JANUARY 21, 2026

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

SPECIAL EDITOR'S NOTE: We'd like to remind you that Peter's first work of fiction, "St. Michael of Birmingham" is out now. Make no mistake, it doesn't resemble anything you've read from him before. In fact, it is quite a dramatic departure. It is mystical. It is sexy. It is funny. It's moving. And it is a flat-out wild ride unlike anything you've experienced. Having said that, it is definitely not for everyone, but then, it is from PMD, so that probably shouldn't come as a surprise! Check it out on Amazon Kindle here. -WG

(Stellantis)

Stellantis is touting that its 2026 Jeep® Wrangler Moab 392 is now available for order in all 50 states, including California, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington. The high-performance Moab 392 is powered by a 6.4-liter HEMI® V-8, delivering 470HP and 470 lb.‑ ft‑. of torque. How much? A "starting" MSRP of $79,995 (excluding $1,995 destination). Editor-in-Chief's Note: A not-so-funny story? I encountered a Wrangler 392 owner in a parking lot and asked him how he liked his 392. And he said, "It's okay, but my real-world gas mileage in the city is eight miles per gallon. Eight." Not surprising, but certainly not very good either. -PMD 

(Chevrolet images)

The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X, the most advanced Corvette produced to date, is the quickest American production car available – and the fastest way to get down a quarter-mile drag strip for under a million dollars.

Testing on the ZR1X culminated in October 2025 with validation at US 131 Motorsports Park; reflective of the real-world environments where Corvette customers exercise their vehicles. On a prepped surface, the ZR1X completed the quarter mile in 8.675 seconds at 159 mph, on pump gas, using standard-equipment tires and production 50-state street-legal engine calibration, and achieving a 0-60 mph time of 1.68 seconds on the same run. The ZR1X blasted to 60 mph in less than 100 feet, generating a peak of 1.75G of acceleration force.

“When we made the revolutionary shift to a mid-engine platform, this is the type of performance we knew was possible,” said General Motors President Mark Reuss.

The car was equipped with ZR1X’s standard aero configuration, standard Michelin PS4S tires, and available carbon fiber wheels. This acceleration was not a one-off, either – the vehicle used for testing completed multiple back-to-back quarter-mile runs all under 8.8 seconds. The 2026 Corvette ZR1X uses its twin-turbo LT7 V8 engine and front-axle electric motor to generate a total of 1,250 horsepower, sending it to the ground via electrified all-wheel drive.

Competitive breakdown:

	Quarter Mile	Trap Speed	0-60 MPH	Starting MSRP
Corvette ZR1X (prepped surface)	8.675 seconds	159 mph	1.68 seconds	$209,700
Rimac Nevera R	7.90 seconds	186 mph	1.66 seconds	$2.5 million
Pininfarina Battista	8.55 seconds	155 mph	1.79 seconds	$2.2 million
Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut	8.77 seconds	185 mph	2.4 seconds	$3.4 million
Bugatti Tourbillon	8.80 seconds	176 mph	1.9 seconds	$4.6 million
Lucid Air Sapphire	8.95 seconds	158 mph	1.89 seconds	$249,000

Corvette development engineer and test driver Stefan Frick earned this record-breaking quarter-mile performance using Corvette’s standard Custom Launch Control feature, found throughout the lineup from Stingray to ZR1X. Custom Launch Control manages tire spin, transmission clutch application rate, and numerous other parameters, allowing the driver to optimize acceleration runs by adjusting launch RPM and wheel slip targets from the auxiliary driver display.

“There are many different parts and subsystems on this car, with teams across the company responsible for them,” said Frick. “We were all motivated by the mission to break into the eights – this is a powerful example of the in-house skill at GM, and the level of performance we developed into this car.”

On an unprepped surface, the Corvette ZR1X equipped with available ZTK Performance Package can complete the quarter mile in 8.99 seconds and accelerate 0-60 mph in 1.89 seconds. Watch the video here.  

  

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Alain de Cadenet's superb automotive series - "Victory By Design" - doesn't get nearly enough attention. We aim to rectify that in the coming issues of AE. This week, the subject is Corvette, with a special appearance by one of my brother Tony's Owens/Corning Fiberglas "A" Production Corvettes. Watch it here. -PMD

The AE Song of the Week:

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing, will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be heroes, just for one day

And you, you can be mean
And I, I'll drink all the time
'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact
Yes we're lovers, and that is that

Though nothing, will keep us together
We could steal time, just for one day
We can be heroes, forever and ever
What'd you say?

I, I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, forever and ever
Oh we can be heroes, just for one day

I, I will be king

And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be heroes, just for one day
We can be us, just for one day

I, I can remember (I remember)
Standing, by the wall (by the wall)
And the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads)
And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall)
And the shame, was on the other side
Oh we can beat them, forever and ever
Then we could be heroes, just for one day

We can be heroes
We can be heroes
We can be heroes
Just for one day
We can be heroes

We're nothing, and nothing will help us
Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay
But we could be safer, just for one day
Oh-oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-oh-ohh, just for one day

"Heroes" by David Bowie, from the album "Heroes" (1977).* Written by Brian Peter George Eno and David Bowie. Publisher: Exploration Group LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Official Music Video here.

*This song tells the story of a German couple who are so determined to be together that they meet every day under a gun turret on The Berlin Wall. Bowie, who was living in Berlin at the time, was inspired by an affair between his producer Tony Visconti and backup singer Antonia Maass, who would kiss "by the wall" in front of Bowie as he looked out of the Hansa Studio window. Bowie didn't mention Visconti's role in inspiring this song until 2003, when he told Performing Songwriter magazine: "I'm allowed to talk about it now. I wasn't at the time. I always said it was a couple of lovers by the Berlin Wall that prompted the idea. Actually, it was Tony Visconti and his girlfriend. Tony was married at the time. And I could never say who it was (laughs). But I can now say that the lovers were Tony and a German girl that he'd met whilst we were in Berlin. I did ask his permission if I could say that. I think possibly the marriage was in the last few months, and it was very touching because I could see that Tony was very much in love with this girl, and it was that relationship which sort of motivated the song."

Bowie moved to Berlin after burning out from touring and fame. He rented a cheap apartment above an auto-repair shop, which is where he wrote this album. Robert Fripp, formerly of King Crimson, played guitar on this track. His band, King Crimson, performed the song at the Admiralspalast in Berlin on September 11, 2016 in celebration of Bowie. This version was released on an EP calledHeroes in 2017. Brian Eno, formerly of Roxy Music, helped Bowie write and produce this. Eno moved to Berlin with Bowie and worked on his albums Low, Heroes, and Lodger. These albums were much more experimental and less commercial than Bowie's previous work, but they still sold well in England. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG