All posts by Francis Mitterrand

EV

Mullen Five RS is a powerful crossover with 1,000 HP

Mullen Five RS is the new super powerful car from Mullen Automotive presented at CES (January 9 – 12) in Las Vegas. The car is based on the Mullen Five crossover and develops more than 1,000 hp.

The car is not only designed to be super powerful and fast, but also has great handling. It is powered by two electric motors with a total power of 1,000 hp (746 kW), paired with a two-speed transmission. That’s plenty of power to propel the car to 60 mph in 2 seconds with a top speed in excess of 200 mph (322 km/h).

It is equipped with a 100 kWh battery and uses an 800-volt architecture, and the company says that the battery can be charged from 0 to 80 percent in just 21 minutes via a DC fast charger. Assuming Mullen can live up to his promises, this car could pose a serious challenge to Tesla’s Model X Plaid in the race of acceleration.

It’s mounted on 21- or 22-inch wheels behind carbon ceramic Brembo brakes with six- and four-piston calipers. Ultra-Performance Race Track Mode adjusts throttle mapping, drivetrain, cooling, suspension stiffness and steering feel.

The luxurious interior with orange ambient lighting is equipped with sports seats upholstered in Nubuck leather and Alcantara, carbon details on the doors and massive screens for the cluster and infotainment system. There is also a third screen in front of the passenger that shows speed and other information, but also an AI Persona assistant that can recognize faces. It offers space for four passengers, but the luggage space is smaller compared to competing Tesla models.

The first copies should reach their owners in early 2025, and the price is currently unknown.

Source: Mullen

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Mullen Five RS is a powerful crossover with 1,000 HP
News

New Škoda cars will be equipped with ChatGPT

Since its appearance, artificial intelligence is expanding its use especially in the automotive industry. Thus, more and more car manufacturers are integrating artificial intelligence into their multimedia system. One of them, Škoda, announced that starting this year all their new models will have the integration of a digital assistant with artificial intelligence ChatGPT.

Digital assistant Laura will be equipped with artificial intelligence and will be able to talk to users. This new feature is powered by Cerence Chat Pro from technology partner Cerence Inc., offering a unique automotive integration of ChatGPT. Of course, ChatGPT will also have certain restrictions when it comes to car data or user personal data. All interaction with the digital assistant will be deleted immediately after processing, and if the system cannot answer the question, it will be forwarded to AI ChatGPT.

The first models to be equipped with this option will be the Enyaq, the new Kodiaq and Superb, as well as the Octavia facelift that was announced a few days ago.

The car was announced with a short video that doesn’t reveal much, but some changes can be seen compared to the current model, such as the new design of the front daytime running lights, a slightly redesigned grille and a new bumper design. A small redesign of the rear part is also expected, which was announced in the previously published spy photos.

There will be changes in the car’s interior as well, and this primarily refers to the new infotainment screen that will be integrated in all Volkswagen Group cars.

Source: Škoda

News

Last Bugatti Chiron with 1,500 PS

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show Bugatti revealed a mid-engine two-seater sports car, the Bugatti Chiron. The intention was to produce only 500 examples of this model, and now the last example with 1500 PS has left the production line in Molsheim.

The car is finished in Nocturno and Copper, and was delivered to its owner, Bilal Hydrie. Hydrie is the founder, CEO, and President of Inclusive Energy. He ordered his car back in November 2021, and at that time he paid about 3 million dollars for it. You could say cheap, given that at the beginning of 2023, the Bugatti Chiron Profilee was sold for $9.79 million.

Bugatti Chiron Profilee is powered by an 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 engine with 1,480 hp (1,103 kW) and 1,180 lb-ft (1,600 Nm) of torque. The same engine powers the Bugatti Mistral. It reaches 62 mph in 2.3 seconds with a top speed of 380 km/h, which is 30 km/h more than the Chiron Pur Sport (350 km/h).

The Bugatti Chiron was produced in several versions, and it is still unknown how many copies of the Chiron Pur Sport model, as well as the Mistral and Bolide models with W16 engines are left. All of them should reach their owners by the middle of this year.

Bugatti’s plan is to replace the existing W16 engine with a hybrid V8 in the near future, which should arrive with the successor to the Chiron.

Source: Bugatti

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Last Bugatti Chiron with 1,500 PS