The first official creation of coachbuilder Pietro Frua, this custom-bodied 1946 Fiat 1100 Spider will be featured at this weekend’s Hampton Court Concours of Elegance. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing.
Today’s headlines:
+ Hurricane Harvey and its catastrophic aftermath likely destroyed more than one million vehicles, more than any other natural disaster in U.S. history, according to early estimates. More at the Detroit Free Press.
+ Canada-based Magna International, a leading automotive supplier, is rolling out its own self-driving auto system called MAX4, which enables Level 4 autonomous control. More at ZDNet.
+ Toyota will unveil two new vehicles leading into the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month: a next-gen Land Cruiser concept and a C-HR Hy-Power crossover concept. More at Motor Trend.
+ Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has denied reports that he told McLaren management he will stay with the team only if it ends its engine contract with Honda. More at Racer.
+ Cummins has beaten Tesla to the punch in introducing a prototype electric semi-tractor with a 140 kWh battery pack, a 75,000 lb. gross vehicle rating, and a range of 100 miles. More at Automobile.
+ Kia expects to pay around $890 million in back wages and post a third-quarter operating loss after a Korean court ruled in favor of workers in a landmark labor dispute. More at Reuters.
+ As long expected, for 2018 Harley-Davidson has quietly discontinued the V-Rod, its Porshe-developed high-tech sportbike series introduced in 2000. More at The Drive.
+ Coachbuilder Pietro Frua’s first product, a custom-bodied Fiat 1100 spider, will star at the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance in Molesey, Surrey, England this weekend. More at Hemmings Daily.
+ A group of 17 automotive engineers with Motor City chassis backgrounds have left Apple Inc. to join Zoox Inc., a Silicon Valley autonomous car startup. More at Bloomberg Technology.
+ Hendrick Motorsports announced that Chase Elliott will switch to the number 9 made famous by his father Bill Elliott in 2018, while rookie William Byron will take over the number 24. More at NBC Sports.
Review the previous Executive Briefing from August 28 here.
Photo courtesy Hampton Court Concours of Elegance.
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