title: Jason Newsted

text: In August 2016, after being out of the public eye for two years, Newsted formed a new acoustic group named Jason Newsted and the Chophouse Band, and had scheduled several performing dates throughout the fall.


title: Jason Newsted

text: A fan-made video showed the band (with Newsted on acoustic guitar and lead vocals) playing the Woody Guthrie classic "This Land Is Your Land."


title: Jason Newsted

text: In 2021 following the firing of original bassist David Ellefson, there was speculation of the possibility that Newsted would return to touring and replace him in Megadeth. Shortly after the rumors began circulating, on May 30th, Newsted’s wife Nicole had immediately denied any possibilities that he would have taken the position.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Despite Newsted claiming he had the physicality to perform again, he was ultimately unwilling to commit to extensive touring once again due to persisting issues with his back and shoulder recovery.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Recording engineer Flemming Rasmussen commented in an issue of Sound on Sound that Newsted used a 5 string Wal bass on the album.


title: Jason Newsted

text: The Damage Justice tour saw Newsted using a combination of 4 and 5 string Wals and the ESP 5 string Horizon.


title: Jason Newsted

text: These basses remained in his rig until August 1989, where on the "Binge and Purge" DVD Seattle show he was using Alembic basses.


title: Jason Newsted

text: The Alembic basses were played live between 1989 and 1992 spanning the length of the Black Album's Wherever We May Roam tour.


title: Jason Newsted

text: According to Alembic he had at least 13 basses constructed with custom options, ranging from different wood types & electronics to changes in the contour of the body.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Newsted has played up to 25 basses in all, including 6, 10 and 12-string bass which were used for specific parts.


title: Jason Newsted

text: These basses featured black oil finish, piezo pickup option, fiber optic side markers and carved body contours.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Recording of "Load" and "Reload" began in 1996 and 1997 respectively and in an interview with "Bass Player Magazine" in 1996, Newsted again stated he used the NS-2 and a few other instruments to record.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Newsted began a very lucrative relationship with luthier Roger Sadowsky (of Sadowsky Guitars Ltd.) in which he made at least 20 custom basses.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Many of which are seen in the 1997 live show Cunning Stunts. The full list of Sadowsky basses are as follows;


title: Jason Newsted

text: The Sadowsky basses were used to record "Garage Inc." in 1998 and played on the Symphony and Metallica show in 1999.


title: Jason Newsted

text: From the Damage Inc. tour until the Black album (1986–1990), Newsted used an original 1974 Ampeg SVT head (300 watts). This was plugged into a 1×15" Ampeg speaker and 4×12" Mesa Boogie cabinet.


title: Jason Newsted

text: In 2004, Newsted signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the United States.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Newsted was married in 1988 to Judy Talbert but the couple divorced in 1991 during the recordings of the Black Album. He is currently married to Nicole Leigh Smith, whom he wed in October 2012. She was his girlfriend of 11 years, to whom he refers as the "love of my life". While still his girlfriend, it was Nicole, an artist herself, who suggested he try painting. She now encourages Newsted to "move forward with his art".


title: Jason Newsted

text: On October 23, 2006, Newsted was injured while attempting to catch a falling bass amp head (which, according to him, was the bass amp that was used to record "Metallica", "Load", and "Reload"). The accident resulted in a torn anterior labrum in his left shoulder and a rotator cuff and biceps tear in the right. He was scheduled for immediate surgery, and underwent a lengthy rehab process. During this time he was unable to play, and began to express himself through painting. On January 4, 2007, he was back playing his bass again.


title: Jason Newsted

text: Newsted later reported that he had been addicted to painkillers, having taken such medication from his time in Metallica to cope with neck problems but without understanding the risks. After his shoulder injury the painkiller use became a problem, but Newsted said he had not used any since about 2010.


title: Equity (finance)

text: In finance, equity is ownership of assets that may have debts or other liabilities attached to them. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets. For example, if someone owns a car worth $24,000 and owes $10,000 on the loan used to buy the car, the difference of $14,000 is equity. Equity can apply to a single asset, such as a car or house, or to an entire business. A business that needs to start up or expand its operations can sell its equity in order to raise cash that does not have to be repaid on a set schedule.


title: Equity (finance)

text: In government finance or other non-profit settings, equity is known as "net position" or "net assets".


title: Equity (finance)

text: The term "equity" describes this type of ownership in English because it was regulated through the system of equity law that developed in England during the Late Middle Ages to meet the growing demands of commercial activity. While the older common law courts dealt with questions of property title, equity courts dealt with contractual interests in property. The same asset could have an owner in equity, who held the contractual interest, and a separate owner at law, who held the title indefinitely or until the contract was fulfilled. Contract disputes were examined with consideration of whether the terms and administration of the contract were fair—that is, equitable.


title: Equity (finance)

text: Any asset that is purchased through a secured loan is said to have equity. While the loan remains unpaid, the buyer does not fully own the asset. The lender has the right to repossess it if the buyer defaults, but only to recover the unpaid loan balance. The equity balance—the asset's market value reduced by the loan balance—measures the buyer's partial ownership. This may be different from the total amount that the buyer has paid on the loan, which includes interest expense and does not consider any change in the asset's value. When an asset has a deficit instead of equity, the terms of the loan determine whether the lender can recover it from the borrower. Houses are normally financed with non-recourse loans, in which the lender assumes a risk that the owner will default with a deficit, while other assets are financed with full-recourse loans that make the borrower responsible for any deficit.


title: Equity (finance)

text: The equity of an asset can be used to secure additional liabilities. Common examples include home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. These increase the total liabilities attached to the asset and decrease the owner's equity.


title: Equity (finance)

text: A business entity has a more complicated debt structure than a single asset. While some liabilities may be secured by specific assets of the business, others may be guaranteed by the assets of the entire business. If the business becomes bankrupt, it can be required to raise money by selling assets. Yet the equity of the business, like the equity of an asset, approximately measures the amount of the assets that belongs to the owners of the business.


title: Equity (finance)

text: Financial accounting defines the equity of a business as the net balance of its assets reduced by its liabilities. For a business as a whole, this value is sometimes referred to as total equity, to distinguish it from the equity of a single asset. The fundamental accounting equation requires that the total of liabilities and equity is equal to the total of all assets at the close of each accounting period. To satisfy this requirement, all events that affect total assets and total liabilities unequally must eventually be reported as changes in equity. Businesses summarize their equity in a financial statement known as the balance sheet (or statement of net position) which shows the total assets, the specific equity balances, and the total liabilities and equity (or deficit).


title: Equity (finance)

text: Various types of equity can appear on a balance sheet, depending on the form and purpose of the business entity. Preferred stock, share capital (or capital stock) and capital surplus (or additional paid-in capital) reflect original contributions to the business from its investors or organizers. Treasury stock appears as a contra-equity balance (an offset to equity) that reflects the amount that the business has paid to repurchase stock from shareholders. Retained earnings (or accumulated deficit) is the running total of the business's net income and losses, excluding any dividends. In the United Kingdom and other countries that use its accounting methods, equity includes various reserve accounts that are used for particular reconciliations of the balance sheet.


title: Equity (finance)

text: Another financial statement, the statement of changes in equity, details the changes in these equity accounts from one accounting period to the next. Several events can produce changes in a firm's equity.


title: Equity (finance)

text: Equity investing is the business of purchasing stock in companies, either directly or from another investor, on the expectation that the stock will earn dividends or can be resold with a capital gain. Equity holders typically receive voting rights, meaning that they can vote on candidates for the board of directors and, if their holding is large enough, influence management decisions.


title: Equity (finance)

text: Investors in a newly established firm must contribute an initial amount of capital to it so that it can begin to transact business. This contributed amount represents the investors' equity interest in the firm. In return, they receive shares of the company's stock. Under the model of a private limited company, the firm may keep contributed capital as long as it remains in business. If it liquidates, whether through a decision of the owners or through a bankruptcy process, the owners have a residual claim on the firm's eventual equity. If the equity is negative (a deficit) then the unpaid creditors take a loss and the owners' claim is void. Under limited liability, owners are not required to pay the firm's debts themselves so long as the firm's books are in order and it has not involved the owners in fraud.


title: Equity (finance)

text: When the owners of a firm are shareholders, their interest is called shareholders' equity. It is the difference between a company's assets and liabilities, and can be negative. If all shareholders are in one class, they share equally in ownership equity from all perspectives. It is not uncommon for companies to issue more than one class of stock, with each class having its own liquidation priority or voting rights. This complicates analysis for both stock valuation and accounting.


title: Equity (finance)

text: A company's shareholder equity balance does not determine the price at which investors can sell its stock. Other relevant factors include the prospects and risks of its business, its access to necessary credit, and the difficulty of locating a buyer. According to the theory of intrinsic value, it is profitable to buy stock in a company when it is priced below the present value of the portion of its equity and future earnings that are payable to stockholders. Advocates of this method have included Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher and Warren Buffett. An equity investment will never have a negative market value (i.e. become a liability) even if the firm has a shareholder deficit, because the deficit is not the owners' responsibility.


title: Equity (finance)

text: values stock-equity as a call option on the value of the whole company (including the liabilities), struck at the nominal value of the liabilities.


title: Equity (finance)

text: (i) where the value of the firm is less than the value of the outstanding debt, shareholders may, and therefore would, choose not to repay the firm's debt;


title: Equity (finance)

text: (ii) where firm value is greater than debt value, the shareholders would choose to repay—i.e. exercise their option—and not to liquidate.


title: Lover (album)

text: Lover is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records, and is her first album release after her departure from Big Machine Records, which resulted in a highly publicized dispute. Swift recorded "Lover" with producers Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, and Frank Dukes from November 2018 to February 2019 following her 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour, where she felt motivated by the fans, helping her recover her mental health after the controversies leading up to "Reputation" (2017). Swift conceived "Lover" as a "love letter to love", taking inspiration from her recalibrated personal life and newfound artistic freedom.


title: Lover (album)

text: Compared to the dark, heavy, hip hop-influenced tones of "Reputation", "Lover" brighter sound draws mostly from electropop, pop rock, and synth-pop, with melodies characterized by atmospheric synthesizers, mid-tempo rhythms, and acoustic instruments. The songs incorporate eclectic styles ranging from country and folk to funk and bubblegum pop; they explore emotions such as infatuation, commitment, lust, and heartache; a few discuss contemporary American political issues like LGBT rights and feminism.


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift, who had secluded herself from media attention after "Reputation" release, embarked on an extensive promotional campaign for "Lover" through television shows, magazine covers, and press interviews. "Lover" cover art and visual aesthetic feature bright pastel colors. Four singles were released—"Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, "You Need to Calm Down", "Lover", and "The Man"—the first three of which charted in the top 10 of the US "Billboard" Hot 100. Swift also played City of Lover, a one-day concert in Paris, on September 9, 2019. "Lover" was Swift's sixth-consecutive album to debut at number one on the US "Billboard" 200. It also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and elsewhere, and sold 3.2 million copies in 2019, becoming the year's best-selling studio album.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Lover" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its emotional maturity and free-spirited sound, though some took issue with its disparate musical styles, calling it inconsistent. Many publications included the album in their lists ranking the best albums of 2019. At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, "Lover" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album; the title track was nominated for Song of the Year and "You Need to Calm Down" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. The album won Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the American Music Awards of 2019, and its singles won four MTV Video Music Awards.


title: Lover (album)

text: On her synth-pop fifth studio album "1989" (2014), American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift changed her sound and image from country music to pop. Within a year of its release, "1989" sold over five million copies and confirmed Swift's status as a global pop star. During promotion of "1989", Swift was a target of tabloid gossip; her "America's Sweetheart" reputation, a result of her wholesome, innocent image, was tarnished by the publicizing of her romantic relationships and disputes with other celebrities. Swift's mid-2016 dispute with rapper Kanye West, who released the single "Famous", led to an internet cancellation movement against Swift, in which she was labeled a "snake". Swift secluded herself from press attention and released her sixth studio album "Reputation" in November 2017, as an answer to the media attention surrounding her celebrity. Before "Reputation" release, Swift cleared her social media accounts, and began posting images and videos of snakes.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Reputation" has a dark, heavy, hip hop-influenced production, and contains songs with themes of vengeance and drama. Swift avoided promoting the album in mass media as she had done for her previous albums, instead holding fan-exclusive listening sessions and performing on television a few times without being interviewed. "Reputation" is the first album Swift released outside her usual two-year album release cycle, and her last under her 12-year, 2006 contract with Big Machine Records. Swift supported "Reputation" with her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), on which she used a giant model of a cobra as a stage centerpiece; the tour broke the record for the all-time highest-grossing U.S. tour. In November 2018, upon completing the Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift signed with Universal Music Group label Republic Records, whose contract allowed her to own the master recordings to her albums. She endorsed two Democrat candidates for the 2018 midterm elections in her home state of Tennessee; it was the first time she publicly voiced her political opinion.


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift said she wrote "Reputation" as a "defense mechanism" that allowed her to cope with the experience. She secluded herself from press attention because she needed to protect her mental health and stop feeling obliged to "explain herself". Commenting on her forgone "America's Sweetheart" reputation, Swift said it was liberating to relinquish her self-awareness of the title and her attempt to be "always smiling, always happy". On the Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift was inspired by the love she received from fans to embrace positivity and vulnerability; despite her tarnished reputation in the press, she realized her fans "see [her] as a flesh-and-blood human being", which "changed [her] completely, assigning humanity to [her] life". To this end, she conceived her seventh studio album as a personal, vulnerable record that would connect her with her audience and showcase her strengths as a singer-songwriter: "This time around I feel more comfortable being brave enough to be vulnerable, because my fans are brave enough to be vulnerable with me".


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift began writing "Lover" after having adjusted her personal life, freeing herself from her public image. Reflecting on her experience on the Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift learned to take her occupation as an entertainer less seriously than before. Although she used to think of show business as a competitive battlefield, as she performed on tour she realized; "We're just entertaining people, and it's supposed to be fun". Swift reconsidered her social media appearances and realized her focus was her music rather than her social media influence. These realizations inspired Swift to embrace her newfound artistic creativity and write songs from a free-spirited perspective. As with her songwriting for previous albums, Swift wrote "Lover" as a reflection of her personal life, describing it as very confessional and autobiographical, yet also playful and whimsical.


title: Lover (album)

text: In the September 2019 issue of "Vogue", Swift described "Lover" as a "love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory". The track list consists of 18 songs—more than any of her other albums—depicting many sentiments stemming from love. Whereas the protagonists of the songs on "Reputation" are exaggerated characters Swift created as a reaction to the controversies, the songs on "Lover" are written from an honest, lighthearted perspective, and are inspired by her first-time discovery of "love that was very real". The album's central theme is love; Swift said she envisioned it as a romantic record; in addition to happy songs, it includes songs about sorrow and loneliness, which she said one can perceive "through a romantic gaze". Music critics noted "Lover" as Swift's return to her songwriting tradition of exploring love and emotional intimacy after the antagonistic viewpoints of its predecessor, representing her confidence, and her artistic and personal liberation.


title: Lover (album)

text: Most of the tracks on "Lover" are straightforward, open-hearted love songs celebrating the ups and downs of love. Its lyrics are about Swift's personal life but also engage universally relatable feelings that can be applied to many people's relationships, according to "Time" critic Dana Schwartz. Although her songs are very personal, Swift avoided disclosing the inspiration behind them.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Lover" opening track "I Forgot That You Existed" was inspired by Swift's adjusted personal life; its narrator no longer dwells on vengeance against those who wronged them. The title track "Lover", is about Swift's commitment to a romantic partner; the ways couples customize their marriage vows inspired her to write the bridge. Lust is explored in the tracks "I Think He Knows", which is about self-confidence after a reciprocated infatuation; and "False God", in which the protagonist ponders the ways false promises can help overcome the challenges of a long-distance relationship. According to Dave Holmes of "Esquire", "False God" may be about either religion or oral sex.


title: Lover (album)

text: Some songs—such as "Paper Rings", in which Swift narrates a relationship from its beginning to her proposal of marriage; and "London Boy", on which she declares her love for an Englishman with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that name locations in London and the English fashion designer Stella McCartney—portray playful, quirky aspects of love. The lead single "Me!" is about self-affirmation, self-love, and self-acceptance; the album version omits the lyric "Hey kids, spelling is fun" of the previously-released single version. The penultimate track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" tells a love story that begins in childhood and proceeds to adulthood. Swift considered the song a representation of the feelings one wishes to experience whether they are a child or an adult because "we all want love, we all want to find somebody to ... experience things with".


title: Lover (album)

text: Other songs explore introspective and poignant aspects of love and life; some are about the pitfalls of romance; Swift assumes responsibility for a failed relationship. "The Archer" is about Swift reflecting on her life; its lyrics describe her self-awareness and acknowledgement of her past mistakes. On "Cruel Summer", she sings about the painful feelings ensuing from a fleeting summer romance. "Cornelia Street", whose title refers to a New York City street on which Swift had rented a townhouse, narrates a relationship in which Swift is afraid she will lose her partner again if she repeats her earlier mistakes. On "Afterglow", she takes the blame for having hurt her partner, and contemplates a loved one's prolonged medical treatment on "Soon You'll Get Better", which was inspired by her parents' cancer diagnoses.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Death by a Thousand Cuts" was inspired by the romantic comedy film "Someone Great", and explores the protagonist's attempts to overcome the painful remnants of a failed relationship. "Death by a Thousand Cuts", which Swift wrote for "Lover", was not inspired by her personal life; it was "incredible news" to her as she realized she could continue writing songs about heartbreak, even if she was in a healthy relationship. In the closing track, "Daylight", Swift contemplates that love to her now is "golden" rather than "burning red" as she once believed; a reference to the title track of her 2012 studio album "Red". The track concludes with Swift speaking; "I want to be defined by the things that I love—not the things I hate, not the things I'm afraid of, the things that haunt me in the middle of the night". The song represents Swift's mature understanding of love, her personal life, and her public image.


title: Lover (album)

text: A few songs reflect Swift's perception of contemporary American politics. Since her 2006 debut as a country-music artist, Swift's record company had warned her against becoming involved in politics, but after witnessing the political events affecting the rights of certain people, she became disillusioned with the American political climate and decided to abandon her apolitical stance. Swift wrote "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" after the 2018 midterm elections; its lyrics use high school as a metaphor for American politics because she thought the social events of a traditional American high school, like the political landscape, can alienate some people. Another track, "The Man", was inspired by the double standards women experience the music industry and in wider society. "You Need to Calm Down" has lyrics advocating for LGBT rights; it was inspired by a conversation in which a friend asked Swift what she would do if she had a gay son; other inspirations were cyberbullies, cancel culture, and the way the mass media "pits [women] against each other". Explaining how the track aligns with the album's concept, Swift said it addresses the discrimination some people encounter because of who they love.


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift started recording "Lover" in November 2018, soon after she completed the Reputation Stadium Tour. She wanted to incorporate eclectic styles to accompany the diverse lyrical themes, which was made possible by her new contract with Republic Records granting her more artistic freedom than before. Swift recorded much of "Lover" with Jack Antonoff, who had produced "1989" and "Reputation"; other producers are Joel Little, Frank Dukes, and Louis Bell, all of whom were first-time collaborators of Swift. The producers of respective tracks are credited as their co-writers alongside Swift, except for songs Swift wholly wrote; "Lover", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight". Hip-hop producer Sounwave is credited as co-writer and co-producer of "London Boy", singer Brendon Urie is credited as co-writer of "Me!", and musician St. Vincent, who is credited as Annie Clark, is co-writer of "Cruel Summer".


title: Lover (album)

text: While recording, Swift revisited musical styles with which she had earlier experimented. While she associated "Reputation" musical style, devoid of acoustic instruments, with imagery of "nighttime cityscape ... old warehouse buildings that had been deserted and factory spaces", she conceptualized "Lover" as "a barn wood floor and some ripped curtains flowing in the breeze, and fields of flowers"; the songs on "Lover" use many acoustic instruments. Swift recorded her vocals as though she were performing live, stating much of the album is nearly whole takes. In publications' reviews, music critics categorized "Lover" as primarily a pop album with a 1980s-influenced sound combining pop rock and electropop. Compared to the dark, hip hop tones of its predecessor, "Lover" musical styles are brighter, more lighthearted, and atmospheric. The tracks are of varying tempo, and are built on straightforward song structures with piano melodies, rock arrangements, and standard chord progressions; a few experiment with styles and song structures that were new to Swift.


title: Lover (album)

text: Antonoff co-produced 11 tracks, all of which were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City; "Paper Rings", "London Boy", and "Daylight" were additionally recorded at Metropolis Studios in London; the first two tracks, and "Cruel Summer" and "I Think He Knows", were additionally recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Antonoff's production is characterized by 1980s drums, atmospheric synthesizers, and reverbed beats, exploring eclectic styles across genres including synth-pop, punk, folk pop, and quiet storm. Because of Antonoff's 1980s-style production, some critics commented "Lover" expands on the 1980s synth-pop sound of "1989". "Billboard" journalist Jason Lipshutz commented "Lover" is not an expansion on "1989" sound but a more-ambitious record that is larger in scope. Swift conceptualized tracks like "Lover" and "Paper Rings" as songs that might have been played in a 1970s wedding reception; as such, these tracks use retro instruments to bring forth the timeless feel she desired. For "Lover", Swift and Antonoff used instruments that, according to Swift, were invented before the 1970s; it is a waltzing-tempo track combining indie folk and alternative country with acoustic guitar, percussion, and pizzicato strings. "Paper Rings" is a gleeful new wave-influenced pop punk track with influences from rockabilly and 1980s pop.


title: Lover (album)

text: Many songs produced with Antonoff have a radio-friendly pop production. "Cruel Summer" is a 1980s-influenced, synth-pop song with pulsating synthesizers and distorted vocals, and "London Boy" is a bubblegum pop song with layered synthesizers and repeated beats. The upbeat, electropop and R&B track "I Think He Knows" features influences of funk with Swift's falsetto vocals over guitars, a deep bass, and a marching beat. Despite its lyrics about a painful heartbreak, "Death by a Thousand Cuts" has an upbeat production with a recurring guitar line, quivering synthesizers, and faint church bells with vocal harmonies in the background. The ballads "The Archer", "Cornelia Street", and "Daylight" are characterized by dense, atmospheric synthesizers; the first of which combines dream pop and synth-pop with steady kick drum beats throughout. "Soon You'll Get Better" and "False God", which were produced with Antonoff, feature subtler production compared to the dominant uptempo sound. "Soon You'll Get Better" is a country ballad featuring slide guitars and the Dixie Chicks contributing background harmonies, banjo, and fiddle. "False God" combines elements of jazz, trap, neo-soul, and 1980s R&B; Swift sings over hiccuping vocal samples and a lone saxophone line.


title: Lover (album)

text: Little co-produced four tracks on "Lover"; these were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, Golden Age Studios in Los Angeles, and Golden Age West in Auckland, New Zealand. Swift had first met Little at a Broods concert in Los Angeles; they got acquainted at the New Zealand show of her Reputation Stadium Tour. Shortly after, Swift invited Little to New York to record songs with her; "Me!" is one of the first songs they created together. "Me!", which features Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, contains pop hooks, and the horns and marching band drums in the refrain evoke a 1960s big band sound. "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" is at atmospheric, gloomy, synth-pop track with shouting cheerleaders' voice in the background. The synth-pop tunes "The Man" and "You Need to Calm Down" feature pulsating synthesizers; "The Man" is built on a pulsating drum beat and "You Need to Calm Down" features cascading vocal echoes in the refrain.


title: Lover (album)

text: The three tracks Swift produced with Bell and Dukes, which were recorded at Electric Feel Studios in Los Angeles, have an experimental quality. The opening track "I Forgot That You Existed" is a lighthearted post-tropical house tune that is built on piano and finger snaps. The power ballad "Afterglow" has a slow-building melody consisting of slow bass and Swift's falsetto vocals. Some critics considered the penultimate track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" as the album's most original and experimental song. The song includes a sample of "Summer in the South" from the Toronto-based Regent Park School of Music's album "Parkscapes"; it has a sparse production with steelpans, harps, and tubular bells; and is punctuated by a trumpet solo and church bells near the middle. Swift said she wrote the track with only verses, and was more focused on the "vibe and feeling", contrasting her usual songwriting with a clear refrain and structure. Recording wrapped on February 24, 2019; a sample of Cautious Clay's song "Cold War" used for "London Boy" was approved in June that year.


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift initially considered choosing "Daylight" as the album's title track but scrapped the idea because she thought it is too sentimental. She picked "Lover" as the title because she felt it better represents the overall theme and is "more elastic as a concept"; songs such as "You Need to Calm Down", which is about LGBT rights, could align with this concept. Colombian photographer and collage artist Valheria Rocha, who worked with Swift on the album's art direction, photographed and edited the album's cover art. The cover depicts Swift with sapphire hair tips and a pink, glittery heart shape on her right eye in front of colorful, pink clouds. Some media commented the artwork evokes the atmosphere of summer and music festivals.


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift used the bright, pastel colors of the cover art in her social media posts and clothing during promotion of "Lover", departing from the dark, black-and-white art and aesthetic of "Reputation". In an article for "Entertainment Weekly", Emma Madden said "Lover" cover art looks like "a fan-made aesthetic post on Tumblr", and called it part of the emerging trend of "kitschy album artwork". By using cover art that deliberately looks like a fan-made product rather than art commissioned from professional graphic designers, "Lover" brought "a level of iconicness and relatability" to Swift's audience because, according to Rocha, they could create their own versions of the cover art.


title: Lover (album)

text: Three singles preceded "Lover". Swift released the first, "Me!" featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco, on April 26, having commissioned a large butterfly mural in a Nashville neighborhood and a social-media countdown. The second single "You Need to Calm Down" was released on June 14 after Swift encouraged her fans to call for the passing of the Equality Act on her social media feeds; the media viewed this release as Swift's intention for the release to coincide with Pride Month. The title track was released as the third single on August 16. All three singles peaked in the top ten of the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and the first two peaked at number two. "Me!" broke the record for the largest single-week jump when it rose from number 100 to number two after one week. "The Archer" was released as a promotional single on July 23. A fourth single, "The Man", was released on January 27, 2020.


title: Lover (album)

text: Whereas Swift avoided social media and public appearances during promotion of "Reputation", she embarked on an extensive promotional campaign for "Lover" on social media, televised events, and press interviews. Media speculation on Swift's follow-up to "Reputation" arose when she appeared at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards in March, where she was adorned with butterfly motifs and pastel tones, the aesthetic she later used in her clothing for public appearances. Her social media posts showed her outgoing, comfortable persona, departing from the dark, antagonistic image she adopted for "Reputation". Swift conducted interviews with publications including "Entertainment Weekly", "The Guardian", "Vogue", and "Rolling Stone", where she openly spoke about her adjusted personal life. A few weeks before the album's release, Swift invited a select group of fans to private "Secret Sessions" listening parties in London, Nashville, and Los Angeles; she had hosted similar sessions for "1989" and "Reputation". She also gave interviews on the US morning television programs "CBS Sunday Morning" and "Good Morning America", and the talk shows "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift promoted "Lover" with corporate tie-ins and promotional deals, including a merchandise deal with Capital One, airplay deals with SiriusXM and iHeartMedia, a deal with YouTube Music with Swift hosting a live stream on the platform, an Amazon deal featuring images of Swift on packaging and an exclusive concert for Amazon Prime users, and a Target Corporation deal to distribute four deluxe editions of "Lover" on CD; the deluxe editions were also available on Swift's website. Each deluxe edition contains a CD with two bonus audio memos, a blank journal, a poster and different bonus content of Swift's old journal entries and photos. She also collaborated with English fashion designer Stella McCarntey on a limited-edition merchandise collection.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Lover" was released on both digital and physical formats on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records; it was her first album after ending her 12-year contract with Big Machine Records, her first released on streaming from its first week, and the first whose master recording she owned. Leading up to the release, Swift was involved in a public dispute over the ownership of her Big Machine Records albums' master recordings. In a social media post on June 30, 2019, after Big Machine had been acquired by manager Scooter Braun, Swift accused the label of having neglected her desire to acquire the master recordings and called the deal with Braun, whom she deemed an "incessant, manipulative [bully]", the "worst-case scenario". After "Lover" was released, Swift began implementing her plan to re-record her past albums.


title: Lover (album)

text: Swift performed on many televised shows, starting with a performance of "Me!" with Brendon Urie at the 2019 "Billboard" Music Awards on May 1. She again performed the song with Urie on "The Voice", and alone on "Germany's Next Topmodel", "The Graham Norton Show", and the of "The Voice". At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won three awards, Swift opened the show with a medley of "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover". Swift later performed "Lover" songs on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, "Saturday Night Live", NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert, the Jingle Bell Ball 2019 in London, and iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball in New York City. She also promoted the album on Nippon TV's "Sukkiri Morning Show" in Tokyo and at the Singles' Day Countdown Gala by Alibaba Group in Shanghai.


title: Lover (album)

text: At the 2019 American Music Awards, at which Swift was honored as the Artist of the Decade, she performed a medley of "The Man", "Lover", and her past singles. On May 17, 2020, ABC aired a concert special titled "Taylor Swift: City of Lover", which was filmed at her September 2019 one-off concert in Paris. Swift planned to embark on a worldwide concert tour titled Lover Fest, which was due to begin in mid-2020 and included four shows in the U.S., ten shows in Europe, and two shows in Brazil. It was officially cancelled in February 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Lover" received extensive media coverage; the BBC's Nick Levine wrote; "if it doesn't become her sixth in succession to top the "Billboard" 200, it would be a major music industry shock". Some publications noted the extensive promotional campaign was old-fashioned compared to the emerging trend of surprise album releases in the digital era; "Rolling Stone" Elias Leight commented Swift was the last-remaining pop star to rely on radio push and corporate tie-ins to promote albums. Her first album released on streaming platforms from the beginning, it was noted in some articles as a sign Swift had abandoned her anti-streaming stance. Because of Swift's "Billboard" 200 record of having four albums sell over one million copies each, some journalists debated whether she would achieve the feat the fifth time, and whether streaming would impact its sales figures.


title: Lover (album)

text: Some reviewers said they thought "Lover" would perform well on charts even if critical reviews were negative, and that it was also a means for Swift to rebuild her public image after the "Reputation" controversies, and the dispute with Big Machine and Braun. Kate Knibbs from "The Ringer" wrote; "as Swift tries to control the narrative, it is a reminder that ... Swift has achieved an American Dream—she's too big to fail". "Billboard" Andrew Unterberger, noting the diverse styles and themes of the four songs released prior to "Lover"—"Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", "The Archer", and "Lover"—said Swift released "Lover" to focus on her artistic merit on her own terms, and not because she wanted to control her image. In the September 2019 issue of "Entertainment Weekly", Maura Johnston commented although Swift's blurring of the line between the personal and the promotional, and although her social media posts might prompt tabloid gossip, "Lover" should stand the test of time with its best songs.


title: Lover (album)

text: In mainstream publications, "Lover" received positive reviews from music critics. At review-aggregating website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a mean score of 79, which is based on 26 reviews.


title: Lover (album)

text: Most reviewers commended the album's themes of positivity and emotional intimacy. Many critics, including Jon Caramanica in "The New York Times", Neil McCormick in "The Daily Telegraph", and Robert Christgau in his Substack-published Consumer Guide column, welcomed "Lover" as Swift's return-to-form, praised her emotional songwriting ability, and said compared to "Reputation" antagonistic themes about celebrity, "Lover" is a sign of Swift's embracing of forward-looking perspectives. Others such as Mikael Wood from the "Los Angeles Times" and Annie Zaleski from "The A.V. Club" commented on its emotional maturity that represents Swift's grown-up perspectives.


title: Lover (album)

text: Praise for the track list's length and diverse musical styles was more reserved. Those complimentary of "Lover" welcomed its disparate styles as a representation of Swift's creative freedom. "Vanity Fair" critic Erin Vanderhoof said "Lover" production "[ties] together a lot of the best impulses in recent pop, in a way that feels like a road map for [pop music's] survival". Nick Catucci in "Rolling Stone" called the album "evolutionary rather than revolutionary", and appreciated its "free and unhurried" styles. Others, taking issue with its length, commented although "Lover" is a solid album, it could have been a better record with some refinements. In "The Observer", Kitty Empire deemed this "a partial retrenchment until Swift decides what to do next". "Paste" Claire Martin was critical, deeming the music unimpressive and the lyrics, despite their heartwarming nature, "lacking any profound meaning".


title: Lover (album)

text: Some critics viewed the album as a culmination of Swift's strengths as a singer-songwriter on her past albums, with particular comparisons to "Red" (2012); Schwartz and Anna Gaca from "Pitchfork" also highlighted the personal lyricism that recalls "Speak Now" (2010). In "The Guardian", Alexis Petridis viewed "Lover" as a testament to Swift's songwriting abilities but commented the genre-spanning styles feel like "consolidation, not progress", and a conservative effort to maintain her commercial success. Carl Wilson from "Slate" wrote although "Lover" is a sophisticated album, it is held back by Swift's efforts to satisfy her audience.


title: Lover (album)

text: Many publications ranked "Lover" in their lists of the best albums of 2019. It appeared on the top-tens of lists by "Billboard", "People", and "USA Today". Some publications, including "American Songwriter" and MTV, included it in their unranked lists. In individual critics' list, the album was ranked within the top ten by Zaleski, Wood, Sheffield, and Willman, with the last two naming it the best album of 2019.


title: Lover (album)

text: "Variety", citing Republic Records, reported "Lover" sold nearly one million copies before its release. In the U.S., the album sold around 450,000 copies in its first day and debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 with first-week tally of 867,000 album-equivalent units, of which 679,000 were pure sales. It is Swift's sixth U.S. number-one album and made her the first female artist to have six albums sell more than 500,000 copies each in one week. In its opening week, "Lover" outsold all of the other 199 albums on the chart combined, becoming the first album to do so since Swift's "Reputation" (2017). All of "Lover" 18 tracks simultaneously charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100, breaking the record for the most simultaneous chart entries for a female artist. With "Lover", Swift returned to the top of the "Billboard" Artist 100 chart for a thirty-seventh week, extending her all-time record as the longest-running number-one act.


title: Lover (album)

text: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified "Lover" platinum, denoting one million album-equivalent units, after four weeks of release. The only million-selling U.S. album of 2019, it sold 1.085 million pure copies, both physical and digital, becoming the year's best-selling album. It was the fourth time Swift had the best-selling album of a calendar year in the U.S., after "Fearless" (2009), "1989" (2014), and "Reputation" (2017). Combining singles sales and streaming, "Lover" sold 2.191 million units throughout the year. By October 2022, the RIAA certified it triple-platinum and it had sold 1.5 million pure copies in the U.S.


title: Lover (album)

text: The album peaked atop the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. (including Scotland), Ireland, and Canada; and received platinum certifications in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K.— including a double platinum certification by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). "Lover" is Swift's fifth number-one album in Australia, making her the artist with the most Australian number-one albums of the 2010s decade. In both the U.K. and Ireland, it made Swift the first female artist in the 2010s to have four number-one albums. "Lover" also peaked atop the albums charts of Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. In China, "Lover" became the first international album to sell more than one million units within its first release week, and made Swift the first international artist to have three million-selling albums, after "1989" and "Reputation".


title: Lover (album)

text: "Lover" sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide in 2019, becoming the year's best-selling album by a solo artist and the second overall, behind Japanese group Arashi's greatest hits album "5x20 All the Best!! 1999–2019". The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) recognized Swift as the Global Recording Artist of 2019, making her the first female artist to twice earn that honor—her first being in 2014.


title: Lover (album)

text: In 2019, "Lover" won accolades at awards shows including Favorite Album of the Year at the People's Choice Awards, Best International Artist at the ARIA Awards, and two album-sales awards at the BuzzAngle Music Awards. At the 2019 American Music Awards, at which Swift was honored as Artist of the Decade, "Lover" won Favorite Pop/Rock Album. Winning four other awards, Swift was the most-awarded artist of the night, and with 29 wins was the most-awarded in AMAs history. The music videos for "Lover" singles won four awards at the MTV Video Music Awards; in 2019, "You Need to Calm Down" won Video of the Year and Video for Good, and "Me!" won Best Visual Effects; and in 2020, "The Man" won Best Direction.


title: Lover (album)

text: At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020, "Lover" was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, which went to "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" by Billie Eilish. "Lover" singles "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover" were respectively nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance (lost to "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo) and Song of the Year (lost to "Bad Guy" by Eilish). "Lover" won Pop Album of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, an award in Sales and Marketing (Packaging Campaign) by the American Advertising Federation in Nashville, and was nominated for Top "Billboard" 200 Album at the "Billboard" Music Awards. The album won Album of the Year (Western) at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, Best Selling Album (English) at Hong Kong's RTHK International Pop Poll Awards, and a Music Jacket Creative Award at Japan's CD Shop Awards.


title: Lover (album)

text: In January 2020, Swift released a Netflix documentary titled "Miss Americana", which was directed by Lana Wilson. The documentary, which is titled after the album's seventh track, chronicles the creation and promotion of "Lover", and discusses it as an evolutionary phase in Swift's career. After canceling the Lover Fest tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, without prior announcements, Swift released her eighth studio album "Folklore", in July 2020, 11 months after "Lover" release. Journalists noted "Lover" as Swift's final album that was supported by a "long, fancy pop-album roll-out" before she began using surprise album releases, starting with "Folklore".


title: Lover (album)

text: Retrospective critical commentary has discussed ways "Lover" changed Swift's image and artistry from the antagonistic tone of "Reputation". Mary Siroky of "Consequence" placed "Lover" last on her 2021 ranking of Swift's studio albums, saying; "It feels a bit too much like an unnecessary course correction from ["Reputation"], rather than a collection of themes Swift was really interested in pursuing". In a "USA Today" article commemorating "Lover" two-year anniversary, David Oliver and Hannah Yasharoff lamented the canceled tour and called the album Swift's "lost masterpiece" that represents her artistic maturity and autonomy. After its songs featured on the Amazon Prime Video series "The Summer I Turned Pretty" in June 2022, "Lover" re-entered the "Billboard" 200 chart's top 40. "It's Nice to Have a Friend" featured prominently in the promotional activities of "M3GAN", a 2023 horror film.


title: Lover (album)

text: On August 24, 2022, "Billboard" reported author Teresa La Dart alleged in a copyright infringement complaint filed on August 23 in a Tennessee federal court a number of creative elements of the companion book bundled with the deluxe CD editions of "Lover" were copied from La Dart's 2010 book, which is also titled "Lover". The alleged similarities are the pastel aesthetic, a photograph "in a downward pose", and the book's diary format with "interspersed photographs and writings". La Dart's lawyer said Swift owes in "excess of one million dollars" in damages. Lawyers who spoke to "Billboard" said La Dart's case is "deeply flawed", that copyrights do not protect titles and formats of creative works, and that more than 12 other books titled "Lover" exist.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engine two-seater sports car designed and developed in Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The successor to the Bugatti Veyron, the Chiron was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March 2016. The car's design was initially previewed with the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo concept car unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The car is named after the Monégasque driver Louis Chiron. The car shares the name with the 1999 Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The main carry over component from the Veyron is the quad-turbocharged W16 engine, though it is heavily updated. The engine in the Chiron has a peak power output of at 6,700 rpm and of torque starting from 2,000 to 6,000 rpm.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The engine in the most powerful variant of its predecessor, the Veyron Super Sport generates less than the new Chiron, while the engine in the original Veyron generates less power.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: Like its predecessor, the Veyron, the Chiron utilises a carbon fibre body structure, independent suspension and a Haldex All-wheel drive system. The carbon fibre body has a stiffness of 50,000 Nm per degree.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The Chiron can accelerate from in 2.4 seconds according to the manufacturer, in 6.5 seconds and in 13.6 seconds. In a world-record-setting test at the time in 2017, the Chiron reached in 32.6 seconds, after which it needed 9.4 seconds to brake to standstill.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The Chiron's top speed is electronically limited to , or without the specific key, for safety reasons, mainly arising from the tyres as Bugatti concluded that no tyre currently manufactured would be able to handle the stress at the top speed the Chiron is capable of achieving. Independent testing by an owner has indicated that the Chiron can easily attain its limited top speed. Mixed fuel consumption is .


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The first 200 cars were sold before the first was delivered. The base price is €2,400,000 and buyers were required to place a €200,000 deposit before their purchase.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Bugatti unveiled the track focused version of the Chiron, named the Chiron Sport. Mechanically the car is identical to the regular version, generating from a quad-turbocharged W16 engine but is lighter due to the extensive use of carbon fibre and has a stiffer suspension in order to increase the cornering ability of the car while maintaining its grand touring characteristics. The steering of the car has also received modifications and a torque vectoring system to control the power sent to each wheel of the car for improved handling in tight corners has been added. Aerodynamic improvements and light weight have been given special consideration in order to keep the car competitive on the race track. The Chiron Sport became available in late 2018 for an additional on the standard Chiron.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: In April 2022, Bugatti issued a factory recall for a 2018 Chiron, built 16 November 2017, due to a loose front frame support screw.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: Introduced in February 2019, the 110 Ans Bugatti is a limited edition variant of the Chiron Sport developed to celebrate 110 years of Bugatti. The car features carbon fibre bodywork finished in matte Steel Blue exterior colour. The body is also accented with Steel Blue bare carbon fibre. The exhaust system of the car is finished in matte black colour.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The colours of the French flag are present on the wing mirrors, fuel filler cap and on the underside of the rear wing. The brake calipers are finished in blue colour.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The interior of the car is upholstered in blue Alcantara and also has the colours of the French flag present on the headrests of the seats, on the back of the seats and on top of the steering wheel. Production will be limited to 20 units.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: Introduced in November 2020, the "Les Légendes du Ciel" Chiron is a limited edition version of the Chiron Sport developed to celebrate Bugatti's racing drivers that flew in the French Air Force.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The car features a new grill, a French flag behind the front wheels, a matte grey ("Gris Serpent") exterior colour with a gloss white stripe in the centre.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: On 2 August 2019 Bugatti presented a limited production high performance variant of the Chiron called the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to owners taking part in the company's 110th-anniversary tour in Europe. The variant is limited to 30 examples and closely resembles the prototype performing the top speed record run. Changes from the standard Chiron include a more powerful engine, increased top speed, and a characteristic paint scheme featuring a lacquer-coated carbon fibre body with orange stripes, echoing the aesthetics of the company's previous top speed record-breaking cars, the Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition and the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Car.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The car is powered by a quad-turbocharged W16 engine shared with the Bugatti Centodieci, nicknamed "Thor". This car has a grey Bugatti logo made of black enamel and silver, the exhaust system from the Centodieci, a modified gearbox with longer ratios and front and rear bumpers optimised for aerodynamics at high speed, resulting in the overall length increase of the car by .


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The Super Sport 300+ will also be equipped with a top speed limiter, akin to the one found in the standard Chiron. Without the limiter, Bugatti claims that the car can attain a maximum speed in excess of . Bugatti will also prepare the cars of owners who want to take the car to its full potential at the Ehra-Lessien test track.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The standard version of the 300+ world record car. Unlike the 300+, it does not come with interior stiffening and has more leather in the interior like a typical Bugatti Chiron. More visual differences include special redesigned wheels and a paint finish instead of the bare carbon fibre seen in the 300+. The Chiron Super Sport will have the same power output as the 300+ but will be limited to . It also has the capability to accelerate from in 5.8 seconds and from in 12.1 seconds. Unlike the 300+, the limiter cannot be disabled by Bugatti in the Super Sport for prepared runs. Customer delivery will start in early 2022. About 70–80 will be built.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: On 3 March 2020, Bugatti introduced the Chiron Pur Sport, a handling-focused model which will be limited to 60 units. The tachometer has an additional 200 rpm, increasing the redline to 6,900 rpm. 80 percent of the transmission has been revised for a 15 percent closer gear-ratio spread benefiting the power band. The Pur Sport is lighter than the standard Chiron due to a lightweight 3D printed titanium exhaust, a fixed rear spoiler and extensive use of Alcantara, anodised aluminium and titanium on the interior. The wheels have special spokes called "aero blades" which are designed to channel turbulent air near the wheel down the side of the vehicle to the rear diffuser. The tyres are Michelin Sport Cup 2R increasing lateral grip by 10 percent, and were co-developed with Michelin. To improve handling, the springs were made 65 percent stiffer at the front and 33 percent at the rear, aided by revised damper tuning and wheel camber along with additional front and rear carbon-fibre anti-roll bars and a new Sport+ drive mode. Production of the Pur Sport is expected to start in late 2020.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The Chiron Pur Sport Grand Prix is the first project of Bugatti’s new ‘Sur Mesure’ (meaning tailored in French) customization program. In 1931, Louis Chiron won the French Grand Prix at Montlhéry in his Type 51 – an enhanced version of the legendary Type 35 – together with Achille Varzi. The number 32 was bold letters on their racing car and is also used on the Chiron Pur Sport 'Grand Prix'.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: Bugatti announced a special-edition, the Chiron Noire, celebrating the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Coupé Aero No. 57453 (also known as "La Voiture Noire") following the 2019 one-off homage and namesake "La Voiture Noire". The special edition comes in two versions, the Noire Élégance (black exposed carbon body) and the Noire Sportive (black exposed carbon body covered with a matte black finish). Only 20 will be made. The Noire starts at around $3.3 million, and deliveries are expected to begin in mid-2020. The Chiron Noire package is available for the entry-level Chiron or the Chiron Sport, in this case at an extra charge of €100,000.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The La Voiture Noire is a one-off special introduced at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the Chiron, the design of the car harkens back to the Type 57 SC Atlantic and is a celebration of the company's distinctive design history. The car has a hand-built body made from carbon fibre designed by Bugatti designer Etienne Salomé which has an elongated nose (similar to that on the Divo) and an elongated rear section. Other notable features include unique wing mirrors, LED taillight strip, and wheels. Unlike the original, the car has a mid-engine layout.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: A trim piece running from the front of the car to the rear spoiler recalls the dorsal fin present on the Type 57 SC. The car features a floating windscreen and has masked A-pillars. The La Voiture Noire's shares large design similarities from the Bugatti Rembrandt, a cancelled front-engine grand tourer powered by the Chiron's W16 engine.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The La Voiture Noire will be powered by the same 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine from the Chiron having the same power output figures but the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the all-wheel-drive system are heavily revised in order to allow for a more relaxed driving experience. Softer dampers and a revised chassis contribute to the factor. The car features six exhaust pipes recalling the innovative design of the past.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: Performance figures remain unknown but the company states that the car is likely to have a lower top speed and acceleration times as compared to the Chiron due to its Grand Touring nature. The car was sold for a price of $18.68 million, making it one of the most expensive cars built to date.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: A statement made later by the company confirmed that the car on display was a concept car and that the final product would take two and a half years more to complete. The show car had electric motors instead of an engine for easy maneuverability. Differing from the show car, the real La Voiture Noire has a Cognac (Brown) Leather Interior and a fully-functioning drivetrain with its W16 engine sourced from the Chiron.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: According to reports from tabloid newspapers, La Voiture Noire was registered in Zurich, Switzerland in December 2021. La Voiture Noire is owned by a member of the family of the late Ferdinand Piëch, the man for whom the car was initially commissioned (though he passed away before receiving it).


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: La Voiture Noire has been subject to significant misinformation surrounding its ownership. A number of newspapers, tabloids, and online blogs created and spread false claims that Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was the owner of the vehicle. This rumour, which is believed to have originated with a report from Spanish sports newspaper Marca was denied by a spokesperson for Ronaldo. Despite this blatantly false claim, the belief that Ronaldo owns La Voiture Noire remains pervasive online.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: At the 2017 IAA show in Frankfurt, Bugatti announced that the Chiron broke the record of fastest acceleration time, completing it in 41.96 seconds in a span of at the Ehra-Lessien high-speed oval. The car was driven by Colombian racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: Bugatti also added an extra livery to the Chiron on display to confirm that it was the same car that broke the record. During the show, Bugatti also mentioned that during the run, the car accelerated from in 2.4 seconds, in 6.1 seconds, in 13.1 seconds, and in 32.6 seconds, which altogether, also makes the Chiron faster than its predecessor, the Veyron.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: On 2 August 2019, Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace achieved a speed of in a pre-production Chiron Super Sport 300+ prototype at Volkswagen's test facility in Ehra-Lessien. The speed was verified by the TÜV, Germany's Technical Inspection Association. In its final production form, the Chiron SS 300+ has different seats, no roll-cage, standard ride height and an electronically limited top speed of .


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The car was developed under Bugatti head exterior designer Frank Heyl in collaboration with Italian automobile engineering firm Dallara and tyre manufacturer Michelin over the course of six months. The overall length of the car was increased by and it is fitted by a laser-controlled ride height system in order to reduce drag. To further reduce drag and aid aerodynamics, the electronically controlled rear wing was removed and was replaced with a long tail incorporating a rear wing with a short cross-section. A full roll cage was added for safety reasons, and the passenger seat was removed to make way for data recording equipment used to validate the record run. The car incorporates an exhaust system first introduced on the Bugatti Centodieci in order to further reduce aerodynamic drag. Mechanically, the engine was modified to generate of power output with no changes to the gearbox and all-wheel-drive system.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: The Chiron was recreated in Lego as 2018's annual Technic sports car. It was released on 1 June 2018 as a 1:8 scale model with 3,600 individual parts.


title: Bugatti Chiron

text: On 30 August 2018, Lego unveiled a working full-sized model of the Chiron. It was constructed almost entirely with Lego Technic elements (339 unique types, over 1,000,000 pieces in total) with exceptions for the Bugatti badge, the wheels, a steel frame, a steel roll cage, a steel drive chain and the seat belts. The engine was created from 2,304 Lego Power Function motors found in standard models; it was estimated to produce and of torque. The car was test driven by Andy Wallace, Bugatti's official test driver, at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track. Top speed is .


title: M60 tank

text: The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially christened as a Patton tank. The US Army considered it a "product-improved descendant" of the Patton tank's design. The design similarities are evident comparing the original version of the M60 and the M48A2. It has been sometimes informally grouped as a member of the Patton tank family. The United States fully committed to the MBT doctrine in 1963, when the Marine Corps retired the last (M103) heavy tank battalion. The M60 tank series became America's primary main battle tank during the Cold War, reaching a production total of 15,000 M60s. Hull production ended in 1983, but 5,400 older models were converted to the M60A3 variant ending in 1990.


title: M60 tank

text: The M60 reached operational capability upon fielding to US Army European units beginning in December 1960. The first combat use of the M60 was by Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, where it saw service under the "Magach 6" designation, performing well in combat against comparable tanks such as the T-62. In 1982 the Israelis again used the M60 during the 1982 Lebanon War, equipped with upgrades such as explosive reactive armor to defend against guided missiles that proved very effective at destroying tanks. The M60 also saw use in 1983 during Operation Urgent Fury, supporting US Marines in an amphibious assault on Grenada. M60s delivered to Iran also served in the Iran–Iraq War.


title: M60 tank

text: The United States' largest deployment of M60s was in the 1991 Gulf War, where the US Marines equipped with M60A1s effectively defeated Iraqi armored forces, including T-72 tanks. The United States retired the M60 from front-line combat after Operation Desert Storm, with the last tanks being retired from National Guard service in 1997. M60-series vehicles continue in front-line service with a number of countries' militaries, though most of these have been highly modified and had their firepower, mobility and protection upgraded to increase their combat effectiveness on the modern battlefield.


title: M60 tank

text: The M60 underwent many updates over its service life. The interior layout, based on the design of the M48, provided ample room for updates and improvements, extending the vehicle's service life for over four decades. It was widely used by the US and its Cold War allies, especially those in NATO, and remains in service throughout the world, despite having been superseded by the M1 Abrams in the US military. The tank's hull was the basis for a wide variety of prototype, utility and support vehicles such as armored recovery vehicles, bridge layers and combat engineering vehicles. As of 2015, Egypt is the largest operator with 1,716 upgraded M60A3s, Turkey is second with 866 upgraded units in service, and Saudi Arabia is third with over 650 units.


title: M60 tank

text: The United States entered a period of frenzied activity during the crisis atmosphere of the Korean War, when America seemed to lag behind the Soviet Union in terms of tank quality and quantity. Testing and development cycles occurred simultaneously with production to ensure speedy delivery of new tanks. Such rapid production caused problems but the importance given to rapidly equipping combat units with new tanks precluded detailed testing and evaluation prior to quantity production.


title: M60 tank

text: The M47 Patton entered production in 1951 and was used by the United States Army and Marine Corps but ongoing technical and production problems kept it from serving in the Korean War. The M48 Patton tank entered US service in 1952 but its early designs were deemed unsatisfactory by Army Field Forces (AFF). The improvements to the M48 focused on improving the 90mm main gun and fire control systems while simultaneously exploring the development of silicas glass composite armor and autoloader systems. The tank continued further development through 1955 in conjunction with its simultaneous mass production. The course of its development during the mid-1950s was the source of widespread debate among Congressional Budget Oversight committees.


title: M60 tank

text: The T95 program, which began in 1955 was intended to supersede the M48. It featured a host of innovative and experimental components such as its 90 mm smoothbore T208 cannon rigidly affixed to its turret, experimental X-shaped engine design using a vapour-cycle power plant fueled by hydrocarbons, composite armor and infrared rangefinder. The burden of developing them, however, slowed the overall program to a crawl. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a Soviet T-54A medium tank was driven onto the grounds of the UK's embassy in Budapest by the Hungarians in November.


title: M60 tank

text: After a brief examination of this tank's armor by a British military attaché it was concluded that the 20-pounder (84mm L/66.7) was apparently incapable of consistently defeating its frontal armor with High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) or Armor-Piercing Capped (APC) ammunition. Its 100 mm gun was a significant advancement over the weapon of the T-44.


title: M60 tank

text: There were also rumors of an even larger 115 mm gun in the works. These events spurred the United Kingdom to begin upgrading existing tanks with a 105mm high-velocity rifled gun in 1958, the Royal Ordnance L7 to keep the Centurion viable against this new Soviet tank design. The United States responded by starting development of the XM60 tank in September 1957. This new tank design incorporated many Army Combat Vehicle (ARCOVE) committee improvements to the M48A2, chiefly the use of diesel engines to increase its operational range and the use of a more powerful main gun.


title: M60 tank

text: The main gun was chosen after a comparative firing test of six different guns carried out on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1958. The factors evaluated were accuracy, lethality of a hit, rate of fire and penetration performance.


title: M60 tank

text: An M48A2C was fit with the 90 mm M41 and tested with the new T300E53 HEAT round. A smoothbore version of the 90 mm, the T208E9, was mounted on the T95E1 tank and tested the T320E62 Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) round. An American variant of the British Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun, under the US designation 105 mm T254E1, was mounted on the T95E2 and tested with British APDS ammunition. Finally, two versions of the 120 mm gun from the M103 were trialed, the existing M58 model and a lightened variant known as T123E6 which was mounted on the T95E4.


title: M60 tank

text: The T123E6 was preferred by the Ordnance Department because its ammunition, the same as that for the M58 gun, was already at an advanced state of development. However the ammunition was in two parts, shell and propellant bag, which required significant time to load. In the M103 this was addressed by adding a second loader, but a medium tank would not have the internal space needed for another crewmember and the firing rate would suffer as a result. In testing it demonstrated a maximum rate of 4 rounds per minute vs. the T254's 7 rpm.


title: M60 tank

text: Based on these tests, the 105 mm T254E1 was selected, modified to the T254E2 and standardized as the "Cannon, 105mm Gun, M68". It used a vertical drop breechblock instead of the T254E1's horizontal sliding breechblock. Until American-made barrels could be obtained with comparable accuracy, British X15/L52 barrels were to be used. US built XM24/L52 barrels (length 218.5 inches) fitted with an eccentric bore evacuator were used for the M60-series starting in June 1959 but retained interchangeability with the British X15/L52 barrel.


title: M60 tank

text: All of the US guns and XM24 barrels were produced at the Watervliet Arsenal, NY and the gun mounts (M116 for the M60 and M140 for the M60A1/A3) were manufactured at the Rock Island Arsenal, IL. Because the evacuator was positioned lower on the gun's barrel US M68 guns were fitted with an eccentric bore evacuator instead of a concentric model in order to provide more clearance over the rear deck.


title: M60 tank

text: The M68E1 gun shares the same firing characteristics as the M68. It featured several design improvements including an updated gun hydraulic configuration, a stabilization upgrade for the gun, a gun elevation kill switch for the loader, improved ballistic drive allowing the accurate firing of long dart penetrators and other component refinements.


title: M60 tank

text: The gun is capable of using a wide range of ammunition including APDS-Tracer (APDS-T) (M392 and M728), Armour-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T) (M735 and M774), APFSDS Depleted Uranium (DU) (APFSDS-DU) (M833), HEAT-FS (M456), APDS dummy and target practice rounds, High Explosive Plastic (HEP)/ High-Explosive Squash Head (HESH) (M393), white phosphorus and canister rounds. Barrels with thermal sleeves were used starting in 1973.


title: M60 tank

text: Both the original M60 variant as well and the initial configuration of the M60A1 used the M68 gun. Additionally, many M48A3s armed with a 90mm gun that were in service with the Army National Guard (ARNG) were retrofitted with the M68 gun during the mid-1970s and redesignated as the M48A5. This was done to maintain training levels of ARNG units as well as using a commonality in ammunition amongst tanks.


title: M60 tank

text: M60A1 RISE Passive tanks built after 1977 and all M60A3 tanks were armed with the M68E1 variant of the gun. It had an improved ballistic drive to allow for accurate firing of the M735 APFSDS ammunition. Most M60A1 RISE tanks were retrofitted to this standard by applying the M735 Cam update from the M60A1 PIP Turret Update Kit. The earliest pre-production XM1 prototypes of the M1 Abrams tanks are also armed with the M68E1 variant of the gun.


title: M60 tank

text: Composite applique armor panels made with fused silica glass were intended to be fitted to the hull. This led to a redesign of the front of the hull into the shape of a flat wedge, instead of the M48's elliptical front, as it simplified the installation of this armor. It was also envisioned that the T95E6 turret was to be constructed solely with this special armor. The US Army Ordnance Tank Automotive Command (OTAC) and the Carnegie Institute of Technology began development of the armor in November 1952 at Fort Belvoir VA as Project TT2-782/51 using examples of the T95 tank to conduct the ballistics testing.


title: M60 tank

text: This composite armor provides protection against HEAT, HEP/HESH and HE rounds. However, field repaired panel castings suffered a loss of kinetic energy protection. Limitations in manufacturing capacity and the added cost led to this armor being dropped by November 1958 and all M60-series tanks were protected with conventional steel armor but the tank retained the capability to employ armor panels.


title: M60 tank

text: The M60-series was the last US main battle tank to utilize homogeneous steel armor for protection. It was also the last to feature an escape hatch under the hull. The escape hatch was provided for the driver, whose top-side hatch could easily be blocked by the main gun.


title: M60 tank

text: There were two versions of hulls used for the M60-series. The M60 hull had a straight slope and beak compared to the earlier M48's rounded one. The hull bottom had a strong boat-like appearance with a pronounced recess between the upper tracks and external suspension arms and one shock absorber on the first roadwheel pair. The armor was improved, at 6 inches (155 mm) on the front glacis and mantle of solid rolled homogeneous armor, while it was 4.3 inches (110 mm) on the M48. The first prototype hulls did not have shock absorbers and were briefly named M68 in late 1958 before the Ordnance Department renamed it the M60 in March 1959. This hull version was used only on the original M60 variant and early M728 Combat Engineer Vehicles (CEVs) and M60 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges (AVLBs). This hull model was in production from 1959 to 1962.


title: M60 tank

text: The M60A1 hull has basically the same visual characteristics, the noticeable difference was the addition of a second shock absorber at the second roadwheel pair and was also accompanied by a slight relocation of the first return roller. These modifications were needed due to the increased weight of the M60A1 turret as well as the additional hull armor. This hull model was used on the M60A1, M60A2 and M60A3 models of the M60-series as well as the M728A1 CEV and M60A1 AVLB. It was in production from 1962 to 1983.


title: M60 tank

text: The M60-series went through a progressive turret design scheme during its production life with four different turrets being manufactured for the M60-series. The T95E5 turret used on the M60 was hemispherically shaped and bore a strong resemblance to the M48 Patton. The M60A1 was the first version to employ the newly designed T95E7 turret with a redesigned bustle increasing the number of rounds for the main gun to 63. The M60A2 featured a specially designed turret for the M162 gun/missile launcher that greatly reduced the frontal arc in comparison to the M60A1's T95E7 turret. The M60A3's turret was similar to the A1's but with increased armor protection for the frontal arc and mantlet in an effort to provide additional protection of the turret's hydraulics system.


title: M60 tank

text: A redesigned full vision cupola was envisioned for the commander's station. It had 7 tiltable vision blocks arranged to give the commander a 360 degree field of view with overlapping vision between adjacent vision blocks. The front vision block could be replaced with a dual power M34 7×50 binocular day sight or an M19E1 Infrared (IR) periscope. A special feature was that the cupola body could be raised up to providing the commander a direct field of vision while remaining under armor protection.


title: M60 tank

text: Access was through a hatch cover on the roof and a .50 caliber M2 Heavy Barrel (HB) machine gun was pedestal mounted on the forward part of the cupola. It could be aimed and fired with the cupola closed. Also there was an 11 inch long hydraulically operated port on the left side allowing spent cartridge cases to be ejected.


title: M60 tank

text: After creating a full-sized mock up of this design using the T95E6 turret, it was dropped in favor of a design based on the M1 cupola of the M48A2's turret. This T9 cupola provided the commander with more headroom than the T6 cupola of the T95 tank, carrying a new short receiver M85/T175 .50 caliber machine gun and it was standardized as the Cupola, Tank Commander's Caliber .50 Machine Gun, M19. The first M19 cupola (a modified T9) was ready on 27 October 1958. It has an M28C sight for the machine gun in the forward part of the cupola and eight vision blocks. The front vision block can be replaced by a M19E1 infrared periscope or an M36E1 passive periscope for night observation.


title: M60 tank

text: Initial production of the cupola was problematic. The first 300 M60s produced were armed with a .50cal M2HB machine gun in a pedestal mount welded to the left side of the commander's cupola owing to production problems with the new M85 machine gun. Of these tanks, the first 45 manufactured were made without the cupola itself, also due to production problems. All of these early M60s eventually had the M19 cupola and M85 machine gun installed.


title: M60 tank

text: Compared to a conventional pintle mount, the remote-controlled M85 machine gun was relatively ineffective in the anti-aircraft role for which it was designed. Removing the cupola lowered the vehicle's relatively high silhouette. The cupola's hatch also opened toward the rear of the vehicle and was dangerous to close if under small-arms fire owing to a lock-open mechanism that required the user to apply leverage to unlock it prior to closing. The commander was able to observe the battlefield using the x4 binocular M34D daylight vision block or the M19E1 IR or M36 Passive periscopes while remaining under armor protection with a 360 degree traverse independent of the turret, was stabilized in azimuth and elevation and carried 600 rounds of ammunition.


title: M60 tank

text: All M60s in US service retained the M19 cupola until the tank was phased out of service. The few M60A3s in Army service as training vehicles had their commander's cupola removed as it was deemed unnecessary for training and to better mimic the profile of Soviet tanks. Some M48A5s were retrofitted with the M19 cupola to maintain training levels of ARNG units.


title: M60 tank

text: The concept of the medium tank gradually evolved into the main battle tank (MBT) in the 1960s. The MBT was to combine the firepower and protection sufficient for the assault role with the mobility to perform as a medium tank. The MBT thus took on the role the British had once called the "universal tank" in the late 1950s, exemplified by the British Centurion, filling almost all battlefield roles. Typical MBTs were as well armed as any other vehicle on the battlefield, highly mobile, and well armored. Yet they were cheap enough to be built in large numbers.


title: M60 tank

text: The first generation consists of the medium tanks designed and produced directly after World War II that were later redefined as main battle tanks. These were exemplified by the M47 and M48 Pattons armed with a 90mm main gun already in widespread US service. The original variant of the M60 series also fulfilled the definition of a late first generation MBT sometimes being referred to as an intermediate second generation design. The Soviet T-54 and T-55 as well as the original configuration of the T-62A tank designs are also regarded as first generation MBTs.


title: M60 tank

text: The second generation had enhanced night-fighting capabilities and in most cases nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection. Most western tanks of this generation were armed with the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun or derivatives of it. Notable are the British Chieftain and German Leopard 1. The United States fully committed to the MBT doctrine in 1963 when the Marine Corps deactivated its last M103 heavy tank battalion.


title: M60 tank

text: The first American nomenclature-designated second generation MBT was the M60A1 version of the M60 series. The term MBT is used in strategic doctrine and the composition of force as determined by the United States Army. The M60 series tanks fulfilled the MBT role on a strategic and tactical level. It was never referred to as such in any official training or technical manuals. The first Soviet second generation main battle tank designs were the T-64 and T-72.


title: M60 tank

text: By May 1957 it became clear that the T95 Medium Tank would not have a significant advantage over the M48A2. The X-shaped motor and electro-optical rangefinder were both discarded due to performance, and the accuracy of the smoothbore gun and its high velocity APDS ammunition continued to be unsatisfactory. The T95E6 turret was to be made with the advanced silicas armor but was never constructed. All this led to the closure of the T95 project on July 7, 1960. But the T95E7 turret design using conventional hardened steel armor was carried forward, becoming the M60A1's turret.


title: M60 tank

text: The course of the M48 Patton's tank production was the source of widespread Congressional debate. The Bureau of the Budget believed that the Army was not progressing with sufficient speed in its tank modernization program and recommended the immediate replacement of the M48A2. Correctly predicting that Congress would not approve the procurement of the M48A2 after the fiscal year 1959, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics (DCSLOG) proposed a tank based on the M48A2 featuring improved firepower and the AVDS-1790 engine. Since the main gun had not yet been specified, four XM60 weapons systems were submitted in September 1957.


title: M60 tank

text: The first concept was armed with the 120mm gun T123E6 in the long nosed T95E6 turret. This was the design preferred by the Ordnance Department. It was fitted with a mock-up of the new designed full-vision commander's cupola. A full sized prototype of this turret was constructed before this concept was dropped, mainly due to its slow rate of fire. The second carried the 105mm rifled T254E1 main gun in the T95E5 type turret and the T9 cupola style of the M48A2. The T254 guns used British X15/L52 barrels with a concentric bore evacuator on the barrel.


title: M60 tank

text: The Army Ordnance Technical Committee chose this design for production in August 1958. The third concept was to mount the 90mm T208 smooth-bore main gun and the T95E6 turret with the T6 cupola of the T95 tank. It never progressed beyond design drawings. The fourth used the T95E1 turret and the T208 main gun. A mock-up was built using the new vision cupola. All of these conceptual designs were referred to as the XM60. A contract was awarded to Chrysler Engineering in September 1958 for the advanced production engineering (APE) of the XM60 concept #2.


title: M60 tank

text: The T95 hull was considered however its one-piece front casting was too difficult and expensive to produce in quantity. Some existing T95 hulls were re-fitted with the AVDS-1790 engine and used from 1960 to 1964 to develop the T118E1 prototyping of the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle. Instead the decision was made to use modified M48A2 hulls. The hulls had 3 return rollers and 6 steel roadwheel pairs per side with no shock absorbers, using only bumper springs on the first and sixth roadwheel arms, along with a widened turret well and ring, and a flat wedge-shaped glacis. The T254E2 gun was chosen to be the main weapon of the tank in August 1958 being standardized as the M68 105mm gun. After a briefing on 11 December 1958, General Maxwell Taylor ordered the XM60 into production because of the improvements it offered in firepower, protection, and cruising range.


title: M60 tank

text: Since the tank had not yet received its official designation these prototype hulls were briefly referred to as the M68 in December 1958 until they were officially named the M60 in March 1959. Fulfilling this requirement was an interim tank design that resulted in the M60-series, which largely resembles the M48A2 Patton it was based on, but has significant differences. The visual similarity of these designs as well as their overlapping period of service has caused some sources to informally name the original variant of the M60 as a Patton tank.


title: M60 tank

text: The OTCM (Ordnance Technical Committee Minutes) #37002 officially standardized the type as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 on 16 March 1959. The production contract was approved April 1959 with the low rate initial production starting in June at the Chrysler Corporation Delaware Defense Plant in Newark Delaware. Production pilot 1 was completed at Chrysler Defense Engineering on 2 July with an initial production total of 45 tanks in July 1959. These tanks were sent to the Aberdeen Proving Ground for survivability testing and final design modifications. This batch of tanks did not have the M19 cupola due to its initial production problems.


title: M60 tank

text: Production pilot 2 was finished on 4 August and used to develop technical publications and an additional 47 tanks produced to complete the first low rate production buy. In August 1959, an engineering bid package was awarded for the second low rate production buy of M60s to be built at the Delaware Plant. Production pilot 3 was completed 2 September. These tanks went to the Detroit Arsenal Test Center for maintenance evaluations, they were then sent to Fort Knox for user trials.


title: M60 tank

text: The fourth pilot was completed on 26 October and was used as the master hull to verify production standards at the Detroit Tank Plant with a low-rate initial production total of 180 M60s built in 1959. Subsequent production, starting with the October 1960 batch were built at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, in Warren Michigan. It reached operational capability with fielding to Army units in Europe beginning in December 1960.


title: M60 tank

text: The original variant of the M60 series ultimately was produced as a quick fix engineering (QFE) upgrade of the M48 due to the Soviet Union's tank advancements of the late 1950s and the delays from developing the silicas armor and an improved turret design. The M60 mounted a 105 mm M68 main gun with the bore evacuator mounted towards the middle of the tube carrying 57 rounds in the clamshell shaped turret style of the M48. Nine rounds were stowed in the left side of the turret bustle behind the loader.


title: M60 tank

text: The remaining rounds were stored inside safe containers on the hull floor. A new short receiver coaxial machine gun was designed for the M60 tank. This was the 7.62mm M73/T197E2 which replaced the .30 caliber M37 used on the M48A2. It had 2,000 rounds of ammunition. They had a reputation for jamming. After working to correct this, they were redesignated as the M73A1 in 1970.


title: M60 tank

text: The electronics package on the M60 was essentially the same as used on the M48A2C including an improved turret control system and an all-metric measurement M16 Fire Control System (FCS), The M16 FCS consists of a new M10 ballistic drive and mechanical M16E1 gun data computer which integrated barrel temperature data with an M17 coincidence range finder. The rangefinder is a double image coincidence image instrument used as the ranging device of the gunner's primary direct sighting and fire control system. The gunner is provided with an M31E1 day periscope with a magnification of x8 and an M105D day telescopic sight with a magnification of x8 and a field of view of 7.5 degrees.


title: M60 tank

text: Range information from the rangefinder is fed into the ballistic computer through a shaft. The ballistic computer is a mechanically driven unit that permits ammunition selection, range correction, and superelevation correction by the gunner. The ballistic drive receives the range input and, through the use of cams and gears, provides superelevation information to the superelevation actuator. The superelevation actuator adds sufficient hydraulic fluid to the elevating mechanism to correctly position the gun.


title: M60 tank

text: In late 1962 a kit was fielded that allowed the use of the AN/VSS-1(V)1 IR searchlight. The searchlight has both infrared and visible light capabilities and was positioned over the gun. Along with an M32 IR periscope for the gunner, M19 IR periscope and M18 IR binoculars for the commander provided first generation night vision capability to the M60 and M60A1 tanks. This kit was also compatible with the M48A3/A5.


title: M60 tank

text: The hull bottom had a strong boat-like appearance with a pronounced recess between the upper tracks and external suspension arms with cast aluminum roadwheels and return rollers along with a single shock absorber on the first roadwheel pair. Cast aluminum road wheels were used to save weight. The armor was improved, at 6 inches (155 mm) on the front glacis and mantle of solid rolled homogeneous armor, while it was 4.3 inches (110 mm) on the M48. Power was provided by the AVDS-1790-2A engine, CD-850-5 cross drive transmission and the T97E2 track assembly as used on the M48A3.


title: M60 tank

text: The drive sprocket is located at the rear of the hull. The vehicle also provides full NBC protection for the crew using the M13A1 protection system creating a positive atmospheric pressure in the crew compartment. The positive pressure keeps contaminated air out and forces the smoke produced from firing the main or coax guns out of the vehicle. Access between the driver's compartment and the turret fighting compartment was also restricted, requiring that the turret be traversed to the rear.


title: M60 tank

text: The M60 was deployed to West Germany to counter the threat presented from the T-54s and T-55s of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact as well as to South Korea but was never sent to South Vietnam mainly due to unfavorable terrain and the general lack of significant numbers of North Vietnamese armor. In May 1961 Army Chief-of-Staff General George Decker announced that the European Command had been receiving the M60 to replace older tank inventory. By October the Seventh Army was outfitted with many of the tanks. A total of 2,205 M60s were built between June 1959 and August 1962. Some M60/E60 tanks were later transferred to Israel and participated in the Yom Kippur War. Some were repurposed as AVLBs.


title: M60 tank

text: The program to develop the M60A1 was approved in early 1960 in conjunction with abandoning further development of the advanced composite armor and the closure of the T95 Medium Tank project. The first proof of concept attempt to mate a modified M60 hull with the T95E7 turret took place in March 1960. The turret, even without the siliceous cored armor, provided improved ballistic protection. Additional space for the turret crew was also made available by using the M140 mount thus moving the cannon 5 inches forward.


title: M60 tank

text: In addition to the new turret design, the hull was upgraded. The hull's upper glacis armor was increased from 3.67 inches to 4.29 inches at 65 degrees while the turret sides went from 1.9 inches to 2.9 inches at their apex. This brought the frontal armor up to the same 10" line of sight armor standard of the M103 heavy tank. A mushroom-shaped fume extractor was placed at the rear left of the turret bustle to vent smoke produced from firing the main or coax guns out of the vehicle. The addition of a shock absorber on the second roadwheel pair was also accompanied by a slight relocation of the first return roller. These modifications were needed due to the increased weight of the M60A1 turret as well as the additional hull armor.


title: M60 tank

text: As the development of a new main battle tank stalled with problems and cost escalating quickly, the M60A1 was forced to serve longer than originally intended with production lasting almost 20 years. In that time span, numerous product improvement programs were put forward. As the major changes were incorporated into the production line, the vehicle model designations were changed. The first of which was Top Loading Air Cleaner (TLAC) in 1971. This reduced dirt and dust ingestion, which increased engine life as well as allowing for easier servicing of the engine. Early TLAC panels were made from aluminum and were vulnerable to damage from small arms fire.


title: M60 tank

text: During the early 1960s there was some debate regarding the future of main tank weaponry, largely focusing on conventional kinetic energy rounds versus missiles. In the early 1960s it was generally accepted that the maximum effective range of the M68 gun was between 1800 and 2000 meters. The XM-13 missile system had proven itself viable, obtaining over 90% first round accuracy up to 4000 meters. But the development of a main battle tank variant was bogged down by having too many design proposals. In response, studies were made in August 1961 to retrofit existing M60 tanks with a weapon capable of firing both conventional HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) rounds and launching ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided-Missiles).


title: M60 tank

text: Three M60E1 tanks with T95 turrets were modified to permit the installation of the 152mm XM81 gun-launcher. Mounted on former M60 hulls, they were to provide test beds for the evaluation of the Shillelagh weapon system. Although this system was the preferred armament for the MBT-70, by late 1961 problems with the XM13 missile required that the program be reorganized. The missile was reclassified as an applied research project and it was obvious that there would be some delay before it would be available for service.


title: M60 tank

text: On 10 January 1962, representatives from various ordnance organizations met at the Ordnance Tank-Automotive Center (OTAC) to review armament systems that might be suitable replacements, if the Shillelagh missile could not be developed in a timely manner. Time was particularly critical for the Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle (AR/AAV) (the XM551 Sheridan) which required a decision on the armament by April 1962. The possible delay was not as serious for the MBT-70 since the program was limited to conceptual design and component development. The requirements also differed for the tank because of its ability to carry a much heavier weapon system.


title: M60 tank

text: Several backup weapons were also under consideration and concept studies were prepared showing their application to the MBT-70 concepts. The 152mm gun-launcher XM81 also was considered without the missile depending only on the combustible case conventional ammunition. It was expected that the Shillelagh or some other missile then could be introduced at a later date.