When a supercar goes rallying: Porsche 959
Posted: October 17, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 959, B, Car, Germany, Group, Mind, motor, Museum, Over, Paris-Dakar, Porsche, race, Rally, Road, Stuttgart 1 Comment »
In the 1980s Porsche decided to take the most advanced supercar they had ever made and go rallying with it. While original designs were for Group B, the car never actually partook. The 959 did win the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1986 though, coming in with a 1-2 victory. There were a few 959s at the Porsche Museum, in Stuttgart, the day I was there, including one of these rally monsters. Check out the comparison between the road car and the rally car, and just imagine seeing a monster-truck 959 barreling up behind you on a dirt road….. you’d move.
Obscure Auto: Lamborghini Miura Jota/SVJ
Posted: September 18, 2012 Filed under: Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE | Tags: Autos, Beach, Bob, Crash, Italy, Jota, Lamborghini, Mind, Miura, motor, Obscure, Over, Pebble, race, SVJ, V12, wallace 1 Comment »
The Miura Jota is one of those unicorn cars, one that everyone who knows about it wants, but that none will ever have. The Jota is a legend because it was the most extreme example of Lamborghini’s beloved Miura, the car that really put the marque on the map. The Jota has a particularly interesting story though, because its fame began with its own fiery death in 1972. The Jota had been a side project of famed Lamborghini test driver, Bob Wallace, and it was the news coverage of the car’s destruction that informed people of the project to build a faster, more racy Miura. The original Jota was damaged beyond repair, never to be rebuilt, but it did peak the interest of several Miura owners, and six Miura SVJs were created. These SVJs are probably the most valuable Lamborghinis around at this point, and they carry on the legacy of their doomed predecessor.
Dan Valanzola shoots a Lotus Europa at TWR
Posted: June 15, 2012 Filed under: Photography by Dan Valanzola | Tags: by, Car, Dan, Europa, Lotus, Mind, motor, NJ, Over, Photography, race, racing, Thomas, TWR, Valanzola, Walko 2 Comments »
It has been a long time in the works but we are pleased to announce the official addition of my long time friend, Dan Valanzola, to the Mind Over Motor team. Dan takes beautiful pictures, and his work has been featured on the site a few times in the past. With this new category we will be featuring Dan’s work specifically, starting with this gallery of a Lotus Europa racing car at Thomas Walko Racing in NJ. We met some of the TWR guys at a recent event and they were very cool, inviting us to come see their shop and maybe attend some events. Dan went to the shop and captured their Europa that we had heard so much about from the guys. It has some of the widest fender flares I have ever seen, really menacing on a car so small. Looking forward to more in the future for sure. Enjoy the pics.
-Nick
Spotted! The Audi R8 LMS that won the 2012 Nurburgring 24 hours, Germany
Posted: May 20, 2012 Filed under: Exotics, SPOTTED! | Tags: 24, Audi, hours, LMS, Mind, motor, Nurburgring, on, Over, Phoenix, R8, race, spotted, Street, Team, the, Winner Leave a comment »
Little did I know at the time, but this R8 LMS I caught driving around the roads by the Nurburgring would go on to be the race winner. Technically it is on a public road in these photos, so it can count as a spot.
-Nick
Visit to the Nurburgring: 24hrs preparation gallery
Posted: May 20, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 2012, 24, Audi, Cars, Corvette, facilities, Germany, hours, Mercedes, Mind, motor, Nurburgring, Over, paddock, photos, pictures, Porsche, Preparation, race, shots, Tour, Toyota Leave a comment »
This was my first visit to the legendary Nurburgring. As it happened I was there during the week leading up to the Nurburgring 24 hours, so the track was closed to the public for laps (next time I will do that). However this did mean that the paddock was full of race cars being prepped for the big race. We also wound up having a private tour of the facilities because we were the only members of the tour who spoke english. The race itself will have just finished when this is posted. Enjoy the gallery. Read the rest of this entry »
Street Wars 8
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES, Photography by Dan Valanzola | Tags: 302, 350Z, 4G63, 8, AC, accord, airbrush, AMG, Art, Atlantic, Ball, Boss, C63, Camaro, Chevrolet, city, clean, Dan, drag, Dragon, euro, Evo, evolution, FD, Ford, GC, Genesis, Geo, GTI, GTR, Hatch, Honda, Hot Rod, Hyundai, import, Impreza, intake, Integra, Jersey, Lancer, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Miata, Mind, Mitsubishi, Modded, Modified, Monster, motor, Muscle, Mustang, new, Nick, Nissan, NJ, Over, Photography, race, racer, Rotary, RX7, slam, slammed, slicks, Stance, STi, Street, Subaru, Supercharge, Track, Truck, tuned, tuner, turbo, Valanzola, VIP, VW, Wagon, Walker, Wars, WRX, Z 1 Comment »
Photo by Dan Valanzola
We were in attendance for Street Wars 8. The show was a lot smaller than last year due to organizational issues, but there were still plenty of quality cars to see. Photos are by both myself and Dan Valanzola. Enjoy the gallery. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: Audi R8 4.2
Posted: January 26, 2012 Filed under: High End & Exotic, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 4.2, Audi, Cancun, Drive, Exotic, experience, Mexico, Mind, motor, Nick, Over, paddle, R8, race, review, Rides, shift, sound, supercar, Test, TFSi, Track, V8, video, Volkswagen, VW, Walker Leave a comment »
Audi R8 4.2 at Exotic Rides Mexico. Photo by Arturo Sotelo.
This is the Audi R8 in its original form, the V8 model that was designed to slip under the Lamborghini Gallardo (with which it shares its chassis) and compete head to head with the Porsche 911. Anyone who knows cars knows the fierce competition in this area of the market and how deeply rooted the Porsche 911’s success is. The R8 entered the segment boldly though, and was quickly heralded by many as being superior to the almighty Porsche. Since its debut in 2006 Audi has sold over 15,000 R8s, quite a large number for a car costing six figures, so it would seem they have succeeded in making a really great car. I recently had the opportunity to take one for a few laps around the track at Exotic Rides in Cancun, Mexico, so I was excited to see what all the fuss was about. Read the rest of this entry »
A little garage in Florida
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, Classics, Exotics, SHOWCASE, SPOTTED! | Tags: 2006, 400, 427, 911, 935, 996, bay, British, by, Car, CLK, Cobra, collection, Competizione, Coupe, daytona, don, Enzo, Exotic, F1, F40, Ferrari, FL, florida, FXX, German, GT1, GTR, homologation, hyper, II, Italian, John, LM, Maserati, MC12, Mclaren, Mercedes, Mind, motor, Over, Paul, petersburg, Pope, Porsche, race, Shelby, signed, ST, Super, tampa, wallace 2 Comments »
The collection, more pic and details below
Back in 2006 me and my family went to Tampa/ St. Petersburg, Florida. Me being the car nut, I decided to look up somewhere to go see some exotics in Dupont Registry. I found an ad for a Maserati MC-12. My dad called and said he was interested, he asked what else they had and they said “we have everything”, they weren’t kidding. We met up with the representative not at a posh dealership, but at a warehouse in the middle of an industrial, working class area, a place you would never expect to find such things. Upon entering the back room of the warehouse, behind a machine shop, I laid eyes on some of the most exotic cars on earth. I don’t want to give away to much about the owner, but let’s just say he is an RV salesman who has done fairly well for himself. His collection was truly immaculate to behold, and I have not seen many of these cars anywhere since. I figured it was about time I posted up this incredible experience here on MoM. Cars do not get more exotic than this, enjoy the gallery and details inside.
The business of renting your dream car: Part 2
Posted: November 9, 2011 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: area, Aston, attraction, Car, Cars, Classic, Dream, Exotic, Exotics, Ferrari, for, future, Gotham, hire, instruction, Jersey, Lamborghini, Las, Luxury, Market, Martin, Mclaren, Mind, motor, Motorsports, Muscle, Nevada, new, NJMP, NV, Over, Park, Porsche, race, racing, rent, Rental, review, school, Speedway, Sports, state, Superleggera, to, Track, tri, Vegas, where, York, your 1 Comment »
The Mercedes SLS AMG, you can have one for a day if you call up Gotham Dream Cars
After discussing some of the current realities in the exotic rental industry it is now time to consider what needs to be done in the industry and where it could be headed. Having experienced what two of the leading companies have to offer, I have thought for a while about this subject. These two companies, Exotics Racing and Gotham Dream Cars, are almost opposites in a few regards of their operations, and a lot of me believes that the best answer to the problems of this industry lie in between them. Read the rest of this entry »
A seriously modified, twin turbo Mustang Cobra
Posted: November 6, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 1111, busa, Cobra, crazy, driving, dyno, Ford, hayabusa, Highway, Mind, motor, Mustang, Over, race, speed, SVT, twin turbo, whp Leave a comment »A solid video showing the build and the car in action. The thing is seriously fast. Enjoy.
The 2011 Alpine Concours d’ Elegance
Posted: October 5, 2011 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: 12C, 2.7, 911, 935, Alpine, Can AM, Car, Carrera, Chevron, Competizione, Concours, d', Diablo, Elegance, Enzo, F40, F50, Ferrari, Ford, GT40, Jaguar, Jersey, Lamborghini, Lola, Maserati, MC12, Mclaren, Mercedes, Mind, motor, MP4, Murcielago, new, NJ, NY, Over, Porsche, race, Radical, RS, SR3, turbo, York 2 Comments »
Ferrari Enzo and Maserati MC-12, Brothers from different mothers
We were in attendance for this years Alpine Concours d’ Elegance. It was a solid event filled with more newer than older cars, although there were some fine examples of each. We lucked out with the beautiful weather and great setting. Here are some of the highlights…. Read the rest of this entry »
Obscure Auto: Schuppan 962CR
Posted: August 1, 2011 Filed under: Obscure Autos | Tags: 230mph, 3.5, 600hp, 962, 962CR, Car, CR, Exotic, hyper, Mind, Mind over motor, motor, Over, Porsche, race, sec, Shuppan, supercar Leave a comment »
Shuppan 962CR
This is basically a road version of the Porsche 962C that raced in Group C in the late 1980s. The Schuppan 962CR is its own chassis design based on that of the racing car, and uses many Porsche parts, but it does not bear the Porsche nameplate because it was a separate undertaking by one of their racing drivers, Vern Shuppan. In total only five or six of these magnificent supercars were built, making them some of the rarest cars on Earth. Schuppan went bankrupt due to the high cost of the cars as well as two customers failing to make payment. Such is the reality of all too many small supercar ventures. Read the rest of this entry »
