No Fake Speaker Noises, Only VR6 Magic - The VW Golf R32 Hatchback Sounds Brilliant At $15,000

Over the weekend, Mercedes introduced a new member to its AMG GT lineup—an SUV. Following a path that hasn’t worked out well for BMW’s M division, this boxier AMG GT isn’t based on any existing Merc SUV; it’s fully electric and fully its own thing. Like other hi-po EVs, it has fake sounds, too, though it turns out that you only get the simulated V8 soundtrack if you pay extra. Ridiculous though it seems, yes: Mercedes decided to restrict the V8 noises, should you choose to hear them, to the more expensive and powerful GT SUV variants, the GT 55 and GT 63. Instead, the entry-level GT 53’s fake sounds mirror those of an AMG six-cylinder mill. The GT 63 has a peak output of 1,153 horsepower, while the GT 55 tops out at 805 hp, and the GT 53, at 536 hp.

Matt Nelson is an automotive journalist with nearly a decade of experience in all things cars.  He's spent years working at dealerships in sales, finance, and service. He's since traded in his pens and wrenches for a keyboard, and leveraged the expertise gained from his work experience into a writing career. When it comes to cars, facts, and the truth, Matt’s equal love for all three meant automotive journalism was the only path forward. Ever since the age of six, when he’d spend his time helping his father fix his family’s old Buick, Matt has had a keen interest in anything and everything with four wheels. Naturally, once Matt started working, he ensconced himself in the automotive industry and held positions spanning from car detailer, mechanic, to automotive sales and finance. Because he’s seen it all, driven most, and heard a lot, auto journalism came naturally to him. With a passion for cars like Matt’s, it’s safe to say every article will showcase his penchant for truth, accuracy, and overarching desire to make sense of the modern, complex automotive world. This means every one of his readers can be at the forefront of the most important automotive news.

Just as televison’s Alf came back in Pog form, beloved badges often return to manufacturer lineups in the 2020s as SUVs. Even coupes, like the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Ford Puma, have not proven not immune from the treatment. Alfa Romeo CEO Santo Filici reportedly says that the brand is bucking that trend, although it is doing so by returning to a standby of the last decade: A hatchback with the name of a historic sedan. The returning car is the Giulietta, a badge first sold for two generations in the 1950s through ‘80s as a sporty, rear-wheel drive sedan before being shelved for decades. It came back in 2010 as a compact hatchback that shared an FCA architecture with the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart, and it is that version set to be revived soon. In a roundtable interview, Car magazine quotes Filici as saying that the brand will build the revived Giulietta on the new STLA One architecture. That should make it a close relative of the Dodge GLH, a hot hatch that should effectively serve as the American equivalent to the Alfa.

Once upon a time, the Supra was a trim level for the Celica. The breed started out with inline-six-cylinder power, chosen for its perfectly balanced smoothness rather than raw output. In this first-generation example, that six is backed up by a manual gearbox, and the car has just been treated to plenty of engine reconditioning. A car that’s a Celica and a Supra? You bet: Long before Paul Walker hauled a wrecked Toyota over to Vin Diesel’s garage to be rebuilt as a drag-racing superweapon, the Supra was just a trim level for the Celica coupe. It wasn’t so much about speed, but about the refinement of six-cylinder power—a Celica, but a super version. Bring a TrailerThis 1981 Toyota Celica Supra is gliding into view over at Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). The Celica Supra marks the start of the Supra legend and was a big grand tourer with polished manners. It also just happens to be a match for current Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first car, called the Celica XX in its home market. A Toyota good enough for Japan’s Margaret Thatcher? That’s an iron-block lady.

No automaker pulls the plug on exciting projects like General Motors. The more ambitious the engineering, the more likely it is to be killed off after a very short production run. Sometimes this is intentional; the C4 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was always meant to be a low-volume version of a car that was on its way out. But more often, GM hypes something new and different only to pull it from the market a few years later. Just look at the Chevy Volt, or the car that originated the Blackwing name at Cadillac. Before Blackwing was a trim level, it was an engine. And it powered the performance version of the Cadillac CT6, itself a highly ambitious attempt to elevate the brand to higher levels of luxury and match the Germans in engineering sophistication. But the Cadillac CT6-V, powered by the Blackwing V8, is a rare bird, with just under 1,000 reportedly produced. One of them is up for sale on Cars & Bids.

Classic gems, tasteful customs, legendary supercars - for Silvian, they're all fair game. He's been in love with cars and motorcycles for as long as he can remember, so it made perfect sense to eventually turn that passion into a full-time writing career. Around six years and more than 3,000 articles later, he is still going strong and doesn't plan on hitting the brakes anytime soon. The idea of a performance-focused lawnmower with as much power as a small motorcycle may sound absurd, but it did generate enough interest to keep Dixie Chopper around for nearly five decades. In case you’re somehow not familiar with its products yet, the Eagle HP commercial zero-turn mower should give you a pretty good idea of what Dixie is up to.