duPont REGISTRY December 2023

The new year is right around the corner and instead of waxing poetic about the past, it has me wanting to talk about the future. If you haven’t noticed, it’s arrived. Electrification and automation are turning the automotive industry upside down and giving it a vigorous shake. The high-end market, though, is where the best innovation is reaching consumer hands, and that’s our sandbox.

This month’s cover car reflects that. The Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is the climactic electric model from the pinnacle sub-brand of an apex automaker. It’s what you get when no expense is spared marrying innovation, luxury, and exclusivity. From the Hyperscreen that spans A-pillar to A-pillar to the trademark two-tone paint and monobloc wheels to the onboard silver-plated champagne flutes, the Maybach EQS is unique in its lavishness. It’s also blessed with more power than the standard EQS: 649 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque from twin motors and a total range of over 300 miles. A worthy cover model indeed that we spend more time talking about on page 12.

On a different end of the spectrum is our first taste of the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray (page 24), which has divided the Corvette faithful more than the switch from pop-up headlights to fixed. Not only does the E-Ray introduce electrification to the platform in the form of a traditional hybrid setup, it ipso facto adds all-wheel drive due to the electric propulsion living entirely on the front axle. If you’re screaming “Heresy!”, we suggest you sit in one while it takes the mighty Z06 in the quarter mile. (They’re actually very close, but the E-Ray looks a lot faster doing it.)

In addition to these two electric iconoclasts, we have many more new models reaching showrooms in 2024. Before the ball drops, check out our guide on what new cars are coming in 2024 on page 48. Again, it’s another year of the future being pulled forward with automakers adopting and evolving electrification in every way, shape, and form.

To be honest, I lied about not wanting to reflect on the past, at least in regards to one car: the Audi TT. This year is the last one for the little convertible we all love, so we’re taking one last ride in the latest and last TT on page 34. On sale continuously since 1998, the tiny Bauhaus roadster deserves so much credit for proving Audi had a sense of style. Sharing much of its parts with the Volkswagen Golf, the TT is also the best example of badge engineering that we’ve ever seen.

With New Years comes Christmas (and Hannakah and Kwanzaa and Festivus), and we wouldn’t let you go without presenting our incredible holiday gift guide for the well heeled and generous (page 74).We’ve gone out of our way to include gifts for a wide variety of interests and hobbies, so there’s something for everyone.

We ourselves, the duPont REGISTRY family, have experienced a lot of change this year and are looking forward to new opportunities in 2024. We won’t forget what got us here, though – bringing the best performing and most luxurious automobiles to your doorstep every month with the world’s greatest platform for buying and selling these amazing machines. So peace, love, and happiness to you and yours, and we’ll see you on the other side.