Evergreen
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Porsche is currently king of the Nürburgring, thanks to the bonkers 2018 911 GT2 RS, but the German luxury brand set yet another lap record you may not have heard about. That's because this time it's not about all-out speed and a Porsche 911. Instead, it involves a Panamera Sport Turismo, a tractor, and a trailer. The brand set a record lap time for quickest around the Nürburgring with a trailer attached. We're not sure how contested that accolade is, but nonetheless, it belongs to Porsche. It wasn't an empty trailer, either, but a vintage Porsche diesel tractor sat inside. The...
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Does the Tesla Roadster really have 7,000-plus pound-feet of torque, and what's its horsepower?The 2020 Tesla Roadster's surprise introduction came with some pretty tantalizing specs. One of them is Tesla's claimed 0-60 mph sprint in just 1.9 seconds, but another figure washed over the internet. According to Tesla, the Roadster will have 10,000 newton meters (more than 7,000 pound-feet) of...
Sean Szymkowski -
Group B rally racing was too dangerous to live onWhen someone mentions Group B, enthusiasts' minds immediately recall thoughts of monstrous racers with insane amounts of horsepower, wild body kits, and incredible danger. Danger. That's the one reason why Group B was not long for this world. Donut Media dedicated a whole episode to the history of...
Sean Szymkowski -
The Skyline GT-R team actually operated independently inside NissanAfter decades of lusting, Americans can finally own one of the most delightful pieces of forbidden fruit: the Nissan Skyline GT-R. The Skyline and the GT-R have always been a special car, but they weren't always a Nissan. As we're refreshed on in the latest episode of "Up to Speed" from Donut...
Sean Szymkowski -
Watch a VW Beetle engine be rebuilt in 6 minutesWouldn't it be nice to have a proper work space in which you could wrench on your pride and joy? To have the tools and the time to do so is a wonderful luxury to be enjoyed whenever possible. Perhaps you're short on one of those things. It's most likely going to be the time aspect of it all...
Jeff Glucker -
Do winter tires help when it's dry and cold?For those who reside in snowy and icy climates, winter tires are often the go-to patches of rubber to ensure optimal performance. However, the U.S. has plenty of areas that dip below freezing but don't necessarily see precipitation. Even areas that get snow don't have it all the time. And yet...
Sean Szymkowski -
It’s the Friday before the holidays so you probably have some time off. That’s good because we’ve got a video you’re going to want to watch again and again. It’s a short clip of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon on the dyno, and yes you’ll definitely want the volume turned up loud. When driver floors the pedal, the sound of the engine roar combined with the supercharger whine will send shivers down the spine of any gearhead. But just as important as the sound are the numbers. The test was conducted on the dyno of A2Speed and sees the Demon’s...
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Will roads be made out of plastic in the future?The materials and processes used to build roadways haven't changed much in the past century, but a Dutch company has plans to potentially revolutionize the infrastructure and clean up a lot of plastic pollution. VolkerWessels, along with two other partners, proposes plastic roads made from recycled...
Sean Szymkowski -
Class-winning Le Mans racer rolls into Jay Leno's GarageIf someone ever utters the phrase, "Do you want to see my class-winning Le Mans race car?" to you, the answer is always yes. It's unlikely that you'll hear such a phrase, however, unless your first name is Jay and your last one Leno. Such a phrase was said to Jay, and thankfully he answered...
Jeff Glucker -
Ride along with the police on a high-speed car chaseEvery wonder what it's like to be in a car chase? I got the simulated chance at the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex in Fort Worth, Texas. With officer Joe Stinger at the wheel of a Chevrolet Tahoe PPV, we chased a Ford Crown Victoria "rabbit" on a closed course. I sat in the front passenger seat...
Kirk Bell -
Here's how a race car pit stop worksA pit stop can be a work of art or an exercise in tragedy. In Formula 1, they can be completed in mere seconds, while some racing series have mandated minimum times before a car can leave the pit lane. The folks at FCP Euro hung out at the edge of the pit to document the dance that is a racing pit...
Jeff Glucker -
Ford F-150 traces its pickup truck roots all the way to 1917The Ford F-150 is arguably one of the most iconic vehicles ever. Although the F-150 name arrived in 1975, the pickup traces its root to 1917 when Ford produced its very first pickup truck. From that day forward, the Ford pickup transformed how Americans looked at the automobile. We go back in time...
Sean Szymkowski -
Turbo lag is a defining characteristic of older forced-induction cars. These large turbochargers were used to feed high-performance engines and generate significant power. The problem would come when you called upon that power. Your right foot mashes the gas—then nothing. A shock of power would eventually make its way to the drive wheels, sometimes mid-corner. Turbo lag is notoriously finicky (and in the case of old race cars, a killer) and automakers have been working on ways to reduce or eliminate it. Volvo has its own solution and it involves a bit of engineering that we need...
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Nissan's mini car wash tests paint quality on a small scaleFor a large portion of the U.S., and around the world, the time for snow, slush, and ice is here. And that means drivers will line car washes ready to whisk away the muck, salt, and other debris. Nissan knows this and the brand employs the cutest little car wash you've ever seen to ensure car...
Sean Szymkowski -
Watch an Apollo Intensa Emozione do burnouts on the streets of Hong KongApollo's utterly mad supercar, the Intensa Emozione, was recently filmed on the streets of Hong Kong where the driver decided a few quick burnouts were in order. It's also one of the few times we've heard the supercar running, and the closest we've gotten to hear the throttle mashed to the floor...
Sean Szymkowski -
Meet the most insane gathering of cars you'll ever seeWhat's your favorite car? I'm talking about your all-time number one must-have machine that causes all of your senses to overflow and your emotions to run wild. No matter what you answer is to this question, there's a good chance the car was recently on a runway in Switzerland having a go at it...
Jeff Glucker -
Custom 1968 Dodge Charger RTR visits Jay Leno's Garage from SwedenOne special 1968 Dodge Charger RTR made its debut at the 2017 SEMA show this past October, but somehow, it flew under the radar and got little press attention. Now, Johan Eriksson, the car's creator, has dropped by Jay Leno's Garage—all the way from Sweden!—with the custom Charger and...
Sean Szymkowski -
Dodge tapped Chrysler's missile division for the Daytona and Plymouth SuperbirdSome of the world's most interesting cars have the greatest stories behind them. The Dodge Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird are no different. At their core, they were built to shame Ford and Chevrolet in NASCAR, but Dodge was so adamant to ensure the car's success that it went through great...
Sean Szymkowski -
What's the fastest you've ever gone in a car or on a motorcycle? It actually doesn't matter what your answer is, because it's nowhere near as fast as Niklas Lilja has gone. He's the Koenigsegg test driver who recently got to push an Agera RS to its limits. At the end of his driving day, Lilja and Koenigsegg commanded the top spot of a number of speed records, the most notable being the production car land speed record. The final number? An amazing 277.9 mph. Perhaps more amazing still is that the final number used was the average of two runs. Meaning one of those runs was even higher. We're...
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Jay Leno gets a long look at the Lamborghini Huracán PerformanteIt's likely that this is the greatest performing, non-exclusive Lamborghini vehicle of all time. Sure, the Aventador has a larger, more powerful engine but that big bull is nowhere near as agile as its smaller sibling. The Lamborghini Huracán is a wicked little thing, and in Performante trim...
Jeff Glucker -
Will the Hennessey Venom F5 be capable of hitting 300 mph?Hennessey Performance Engineering is making some rather bold claims. The Texas tuner recently revealed a new vehicle called the Venom F5. HPE says the Venom F5 will have 1,600 horsepower and be able to hit a top speed of 301 mph. We certainly believe Hennessey is capable of building a machine that...
Jeff Glucker -
Take a look behind the scenes at Pagani's restoration programPagani in October launched a restoration program to cater to owners looking to restore their cars to the condition which they originally left the factory. Called Pagani Rinascimento, the program is the only one of its kind in the world and involves owners shipping their cars to the factory, or as...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
This custom Chevy Camaro sports a duallie surpriseDo you ever head out in your Chevrolet Camaro, punch the gas, and wish you had more traction? That's a plausible scenario. Especially if you've purchased one of the more powerful Camaro variants, or you've modified your car so it makes more horsepower. You could go with larger, stickier tires. You...
Jeff Glucker -
What are the differences between race car and street car braking systems?You might know that there's a physical difference between race car brakes and street car brakes. The size of the rotors, the materials used in the pads, and the brake lines are all going to be upgraded to handle the rigors of motorsport. But that's only part of the story. Did you know that more is...
Jeff Glucker