Racing
-
Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] Performance has released the first in what promises to be a four-part series of videos detailing the development of the Focus RS RX rally car. Built to compete in the FIA World Rallycross Championship series, the RS RX is an amped up, race-ready version of the forthcoming Ford Focus RS, which promises to be wild enough on its own. Two cars have been developed and both race under the Hoonigan Racing Division banner, owned by noted gymkhana king Ken Block. Block and Andreas Bakkerud are the drivers, and their next race is the World RX of Hockenheim (Germany)...
-
Report: Russian billionaire acquires rights to Nürburgring
The speed limits that have dogged the Nürburgring for the last 12 months are now a thing of the past, but there’s already new drama surrounding the famous German racetrack. It’s being reported that Russian billionaire Viktor Kharitonin has acquired 99 percent of the rights to the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
FCA engineer sets out to break land speed record
A powertrain engineer from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU] will head to the Bonneville Salt Flats in a few months in an attempt to break yet another land speed record. Ken Hardman's goal isn't just to break the existing top speed record for a gasoline engine streamliner up to 3.0 liters, it...
Andrew Ganz -
Australia Supercars Championship is new name of V8 Supercars
In response to changing trends, the popular Australian touring car series known as V8 Supercars has been rebranded with a new name that does away with the “V8” component. The FIA-sanctioned series from July 1 will be known as Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, with airline Virgin...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Pininfarina designs Formula E race car concepts for Mahindra
The first designs commissioned by Italian legend Pininfarina by the company's new owner has been shown: A trio of Formula E electric race car concepts. Indian conglomerate Mahindra bought Pininfarina late last year, fueling months of speculation about what would happen to the decades-old Italian...
Andrew Ganz -
1966 Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 restoration video, part two: disassembly
Last week we learned that Rob Kaufman, owner of classic car dealer RK Motors Charlotte, purchased the Ford GT40 Mk II that won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. While chassis number P1046 was in perfectly good shape, it wasn't outfitted as it was when it won Le Mans. It had done time as a transmission...
Kirk Bell -
The housing market is booming in metro Houston...and so, apparently, is the drag strip market. Those looking for their own stretch of pavement where they can exercise their rubber burning rides can now pick up their own quarter mile of heaven. Houston-area tuner Hennessey Performance Engineering is the current owner of the Lonestar Motorsports Park, a quarter-mile strip sanctioned by the International Hot Rod Association. And it's put the drag strip up for sale. The price? $2.7 million, which isn't a bad figure for the land itself just off of Interstate 10 about 45 minutes west of Houston...
-
Gear up for the 2016 Gumball rally with this video of an F1 car on the streets
The supercar—and often celebrity—studded annual road trip that is the Gumball 3000 rally is on for another year. This year, the rally kicks off in Dublin, Ireland and will snake its way through the United Kingdom and across to Europe before ending in Bucharest, Romania. Around 100 cars...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
50th Anniversary Camaro SS named official pace car of 2016 Indy 500
The Chevrolet Camaro turns 50 this year—the actual anniversary is September 26—and as part of the celebrations a special anniversary version of the current, sixth-generation model will serve as official pace car for the 2016 Indianapolis 500. It will be the ninth time a Camaro has paced...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
EPA to scrap proposed race car emissions rule
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to drop language from a bill that could be interpreted to include strict emissions regulations for road cars converted to race use. According to Automotive News, the EPA plans to remove wording that had been attached to a bill otherwise regulating medium...
Andrew Ganz -
1966 Le Mans-winning Ford GT40 restoration video, part one
If it's not the most important race car in Ford Motor Company's [NYSE:F] history, it's in the top three. Ford GT40 Mk. II chassis number P1046 was the car that officially won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. It was the culmination of Ford's effort to beat Ferrari at its own game, and not only did...
Kirk Bell -
Ford GT documentary part two: The Cutting Edge
Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] has dropped the second in a series of videos on the development of the revived Ford GT. Built as a tribute to the GT40 that won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans with a 1-2-3 finish, the next-generation GT is being developed as both a street car and a race car. In fact, the...
Kirk Bell -
Professional stuntman Damien Walters successfully completed one of his most terrifying stunts yet. The stunt was organized by the people running the Formula E Championship, and saw Walters execute a blind backflip over one of the championship’s electric race cars traveling at precisely 60 mph. Walters, who has performed stunts for numerous Hollywood movies, makes it look easy but there were two days of preparation to get everything right. Behind the wheel was stunt driver Alistair Whitton who rightly describes the stunt as "crazy." Although the jump was blind, Walters had a little help...
-
Ford loses out to Ferrari in World Endurance Championship debut
Ford Motor Company’s [NYSE:F] new GT supercar failed to shine in its second major motorsport debut, the past weekend’s season-opener for the 2016 World Endurance Championship at the legendary Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom. The two GTs entered in the 6 Hours of Silverstone...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Rosberg wins 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, Kvyat makes podium
Mercedes AMG’s Nico Rosberg cruised to victory in what turned out to be an eventful 2016 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. Yesterday’s race at the Shanghai International Circuit saw Rosberg secure his sixth grand prix in a row, making him only the fourth driver in history to do so. Ahead...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Subaru shows off new Isle of Man record attempt car
Subaru has taken the wraps off of the WRX STI racer it will send to the Isle of Man for a record attempt around the island's challenging TT course. The automaker has once again turned to Manx rally driving legend Mark Higgins for the attempt. Higgins holds two records, most recently a 19:15.88...
Andrew Ganz -
2016 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix preview
Round three of the 2016 Formula One World Championship takes place this weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. The Chinese Grand Prix has called the Shanghai International Circuit its home since the inaugural race in 2004. The layout of the track is meant to resemble a Chinese...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Volkswagen Polo R WRC teased
It’s still early days in the 2016 motorsport season but Volkswagen is already previewing its contender for the 2017 World Rally Championship. There’s a lot at stake as the next season will see Toyota make its return to the sport. VW has been the dominant force in WRC since it returned...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche used this past week’s Techno Classica event in Essen, Germany to present a beautifully restored 911 with an impressive motorsport pedigree. The car is a 1972 Porsche 911 2.5 S/T that was discovered only a few years ago sitting in a dilapidated state somewhere in the United States. Only 24 of these race cars were built, based on the road-going 911 2.4 S Coupe, and this one raced in some of the world’s most prestigious motorsport events including the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans in which it finished first in class and 13th overall. ALSO SEE: 25 original Land Rovers to be...
-
Watch the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 built in under 3 minutes
We recently brought you a time-lapse video of Prodrive building an Aston Martin Vantage GTE race car for the World Endurance Championship in under 60 seconds. Now we have a similar time-lapse video showing fellow British motorsports and engineering squad JRM building a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in less...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Russians wildly drift Corvette and custom Supra on snowy road
Snow and ice is apparently the new venue of choice for drifting a powerful muscle car or setting high speed records, but these two Russian drivers have raised the bar. The guys from Russia's Evil Empire driving team traveled to Karelia, a remote town near the country's border with Finland, to put a...
Andrew Ganz -
Porsche's Patrick Long illustrates how to pick the right line around a track
It's a lesson that is just as important on a race track as it is on a public road: selecting the most efficient and effective line through a corner. In his last video, Porsche factory driver Patrick Long explained how to properly execute a heel-and-toe downshift prior to entering a curve. Now, with...
Andrew Ganz -
Vaughn Gittin, Jr. puts a 900-hp Mustang to the test
Everything your physics teacher ever taught you about the way a car can move on pavement should be thrown out the window thanks to Vaughn Gittin, Jr. and his latest, 900-horsepower (it could be more) Ford Mustang RTR. The drift master's Mustang RTR is so new that Ford Performance hasn't even...
Andrew Ganz -
Subaru, Prodrive, and Mark Higgins eye new Isle of Man record
Subaru is heading back to the Isle of Man. For a number of years now, the automaker has sponsored the Isle of Man TT for pretty much one reason: so in-house hotshoe Mark Higgins can attack the road car record for the insane 37-mile loop that is the Snaefell Mountain Course. With the help of...
Jeff Glucker