While the buzz around the 2016 Honda Civic is centered around the 300hp Type R variant, new details have emerged on a less-intense performance version.

Slotting between the grocery-getter Civic and the mental Type R will be a medium-hot version. While Australian press is calling it the Type S, a name last seen in the US on the Acura RSX, CL and TL, it will probably be billed as a Civic Si in the US.

According to Motoring.com.au, power will come from the turbocharged 1.5L inline-four announced at the concept unveiling at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. However, it will be tuned to output somewhere in the neighborhood of 200hp, 25 percent more than the 148hp version of the same mill used in the Japan-market Honda StepWGN. Torque, too, would be similarly bumped, from 150 lb-ft in the minivan application to 192 lb-ft.

Judging by past Civic Si models, the new one would likely come with a manual transmission only, perhaps the 6-speed stickshift offered as standard. With the cancellation of the Civic’s hybrid and CNG variants announced earlier this week, the model appears to be leaning heavily towards a performance-oriented direction, much like the Civics of the late 80s and early 90s, during with the Si trim was first introduced.

Live images by Brian Williams.

Toyota of Japan has released a heart-rending new ad just in time for Father’s Day.

The spot begins with a father welcoming his newborn daughter into his life, by affixing a “Baby on Board” sticker to his red Supra (or Celica XX, as it was called in Japan). What follows is the daughter’s life unfolding before the father’s eyes, a montage of childhood and adolescence depicted in a series of fast cuts both clever and touching.

The kicker comes halfway through the commercial when perspective shifts and suddenly all the events that took place in the first half are replayed, but this time from the daughter’s point of view. Scene for scene, every moment is matched in a series of shots that would make any movie director’s head spin.

Beautifully filmed, each shot takes no more than a second or two. However, a volume of emotions is conveyed in each one, especially during the surly teenage years when the daughter is embarrassed to see her harried dad shaving while driving, or when the audience gets a bonus reveal of what happened to the mittens the dad gifts to her.

We also see the progression of time in the dad’s choice of car, from Supra to Mark II (sold in the US as the Cressida) to Estima (aka Previa) to Prius to Corolla Fielder, the last of which arrives just in time for dad to stick another “Baby on Board” decal onto when the family’s next generation arrives.

Of course, the entire spot is an ad for the Toyota Safety Sense suite of electronic minders, which includes automatic brake activation when a rear-end collision is imminent. The tagline at the end reads, roughly translated, Love works invisibly, Toyota watches over you.” Watch the video below, and bring a bowl of chopped onions with you in case someone walks in on you.

Mercedes-Benz has announced the G500 4x4² concept that was presented earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show has been given the green light for production. On sale now in select markets, the extreme off-roader carries a base price of €226,100 (nearly $257,000) in its home country of Germany.
Based on the G500, the 4x4² stands much higher than a regular-production G-Class thanks to Unimog-like portal axles all around. The raised ground clearance gives the 4x4² impressive approach and departure angles of 52 and 54 degrees, respectively, and it is capable of driving through up to 39 inches of water.

The additional ground clearance is complemented by huge 22-inch beadlock wheels, skid plates on both ends, a sprinkling of carbon fiber trim and a deeper front bumper with three air dams. Buyers who don’t need beadlocks can replace them with a set of model-specific alloys.

Power comes from a new twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine that sends 422 horsepower and 450 lb-ft. of torque to all four wheels via an automatic transmission. Also found in the standard G500, the eight-cylinder is essentially a de-tuned version of the mill that powers the Mercedes-AMG GT and the C63.

The Mercedes-Benz G500 4x4² will be available in a few European countries and in a couple of Middle Eastern nations. At the time of writing it doesn’t look like Mercedes’ monstrous off-roader will be sold in the United States.

Live images by Ronan Glon.

England’s Morgan Motors has announced that it will travel to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to introduce a new concept called EV3.
The EV3 will preview the long-rumored all-electric version of the 3 Wheeler. Although full technical details won’t be published until next Thursday, Morgan hints its second battery-powered model will be powered by a 100-horsepower electric motor mounted over the rear wheel, and it will be able to drive for up to 150 miles on a single charge.

Where the pack is located is up in the air. The automaker explains the motor weighs less than the regular 3 Wheeler’s V-twin engine, which helps offset the weight added by the bulky battery.

The teaser image shows that the EV3′s rear end is almost identical to the 3 Wheeler’s, but pictures of the front end are being kept under wraps until the start of the Goodwood show. The 3 Wheeler’s flat-twin engine is mounted at the very front so Morgan has presumably re-designed the entire front end.

The EV3 is not just a design study, and a battery-powered 3 Wheeler will join the Morgan lineup before the end of next year. It will only be available on a built-to-order basis, meaning production figures will depend on how buyers like the idea of a retro-styled electric trike. How much of a premium it will carry over the regular model is up in the air.