Tesla introduced the updated Model 3 last September without the anticipated Performance variant. But it must be right around the corner considering preliminary details were hiding within the source code of the company’s UK configurator. A reader of our sister site InsideEVs found the details hiding in plain sight. We’ve checked the source code and can confirm it’s all there.

The updated Model 3 Performance is getting “all-new, high-performance drive units” that will deliver a combined output of over 500 horsepower. An exact figure produced by the dual motors is not mentioned, but Tesla claims it’s “the most powerful Model 3 ever.” As a refresher, the old one was rated at 505 hp.

Tesla mentions it has also tweaked the chassis and suspension for “intuitive, razor-sharp response to driver inputs.” Elsewhere, pedal feel has been improved, and so has heat management for more consistent braking regardless of speed. The new Model 3 Performance is also getting lightweight, staggered wheels with unspecified tires for “increased traction out of corners.”

As for cosmetic changes, the same source code mentions “redesigned front and rear fascias, rear diffuser, and carbon fiber spoiler.” Inside, it’s getting an “all-new seat design with enhanced side and cushion bolsters” and ventilation. To set it apart from the lesser Model 3 versions, Tesla is giving the Performance a “lightweight carbon fiber décor and refined weave pattern.”

There are also a bunch of images we couldn’t scrape from the website. In addition, the 0 to 60 mph time is a placeholder since the source code only says {ACCELERATION}. The old Model 3 Performance needed 3.1 seconds. The range doesn’t seem to be listed, but we’ll remind you the outgoing model was rated by EPA at 315 miles.

Weight isn’t mentioned, although a previous leak indicated it would remain unchanged, at 4,089 pounds. It is also believed the 82.0-kilowatt-hour battery capacity will be identical, but nothing is official yet.

As for the name, it appears to be carried over. Despite rumors indicating it would be rebranded as a Model 3 Ludicrous, it looks as though Performance is staying.

Since Tesla is updating its regional websites to include the new Model 3 Performance, expect an official reveal in the coming days or weeks.

Alfa Romeo announced today it will change the name of its newly unveiled Milano SUV to “Junior” following pressure from the Italian government.

The decision comes just a few days after Adolfo Urso, Italy’s industry minister, criticized Alfa Romeo for marketing a car produced outside of Italy with an Italian name. The Milano is built at Alfa’s Tychy assembly plant, located in Poland.

“A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland,” This is forbidden by Italian law,” Urso said on Thursday. 

He’s referring to a piece of legislation from 2003 that calls out “Italian-sounding” products that falsely claim to be produced in Italy, according to Reuters. 

“This law stipulates that you cannot give indications that mislead consumers,” Urso added. “So a car called Milano must be produced in Italy. Otherwise, it gives a misleading indication which is not allowed under Italian law.”

Developing…

Normally, we don’t pay much attention to promo videos from Formula 1 teams. But Lewis Hamilton playing turn-of-the-millennium racing games is different. These are games we all have a lot of nostalgia for, as does Hamilton, who managed to find the time to play the likes of F1 2000, and Gran Turismo. It’s that last one we’re most excited to see the seven-time champ play.

On putting the disc into a PlayStation 1, Hamilton immediately picks a Midnight Purple R33-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R and gets into a race at Trial Mountain. Both connoisseur’s choices if we do say so ourselves. While GT1 had a nice selection of 37 cars in its arcade mode, the GT-R was one of the best. Really, those early games were defined in large part by the Skyline GT-R. Buying one in the game’s career mode was always a good investment, as any hardcore player is aware. It seems Hamilton really knows the game.

You might be thinking why not a Mercedes? The German automaker only joined the franchise in Gran Turismo 2. (Hamilton’s future employer, Ferrari, only showed up in Gran Turismo 5.) 

Hamilton also seems to be fond of the color purple, and a social media video from 2022 shows he’s into Skyline GT-Rs, too. In that video, he drives a rented R34-generation GT-R, but that car came out after Gran Turismo’s 1997 launch. 

If there were any lingering doubts about Hamilton’s car-enthusiast bonafides, there shouldn’t be. His choice of Gran Turismo car shows he’s one of us. 

BMW’s lineup of straight-six powered M cars have gained serious popularity thanks to the engine’s ability to make big power reliably. One tuner seems to have pushed the envelope a bit too far, though, and the results are catastrophic.

The folks at New Jersey-based Maximum PSI recently attempted to squeeze more power out of their M4 drag car when things went horribly wrong. The car was already making 1,100 horsepower to the wheels, but with competition heating up in the world of Roundel-badged drag cars, that wasn’t good enough. So the team added a new intercooler, an upgraded transmission, and Nitrous to the mix.

The M4 didn’t grenade itself immediately. The new intercooler setup meant the first run, tested without Nitrous, resulted in a healthy 1,300 hp to the wheels. The Maximum PSI team then added some Nitrous into the mix, where they made another 76 hp. They then decided to “turn things up,” and that’s when the engine gave out. The video above shows the high-strung S58 come apart in spectacular fashion, with lots of smoke and a seriously scary glow coming from the bottom of the car.

With just 48 hours to go before the car’s next planned outing, the Maximum PSI crew wastes no time getting the M4 back to good, running condition. Amazingly they get it done, thanks mostly to a healthy stock of spare parts and same-day shipping for parts they didn’t have on hand. 

Maximum PSI is able to make it to the event, but because the team didn’t have any time to test the car, they had to run it for the first time in qualifying. With the boost turned down Maximum PSI again turned to Nitrous, which caused the engine to misfire. The next run they decided to use boost alone, but transmission problems stopped them from getting a representative time. 

While the car wasn’t very fast, we’re still supremely impressed with the team’s ability to turn a catastrophic failure back into a running car in such a short time. 

What do you do when you’ve just won a Formula Drift championship? Buy a Porsche, apparently. Reigning FD champ Chelsea DeNofa just bought a 718 Cayman S to turn it into a drift car, and it is one of the coolest things we’ve seen in a minute. A mid-engine Porsche may seem like an unlikely drift car, but with some modification and DeNofa’s quick hands, it works extremely well.

 

DeNofa is detailing the build on his YouTube channel, and it’s fascinating. The Cayman is surprisingly well suited for a conversion into a drift car. DeNofa was able to maintain the stock rear suspension geometry, and simply installed new arms that allow for more adjustment of roll center and anti-squat and ditch the stock rubber bushings for heim joints. 

After dropping the gearbox, DeNofa installed a stronger clutch, beefed-up 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears, and welded the differential, all of which was surprisingly simple. He chose to go with a Cayman with a turbocharged flat-four rather than a naturally aspirated flat-six for the huge power potential for the boosted engine. Right now, they’re running about 400 hp over the stock 350, but the goal is to get closer to 600. That should require a new exhaust, which is already fitted to the car, and a new turbocharger.

This won’t be a Formula Drift car, so DeNofa is trying to keep as many Porsche parts as possible. Aside from a cage, seats, harnesses, and naturally, a hydraulic handbrake, the interior is being kept stock. He’ll likely get rid of the small radiators ahead of the front wheels for a larger unit to be mounted at an angle in the front trunk a la the new 911 GT3 RS. That’s to keep the radiator less exposed to impacts. DeNofa assumes it’ll need cooling upgrades too.

There was also the matter of electronics. With any modern car, all the systems talk to one another, and when you start messing with one, the rest go haywire. DeNofa doesn’t go into details, but it took a lot of work to essentially “unlock” the car for it to be used for this purpose.

We’re excited to see this build unfold. DeNofa dives deep on all the aspects of the car here, and there’s so much beyond cool sideways shots of the car. Though, we are happy watching drift shots over and over.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is going racing in a dedicated series. It’s called the eN1 class and will consist of sprint races as well as one-on-one knockout races. The new racing series echoes the N1 class featuring the Elantra (Avante in South Korea) and is not limited to a single manufacturer or just one tire vendor.

The first zero-emission N model goes through multiple changes compared to the road-going vehicle. For starters, Hyundai has managed to shave off a lot of fat. While the street-legal Ioniq 5 N weighs up to 4,916 pounds, the eN1 Cup Car sheds nearly 600 lbs. It tips the scales at 4,343 lbs despite getting a full aerodynamic body kit with bulging fenders and a massive rear wing.

The diet was achieved by mounting a fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) hood and polycarbonate windows. It also gets 18-inch forged wheels with slick tires and has a stripped-out cabin with a single bucket seat. Although the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car has been put on a diet, it comes with a lot of hardware not found on the regular model. Hyundai installs a full FIA-compliant roll cage, meaty 18-inch slick tires, an asphyxiation fire layer, and a high-voltage shutoff system.

Other changes over the road-going Ioniq 5 N include an adjustable suspension with two-way dampers, a high-voltage warning indicator, and a charging port embedded into the rear bumper. Oddly enough, the race car retains the fake engine noise trickery (N e-Shift) and teams will even be allowed to pick their favorite sounds. The function enabling artificial gear changes (N e-Shift) has also been retained. Battery pre-conditioning is still there, as is the N Grin Boost that unlocks full power for 10 seconds.

The dual motors continue to produce a combined 641 hp as with the road-going Ioniq 5 N from where it has also inherited the 84-kWh battery pack. Performance details have not been revealed but 0 to 60 mph should take around three seconds considering the standard hot electric crossover does the job in 3.25 seconds with the N Grin Boost active.

We’ll see the new Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car in action for the first time on April 27 during the inaugural round of the 2024 Hyundai N Festival at the Inje Speedium where the eN1 class will have an official practice session. A total of 10 races are set for later this year.

BMW’s B58 straight-six is quickly becoming the hottest thing in import drag racing. The 3.0-liter engine has proven itself surprisingly stout and capable of handling lots of boost, making it easy for owners to extract big power and speed at the strip. This 1500-horsepower BMW 2 Series is further proof the B58 has earned its spot as the Toyota 2JZ’s successor.

From the outside this M240i xDrive coupe looks virtually stock save for a set of sticky drag radials. You’d never guess it’s hiding a highly modified version of its original B58 six-cylinder, equipped with new camshafts, ported heads, a heavy-duty fuel system, and a 74-millimeter Precision turbocharger running 49 pounds of boost. 

The all-wheel drive system is retained, fed by an upgraded version of the car’s factory eight-speed automatic transmission built by Pure Drivetrain Solutions. There are beefed up axles and a carbon driveshaft to handle the extra twist, but amazingly, the rear differential is unmodified.

Best of all, the stock ECU is retained and modified to accept all of the drivetrain changes, meaning this 2 Series still has most of its original features, including climate control, an infotainment system, cruise control, and more. Most of the interior is still there too. According to the owner, the car weighs about 3510 pounds with him in the driver’s seat.

That’s part of the reason why the car’s recent 7.9-second quarter-mile time at 175 mph during TX2K in Texas earlier this month is so surprising. The time makes this 2 Series the quickest and fastest BMW on the planet in the quarter-mile, period. And it does so without having to worry too much about weight or aero. With a few more mods, we’re certain this BMW could go even quicker. 

 

This week, on the occasion of the New York Auto Show, Genesis made its performance ambitions clear. The brand debuted its “Magma” project, a coming series of sporty models to sit at the top their respective model lines. Surprisingly, Genesis has also brought on six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx as an official consultant and brand ambassador. 

In a presentation at a pre-Auto Show event Monday, Icxk talked about wanting to be part of a “winning team,” and Genesis Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke told those gathered not to just fasten their seatbelts, but racing harnesses too. It’s hard not to read this not just as Genesis wanting to get into performance cars, but racing too. Combine that with the brand’s increased presence in the Gran Turismo series, and you can see where this is possibly going.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing on the horizon now. “Racing is interesting,” Donckerwolke told Motor1 on the Auto Show floor Wednesday. “We have to find the right moment as well because today, racing with the instability of the regulations, you can’t bet on that, because with electrification all the motorsport regulations are changing. So we have to wait a little bit.”

So it’s definitely on the radar, if not something we can expect in two or three years. As for Icxk, Donckerwolke said he’s “bringing another dimension to the group. It’s a support for the Magma program.”

Earlier in the week, Icxk told Motor1 he decided to start working with Genesis after an eye-opening trip to Korea on Doncerwolke’s invite. “I had the option to chose either to stay in the past, or come in the future and live with some people who are at the present and in the future,” he said. “So it’s just a fantastic option.”

But for now, he’s not like a Niki Lauda for Mercedes or Helmut Marko for Red Bull type. At least, not yet.

The new Kia K4 sedan is a sharp replacement to the outgoing Forte sedan. But one thing we didn’t expect to see during its New York Auto Show debut was a hatchback version, which Kia discontinued on the Forte (the Forte5) back in 2018.

And we’ve got good news: The K4 hatchback is coming to America. Kia confirmed to Motor1 that it will arrive in the US “at a later date.”

Much like the sedan, the hatchback looks sharp. The K4 five-door is “a practical vehicle that is aimed at a dynamic and urban lifestyle,” the company noted during its press conference. “The five-door shares the same front and rear design as well as the smooth elegance of the sedan.”

That means it probably has the same powertrain options as the sedan, too. The base engine is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet. There’s also a more powerful turbocharged 1.6-liter engine making 190 hp and 195 lb-ft.

We’ll know more about the K4 closer to the sedan’s on-sale date, which should be sometime later this year. The hatchback will go on sale sometime after that.