Good morning, and welcome to Cold Start. We hope you're fully charged up with caffeine or whatever other stimulants you use to get going in the mornings. We prefer adrenaline, and most of the stories that dominated yesterday's headlines help our bodies produce it, so let's jump in and discuss what's been buzzing in the world of cars.
To start with, BMW has already begun testing its limited-edition 3.0 CSL. If that's too far out of reach, we have good news about the Toyota GR Corolla. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is also offering some good news, but in the world of Tesla, things aren't quite so peachy. At least Lexus may have a new supercar in the works to distract us.
BMW 3.0 CSL Special Spied At The Nurburgring
After being officially teased for the first time this week, confirming a longstanding rumor among Bimmer insiders, BMW's 3.0 CSL special edition has taken to the Nurburgring to prove that it's got more than just a pretty face. The prototype that took to the infamous circuit appears to be the very same one teased by BMW M CEO, Franciscus van Meel, and thanks to both still images and a video, we can confirm that this car will not be just an ornament, even if most buyers treat it as such. We're told to expect over 600 horsepower and a stick shift, so we hope that buyers drive it as BMW's test personnel have.
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Tesla Fires 200 Autopilot Workers
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made some comments that will have struck fear in his employees. For one thing, he's predicted a meltdown of the global economy. For another, he's said that the EV producer needs to stop hiring new staff and actually needs to cut down on salaried staff. Unfortunately, that has now hit hourly workers too, displacing almost 200 employees at the company's San Mateo offices in California. These people were directly involved with the development of Autopilot artificial intelligence. These efforts are intended to help Tesla overcome a financial slump of late, and we hold out hope that they will be offered their jobs back when a rosier outlook is forecast.
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Hyundai Ioniq 6 N and Shooting Brake Are Possible
Back to upbeat news. Hyundai has only just taken the covers off its latest EV, the Ioniq 6, but it already has ambitious plans for the future of the model line. Speaking in a recent interview, the Korean automaker's highly acclaimed design boss, SangYup Lee, has specifically noted that a shooting brake is possible from the existing design. It's unclear if such a thing would be offered Stateside, but it's not the only new model we could have on the horizon; a high-performance N model could well be coming too. 600 horsepower or more could be in the cards, and who doesn't want that?
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Toyota GR Corolla Hitting Dealerships In October
Another exciting development over the past 24 hours is the news that the fascinating and frantic Toyota GR Corolla is arriving in US dealerships very soon. In fact, if the leaked internal memo that informed us is accurate, the hot hatch will touch down in October. This internal memo was leaked via a South Carolina Toyota dealer, so we don't yet know if the spicy Corolla's October due date is applicable to all US dealers. Whatever the case, it seems we won't have much longer to wait before we can sample the extraordinary rally-car-for-the-road. Here's hoping dealers don't overinflate the asking price.
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Is This A New Lexus Supercar?
We close with something that is guaranteed to be a victim of price gouging if it becomes a reality. According to patent images filed in Europe, the Toyota GR GT3 Concept that was unveiled in January of this year could well spawn a roadgoing derivative. Or at least, that's one possibility. Another (more likely) possibility is that these patent images have previewed a new Lexus supercar. If it is, we suspect that this new offering will replace the aging Lexus RC. Toyota's luxury arm could benefit greatly from a high-profile machine such as this, and it could help ease the transition to electric mobility.
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