Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. This week: Cadillac is going to Le Mans with LMDh, the Acura NSX is likely to come back as an EV supercar, Ford ditches three colors for the Bronco and adds two, Jeep will let you order a very bright Wrangler, and Porsche announces a paint to sample program for the Taycan, plus Porsche finally acknowledges that Android users exist.

Cadillac confirms LMDh program

It wasn’t really a question of whether Cadillac would commit to LMDh, it was when. It happened this week. Cadillac will continue their partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing as they compete in IMSA and WEC championships with the LMDh formula from 2023. This means Cadillac will join a host of other established manufacturers and Glickenhaus in competing for top honors at Le Mans.

Cadillac was one of the earliest manufacturers to commit to IMSA’s DPi prototype category and they’ve been a constant presence on the podium. AXR has been with Cadillac from the beginning and CGR just bought their first Cadillac DPi-V.R. last year and began competing with it this season. Being the two biggest customers for Cadillac’s DPi program, it only makes sense that they’ll be the ones who bring Caddy into the LMDh era.

LMDh debuts at the 2023 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, so full specs are still a ways out, as is the final design. This rendering – which has some pretty funny mistakes in it the longer you look at it – is not representative of the final product. For starters, it’ll have a wing. Per class rules, it’ll be built on a Dallara chassis (as their current DPi is) with spec bodywork on the back half-ish of the car. An engine of Caddy’s choosing and a spec electric motor should produce a targeted 670 horsepower. They currently use a lovely-sounding and durable V8, but it’s unknown at this time if that will carry over into the new LMDh car.

The LMDh field is getting properly stacked. Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, and potentially Lamborghini are committed with a handful of other manufacturers believed to still be considering it. Names like McLaren, Bentley (who already passed once but didn’t rule it out completely), and Genesis keep getting thrown around. And of course over in Europe, WEC’s more expensive and harder to BoP formula, LM Hypercar, has Toyota and Glickenhaus already with Peugeot, Ferrari, maybe ByKolles, and an Alpine (that isn’t just a stripped LMP1 car) on the way. Hopefully more will get FOMO and join. But even with this current lineup, we’re truly about to witness a golden era of endurance racing.

[Source: Cadillac]

The NSX might come back as an EV supercar

In recent weeks we’ve learned about the final iteration of the wonderful Acura NSX hybrid supercar, the NSX Type S. While the NSX as we know it is going away, the NSX itself may still have some usefulness at Acura. Signs point to a third-generation electric NSX as a real possibility.

Speaking to The Drive, Acura Vice President and Brand Officer Jon Ikeda said, “if you notice, we make an NSX when there’s something we want to say”. He finished one of the coolest statements from a suit I’ve ever heard by putting it bluntly – “There’s gonna be another one”. When asked if that implied an all-electric NSX, Ikeda just smiled.

There is certainly some speculation involved when we say that an EV NSX is on the horizon, but it would make a lot of sense. The original NSX proved it could be an affordable (relatively) sports car with unrivaled levels of driver engagement. The current NSX proved again that hybrid sports cars could provide the same at a fraction of the cost of others like it. A third-gen NSX could serve as a flagship as Acura, Honda, and the industry as a whole are driven to a new era of electric vehicles.

After all, building a flashy and needlessly expensive electric supercar that can complete one lap of the Nordschleife before needing to recharge while a majority of America can barely afford a new car anyway is all the rage. But at least it’ll be cool.

[Source: The Drive]

2022 Bronco trades three colors for two

Hardly anyone can get a Bronco at the moment. But if you, like many others, placed your reservation on the night it was revealed over a year ago, you can now ponder some new paint options as you watch your expected build date slide further and further away from you.

Ford is going back to the Bronco’s early years for two new paint options. Eruption Green Metallic, a modern interpretation of Mallard Green, and Hot pepper Red Metallic (no picture released yet) will be available for the 2022 model year. However it seems that Antimatter Blue, Lightning Blue, and Rapid Red Metallic won’t. So three excellent colors are getting axed for one absolutely exceptional color and another we can’t see yet.

It’s unclear if those who ordered a 2021 Bronco in one of those three colors will have their color selection honored when their truck gets built next year. I’d recommend reaching out to your dealer if you’re potentially impacted by this.

Jeep Wrangler, now available in pink

If you ever wanted a new Jeep Wrangler but held off because you couldn’t make it bright enough to stand out, now’s your chance. Tuscadero Pink is a new limited-run color available and it’s sure to make your Wrangler stand out more than a set of angry Jeep eyes could.

Brands under the Chrysler umbrella have been known for having some flashy colors and this one is about as flashy as it gets. This “deep and intense chromatic magenta” is available to spec on all Wrangler models at a $395 upcharge. Orders are only open until November this year and then it’s gone. So get your order in soon and brace yourself for all the abuse you’re sure to receive on the Jeep forums and Facebook pages.

Porsche announces paint-to-sample program for Taycan plus Android Auto support

Nobody in the business has more personalization in a configurator than Porsche. But that’s not to say they couldn’t add anything else. For the Taycan, they have.

Porsche is now offering a Paint to Sample and Paint to Sample Plus package for the Taycan with varying levels of personalization in each. The first package opens buyers up to 65 paint colors (and counting) from Porsche’s history, including cult classics like Moonlight Blue Metallic, Acid Green, Rubystar (pictured), Riviera Blue, and Viola Metallic. The Plus package removes those restrictions all together and lets you pick basically any color imaginable. You can match it to a paint color from a different brand, your old high school project car, your dog, or anything else you can think of.

Meanwhile, Porsche’s infotainment developers have finally realized that Android phones exist. Phone mirroring solutions like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay have been around for years and are now standard in just about any new car. That is unless you’re talking about Porsche, which has only supported Apple CarPlay.

Roughly 75% of the world’s mobile phones run on Android, but Porsche has only supported iOS. It’s not a very hard thing to do, so this was by choice. Everything else can support both. Other cars in a Porsche’s price range can support both. Other cars that cost a quarter of a Porsche can support both. A fucking Chevy Cruze had Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard equipment. But Porsche has realized how stupid they were being and have announced that both will be supported in the latest Porsche Communication Management system. And I say “about damn time”.

[Source: Porsche]

What’s your automotive news?

That’s all I’ve got for you this week, so now it’s your turn. If you saw anything, fixed something, broke everything, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments.

Have a good weekend.