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• 2013 Formula Drift Road Atlanta: Round 2 Sees Daigo Saito Get His Title Defense Back on Track

  In Motorsports / By Tom Anderson / 13 May 2013

  

  While none of the three podium finishers of last month’s opening round of the 2013 Formula Drift championship were very unexpected, the fact that the defending series champion wasn’t among them was. In fact, Daigo Saito was knocked out in the second round of eliminations in Long Beach, clearing the way for the likes of Dai Yoshihara and Vaughn Gittin Jr. to scoop up oodles of points. This begged the question: Was Saito’s fairy tale rookie season in America’s premier drifting series a fluke?

  Well, Daigo Saito responded to that question with an emphatic “No” by winning this past weekend’s second round of the Formula Drift championship trail, held at the world-renown Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia. The venue’s Formula D course utilizes the track’s Turn 10a and 10b complex, before negotiating a paved loop through the gravel trap and winding its way back through the chicane in the opposite direction. So who, along with Saito, was best able to tame this tricky layout? Read on and find out!

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• The Top 25 Homologation Specials of All Time

  In Featured / By Tom Anderson / 18 April 2013

  

  Purpose-built racing cars – be they single seat open wheelers, sports prototypes, dragsters or any other automobile whose sole reason for being is to compete – have always inspired awe and been capable of extraordinary performance. But when it comes to truly connecting with the fans in the stands, these thoroughbreds are no match for production-based (even if it’s just the shape of the body) machinery. The idea of watching a particular car win a race and then walking out to the parking lot and driving home in or driving to the local dealer to check out an identical (save for some safety and performance equipment and a whole heap-o-decals) car holds widespread (if not universal) appeal.

  Of course, to stand a better chance at winning on Sunday so they can sell on Monday, manufacturers load their showroom-bred competition models with go-fast bits. However, many sanctioning bodies used to require (though, sadly, very few still do) that those same upgrades to be fitted to a certain number of the street-legal models Joe Bloe can buy, meaning the factories have to sell what are known as homologation specials in order to race that model. The annals of automotive history are brimming with such four-wheeled entry forms, yet we’ve managed to pare that manifest down to the 25 fastest, coolest and most outrageous ones ever to wear a license plate.

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• 2013 Formula Drift Long Beach: Daijiro Yoshihara Takes the Round 1 Crown

  In Motorsports / By Tom Anderson / 14 April 2013

  

  The 2012 Formula Drift season was as exciting and unpredictable as any in memory, and when the last of the tire smoke settled over the finale at Irwindale Speedway, Formula D newbie Daigo Saito found himself winner of the event and the championship. Not too long after that, Saito grabbed the Formula Drift Asia championship, too. So naturally, most of the Formula Drift community spent the winter trying to figure out how to dethrone the likeable Lexus driver from Japan in 2013.

  And judging by the results of this past weekend’s season opener on the streets of Long Beach, California, it looks like more than a few of Saito’s rivals have stepped up to challenge him. And while some of the names that managed to best the defending champ are familiar, there were a few who weren’t. Make the jump to see who made it the deepest into eliminations.

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• The Top 10 Debuts of the 2013 New York Auto Show

  In Featured / By Tom Anderson / 28 March 2013

  

  For a town where most of the residents share cars, and those cars have their own dedicated tunnels with their own power supplies for their electric propulsion systems, New York’s annual international auto show sure has become one of the hottest expos on the calendar. For the 2013 New York Auto Show now underway, there’s a stellar cast of world debuts from both home and abroad on display. But which of those debuts are the ones that will be hard to fuggetabout? Our 10 picks to attain that status can be found – Where else? – after the jump.

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• 2014 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Brings Three Stages of Heat

  In Tuning / By Tom Anderson / 14 March 2013

  

  When it comes to giving late model Ford Mustangs more speed and style, Roush Performance is one of the most respected names in the game. This is pretty remarkable when you consider that the company hasn’t been in the game all that long (The first Roush parts for street cars went on sale in 1995.). On the other hand, it isn’t that remarkable, when you consider how much company founder Jack Roush had in drag racing, road racing and NASCAR before that.

  Speaking of remarkable, that’s a great descriptor for the current Mustang GT. The 5.0L “Coyote” V8 makes 420hp (and lots of pleasant noises), and the chassis is as well-sorted as anything with a live rear axle has a right to be. However, the 2014 model year will be the last for this generation of ‘Stang, as a new less retro, more international model is on the way for the nameplate’s golden anniversary. But before that happens, Roush Performance is sending the current Mustang out with not one bang, but three bangs of varying intensities.

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• Radio Control Car Chase Carpetbombs Cardboard Community with Clichés [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 23 February 2013

  

  If you watch enough movie or TV car chases closely enough, you’ll notice at least a few common storytelling devices (or, if you prefer the less diplomatic term, clichés) present in just about all of them. These range from smashing through fruit stands, to butt-clenching near misses, to landing jumps that would mutilate a real life car’s suspension and, of course, lots and lots of powersliding. Sure, few chases have most or all of them, but you’ll be extremely hard pressed to find a cinematic pursuit that doesn’t have at least one of these well-worn tropes.

  Of course, if you really do like chases that lay the old standbys on thick and heavy, then you’ll get a kick out of this little gem from Zach King and the boys at FinalCutKing. A pair of radio control Mustangs, a helicopter and a cardboard town conspire to create and exciting (albeit brief) pursuit. It’s tempting to compare this video to the one made by Freddie Wong and crew a while back, but we think it’s better (read: easier) to let them both stand on their own merits.

  Oh, and if you want to check out the making of this video, click here.

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• The Golden Age of DTM Racing [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 11 February 2013

  

  Some of the most exciting racing (and coolest racecars) on earth in the late 1980s and early 1990s occurred in the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, literally German Touring Car Championship). Cars like the original E30-based BMW M3, the Cosworth-massaged 16-valve Mercedes-Benz 190E, and the fat-and-happy Audi V8 Quattro were just some of the tasty tintops that did battle on such storied venues as the Hockenheimring, the Nürburgring (including the mighty Nordschleife), and the AVUS.

  Aptly-named YouTuber DTMEnthusiast captures the go-go spirit of this remarkable era in racing in this fantastic six-minute, one-second production. The soundtrack selection’s lyrics may be unintelligible to the average Amerikaner (The approximate translation of the title and chorus is “Damn Long Time Ago.”), but it’s an absolutely perfect accompaniment to the slow-motion kerb-hopping, powersliding and champagne spraying. If watching this doesn’t make you immediately start trolling eBay, Craigslist and all the rest for a roadgoing BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz DTM homologation model to call your own(All three were sold new in the U.S. at one point or another.), consult your doctor immediately, because you might be dead.

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• The Top 10 Modified Tuner Cars of 2012

  In Lists / By Tom Anderson / 31 December 2012

  

  Exactly 12 months ago, we assembled a list of the 10 tuner vehicles from 2011 that really floated our proverbial boat. Privately, we didn’t think that 2012’s crop of tuned and modified cars, trucks and SUVs could top that of 2011; however – and this is a rare New Year’s Eve treat for you, boys and girls – we are happy to admit that we were wrong. This past lap of the sun has seen the automotive aftermarket assemble some of the fastest, most powerful, and most visually striking machines to ever turn wheels.

  Thus, you can imagine how hard it was for us to narrow our selection down to 10. But that’s exactly what we’ve managed to do, and as you’ll see, the list covers a wide range of manufacturers, tuners, and vehicle types. Will 2013’s top tuner cars be even more amazing? We’re thinking yes. From all of us to all of you, have a happy and safe New Year.

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• Mecum Auctions Holds Its First Collector Car Sale in Anaheim

  In Featured / By Tom Anderson / 20 November 2012

  

  When we heard a few months ago that Mecum Auctions would be holding a collector car auction at the Anaheim Convention Center (located literally across the street from Disneyland), we were beyond stoked. Yes, we’ve been to a couple of Barrett-Jackson auctions before, and have watched countless Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions on TV, but we were curious to experience a Mecum sale in-person. Also: We rarely turn down the chance to check out hundreds of cool cars and trucks all in one place.

  So behind the Orange Curtain we ventured, and into the main hall we walked (The auction occupied three of the convention center’s four sprawling ground-floor halls.). Immediately, we saw row upon row of gleaming sheetmetal (and, in the case of the scores of Corvettes on offer, fiberglass). And much of the content of many of those rows was really high quality. The paint, panel fitment and other indicators of how much time, money and effort were spent on a restoration on dozens of cars was terrific.

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• Ford Racing Mustang Cobra Jet Twin-Turbo Concept Wooshes into SEMA [w/ Video]

  In Motorsports / By Tom Anderson / 30 October 2012

  

  In 2008, Ford and its motorsports and performance parts arm, Ford Racing, reintroduced the world to the idea of a purpose-built, turn-key drag car from a major manufacturer with the Mustang Cobra Jet. These dragstrip-only Mustangs, which are unregisterable for the street thanks to the lack of a VIN, quickly began to dominate the amateur ranks in the NHRA and elsewhere. More significantly, the success of the Cobra Jet program inspired Dodge and Chevrolet to get in the game with the Challenger Drag Pak and Camaro COPO, respectively.

  The latest version of Dearborn’s dynamite doorslammer is offered with the Mustang GT and Boss 302’s 5.0L “Coyote” V8 in either naturally aspirated or supercharged form. However, while the 2.9L Rootes-type supercharger – supplied by Whipple – adds a considerable amount of power, Ford Racing engineers say the blower takes about 100 horsepower to spin. By contrast, turbochargers add massive amounts of power without adding a massive amount of what’s known as parasitic drag, since their compressors are spun by exhaust gas pressure rather than being mechanically driven by the crankshaft. In fact, turbocharging is at the center of Ford’s popular line of EcoBoost engines. So why not set up turbos and the Cobra Jet on a blind date? Well, Ford Racing finally has, and this pairing has definitely clicked.

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