Recently deceased automotive master and all-around great person, Carroll Shelby, has a history that few can compete with. Not only was he one of the best American road racers, but was also a legendary car designer. But his legend is seemingly endless in the automotive field, as even racers in drift series races are influenced by him.
The most recent evidence was when American driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. took home 1st place in round 1 of the World Drift Series in China while driving his Mustang RTR. Though Mr. Shelby never had a hand in drifting, it is obvious that he had a huge influence on Gittin, as he dedicated this victory to the memory of Mr. Carroll Shelby.
After being declared the winner, Gittin was quoted saying “I would like to dedicate this to win to a very special man that we lost recently, someone I had the opportunity to meet just a few times, and someone that was a true inspiration to me personally and to the automotive world as a whole. That man is Carroll Shelby. He is someone that always did what he wanted to do no matter what anyone thought and I know he would be proud to know we are drifting Mustangs in Olympic stadiums here in China and bringing home a huge first place trophy back to the USA!”
Our congratulations have to go out to Gittin for his victory, but the victory pales in comparison to his heartfelt dedication to the man that helped make the Mustang that won the race what it is today. To say that Gittin has our support throughout the rest of the WDS is an understatement.
Somewhere, Mr. Shelby was smiling as this Ford Mustang slid its way around imports and into first place…
Click past the jump to read the full press release.
Unlike the One Lap of America race, which recently ended, the Houston Half Mile Shootout is a brand new race for 2012. This year it was run in conjunction with the 4th annual Aeros & Autos event at Ellington Airport in Houston, TX.
This race is much like the Texas Mile, as it is purely a top speed-style of race, where your goal is to reach the highest speed within the half-mile-long track. Simple enough, right? Well, driving in excess of 200 mph is never simple, but rules sure are.
This inaugural run includes cars and motorcycles, both street legal and off-road only, which makes for some really intense speeds, but also some utter disappointment. The biggest disappointment that we see is Mario Williams, an NFL Linebacker, running his Aventador down the half-mile track and only hitting 167 mph in the above video. C’mon, man, open her up a little. That’s just getting that $400,000 supercar warmed up.
On top of that, event organizer John Hennessey shows that he is not a football guy, as he calls Mario Williams an “All Pro defensive player from the Houston Texans,” but Williams signed with the Buffalo Bills in March, oops. We have to give Hennessey a pass though, as the video was taken on March 5th and Williams was still a free agent at the time, but he certainly was not a Texan at the time.
Fortunately that was just a warm-up lap, as we saw much more speed as the event went on.
Click past the jump to read more about the event, cool cars and highlights.
The new car, which we now know as the Monster Sport E-Runner Pikes Peak Special, looks like an actual LMP1 prototype with plenty of GoPro cameras installed on it. The blue LED stripe headlights even add a mix of Batmobile and K.I.T.T from Knight Rider to it.
Having said all of that, the Monster Sport E-Runner Pikes Peak Special means serious business as Tajima is looking to set not only the electric car record, but also best his own record time in the Unlimited class. Tajima, a six-time defending champ in Pikes Peak, will most certainly be one of the top contenders this year, even if he’s going to pilot a new toy that a lot of people know little about.
From what we do know about the car, it looks like it’s been given the full-on carbon fiber treatment, complete with a pod-like driver capsule that’s encased by a full-on roll cage. Those aforementioned LED lights are also an attractive sight as are the matching set of blue rims. Meanwhile, the plethora of vents and scoops on the car’s body clearly suggests that the racer is ready to throw down at Pikes Peak next month.
Different car, same results, right?
With Monster Tajima behind the wheel, we’re not about to doubt that.
Welcome to Part II of our series on what the future holds for transmissions and just what technologies are on the rise and expected to overthrow the current might of the dual-clutch transmission. On the agenda today is a company by the name of Zeroshift, which is another British gearbox manufacturer who have been developing their seamless shifting transmission since 2002. They have come up with a recipe which they believe will eventually funnel down to millions of production cars.
If you thought Xtrac’s Instantaneous Gearshift System was hard to understand, then get a load full of how Zeroshift’s breakthrough transmission operates. The Zeroshift system replaces the standard synchromesh system with a pair of interlocking rings which overlap one another and are then mounted onto a dog ring. These two rings transfer torque in opposite directions resulting in the left-hand ring driving the gear to the right and the right-hand ring driving the gear to left.
Under hard acceleration, both rings are pulled to the side of first gear and just before the car hits maximum revs, one of the rings shifts over to the right in preparation of 2nd gear being selected. All said and done, the Zeroshift system can literally shift gears in zero seconds resulting in breathtaking acceleration capabilities.
In fact, Zeroshift’s managing director Bill Martin is so proud of this system that he is sure that if the Zeroshift system arrived first, dual-clutch transmissions would never have been invented.
As of yet no production cars are using this system, however the Joss JP1, Australia’s first ever supercar, will be using Zeroshift’s seamless gear change technology when it hits the production line in a few years. In fact, this system is so effective that the Joss JP1 is capable of hitting 62 mph in less than 3.0 seconds and 100 mph in an incredible 6.0 seconds.
What’s more amazing about these performance times is that the JP1 is only expected to be fitted with a 6.6-liter V-8 engine producing around 500 horsepower, yet it can achieve similar performance times to that of the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 and Pagani Huayra, both of which have significantly more powerful engines.
Oh yeah, and we forgot to mention that a top speed of 224 mph is also expected. Not bad for something coming from the ‘Land Down Under.’
Unfortunately, the Zeroshift seamless gear-change system is unlikely to hit mass production for a few more years, but it is clear that the double-clutch gearbox is coming to the end of its relatively short life.
In 2006, BMW’s M division formed a partnership to provide the official safety cars for the MotoGP championship. Last year, a BMW 1-Series M Coupe was the official safety car at the Indianapolis MotoGP, but this year this role will be reserved for the brand new BMW M6 Coupe.
The new BMW M6 Safety Car will make its first public debut during this weekend’s (May 19-20, 2012) Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race in Germany, a warm up for the upcoming M Festival’s M Corso event.
BMW hasn’t revealed any details on their brand new M6 Coupe Safety Car, but we believe it will get the same treatment as all the previous safety models. This treatment will include plenty of carbon fiber elements to make it lighter, an adjustable rear wing for improved downforce, a rollover cage, and new front racing bucket seats. There will also be a special exterior finish and lots of LED lights.
More details about the new M6 Coupe MotoGP Safety Car will be revealed during the weekend. Stay tuned!
A lot of high-performance automakers have taken to spec-racing to show off their pride and joy exotics without having to worry about any sort of regulations. Racing series like these allows these exotics to be on their unchained best.
One automaker that has taken this route is Maserati, which is in the process of beginning the third season of the Trofeo World Series. Similar to what sister company Ferrari does on the Challenge Series, the Trofeo World Series features a field of specially prepared versions of the GranTurismo coupe, which has been upgraded with a new aerodynamic bodykit that not only reduces its overall weight, but does so to make it more competitive and race-ready.
According to Maserati, the GranTurismo racers are far better than their 2011 counterparts, having showed its improved performance in test sessions: 2.5 seconds a lap faster than the 2011 models.
All the cars that will compete in the Trofeo World Series have been made track-ready by a dedicated team of technicians, ensuring that all the drivers competing will be racing one a one-spec racing field.
Another new wrinkle for the 2012 Trofeo World Series is the inclusion of new legs in the calendar, including the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California and the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, among others.
Anybody looking to bring the heat in the Trofeo series will need to pay €110,000 (about $140,117 at the current rates), excluding the race entry and test fees. For the four European stages, the price of admission is €70,000 (About $89,166 at the current rates), excluding fees, while private teams who want to bring their own cars will need to pay €35,000, excluding fees, for the entire championship and €25,000 (about $44,583 at the current rates), excluding fees, for the European legs only.
One Lap America actually has roots dating back to the original Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, known simply as Cannonball. Many of today’s enthusiasts think that Cannonball was simply a movie or plot, but this was actually a real-life cross-country race that included high speeds on U.S. highways.
The original Cannonball only lasted five runs until its organizer, Brock Yates, decided he had better quit this no-holds-barred race before the authorities decide to close it down. In 1984, the Cannonball returned, but was not about making it across the country as fast as possible, but about making it through a course that went throughout the lower 48 states and ended up with the amount of miles closest to Brock’s estimate.
In the modern era of the One Lap America, the race is now about following the rules of the road, as you drive throughout a predetermined course, and between these leisurely drives, you have track events. The scoring of this event is solely based on the track event results, but you and your co-driver(s) must also survive driving 24 hours on end, stopping only to enjoy a “gourmet” gas station hot dog or two along the way.
This 19-event, eight-day racing series just wrapped up on Saturday and we have your full list of winners in each class and we have also broken down a list of all of the oddest and most awesome cars to grace the 2012 running.
Click past the jump to read about the odd and awesome cars, as well as the winners from each class.
In the 1950s, car racing was nowhere near what it has become today. The majority of the cars on road circuits were more about how good the driver was and how well the car was tuned. This meant that the majority of the cars were lightweight and only had between 200 and 250 horsepower. Having said that, there always has to be some sort of exception and the exception here is the 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider and RM Auctions has one set to go to auction on May 12th, 2012.
The Ferrari 375 MM Spider managed to completely dominate the World Sports Car Championship between 1954 and 1957, winning a total of 11 races and having seven more podium appearances (top 3 or 4 places). It also won two national championships in Argentina in 1954 and 1955.
In 1957, the car was retired following a crash. Post-retirement someone managed to get a hold of this storied racer, pulled out the Italian V-12 and dropped in a U.S.-built V-8 engine, which really seems pointless to us. After the V-8 muscle went into it, this once famed roadster just disappeared from automotive history.
In 1983, this American-powered Ferrari resurfaced and made its way back to home. In Italy, Count Zanon di Valsiurata repaired the image of this car by reinstalling its Italian power plant and restoring it to an acceptable condition.
How does this one-time powerhouse of the WSC and 1 of 15 Pininfarina examples ever built stand up to 2012 standards?
The Talbot line of racecars had quite a storied racing history, despite the fact that they were constantly out-powered by the likes of Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, and Alfa Romeo. Talbot always relied on its impeccable fuel mileage and extreme durability to conquest these giants of the race world in endurance racing, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
By far, Talbot’s biggest achievement was its 1-2 finish in the 1950 24Hours of Le Mans, using T26 Grand Sport and a Talbot-Lago Monopasto. The chassis that was originally scheduled to run in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans, chassis No. 110057, but hit a few snags and was not quite ready for the race. Following the victory, the driver of its replacement in the Le Mans purchased it and began its racing history.
Unfortunately, this 1950 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport had none of the success that its replacement had, as it had a long string of did-not-finish results stretching from 1951 through 1953. The curse of 110057 came to a head when Guy Mairesse was tragically killed in it when he crashed this T26 during testing at Coupe de Paris at Montlhèry.
After that tragedy, its owner at the time, Georges Grignard, parked it in its transporter and laid little more than an eye on it for four years until a savvy T26 enthusiasts, and its current owner, caught wind that one was sitting unused at Grignard’s house. The purchase almost never happened, as it was reported that Grignard wanted an unreasonably high price for this crashed racer, but apparently the two eventually came to terms.
If you have ever wanted to own a piece of Le Mans history, this is the time, as RM Auctions is offering chassis 110057 up for auction on May 12, 2012. Despite its cursed past, this is a rare model that is sure to fetch a premium and will only continue to go up in value.
Patrick Dempsey will be dropping his doctor’s smock from Grey’s Anatomy and replacing it with a sleek pilot suit in the near future. The 46 year old actor will be making his American Le Mans Series (ALMS) debut this weekend at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca behind the wheel of an LMP2 prototype from Dempsey Racing.
Patrick Dempsey and Joe Foster will be the lead drivers and will be joined by Jonny Cocker in the No. 27 Trina Solar/GNC Beverages/Motegi Racing/Dempsey Racing Judd-powered Lola B12-80 Coupe. This year, Dempsey plans to race for a part of the ALMS season, but next year he hopes for a full championship run.
"It is nothing short of an awe-inspiring experience in every respect,” said Dempsey, who will be racing a prototype sports car for the first time. "It feels familiar but so much more intense, the braking, the acceleration, cornering and power, it is all on a much more dynamic level than the GT cars I have driven.
"It’s an amazing machine and it is incredible to even have the opportunity to race in a car like this at this level, and what better track to start with than Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This race will really be a continuation of our learning and testing process only this time in front of a bigger crowd. We should be able to accomplish much more development and familiarization during an endurance race."
The race will begin at 1:30PM PDT on Saturday, May 12, 2012.
