Autoblog

The Tony Fox "Proud American" and "Bonneville Boss" Rocket Truck

Frank Filipponio — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Classics, Performance, Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Work, Specialty

The Proud American and Bonneville Boss - Click above for high-res image gallery

Before our favorite weekly Southern California car gathering this Saturday, we had been told by a friend that he'd be bringing his new rocket truck. Rocket truck? What the heck's a rocket truck? Visions of rocket-powered pickups and semis running the quarter mile immediately came to mind. Did some drag racer sell Tom his race truck? Is that what he was bringing to the show?

As soon as we came around the corner we knew he hadn't. We knew this with absolute certainty because we saw a giant nosecone towering above the treeline. There was, in fact, a rocket-powered land speed record (LSR) car positioned at a launch-worthy angle atop a most amazing truck. Rocket, truck... Rocket truck. Makes sense now. But what was this thing and where did it come from? You can read the whole wacky story after the jump.

Gallery: Tony Fox "Proud American" and "Bonneville Boss"

Continue reading The Tony Fox "Proud American" and "Bonneville Boss" Rocket Truck

The Tony Fox "Proud American" and "Bonneville Boss" Rocket Truck originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Cadillac-powered Spectre SpeedLiner sets world record for gas-powered, wheel-driven vehicles

Noah Joseph — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Cadillac, Specialty

Click above to watch the videos after the jump

Different automakers seek out different bragging. The same goes for tuning houses. The bogey in question may be the quickest lap time around a given race track (usually the Nürburgring), a particular horsepower figure, a performance benchmark, or, in some cases, a world land speed record. That's what Spectre Performance was after with their SpeedLiner, and that's what they got. Well, one category of LSR, anyway.

The Spectre SpeedLiner is a purpose-built speed record car powered by a custom Cadillac V8 measuring 529 cubic inches (8.8 liters) in capacity, boosted by a pair of intercooled 88mm turbochargers, custom forged rods, solid roller cam, ported heads and oversized valves. The result is somewhere near 2000 horsepower, give or take. And on Sunday, the SpeedLiner clocked a 330.7 mph top speed on the Bonneville Salt Flats, claiming the record for the fastest wheel-driven, gasoline powered vehicle in the world.

Reports indicate that Spectre is looking to hit 400 mph, so this may very well not be the last we've heard from the SpeedLiner. In the meantime, you can check out a trio of videos after the jump.

[Source: SpectrePerformance via Auto-Focus.us]

Continue reading VIDEO: Cadillac-powered Spectre SpeedLiner sets world record for gas-powered, wheel-driven vehicles

VIDEO: Cadillac-powered Spectre SpeedLiner sets world record for gas-powered, wheel-driven vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Land Speed Record driver Barry Bryant dies in 200-mph crash at Bonneville

Noah Joseph — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Barry Brant, third from left, posing with members of the Bryant family in front of the car he was driving during crash

Anyone familiar with land speed trials knows all too well the dangers inherent in pursuing new record-breaking speeds, and today we're saddened to report on the death of one Barry Bryant of Anderson, California.

According to sources, Bryant lost control of his car on Sunday afternoon during Speed Week while passing the five-mile marker on the Bonneville salt flats at 200 miles per hour. The car - called the Tom Thumb Special VII and partially visible in the Bryant family photo above - rolled multiple times, leaving a quarter-mile of debris and emergency crews to cut away at the car to remove the injured driver. Bryant was rushed to the Intermountain Medical Center some 120 miles away in Salt Lake City, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries before arriving there. Our thoughts are with the Bryant family.

[Source: Salt Lake Tribune | BryantAuto.com]

Land Speed Record driver Barry Bryant dies in 200-mph crash at Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Ken Block and Travis Pastrana's Stupid Human Tricks Roadshow heads to Bonneville

Chris Shunk — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Subaru

Click above to watch the video after the jump

We've seen Ken Block and his gang of misfits perform plenty of crazy cool stunts in their Crawford-built 2009 Subaru WRX STI. Block's stupefyingly accurate power slides never seem to get old, no matter how many times we see his 566 horsepower (at the wheels!) STI come within millimeters of disaster. It is cool, however, to see Block and his friends add a little something extra this time around.

After the jump is video of Block and Travis Pastrana (on a motorcycle) having a good old time setting some land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The STI is still present and accounted for in all its adhesion-defying glory, but the speed records are being sought on some garbage cans, a big wheel, and "a $3 Wal-Mart plastic sled." Looks safe to us.

For some reason, some members of Block's team decided it would be a good idea to try to jump on the hood of the STI while it was doing donuts on the salt flats, and one of them ended up getting side-swiped and bounced off Block's rear wheel like a rag doll. That's gotta hurt. Hit the jump for 2:38 of (salt) rock-solid entertainment, but if you're a member of the Save The Salt coalition, be forewarned, there's some gratuitous car-on-salt violence. Hat tip to Bart K.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Ken Block and Travis Pastrana's Stupid Human Tricks Roadshow heads to Bonneville

VIDEO: Ken Block and Travis Pastrana's Stupid Human Tricks Roadshow heads to Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stock Dodge Viper ACR taken for a ride at Bonneville Salt Flats

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:57:00 EST

Filed under: Supercars, Dodge

Dodge Viper ACR - Click above for high-res gallery

The battle between America's preeminent supercars continues as Inside Line has taken a stock Dodge Viper ACR to the Bonneville Salt Flats to see what it can do. We'd say it did rather well. On the final run of the day, Dodge's ultimate Viper slithered its way to 173 miles per hour on the 10-mile long strip of salt. There's a great story about what it took to reach that terminal velocity, click here to read it.

By way of comparison - and because we know you're all wondering - Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson was able to wring a stock Corvette ZR1's neck to about 176 miles per hour at Bonneville in an episode that aired late last year. Different days with different weather conditions to be sure (update: as pointed out in the comments, the ZR1's figure was achieved with just 1 mile of runway), but it's always fun to stir the pot, right?

It's not just in straight-line acceleration where the two American heavyweights duke it out, with the Viper ACR recording a blistering lap of the Nurburgring in just 7:22.1, which compares rather favorably to the ZR1's 7:26. Strapped to the dyno, the Viper ACR puts down a whopping 546 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque compared to the supercharged ZR1's 549.9 horsepower and 500 lb-ft. Now, when does round 4 begin?

Gallery: First Drive: 2008 Dodge Viper ACR

[Source: Inside Line]

Stock Dodge Viper ACR taken for a ride at Bonneville Salt Flats originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Deal of the Day: Mazda 323 GTX Bonneville Salt Flats LSR racer

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Auctions, Hatchback, Mazda

While surfing eBay Motors we came across item number 170293663976. It's a Mazda 323 GTX with only 7,814 original miles on it, which makes the $6,500 Buy It Now price seems reasonable. Long before the Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution became household names by offering turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, Japanese rally car goodness to the common man, there was a similar offering from Mazda. From 1988-89, Mazda buyers could go into their local dealership and order a turbocharged, intercooled, sixteen-valve, 132-hp Mazda 323 GTX. That might not seem so remarkable to people growing up in the era of the Mazdaspeed3, but back then it was quite extraordinary. The 323 GTX was built to help Mazda meet FIA homologation rules so Mazda could go rallying. Despite that attractive package, only about 1200 GTXs ended up in American garages, mainly because they were kind of expensive compared to the competition. A similarly quick 16-valve VW GTI cost about $1,000 less, for instance.

When you read the description for this particular listing, though, you realize this little Mazda has a few extras. For instance, this particular GTX has a roll cage. It also has some stickers on it. There are a ton of auxiliary gauges inside as well. Okay, it's a race car. Peering under the hood you see that the owner has made a few modifications to the engine bay: instead of the stock 132-horsepower four-banger, there resides a 1.5L race motor that pumps out more three times as much chutzpah. In fact, it puts out 425 hp, enough to push this little pocket rocket to a top speed of 177 miles-per-hour. And that figure is verified.

You see, this is a Bonneville class record holder. Based on the 1987 factory WRC model, Don Marsh's Patrick Motors, of Dublin, Ohio had Roger Mandeville of Mandeville Auto Tech in Spartanburg, S.C. do the build. It still holds the N/R SCCA Land Speed Record. As the description says, "The car is incredibly versatile. It could be used in Land Speed Racing, Drag Racing, Road Racing, Rallying, Drifting and Solo events as well." You could even change the gearing and try to crack 200 mph. One thing you might have trouble doing with it is getting it registered for the road. Those Goodyear LSR tires don't look to be D.O.T. approved, but what do we care? We love the idea of owning the fastest example of anything for just $6500. The bidding ends January 18 at 18:30:00 PST, so get on it.

Gallery: Bonneville Mazda 323 GTX

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Deal of the Day: Mazda 323 GTX Bonneville Salt Flats LSR racer originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Detroit 2009: Faster Pussycat - Jaguar XFR pounces on Bonneville, hits 225 mph!

Chris Paukert — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Motorsports, Sedan, Etc., Jaguar

Click above for high-res image gallery of the Jaguar XFR Bonneville car

In its spare time while reinventing the company and settling in with a new owner, Jaguar's boffins somehow found time to take their new XFR to the Bonneville Salt Flats for a top speed run last November.

The Paul Gentilozzi-driven XFR had been modified with the appropriate safety gear (roll cage, fire suppression system, etc.), along with a sizable low-mounted rear spoiler and a derestricted ECU that allowed the supercharger to yield around 600 horsepower thanks to a bit more boost. So-equipped, the 503-horsepower sedan blew through the double-ton to top out at 225.675 miles-per-hour, solidly trouncing the previous Jaguar land speed record of 217.1 mph set by an XJ220 at Nardo back in 1992 with Martin Brundle at the wheel. For reference, the standard XFR is electronically limited to 155 mph.

Incredibly, the Bonneville run was completed on stock Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires, and the Rocketsports-prepared XFR was still registering a bit of wheelspin at that speed. Check out the high-res, high-speed gallery below and the press release after the jump.

UPDATE: Video of the XFR in Bonneville added after the jump.

Gallery: Jaguar XFR Bonneville Salt Flats Racer

Gallery: Detroit 2009: Jaguar XFR Bonneville Salt Flats Racer

Live photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Jaguar]

Continue reading Detroit 2009: Faster Pussycat - Jaguar XFR pounces on Bonneville, hits 225 mph!

Detroit 2009: Faster Pussycat - Jaguar XFR pounces on Bonneville, hits 225 mph! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More pics from Top Gear testing American metal

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:33:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Supercars, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, UK, Celebrities

Click above for high-res gallery

Not long after we learned that the famous Top Gear trio was in the U.S., a fan managed to snap some shots of Clarkson, Hammond and Mays testing their favorite examples of American muscle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The hosts made their way to salt flats by way of Reno, Nevada where they had a few modifications done to each vehicle in the name of high speed safety, namely driveshaft loops and fire extinguishers. If you saw our previous post on the subject, you already know that Clarkson is driving a Corvette ZR1, Hamster a Challenger SRT8 and May the super-fast but still luxurious Cadillac CTS-V, a car that shares much of its supercharged V8 architecture with the new force-fed mill in the 'Vette. We can already surmise that the ZR1 easily took top honors at Bonneville thanks to its slippery shape and abundance of power. Now, which car wins the comparison test? We look forward to next season to find out. Check out the gallery below for more pics of the action going down, or click here and follow the photostream. Thanks for the tips, AkulaX1 and Andi!

Gallery: Top Gear at Bonneville

[Sources: Flickr, Digital Corvettes]

More pics from Top Gear testing American metal originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorcyclist dies attempting land speed record on Salt Flats

Michael Harley — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorcycle

Tragedy struck the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last week when 47-year-old Cliff Gullett, of Team Bullet Costella-Gullett Racing, lost control of his bike at nearly 240 mph. Gullett, an experienced racer who held nearly a dozen land speed records on motorcycles, was competing in the 500cc class (two-stroke, two-cylinder) riding the Costella-Gullett Motorcycle Streamliner. He crashed after completing his return run -- the record is pending ratification by the governing racing bodies. A memorial service will be held next Saturday in his hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Our condolences are extended to the entire Gullett family including his wife, son, and daughter. Our appreciation to 3seriesisking for alerting us to the sad news.

[Source: Yahoo! Sports, Photo by Team Bullet]

Motorcyclist dies attempting land speed record on Salt Flats originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hondata sets four new records at Bonneville

Damon Lavrinc — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Tuners, Acura, Honda

If you've spent any amount of timing tweaking the B16 in your EK hatch, you're probably all too familiar with Hondata. The firm specializes in providing easy-to-use, plug-and-play components for the world's Acura and Honda owners, and has proved invaluable on at least two past project cars of ours.

The So. Cal.-based tuning firm decided to take to the Bonneville Salt Flats a couple of weeks back and came away with four new class records, all behind the wheel of a heavily modified 2003 Acura RSX. The stock two-liter K20 was built by Prototype Racing and was able to produce 270 naturally aspirated horses running VP Racing fuel, and 390 HP when injected with everyone's favorite go-juice, nitrous oxide.

When the salt settled, the Hondata crew set a one-way speed of 190.1 MPH in the G/FCC class while running the NO2, and 172 MPH in the G/GCC class with the aforementioned racing fuel.

You can follow the jump for Hondata's press release and check out its website for more information on its products.

[Source: Hondata]

Continue reading Hondata sets four new records at Bonneville

Hondata sets four new records at Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 qualifies for top speed run at Bonneville

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:04:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Green, Ford

Click the Fusion for high-res images from Bonneville

Matt Zuehlk and his team comprised of engineers and technicians from Ford, Roush and Ballard Power Systems finally hit the Bonneville Salt Flats this past weekend after months of preparation and weeks of vehicle integration testing. On Sunday, Driver Rick Byrnes made a qualification run at over 161 mph with the hydrogen fuel cell-powered Fusion.

Now the team will be spending the rest of this week working their way up to over 200 mph as they try to establish a land speed record for a production-bodied fuel cell car. The Ford team is also working with the Ohio State University team who are trying to get their Buckeye Bullet 2 streamliner up over 350mph.

[Source: Ford, via AutoblogGreen]

Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 qualifies for top speed run at Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rolls-Royce to take landspeed record shot

Scott Davis — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:08:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Motorsports, Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Rolls-Royce

In keeping with its brand strategy, Rolls-Royce would never give the go-ahead to participate in a conventional motorsport activity. It does, however, have a history of landspeed record bids, and it looks like the automaker is about to write the newest chapter.

AutoExpress is reporting that Rolls Royce will make an attempt to break the 409-MPH landspeed record for piston-engined, wheel driven cars next year. Rolls-Royce has held many landspeed records dating back to the '30s and its vehicles were the fastest cars on the planet until the jet-engined streamliners took over the record books. If the attempt does take place, looks for Rolls to face stiff competition from JCB, who earlier this year set the land speed record for diesels with its Dieselmax Bonneville racer and plans to return next year to shatter the record it set of 350 MPH.

Look for an announcement in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Rolls-Royce to take landspeed record shot originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2-wheel land speed record falls in the flats

John Neff — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

If we've learned anything from the JCB Dieselmax team, it's that records are meant to be broken, and why should our four-wheeled friends have all the fun? Last weekend the International Motorcycle Speed Trials began at the Bonneville Salt Flats with a record breaking two-wheel run by Team TOP 1 ACK Attack. The team's two-wheeled streamliner owned and designed by Mike Akatiff and piloted by Rocky Robinson achieved a combined two-way average of speed of 342.797 mph, demolishing the old record of 322.149 mph by over 20 mph. Within the first two hours of the event's kick off, "the Ack" recorded its first pass of 344 mph and a second at around 340 mph. Everything went smoothly reports Cycle News, except for the part when the parachute was supposed to deploy. It took Robinson five yanks on the lever to make it actuate. Yikes.

Many other teams are waiting in the wings to break the new record this week, but Team Attack claims it was only using 75 percent of its two-wheeler's potential. Before the week is over we should expect a standing two-wheel speed record of at least 350 mph from someone out in the flats.

Tip: Curt

[Source: CycleNews]

2-wheel land speed record falls in the flats originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM's Flickr photo page

Damon Lavrinc — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:57:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., GM

General Motors' presence in the 'blogosphere' has taken the next logical progression with the addition of its own Flickr account. Although it's been around for a while, we haven't tired of clicking through some of the great photography that the page has to offer.

Between professional and amateur offerings, there's a little something for everyone, especially the latest additions from the Woodward Dream Cruise. Additionally, you'll find tons of class shots of the Camaro concept along with its predecessors in a variety of settings, the campaign of the Cobalt at the Bonneville Salt Flats and a host of other promotional shots.

Note: for a brief chronicle of GM's baby steps (and missteps) in the blogosphere, check out Jalopnik's history lesson on the subject here.

GM's Flickr photo page originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JCB Dieselmax does it!

John Neff — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Achieves new world land speed record with record two-way run of 328.767 mph

Today driver Andy Green drove the JCB Dieselmax to a new world land speed record for diesel-powered cars by achieving an average speed of 328.767 mph on two runs. The JCB Dieselmax team spent the last two days replacing the car's 600-bhp practice engines with 750-bhp "record" versions. Driver Andy Green piloted the car for both runs reaching 324 mph on the first run and 333 mph on the second. The new record, which is still subject to official confirmation, breaks the previous record of 236 mph set in 1973 by nearly, but not quite, 100 mph. Green believes there's still more left in the Dieselmax and the team will be tinkering with the car before making additional runs later in the week.

[Source: JCBDieselmax and 4Car]

JCB Dieselmax does it! originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM cars set records, crash at Bonneville Speed Week

Stuart Waterman — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Chevrolet, GM

General Motors reported mixed results on the salt flats Tuesday, with the day marred by a 250-mph crash of the Chevy So-Cal HHR (top, right).

So-Cal HHR driver and GM engineer Jim Minneker walked away from the HHR wreck, which happened after the car lost traction at nearly 250 mph when the parachute deployed. Minneker was on track to beat the G Class/Blown Fuel Competition Coupe record after hitting the long course speed traps at 246.686 mph (nearly 20 mph faster than the old record) before the crash.

On a brighter note, the So-Cal Speed Shop-built Chevy Cobalt SS (bottom, right) looks set to blow the doors off the G Class/Blown Fuel Altered Coupe record with a blistering 246.680 qualifying run. Driver Mark Dickens hopes to back up that run and break the Cobalt's previous record of 218.392 mph set two days ago. Meanwhile, the record-setting "Student Cobalt", also driven by Wickens, upped its G Class/Unblown Fuel Competition Coupe record to 163.608 mph, this time running its E85-fueled Ecotec with nitrous oxide injection, good for a 7 mph lift.

[Source: GM Performance Division, So-Cal Speed Shop]

GM cars set records, crash at Bonneville Speed Week originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy Cobalt aims to set E85 record at Bonneville

Stuart Waterman — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 19:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

A Chevrolet Cobalt SS racecar engineered in part by three female students is heading for the Bonneville Salt Flats this week, in an attempt to set speed records using both E85 and gasoline.

If the student's Cobalt project is successful, it will be the first vehicle to set a record at Bonneville using E85 fuel, racing in the G Class/Unblown Fuel Competition Coupe class. Running gasoline, the car will also run in G CLass/Unblown Gas Competition Coupe class.

GM Co-op students Lauren Zimmer, Sandra Saldivar and Heather Chemistruck are part of GM Performance Division's Student Bonneville Program.

The fuel-injected "Go Yellow" Cobalt will be joined by a trio of GM Performance Bonneville entries powered by blown versions of the General's Ecotec four-banger: the Chevy So-Cal Bonneville HHR, the Chevy So-Cal Cobalt SS, and the Ecotec Lakester.

[Source: GM]

Chevy Cobalt aims to set E85 record at Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Aug 2006 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda F1 sets land speed records at Bonneville

Alex Nunez — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Honda

All week long, the Honda Racing F1 team has been out at the Bonneville Salt Flats pursuing a lofty goal: setting a new Formula 1 car land speed record over the Bonneville flying mile with an average speed of 400 kph. Honda simply called the mission the Bonneville 400.

The instrument being used to make the attempt was a V10-powered Honda 007. For the runs out on the salt, the car was outfitted with an upright rear fin instead of the standard wing, and also employed the use of a parachute to help slow itself at the completion of each attempt. Driver Alan van der Mewe was behind the wheel for all the early-morning record runs, and through the course of the week, Alan, the team, and the car have broken F1 class records three times.

During today's final set of attempts, the Honda produced two land speed records for Formula 1 cars. Over the Bonneville flying mile, the car hit an average speed of 397.360kph (246.908mph). The second record set was over the flying kilometer, where it averaged 397.481kph (246.983mph).

The magic 400 kph average remained out of reach, though earlier this week, the car did hit 400.454 kph on one pass of the measured mile. It wasn't able to match the feat on the return trip, unfortunately.

While disappointed that they didn't set the record at 400, all parties involved deemed the week a success. Given the time and effort that they put into the event and the challenges they faced running an F1 car on the salt flats, you can't help but agree.

Check out the Bonneville 400 site for a host of info, including full coverage of the week, images and video of the attempts.

(Additional photos after the jump)

[Source: Honda Racing F1]

Continue reading Honda F1 sets land speed records at Bonneville

Honda F1 sets land speed records at Bonneville originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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