Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

We'll start off on a luxury high note in the all-new Lincoln Nautilus... Then, see how complimentary upfits keep performance gains in line... We'll see what it takes to 3D print a hypercar... Then, it's a lot of car for not a lot of money, the Hyundai Elantra...

So, come drive with us, next!

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First, there was the wheel.

Then, the tire.

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Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

JOHN: Stay with me now...the midsize Lincoln Nautilus SUV arrived for 2019 as essentially a name change for the Ford Edge-based MKX, which was in its 2nd generation.

It then quickly got a big update for 2021, taking on a whole new styling theme.

And now, for 2024, the second generation of the actual Nautilus is setting sail.

So, let's see if it will be a big boom in sales for Lincoln.

♪ ♪ The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus is the first Nautilus to actually be all-new.

Since its days of being a rebadged and restyled MKX, and gussied up Ford Edge are gone, we arrived at our early California drive time with some naturally high expectations.

Now, there was a time when vehicle press releases bragged about items like horsepower, acceleration times and fine Corinthian leather; these days we get things like the in-vehicle user experience, screen sizes, vegan materials, and now Lincoln Rejuvenate, which is a "multi-sensory in-cabin experience including lighting and digital scenting."

And it is that in-cabin sanctuary that Lincoln is definitely most proud of.

Chances are you've already heard about the immense 48 inch screen which stretches almost the full-width of the windshield, integrated into a housing on the tabletop-style dash that flows smoothly into the door panels; they've even given the steering wheel more of an oval shape, just so you can see the screens better.

And there's another screen too, an 11 inch tablet-style touchscreen above the center console for controlling it all.

Fortunately, it all manages to look more classy than over-the-top techy, thanks to crystal-inspired details, subtle ambient lighting, piano-key shifter and a 28-speaker sound system that turns the interior into a recording studio control room.

Creature comforts are essentially everywhere you look in the cabin, including the rear seat.

The Nautilus now rides on a different chassis than the current Ford Edge and will be assembled in China.

It remains a midsize 5-passenger utility, though overall length is about 3.0 inches longer than before.

And, Nautilus also has more presence.

The face is tall with slim headlights and finely detailed grillwork.

Door handles are beautifully integrated into the beltline, providing smooth uninterrupted door panels without going the pop out handle route that many others have taken.

Wheel sizes range from 19 to 22 inches, and the roof is painted black on all but the base Premiere model.

Highlights in the rear include standard dual chrome exhaust outlets integrated into the bumper, full width LED taillights, and lighted Lincoln script.

Behind the standard power liftgate is 35.2 cubic-feet of cargo space; folding the rear seatbacks allows for a sizable 68.8 cubic-feet of gear.

The standard engine is a 2.0 liter turbo I4 rated at 250 horsepower, but a hybrid version of that 2.0 liter adds 100 kilowatt of electric assistance for a 310 horsepower combined output.

With the hybrid comes a beltless eCVT, or electronic continuously variable transmission.

The standard turbo, on the other hand, works with a traditional 8-speed automatic.

All-wheel-drive is standard on all.

No word on if an EV version is in the works, or if Lincoln's EV plans will revolve around launching entirely new vehicles like the Mustang Mach E-based Lincoln Star concept shown back in '22.

The latest edition of BlueCruise hands-free driving is included, providing better lane positioning, and suggesting lane changes when appropriate.

It worked great, though most of our early drive time involved keeping our hands on that oddly shaped steering wheel, relying on power from the hybrid powertrain.

And, other than some touchy brakes, it was a sublime driving experience.

Power from the hybrid always seemed to be readily available, whether for getting off the line quickly or up to speed for highway merging.

Handling performance was more than adequate, with plenty of grip in corners and only moderate amounts of body roll.

And that huge screen was not as distracting as we were expecting.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings with the standard turbo are 21 City, 29 Highway, and 24 combined; the hybrid comes in at 30 City, 31 Highway, and 30 Combined.

So, its Energy Impact Score is slightly better than average, using 9.9 barrels of oil yearly, while emitting 4.8 tons of CO2.

Pricing starts with Premiere trim at $52,010; from there it's a reasonable step up to Reserve trim at $56,345, but a substantial leap to top Black Label which starts at $75,845.

The hybrid powertrain is only $1,500 more, and we think well worth it.

Big changes have happened for 2024 in the Lincoln Nautilus world, and from our experience they're all good.

It's bigger, quieter, more luxurious, and techier without being in your face about it.

We love it when Lincoln actually puts more Lincoln into their vehicles, and we expect to see more of the same in the future.

♪ ♪ Over four decades, MotorWeek has toured our share of automotive design studios and assembly plants.

And the end-to-end process is basically the same as it was a hundred years ago.

Well, one young American automaker is out to change all that, with hypercars, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence- aided design is just a teaser.

Our Stephanie Hart got an inside look at the coming revolution.

♪ ♪ STEPHANIE HART: It's pretty incredible to be here inside the Divergent factory in Los Angeles, California.

Not many people are allowed back here, let alone allowed to record video, because it's top secret, so we are really lucky.

You're looking at the 21C, the world first AI-designed, 3D-printed hypercar.

LUKAS CZINGER: It features many high-performance specs.

For example, 1,350 horsepower; the world's first 3D-printed gearbox, 7-speed electronically actuated; and in-line seating, so you see pilot in the front and co-pilot in the rear, just like a fighter jet.

STEPHANIE: Very cool!

This V8 hybrid hypercar goes from 0-60 in under 2.0 seconds, giving us a rolling peak into how vehicles could be manufactured in the future.

LUKAS: The 21C is the world's fastest production vehicle today on the track.

It's got track records at Laguna Seca and at Circuit of the Americas.

It also represents the first vehicle that is digitally engineered, so generative design with the help of AI has actually engineered the structures, the chassis, the suspension, the frames that make up the structural backbone of the 21C.

STEPHANIE: Lukas and Kevin Czinger founded Czinger Vehicles in 2019 after the father-son duo invented a very advanced set of manufacturing tools.

As a result, several cars were created, including the 21C hypercar.

Globally, nothing like this had ever been done before, completely reimagining how to design and build a car.

KEVIN CZINGER: If the auto industry is still in the typewriter era, which it is from a manufacturing standpoint, those tools are like Mac desktop publishing.

Instead of using tooling of a car, you use a digital system that generates a structure and prints that structure and assembles it.

STEPHANIE: Everything about it sounds, looks, and feels very futuristic.

A kind of Westworld for cars.

Many of us are familiar with plastic printing, but metal 3D printing is fundamentally different.

Components of the 21C were 3D printed right here; that's one of five 3D print rooms here at the Divergent factory.

Let's head inside and take a closer look.

Think of metal 3D printing as a highly advanced laser welding process.

To see it in action, up close and personal, is really fascinating.

LUKAS: So, you have powdered metals, like aluminums or steels.

In our case, a patented aluminum, meaning we have actually created that material.

It's in powder form and it sits on a print bed flat, and you've got your lasers overhead.

In our case, we have twelve lasers.

They're melting that powder and the rate at which they melt that powder layer by layer, like a cake, a layer cake, essentially makes that part.

You actually don't need a tooling and fixturing stage at all.

So, as soon as you release that design in the digital world, and you have a CAD image of that chassis part, suspension, frame, etc., you are able to print it immediately and assemble it immediately.

STEPHANIE: On a bigger scale, such revolutionary new techniques could completely change car design and manufacturing as we know it.

As you may expect, Czinger is working with several OEMs, including Mercedes and Aston Martin, with more on the horizon.

STEPHANIE: What is your ultimate goal here?

DAVID O'CONNELL: It's sort of this holy trinity of technology, performance and design that's all rolled up into one package, and that's what the 21C and V Max represent.

STEPHANIE: A limited 80 car run of Czinger's 21C and 21C V Max, the high downforce version, are now being delivered to customers.

But, this high-performance luxury, American-rooted brand has big plans to go beyond hypercars one day, infusing the 21C's flashy, feisty, and futuristic spirit into every car segment, forever changing what's inside what we drive.

JOHN: With great power comes great responsibility, and when it comes to adding power to your engine, that means being responsible for complimentary modifications.

Logan McCombs shares his methods on MotorWeek's "Your Drive!"

♪ ♪ LOGAN MCCOMBS: Last season, we talked about power adders like cold air intakes, turbos, and superchargers.

Let's say, you've gone ahead and done one of those modifications, you're happy with the results, but now you're noticing other parts of your vehicle are needing improvement.

So, what are other modifications that you can do to accommodate these power gains?

One of the first places that you can look is your wheel and tire setup.

With a wider tire, you have a better contact patch which will allow you to have much more grip, whether you're spirited driving or going around the track.

Another thing to look at is going to be your tire compound, whether that may be a softer summer tire or a harder all-season tire, each of these are going to give you a different feel while driving your vehicle.

Then, you want to look at the type of wheel that you may choose to go with.

Whether that may be a more stylish wheel, or a more track-oriented wheel that has less rotating mass because it's lighter.

Now that we've addressed your wheel and tire setup, let's talk about suspension and the benefits of upgrading these parts.

One of my favorite places to start is with springs and coilovers.

Both of these are great options that lower the center of gravity of your vehicle, which gives you a better feel when cornering.

The next thing you can look at is sway bars and under-chassis bracing, which increase the structural rigidity of the vehicle, while also giving you a better feel and less body roll.

Next is your fuel system.

One of the first things you want to look at is your injectors and fuel pump to make sure that you can keep up with the demand that the engine is requiring for the amount of fuel that it needs.

Without a sufficient fuel pump or injectors, your vehicle won't be able to run correctly.

Then, there's your fuel lines.

Your fuel lines are very important because they're what carry the fuel from the back of the car to the front.

Without the proper setup and diameter of fuel lines, your car won't be able to deliver on the power that it's trying to make.

And your fuel filter.

The fuel filter is one of the most important things throughout your fuel system, because without it, you'd have dirt and debris clogging your injectors and causing idling issues.

These are just some of the modifications that will help you create a much more balanced vehicle to achieve the goal that you're looking for.

If you have any questions or comments, reach out to us, right here at MotorWeek .

JOHN: Take a walk on the wild side and join us for a spin on the Quick Side!

♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: If you want all-out Corvette performance, anyone would tell you to go for the Z06, and it's the 'Vette we'd buy, if cash was of no concern.

But most of us do have other bills to pay.

Fortunately, you don't need Z06 tuning for serious Corvette credibility, and Chevrolet was kind enough to send us this 2024 Stingray Coupe 3LT to remind us.

It does start with the familiar snarl of a midship-mounted, naturally-aspirated 6.2 liter V8 engine, rated at 495 and 470 with the optional Performance Exhaust.

That exhaust is part of the optional Z51 Performance Package, which also includes some serious track hardware: Z51-specific suspension, a heavy-duty cooling system, an electronic limited-slip differential, Brembo brakes and a staggered setup of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires; 245 fronts and 305 rears.

With a stance like that, a trip to Mason Dixon Dragway was in order.

Launch Control on, we clocked our best 0-to-60 sprint at 2.9 seconds.

Quick shifts from the 8-speed automatic kept the powerband on, barely tapering by the end of the 1320, giving us a quarter-mile time of 11.3 seconds at 121 miles per hour.

Putting this Corvette through our cones was like embedding Patrick Mahomes in his hometown J.V.

squad, no challenge at all.

This Stingray juked and sidestepped through the gates with expertise.

BRIAN ROBINSON: Having just had a ton of track time in a Corvette Z06 I fully set myself up for a letdown here in the standard Stingray, and that is just not the case.

This car has so much performance, and then at the end of a long track day, you can just dial up Tour mode and have a nice relaxing drive home.

This car really is the total package.

JESSICA: And even during the low-speed ride home, the interior will have you feeling like Maverick with its fighter jet-esque cockpit, driver-centric and armed for any dogfight.

The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette starts around $70,000, working up to $82,000 for a 3LT or $95K for one like ours.

That's a fair chunk of change, but reasonably short of the Z06's six-figure price tag and reasonably all you'll ever need.

And we'll have all you need with more QuickSpins...soon!

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: We're back in the Terracotta saddle this week, bringing you the second update on our 2024 Mazda CX-50.

Yes, we're still raving about this handsome interior, which has been quite comfortable over the last 3,500 miles, ticking the digital odometer up 6,500 miles altogether.

Speaking of digital, the infotainment has proved to be a love/hate ordeal.

Mastery of the center command dial takes some work, but once you're there it's relatively intuitive, and keeps eyes up and forward.

But we really dig these seats, firm and supportive.

Equally firm is the steering.

One staffer described it as "Euro taut," meaning smooth, deliberate, and very sporty.

We attribute that to Mazda's trickling down of sports car DNA into their products, which this compact utility incorporates nicely.

When it comes to driving dynamics, Mazda has always leaned to the sporty side of the spectrum, and this CX-50 is no exception.

A lot of SUVs get sloppy when you pick up the pace on curvy roads; but this CX-50 not only keeps its composure, it asks for more.

And who are we to say no?

The turbocharged 2.5 liter inline-4 is responsive, thanks in-part to the 6-speed automatic and standard all-wheel-drive system its tethered to.

Horsepower is rated at 256 with 93 octane fuel, which is what we used to bring our current efficiency to 24.9 mpg.

Mazda claims a little less power on Regular 87, down to 227 horsepower.

Just keep that in mind.

It's hard to keep the CX-50 out of our mind; but fortunately, we have plenty more in the fleet, like our 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander, which we'll feature on the next MotorWeek Long-Term Road Test Update.

JOHN: For those of you who write in every week bemoaning the fact that all we seem to do around here is test incredibly expensive cars and EVs that only the very well to do can afford, this one's for you.

It's a commuter and budget friendly mainstay from Hyundai, the compact Elantra sedan.

And, it has been nicely updated for 2024.

♪ ♪ We clearly do enjoy driving high-performance machines and ultra-luxury rides around here, but like most of you, when it comes time to drive home at the end of a long workday, we do so in something much more practical and affordable, like this 2024 Hyundai Elantra sedan.

If you're thinking the front end has gotten more aggressive, you're right.

Hyundai calls it a "Shark Nose" theme, and we're guessing they were thinking more Great White than Hammerhead, though Megamouth shark would also apply.

It helps for a low and wide look; more substantial than the typical compact.

Other additions for '24 include slimmer daytime running lights, revised stainless steel Hyundai emblem, reshaped front fenders, sport sedan-style rear diffuser with silver trim; a parametric pattern added to the C-Pillar, and new LED taillights that take up a lot more space on the highly sculpted decklid.

Plus, new wheel designs in sizes ranging from 15 to 18 inches.

Standard engine in SE, SEL, and Limited grades is this naturally aspirated 2.0 liter I4 with 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque.

Even with no hybrid assistance, it gets substantial Government Fuel Economy Ratings of 31 City, 40 Highway, and 34 Combined; we averaged a great 38.6 miles per gallon of Regular.

Those high fuel economy numbers mean acceleration times are pretty high as well.

It was in no particular hurry to get off the line at our test track, as after a slight jolt of power, it felt pretty sluggish going down the track, taking us a lengthy 9.4 seconds to hit 60 miles per hour.

Hyundai's Intelligent Variable Transmission has some realistic simulated gear shifts built in, and they not only provided the feel of a true automatic, but kept engine noise from becoming overbearing.

And while this 2.0 liter may not be a house-on-fire off the line, it has no problem keeping up with traffic, and feels like just the perfect amount of power for a practical and safe commuter car.

There are other engine options too.

Two choices if you want to go faster, a 1.6 liter turbo with 201 horsepower in the Elantra N Line, and a 276 horsepower turbocharged 2.0 liter for the Elantra N; plus, one with even better fuel economy, a 1.6 liter hybrid with a 139 horsepower total output.

And despite some significant understeer, there was good feel through the cones of our handling course, both in steering and chassis feedback.

We wouldn't quite call it "point and shoot," but it responded to inputs fairly quickly, with only moderate body roll.

All-in-all, when it comes to performance, it doesn't claim to bring a whole lot to the table, but does clearly overachieve with what it does bring.

And Hyundai is always overachieving when it comes to packing in features, yet has found a way of keeping things refreshingly simple with a good mix of touchscreen and manual controls.

Lots of space too, both up front in the surprisingly wide front buckets, and in the rear bench with ample room for three.

Updates for all Elantra interiors include softer materials on the door panels, upgraded instrumentation and additional charging ports, plus a surround view monitor and new H-Tex simulated leather for Limited trim.

Elantra pricing starts with an SE at $22,775, the SEL comes in at $24,725, Limited begins at $28,215, and the sporty N Line starts at $29,615.

If you're interested in the hybrid, base Blue starts at $27,400 with Limited at $30,600.

Some might say there's not a whole lot that's earth shaking about the 2024 Hyundai Elantra, but that's mostly why we like it so much.

When it comes to just delivering good, basic transportation with a high dose of unexpected amenities, Hyundai delivers once again.

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time, when we'll see if the all-new Toyota Tacoma is worthy of all the hype.

Then, it's pedal down in a sport sedan favorite, the Acura TLX Type S. Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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TireRack.Com is proud to support MotorWeek !

First, there was the wheel.

Then, the tire.

"We'll call it TireRack."

Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

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