We drove the 2024 Aston Martin DB12 and 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre, spied Ferrari’s next hypercar, and learned about a true lightweight electric sports car. It’s the Week in Reverse, right here at Motor Authority.
Aston Martin has replaced the DB11 with the DB12, but rather than start from scratch the automaker has sharpened and refined what was already an impressive vehicle. The result is definitely a home run, as we discovered during our first drive. Gone is the V-12, but with the pumped up V-8 you’ll hardly miss it. Also gone is the previous model’s outdated interior, which we’re quite sure no one will miss.
We also drove the Rolls-Royce Spectre, the first electric vehicle from the British marque. Like the DB12, the Spectre is aimed at fans of grand touring, but in this case the focus is very much on comfort. Through software, Rolls-Royce even intentionally dialed back the response when flooring the accelerator pedal so that occupants aren’t shoved back in their seats like in most high-powered EVs.
Ferrari is out testing prototypes for its successor to the LaFerrari, and one of them was snapped by our photographer. The new car appears to sit lower and wider than the LaFerrari, and there are rumors it may feature a V-6 as the internal-combustion component of its hybrid powertrain. The debut is expected to take place next year.
A Japanese technology company has developed an electric sports car concept that weighs just 3,141 pounds and packs close to 500 hp. It also has a sultry body penned by the design company of Shiro Nakamura, the former design boss of Nissan and the designer responsible for the current R35 GT-R. There’s a chance the concept enters production as the company behind it, AIM, is currently developing a feasibility study for the production of a limited run.
Toyota has all but confirmed plans to launch a new Land Cruiser in the U.S. However, the U.S.-bound Land Cruiser, which is expected as a 2025 model, won’t be the 300-series Land Cruiser the rest of the world gets. Instead it will be a version of the next Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota’s planned twin to the redesigned 2024 Lexus GX.