The Auto World

Bovensiepen’s third model is based on BMW’s recently departed Z4 roadster. The donor Z4 M40i’s 3.0-liter inline six is boosted from only 335 hp to 429 hp. Frank Stephenson Design provides subtle styling mods, including rear spoiler. The final BMW Z4 rolled off the Graz, Austria, production line in May, and while there are still cars hanging around dealer lots, your chances of speccing one to your taste are over. Or so we thought until we learned about the Bovensiepen Spider. If you’re not familiar with the Bovensiepen name, you are almost certainly familiar with the four-wheeled work of the people behind it. The Bovensiepen family set up the Alpina brand in the 1960s and did such a great job of enhancing BMW cars in the intervening years that BMW bought it out, the final transfer taking place at the start of 2026. Related: Alpina’s Founders Built A 790-HP BMW M5 Wagon That Looks Like A Lease Special But it l...

The second Mercedes Mythos model has premiered as the ultimate CLE. A 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 gives the limited-run coupe 637 hp and 627 lb-ft. Mercedes-AMG has ditched all-wheel drive and made the car RWD. It’s been 14 long years since Mercedes released the jaw-dropping C63 AMG Black Series, a car that helped to define a truly crazy era of the AMG brand . Now, the company has unveiled a model in the same spirit, dubbed the CLE 646 Spezialanfertigung, serving as the automaker’s second Mythos model. We’ve known about AMG’s plan to release a wild, limited-run version of the CLE for quite some time , and this car – at least on paper – does not disappoint. Like the Mercedes-AMG Purespeed, the CLE 646 is a performance-focused weapon that will be extraordinarily difficult to come by. It also has a name that only native German speakers will have any hope of pronouncing correctly. Read: Mercedes’ V8 Was Sup...

Private ALPR databases contain billions of timestamped vehicle sightings. Insurers can use the data to verify garaging, vehicle use, and claims. Private networks face far less public scrutiny than police-operated systems. You probably know if your insurance company is tracking your driving. Maybe you downloaded its app in exchange for a discount, plugged a device into your OBD-II port, or bought a car that quietly reports driving behavior through its connected services. That’s shockingly commonplace today. But there’s another way companies can learn about your car. Only in this case, you don’t have to download anything, and you don’t have to agree to anything. All you have to do is drive past the right camera. More: You Can Hide From Flock’s Cameras, If You Turn Your Car Into A Blindfold Private automated license plate recognition networks are photographing vehicles across America. When they do, they add t...

Spanish brand Galloper returns with rebadged Nissan 4x4s. Ayanet pickup and Gredos SUV pack Mitsubishi engines. They launch in October with pricing from €26k ($30k). You might think we have enough new brands and their models emerging from China, but this trend has made it easier for defunct companies to come back from their graves. The latest example is Galloper, a Spanish brand known for selling a Mitsubishi-based off-roader in the ’90s, and is now doing the same with a pair of rebadged Nissans. Some automotive enthusiasts could probably remember the Hyundai Galloper. The Korean ladder-frame SUV was a rebadged version of the Mitsubishi Montero / Pajero , with two generations debuting in 1991 and 1997 respectively, before being discontinued in 2004. In Spain, the off-roader was imported by Galloper Espana and distributed via the Mitsubishi dealer network with Mitsubishi emblems. A Mitsubishi SUV reworked by the Koreans and then impo...