake: Hyundai is cooking up a wealth of hydrogen-powered schemes, which will be revealed on September 7 during an online-only “Hydrogen Wave” forum. Not all of the brand’s schemes to integrate this fossil-fuel alternative are focused on the automotive sector—think commercial transportation and urban lifestyle—but one of the posters for the event, and the video below, shows grainy footage of a camouflaged coupe kicking it sideways on track …. and that’s right in our wheelhouse.
Exhaust: Details are slim to none as yet, but we’d love to see Hyundai convince us of the performance potential of hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains. Could the Genesis Coupe make an upmarket, exotic-powered comeback? Or will Hyundai give its N sub-brand a futuristic halo car? Hopefully we’ll learn more next month.
Jeep announces new Tuscadero Wrangler color and it’s all Happy Days ahead
Intake: The Jeep brand may have very stodgy roots in olive drab, but the latest special-edition color offering is the direct opposite. Tuscadero Pink is a “deep and intense chromatic magenta,” according to Jeep, and can be ordered on all Wrangler models, including Sport, Sahara, Rubicon, 4xe, and 392. If this new option tickles you pink, be sure to get to a dealer soon, as the $395 option will disappear come November.
Exhaust: While this bright option aligns with a slew of recent color options Jeep has put in front of buyers, including Gecko Green, but we can’t help but have flashbacks to the 12-volt plastic Jeeps that wore pink first. Of course, those also came with Barbie stickers, and we can only hope someone will paint their windshield frame and bumpers to match the Power Wheels version, for the sake of laughs. If you are of a different generation, though, Tuscadero might evoke thoughts of a Fonzerelli wedding. (Pinky Tuscadero was the Fonz’s love interest.) Gotta have it? Cross your fingers, because jumps the shark soon.
This unrestored Gullwing is up for grabs
Intake: A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing that stayed in the same Hollywood family for 60 years is for sale on eBay for $1,395,000. Originally sold to film director Roger M. Andrews of Los Angeles, it was passed on to real estate mogul L. Milton Wolf in 1958 and remained in his family until 2018. During its time with the Wolfs the SL covered some 92,000 miles and was, at some point, painted red to match its interior. In 2006 the car was taken off the road, but apparently it took little work to get it ready for sale at Gooding & Company where it fetched $1,127,500 in August of 2018. Collector Sammy Rad bought, it stripped the paint back to the original factory white, and left the car unrestored, but running sweetly. The SL comes complete with matching Karl Baisch luggage, a Becker Mexico radio, and a toolkit.
Exhaust: Concours condition 300SLs are worth $1.5M, with the luggage and radio adding $22,500 according to the Hagerty Valuation Tool. Would you restore this beautiful Benz to showroom spec, or do you think the patina is just perfect?
GMC’s overlanding Canyon concept foreshadows gnarly ’23 production truck
Intake: GMC chose Overland Expo Mountain West to reveal the Canyon AT4 OverlandX concept truck. The pickup, fully outfitted with an in-bed drawer system, a 270-degree awning, and a roof-top tent, is also chock full of the go-anywhere capability needed serve as a basecamp far from any paved road. The suspension wears a factory-sourced lift kit to fit 33-inch tires and both front and rear differentials have lockers for tricky, low-traction situations. Up front, there’s a custom bumper with an integrated winch, and in the back there’s an AEV steel bumper. The underside is clad in skidplates and it rides on DSSV shocks for taming big off-road whoops.
Exhaust: With recent spy photos of an upcoming next-generation Canyon AT4X showing GMC joining the Colorado by offering the fantastic suspension of the ZR2, this concept is really more of a teaser for the 2023 Canyon that will offer 33-inch tires and front and rear lockers from the factory. We just wonder what took GMC so long—there must be GMC customers that would kill for that front winch bumper for their current Canyon.
Rivian pursuing traditional IPO and lofty $80 billion valuation
Intake: Rivian is officially en route to becoming a publicly owned company after filing S-1 registration with the SEC. The company is believed to be targeting an $80 billion dollar IPO valuation, according to Bloomberg. The already well-funded EV automaker currently enjoys the riches of strong private backing from the likes of Ford, Amazon, T. Row Price, and D1 Capital Partners. As of late July, Rivian closed on 2.5 billion dollars in a private funding raise. Days later, the company announced its intentions to build a new plant (“Project Tera”) and thus expand its U.S.-based manufacturing infrastructure.
Exhaust: For Rivian to pursue a traditional IPO in this sector is most emblematic of its patient and deliberate approach, resembling the tortoise and not the hare. Speedier SPAC mergers have been the lustier choices for many EV startups to go public, but they often provoke an increased level of skepticism, which Lordstown has proved to be well warranted. If any fledgling EV automaker has given itself a lasting shot at competing with the industry titans, Rivian looks more and more like the best of that brood.
