We are still waiting to see the official details on the production version of the Subaru BRZ, but Subaru isn’t wasting any time preparing the sports coupe’s future plans. The first thing on their agenda, of course, will be to make sure the BRZ is successful, but next on their list is plans to sign the BRZ up for next year’s Super GT Championship in Japan.
The Japanese Super GT series is known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (or JGTC) and is a competition recognized by the FIA. The event usually takes place at race tracks such as the Twin Ring Motegi, Fuji Speedway, and Suzuka Circuit.
Subaru has announced that its BRZ entrant will be in the GT300 class - an obvious choice considering the BRZ is slotted for a 300 HP 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-4 engine anyway. This may mean that the BRZ will most likely be replacing the current STI Legacy B4 in the race.
More details about this event will be announced at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon where Subaru will also be bringing the production BRZ. Stay tuned!
The Abarth 695 "Assetto Corse" launched by Abarth at the 2011 Bologna motor Show continues the tradition started by models like the 695 Tributo Ferrari and the Abarth 695 "Competizione". The difference is that it is an evolution of the Abarth 500 "Assetto Corse", a car that scored huge successes during the past three years of racing.
On the exterior, the new 695 "Assetto Corse" will be distinguished by an aggressive front decorated with a badge bearing the Abarth logo, a broader bumper completed with aerodynamic spoiler and screen-printed grilles. And as this is a track car the aerodynamics are very important so at the rear it has received a winged spoiler, a badge bearing the Abarth logo and a twin exhaust pipe. The package is completed by a new set of 17" light alloy racing wheels enriched with new floating, perforated and self-ventilated front disc brakes and perforated rear disc brakes.
The interior has been designed so that it offers the highest safety levels required by FIA regulations. The car gets a safety roll-bar, racing seat and a racing steering wheel, while the doors have been lightened by using Lexan for the side windows.
Under the hood Abarth has placed a 1368 cm3 turbocharged engine that delivers 205 HP of power.
To give the Mustang Boss 302 everything it needs to be a full-fledged racer, Heinz Motorsports gave the muscle car an extensive tuning program that encompasses all breadths of the car’s overall set-up.
The exterior body of the Mustang was treated to a number of body panels from Steeda including the company’s Q-Series functional front fascia, hood, and rear spoiler. In addition to that, the car’s rear fascia was taken care of by 3d Carbon while PPG was responsible for dressing up the Mustang Boss 302 with a Sport Classic Gray finish with all the matching racing decals. Finally, Heins Motorsports gave the Mustang Boss 302 a new set of 18" Forgeline wheels wrapped in Nitto NT01 tires.
The muscle car’s chassis was also given a thorough racing make-over, highlighted by a laundry list of Steeda-sourced equipment, including a biller sway bar mount kit, competition springs, a bumpsteer kit, and Tokico D-Spec adjustable front and rear shocks.
Inside, the Boss 302’s usual interior was taken out in favor of a full on racing set-up, complete with a custom carbon fiber dash and door panels, Sparco Pro-ADV seats with a competition 6-point harness and steering wheel, a Safecraft fire suppression system, an ATL safety fuel cell, and a roll cage that was built to comply with FIA standards and regulations.
Then there’s the engine make-over. Already carrying a powerful 5.0 liter V8 engine that produces 440 horsepower and 380 lb/ft of torque, Heins Motorsports added a custom Borla race exhaust, a Steeda cold air intake, and an Exedy clutch to round out its race-spec overhaul.
Porsche has officially announced details on the new GT3 RSR that will be used in the 2012 racing season. Compared to the current model, the new GT3 RSR has grown by 48 millimeters and has been built to conform to the A.C.O. "LM" GTE regulations.
The 2012 GT3 RSR is powered by a 4.0 liter six-cylinder boxer engine that delivers a total of 460 HP (up 5 HP over the 2011 model). The engine comes equipped with a mandatory air-restrictor and is mated to a six-speed gearbox. The gearbox is operated via paddle shifts on the steering wheel that send the power to the rear wheels, which have grown to 310 millimeters in width. Also compared to the previous model, the front wheels have increased by 30 mm to measure 680 millimeters.
Exterior changes are minimal, but still present. The nose and rear panels have been adapted to the flared front and rear wheel arches, while openings in the rear side sections replace the air scoop on the engine hood.
The new 911 GT3 RSR can be raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans Series, the American Le Mans Series, and the International GT Open starting in the 2012 season. Deliveries will begin in January 2012 and prices will start from 498,000 Euro (plus VAT ), or about $685,000 at the current exchange rates.
With the recent unveiling of the ninth generation Civic in early 2011, there’s was no doubt in our minds that Honda would make the coupe its SEMA star. Among the many other cool packages Honda displayed in Vegas, the Compass360 Racing HPD Civic Si Coupe Racecar sat gleaming in its tri-color scheme.
The work on the Compass360 Racing HPD started earlier this year with the Civic bodies-in-white, a program that offers a significant cost and labor savings to race teams. This program offers teams a bare bones chassis to eliminate the time and money spent on breaking down production models for racing. Sales of the body-in-white shells began in July 2011, and HPD has delivered a number of them to licensed race teams thus far, each priced at $3,500.
Since the program began, the company has been busy working on this Compass360 Racing prototype that provides details on the company’s new racing performance parts program specifically designed for the 2012 Civic. These racing parts are tailored for use in the SCCA World Challenge and Grand Am’s Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. They will be available early in 2012, and full details and pricing will be released at that time.
