Italian designer Umberto Palermo has founded a boutique car maker dubbed Mole that will build exclusive electric vehicles in extremely limited quantities. The company’s first two products — called Valentino and Luce, respectively — will be presented to the public in June during the Turin Auto Show.
Commissioned by a well-heeled customer, the Valentino is based on the Tesla Model S. Mole has fitted the electric sedan with a full carbon fiber body kit that includes a deeper front bumper with a splitter and Y-spoke accents that are conspicuously similar to the ones Lamborghini uses on its breed of high-end supercars. Red trim embedded in the headlights, 22-inch alloys, and a sprinkling of huge vertical Mole emblems further set the Valentino apart from the Model S.
Out back, the Valentino gets Mole-specific tail lamps with black bezels, an additional pair of Y-spoke accents, and an oversized air diffuser. In other words, it’s not for those looking to keep a low profile. Interior pictures haven’t been published yet, but it’s safe to assume that precious few components in the cabin still carry a Tesla parts number.
Power for the Valentino is provided by an all-electric drivetrain that sends 421 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. Interestingly, the sedan can drive for nearly 315 miles on a single charge, about ten miles farther than even the most capable S 90D.
The Luce takes a different approach to electric mobility. It’s a sleek-looking two-door coupe built on a tubular chassis, and with a body crafted out of a composite material that’s entirely recyclable. It gets an electric drivetrain that transfers 288 horsepower and 272 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels, figures that are more than sufficient in a car that tips the scale at just 2,600 pounds. The drivetrain’s origins weren’t revealed.
Read more: Cardi’s Concept 442 is the sci-fi Aston Martin of our dreams
The Valentino is a one-off for the time being, but enthusiasts with enough cash can persuade Mole to build a second example. As for the Luce, it’s just a concept but it signals the company’s intent to manufacture high-end limited-edition cars. Mole’s product plan calls for the production of anywhere between 30 and 90 examples of each model destined for Europe, Japan, and the United States. Be warned: coach-built Italian cars have never been cheap, and these likely won’t be the exception to the rule.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.