US authorities are investigating a serious crash involving a Tesla Model S and its autonomous driving function, resulting in the death of the driver. Tesla has confirmed the Autopilot system was engaged at the time of the incident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal investigation surrounding […]
Alexi Falson
Alexi is an automotive road tester and news editor at PerformanceDrive. He appreciates the complexity of modern vehicle engineering and loves to keep his hands greasy working on motorbikes and cars. He prefers wagons over SUVs, vans over utes and reads more news than your Grandma.
Volvo’s ‘Future of Driving’ survey uncovers perceptions about autonomous cars
Volvo has been conducting some empirical that seems to point to the fact that Americans’ attitudes are changing toward autonomous driving. Volvo’s “Future of Driving” survey took into account responses from 50,000 consumers in 31 different markets around the globe, with one of the more significant findings being that “nine […]
GM patents high- and low-pressure turbo technology
General Motors has applied for a patent that details a radical new form of turbocharger technology, set to help eliminate lag and high-end tapering. The patent application was published in May this year, describing a new two-stage turbocharger unit that utilises both low and high pressure turbines for less lag […]
Ferrari 488 Challenge racer spotted testing at Monza (video)
Ferrari appears to be preparing a race-spec version of the new 488 GTB supercar, having been spotted testing in Italy only days ago. Pundits are alluding to the possibility of this being the next Challenge, successor to the 458 Challenge. The prancing horse, dressed in red of course with a […]
Mercedes-Benz patents interesting tyre water-spray technology
Automotive spies have found one of Mercedes-Benz’s latest patent applications, detailing a system that sprays water over the tyres to cool them. The application was submitted to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) a week ago, and is described by Daimler as a “vehicle with reservoir for storing a fluid […]
EU commissioner calls for VW buyback offer, similar to US
Europe’s Industry Commissioner has called for Volkswagen to offer a compensation package for European customers, similar to the $10 billion US buyback reported yesterday. Elzbieta Bienkowska, European Industry Commissioner, said in a newspaper report that “Volkswagen should voluntarily pay European car owners compensation that is comparable with that which they […]
Noble M600 Speedster revealed at Goodwood Festival
In one of the more surprising unveilings at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Noble offered up a special edition Speedster version of the M600. The M600 Speedster first made an appearance at the Autosport International event last year as the Speedster prototype. While few aesthetic details were changed, Noble had […]
2017 Porsche Panamera revealed, on sale in Australia from $304,200
Porsche has taken the wraps of the new generation, 2017 Panamera, complete with a range of new engines, including the introduction of the world’s fastest production diesel V8. Porsche’s latest diesel variant, the 4S Diesel, has taken the honors as the world’s fastest production diesel thanks to its all-new 4.0-litre […]