Since I was at a race and expected to see some nice cars there, however there were a few that stood out to me. Instead of making them individual posts, I figured I would lump them into one post. The first car posted above is a Ferrari 308 Quattrovalvolve. I love the old 308s, there is just something elegant about them, but I can never put my finger on it. Next up we have a Mercedes Benz CLS 63AMG, just glorious by all accounts, 1969 Camaro and a BMW 1-Series M. Continue reading Spotted!! Cars from the Grand Am Race in NJ→
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. Continue reading Obscure Auto: Schuppan 962CR→
Ferrari is back in the Rolex Grand Am Series, and just in time for the 50th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona! Ferrari has competed in 47 of the 49 day long classics, and has 15 class victories, 5 of which were overall victories around the 3.56 mile course that runs through part of the NASCAR super speedway and then down in the infield for the road course section of circuit.
Shown at Mainstreet in Motion, in NJ. Very easy to drive and has no problem getting up to highway speeds.
A couple of weeks ago, I got to drive the Volt for the first time. Nick’s already gone into great detail about how it drives, so I will only gloss over that. However, I believe that it is a massive step forward for not only General Motors, but the entire industry as well. This is one of the first huge changes in how cars drive and how they move around, and I’m glad to say that GM has done a seriously good job–perhaps it even wipes their record clean from the EV1 fiasco. Continue reading The Chevy Volt, and what it means.→
This gorgeous French sports car of the prewar era, a black 1938 Delage D8-120S Aerosport Coupe took home the top International honors of Best in Show and People’s Choice at the 2011 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, held last month. During the Depression, Delage was bought by Delahaye, and by 1953, it had ceased to be after a tumultuous time in the early Fifties, when less than 100 were made during three years. More pictures after the jump.
When I look at the Grand Am GT class manufacturers, and I think about which of these would more than likely spit flames out it’s exhaust pipe like a dragon, Mazda and their RX8R is not what comes to mind. I think of Chevy and their big V8 engines in their Corvettes and Camaros. I also think of BMW and their V8 in the M3. Porsche, not so much, I think of them as too refined to have fire. Mazda, hah, no way!! They use a 3 rotary engine (2 in the street going RX8) and they scream like a crotch rocket on steroids. Certainly not what comes to mind when you think of a fire breathing dragon!! A dragon roars, not screams, but nonetheless, the Mazda is the one car in the entire field that puts on a fireworks show.
Back in 2001 there was a little film called The Fast And The Furious that came out, and for all intents and purposes, it created the ricer fad as we know it today. Ricers are all about excessive automotive expression by any means unnecessary. Letting everyone know how cool your car is because of the, mostly useless (or obnoxious), upgrades you have made is the goal. Its like being a “diet car enthusiast”; you get to act like you know your stuff and have a cool car, but without putting forth the money and effort to actually have the real thing. So at this point you may be thinking, “Wow that’s so neat, but how can I become a full fledged ricer myself?” The answer may be simpler than you’d think. Continue reading Cars 101: How To Be A Ricer→
All things considered, Chrysler was probably the worst choice of the entire midsize car field for the past couple of years. Thanks to a multitude of bad qualities, such as frumpy styling, a rental-spec interior, and cringeworthy driving dynamics, the Sebring, and its Dodge Avenger brother, was one of the most hated cars in the segment. Jeremy Clarkson, for example, doesn’t usually hold back when he finds things wrong with a car, but when he ranked the Sebring Convertible as his least favorite of 2008, clearly, something was wrong. So, Chrysler went back to the drawing board with a dull pencil and not a lot of outright cash, and the result is the red sedan you see above. Continue reading Test Driven: Chrysler 200→
It’s a shame that pole positions and laps led do not count for championship then maybe the #10 Suntrust Dallara driven by Max Angelilli and Ricky Taylor would be closer in the points race for the Daytona Prototypes with the #01 Telmex BMW – Riley of Memo Rojas and Scott Pruett. As it stands now, such is not the case; and with nearly a .500 winning percentage, Pruett and Rojas have a considerable lead in the champions points standings over the second place Suntrust car. On Sunday, July 24th, the history seemed to repeat itself. Ricky Taylor put the Chevy powered Suntrust Dallara on the pole and somehow Pruett managed to put his Telmex BMW Riley on the top step of the podium. Continue reading American Red Cross 250 – Grand Am Racing at New Jersey Motorsports Park→
The Countryman is a big Mini, their entry into the emerging small crossover market. Honestly, for this new segment of SUV hot hatches, the Countryman is pretty much the poster child. I would be very disappointed in Mini if they didn’t have a car in this segment because it seems like it is literally tailor-made for them. All of the haters who say it is too big are comparing it to the Cooper, which is stupid because they don’t take part in the same market segment at all. Continue reading Test Driven: Mini Countryman S→
Pickup trucks are things that aren’t really supposed to outrun cars like the Porsche 911 or the Corvette in a straight line. But, for a short period of time after the dawn of the 21st century, Dodge apparently thought otherwise, and set out to prove their theory. Continue reading Secondhand Saint: Dodge Ram SRT-10→
Recently, there was a massive amount of hype over a new model Ferrari was releasing. This car seemed to be a very different Ferrari, having all wheel drive, and, judging from the “spy shots” released by Ferrari themselves, this car seemed like it could easily compete in rally races. However, that’s all well and good as long as the car stays as a concept. After all, one could claim that although their prototype was only capable of doing 110 mph, the production version can reach the speed of light! However, the concept of this car seemed to be almost identical to the production version, and that in itself was impressive. Not only that, but the car looked astonishing. Possibly slightly inspired off the BMW Z4 coupe, Pininfarina managed to pack all the styling perfections of both the Ferrari and the BMW into one exceptional looking automobile. Continue reading The Ferrari FF→
Mind Over Motor 