Toyota GR Corolla Is Finally Here: RAC #66

It's podcast time! This week, it's back to the traditional format of Bruce and Smith talking the latest auto news. This is truly rambling about cars.

We start by going through all of this year's Jeep Easter Safari concepts. The brand is showing ten vehicles, but three of them are from the 2021 SEMA Show. Among the seven new creations, we love the one the company calls Bob the most. It's a Gladiator with a shortened cargo bed and absolutely no doors, creating a very cool-looking truck. 

The other intriguing concept this year is the Magneto 2.0. Jeep takes the model from last year's Easter Safari and turns up the power by a whole lot. It's now making 625 horsepower (466 kilowatts) and 850 pound-feet (1,152 Newton-meters) of torque, versus 285 hp (213 kW) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm) for the previous iteration. The company claims this vehicle can reach 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in just 2.0 seconds, which seems ludicrously quick for a Wrangler with no doors.

Gallery: Jeep Bob Concept

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We move on to digging into the new Mercedes-AMG SL 43, which is the entry-level version of the roadster. It packs some interesting tech, though. The turbocharger for the 2.0-liter four-cylinder uses an electric motor to get the turbine spinning. From there, the exhaust gases take over like a traditional design. In theory, this should eliminate turbo lag.

We spend the entire second half of the show talking about the GR Corolla. It's a car both of us really like judging by the specs on paper. The big sticking point is the price, which remains a mystery. We'd like the hot hatch to start in the low $30,000 range and for the hotter Circuit Edition to be just shy of $40,000.

Previously On Rambling About Cars:

Jumping Subarus, Weird Race Cars, RVing With Rockstars: RAC #65

Ferrari Purosangue Teased, Maserati Grecale Debuts: RAC #64

Rambling About Cars Preview:

We have a guest scheduled for next week's show. If you have any tire-related questions, send them to podcast@motor1.com.

Where To Listen:

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