The Autoweek Dispatch: Porsche gets range anxiety, SUVs keep getting bigger and Ken Block tries to legitimize the Mustang Mach-E

Car news, racing stories, reviews and weird stuff from autoweek.com. Having trouble viewing this email? [See the online version]( The Autoweek Dispatch Friday, December 13, 2019 Car Life [The Autoweek dispatch: Friday, Dec. 13, 2019]( [Read More >]( QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Mazda will continue to provide a fantastic driving experience through our products, regardless of powertrain, including a future EV. We have a very clear differentiating philosophy as we produce our products, which we call 'human-centric' approach or human-centricity, which is putting people first—believing in the ability of the human to drive. We don’t 100 percent rely on the technology and the machine. The driver can always take control of the car.” —[Masahiro Moro, speaking about Mazda’s philosophy of its cars in the future](. TAYCAN or TAYCAN’T? In addition to driving yet another iteration of [Porsche Taycan, the 4S]( we spoke with the head of the Taycan product line, [Stefan Weckbach]( about Porsche’s future intentions and goals with its first all-electric car. Additionally, [the EPA released range numbers on the Porsche Taycan Turbo]( they weren’t great. But were they actually bad? [Read our take here](. Finally, we take a small stroll down memory lane and share our experience with the last Porsche sports car to break new ground, the [918 Spyder](. More than Porsche made electric news this week: There’s a new EV semitruck coming to market called the [Nikola Tre](. It’s a 644-hp, 1,327 lb-ft of torque truck with 720-kWh battery and a claimed range of 248 miles. And Hoonigan master [Ken Block takes a spin in the Ford Mustang Mach-E](. RACING LINES The racing season might be largely over, but plenty of racing news continues to come in. Joey Logano stepped into a [next-generation NASCAR Cup car prototype]( and found himself wrestling it around Phoenix. Honda dropped a new car as well, called the [Civic Type R TC]( a new, factory-prepped race-ready car with performance between the Civic Si TCA and Civic Type R TCR car. And [BMW now has the M2 CS](. Ooh baby, we have plenty of silly season news to discuss. [Conor Daly landed a part-time season with Ed Carpenter Racing]( that includes the Indianapolis 500. [Ty Majeski is racing in NASCAR trucks]( with Niece Motorsports. [Michael McDowell and John Hunter Nemechek]( are headed to Cup racing with Front Row Motorsports. And [Cole Pearn]( surprised everyone with an announcement that he’s leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. In the world of Formula 1, it was a hard no to a [new tire proposed by Pirelli]( for the 2020 season. [Pierre Gasly]( discussed his point of view of losing the Red Bull Racing seat midway through the season. [Lewis Hamilton wants Formula 1 to lose its leather](. And 2021 seats are being discussed. [Who’s going to Ferrari]( is a hot topic. But we know [Alonso isn't going to Red Bull Racing](. CAR NEWS AND NOTES McLaren raided its GT4 race car parts bin and built the[620R]( it looks the business. Expanding its lineup in a different way, the [C8 Corvette will be sold with right-hand drive]( to appropriate markets and, in Australia at least, be its own brand. The number of SUVs offered continues to grow and so do their size—Chevrolet debuted its [new Suburban and Tahoe]( with an even larger footprint. Growth is the game at Volkswagen as well as Mercedes-Benz: The [2021 Atlas]( gets 3 inches longer as it received some updates; so does the [2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA](. WISH LIST Swedish supercar builder Koenigsegg is at it again, this time teasing us with a short video highlighting the sound of its latest creation, the [Jesko](. With a claimed horsepower of 1,600 hp when running on E85 fuel, the twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 sounds awfully racy. WHAT WE'RE DRIVING As always, Autoweek editors kept themselves busy behind the wheel, driving a [2019 Porsche Panamera GTS]( which is one of many Panameras out there. Keeping it German, we also enjoyed the performance of the [AMG GLC 63 Mercedes compact utility](. If you’d prefer a sedan from Korea, we suggest waiting a year for the [Hyundai Sonata N-Line]( do so and you’ll get a 2.5-liter turbo outputting close to 300 hp as well as a performance-oriented suspension setup. Alas, it’s back to compact SUVs—America can’t seem to get enough of ‘em. Thankfully, we found ourselves enjoying the versatility of the [2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB]( and absolutely smitten with Mazda’s [CX-30](. MOSTLY ODDS, SOME ENDS Murilee Martin takes us yesteryear once again looking back at the charming [1998 Jaguar XJ analog clock](. Yes. The late ’90s are officially yesterday. It was 21 years ago after all. This is during the time period (get it? Time period? Clocks?!) of Ford ownership, meaning the timepiece came with a Dearborn, Michigan, part number on back. LISTEN UP Be sure to check out the "[Autoweek Podcast," Ep. 87]( Wren, Mike Pryson and Matt Weaver talk about the Snowball Derby. That’s before Natalie Neff and Graham Kozak join Sean Kiernan to talk about his Bullitt Mustang, which is going up for auction soon. As is our new custom, we close out the show talking about the Autoweek fleet. WHAT'S AHEAD [Stay tuned to autoweek.com]( all weekend for the latest offseason racing news and notes from the best motorsports team on the web! Robin Warner, managing editor Connect With Us [facebook]( [instagram]( [twitter]( Feedback or questions? [Contact Us]( [Email editor](mailto:tips@autoweek.com) | [Customer Service](mailto:customerservice@autoweek.com) | [Advertise with Us]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage My Account]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2019 Autoweek 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207 United States. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions](