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Getting through this Friday alright? No? Need something to make at least a few minutes go away? Here, watch this formula car drive on the Nurburgring GP track in the snow.
If this car / stunt looks familiar, it's because they've done this before. Previously we've seen Andreas Gulden, Chief Instructor of the Nurburgring Driving Academy driving one of the Formula Cars on the Nordschleife...in the rain. His job does not suck.
As you'll recall, Ford is offering two engines in the 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet -- a naturally-aspirated version of the 5.0-liter Coyote V8, and a blown version of that engine with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger. Recently, engineers from Ford Racing tested both versions on the dragstrip at Palm Beach International Raceway.
Astutely, they shot video of the burnouts and quarter-mile runs, and while it's not high-def, you can certainly hear the differences between the engines. Ample tire smoke, too.
This was shot at the Irwindale, Calif. round of the Formula D series in 2011. And yesterday, after being beautifully edited and set to music, it was released on the internet for your viewing pleasure. We love any burning rubber. But it's even better when it happens while sliding sideways and when it's being shot in slow motion.
Red Bull Racing is coming off of a VERY good 2011 Formula One season. Their RB7 racing car took home 12 wins and 27 podiums with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Weber behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, time doesn't stand still in F1 and rule changes -- as well as competition from other makers -- meant that they would have to redesign the RB7. This is the car they're replacing it with, the RB8. Red Bull isn't going into detail about the new car, but we see that it has the same stepped wing design we're seeing from everyone this season. They pull it off better than Ferrari does, though. It doesn't have to be pretty and it isn't. Time will tell if it's as fast as the RB7.
Red Bull will continue to have Vettel and Weber as drivers next year.
Jeff Zwart is not quite the king of the mountain, because he’s never actually won the Pikes Peak Hill Climb overall, but he should be the prince at least, since he’s registered so many class wins, all in street-legal cars.
The wins also have been all in Porsches, since Zwart has been obsessed with them since he was a kid and used to ride his Stingray bicycle around Huntington Beach, California, with his pal Freeman Thomas (now the director of advanced design at Ford) just looking for the sports cars from Zuffenhausen. Though Zwart is now a well-known photographer and maker of commercial films (notably for Porsche), he still thinks his old Porsche 914 – the first car he ever bought with his own money (and not exactly from Zuffenhausen) – is cool.
So when we heard by chance through a friend that Zwart’s new street car happened to be at Circle Porsche in Long Beach, we drove over there to take a look.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is one of the straight up coolest cars on the road today. Gullwing doors could be stupid, but somehow, Mercedes makes it cool without being pretentious and without coming off as desperate for attention as Lamborghini does. If we have a complaint about it, though, it's the the SLS AMG isn't errs on the side of comfort. Sure, some of us dig that, but a car like this is begging for a more raw version.
For the street, that raw version will come as the SLS AMG Black Series. For the track we get the SLS AMG GT3. It's half-a-million bucks, the body is carbon-fiber, all glass has been replaced by polycarbonate, there's new aero, it's got manual transmission and it weighs 2,976 lbs.
Mercedes has just released Part 1 of a new SLS AMG GT3-themed video series. While this one is about the marriage of the engine/transmission to the chassis, we have to assume that if we stick with them throughout this rollout, we'll get some cool track footage soon.
It's still early in 2012, but we've already got a frontrunner for our favorite feature of 2012, the Car Collection of WRC Legend Juha Kankkunen.It isn't simply that he has one of the most shockingly, jaw-droppingly awesome car collections we've ever heard about, but that this was the first time anyone was allowed to go inside with a camera. Epic doesn't begin to describe it.
That got us thinking about other Rally drivers and the cars they master on the roads which made us think of this video of Petter Solberg walking you through his garage. It's not a fantastic display garage and it isn't nearly as upsettingly perfect as Juha's, but it is a chance to see what Petter drives (you won't see his 911 GT3 RS -- it's in Monaco) and hear some stories about the cars and Petter's adventure. Camera work is...poor.
By all accounts, I should like golf. Unfortunately the idea of hitting a ball with a stick every few minutes and hanging out with my buddies all day is vastly different than the tiresome, frustrating exercise in pointlessness that is real golf. The game needs to be two hours shorter and sixteen times more frantic. Maybe have live bees at random tees? Or a guy trying to tackle you? That'd be fun.
Rhys Millen seems to have found a different way to spice it up. The trick appears to be using a Hyundai Veloster Rally car instead of those wimpy carts. And to tear up some unreasonably expensive landscaping instead of using those silly paths.
Last week we posted the second video from Icon in the Car vs Motorcycle series: Drift 2. While there was certainly some exceptional driving/riding going on, what captured most people's attention was the 240SX that drifted off the road and rolled at the end of the video.
There was no explanation and no follow-up. Just a crash where you saw the guy's head tilt out the window and then roll back in just before it would have been crushed.
Icon got the message that we want more of this so they've put together a video showing what happened before and after the crash. It was, as these things always are, on the "one last ride" lap. Line of the day: "We done flipped it. You okay, guy?"
By now you've heard about the new Toyota LMP1 Hybrid set for this year's Le Mans race. The TS030 as it's called features the new Toyota Hybrid System-Racing (THS-R) powertrain that combines a naturally aspirated gasoline V8 and an electric motor with capacitor storage.
Last year, Porsche fielded the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, but this one is in another class altogether. It will be a fun race to watch for sure. Until then, though, click past the jump and check out what this thing actually sounds like. It's...unique.
Like it or not, the Iceman is back.
Kimi Raikkonen hasn't been in an F1 car since 2009 but just threw down 171 laps durig a two-day practice session at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. Raikkonen was driving the 2010 Renault R30. "Having not driven a Formula 1 car for two years and obviously with a new team, there is a lot to get used to. I'm happy because I was pretty quick to get back in the groove," Kimmi said. "It was great to be driving an F1 car again and from that respect I feel very positive."
The team tested both low-fuel qualifying laps and a full-tank 27 lap session. Tough work, right?
At the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour today, Ford officially unveiled this, the 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint car.
The racecar features a new silhouette and the face and headlights from the 2013 Ford Fusion we saw in Detroit. "We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return 'stock car' to NASCAR. I Think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to reengage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways," said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing in a statement echoing the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" adage.
More than just a 2013 Fusion sticker package, Ford worked hard to make sure the proportions of the racecar were as close as possible to those of the road car despite the size difference. "This is a seminal moment in the sport where we had a chance to get it right once again and make sure the race cars are race versions of street cars. And I am proud because I believe we have accomplished just that," Allison concluded.
Look for the 2013 Ford Fusion to make its NASCAR debut at the Daytona 500 in February of 2013.
After a successful race in 2011, Rod Millen will be back to Pikes Peak for the 2012 race.
Last year the elder Millen won the 2WD Time Attack devision in a Hyundai Genesis coupe with a time of 11:04.912. Millen has won the unlimited division five times and held the overall record until Monster Tajima beat it in 2007.
When he races Pikes Peak on July 8th, Millen will be 61 years old. Nobuhiro Tajima will be 62.
Honda's commitment to the entry-level B-Spec racing series is admirable. Along with Mazda, they're spearheading the development of what should be an affordable(ish) series to enter and a competitive series to watch.
Now, Honda has announced their line of "manufacturer-approved suspension components." For $2,800 you'll get coil-over shocks, camber bolts, braided stainless brake lines, an air filter, front and rear race springs, a cat-back exhaust, front brake pads and an A/C delete belt. The kits will be available on 2/1/2012 through HPD.
"A cornerstone of our grassroots motorsports marketing initiative has been to establish a connection between Honda's passenger cars and the racing cars that evolve from these models. The B-Spec category provides a relatively low-cost means for the prospective racer to enter the sport, and the Honda FIt offers a natural point of entry. These are inexpensive, great-handling cars that should provide both excellent competition and help grow the sport at the entry level," said HPD General Manager Marc Sours in a statement.
You'll still have to provide your own Honda fit, competition cage, racing seats, harness and other safety equipment.
Related: Testing the 2011 Mazda 2 and 2010 Honda Fit B-Spec Racecars.
Ford is serious about promoting their new race car on the internets. We've now heard from two racing drivers in Ford-provided videos about the Ford Focus ST-R the most recent being TV's very own Tanner Foust.
This time we've got the other side of race car development, the engineers. Here, Ford Racing Engineering Supervisor Mark Wilson and Multimatic Motorsports Team Manager Sean Masson talk designing a reliable, fast, affordable race car.
Well, it looks like Formula One in the U.S. is a go for the 2012 Season. (Fingers crossed they've finished paving.) For many, this race will just be another giant chuck of memory on our DVR's, but for a select few, an F1 race in Texas is a doable destination. For those of you who are already scoping out driving directions, premium-class flights or chartered jets, the Circuit of the Americas has just opened up a waitlist for luxury suite and exclusive seating. Select seating gives the buyer covered seats with good sightlines, priority parking and better food/drink options. Pricing for the lux seats (which go on sale March 1) was not announced, but if you want on the waiting list, you'll have to pony up $100 to get on the list.
So, if you want premium seating (or want to scoop some good seats for selling later) register now. General admission ticket sales begin in the summer.
Not a new video, but new to me. Even if you've seen Daigo Saito's jump drift from the D1GP round 5 in 2010, it's worth watching again. And again. And again.
If every D1 "race" had a similar obstacle I'd never watch anything else.
We've been following the Ford Focus ST-R since about the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Recently we got a walkaround of Ford's $98,995 turn-key racer by Ford Racing's Andy Vrenko.
Vrenko was a good host, but he's no Tanner Foust. You know who is Tanner Foust? Top Gear USA's Tanner Foust. (Think the SEO gods know Tanner Foust is in this video? I've said Tanner Foust frequently enough.) This video is mostly talk from the RallyCross champion, but we get some action and a good deal of insight on what it actually takes to field a racecar.
Citing financial strain, Peugeot will not be returning to Le Mans 24-hour racing for the 2012 season. "This decision has been taken in the context of a difficult economic environment in Europe. Peugeot has chosen to concentrate resources on its sales performance in 2012." said Peugeot in a statement. The brand will instead focus on the launches of the 208, 3008 HYbrid, 508 RXH, 508 HYbrid4 and the 4008.
Peugeot and Audi have made endurance racing watchable the last few years thanks to their high-performance diesel racers. The Peugeot 908 ran a turbocharged 5.5-liter V12 making over 700 horsepower and almost 900 pound-feet of torque. Peugeot won 14 of its last 16 races.
Above is the 908 Hybrid4 Prototype shown in Geneva last year.
(Peugeot)
The worst part about being a rally fan in the U.S.? Trying to explain to people that no, they're not trucks but that yes, they do race in the dirt or trying to find it anywhere on U.S. TV?
Certainly the former, but nobody can help you there. Rally America, however, has a solution for the latter; they will be live-streaming the Sno* Drift Rally live on Friday January 27th. The event will be hosted on www.rally-america.com and will feature not just stage racing, but driver interviews, results and analysis. 70 cars are entered for the event which takes place in northern Michigan.
We've got a couple of weeks until the event, until then, there are Sno* Drift highlights after the jump.
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