Motorsports
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car Revealed Ahead of Detroit Auto Show Debut
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You can’t buy it, but it might just be the most amazing car that will make its debut at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show next week. Several weeks ago Cadillac officially confirmed its return to the SCCA’s World Challenge GT series for the 2011 season with the CTS-V Coupe. At the time, only renderings of…
Red Bull May Develop In-House Engine For Formula 1
With their supply of Renault engines set to dry up after 2011, and new engine regulations coming into place in 2013, current champions Red Bull are said to be looking at producing their own engines, with one rumored partner said to be Volkswagen. “We are on standby for an interesting partnership, and even the idea…
Ferrari Chairman Calls 4-Cylinder Formula 1 Engines “Pathetic”
Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo expressed disgust regarding Formula 1’s new engine regulations, slated to come into effect in 2013. According to a report by British network Sky Sports, the sartorially impeccable Ferrari boss said that the new turbo 4-cylinder engines are “a bit pathetic” for “the top class of racing”. “ Why couldn’t we…
Toyo Tires Dakar Rally Blog Lets You Get Close to the Action
And if you can’t get in the action physically, then you can ride along with the Toyo Tires/Speed Energy team which is campaigning two Hummer H3s, one driven by legendary NASCAR hotshoe Robby Gordon.
Ferrari 550 GTR Going Drifting With Carbon Wide-Body, BMW Power
We’ve seen some crazy car builds in our time, but this one might top the list. SVK Customs based out of Sweden has been overhauling a Ferrari 550 GTR to one exotic machine. Just a brief overview will make any enthusiast drop their jaw: custom carbon fiber widebody kit, BMW powerplant and custom fabricated suspension…
Aston Martin V12 Vantage Vs DBR1-2 LMP1 Race Car on the Street [Video]
It’s hardly news, but it is worth a watch. Aston Martin has just released another glam video highlighting the connection between its street and race cars. The short video, featuring both the V12 Vantage and the Gulf DBR1-2 Le Mans race car puts the focus on the British automaker’s big 6.0-liter (actually a 5.9-liter) V12…
Electric Open Wheel Racing Series to Hit the Track in 2013
At the recent U.N. Climate Change Conference, the announcement to launch an all-electric racing series was made. The new series will be called Formulec EF01. This new series will be performed on tracks around the world and in terms of performance will rival the current FIA Formula-3 series, which uses 2.0-liter gas engines. The new…
Name Aston Martin’s 2011 Le Mans Race Car
Aston Martin has opened up a contest to the world to help decide on a name for the British automaker’s new 2011 Le Mans Race Car. For 2011, Aston Martin will be entering a brand new LMP1 car into the Le Mans 24-hour race, and you may be the creative one to give it its…
Nissan 240SX Crushed By Friends In Tribute To Former Owner [Video Inside]
Tim Aldrich, a Florida resident and Nissan 240SX owner, passed away in early August, 2010. Although I never knew Tim personally, he was a larger than life presence on Ziptied, an online forum that I’ve frequented for a number of years, where Tim’s ribald humor and offline friendships with a number of other Ziptied members…
Honda Fit, Mazda2 Headline New B-Spec Road Racing Series
The Honda Fit and Mazda 2 will headline a new racing class, known as B-Spec, that’s been designed as a new showroom stock racing series. The rule set is expected to be finalized within the next 60 days, and both the SCCA and NASA sanctioning bodies have expressed interested in adopting the class. Using OEM…
MINI Countryman To Contest Dakar Rally
German firm X-Raid is already preparing a MINI Countryman, a vehicle that’s been on sale for less than a month, for competition in the upcoming Dakar rally. While most of the photos show a finished product, the vehicle prep shots show a pretty thorough re-working of the biggest MINI, as well as a gorgeous custom…
2011 Porsche GT3 RSR GT Race Car Revealed
Porsche has just unwrapped its latest race car, the 2011 911 GT3 RSR GT, with more power, improved grip and a lot of letters. Using a 4.0-liter flat-six and six-speed sequential gearbox, power is now rated at 449-hp at 7800 rpm, an improvement of 5-hp over the outgoing model. Outside, the car gets wider front…
Tom Walkinshaw Dies At Age 64
Race car magnate Tom Walkinshaw has died at age 64 after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Walkinshaw began his career as a driver, and then established legendary firm Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) in 1976, and contested European and Australian motor racing, with his team winning the Bathurst 1000 endurance race in 1985. TWR was also…
Cadillac Officially Announces CTS-V Coupe Racing Program
Even though we brought you the news nearly a month ago, Cadillac has officially announced that they are campaigning a CTS-V Coupe in the SCCA World Challenge GT series. With the cars prepped by Pratt & Miller and piloted by Andy Pilgrim and Johnny O’Connell, the CTS-V coupes should give stiff competition to the dominant…
Formula 1 Returns To Turbo Four Cylinders In 2013
Formula 1 will revert back to its craziest era in 2013, when it adopts a 1.6L 4-cylinder turbo engine for its series. The last time the turbo 4-banger was offered, it made in excess of 1,300 horsepower, but the new rules will be focused more on efficiency rather than outright power. With a maximum redline…
Audi R18 Le Mans Prototype Unveiled With Closed Cockpit Design
After Peugeot’s Le Mans victory, many speculated that Audi would be working on a new Le Mans Prototype to regain their dominance in the race series. And here we have it, Audi’s new R18 Le Mans Prototype and gone is their traditional open-top design. Not since 1999 has Audi brought a closed coupe to Le…
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302S Race Car Revealed at PRI
Ford chose the very appropriate Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show to debut the all new 2013 Mustang Boss 302S race car. Siting mid-way between the Laguna Seca model and the Boss 302R race car (a purpose built machine designed to compete in the Grand Am Series), the 302S is a slightly less aggressive track machine…
2012 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Officially Revealed
Although we were one of the first outlets to bring you specs on the competition-only 2012 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, official pictures were hard to come by – until today, when Ford released the first shots of their factory backed dragster. Unveiled at the PRI Show (a trade show for racing gear held in Orlando,…
Ferrari 458 GT2 Race Car Spied Testing at Fiorano
First came the debut of the 458 Italia, Ferrari‘s replacement for the F430. Then came the Challenge version, a dedicated track machine for use in the Italian automaker’s gentleman driving series. We’re still expecting some sort of street version of the Challenge model in a few years time, but until then Ferrari is prepping a…
Two Lotus Teams to Compete in 2011 Formula One Season
Lotus made a less than successful return to F1 in 2010, after being out of the sport since 1994. However, it seems there will be lots of Lotus F1 cars on the grid for the 2011 season. So apart from Team Lotus (formerly known as Lotus F1) which is a privately owned team, Group Lotus…
Lotus Renault GP Returns To Formula 1 With Historic Livery
The black and gold Lotus paint scheme may be Formula 1’s most iconic livery, more dear to the hearts of fans than even the red Marlboro design used on McLaren and Ferrari cars. While the colors originally came from the John Player Special cigarette design, they’ve managed to burn themselves into the hearts and minds…
Formula 1 Could Return to Turbo 4-Cylinder Engines for 2013 Season
The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) will be sitting down on December 10 to vote on technical specification changes for the 2013 Formula One season, and the biggest change expected to be announced will be regarding the engines. Rumors are circulating the web about the possibility of a return to four-cylinder, turbo charged engines. The…
Bernie Ecclestone Shills Bruised Face For Hublot Watches
Never one to miss an opportunity to make a dollar, Formula 1 magnate Bernie Ecclestone decided to pose with his bruised and battered face – the result of being mugged weeks ago – for Hublot watches, the official horological sponsor of Formula 1. It seems that Bernie was wearing a Hublot at the time, and…
MINI to Contest Dakar Rally
While MINI‘s WRC aspirations have garnered a lot of attention among fans of the automaker and racing enthusiasts, the British brand’s off-road ambitions won’t be limited to just one series. The German off-road X-raid Team has just announced it will run the new MINI All4 Racing car in the annual Dakar Rally, which now runs…
