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By Aldo Pasha Permana

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Pirelli Has a new Street-Legal Racing Tire for the US. We Tested It

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  The Pirelli engineers are a bit jealous of us Americans. Speaking at the launch for the new P-Zero family at Monza, they tell us how nice it must be to have a thriving grassroots club-racing and track-day scene in America, and so many great road courses for us to drive. Realizing there was a huge market, Pirelli created a new DOT-approved track-only tire exclusively for the US, the P-Zero Trofeo Track. And good news for the tariff-weary—Pirelli is making these in its Rome, Georgia factory.   This near-slick tire is aimed at various SCCA and NASA championship series, which require tires that have DOT approval. These are technically street-legal tires, but you really shouldn't use them outside of a track. "It's basically a slick tire, with some tread designed to make it comply with the DOT, but it'...
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Porsche Shifts Course, Leans Into Hybrids Instead of EVs

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  Like a lot of automakers, Porsche made an aggressive push towards EVs. Its initial plan was for 80 percent of its sales to be fully electric by 2030, but at its annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, CEO Oliver Blume said that's not going to happen, though not for lack of trying. So now, it's putting more emphasis on hybrid options, while still continuing to expand its range of EVs. "Our goal was to deliver more than 80% fully electric sports cars by 2030. One of the most ambitious goals in the entire industry," Blume said in prepared remarks. "Our product strategy would still allow us to achieve this. In view of market developments, it is not realistic. Our BEV ramp-up will therefore adapt flexibly. To demand and market developments." Customers haven't taken to electric Porsches like the brand once hoped. Taycan sales fell globally last year, which Porsche said was at least in part due to a heavy refresh for the model, but also because t...
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The 2026 Toyota RAV4 GR Sport Has Real Sports Car Cred

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  The concept of a "sporty" RAV4 sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? Sure, some brave, brilliant souls have turned early RAVs into off-road machines. But that story entertains us because  a RAV4 shouldn't be out there bashing rocks, not because of its history as an enthusiast vehicle.  So when Gazoo Racing—Toyota's in-house tuning arm—takes a swipe at the RAV4, courtesy of the new-for-2026 GR sport trim, you can call us cautiously curious; cars with a GR badge on the trunk became some of our favorites over the last decade. For instance, the GR Supra has steadily improved during its production run and become a legitimate sports car. The GR Corolla's the last great manual hot hatch on these American shores, and the GR86 just plain rocks; it's an instant classic.   The GR Sport's Upgrades, Explained So what does the "GR" treatment mean for the RAV4? We're praying for something beyond a smidge of badge engineering. New info from To...
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