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

Its "throwback styling" meets "modern day performance" in the Nissan Z NISMO...

Followed up by a "Your Drive" tour of Giuseppe's garage... We'll trace back burnt rubber to find an almost mythical sports car... Ending on an SUV built with extra weekend utility, the Mazda CX-70...

So, come drive with us, next!

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Then, the tire.

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Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

JOHN: The Z returned to the Nissan lineup in a big way last year, using a design that drew inspiration from previous Z sport coupes, while packing a twin-turbo V6 engine with more power than ever before.

But leave it to NISMO to make it even better by boosting every aspect of the Z's performance.

So, time for us to open up the next chapter of the legendary book of Z.

♪ ♪ If you've got a need for speed, then stay tuned for this track test, which is brought to you by the letter Z.

It's the 2024 Nissan Z NISMO, meaning it's not only the latest Z, but one that's been amped up with performance goodies derived from Nissan's MotorSport expertise.

Looking every bit the track hero, the NISMO gets a completely different front treatment with a longer nose and a revised grille with thinner mesh.

Vertical winglets were also added at the corners to manipulate airflow.

The rear fascia also gets reshaped to reduce drag, while the rear spoiler is both taller and wider, extending out onto the fenders for additional downforce.

And finally, the side skirts were reshaped to reduce lift; all of it done cohesively to not just maximize downforce, but to deliver better balance overall.

With some thin red line accents to enhance the visuals.

19 inch wheels are both wider and lighter, with the rears wearing 285/35 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx performance tires similar to those on the Nissan GT-R.

Both the double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension have gotten a thorough reworking with unique dampers and stiffer springs, along with additional chassis bracing and retuned steering.

At Summit Point Motorsports Park's Jefferson Circuit, the NISMO Z did show great balance, but it does still feel like you're sitting over the rear tires and aiming that long front end around the track.

The front tires could still use a little more grip, but we were in total control with good communication from every component of the car.

Throw in the nicely weighted and responsive steering, and this is one very fun car to man-handle around a racetrack.

More horsepower is always appreciated by us, and going from 400 to 420 may not seem like that big of a deal, but the torque increase from 350 to 384 pound-feet is more significant.

It all helped this 3.0 liter twin-turbo V6 be much more responsive on track, with plenty of reserve available when we needed it.

Engine cooling has been upgraded and an additional Sport + drive mode added; the exhaust sounds good for a 6-cylinder, but it could be louder.

Despite being a track-focused car, no manual transmission is available, as the NISMO comes exclusively with a 9-speed automatic.

That seemed like a bummer going in, but on track, shifts were quick and smooth, and the transmission did a decent job of anticipating proper gearing for coming out of corners.

Shift paddles were responsive too, but helped mostly when it came to downshifting; though the twin-turbo's broad, confidence inspiring power band allowed us to worry less about whether we were in the right gear or not.

NISMO front brake rotors are larger by 1.0 inch and stopped us from 60 in just 94 feet, while being smooth and consistent out on the track.

In straight-line acceleration runs at Mason Dixon Dragway the NISMO launched aggressively, and was a real handful until it shifted into second and calmed down a bit.

Despite the additional power, the 4.5 second trip to 60 was exactly the same that we got last year.

But, the NISMO did pick up the pace as we went down the track finishing the quarter in 12.8 seconds at 112 miles per hour.

Suspension is borderline too stiff for a street car, which means it's just right for enthusiasts, and there are some unique trim and logos inside to set it apart from lesser Zs.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 17 City, 24 Highway, and 19 Combined; we averaged a fine 19.6 miles per gallon of Premium.

That's only slightly worse than average for the Energy Impact Score, with 15.7 Barrels of Oil Consumption and 7.8 tons of CO2 Emissions annually.

Pricing for Z NISMO starts at $66,890, which is about 12-grand over a Z Performance.

We believe that Nissan has quite effectively captured the spirit of the original Z with this 7th gen reboot, and we very much appreciate the track focused upgrades found on this 2024 Nissan Z NISMO.

It kind of makes us think this is where the new Z should have been in the first place.

But regardless of how they got here, it's just good to know the Z is not just surviving, its thriving.

♪ ♪ JOHN: Great Britain is known for making some of the most iconic two-seat roadsters to ever tear down the tarmac.

But amidst the Aston Martins, Jags and Lotus' that we've driven over the years, there's another brand that has an equally unique story, TVR.

It's a story our own Roger Mecca learned about when he got behind the wheel of one of their most storied designs, one that has the looks, speed, style, and thrills...American car fans search for, but few ever find.

♪ ♪ ROGER MECCA: For every household name in European automotive history, there are many others that just never gained attention in the U.S. despite making sports cars that could leave their peers in a cloud of dust.

One of those brands is TVR, a British automaker you may not have heard of, but actually has been around for almost 80 years.

And in that time, this is perhaps their signature model, the Griffith 500: A car that, on paper, anyway, had everything necessary to get people's hearts racing.

Ralf Berthiez is the owner of this 1998 TVR Griffith 500, which he's owned since 2022 after importing it from England.

A longtime enthusiast, he'd been looking for a car that had the perfect combination of speed, good looks and driving comfort, while also being a little rare.

The Griffith checked all those boxes.

RALF BETHIEZ: It's a raw performance car.

I mean, it's kind of an in-between of a Viper and a Cobra.

I mean, it's just raw, and I like that.

I like that it's a something a little bit different.

Something, I don't see all over the place.

You know, you don't want to come out of the supermarket and say "okay, which Porsche Boxster is mine."

ROGER: But before we focus on the Griffith, I mentioned that many of you may not be familiar with the TVR brand.

Well, since they've been around since 1946, I could literally spend an entire episode on TVR's history.

So, in the interest of time, I'll summarize them this way: TVR is a boutique British sportscar company with a reputation for creating fast two-seaters with striking, often beautiful designs, but unfortunately, they've gone bankrupt three times.

Despite trying to make inroads to the U.S. several times, the brand never set up a consistent dealer network in America and few units ever made it here.

MotorWeek has reviewed only two TVRs in over 40 years: a 380 I Tasmin, as part of a 1985 review of imported convertibles, and a Ford V8-modified Grantura that was developed by, fittingly enough, American entrepreneur Jack Griffith.

Though, they haven't produced a car since 2006, TVR is...technically, still in existence and, reportedly, working on a new V8 coupe that's being developed in partnership with racing legend Gordon Murray and Cosworth.

But as luck would have it, the last model that was available to a few U.S. buyers was arguably the company's best: the Griffith 500.

It's a shame this car never took off in the United States because I think Americans would love it.

I mean, it's basically a muscle car.

It's got a big V8 up front, rear-wheel-drive, and then, of course, there's the noise.

(engine growls) With an all-fiberglass body, the Griffith 500 is roughly the same size and weight as a first-generation Miata.

But the Griffith's engine, well, that couldn't be more different.

It's a 5.0 liter, 340 horsepower all-aluminum V8 supplied by fellow British automaker Rover, an engine they got from Buick in 1969 and then used for decades.

As you can imagine, putting a big V8 in a car the same size as a Miata produces some dramatic results.

Even by today's standards, it's very quick.

0 to 60 is just over 4.0 seconds, and with 350 pounds of torque, you just touch that accelerator and you're off like a rocket.

When it came out, the Griffith was as fast, or faster, to 60 than any 911 model, the Corvette ZR-1, and only a few tenths slower than a Lamborghini Diablo!

As for Ferrari, only the mighty F40 was quicker.

Handling is very precise and there is immediate feedback through the steering wheel, and even the tiniest road variations instantly translated to your fingers.

There's no traction control, ABS or driver aids of any kind.

It's just you, and the car.

Inside It's comfortable and refined, with soft leather, posh seats, and an easy-to-read dash layout with refined gauges and wood trim, all angled toward the driver, making for a classic, understated British elegance.

It all adds up to an experience that, for people like Ralf, is something truly special.

RALF: At the end of the day, I really don't care who notices it.

It's for me, helps me smile, ah, during the day and the week, and that's what it's all about.

JOHN: Usually, MotorWeek's "Your Drive" experts stop by our garage to drop their know-how and advice.

But this week, we're taking our keep-it-running needs on the road.

Destination?

Giuseppe's garage!

♪ ♪ GIUSEPPE IATOROLA: Welcome to Giuseppe's garage.

This is where I grew up and learned all my skills, and today I'm going to show you some of our latest projects.

This right here is the number one gangster car of all time.

The 1941 Lincoln Continental from the movie "The Godfather."

This car, our plans are to restore the whole body... this way it looks like how it looked like after they shot the scene in the movie.

We want to keep all the bullet holes and all the broken glass.

We're going to bring it to some car shows and have some fun with it.

We've been searching for this car for a very long time.

This one day, I was doing research and it finally came up.

It was in a warehouse in Ohio.

And where we got it, it was in Minnesota.

Now, it's part of Giuseppe's family.

This is the custom wrecker truck.

Before we customized it, my father was going to junk yards to go get parts and all that, and believe it or not, it's got 310,000 miles on this truck.

It's got grey market Mercedes headlights, it's got an upside-down 1960 Cadillac grille, Mercedes bumpers, it's got '58 to 1960 Imperial door handles, it's got exhaust stacks, handmade bed, it's got 1954 or so Ford fenders that we just shrunk every which way, it's got a hand-fabricated wrecker, it's got 37 Chevy taillights, and, for the interior, it's just completely shagged.

The bodywork, the prep and the paint design, I did myself.

This 1941 67 Series Cadillac Limousine has been in the family for 20 years and it was used in my parents' wedding.

It's a low volume production car and it was in pretty good shape when they got it.

It just needed some chrome and paint work done.

These days, she spends most of her time in the garage, but we make sure we go out for a family cruise every once in a while.

This 1951 Chevy Two-Door Hardtop is another work in progress.

It's set up as a gasser for the drag strip with a 350 small-block and an Oldsmobile 9.0 inch rear axle.

I fabricated a hood scoop and a roll cage for it, and all the body work is finished with lead.

We put a 1955 Olds headlights and Pontiac GTO seats in it, but we're still searching for some custom 1953 Pontiac Station Wagon taillights.

This is a 1964 and a half Plymouth Barracuda.

It spent its whole time as a drag car.

They bought it new and raced it.

It ran 10.8 down the quarter-mile strip, and the engine we built for it is a 340 cubic inch with dual carburetors - 390 cfm.

It's got 578 lift on the cam, full roller of the valvetrain, and it's got fender well headers.

I hope you liked the garage tour.

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

JOHN: Bringing you the latest and greatest is what we do, and the fastest way there-- an all-new QuickSpin!

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: Despite recent adjustments to their electric vehicle plans, Volvo is still committed to releasing a complete lineup of EVs, including this 2025 EX90.

It splits duties as a 3-row flagship utility with the hybrid XC90; but one could argue that the EX90 is now the true flagship, fully embracing Volvo's upscale direction in form and function.

Starting with the latter, the 111 kilowatt-hour battery provides up to 300 miles of range, or 310 miles on 21 inch wheels.

All-wheel-drive is standard, with Base models putting out 408 horsepower, and Performance trims kicking out 517 ponies and 670 pound-feet of torque.

That's a lot of twist, and it felt great on the Southern California twisties, but that's not the only advantage to this silent method of propulsion.

Out here on the canyons.

You start pushing it a little bit...and again, this is a performance model so there is plenty of torque and, uh, it is quite quick.

It's not super, ludicrously quick, but there is plenty of power.

Believe me.

These roads are pretty smooth.

There's not a lot of imperfections.

They're not perfect, though.

I'm still impressed by how quiet it is in this cabin.

Volvo says, "It is the quietest cabin of any Volvo ever," and while I can't verify that specifically, it is really, supremely quiet... And silence perfectly complements the minimalist, sustainably sourced interior.

A 14.5 inch touchscreen houses most vehicle functions, including the side mirrors, steering wheel position and perhaps going a tad too far, even the headlights.

Those are the latest take on Volvo's "Thor's Hammer" motif, flanked by signature taillights modified to bank on the current light-ring trend.

The only obtrusion to the smooth and sleek body is the roof-mounted LIDAR sensor.

It currently only collects data, but soon to be integrated with the EX90's onboard safety suite through an over-the-air update.

The 2025 Volvo EX90 is expected to reach dealers later this year, starting around $80,000.

If you're looking for a big, luxurious, family EV, and are fond of Volvo's unique Scandinavian driving experience, this is it.

We'll have more to share and more QuickSpins...soon!

♪ ♪ Summer's fun is done and dusted, and school is weeks into a new term, but our Kia EV6 GT remains at the head of the class when it comes to performance-minded EVs.

It's also more than capable of making short work of typical daily activities.

We've gone on and on about how fun it is to drive this EV6 GT with great haste, but unlike a lot of performance cars, it has no issues driving at a leisurely pace.

Despite all the torque available at a moment's notice, the accelerator is calibrated in a way that it delivers the power smoothly and it doesn't feel like an on-off switch especially when set to ECO mode, which neutralizes even our lead-footed drivers.

Yes, at times, it is easy to forget there's 576 horsepower on tap here; we're 11 months into this ECO-minded mobile adventure and have driven another 1,500 miles since our last report, bringing the total to 12,500.

Regularly seeing over 220 miles available in the gauge display, we've gotten so accustomed to it overdelivering on its 206 mile rating that we don't even think twice about heading out on weekend adventures.

While, we've mentioned the upgraded brake's neon calipers that are fitted to this high-performance EV6 GT, we probably haven't talked enough about how they actually work, and they work incredibly well; a very natural feel along a wide range of settings for the amount of regen you want, from minimal to one-pedal driving.

They add to the overall competent and willing feel of the EV6 GT.

It's one of the best attainable performance cars available today, regardless of powertrain, and it doesn't even come from a legacy performance brand.

We'll slow the pace down a bit with a look at our Honda Accord sedan on the next MotorWeek Long-Term Road Test Update!

JOHN: Mazda shook up the 3-row crossover scene in a big way last year with their inline-six-powered CX-90.

It is the kind of highly functional, surprisingly luxurious, and entertaining sport utility that only Mazda could deliver for a reasonable price.

But not everyone needs a 3rd row, and that's what this first-ever CX-70 is all about.

♪ ♪ If you're trying to spot the differences between this new 2025 Mazda CX-70 and its CX-90 stablemate, well, you have to look at the details.

They share the same chassis, powertrains, and mostly the same interior, but with one less row of seating for the CX-70 for a maximum capacity of 5.

But a keen eye can catch the differences outside, though fortunately not too much as the CX-90 is one very smooth looking utility.

There is, however, unique black trim here on the CX-70, along with different wheels.

Both SUVs share the same 122.8 inch wheelbase, and a huge 39.4 inches of 2nd row seat leg room.

But on the 70, it's the cargo area behind that seat that gets an "active lifestyle" overhaul, with a huge underfloor gear sub-trunk where the folded 3rd row seats used to be.

Otherwise, there's 39.6 cubic-feet of flat floor cargo space in the CX-70, with a nice expansion to 75.3 cubic-feet with the 60/40 split rear seatbacks folded.

Style-wise, everything looks and feels nicely upscale and Audi-like inside the CX-70.

Great materials, and dash, and door panels have a highly sculpted vibe to them, perfect for the "stealth wealth" crowd who want to be pampered but not flaunt it.

The very comfortable front seats are a big part of that pampering.

Unlike just about every other new vehicle on the road today, Mazda's infotainment screen is not a touchscreen; you have to use the console-mounted dial for inputs, but the dashtop-mounted screen itself is very clear.

All three CX-70 powertrain choices include electric assistance of some measure, with an 8-speed automatic, and all-wheel-drive.

The standard engine is a mild-hybrid inline-6 turbo with 280 horsepower.

You can add more from there by going with a 340 horsepower Turbo S or taking the top PHEV plug-in hybrid route.

We've spent time with all of them, but for this test our focus is the PHEV, which combines a 2.5 liter I4 engine with a 68 kilowatt electric motor for a combined output of 323 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.

It offers up to 26 miles of strictly-EV driving with multiple drive mode settings, and you can charge the battery on the go.

At the test track, there was a nice punch of power off the line, with the electric motor adding a noticeable amount of thrust.

The CX-70 hit 60 in 6.1 seconds, three/tenths quicker than we saw from an inline-6 Turbo S CX-90.

Now, this 4-cylinder may not sound quite as good as the six, more high strung than powerful, but the whole PHEV package delivered smooth, seamless power the whole way down the track.

We finished out the quarter in 14.7 seconds at 86 miles per hour.

And, not surprising for a Mazda, the CX-70 handled our cone courses with ease.

Suspension was tight, steering was light, there was very little body roll for a vehicle this size, and it seemed to be urging us to add more throttle as we were going through the cones.

Though, stability systems will step in if you get too aggressive with inputs.

The brakes were not as sporty feeling, as the soft pedal had lots of travel.

Still, results were quite good, stopping us from 60 in 112 feet with no fade.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 56 Combined for the MPGe and 25 Combined for gasoline only.

Our loop yielded 24.7 miles per gallon of Premium.

With more plug-in time, some owners report 30 and above for typical commuting and around town duties.

Now, you may think not having a 3rd row would make the CX-70 cheaper.

Not so, the base CX-70 starts at $41,900.

That's $2,600 higher than the 3-row base CX-90.

The reason?

The base CX-70's higher trim level is better equipped.

PHEV pricing starts at $55,855.

And we think that's one reason Mazda has given different versions of the same vehicle different names.

That losing a row of seats in the CX-70 doesn't mean losing the rest of the premium attributes of the CX-90.

That includes adhering to the sporting spirit of their own MX-5 Miata.

Indeed, the 2025 Mazda CX-70 is more than just another 2-row crossover designed for "active lifestyles."

It's a premium utility where the driver remains a top priority.

We loved driving the CX-70 just as much as we did the CX-90.

So, depending on your lifestyle, we highly recommend both.

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 for a pickup built for America's wildlands, the GMC Canyon AT4X AEV, followed by the sharp and sport Hyundai Elantra N. Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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MotorWeek is proudly sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper, a nationwide network of stores and shops providing major brand auto and truck parts, and service from coast to coast, and in your local community.

Learn more at AutoValue.Com and BumperToBumper.Com.

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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