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Last week at the New York Auto Show we had trouble getting a cab in front of Javitz Center, but somehow the cats at Garage 419 were able to shut down 11th Ave. long enough to race a couple muscled-up Porsches. Pitted in a street racing battle are a Farnbacher Loles GT3 cup car and a Farnbacher Loles Cayman GTR. Both Porsches aren't lacking for power either, as the rear wheels pushing each Stuttgart stud are tested to the limits during the race and at the post-event dueling donuts.

Three minutes of rubber-burning action is available after the jump, including a decisive winner in the main event. Make sure to check out the wild fish-tailing from the GT3 at the start of the race. The camera guy positioned between the two racers either has serious cojones for staying still or he has no idea how close he was to taking a Porsche to the mid-section. Thanks for the tip, j.f.!

[Source: YouTube]

Yesterday we learned that California has begun the practice of crushing modified cars obtained while being used for the illegal and dangerous activity of street racing. The hope is that seeing their expensive toys flattened by a compress will deter street racers from endangering the lives of others on public roads. Judging from the news coming out of Canada, it appears that the province of Ontario is prepared to go one step further. Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant has stated that the authorities in his province will confiscate and crush vehicles built for street racing before they even put rubber to pavement on city streets.

"Just on the balance of probabilities if we can establish that a car is being used for the unlawful purpose of street racing, we will seize it and you will never see it again. We will crush your car, we will crush the parts."

The report from The Star in Ontario tells us that Bryant's fiery edict was given just a few days after a truck driver was killed after being cut off by three youths street racing on Highway 400. The driver, David Virgoe, drove his truck off the road and down an embankment rather than cross the divider and risk colliding with oncoming traffic.

More after the jump.

[Source: The Star]

The state of California has taken a hard line against illegal street racing, the type of which has on occasion led to the death of innocent pedestrians and the racers themselves. They're employing a new deterrent to make these illegal racers think twice about competing on public roads – crushing the impounded cars of those caught street racing. This Fox News video clip (click this link to view) shows a local reporter present at the inaugural crush who appears a little too excited about the event compared to the disembodied anchorman whose voiceover we hear in the backgroiund. The tuned Honda Civic hatch is flattened quickly inside the crusher's jaws, the extreme pressure popping out its windows like eyeballs and some of the hatch's contents ejecting out the back like vomit. Fortunately, it looks like the aftermarket rims may have survived. The Ron Burgandy wannabe behind the desk says it best at the end exclaiming, "Half the guys in the studio are crying at what you just showed us."

[Source: Fox News via GMInsideNews]

There isn't always a lot of overlap between the world of golf and our own automotive realm. Tiger gets some folks interested in Buicks and there are the occasional holes-in-one that result in a set of keys for the lucky ball striker, but other than that, we don't usually cross paths very much. Sadly, today is one of those days. PGA golfer Arjun Atwal was involved in an incident that resulted in the death of a fellow motorist outside Disney World in Orlando, Florida on March 10.

Although no criminal charges have been filed, witnesses have said that Atwal and the other driver, John N. Park, were street racing. Documents from the Florida Highway Patrol say that Atwal estimated his speed at around 80 mph on the 45 mph road, although witnesses said they thought the speeds were more like 100 mph. Atwal was driving his 2006 BMW M6 alongside Park in a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS55 when the Benz "flipped and killed its driver." Park apparently lost control, clipped a fence and small tree and the car somersaulted up to eight times, disintegrating in the process.

The investigation is ongoing, but it doesn't appear the two vehicles collided or that either driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.

Thanks for the tip, Bobby.

[Source: AP via AOL]

This video brings the term "street racing" to a whole new level. We had told you about this commercial while it was being filmed in the beginning of February, but now we have the final product to share. In what was reported to be the most expensive television commercial ever created, Shell filmed a variety of historic Ferrari Formula 1 cars blasting through the streets of some of the world's greatest cities. The crew visited Rome, Monaco, Rio, Sydney, New York and Hong Kong during the month-long shoot. Called "Circuit," the two-minute ad celebrates 60 years of Shell and Ferrari working together (Free stickers work, too!). The incredibly vivid commercial is the brainchild of Partizan's Antoine Bardou Jacquet and producer David Stewart. The YouTubed version of the ad is available after the jump and the original better-quality clip can be had by right-clicking on the image above. Stickers are nice, but this is something very special. Make sure you turn your speakers up for this one, folks.

Thanks for the tip, Anis!

[Source: Shell via Partizan]

OK, maybe there is a good reason to move back to the Illinois. On October 4, the wonderfully insightful city of Naperville opened the gates to the country's first public-private automobile test track. The Test Track, built by the City of Naperville at a cost of $1.5 million, is to be used by 12 local automobile dealerships. It's located on a 9-acre piece of property near Aurora and Ogden Avenues, where many of the city's dealerships are located. The enclosed test-driving facility is illuminated for night operations and includes an asphalt track with the following features:

• A 100-foot-long cobblestone surface to simulate driving on a
• brick road.
• A 10 percent hill climb incline intended to replicate driving on a
• dirt road.
• High bank testing area with a 10 percent cross slope.
• Rough road testing on concrete pavement with embedded boulders.
• Suburban driveway and curb comprised of standard concrete driveway.
• Skid pad area consisting of asphalt pavement, irrigated so that it is constantly wet for wet braking tests.
• Three security/Web cameras used to show activity on the track and allowing for live feeds to participating car dealers.
• A simulated railroad crossing.

According to Naperville Mayor George Pradel, "The idea moves many of the customers who are test-driving vehicles off the streets and out of the nearby neighborhoods, thereby lessening congestion and increasing the safety of other motorists." Although the city owns the track facility, the dealers will chip in for its upkeep in exchange for access. We demand that every major city in America build one of these NOW. But let us play with the design a bit. A 1/4 mile drag strip, SOLO II autocross course, and a Nardo-length straightaway for top speed testing are conspicuously absent from the city of Napersville's design.

Thanks for the tip, Chris!

[Source: The City of Naperville]

Ford's Bold Moves campaign just got a little bolder with the introduction of Ford Bold Moves Street Racing, a video game developed in cooperation with Eidos Interactive. Scheduled to hit a North American PlayStation 2, XBOX or PC near you this fall, the game comes packing 18 Ford vehicles and the option to switch among three of them at a time during a race, thanks to a function known as "Maximum Team Control." The game also allows the ability to crash and boom 'til your heart's content via the "progressive damage system" function, which, like most video games on the market, shows the damage done to your vehicle as you play.

Among the vehicles to choose from in the game are the 1968 Mustang GT, 1969 Mustang Boss 302, 1985 RS200, 1987 Sierra RS500, 1995 GT90 Concept, 2000 Ford SVT Cobra R, 2004 SVT F-150 Lightning, 2006 Ford GT, and 2007 Shelby GT500.

Our friends over at Joystiq aren't exactly enamored by the fact that the promotional-type game will be sold retail, unlike a game put out last fall by Volvo that was free to prospective buyers and showcased the safety features championed by the brand. We say that if other car manufacturers can spend millions of dollars ensuring that their vehicles end up in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and Gran Turismo 4, Ford can spend millions of dollars playing in their own sandbox -- it's the quality of the game that counts.

[Source: Ford Motor Company via Joystiq]

Drag Tag is an indoor facility in Australia where you can virtually drag race your own car using a patented dyno, hold-down, steering and visualization simulator. Design, developed and operated in Australia, Drag Tag uses its own specially-designed hold-down system to keep your car strapped on the dyno during WOT. Laser sensors are used to monitor the angle of the front wheels and gather steering data, while three massive 4.5-meter screens provide over a 200-degree of various simulated race environments.

The Drag Tag website points out the obvious benefits it has to offer over actual racing, which include a complete disregard for the weather outside, shorter lines, no helmets or race suits required and really fast cars don't need any expensive safety equipment like a roll cage.

In order to join the fun, one must first purchase a membership to Drag Tag that include installation of the special hold-down brackets, after which nightly racing can cost anywhere from AUS $10 to $50 for an evening of digital automotive mayhem.

While there's no replacement for the experience of a real Christmas Tree going green and dropping the hammer, the idea of driving your own car in a video game is strangely appealing.

[Source: Drag Tag via autoblog.nl]

The best stunt drivers -- robots -- take on suped-up Volkswagens for The Fast and the Furious: Extreme Closeup, the newest addition to Universal Studios Hollywood's "Studio Tour" ride. The chase sequence is something right out of the most recent movie, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," and features cinematic "previsualization" technology to mimic a drift race, which is followed up by an "automotive dance demonstration" set to the beat of hip hop music.

The new attraction joins other components of the ride, including sets from King Kong, War of the Worlds and other flicks.

[Source: PRNewswire]

 

A tragedy on Toronto streets that claimed the lives of a pair of enthusiasts has once again set alight political fires alight by those looking to ban performance modifications to automobiles.

Whether the deaths are attributable to street racing remains up for debate, but the event has triggered calls for the banning of go-fast bits like nitrous oxide.

Wheels' chief scribe Jim Kenzie rants in the Toronto Star that taking such action is little better than conclusions drawn from overly simplistic metaphors like:

Prostitutes wear short skirts. That woman is wearing a short skirt.
Therefore, she's a prostitute.

Said another way, banning aftermarket parts and the tuner culture would be to wrongly attack a symptom, not the problem of street racing itself.

What do you think about street racing and the efforts made to prevent it?  Sound off in comments!

[Sources: Toronto Star; PopCenter.org]