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1969 Volvo P1800 gasser wins 2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour

Hot Wheels has announced the winner of the 2021 Legends Tour: it's a 1969 Volvo P1800 gasser owned by England-based Lee Johnstone. Built from a bare shell, the V8-powered hot rod will join the toy manufacturer's catalog of 1/64-scale model by the end of 2022. Designers and key figures from the automotive industry chose the P1800 after looking at contestants from 11 countries on five continents. The list of finalists also included a 1991 Porsche 911 turned into a Baja race car, a 1969 Dodge Charger fitted with extra-wide tires and powered by a Richard Petty V8 engine tuned to 740 horsepower, and a 1968 Mercedes-Benz 250S called High Class that rides on a frame sourced from a 1984 Chevrolet S-10. Substantial skill and originality went into each build, but Johnstone's hot rod stood out above the rest. "The Volvo Gasser is a wonderful expression of authenticity, creativity, and most importantly garage spirit," said Ted Wu, the vice president and global head of design for vehicles at Mattel. Wu was one of the panelists that picked the P1800. Johnstone explained his P1800 was little more than a rusty shell that was too far gone to restore when he acquired it. Instead of scrapping it, he decided to build it into a gasser powered by a 454-cubic-inch V8 plucked from the Chevrolet parts bin and supercharged to develop around 600 horsepower. Fitted with dual four-barrel carburetors, and nicknamed "Ain't no Saint," it reportedly runs a 10.01-second quarter mile at 133 mph. Johnstone regularly races the P1800 in the United Kingdom with help from his three daughter and his wife, Sue. Hot Wheels is scheduled to release the P1800 in late 2022, Autoblog learned from a spokesperson. Turning a car into a toy is a surprisingly lengthy and meticulous process that involves collecting numerous photos, converting them into sketches (and, if needed, tweaking some of the proportions to better fit the 1/64 scale), making a 3D digital model using a software called Freeform, and printing test cars. Check out our live stream on the new game Hot Wheels Unleashed: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 1969 Volvo P1800 gasser (2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour winner) Aftermarket Toys/Games Volvo Hot Wheels

Volvo planning Golf rival, 'breathtaking' C60 coupe

Despite just having refreshed nearly its entire portfolio, Volvo is still in the middle of a big product offensive. Vehicles like the C30 hatchback and C70 convertible have been given the axe, but a brand-new platform is being developed in addition to the Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA) that will underpin larger vehicles. According to Automobile, this means some very interesting newcomers may be on tap for the brand.
Volvo, in collaboration with Geely, is said to be working on a new platform about the size of a Volkswagen Golf that will likely spawn both a sedan and hatchback. Automobile reports that while the automaker's new scalable architecture is quite flexible, it cannot be stretched (or rather, shrunk) to accommodate a smaller vehicle.
Instead, SPA will be used for the company's larger offerings, starting with the V40 on the small end. (Though to our eyes, the current V40 looks plenty Golf-sized to us.) A new XC40 is apparently in the works, as is an S90 flagship, and new versions of the XC60, XC90 and S60 will all be coming based on this new flexible architecture.

Hyundai Sonata PHEV may be a game (and mind) changer

If you really, really want to consume volts instead of fuel on your way to work, school or shopping, you currently have just three options: pure EV, hydrogen fuel cell, or plug-in hybrid EV. Much as we love them, we all know the disadvantages of BEVs: high prices due to high battery cost (even though subsidized by their makers), limited range and long recharges. Yes, I know: six-figure (giant-battery) Teslas can deliver a couple hundred miles and Supercharge to ~80 percent in 10 minutes. But few of us can afford one of those, Tesla's high-voltage chargers are hardly as plentiful as gas stations, and even 10 minutes is a meaningful chunk out of a busy day. Also, good luck finding a Tesla dealership to fix whatever goes wrong (other than downloadable software updates) when it inevitably does. There still aren't any. Even more expensive, still rare as honest politicians, and much more challenging to refuel are FCEVs. You can lease one from Honda or Hyundai, and maybe soon Toyota, provided you live in Southern California and have ample disposable income. But you'd best limit your driving to within 100 miles or so of the small (but growing) number of hydrogen fueling stations in that state if you don't want to complete your trip on the back of a flatbed. That leaves PHEVs as the only reasonably affordable, practical choice. Yes, you can operate a conventional parallel hybrid in EV mode...for a mile or so at creep-along speeds. But if your mission is getting to work, school or the mall (and maybe back) most days without burning any fuel – while basking in the security of having a range-extender in reserve when you need it – your choices are extended-range EVs. That means the Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac ELR or a BMW i3 with the optional range-extender engine, and plug-in parallel hybrids. Regular readers know that, except for their high prices, I'm partial to EREVs. They are series hybrids whose small, fuel-efficient engines don't even start (except in certain rare, extreme conditions) until their batteries are spent. That means you can drive 30-40 (Volt, ELR) or 70-80 miles (i3) without consuming a drop of fuel. And until now, I've been fairly skeptical of plug-in versions of conventional parallel hybrids. Why?