Chevrolet’s top-selling full-size SUV, the Tahoe, has been adapted for specialty duty including law enforcement and other fleet use requiring better-than-spec performance. That kind of gusto is coming to the masses this year as Chevrolet rolls out its 2023 Tahoe RST Performance Edition, a pure adrenaline-spurting version of the vehicle that’s taken a stroll through the Chevrolet Performance catalog. Specifically, new induction and exhaust hardware gleaned from the go-fast book will boost the RST’s 6.3-liter V-8 to 433 horsepower, with a corresponding 467-lbs.ft. of torque, increases of 13 horsepower and 7-lbs.ft., respectively, making the RST the most potent Tahoe ever offered to the public.

Chevrolet is advertising that the RST Performance Edition will not only be able to reach 60 MPH in under six seconds with a top speed of 124 MPH, but will also haul down to a dead stop in just 133 feet from 60 MPH. Given the vehicle’s size and heft, those are impressive numbers. The RST, which borrows liberally from the police-duty Tahoe PPV, especially in the chassis department, will go on sale late this year once deliveries start from the dedicated Tahoe assembly line in Arlington, Texas.

With a lot of credibility, Lexus claims that it was first out of the gate in the late 1990s with a car-based, high-luxury interpretation of an SUV, what became the first RX 300, and which rang up strong sales immediately on its Toyota Camry-derived platform. That evolution is continuing with the rollout of the fifth-generation Lexus RX, riding on a new platform and with a clutch of powertrain options, including both an Atkinson-cycle, plug-in hybrid driveline and a new, full-on performance model.

Riding on the new Global Architecture-K platform, the 2023 Lexus RX will be sold across five levels: Standard, Premium, RX-first Premium+, Luxury, F SPORT Handling and RX-first, F SPORT Performance. The RX 500h performance model will produce 271 horsepower via a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine matched to a six-speed automatic transmission and a single electric motor. A second, 80kW electric motor at the rear wheels will boost the performance model’s overall output to 366 horsepower, thus creating an all-wheel-drive experience.

If you remember back to the 1970s, General Motors bestowed an option package on both the Chevrolet Nova and Pontiac Ventura equipped with hatchbacks, which allowed the open hatch to be transformed into a built-in camper by way of a snap-in tent top. It was a decently good idea, both then and now, attracting the attention of Porsche, which usually has a different definition of the lifestyles its products promises. But hey, Porsche is solidly into building SUVs, not just sports cars, so a camping package makes more sense for Stuttgart than most of us might immediately realize.

Porsche Techquipment, the marque’s accessory ancillary, has thus come up with a hardcase folding tent that mounts to the roof of most Porsches in the model lineup, whether the vehicle has roof rails or not. With an integrated polyfoam mattress and three windows, one of them a skylight, the tent is designed for wet-weather use and has interior quilting for insulation. As you can see, it pops into action from the rooftop of most any Porsche model. At just under 5,000 euros, it ain’t cheap, but deliveries are expected to get underway by November.

Want proof that North America’s premier open-wheel series is competitive? For the 17th straight year, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, to use its proper name, will decide its season championship at its final event, coming up this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the coast of central California. This year’s major difference is that for the first time, five drivers have a mathematical shot at the season crown going into the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. And unlike some other branches of motorsport, INDYCAR does not rely on a manufactured playoff system to anoint its champion.

Scott McLaughlin punched his way into the championship quintet by winning last weekend’s series stop in Portland, with a total of 482 points going into Laguna Seca. The other contenders are Will Power (leading with 523 points), Josef Newgarden (503), Scott Dixon (also 503) and this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, Marcus Ericsson (484). Power can lock up his second season title – the first came in 2014 – by finishing third or better at Laguna Seca.

One of North America’s most unique automotive competitions is the race-within-a-race that takes place annually during the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, itself esteemed as drag racing’s most prestigious and historic event. Known as the Dodge Hemi Challenge, it’s an elimination for cars at the very pinnacle of NHRA Super Stock racing, the Hemi-powered 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas, going at it in heads-up, no-handicap action at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. For people who love muscle Mopars, this event is the Holy Grail, contested by some of the most exalted race cars in Hemi world. The Labor Day weekend shootout this featured a repeat champion.

In the razor-close final round, which you see here, the win went to the guy in the near lane, No. 1 qualifier Steve Comella, whose Barracuda bested the 1968 Hemi Dart of Eldon Baum Jr. to capture the $15,000 top money. It was Comella’s second shootout win in three consecutive final round appearances. When we say razor-thin, we mean it, as Baum actually red-lighted away the win while Comella laid down an 8.407-second winning pass, providing that with an easy 900 horsepower on tap, these old crocks can still get down the strip in spectacular fashion.

When do motorcycles suddenly stop having two wheels? In the figurative sense, when their manufacturers get into marketing-based alliances with non-bike-builders that allow for some cross-polllination of branding. If you remember the Ford F-Series pickups that were offered with Harley-Davidson decor groups a while back, you get the idea. And now one of performance motorcycling’s most esteemed names, Ducati, is pulling a page out of the same playbook by announcing a branding alliance with another holy name in the world of Italian motoring, namely Lamborghini.

Ducati’s newest killer street bike is dubbed the Ducati Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini, and takes its four-wheeled inspiration from Lamborghini’s screaming Huracan STO hyper-GT, the motorcycle borrowing heavily from the car’s graphics and paint including the STO logo and the number 63, the latter signifying Lamborghini’s birth years as a builder of exotic cars. Lest you misconstrue that we’re solely speaking about bright colors here, take heart: The Streetfighter does indeed boast V-4 engine architecture; to the tune of its 1,103cc Desmosedici Stradale engine, which produces all of 208 horsepower via a dry clutch.

We very recently reported about Audi’s decision to enter Formula 1 as an engine supplier in coming seasons, which wasn’t the last news about motorsport innovation coming from the quad-rings corps. There’s more, in the form of the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 Rally Car, to use its full name, an electrified dune skimmer designed for some very punishing events, such as the 2023 Dakar Rally, where this latest competition Audi will be in the field. Audi says the looks are intended, somehow, to evoke a true Audi immortal, the ur-quattro that sliced its way through the rally ranks beginning in the late 1970s with all-wheel drive. What do you think?

Practical considerations abound: The E2’s composite body is lighter, wider and more aerodynamic than its predecessor’s, with aero considerations proving to be critical on long, high-speed runs through the bush. The EV propulsion system used here is something of a hybrid, through which an energy converter uses a small ICE linked to a generator, augmented by a battery pack and a pair of high-voltage drive motors, one at either end of the vehicle. One important consideration in this branch of motorsport is changing tires under inhospitable conditions in the middle of nowhere, a process promised to be eased via the use of removable body panels that conceal spare tires, plus new 10-spoke Rotiform wheels that are a lot more grip-friendly for rally crews looking to make a rapid change.

Toyota has announced plans to expand its investment into a battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina, by an additional $2.5 billion to boost battery electric vehicle, or BEV, production, with the added benefit of 350 new jobs. The Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina facility is now in the site-work stage, aiming at a 2025 opening, where up to 2,100 employees will fabricate high-tech batteries for EVs and hybrids.

The North Carolina facility is financed through Toyota’s global investment of some $70 billion in EV and battery production. As one components, Toyota has earmarked $5.6 billion for new battery production, of which the Liberty plant will be a part. Wanna join the team? Point your browser here to view and apply for open positions at Liberty and elsewhere.

Offered across four trim levels, and with significant levels of powertrain output and occupant protection, the 2023 Nissan Rogue has just hit the showrooms, with pricing getting underway at a suggested $27,360 for the basic Rogue S model. With a 1.5-liter variable-compression turbocharged engine offered across the board of all model ranges, the Rogue produces the most gasoline-fueled torque of any SUV in its class.

Opt for the Rogue Platinum and the SL Premium Package, and you’ll add standard Amazon Alexa voice-command technology for a variety of interior functions. The 2023 Rogue also boasts the most standard safety features in its class, with Nissan Safety Shield 360 standard across all grades. Speaking of which, the Rogue lineup maxes out for 2023 with the Rogue Platinum AWD, with standard navigation, which starts at $38,640.

Just yesterday morning, I was working on a story that peripherally discussed what happened the last time Audi got involved in a major racing series in a very big way. That produced the decade-plus of dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the World Endurance Champion, where a brace of successive Audi prototypes with turbocharged diesel power laid waste to everything in sight. It was reminiscent of how, a couple of decades farther back, when the emergence of Audi’s quattro technology utterly transformed the top tier of global rallying, and made AWD viable for performance cars.

Audi stunned everybody last week by announcing its newest foray, into the star chamber of Formula 1 with an all-new engine and energy-recovery system – to say nothing of a new chassis – beginning in 2026. It makes infallible sense, given the number of new Audis that are sold each year in North America and the added fact that F1 is now a U.S.-owned entertainment property. Audi, you will note, is the descendant of several premium German cars that were formed into a single operating unit, including Auto Union, who traded Grand Prix domination with Mercedes-Benz during the 1930s. Which begs the question: When the Silver Arrows of yore return to the F1 arena, will they be clad in shades of charcoal and scarlet instead?