Autoblog

Within Bodie Stroud's '69 Mustang beats the heart of Mario

Jeffrey N. Ross — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Videos, Ford

There are plenty of custom car builders out there, and like many of them, Bodie Stroud's talents are probably only outdone by his love and knowledge of cars. Take this project he completed last year, for example. While it is instantly recognizable as a 1969 Boss Mustang, Stroud has customized almost every aspect of the car combining the heart of a Can-Am racecar with the styling of a classic funny car to create one of the coolest modified first-gen Mustangs you'll ever see. The build process was documented - and recently released - by director Julian King in a video called, The Real Thing.

For the funny car look, Stroud chopped the top, widened the body and added some fat tires in the back. The true beauty of this beast is under the hood with a very unique engine powering Stroud's 'Stang. Using one of 10 engines developed for Mario Andretti's 1969 Can-Am racer, this car is powered by a 494-cubic-inch V8 that was dyno'd at 777 horsepower. To handle that kind of power, Stroud replaced the Mustang's unibody chassis with a custom body-on-frame design that features pass-throughs for the exhaust and a four-wheel air suspension setup. The car was unveiled at the 2011 SEMA Show with Andretti in attendance to sign the monster engine.

Scroll down to watch the five-minute video, and also be sure to check out Stroud's site showing some pictures from the build and the 2011 SEMA Show.

Continue reading Within Bodie Stroud's '69 Mustang beats the heart of Mario

Within Bodie Stroud's '69 Mustang beats the heart of Mario originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Circuit of the Americas officially opens, Mario Andretti takes inaugural lap

Jeffrey N. Ross — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Racing

Mario Andretti and Patrick Dempsey were among many other racers on hand over the weekend for the grand opening of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. With the Formula One US Grand Prix set for November 18, the track surface is ready for action, but there is still plenty of work to be done before the track's opening race.

Andretti cut a ceremonial ribbon and then completed the track's first lap in the same Lotus 79 racecar in which he won six races and a World Championship in 1978. The legendary driver commented on how unique the elevated Turn One will be, calling it the track's "marquee corner." After Andretti hit the track, other vehicles also put laps on the newly finished course including a unique three-seater F1 car.

Formula One will kick off the racing at the new track, but COTA will also host races for MotoGP, American Le Mans Series, Australian V8 Supercars and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Cars Series. Check out the video of the news report below along with some additional videos showing cars in action around the brand-new track.

Continue reading Circuit of the Americas officially opens, Mario Andretti takes inaugural lap

Circuit of the Americas officially opens, Mario Andretti takes inaugural lap originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SPEED announces Hollywood's Hottest Car Chases with mega sweepstakes

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos

Ronin ranks high on the list - Click above to watch video after the jump

It's a question which stirs up deep emotions in most automotive enthusiasts. No, it's not Porsche versus Ferrari, Senna versus Schumacher or Jeep against Land Rover. The question that causes serious debate boils down to one sentence - what is the best movie car chase of all time? SPEED is going to count down the greatest that Hollywood has to offer during a two-hour special running Thanksgiving day. The show is a platform to show-off the channel's newest contest, the return of the SPEED Dream Ride in the form of the SPEED Dream Ride 2.

The SPEED Dream Ride 2 is a sweepstakes-style contest with an excellent grand prize. Five winners and their guests will get to experience the VIP treatment at Infineon Raceway, in Sonoma, California. While at the track, winners will get to ride shotgun with Mario Andretti in a two-seat Indy car, Kyle Petty in a NASCAR stock car, Jason Pridmore on a two-up MotoGP sportbike and get sideways with Tanner Foust on a drifting course. If riding riding in cars gets boring, the winners can take turns crushing cars behind the wheel of the Gravedigger monster truck. They'll also get seat time in a handful of exotics courtesy of World Class Driving. Appetite whetted? You can enter this contest starting on Thanksgiving Day by heading to SpeedDreamRide.com.

The TV show, called Hollywood's Hottest Car Chases, may just serve as a backdrop for the announcement of the dream ride contest, but we think it's a topic that can't be discussed enough. To get you ready for the show, we've placed three chase clips after the the jump along with the full press release for the SPEED Dream Ride 2 contest.

[Source: SPEED, Youtube]

Continue reading SPEED announces Hollywood's Hottest Car Chases with mega sweepstakes

SPEED announces Hollywood's Hottest Car Chases with mega sweepstakes originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: The 1970 12 Hours of Sebring completely ruled

Alex Nunez — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:24:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Videos, Porsche, Ferrari

1970 12 Hours of Sebring film - Click above to watch video after the jump

If we had a time machine, we'd set it for 1970 and never look back. And once we landed, bought some new threads and scored one of the amazing cars in production at the time, we'd road trip it to Sebring so we could see that year's 12-hour enduro in person. Why? Because as good as modern sports car racing is, Sebring '70 is special. From the cars and drivers (a who's-who of legends including Mario Andretti, Jo Siffert, Pedro Rodriguez, Dan Gurney, Henri Pescarolo, and yes, Steve McQueen, who co-drove his Porsche 908 with Peter Revson despite having his broken left foot in a cast at the time), to the the overall atmosphere, Sebring, Florida on March 21, 1970 was very much the place to be.

Sadly, there's no time machine to take us back there, but there was a brilliant race documentary made of the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring. Follow the jump to see the story play out in five parts. Unfortunately, the embedded YouTube clips don't include the film's seven-minute intro section. But that's okay, because you can catch that part over at the State Library and Archives of Florida, which has the 22-minute movie posted in its entirety.

So, follow the jump and see the drama unfold as the Gulf-Porsche 917s battle the Ferrari 512S trio led by Andretti while McQueen and Revson try to pull off an unimaginable upset. Forty years after the checkered flag dropped, this is still an absurdly exciting and entertaining race to watch, even if you already know its storybook ending. Need a spotter's guide before you hit play? No worries, just click here. Thank you, 1970, for being so incomprehensibly awesome.

[Source: State Library and Archives of Florida, YouTube]

Continue reading Video: The 1970 12 Hours of Sebring completely ruled

Video: The 1970 12 Hours of Sebring completely ruled originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndyCar no longer content with crowning single champion, moving to three?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

What, Danica Patrick's inclusion in the sport isn't enough to generate sufficient interest? Guess not. Seemingly in an attempt to generate some additional excitement in the 17-race 2010 IndyCar Series schedule, Randy Bernard, first-year chief executive of the Indy Racing League, has announced that there will be three different winners after the season is done and over with. Why? We'll let Bernard explain:

After my first six weeks, I kept saying to myself we need to be able to deliver a consistent message about our sport that separates us from other forms of auto racing... What hit me is that we have the fastest and most versatile drivers and racecars in the world - and no one can deny that - and now we have to show why we're the fastest and most versatile. We have 17 events, but how do we create better story lines?

Apparently, that "consistent message" necessitates awarding a winner for both oval racing (to attract NASCAR fans?) and road racing (to attract F1 or Le Mans series fans?) in addition to the normal overall series champion.

Does this three-tiered championship earn your interest? If so, you'll be pleased to hear that a contest coming in late May will allow fans to help choose the names for the oval and road racing trophies. So far, it seems that Foyt (oval) and Andretti (road) are the leading candidates.

[Source: The New York Times | Image: Darrell Ingham/Getty]

IndyCar no longer content with crowning single champion, moving to three? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marco Andretti gets a second shot at F1

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:09:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Honda

Looks like Honda Racing was pretty impressed with Marco, too. Marco Andretti, the teenage son of former CART champ and one-time F1 pilota Michael, and grandson of former F1 and CART campione, Mario, will be back in the saddle of the Honda RA 106 for a couple of days. Marco had a brief run at Jerez back in December that apparently went well enough for Honda to invite him back for more. Sporting director (and former CART champion himself) Gil de Ferran said that because the RA 106 was still available this week in Jerez, they would love to have the youngest racing Andretti take a few more laps. The IndyCar (IRL) Series 'Rookie of the Year' will be on track in Jerez on 2/7 and 2/8 while Jenson Button and Christian Klien continue to work on the new RA107 chassis.

After an impressive, if somewhat heartbreaking, second place finish in last year's Indy 500, the 19-yr-old Andretti has been seen as a highly visible talent who could potentially draw American fans into Formula 1. While his first test in the Honda RA 106 went well, Marco admitted it was too short to reach any conclusions: "I felt that I did a good job in December but on the first day you spend more time getting used to the car and familiarizing yourself with the circuit," he said. "When I get in the car this time, I am sure I will be able to hit the ground running. I'm looking forward to it."

[Sources: Paddock Talk and Guardian Unlimited]

Marco Andretti gets a second shot at F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Andretti in vintage form as he celebrates 10 years of winemaking

Chris Paukert — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.

It's been said that Mario Andretti and fast cars pair like fine wine and good food. Well, on Saturday, June 24, fans and oenophiles will have the chance to experience at least three out of four of those things, and by our reckoning, that ain't half bad.

Andretti's prowess on the racetrack is well-documented, but he's also the proprietor of a well-regarded winery in Napa, California, which is celebrating its 10 Year Anniversary on June 24.

The festivities will include wine tasting (natch), food, live music, and of course, Mario will be in the house. There is an admission charge, but it's open to the public, so check out www.andrettiwinery.com if you're in the area.

Who knows? Perhaps Mario will break out some vintage iron to mark the occasion.

[Source: Andretti Winery]

Andretti in vintage form as he celebrates 10 years of winemaking originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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