AUGUST 6, 2025

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're thrilled to announce the debut of Peter's first work of fiction, "St. Michael of Birmingham." 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

(Chevrolet)

GM's True Believers deliver: The Chevrolet Corvette Z06, ZR1 and ZR1X took over the 12.9-mile Nordschleife circuit where, for the first time in the track’s history, an automaker brought three different cars with three non-racecar drivers to record three lap times in a single visit. Three of the Chevrolet engineers who helped develop these cars, and have extensive experience and advanced driving credentials, piloted them during the fast laps, highlighting the depth of talent and performance within General Motors. The Chevrolet team now has the fastest official laps set by an American manufacturer at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. “No auto manufacturer has done a Nürburgring lap attempt like this before,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “From development through production, and now at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Green Hell, we have clearly shown there is no limit to what our GM engineers and vehicles can accomplish. These are the best Corvettes in history, period.” The new documentary “Homegrown Speed: A Corvette Story” goes behind the scenes and showcases the journey from GM’s Milford Proving Ground to Germany, illustrating the intensity and precision of pursuing three lap times with three separate Corvette variants and three different drivers. In addition to the engineers who set the lap times, the film features Reuss, Senior Vice President of Product Programs, Safety, Integration and Motorsports Ken Morris, and Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tony Roma. Watch the outstanding video here.

Corvette ZR1X vehicle dynamics engineer Drew Cattell completed a 6:49.275 lap in the electrified all-wheel drive ZR1X and now has the fastest lap time of any non-professional racecar driver at the Nürburgring in the list of official record laps. 

ZR1 vehicle dynamics engineer Brian Wallace set a time of 6:50.763 in the 1,064-horsepower ZR1.

The 670-horsepower Corvette Z06, with the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever put in a production car, set a lap of 7:11.826 with vehicle performance manager Aaron Link behind the wheel. 

(BMW)

Fresh from its record-setting lap of the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife, the 2026 BMW M2 CS will make its North American debut at Legends of the Autobahn® at Pacific Grove Golf Links on Thursday, August 14th. The Good News? The 2026 M2 CS has more power, less weight, and sharpened handling. The 3.0-liter M TwinPower Turbo inline-6 in the M2 CS is rated at 523HP — 50 more than the standard M2 — while intelligent use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) reduces weight by nearly 100 lbs.

The power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels via an 8-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic. The result is 0-60 mph in just 3.7 seconds, on to a top speed of 188 mph with the standard M Driver’s Package The chassis technology and braking system in the BMW M2 CS have been precisely calibrated to the performance characteristics of the engine and the specific weight balance of the M2 CS. The standard Adaptive M Suspension also has been given a revised, model-specific setup, as have the M Servotronic steering, M Sport differential, and the integrated braking system.

The effectiveness of the powertrain and chassis refinements was put to the test at Germany’s formidable Nürburgring, specifically the 12.9-mile Nordschleife, or “north loop”, with its 70-plus corners and challenging elevation changes. It was here that the 2026 M2 CS set a new lap record for compact cars. BMW development engineer Jörg Weidinger completed the circuit in 7 minutes 25.5 seconds, beating the previous best time for compact cars by a full eight seconds.

Legends of the Autobahn® is an all-German marque Concours d’Elegance hosted by the BMW Car Club of America, the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, and the Audi Club of North America. The annual concours events offer both corral and judged areas, awards for all three featured marques, and an open class for all other German-made cars.

(GM Design images)

GM has revealed the second in a series of three Chevrolet Corvette concept design studies to debut in 2025. The California Corvette concept was developed by GM’s Advanced Design studios in Pasadena, as part of a global design project. This latest concept reimagines the Corvette with a futuristic, Southern California twist and reflects GM’s deep roots in the SoCal design community. “Our Advanced Design teams are dedicated to shaping the future, driving innovation, and exploring what’s possible,” said Bryan Nesbitt, vice president of global design. “The California Corvette concept is another example of forward-thinking design. We invited multiple GM studios to envision Corvette-inspired hypercars — the first of which was revealed by our UK studio in March. The California team has now delivered a complementary study that honors Corvette’s legendary performance, while infusing it with their own distinctive vision.”

The California Corvette concept "pays homage to Corvette’s iconic heritage, but with a distinct SoCal flavor," according to GM PR minions. For decades, GM has leveraged the Corvette nameplate to introduce concepts, experimental cars and prototypes that push automotive design and engineering forward, and the California Corvette Concept continues this legacy. While there is no production intent behind this design study, the Pasadena team embraced this project as a blank slate to reimagine what the Corvette could be. “Southern California has been at the heart of automotive and design culture for a century, and GM has had a deep design presence here for nearly 40 years. We wanted to ensure that this concept was developed through that SoCal lens, but with a global and futuristic outlook. Duality of purpose is the basis of this concept’s design strategy,” said Brian Smith, design director, GM Advanced Design Pasadena. “The defining design aspect is the single-piece, front-hinged canopy than enables the entire upper shell to be removed, transforming the concept from an agile, slick sports car to a lightweight, open-air track car.”

The minimalist interior centers on the driver, with integrated structural elements and performance-focused displays. An augmented-reality HUD enhances high-speed driving with only the most essential data displayed.

Concept technical specifications and assumptions:

Body structure: Tunneled underbody with lightweight carbon tub; Active aero spoiler and air brake; Large, staggered wheels – 21” front wheels and 22” rear wheels; Assumed T-shape prismatic battery pack - enabling low seating and better airflow around and through the chassis.

Dimensions: 41.4 inches (1,051mm) / 86 inches (2,184mm) width / 182.5 inches (4,669mm) length; 109 inches (2,767mm) wheelbase.

The GM studios in Pasadena encompass a 148,000-square-foot campus spread across three buildings, and housing about 130 staff, spanning design, creative, facilities, operations, sculpting, fabrication and artisans. It’s fully equipped for advanced design, development, physical modeling and builds, and it plays a key role in GM’s global design network, which spans studios in Detroit, Shanghai, Seoul, the UK and Los Angeles.

The AE Song of the Week 

Saying I love you
Is not the words I want to hear from you
It's not that I want you
Not to say it, but if you only knew
How easy it would be to show me how you feel
More than words is all you have to do to make it real
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know

What would you do if my heart was torn in two?
More than words to show you feel
That your love for me is real
What would you say if I took those words away?
Then you couldn't make things new
Just by saying I love you

La-di-da-la-di-da-dai-dai-dai
More than words
La-di-da-da-di-da

Now that I've tried to talk to you and make you understand
All you have to do is close your eyes
And just reach out your hands and touch me
Hold me close, don't ever let me go
More than words is all I ever needed you to show
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know

What would you do if my heart was torn in two?
More than words to show you feel
That your love for me is real
What would you say if I took those words away?
Then you couldn't make things new
Just by saying I love you

La-di-da-la-di-da-dai-dai-dai
More than words
La-di-da-da-di-da-dai-dai-dai
More than words
La-di-da-la-di-da-dai-dai-dai
More than words
La-di-da-la-di-da
La-da-da-da-da-da
More than words
More than words

"More Than Words" by Extreme, from the album "Pornograffitti" (1990).* Written by Gary Francis Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt. Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind.  Watch the Official Music Video here. 

*Written by Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, this song is about a guy who loves a girl and knows she loves him too, but he wants her to show it by more than just saying "I love you." He's saying that if she would show him more affection and emotion, she wouldn't have to say she loves him because he would already know. In a Songfacts interview with Nuno, he explained: "The word 'love' itself gets really diluted, so we just wanted to say, 'It's not really about saying it,' because everybody gets really worked up when somebody says that to each other. They say, 'I love you,' and everybody goes, 'Oh my God! It must be serious. It must be heavy.' It's like, 'Eh... it's easy to say that.' It's really aboutshowing it constantly and continuously in a relationship. We knew that was the message." According to Nuno, he came up with most of this song sitting on a porch, alone with his guitar. It came to him very quickly, as most of his songs do (Nuno will abandon a song if it doesn't come quickly). He brought the song inside to Cherone, who hashed out lyrics as they put the song together.

Extreme kept it very simple on this song, with minimal production. The video reflects this as well, since they wanted the focus to be on the song. Directed by the husband-and-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the black-and-white clip shows Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherone seated, performing the song in a studio setting. Dayton and Faris would go on to direct the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine.

Since only Bettencourt and Cherone appeared in the video, many viewers assumed Extreme was a duo - they were actually a four-piece group. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

 

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG