Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of some of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. I just throw in a little opinion of mine because I can. This week:

• Ford’s official return to Le Mans with the GT!

• The 2016 BMW 7 Series is ready to make corporate America swoon

• Volkswagen updates the Jetta GLI with moar power and styling

• Dodge to launch new “Straight to Barrett-Jackson” Charger R/T

• ExtremeTerrain wants to give you a heavily-tuned Jeep Wrangler

• What’s your automotive news?

This is Ford’s return to Le Mans

Several Ford executives were at Le Mans today even though they don’t have a car in the field for this weekend’s race. They were there to sort of scope the place out before ultimately revealing the car they’re going to compete with next year for their triumphant return to Le Mans. We knew Ford was going back to Le Mans with the all-new GT supercar they revealed earlier this year, but now we finally know how it looks – phenomenal.

The car’s roots are undeniable. It looks just as beautiful and purpose-built as the GT road car going on sale next year, but with all the necessary aerodynamics built in and an awesome red, white, and blue livery (at least on this car) to make it stand out. It looks like the sort of car that an experienced manufacturer builds when it’s prepared to relive the days when they won Le Mans four years in a row – and that’s fitting because it’s exactly what Ford wants to do with it.
The Ford GT Le Mans car will make its racing debut at next year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona before going on to compete in the full 2016 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in the GTLM class and World Endurance Challenge in the GTE Pro class. The most important stop on the car’s calendar is of course the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, exactly 50 years after their first win in 1966. Two teams will operate four cars between the two championships including Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The driver lineup has not been officially announced but we can speculate that most if not all of the current CGR lineup from the TUDOR series will be a part of it.

Technical details on the Ford GT race car are very limited (I don’t even think it has an official name yet), but we do know it’ll share advanced carbon construction and finely tuned aerodynamics with the road car as well as its new twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. That motor has already been developed and proven to be competent with CGR Daytona Prototypes currently racing in the TUDOR series. There’s a launch video below that will give you a little taste of how it sounds.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVa4mlFZEmM[/youtube]
The more details we get, the more I’ll fantasize about it while I sleep before covering it here.
[Source: Ford]

2016 BMW 7 Series

Last Wednesday, thousands of corporate leaders had their secretaries tune in to BMW’s live global unveiling of the all-new 7 Series and then arrange for a “special business expense” to be added to some poor accountant’s balance sheet. The business world’s grocery getter is completely new for 2016 and it’s got an impressive arsenal of new tech, intelligent construction, and modern design to make its case.

Starting first with the design, BMW has chosen a more evolutionary approach to the car’s looks both inside and out. Nothing is radically new but they’ve been able to balance classic BMW styling cues with a more modern and powerful look. It features a downward sloping roofline, a long hood, short overhangs, and a set-back passenger compartment to retain the brand’s sporting heritage. Modern styling cues include the new full LED lighting and the more upright kidney grilles, which now feature fully-integrated air flap controls that are mostly closed to reduce drag but can open to improve cooling as needed. Overall the car is slightly longer which allows a more roomier cabin. Wheel sizes range from the standard 18 inches all the way up to 21″.

The interior features the usual blend of premium materials ranging from fine wood trim and leather seats all the way down to precision-crafted center console controls. BMW has also given the 7 Series much more ambient lighting which can be configured in different colors and can be expanded into more areas than just the door sill accents. Either a traditional panoramic moonroof or a Panoramic Sky Lounge LED roof can be had, the latter of which uses LED modules along the sides to spread light evenly throughout the glass surface to create the impression of a starlight sky at night. They’ve gone even further for 2016 by throwing in some impressive executive options and cutting-edge tech, including a new iDrive infotainment system with gesture control (touch-screen and regular buttons are also included), as 12.3-inch Dynamic Digital Instrument Cluster with plenty of configurations, four-zone climate control with touch-screen controls, wireless device charging, a fancy digital key, ventilated seats, and available rear seat footrests. So naturally, the back seat of the new 7 Series is the best place to be.

Well, maybe. Whoever is stuck driving the new 7 Series will get to enjoy a 4.4-liter TwinPower Turbo V8 in the 750i xDrive or a 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo inline-six in the 740i with 445 horsepower and 320 horsepower respectively. A plug-in hybrid is also joining the lineup as the 740e xDrive. It features a 2.0-liter turbo four and enough extra batteries to give it a maximum EV range of 23 miles at up to 75 mph. The transmission of choice is an eight-speed automatic, which for the first time in a BMW is finally linked up with the navigation system so that the gear selection can be adapted to the route and driving conditions.
All of that is impressive, even by flagship luxury car standards. But what’s perhaps most impressive is that the 7 Series has gone on a pretty significant diet which goes all the way down to its very [carbon] core. BMW fully utilized their new carbon passenger cell technology for the 7 Series. Almost 200 pounds of car has been shed from the new 7 Series thanks to its composite construction featuring carbon fiber-reinforced plastic and ultra-high-tensile steel and aluminum. Many exterior body panels are now exclusively aluminum to further cut down on weight – especially up top, thus lowering the center of gravity. There’s a BMW press release’s worth of new features on the 2016 7 Series, which basically means it’s too much for my attention span.
The 2016 BMW 7 Series will arrive in dealerships this Fall with prices starting at $81,300 for the 740i and $97,400 for the 750i xDrive. Every US-bound 7 Series will be a long wheelbase version and all of BMW’s Individual ordering options will be available from launch.
[Source: BMW]

Volkswagen Jetta GLI

Compared to the impressive performance options available in the Volkswagen Golf lineup, the Jetta has always seemed to be left out of all the fun. They’ve had the Jetta GLI for the last few model generations, but it’s never been quite as substantial as others, like the Golf GTI. Volkswagen will finally be giving the Jetta GLI some love for the 2016 model year with a new, more sporty appearance and a bit more power to back it up.
The Jetta GLI will now run with the same 210 horsepower, 2.0-liter TSI turbocharged and direct-injected EA888 four-cylinder engine from the Golf GTI. A newly tuned sport suspension is also included to create a well-rounded performance driving experience.
Volkswagen are also giving the Jetta GLI a much needed appearance package to actually make it look quick. Included are a more aggressive front fascia with the traditional honeycomb grille and foglights along with a new rear bumper that has a diffuser and a pair of chrome exhaust tips. Standard eighteen-inch Mallory design aluminum-alloy wheels come wrapped with all-season or summer performance tires.
The interior is slightly updated as well with a new infotainment system, dual-zone climate control, six-way power driver seat, and more convenience options. VW have also given the GLI a new automatic post-collision braking system as standard, which automatically applies the brakes after a collision is detected by the airbag sensors to help reduce the likelihood of a secondary impact with something else.
But most importantly (besides the safety features), the Jetta GLI is faster and it looks faster. Finally.
[Source: Volkswagen]

Mopar ’15 Performance Kit

If there was ever an automotive equivalent of straight to DVD movies, this would be it. Dodge wants to give you something to bring to Barrett-Jackson in 40 years, so select Dodge dealers will be selling a limited edition Mopar performance package for the 2015 Charger R/T that adds almost nothing you can’t get elsewhere on your own.
The Mopar ’15 Performance Kit as it’s called will be a dealer-installed option that adds a bit of power and some subtle visual touches. Only 50 examples will ever be sold at $3,550 per kit. The list of new hardware is fairly short: it adds a Stage 1 Scat Pack Kit with cat-back exhaust, cold-air intake, premium fuel powertrain control module, high-flow oil filter[!!!!], and strut tower brace for an additional 18 horsepower, 18 lb.-ft. There might also be some improved handling for all that extra grunt that comes from basic bolt-ons and a fancy way to say “quick ECU tune”.
The list of styling updates is even smaller, surprisingly. They give you matte black body-side graphics, a serialized badge for the dash, and… you know what, let’s just end it here.
[Source: Dodge]

BLIPS

If you’ve ever wondered what a $75,000+ Jeep Wrangler modified by ExtremeTerrain and Barricade Off-Road looked like in your garage, now’s your chance to find out. Two of the leading aftermarket suppliers for the Jeep Wrangler have teamed up to build a one-off, loaded 2015 Wrangler Rubicon dubbed Project Trail Force. The Jeep is being shown today at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA, but in four month’s time, it will be given away at the SEMA Show to someone who entered to win at ExtremeTerrain.com (hint, hint).
The list of hardware on this one is pretty impressive. For starters, the factory 3.6-liter V6 is aided by a centrifugal Ripp Supercharger which adds 140 horsepower. The rest of Project Trail Force is built with some of the toughest parts available so it can literally get you anywhere, including advanced suspension components and trail-ready armor/bumpers. More details of the build can be found at ExtremeTerrain.com (I tested the link this time) along with the entry form. Some rules apply, of course, but you can enter once per week so go win yourself a badass Jeep.
[Source: ExtremeTerrain]

What’s your automotive news?

A while back I reviewed Project CARS here on the ‘verse and was mostly positive towards it because my gaming experience was mostly positive. But I’ve been playing more of it and I’ve found something that makes me really, really, really not like it at the moment. It turns out that the AI racers are superhuman and have just as much grip in the pouring rain as they do on a dry track. So while you’re pitting in for rain tires and working extremely hard to keep lap times consistent without crashing, the AI are laying down hot laps on slick tires. Their lap times do not change at all when the rain comes down, so racing in the rain on a harder difficulty is impossible and pointless and stupid. For a racing game to spend nearly four years in development and then launch with a game breaking bug like this is beyond pathetic. There’s a patch planned within the next week or two that should fix it, but first they need to release a new downloadable car pack for $2.99… anyway, rant over.
Now it’s your turn. If you saw, drove, bought, broke, or otherwise did anything newsworthy that you want to share with your fellow hoon, now’s your chance.
[Image Source: me via Project CARS]