FoMoCo has decided to provide Ford enthusiasts of all stripes a single website to cater to their performance needs, lusts and communities. FordPerformance.com will feature updates on the participating Ford clubs and forums that obsess over anything with a Blue Oval, give people a heads-up on events, upcoming products and sneak peaks at the next-generation Mustang. In addition to information about current and planned products, the site will also feature historical facts on models and sub-brands that have defined Ford's racing pedigree over the last several decades. The Ford Performance Info Center will even put you into contact with Ford staff to organize meet-ups and referrals, plus providing all the pertinent information on how you can get that SVT Contour up to snuff.
While the site's focus has a decidedly Mustang flavor so far, more diversity is bound to find its way online, and we're sure a Taurus SHO page is in the works to sate John's insufferable appetite for Yamaha-sourced V8s.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Nissan GT-R.
Scorching fast. That's the word from Car & Driver on a Nissan GT-R they were allowed to instrument up and abuse for a few hours. 11.5 in the quarter mile and a 3.3 second run to 60 mph are incredible numbers from any car, but this one only costs $70,000. That price tag would be preposterous for a Sentra, but it's a bargain for the ability to annihilate virtually anything short of a Hayabusa. There's been some debate about the three little words "engineering test mule," but scuttlebutt has it that the only thing Nissan was testing on the car were tires and suspension calibrations. From the report, it sounds like they got the ride dialed in, too - in comfort mode, you can reportedly thwack across expansion joints without bouncing your coiffe off the headliner. The biggest complaints? Weight (though apparently the car doesn't feel as ponderous from behind the wheel), and the interior design. The materials are said to be good, but haphazard is the order of the day for the dash layout. Oh darn, it won't come with the gorgeous cabin of a Ferrari 599 -- we suppose they need something to feel superior about as they watch the chunky arse of the GT-R rocket toward the horizon. A $70,000 supercar? We'll take it.
Click image for more hi-res pics of the John Cooper Works MINIs
Hitting the bull's-eye for enthusiasts, BMW's MINI brand is launching two hot new models next month at the Geneva Auto Show. Loaded with performance upgrades and new interior appointments, each race-bred model serves as the basis for the MINI CHALLENGE 2008 race car.
Based on the three-door MINI and the five-door MINI Clubman, the heart of each model is a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder massaged to 207 hp. Pedal to the floor, it should be good for a sprint to 60 mph in just under 6.5 seconds (the MINI Clubman, a bit heavier than the three-door, is a few tenths slower). Unique light alloy wheels, a new performance exhaust system, upgraded suspension, and a modified 6-speed manual transmission are just some of the mechanical upgrades. Aesthetically, the John Cooper Works models will be differentiated by their distinctive body kits and unique interiors. With a base price of under $30,000, get ready to storm your dealers when they're released in late summer. Follow the jump for MINI's endless press release.
We ran across an interesting question posed by Paul Crowe over at The Kneeslider and decided to see what our readers thought: Are motorcycles the future of performance? This question seemingly has some merit due to the tighter CAFE requirements that the government is forcing upon automakers. General Motors cannot afford to sell hundreds of thousands of Camaros at great prices, no matter how many consumers want them. Instead, it seems that the highest-performing Camaro could be a hybrid, which would undoubtedly cost more than an SS with a V8 engine. Rumors are circulating that the Corvette ZR1 will be the last one powered by a larger-displacement V8 engine. Motorcycles, on the other hand, have so far slipped under the radar. Although it is probably not necessary since most bikes get pretty good fuel economy anyway, CAFE does not exist in the motorcycle market. Is the performance car going to go down in smoke in the wake of increasing fuel mileage? If so, will speed junkies make the switch to motorcycles?
Monster motors were the order of the day in the late 1960s, and GM's 427 was a part of that class. The drawback to a big-block's burly output was, and still is, the increased weight of the engine. While big blocks are a hoot for straight line shenanigans, a small block car is often a better all-around performer. That goes out the window for most of us upon tapping that vast well of torque, and there was a solution direct from GM. The ZL1 was a 427 rendered in aluminum to save weight and carried a 430 horsepower rating. The ZL1 is the stuff of legend, commanding the sharp intake of breath when mentioned with the Corvette, and reverent silence should the COPO Camaro be cited.
GM Performance Parts is whipping up a limited run of all new ZL1s, built from the same tooling as the original. A total of 427 of the Anniversary 427 Big Block engines will be produced, creating a new piece of automotive unobtanium while leaving the ZL1 mystique intact. You might even argue that the new engine run will add to the lore. We'll get to see just how much of a clamor there might be for these new engines when the very first Anniversary 427 Big Block crate engine, serial number 001, goes up for bid at the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction. The remaining 426 engines will be available soon from GM Performance Parts dealers, and will likely be snapped up like rabid moms going after Hannah Montana tickets.
Since starting its F1 team in 2002, Toyota has poured in an unprecedented – although undisclosed – amount of money into its Formula One team. But after five years of lackluster performance, even Toyota's patience – and cash – is beginning to run out. Team principal Tadashi Yamashina revealed in his annual report that the company has given him until 2010 to increase the team's level of performance.
Although it hasn't been specified exactly what consequence it will bring if the Cologne, Germany-based team fails to meet the company's expectations, one could not imagine the coffers staying filled if the team continues to disappoint the bean-counters back in Japan.
In his report, Yamashina pinpointed aerodynamics and a failure to adapt to the new uniform Bridgestone tires as the principal reasons why the team failed to score even a single podium finish this past season, declaring that the team needs to improve in these areas in order to succeed. But Toyota's overall performance in 2007 was about par for the team, which hasn't placed better than fourth in the constructors' championship.
Better luck next year, Toyota. You're going to need it.
Foose Design and the man for which the company is named, Chip Foose, announced last Friday that it is severing all ties with Unique Performance. The Dallas-based company had agreements with Foose to produce the Foose Mustang Stallion (pictured), Foose Camaro, Foose Challenger and Foose Motorcycle, as well as handle the sales and marketing for the Hemisfear. The break up comes after Shelby ended its relationship with the Unique last month, and a police raided Unique's facility last week for suspected title washing. Foose Design wants to let its customers know that it now has no affiliation whatsoever with Unique Performance, and that Unique does not have any rights to anything regarding Foose for any project. Follow the jump for the official press release from Foose Design.
According to the makers of the Sprint Booster, in ten minutes you can halve the throttle response time at low revs if your car has drive-by-wire. They don't say exactly how it does it, except to reveal that once you've plugged the gadget in, it monitors the signal from the accelerator and provides the ECM "with a new and altered signal." Mid-range acceleration lag is said to drop to "almost zero."
The device will fit Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and VW, among other cars. Sold in England, it's claimed not to affect your insurance or MOT, but it doesn't say anything about your manufacturer warranty. Although with a 10-minute install time, it shouldn't be the least bit difficult to remove if necessary. If those milliseconds you've been losing at stop lights have really been eating at you, the surge you need will run you $330 plus tax.
Fresh from the paparazzi comes a batch of spy shots showing what appears to be a tuned-up BMW X5 test mule wearing bigger exhaust pipes and a revised front bumper with bigger air intakes that extends farther down to the tarmac.
Could this be an M version of the X5? Anything's possible, but don't count on it. According to M Division chief Gerhard Richter, the X5 is too big and heavy to be turned into a genuine M product. The first-generation X5 had a high-performance version called the 4.7iS, which was, for all intents and purposes, the M-tuned X5, but it wasn't labeled as such. The current top-end engine in the X5 is already larger than that at 4.8 liters, but a BMW sport-ute with the M5's V10 would prove devastatingly fast and pose quite a challenge to the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.
Whatever BMW decides to call it, you can bet it'll be fast.
Click the link above for a gallery of STI goodies.
Those intrepid internet scavengers over at Carscoop came across what they originally believed was the next Impreza STI, but instead it turned out to be Subaru's sport parts and accessories. Most of the products are more geared towards visual enhancement, including a front lip spoiler, side skirts, an assortment of shift knobs and, of all things, a carbon fiber inside mirror shell. Aside from a set of 18-inch, twelve spoke wheels, in either brushed or anthracite colors, and an STI-branded timing belt, there isn't much in the way of real performance goodies – yet. We're sure that Subaru Technica International is working overtime to fill that void.
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2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
In the Autoblog Garage: Aprilia RSV 1000 R
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
