Chris Harris gets his hands on the Porsche 918
Posted: May 15, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS, Drive, Mind over motor, Porsche 918 1 Comment »Drive’s Chris Harris tests the Porsche 918 on the track in its final stages of development. He also brings up some good points about technology, and what it means for a hypercar.
-Nick
Chris Harris on Cars: Porsche Turbo S vs Audi R8 V10 Plus vs Tuned Nissan GTR
Posted: May 8, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 2013 Audi R8 V10 Plus, CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS, Drive, Litchfield Nissan GTR, Mind over motor, Porsche 997 Turbo S, video Leave a comment »In this segment of Drive’s Chris Harris on Cars, Chris pits the Porsche 997 Turbo S, the new Audi R8 V10 Plus, and a Litchfield tuned Nissan GTR against each other on the road and track. Enjoy.
-Nick
Drive: A quick celebration of Pagani
Posted: May 2, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS, Drive, Huayra, Mind over motor, Pagani, video, Zonda 2 Comments »I love Pagani, the Zonda and now the Huayra. That is all…
-Nick
Chris Harris tests the Mercedes SLS Electric Drive
Posted: April 10, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS, Drive, Mercedes Benz SLS Electric Drive, Mind over motor, video 1 Comment »The SLS Electric Drive is the first electric car that can legitimately be considered a supercar. 750hp and 737ft/lbs of torque going through electronic all wheel drive means that this car will have some staggering straight-line performance. It seems the biggest surprise, though, was the torque vectoring system Mercedes has devised, which can actually apply negative torque to the inside wheels during a corner. Chris seemed pretty blown away by this car, watch the video to see. Enjoy.
-Nick
Chris Harris puts his chipped Audi S4 against the Audi RS4
Posted: April 3, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 3.0TFSI tuning, Audi S4 vs Audi RS4, Chris Harris, Drive, Mind over motor, Supercharged 3.0L V6 1 Comment »Another great video from Drive: Chris Harris pits his supercharged Audi S4 against the mighty, V8 powered RS4. This illustrates the merits of forced induction well. For just a few hundred dollars, you can make your car quite a bit faster than stock. Sure that naturally aspirated responsiveness is great, but I’m happy to trade that for easy, and massive, performance gains.
-Nick
Chris Harris shows us the all-new Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series
Posted: March 21, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: AMG, Chris Harris, Drive, Mercedes-Benz, Mind over motor, Showcase, SLS AMG Black Series, Technical Specs Leave a comment »
On this episode of Drive, Chris Harris shows all of us not only his spectacular driving skills behind the wheel of AMG’s newest monster, the SLS Black Series, but also the lengths that Mercedes-Benz went to lighten up the big supercar to make it more athletic and more fun on the track. Take ten minutes off and watch this video–it’s ten minutes well worth your time.
-Albert S. Davis
Test Driven: Lotus Elise
Posted: February 21, 2013 Filed under: Sports and Executive, TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: Cancun, Drive, Exotic Rides Mexico, handling, Lotus Elise, Manual Gearbox, Mind over motor, pink, Racetrack, Road Course, Simplify and add lightness Leave a comment »
Photo by Santiago Heyser
This isn’t a car you are looking at, at least not by most modern definitions. Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus, had a famous philosophy for building a car, “Simplify and add lightness”. The idea was that in racing, having a lighter car made for a faster, better handling machine. In the context of a modern road car, things don’t get much lighter, or simpler than a Lotus Elise. Most car buyers these days want all kinds of fancy features that add weight and complexity to a car. They want big leather couches to relax in, they want to text and check Twitter while on the move, and then they all want the car’s safety systems to save them when their own inattention to driving causes a massive accident. The Elise has none of these things, and it appeals to a more competent, more serious sort of driver. So, here in 2013, if this Lotus Elise is not a bonafide “car”, what is it?
Drive: Koenigsegg, and the future of internal combustion
Posted: February 20, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: Drive, electronic actuated valves, Inside Koenigsegg, prototype, the future of internal combustion engine 1 Comment »This is really, and I mean really, significant. I had heard the idea of replacing camshafts with individual electronic actuators for each valve in an engine a few years ago, but the folks at Koenigsegg have developed a tangible prototype. This video from Drive’s Inside Koenigsegg series shows the system close up. Christian Von Koenigsegg claims the finished system should see an increase of 30% for horsepower, torque, and fuel economy on a gasoline engine. So, look out in your driveway and do the math on your own car, and just think how badly you can’t wait for this technology to be in widespread production.
-Nick
Paralyzed Racer Aims for Indy 500
Posted: February 1, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: Drive, Indy 500, Jalopnik, Michael Johnson, Mind over motor, Paralyzed Racer, Race car driver 1 Comment »One of the biggest fears of any car enthusiast is being paralyzed, and not being able to drive. This video, from Jalopnik on Drive, is about Michael Johnson, a guy who was paralyzed in an accident, but has still managed to become a professional race car driver. Michael has a very real chance of making his way to the IndyCar series, all without the use of his legs. No joke, this may be the most inspiring thing I have seen in quite some time. Hopefully we will see Michael spraying champagne at the Indy 500 in the coming years! Enjoy.
-Nick
Chris Harris beats the living hell out of a Ferrari he isn’t supposed to be allowed to drive…. LOL
Posted: January 30, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 458 Spyder, Chris Harris, Drifting, Drive, Ferrari, Mind over motor, video 4 Comments »Many of you probably know about how Chris Harris exposed Ferrari’s rigging of press cars during magazine tests. Ferrari immediately blacklisted him after his article aired on Jalopnik (We did a reaction piece to it as well), which meant he would never be allowed to drive Ferrari press cars again, or purchase a brand new Ferrari for that matter too. Chris has had other ways of still getting Ferraris to road test, but this time he has actually landed himself one of Ferrari’s own press cars via some under-the-table means. The hilariousness of this video for me lies in how he proceeds to absolutely ring the car’s neck, beating the crap out of it on a racetrack like it is a Nissan drift car, or something. It would’ve been hilarious to see the angry looks of the Ferrari executives, in their well tailored suits, upon seeing this video.
I personally love Ferrari for who they are, arrogance included, but it is common sense that when you act the way Ferrari does towards people, they will take any chance they get to make a fool out of you. Needless to say, I will be laughing about this for the rest of the day. Another big win by the Drive Network and Chris Harris. Enjoy
-Nick
Singer 911, the perfect Porsche
Posted: January 18, 2013 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: California, Chris Harris, custom, Drive, Mind over motor, Porsche, Singer 911, The perfect 911, video Leave a comment »Drive’s Chris Harris goes to Singer in California to see their bespoke built Porsche 911 and what goes into making it. The idea behind Singer’s car is that they have taken all of the best parts from every 911, and put them all into one car in an effort to make the perfect Porsche. All of the details are discussed in the video, but all I can say after watching it is “What a car!!!”. Yet another machine to add to my list should I win the Lottery. Enjoy.
-Nick
Test Driven: 2013 Ford Focus ST
Posted: November 17, 2012 Filed under: Cheap Fun!, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 2.0L, 2013, American, Drive, ecoboost, Focus, Ford, Hatch, manual, Mind over motor, review, Sport, ST, Test, turbo 3 Comments »
There is a wonderful array of legitimately fun cars available for under $30k these days. Ford has had the Mustang available for for those who like high horsepower and rear wheel drive, but now they have added a different flavor to their pallet. Meet the Focus ST, a turbocharged hot hatch from the European market now hitting US shores for the first time. Over in Europe the Ford Focus has been a benchmark setter for some time now, acclaimed by everyone as a fantastic car. Here in America we have always had a different, much more mediocre version… until now. Knowing this, and having recently driven many of the ST’s competitors, I went to go see how it stacked up from behind the wheel. Read the rest of this entry »
