Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Texas tuner developing turbocharged V6 Camaro to take on GT-R's 'Ring record]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/07/texas-tuner-developing-turbocharged-v6-camaro-to-take-on-gt-rs/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/07/texas-tuner-developing-turbocharged-v6-camaro-to-take-on-gt-rs/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/07/texas-tuner-developing-turbocharged-v6-camaro-to-take-on-gt-rs/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS -- click above image for high-res gallery

Must. Beat. Godzilla. For some reason. Here's the skinny. A tuner company called East Texas Muscle Cars is fitting a couple of turbos to a 2010 V6 Camaro in order to "beat" the 'Ring time laid down by none other than the Nissan GT-R. That leaves us with two questions then: how and why?

Lots of folks are going to buy V6 Camaros, grok the 304 hp V6, scratch their heads and say, "More power." In other words, there's a market. ETMC will rip the guts come out of the 3.6-liter LLT and throw in forged rods, crank and pistons. And then, of course, you get the two Squires Turbo Systems turbos. These are remote-mounted turbos that bolt up under the car near the exhaust. With such a system, you're basically trading a bit of lag for increased cooling and no need to mess around with new headers. East Texas thinks they can wring 500 horses out of the system no problem.

Then there's the matter of dealing with the stock Camaro's "tremendous understeer and cradle walk." That's pretty necessary if you want to do battle with a R35, which neither understeers nor cradle walks nor really does anything bad or sloppy. East Texas Muscle Cars will be addressing those issues via harder bushings and Pedders coil-overs, along with a Baer big brake kit and lightweight forged 20-inch wheels.

Then there's the question: Why? Why go after Godzilla, such a high profile target? Unless you're building Clubber Lang, why call out Rocky? Publicity, obviously. Would we even be writing about a bolt-on turbo kit for a V6 Camaro unless they publicly challenged one of the production car 'Ring masters? Probably not. But there is one part of their scheme that we do like. Once the Camaro is finished, ETMC will be flying it and a friend's stock GT-R out to Germany to run 'em both simultaneously. Since that's the case, no need to even mention the inherent fallacy of Nurburgring lap records. Good luck boys.


Gallery: 2010 Chevy Camaro


[Source: Inside Line]


Texas tuner developing turbocharged V6 Camaro to take on GT-R's 'Ring record originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CamaroCamaro V6CamaroV6East Texas Motor SportsEastTexasMotorSportsGodzillaGT-RNissanNissan GT-RNissanGt-rNurburgringNurburgring RecordNurburgringRecordR35R35 SkylineR35SkylineSkylineV6 CamaroV6CamaroFri, 07 Aug 2009 19:58:00 EST<![CDATA[Fun while it lasted: Porsche Panamera Turbo reportedly tops Cadillac CTS-V's 'Ring record]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/12/fun-while-it-lasted-porsche-panamera-turbo-reportedly-tops-cadi/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/12/fun-while-it-lasted-porsche-panamera-turbo-reportedly-tops-cadi/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/12/fun-while-it-lasted-porsche-panamera-turbo-reportedly-tops-cadi/#commentsFiled under: ,


2010 Porsche Panamera - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's been just over a year since Cadillac captured the title of fastest production four-door car when John Heinricy circulated the Nürburgring's north loop with a CTS-V in under eight minutes. Considering the pace of leap-frogging between the Nissan GT-R, Corvette ZR1 and Viper ACR it's a bit surprising that it took this long for someone to top the super-Caddy. What's not surprising is that it was a Porsche that finally outran the CTS-V.

Now that the four-door Porsche Panamera has been thrust upon the world, it was only a matter of time before one the test drivers from Weissach brought the crown back to the fatherland. The 500-horsepower Panamera Turbo lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes, 56 seconds, 3 seconds faster than the Cadillac.

When Heinricy set his 7:59 time last year, it was done in an automatic CTS-V in a single hot lap at the end of a test session. With any luck, we'll see Heinricy or perhaps one of the Corvette C6.R drivers like Johnny O'Connell head back to the Eiffel mountains for another go.


Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Porsche Panamera


All Photos Copyright (C)2009 Michael Harley / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: TopSpeed]

Fun while it lasted: Porsche Panamera Turbo reportedly tops Cadillac CTS-V's 'Ring record originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cadillaccadillac cts-vCadillacCts-vfour door nurburgring recordFourDoorNurburgringRecordnurburgringnurburgring nordschleifenurburgring recordNurburgringNordschleifenurburgringrecordporscheporsche panameraPorschePanameraSun, 12 Jul 2009 09:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Bertone Mantide owner eyeing Corvette ZR1 Nürburgring record run?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/08/bertone-mantide-owner-eyeing-corvette-zr1s-nurburgring-record-r/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/08/bertone-mantide-owner-eyeing-corvette-zr1s-nurburgring-record-r/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/08/bertone-mantide-owner-eyeing-corvette-zr1s-nurburgring-record-r/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Bertone Mantide - Click above for high-res image gallery

Some coachbuilt custom supercars are all show. But the owner of a Bertone Mantide is eager to prove that his has got the go to back up his show. Dan Watkins, the British gentleman-racer who bought the first Mantide, is so eager, in fact, that he's pondering personally financing a run at the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's Nürburgring lap record. And there's every reason to believe his car could reach that goal.

At 7 minutes, 26.4 seconds, the 2009 ZR1 holds the current lap record for a stock, street-legal, series production automobiles (excluding such track-focused machinery as the Viper ACR and Radical SR8). Nissan has its eyes on the ZR1 and is closing in fast, but as delicate and fragile as it may look, the Mantide arguably stands the best chance of besting the supercharged Vette's time - mostly because it's based on the ZR1. Only it's 80kg (176 pounds) lighter and 30% more aerodynamic, thanks to the improvements made to the body by Jason Castriota and his team at Stile Bertone.

To test the theory, Watkins is mulling renting out the 'Ring for three days, hiring an expert Nordschleife driver, and of course, donating the use of his $2 million supercar. All in pursuit of the ultimate bragging rights. If it happens, well, be watching.


Gallery: Bertone Mantide


[Source: PistonHeads]

Bertone Mantide owner eyeing Corvette ZR1 Nürburgring record run? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Nissan GT-R at the Nurburgring - Click above for a hi-res gallery

Enough is never enough. Not when you're talking supercars and Nürburgring lap times. As if enough jaws weren't dropped when Nissan posted their fantastic initial time of 7:29 around the vaunted Nordschleife (besting Porsche's best), the automaker's engineers went back to the garage looking for a little extra for 2010. They came back with a slightly updated version, with five extra horsepower and revised dual-clutch transmission with updated launch control, plus a bigger fuel tank, new tires and a retuned suspension. So what effect would these modifications have on the GT-R's 'Ring run? About a second and a half off the record, which now stands for the Japanese supercar at an awe-inspiring 7:27.56.

According to Nissan, the time was posted using a 2010 GT-R with the optional V-Spec wheels and tires, driven by former F1 tester Toshio Suzuki. Fantastic as that time is, it's still another second short of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's 7:26.4 (to say nothing of the Dodge Viper ACR's 7:22.1), so Nissan will be back at it. And without the dirt and dust which the Japanese team says was coating the track to impede its lap time, they figure they just might find enough extra speed to claim the record. Details in the press release after the jump.


Gallery: 2010 Nissan GT-R sets 7:27.56 Ring lap time


[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Revised Nissan GT-R clocks 7:27.56 lap time at the Nürburgring

Revised Nissan GT-R clocks 7:27.56 lap time at the Nürburgring originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Ford Focus RS - Click above for high-res image gallery

Pretty soon, it seems like the start of Nürburgring lap time season will take its place on motorsports calendars the same way you find with Formula 1 and NASCAR. The 'Ring season officially began last week, and the title card pitted the 2009 Ford Focus RS against the Renaultsport Megane R26.R. The Ford's numbers are 297 hp and 324 lb-ft; the Renault posts 230 hp and 229 lb.-ft, and the Megane's time stands at 8:16.9 (not 8:12) on its Toyo track-friendly rubber.

For the first round, the detuned 250 hp Focus RS test car managed 8:27 on "standard Continental tires," so Ford is reportedly looking at the full-fat 297 hp car to do around 8:15. Word is if they can get that close, they'll consider adding the Toyo Cup tires to the customer options list, which could subtract at least three seconds from the Focus' time and allow it to take home the 'Ring trophy for hot hatches. Ford will be back at the 'Ring next week to give it a go. Cheating? Perhaps. Pointless? Maybe. Fun for us to watch? Definitely. Hat tip to yaroukh


Gallery: 2009 Ford Focus RS (blue)


Gallery: Renaultsport Megane R26.R


[Source: Driving Spirit]

Ford Focus RS heads to 'Ring in search of a class record originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>coupeeuropefocus rsFocusRsfordford focus rsFordFocusRshatchbackhot hatchHotHatchlimited editionLimitedEditionmegane r26.rMeganeR26.rnurburgringnurburgring recordNurburgringRecordrenaultrenault megane r26RenaultMeganeR26sportssports carSportsCarthe ringTheRingThu, 26 Mar 2009 13:32:00 EST<![CDATA[Corvette ZR-1 knocks four seconds off 'Ring time]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/28/corvette-zr-1-knocks-four-seconds-off-ring-time/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/28/corvette-zr-1-knocks-four-seconds-off-ring-time/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/28/corvette-zr-1-knocks-four-seconds-off-ring-time/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Click above for our high-res ZR-1 burnout gallery

Back at the Nürburgring, the hot Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 has just ripped four seconds off its claimed 7:26 lap. The new time, with Jan Magnussen at the wheel, is a claimed 7:22.4 for the full 12.93-mile loop. While the number is pretty bloody fast, it is still .3 seconds off the time earned by the Dodge Viper ACR (ouch, those three tenths really have to hurt!). We take these lap times with a grain of salt, as we've yet to see everyone on the 73-turn course under the same conditions, and with officially certified timing equipment. Again, so you don't have to Google the competition's best-claimed Ring times yourself, here they are: Porsche GT2 - 7:32, Nissan GT-R - 7:29, Corvette ZR1 - 7:22.4 and the Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22.1. Thanks for the tip, Xeyad!

Gallery: Covette ZR1 burnouts


[Source: Motor Gears]

Corvette ZR-1 knocks four seconds off 'Ring time originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CorvetteCorvette Nurburgringcorvette racingcorvette zr-1corvette zr1CorvetteNurburgringCorvetteRacingCorvetteZr-1CorvetteZr1Lap timeLapTimenurburgringnurburgring recordNurburgringRecordzr1 nurburgringzr1 ringZr1NurburgringZr1RingTue, 28 Oct 2008 13:57:00 EST<![CDATA[More 'Ring running: Maserati MC12 beats world's best in super comparo]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/10/more-ring-running-maserati-mc12-beats-worlds-best-in-super-co/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/10/more-ring-running-maserati-mc12-beats-worlds-best-in-super-co/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/10/more-ring-running-maserati-mc12-beats-worlds-best-in-super-co/#commentsFiled under: ,


Click above for more high-res shots of the Maserati MC12

Despite the fact there is no real "Official 'Ring Record" for production cars, manufacturers never miss the chance to time their fastest cars as they lap the famous German race track. After all, there's a great bit of marketing to be had by claiming that your car is faster than everything else. Maserati realizes this just as much as the next company, and the Italian automaker's MC12 is still 'super' even though it's now three years old. Perhaps even more so, as it recently managed to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in just 7:24.29. Not only is this an extremely fast time, it betters the marks set by such enviable performers as the Ferrari Enzo, Koenigsegg CCX, Pagani Zonda F Clubsport and Porsche Carrera GT. All of these cars are owned by one (very lucky) man and were tested with the same driver (American Le Mans Series racer Marc Basseng) at the same time and under the same conditions, while lap timing duties went to Europe's evo magazine. All of this lends a dose of credibility to the Trident's accomplishment that's lacking from the incredible 'Ring times that automakers have been claiming lately. So, while not all 'Ring times are created equal, some bragging rights now belong to Maserati.*

*The only car we know of that claims a faster time is the Dodge Viper ACR, which unofficially managed the deed in just 7:22. Your lap times may vary.

Gallery: 2005 Maserati MC12


[Source: Maserati]

More 'Ring running: Maserati MC12 beats world's best in super comparo originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click above for gallery of the Audi R8 V10

Them's fightin' words, but when we're talking about a V10-powered version of the Audi R8, you'd better be taking them seriously. According to an Audi insider as reported by Auto Motor und Sport in Sweden, the more powerful R8 will set a new lap record for a production car at the Nurburgring. That would mean coming in under the 7:26 lap time claimed by the Corvette ZR1 (and taken by the Pagani Zonda F), and faster than the Nissan GT-R's 7:29, but the big question remains whether it could out-gun the GT-R V-Spec's purported 7:25.

The R8 V10 - with whatever name it will adopt - is expected to make its production-guise debut at the Paris Motor Show this coming October. That'll make for some delicious eye-candy, but the real treat will be to see how the German supercar holds up against the Americans and the Japanese on the 'Ring.

Gallery: Audi R8 V10 spied at quattro GmbH


[Source: Auto Motor & Sport (Sweden) via Motor Authority]

Audi insider claims V10 R8 will beat ZR1 around the 'Ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audiaudi r10audi r8audi r8 v10audi r8saudi rs8AudiR10AudiR8AudiR8sAudiR8V10AudiRs8nurburgringnurburgring audinurburgring recordNurburgringAudiNurburgringRecordr8r8 v10R8V10Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:27:00 EST<![CDATA[Rain dampens Ultima GTR 'Ring record attempt]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/07/rain-dampens-ultima-gtr-ring-record-attempt/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/07/rain-dampens-ultima-gtr-ring-record-attempt/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/07/rain-dampens-ultima-gtr-ring-record-attempt/#commentsFiled under: ,


Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ultima GTR720 at the Nurburgring

There is no shortage of automakers out there claiming to make the ultimate "race car for the road", but few of them can touch the Ultima GTR. While others try to make their road cars as close to racing cars as possible, the British sportscar-maker set about making their Noble-based racing car as close to a road car as possible. The result is blistering performance, with the latest GTR720 setting several Guinness-verified world records, including a 0-60 time of 2.6 seconds, a quarter mile below ten seconds and a 0-100-0 time in 9.4. With those numbers in the books, Sport Auto Magazine set its sights on setting a new Nurburgring road car lap record.

Unfortunately, after booking two, half-hour sessions at the 'Ring, the heavens opened up and soaked the track, so the attempt was aborted. The current record, held by the Pagani Zonda F Clubsport, stands at 7:27, but Ultima ambitiously projects that its car could undercut that with what would be a staggeringly fast lap time under 6 minutes, 55 seconds. Sounds impossible? Consider the performance stats quoted above, and that the lightweight track demon has hit a top speed of 231 mph. That was with the previous gearing setup, but with a taller fifth gear ratio, Ultima thinks it can reach even higher speeds. After the disappointment of a failed attempt due to the bad weather, the company's founder Ted Marlow turned around and headed back to England, claiming to have hit 220mph on a derestricted Autobahn along the way. We'll just have to wait until a more successful attempt to see if the record is shattered, but in the meantime we can enjoy the images in the gallery below and the press release after the jump.

Gallery: Ultima GTR720 Nurburgring record attempt

[Source: Ultima]

Continue reading Rain dampens Ultima GTR 'Ring record attempt

Rain dampens Ultima GTR 'Ring record attempt originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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