We spotted this member of the JDM royal family on the street in Greenwich, CT during concours weekend. I always love seeing cars that aren’t supposed to be on US roads out and about on US roads, and the Evo VI was never sold here. Let’s face it, it’s more fun when you bend the rules.
Enjoy!
Continue reading Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Spotted in Greenwich, CT
We attended the CF Charities Supercar Show at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia this weekend. This was the first year for the event in Philly, and we liked the new venue a lot. There were some truly incredible cars, and there’s a lot more to come, but here are some highlights for starters.
Enjoy!
Continue reading Some Highlights From the CF Charities Supercar Show in Philadelphia
I’ve been saying 996 hate is largely unfounded for years. My dad bought a 1999 Carrera back in 2007, and here we are 10 years later, over 100,000 miles on it, and it’s still great. He did the IMS bearing when he did the clutch within a year of buying the car, and he hasn’t had to do anything but basic maintenance since.
It’s a phenomenal car to drive as well, a real pure 911 experience. 300hp, 2,900lbs, a crisp six speed manual, sharp steering, and rear wheel drive with a limited slip differential, what’s not to love about that? If you’re a hater you either haven’t driven a 996, or you’re a car snob with far more access to fine cars than the average person could ever hope for. Sure, if you’re accustomed to driving a 997 GT3 RS all the time, then a 996 Carrera is a few steps backward. But for most drivers the basic 996s are a phenomenal sports car experience, and I think they should be recognized as such.
-Nick
Call me biased, but I think the Miata is a way better car than the Toyota 86.
Let’s see if Motor Trend agrees…
-Nick
On this week’s episode of “Things That Shouldn’t Be Here,” we have a very hot, very yellow Renault. This French hot hatch was never sold here in the US, but there it was, staring me in the the face deep in the American South. I had to do a double take.
Now, to be fair, it was parked outside the Lane Motor Museum, where they have all sorts of interesting cars, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected. It was cool to see that it had a Tennessee plate on it though, and it surely gets driven around on local roads.
It’s always awesome to see cars we don’t get here out and about on our roads.
Enjoy!
Continue reading Mégane II Renault Sport Spotted in Nashville, Tennessee
With the release of press all over the internet and the first cars making their way into customer hands, the hype surrounding the new Ford GT is at maximum right now. The first 500 owners of the total 1,000 cars have been selected by Ford, with the next round of selections coming in a few months time.
The big question everyone seems to be asking is, is the Ford GT worth the $500,000 asking price? Those already on the list certainly hope so, and those who will apply for the second half of production are frantically trying to figure it out.
I was very skeptical when I first heard Ford was going to charge over $400,000 for the new GT. But I also expected the general formula for the car would be similar to that of the previous car, just updated for 2018. What has become abundantly clear, though, is that Ford has taken a totally fresh approach in developing the new GT, and that does change some things.
Continue reading Ford GT: The Half-a-Million Dollar Question
$15,000 is an interesting price point if you’re looking for a solid muscle car. You can have most of the early-mid 2000’s contenders with reasonable miles on them, or you can have one of the newer 400+hp options with higher miles.
I’m more on the high performance side of things, rather than wanting a muscle car for the style just to cruise in. I do intend to do burnouts, I do intend to explore the car’s high speed capabilities, and I do expect it to handle corners competently. Also, there is no such thing as a muscle car with 4 or 6 cylinders, so 8 cylinders is a given here. Lastly, a manual transmission is a must for me. This is a car to be driven, not an outfit to wear.
I should also state up front that I am pretty much non-partisan when it comes to American Muscle cars or American car brands. I know there are those who live and die by Ford, GM, or Mopar, and for them the $15k choice is a lot simpler.
My top 3 options for a $15,000 muscle car are as follows…
Continue reading What American Muscle Car would I buy on a $15k budget?
When you’re a performance driving enthusiast, you may find yourself at odds with law enforcement from time to time. As long as there have been speed limits, and cars that are capable of exceeding them, this cat and mouse game has been played between the cops and joyriders. You could say it is an integral part of our way of life.
The way I see it, getting a speeding ticket every so often is just a cost of doing business if you want to drive fast on the road. It is totally impossible to enjoy a sports car within the posted speed limit, so you either have to bend the rules a bit, keep your fast driving 100% to the occasional track day, or give up and find a new hobby. I’m far to passionate about cars to just give up the lifestyle, and unfortunately my ass isn’t tightly wound enough to keep things only to the race track, so yes, I speed on the road, and I accept the risks of doing so.
I think the key to having fast fun out on the road and staying both safe and ticket-free is picking the time and place you speed wisely. Don’t be hooning around in towns, don’t fly past an obvious police hiding spot, and most importantly, don’t put other people at risk. There are plenty of opportunities to go as fast as you want, when the conditions are right and the road is open, so there’s no need to force the issue when it isn’t.
That approach alone will save you from most tickets, but there are those random, out of nowhere, cases where you are surprised by the police at a very inopportune moment. To help guard, you need equipment to detect the police on the prowl where you cannot see.
Enter K40 Electronics, and their world class line of police detection equipment. They sent me their portable RLS2 Radar Detector, and I’ve been using it every day for the last few months, sometimes on spirited drives, but mostly going to and from work. So far it has had me covered in both.
Continue reading Sponsored: Driving with K40 watching my back
I loved the green on this Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF. This is front wheel drive performance done the Italian way.
Continue reading Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF at Radnor Hunt
We’ll see how if fares with the manual transmission soon enough, but so far so good. Also, quite smart for Porsche to release the PDK version first and keep us waiting for the stick-shift. It will double their media exposure.
Enjoy the sound of 4.0L at 9,000 RPM!
-Nick
A “special” car will keep your attention long after you’ve left it parked. It’s one thing to have a car you want to look back at as you walk away, but it’s a whole different level when you spend all day looking forward to your drive home. A car that has both the looks to make you turn around and the driving experience to keep you craving is a car that is truly remarkable, indeed.
“Special” is the single most important aspect of an enthusiast automobile, it’s what makes it much more than a mere transportation appliance. “Special” cars come in all shapes and sizes, and you can find one whether your budget is $10 grand or $10 million.
For a budget around $30 grand, an E86 BMW Z4 M Coupe is one of the most “special” sports cars you can buy. It has speed, style, and rarity. The Imola Red car you see here has just recently gone on the market for $33,500 with only 33,000 miles on the ticker.
I was offered a chance to take a spin in the car for this article, and how could I say no? I’ve been wanting to get behind the wheel of a Z4 M for quite some time now, and a more perfect example would be difficult to find. My impressions of the car are as follows…
Continue reading Taking a spin in a BMW E86 Z4 M Coupe (it’s for sale!)
Mind Over Motor 