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.
Here we go, folks. The 2012 model year will be the last for the current Aston Martin DBS and a newly redesigned model is on its way. In the mean time, Aston Martin fans can enjoy the 2013 DBS Ultimate, which is little more than a slightly upgraded version of the Carbon Black model, but a limited edition nonetheless.
We all anticipate seeing the upcoming 2014 Aston Martin DBS in the 2012 Paris Auto Show, which kicks off the 29th of September. We are also anxiously awaiting some official photos from Aston Martin, which we expect to see some time in June. As we wait, the spyshot groups are out and about seeking some prey and fell upon a 2014 DBS specimen frolicking around the streets and snapped a few pics. Unfortunately, the DBS was wearing significantly more clothing than the models at the Beijing Auto Show and there wasn’t much to be seen.
Well, our crack rendering team has stripped the clothing from this beauty and gave us a good idea of what to expect, with the above picture. Rendering is not what we’re all about though, as we also are prepared to offer you a full review of this new beast using the information we have gathered and just a pinch of speculation.
Click past the jump to read the entire review on the 2014 Aston Martin DBS
RK Motors Charlotte has become pretty notorious for its Pro Touring models, which are ultra-high-performance versions of classic muscle and sports cars. Not only are they extremely powerful, but RKM also has the restored to a condition that is better than the factory could have ever imagined. Just recently, RKM launched an all-new Pro Touring model in the form of the 1955 Ford Thunderbird Pro Touring.
After the Corvette was a smash hit, Ford decided two years was a long enough wait to build its direct competitor to the Corvette, the Thunderbird. The T-bird and Corvette, however, went to completely different directions over the year. As expected, both vehicles became progressively larger through the `60s and `70s, but the T-bird grew to proportions that no one expected by the time it hit the 1967 model year.
After 1997, Ford decided to axe this growing monster, but released it again in the 2002 model year with styling cues taken from its first generation model. The first generation was arguably the most beautiful for the T-bird and RKM’s model promises to not take away from its classical styling, but rather add to it with modern modifications.
Did RKM hold true to its promise not to completely hack up this first rendition of the T-bird, or did it make this beautiful car just a shell of its former self?
Click past the jump to read our full review and find out.
In early 2011, Mitsubishi announced that it will be discontinuing one of the marquis economy sports cars of the last two decades, the Eclipse. The Eclipse lived a rather odd life, starting out with two nearly identical siblings in the Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon. After the elimination of the Laser, the Eclipse and Talon remained, turning into two of the most beautiful economy sports cars ever built, in 1995.
In 1998, Eagle folded and only the beautiful Eclipse remained, but the death of its sibling didn’t set too well with the Eclipse, as after just one year of being on its own, it morphed into a rather ugly and over-styled pig that required a V-6 engine to be even remotely fun to drive.
In 2006, Mitsubishi finally came to its senses and realized that the new body style just wasn’t doing the “Eclipse” name justice, so they went back to the drawing board and created a rounder Eclipse that more closely resembled the one from the late-90s. Oddly enough, this new sportier Eclipse is actually heavier than its predecessor, but that certainly does not take away from its beauty.
In the earlier years, when a car was on its last production year, the final model to roll off of the production line was kept by the manufacturer and stored. In more recent years, the last model typically ran off of the production line like any other model and became lost in the sea of models. Mitsubishi seized this opportunity to fully customize the final Eclipse, which is an SE model, so that it was truly a one-of-a-kind vehicle. Now this brand new Eclipse is up for sale by RK Motors Charlotte.
Click past the jump to read about this custom 2012 Eclipse SE final model.
In 1963, Chevrolet released an all-new Corvette to replace the C1 generation. This Corvette featured a high beltline and the body featured more chiseled lines. The C2 Generation `Vette was nicknamed the “Sting Ray” by its designers, Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda, and that eventually became adopted as part of the name and the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray was born.
The 1967 model year was the final one for the Sting Ray, but it was also its peak year, as its top level L88 427 cubic-inch power plant produced upwards of 500 horsepower, even though Chevy claimed it only produced 430 horsepower. The lower engines, the L68 427 and L71 427, were no chumps either, pumping out 400 horsepower and 435 horsepower, respectively.
Classic car specialists, RK Motors Charlotte, decided that the stock Sting Ray was just not enough and decided to heavily modify this classic muscle car. The resulting vehicle is the sexy and ultra-desirable 1967 Corvette Sting Rat Pro Touring, a one-off special edition designed by the folks at RKM.
Typically, we are totally against the hacking up of a classic muscle sports car like the Sting Ray, but RKM has a habit of improving these cars without ruining the original look and feel of them.
Click past the jump to read our full review and see if RKM hit a homerun, or struck out, with this Pro Touring Sting Ray.
Richard Childress Racing Street Performance partnered with General Motors to create RC1 Camaros to pay homage to legendary racer, Dale Earnhardt. The latest rendition of the RC1 series came just one model year after the Camaro beat all odds and made a successful comeback following its deletion in 2002.
This 2011 Camaro SS/RC1 is based on the 2011 Camaro SS, but features much more than any normal SS on the market. It not only features a stylish design, but it also packs a mean bite under the hood. This particular 2011 Camaro SS/RC1 was not offered to the public, but instead Richard Childress Racing (RCR) built several of the RC1 Camaros and shipped them straight to RK Motors Charlotte.
The RC1 is the first of the series and the least powerful of the three. Of course, being the least powerful of the RC-series is not saying much, as the top-end RC3 pumps out a concrete pummeling 750 horsepower. The best thing is that this special edition Chevy Camaro is in a price range that a working class Joe can actually afford. You may be wondering how much it actually is and what you get for your money.
Click past the jump to read our full review and answer all of your questions.
James Glickenhaus’ Ferrari P4/5 Competizione just proved one more time has just proven yet again what a fantastic machine it is. According to Jalopnik, during the 24 Hours of Nürburgring qualifying round, the supercar lapped the famous Nurburgring in just 6:51. This makes it the fastest Ferrari ever around the Nurburgring, smashing the previous record of 6:58.16 held by the Ferrari 599XX. All Glickenhaus had to say about this impressive result was: "I think it’s pretty cool!" However, he did invite Ferrari to come and challenge their supercar.
As most people already know, the Ferrari P4/5 Competizione was built on a Ferrari 430 Scuderia and, for this year’s 24 hours of Nürburgring, combined a hybrid drive system with a 4.0L V8 engine. This new hybrid system is very similar to the KERS system used in Formula 1 cars and added an extra 80 HP to the car’s total output, leaving it with an impressive 563 HP.
The 1967 model year was the debut year for the Plymouth Belvedere GTX, which most enthusiasts simply know as the Plymouth GTX. The GTX was always one of the top performers in the 1960s, but was also a refined muscle car, receiving the nickname “The Gentleman’s Muscle Car” in its early years. Unfortunately, the GTX was a late arrival to the muscle car area and only lasted five model years.
In its debut year, there were 12,115 models built, which makes it a rather rare car in itself. Options were not scarce for the 1967 GTX, as it had two engines available, a 425-horsepower, 426 cubic-inch V-8 Hemi or a 375-horsepower, 440 cubic-inch V-8. It also had two transmission options, a three-speed automatic and a four-speed manual.
In addition to the engine and transmission options, there was also coupe or convertible options available. One would assume that the convertible four-speed manual option with a Hemi would be a popular option combination, due to its raw power and ability to shift with the wind in you hair, but that’s not the case. Only seven of these convertible models with four-speeds and a Hemi engine rolled off of the assembly line in the 1967 model year.
That makes this one of the rarest vehicles on the planet, let alone one of the rarest muscle cars ever built. To boot, it is a natural rarity, as opposed to a planned one, like a special edition. It just so happened that dealers ordered so few of this option combination that the factory only produced a few.
If you want to own one of the most rare mass produced automobiles on the planet, now is your chance, as RK Motors Charlotte has just placed a convertible 1967 GTX with a Hemi and a four-speed up for auction on Ebay.
Now we know that it’s rare, but how has this vehicle held up over the course of the past 45 years?
Click past the jump to read our full review on this rare vehicle.
It’s not too often that us auto industry buffs get a chance to toot our own horns by calling our shots and being right. To be honest, most of the time we end up being wrong when we start calling our shots. But when we do smack that nail right on the head, we like to let you know about it ASAP…
On that note, remember the long trail of breadcrumbs that we have been following since 2011? If you don’t, allow us to refresh your memory:
April 20, 2012:TopSpeed reports that the “SS” moniker was officially trademarked by GM, after 51 years of using it on various models. Some other experts claim this was just to protect the “SS” trim levels, but we knew better.
Now we have real-life news on the Chevrolet SS front, as GM has officially released, FINALLY, something that we have all pretty much known for at least a few months. For the 2014 model year, Chevrolet will import the Holden Commodore and badge it as the Chevrolet SS – no “Performance” after it. Chevy will have the SS on showroom floors starting in late-2013.
Not only is the SS coming to showrooms, it will also run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Its debut will occur at the 2013 Daytona 500 race.
Finally, we can put to bed the ongoing mystery of Chevy’s odd breadcrumb trail and start focusing on the next in line, the yet-to-be-announced Cadillac ELR.
Click past the jump to read GM’s official press release on the Chevy SS.
In the 1960s two of the big three, Chevrolet and Ford, each had their own secret weapons in the form of racecar drivers turned muscle car builders. Ford had the recently deceased Carroll Shelby modifying Mustangs for SCCA use and sale, whereas Chevy had the late Don Yenko modifying a wide array of their muscle cars, the most popular being the Camaro. Yenko also ran multiple Chevy dealerships where the bulk of his creations were sold.
In 1967 and 1968, Yenko was dropping 427 cubic-inch monsters from Corvettes into Camaro bodies and creating some of the most powerful Camaros of the era. One of Yenko’s crowning achievements came in 1969 when Yenko was tired of selling Camaros with limited warranties because of his modifications and convinced Chevy to add a 427-equipped Camaro to its special equipment ordering system, known as COPO.
This addition of the 427-equipped Camaro to COPO made it possible for Yenko to sell these cars with the GM-standard 5-year or 50,000-mile warranty. Yenko ordered a grand total of 198 of the Camaro 427s available from COPO. The total number of COPO Camaros produced and sold is unknown, but has been rumored as anywhere from 500 to 1,000.
With exception of the 427 jammed into the engine compartment, the Camaro 427s came from COPO with almost nothing identifying them as a special model; they even came with the old dog dish hubcaps on steel wheels. Yenko made sure to order his from COPO with 15-inch rally wheels, a front stabilizer bar, and a 140 mph speedometer. The rest of the customization was all Yenko’s doing.
Needless to say, these COPO-ordered 1969 Yenko Camaros are tough to come by, but Legendary Motorcar Company got its hands on one and had it up for auction on Ebay.
Click past the jump to read more about this COPO-ordered 1969 Yenko Camaro.
