Auto Industry News: Elon Musk Flamethrower, Ranger Raptor Teaser, GMC Swap, and More
So, Elon Musk Is Selling Flamethrowers? You read that right. The man who is expected to save us all from the Earth melting, now sells flamethrowers. Elon Musk might have taken the “New Year, New Me” mantra a little far. But hey, with that much money, no one can tell you how to spend it. So while the Model 3 hits the streets (hopefully), old Lonny boy plays war. 20,000 Flamethrowers, to be exact, will be available for pre-order through Musk’s The Boring Company. Far from boring, but definitely illegal, right? Well, apparently, not. According to a tweet from Musk, via the ATF, flamethrowers that fire flames measuring less than 10 feet are “A-OK” to buy and sell. Leave it to Musk to redefine the mid-life crisis. It’s got me scratching my head, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want one.
Thor ET-One
And speaking of Elon Musk, a Los Angeles startup is gunning for Tesla in the EV semi race, giving him a little taste of his own medicine. Tesla is expected to release more on their SEMI line later this year. For right now, we’ll stick to the videos speculative footage of it in action. Luckily for trucking companies in search of more options in this future market, the startup is coming out of the gate hot. Thor’s baseline prototype will have 100-mile charge and cost $150K. There is also a reported 300-mile model for $250K. Sure, it’s not the most subtle upsell, but it’s always good to see EV competition. There are no exact dates, but the ET-One is expected to beat the Semi to the market. And while we’re celebrating the future of innovative minds, check out these young enthusiasts.
’86 GMC Swap
Let’s keep the big trucks rolling with a gorgeous build by Perkins Diesel of Missouri. Feast your eyes on this cherry red 1986 GMC that looks as though it could have been purchased yesterday. If you can believe it, this truck came into their shop all rusted up with no hood OR bed. How did they do it? Hundreds of hours of labor. The ‘86 has been swapped from the factory rig to a 6.6-liter LML Duramax. So, of course, not only does this dreamboat look the part, but it roars scrumptiously. Along with the engine is a super dependable Allison transmission. As if what was on the block wasn’t enough, the performance got even more of a boost. Perkins installed an EZ-Lynk box, custom tuned with PPEI software, to up the truck in HP and torque. Knowing what it is capable of, they knew they had to pimp it out with Gladiator tires and Fuel Off-Road wheels. The inside is just as pretty, complete with an all late model dash. Now that’s how you put contemporary flare on a classic.
Another Ford Ranger Raptor Teaser
It’s so close, I can almost taste it… And it tastes like dirt. Ford Thailand released a teaser confirming that the Ranger Raptor is very much real. And it can do all the sweet stuff we expected it to do. It runs through rivers, climbs the rockiest terrain, and bombs over sand dunes (because Australia just loooves showin’off). Though Ford keeps tight lips about this sort of stuff, a US release has not been formally denied. So this is enough to have people stoked. Plus the Ranger Raptor’s international mysteriousness has made it THAT much cooler. More details are expected in February when it starts it’s run in Thailand. Til then, we’ve just got to sit tight.
Around the Circuit
Meet the driver behind the new Wonder Woman truck at Monster Jam. In her youth, 24-year-old Collete Davis raced go-carts and Red Bull GRC. But then she took a huge step up in the monster truck arena and hasn’t looked back. The long-running and beloved supersport event was in need of some more girl power and Collete answered the call. Now along with Krysten Davis of the Grave Digger dynasty, she looks to usher in a new era in the Triple Threat Challenge. But we’ll let her driving do the talking.
In other racing news, Chip Ganassi captured his 200th career victory on Sunday in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Ryan Briscoe, Ganassi’s driver of the No. 67 car brought home the gold. The rest of the team didn’t do too bad either, as one of them led for all but 7 of 793 laps.
Only 20 days until the big show at Daytona, but who’s counting, right?
