Racing
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Acura’s new NSX is the basis of Honda’s 2017 entry for the Japanese touring car series known as Super GT, replacing the NSX-GT Concept that Honda has used since 2013. Honda in October conducted the initial shakedown of the new NSX-GT race car alongside the rival Nissan GT-R Nismo GT500 and Lexus LC GT500 during an official Super GT test day ahead of the 2017 motorsport season. The Lexus race car is also a newcomer. It replaces the RC F GT500 as Lexus’ entry. Apart from their exterior shell, Super GT race cars share little in common with their road-going counterparts. In line...
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VW to quit WRC after 2016, focus on customer racingVolkswagen and its Polo WRC has dominated the World Rally Championship since entering in 2013, but the automaker, which has just clinched its fourth-straight Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles, on Wednesday confirmed it is quitting the sport after the 2016 season. The announcement means...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford unveils Mustang GT4 customer race car at 2016 SEMA showOne of the most romantic dreams in sports car lore is the gentleman’s racer. This is a car that can be driven for all your day-to-day needs and then on the weekends taken to the track, fitted with a more aggressive set of tires and transformed into a competitive racing machine. The current...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
'Engineering Explained' explores sensor strategy in motorsportsA critical component of a successful racing team is its ability to accumulate and understand many points of data. Motorsports engineers thrive on racing data, as it helps them figure out how to make the car and driver a faster symbiotic unit. In the still fairly virgin world of the Formula E...
Jeff Glucker -
Virtually stock Ford F-150 Raptor to tackle 2016 Baja 1000The Baja 1000 is one of the most punishing races in the world. It’s also the breeding ground for Ford Motor Company’s [NYSE:F] F-150 Raptor pickup trucks, with early mules often entered into the grueling off-road race during development. Thanks to this tough regime, the Raptor can...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Let's go for a ride along in a 600-hp Subaru Rallycross carJason from Engineering Explained sits in the passenger seat for this ride along. He's accompanied by David Higgins (yes, brother of the also crazy-talented Mark) and the pair are set to explore a lap of the Global Rallycross Los Angeles course. The car here is a Subaru racing machine that's capable...
Jeff Glucker -
In 1969, Chevrolet's Central Office Performance Order program became the source of dealer-ordered, factory drag cars that would go on to post many victories at the dragstrip. On Monday, Chevrolet introduced the 2017 COPO Camaro show car in Nevada. The show car, which is chassis number 01, will be auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, this coming January to benefit the United Way. It features a unique Hyper Blue Metallic paint scheme, a supercharged 5.7-liter (350 cubic-inch) V-8, and Weld racing wheels. Once again, a total of 69 COPO Camaros will be sold. Built...
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Hamilton closes in on Rosberg with Mexican Grand Prix winMercedes AMG’s Lewis Hamilton took home the win on Sunday at the 2016 Formula One Mexican Grand Prix, with fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg crossing the line second, 8.3 seconds behind his teammate. It means there are now just 19 points separating the two drivers. It also means that...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2016 Formula One Mexican Grand Prix previewThe 2016 Formula One World Championship is coming to a close—there are now just three races left on the calendar—but the title fight is still very much alive, albeit between the two Mercedes AMG drivers only. The first of the final three races is on this weekend in Mexico, only the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi to end WEC campaign after 2016, including Le MansAudi has confirmed earlier reports that it is about to end its participation in the World Endurance Championship. Audi will exit the sport at the end of the 2016 season, in the process ending 18 years of prototype racing. (The final race will be the 6 Hours of Bahrain on November 19.) During those...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Race of Champions is bound for MiamiThe Race of Champions has been thrilling motorsports fans for decades. The first ROC event was in 1988 and it was held in Paris with a lineup of drivers that would make your eyes bulge from your head. The winner that year was Juha Kankkunen and he earned the very first Champion of Champions title...
Jeff Glucker -
2017 Michelin Challenge Design imagines Le Mans in 2030Michelin loves pushing the envelope when it comes to future automotive design. The tire company often holds design challenge contests that give gifted folks a topic and let them loose. For the 2017 challenge, which is so futuristic that it's taking place in 2016, the contestants were asked to...
Jeff Glucker -
Since its first season in Europe in 2009, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo has since expanded to Asia and North America—and from 2017 it will also run in the Middle East. Lamborghini on Monday announced that its one-make racing series will have a Middle Eastern competition, with races to be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai. There will be just three rounds for the inaugural season. The first is scheduled for Yas Marina from February 9-11, the second at the Dubai Autodrome from February 16-18, and the third and final round again in Dubai, from March...
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2016 Formula One title fight alive with Hamilton win at USGPMercedes AMG’s Lewis Hamilton led from pole to claim victory on Sunday at the 2016 Formula One United States Grand Prix, held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. It was his 50th career win but more importantly it helped reduce the points gap with teammate Nico Rosberg in the 2016...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2016 Formula One United States Grand Prix previewFormula One has made several attempts in past decades to regain a successful foothold in the United States, but it seems to have finally struck gold with the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. And with F1 now under the control of American media giant Liberty Media, it’s likely there...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ken Block to take on Pikes Peak with 1,400-hp Hoonicorn RTRKen Block earlier in October unveiled a new twin-turbocharged version of his Hoonicorn RTR, a 1965 Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] Mustang modified to go sideways at high speeds. We now know what the rally driver needed those massive blowers for. He’s taking the Hoonicorn RTR Twin Turbo up to the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW celebrates 2016 DTM title with M4 Champion EditionMarco Wittmann became the first BMW driver in the history of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters to win two Drivers’ Championships. Having won the title in 2014, he was again crowned champion on Sunday, after finishing fourth in the final race of the 2016 DTM season, held at the Hockenheimring...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Renault Sport hires Hülkenberg for F1 team while ending awesome R.S. 01 one-make seriesThere are major changes afoot at Renault Sport Racing, the official motorsport division of French automaker Renault. First and foremost, the Renault Sport Formula One team on Friday announced that it has hired Nico Hülkenberg. The talented German racing driver is currently at Force India but...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The past weekend was a busy one for rally fans as championship titles were awarded in two top-level competitions: World Rally Championship and World Rallycross Championship. In WRC, it was Frenchman Sébastien Ogier and his co-driverJulien Ingrassia taking top honors—the fourth time in a row for the Volkswagen duo. The win came at the conclusion of round 11, the Rally Spain, and there are still two events to go in the 2016 season. “Winning the world championship again is a fantastic feeling,” Ogier said in a statement. “This is the fourth world championship title...
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Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya reveals restored Toyota AE86The Toyota AE86 is a legend among drift fans. “AE86” is actually the internal code for rear-wheel-drive models from the fifth-generation Corolla family, launched in the 1980s. The models became popular among Japan’s drifting scene because of their affordability and ease at which...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
How Global Rallycross cars hit 60 mph in 1.9 secondsOur friend Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained recently attended a Red Bull Global Rallycross race, and, of course, he found a way to explain things using an equation. Jason specifically honed in on the incredible acceleration of these cars. All of the cars are powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged...
Kirk Bell -
Mark Webber to retire from racing at end of 2016 seasonMark Webber, a true legend of motorsport, has announced his retirement from professional racing. The Australian will step down at the end of the 2016 World Endurance Championship in which he is racing for leading team Porsche. That means his last race will be the 6 Hours of Bahrain on November 19...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ken Block's V2 Hoonicorn Mustang packs 1,400 wild horsesKen Block's original "Hoonicorn" 1965 Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] Mustang (shown below) was the star of his Gymkhana Seven video. At the time, the naturally aspirated V-8 made about 850 horsepower. Now it's time for version two of the Hoonicorn and the power now exceeds 1,400 horses. A pair of...
Kirk Bell -
South African locals prep track for Bloodhound SSC land speed record attemptHakskeenpan, or Hakseen Pan as we'd say in English, is a desolate stretch of mud and salt that sits in the Kalahari Desert. This South African site is going to play host to the Bloodhound SSC next year as it seeks to break the current land speed record. To prep the desert surface for this run, the...
Jeff Glucker