NEW YORK, NY (January 30, 2020) – Hearst Autos has announced a new luxury magazine called R&T dedicated to the auto-enthusiast lifestyle. R&T, a companion to flagship title Road & Track, will be anchored in pursuits including travel, food, wine, and luxury goods, with immersive features and sharp writing about the automotive lifestyle. Mike Guy, formerly of The Drive, has been appointed editorial director. The announcement was made by Hearst Autos CEO Matt Sanchez, to whom Guy will report.
“The Road & Track brand has been an incredibly robust and multi-generational one for more than 60 years,” said Sanchez. “We recently expanded into the experiential arena, including road rallies and STEM-based children’s products, so a luxury magazine that goes beyond cars to explore the entire automotive lifestyle was the next logical step in expanding and deepening our connection with our audience.”
While Road & Track is the established voice of car culture and automotive news, R&T will be the super-enthusiast’s magazine. It will be immersive, thematic, and, while anchored in autos, it will dive deeper into the automotive lifestyle, capturing an audience that craves elegant design, compelling visuals, and surprising storytelling from the best writers and thinkers in the business.
R&T will be led by Mike Guy, the founder and former editor-in-chief of The Drive. Guy was the digital director of Maxim and articles editor at Details and, earlier in his career, an editor and feature writer for Rolling Stone. He has written for publications including Playboy, GQ, and Vanity Fair, and his articles on motorsports were included in the Best American Sports Writing anthology.
The flagship Road & Track, which will remain under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Travis Okulski and Publisher/Chief Revenue Officer Felix DiFilippo, will continue to publish ten times per year, and roadandtrack.com will remain the digital touchpoint for the brand. DiFilippo will also oversee all advertising and marketing efforts ofR&T.
R&T will be printed on high-quality, oversized paper stock, perfect for showcasing captivating photography and long-form features. Each issue will be themed. The premiere issue focuses on “Motorsports,” and will coincide with the running of the Indy 500. Articles in the debut issue will include the allure of racing and the adrenaline-fueled lifestyles of both participants and spectators.
“The opportunity to expand the mission of the most storied automotive title in the world comes along once in a lifetime,” said Guy. “I’m excited to apply Road & Track’s legacy storytelling chops to what will be the most elegant, visually arresting lifestyle publication in the business.”
R&T will publish Summer, Fall and Winter issues in 2020. The premiere issue will be available on May 26 in select stores and on select newsstands It will also be sent to 50,000 select Road & Tracksubscribers. R&T subscriptions will be offered starting next year.
The move to add a second Road & Track publication is part of a larger strategy for the brand. A push to expand into additional consumer touchpoints has been underway since 2019. In addition to print products, Road & Track has launched a series of “Experiences,” including road-rally vacations in some of the country’s most-coveted driving destinations, a car club for children ages 6 and up, a virtual e-racing competition, and more.
About Hearst Autos
As the leading automotive media organization in the world, Hearst Autos connects car buyers, owners, and enthusiasts to the information they need, the experiences they crave and the stories they love – while connecting automotive marketers to this audience of unrivaled breadth and diversity.
About Road & Track
Road & Track is the longest-running and most trusted automotive magazine brand in the United States. Its content is geared to the passionate auto enthusiast and contains information about the latest models, industry news and auto shows blended with wide-ranging feature stories, technical insights and coverage of the vintage car scene and motorsports. Road & Track pioneered the instrumented road test and its single car and comparison tests along with complete and technically accurate data panels, set the benchmark for the segment. Road & Track focuses on performance-oriented vehicles, sports cars and sedans that are, above all, fun to drive. With a 60+ year track record of informing, entertaining and fueling the passion of car lovers, Road & Track creates unique content across print, video, web and mobile sites, apps, and digital products in ways that engage users and invite them to interact with our editors and other enthusiasts.
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Contact: Nathan Christopher, NChristopher@Hearst.com