by James on January 25, 2010
Return of Michael Schumacher
The return of Schumacher seems to be too much for fellow team-mate Nico Rosberg, in photos below, Rosberg is the one who looks defeated already, almost like ‘what’s the point?’, and he might be right. How do you stand out and get noticed when your team-mate is the seven-time world champion? We’re not sure exactly how, but we’re pretty sure this new Mercedes GP Petronas car will draw attention when it hits the track this March at the opening of the Formula One season in Bahrain. Oh, did we mention Michael Schumacher holds the current lap record at the Sakhir track, lapping the 5.4km track in 1:30.252 back in 2004.
“Finally the 2010 Formula One season is firing up!” said Schumacher “I have to say that I am totally committed to this new challenge. This season feels like a re-start for me and I am so motivated. We have a very exciting combination at Mercedes GP Petronas.”
Continue for more images. [click to continue…]
by James on January 21, 2010
Why 2014?
With Ford bringing back the beloved 5.0 in an effort to step up and deliver a true competitor worthy of the term ‘rival’ when compared to the Camaro or Challenger it’s somewhat surprising it will be 2014 before we see the superior handling delivered through Independent Rear Suspension, but word is out that Ford will definitely utilize IRS for the new, redesigned 50th anniversary edition of their iconic muscle car.
The next generation pony car will see a new body design and is also expected to be smaller, similar to the size of the Fox-body – hopefully it’ll look a hell of a lot better than the Fox-body, all in an effort to improve fuel economy and increase performance.
Via: Leftlanenews
by James on January 21, 2010
Not Just Once But Four Times
If anyone was going to be able to take the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and work the magic needed to produce 739 horses and 740 lb-ft of torque and cover a quarter-mile track in under 10 seconds it was gonna be Lingenfelter.
The upgrade abundant 2009 Jetstream Blue Metallic C6 Corvette ZR1 produced four continuous runs in the 9’s at the Maryland International Raceway, the fastest pass crossed the line in 9.813 seconds at 145.74mph. A few of the required upgrades include a Lingenfelter supercharger with pulleys upgraded to use an eleven rib belt, a ported stock throttle body, a double capacity intercooler heat exchanger with a larger capacity reservoir, some R345/35R18 Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials in the rear with P185/50R18 M&H Racemasters up front. Continue for Video. [click to continue…]
by James on January 20, 2010
Hits 1G Through Corners
Equipped with the ZR1 Corvette LS9 tuned and supercharged to put down 705hp, Hennessey have put out another video of the beast, only this time it’s not on the dyno, it’s been unleashed on the MSR Houston track in the great state of Texas.
The force-fed fiend attacks the corners hard, hitting 1.0G through a couple of them and slingshots out to the straight-away to hit a top speed of 131mph. We’d like to see what the Stig would do with it – just throwing it out there. Continue for Video – [click to continue…]
by James on January 20, 2010
No, It’s Not The World’s First Rear-wheel Steer Supra
So it’s posted over at Motivemag.com as ‘Supra eats it at a meet in SoCal while attempting to hoon’. So quick recap of ‘Hooning 101’: If you’re gonna use a MkIV Toyota Supra to showboat you better know what you’re doing or you’ll just end up looking like a spoon.
No details on exactly what the spazmoid was trying to accomplish here but it’s pretty evident it all went horribly wrong as the wooden pole aided in the re-alignment of the rear wheels. We can only agree with that commenter that summed it all up with a ‘Way to go Dumb***’. More images – [click to continue…]
by James on January 19, 2010
Supercharged 5.0
Unveiled on the 45th anniversary of the original ’65 Shelby GT350 at Barrett-Jacksons auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, a concept version of the GT350 package to be offered from Shelby for the new five-point-ohhh 2011 Mustang.
“Since this was one of the most important cars in Shelby’s history, everyone stepped up to make sure it meets Carroll’s performance standards,” – Gary Davis, vice president of production for Shelby American.
So, what exactly do you get from Shelby’s Las Vegas facility for your $33,995, not quite what you’d expect for that kind of money. [click to continue…]
by James on January 19, 2010
2011 Heavy Duty Duramax vs. 2011 F-series Super Duty
The guys at Pickuptrucks.com managed to get GM’s vice chairman of global product operations, Tom Stephens, a little excited – to say the least – in much the same way Lutz got excited and we ended up with the CTS-V Challenge. In a recent interview regarding the new 2011 Duramax equipped Heavy Duty trucks, former executive vice president of GM global powertrain blurted the following out.
“You know what I want to do to prove it? I want to take our truck and Ford’s [new Super Duty] and chain them together back -to-back. Then I want to have them pull against each other. I know our truck will beat theirs.” – Tom Stephens
Editor at Pickuptrucks.com, Mike Levin, asked three times if this was a serious challenge, Stephens confirmed he saw it as the ultimate way to prove the strength of the GM Heavy Duty line-up. So it only makes sense Levine would follow that up with a pass along to Ford with an offer to arrange and referee such an event in Texas. We now wait for their response, and unlike the CTS-V Challenge we do expect a response.
Source: Pickuptrucks.com
by James on January 18, 2010
Oh G, How Exciting
At the Tokyo’s equivalent to the SEMA show there just so happens to be a ‘Nerds Corner’, and this Toyota Prius occupies that floor space. I’m not sure how Toyota come up with the thought Prius & Sport could go together for a new concept, they have even thrown ‘G’ in there to help convince somebody this a good idea.
The G Sport utilizes the same 1.8L from the standard Prius and still delivers the same output of a gerbils fart, so everything that makes it a G-whizz of a sports hybrid is in the form of cosmetic styling and improved aerodynamics. Updates include LED DRL’s, new bumpers and side skirts, a dual exhaust system (what the freak is that for?!?!!?), with 18” alloys hiding a set of high performance ADVICS brakes. Do you think the Prius designers are getting bored? This is clearly a cry for attention.
Yes, It does look like it’s going fast but it’s going down hill! [click to continue…]
by James on January 18, 2010
Japanese Tuner Turns Attention To Nissan GT-R
The Tokyo SEMA Auto Salon Show was chosen as the location to unveil Tommy Kiara’s carbon fiber wide bodied Nissan GT-R, and while the iconic Japanese tuner didn’t exactly tune this offering as such, he did improve handling with a high performance brakes kit, a sports suspension set-up, and a sports titanium exhaust system to help the 485 horses grunt a little easier. [click to continue…]
by James on January 18, 2010
Mini with Four Doors
Spy-shots hit the web last month of this ridiculous looking mini due to hit the European market later this year, followed by the U.S. market early in 2011. Well Mini were so impressed with the attention the black & yellow psychedelic wrapped prototype gained they decided to run with the theme for the release of a teaser video announcing the official reveal to take place on February 7th via their website.
Be warned, your ‘gay-dar’ may go off watching the following video. [click to continue…]
by James on January 18, 2010
Made In The USA
New from Morgan’s & Phillip’s for 2010 will be a selection of officially licensed T-shirts bearing images inspired by the iconic brand Shelby America.
The above shirts are just three previews of the new line they will offer as of the first of next month. Morgan’s & Phillip’s offer quality T-shirts made in the USA which is a pretty big deal, because who wants a Shelby cobra on a shirt made from the land of ricers?!? Their shirts are usually limited-run editions in the region of $29 to $39. Click here for their website.
by James on January 17, 2010
Porsche Designs Black Edition
While there hasn’t been much in the way of details for the P9552 Black Edition other than it will be loaded with “innovative functions” and offer “excellent sound and image reproduction” along with a fingerprint reader for security, we do know it just picked up the 2009 Good Design Award and the iF Product Design Award.
“Black is the color of Porsche Design”, says Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO of Porsche Design Group (Porsche Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG). “Black has characterized us from the start. The very first product from the Porsche Design brand was a pitch black watch – that was revolutionary at the time and caused a worldwide stir. As is typical for Porsche Design, the black has a functional background: the Chronograph I is derived from the appearance of the non-reflective instruments used in racing cars, in which everything right down to the instruments is matt black. This avoids unwanted reflections and guarantees easy readability.”
[click to continue…]
