Evergreen
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Who can explain the heart of man? Specifically, who can explain the heart of a man that would, for some unfathomable reason, take a 1992 Toyota Supra and turn it into a replica of a Bentley Continental GT3-R? Our heads are spinning with questions. We weep for the poor Supra under that excessive skin. Our hands are up in the classically frustrated display of, "Why?" A right-hand-drive Supra was procured for this faux Bentley. Thankfully we're not dealing with a rebodied Supra twin-turbo; instead, we have the naturally-aspirated variant and it's backed up with an automatic gearbox. It's not the...
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Your Maserati-powered quad-tired motorcycle is finally readyRemember that Viper V-10-powered Dodge Tomahawk concept from 2003? That mean machine was a non-street-legal concept of which nine were built. They were sold as replicas through the always bonkers Neiman Marcus catalog and the asking price was a cool $550,000. If you feel like you missed out on that...
Jeff Glucker -
Can you improve acceleration by adding weight?Before you start shaking your head and shouting "No!" at your computer screen and preparing an angry email about how stupid we are, hear us out. Our host Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained is referring to the addition of weight when traction is limited, such as in snowy or icy conditions. In...
Jeff Glucker -
Listen to Valentino Balboni’s exhaust for the Lamborghini AventadorValentino Balboni is a legend in Lamborghini circles. Having served as a test driver for the company for almost four decades, Balboni is thought to have driven almost 80 percent of all Lamborghinis ever built. Now he’s turned his hard to tuning them, via a company he’s founded called...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
McLaren design boss: Wheels inspired by tree roots promise weight, strength improvementsAccording to McLaren’s head designer, future wheel patterns will be radically different to what we’re used to seeing. Speaking with Motoring, McLaren design boss Frank Stephenson said his team is looking at asymmetrical wheel patterns inspired by the root systems of trees...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
How variable intake manifolds create more powerYour intake manifold. It takes in air and sends it to your engine's combustion chamber. This is basically the start of the combustion process. After all, you can't have combustion without air. Engineering Explained is here to walk us through the process and explain how a variable intake manifold...
Jeff Glucker -
Virtual Reality is, well, pretty much here right now. You can buy an Oculus. There's a headset that comes with a Samsung phone. If you wander the halls at the next Consumer Electronics Show, you'll be surrounded by a sea of developers creating worlds for virtual reality exploration. Audi is getting in on the trend as well, with a VR experience of its own. The German automaker is diving into the VR landscape in a variety of ways. On a training and technical level, Audi has developed a system that lets sales people show customers what it's like driving in one of its cars fitted with the Pre...
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'Engineering Explained' adds Honda S2000 project car to its garageFor some time now, Jason from Engineering Explained has been teaching us about all areas of our shared passion—and now we get to share in something a little more personal. His method of clearly explaining seemingly complex mechanical and technical parts of a car is both enjoyable and...
Jeff Glucker -
Vintage 'Best Motoring' clip pits '90s-era dream cars against each otherThis video clip is your 1990s dream car wall poster come to life. On the Japanese show Best Motoring, the team managed to wrangle a truly awesome array of machines for a flat-out track battle. The location? The famed Tsukuba Circuit in Shimotsuma. The cars? How about a Ferrari F40, a Ferrari 456GT...
Jeff Glucker -
How Infiniti's variable compression engine worksYou know what variable valve timing is. You're quite familiar with Honda's VTEC system. Now Infiniti has something new for you dive into, and it's all about changing an engine's compression ratio. The Infiniti VC-T engine can change its compression ratio from a low of 8:1 to a high of 14:1. How...
Jeff Glucker -
This Bugatti Chiron you probably can affordDisappointed you don’t own 84 cars, 3 jets and a yacht like the average Bugatti customer? Well, take some solace in knowing that there’s a Bugatti Chiron that you probably can afford. The only problem is you can’t actually drive this one. Italy’s MR Collection Models has...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
What's the difference between steel and rubber brake lines?Your car's brakes are pretty darn important. If you have lousy pedal feel, you should do something about that, right? Stopping is at least as important as going. So when you're looking to fix or upgrade your brake system, should you go with rubber lines or jump up to steel brake lines? Engineering...
Jeff Glucker -
The Toyota 86 (formerly Scion FR-S) is a wonderful little machine. It's a rear-wheel-drive sports car that's affordable, approachable, and a ton of fun. Still, it could use a bit more power. When I say a bit, I mean another 50 horsepower and it would be perfect. When Street FX Motorsports of Australia says a bit, its goal is 1,000 horsepower. Australia is just the best. The car here started life as a Toyota 86 that was destined for your standard street and track events, which I believe means it was going to be an autocross car. The car was given the full Rocket Bunny wide-body kit makeover...
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How much faster will street cars get to 60 mph in the future?After Tesla's announcement Tuesday that its new Model S P100D (when equipped with the optional Ludicrous Speed mode) is the fastest-accelerating car you can buy, it sure seems like everyone wants to talk about racing down a drag strip. Luckily, our pal Jason Fenske with Engineering Explained is...
Andrew Ganz -
Germans tune Dodge Viper to a ferocious 765 horsepowerWhat the Dodge Viper ACR—certainly one of the most raw sports cars ever built—didn't need was more power. Wait, are we really saying that? Of course it needed more power. And the crew over at GeigerCars led by legendary German tuner Karl Geiger agreed, working over the Viper's big V-10...
Andrew Ganz -
A Koenigsegg Agera RS piston weighs less than a human heart, and other fun triviaDid you know each of the pistons in Agera RS weigh about 10 ounces? How about that its catalytic converter improves performance by about 300 horsepower? Impressive 0-60 mph times are fun on paper, but the stories behind how they get there are page-turners for enthusiasts and Koenigsegg just dropped...
Aaron Cole -
This Hellcat-powered Ram 1500 cost over $90,000, still has 4WDThe world's waiting not-so-patiently for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU] to shove the Hellcat V-8 powertrain into the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Because we know it's coming. But many Mopar faithful miss the SRT10—you know, the Ram 1500 pickup truck with the Viper V-10 powertrain? So what if...
Joel Feder -
Would you do this to a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class?Some view a vehicle as an extension of ones self, or another form to express yourself. This is why the aftermarket exists, and how custom car boutiques survive. You've burned your retinas before courtesy of Mansory—and now you get the displeasure of that burning sensation thanks to a new...
Joel Feder -
To start, let's talk about what it means to lug your engine. This is the term used to describe when you're puttering along in a higher gear than you need to be in and the engine is turning low RPMs. When you're cruising along in 6th but you should've downshifted into 4th about a half mile back, you are lugging your engine. Why is this bad? Engineering Explained is here to lay it out for you. When you lug your engine, you are forcing it to work far harder than it should. Low RPMs are fine if you're just cruising or slowing down, but when you accelerate, low revs leave your engine with a...
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Rimac Concept_One destroys Ferrari LaFerrari, Tesla Model S in acceleration testWe all know electric cars are quick off the line but it seems even the quickest internal combustion cars don’t hold a candle to the new generation of battery-powered, zero-emission offerings. Racing driver Archie Hamilton recently pitted the Concept_One electric supercar from Croatian firm...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
How the charge motion control valve balances fuel economy and powerWe love horsepower. We love torque. We also need to embrace fuel economy, and that's a tricky line to toe for producers of automobiles with large engines that make loud noises for enthusiastic customers. We currently live in an era of tremendous horsepower availability, yet our vehicles have also...
Jeff Glucker -
Don't do these 5 things in a vehicle with a CVTJason, the host of Engineering Explained, gets the first point that we were going to make right out of the way. His latest video tackles things you should or should not be doing in a vehicle equipped with a CVT. We'd say that step one is to avoid these vehicles, but as Jason points out, that is the...
Jeff Glucker -
What's the best all-wheel-drive system?All-wheel-drive systems are numerous, and some of them work in different ways. A Subaru, an Audi, and a pickup truck all have different needs to meet in powering all their wheels. They use systems that employ various different technologies, and once more our friend at Engineering Explained is here...
Jeff Glucker -
What it's like to sell a car on Bring A TrailerIt's a site that sends out a siren call to many auto enthusiasts. It's called Bring A Trailer (BaT) and many of us spend too much time looking at it on a daily basis. It's a gearhead's utopia of rare, vintage, and unique vehicles for sale all in one location. While the site features Craigslist...
Joel Feder